Monday classes are finally over. Gosh, I hate Mondays. Right now, I'm on my way to the coffee place, but I don't get too far before I'm stopped.
"Hello."
"Hi Dimitri," I say.
Silence. Things feel a little awkward after Saturday night. Don't know why to be exactly. Probably with the way he left. I'm not mad about it, it just makes things a little more awkward now.
"Why weren't you in class today?" I ask him casually.
"Had to get something fixed at the office," he says as we begin to walk towards the coffee place.
"Oh…"
Silence again.
"Just ask me," he sighs. How the hell does he know, that I'm dying of curiosity?
"What needed to be fixed?" I ask him smiling, the awkwardness fading away.
"I had to tell them that I am moving out of my dorm room," he says casually.
"You're moving out?! To where? Just another dorm? Or are you dropping out of college?" Questions fly out of my mouth before I can stop them.
"One thing at a time," he tells me already annoyed.
"Sorry," I say embarrassed.
"Yes, I am moving out. I do not know yet, but definitely to an apartment. And no, I am not dropping out of college," he tells me.
I don't know why, but I am relieved when he says he isn't dropping out.
"Well, when are you going to look for the new apartment?"
"Now."
"Right now?" I ask him.
"Yes."
He's very curt and short in his answers.
"Can I come?"
Wait, did I just ask him if I can come to look at an apartment with him? What the hell is with me today, and when the hell did I become so blunt around him?
He looks shocked by my question but quickly recovers.
"If you want to, I guess you could tag along," he tells me.
"Seriously?"
"Do not make me regret it," he says with a very stern voice. But, I'm not as intimidated by it, as I once was. I guess I trust him more than I figure sometimes.
We get our coffee, then head out to meet with the real estate agent. On the way there I ask him, "Why are you moving?"
"I cannot stand my roommate. All he does is annoying. And I should not have to run to your dorm, because I cannot be in my own fuckin' "home", just so he can get laid. That is why I am moving."
"Oh… okay," I say.
We walk in silence until we arrive at the first apartment. It's about a 6-minute walk from campus, so that's a positive thing.
We go up and find, that the real estate woman is already there. She says hi and shows us around the place. There is one bedroom where he's gonna sleep. Then there's an okay large living room/kitchen. There's just enough room for a small sofa to be put. We walk further into the apartment and get to the bathroom. Oh, how I miss having a private bathroom. It's white with a shower and a small toilet, but the thing that stands out is the washing machine. Dimitri can bet his ass that I'm gonna use it if he decides on this apartment. I actually really like the place. The only thing missing is a few items, so it can feel more homely. But to be honest, I don't think Dimitri really cares about the "homely" thing. He doesn't seem like the guy to have photos of his family hanging on the wall.
"What do you think of the place?" Dimitri asks me after the real estate woman, named Jody, let us walk around the place by ourselves.
"I love it! It even has a frickin' washing machine," I tell him honestly.
"Okay," he says and walks back out to Jody.
"Hey," I yell after him, "What do you think of the place? It's after all you that will be living here."
Dimitri ignores me and continue to walk towards Jody.
"Jody. I will take the place. How soon can I move in?" Dimitri asks her.
Holy shit! We haven't even looked at any other apartment and he's already gonna get it? I guess he likes it.
Dimitri and Jody finish things up and soon we're back on campus.
"Sooo… I guess you liked the apartment?" I ask Dimitri.
"It was fine."
"Fine? Dimitri you are going to be living there, probably for the next 3 years."
"Only 2 years," he tells me.
I just look at him confused.
"I am 20 years old. I will be done with college in 2 years."
"Oh… anyways, you're gonna live in that apartment for the next 2 years, and you only think it's fine. We didn't even go to look at any other, and you already made a deal, and," I ramble but get cut off by Dimitri's booming voice.
"Stop talking! I am okay with this apartment, and you said you liked it, so what is the problem?!"
The atmosphere just got extremely tense.
"I just want YOU to be happy with where YOU'RE going to be living!" I fire back, "But if it's really that big of a problem, I will stay completely out of your life."
Okay, so maybe I'm over exaggerating, but he clearly doesn't want me involved. I… I just thought we were getting closer, I don't know. This is stupid. We are literally fighting over nothing.
Dimitri shoots me a look, as if saying, 'Don't go there'.
I start to apologize but get cut off again.
"I am going to go pack my things up," he tells me, but his voice is back to normal.
Dimitri begins to walk towards his dorm, but stops and looks over his shoulder, saying, "You coming?"
A small smile finds its way onto my lips as I follow him back to the dorm.
*****
Half an hour later and all Dimitri's belongings are packed. This guy literally doesn't have anything. We packed all his clothes and school supplies. Or, he packed all things and I just sat on the bed looking around his room. There was nothing on the walls at his side. It was as plain as it could be, but he didn't seem to be complaining.
