Because we could all do with more college AUs, right?
SO, a few notes before we begin.
- Honestly I don't have any particular storyline planned out, it's all going to be written as I go (which might be a bad idea lol whatever)
- This is based off of my own experiences in an American school system. The characters are not American, but it's easier for me to write based off of what I know. So yeah just pretend that they're whatever nationality you think they are. that's up to you. I'm just saying this now because I'll make references to American things, not a big deal if you don't know what they are
so yeah. I hope you'll like the story! the beginning's a bit slow but I'm trying to pace it even though mind is screaming at me gET TO THE JEANMARCOS ALREADY
The door opened just as Marco was straightening the sheets on his bed, and he hurriedly stood and turned around just as his new roommate walked through the door. "Hi!" Marco said cheerfully.
Jean - remember, it's 'zhahn' not 'jeen', Marco quickly reminded himself - looked around the room and then at Marco with a vaguely surprised, very bored expression. "Oh. Hi."
"I'm, uh, I'm Marco. But I guess you already know that."
"Yeah." There was a pause as Jean lugged his suitcase in and looked around the room. "I'm Jean," he said, in a very ok-you-introduced-yourself-so-I-guess-I-have-to-too sort of way.
Marco fidgeted slightly, wondering if he was supposed to offer to shake hands or something. But Jean immediately turned away, ignoring him in favor of checking out his side of the room.
"So, long drive here?" Marco asked, trying to find something to talk about.
"Not too bad. A few hours." Jean wasn't much of a talker. But Marco had already guessed as much.
They'd both chosen the random roommate option, and a month before school started they'd been notified about who their assigned roommates were. They'd added each other on Facebook, but that had pretty much been the extent of their interaction - the few messages Marco had sent had been met with brief, uninterested replies.
So they were basically at square one. Of course Marco had thoroughly perused Jean's profile - who wouldn't? - but had learned very little about him. Jean was from Trost. He had a tattoo on his right arm. He didn't seem to be a keen Facebook user. That was pretty much all Marco knew.
"So, uh, what are you majoring in?" Marco asked as he turns back to his bed. He was pretty much done with arranging his sheets, but he didn't want to sit and stare at Jean as he unpacked.
"Undecided. You?"
"Biology. Probably pre-med."
Jean scoffed lightly. "Of course," he muttered under his breath.
Marco raised a brow. "What was that?" he asked, and now he was starting to feel irritated. What was this guy's problem?
"Nothing." Jean gave a casual shrug and went back to unpacking, ignoring Marco's stare.
It was true that Jean wasn't a huge Facebook fan, but even he'd been curious about his new roommate. So the first thing he'd done after they added each other was go through Marco's profile.
Student council president, valedictorian, four-time All-State orchestra participant, captain of the swim team. He was good-looking, too. Christ. The guy had been a total fruitcake in high school. Probably had everyone from teachers to girls to stray puppies groveling at his feet. Probably had never thrown a punch in his life. Probably -
"Well, I'm heading down to the dining hall." Marco hesitated, still annoyed, but also very, very curious about this stranger named Jean. "And they're having some event for freshmen in the quad at five. Wanna come?"
- probably overly-friendly. Jean considered most interactions beyond necessary ones as overly-friendly. "No," he said, not bothering to give a reason. It didn't matter anyway. Marco - like most people - would probably hate his guts by the end of the week, anyway. Why bother trying to delay the inevitable?
"You sure?"
Jean was caught a little off-guard. He knew his company wasn't the best, and most people didn't particularly want him around. So it was a little off-putting to hear Marco offering a second time. Overly friendly, Jean reminded himself. "Yeah, I'm sure."
Marco shrugged as he headed out the door. "Okay. See you later," he said as the door shut behind him.
"Finally," Jean muttered. He sat down on his bare bed and flopped backwards, closing his eyes. He'd been lying when he'd said that the drive hadn't been too bad. It had sucked, actually, having to get up so early and drive all the way from Trost. He was exhausted, and the warm sun pouring in from the window did feel really nice... maybe he'd take a nap. A quick one before Marco got back.
Five minutes later, Jean was out cold, and that was how Marco found him when he returned hours later.
"Jean?" Marco flicked on the light in the room and was surprised to see Jean lying on his bed. By the looks of it, he hadn't unpacked at all - hadn't even put sheets on his bed yet.
Jean groaned and rolled over, trying to shield his eyes from the light. "Turn it off."
"You haven't unpacked yet?"
"Fuck." Jean groaned again and slowly sat up, rubbing his eyes. "What time is it?"
"Nine."
"I slept for five hours?"
"I... guess?" Marco said, going over to his own newly-made bed and sitting down. "Do you need help unpacking?"
"No. No, definitely not." Jean could feel Marco's eyes on him as he stood, still groggy with sleep.
"Okay." Marco felt like he was dealing with a suspicious wild animal. "Do you - do you wanna go check out Stohess tomorrow? I hear there's some really cool shops and stuff down there. A couple of guys on our floor are going too. Since there's not much to do before school starts."
"No thanks." Jean inwardly cringed. Couldn't Marco lay off with the friendliness?
"Suit yourself." Marco stripped off his shirt and began digging through his drawers, looking for an old T-shirt to wear as pajamas.
Jean glanced over at him and froze before quickly tearing his eyes away. Well, shit. Underneath the crisp shirt and jeans wasn't a softy like he'd imagined; thick cords of muscle ran through his shoulders and back. Fucking duh. He was captain of the swim team. What the hell were you thinking?
"Are you gonna keep swimming in college?" Jean asked out loud without thinking. As soon as the words were out of his mouth he wished he could snatch them back.
Marco straightened and looked over, surprised at the sudden attempt at conversation. "I dunno. I haven't really thought about it. If I have time I definitely will."
Jean's face burned as he stared fiercely at his bed, struggling with his sheets. Great. Now he knows you've been stalking his Facebook. Deciding that he'd exhausted his daily quota of socializing, he didn't respond.
And so it was that he missed the smile that crossed Marco's face.