University sweethearts

Note – this is in a different universe to the roommates one shot I have already done

2005

Dylan's point of view

"Jorel you can't keep crashing in Dylan's dorm just because he doesn't have a roommate for now," George tells us as Jorel hangs of the other bed. It was true I have been in this dorm for about two months now and since I have not got a roommate and I am the only one in our friendship group who doesn't Jorel sees it fit to keep crashing here even though he doesn't go to university and he has never even been to high school. "They haven't caught me yet," Jorel replies. Matt drags Jorel off the bed and he lands with a heavy thump on the floor. "They will do if you keep being stupid," Jordon tells him. Aron is being silent as usual; he doesn't really care unless the drama involves him in some capacity.

Since not a lot of the drama that has happened recently evolved around Aron he tends to stay quiet. At least he has not tried to start some shit himself recently which is something that has been welcomed as of late. "What if Dylan does get a roommate. What will you do then?" Matt asks, making a fair point. I told the people who organise the whole roommate situation that I was open to having a roommate at any point in the semester. "I haven't thought that far ahead," Jorel admits, looking down. I shake my head and throw my pillow at him. He knows I could get a roommate at any time; he just doesn't want to deal with it yet. "You better start thinking soon then Jay. Dylan could get a roommate at any time," George tells him, and he groans.

I laugh as Jorel whines that we are like schoolteachers. Poor Jorel, he gets so many people making fun of him for not going to high school. "Don't worry your little head. It's not like I am gonna get one in the next week or two. Semester only began like five weeks ago, no one will have fallen out with each other or requested to move yet," I tell him. I am making huge assumptions here because I have no idea how the whole system works or anything. Someone could be going through the process now and I would get matched with someone and not even know until they double check to confirm I am still wanting a roommate and stuff like that. Besides I am sure that whoever my new roommate would be would welcome my friends in if they became friends with them.

"Anyway, we should think about that more when Dylan knows more. Let's just enjoy now," Jordon says, he hates it when George brings up the whole roommate thing because he likes bunking off his own lessons with Jorel and he can only do it if Jorel has spent the night in my dorm. George is the only one in the group who is sensible enough to see what would go wrong if they were to be caught. This is not high school anymore. Money is going to waste if Jordon decides to get stupid enough and get caught bunking off and get kicked from his course. I send a quick message to George who sighed at Jordon yet again. Jordon can be even more annoying as me at times. I smiled and George when he read my message.

I walk over and sit next to George. "No worries George, Jordon and Jorel will realise where they are going wrong eventually," I whisper to him. It wasn't what I sent him in the message. I don't want to repeat myself too many times. "Yeah, I just want it to be before either of them get into trouble," George whispers back. He will save us one day. One of us will do something incredibly stupid and he will need to do something to save us. "I get it George I really do. I know that they are playing a very dangerous game with the bunking off. They'll realise it too eventually," I whisper. Matt gives us both a thumbs up from where he was laying. He knows what we are talking about, but we are trying to not to irritate Jordon who was clearly already done.

~ 3 weeks later~

"I told you this was gonna happen," George says. I had just read out to the entire group that I was getting a roommate from two days from now. His name is Danny Murillo and he's almost 20 like Jordon. This was going to happen eventually; it was only a matter of when. I don't know much about the reasoning behind it other than it was in the news yesterday that there was a huge fight between him and someone else. He's received some hospital treatment as far as I know, but anything else is on a need to know basis and Danny will tell me when he is ready. I'm going to be super nice and just let him get on with his thing when he arrives. He'll be stressed out from what is going on with the fight.

"You don't have to brag about it George," Jordon mumbles. Out of everyone he was taking it the worst. Even Jorel has taken this well and he is the one who is affected by it almost as much as me. "George isn't bragging about it. We all knew this was going to happen. Dylan should have the chance to help the guy out." Jorel replies. He has been speaking to me almost daily after the conversation 3 weeks ago. He decided that he should really take this seriously. That is awesome that he is considering this properly. "Yeah, he was thinking ahead because I did say I was open to having a roommate and now it's happening," I tell him. I am going to get George to help me set everything up to make sure that everything on Danny's side is clean and my whole room is clean because I am pretty sure that I am getting inspected today.

