Chapter 4: Full House

    The next morning, the clock upon the wall indicated that it was nearing nine o’clock, and Rhodon was scrolling through his Facebook on his phone out of pure boredom while he waited for one of the others to wake up. When he noticed Jin was awake as well, he decided to sit up and glance around the room to see if anyone else was up. Aiden was sprawled out on his bedding, taking almost all of the blanket space and a little more; his foot was invading Rhodon’s own blanket territory. On the other hand, Evan was the complete opposite: he was lying on his back and his body remained in almost a straight line, taking up no more space than his own. Damien was curled up with his arms close to his chest and his knees lined perpendicular to his back; his backpack was behind him closer to the door, and his blankets had been moved to his feet.  “Man… looks like everyone really needed this sleep or something,” he whispered to his friend with a small grin. 
    “It may just be normal that they sleep in, too…” Jin remarked quietly as he tried to stifle a yawn and raised himself to a sitting position as well. The other three seemed to be in such a deep sleep that he was sure whispering wouldn’t bother them. “Might as well see what we have for everyone to eat,” he added in as he brushed his fingers quickly through his hair and then stood up to make his temporary bed. He then maneuvered around his other two roommates to make it to the door, but paused at the sight of Damien. With little effort necessary, he carefully picked up the blanket that lay at the boy’s feet and placed it over him before he left the room and gestured for Rhodon to follow as he disappeared from sight. 
    Rhodon wasn’t all that hungry, but he knew he would be sooner or later. Influenced only slightly by Jin, he stood and made his bed in a similar fashion and then proceeded to step over Aiden’s first leg… only to step on his other one by accident. “Crap!!” Rhodon gasped as he slipped and fell onto both of Aiden’s legs as a result. He didn’t mean to fall on him, but he didn’t know that what he mistook for a crease in the blanket was actually his leg! 
    Aiden jolted awake and yelped as soon as Rhodon’s foot made contact with his right leg. Obviously, the last thing he expected was for that to be followed by 120 lbs. of force on both of his legs. He groaned as he tried to turn his head in order to see who was torturing him at this time of morning, “What are you doing...?!” He demanded to know why his sleep was being interrupted, especially in the manner it was being done. 
    “Shhh!! I’m sorry! I’m sorry! I slipped!” Rhodon apologized quickly in a whisper as he practically jumped away from Aiden. Wow… Aiden is scary in the morning. He didn’t expect him to yell… like ever. 
    “Seriously, guys..? Shut up…” Evan groaned. He had been awoken by Aiden yet again, and after last night, he was not ready to be pulled out of his slumber.
    “It’s not my fault he stepped on my leg!” Aiden informed Evan in defense of himself as he sat up and quickly rubbed his leg as though the friction would free him from the pain. 
    “I said I was sorry!” Rhodon responded quietly. He definitely regretted what he had done, though, but it wasn’t as if it was on purpose. I couldn’t have helped it! “But Damien’s still asleep, so if you could quiet down just a little…” he suggested as he nodded in the boy’s direction. Somehow their roommate was sleeping through it all, and he didn’t want to be the reason for everyone’s sleep to be disturbed. 
    Aiden was about to respond to Rhodon in an argumentative manner (mainly because he felt he was robbed of his sleep), but he contained himself when he looked over at Damien and saw that he really was still asleep. “Oh… Still…” he muttered with a pout as he looked away from his roommate, “I can’t believe you stepped on me…” 
    Evan pushed himself up and heaved a deep sigh as he stormed out of the room and headed for the living room. Where’s Jin? He wanted answers. How could he leave the room unmanned? His eyes scanned the room as he entered it, but once he heard the water running in the kitchen, he had no need to look for him anymore. Without any hesitation, he approached Jin and tapped him on the shoulder, even though he was busy washing the cup that Evan himself had left in the sink last night. “How long have you been up?” he asked immediately. 
    “Uh… five minutes or so. Why?” Jin asked, obviously confused by the question. Why was Evan up? Was he worried as to why he was awake already? It was nine already, so it shouldn’t be surprising… Then again, this was Evan, so it had to be something else. 
    “You left them unattended, and I’m awake now,” Evan replied with a hint of hostility in his voice. If he left only five minutes ago, then he must have known that Rhodon was awake. He didn’t really consider Rhodon a troublemaker until then, but his mind had definitely changed. He woke Aiden up, and that was just not a good idea when others were trying to sleep.
    Jin knit his eyebrows together as he listened to what Evan had to say, and for a moment he just stared at him. He wants me to babysit them until everyone else is awake? He assumed that Rhodon was following him; how was he supposed to know that he would wake them up? “I’m… sorry? I think? Evan, you’re sleep deprived, aren’t you?”
    “How could you tell?” Evan muttered in response as he took a seat at the breakfast bar and rested his head in his hand with his elbow propped up on the counter, “That kid had me up for an hour last night…” he complained in a low voice to explain why he was so tired. He had only spoken to him for half an hour, but he had stayed awake to make sure Damien actually fell back asleep. 
    “Well, that explains this cup.” Jin remarked as he raised the cup that he had just cleaned in the air for a moment and then placed it in the cupboard where it belonged. “Did he wake you?”
    “Nah, I woke up on my own. I don’t know how long he was up for, but I got up thinking that he had run off. He was just sitting in the living room though. It took me almost half an hour to finally find out that he was awake because he was homesick. I swear, he needs communication skills…” Evan remarked with a groan as he allowed his head to gently hit the counter. Last night was frustrating, this morning is frustrating... I just want sleep!
    Jin wasn’t surprised to hear that Damien was homesick, but it did concern him that he was up late because of it. If it keeps up, his health might be affected, and that was the last thing he needed in the beginning of the school year. However, Evan’s last comment made him chuckle as he leaned against the counter with his arms crossed, Before he could comment on the matter, however, he was interrupted by Aiden, who took a seat beside Evan at the bar and spoke up. 
    “No offense, but you’re not exactly the master of communication skills yourself,” he remarked before he let out a yawn. He was only being honest with him. “Damien’s homesick? What can we do about that?”
    “... Aiden. When I get the energy, you will regret that comment,” Evan mumbled grumpily.
    “He means well…” Rhodon commented with a small laugh as he sat on Aiden’s other side, “Maybe we can do something for Damien to make him feel more at home,” he suggested.
    “Well… we can, but I’m not sure how easy it will be. I think the only way to fix it is to call his family, and considering he doesn’t have a cell phone, I kind of wonder if they have a phone or anything. We would need his information, too…” Jin remarked with a frown as he pondered what to do. He was completely in touch with his own mother ever since he left, so it wasn’t that difficult to be able to cope when he felt he needed a sense of home. 
    “Oh, that’s easy. You just need his house information? His mom gave me the information I needed to contact her about any problems with the housing, so…” Aiden trailed off with a shrug, suggesting they might as well get in touch with them and help Damien out. “We can use my cell phone.” 
    “Sounds like a plan! We could call, make sure they are available to speak and then surprise Damien awake and tell him they’re on the phone!” Rhodon commented excitedly, though he soon quieted down when he realized he still had the chance of waking him up. 
