forum “I swear I’m not in love with you, I just can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment.” // oxo // CLOSED

Started April 08, 2020 by @PaperHats business

tune

Another laugh was let out as Chris shook his head.
“Alright. The one off of Winston Ave? I’m on my way,” he said, kicking the car into drive. He hung up the phone without any further notice, already pulling out of the parking lot.
He turned up the radio, rolling down his windows. It was an old classic rock CD his dad had given him when he was young, and he loved it with all his heart. From Led Zeppelin to Def Leppard, the CD had everything.
As he drove, he sang along. It was something he did often, without even knowing. But whoever would be in the car with him normally wouldn’t mind— people told him he had a decent voice. Which just added to his love of anything musical.
He pulled into the Walmart parking lot in a matter of minutes— the apartment wasn’t very far. He drove up to the front of the store, rolling how the passenger side door. He looked out, dipping his head to see.
“Alex?” he asked, seeing a boy about his age. He recognized the face only slightly, from family parties what seemed like ages ago.

"Uh, yeah," Alex stuttered at the boy inside the car, which was still blasting music– though Chris wasn't singing anymore. Alex stared at the vehicle in front of him and marveled at how quickly Chris had gotten here. Maybe he hadn't been to the apartment yet. "Um, should I… Get in?"

“Yeah, come on in,” Chris said warmly, leaning back to give him space if he decided to take his offer. He lifted a hand, limply turning down the music so it let him speak clearer. The guitar stirring in the background would’ve made it difficult otherwise. He gave Alex a charming smile, putting his hand back up to the steering wheel.
“The apartment’s not too far,” he began, then glanced over his shoulder at the bags still in his car. He took one from the passenger seat and shoved it in the back with the rest so Alex had enough room. “Have you seen it yet?”

Alex slowly climbed into the passenger seat, Pepsi in hand. Chris's smile and the familiar sound of a quiet strumming guitar comforted him a bit. "I haven't. Have you?

Chris took his foot from the brake, beginning to drive out of the parking lot. He didn’t drive careful nor clueless, just simply average.
“When I signed the papers the other day I saw it,” he said, nodding along to his words. “Other than that, no. I haven’t unpacked or anything.”
He paused for a second, glancing over to the other boy, then back to the road. “I don’t know if you parents told you but… it is a one-bedroom place.”
He quickly continued before Alex could comment. “—But, I’m totally fine with sleeping on the couch or floor, so you can take the bed. The moving truck is gonna be here in a little bit with the stuff I set out this morning, so for now we can just carry… these bags.”
He gestured a hand behind him, noting the bags in the back.

"Oh," Alex flushed. A one-bedroom apartment, which he'd have to share with Chris?
The idea of having a roommate did excite Alex– This was his first time living without his parents, and with someone to share the space with, he wouldn't be completely alone. And Chris seemed like a cool guy from the stories his parents had told him. But the one-bedroom thing?
That could be an issue.
Alex observed Chris out of the the corner of his eye. Wavy hair. Tan skin. Muscles. Blue eyes. Angular face.

Blue. Eyes.

That would be an issue.
Unsure of what to say next, Alex nodded, staring at the road in front of him. "Uh, is it a nice place? The apartment, I mean?"

Chris’s smile stayed put, but it was more natural and relaxed than before. He was excited. Alex came off as a nice guy, and Chris appreciated it.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” Chris replied, adjusting his hands on the wheel. “The view isn’t much and it’s a bit small, but it’s a really short commute to… Maple’s? That’s where you work, right? I play piano there sometimes, surprised I haven’t seen you around much.”
He pulled off of to another road, familiar now, to him, as another turn would put him in the parking lot of their new residence. He glanced over to see the moving truck now in the lot, and he pulled in beside them.
Before he got out, he looked back over to Alex.
“We could probably walk there, honestly. It would take just a couple minutes to get to the restaurant. And campus for school is right offa the freeway.”

"Oh, yeah! Maple's! That's where I know you from!" Alex exclaimed excitedly. "What did you play just the other week? It was awesome!!!"

“I played a couple songs,” Chris said with a slight chuckle, brushing his hair back with his free hand as he took the key from the slot. “But the crowd favorite was Bluestone Alley? That might be the one you’re talking about. It’s always been fun.”
He paused for a moment, putting the keys in his pocket. “And, thank you. I’m glad you liked it.”
He looked back up with a smile, his bright eyes looking almost childish with their interior youth. He glanced back away, eyes wandering to the back of the apartment complex.
“Well… here we are.”

