Chase woke up, did his morning routine, trying not to trip over boxes. He looked at the time, realizing that it was still dark. It was only four thirty-nine in the morning. He was up much earlier than usual. Sighing, he left his apartment and walked over to a Dunkin Donuts across the street. He bought a coffee and a muffin and sat down on a barstool in front of the window. Opening his laptop, he clicked on his email. He had only seven messages, but the one that caught his eye was his mother's email address. Hesitantly, he clicked on it. It opened, reading, 'Son, I hope you are well. Please message me back; I get so worried when I think about you living on your own and such. Maybe you should find a roommate. Love you.'
Chase read the message three times over. Since when was she worried? She never bothered to call, so as a result, Chase had picked up their example and didn't call either. However, she made it clear that he should find a roommate. The way she said it was definitely not a question.
Chase sipped at his coffee, slightly burning his mouth. He typed quickly, 'Mother, I'm fine. You don't need to worry so much. Don't forget that I'm almost twenty years old. I've met someone nice here already. I think-'
"Hello there." A smooth voice made him stop typing.
Chase looked up from his laptop to see a pink-haired man standing at the counter. He wasn't speaking to him.
"Good morning, Mr. Willison." The woman behind the counter smiled, despite how early it was.
Chase averted his gaze so he wouldn't be caught staring. He thought that it was strange that someone would have such a vibrant color hair. He had on an oversized pink sweater, and black skinny jeans.
Chase nibbled at his muffin, then got back to writing. '-I may have made a friend. I'm almost finished unpacking already. Love you.' He sent the email and didn't notice that someone stood next to him.
The person finally broke the silence. "Isn't it a bit early for you to be up?"
Chase froze. He slowly turned around. It was the pink-haired man.
"U-uhm, no, not really." Chase stuttered.
An amused smile made its way onto the stranger's face. "You look only seventeen. Not too young for me."
Chase's eyes widened as he blushed. This guy was weird. "I'm nineteen, thank you." He noticed that the man had magenta eyes.
"I'm Pete, by the way." The man said, getting Chase's attention off of his unusual eyes. Pete sipped his drink. "Mind if I join you?"
Chase suppressed a shiver. "Sure."
The two stayed quiet as Pete sat down on the barstool next to Chase. Chase had gone back to his email, looking over his assignments for Golden Oaks.
"You go to Golden Oaks?" Pete asked innocently, voice smooth.
"Y-yeah." Chase replied.
"That's right… You're the guy in Ms. Darlin's first class with the long name."
Chase froze, still steaming coffee at his lips. He blushed, face now red.
"Chase, was it? I'm in that class too. I sit a few seats behind you."
"I didn't notice." Chase mumbled. How could he not see such pink hair?
"Classes start in about an hour." Pete said.
"Thanks for telling me. I hadn't been watching the time." He finished his muffin and coffee, got up, leaving his laptop, and got a refill.
Pete ignored the urge to browse Chase's laptop.
Chase came back and shut his laptop down. "Do you need a ride to the college?"
Pete looked up at Chase and smiled. His chocolate hair was slightly wavy and a green beret topped his head. The light somewhat glinted off of his glasses, but not hiding his matching brown eyes. He had on a white button down under an argile green and brown vest. He was also wearing matching brown pants. "If you don't mind, that'd be great."
"Then please, wait here. I'll be right back." Chase picked up his laptop and went back across the street to his apartment. He set down his laptop, grabbed his phone and keys, and headed down to the parking deck. He got into his car and went back to where Pete was waiting.
Pete noticed the silver Cobalt stop outside and stood up. Chase rolled down the window, waved, and blasted the heat. Pete got in the car.
"You do realize that we are going to be really early, still, right?" Pete asked, rubbing his hands together to get warm.
"Yes, I do realize that. I thought I could get some reading done." Chase replied, briefly looking at the pink haired male.
Pete looked at Chase carefully. "You know, you're unbelievably cute when you blush." Pete smirked as Chase blushed a dark shade of red.
"T-thank you...I guess." Chase stuttered, feeling his face brighten and heat up further.
"I wonder just how far that blush goes." Pete smirked, leaning in towards Chase and wiggling his eyebrows.
Chase tightened his grip on the steering wheel. "If you're going to do that, do it when I am not driving!" Chase cried, stopping at a red light.
