Chapter synopsis: Megan realizes she won't be finding any peace in her home. Manon sees a golden opportunity and drags Megan and Lara into making her fantasy world a reality. Megan tags along on a much needed mall trip with you and your close friends to gather intel. You and Daniela are not so blissfully unaware.
a/n: This took a longer than expected because it turns out I was not just 'a tad bit ill' but infact, felt like I was on deaths door! Feeling a bit better now though. The beginning might seem a little odd because I wrote it while still recovering and feeling a little bummy but I hope it's good!
warnings: Use of Y/N, a small dip into emotions, past trauma with relationships mentioned (very vague though), not proofread.
You'd had, quite frankly, one of the worst nights of sleep of your entire life.
After your little ego match with Daniela you'd promptly scurried off to your room to get some much needed rest and recharge. You felt a little bad for ditching Megan in the living room but you'd decided the movie she was watching would have been better company than you ever would've with been your dead social battery.
Before shutting your eyes and going to bed you'd silently promised, to yourself more than Megan, that you'd make it up to her the next day with an impromptu mall trip.
You needed new bedding anyway.
Exhaustion hit you like a truck the next morning when you awoke to a blaring alarm emitting from your phone. You were sure you'd broken a world record with how fast you'd flipped over to turn the alarm off.
Your neck screamed in protest when you laid your head down onto your bare mattress. It had gotten little support without a pillow to cushion it.
Sure, you could've bit the bullet and asked for a spare pillow from Megan but you'd opted to bundle together some of your clothes into a makeshift cushion and collapse into your bed, far too exhausted from the day you'd had.
Yeah, safe to say you had many regrets.
Your cheek pressed into the scratchy material of your mattress as you puffed out a breath, dry eyes staring blankly at the white walls of your new bedroom. The hood of your jacket, your makeshift blanket for the night prior, was draped lazily over your head, strands of your hair peaking out wildly from beneath it.
Everytime you commanded your body to move your muscles groaned in protest, only really managing to wiggle your arms and legs around.
You gave up on trying after another minute of torture.
Instead, you decided to pick up your phone, the screen dim compared to sunlight peaking in through the white curtains Megan had so graciously provided to her new roommates. You'd added blackout curtains to your list of things to buy today.
After a minute of fumbling with the device in your hands you opened up a groupchat, starting a group call before you could process what your hands were doing.
You nearly fell asleep whilst staring at the screen, the monotonous ringing sounding like the sweetest melody to your tired brain. Unfortunately, you werent given much grace, as soon, Sophias voice filled your ears, far too cheery for how early in the morning it was.
"Y/N? What's wrong? Why'd you call?"
You would've found the worry in her voice sweet if her rapid-fire questions weren't absolutely frying your brain right now.
"Im fine Fia... I'm just calling to ask if you wanna go to the mall with me..? Need to get a few things."
You grumbled out, hand coming up to rub the sleep from your eyes. Your throat was annoyingly scratchy and your voice uncharacteristically unsteady due to the sleep that still plagued your body.
As shitty as your bed was right now, you'd give anything to go back to sleep in it.
"Thank you for noticing chae, I feel horrible."
Yoonchae was certainly the bluntest friend you had. You'd say you learnt it from her, even if she was a handfull of years younger than you.
The two of you had met through eachothers families when you were both younger, in-turn, you took her in as your adoptive little-sister, showing her the ropes of teenage-hood and being her shoulder to lean on before she had gone off and made her own friends.
You'd met Sophia much later, not to say you weren't just as close to her. She'd been your mentor in a local coffee shop you'd picked up an odd-job in, teaching you the ropes and then, eventually, becoming your adoptive older sister.
Of course, she'd become the same to Yoonchae when the two finally met through you so you'd all pretty much just became family.
You groaned at Sophia's words, as if the syllables themselves were digging into you and biting at your stiff muscles. "You dont even know. I'll tell you today." You really didn't have the energy to rant right now so you'd save it for after you'd gotten some caffeine in your system.
"Anyway.. mall later then? I'll pick you guys up."
The call ended with a chorus of agreements and goodbyes before you were left in silence with the task of inviting Megan to the small trip.
You really did not feel like getting up.
