I just had to go in.
I opened the door that was marked with the number I was looking for.
And there he was.
“Hi,” I said in an attempt to be cheerful. He was shaking his head at me and looking furious. “Keaton. Long time, no see.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. I had the impression he thought the length of time was a good thing. He looked good. Really good. He’d filled out a little. Grown into himself. He still looked like a nerd. Just not a scrawny one. He still had that messy, curly dark hair. Now there was a little less mess and a little more purpose to the way he wore it. Most of all, I was surprised to see he no longer wore glasses.
Without them, his eyes were so much clearer than I had remembered.
He didn’t move or get up. He just sat there staring at me. I stood in the doorway looking back at him long after it got awkward.
“Uh,” I said, to hear a voice. “So, I guess this is my side.” I gestured towards the empty bed and started walking towards it. I closed the door behind me. It slammed harder than I meant to. I winced.
“No,” Keaton blurted out. I looked back at him in surprise.
“No?” I repeated. I looked at him. There were already a couple of posters up on the wall behind him. “I thought you were set up over there.”
“I am,” Keaton said. “But there’s no way…” He trailed off, staring at me with eyes as wide as saucers.
I felt my stomach drop. I had expected the knee-jerk reaction. We hadn’t seen each other in two years, after all. Now here we were at college. He was bound to be surprised to see me. Especially since I deliberately hadn’t used the college system to get in touch with my new roommate. I didn’t want to give him the chance to ask for a new assignment before we moved in.
But the fact that he was still so obviously unhappy to see me now that it had sunk in a bit more? I had to admit it to myself. That hurt.
“This is my room assignment,” I said. It sounded like being clear was going to be the best policy. “Room 38b, right?”
“But…” Keaton looked at me miserably. “This is impossible. How can we be sharing a room?”
I hesitated. I slung my backpack down onto the bed and heaved my shoulders in a shrug. “I guess they probably didn’t know. Our transcripts are from different schools, right?”
Keaton looked down at the ground. I could see him working it through in his head. Trying to understand how this could be possible.
Guilt hit me square in the gut.
I had a lot of making up to do.
“Why aren’t you more surprised?” he asked at last. “You don’t even look like you’re shocked to see me.”
“I’m not,” I lied. Nerves were making me more talkative than usual and I felt sure he would notice. “I forgot where I was supposed to go. I had to go ask. I saw your name when I got the room number. They had a whole list they were reading off.”
“Oh.” Keaton looked down again, then up at me. “Are you really okay with this?”
My brow creased. “Why wouldn’t I be?”
Keaton’s gaze lingered on me for a long moment before he looked away. I knew what he was thinking.
I knew why he was upset to see me. Even if it hurt, I understood.
I had alotof making up to do.
“Well, I guess we have to make the best of it,” I said. I turned and started to unpack. “Isn’t that what college is about?”
“Is that all you brought with you?” Keaton asked abruptly.
I looked down at my backpack and then at him. “Yeah?”
“What have you got, three sets of clothes?” Keaton asked. His eyes were going comically wide again.