"I'll see you guys later. Hope the inspection goes well," Jorel says. Then he leaves my dorm room. Jordon follows quickly afterwards in a little huff. I shook my head as Matt laughed and pulled his tongue out. They can be so childish sometimes. "Yeah, let's get this placed all cleaned up. They should be here soon," George tells me. Aron was not here, he hates, and I mean HATES the idea of a new guy being in the group. He's just jealous because Danny is currently getting more attention from us than he is because we want to make sure that he can settle in okay. We are gonna work hard together to make sure that everything can go as well as it can go for Danny. I just want him to have his own space where he feels comfortable.

I am so excited for two days' time. All I gotta do is pass the inspection today and everything should be good to go. I think giving him so personal space to let him arrange his things in his own time and his own way would be a good start. He's going to feel uncomfortable because this is going to be new and probably not what he wanted. I don't think that this was something that Danny had prepared for. Two months have gone by since the start of the semester, so people are going to be comfortable in their friendship circles and now it's all changed. Danny's university life is already going to be turned upside down and now he's going to be in a new dorm with a new guy who he might not like. "Don't worry Dylan. I know Danny from some classes we share. He's a shy guy, but a good guy," Matt tells me.

That fills me with some confidence. Maybe Matt can talk to Danny and make him feel better about being in the same dorm as me. "I'll try let him know more about you. Last I heard he was admitted to hospital, the fight was pretty serious. I think he gave me his number, he said he was lonely," Matt adds. I figured whatever happened to him was serious because it made the news. Fights happen all the time in universities, so they are often not worth making a story on unless they are either really serious or it is a really slow news day. "Fair enough I just want him to feel comfortable knowing that I am not a horrible guy and he can take things at his own pace you know," I tell him. This is why I am grateful to have the older two around. Those two have always got great advice for me.

"Well, I have mentioned you before when he has asked me about my friends. I have nothing bad I could ever say about you to anyone. He knows you are good. I will help you guys out," Matt reassures me. We were cleaning while talking which was good, we are almost all ready for the inspection which could happen at any point today. "Thanks Mattie, I know that it's going to be hard for him and if any one can help that would be great," I tell him. George was telling me how to approach the situation in a way that would help everyone involved. I am very happy to have them both talking to me right now. Jordon will come round eventually; I don't know about Aron though and I am happy Jorel has come round to the idea.

3 days later – Danny p.o.v

Today I am being discharged from hospital and I am going to be moving into a new dorm room with Matt's friend Dylan. All I have heard about him from Matt is that he is a nice guy and is ready and willing to help me settle in. I feel a mixture of both nervous and excited. If he is better than my last roommate then it is all good. I am getting a taxi back to the dorms because my truck is back there, and I didn't ask anyone to come and bring it for me. I can't afford to add someone else to my insurance. I get into the taxi and nervously wait to meet my new roommate. All of my things have already been dropped off at the dorm and I have been assured that Dylan has not touched any of my things which I appreciate.

Dylan hugged me when I got in which I needed. I need a good friend who is not going to suddenly turn on me and attack me. "Welcome to the dorm Danny. Take as much time as you need to arrange your stuff and settle in. I know the last few days have been rough for you and I am here for you no matter what," Dylan tells me, which was something that I knew about Dylan from Matt. He told me that Dylan was a little nervous about helping me settle in. "Thanks Dylan, it's been a rough and mental few days. I think I am ready for everything to go back to normal now," I tell him, having that instinct to just be honest with him from the get go. Something in my gut is telling me that he is a good guy and that he will be honest with me.

It took me about an hour and a half to arrange what little belongings that I have into my space. I sit on the bed and I notice that I am shaking a lot. "Hey Danny, can I come sit with you?" Dylan asks, he saw me shaking. I nod and let him sit with me on my bed and he puts his hands over my shaking ones. There is a lot about me that I won't tell him straight away because I feel as though I can trust him I want to wait a while first. "I know this is hard for you Danny. Just take a deep breath and relax as much as you can. You can come talk to me whenever you feel comfortable," he tells me. It does make me feel a lot better and I went through some breathing exercises with him to calm down. Then Dylan gets up and grabs some soda for us both.

"Thanks Dylan," I tell him, and I smile as he sits himself down next to me. On his dresser he has a television and he put it on. I didn't mind that he just plonked himself down next to me. I feel comfortable like I have probably mentioned before. I just sat with him for the next three hours just letting him tell me things about himself and I mention a few things about myself to him. I still feel really shy, but I will slowly warm up to him eventually right. After a while Dylan told me I could do what I felt like because he was doing some course work he needed to finish before the day after tomorrow. I feel very tired, I want to just curl up in the bed and fall asleep. I am also somewhat emotionally drained too.