    “You don’t think we should wake him first? I don’t think he’d appreciate a surprise awakening…” Evan remarked as he sat himself up and eyed them accusingly. “Besides, wouldn’t he feel better if he knew they were calling to see how he was doing?” He was surprised they hadn’t contacted Aiden about Damien thus far, and it struck him as being abnormal for parents sending their kids out of the country. At least, he thought it was abnormal. He really had no experience. 
    “That’s true… Aiden, why don’t you call his mom? Ask her if she can call in an hour or so, and we’ll make sure Damien is awake by then. We just have to hope that she answers,” Jin decided after receiving their collective suggestions. 
    Aiden nodded and reached into his--- oh. I’m still wearing pajamas. Where did I leave my phone again? He held his pointer finger up to gesture for them to wait a moment as he thought of all the places he might have placed his device. “Um… wait a sec,” he asked of them as he jumped from his seat and hurried back to the bedroom. He quietly returned to his bedding and searched the blankets for his missing mobile phone. “Don’t you worry, Damien, we’re going to make you feel right at home!” he whispered once he found the object and rushed out of the room to return to the rest of the group. “Got it! Now to find the number…” he remarked as he unlocked the phone and began to scroll through his contacts. What was her name again? Aiden had only spoken with the lady once, so he wasn’t very familiar with her name. His mother was the one who really set this all up with her. 
    Ah! Allison Byrd. Wait… was that Damien’s last name? He couldn’t recall. Oh well. With the push of a button, he raised the cell to his ear and listened to the ring, waiting for someone to pick up. A concerned expression fell upon his face after a moment, and he looked at the others, hoping they would respond positively, “Wait, are they even awake?”
    Evan looked over at Aiden and tried his best to not sound rude in his response, “Yes. Aiden, it’s nearly 3:00pm over there.” Time zones were really annoying to keep up with, and he understood that. The reason why he was holding back from giving him attitude was because he should have asked that before he even dialed! 
    “Oh… Oh, yes! Hello, uh… you’re not… Allison Byrd, are you?” Aiden was caught off guard by the other line because he was not expecting a male voice to answer. He knew that Allison was a woman. He spoke with her! Maybe this was the wrong number, and Allison could be a guy’s name, too? “Huh? Oh, no… I apologize, I didn’t think so…… You know who she is? ... Is she? Oh, that makes sense. Wait, so who is this? .... Dominic? No, I don’t know who you are… Who am I? I was calling to speak with Ms. Byrd about my new roommate who just arrived yesterday.” Suddenly Aiden had to pull his ear away from the phone when Dominic’s voice got too loud for him. He sounded really excited! After he listened to Dominic question him about Damien and how he was doing, he waited for a good time to enter back into the conversation to finally speak with him again, “Yeah, Damien’s okay, he arrived safely, and it’s all good. The thing is, he was up late last night feeling homesick and had trouble sleeping, so we were hoping to get a family member to speak with him…… Yeah? You will? Great! How about in an hour? .... Now? I don’t know, he really needs sleep…… You’re sure? All right, just a sec.” He placed the phone to his chest so Dominic couldn’t hear him speaking to the others. “It’s his twin brother. I thought it was Damien at first, but obviously… well, if I hadn’t known he had a twin, it would have been weird. Anyways, he wants us to wake Damien up so that he can talk to him. What do you guys think? He can take a nap, right?” 
    The other roommates were completely intrigued by this conversation that was being held. At first, they were judging Aiden’s terrible phone skills, but when they discovered it was Damien’s twin he was talking to, they were eager to hear what was going on. Rhodon spoke up first after thinking about the situation. “I think it’s okay if we wake him up for this. It’ll benefit his health in the long run, and he could catch up on sleep later.” 
    Jin wasn’t as sure as they seemed to be, and he looked over at Evan to show his concern. “You said you don’t know how long he was up? He may have been up for hours without us knowing…” he considered with a frown as he scratched the back of his head. 
    “You don’t know that. I say give it a shot. It’s almost 9:20; that’s a decent amount of sleep.” Evan chimed in as the last person to give his say. It was 3 against 1, so the decision was made! 
    Aiden nodded and then returned to his conversation with Dominic, “Okay, we’re going to wake him up… what? You want to? Well, okay…” he agreed as he pressed the speaker button and walked through the hallway to the back room with the other 3 trailing behind him. He slowly squatted down beside Damien, who was facing away from him, and gave Dominic the okay to start saying whatever he had in mind as he positioned the phone closer to him. 
    “Damien. Damien, wake up, it’s your older brother… Damien, if you don’t wake up to this, I will not hesitate to startle you…” The brother said calmly as he waited for a response from his younger twin. “Daaaaaamieeeen… All right, you give me no choice.” he cleared his throat and after a few moments of silence, he spoke up a thousand times louder, “WAKE UUUUUP!!!! WAKE UUUUUUP!!!!! DAMIEN, YOU’RE BURNING DAYLIGHT!!!!!”
    Damien jolted awake and looked every which way as soon as his brother began yelling over the phone, and the sight of all of his roommates before him came as quite the surprise to him. He was expecting… well, his brother of course. While this did come as a disappointment, he was still absolutely shocked to see that Aiden was holding the phone that held his brother’s voice. He was speechless as he just stared at the device.
    “... Is he really not awake yet?” Dominic questioned, having yet to hear any result other than the quiet laughing of Rhodon and Aiden. 
    “No, he’s awake. He’s just a little surprised I think.” Aiden responded with a laugh as he handed the phone to Damien, “Here, your brother wanted to speak with you. We’ll be out here whenever you’re done,” he informed him as he turned off the speaker and gestured for him to raise the phone to his ear. He then stood back up and followed the others out of the room, closed the door behind him, and finally made his way back to the kitchen, completely excited about the situation, “I wonder how they talk together. Did you hear his brother? They’re complete opposites!” he remarked as he reclaimed his seat at the breakfast bar. 
    “It was definitely weird hearing Damien’s voice talk that much. I was shocked to hear him yell!” Rhodon laughed as he and Evan also sat in the seats they were previously in. 
    “Damien may actually be more talkative than he lets on. I just hope this helps ease him into this living situation. Aiden, be prepared to have your phone missing for hours on end from now on,” Jin remarked with a grin as he began to search through the cabinets for something to eat. Did we even remember to buy breakfast ingredients? The more he searched, the more he had to accept the fact that they had forgotten to purchase food for this time of day. “Okay… it looks like we’ll be eating cereal for breakfast. You do have cereal… right, Aiden?” he questioned hopefully, having assumed he would at least have that. 
    “Cereal? Um… Yeah, actually.” Aiden replied as he again hopped down from his seat and joined Jin in the search, “I usually hide my cereal up here so that my mom can’t find it. She doesn’t really think that cereal is the proper breakfast food. At least, for me,” he replied as he pulled open the cabinet doors that were situated above the fridge and brought down 3 boxes of cereal. “There’s Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Cap’n Crunch,” he announced as he placed them on the island. 
    No wonder where he gets all of his energy… He eats the most sugary stuff. Evan scrunched his nose in disgust at the thought of it. He did like some of those cereals, but he felt that there needed to be some kind of cereal there that balanced out the sugary ones. He personally didn’t eat breakfast. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to eat, but his stomach didn’t allow him to. It was sort of miserable. 
