Well, you could say the start of our story began when I put the advertisement out for a flatmate. I couldn't really afford the rent on my own, but I had managed to pay off the rent for the first 3 months until I found someone to share. Mrs. Ryan, the owner of the building, kept the place well updated with modern fixtures and such, and was always willing to allow persons to share flats, as long as we paid rent and didn't do any illegal activities.

Sorry, getting off topic. It was about 2 weeks after I first put the advertisement up before I started getting calls and people visiting. Most were assholes, whom I was not at all willing to share with. But eventually I got a knock on my door, about a month after I put the ad up. It was 9 am, and having just come home from an overnight shift, I was kinda surprised. I threw on a light jacket and opened the door, in nothing but my pajamas.

"Hello?" A young man, roughly 6 feet tall, wearing a black shirt, black pea coat, blue jeans, glasses, spiked black hair, and a slight smile.

"Hi, I saw your advertisement for the flat share? Is it still available?" I smiled at him.

"Yea, it is. Come on in. Sorry about the mess." The kitchen had a few unwashed dishes, the couch was messy with pillows and blankets.

"It's fine. It's quite a homey place."

"Thanks. Can I take your coat?" He nodded, and I hung up his coat by the hooks by the front door. "Come along, the rooms are this way." I showed him what would be his bedroom, complete with queen sized bed, dresser, and walk in closet. The ensuite bathroom had a large shower, a tub beside it, toilet and sink.

"Wow, it's really nice in here." I nodded.

"It is. The spare room is right over here." I walked out the door and took a turn to the left, and there was the empty room. "It could double as an office if you want. There's another room identical to this one, but I already set it up as a kinda at home dance studio." He raised an eyebrow.

"Dance studio?" I just shrugged my shoulders.

"I'm currently with the Cincinnati Ballet Academy. I need a place to practise outside of normal hours, the spare room worked perfectly."

"Ballet? Nice. You must be very light on your feet."

"I am. I never caught your name." He smiled and held out a hand.

"Didn't give it. Mark Fischbach." I took his hand and shook it.

"Anna Evans. It's nice to meet you." I turned back to the kitchen. "Can I offer you something to drink? Coffee, water, juice?" I offered him a place to sit by the island.

"Coffee, thanks. Black, two sugars please." I went and started preparing the coffee when Mark asked "So how much would rent be?"

"$300 a month. It's not bad, but that's split between the two of us. $600 a month for a starting ballerina is pretty rough, so I decided to put up the advertisement."

"How did you afford it so far?" I carefully carried the coffees over and handed him his. He murmured a thanks and took a sip.

"Down payment. Rent is actually covered for the next two months. Birthday gift from the parents. I work a part time job at a friend's place to cover groceries and stuff."

"Wow." I smiled and took a large gulp of my coffee. God Bless Caffeine.

"Want to move in? I have the paperwork and stuff ready to fill in if you want to finish it up now." Mark was the first person who was kind and not an asshole at all.

"I would love to." I smiled and made my way to the desk in my bedroom, and pulled out the papers. 15 minutes and a few signatures later, I handed Mark the spare key.

"Do you need help moving in?" He shook his head.

"Not really, my friends Bob and Wade are helping me move in. Speaking of which, when would be a good time to?" I shrugged again.

"Anytime between 10am and 8pm this week would be fine. I have work from 9pm to 5am."

"Ohhhh, graveyard shift."

"Yea, not fun. So I'll see you around?"

"Yea, I should be by tomorrow. It was nice meeting you Anna."

"Likewise Mark."

A knock came later on that day, after I had slept and showered, in a simple pair of sweatpants and a shirt, given the cold weather of January. I peeked out the peephole and saw Mark out by the door with a box in his arms. I opened the door with a smile.

"Hey there stranger. Didn't expect you back so soon." Mark shrugged with a slight blush on his face. "Come on in."

"My friends couldn't come down, so I decided to try and move in tonight, if that's alright?" I smiled and giggled at his shyness.

"Mark, this is your home too now. I have no problem with you moving in." I paused. "Would you like some help moving your stuff in?" Mark shook his head.

"I have it all in my car. I have no problem bringing it in." I walked forward and took the box from his hands.

"Well then, I insist on helping you set up." With that, I walked off with the box to put in his room. I didn't try and open the box, but just placed it down on the bed. I walked back into the kitchen, and waited for Mark to come back. A thought popped into my head, and I quickly picked some chicken and rice out of the freezer to defrost. I heard footsteps, and swung the door open, laughing at the sight of Mark with three boxes piled up in his arms. I laughed, taking one down off the pile. "Aren't we trying a bit too hard?"

"I'm handsome and awesome. Three boxes is nothing!" I laughed. Mark smiled gently. "You have a lovely laugh." A blush came to my cheeks.

"Come on, you flirt. Let's get you moved in."

We got all of Mark's boxes in, and I decided to make Mark a welcoming dinner. My famous Butter Chicken with rice.

Mark tried to tell me that I didn't have to, but I just shooed him out of the kitchen and kept on cooking.

It was my way of showing him that I was glad he was here.