'Haaa… peace at last!' Matt crashed into his comfy bed.
A smile spread all over his exhausted face, and his tense muscles relaxed as he lay on the bed, sinking deeper into the warmth of the soft mattress.
Fortunately, while he and his new roommate started off on a rather weird foot, things quickly normalized. Adrien seemed like a pretty chill person, and after a brief conversation—mostly about how dorm life had been for the short while Matt had been on campus— Matt was able to relax while talking to him.
Adrien didn't talk much, but his piercing eyes and wonderful smile made Matt say more than he wanted to. It was as though he was seduced into talking too much.
'Weird…' Matt thought, as he recalled the experience.
They also talked about cohabitation rules, and so far things were pretty cool. Adrien chose the top bunk, Matt went for the lower one.
Their values also did not contradict each other as well.
Despite his initial reservations—and the lingering awkwardness due to Adrien's feminine appearance—Matt now realized he could coexist pretty well with his new roommate. That said, he was still relieved that the boy wasn't presently in the room.
There was nothing Matt loved more than the tranquility of solitude, occasionally of course.
"Haa… inner pea—"
>BRRRRNNNNNGGGGG!!!<
Before Matt could fully immerse himself in meditative thought—or even sleep off—his phone began ringing.
"Urgh…" He groaned as he picked up his phone to see who was calling him.
Only a few people—his close friends—came to mind, but he was certainly not in the right headspace to deal with them at the moment. As soon as he saw the screen, he realized that his suspicions were correct.
"Group call…?" He murmured.
He never thought he'd ever feel this strongly against not interacting with his own inner circle. There was just so much on his mind that he didn't think he had the energy for social interactions. He had been through enough.
Still…
'A man has to do what a man has to do!' He sighed tiredly and picked up the call..
>DING!<
In an instant, all the images of his friends appeared on his phone screen. Nadia, Nate, Erica, and Hakeem all popped up at once, overwhelming Matt for a moment.
Since it was a video call, he could see their footage in real-time and they could see his. This wasn't the first time they had done this, but something felt off about today's round.
"Matt, wassup my dude!" Nate was the first to speak up—as expected of the loudmouth of the group.
He had a silly grin on his face, and Matt could see how excited he was. Excited for no particular reason, as usual.
"I'm good. Just lying down right now." He said in a small voice.
"Oh? What's up? Not feeling good?" Erica asked, her face staring at him in concern.
Oh his four friends, Erica had always been the one that was the most sensitive to the emotions of others.
"Is that why you didn't come to class today? We were expecting you, but you didn't show up." Hakeem's tone also sounded concerned.
"Are you sure he's not just slacking off? Hey Matt, are you really unwell?" The one who spoke now was obviously, Nadia.
There was no mistaking her cold tone. That was classic Nadia.
"Haha. Shows what little faith you have in me, Nadia. Besides, I never said I wasn't feeling well." Matt laughed lightly.
He could have told that lie to get them off his back, but Matt knew these people well. The moment he confessed to feeling ill, that would mean the end of the world—at least for him.
'They'd never leave me in peace till they are sure I'm okay.'
Besides, the very idea of lying to his friends left a bitter taste in his mouth.
However, with the way they kept badgering him, he had no choice but to give them an explanation they could believe. After racking his brain for some time, he could only come up with one.
"I was hanging out with Violet and her friends earlier today. That was why I missed class. It was out of the blue, so I couldn't tell you guys."
Matt wasn't exactly lying, which was why he could say all he said with a straight face.
'Bee, Rose, Shadow, they're pretty much her people, right?' He told himself, trying to justify the story he told to ensure he did not look guilty as he addressed his friends..
"Violet? Who's that again?" Erica asked.
"She's the girl who ran up to us that time, right? The one with the pink hair?" Nadia said.
"I thought you didn't want to have anything to do with her, seeing as you were trying to avoid her that day."
Matt looked away awkwardly, and he could feel his heart palpitating violently.
"What changed, Matt?" Nadia continued to prod, and he felt even more anxious.
Once she got like this, Matt knew how unrelenting she could be. She would tear down his defenses and force him to talk—a prospect that chilled him to the bone.
"Hahah! I knew it. Nice one, brooo!" Nate suddenly interrupted the tense moment with a stupid laugh.
"U-uh, knew what?" Matt gulped.
Did Nate already know about everything? Or was he just going to spout something silly again?
"You and Violet are in a relationship… RIGHT?!"
As expected, it was the latter.
"WHAT?" They all exclaimed in unison, Matt and Erica being the loudest.
"Oh? I never considered that possibility." Nadia's eyes narrowed at the screen, scaring Matt further.
"Is it true, Matt?"
He was already shivering on his bed, wanting desperately to get out of this conversation that was getting awkward by the minute.
"Ohh, that's a surprise, Matt. Didn't think you had it in you." Hakeem grinned knowingly and wiggled his eyebrows.
"Oh, stop it, you guys!" Matt chided his friends, clearly abashed.
Unfortunately, they refused to budge
"What do you think about all this, Erica?" Nadia grinned, now throwing the ball in her court.
Of all his friends, Erica was the only one who hadn't said anything about the issue. She still appeared quite shocked by the news.
However, with Nadia raising the question with a downright wicked smile, everyone waited for her response.
"W-well… it does seem somewhat suspicious…"
Matt almost yelled at this point. The one person who hadn't gone over to the dark side had now betrayed him too.
'Not you too, Ericaaaaaa!'