    Jin’s face basically showed everything that Evan was thinking as well. Nothing but sugar in those cereals! He could at least settle for Cap’n Crunch; that wasn’t as bad as the others. “Looks like we’ll have to go shopping again… But Aiden? Why didn’t your mother approve of cereal as breakfast?” he asked uncertainly. He didn’t think it was a great breakfast, but wasn’t it what Americans typically ate in the morning??
    “What? Oh, that… Yeah, I burned cereal once. But I was eight! I swear, she thinks I’m still that same kid, but I’m not. I’ve not burned cereal since,” Aiden remarked seriously as though his mother should be proud of such a thing. 
    The other three stared at him, completely dumbstruck. Each of them had the same question dancing around in their heads: How do you burn cereal? Don’t you just add milk? That’s it, right? Were they eating cereal the wrong way their entire lives? Rhodon was the first to speak up. “So… I’m from Canada and New York… I don’t know if it’s different down here, but where I’m from, you just pour the milk into a bowl full of the cereal and that’s it. Exactly what do you do here?” 
    “We do the same thing. Yeah. I just… Let me explain. So, I couldn’t sleep one night, right? And I thought that because warm milk was supposed to be good for you to put you back to sleep, then I should do the same for my cereal. I was hungry, you know? So I poured the milk in the cereal and then put it in the microwave, let it cook for too long, and it burned. The fire alarm went off, and she got mad,” Aiden replied with a pout. 
    Jin closed his eyes for a moment as though what Aiden had said was painful to his ears. Once he opened his eyes again, he promptly placed his hands on Aiden’s shoulders and led him out of the kitchen and back to his seat. “Stay over here, okay? I’ll get your cereal for you,” he assured him. 
    “Yeah, sounds like a good idea,” Evan agreed with Jin as he shook his head. He cooked cereal! Why didn’t he just warm up the milk first?! It made absolutely no sense to him. “I don’t blame your mother at all for not allowing you access to cereal.” 
    “I was eight,” Aiden emphasized once again as he grudgingly sat back down in his seat and allowed Jin to put his breakfast together for him. It was unfair that they were all against him doing anything in the kitchen for something he did at such a young age. 
    Jin prepared cereal for both Aiden and Rhodon and was ready to do so for Evan as well, but he declined. The three of them ate with satisfaction and for another hour the group did nothing but discuss absolutely meaningless things. It was when they were discussing the topic of video games, specifically online games, that Aiden came to the realization that they really didn’t have the time to be sitting around. 
    “Guys… we’re having parents over. We need to clean up,” he said as he scratched the back of his head and looked down at the Dr. Pepper patterned pajama pants he wore. Man… I can’t believe that I only just now remembered this... 
    “Parents? Whose? Yours?” Jin questioned, obviously surprised and a little upset that he hadn’t been told this earlier. Parents are sometimes really difficult to please, and this house definitely needed to be cleaned in order to make a good impression. He didn’t want to be seen as a slob! 
    “No, not mine… Andy’s parents are coming with him for that initiation thing. The ceremony they have on Saturday for orientation,” Aiden replied with a frown as he stood up from his seat. “Sorry, I forgot about it.”
    “I’m surprised you didn’t tell us last night when you had just told us that that guy was coming in the first place. We don’t really have that much to clean though, do we? I mean… I’ve cleaned up all of my trash. Unless you’ve trashed your room since I was last in there, we shouldn’t have a problem,” Evan remarked, not at all thrilled that he’ll be greeting parents. He got along with adults better than many individuals of his own age, but parents could be a handful at times… 
    “Yeah, I think the most cleaning we need to do is to pick up the bedding we have in the room, right? I don’t really see any messes anywhere else…” Rhodon remarked as he stood up and began looking around just to make sure that what he was saying was valid. 
    “Well… Yes. And no. I wouldn’t go as far as to say that my room is trashed,” Aiden said hesitantly as he stood up as well and headed back to the main bedroom. He needed his phone to make sure that no one was currently on their way! Besides, Damien had been on the phone for an entire hour; he was sure it was dead by now! With a sigh he took a step towards the door, grabbed hold of the doorknob, and turned it in order to push the door into the room and enter. As soon as the door was opened, he was startled as he met face-to-face with Damien, who seemed to be as happy as he had ever seen him. He looks so much better than he did yesterday! “Sorry, I didn’t know you were leaving. How was your talk with your brother?” he asked curiously. 
    Damien was equally as startled to find that someone was entering at the exact same time he was leaving, but nonetheless, he couldn’t keep the smile off of his face. To make the situation even better, Aiden asked him how it went! He was shy in answering, of course, but it was something he was still happy to have done for so long, “It was great. Thank you very much. I think your phone might be overheating or something though…” he remarked as he carefully handed the device over to him, “Is it alright if he contacts me more often? I’m not really sure if you contacted him or if he contacted you, but he said that he would like to be able to call more often if that was okay with you. It’s just… I don’t have any way of contacting him myself,” he asked of him hopefully. Damien felt guilty for using his phone for so long and for requesting such a thing, but this was very important to him. 
    Aiden was relieved to see Damien in such a mood, and as attached as he was to his own phone, he understood his roommate’s position enough to agree to it. “Yeah, that’s fine. It’s no problem at all. If this helps you to feel more at home, then I am more than happy to allow you to use my phone whenever you need it,” he assured him as he joined him inside the room to set his mind on what needed to be done. “On another topic, I need some help getting things done. Our last two roommates will be joining us today, and one of them is bringing his parents with him. We need to clean up before they get here, so would you mind helping me with this room? We just need to fold up the blankets and set them back in the closet along with the pillows.”
    With a spark in his eyes remaining from Aiden’s answer, Damien was all too eager to give him a playful salute before setting himself to work. More than anything he had really needed that phone call and the security of knowing that he could speak with his brother whenever he deemed it necessary. He was grateful to Aiden, and he was coming to realize that maybe these roommates can be trustworthy. Maybe he can learn to like this place and the people who reside in it. Dominic had a great deal to say on the matter, and if anything, he could trust him. If his brother felt these people were worth befriending, then maybe he should open up a little and try to do just that. 
    Aiden grinned in response to his salute as he assisted in picking up the bedding, and he didn’t hesitate in keeping up the conversation. “Is your brother going to college as well?”
    “No, he’s waiting a year for that actually. He hasn’t decided what he wants to do, and he’s actually allowed to get out and work on his own now, so that was his decision,” Damien replied as he continued on with the work. He had to tell himself that talking about such things was a part of becoming friends so that he wouldn’t be so worried about why he was questioning him and his brother. He was sure this was absolutely normal! 
    “Oh. Interesting… I thought about doing the same thing, but I figured that I would just find what I wanted to do during college. Berea is relatively cheap, so I don’t feel like I’m wasting money if I decide last minute to get a change of major,” Aiden remarked. “My mom is rather supportive of this sort of thing anyways… She says no matter what I choose, she’ll be proud. I know I’m supposed to just be thankful of that, but I told her it made it harder for me to make a decision.” He laughed a bit as he tossed two messily folded sheets into the closet and began folding a blanket. He was absolutely grateful to his mother for all that she did for him, especially after everything they’ve gone through in the past. He wanted her to be full of joy. And because she always said that his happiness meant more to her than anything, he always tried his best to be her happy son. Aiden was thankful that his happiness even seemed to infect others; it was a result that meant everything to him as well.
