Tim said to ask you instead SO how did you and Tim meet :0?
Okay. So picture this: it’s orientation day. Sun’s shining. Hope’s in the air. I’m wearing my “make friends not war” shirt. I see him. Brooding. Standing alone like he’s auditioning for the role of emotionally unavailable protagonist in a coming-of-age film.
I point. I whisper to myself: “That one. That’s gonna be my best friend.”
He looked at me like I’d just kicked his puppy.
And from that moment on, he despised me. I’m not even exaggerating. I would say hi—he would grunt. I’d ask how he was—he’d leave the room. I once complimented his shirt and he asked if I was having a stroke.
Dorm assignments came out. Boom. Roommates.
Suddenly he couldn’t escape me. We ended up in the same social circles, but Tim, being Tim, was about as emotionally warm as a parking meter. People didn’t get him, and they made jokes. I made the mistake of laughing at one.
I apologized. Genuinely. He didn’t say much, but after that he just… started weeding people out. People who treated me like crap? He’d glare once and they’d vanish. Like some kind of antisocial bouncer. Apparently I’m “too friendly” and have “stray dog syndrome” (his words, not mine).
Then came the party. He wasn’t gonna go. Still doesn’t know why he said yes. But he had a panic attack halfway through, and I got him out of there. Walked him back. Kept it light. He leaned his head on my shoulder and didn’t pull away. Huge.
And the real kicker? I passed a test. Dumb physics thing. Wasn’t even that important. I hugged him, full force, no hesitation—
and he hugged back instead of shoving me off. Real stiff. Real awkward.
Then he went, “I knew you could.”
Like the world’s grumpiest Hallmark card.
Thought I was loud and annoying and too friendly.
And now he shares his cigarettes and lets me fall asleep on his chest and threatens to fight anyone who looks at me weird.