After a minute of trying to psyche yourself up, keyword: trying, you gave up and decided you'd just give her a call. Genius idea really. You had her number from the calls you guys had exchanged about the roommate agreement so it saved you from getting up.
You still had to get changed but you'd cross that bridge when you got there.
You swiftly called the Hawaiian's number, a little invigorated by your wonderful plan, a lot more invigorated by the concept of getting to stay in bed a little longer.
Megan's tired voice broke you out of your thoughts, half-scaring you as you hadn't expected her to answer as quickly as she did. Granted, she was probably just as off-put by the morning call as you were.
You cleared your throat before you spoke, trying to get rid of the scratchiness in your throat. "Hey Meg, sorry for the early call, just wondering if you wanted to go out to the mall with me and a couple of my friends..?" The tilt in your voice showed your uncertainty. You hadn't actually checked in to see if she was busy today, rookie mistake in all honesty.
The line went quiet for a moment, only the soft sounds of tapping echoing from Megans side before she let out a soft giggle, raspy and laced with the tiredness of having just woken up.
"Oh, Y/N. Sorry... didn't have your number saved, didn't know it was you."
You gave the girl a faux gasp, your free hand coming up to rest on your heart as if the girl could see the dramatic gesture. "And to think I had you saved. I'm hurt." You grumbled out, tone laced with betrayal.
The snort that left your mouth was highly unflattering. You could practically hear her eyeroll through the screen.
"Sorry, I'm just the jealous type." You joked, a tired grin playing on your lips as you toyed with the stitching on your mattress. "But are you down? I'll get you some food, something to drink."
Megan hummed into her phone, the sound of rustling sheets and clothes playing out through your speaker as she spoke.
"Im down, give me a little to get ready."
You nodded before realizing the girl couldn't see you and catching yourself. "Cool, just come to my room when you're done." The Hawaiian gave a small noise of approval before ending the call, leaving you in silence once again, staring at your empty room in regret.
You were going to be walking around like a zombie today.
In the time you were going to spend waiting for Megan to get ready you'd decided a little doomscrolling wouldn't hurt. You guessed she'd take a while anyway.
With that, you opened up TikTok and began your short little doomscrolling session.
It turned out not to be a short session, as soon, there was a knock at the door that broke you out of the downright, insane giggle you were giving to a particularly funny Tiktok.
You lifted your head slightly from your bundle of clothes, eyebrows furrowing as you stared at the door for a moment before pausing the video playing on your phone. "Come in." The roughness of your voice made you cringe inwardly, showing off how tired you were all too well.
Megan's head peaked into the room a moment later, eyes widening when she caught your form draped awkwardly over your bare bed, hoodie pulled lazily over a head of messy hair. What did it for her was the messy pile of clothes you were using as a makeshift pillow.
"Why in gods name are you sleeping like a caveman."
You spared the girl a cheeky grin, laying your head back down onto your 'pillow', neck slightly craned so you could still look up at the girl who was now stood infront of your closed door, eyeing your bare room with judgement.
"Cavemen sleep on the floor. I'd like to think its giving more of a 'broke uni student' vibe."
Megan rolled her eyes at your words, moving to take a seat on the edge of your bed, grimacing at the texture of the bare mattress pressing into her bare palm.
"Okay well you aren't broke and you arent a uni student yet... so..."
You shrugged at the Hawaiian's words, placing your phone onto the bed beside you so you could roll onto your back. You brought both your hands up to rub at your face, palms digging into your eyes in an attempt to force the eyebags off of your face.
"If youre talking about the bed specifically then it's because our roomie stole my box."
As you shifted to get up you missed Megan's puzzled look. She'd seen a few passing messages from the groupchat she shared with Manon, Lara and Daniela that mentioned you but she hadn't checked any deeper than that before going to bed.
You gave the girl a soft hum, padding your way to the boxes in the corner of the room, rummaging through one to find a suitable outfit for todays outing. Nothing extravagant or fancy, not when you didn't feel extravagant nor fancy.
"Do you want me to talk to her... or..."
Megan muttered out from behind you, eyeing your back cautiously. She knew Dani could be a little off with new people. Nothing mean, she was just cautious. Megan understood that. She also understood that it could be off-putting to certain people.
She didnt really get how it had progressed to her stealing your bedding though.
