University Roommates (Restart)

Ashton:

“Maybe you don't,” I said, tilting my head. I leaned into the arm of the couch away from her, giving her creeping hand more distance to cover. I could have immobilized it, but I wouldn't do that. I wouldn't grab her again like I had when she tickled me.

Emily:
I groaned and gave up, flopping myself against the back of the couch and crossing my arms. "Fine, keep the pillow and feel bad about how upset i am about it," I told him, faking a pout and then glaring at him. "I dont know how you'll even sleep at night." I said, dramatically.

Ashton:

I chuckled and settled in to watch the rest of Harry Potter, hugging the pillow to my body. As the credits rolled I stood up and tossed the pillow into Emily's lap. “Night Em.”

I fell asleep thinking about her. She was in many of my dreams, not all of them pleasant. In the morning I found myself laying in bed procrastinating going into the living room to be around her. I felt guilty somehow for the way we had been last night.

Emily:
I brought the pillow into my room and put it on my bed with the rest of my pillows. I fell into an almost restless sleep, my head swirling with different thoughts. When I woke up in the morning, it was early and and I knew I wouldn't be able to go back to sleep so I got up and took a shower. I changed into a simple pair of shorts and t-shirt and made my way to the kitchen to see what we had for breakfast. Usually in the morning, I was loud and didnt really care who woke up. But this morning I found myself on my tip-toes.

Ashton:

It was after noon when the growling of my belly finally moved me out of bed. I walked into the kitchen without looking around for her. The hair on the back of my head was twisted around and sticking up from laying on the pillow so long. I was still wearing pajama pants.

Emily:
By noon, I was laying down on the couch, watching a rerun of some reality show that I didn't care about. I was almost dozing to sleep when I heard a door open and my eyes blinked open. I poked my head over the back of the couch and saw him in the kitchen. He hair was an absolute mess and I almost smiled. I had been fidgety all morning, and after 10 when he still hadn't come out of his room, I was a little concerned that he was sick or something. But he looked fine. I laid my head back on the couch and fixed my eyes on the TV. He could have said good morning. Or I guess good afternoon at this point.

Ashton:

I fixed myself a bowl of ramen occasionally looking up to the TV but carefully not at her. I was being an ass, I knew it. When my noodles were done I went around and sat at the bar facing the TV.

“Kinda trashy,” I commented dryly with a gesture at the show.

Emily:
I didn't look at him. "Good thing you don't have the remote," I said, a slight bite to my tone. The remote was resting on my stomach and I tapped it, very clearly not changing it to something he might want to watch.

Ashton:

I finished my soup in silence. Even thought he show was trashy I still watched it because I would have to interact with her otherwise. My brain was telling me I couldn't do that. I washed my bowl and the rest of the dishes in the sink loudly.

Emily:
When all the noise started, I sat up again and looked over the back of the couch. "Are you washing the dishes or setting off a bomb?" I asked, referring to how loud he was being.

Ashton:

“Heh,” I said with no further reaction to her comment. I rinsed the dishes with more care then stepped back and dried my hands on a dish towel. I hesitated then, there was nothing left for me to do. With a small sigh, I left the kitchen, and he company, to return to the solitude of my room.

Emily:
I heard his door close again and I can admit that my feelings were a little hurt. He didn't want to hang out? I sighed and shook my head at myself. Its not like he didn't make his feelings about me clear from day one. I was just silly enough to think we were starting to be friends. I turned the volume up on the TV, maybe a little too loud and pouted for a while.

Ashton:

I laid face down on my bed for the next hour, eventually I fell asleep and slept most of the day away. There was something wrong with me. I had become too comfortable with her and something needed to change.

((What do ya say to a bit of time skipping? Like assume they have a few on and off days for a few weeks. Every good day would be followed by Ash retreating to his room again, and then the next couple days he would warm up until it repeated. Sound good? Also this is my last post for tonight but I hope to be back on tomorrow))

Emily:
Ash had been in his room for hours. Again. Last night we had stayed up late watching TV which quickly turned into us talking and laughing until we became too tired to stay up. And then this morning, nothing. It was like I didn't exist. Again. After it became apparent he wasn't going to come out of his room, i stomped into mine and slammed the door, perhaps a little harder than necessary. I was getting tired of it. Either he wanted to be friends or he didn't. I had to stop falling into the trap every time he smiled at me.

