Dan Humphrey, freshman at NYU, had seen his roommate, Nate Archibald, a total of four times since move in day and today marked the fifth. It was October 3rd when it happened, and he would probably never forget it, unless maybe he got hit on the head and got amnesia. Dan was stopping by his room between two of his classes to swap out his books, like he normally did on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays, and when he opened his door to his room he saw a very unfamiliar sight. Dan's eyes widened as he saw the bare back of a brunette and the legs of his roommate.
Nate looked up as he heard the door open and grabbed the girl's torso, pulling her to him. "Shit, man, I didn't know you would be back this early," Nate said. Dan recognized a sly, prideful grin come over Nate's face as Dan dropped his books on the desk.
The brunette turned around and gave him, what Dan could only describe as, a look full of pure hatred. "Get the fuck out," she snarled, pressing her body to Nate.
Dan shielded his eyes and turned from them, "Look, I'm so sorry. The dorm is just on my way to my next class and both books are super heavy and I always come-"
"Dude, it's okay," Nate said.
Out of a natural response to having a conversation, Dan turned around again and quickly brought his hand up to his eyes. "Sorry, sorry, I didn't see anything." Dan grabbed his other book that he needed off the desk and shoved it into his bag. "I'll just be going, now," Dan said, pointing to the door. "It was great to see you, Nate."
Dan could hear Nate laughing behind him and he waved over his head before leaving the room. He took a deep breath, as he closed it and walked away shell-shocked. He wasn't sure why Nate was there but that didn't fare well for the single room that he had been enjoying for the last few weeks.
When Dan got back to the room, he paused before entering. Dan hit the door with his knuckles before hearing a muffled, "Come in," from the other side.
He opened the door and saw Nate and the mystery brunette sitting on Nate's bed. Nate has his arm draped casually around the girl and they had Nate's, Dan presumed, lap top in front of them. Dan nodded a greeting to them both, before sitting at his desk and opening his book from earlier. Dan heard footsteps land on the floor and Nate's hand grasp his shoulder.
"I'm sorry about before," Dan said, his cheeks reddening as he turned his head upwards to look at Nate.
Nate shrugged, "Nah, it's not a big deal. I probably should have told you that I'd be here. We should probably swap numbers, actually, being roommates and all."
Dan nodded, grabbing his phone from his back pocket. "Yeah, that would probably be for the best. Maybe we can save ourselves these awkward run ins." Dan rambled off his number to Nate, who then gave Dan his.
"Anyways, let me do some introductions here. Dan, this is my girlfriend-"
"Fiancée," the brunette interrupted, lifting her hand to show Dan, and Nate, the sparkling diamond sitting on her ring finger.
"My fiancée," Nate said, slightly coughing over the word. "Dan, this is my fiancée, Blair Waldorf. Blair, this is my roommate, Dan Humphrey."
Dan gave the girl, thankfully fully clothed, a small wave and then stood up and extended his hand to her. She took it, surprising him with a firm handshake. "Nice to meet you. Sorry about before, again."
"Pleasure, I'm sure," Blair responded, raising an eyebrow in return. Blair looked at her hands, admiring her ring. "Are you from New York, Humphrey?"
"Brooklyn. I'm from just over the bridge."
"I try not to go over that bridge," Blair said, distaste seeping into her words. "Probably why I don't recognize you."
Dan shrugged, "And… and are you from New York?"
"Upper East Side. The only real part of New York," she laughed, placing her hand on Nate's shoulder. "Right, Nate?"
Nate gave her a noncommittal shrug. "Yeah, whatever. It's all the same city."
Dan caught Blair's eye as she glared at the top of Nate's head. "So… will you two be here more often?" he asked, sitting back down at his desk. "I can give you my schedule so whatever happened this afternoon doesn't have to happen again."
"To be honest, Humphrey, the only one who is embarrassed about before is you," Blair replied.
"Blair, be nice," Nate warned her softly. "It looks like that. I was staying at my parent's house, but they want me to get the full college experience and stay at the dorm more often. Maybe just during the week? Blair goes to Columbia-"
"An Ivy," she interrupted.
"Yes, I know it's an Ivy," Dan scoffed. "I was born in Brooklyn, not yesterday." Dan flipped through the pages of the textbook, "Well, I guess I'll just have to get used to having a real roommate and not an invisible one."
"I'm sure we can get it to work, and I'm sure Blair will warm up to you."
"I'm right here, Nate," Blair replied. "You don't need to speak for me."
"Sorry," Nate said and Dan could hear kissing sounds behind his back. Dan, in reply, slipped his headphones into his ears and drowned the two of them out. If the year was going to go anyway like this day, it was going to be a long year.