Rain. I had always loved the rain; even as a child, my greatest joy in life was to run out with my shiny yellow coat and matching boots, and go splashing around in what puddles had begun to form just outside of my house. Although my father wasn't a fan of the "dreary" weather, my mother was. Sometimes, she'd run out with me and mirror my movements, kicking up dirty water until we were both completely and utterly soaked.

For me, rain meant good things. Never bad.

"Hey, can you help me move the extra bed frame real quick?" I turned my attention away from the gentle pattern of rain outside of the window, and instead to the stout girl behind me. Her hands were placed on her hips as she spoke once more. "I want to get it set up before my friend gets here."

I sighed slightly before sliding out of my chair. "I still don't know much about this 'friend' of yours. Are you sure this is a good idea?"

"I'm positive. You'll love him. He's a sweetheart, I swear."

"... And remind me again why we're letting him crash here?"

"I already told you! He was living with his girlfriend, but they broke up and she kicked him out. The poor guy is heartbroken. He just needs to get back to his old self, then he'll find his own place."

My roommate, Sam, strode ahead of me into the garage, leaving the door ajar for me to relectantly follow. She suddenly spun around on her heel to meet my steady gaze hopefully. "Please just trust me on this? I know it was unexpected, but I promise I'll take any blame for whatever he does, alright? I'll even make him pay rent!" She said the last part almost triumphantly before looking to me once more. Again, I sighed. I sighed a lot. Or, I had been sighing a lot more usually.

"It's already too late to say no, anyways. Let's just get this thing inside."

We managed to lug the bed frame into the spare room. "Tell me a bit more about this guy, at least." I asked as I plopped down on the floor, fumbling with the metal screws of the frame. Sam slipped down beside me, staring thoughtfully up at the white ceiling.

"Well... he's very loud. He has this dog with him- which I already warned you about, by the way- whose this giant, golden retriever. But she's a sweetheart, I swear. And gets along great with cats. Anyways, my friend is also a huge nerd. Like, giant video game nerd. The kind who plays all the time. That's actually how he makes his money, you know." She trailed off, and the two of us sat in silence, lost in our own thoughts. So, maybe he was a video game reviewer? I've heard of that job before. It could be possible, based on her description of him.

"He's still planning to come next week, right?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, but he's supposed to let me know if he comes earlier. He probably won't, but..." she shrugged a shoulder.

"That's alright. I guess I don't care. Let's just see how he fits in first, right?"

Sam giggled. "You mean how he fits in with you, Judge Judy." I shoved her arm playfully, earning a light punch to my shoulder.

~The Unexpected Guest~

One week later

"He'shere!" Sam exclaimed excitedly, pouncing up from her position at the window and racing outside. I raised a brow at her behavior, watching steadily as she ran outside to the sleek, black SUV that parked in our driveway. I was at the round dining table in our kitchen, which stood behind three large windows formed in a hexagon-shaped wall, drinking my usual early evening coffee. I looked away from the window, swirling my spoon slowly and watching the dark liquid twist, like the ocean af midnight.

Suddenly, loud screams began to echo from outside, and I moved my attention towards the noise. What I hadn't noticed before was the growing crowd that shuffled at our front gate of the house, and had begun pushing through to swarm our yard. "What in the hell?..." I muttered to myself, slowly pushing my chair backwards to stand. The front door slammed shut, and I whipped my head towards it.

"Alright, sorry about the mess. They're mostly all Brand's books." Sam's voice floated down the hallway, then her head popped out from the doorway. "So, I might've forgotten a pretty big detail, by the way." She laughed nervously, playing with the silver bracelet on her wrist. I knew that move. She only did that when she knew she made a mistake. A big one.

Sam stepped further into our kitchen, with her guest following in close pursuit. My coffee was still in my hand, yet I fumbled to keep from dropping it as the stranger stepped into view. He was taller than Sam and I, with dark hair and a pair of black-framed glasses that did little to hide the familiar gleam in his stupid, familiar face. He smiled awkwardly, politely, apologizingly. "Hello, my name is-"

I held up a steady hand to stop him. Setting my cup down, I turned to glare at Sam, who was beginning to laugh nervously once more. "You failed to mention that your friend was the fucking YouTuber Markiplier?"

Another nervous giggle. "Surpriseeee?"

~The Unexpected Guest~

Hi! Thanks for visiting my story. I know the first chapter isn't very long, and I apologize! This is like a rough draft, so I'm just seeing how it flows with the story at the moment. If you have any recommendations or just want to chat, please feel free to shoot me a message!

Thank you again!

*jodys-pen