Standing there facing to face with Jenny and Peniel, you took a step back and lowered your eyes from the piercing gaze that Jenny was giving you.

“Have fun with the ” Jenny snapped as the sound of her heels down the tiled hallway slowly faded after a while.

“I’m sorry about that…” Peniel rubbed the back of his neck as he opened the door wider for you.

“That is okay, I am sorry for showing up slightly early…” You stepped into his entry as Peniel closed the door behind you.

“Don’t worry about it” Peniel gave you a small smile while his eyes took in your appearance. A cute high ponytail gathered all of your hair while an old band t shirt comfortably fit you while sweats were your pants of choice.

“I hope I didn’t cause anything to happen between you and Jenny…” You finished slipping off your shoes as Peniel walked into the dorm with you.

“Oh no, she was just upset that I ruined her perfect record of dumping guys rather than being dumped” Peniel slipped his hands into the plaid pajama pants that hung loosely over his legs while a white t shirt hugged his muscular shoulders and athletic form.

“You dumped her?” You questioned just wanting to make sure that you were able to clarify.

“I did” Peniel moved into the living room as his roommate watched the show happily.

A part of you wanted to jump up and hug him, while the other part of you wanted to be sorrowful and sad. Unsure of what emotion you wanted to express, you remained quiet.

“Don’t blame yourself” Peniel placed his hand on your shoulder seeing the turmoil boil inside of you.

“Okay, I just didn’t want to be the reason…” You told him honestly

“You weren’t” Peniel reassured, his thumb brushing across the hem of your sleeve and over some exposed skin causing the heat to rise slightly in your cheeks. “I needed to do that a long time ago…”

A coughing sound was heard as the two of you turned your head in the direction that the cough came from.

“Oh right, ______ this is my roommate” Peniel introduced the two of you

“Very nice to meet you, I have heard so many good things about you” His roommate giggled as he gave you a wink.

“Why thank you, I didn’t know I was such a hot topic to talk about” You giggled feeling flustered at his wink.

“Well I better get going… but if things don’t work out between you two then you know where to find me, doll” Peniel’s roommate gave you a bright smile

“W-What do you mean?” You stammered curious as to what he was talking about.

“Yah! Don’t you have somewhere to be?” Peniel pushed him, flustered that his roommate confessed that to you.

“Have fun with the video games and the movies and the cuddling and kisses!” Peniel’s roommate laughed as he grabbed his duffel bag and backpack before he walked through the front door and closed it behind him.

“Sorry about him… he thinks that you never can be single that you have to skip from girl to girl” Peniel rubbed the back of his neck nervously, “Ironically he is single.”

Laughing at what Peniel had said, eased the awkwardness a little as Peniel sat down and you sat next to him on the couch.

“What did you bring over? I know we have a few games, but I will let you choose first since you are the guest” Peniel smiled as he leaned forward relaxing on his knees while you pulled your backpack around and ped the bag to show him the contents that were inside.

“I brought a few of your old favorites” You smiled as you pulled out an assortment of video games, from the old vintage ones to the newest game that you promised to bring over. Seeing his face light up, he filed through the games as he turned a few of them over to read the backs of them.

“Which game would you like to play? Or would you like to watch a movie first?” You questioned pulling out a few movies that you brought as well.

“Let’s play video games first, I feel like kicking your ” Peniel teased as a smile slowly wiped the worried expression from his face.

“Which one would you like to play?” You questioned as the two of you rose to your feet and walked around the living room, pulling the curtains closed to create the idea playing experience.

“I’ll let you decide first, since you are the guest” Peniel smiled as he turned his head glancing at you while you pulled the final curtain closed in the room.

“Hrmmmm” You hummed, turning around and walking over to the large bean bag and happily folding your legs as you plopped down letting the bag consume you. “Since you want to kick my , let’s play Modern Warfare” You teased knowing that he didn’t like that game so much.

“Sounds good to me!” Peniel sang as he took the banana chair, grabbing two controllers, he turned yours on and handed you one while he held the other one and maneuvered through the start screen before entering the game to play.

“Do you remember the controls?” You questioned knowing that it had been a while that you two had gotten together to play.

