Hi guys. This has been a labor of love and frustration. A long time coming. Dedicated to all the NedTai shippers out there. As a warning, I have never been to New York so I apologize for any inconsistencies.

Anyways, enjoy!

It's true what they say about New York. The city never sleeps, never stops. Everywhere Mei looked everyone was preoccupied with something. The streets were noisy with miles of backed up traffic while the sidewalks were overflowing with people from different walks of life. It was a little intimidating being in New York, despite coming from the already populous Taiwan. But Mei wouldn't trade it for anything else.

She had been accepted into the Fashion Institute of Technology. Another step closer to becoming a fashion designer. She remembered when she was a little girl and she would design dresses for her dolls out of tissue paper and ribbon left over from her mother's crafting. Then when she was 10 she had begged her mother to teach her how to sew. Which resulted in her getting her first, secondhand sewing machine that she cherished. She started out just making small accessories to go with her clothes and eventually worked her way up to full outfits for her and her friends. There was no denying it: fashion was a part of her life.

Mei awkwardly navigated through the busy landscape with her luggage securely attached around her shoulder and in her hands. Her eyes studied the approaching buildings on her right, looking for the specific address that would be her new home away from home. She stopped in front of a grey brick building that was worn with age and dotted with a multitude of windows. She pulled out a scrap piece of paper from her pocket to confirm that this was the right place.

"Wow, it certainly isn't glamorous." she thought to herself as she walked up to the intercom.

Mei briefly looked through the list of tenants before she found the name she was looking for. She pressed the button and waited for a reply.

"Hello." A slightly tired female's voice answered.

"Miss Nguyen, it's me Miss Wang." She replied into the intercom. A moment passed before the other young woman spoke again.

"Alright, come up."

After that a quiet click was heard and Mei let herself in. To her disappointment, the interior of the building looked just as drab as the exterior. The walls were a dull white and the floorboards creaked under her feet. However she noticed there was an elevator to her left in the lobby. Small proof that it was a somewhat modern building. She made her way toward it only to see a little sign taped to the doors. Out of order. Great. Now she had to walk up about…6 flights of steps to get to her apartment. Towing all of her luggage. Her feet were already aching from the walk over, even though she had taken a bus for most of the journey from the airport. Now she was regretting the sky blue flats she had decided to wear.

With some grumbling and determination, she made her way upstairs. She found her new apartment 771F second from last down the hall. Mei was still out of breath when she gave a knock on the door. She had been curious to see her new roommate. The girl wasn't entirely a stranger. She was the daughter of one of her mom's best friends. Her family was originally from Vietnam but they moved to New York about 5 years ago. She was a second year student at a nearby university but Mei had forgotten which one. Suddenly the door opened, interrupting Mei's thoughts. The young woman standing in the doorway was a slim and only a couple inches taller than her. She was clothed in a simple green t-shirt and black sweatpants. Her long dark brown hair was pulled into a ponytail with bangs framing both sides of her face. Along with a set of beautiful golden eyes. She was cute, Mei decided. But the frown on her face was a little threatening for her.

"Hello Miss Nguyen." Mei greeted, with just a hint of breathlessness in her voice. She still hadn't recovered from her trip upstairs.

"Are…you okay?" the other woman questioned, raising her eyebrow.

Mei pointed toward the stairs. "I had to walk all the way up here. The elevator wasn't working."

"Oh that." She said. "It's never working."

Well, that's going to be fun. Mei thought to herself.

"Here come in. You're probably tired from the flight in."

And she wasted no time in accepting her roommate's offer. A quick inspection of the apartment showed how basic it was. There was a small kitchen to left, by the door. A two person table with an overhead light structure made up the dining area. The living room was straight ahead and consisted of a couch and two chairs arranged around a simple TV. There was a small closet to her right and the entrance to the hallway that probably contained their rooms and a bathroom. The entire apartment was very clean and Mei was impressed with her roommate's tidiness. However, their living space could use a little more of a decorative touch. The off-white walls were pretty much bare, besides a few photographs scattered here and there. Mei decided to do something about that once she settled in. It would be nice to put some flowers in to add some pops of color. Miss Nguyen waited until she was done exploring the area before she led her down the hallway to the second door on the right.

"Here's your room. I hope you brought your own curtains because there's a man in the apartment across the street who likes to peep."

Startled, Mei turned around to face her but there was nothing joking about her expression. Then her roommate left her to unpack without another word. Miss Nguyen was…a little blunt but hopefully she'd warm up once they got to know each other. Mei made herself comfortable for a bit as she laid across her unfurnished bed, kicking off her flats. It had been a long day and the thing she wanted most was to go to sleep. But she realized that her mother had been waiting anxiously for her to call since she boarded the plane back in Taiwan. Scrounging through her purse, she pulled out her flip phone. It was almost 12:30 pm here so it must have been 12:30 am back in Taiwan. However, she knew her mother wouldn't care.

After the talk with her mother and unpacking 90% of her possessions, Mei entered the living room where she saw her roommate curled up on the couch reading a book.

"Hi." She said, sitting down in one of the wooden chairs.

Miss Ngyuen paused to save her spot in the book.

"Hello. All done?"

"Mostly." Mei admitted sheepishly. "I got everything I needed done."

"Oh" was all the other woman said in response. There was a brief silence before Mei decided to speak up again.

"So…tell me about yourself. What about school Miss Nguyen?"

"I am second year at Colombia University. I major in engineering. And, you can call me Lien. No need to be so formal."

"Really? Ok great! And you can just call me Mei too of course. And I'm gonna be a first year at Fashion Institute of Design. I'm gonna be a fashion designer."

"You look the part." The other woman said.

And it was true. Mei had always put forth effort to look her best. Today she was wearing a white sleeveless blouse that was tied at the waist along with a pair of sky blue lace shorts. And she had her two signature pink flowers pinned into her hair. Regardless of the situation she always wore them, whether they matched her outfit or not. They were a source of luck to her.

"So you've already been here a few years right? Then maybe you can show me around sometime."

"If you want me to I can yes. The subway system takes some getting used to."

"And you'll let me spruce up the apartment?" Lien gave Mei a confused look.

"I mean, just so I can make it a little comfortable. A home away from home."

"Sure I guess." She shrugged. "Just nothing too drastic like Hello Kitty furniture or anything like that."

"Oh of course not." Mei laughed. She then began searching through her tote before pulling out a notebook and showing the bright pink cover to her roommate.

"But how do you feel about My Melody?"

And for just the briefest of seconds, she swore she saw a smile on the other woman's face. Before she attempted to cover it with her hand.

"Just make sure you get the curtains up first." She warned.

Mei beamed. "Already taken care of."

They were promptly interrupted when Mei's stomach started to growl and she quickly clutched it in embarrassment. It had been awhile since she had eaten.

"Hm, maybe I can start showing you around New York right now? Preferably to a restaurant?"

She blushed. "Yeah, that would be nice."

Mei was glad to get out and eat but she really did want to see more of New York. The sights, sounds, and people. This was going to be her new home for the next 4 years. This was where she was going to make her dreams come true.

And we're off to a rocky, awkward start. But thanks for reading! I hope to get better at writing characters, and dialogue as I go along. Questions, comments, and concerns (so long as they are polite) are always welcome.