"Bluestone Alley… Yeah, I think that was it," Alex took off his beanie, ran his hand through his hair, and pulled the hat back over his head. "So this is it, huh? It looks… Nice. I mean, I've never been in an apartment, but…"

“You don’t have to sugar-coat it… I know it’s not much,” Chris said, pushing his door open and hoisting himself up, then leaning on the top.
“But we can fix up the place however we’d like,” he continued. “It’ll be fun, having a roommate ‘n all.”
He waved a greeting to the movers, who were currently trying their luck with a small couch. It looked like it could barely fit two people… more of a chair, really. But for the time being, Chris had no problem having that as his bed. It was surprisingly comfortable.
“Ready to go check it out?” he asked, his eyes wandering over to Alex.

"I am," Alex gulped, feeling Chris's eyes on him. He couldn't look back, of course. It had already been established that those blue eyes were far too dangerous to be faced head-on.
Entering the apartment, Alex took in the space. The walls were white and the floors wooden. The room that the front door lead into appeared to be an empty two-windowed living room.
He explored the kitchen, bathroom, and finally… The single bedroom. "So… This is it, huh?"

“Sure is,” he said, giving a slight light-hearted scoff. He stood in the doorway to the bedroom, propping himself on his shoulder as he crossed his arms in front of himself. He crossed one leg over the other, tapping the tip of his shoe on the hardwood floor. He watched as Alex explored the room, nodding along to his comment.
“Don’t worry, though,” he continued. “Just tell me when I need to butt out and I’ll go for a walk or something. It’s your place as much as it is mine.”
His attention was soon caught by the movers, who had plopped the couch down in the middle of the living room. Chris resigned from his post in the doorway, walking over and pushing the couch against the wall, in the area between the two windows.

Alex followed Chris into the living room. "I mean, that goes for you, too. Don't let me spend too much time in there. Damn, that's a tiny couch."

Chris snickered, looking up from the cushions. “I’ll upgrade sometime… maybe. All else fails, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
His eyes darted from Alex to the second set of movers as he stood upright. One of the men was carrying Chris’s keyboard in one arm and the stand in the other. Chris hastily leapt to help him, setting up the keyboard under the windowsill on one side of the couch.
He looked up from the placement, nodding to Alex. “If you wanna move anything around, I don’t mind. Some of this stuff is yours too, right?”
He took the stool from another man, sliding it in beside the keyboard. He fiddled with the keys slightly, just making sure they all worked before getting up again to help bring in other pieces of furniture and whatnot.

Alex nodded. "A few things should be mine, yeah," he said as he hastily helped the movers with a bookshelf.

"So," he started over a mover's shoulder, "this, um… This bedroom thing. How are we gonna… You know..?"

Chris cocked his head, taking a bag and setting it on the kitchen counter. He looked over, watching as they dealt with the bookshelf. The kitchen was an open one, not having a wall between it and the living room.
“I wasn’t kidding that I’d sleep on the couch,” he said plainly. “You can take the room, if you’d like. If not… I’ll just save for… like, a twin bed, maybe? We’ll figure it out.”
He gave a slight awkward laugh, not sure why his heart had started beating quicker. He shook the concern aside, trying to help with the placement of the diminutive coffee table. He lead it to the front of the couch, leaving enough space between the two to at least walk through.

"No, no! I mean, whatever you want, of course, but… You deserve a bedroom in your own home." Alex felt his cheeks heat up as the fit man moved furniture. "Maybe we could just, um… Share?"
As soon as the words left his mouth, a mover handed him his rainbow flag, which had been marked his by a sticky note reading 'ALEX.' Alex looked up at Chris and bit his lip, realizing how this event made everything sound.

Chris looked from the flag back to Alex, his heart beating a slight bit faster.
He’s….? he thought, but stopped himself before the thought could proceed.
“How do you have in mind?” he said casually, trying to act as if he hadn’t seen. “Like trading nights, or…? I’m open to… brainstorming.”
He bit his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else that sounded stupid. Well… to him, it all sounded stupid, so that wasn’t anything new.

Alex almost laughed at the situation he was in. Nice going, Alex. "I, uh… This probably looks, um… Well, I… I'mbisexualbutlikeIwouldneverbeintoyouoranythingnotbecauseofwhoyouarejustbecauselikethatwouldn'thappenoranything– whatever you want for the room would work."