#solace

You never thought you’d be sharing a room with him.

But there he was, standing in the doorway of your dorm room one Thursday afternoon, a suitcase, box under one arm and a guitar case in the other.

“You’ve gotta be kidding me.” you muttered under your breath.

He glanced at you, amused. “This the right room?”

You nodded slowly, still trying to process the fact that he was your new roommate.

“Cool” he said with an easy smile, setting his stuff down on the empty bed. “I’m Sebastian. Youre-”

You gave your name, and his smile widened a little, like it clicked for him too.

“Right. You’re in engineering, yeah? I’ve seen you around.”

“Yeah” you said, still a little dazed. “You used to be a business major?”

“Mhm...” he said, starting to unpack. “Hated it. Switched to engineering this semester. Figured I’d move dorms while I was at it, this building’s closer.”

You tried not to stare while he unpacked, but it was hard not to notice. The rings, the glint of silver piercings in his ears, the way he handled his guitar case like it was worth more than tuition.

By the time he was done, your half of the room looked exactly the same, plain desk, plain bedding, a pile of notes. His half looked like a gig poster exploded. A guitar stand set up by the wall, a stack of music theory books next to a bag of Reese’s cups, a leather jacket hanging on the back of his chair.

...

The first night was quiet.

Until you forgot your headphones.

You’d been blasting Metallica’s "Enter Sandman" from your laptop while working through problem sets, half headbanging, half solving equations, when you heard movement behind you.

“You’re kidding...” Sebastian said, sitting up from his bed with a grin. “You listen to Metallica?”

You froze, halfway through scribbling a solution, then nodded.

“Good taste” he said, grabbing his guitar and sitting cross legged. “Play that chorus again.”

You blinked. “What?

So you did.

He matched the riff perfectly on the first try, grinning when you stared.

“Don’t look so shocked” he teased. “You think I keep this thing around just for decoration?”

From then on, nights turned into jam sessions. Sometimes you’d both just work in silence, you on equations, him idly plucking at strings, and sometimes you and him would end up laughing so hard the RA would come knocking.

Three months of living together, and the room didn’t feel like two halves anymore. It felt like one life you shared, mismatched, messy, but undeniably yours.

Your desk was buried under both your notes, his hoodie was tossed over your chair half the time, and his guitar stand had migrated dangerously close to your bed. But you didn’t mind.

Your desk was buried under both your notes, his hoodie was tossed over your chair half the time, and his guitar stand had migrated dangerously close to your bed. But you didn’t mind.

If anything, you liked it...

You’d grown used to the rhythm, his guitar playing while you studied, his quiet humming when he thought you weren’t listening, the way he always shoved a Reese’s your way before opening a problem set.

And tonight, it was just like that.

Midterms were looming, the dorm was quiet except for your tapping keyboard and his lazy strumming. But Sebastian wasn’t really playing, just running the same riff over and over, slower than usual, distracted.

“You’re off” you said, glancing up from your notes.

He chuckled, setting the guitar aside. “Guess I am.”

You turned back to your work, but his silence made you pause. When you looked again, he wasn’t smirking or teasing like usual. He was watching you, really watching you. Blueish green eyes steady under the dim desk lamp.

Your breath caught.

“What?”

He hesitated for a beat, then exhaled, running a hand through his hair. “You ever think about… how weird it is we ended up here? Same building, same room, same major. Like.. what are the odds?”

You shrugged lightly, trying to ignore the way your heart was already racing. “Guess the universe has good taste.”

That made him laugh, but softer than usual. His lip ring glinted when he bit down on it for a moment, then he leaned forward, elbows on his knees.

I like living with you” he said simply. No teasing, no filter. Just truth.

The words hit harder than you expected.

“I-? Ilike living with you too, dude” you admitted, voice smaller than you wanted.

Sebastian nodded, then leaned back again, but his eyes never left yours. “Thing is… it’s more than that for me.”

Your chest tightened. “…More?”

He smiled, not the cocky grin he wore in class, but something softer, a little nervous, like he was laying down his guitar and waiting to see if you’d pick it up.

“I like you.” he said. “Not just as my roommate. Not just as my jam partner or study buddy I-” He laughed quietly at himself, shaking his head. “Damn, I’m not usually bad with words.”

“You’re not” you said quickly, your own smile tugging at your lips. “You’re doing fine.”

He looked up again, hope flickering in his eyes. “So… what do you think? About me. About… us.”

The room was quiet, except for your heartbeat hammering in your ears. And yet the answer came easily,

“I think…” you began, sliding off your chair to sit next to him on the bed. “That I like you too. More than I should, probably.”

For a moment, neither of you moved , just staring, both grinning like idiots. Then Sebastian let out a relieved laugh, leaning back against the wall.

“Finally” he said. “I was starting to think I’d have to write it into a song just to get the message across.”

You laughed, shoving his shoulder lightly and when he caught your hand, warm and steady, you didn’t pull away.

Well at least it ain't dramatic, and it sure wasn’t cinematic, just two engineering majors crammed into a messy dorm room, grinning at each other like the world outside didn’t exist.