The Stars in the Skyline

[Aster]

Moving out was probably one of the best decisions Rowan had ever made in all nineteen years of her life. Saying good-bye to the grand, all-too-large, three-story bungalow was easy when there were only five residents living inside; two which showed their face regularly while the other two only made their appearances at meal time. Growing up in such a spaciously empty house was something Rowan got used to, but it certainly didn't mean it was something she liked.


Anomalous as it was to move into an apartment one-quarter the size of her whole bed room, Rowan adjusted with the gleeful comfort that she would be sharing the "small" space with someone else; a girl around her age studying at the same university as she was. Perhaps they'll be studying the same major? And maybe become best of friends with stories to share with one another in the far future? Any thoughts on her new roommate were inexplicably positive as Rowan had little than a few friends in her life time.


Being homeschooled did not open up many opportunities and any extra classes Rowan took were done one on one, just her and her teacher. She had little knowledge of what it was like to interact with people her age. Those who she knew that are were nothing more than distant acquaintances, her father's partner's daughters or sons. All of them were pretentious little shits who spoke of Rowan openly, forgetting the fact that although she was deaf, she did seldom wore hearing aids. Those seldom occurrences were enough for the babe to know just how lowly they thought of her.


But no. Not this time. This time would be different. This time she'll make actual friends and study in a normal civilian environment with a normal appearance in a normal apartment. She had to make sure that she put the next four years of her university life to good use and experience as many things as she could before being pulled back into her father's will.


A message pulled Rowan out of her thoughts as her phone rang in her pocket. She checked the message, reading it once and then re-reading it. By the time her mind had processed the shocking revelation, her eyes had probably scanned the words "Sorry! Looks like there was space after all and I got accepted into the dorms. You'll have to find a new roommate. (>o<)/" five times over.


"Blasted heck."

 

[FaithWynters]

Thads

them

Grandma says make sure to make a good first impression.

them

I’m sure that’ll happen, right? Lol

them

Don’t fight anyone on the first day, ok?

me

Wow.I’m not going to fight anyone; stop acting so clingy.

Blind staring eyes looked down at the messages. The last one had been sent only a few minutes before. Still, his eyes blankly looked at the pixels on the screen. It was an interesting thought really, as it passed through his mind. He went from a young man, excited about leaving home and going to school, that was living with his grandparents, to something completely different. As he sat silently on the bench outside of the student housing office, he listened to the silence that rang in his ears. Now, he was—for all intents and purposes—homeless.


How could he have been so stupid? As the reality sunk further and further into his core, he realized what had happened. It was his responsibility, but he didn’t know how he could bring himself to send his brother that text, or call his grandfather and tell him what was happening. He couldn’t. It wasn’t happening like this. No.


Silently, the young man picked himself up from the bench and walked down the hallway, shoes squeaking on the old tile floor as he made his escape. James wasn’t usually this irresponsible. At home, he could be counted on to do anything his grandparents or his brother needed. Still, somehow turning in a dorm request was something that just slipped his mind. He wasn’t sure how, when the school sent out reminders probably every week for a month, but, somehow, it just happened. Now, he was pulling himself into the driver seat of an old rental van. There had to be someone that could take him in—there had to be some kind of housing available.

. . .

​

ROOMMATE NEEDED!!!!
​

​

Need current student to share apartment with one other person ASAP.


For more information, call Rowan Evans at XXX-XXX-XXXX


Or


come to Elevate Apartments on fifth. Ask for Rowan at the front desk and show your student ID



​

​

“You’re kidding me.” The words breathlessly escaped his lips as he walked up the front sidewalk to the apartment building. It had been the most perfect timing ever. He didn’t care who this Rowan guy was; he just needed a place to sleep and work when not in class. Taking in a deep breath, James walked into the air conditioned lobby. Passing two elevators, he stopped in front of a small little desk. Behind it sat a small—rather elderly woman.


“What can I help you with, dear?” She smiled brightly up at him, waiting to see if she could assist him with whatever his needs were. There was no name plaque, so he didn’t even know what to call her.


“I’m looking for—“ There was a slight pause as James looked at the dark paper in his hands. “—Rowan.” Quietly, he pulled out his wallet and showed her the student ID that had been made for him the very same day.


“Ah.” The woman let out a slightly airy noise, picked herself up, and pointed toward the elevator. “Apartment 414.”

 

[Aster]

Rowan was trying her best not to freak out at the turn of events. Frazzled and crushed, the babe had rapidly warped into action after a few moments of stressed out screaming and pacing around in her room. Sure, she was the daughter of a rich and successful businessman, but her father had made it painfully clear to her that he did not support her leaving the household to study something as pathetic as art. It took all the courage Rowan could summon to face him and after days of persuasion, he finally relented on the condition that she come back right after her degree was given. That had probably been the first time Rowan had ever defied against her father and all that courage was shortly used up, reducing her back to her usual obedient self. When the roommate had called in giving her half-assed apologies, the brunette did not have it in her to be angry. Instead she congratulated the lass on getting accepted into the dormitories, ending the call with a happy farewell.