I put my soda on the bedside table and cuddled up under the blanket while Dylan was writing away in his notebook for his assignment. I quickly started dozing off under the blanket. I felt very safe with Dylan being here. There was something just comforting about hearing the quietness while Dylan was focusing on his work. I never realised that he was so focused on his work. I did always think that he'd be the more party animal type than the get your head down and get to work. I don't know quite how I managed it, but I had fallen asleep in the bed while Dylan was scribbling away. I hadn't even told him I was tired. I guess he probably would have noticed if he looked at me while I was dozing off.

"Hey Danny. I made you dinner and I am sorry for waking you up," Dylan tells me. I guess it must be evening time now. "No worries, I probably slept for too long anyways," I tell him. I moved in at around 1 pm roughly. I had been here roughly two hours before I fell asleep. Dylan shook his head before giving me a tray with an amazing smelling bowl of pasta on it. "Nope considering that you have only come out of hospital four hours ago and want you went through was rough I'd expect naps to happen while you recover," he tells me. I dig into the pasta after thanking him. It was nothing like incredibly difficult, but I appreciated it all the same. It was like gourmet food compared with my last few meals.

"Thanks for the dinner. You didn't have to cook for me you know. I would have been perfectly content with a takeaway. Not that I am ungrateful," I tell him. I felt like I had messed my sentence up completely then, but Dylan seemed to understand. "You're welcome. I get where you're coming from though. I prefer to make my own meals sometimes, it just provides me with that little bit of home comfort you can't get from a takeaway," he tells me. It makes a lot of sense to me; you can be miles from home in uni and not have access to the foods you love when you are home. If you can recreate the meals at home then why not. "You're an amazing cook Dylan," I tell him after a while. I was really enjoying my food.

"Glad you are enjoying the food. I was a little nervous that forcing my home cooking on you so soon after you have met me, but I am glad it is paying off," he tells me. I was quite content at that moment to just stay under the covers after finishing my dinner, but something told me I should probably get up and at least do the washing up. Dylan had gone off somewhere. "Don't you dare think about getting up to do the dishes," Dylan calls. Well then, that is my plans to help him out and pay him back down the toilet. I did pass him my tray when he came back through. "When you're feeling better, I'll let you help me with stuff like that, but you just got out of hospital today. I think a break is needed," Dylan tells me.

Fair enough, I do tend to get these big ideas of how I can help him then my brain reminds me of my current condition and energy levels. I can just about manage to go to the bathroom and back unaided. Now I just don't want to move from my bed. I guess Dylan realised that, so he brought me another drink when he came back from the communal kitchen. "You're too kind already Dylan," I tell him. It's the truth though. I feel like he's gone above and beyond what you would expect from a new roommate. Even my best high school friends were not like this in the beginning. I kinda like it though, it helps me get used to what a friendship feels like it was supposed to be like. I wish that the fight never happened though.

"Get used to it Danny. From what Matt has been telling me about you, you are the exact same as me and it is about damn time you get the same treatment," Dylan replies, he still hadn't quite finished his coursework. We were still talking though because we do need to get to know each other a little better than we do now. I know Matt has been a huge help with that already by passing little bits of information to us both. "Thanks, I guess I am so used to giving all the help and support to my friends and all the kindness, but never expecting anything back. If that makes sense," I tell him. I was pretty sure I had butchered my explanation, but I saw Dylan nodding his head like he at least understood what I said.

"Yeah I get that. People have used that against you though and taken advantage. I will make sure that it never happens again while you're with me," he tells me. That brings me some comfort at least. I can't wait to meet Matt's other friends. Maybe they are as nice as Dylan is. "Yeah, I didn't know that until I ended up in hospital the other day," I tell him. I reach for my laptop which was on the bedside table. While I am not as tired as I was before I might as well at least read the notes on the lessons which I have missed while I was in hospital. My tutors have been really nice though, all my assignments which I have not finish which are due tomorrow have been extended by two weeks if I need them or I could still submit them on time.