Her eyes snapped up to your face when you turned around, a fresh new set of clothes clutched in your arms as you gave her a tired grin. "You don't have to. I like this little ego battle we have going on actually." You cheesed, taking a step toward the bed so you could place the fresh clothes down while you changed.
"Mind turning around while I change?"
Megan gave a stunned nod, a little puzzled by your earlier words. She angled her body toward the wall your bed was pushed up against, opening up the groupchat to get some sort of an understanding on what had happened last night.
"I promise she's not like that normally. Shes just cautious of new people- has her gaurd up you know?"
You made a small sound from behind her, clothes rustling as you pulled off your old clothes to slip into the fresh pair. "I do get it, really-" You sighed out, a hint of bitterness coating your tongue. "-I have nothing against her, just think our dynamics a little fun."
Megan resisted the urge to turn around and give you a look, instead letting her eyes flick around at the words on her screen. "So... layers of poorly hidden tension and a battle of insults?" She questioned, soft tapping sounding out from her phone as she typed out a single message into the groupchat.
"I did not insult her. I think she's quite beautiful actually."
Megan raised a brow at that, suddenly clicking together the pieces of Manon's 'super effective plan' that she had privately messaged her about. Manon was a sucker for a good love story and boy was this laying the foundations of one. Megan was too tired to consider the ethics of that.
You finished pulling your shirt on, eyebrows furrowing at the girls short reply as you reached over the bed to grab your phone, knee digging into the bare mattress as you half crawled over it.
"What 'Oh', why did you say it like that?"
Megan whipped her head around, a sickeningly sweet smile plastered on her face that totally wasn't suspicious in the slightest. "Nothing, just didnt know what to say to that." She grinned, voice a little higher pitched than you were used to.
You didn't have the energy to read into it.
"Right, well, I'm done so let's get a move on before Sophia thinks I got into a car crash on the way."
Megan shot up from your bed, quickly making her way to your door. She didn't know who Sophia was but she'd figure that out when she met her. She was far too occupied with the questions she'd be asking Manon when she got back home.
You grabbed your keys, feet struggling to keep up with Megan's surprisingly quick pace. Maybe you'd just spent too much time walking around with Sophia.
You'd blame your slow walking on your lack of energy for now.
When you left your room your eyes naturally flickered toward Daniela's door, catching sight of the curly-haired girl who just so happened to be leaving her room too. It'd be a shame to waste such a golden opportunity.
The Latinas eyes snapped to yours, a scowl immediately breaking out on her bare face. She was clad in an oversized hoodie and a pair of sleep shorts that showed off her toned legs. Everything about this girl just kept on getting better.
"We're roommates, you'll get used to it. Especially if you're talking that loud at eight in the morning."
You paused for a moment, smile frozen on your face when you realized she potentially heard the conversation you'd been having with Megan moments prior. Another reason added onto your long list of why you hated thin walls.
"I don't quite like being called a thief, by the way."
You cleared your throat when Daniela closed her door behind her, making her way towards the bathroom at the end of the hall. Maybe she hadn't heard everything.
"Don't think that calling me beautiful makes up for that either."
"So... what can I do to make it up to you then?"
The words came out before you could process what you were saying, though your smirk never faltered. You were telling yourself you'd just go with the flow. It seemed to be working when you saw Daniela's steps falter for a brief moment, her head seemingly fighting to turn back and look at you.
"Leave me alone. Preferably."
Daniela sucked in a breath, her hand planted firmly on the bathroom door. She finally turned around to look at you and you felt your grin falter when you saw the edges of her mouth tick upwards.
"I like people that can handle a challenge."
And with that she dissapeared into the bathroom.
"Fuck, okay." You whispered softly to yourself, still standing dumbly in the hallway, eyes fixated on the door she'd just closed.
You couldn't tell if she was talking about the challenge of leaving her alone or the challenge of getting to know her.
You'd decided on the latter.
Megan calling your name broke you out of your little staring match with the bathroom door, head flying toward the Hawaiian who was stood at the other end of the hall, grinning at you like she'd just won the lottery.
"Didn't know you walked that slow. First you make me wait for you to change and now you're leaving me to flirt with our roommate?"
You rolled your eyes at the girls words, quickly making your way past her and towards the front door. "I wasn't flirting." You stated matter-of-factly holding the door open so Megan could step out before you followed, locking the door behind you.