“I think so” Peniel smiled in your direction as his thumbs moved over the buttons and small joysticks on the handheld controller. “Is Team Deathmatch okay?”

“My favorite” You smiled as you placed a pillow behind your back and readied yourself for battle.

With large numbers counting down to when the match started, your fingers twitched with excitement while hovering over the buttons on your controller. Once the color slightly changed from a subtle black and white contrast to color, your thumb began to move your player around the map in hopes of finding an opposing player.

The room was quiet as the sounds of war filled his living room. Moving the controller slightly with your hands, you bit your lip as you earned a multi-kill and began to rack in the points for your team.

“You know you don’t have to go easy on me” You told Peniel as he just shook his head, his eyes concentrating while his lips pursed tightly together.

Glancing over at him, you wondered if he was okay before you returned your eyes to your screen looking up at his half of the screen, you saw him just moving around in an isolated place. A thought came to mind as you moved your player around the map, eventually finding Peniel’s player just waiting. Going up behind him, you watched as the match counted down, knowing that you could have an easy kill, you held up your gun but hesitated once you glanced over at Peniel, who was sitting next to you. Allowing the clock to run down, you took a deep breath as you set down your controller, your eyes trying to pick up cues from Peniel’s body language.

Seeing the match end, the screen changed to reveal the statistics for the games, your kills to life ratios along with many other numbers that were gathered throughout the round.

“Hey Peniel?” You questioned as he just sat still, completely oblivious that the match had ended, “Hey” You cooed, reaching over and ruffled his hair.

“Stop Jenny!” Peniel quickly grabbed your wrist and twisted it slightly as his head quickly snapped in your direction while his eyes locked with yours.

“Is something going on? Do you want some time to yourself?” You questioned, your heart racing in your chest from the sudden outburst yet you tried to hide it knowing he was very different from that.

“S-Sorry…” Peniel let go of your wrist slowly, his eyes dropping down to see if he left a mark. “Did I scare you?”

“A little” You confessed quietly, keeping your eyes and attention on him.

Letting out a frustrated groan, he stood up and lifted his hands to his hair his controller tumbled to the ground as he took a few slow steps away from you.

“I’m just the bad guy…” Peniel mumbled under his breath

“What makes you say that?” You probed, overhearing his soft mumbling as you stayed put on the beanbag.

“I always mess things up! I always break hearts and hurt people…” Peniel sighed as he balled his his fists while his hand was in his hair.

“No you don’t, don’t be so hard on yourself” You tried to reassure him, “You haven’t hurt me…”

“I just did!” Peniel spun around as your eyes found his.

“You didn’t, you scared me is all” You told a white lie.

Peniel his lips as you could see the turmoil building up within him.

“If you want me to leave, I will” You stood up thinking that it might be for the best if you headed home.

Without an answer, you took his silence as an agreement. Leaving the new game on his coffee table, you gathered all of your other games and zipped up your backpack before mounting the pack on your back. Slowly moving around the couch, you glanced over at him to try and read what his body was expressing to you.

Rounding the couch, you took one last look at him, his shoulders hunched slightly forward while his head hung low. His hands slipped into his pockets while his socked feet drew lazy designs across the tile floor.

Lowering your head, you slowly moved around him and headed towards the door hoping you were doing the right thing, letting him have his space.

“Wait” Peniel’s voice filled the silence as your feet stopped in their stride, turning slightly you saw his bloodshot eyes as a tear fell from his eyes. “Don’t leave” He pleaded

“You sure? I can come back later to check up on you” You replied wearing your heart on your sleeve for him to see.

“I’m sure” He nodded reaffirming his answer, “I don’t want to be alone…”

“Okay” You turned back around and slowly confronted him, “What do you want me to do?” Your eyes peered up into his brown eyes as you waited patiently for his answer.

Without another word, he stepped towards you watching you closely as you stayed put, your feet planted against the tile. Inching closer to you, you could feel your heart swell at the man before you, keeping your eyes on his, he closed the gap between the two of you as his arms wrapped around you and pulled you into his embrace. His arms slipped underneath your arms as his head rested on your shoulder. Surprised at his action, you took in a deep breath as a touch of his scent caused your heart to flutter.