New Roommate...

[Noah Kay]

Noah had gone through the whole long and tedious administration process and had finally been told his room, and his roommate. Ian Something or other. It began with an R, Rivers? Yes. That was it Ian Rivers. He was a junior but Noah didn't know who he was, Rivers certainly didn't ring a bell...

Amidst all his musings Noah was dragging a suitcase and carrying a backpack filled with all his precious equipment toward the room. Room 211. It had a nice sound to it. Hopefully it would be home to some great works of art, great reels of film... Eventually he reached the door, putting his ear to it he could hear no sound and so he assumed that he was the first one there. He put his key in the door and turned the lock, it fitted! Miracle. Last year, there had been so much confusion and he had walked away with the wrong key, it wasn't exactly the best way to start off at a new school... Luckily no-one but the admin staff knew but it was humiliating enough.

Walking into the new room Noah noticed that it was quite, minimalistic, to the extreme. Still, he could live with that, he wasn't too bothered by his surroundings. It was what happened in those surroundings that mattered. He sighed contentedly, he could feel that this was going to be a good year! Seeing as he was the first one there he got first pick of the bed, which side of the room he wanted. It didn't take long to decide the window side. But now that was done, what next? Should he unpack, or wait for Ian to arrive? Instead, he sat down on the bed and pulled out his laptop...

[Ian Reeves]

Ian was late getting to the Academy, as usual. Most students got there during the beginning of the afternoon, some even before lunch time. But he rarely got there before evening, mainly because his father usually insisted on stopping along the road for many unnecessary things, just to make sure his trip with his son lasted as long as possible. And worst this time, Hannah and Ruby had been coming along with them, which meant a lot of stops for the younger girl to go pee - she had obviously some problems controlling her bladder - and also to eat. Ian and his father usually contented themselves with eating on the road as they drove, a couple of hotdogs and french fries being just perfect for them. But this time they'd had to stop at a restaurant to eat, and they'd stayed there talking a long time, so it'd made him even more late getting to the Academy. To be honest, he didn't really mind though. He missed his family a lot during school, and this last day with them was always very nice for him.

As he got out of the car with his father, step-mom and step-sister, he turned to glance at the Academy with a small smile. He was glad to be back still. He then helped his father get his stuff out of the trunk and turned to Hannah and Ruby, giving them each a quick hug before giving a longer one to his dad. It was always hard leaving him, but at least he had his wife and step-daughter to keep him company when Ian was away, and he was very thankful for that. He hadn't liked them at first, but they made his father happy, and that was a good thing. With a light sigh, Ian waved at them as they left and carried his bags inside the building, heading to the counter to get his key and dorm informations. The name of the guy with whom he was sharing his room didn't ring a bell and so he didn't pay much attention to it, grabbing the key with a smile and heading over to his dorm. He'd had a long day and he wanted to get settled in and get some sleep now.

As he walked up to the door, he figured his roommate was most likely already there and so he didn't bother to use his key as he pushed the door open - there was rarely any need to knock when entering a dorm room, because most students didn't get dressed, or undressed, in there, knowing they weren't alone. Well, some did, but those didn't mind being walked on in their underwear. Besides, for guys, underwear was pretty much the same as a bathing suit. Glancing inside the room, he saw it was as small as even before noticing the guy sitting on one of the beds with a laptop and bags unpacked. He hoped he hadn't been waiting for him to unpack, seeing as he got here so late. With a small smile, he closed the door behind him and walked over to the other bed before turning to the guy. "Hey, I'm Ian," he said, introducing himself and holding out a hand to the guy. "And you're... Noah, right?" he asked, trying to remember the name he'd read on the sheet of paper.

[Noah Kay]

It had been a long time. Much longer than Noah had been expecting to wait and so he ended up sprawled over his bed, surfing, bored. He could easily have gotten up and walked out to do something, unpacked his clothes but he was feeling lazy. Or maybe it was the jet-lag. He hadn't had much time to adjust his body clock back to American time...