"Yeah okay, cuz any normal response to being told to leave someone alone is: 'you make that hard' totally not flirting."
You grinned at the Hawaiian, keys jingling as you played around with them. "Rule number one of winning the game: flirt with your enemy to throw them off their game and assert dominance." You stated simply, unlocking your car and climbing into the driver's seat, Megan slipping into the passenger side a moment later.
"It's two to zero right now."
Megan raised a brow at your words, watching you fumble with your keys before you finally got them into the ignition and started the car. "Looks more like one to one, you were standing there like a lost puppy after she left." Her tone was blunt as she stared at the side of your face.
"Yeah okay-" You grumbled out after a moment, eyes focused on your rear-view mirror as you backed out of the driveway carefully. "-fine, one to one. It'll be the only win she has."
You couldn't tell if you were convincing Megan or yourself.
"Okay Romeo, focus on the road. I dont want you seeing another Latina with bleached her on the side of the road and sending us into a lamppost."
You opened your mouth to retaliate but one glance from Megan made you realize you didn't really have anything to say back. You were a sucker for pretty girls, that's it. You'd get under a crack in Daniela's armor and the two of you would become friends. That's all. That's all you wanted.
Just friends. You could find friends attractive. You found Megan attractive. Sophia... Sophia was like a sister to you, same with Yoonchae, it was hard to find them attractive. They were beautiful, sure, but in a sisterly way.
As you sat brewing in your own thoughts Megan had pulled out her phone, set on texting Manon and figuring out what was going on between you and Daniela.
She glanced at you every now and then as her and Manon shared their experiences.
She knew Dani. She knew that having someone match her fire like this wasn't only intruiging but dangerous. Her and Manon would have to take it slow, a dangerous balancing act that could either succeed and have you two end up together, or... fail and have the two of you absolutely resenting eachother.
Megan decided she'd do some recon work with your freinds.
After a short drive you'd finally reached Sophia's place, thankfully you didn't have to drive to three different places today because Yoonchae had decided to uber to Sophia's so she could make your life a little easier.
When you pulled up in front of the house you fished your phone out to send the Fillipino girl a message stating you were outside. Megan eyed the house from beside you, eager to meet your friend's and get a feel for what they were like.
After a minute the two girls emerged from the house, dressed casually and comfortably. They slid into the backseat swiftly, all smiles as they greeted you and Megan.
"Hi! You must be Y/N's roommate?"
Sophia leaned between the two front seats, one hand reaching up to grab onto your shoulder, the other resting idly on the centre console. "Are they behaving? Respecting house rules?" She chided, squeezing at your shoulder, her manicured nails digging into your shoulder through the thin fabric of your shirt.
"Oh, they're wonderful, even bought me some food last night!"
Sophia raised an eyebrow, eyes flicking to the back of your head as you began to pull back onto the road, one hand coming up to lightly nudge the Fillipino's off of your shoulder.
"She sounds way too sweet about it. What did you do?"
You scoffed out a laugh as Sophia swatted at the side of your head, causing you to flinch, the car jerking suddenly when your arms tensed. "Fia- I'm driving! I didn't do anything, Megan's just nice." You grumbled out, sparing her a glance before turning your attention back to the road ahead of you.
Sophia hummed, eyeing you briefly before relaxing back into her seat, her attention drifting to Megan who was sat awkwardly, hands playing with the jade bracelet on her arm.
"Im Sophia by the way, this is Yoonchae!"
At the sound of her name the Korean girl looked up at Megan, giving her a little wave and a shy smile. She'd always been like that when meeting new people. Incredibly shy and a tad bit closed off. She was a sweetheart when she got comfortable though, and maybe a little sassy.
"It's nice to meet you guys! Im Megan, one of Y/N's roommates."
The Hawaiian girl turned in her seat slightly to look at the duo seated in the back, offering them a nervous but genuine smile.
Sophia hummed, eyeing you through the rear-view mirror. "Multiple roommate's? Where's the rest, why didn't you invite them?" She questioned, eyebrows quirked at you. You could practically feel her gaze reflecting off of the rear-view mirror.
"Just one other. She stole my bedding so she's not invited."
Yoonchae let out a snort from the backseat, looking up from her phone. "That's why you had a horrible night?" She smiled, shifting over and leaning on the back of Megan's seat so you could hear her properly.
