Chapter two- Confusion and Frustration in Modern Times

Two weeks into the routine found Marco not only drinking beer, but other alcohols. And he was smoking pot, something he had done once long ago. His grades sucked. He was out of control. His hair was long again, and he kept himself looking sharp, but he acted near lethargic. Those who noticed didn't say much. They figured he would soon get over the boyfriend drama and find someone new. Soon was coming and going before their eyes.

Three weeks in Marco woke up one morning with a hangover induced migraine. He got out of bed massaging his temples. He went downstairs to the kitchen in only an oversized t-shirt and boxers to get coffee. He heard someone moving around in the kitchen and figured Ellie or Paige was making breakfast.

But when he turned the corner he realized that it was neither Paige nor Ellie at the stove.

Whoever she was, was even shorter than himself, and very wiry, but had obvious muscle tone in her arms and legs, which were exposed in that red sleeveless hoodie and black cotton shorts that she wore. She had reddish-purple hair that faded to black at the front and was cut boyishly short and was currently slightly bed-headish. Her skin was a very pale ivory and her nails that were just barely long enough to paint were neon purple. Her back was turned and she was cooking a batch of pancakes on the stove, and he distinctly smelt bacon from the oven.

She put the spatula and went to the fridge to get a drink. She spotted Marco out of the corner of her eye. She took the headphone out of her ears and turned to face him. She appraised him with her large grey-green eyes for a moment before she spoke to him.

"Good morning. You must be Marco!" she said. She had a beautiful lilting accent and Marco found himself wanting to hear her speak more and more. He took in her beaming smile and her rosy cheeks as he replied clumsily:

"Ah, yeah, that's me, I'm Marco." he couldn't understand why he couldn't stop staring. "Um, Ellie mentioned a new roommate. Are you her?"

"Aye, that's me. I'm Sasha Haven. It's a pleasure to meet you." she held out her hand. He took it, noticing how soft her hands were and the firmness of her handshake.

"Um, the pleasure's mine." Marco replied, remembering how to speak. "So, I have a question. That accent of your's…where are you from?"

"Ireland." Sasha replied. "Moved here just earlier this year for college."

"Oh, wow. So you're here without your family?" Marco asked curiously.

"Yep, came all by my lonesome." she grinned. "It's been an interesting experience so far."

Marco grinned back. "Well, welcome to the condo!" he said. And he looked at the stove. "Um, you should probably check those pancakes."

"Damn!" she gasped and rushed to the stove. " Oh please tell me I didn't ruin the bloody things!" she flipped them urgently. Marco chuckled lightly at her distress. She was cute…and she had those full lips, and that well defined collarbone, and small breasts, which he found more… wait, Wait, WAIT! Marco, what are you thinking??? Gay remember, you're gay. And she is definitely not a guy. He shook himself little. But this did not stop him from staring at her very cute ass as she leaned over to check the bacon.

Ah fuck! he thought. Why was he doing this? Why was she so….sexy to him?

He needed to get out of the kitchen. Now! His best excuse being that he was in his p.j's. He told Sasha he was going to get changed and clean up for breakfast.

"Do you want me to wake up the girls?" he asked.

"Actually, you only have to wake Ellie. Paige ran out of here early on 'urgent business.'" Sasha told him. Marco didn't remember Paige mentioning needing to get out early on Saturday morning to him. Then again, it was doubtful he would have remembered if she had. He'd been drunk, bunt out or hung-over most of the time since the day he and Eric had broken up.

He went up the stairs and into his room. First things first, he had to figure something out. He went to his bed and looked around under it. He came back out with a box. Lifting the lid he went through it's contents and he found what he was looking for. A picture of Dylan. And he looked at it. Yes, he still thought Dylan Hovolchauk was the sexiest thing he's ever seen. So, that thing with Sasha… it was probably just an after affect of the amount of drinking and blazing he'd done the night before.

Yeah, that's probably all it was he thought as he went to his closet to find his clothes for the day. Within minutes he emerged from his room in a white t-shirt, a gray hoodie, a pair of tight jeans and socks on his feet. He walked to Ellie's door and knocked. He heard he groan.

"Come on Ellie! Get up, breakfast!!" he called through the door.

"Fine, I'll be there in a minute!" she yelled back. Marco sighed, knowing that she really just rolled over and fell back asleep. He opened the door and walked in. As he expected, she had fallen back asleep.

"Ellie!" Marco whined the way a small child might when he's trying to get his parents out of bed on the day they planned to go on trip. "C'mon! First breakfast with the new roommate!! Get up!!" he commanded, pulling the blankets off of her.

"Alright, alright!" Ellie laughed. Marco was never this energetic anymore, she missed their little games and the laughs they had. It was then she began to understand why she had gotten such good vibes from Sasha when they met.

Five minutes later they were seated at the kitchen table. The breakfast was delicious. Marco and Ellie complimented the cook several times. Sasha humbly thanked them every time. Marco's eyes were glued to her for most of the meal. Ellie noticed her best friend's glances at the pretty Irish girl. She was further intrigued when, at the end of breakfast, Sasha began to clear the table and Marco jumped up to help. Marco hadn't jumped to do much of anything lately.

Ellie hoped that maybe Marco's new fascination with Sasha would keep him home that night. She new what Marco had been doing, and though she knew why, it hurt her to think that sweet little Marco would get wrapped up in that crowd.

However, Ellie was quite wrong about Sasha being a reason for Marco to stay home. It was the exact opposite. He left because he needed to get away. For the second time in his life, he was very confused about himself. He was gay, wasn't he? So why was this girl so attractive to him? Why was she on his mind? He was on a mission t drink her off his mind, if only for the night.