When he heard Ian entering he felt some kind of release, from the boredom. He got up, gently putting his laptop down on the bed and looked at Ian. He hadn't really seen him around campus much and had no classes with him seeing as Ian was a junior. Still, he hoped that because he hadn't heard anything about him beforehand it was a good sign. His reputation didn't proceed him. He seemed like a good guy.

When Ian introduced himseld Noah smiled and took his hand, "Yeah. I'm Noah." he said, and then paused, it was slightly awkward. He didn't know what to say. "So, you're a junior, huh? I'm a sophomore, major in film..."

[Ian Reeves]

Ian sat down on his bed and stretched up a little, feeling a bit stiff after the long drive though he was actually too tired to stand for too long either. He didn't think he'd be able to go to sleep yet, besides it'd probably be rather rude to his roommate if he went to bed just as he got into the room without talking a little - not that he talked all that much at all anyway, but still. He figured he would have to wait a little now and just try to get acquainted with the guy. It was always hard for him, making new friends or trying to anyway. Being a quiet guy, he didn't mind spending his time alone as much as other people might, and so he didn't have a strong need to friends.

"Nice to meet you," he said with a small nod when the guy confirmed that his name was Noah. He was glad he'd gotten that one right at least. "Yeah, I'm a Junior," he said when the other guy made a guess as to his year. "I study Music," he added after Noah had told his own field of studies. That was as far as he went. If he wasn't very good for talking, he was even worse when it came to starting a conversation, and he had no idea of what to use as a topic starter. He just hoped Noah wouldn't mind his silence much. Ian wasn't used to being forced to talk, considering everybody back home knew how he was, and didn't ask much of him when it came to telling stuff and making noise, unless he was playing music.

"Well, I don't know about you, but I suppose I'd better start unpacking," he said after a little while of silence, getting back to his feet and placing his bags on top of his bed, unzipping the first. "I prefer not leaving it for later, I can't sleep really well if I know I haven't taken my things out, otherwise I keep putting it to later and end up never doing it," he added. There, that was probably the longest speech he'd make in a while.

[Noah Kay]

Noah nodded, unsure of what to do. He was expecting on actually having a conversation with his roommate but, he didn't seem to want to talk much. "Yeah, sure." was all he said, even though he found it a little weird that Ian couldn't sleep properly without unpacking. Noah wasn't like that at all. He was actually something of a slob.

Instead he sat back down on his bed, reassuming his previous - and comfortable - position. He wasn't sure if he should try to talk to Ian but he felt that if he didn't there could be some awkwardness later on. "Uh, I couldn't exactly be bothered to unpack. I'll start later. So, how was your summer?" he asked. It was an innocent question, he was making small talk. But somehow, it felt like he was intruding. It was bizzare...

[Ian Reeves]

Ian started taking his stuff out of his bags, placing some of it in the closet and the rest in the drawers. It wasn't so much that he minded messiness or anything, but he knew himself, and he'd rather settle things right now than keep pushing them back to later like he knew he would if he didn't take care of things right away. It was pretty much always the same, but he'd learned over the years that forcing himself a little on the first night was better than living in his suitcases for the rest of the year. He got so busy right from the start of the first week, and now it'd probably be even worse considering he was a Junior, that he never found the time to do anything else than school work and sleep afterward.

Ian gave a small smile as Noah asked about his summer. He could tell the guy was trying to make conversation, or perhaps he'd expected to have a more talkative roommate. Not wanting to be rude, though not exactly able to go against his nature either and give a long answer to a question, he shrugged lightly. "It was alright, same old. Spent most of it at home with the family actually. What about you?" he asked, returning the question and hoping Noah would have more to say about his summer. Otherwise, the conversation would most likely be cut short. Not that Ian would mind.

[Noah Kay]

Noah shrugged a little to himself, "Nothing really, I went back to England, hung out with the family too." He wondered if, after spending almost a year in America his accent had changed so that it was less recognizable as an English accent, it obviously wasn't the same as everyone else here but he imagined that it had probably altered.