Suddenly a thought popped up.
"Where are you going to sleep tonight, if you're handing over your key tonight?" I ask him. He doesn't get the key to the new apartment before tomorrow.
"Where do you think I am sleeping?" He asks me. A small smirk is tugging on his lips.
"I don't know. That's why I'm asking," I tell him, genuinely confused.
"You and I are having a slumber party at your place tonight," he says.
I can't even concentrate on what he's saying, because it's literally the first time I've heard him say a joke.
"Well… why not. I only need to catch you up on Teen Wolf, and then we're good to go."
He sends me a small smile and turns around to pick up some boxes. I stand up to help, and together we carry all the boxes to my dorm.
When we're walking into the room with the last two, Emily is standing there.
"Oh. Hi, Emily," I say.
"Look I know I've been away a lot here, but did you really have to kick me out and move another person in?" She jokes.
"Don't worry. Dimitri's only staying for the night. He's moving tomorrow," I tell her.
"That's fine. I'll just stay with Harry tonight. Anyway, where are you moving to?" She asks Dimitri.
"Out," he answers.
I look over at him and wonder why he's suddenly so cold. Emily hasn't done anything to offend him. I elbow him in the stomach to make him be nicer.
"I am moving into an apartment," he sighs.
"Oh… that's cool. Well, I guess I'll be off. See you later, Ruby," she says and hugs me goodbye before leaving.
When she's gone I ask Dimitri, "Why don't you like her?"
"How can you know who I like and dislike?" He asks gruffly.
"I don't. But it is very clear that you didn't like her."
He doesn't answer, but keeps looking at me. His eyes flicker from my eyes, down to my lips, then up again. His shoulders are tense.
Rolling my eyes I say, "Come on. Loosen up."
I grab his hand and pull him out of the dorm. I quickly let go of his hand as we walk outside. The electricity jolts that ran through our hands, doesn't go unnoticed though.
"What are we doing out here?" Dimitri asks me.
"You need to hand over your key. Andddd I'm hungry. I thought we could go down to the store and get things for our "Slumber party" tonight," I tell him lightly.
He shakes his head smirking, but agrees nonetheless.
*****
Dimitri and I are currently sitting in my bed, watching Teen Wolf on my computer, surrounded by snacks and food. We bought 3 bags of chips, 4 chocolate bars, 4 ham/cheese sandwiches, a lot of blue Gatorade, popcorn, sour patch, and I could go on. Let's just say our arms were hurting by the time we were back. Normally I would have been uncomfortable with people watching me eat this much junk food, but I don't feel that way with Dimitri. He doesn't judge. And I'm on my period, so I really couldn't care less. Okay, so maybe I could but that doesn't matter. I also got some night pads at the store, so I'm sure I don't bleed through tonight, 'cause that would have been awkward tomorrow morning.
"I just need to go to the bathroom before we start," I tell Dimitri and walk out of the dorm.
I get my stuff done and I can suddenly feel the cramps coming through. Oh, you have got to be kidding! I only get cramps a couple of hours each day, when I'm on my period, but they hurt like a bitch. They also don't react to Advil, so that's nice. Ugh… all I want to do is crawl into my bed and sleep it off.
I slowly walk back into my dorm and find my period-pajamas. It's some fluffy, high-waisted sweatpants and one of my father's t-shirts. I turn around to see Dimitri fully seated under the covers of my bed looking at me. Guess I'm not the only one getting comfortable.
"Close your eyes," I tell him.
"Why?" Dimitri asks me.
"Because I need to get changed," I say obviously, holding my pajamas up.
He sighs, but does it anyways.
I quickly get changed and turn off the lights, so it's dark.
"Scoot over," I tell Dimitri and jump under the covers next to him.
We don't really talk as we watch Teen Wolf and eat our sandwiches and snacks. I have already emptied 3 Gatorade bottles, and it's only been an hour.
My cramps are beginning to hurt again, so I adjust myself to lay on my right side facing Dimitri and the computer. I crumble myself together and slowly look over at Dimitri. He's laying all the way down and is sound asleep. He must be exhausted by all that moving around. I quietly shut my computer off and get rid of all the candy and waste. I tuck myself all the way under the covers. I scoot a little closer to Dimitri, because he's warm and I really need warmth for my stomach. Soon my eyes are drooping and I'm asleep.
*****
'I'm so hot' is the first thought I think when I wake up. It's still dark outside, so I look over at the clock and it's only 3 AM. I'm still half asleep, so I just muffle my fluffy pants off, because they're hot. I keep my shirt on, but lay down in the same position as I was only minutes before.
*****
Bip! Bip! Bip!