You kissed your teeth, eyes still focused on the road ahead of you. "Yes." You'd just gotten chewed out by the Latina this morning about calling her a thief but it was the best description you could think of.
Maybe 'hot Latina I can't stay away from' would've been a better description but you wouldn't be caught dead saying that out loud.
"How does one 'steal' bedding exactly?"
You puffed out a breath at Sophia's question, a smile unconsciously tugging at your lips as you recalled the interaction you'd had with Daniela the night prior.
"She accidentally took one of my boxes. Didn't wanna check through them when I asked so I spent the night on a bare bed."
Megan sucked in a breath at your retelling, feeling a tad bit bad about your shitty night. "You could've just asked me for some spare bedding, you know that right?" She didn't want to seem like a horrible roommate in front of what seemed to be your close friends.
"I know, I was just way too tired to do that- not your fault though. Thank you Megs."
The Hawaiian offered you a grin when your eyes flickered towards her briefly, your own kind smile playing on your lips.
"So... your other roommate isn't the greatest?"
Your eyes flickered to Yoonchaes through the rear-view mirror, catching her furrowed eyebrows and puzzled look. She didn't really get why you had brushed it off so quickly if someone had stolen your belongings, bedding or not.
Megan tensed in the seat beside you, fighting between defending her friend and making a good impression with the girls behind you. Her gaze lingered on the side of your face for a moment, a silent cry for help that, thankfully, didn't go unnoticed.
"She's not horrible. We just have a little banter going on, nothing serious."
Sophia cleared her throat from behind you. "Banter doesn't usually mean stealing something from someone." You puffed out a small breath. The Fillipino had a point but you couldn't really come up with any excuse as to why you'd let the girls actions slide.
"She's wary of new people. Has her walls put up."
The excuse came out a little meeker than you intended. You didn't want to spill your guts out in front of the girls right now. Didn't want to tell them you saw the same conflict behind her eyes that you felt behind yours.
She had her walls up and you were threatening to bring them down. It was no wonder she wanted to show you they were airtight.
You still hadn't figured out why you wanted to worm your way in so badly though. Chalk it up to her being pretty, sure, but you knew, deep down, that there was something a little more magnetic about the girl that drew you in.
You wanted in on the side she showed her friends.
"Hey Romeo, you drove past the mall!"
Megan's hand grasping your arm startled you back into focus, eyes blinking rapidly as you processed where you are. You'd missed your turn. Not a long detour but it was enough to notice.
"Fuck, sorry, zoned out."
Once your grip on the wheel loosened Megan's hand dropped back into her lap, her eyes trailing over the side of your face quizzically. Now that you mentioned it, everyone's eyes were on you. Not judging, not pitying either, just studying.
"Okay! You can all stop boring holes into my head now, it was a mistake!"
Sophia tsked from behind you, giving your shoulder a light slap that had you flinching once again. "I beg of you, please stop doing that when I'm driving." Despite your scolding, the air in the car had lightened with the playful banter, allowing you to take a breath to steady yourself.
"I need to meet this girl if she's got you in your head this much."
Megan snorted at Yoonchaes words, abruptly turning around in her seat to face the Korean girl, a cheeky grin decorating her lips. "Should've seen them this morning, flirting up a storm." She chortled causing Yoonchae to let out a laugh of her own.
"Yeah okay, how about you stop telling people about my personal endeavors."
Sophia leaned over the back of your seat slightly as you scouted out a free parking spot, eyes flickering around the lot. "We're basically family. We need to know about your personal endeavors so you don't end up dying." She chimed softly. Her tone was playful, though you could feel the undertone of worry it carried.
You'd 'fallen in love' with people before, each seemingly ending worse than the last. Sophia and Yoonchae had been there for almost all of them, they knew the effect people could have on you.
It wasn't all bad though. It grew you into the person you were now. Stronger, wittier and certainly more well versed with your emotions.
Sophia would sternly disagree with the last one.
The girls each broke into a conversation of their own as you found a free spot and parked the car, letting them climb out before you maneuvered your way between two other cars, just to make their lives a little easier.
Once you got out you locked the car and made your way to the girls, slinging an arm over Yoonchaes shoulders and offering the trio a grin.