He contemplated continuing the conversation but he felt a little uncomfortable, it was like Ian was desperate to stop. Maybe he was VERY shy. Shier than Noah. He decided to let it lie for a while while Ian could adjust but they'd have to talk someday. Instead he gazed intently at the computer screen, pretending to concentrate.

A while later he rummaged around in his bag and pulled out some earphones. He wondered briefly whether it would be rude to put them in but then decided that it would be fine - it wasn't like Ian was going to strike up a conversation any time soon...

((Gotta run, sorry about the shortness!))

[Ian Reeves]

Ian nodded as Noah mentionned going back to England. He'd figured he wasn't American, not that his accent was so noticeable since he hadn't been able to guess what other country he was from, but now it made sense to him. Seeing as Noah was a Sophomore, it meant that he'd already spent a full year here, and it would surely help with anybody's accent. Then again, he did like some of the british accents - he had a little troubles with the one from the upper part of England, near Scotland, because he didn't understand it very well, but still, he quite liked it. Not as much as the western part of England accent (he'd talked to a girl from Manchester before and her accent was so great... then again, maybe it'd been the girl).

Ian glanced over at Noah as the boy went back to staring intently at his computer screen and was actually quite relieved by it. He wasn't much of a talker and had to force himself to speak whenever spoken to. It wasn't the greatest of feelings, and he usually succeeded rather poorly to do so as well, which often ended up with the other person being annoyed or angry with him for his lack of participation in the conversation. It wasn't his fault really, what could he do about it? It wasn't as though there was some sort of medication to help him on this point, and even if there was, he wouldn't want of it. He wanted his friends, as rare as they were, to accept him the way he was.

He kept unpacking until all of his clothes were placed in the drawers and closet and then moved on to the bag that contained more important things to him - some music partitions, most of which he'd written himself, his iPod, pictures of his family, stuff like that. His guitar had spent the summer here as he'd figured it'd be too much complication travelling with it, and besides he had another one back at home, so it hadn't kept him from practicing. It reminded him that he had to go pick it up soon though.

[Noah Kay]

While staring at the computer screen Noah kept stealing quick glances at Ian, he did consider saying something again but something stopped him, Ian was exuding some kind of "DON'T TALK TO ME" vibe. Noah wasn't sure whether it was simply shyness or that he was being discourteous. Eventually however, he lost himself in the computer and almost forgot about the boy opposite him.

As his concentration faded he noticed that the room was quiet, there was no sound of Ian unpacking. He assumed he'd finished and Noah's mind wandered to his own suitcase, not even opened yet. He had to do it eventually and he knew that it wouldn't be that bad once he'd started, it was just starting that was the problem. Then again, it would probably bug Ian the longer he left it - it would probably be quite amusing to see Ian pissed off. As soon as he thought it he pushed the thought from his mind - Noah wasn't spiteful, it wasn't like him to think things like that but there was just something about Ian that aggravated Noah.

He tried to imagine what the rest of the year would be like if he and his roommate barely talked, it didn't sound like a good idea and it certainly wouldn't be much fun. Especially since Noah didn't go out much, and he imagined that Ian was the same. Maybe he should make an effort, it didn't seem like Ian would.

"Ian?" Noah asked, hesitantly. He shouldn't be so nervous! He wasn't afraid of Ian! "Uh, what type of music do you write?"

[Ian Reeves]

Ian sighed lightly as he finished placing all his personal belongings in the room, most of it ending up either on his desk or bedside table since they were things he usually used every day, like his iPod and things like that. When that was done with, he grabbed one of the notebooks he’d brought over along with a pencil out of his pencil case, sitting down on his bed and leaning back on the headboard as he did. He hadn’t written any music since the beginning of the summer and he had yet to do some more work on the piece he had started, but right now he felt like doing something new, something different. Something better, possibly. He already had a few notes in his head.

