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

Chapter 9: Iterate

⭐Chapter 9: Iterate

Some days later, Liam had come back from his classes only to find that his roommate was back in their room. This wouldn't have been unique if it wasn't for the fact that 98% of the time his roommate was never in the space when Liam was. He still hadn't gotten the guy's schedule because he didn't think it mattered, but just sort of fell into a rhythm with it instead. At the moment, his roommate was at his desk, but it looked like he'd finished his work and was currently messing around on his phone.

"Oh, back already?" he'd asked.

"Yeah, one class ended early and my others canceled for the day 'cause the professors were doin' things," his roommate replied.

"Ah."

Liam set his stuff down and dug out his work as usual, though he was interrupted by a question coming from his roommate that he..couldn't say he was expecting.

"So...when you become a backpack, do you become like...a fully functional backpack?"

"Yeah except I have a working face and limbs," Liam replied.

"How do you...how do you eat?"

"I haven't answered that question and frankly I don't want to yet."

"Fair enough."

"Why do you ask?"

"I was wondering if I could like. Carry you around campus with stuff inside you or something, I dunno."

"EH?! WHY?!" Liam exclaimed.

"I dunno, sounds like it'd be fun," his roommate shrugged. "I don't think you've ever tested your backpack capabilities if you never told anyone about this, huh?"

"Well..." Liam paused. "I mean...I guess??"

"I mean, do you want to?"

"I dunno, I don't want people poking at my face and everything..."

"If things get dicey we can always just...ditch. It'd be a short walk."

"Okay, hold on. First I'd have to get riled up about something in the first place, and second, what if I transformed back?"

"We could always hide before you do that."

"What about the stuff you decide to put in me?"

"It'll probably just be like. Some pens n' pencils maybe."

Liam went over it in his mind. He was mildly interested, but he was also very unsure about it. After all, he wasn't sure how he'd fare if he worried the entire time about people looking at him. He technically didn't have to agree on this, but...

-----

Liam never once thought in his life he would be wrapped around someone's arms, being carried on their back as a living, breathing, backpack. And in the literal sense, too.

It surprisingly felt less awkward than he thought it would be. It wasn't exactly uncomfortable, it just felt...weird. Ish. Nonetheless, it wasn't that bad outside, so the walk was made easier for the two of them. Although it felt like all eyes were on them, Liam noticed that most students surprisingly didn't give them any weird looks. Maybe they thought attaching a face and "limbs" to a backpack was a silly little aesthetic thing?

To be fair, he'd seen some wild backpacks around campus. Some had cone-shaped "spikes" made of cloth or leather on them that stuck out like horns, some were coated in different kinds of pins, and some even had painted or stitched-on designs. Of course, none of these happened to show up as the two were walking around, but that didn't matter. Liam's roommate hadn't said much during the walk other than occasional check-up and stating where he was going to go. Liam tried to respond as quietly or as quickly as possible, to avoid anyone catching him talking.

It kind of felt nice though, being carried around at a slow pace while watching the world go by. The few pens and pencils his roommate had put in him weren't as bad as he thought they'd be either, since he'd used unsharpened pencils and pens with caps. Felt a little weird to have them moving around in him, but he supposed it was more similar to having them in his hoodie or, ironically, in a built-in bag on his back.

At some point, a pair of girls happened to walk by the duo. Liam originally thought nothing of it until they turned around to look at him. He froze up immediately, hoping they hadn't seen him blink or move a limb in a way he shouldn't have...

"Cute backpack!" one of them shouted. "Did you do that yourself?"

"Thanks!" Liam heard his roommate answer. "And nah, a friend did it!"

A friend.

Liam watched the two girls leave after asking that question, though they looked like they were talking to themselves now.

"See? They like you!" his roommate teased.

"Oh, stop," Liam scoffed with a grin.

"You holding up alright?"

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Wanna head back or anything?"

"Eh. How much longer do we have to go?"

"Not too far. Y'know...I'm surprised you haven't used this to like...sneak into places or something," his roommate noted. "Sure, maybe you didn't tell your friends about it and stuff but imagine sneaking into a movie theater for free under the guise of a bag."

"I mean...I guess I could do that if I really wanted to," Liam replied. "I don't want to risk anything big after I just got my life back together, though."

"Just got your life back together?"

"Well, er..." Liam paused. "Let's just say my Summer was...eventful."

"Ah. I gotcha."

As the two made their way back to the dorm, Liam's roommate was given a few more compliments as they walked past students who happened to be leaving or walking by. They seemed to find the whole "making your backpack like a plushie" thing cute or creative, something Liam couldn't help but smile at (though he did his best to hide it). Once they got to their room Liam's roommate set him down gently on the bed, the pencils and pens clicking together as he landed.

"Oop-I forgot those were in there," Liam muttered.

"Honestly? I kinda wanna see where the pencils n' stuff go when you turn back," his roommate thought aloud.

"Probably in the hood of my hoodie, or my pocket if I had to guess," Liam shrugged. "I...don't wanna consider the other possibilities."

"Fair enough," his roommate chuckled. "I guess we should just wait for you to turn back now, huh?"

"Yeah," Liam sighed. "I wish I could control this at will though. It's really inconvenient whenever I-"

Poof.

As if on cue, Liam was back to being human again.