Ugh! Why is there an alarm ringing on a Sunday morning? I try to shut it out and go back to sleep, but an also sleepy voice disturbs me.
"Wake up Ruby," Dimitri whispers into my ear.
I protest and bury my head in whatever my head is laying on top of.
"Ruby... We need to get the key for the apartment," he tells me.
"Just go without me," I mumble. At this point I don't care much, I just want to sleep.
"You are laying on top of me, so that is going to be hard to get up," he says. I can clearly hear the smirk in his voice.
As his words seep in, I shoot my eyes open. Sure enough, my left leg is swung over his thighs, my left arm is over his stomach, and my head is buried into the crook of his neck. And first, now, I remember that in my daze at 3 AM, I kicked my own pants off. Oh, kill me now.
I sit up straight and say, "Oh shoot. Shit. Sorry, Dimitri. I-I didn't mean to… well, you know."
"It is fine. Now we are even, right?" He says, but he's still smirking, so it's clear to me that he's enjoying making me uncomfortable.
I make room for him to get up, but make sure to keep my legs under the blanket.
"So are you going back to sleep or are you coming?" Dimitri asks me.
"I'm already awake now, so Imma tag along if that's okay?"
"Sure."
A few minutes pass by and Dimitri is pretty much ready to go. The only problem is me. I'm still sitting under the blanket, 'cause I don't want him to see my legs and underwear.
"Ruby, we have a tight schedule, so get your ass out of the bed before I leave by myself," he snaps. Oh jeez, he's definitely not a morning person, but then again, neither am I.
"Alright, alright… Do you mind stepping outside the room for just a minute?" I ask him.
"I already saw your hideous sweatpants yesterday," he states.
"I know you did," I tell him awkwardly and let my eyes travel to the pants on the floor. Dimitri follows my gaze and his eyes widen. I look up at him through my lashes only to see a part of him… excited.
Dimitri clears his throat before saying, "Okay… I will be outside when you are done."
I nod and watch him walk uncomfortably out of the door. As soon as the door is closed I jump up and pull on some black skinny jeans. I quickly pull my hair up into a ponytail and throw on a hoodie. I step out of the door, but quickly walk back inside to get my phone and put on some deodorant. This isn't the day to smell like sweat.
We walk side by side down to the apartment. We aren't talking, but the silence is comfortable.
We arrive at the apartment and Dimitri gets the key, and then we're out of there again.
"So… should go back to my dorm and get your things?" I ask him.
"Nah. I am hungry," he tells me.
"Well, you can just swing by any time and get your things."
"We are both going to find something to eat. You are not going anywhere," he tells me.
"But I have some work to catch up with."
"I do not care."
"Fine. But I need to be back in at least two hours."
*****
Dimitri and I are currently walking back towards the campus. We went to a diner and got some breakfast. We didn't really talk apart from the occasional; "How does your food taste?" I got pancakes, which I haven't had in a really long time. They tasted absolutely delicious, even though I felt kinda guilty after. I haven't been eating well lately, so I have decided with myself, that I will try to get some more steps into my day and stop eating unhealthy. I can't keep complaining about my body to myself if I, then don't do anything about it. Anyways, Dimitri got french toast, which I assume tasted good, because he literally finished the whole thing in a minute. I don't even want to know how that's possible.
"Are you glad to be moving out?" I ask Dimitri, breaking the silence.
"I guess I am. I was lucky to get an apartment close to campus though."
"Yeah, you really were. And by the way, I am so going to use your washing machine," I joke and crack a smile. I really find it amazing how comfortable we've gotten around each other. Of course, we still have our tense and awkward moments, but it takes max a day for us to be good again. I also really enjoy Dimitri's company. I've never really had any close, close friends. Of course, I had some friends in high school, but we never really connected, like I feel Dimitri and I have. It's… nice. It's very nice and I can't be more grateful for our friendship. To be honest, I thought it would be weird after, you know, the make-out sessions, but it isn't. I'm not saying I haven't thought a lot about them after, but I know they will be nothing more than some kisses. Dimitri definitely doesn't like me like that, and I don't think I like him like that either. I'm not really sure, though. I haven't had much experience with stuff like this, to be honest. The only boys I have liked were fictional, so I guess that doesn't count.
"You can use it whenever you want," The familiar Russian accent says, snapping me out of my thoughts.
"You know I'm gonna take you up on that… and thanks."
"No problem."
"Well, I really have to catch up on some things, so we can just get your stuff to your apartment, and I'll come over later and help you unpack," I tell him, but quickly realizes my mistake and say, "If that is, of course, what you want me to."
"Okay," Dimitri answers.
We get back to my dorm and get his boxes. It takes about 35 minutes for us to get all the boxes to his apartment. When I get back to my dorm, I catch up on some studying.