Chloe was studying her brain and eyes out for her practical exam for the next day when a loud banging accompanied by a crash was heard on the front door of their dorm. She checked the time, it's 11:30 pm. Whoever in the door has a bad motive. No decent person will crash at late. She grabbed her thickest book and walked to the door. Chloe prepared herself to check the stranger on the peep hole when the door unceremoniously opened revealing who's on the other side. She didn't have the chance to scream and defend herself from the attack because the body of the stranger stumbled into her full force. The redhead lost her balance because of the unexpected weight on her. She fell on the floor taking the stranger above her.
"Aubrey?" she asked pushing gently the body off her.
"Why? Do you expect somebody else?" Chloe winced at the smell of strong alcohol from her roommate's mouth.
Aubrey was not the typical weird-nerd student. No thick glasses and braces or jumper and knee length socks. She dressed normal, looked normal well beautiful even. What made her belong to the weird-nerd category was that she was super dedicated to her studies. Nothing less everything more. In their five months of being roommies never ever Chloe saw the blonde slacking off. She didn't even saw her texting! (Does she even have a cellphone?) If Aubrey was not nose to nose to her books and notes, she was typing her fingers off. Chloe tried her best to befriend the blonde but too much studying cause the blonde to replace her vocabularity. Friend was definitely changed to something else.
"Uhm. No." Chloe carefully lifted herself from the floor. When Aubrey didn't move she kneeled and grabbed Aubrey's waist and pulled her up. She walked her to her bed and laid her carefully. The redhead removed the blonde's shoes and was about to put the blanket on her when the taller girl suddenly spoke.
"I don't know how to bike." Chloe jumped from the outburst but Aubrey continued. "My father didn't teach me. He told me that its a waste of time. Now I know why I sucked at balancing things." Aubrey giggled at the last part. It was the first time she heard the girl giggled. She can't help but giggle too.
"You must missed half of your childhood." Chloe said to the girl now closed eyes. Chloe started to walk on her bed across the room but Aubrey stirred and started to talk again. She stop on the middle of their room and face her drunk roommate.
"Don't even get me started, red." Again Chloe can't help but chuckled to the nickname her roommate gave her.
"Third grade, science quiz bee. Tie breaker question. I'm so nervous. Not to the question but to my father glaring at me in front. And to release the tension my body betrayed me. You know what it do?"
"No." Chloe replied.
"I farted!" Followed by a loud laugh. "Its a silent but deadly type of fart. It distracted my opponent. I won." More laughs.
Chloe can't help but imagined the smaller version of the blonde on stage nervous at the father who refused to teach her how to bike and slowly but deadly released her special weapon. Killing some of the neurons of her opponent. She smiled at the thought.
Aubrey's laugh subside followed by a deafening silence. Chloe sat on her bed watching the blonde.
"Junior prom. David asked me to go to the prom with him I told him yes but he still need to ask my father formally. He came to my house that night and met my father. I didn't know what they talked about because my father said my presence to their conversation was not needed. I went to help my mom prepare dinner but dinner with David never came. He said his mother texted him and he was needed at home. I didn't saw him for the next few days because I'm busy preparing for the prom. I'm the vice president of the committee ey! Prom night came. I'm waiting for the door to ring but it never did. He stood me up, red." Chloe looked at the blonde sympathetically.
"I didn't cry because my father said crying is for losers and if someone should be crying it's David because his GPA was below average."
"Did you found out what they talked about?" Chloe asked the blonde. "GPA." The blonde deadpanned.
Chloe frowned. Aubrey opened her eyes and saw the frowned at her roommate's face. "Don't frowned red. 'Tis ok. That was years ago." Aubrey chuckled.
"Yeah! But its unfair! I bet you look beautiful that night." Chloe sighed.
"I don't think so red. Anyway I didn't go to senior prom to avoid that situation again." Aubrey said calmly.
"Life sucks." The redhead managed to say.
"Can you play some music red?" Aubrey asked her. "Just a sec." Chloe walked to her study table and boot her laptop on. She chose the random playlist. Ironic by Alanis Morissette started to play. She has no idea what kind of music Aubrey listened to. Damn she didn't even know Aubrey liked music. As if the blonde read her mind Aubrey began to talk again.
"I want to study music but my father said music is for losers and I'm not a loser so.. here I am studying pre-law." Aubrey's voice quivered at the last word.
"Why didn't you persuade your father to let you study what you want?" Chloe thoughtfully asked the girl across the room, she sat in her bed facing the blonde again.
"Because there's no persuasion in my father's vocabulary."
"Even if it means sacrificing your own happiness?" The redhead said.
"I was happy red!" Aubrey exclaimed, convincing herself.
"Are you?" Chloe countered. Noting the past tense used.
Aubrey opened her mouth to say something but got distracted to the next song starting. She looked at Chloe's eyes and said with confidence. "That song is my jam."
"Jam?" Chloe was confused.
"Lady jam. You know the song you listen whe-"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it." Chloe cut her off now matching the color of her hair.
"Your hair matches your face, red. Pun intended." Aubrey laughs. If its possible Chloe blushed redder.
Aubrey closed her eyes and bobbed her head to the music, enjoying herself. Chloe just stared at her with amazement and started to get nervous. A drunk human with her lady jam. You won't know what they gonna do next right?
As if sensing her thoughts Aubrey spoke. "Don't worry red. I won't do it in front of you, you know."
Chloe relaxed on the words she heard.
"Can you tuck me to sleep?" Aubrey asked with pleading eyes. "My mother used to when I'm younger, five. My father said six years old was too old for that. So I sleep on my own from then."
Chloe's heart sank. Her own mother used to tuck her at night until what age? Until the last day of her middle school and occasionally when she's sick.
Chloe walked to the bed across her and lay beside the blonde. Aubrey immediately snuggled to her side. Chloe chuckled. She put her arms around Aubrey's shoulders and started to tame the wild blonde hair. This gesture put Aubrey at ease and started to breathe slowly. Minutes passed and Chloe was now starting to feel herself drifting off. She carefully stopped taming the blonde hair and was about to lift Aubrey's head when the blonde speak again. This time she spoke with soberity in her voice.
"Can you stay? Only this time? You're the closest person I've got. I don't even know if we're friends but I really need somebody to hold me tonight. I don't want to feel alone. I've been through so much of that." Aubrey said tears are now glistening to her blue eyes.
"You're not alone, not tonight. Not anymore. I am your friend." Chloe started to stroke the blonde hair again but this time more gently and full of care.
"Today I told my father I can't take it anymore and I don't want to be like him. I'm shifting my course next semester. He's so angry. He disowned me and he said he will cut me off." Aubrey's voice broke and now sobbing to her shoulder.
"Shh. Its gonna be ok, your gonna be ok." Chloe said with sympathy.
After minutes of sobbing Aubrey's breathing started to come back to normal. "Go to sleep Aubrey. I'm here, I won't leave you." Chloe kissed the blonde's head.
"Thanks. Good night Chloe."
Chloe smiled for what she heard. After five months of living together this was the first time she ever heard her name in Aubrey's voice.
"Good night Aubrey."
"Who will love you? Who will fight? Who will fall far behind?" was the last thing Aubrey heard as she drift off the a very comfortable slumber in the arms of her first friend. Maybe, maybe she thought to herself.
The last song is Skinny Love