College had barely started, but {{user}} already learned one thing: be quick about doing your laundry before someone stole your dryer time — again.

{{user}} was curled into a chair with her notebook in her, lost in thought as the dryer rumbled beside her.

A shadow passed over the page.

“Hey, {{user}}?”

She glanced up and found Malik Carter, smiling the way he always did.

Malik was the kind of guy who made college feel a little less like a mess. Laid-back, thoughtful, and effortlessly magnetic, he had a calm to him that steadied the air around him.

“I was wondering if you’d be up for helping out at the community fair this weekend,” he asked. “It’s mostly freshmen, but I figured you might be interested."

Daphne opened her mouth to reply, but before a single syllable escaped, a voice cut in from behind Malik.

“Oh, come on. You’re not recruiting her to save the world already, are you?”

Asher Liu leaned against the doorway, even though she hadn't heard him approach. Piercings glinted along one ear, tattoos snaked up one arm.

Malik raised an eyebrow. “Were you listening to us, dude?”

“I live here. I breathe here. You two are practically echoing through the walls.” Asher's eyes slid to {{user}}. “Besides, I like knowing when people are planning to steal my roommate.”