Fire, Meet Your Roommate, Ice

Tian grumbled.

The personification of innocence and joy actually grumbled.

Well, it wasn't his fault that Sid guy decided to molest him the second he got off his boat... and instant buttouches to a virtually pure child was definitely unsettling. A faint blush still dusted his sun-kissed cheeks as he pondered that thought. Was everyone at the Academy like that...?

Christian certainly hoped not.

Tugging his two small bags alongside him, Tian slowly made his way down the hall, listening as his small set of keys jingled faintly in his pocket. At least he had been assigned a dorm where he could dump all of his things... Ahh, he wondered what the room would be like. Small, or big? Spacious, or cluttered? Vibrant colors, or more neutral tones? Whatever it was, Tian supposed he wasn't all that picky. After all... he didn't exactly have room to be picky, now did he? Plus, no matter what his room was like, he bet it would be better than the one back home.

Oh, there it was!

Christian stopped in front of a single door, before setting down one bag and fishing his keys from his pocket. He glanced between the number printed on his card to the one upon the door once, twice, thrice, making sure it was really the right number before he just barged in. Seeing that it was in fact the right one, he quickly unlocked the door, before sliding the keys back in his pocket and grabbing his other bag. Using two spare fingers, he turned the knob and entered...

...It was only after he had begun swinging the door open that he realized something very important.

...What if he had a roommate...?!

Oh well, it was too late to turn back then.

The first thing that Tian registered as he stepped in the room, surprisingly, was not the sound of guttural roars mixed with feminine moaning. He didn't take note of the plainness of the walls or the semetrical appearance of the furniture. Quite frankly, Christian didn't even notice his blushing, pissed off roommate lying sprawled across the floor - and that kid was pretty hard to miss.

No, the first thing that Tian noticed was the space.

This dorm - to Tian - was absolutely massive. At home, he only had a space big enough for an air mattress, the air pump for it, a very small homework desk (which also held his table lamp), and just enough room to walk out the door and to his closet with the chair pushed in as far as it would go. So... basically a closet with a closet (or cubby, as he may prefer to call it, with as much storage space as it offered).

Meanwhile, this single room was easily three times bigger than his old one, with nice blue paint instead of the water stained yellow wallpaper that colored his space at home. It had two real beds versus an old air mattress on the floor, two large desks compared to his child-sized worn one, black swivel chairs instead of paint-peeled wooden, and many shelves for storage. There was a window seat overlooking the forest he had already come to adore so much, two closest a he bet were each far larger than the one he had at home, and - holy heaven, were those mini-fridges?! Tian felt his eyes widen and his lips part in shock. His... This place was his for the next however many years? This massive dorm? The boy who once thought he would forever be stuck in a small home in the ghetto... He had super powers, got to go to a big school on a big island, and even had a nice place to stay... It was a magical feeling that lodged it's way in his chest, one of hope, one of —

"Who the (quack) are you?"

Oh, right... He forgot about that guy.

Startled, Tian blinked hard, slamming his gaping mouth shut as his train of thought exploded into a million metaphorical pieces. Blushing slightly at his own obliviousness, the teen quickly turned his attention to his counterpart, who was... also blushing... and on the floor? 'Oh,' he thought, 'I must have frightened him... a lot....' Though the teen looked (and sounded) annoyed, Tian still dropped his bags to the floor and took a few hasty strides over (and no, he certainly did not stumble over his own feet as he did so. It was a graceful misstep, clearly on purpose, thank you). Despite his nervousness with the presence of the other male and the repercussions that may come from startling him from his show - yes, Tian noticed the laptop-dinosaur-moany-thing, but hadn't paid it any mind yet - the boy still managed to glue a lopsided grin to his lips.

"Uhm, I'll explain everything in one second," he said, "but first... Can I help you up?" With that said, he lent a hand down for the white-haired male to grab. However, he made sure the way he moved was obviously unthreatening, reaching out with his palm facing up, as he knew himself that incoming hands from strangers could be startling...

...Tian's mind flashed back to Sid's ever so polite welcome to Manta Carlos...

...He suppressed a shudder...

One second showed Tian helpfully reaching a hand towards his fallen roommate. The next, and said roommate had reached out - not to take his hand - but to smack it away. Now, the orange-haired teen by now was a master at tracking moving hands, so he saw the movement before the swat connected. However, he had thought it was the other trying to grasp it... And thus, he was suddenly met with a sharp tug and sting.

At the violent reaction and small burst of pain, Tian couldn't stop himself from violently flinching back and a step away from the source. Honestly, he was glad he hadn't reached out with his left hand, as the impact surely would have jolted his wrist. However, even though he was used to this sorted thing and then some, the teen couldn't help as month-and-a-half old memories began to play behind his fiery-looking irises. So much noise, his head hitting the brick wall, his wrist snapping as it was twisted... Tian blinked, and hard, hoping that he hadn't shown any of what crossed through his mind on his face. He still felt his smile in place, so he figured he was okay unless his eyes had given a glimpse - and they probably had, with the way he jumped and all. His smile was hardly a full one anymore, either... instead, very crooked and nervous, with a hint of something else he couldn't place. With his eyebrows slightly furrowed in concord idiom and tension, his blush faded, and he could feel the smile he wore slipping farther and farther off his lips despite his efforts.