He closed his eyes for a few seconds, trying to concentrate on those notes that played around in his mind, to put more order into them. That done, he opened his eyes and started writing. When he wrote, he always got lost in it a little. Not so much that he forgot every single thing around him, but his concentration was strong enough so that he wouldn’t have been bothered by a loud crowd when writing, which was often a good thing because, like any kind of inspiration, the inspiration to write music came to him anywhere, any time. It could also be a problem however, because even though he didn’t forget the people around him when he wrote and would have heard them if they’d talked to him directly, he could seem as though he was plainly and simply ignoring them, which wasn’t the case. But he couldn’t exactly help the look he got on his face when he started writing either, could he?

As he heard his name being called, Ian looked up with a raised eyebrow, waiting for the question to be asked before closing his notebook, not wanting to get distracted by the need to write more while he answered. Apparently, and sadly enough for Ian, Noah seemed to be trying to start a conversation. “Well… pretty much anything, really,” he said, rubbing the back of his neck lightly. “Mainly classical when it comes to piano, but other stuff that’s a bit more modern too,” he added with a light shrug. He didn’t really know how to describe his music by types. To him, each song was either a theme or an emotion, he didn’t really care if it turned out to be jazz, rock or even country sounding, as long as it allowed him to give away a certain message.

[Noah Kay]

It was only after he had asked the question that it had occured to Noah that the reason the room had gone quiet was because Ian was concentrating on something. He seemed to be writing in a notebook or something, maybe it was a diary! Ok, that wasn't very likely, Ian was a music major - maybe he was composing or something. That made more sense... It would be cool to see what it was that he was composing. Well, not see, hear. Noah couldn't read music at all - he'd never even tried. Noah didn't want to ask Ian though, the guy didn't even talk, let alone share his music.

When Ian answered Noah wanted to reply but it didn't seem like Ian had given him much to reply to - the guy wasn't much of a conversationalist! Instead Noah nodded and muttered "Cool." Ok. That was a lame response too, but what else could he say? "Oh yeah, modern music's the best"? Of course not - he would have sounded completely ridiculous.

Looking around the room for another topic of conversation he saw that Ian had fully unpacked but the room still looked a little bland. It was too...white. Maybe they should do something about it. He closed the screen of his laptop and put it down on his bed. He got up and stretched out before turning to Ian and saying.. "Hey, Ian? I was thinking right, this place is a little bland - its too white. How about we liven it up a little? Paint it or something? I'm sure all that white isn't good for your musical inspiration!" he said, jokingly, trying desperately hard to break the ice and lighten the mood, even if just a little...

[Ian Reeves]

Ian couldn't help but sigh lightly when Noah only mumbled an okay in answer to his statement. He was really trying here, but what more could he answer to a question like the one he'd asked? And if there was nothing he could add afterward, why had he even asked it in the first place? Ian couldn't help who he was at this point, and if Noah was looking for a conversation buddy, he'd try to make amends and work with him, but there was a limit to what he could manage too. He just wasn't a talker, he was a quiet guy that prefered his music to his voice. Of course, he couldn't necessarily get annoyed with Noah either at this point - they were complete strangers, the guy couldn't guess what he was like personality-wise after spending ten minutes together. Though it would surely be easy by now to have figured he didn't talk.

Since Noah wasn't adding any more to the conversation he'd apparently been starting to start, Ian decided he was free to go back to his writing and opened his notebook once more, looking down at the notes he'd already written and lightly humming the melody to himself, though of course he couldn't be certain he was exactly doing the right notes, but he figured he must be pretty close still.

Once again, his writing was short lived as he heard Noah speak up another time. Forcing a light smile as he figured he couldn't exactly be annoyed with him, seeing as he must be the one to seem rude right now since they didn't know each other yet, he looked back up and put his notebook aside for a second time. He looked around the room with a small nod as Noah spoke, agreeing on what he was saying. "That's true, it's not a very good looking room. I suppose we could paint it or at least decorate it a little. I don't really have a color preference though, as long as it's not too bright. Weird as it might be, seeing as this is a bedroom, I actually prefer darker colors for rooms," he said, trying to make conversation though he didn't actually think it would work all that well. Oh well, at least he tried.