    Damien paused from his folding to watch his roommate’s untidy folding as he spoke, and he couldn’t help but feel amazed by his words. His mother backed him up on everything? She cared for him that much? While he did feel a hint of emptiness inside him at that point of the conversation, he was actually happier for Aiden than anything. He was sure that made a huge impact on his life. He wanted to say something more, but this opportunity was taken away from him when Jin knocked gently on the door and entered. 
    “I apologize if I interrupted anything. I was just thinking that if Damien was off the phone, he should come eat breakfast,” Jin remarked as he gestured for the youngest of them to leave the room. “I can finish up in here, don’t worry. Is there a certain cereal you would like? We have Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, and Cap’n Crunch.” 
    Damien carefully set his folded blankets in the closet, grabbed his backpack and pulled it over his shoulders, and then met Jin at the door only to question him, “You mean… I can eat any of those?” he asked, just to clarify. He wasn’t allowed to eat such an unhealthy breakfast back home, so naturally he had to ask. 
    “Uh… Yeah. Let me guess… You’ve never had them. I can’t say I blame you; they are rather high in sugar. Anyways, I would recommend the Cap’n Crunch; it’s---”
    “No, try the Cinnamon Toast Crunch first! It’s my personal favorite,” Aiden interrupted Jin excitedly. “If you like cinnamon, you’ll definitely like this cereal. It’s perfect when you’re in need of energy, too,” he added in with a thumbs up. 
    “Okay… I guess I’ll eat that one then. I’ll try your suggestion tomorrow, I promise,” Damien informed Jin.
    Jin breathed in a sigh when the decision was made, but he couldn’t help but smile in response to Damien. While he wasn’t pleased that Aiden was influencing him in this way, he was glad to see that Damien seemed to be a little more open than he did yesterday. Jin led him away from the room and towards the kitchen where he gestured for him to take a seat at the breakfast bar while he poured his cereal for him. Rhodon and Evan were currently searching the house for anything that may need to be cleaned up, so they were no longer in the room. 
    It wasn’t long before the two boys returned to the kitchen, looking for Jin after he had already left to help Aiden with the bedding. “Good morning, Damien. Do you know where Jin went?” Rhodon asked him as he passed through the kitchen, “Aiden’s got a mess in his room, and I think we all have to pitch in to get that done.” 
    “Whoa, I thought Aiden was taking care of his room. I’m taking a shower,” Evan disagreed as he grabbed a cup from the cupboard and poured himself some water to drink. 
    “Oh yeah, we all have to do that, too… How are we all supposed to take showers /and/ clean up in time? We don’t even know when they’re supposed to get here…” Rhodon combed his fingers through his hair with a sigh. 
    “Jin’s helping Aiden clean up in the bedroom. We have a lot of people, so I don’t think it’ll take too much time to clean up. I already took a shower, so I can help clean,” Damien replied before he placed another spoonful of cereal in his mouth. 
    Evan knit his eyebrows together and narrowed his eyes at the younger roommate’s hair, unconvinced by his comment. His hair wasn’t wet! Besides he only just left the room! “You showered? When?” 
    “Last night,” Damien answered once he finished chewing his food. He definitely didn’t have time to have showered this morning, so he understood why Evan was questioning him on the matter. Last night was just the better option for him because he felt uncomfortable taking a shower while the others awake, and he couldn’t sleep anyways… 
    Last night? Before or after we spoke? He knew his hair wasn’t wet when he confronted him, so it had to have been long before or after that point in time. Seriously, this kid… How could he just skip out on sleep like that? Evan shook his head and without another word turned to head towards the back room to speak with Jin. He didn’t know why he felt the urge to speak with this guy whenever there was a problem, but he sort of felt that he’d be in trouble for not consulting him about the whole room and shower thing and also thought he should say something to Damien about his weird sleep schedule thing he had going on. He himself would probably come off a little rude, even though last night didn’t go as terribly as he had expected. Then again, it was only the first night and he just spoke with his brother, so maybe he shouldn’t bring that up at all… “Jin,” Evan said as he entered the room. “Aiden’s room is the only other place that needs cleaned in the house, but we all need to take showers as well. Two of us can take our showers while others clean and then we can switch,” he suggested, even though the last thing he wanted to do was clean. 
    Jin had completely forgotten that none of the other roommates had showered, and he was definitely grateful to Evan for bringing this fact to light. “Yeah, that sounds good. Why don’t you and Rhodon go ahead and get in the shower? Aiden and I can take care of cleaning for now,” he agreed as he nodded for Evan to do so. 
    “Cool,” Evan replied simply. He made his way to the wall next to the closet where his suitcase was, searched through it for an outfit for the day, and then left so he could take his shower. “Rhodon!” he yelled loud enough for him to hear. He waited for him to respond, and after a few seconds, he called once again as he continued to walk towards the living room. “Rhodon!” Where did he go? Evan passed Damien once more as he continued his search for his missing roommate, and he paused at Damien’s side to question him, “Did you see where Rhodon went?” 
    “What? Rhodon? Yeah, he went into Aiden’s room. I think he’s cleaning already,” He replied as he gestured in that direction. “Maybe… He said something about attacking Aiden’s room.” 
    Attacking? He’s really cleaning his room for him? Evan passed through the kitchen and the dining room to make his way towards Aiden’s room, and he hesitantly opened the door to see what Rhodon was up to. To his surprise, Rhodon was busying himself with beatboxing and cleaning at the same time. He was throwing away all of the trash that had been left in Aiden’s room, which consisted of a large amount of Dr. Pepper cans. How much Dr. Pepper does Aiden drink in a day??? “Uh… hey, Rhodon. I just spoke with Jin, and we’ve decided that you and I are going to take showers first and then he and Aiden will follow after. They’ll continue the cleaning while we clean up.”
    After realizing Evan had entered the room, Rhodon paused his beatboxing to acknowledge his presence and then placed the trash bag by the door while he exited the room. “Hopefully it won’t take that long to clean up this room. It’s really not that messy; there are just a few things out of place that make it look that way. The trash certainly doesn’t help…” he remarked as he went across the hall to the master bedroom Jin and Aiden were still in to grab his clothes and take his shower in the master bathroom. 
    Evan turned to his left and entered the restroom that was just next door in order to finally take his shower, all too happy to be leaving the cleaning to the person who created the mess in the first place. 
    However, within a few minutes, the doorbell rang, which signaled the arrival of a guest that the group was not yet ready for. “Oh no! I don’t know who that is! What if it’s Andy and his parents? We’re not ready for them yet!” Aiden panicked slightly over the matter. He didn’t want to meet these new people without having a clean appearance… After all, both he and Jin were still in their pajamas! 
