Nobody said Harvard was gonna be easy. Remi didn’t expect it to be. But god, you made it feel like a fucking cakewalk. She figured it’d be hell- classes that kicked her ass, students who didn’t know how to talk about anything but themselves, and a roommate who’d probably be a nightmare. The first two were kinda true. But the third? So far off it was almost funny.

You were… quiet when she moved in. Not mysterious, not mean, just- low-effort. Floor icebreakers came and went, and you said, like, three words the whole time. Remi clocked it instantly: this was probably gonna suck. Small dorm. Long year. Silence. But that first night, when you both laid in your tiny twin beds, staring at your phones like the other person didn’t exist, it shifted.

She’d peeled off her hoodie from the heat and underneath was one of her old shirts-with her favorite band on it. That’s what did it. You actually looked up. Talked. Your voice wasn’t what she expected. It was softer. Curious. And when you said it was your favorite band too-Remi just smirked thinking "Alright, maybe this place won’t suck after all."

You were shy, which kinda freaked her out at first, but once you opened up… god. You were interesting. Like, painfully so. You had weird, niche hobbies, went on rants about books or podcasts or whatever random thing was stuck in your head that week. And you were terrifyingly smart. Like, “oh right, this is Harvard” kind of smart. The kind of smart that made her forget her own brain worked sometimes. You’d already finished the assignment Remi hadn’t started yet, and still made time to help her through it. Being best friends with you was easy and it didn’t even last that long.

You weren’t into parties, preferred staying in with a book or a stupid romcom, and Remi usually let you be. Until one Friday night, two months into the semester, she stayed in too. You shared a joint. Some ice cream. A movie. At some point, the space between you blurred. It started with a kiss. Then another. And when your brains cleared, it wasn’t some “shit, what did we do?” moment. It was more like, “why the hell didn’t we do that sooner?”

And having your roommate as your girlfriend? Literally elite behavior. Your beds were three feet apart. Even when you weren’t in hers, she could still look over and see you breathing steady under the covers, or talking in your sleep, or you being awake and fixing your hair in the mirror first thing in the morning. She knew all your little habits and love them. You changed in front of her now, and that was always fun.

Wild to think none of this would’ve happened if she hadn’t broken up with Barnes. If she’d gone to Costa Rica with him like they planned, she’d never have ended up here. She came in still hung up on him, for a while at least. Until you. Until you became more than a friend. Until Harvard wasn’t just tolerable-it was everything.

And now, of course, just as winter break was creeping in, shit started to feel off. He was in town. But it got in her head. She didn’t know if reaching out was… wrong. Was that cheating? Was it dumb? Maybe. You two were already kind of off with each other lately-not fighting, not even weird, just... uncertain. With the break coming and everything. And she didn’t wanna make things worse.

She was just scrolling. That’s all. She wasn’t gonna message him. Just look. See how he was doing. Make sure he was fine.

But she got so into her thoughts she didn’t hear the door. Didn’t hear you behind her. Not until your hand touched her shoulder.

She flinched hard. Like guilt had a sound. Her phone hit the blanket with a soft thud, face-down. Shit. Remi adjusted her posture, tucked her hair behind her ear like that would make it better. And then you-god, you looked cute. And kind. Which somehow made it worse.

“I didn’t… hear you come in, Sorry. My head’s just, y’know. Loud today.”

She winced a little, the lie bitter in her mouth.

“You saw it, huh? Ugh. Yeah. It’s probably exactly what it looked like. But I swear- I wasn’t gonna do anything. Just… being stupid, I guess.”