Good Guys Don't Date Bad Boys

Chapter One

A new beginning. It was, after all, what he wanted after all that wallowing in self-deprecation, and it had to be here, at Sunny Hill, away from all the drama. Jonathan sighed as he arranged his toiletries in an orderly fashion on the bathroom shelf. He was more than thankful for the small suite designed to accommodate him and another student, which was a far cry from the dorm doubles and communal bathrooms that were the norm.

Not that before coming here, he had lived in such a place. Before, he had been someone, but like for any other 'someone' having to atone for past mistakes, getting down from his high horse and accepting to share living space with another human being were part of the deal.

He frowned as he pushed the toothbrush stand to align perfectly with his shaving cream. "Get used to it," he addressed his mirror reflection.

Indulging in more self-pity over his current situation was cut short by the front door opening and closing. It could only be his roommate, and while Jonathan would rather go through nail-pulling medieval tortures than face the nightmare that this person had to be, given his luck of late, he needed to face the music sooner rather than later.

He walked out of the bathroom, all the while trying hard to school his face into a neutral expression. Silently, he prayed that his partner wasn't some jock, but since those usually shared their notoriously loud fraternity houses, the chances were slim.

Talking about small mercies. Jonathan's eyes fell on a young man, or better said, on a giant backpack that practically obscured its owner almost entirely from view. Not a jock, obviously. His roommate appeared to be small-framed.

He cleared his throat discreetly, which prompted the stranger, who must not have heard him moving about, to turn abruptly and lose his balance. For a moment or two, his arms flailed comically. Fortunately for him, the bed was right behind him, so he landed on a soft spot.

Jonathan hurried to help the hapless young man. "Oh, I'm so terribly sorry. I didn't mean to startle you. Are you all right?"

He offered him a hand, and the stranger took it. A large grin lit up his face. He was nerdy, but in a cute way, Jonathan noticed right away and proceeded to chastise himself inwardly for judging a person by his looks. However, he couldn't deny that his roommate didn't look at all like he could pose a threat. Bright brown eyes twinkled at him from under a mop of chestnut hair.

"Uber fine," the young man replied. "Do you think you could help me get out of this?" He pointed at his huge backpack.

"Of course." Jonathan hurried to unbuckle the monstrous thing and aid his roommate out of his predicament.

Finally released from his contraption, the guy pushed back the strands hanging over his eyes and offered his hand. "I'm Ray."

Jonathan shook his hand curtly. "Glad to meet you, Ray. I'm Jonathan. Jonathan Hamilton."

"Oh, we're doing full names." Ray beamed at him. "Ray Franklin."

Jonathan could barely keep from smiling back. And he had promised himself that he would be more guarded regarding new acquaintances. It was because of his lack of awareness that he had landed in this situation, being forced to change schools before the junior year.

Another promise he had made to himself was to make sure there was no room for any misunderstandings. "I don't want to sound too forward," he began quickly, to avoid any stalling rooted in his lack of trust in humanity in general, "but I need to let you know something from the start."

Ray was dressed in a striped shirt and kakis that both seemed a bit too large for his frame. He shifted his weight from one foot to another. Therefore, he looked fairly harmless. "Sure."