((Sure, let me know if this is kind of what you meant. It sounds good to me. I'll talk to you tomorrow then! Goodnight!))

((Perfect!))

Ashton:

It had been a couple weeks since we had stayed up watching Harry Potter. At first I had tried to with draw from her. I acted indifferent to her, but eventually she somehow made me smile or laugh and I would join her on the couch for a night. Something about her brought joy out in me, it was addictive and I didn't deserve it.

It had happened multiple times, each one we seemed to get closer. This morning I had resolved that it wouldn't happen again, that I wouldn't fall into the pattern again. It was for nothing though because I knew I couldn't resist her. I felt like dirt each time, not just because I felt guilty for getting close, but because it was clear that she had some kind of feelings for me as well. I was being an asshole to her and it was completely uncalled for on her part.

I heard her door slam after I had retreated through my own. Why did she put up with me? It would be better if she lost her temper, if she told me off, called me names. At least then I could make it known to her that I truly was a dirt bag.



Tasha:

I came home to one slamming door. It was down side of the hallway to Emily's room. I padded over to her room and knocked gently. I didn't even bother to drop the bag of groceries off in the kitchen.

Emily:
When a knock sounded on my door, I almost thought it would be him for a second. But when I opened the door, I sighed. Not in disappointment that it was Tasha, but disappointment in myself for believing that he might care. "Sorry for slamming the door," I mumbled, leaving it open so she could come in but retreating to my bed. I flopped on it and hugged a pillow to my chest.

Tasha:

I shrugged about the door and, setting the bags on the floor, joined her on the bed. “Everything alright?” I asked. It was plain as day that it wasn't. My guess was that Ashton had done something. I knew they had been getting close, but he also tended to get moody.

Emily:
I shook my head and sighed again. "Yeah, everything fine. I just made the mistake of thinking me and your brother were actually friends." I said, bitterly. "How stupid of me," I rolled my eyes.

Tasha:

With a sigh I scooted closer and put my arms around her shoulders. “I'm really sorry about him Em. He has his own issues, don't take it personally. I'm going to talk to him about it, I promise.” I reassured her.

Emily:
I shook my head. "Nah, don't worry about it. He's giving me whiplash. Sometimes we can have the best conversations and then the next morning, I don't exist to him," I told her. "I just don't get it," I shrugged again.

Tasha:

“It's nothing you do, I'm sure. He just gets moody now days.” I sighed. He wasn't the person I had grown up with, but then I hadn't really known who he really was. He would always go off with his group of friends.

Emily:
"Yeah, we'll i'm gonna kick his moody ass if he keeps it up," I said. I sat up in bed and looked at the clock. "Want some help with dinner?" I asked, standing. I grabbed the pillow from the couch that night. It was still on my bed. I was gonna put it back because it clearly meant nothing.

Tasha:

I laughed at her comment and stood up from her bead. “Yes please,” I said, returning to my forgotten bags and lugging them to the kitchen. It was fun hanging out with Emily, I hadn't had the chance to for quite a while. When dinner was mostly ready I shouted for Ash to come join us. When he finally showed his face we were halfway through the meal.

Emily:
When we first walked out of my room, I threw the pillow back on the couch. Then we made dinner, actually hanging out for the first time in a while. It was fun and the food was actually pretty good despite my having a hand in it. Ash came out of his room when we were about half way done and I kept my eyes on my plate.

Tasha:

“You look like crap,” I said frankly when he sat down. His hair was ruffled like he had been laying in bed all day but he had dark circles under his eyes.

“Thanks.” He shrugged and began to eat his food with no further comments.

“You need to get out of the house. You're stepping on Emily's toes,” I told him. He shifted hard hazel eyes to her for a moment.

“Am I?” He asked me but watched her with a sideways glance.