College Roommates (commanderShepard, leia25, Leahrose1111)

"No, I know that," Brian sighed, his shoulders drooping. It wasn't the first time Vanessa had guilt tripped him about her being the only one with an income. He just didn't have the time for a job. He had tried part-time gigs, but it never worked out because of his schedule.

Walking over to her, he took Vanessa's hands in his and met her eyes. "We'll be alright, we'll figure something out. Fighting doesn't change the situation. We'll get some boxes tomorrow and pack everything up this weekend, then we'll find someplace to live."
 
She sighed heavily and snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest. "I'm sorry. I just can't. Nothing is ever easy for us. Never has been."
 
"I know. But we've always gotten through it, and we will this time, too. Somehow." They had a long weekend ahead of them, and it was certain to be stressful. But by the time they were through, they would be ready to move, wherever they would end up.
 
Beth had a strained relationship with her mother, Margaret. She had four older brothers and sisters, most of whom had gone on to pursue important careers: doctor, vet, founder of a non profit, and politician who was already in talks of running for president. Beth, meanwhile, set her heart on becoming a scientific illustrator. She knew it was niche but she was a good artist and figured this was pretty much guaranteed paid work while she built her profile as an artist.

Margaret, however, wasn't thrilled by the idea. Her father, Richard, wasn't happy about her chosen career, either, but it was Margaret who seemed most upset by it all and she made her opinions perfectly clear.

More than her choice of career, Margaret wasn't happy that Beth still hadn't found her future husband. She hadn't told them that it was equally as likely that she could find a wife or a gender non-conforming spouse.

"Mom, please," Beth said as she dropped her books and bag onto her bed and started to shrug her coat off.

"Elizabeth," Margaret said, making Beth roll her eyes. Her parents were the only ones who absolutely insisted on using her full name. "You need to start thinking about your future."

"I'm in college. I can assure you that my future is all I think about."

"Good. So you've found somebody?"

Beth sat down on her bed and rubbed her eyes. "No."

"Oh, but you have to bring someone to Thanksgiving."

"Mom-"

"You know your brothers and sisters will all be there-"

"Mom-"

"I'm just thinking about your future. You need to find a husband who will care for you." If your art doesn't work out. Margaret didn't have to say the last half of the sentence for Beth to hear it.

"Fine!" Beth snapped. She cleared her throat. "I mean-"

"You mean you've found somebody?"

Beth's mind was reeling. She was trying not to lie to her mother but who was to say she couldn't tragically break up with her boyfriend before Thanksgiving?

"Yeah," she muttered, a headache forming between her eyes.

"Oh, that's just wonderful, darling. We can't wait to meet him."

Beth frowned as she slipped her shoe off and picked it up, inspecting the coffee stains. "Brain," she muttered.

"Oh! Brian. Wonderful. I must tell your father. Goodbye."

Before Beth could say anything, Margaret hung up, preparing to meet her youngest daughter's new boyfriend.
 
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Monday couldn't have come fast enough. Predictably, the weekend was stressful as Brian and Vanessa packed up their belongings. They didn't fight much—despite how carried away they could both get, fighting wasn't a terribly common occurrence between them—but things were still tense. Understandably, given the circumstances. So when classes rolled back around, Brian was thankful for the distraction.

Swim practice was a bit of a blur. He threw himself into the workout more than usual, taking a bit of a step back from his leadership duties so he could swim more himself. It relaxed him, and by the end, he felt much better and ready to tackle anything.

Which was good, because he had biology that day. He met Vanessa and they entered the classroom together. He knew she would bring up their housing situation at some point, because they still had yet to figure anything out.
 
Vanessa had been up since 4am, stressed about their situation. She had printed pages and pages of rentals in the area, and had been going through them meticulously for any opportunities. She had dark circles under her eyes, and it was evident by her rapid speech that she had already compensated with an excessive amount of caffeine. Luckily, her parents offered to put them up in the campus hotel for a few days, and she had found a local church that was willing to house their belongings temporarily until they could settle in. While it helped, they still didn't have a place to go.

They sat down in their same back row, but instead of their typical snuggling, she was flipping through the pages of her multi-colored, overly highlighted packet and showing him the slim pickings of possibilities. She rambled on about wanting to sue the landlord, how they could cut back their budget to allow more room for higher rent, and even hinted that she could take time off school to pick up more hours at work. While she hadn't mentioned it yet, she had actually thought about interviewing at the local strip club. She had the body, and it was fast money.
 
"We're not suing the landlord," Brian sighed. "He wasn't exactly hiding the building's condition from anybody, we knew it had failed inspections before. We accepted that because it meant lower rent."