"Okay! Food first or straight to shopping?"
All four of you had decided on eating first, knowing the day would be a long one.
"Okay so, hot new roomie totally wants you."
Daniela let out an overly-exaggerated sigh at Lara's words, falling back into the Indians bed with a defeated grimace on her face. "You guys are no help." She puffed out, rolling onto her side so she could fish her phone out and distract herself from this horrible conversation.
"Oh, trust me Dani, I'll be of so much help that you'll be indebted to me for the rest of your life."
Manon was sat at the foot of Lara's bed, tapping away at her phone furiously. Daniela didn't have the energy to read into it, too busy scrolling through the stupid videos that were showing up on her TikTok feed.
Lara, however, had a decent idea of what the Ghanaian woman's plans were, if the groupchat she'd made without Dani in it was any clue.
Manon, very clearly, saw a budding romance blooming between Daniela and her new headache and honestly? Lara was all for a little excitement. Especially after hearing about the interaction that had started it all.
"Honestly? You guys sound like the perfect match. You need someone to match your freak."
Daniela puffed out a breath, back facing Lara as she spoke over her shoulder. "Im not a freak. Im a soft girl in a baddies body." She mumbled, the sound of her nails tapping the screen being drowned out by the light music playing in the room.
"They're annoying, loud, egotistical and the only thing they care about is how I look."
Lara hummed, popping a fry into her mouth. When Daniela and Manon had appeared at her apartment with takeout she hadn't expected to have an hour long conversation about Daniela's new 'infuriating' roommate.
However, the more she listened, the more she saw what Manon was seeing. The information Daniela had shared about her morning interaction with you was the nail in the coffin.
Manon shifted slightly on the covers, reaching over to steal a fry before speaking. "Honestly, I think it's just interesting they're pushing back. They were looking at you like you were the single most interesting thing in the room." She hummed, popping the fry into her mouth.
"I'm not a museum exhibit."
"You might as well be, you didn't really give them much to work with." Manon snickered softly. "I love you Dani but you were just giving 'mean girl' right off the bat."
Daniela pouted, finally turning to face the two girls, watching them munch away her money. "They started it." She grumbled, reaching over to Lara's nightstand so she could grab her drink.
Manon watched the girl drink from her straw, her eyebrows raised in a way that made the Latina shrink into herself. Okay maybe she had started it but could you blame her? A stranger walks into your room and accuses you of misplacing their box?
"Okay well they stayed even after you showed them flames. Could mean nothing, but personally? Even if I thought someone was hot I wouldn't want anything to do with them if it seemed like they hated my existence."
Daniela groaned, placing her drink back down and sitting up so she could reach for the near-empty container of fries. "Wow, way to make a girl feel great about herself." She grumbled around the food in her mouth.
"I love you Dani but you really gotta stop thinking everyone new that comes into your life is evil."
Manon nodded at Lara's words, placing her phone down on the bed beside her and resting a hand onto the Latina's thigh. "We know you're a softie but if you scare everyone that wants to see that away, you'll never let the love in." Her tone was soft and warm but to Daniela it was a hard pill to swallow.
The walls she had put up had kept horrible people away. If they wanted to stay they'd show it. Lara, Manon and Megan had each wormed their ways in despite the girls initial reluctance. To her, staying meant fighting for your place.
"If they show they're willing to put in effort I'll give things a chance."
Manon let out a sudden gasp, clapping her hands together like Daniela had just shared the most amazing news she'd ever heard. "Okay! Progress!" She grinned, immediately picking up her phone and tapping away at it once again.
Daniela turned to Lara with a questioning look. The Indian simply shrugged her shoulders.
By the time Daniela had decided to make her way back home your car was parked back in the driveway, a large spot left open beside it, enough for her car to fit in. She ran her tongue over her teeth, getting out of the car and padding her way over to the front door.
She unlocked it with ease, noticing a couple more shoes piled onto the shoe rack than normal. She'd decided to shrug it off, toeing her own shoes off and scurrying off to her room.
When she passed your door she caught the slightly muffled sound of voices and laughter echoing from behind it. She chalked it up to you having Megan over for another conversation.
The noise only echoed louder when she stepped into her room, but that wasn't what caught her attention.
