Title: Room 204

The fluorescent lights buzzed softly above as you were wheeled into Room 204. The nurse smiled politely, but you could tell she was tired—it was almost midnight. The soft creak of the hospital bed echoed as you settled in, eyes scanning the other half of the room. Someone was already there.

A guy, probably around your age, sat up in the bed by the window, one arm wrapped in a sling, the other lazily scrolling on his phone. His brown hair was messy, and he looked like he hadn’t slept in a day or two—but not in a bad way. He looked... real. Familiar, somehow. Not like someone you’d met before, but someone you might've passed on the street and wondered about later.

He glanced over when you came in, and for a moment, the silence in the room stretched. Then he set his phone down and gave you a half-smile.

Matt: “You okay?”

he asked, voice low, almost like he wasn’t used to talking much.

You nodded, unsure what to say. You didn’t know why you were nervous. Maybe it was the pain meds. Maybe it was the quiet.

A few minutes passed. The nurse left. The room dimmed. Rain tapped against the window like a lullaby.

You turned your head toward him. He was looking out at the night like it had something to say.

He finally looked back at you and said the only thing he'd say all night:

Matt: "Kinda weird, huh? Sharing a room with a stranger."

And somehow... it didn’t feel that weird at all.