Page 38 of My Roommate from Hell
I laugh. Because that’s so not true and has to be an exaggeration.
“Everyone’s trying to figure out what your deal is,” he says. “To be honest I am, too. You could be hooking up, like, all the time, and yet you’re not.”
“No,” I say. My cheeks are now burning. I was not aware he, or anyone, thought of me this way. Ashley says I’m hot all the time, sure, but she’s my best friend and she has to say that. Jackson called me hot a few times, but he’s straight and dating my best friend, so again, he had to. Though I remember every single time he said that. I keep those compliments tucked away in my memory and think about them all the time.
“Are you religious?” he asks.
“Does agnostic count?” I ask.
“Interesting. What about your parents?”
“Mom thinks that religion is used by the wealthy and powerful to control people. She does believe in crystals, though, so she might not be the best person to listen to, and Dad’s a hardcore atheist. I’m somewhere in the middle. I think there could be something out there, but if there was I don’t think people would know exactly what it is.”
I can just make out the outline of Zarmenus’s crystal through hisshirt. It’s possible Mom wasn’t completely off base believing in the powers of magical stones, something she’s sworn by for as long as I can remember. Mom is never wrong about anything.
“Interesting. I thought most humans picked up their beliefs from their parents.”
“Most, not all,” I say. “Being queer’s probably a factor in that, but that’s a totally different topic. Do people really think I’m hot?”
“I’ve had three guys ask me to bring you to stuff so they can meet you,” says Zarmenus. “You’re a catch, Greene.”
Him saying my surname hits like a crossbow bolt to the chest.
Back to people saying I’m hot. He might be telling me the truth. I do feel different from how I was in high school. I feel as if I’ve grown into myself. I now know more about what clothes I like, and I’ve mostly figured out my hair and skincare. I feel good about how I look most of the time. So, like, maybe?
Anyway. I shouldn’t get distracted by these compliments. This talk was about resolving what’s been going on between us before things become unbearable.
Yes, our room is still a mess. But maybe he will fix that on his own. I’ll give him another chance to fix things.
I think this went well.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
At ten minutes before one, I leave my room to give Zarmenus some space.
It’s turned into a rainy day, and the sky is filled with thick gray storm clouds. I put my headphone in and start listening to my playlist. Given the weather, it seems like most people have decided to stay inside. I was going to go to the dining hall, but I’m not hungry yet, so I’m going straight to the library.
I walk past the coffee shop, and the sign out front has a hot chocolate drawn on it in chalk. Whoever the artist is, they’re incredibly talented—now the thing I want the most in the world is a hot chocolate.
Screw it.
I go into the coffee shop. The bell above the door rings as I go in. The shop is toasty and warm; a lot of the tables are filled with people talking to friends or working on their computers.
I go up to the counter and survey the baked goods on offer. I probably shouldn’t buy anything, because it’s all expensive, but I’m honestly not feeling great, and drowning those feelings in chocolate is a tried-and-true method of fixing things in the Greene household. We must’ve gone through a year’s worth of chocolate ice cream in the few weeks after Dad lost his job.
“What can I get for you?” asks the barista. He’s cute, with amazing hair and a sleeve of tattoos.
“Can I get a hot chocolate, and one of those cookies?”
He grabs the cookie and hands it over. “Hey, you’re Owen, right?”
“Yeah?”
“Sorry, I don’t mean to be creepy,” he says. He picks up a stack of magazines by my left, and I’m shocked to see I’m on the cover of a tabloid magazine, alongside Zarmenus. The headline reads:DEMON ON CAMPUS. Even though the focus is on Zarmenus, I’m clearly visible.
I’m on the cover of a magazine. It’s so wild.
“So, what’s it like?” he asks. “Sharing a room with a demon?”