    “Don’t worry about it; I’m sure they’ll understand. We had a long day yesterday. I don’t think panicking at this time is a good idea,” Jin replied, hoping to calm him down at least a little. One should only panic when the situation at hand called for it, though he felt panicking should just be avoided entirely. It never helps anything…  
    “Yeah, maybe… I really have no choice but to answer the door anyways, and I’m sure whoever it is would rather see me in pajamas than be left waiting,” Aiden agreed only partially. He was so underdressed for this, and he was not very pleased about it at all. With a pout, he exited the room and approached the front door with as much confidence as he could muster. When he pulled open the door, he was actually more than pleased to meet face-to-face with Hiroshi Nakamura instead of Andy and his parents! What a relief! I mean… I’d rather not be seen in my pajamas at all, but at least it’s not the parents! “Ah, Hiroshi! Sorry I’m not exactly dressed… We’re sort of running behind this morning. Come on in,” he said as he stepped aside for Hiroshi to enter the home. He closed the door behind him and then gestured towards the kitchen. “Over there is Damien Kooke, he’s one--- Wait, where’d he go?” he was confused to find an empty bowl sitting on the breakfast bar but no longer anyone in the seat in front of it. He was sure was just there! “O...kay? I could have sworn he was there… Anyway, we’re getting furniture in on Sunday, so for now, we’re all staying in the master bedroom. If you want to just set your things over here by the door, we can take care of it all later,” he suggested. He watched as Hiroshi picked up his suitcase and carried it to the side of the wall that Aiden had indicated, when there were obviously two wheels that he could pull it along on. “Say… Hiroshi, why didn’t you just roll your suitcase?” It would certainly be much easier than carrying… 
    Hiroshi let out a sigh of exasperation as he set his luggage down and turned to face Aiden while his fingers dug through his hair with ease. “Actually, I broke the handle as I was leaving the airport. It’s inside the suitcase, so I may try putting it back together,” he replied. His deep voice and amazingly articulated words came as a surprise to Aiden, even though he had encountered Hiroshi a few times in the past. He wasn’t sure he’d ever adjust to it. “Sorry I’m so early. Trust me, the last thing I wanted was a flight overnight. The layovers were awful,” he remarked as he glanced around the place, “Wow… nice place,” he said in awe. 
    “Aiden, I think there’s enough hot water for you if Rhodon doesn’t…” Evan trailed off when he realized there was someone he had yet to meet right beside him. He had left the bathroom in nothing but his blue-gray boxers in an attempt to save time for the others who were waiting in line. He shook his hair out and turned away towards the bedroom so he could hurry up and change for the sake of the newcomer and himself. Man, the last thing he expected was to have such an awkward first impression with one of his other roommates, but whatever… They were going to be living together for a while, so he might as well just brush it off. A little warning would have been nice though. Once in the master bedroom, Evan had the pleasure of meeting with Jin, who raised an eyebrow in his direction, more than likely confused as to why he was seeing him half-. “Don’t ask,” he insisted as he threw his clothes to the ground and began slipping on his blue jeans. He didn’t want to admit that he was trying to do the others a favor, so he just left it at that.
    Jin allowed a small laugh to escape his lips at Evan’s comment, “Did you happen to see our most recent guest or guests? I hope it’s not the parents that were blinded by your pale skin,” he joked as he turned around to give Evan a bit of privacy. Evan’s skin definitely varied in color due to his environment in California. He held the classic markings of a farmer’s tan where the sleeves of his shirt would cut off; his arms were slightly darker than the rest of his upper torso.
    “Ha ha,” Evan responded sarcastically as his glare practically shot into Jin’s skull, “I guess I should consider myself lucky. It’s just that Japanese guy, not the parents,” he replied as he zipped up and buttoned his jeans and then grabbed the towel from around his neck to ruffle up his hair and dry it. He didn’t usually wear his glasses while he dried his hair, but he wasn’t about to leave them in the bathroom when others needed to get in. Once he finished, he set the towel down on the floor beside him and then slipped his plain, black t-shirt over his head, He picked up the towel he had set on the floor and then waited for Jin to slip past him and then followed him into the living room where Aiden was still speaking with the new guy. 
    Hiroshi was very understanding of the fact that all of his new roommates were still getting ready, but so far, his first impression of Evan was that he was a very open guy. Obviously, he would soon find this to be as untrue as it can be, but for now, that’s what he had to go off of. “Say, Aiden, how many roommates are we going to have total?” he asked curiously as he watched Evan and Jin enter the room from where he sat on the couch adjacent to Aiden. 
    “We have seven of us officially living here, including me. So the plan is for three of us to be in one room and then two people to be in each of the other rooms,” Aiden replied as he grinned in Evan’s direction. He couldn’t deny that he was amused by what had just happened, but he didn’t dare say a word about it. 
    As Jin entered the room, his eyes caught sight of Hiroshi, and he stopped in his tracks as he slowly began to recognize his face. “Rap Monster?” he questioned as he approached the two, “Wow, I hardly recognized you. Your hair is black again, I see.” he grinned as he sat beside Aiden so he could speak with Hiroshi. “When Aiden mentioned you were going to be our roommate, I didn’t really place your face with your name because everyone around here knows you as Rapmon,” he laughed a little.
    Evan watched the two interact with his head cocked to the side in confusion. Rap Monster? That’s this guy? He didn’t have many interactions with him on campus other than passing him to go to classes, but he had heard the name before. This guy had a reputation, and he had been hoping to meet him and figure out the reasoning behind his name. He pushed the bridge of his glasses up with his middle and pointer fingers pressed together. Shouldn’t they be cleaning right now?? 
    “Jin! Aiden! Whoever’s next can get in the… Rapmon?” Rhodon was surprised to find his friend sitting on the couch with his other roommates. His wet hair dripped onto the white towel that hung around his neck as he adjusted the collar of his evergreen colored polo. His black skinny jeans were bunched up at the bottom, indicating that the pants were a little too long for his legs. He didn’t seem to mind it at all though. “Man, it’s been forever! It’s great to see you! I like the hair!” he exclaimed as he even pointed to his own hair to emphasize the comment. He approached his friend excitedly and even tousled his hair in a friendly manner to mess around with him. He was much more interactive with him than he was with any of the others so far, mainly because he and Hiroshi had bonded a little over the past semester. 
    “It’s only been a summer, Rhodon,” Hiroshi, or Rapmon, remarked as he tried to dodge his friend’s hand, “Don’t mess with my hair, you know I use gel in it,” he reminded him with a playful glare. “Do you live here, too?” he asked hopefully. He didn’t know if he was just over for the company or if he was one of the seven, though he did assume the latter. 
    “Yeah, I was the last roommate to be chosen! Isn’t it great?!” Rhodon replied enthusiastically. He was a little shy around the others thus far, and, therefore, more tame, but this was showing that Aiden wasn’t the only loud one of the bunch. 
    Why does everyone seem to know this guy? And how come Rhodon is starting to sound more and more like Aiden? Evan’s eyes narrowed at the group on the couch as he continued to watch them from afar, but as he turned to face the kitchen, his eyes met with none other than Damien’s, who was sitting in the kitchen next to the fridge so no one could see him. Well, at least that seemed to be the purpose. “Did this guy scare you away from the group? I guess he’s kind of sketchy to me, too. Anyone named Rap Monster can be a little intimidating, huh?” he stated as he approached him to grab a glass of water for himself, “Only kidding. Don’t let this guy fool you. He’s weird, not intimidating.” 
    Damien was not extremely pleased that Evan was invading his space here in the kitchen, but he said nothing of the matter to him. Instead, he offered him a strange look that might as well have stated ‘You’re the weird one’. Of course, he wouldn’t dare say it out loud. “I thought his name was Hiroshi, but everyone seems to know him by Rap Monster or Rapmon. Are those real names here in the US?” 