[Noah Kay]

Noah nodded, so the guy didn't like bright colours. That wasn't all that unusual. Maybe they could go with a blue... That wasn't too bright, nice and calming. Not that Ian needed calming - he seemed to be overly placid in fact. "Ok. So no bright colours? We'll have to work together on it but I'm not very artistic so I'm afraid it might be something rather simple. We'll have to decide later..."

Then he added, "Oh. You've unpacked already? I think I'll get started on mine now..." Sighing, he sat on the floor and opened a suitcase in front of him. He pulled out a few t-shirts and a pair of jeans and put them away in his wardrobe. Then, he grabbed one of his favourite cardigans... "Oh shit!" he yelled. "No! Not the shampoo!" A bottle of shampoo had exploded all over Noah's suitcase. Now that he was looking for it he saw that the cardigan was only the first casualty of many. And the worst thing was, he knew that something like this would happen. That was why he didn't bring any shampoo with him from London. It was just that when he was staying in the hotel over the past few days he obviously needed to use some. And Noah couldn't use hotel shampoo, with hair like his you needed to use good shampoo, and condition regularly. He sighed and leaned against the wardrobe. "What. A. Mess."

[Ian Reeves]

"Simple sounds okay to me," he said with a nod, really trying hard to be nice and make conversation though he had absolutely no clue as to how to do so. "I mean, maybe we could just.. paint the furniture a dark brown or something like that, and then see what we want to do with the walls," he added, smiling a little. "If we manage to get a few things here and there, we might not even need to paint everything." Truth be told, Ian hated painting. He only did it when it was necessary, and he had to admit this room badly needed something, but there were other solutions than paint.

Once Noah mentionned he should go and unpack his things, Ian merely nodded and inwardly sighed of relief, feeling a bit bad about it but unable to restrain himself. Noah seemed like a really nice guy, but Ian felt a bit uncomfortable still. He'd have to get used to it of course, but in less than an hour, he'd spoken more than he usually did in a full day. Okay, so maybe not that much, but it was close it. He had the intention of going back to his music writing when Noah's exclamation startled him, making him look up with a confused look on his face. When he understood what'd happened, he got back to his feet, trying to think of something he could do to help his roommate, then deciding there was no better way than asking. "Erm.. do you need any help with that?" he asked, feeling sorry for him. It wasn't a fun thing to happen he supposed. "I mean, I'm sure the washers and dryers aren't already crowded by now seeing as most people just got here, you could make a run for it and do a bit of laundry," he suggested. It seemed like the best plan to him, unless he prefered putting his stuff in the tub and leaving it to soak.

[Noah Kay]

Noah was furiously going through his clothes, he was pissed off now. This was totally typical! How bloody stupid. Trust it to happen to him. He was throwing his clothes frantically into two piles - one pile for the clothes that were fine, and one for the clothes that had suffered the shampoo. It seemed that there were more casualties that seemed possible - especially seeing as the original shampoo bottle was considerably small. It was just ridiculous. His favourite cardigan was not the only one to have suffered - some of his coolest t-shirt were also damaged. Perfect. Bloody well perfect. It was only when Ian spoke that he remembered that he was in the room - having to be witness to his obscenities. Noah didn't swear much so it wasn't a great first impression to be making. Not that he cared right now...

"Umm? Help?" he asked, trying to think what Ian could do. Well...not much really. Noah would just sort out his clothes and take them down to be washed, just like Ian had said. The boy spoke logic, but Noah would have reached that solution eventually - once he had calmed down. Really, there was no reason for him to be having such a spaz about it, surely it would be fine. Maybe it was just fustration. Now that he had a plan in mind he was calm, er. Calmer than before. "Thanks for the offer Ian, I guess there's not really much that you could do." He wouldn't ask Ian to take his clothes down for him when he barely knew the guy and it would just be too odd to ask him to go through his suitcase! He sighed, and carried on sorting the clothes out in to two piles. Tedious, but necessary. Then, he'd go and get them washed.