Her eyes fixated onto the plastic cup placed neatly on her bedside table, drops of condensation dripping down onto the coaster she'd stolen from a resturant years prior. A stupid souvenir that ended up reminding her of home.
She approached the cup as if it would explode, the noise from your room swiftly forgotten as she lifted the drink into her hands.
Her eyes nearly rolled back into her skull when she turned the cup around. There, in slightly crooked handwriting was a message, the ink slightly smudged from the condensation dripping down it's side.
'Sorry for calling you a thief!'
There was a stupid little cat doodle beside the message that had Daniela chortling out a laugh that she covered with a cough.
The cat looked incredibly stupid and, quite frankly, a bit ill.
She told herself she'd throw it away.
She ended up finishing it.
It took her a while. A slow hesitant sip, a grimace every now and then due to how sweet the drink was, a pause just to look at the stupid cat again, another sip. She hated how it tasted but she finished it eventually.
The cup now lay empty on her bedside table, her laptop perched in her lap as a movie played on the screen. She'd been half listening, half thinking, headphones pulled taught over her ears and the sound all the way up so she could drown out the talking from your room.
The peace was interrupted when she caught her door opening slowly from her peripheral vision. She furrowed her eyebrows, pausing the movie and pulling her headphones off of her head.
She really wish she had kept them on.
"What on gods green Earth do you want."
You mock-pouted at the girls words, opening the door a little wider so she could see you fully. "I greeted you with such kind energy too, what did I do this time." You mumbled, a grin breaking it's way onto your face when the girl blinked at you.
"Well, bursting into my room comes to mind first."
You hummed, nodding your head and looking off to the side as if thinking. "Opened the door as softly as I could. Plus I knocked like three times. Had to make sure you weren't dead." You stated simply, eyes flickering over her room like you were memorizing the layout of it.
You noticed the distinct lack of boxes.
"Guess you had your headphones on though. Probably why you didn't hear me."
Daniela closed her eyes and took a breath, praying to God to give her the patience she needed not to strangle you. "Yes. I had my headphones on because you talk like the whole house can't hear you." She seethed, her tongue running over her top teeth.
Your smile only grew wider at the girls words, your eyes locking onto hers as you toyed idly with the doorknob. "My bad. You could've just asked us to quite down you know? Communication is key and all that." Your cheery tone made Daniela's eye twitch.
You paused for a moment, almost as if you'd forgotten the initial reason you'd walked into the girls room for before you puffed out a breath.
"Oh right, we're going to be nailing some stuff into the wall so... just wanted to warn you before that. But you look like you got that covered with your headphones."
Daniela craned her head back, bumping it softly against the wall she was leaned against. She muttered something in Spanish that you couldn't quite catch before she looked up at you with a fiery glare.
"I would listen to a fucking jackhammer with no ear protection if it meant not having to listen to your voice. Leave."
You recoiled dramatically at the Latinas words, a hand coming up to rest on your chest like she had just insulted your entire bloodline. "Woah, okay, sorry for being a good roomie and warning you." You mumbled out. Your tone was laced with faux hurt, though the grin breaking out onto your face told Daniela that you were perfectly fine.
Your words were cut off when you had to hide behind the door to dodge a plushie that had come flying toward your head. You puffed out a laugh at the absurdity of the situation, eyes flickering between the stuffed dog on the floor and Daniela's pissed off face.
When the door shut Daniela breathed out a sigh of relief, leaning her head back against the wall. It felt like there was fire coursing through her veins. Never in her life had she been so angry at someone she barely knew.
Her head instantly snapped up when her door creaked open again, eyes narrowing when you peaked your head through the small crack, hands raised above your head like you were being held at gunpoint.
"Don't... throw? I just wanted to ask if you liked the coffee."
Daniela paused for a moment, watching your eyes flicker to the empty cup briefly, the edges of your lips tugging up into a smirk. "Too sweet, way too much milk, I dont like the caramel syrup they used and I prefer my coffee in the mornings." She fired out the words faster than she could think, simply hoping to wipe that sickeningly sweet smirk off your face.
It worked, but only because you looked like you were genuinely taking note of what she was saying, storing it away in your head like an important file you'd refer to later.
You dissapeared behind the door before she could throw more stuffed artillery at you.
Daniela could tell life in this house was going to be hell for her.