    Evan scoffed as a smile of sorts played onto his lips and his eyes returned to the group in the living room, “Nah, it’s his nickname. That’s what everyone on campus calls him, and I think it started after the Berea’s Got Talent show that went on last year. I didn’t go to it, but apparently he’s a really good rapper,” he replied. He couldn’t lie to himself; he really wanted to hear what he had to offer in the topic. The problem was that he didn’t know how to approach him. “Anyways… let’s both go over there and introduce ourselves. We have to do it sooner or later,” he suggested with a sigh, simply to motivate him. Evan couldn’t exactly make a bigger fool of himself after he had already exposed almost his entire body to the guy, so he wasn’t nervous about a first impression anymore. That was over and done with for him. 
    Disappointment was clear in Damien’s expression as he forced himself up off the tile floor and followed Evan to the living room. There were so many people he had met in the past 24 hours, and it was difficult for him to socialize with so many of them at once. Everything thus far was a first for him, so he had to slowly adjust to it all. Deep breaths is all it takes… Deep breaths. He stood beside Evan nervously as he clenched and unclenched his hands upon facing Rapmon. His eyes studied this newcomer, from his black slacks and white button-up with his sunglasses hanging around the collar to his jet black hair that was cleanly slicked back. Damien felt extremely inferior in that moment, and he wanted nothing more than to return to his spot in the kitchen. He was introducing himself in a baggy white t-shirt and hand-me-down athletic shorts! How was he supposed to make a good impression?
    Evan was uncertain as to whether he should address him as Hiroshi or Rapmon, considering he had never spoken to him before, so he felt extremely awkward… It must have been obvious on his face because Rhodon piped up before anything could be said, “Ah, Rapmon, this is Evan Sugar. He’s a rapper too, and he’s reeeaaally good from what I’ve heard. You guys should talk it out or something. And standing beside him is Damien Kooke. He’s a little shy, but he seems to be pretty cool. He’s from England, which you probably would have figured out if he had spoken up sooner.” he introduced them all excitedly. Rhodon couldn’t be more pleased with his fellow roommates, and he was getting even more excited to meet the very last one. This year is going to be amazing! 
    Rapmon gave his attention to Evan and Damien as they were being introduced, and he offered a genuine smile in return as he shook hands with Evan. He attempted to shake hands with Damien as well, but Damien just offered him a deer-in-the-headlights kind of stare. Ooookay then… “It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Hiroshi, but you guys can call me Rapmon, too. I’m still kind of getting use to it myself.” He laughed a little awkwardly. He wasn’t great with introductions, and he was quite aware of that… “Do you really rap? I would actually really like to hear it. I’m not exactly sure why I was given the nickname, but I’m not the greatest. I’m sure you’re a lot better than I am at least…” he remarked. He believed in being humble about one’s traits, even though he did believe in his own skill. 
    Whoa. What’s with his voice? He doesn’t sound Japanese at all! Not to be racist or anything, but he sounds like a black man from Los Angeles or something! His voice was completely throwing him off, and it took him a few seconds to fit the voice to Rapmon’s mouth before he could listen to what he was saying. After only paying attention to the last couple sentences he had to say, Evan was genuinely surprised by Rapmon’s comments, and he was honestly unsure of how to respond. The nickname he held inferred that he was full of himself and his skills, but he didn’t act that way at all. Then again, he could just be pulling my leg… “All right… but I want to hear you rap first. It’ll have to wait until later though, seeing as how we still have to clean up before our last roommate and his parents arrive.” 
    Jin’s eyes grew a little wide at the mention of this, and he was quick to stand to his feet in order to finally get his shower in. I almost completely forgot there were more guests coming! How could I forget something so important?? “You’re right, I’ll have to clean myself up now. Can you guys get started on the room?” he asked of Rhodon and Evan since they were already prepared for the guests. He had meant to start on it himself, but Rapmon kind of distracted everyone… 
    “Yeah, sure thing.” Rhodon gave him the thumbs up and watched as Aiden and Jin left the room to clean up. “Rapmon, I hate to tell you, but it looks like you’re stuck with the cleaning crew. Aiden’s sort of got a big mess going on in his room, and some guy named ChimChim is coming over with his parents, who will sort of be inspecting the place. Come on.” He nudged Rapmon’s shoulder and gestured for him to follow him and Evan to the correct room. 
    Rapmon nodded in response and stood up to do just that, but he paused when he noticed Damien hadn’t moved from his spot just yet. Damien looked uncomfortable and uncertain in Rapmon’s eyes, so he wanted to try and speak with him to ease the tension, “Uh, Damien? Are you…” he began, but realized he had lost the words he was going to use. He pointed in either direction, towards Aiden’s room, or towards the room Jin entered, “Uh… you know, cleaning or getting ready?” he asked at last. That was… beyond awkward. Wow. He could just give himself an awkward award for that. Congratulations Rapmon. 
    Damien stared at him once again, trying to figure out what all of his gestures meant at first. However, when he finally finished the question, he found himself pleased that he had asked such a thing, in that way specifically. He was so awkward that it made him comfortable in a situation for once! But instead of responding, he merely grinned and continued on into the room Jin had entered. 
    Rapmon watched Damien walk away, confused as to what had just happened. Why didn’t he say anything? And what was with that smile on his face? He stuffed his hands in his pockets as a frown fell upon his face, hoping that Damien didn’t take him for some awkward stranger. He knew he goofed up when he was trying to ask him, but it was only because he was naturally awkward with first meetings! 
    Rhodon and Evan stood by watching the two interact, and both were equally shocked by Damien’s lack of communication towards Rapmon. Actually… it was more of the expression he gave him while walking away. He looked like he was going to speak, but he just didn’t. “What… just happened? Did you see that?” Rhodon gestured in the direction Damien had gone. 
    Evan raised his eyebrows with interest as he, too, watched Damien leave down the hall. He actually couldn’t help but let out a small, yet quiet laugh in response because he looked completely comfortable just ditching Rapmon with that smirk on his face. He was thoroughly amused. 
    “Is that, you know… normal?” Rapmon asked the two of them as he walked with them into Aiden’s room. “I mean, you said he was shy, but… when I spoke, he didn’t look nervous or anything. I mean, you saw that smile,” he remarked as he scratched the back of his head. 
    “Yeah, and it was the biggest smile I’ve seen from that kid. In my opinion, he did answer your question. I think that’s why he was grinning. He could just answer by doing it,” Evan remarked, still enthused by what he had seen. Damien may have a secret troll inside of him! As long as he didn’t use it against him, he was fine with it. He didn’t mind a little entertainment now and then.
    “That’s awfully sneaky of him…” Rhodon commented as he closed the room’s door so they could have more space inside the room. There were still a few more Dr. Pepper cans he had to collect from around the bed, but the trash was already almost cleaned up. All there was left to do was to tidy up the video game cords and controllers and throw a few dirty clothes into the hamper by the door. “I wouldn’t worry about it too much, Rapmon. Maybe you can ask him what it was all about when you actually get to know him. Anyway, what’s with the get-up today? I don’t think I’ve ever seen you look this nice.” He laughed a little as he nudged his side. Rapmon was quite a few inches taller than him, so it was just less effort to elbow him than to poke him in the shoulder or something. 
