From the Dust

From the Dust - Part 1

Happy Halloween!

°• From the Dust •°

I looked up at the small, one floor house and sighed. This was it. My fourth roommate in five months. Of course, I knew why the others had kicked me out, and honestly, I didn't blame them. Still, it hurt to be tossed around like a piece of garbage, no matter what they thought I was.

With another sigh, I shouldered my backpack and picked up my suitcase, and walked up to the door. The window on the side of the house was covered by blinds and curtains, though I could see a little bit of light through it. It was a bright, sunny day, and I wondered why the person living there was so content with keeping the light out.

I knocked on the door and stepped back a little to wait. I heard two people come up to the door, but they didn't open it right away.

"Is this him?" one of them asked.

"I think so. No one comes over, anyway. Just - get your finger out of your mouth. That's disgusting."

"Sorry. I'm just nervous."

"Just open the door."

"Can't you -"

"Just open the door!"

Finally, the door swung in to reveal two guys, about my age, both taller than me. I'd be the tiny one again, so it seemed. One of them was extremely pale, with black hair and bandages around both wrists, and the other was taller than him with messy brown hair and a scruffy beard.

I put on a nervous smile and held out my shaking hand. "Hey. I'm Braken. I'm the new roommate. I was told you guys were expecting me?"

The taller one started to reply, but the pale guy grabbed my hand and shook it vigorously, cutting him off. "Hi. I'm Leo. That's Joel. I didn't think you'd be here so soon. Sorry we're not ready. We'll show you around." He released me and pranced into the living room, and then paused when I didn't move. "Welcome to our house. Come on in."

"You don't have to invite him," Joel muttered.

"It's common courtesy," Leo snapped back. 

"Bite me." 

"You don't have to tell me twice."

I pulled my suitcase into the living room, immediately taking note of the darkness in the room. It wasn't an uncomfortable or eerie darkness, however, like I was used to. In fact, it was quite homey. I found I didn't mind it. It even made Leo's pale face seem slightly more colored. There was a couch and a chair on one side of the room, facing a TV, with a coffee table in the middle. There was a jar of tiny shells in the middle of the table, and a sudoku book next to that. On the other side, to my left, there was an upright piano and two guitars. There weren't very many pictures on the walls, unlike the last place I'd been at, the one with the guy who seemed to have every wall filled with photographs of his family and two dogs. There was a lingering scent in the room, almost like coconut. 

Joel noticed me scrunch up my nose trying to figure it out and snorted a laugh. "You're smelling Leo's coconut banana smoothie. He has a fetish for them." He muttered something under his breath, but I didn't catch it.

I raised an eyebrow. "Interesting word choice. He doesn't seem like a very tropical guy."

This time, Joel laughed a lot louder, and I immediately felt at ease. Something about this odd pair made me feel completely at home. "You know what? I like you, Braken," he said.

"Come on. I'll show you your room," Leo said, picking up my bag. He immediately dropped it and frowned. "Hey, Joel. You, uh ... you smell that?"

The other inhaled long and thoughtfully. "Yeah, almost like ..." He paused and took another deep breath.