Having to move into the on-campus dorms during the spring semester of his junior year of college was a massive setback for Devon. When his off campus apartment was shut down due to reports of black mold, the only other option available was to apply for emergency student housing. The worst part of it all was having to go from having his own place, thanks to the magic of student loans, to being forced to share a space with a roommate. He'd applied for a single suite but the best they had to offer him was a two suite dorm. Granted, it was in one of the newer buildings, so there would be less instances of the odd roach and rodent possibly living in the walls, but he would be forced to share a living room and a kitchen with a random stranger.
When he moved in he arrived to find trash bags in the kitchen, dirty dishes in the sink, and the living area was totally disheveled with pillows on the floor and blankets draped over chairs propped up on end tables. Someone had attempted to construct a pillowfort and it liked they were living exclusively off of take out. The sight of such a disaster almost sent Devon in to a panic. The only info he had about his roommate came from a slip of paper the housing office gave him. He knew the guy's name was Zac and that he was also a Junior, a business major with a minor in communications. None of that told him anything about who this Zac was as a person, but he had to admit, he'd never heard good things about business majors.
Zac was nowhere to be seen, and Devon's room appeared to be untouched, to his great relief. About ten minutes later, as he was unpacking he heard the sound of keys in the door and then someone entering the main living area. He braced himself as he left his room to introduce himself. He found a guy standing in the kitchen, an open pizza box on the counter, looking ready to inhale the entire thing himself if necessary. When the guy noticed Devon he looked momentarily startled, then he must have realized who Devon was, because his face changed to a welcoming smile.
"Hey, dude! You're Devon, right? My name's Zac, I'm your roomie!" Zac's voice was cheerful as he stepped out from behind the kitchen island and held out his hand in greeting. Zac was the opposite of Devon in almost every way. For starters, Zac was White and Devon was Black. Zac looked like the typical college bro. Devon was the classic nerd, complete with glasses and an inhaler in the pocket of his cargo shorts. Zac had light blue eyes and the dark and scruffy beginnings of a beard. He wore a white, backward cap, which hid his messy brown hair, a gray hooded sweatshirt with the sleeves cut off, and black gym shorts with sneakers. His biceps were thick, but not overly muscled, and his forearms were dusted with dark fuzzy hairs.
Zac was practically pink and Devon's features were much darker with his warm brown skin and his hazel brown eyes and short, tight, black curls. Physically, he was out of shape compared to Zac. Devon had never cared for sports or working out, and he spent most of his free time watching movies and playing cozy games on his computer. He was a homebody, which was a kind way of saying, an introverted loner who didn't like going outside.
"Uh, yeah, I'm Devon. It's nice to meet you." Devon accepted Zac's hand, meaning to shake it, but he was caught by surprise when Zac pulled him into a hug which turned into a headlock as Zac playfully ruffled his hair, and for a moment, Devon's face ended up shoved into Zac's armpit. Devon's nose was pressed into the sweaty swatch of dark hair and he got a full whiff of Zac's personal scent. It was clear that Zac had worked out recently, probably earlier that morning, and had yet to shower. The smell was on the edge of becoming that unpleasant kind of body odor, but it straddled that line very closely. When Zac let him go Devon was dazed and speechless. Zac laughed as he took in Devon's bewildered expression.
"Sorry, bro, I'm big on hugs and I couldn't resist the opportunity for a good ole fashion noggy. Good way to break the ice. You all right?" Devon just nodded reassuringly as he turned to grab a paper towel and wipe the pit sweat off of his face. Zac seemed to accept it as he turned back to his pizza. That was Devon's first impression of his new roommate for the semester. You would expect Devon to be horrified, disgusted, maybe a little ashamed, and a small part of him was, but he was actually more excited than he'd ever thought he would be, because he'd loved every second that his nose was buried in Zac's sweaty, musky pit. If there was a possibility he could have that again, it was all worth it.
From late January through all of February, Devon discovered several things about not only his roommate. The first being that Zac was actually a nice guy, in his own unique, Zac way. He was always happy to see Devon with his joyful bro attitude. He always respected Devon's things and his food, asking for permission before he borrowed anything that wasn't his own. He also tried to include Devon in things, whenever there was a party Zac was invited to he extended the invitation to Devon and even though Devon always declined, he never seemed to judge him.
However, there were definitely some bad things about having a roommate. Zac was incredibly messy and forgetful. He'd leave trash bags in the living area and forget to take them out. He left half empty water bottles and cups everywhere and he would forget to put away dishes and close cabinets behind himself. All of which he blamed on his ADHD. He also had a habit of intruding on Devon's personal space. He seemed to always find a way to touch Devon. He would put his hand on Devon's shoulder and pat him on the back when they talked, and he even hugged Devon again a couple times. Although he hadn't put him in a headlock since that first initial meeting.
There were also things that were private, gross things that Devon somehow found both incredibly disgusting and insanely attractive at the same time. Over the last month and a half it became clear that Zac wasn't as much of a jock as he appeared to be at first glance. Sure, he worked out quite a bit, but he wasn't much of an athlete outside of throwing the occasional frisbee on the green or playing a game of basketball at the university gym. Zac was more of a party guy. Almost every Friday night he would be out at a frat party somewhere on campus. He would come home as the sun was coming up, drunk or high, stumbling into his room with a bag of greasy food and wouldn't come back out until late into the afternoon.
When Zac wasn't out partying he spent a lot of time in his own room with the door locked. He'd had a girl over a handful of times, but the girls would always be gone before Devon had any chance of interacting with them. More often than not, Zac would be alone in his room and Devon could smell the faint scent of weed coming from across the dorm. A few times he could hear noises of what sounded like porn, both women and men moaning and groaning in pleasure. Once, the muffled moans went on for what felt like hours and Zac had not stepped outside his room even once that entire day.
The idea of Zac watching porn in the other room was an insane turn on for Devon. Everything about Zac was a turn on for Devon. Even Zac's gross habits made Devon want to be around him. There was something about the straight, himbo, white boy that made him irresistible.
The second week of March arrived, which meant that spring break was upon them. Devon was excited to get a break after finishing the second unit of his serialized screenwriting class. He was packing some things into a duffle bag when Zac knocked on his door which he'd left cracked open.
"Bro! You sure you don't wanna stay on campus for the week?" Zac asked. "I know it's not really your thing, but I got some crazy new shit that I'm going to try out. If you wanna join me it's more the merrier, bro!" Devon knew Zac mostly smoked weed, and that he occasionally sampled other party drugs. He'd offered to share with Devon in the past, but Devon had always turned him down, to which Zac took no offense.
"What 'crazy new shit' are you talking about, exactly?" he asked.
"It's this designer shit. It's called G-Sniff." he held up a small, dark bottle full of some mystery liquid. "This shit fucks you up for days, frees up your brain, and makes you very happy." He'd drawn out the last part of the sentence like it had some kind of secret meaning that Devon just didn't get.
