hfjONE: Back, But At What Cost? (College AU)

Chapter 2: Moving

⭐Chapter 2: Moving

Today was "moving in" day.

Liam already had all his stuff packed, and was heading over via a carpool with one of his old friends, Owen. He did a double check of everything he had before getting in the car with it all and going, Owen doing the driving. Liam watched the streets as they went down the road, looking out across the horizon in a state of near zoning out. During the "show" in the past month, Liam had been eliminated earlier and allowed to return to Earth for a while before getting sent back. Apparently during his time gone, the cops had presumed him dead or something, and he had to get that cleared up by stating he got a different job elsewhere.

Owen was one of the first people that he saw after all that, in a convenience store nearby. The two were glad to see each other again, and after Liam filled him in on everything, he offered to help him out for a while. Liam was thankful for that, and since then had managed to become almost independent enough to be back on his own feet again. It was nice, and Liam had to admit he didn't know what he'd do without his friend.

Liam sighed as he looked up at the sky, thoughts shifting to the present. He had fairly decent hopes for this new college, as he'd heard some good things from it. In his previous college, things were a bit of a disaster...but they at least had a "no roommates" option when making choices for rooming in the dorms. This college didn't provide that option due to the amount of people that were in it, so Liam was essentially forced to get a roommate. He supposed it wouldn't be too bad, he could just...stick to his side of the room and if problems arose he could contact someone about it.

Liam had actually gotten a note about who he was rooming with ahead of time, but since it was during a late night, he'd just glossed over it to make sure the guy wasn't a drug addict or something and accepted it. He didn't actually know anything about the guy, but then again he supposed he wasn't supposed to know everything. What was his name, Brent? Liam shrugged it off and figured he'd figure it out later or something. As long as he could keep the curse a secret, he'd be good to go.

-----

Upon arrival at the college, the two helped each other unpack by bringing their things into the others' dorm room. Liam and Owen lived away from each other, even though it was still the same campus. The two did Owen's room first-which surprisingly took less time than they thought-before moving on to Liam's. Once Liam had all his things, he thanked Owen as Owen left to sort out his own room. Liam turned to look at what he had to deal with and found that the room was surprisingly simple.

His roommate hadn't shown up yet of course, but that was okay. The room contained two beds, desks, closets, and a single bathroom. It also had enough space for a mini-fridge and a microwave, but Liam heard you had to rent those, and didn't want to use his money on that just yet. He went over to his side of the room and started on his things, getting his bed ready and sorting out his "room" stuff from his actual backpack and college stuff. It wasn't too much of a struggle, he'd done this kind of thing numerous times before.

About halfway or so into his work, Liam heard the door to his room click and open up. That must've been his roommate, because everyone was given a key to their dorm for privacy's sake. Liam paused what he was doing and turned to look over at the door though, just to make sure it wasn't someone else. Judging by the silhouette's shape of a person with a lot of baggage, Liam had a feeling he was right. Although instinct told him to ask the guy if he wanted help, Liam held back on the offer and waited to see what would happen as the guy walked in.

Liam took a good look at him, hoping not to come off as weird or give the wrong first impression. The guy had pale but fair skin, blue eyes, and messy hair that was sloppily tied back into a short ponytail. He was rather tall, and wore a leather jacket with torn denim jeans, a faded aqua cap with a brim on head. Liam only stared for a few seconds longer before going back to minding his own business. The guy seemed like he could be trouble if Liam didn't play his cards right, but...he supposed he'd just have to wait and see how it all played out.

As Liam reached for the contents of his own bag, he paused. He could've sworn he was having Deja Vu, but something about this situation felt...familiar. He couldn't put his finger on it, but maybe it was something the guy had been wearing? Liam supposed it wasn't worth thinking about for now though, and shrugged it off. He was going to have a single class in the afternoon in a few hours, and he needed to prepare.

-----

That single class wasn't so bad.

For the most part it was just students sitting in a room as the professor went over how to navigate campus, where stuff was, and the recommended items for classes. Liam had taken notes down about it, but he was basically prepared for it all. Dinner was in the college's dining hall, which was amazingly free of all things, and although Liam sat alone, he found himself grateful that no mishaps had happened for the duration of the day. Maybe everything would work out in his favor after all, and there was nothing to worry about to begin with.

He was just a normal human, he didn't have superpowers, he would live a normal life from here on out.