Still, Tian tried at least to maintain a friendly attitude, despite the blatant hostility shown to him. Lei, was it? And roommate? "...I'm Christian, but people call me Tian - and I'm sorry for intruding. I wasn't informed of any roommate, so I didn't think to knock first," Tian replied to his comment, though his voice was quieter and more thoughtful than it had been before. He shifted awkwardly as Lei climbed back onto his bed, kicking his DVDs back underneath. Just as soon as that was accomplished, Tian was met again with his roommate's irritated voice.

"...Got it. I'll leave you alone - and I won't let anything rot, don't worry about that," he replied, even more quietly this time. By now, his smile had just about faded, and he just looked defeated in a somewhat forlorn way. Glancing around one last time just due to his own personality, he grabbed his two small bags and carried them over to his own side of the room. A few moments passed as he just stared at the bed, the real bed... Much better than anything he had slept upon since his toddler days. Slowly, he sat down on it, testing it just a little bit before setting himself fully upon the mattress. The sensation that came from such a soft cushion was heavenly, and as gentle squeaks emitted from the bed frame, Tian sighed almost inaudibly. The aches and pains all throughout his too-thin body were lessened with this perch, and he found himself closing his eyes as he leaned against the wall.

So, was this his roommate then? His roommate until one of them moved out of the school and into downtown... Ahh. Christian had honestly hoped that they would become friends, close friends maybe... but apparently, such a notion was not the case. Instead, the first impression he got of the other was snappish, unfriendly, and honestly a bit of a jerk, with a vulgar vocabulary and a strong antisocial streak. And he apparently was not afraid to be violent. However, Tian made himself keep in mind that not everyone was who they were on the surface, himself included, and decided just to forget about first impressions and try again later.

Still...

"...Lei," he voiced a few moments after seating himself, "It's okay if you don't like me, but please don't strike out, alright?" Tian's voice was small, and though it was a precautionary measure he needed to take, the willpower to actually say something of the sort was new to him. He had said goodbye to a kind roommate, but perhaps a peaceful would would at least be okay.

Tian listened quietly as Lei spoke, his lips pulling into a small frown. His past roommates hated him? For what, having an attitude? While he could see why they might not exactly... like Lei, he didn't see why one personality trait could bring on hatred. Apparently, some sorts of people were consistent no matter the school. At his last, he was bullied over peppiness and a social situation he couldn't control. Now, at Starlight Academy...

Tian's frown deepened. He had hoped this school would be different, but apparently, some things never changed. Hopefully, not everyone was like that, though... and he may be able to really make friends this time around. With these thoughts forming in his head, plus the general fatigue laying more heavily than usual upon his bones, the teen couldn't stop the waning of his more positive mood and upbeat mindset.

He didn't know about Lei, but he certainly was more pleasant when he knew he was accepted.

"I don't hate you," Tian said simply. Unused to more serious situations involving other people, the teen wasn't sure of what else to add at the moment. However, though he doubted it would happen any time soon, he still decided he would like to be Lei's friend. He decided to get comfortable, then, stretching out on the bed and literally hearing his bones crack back into place - though unless Lei had really good hearing, it was audible only to himself. He felt the pain slowly start to leak out of his muscles, the comfort of an actual bed something a bit too wonderful to Christian. Subconsciously, he wished he could share such a thing with his mother, because God knew she could use it.


[Bah not much dialogue at all, but nothing else fit, and it seemed enough to respond to.]

Silently, Tian listened as Lei spoke, also picking up a few odd movements and rustlings. However, his eyes were still closed in content, so he missed exactly what the other teen was doing. Well… It was a start, Tian decided, after Lei had spoken his last sentence. At least anger was no longer lacing the white-haired boy’s voice – though, Tian supposed the other was not exactly being friendly, either. “Alright,” the orange-haired responded to the offer to put his things away. However, it wasn’t until a few moments later that he actually moved to rise.

Tian groaned audibly as he left the sweet embrace of the bed, huffing out a little “hnng” as he was forced to get up. ‘Goodbye, my heaven,’ he thought, his muscles whining in protest, ‘I will be back as soon as I can…’ He was sluggish as he moved over to his dropped bags, only a few paces from the door, before returning even more slowly and depositing both of the small cases on his bed. Popping open one of them, he pulled out a few shirts and a couple pairs of jeans, laying them across his arm as he moved towards the closet on his side of the room.

Within the space were several hangers and a bar for hanging various garments, such as coats, shirts, and even pants, while a small set of drawers sat beneath for folded clothing – few people hang underwear, come on now. The teen hardly looked at his attire as he put it away, already knowing just how work-stained the shirts looked and how many stitched-together tears there were in his jeans. Deep down, he supposed he wished for better wear, but he was honestly thankful he had even these. They were something to wear more than the uniforms he was told would be delivered later, and all of the blemishes on his clothing told of how he worked for what little he had – because, yes, they were torn from the jobs he undertook. ’Battle scars!’ he thought, his lips twitching a bit. Though the rest of the world may not see it as such, Tian was proud. Speaking of clothes, though…

Tian turned to glance at Lei as he finished hanging what he had, his fire-like eyes hoping to find the other’s watery. “Think what you’d like, but I’m not leaving anything in my bags,” he said, before heading back to the bed to retrieve what was left in the suitcase – just a bit more of the same as he had grabbed before. “I don’t plan on changing dorms,” he added as an afterthought, but the silent “unless you want me to” floated gently about his words.

What Lei didn’t know was that Tian did back away from a snarling dog… but he always returned with treats soon after.