"Hey, I know this sounds weird. Do you wanna come and hang out with me and the guys on Saturday. We are not going to go far in case you feel not ready to walk a ton or anything like that," he asks, we had both been silently working on our own separate subjects. The only sounds heard were the light tapping of my fingers as I pressed the keys. I had decided to finish the half-finished assignment which is due tomorrow. I will make a decision on the other ones after I have finished it and I will know more about my energy state. "Yeah, I'd love to. Matt's already a cool dude and it would be nice to meet the others," I reply. The only one who might hate me is Aron, but I have been told possibly Jordon might not like me at first.

That is only because their other friend Jorel used to crash in this dorm and now he can't because I am here. I am sure Jorel can work something out for himself. He might not have gone to high school like the rest of us, but he is by no means a dumb kid. He's incredibly smart and he can still visit us whenever we are free. He's not bound by lessons. He told Dylan yesterday he was tired of Jordon trying to skip with him whenever he didn't want to go to a lesson. "It's going to be fun, just ignore anyone who might not like you. They'll warm up to you eventually," Dylan says. That is what I was planning on doing anyway because I knew that at least Jordon was going to come round to the idea of me being there.

"Fair enough," I reply. I was getting further along in this assignment and I can now see myself completing the second one. I don't even need the extension at this point. I still need to be careful though. I could easily push myself too far and go back to square one health wise. The last thing I need to do right now is get to a point where I'd need to go back to hospital for whatever reason which would be related to my injuries. Dylan had only just finished his coursework that he needed to do so he was watching me do mine. "God, how did you learn to type so fast?" he asks me, as my fingers dance across the keys while I stare at the letters forming words on the screen. I look at him while I continue typing.

"I taught myself at home years ago when my mother used to let me go on the computer. It took a little while to get the hang of it, but it makes writing assignments a lot easier," I tell him. It was the truth; I spent many lonely hours writing little stories. I would often write about a young boy who grew up to be a superhero. "Fair enough, you have to teach me some time," he tells me. I will when I am recovered a little bit from my injuries. I know the traditional method of learning to touch type is quite boring. The book that you get makes it especially boring for a first-time learner. You want to learn how to write words not the nonsense it gives you. "I will at some point, you'll be a pro in no time," I tell him.

I think that evening was the most chilled out evening I have ever had with someone. It was just me and him talking about anything and everything we wanted to talk about. I had done both of my assignments and I was proud of myself. I hadn't pushed myself too far either because I had taken plenty of breaks to just talk to Dylan and get to know him better. It worked out really well because he was worried about me working too hard too soon. I am enjoying this developing friendship with Dylan more and more. We've been talking about our courses and what we plan to do once they have ended. Dylan told me that his friendship group has started a band, but they're not fully concentrating on it until everyone has finished their course that they are doing, and they have found a record label willing to take them.

3 years later – Danny p.o.v

"Babe, where's my suitcase?" Dylan shouts. He's going on tour with his band to promote their first album Swan Songs. He's left it right to the last minute, exactly like he did every summer we had to leave the dorms in uni. "In the linen cupboard where you left it," I shout back. I hear him in the cupboard and then a shout that he had found it. We've been dating for two years now and I know him almost better than I know the back of my hand. He's leaving very early in the morning to catch his flight, so today is our chance to spend some time with each other before he leaves. We do get chance to phone each other every night, but it is not the name as spending that time in person with your loved one.

I hear him rush around and throw things into his suitcase like usual. I shake my head and smile. Some things I would never want to change about Dylan. That was one of them. He was talking the entire time about what items he needed to pack and how he was packing them. It was mostly I need these clothes and I am throwing them in. It just made me smile to think that we have been living together for 3 years and nothing has changed. I'm still looking for a job as a second-grade teacher in the local area, but I have not been in a huge rush to do it. That's what I have trained for in university so I might as well use the qualification. "Hmm there is not enough room in the suitcase for one Dannybear. That's a shame I'll have to keep hold of him when he comes to visit me," I hear him say. He was intentionally saying it louder for me to hear him.

"You can't keep me on tour babe you know what a certain person will have to say about it," I shout back. That was the only downside to him going on tour. Jordon warmed up to me by the time I graduated college, but Aron never did. That was just something that never changed between the two of us since the moment we met. I was originally told it was because he is jealous of me and the attention I was getting from the guys because I was new, and I had such a horrible dramatic back story as to why I was forced into moving dorms. Then I settled in and made friends with all of them and he lost the one other person who didn't like me as Jordon soon realised I was not a bad addition to the group.