"You're not driving now." Pete pointed out, moving closer to Chase. His breath was hot on the smaller man's neck. Chase blushed and felt a shiver travel down his spine. The light turned green again, and Chase drove a bit faster. Pulling into the parking lot at the college, he sighed in relief and got out of the suddenly too hot car. "W-we should head to c-class." Chase mumbled, grabbing his bag from the car.
"We're still early Chase." Pete chuckled, walking towards the flustered male.
"Oh. Well, I'm still gonna head in. I'll see you later Pete."
Chase walked away, fast, but not as fast to seem rude. He kept his head down. He made it to his first class, finding the door open without the teacher inside. Sighing, he sat in his seat and took out his textbook, picking up where he left off. It wasn't long until other students started to walk in the classroom. He looked up when a hand placed itself over the sentence he was reading.
Chase looked up. "Good morning, Stephano." He said, relieved that it wasn't Pete.
"Morning." Stephano replied curtly.
Chase flinched as he saw Pete walk into the room.
"What's wrong?" The blonde asked.
"N-nothing."
"Good morning class. Take your seats." The Doctor said, cutting the conversation short as she let the door slam shut.
Hours later, Chase walked outside to eat his lunch. He was surprised to see Stephano and Pete talking and laughing with each other. Some other emotion pulled at his chest. He didn't know what it was. He didn't want them talking to each other, yet he wouldn't dare interfere. As he wasn't paying attention, he accidently bumped into someone.
"Oh I'm terribly sorry!" Chase said quickly.
"You idiot!" The guy he bumped into looked slightly familiar. "You're so lucky that these chemicals aren't being poured down your throat!" The man slightly shook in anger.
Chase backed up a step, slightly frightened. "I'm really sorry."
The guy had dark hair and wore brown. He had some silver chains around his neck and wrists. He had wrapped one of them around his fingers now.
"Is there a problem?" A French-accented voice came from behind the angry guy.
He turned to face Stephano. Pete was next to him.
"No." The guy walked away, but not before hissing into Chase's ear, "Watch your back."
Stephano glared at the guy's back until he had disappeared into the building.
"Are you alright?" Pete asked, concern clear in his normally flirtatious voice.
Chase blinked a couple of times before answering. "Y-yeah, I am. Thanks."
Stephano turned his gaze to Chase. "Stick with us for the rest of lunch. Maybe we could do something after classes are over."
Chase moved his gaze to the ground, and nodded. "Okay. Although I may leave after a while. I want to try and finish my book I'm currently reading. Not to mention I still have to unpack some of my belongings."
A few hours after classes, Chase was talking with Stephano and Pete at a small cafe near the college. "Who was that by the way? The guy I accidentally bumped into." Chase asked, tilting his head a little.
"Ah. that was Matthew Ryder Barrel. But everyone just calls him Barrel. He's known for his violent tendencies. So I suggest staying as far away from him as you can." Stephano said, an impassive expression on his face.
"Since you have 'met' Barrel, there's a big chance you'll meet Bro soon." Pete stated, sipping his mochalatte.
"Bro? Who is that?" Chase asked, confusion written on his face.
"Brogan Antonio Lukas Patrik, also known as Bro, is Barrel's lover. They're never seen out of each other's range. Bro is violent as well, so steer clear of them both." Pete said, giving Chase a small smile.
"Okay. Good to know." Chase looked at his watch. "Woah. Seven-thirty already? I'm gonna have to leave you, gentlemen. I want to unpack a few boxes before the days end." Chase said, gathering his things and placing them in his bag.
"Alright. We'll see you in class tomorrow Chase." Stephano said, with a smile.
"Aw. Okay. Yeah we'll see you tomorrow cutie!" Pete said, giving Chase a wink.
"Good bye and good night Stephano, Pete." Chase said, before he grabbed his car keys and headed home.
Walking into his small apartment, Chase ordered some Chinese, and started unpacking boxes and placing the items where he wanted them. Hearing a knock on the door, he opened it and payed for his food. Walking into the living room, he sat on the couch and picked up Romeo and Juliet and continued where he had left off the night before. At around a quarter to ten, Chase closed the now finished book, and laid down on the couch. Pulling a blanket over top of his body, he made a mental note to set up his bed tomorrow. Closing his eyes, Chase quickly fell asleep.