Roomie Needed [tag Malcom]

[Robbie Wilkes]

With an almighty help of the old printer at his apartment, Robbie finally got the piece of paper that stated that he needed a roommate. Though rent wasn't so steep now, he was worried that his money would peter out and he won't be able to afford living alone. He was also saving for Dani. Because one day, he was going to bring her to live with him.

Though he dreaded the day he had to face Matt and Dani's fathers to ask their permission to let him bring her with him, he wanted it to happen. Which meant he had to start saving up. Even with a job, he was still scared it wouldn't be enough so he was hoping having a roommate would solve that problem.

So with the paper in hand, he went out to the town hall to smack this piece of paper on the bulletin board so people could call him. Once that was done, Robbie turned to leave, already thinking of an apple pie in the fridge he had yet to touch, only to bump into someone. "Whoa there. Sorry mate. You okay?"

[Malcom Black]

Malcom wasn’t used to being on a college campus. He’d been there a couple of times when he was watching one of his siblings graduate, but past that, he really hadn’t spent much time there. These days, it seemed like he lived there. He bought food there, spent time at the library, registered for classes, spoke to a counselor to fit his “special” needs, and then would sit down, new backpack dangling between his legs as he settled on the bench, and tried to figure out what in God’s name he was playing at.

But he was enrolled. He had a list of classes, he had a plan. It just felt so very, very weird.

Right now he wasn’t in the college, however, but instead in the town hall. He’d just finished filling out his paperwork and was seeing if they had any other jobs. Of course, it also helped to look for the bulletin boards for rent. That was where he’d been standing when a blonde man, taller than he was, bumped right into him. He staggered back, reaching out a hand to steady himself and the other one, then shook his head as he straightened up.

“Yeah, man, I’m all right.” He slipped back into the lingo frighteningly easily. The kid looked familiar. Hammel student? Probably. “No big. You got an ad up there?” He nodded to the paper. “What for?”

[Robbie Wilkes]

He too thought the man looked familiar but he was way older than the usual people Robbie hung out with. Granted, his age demo was still under the twenties but still...this guy looked familiar.

"Cool, cool." He nodded at his assurance that he was okay. "Ah yeah," he gestured over his shoulder with his thumb at his ad. "Looking for roommates." He responded. "Money's a bit tight and all. Rent's high." He chuckled, sheepishly rubbing the back of his head with his hand.

"Uh...you looking for something?" he asked.

[Malcom Black]

“Yeah, I know that feeling.” Malcom turned his attention away from the ki—his peer for a moment to analyze the poster he’d just put in place. Own room in a decently sized place, shared bathroom but he could live with that. For a frighteningly long time he’d lived with three people in his own room, until recruitment had pruned the numbers. He’d also roomed with someone for most of his adult life too, and no teen’s bathroom could be as bad as a war zone bathroom.

He glanced back and offered him a smile. “Yeah, actually. A roommate.” He nodded to the poster. “Place seems nice, and I can pay. You interested at all?”

[Robbie Wilkes]

Robbie chuckled and nodded at the older man's response. "Yep."

His interest piqued when the guy showed his own interest in the place. "Are you kidding? The only reason I put this up man!" He grinned before pulling the paper down.

"I live like...four blocks away from here. If you wanna come over and check the place out, I'm free right now." Robbie grinned expectantly.

[Malcom Black]

That was quick. Malcom opened his mouth to ask if he’d really thought it was practical to invite a man to possibly live with him when said man was A) much older than him, B) Probably had worked for his school and C)should’ve had a place of his own by now. But there was no way he was going to stay with a single one of his siblings. That was NOT something he wanted to try.

“Sure,” he said instead. “And we can talk about the details? Like, uh, how’s rent? And how do you feel about guns in the apartment?”

Bad question. It was part of this new honesty thing they’d recommended in R-Land (Malcom’s name for R-E-H-A-B because it freaked his family out whenever he brought it up). Gambling and drinking involved a lot of lies to a lot of people, and their recommendation was to start with as few lies as possible. Especially about yourself. Malcom had no intention of using the gun, but he had a legal permit and it was a leftover from his army days. It scared him not to have it.

[Robbie Wilkes]

It was precious how the ex-militant thought Robbie actually cared about details. This was the boy who drove seventeen hours back home instead of taking the plane. This was the boy who promised a peer to bring her back home after a drunken night of ice cream and karaoke.

"BB guns? Or like...bazookas? I mean, either is cool but you gotta be careful with me around because I'd probably end up shooting your foot with it." He said in a serious tone before laughing. "Naw man, I'm just kidding. I'd never shoot a foot. I can barely aim." He waved a dismissive hand, though he did know how to aim. But the older man didn't need to know that.

"So I'm Robbie." He threw the paper he had crumpled into the nearby bin. "Robbie Wilkes. You seriously look familiar though. Do you work around here?"

[Malcom Black]

Bazooka? Malcom stared at him, not sure if the boy was kidding or serious. He would really…? Man, Malcom wasn’t sure he’d even used a bazooka out of bootcamp. Jeez.

“Handgun,” he said promptly. “In a gun safe.” Best one he could afford, because Malcom had “raised” a lot of kids and knew that they liked getting into things. “Uh, you don’t care? Well, uh.” He shrugged, attempting to look casual and completely failing. “All right.” In all honesty, he would’ve preferred it if Robbie DID tell him he could aim. It would’ve made him a lot more comfortable.

Right! He hadn’t even introduced himself. Well, this was going well. “Malcom Black,” he said, offering his hand for an awkward moving handshake. “Yeah, I used to. Up at the school. Don’t suppose you went there?” Best to get the awkward over with.

[Robbie Wilkes]

"Then psht. 'Course I'm okay with it." He waved his hand dismissively and started to walk towards his apartment. The strong grip Malcom had on his hand made Robbie grin. "Nice. Malcom. Strong name." He nodded.

When Malcom mentioned the school, Robbie frowned a little before realising that it could only mean one school. Why would someone be that vague without actually meaning Hammel?

"You mean Hammel right? Yes! I graduated this year! Wow! What a coincidence! This is so cool! Tell me about your job!" Robbie said as they walked to his apartment, chit chatting about Hammel and everything else under the sun.

What an easy way to find a roommate!

[WRAP!]