    Rapmon had to agree with their statements, and considering he had only just met Damien, he really shouldn’t keep his mind on it. As he began to fold the cords messily, he turned his attention to Rhodon’s question, “My outfit? Oh, I only just recently arrived from Japan, and my parents are rather strict about just about everything, so… here I am. I may actually change into a more comfortable shirt, but I’m already wearing this one, so I’m still debating…” he replied. 
    Rhodon offered a slow nod to show his understanding, and then continued with placing the XBox controllers in the video game cabinet Aiden had. It wouldn’t be surprising if that was also the reason as to why his hair was back to normal… “Hm… I think you might as well stay in that shirt, even if it’s a little uncomfortable. None of us have really met him or his parents, so looking nice is always the best way to go,” he said as a matter of fact. Friendship 101: always look nice and act sane while meeting the parents for the first time. They may not be friends yet, but he was sure roommates worked the same way. 
    Evan shrugged his shoulders in response to Rhodon. “Or you can just wear casual clothes and be comfortable. I don’t see why we have to pretend that this is how we normally dress,” he remarked, believing firmly that others should take you as yourself instead of how they’d like to portray you. Yes, first impressions were everything in some situations, but in his opinion, many people are mistaken as to who others are by their first meeting. If you want to know someone, talk to them. 
    After minutes of staying in the room by themselves and cleaning, Aiden soon joined the boys, wearing dark blue jeans and a maroon colored short-sleeved, button-up shirt, to help finish it all up. He was thankful to them for helping out when it wasn’t even their room, so he obviously owed each of them for something in the future. Maybe I could buy them all an ice cream or something… “Andy messaged me and said they would be here soon. Their plane arrived about 30 minutes ago, so it shouldn’t be long.” he informed them after he made his bed and left the room with the others in tow. 
    “How long are the parents expected to be here for?” Rhodon asked curiously. He didn’t mind adults, but sometimes he found it difficult to be himself in front of them. Everything was about pleasing the parents and making sure you don’t cross the line, and he didn’t particularly like having to be completely aware and conscious of his every word and action. 
    “I’m really not sure. I’m guessing they’ll take a look around the house to see where he’ll be living, and then maybe they’ll have a look around town or something… When people are new in town, they tend to want to explore everything, you know? Then again, they have all day today and tomorrow to have a look around because of the college initiation thing tomorrow,” Aiden replied as he plopped down on the couch that faced the Television. 
    “College initiation thing..?” Rhodon questioned. He thought he knew what he was talking about, but at the same time, he wasn’t sure… Was the college holding it, or was this some new ritual he had going on with his friends? 
    “I think he’s talking about the Ceremony of Dedication they have going on for the incoming freshman. You know, they meet with their advisors on the Quad and then go to Phelps Stokes for the actual ceremony,” Rapmon clarified as he sat on the couch adjacent to the one Aiden sat on.
    Evan wrinkled his nose in disgust when he realized what they were talking about, “We don’t have to go to that, do we? I mean, for our freshman roommates… You wouldn’t be offended if we didn’t go, right? We sort of went through that last year.” 
    Aiden pouted in Evan’s direction. “Of course I’d be offended… If you don’t go, it’ll put a real damper on our relationship…” he replied in a serious manner. Of course, he wouldn’t /actually/ hold a grudge against him for such a thing, but he did hope he’d go. He would understand if he didn’t, though. 
    Evan rolled his eyes and sighed as he sat on the same couch as Aiden, but on the other side of it where the other arm rest was. Man, I would completely ruin the relationship we don’t have. What a shame… “... Alright. I’ll go, but only because someone’s got to make sure you don’t lead Damien astray,” he said, just using that as an excuse for why he planned on going. Why did he even consider it? He didn’t know these people, and this ceremony was one of the most boring sessions he had to sit through last year. The thing is… he did feel as though he should go for Damien’s sake. He didn’t have anyone there to support him or encourage him or to celebrate with him after walking under that arch. There was a point after the ceremony when the parents separate from their kids, and the college bound students walk through a sort of tunnel of people to celebrate the parting. It can be an emotional time for some, and for others it was the entrance to freedom. Even though he wasn’t close to Damien, he felt that he and the others should be there for him as his acting parents. He knew how his own siblings would feel in the same situation, so perhaps that’s why he felt so inclined to take part. 
    “Well if you’re going, I guess we might as well go, too. Three of our roommates are freshman, after all, so why not,” Rhodon agreed with a smile as he sat beside Rapmon. It seemed he had already decided for his friend as well, and he didn’t even have a chance to say anything on the matter before now! 
    “Wait a minute, are we talking about going to the whole thing? Like, the Quad set up /and/ the ceremony?” Rapmon asked just to clarify. What would we do the whole time? Watch the freshman interactions? Actually, that could prove to be interesting… 
    “Yeah,” Aiden nodded in response to Rapmon. He was nervous about going to this freshman orientation, but that wasn’t the only reason he wanted them all there. He thought it would help them all bond! If all of the upperclassman roommates went together, they would have more time together as well! 
Rapmon exchanged glances with Evan when Aiden affirmed that they had to be there for the entire thing, and he allowed a sigh to escape his lips when he gave in to Aiden’s request without a fight. He was getting to know these people anyways, so he might as well. It was probably the right thing to do anyway. 
At that moment, Jin walked in, having already combed his hair and prepared for the meeting of the parents, and he approached the group with curiosity, “Is the room already clean? I guess there are a lot of you, so I shouldn’t be surprised…” he remarked as he eyed each of them with satisfaction. They all looked so nice! That’s at least what he thought before he saw Evan… Why is he just wearing a t-shirt? Oh well, he doesn’t look that bad. He himself wore a white polo similar to the one Rhodon wore as well as a pair of blue jeans, “Are they on their way?” 
“Yeah, they’ll be here within 10 minutes or so I think,” Aiden replied as he saw Damien appear from the hallway wearing a pair of black sweatpants and a loose white t-shirt. He was the only one not dressed up the slightest to meet the newest roommate and his parents, which made him sort of stick out in the group. What’s he doing? He’s aware they were all supposed to look nicer for this, right? 
Damien was definitely uncomfortable being the black sheep in the white herd so to speak, but he couldn’t help it… He didn’t have anything nice to wear. All of the belongings he owned were in the bag on his back, and he couldn’t wear the jeans he had worn yesterday, so it was difficult. A frown was worn upon his lips as he felt their eyes train on him, and he was ready to head for the kitchen until his name was suddenly called out. He froze where he stood and avoided eye contact with anyone as he was approached by Aiden, hoping he wouldn’t be questioned about his clothes even though it was inevitable. Damien felt inadequate and embarrassed; the last thing he needed was any scolding of sorts… 
“Hey, do you have any nicer clothes? I’m sorry to ask, but I just want to make a good impression with Andy’s folks, and I’m a little nervous about it… I’ve always been told that it’s better to look nice when meeting new people, especially parents, you know?” Aiden remarked with an uncertain smile as he stuffed his hands into his jeans’ pockets and waited for a response as he stood in front of Damien. He wasn’t trying to be mean or intimidating; he was just anxious about the whole thing! 
