"This is Carol, one of my two roommates when I was in ivy league. The other one would be Evelyn. She's waiting for us at home. Lives on the other side of the neighborhood. Carol finishes the triangle that we form"
He nodded and took in the girls's appearance, behavior, and mannerisms as Megan drove them home.
"How was the event?"
He asked, half curious and half not. He figured it was the appropriate thing to ask when you're in a relationship. Didn't really care about the question itself. Just wanted to share in her day. After she dropped him off, she went straight to the Gala. There was an official Gala that was televised annually for movies, musics, and television, and then there was the social Gala that happened weekly and was a chance for socialites and millionaires and billionaires to connect. The one she attended was the monthly Gala where intellectual and influential people gathered to share ideas. The crowds were usually five times larger since the weekly was where you made connections and the monthly was where you made business deals. The Galas had no theme so you wouldn't know who decided to show up until you were there, unless you were already friends with them and they let you know in advance. FRIEND was different from 'Friend'. She had a few FRIENDS but most of her connections were just Friends who told her to come see them at the next gala.
The FRIENDS she had were not the FRIENDS she hoped for but it was better then nothing. She didn't feel letdown though because the FRIENDS she wanted had basically zero FRIENDS themselves. They goldmines were Friendly with them because they walled themselves off. Only came for the small sliver of social interactions that slowed down the impending doom of loneliness.
Megan had made progress on her project and decided there were enough significant updates to spark new interest. It worked and now her Friend was her FRIEND who wanted to invite her to a private demonstration with other peers and their students. She was to come alone, but she insisted on bringing her friend. Seeing her determined she was, they agreed but the friend, him, would have to agree to some rules. He promised he would depending on the rule. If they were unreasonable, he would deal with it appropriately. This was their destination after they had dinner.
The food was all fresh. Most of it was pre-bought from a retail store. The only thing they cooked was in instructions. They only did this on the weekdays, when they had no time. On the weekends, Megan started to seriously cook, because of him, making Carol curious. Evelyn was obsessed with him because he changed Megan, something no one had ever done before, much to her annoyance. She was annoyed because Evelyn focused a lot on him, not that they were teasing her. She could already see the endless reminders less Evelyn start cuddling with him too.
Her apartment was identical to his. She said she had the furniture retextured to match his. Even the family photos were in the same spots, even if the actual contents were different. He was unsure of how to react. Everything seemed so familiar. He had always fantasized about an attractive girl like Megan matching him down to the socks, but now that he actually saw it, first he thought it was weird, then he looked at Megan and felt really happy. The fact that she was really hot made a bunch of other thoughts just vanish. Then he really paid attention to the details. She didn't just copy him. She applied her own nuances so that he wasn't just walking through his own apartment. She didn't suddenly find pictures of him and cropped or pasted them into the frames. She didn't arrange every room so that it matched his. When he thought that their rooms were too identical, it was because he expected her to rearrange what the owner originally had. He never changed the layout so it was possible she never changed it either. The differences were in the folds of clothes. How did you wear it, what did you do, did you twist a lot, etc.
He tucked his bed and also all the corners. She tucked her bed so it looked neat, but maybe one corner was tucked in and the rest were all loose. The pots in the kitchen were in the same place but there were grease stains near the edge and multiple layers of color from unwashed heating. The curtains were always open despite how blindingly bright it was. It only seemed like she knew that since he was a guest, that she should probably close it. Then it dawned on her that the apartment looked normal, as though someone lived in it and that it wasn't just somewhere she would stop every day.
"I'm not sure if this is what you normally eat, so I got literally everything"
She looked at him with trepidation and only sighed with relief when he grabbed at a dish of tuna and beef. It was a bit dry with a lot of sauce and watery afterthought. It was a lot more tender then he expected, and he ate quite a lot of it, to realize that she spent some time making sure it was cooked properly. He took it because it was the only dish that looked like it was even slightly hand-made. He ate several more dishes but it was the only one she asked for his opinion on. She made up an excuse saying that a friend highly suggested it and she was curious about whether or not he believed all that. He knew it was an excuse before Carol and Evelyn shook their heads when he looked at them. He wasn't asking. They just assumed and replied. He told her the truth because there was truth behind it and they spent an hour cuddling in her room watching a show. Her friends were shocked.