Now they have no idea why he doesn't like me. He's just aggressive and hostile whenever I am there, but he never has the balls to physically do anything to me. I think George might have threatened him on time to never lay a finger on me and because George is quite intimidating it worked. I've seen him go to attack me before and he's looked at George and quickly sat back down again before Dylan walks back into the room. "I know, but that bastard should not stop me from having all the quality time with my bear that the other guys have with their loves," he tells me, feeling quite fed up with the situation he is in. "I get that babe, but when I start working as a teacher you know me coming to visit you on tours will be harder then. We'll just have to figure something out that works for the both of us now," I tell him.

"Yeah I guess so. Doesn't make it any easier on us though. I'll miss you a lot when I go," he tells me. He sits next to me and I snuggle in his arms. Today is going to involve a lot of cuddles to keep him happy. "I'll miss you just as much as you'll miss me love. We can face time every night and day if you want to," I tell him, then I kiss him on the cheek which makes him smile. I love him so much and I will definitely count down the days from the moment he leaves until the moment he returns. "You know I will hold you to that now babe," he tells me and then kisses me on the cheek. I don't mind him holding me to being involved in a face time call every day and night because I love him that much and I will do everything to make him happy.

"I will also come and visit you when you come to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and one other place. I have not decided which place to visit yet though," I tell him. It will make him even happier knowing that I will see him performing at least three times. I might even visit a fourth time; I have no idea yet. I need to see how I feel about being in the same room as Aron for the length of time I will be there, and the guys will want to have me on the tour bus for a while so they can spend time with me. It is not all about Dylan which I am sure he knows. He was so happy when Jordon finally realised that I was not the nasty guy he thought I was, and he could still spend as much time as he wanted to with Jorel. Even if that did mean he graduated by the skin of his teeth. He was very lucky that he did get to graduate with everyone in his class.

Dylan holds me tightly while we watch television. He is taking me out for dinner later on and then we are both going to bed as he has an early flight in the morning, and I will be still sleeping by then. He does not expect me to wake up at 4 am to wish him goodbye and it is something that is going to make me feel bad every time. He told me that he does not want me to feel bad which is why he asks if we can spend the day with each other the day before he leaves. "Don't feel bad for not waking up at four tomorrow morning to say goodbye to me babe. I'll face time you when I land and it will feel ten times better than getting all upset because we have to say goodbye to each other," he tells me. That does make sense and does seem like a better idea to me than me getting upset because I have to say goodbye to him.

"Have you ever been told how much of a genius you are?" I ask him a little while later. I had some time to think about what he said. "Not often really, because I am the youngest in the band people tend to already see me as the band clown or idiot," he tells me. I am going to change that because he is incredibly smart, but I know he does also put on the clown persona because it strangely makes people like him a little better. "Well I think you're a genius. Both of us get upset at the thought of you leaving and to remove that by making us both happy despite you being a long way away," I tell him. Sometimes the most basic solution is the best solution for any problem you face in life. He smiles, I love making him happy and complimenting him over the things he knows he should be proud of himself for.

I have no idea where he is taking me for dinner, he loves being able to surprise me like that. He loves having the ability to take me somewhere and I won't have a clue. The only part I don't like about it is the anxiety it gives me, but over the last three years I have learned to trust Dylan. He only has nice surprises for me. I am very conscious when it comes to making suggestions on where I would like to eat because he has stupidly decided that he is going to pay off my student loan for me because his rich parents have paid off his loan for him already. I told him that he didn't have to, and I was going to pay it off myself. He was being really stubborn with it though and told me that it was something that I deserved because he was so lucky to have someone pay for him and he wanted to return the favour.

Dinner was amazing. It was a posh yet inexpensive dinner. It's not something we'd cook in our little apartment that is for sure. "I loved every minute of that dinner date with you," Dylan tells me. He decides that it should be an early night for both of us and we are cuddling each other on the bed. "I loved every minute of the dinner date with you too babe. We have to fit one in when you're on tour," I tell him. He nods and smiles at me, but I can tell he is very tired already. He has had to deal with a lot of stupid texts from Aron demanding that I not be there at all tomorrow. Luckily for him I am being a bad lazy boyfriend and staying in bed instead of coming to bid him farewell at the airport. "I love you so much Danny," he tells me. "I love you too Dylan," I tell him, then we kiss.

And that was the end of another one shot. Hope you enjoyed. I feel so bad for my infrequent uploads but I am still very busy with work.

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