Ben
I arrived at the dorm, still thinking about my roommate. I couldn't understand why I felt so drawn to him despite his hateful prejudice and childish pranks. I went to my desk and pulled open one of my desk drawers. Inside are the little notes he left me when he would steal my snacks.
In reality, those snacks I bought were for him. I never admitted that to him, nor did he know that he was stealing his own snacks.
I hopped in the shower and decided to pack a bag in case Bryce had to stay in the hospital longer.
As soon as I stepped out of the bathroom I saw him at the door looking at me.
"Oh," I said, "You're finally home."
"Hey." was all he said back.
"I was about to go visit you. I've been real busy that I haven't had a chance to…"
"Cut the shit," Bryce interrupted, "Techno told me the whole story."
I sighed and answered back, "So much for doing me a favor."
"Don't blame Techno," he said, "He means well, but can't lie for shit."
"Well then," I said, "I'm sorry for meddling with your life again."
"Dude, stop that," he replied, "Yell at me, tell me how I deserved that for being an asshole to you."
"And what do I get from doing that?" I asked, "No matter how much we may hate each other, I can't sit by and watch you die."
"Great," he said, "Now I feel like an asshole for this."
"You kinda are."
"Bastard!" he retorted, "Here take this." He handed me a bag of food from the student cafe.
"Well," I said, "If you're being an asshole then that means you have fully recovered."
Bryce went silent and started acting like he was shy, then he asked, "How much?"
"Hmm?" I asked back.
"The hospital visit," he answered, "How much did it cost?"
"Don't worry about it," I told him, "You already paid me back."
"How?" he asked, "In my sleep? I was there for a week, so it has to be several thousand dollars, right?"
I lifted up the bag of food and said, "This. This is how you paid me back."
"I only bought those because I felt guilty for stealing your snacks." Bryce then looked like a kid who got busted.
"Well then," I told him, "Next time, just take them and eat them. Don't leave a mess on my side. Deal?" I offer him my hand to shake.
He takes my hand and says "Deal."
"And don't worry," I add, "I'm not going to ask you to repay the favor. I'll just look at it like taking a stray dog to the vet."
"Motherfucker," he said, "No matter how nice you are to me, I still fucking hate you. And you better watch your back, cause this dog bites." he said referring to himself.
"We'll see." was all I said as I sat down and started to enjoy my meal.
Bryce
The next few nights, I couldn't tell if I was asleep and dreaming or half awake. I swore, every night since I came home from the hospital, I feel Ben's presence right next to me. However, I'm not pushing away from him or fighting him at all. I feel his hand caress my face, his lips kissing my forehead and through all that, I am smiling.
I feel like I am safe and I belong here with him. I feel that nothing can harm me as long as he's with me. I wake up every morning feeling happy, content, and safe. I couldn't understand why I felt this way when my mind was telling me that I'm miserable, uncomfortable, and unsafe.
I sat up and it was morning, Ben was playing a quick game on his PC.
"It was a dream." I said.
"Back from the hospital a few days now," he said as he started logging off, "And you're having strange dreams?"
"Mind your own business, man." I told him. Unable to determine if it was a dream or a recollection of an unconscious memory, I proceeded to ask him, "Hey Ben, be honest with me. Did you do anything to me??
Ben just chuckled and shook his head, saying only, "What I do, is my own business and you told me to mind it so I'm doing just that. I'm off to class."
Who the hell does this asshole think he is? I know he's doing something to me to try to turn me or make me like him. I can't let my guard down.
It's bad enough that our neighbors next door believe we're a couple because we fight like a married couple. I keep telling them that I want nothing to do with him and that we will never be friends, but they didn't believe me.
"Well, be careful," said my neighbor, Gavin, "You'll always end up with whatever, or whoever you hate."
Like hell, I will. Ben and I will never be a couple. Even if we were the last two people on earth, we will never be a couple.
Techno was no help either. Since I came home from the hospital, he keeps saying that I should be friends with Ben and how great a guy he is.
"Whose friend are you?" I asked him bluntly.
"Both," he said so boldly, "I'm Switzerland when it comes to you two."
"Some friend you are." I accuse him.
"Listen here, buddy," he proceeded to tell me, "If it weren't for him, you'd probably be dead. He skipped a whole week of classes to stay by your bedside. So stop acting like he's the bad guy here just because he's gay."
"I'm not saying he's a bad guy," I told Techno, "It's just…"
"You're still thinking about how to get rid of him aren't you?"
"When did I say that?" I snapped back, "Stop assuming I'm plotting something."
"So you guys made up?"
"No," I answered, "Look, I'm grateful for all he's done for me, and I know he's a great guy and all. But my mind is telling me to hate him but I don't hate him. Right now, I just don't like him and we've called a truce so we keep to ourselves and don't bother each other."
"That's a start," said Techno, "Now I don't have to be caught in the middle with you two."
Techno's phone began to ring and he checked the caller ID and showed me who was calling. It was Ben.
"Oh," he said, "Speak of the devil. Your roommate's calling."
"How the hell do you have his number?"
"He gave it to me the day he rushed you to the hospital." Techno answered the call and put it on speaker, "Hey man, what's up?"
"Not much," he answered back, "Is Bryce with you?"
"As a matter of fact," he replied with a mischievous grin, "He's right here with me. Don't tell me you don't have his number?"
"Nope," he answered, "He never gave it to me. I'm calling to see if he could do me a favor."
"Name it," Techno said as I flashed an angry face at him.
"I'm going to be home late," Ben stated, "And I was wondering if Bryce could bring home some food for me."
I immediately shook my head but Techno chimed in before I could say anything. "Definitely, he'll have something good for you to eat. Anything else you want to tell him?"
I'm definitely going to kill my best friend. "No, that's all," said Ben, "Later."
"Why the hell did you agree to that?" I angrily asked Techno.
"Nuh uh-huh," Techno said in his bib brother voice, "First off, bro, stop being a spoiled little bitch. The man saved your life and now you owe him a life debt. If I were you, I'd be that man's slave until either I die, or I save his life."
Like hell, that'll happen.
"And yes you are going to pay him back. No if's, and's, or but's. Got it?!"
As much as I wanted to protest, Techno was right. If it weren't for Ben, I'd be dead. But one thing I hated just as much as gay people was being in someone's debt. And what made me hate this even more, was that I was in debt to a gay man.