Inside, Rowan was screaming.


The money she had saved was carefully calculated and just enough to pay for living expenses and food for the next four years. Any extra income would have to be earned otherwise. Aside from her college fees, her father refused to help Rowan out with anything else financially. If Rowan decided to run back now, she would lose whatever respect her father had for her, along with receiving the very humiliating "I told you so" line.


Posters and ads were made the very next hour as Rowan didn't have time to just sit around idle. The semester would start at the week's end, giving Rowan a good four days to stress over the roommate issue before studies began. Luckily for her, by the second day, a call was made by Mrs.Anderson who ran the reception downstairs. "Rowan, there's someone named, uhm, James Hawthorne here to see you. I think he's here because of the ad you posted? I sent him up on your way."


The news was like a miracle from heaven. "Ah, yes! Okay, I got it. Thank you, Mrs.Anderson," Rowan said, one hand clutching the phone while the other sorted through the mess of papers on her desk. She only had minutes to make to room look presentable before whoever the James person is comes in. The phone was hung and papers were stacked in the corner of Rowan's desk. Her easel stood beside while her canvases were thrown underneath the desk for the time being. Just as the last canvas was collected and crammed underneath, the doorbell rang.

 

[FaithWynters]

He told himself that it would be fine. No matter what kind of person was on the other side of the door, he would be ready to deal. He wouldn’t put his grandmother through the worries of knowing that he didn’t have a home. No—he would call her up and tell her just how wonderful it was at this school, and he would tell her that he had been placed in an apartment instead of the dorm. She didn’t need to know it was because he had been irresponsible.


“Come on, James.” He was standing silently in front of the door, waiting for his mind to grow the courage it took to be able to walk up to the door and knock on it. He was just worried that he wouldn’t like what was on the other side of the door. A moment went by, then another, then finally, he heard the sound of a door opening somewhere down the hallway. That jolted him into his right mind. That made him take the moment to step forward, for he didn’t want to be in the awkward position of being caught outside the hallway of another person’s home with nothing to say for himself. It was awkward and odd.


With three light taps on the door, he clutched the piece of paper in his hands. Maybe this would be okay. Still, he had to wait for the moment of truth. He would either be stuck with someone horrible, it wouldn’t work out and he would be homeless, or he would find himself in a perfect home. Either way, he was ready to take on the challenge.


At the moment that he heard someone inside the apartment, the phone went off in his hand. James couldn’t help but look down at his phone. What if it was important?

G-pa

them

Good luck with your new roomates, Son.

them

Sorry we couldn’t make it to help you move in.

me

It is totally fine, Grandpa. I understand why you couldn’t make it; I’ll be fine.

He smiled quietly before looking back up to the door, that was still closed, and was the unbreakable barrier between him fixing this and everything going wrong.

 

[Aster]

"Yes! Coming!" Rowan shouted, her voice muffled by the distance and the wooden barrier called the door between her and the new, possible tenant. A canvas slipped out from underneath the table, leaving Rowan to hastily place it on the chair for the time being. The scuffling of feet could be heard just before the door swung opened, revealing a tall, boyish male with vibrant eyes hidden behind thick frames. If Rowan had been more composed, she would have noticed that they were the same exact shade as today's skies and opted to paint them.


There were two things which brought visible surprise and confusion to Rowan's visage: 1. The male was taller than her, leaving Rowan to raise her eyes slightly up to make eye contact. This struck her as particularly odd considering the fact that Rowan was taller than most girls, standing at a proud height of 5'8. The few males she knew barely reached her height and were shorter still when she was forced to wear shoes females call "heels" (it was one time and Rowan swore to herself never to put her feet to such torture ever again). 2. The male was... well, a male. A small frown creased her forehead as she thought back to the ad she had posted up. Hadn't she mentioned that she needed a female roommate? Had she forgotten to write that small but crucial detail down?


She had no interest in upsetting the stranger especially since he had already came all the way down to the apartment personally instead of just giving her a call. Yet, stronger than this, she felt it would simply be too... inconvenient for the both of them to dorm together. There was nothing else she could do but turn him down, but evidently, as nicely as possible. The mistake was hers after all. The least she could do was let the stranger in and explain why she simply couldn't take him as a roommate.


The moment of contemplation couldn't have lasted but a second, broken by Rowan's polite smile and outstretched hand. "Rowan Evans."


(I'm finally back home yasss. Btw is James a red-head or a brunette? I'm going off the desc based on the picture but just clarifying just in case I get smth wrong. *pst I think James rang the doorbell after he knocked maybe ? ? otherwise, I'll just change the end of my last post to knock instead of ring due to inconsistency)