He looked at the pages she was showing him, listing after listing. All of them were more expensive. Quite a bit more expensive. "I'll have to get a job, too," he said. "You can't shoulder all the burden yourself, and you've been after me about it for a while now."
 
"Baby, I know you don't have time to work with swimming. Your schooling is free because of your scholarship, which prevents massive money owed later. My job just doesn't pay all that much, and I'm gonna be the one stuck with loans." She breathed a heavy sigh. "Maybe a work study thing is out there somewhere for you....school and work together? "

Students continued to file in to the classroom. Vanessa rubbed her temple as she continued to look through the packet.
 
Margaret was unrelentless, a dog with a bone. Now that she knew Beth had a 'boyfriend', she wouldn't stop talking about it. There were texts and emails and even though her parents hadn't met Beth's 'boyfriend', she was certain he would make an appearance in the family's Christmas newsletter. It got so bad that she'd actually switched her phone off last night and when she turned it on this morning, she responded to Margaret's numerous texts that her battery had died.

But that didn't stop Margaret. She phoned Beth after her swim practice and continued grilling her about 'Brian the boyfriend'.

Beth sighed, holding her phone to her ear as she walked into the lecture hall. She was so stressed out by her mother that she didn't realise the significance f sitting in the second to last row. She sat down, putting her books on her desk, and rubbed her forehead.

"No, he's not allergic to anything," she muttered. "Yes, he's still coming. I have to go, Mom. Class is starting."

Without waiting for a response, she hung up the phone and turned it off again.
 
Brian's attention became divided as he watched Beth walk in and sit in the row in front of them. He hadn't even thought to look for her that morning at practice, but now it was like she had a neon sign flashing over her head and he couldn't take his eyes off her.

He shook his head, returning his attention to his girlfriend, a title he reminded himself of inside his head. He was annoyed by how distracting he found Beth.

"I'll look for something like that, I promise. We'll figure it out, don't worry Vanessa. We'll find a place to live, I'm sure of it."
 
Yeah...can't count how many times he's said that to me over the years. And now he's staring at another woman.

Vanessa rolled her eyes and sunk down in her chair. She couldn't really blame him....but she was going to.
 
Beth started to pull out her laptop, preparing for class. Though she slowed her movements slightly as she heard something behind her. That was definitely Brian's deep tone and that could only mean that Vanessa was with him. Beth was momentarily distracted by memories of the pictures of Beth she still had on her phone.

She twisted slightly in her seat and looked up at Brian. "Trouble in paradise?"
 
Brian frowned. He didn't like other people sticking their noses in his private business. "Nothing that concerns you," he said curtly.
 
Beth held his gaze for a moment, an idea barely forming in her head. It was a terrible idea, really. "Do you need somewhere to live?" she asked quietly.
 
Vanessa heard Beth's inquisitive tone....and while she was not in the mood to entertain the idea...memories of Beth flooded her brain and made her dizzy. "We just got evicted." She mumbled and sighed heavily. "Garbage landlord. Got any ideas?"
 
"Babe," Brian said chidingly. He didn't like her just airing their problems to someone who was essentially a stranger to them. He may have had an... interesting exchange with her, but it was just once, and Vanessa didn't know her at all outside this classroom. Or so he thought.
 
She ignored his judgmental tone and spoke quietly. "It wasn't our fault. The building was condemned. It's mid lease season., so there's not much out there."
 
Beth's eyes softened slightly as she met Vanessa's gaze. "Sounds like an asshole," she murmured.
 
"He is," Brian said, not picking up on the look they were sharing. "So, yeah, we've got a week to find someplace. Now you know."
 
Beth looked at Brian and chewed her lip thoughtfully. "I have a pretty big apartment, you know."
 
Brian furrowed his brow at first, not sure he had heard Beth right. Surely she wasn't offering them a place to stay? He scoffed, dismissing the idea. "So, what, you're inviting us, practically strangers, to live with you? Yeah, right."
 
"We'd love to at least consider it." Vanessa knew exactly what she was about to do. "What if we came by later this afternoon, maybe 4ish to take a look at it?"

Brian has always had a standing mandatory study session as a part of his scholarship requirements at 4pm on Mondays. Unless he missed due to proven illness, there was absolutely no flexibility.

If he can't be there to see the apartment, he can't be an asshole about it.
 
"What?" Brian exclaimed. He was shocked that Vanessa was even considering this offer, and doubly so that she was suggesting a time he couldn't do. "I can't do 4 pm, you know that."
 
"Exactly. Are you done being an ass to her now?" Vanessa folded her arms and gave Beth an apologetic, yet soft smile.
 
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