“I swear I’m not in love with you, I just can’t afford a two-bedroom apartment.” // oxo // CLOSED

Chris’s smile stayed put, but it was more natural and relaxed than before. He was excited. Alex came off as a nice guy, and Chris appreciated it.
“Yeah, it’s pretty nice,” Chris replied, adjusting his hands on the wheel. “The view isn’t much and it’s a bit small, but it’s a really short commute to… Maple’s? That’s where you work, right? I play piano there sometimes, surprised I haven’t seen you around much.”
He pulled off of to another road, familiar now, to him, as another turn would put him in the parking lot of their new residence. He glanced over to see the moving truck now in the lot, and he pulled in beside them.
Before he got out, he looked back over to Alex.
“We could probably walk there, honestly. It would take just a couple minutes to get to the restaurant. And campus for school is right offa the freeway.”

“I played a couple songs,” Chris said with a slight chuckle, brushing his hair back with his free hand as he took the key from the slot. “But the crowd favorite was Bluestone Alley? That might be the one you’re talking about. It’s always been fun.”
He paused for a moment, putting the keys in his pocket. “And, thank you. I’m glad you liked it.”
He looked back up with a smile, his bright eyes looking almost childish with their interior youth. He glanced back away, eyes wandering to the back of the apartment complex.
“Well… here we are.”

“You don’t have to sugar-coat it… I know it’s not much,” Chris said, pushing his door open and hoisting himself up, then leaning on the top.
“But we can fix up the place however we’d like,” he continued. “It’ll be fun, having a roommate ‘n all.”
He waved a greeting to the movers, who were currently trying their luck with a small couch. It looked like it could barely fit two people… more of a chair, really. But for the time being, Chris had no problem having that as his bed. It was surprisingly comfortable.
“Ready to go check it out?” he asked, his eyes wandering over to Alex.

“Sure is,” he said, giving a slight light-hearted scoff. He stood in the doorway to the bedroom, propping himself on his shoulder as he crossed his arms in front of himself. He crossed one leg over the other, tapping the tip of his shoe on the hardwood floor. He watched as Alex explored the room, nodding along to his comment.
“Don’t worry, though,” he continued. “Just tell me when I need to butt out and I’ll go for a walk or something. It’s your place as much as it is mine.”
His attention was soon caught by the movers, who had plopped the couch down in the middle of the living room. Chris resigned from his post in the doorway, walking over and pushing the couch against the wall, in the area between the two windows.

Chris snickered, looking up from the cushions. “I’ll upgrade sometime… maybe. All else fails, I’ll sleep on the floor.”
His eyes darted from Alex to the second set of movers as he stood upright. One of the men was carrying Chris’s keyboard in one arm and the stand in the other. Chris hastily leapt to help him, setting up the keyboard under the windowsill on one side of the couch.
He looked up from the placement, nodding to Alex. “If you wanna move anything around, I don’t mind. Some of this stuff is yours too, right?”
He took the stool from another man, sliding it in beside the keyboard. He fiddled with the keys slightly, just making sure they all worked before getting up again to help bring in other pieces of furniture and whatnot.

Chris cocked his head, taking a bag and setting it on the kitchen counter. He looked over, watching as they dealt with the bookshelf. The kitchen was an open one, not having a wall between it and the living room.
“I wasn’t kidding that I’d sleep on the couch,” he said plainly. “You can take the room, if you’d like. If not… I’ll just save for… like, a twin bed, maybe? We’ll figure it out.”
He gave a slight awkward laugh, not sure why his heart had started beating quicker. He shook the concern aside, trying to help with the placement of the diminutive coffee table. He lead it to the front of the couch, leaving enough space between the two to at least walk through.

Chris looked from the flag back to Alex, his heart beating a slight bit faster.
He’s….? he thought, but stopped himself before the thought could proceed.
“How do you have in mind?” he said casually, trying to act as if he hadn’t seen. “Like trading nights, or…? I’m open to… brainstorming.”
He bit his tongue to keep himself from saying anything else that sounded stupid. Well… to him, it all sounded stupid, so that wasn’t anything new.

Chris kept his head cocked, not really retaining any of the words. Though, he did manage to take out the phrases, “bisexual” and “never be into you.” He couldn’t say that his heart didn’t drop, but he didn’t show it. He just gave another slight laugh.
“Honestly, your choice,” he said, trying to sound light-hearted. “I have a younger brother, and up until last year, we shared a room together. I know what sleeping on the couch is like— I’d really be fine with it.”

“Alright, no worries,” he replied, gesturing a hand to the bedroom, where movers were headed with the bed frame. It was about a queen, but thankfully it could fit through the wider doorway. People carrying the mattress followed soon after, and then the movers exited the room.
“We can cross that bridge when we get to it,” he said, his words trailing off as he looked down to his watch. “Also, are you working tonight?”

“Five,” Chris answered, shutting the door to the apartment. He took the keys from off the counter, walked over, and held one out for Alex to take.
“Gives us a while to move stuff around, unpack, and whatnot,” he said. “I actually play at Maple’s tonight, but a little later. Gotta be there at like… seven, I think.”

Chris took a seat at the keyboard, turning it on and messing around with a bit of the keys. He changed the setting, checking the petals and hooking it up to the outlet. After the instrument was settled, he sat up on the stool, looking over to Alex. His eyes wandered the room, noting the mess and multiple bags, with a few pieces of loose furniture.
“Not sure,” he mumbled, scratching the back of his head with a raised eyebrow. “We have some string lights my sister gave me… we could hang those up somewhere. And I don’t have much in the way of decoration, but as for furniture layout, maybe we keep the bookshelf and dresser in the bedroom? And we can split up the dresser so the top two draws are mine and the bottom two are yours? Honestly, I’m open to any ideas.”

He watched with a smile as Alex explained his thoughts, just confirming the fact that this apartment had been a good idea. Chris didn’t have doubts, but this just reinforced his decision. He hoped the boy didn’t catch him staring when he turned to ask the time.

“Still like…,” he mumbled, looking down at his watch. “Five fifteen?”