o my dorm. "Be careful with him, he's a little skittish

reement. "I'll try my hardest not to let my charm go to his

hand dismissively at that, barely hearing the things she

clearly no fun. But now... now was a whole new year with a whole new chance with someone I assumed was going to be

on my shoulder, the one picture on my end table, and the laptop stowed away in said end table. I didn't need much, clearly. Especially not i

start for another two days. We had a two-day grace period to get situated and moved in before they piled on the workload. One day to mov

bit before opening. I sighed and sat up as quickly as my body woul

th the one suitcase and backpack said college child had. I tried clearing my

er faces with one clear mission-unload their precious freshman. The first wave seemed to be family: a mother, a father, a younger siste

ey!" I heard the mom say, her voice muffled from the

as, I'm assuming, his son. "He's gonna be in good hands her

ived at college? I was starting to wonder if I had missed the memo on some formal tradition where you had to bring your entire extended family along to hel

his awkward situation over with, but just as I made a

was

essed. I'd seen other people lugging huge suitcases and boxes with their entire dorms stuffed inside. This kid... just a single duffel bag.

spotted the kid, leaving me frozen in place b

ve me a quick smile, and I couldn't help but think it was a little forced. He seem

e too calm, but I appreciated that he didn't seem like he was panicki

off a vibe that was way too chill for a first-year student. I barely got a word out without embarrassing myself when I was his age. But hey, maybe it wa

eet you, B

microwave, honey! And make sure you put it on the right side of the desk, okay?" She turned to me. "I hope he's not bothering you! He's just

of the awkwardness slowly growing, but I couldn't help but laugh on the inside. This was a lot mor

et this. Thanks, Mom." The second the words left his mouth, his f

m on the cheek, and I had to look away for a second. It was sweet, but it was the type of sweetness that made you feel like you were watching something p

dded. "It's no trouble at all.

"You hear that, son? This guy's gonna t

muttered, a slight blush creeping onto his

second, scanning the room as if making sure everything was just right for

a nod. "I wil

alous concern. It was a bit much, but I guess that's what you got when you had parents

trying to break the sile

h a soft chuckle, setting his duf

the silence bet