I first transferred to this school last Spring. My roommate, Lance McClain, was a flirtatious boy. My first encounter with him was not a pleasant one. He was untidy, loud and nosy about my life. He would go on and on about a topic, and even be able to link it to another. Ever since we met, he gave me a ridiculous nickname 'Mullet', due to my hair style. Life with him was noisy, and he never could seem to shut up. I was irritated with his outgoing personality. We were at each ends of the spectrum. I preferred my college life to be more quiet, since it was all important for my future. Yet, this particular Cuban boy would disrupt the peace. But overtime, I was able to adapt to my obstreperous roommate with the help from some friends of his. Thankfully though, Lance had his own moments of seriousness, especially while studying. But most of the time, I would occupy a seat in the school library to finish up my work. I did not socialise with Lance that much.
Our friendship only improved when the group of us took a trip down to the forest. Hunk said that it was to relax and unwind with the nature. He drove all of us in his father's van. Lance was singing to countryside tunes with them, while I stared out of the window to smell the pine trees. It was a rather long ride, so I fell asleep at some point.
My sleep was short-lived when I was slapped awake by Lance. He called out my name in his weird pronunciation and laughed at how dumb I looked. I grumbled and got out of the van with them. I took in a deep breathe, the fresh air was really soothing out there. Hunk and Pidge got about setting up the camp, while Lance and I were instructed to collect firewood. It was awkward between us, so we were mostly quiet. But sometimes, Lance would share with me about his past trips with his family. He sounded excited, but when I looked into his eyes, there was hardly any sparkle.
I did not answer him, because I was concentrated on trying to find wood, although I did listened to everything. But he suddenly jumped into my field of vision, both hands on his hips. He must have wanted me to answer him in a way.
"Are you even listening to me?"
"What? Of course."
He tutted, "You are so quiet that sometimes I don't even know if you are interested."
"Well," I stopped in my tracks, "that depends."
He frowned then opened his mouth again, as if he wanted to say more. But he shrugged and changed his mind.
"Let's get back. I think we have collected enough."
I looked at our small pile of collection, it did not seemed enough. As we walked, he was quiet. I was never the type to be able to socialise well, so my choice of words are rather brutal sometimes, I must have hurt his feelings. But I lack the knowledge to cheer him up, so I did not say anything. Maybe I did the wrong move. Maybe I should have at least tried. Maybe...
As we walked, Lance suddenly tripped over a log — the same log that he had warned me about when we first came. Out of instinct, I grabbed his arm to pull him to his feet again. But he yelped and yanked his arm away, as if I have hurt him. His face made a sudden realisation after that and he went rigid. I was about to ask if he was alright, but he shook me off and smiled with words of reassurance. I did not believe him, because I knew very well that I was not rough with him. But I could not say anything at that point, could I?
When we got back, Hunk and Pidge had finished pitching the tents and making a picnic spot. Lance rushed over to beam at the food that Hunk had made for us. I went to help the rest with starting the fire. Time past fast when we were working. Night soon fell and we gathered around the campfire to eat and roast some marshmallows. I only camped out once and it was with my middle school, so this was something rather new to me.
We chatted a lot, mostly questions about myself because I was a new student. We also shared ghost stories, and Lance would always tell the most terrifying ones. Since I did not know any, I only listened. Lance told the scariest story, but he was also the most afraid. He clung onto me the whole time since I sat next to him. I did not mind, because strangely, I wanted to give him protection. After what had happened, I figured that I should do something.