Damien pursed his lips when Aiden confronted him, as he had expected. His words only made him feel worse about the situation, and he had no idea how to respond. He knew Aiden was nervous! He knew it was professional to dress appropriately for such occasions! He held respect for him and everyone around him, but he didn’t have the means to do as he requested. Damien wished he could become invisible in that moment. A great sense of inferiority had come over him, and he didn’t want to admit that he had nothing adequate enough for this meeting… “I… I decided I’d just take a walk. I want to explore the town; I can meet him later…” he replied at last. It wasn’t the truth, but he was too ashamed to say something about it. 
“A walk? At this time? I mean… I can show you around town later, but this is important. We should be here to welcome him and his parents,” Aiden insisted with concern. Why doesn’t he want to meet them when they arrive? Is he uncomfortable with all of the new people he’s meeting? Is he upset about something? What is it??
Evan listened in to the conversation and watched as Damien tried to avoid speaking or holding eye contact. He had gotten a lot better since his phone conversation with his brother, so why was he acting this way now? His eyes narrowed at him in suspicion as he began to wonder if this walk he was intending on taking was because of the space he needed. He understood all too well that social interactions were exhausting, but at a time like this? It was poorly planned…
Jin’s eyes wavered upon the youngest as well, and something about the way he carried himself told him that this situation was more than it seemed. Of course, Damien was always nervous around others, but he should be adjusted to Aiden enough to be able to hold a conversation without clenching his hands around his backpack straps. His expression itself spoke volumes about how uncomfortable he was in the situation. He was lying, and Jin was rather certain as to why that was. “Aiden, Damien, come with me,” he insisted seriously as he walked over to Aiden’s room and held the door only long enough for them to enter. He locked the door once it was closed and then allowed a soft gaze to fall upon Damien, “You know, you don’t have to be ashamed not to have nice clothes… In fact, most people here at Berea can’t afford them either. You know where I got mine? From the thrift store down by Walmart. I’ll take you sometime. Until then… Aiden, do you mind if he borrows something to wear?” 
Aiden felt anxious when Jin called both of them out to be placed in another room for a talk. He thought he was going to get onto them for making a scene in the living room… We were only talking! However, when Jin finally spoke up, he was surprised and upset with himself for not realizing Damien’s reasoning for wanting to be absent. He knew he wasn’t that insensitive! With a bright smile, he nodded and rushed to his closet to find a suitable outfit for him, completely open to sharing his clothes for a good cause. “That’s no problem! Come over here so I can pick a good color for you.” he asked of Damien as he gestured for him to join him by the closet. 
With similar worries to Aiden’s, Damien was very hesitant in following Jin into the room. As soon as Jin began speaking, he could feel his heart sink when he knew he was aware of his problem, but at the same time, he didn’t feel as discouraged as before. He was appreciative that Jin didn’t mention this in front of everyone, and his comment was slightly reassuring for him. He didn’t exactly have money just yet, though… As he placed himself at Aiden’s side, he couldn’t help but wonder how Jin knew. He seemed to know many things about others just by studying them, and he hoped that one day, he could gain that skill as well. In his opinion, people were very difficult to read and understand… 
Meanwhile in the living room, Rapmon, Evan, and Rhodon were all quite puzzled as to what was going on in the room after Jin took Damien and Aiden away. “Why does he suddenly want to go on a walk? I thought he was feeling better after speaking with his brother…” Rhodon remarked as he turned to glance at the door and then looked back at Evan. “Did he say anything to you?” 
“Me? No. Why would he say something to me? He’s closer to Aiden. Besides, that kid doesn’t just walk, he runs. There’s something going on in his head right now…” Evan replied as he crossed his arms and breathed a deep sigh. He lay his head back on the upper portion of the couch and closed his eyes to perhaps take a nap before the rest of the day robbed him of sleep. 
What’s Evan going on about? “Just because he said he was going on a walk instead of a run, you think he’s lying?” Rhodon was confused about the matter at hand, but he hoped that whatever was going on would be resolved. He wanted to meet the final roommate and to enjoy time together as roommates, with everyone present. 
“No, I think what he means is that he doesn’t think that a walk was Damien’s first intention at all. He seemed to have made it up on the spot,” Rapmon clarified for Rhodon. He didn’t know anything about Damien, but he understood what Evan was trying to say. “He’s running away from whatever problem he’s having.”
Evan snapped and pointed a finger gun in Rapmon’s direction as a way of saying he was on point in the translation. He didn’t think he needed a translation, but at least he didn’t have to say any more than he already had. Rapmon understood, so he was able to convey it to Rhodon in a simpler way. 
“Oh, I see… I just hope Jin’s not being harsh on him. I mean, he called them to the room and everything,” Rhodon remarked with concern as he looked back at the door once more. When he was sent to his room, it was always because he was in serious trouble, but Jin went in there with both Aiden and Damien… Hopefully they’ll make it out okay! 
It took several more minutes for the three of them to finally exit the room, and it looked as though Jin had won whatever it was that had happened. He looked very pleased, and even Aiden seemed to be rather happy about something. As for Damien, he was finally dressed in nice attire, sporting a light blue polo and black jeans. Of course, Rhodon was about to ask what had happened, but the doorbell rang, and all of their attention turned towards the door. 
“Oh, good! He’s finally here!” Aiden exclaimed as he rushed over to the door to allow his guests in. He was so excited to meet him! He’s known him online for nearly 2 years now, but he’s actually meeting him in person?! What does he look like? What does he wear? He already knew his personality, so that wasn’t a question he needed answered. Hopefully now all of the other roommates’ fears of Andy being some criminal would disappear after they saw him enter through the doorway. He just had a good feeling about this! 
“Alright guys, we need to get up and greet them!” Rhodon insisted as he stood from the couch and nudged Rapmon as he did so. “Evan? Evan~” he called as he gently shook his shoulder to wake him up. He had fallen asleep much quicker than he thought was even possible, and he felt bad for having to wake him… It couldn’t be helped though. 
“Shake me again, and I will kill you,” Evan muttered as his eyes remained closed in hopes to stay in sleep mode. He didn’t appreciate his naps being interrupted because there was obviously a reason he was taking them. He was tired, and he loved his sleep. With a sigh, he opened his eyes and offered Rhodon a lazy glare of sorts as he stood from his seat and fixed his hair. A yawn surfaced as soon as he began to stretch, and he slowly made his way to the door with all of the others trailing behind him. It seemed that everyone was ready to know who this new roommate was, and even though Evan was grumpy about being woken up, he was grateful that he wouldn’t be waking up in the middle of a conversation with the parents. 
As soon as he opened the door, Aiden was amazed by the sight of the individuals before him. The father was tall and thin with thick brown hair mostly covered by a black cowboy hat and stubble on his chin, and his wardrobe consisted of a long-sleeved red and white plaid button-up shirt and blue denim jeans. The mother wore a dark green, white-polka dotted A-line dress with a white ribbon across her midsection, and her light brown, wavy hair fell just below her shoulders. As for the incoming college student and roommate, he wore a short-sleeved, brown button-up shirt and denim jeans similar to his father, and a red bandana was tied around his neck. His red-brown hair reached his shoulders, though his bangs were wavy and formed neatly around the figure of his face. Both he and his father wore brown cowboy boots while the mother wore white heels. They did seem pleasant, but the sight of them was just an honest surprise for Aiden… They look so sophisticated and southern! “Um… Welcome. Come on in!” he insisted as he held open the door for them. He was already extremely nervous!