Rainbow - Kellic // boyxboy

Chapter One

I lug a suitcase behind me as my sister carries two boxes stacked upon one another. Conveniently, I'm only situated on the second floor.

"Which number was it again?" Sam asks as we reach the top of the stairs.

"1822." I mumble.

My eyes scan the dorm room doors, searching for my allocated room. I'm not sure if I'm even really paying attention to the numbers though or if I'm just trying to avoid eye contact with every person that passes me. I feel like everyone is staring at me and it's overwhelming.

"Ah, right here." Sam chirps stopping in front of a room.

The numbers on the door stand out from the other dorms. The small sign saying '1822' looks new and the numbers are embossed unlike any other dorm. Under the numbers there's little dots which I assume reads the dorm number in braille.

I stand there analysing the numbers on the door for longer than comfortable. Sam puts her boxes down then snatches the keycard from my hand, which slides out easy due to my nervous sweat. She then inserts it into the panel on the door.

It flashes red. She looks at the card to make sure the numbers match the door then she inserts it again. Red.

"It's a sign." I tell her.

"Oh shut up. Mine does this all the time." she says rolling her eyes.

She wipes the card on his sleeve then inserts it into the door once again. This time it flashes green, indicating that the door is unlocked. I don't move which causes Sam to let out a frustrated huff. She pushes me out of the way then opens the door.

My new dorm room comes into view. Completely bare with nothing but a bed on one side, then on the other, a bed with crinkled black linen, a few things on the night stand, an empty suitcase pushed up against the wall and a violently colorful gay pride flag hanging on the wall above the bed.

"Looks like your roommate already moved in. And look, he's gay. I wonder if he's cute." Sam grins nudging my side encouragingly. "I mean assuming he's a guy. These dorms are co-ed."

I force an uncomfortable smile as blush floods my cheeks. Sam goes and gets the abandoned boxes then places them down on the empty bed.

She then turns to me and gives me a sad, yet encouraging smile.

"You're going to like it here, Kells." she says softly.

I sigh and leave my suitcase at the door before I take a seat on the bed. Sam sits down too. The two stacked boxes separate us from each other but they're not tall enough to block my view of her.

"I don't understand why I couldn't just stay with Aunt Eleanor." I mumble.

"It's not Aunt Eleanor's job to house you. It's mine. I cant afford to pay rent there anymore and your scholarship is paying for on campus living. Besides, you need to get out of that house and meet some people." Sam explains.

"By people you mean guys." I mutter rolling my eyes.

"Yes! That's exactly what I mean." She exclaims.

"I don't want a boyfriend." I sigh.

"I know. You've made that abundantly clear. But you can still have fun with guys. Hook up, kiss a few strangers, dance with somebody. I don't know." She sighs and pauses. "It's okay to be yourself here, Kells."

"I know that!" I snap defensively.

"Really? Because I ran into Brandon at admin."

The mention of my "ex boyfriend" makes me flinch. If just hearing his name has this affect on me then I don't know what bumping into him on campus is going to be like.

"You told me you two had a fight and you broke up." Sam says. "He told me that you just stopped talking to him and then broke up with him over text."

I shrug, knowing that Sam won't believe another lie I feed her.

"Kind of hard to break up when we were never together." I mumble, looking down at my flushed hands.

"You keep saying that but you regularly hung out, made out and went out with him for three months. Just because you didn't say the word boyfriend, doesn't mean he wasn't your boyfriend." She explains, a sharp sternness in her tone. "Brandon seems to think you were together anyway. And you know what, Kell? I think you really hurt him."

"Why do you care?" I groan, just really over this conversation.

"I care because I don't want my baby brother throwing away his happiness. I'll drop the subject and I'll never mention it again, but I need your assurance that you're not giving up on something special."

"I'm not." I tell her.

It's a truthful statement. What Brandon and I had wasn't special. But it sure as hell could have been.

"Okay!" Sam chirps, standing up. "I'm going to let you get settled. If you need anything, call, or you know where my dorm is anyway. And don't forget, therapy at four. Don't miss it. Do you need me to take you?"

"No, it's only a short walk from here. I should be okay." I murmur.

"Okay. Dr. Levit will call me if you don't show up."

"I know, Sammie, God. I'll go." I groan.

She laughs at my annoyance and walks to the door, seemingly about to leave until she turns back to me.

"Oh, I almost forgot. Text me if your roommate is hot." She smirks, winking at me.

"Go!" I screech but can't help but to laugh.

She finally leaves after that.

I fall dramatically back onto the plain mattress and kick the boxes out of my way so I can lay comfortably. I don't want to sleep but I'm so tired. My nerves kept me up all night.

I look to my roommate's side of the room and begin to think about what he's like. I wonder what his interests are, what classes he's taking, if we have anything in common, what his name is.

I look at his things trying to decipher who he is. He has a lot of functional items, nothing really decorative. On his nightstand there's deodorant, a scented candle, a metal stick and a soccerball.

The thing that really stands out though, and what initially caught my attention, is the pride flag hanging on the wall. It's so vibrant, so flamboyant, so unapologetically itself. Like this material things wants to stand out and wants people to know all it's secrets.

My mind wonders back to my roommate. Does he reflect this flag? Is he just as flamboyant? Just as ostentatious? Am I going to cringe at his mere presence?

The lucidity of the flag starts to make my eyes hurt so I look away, with the regular sick feeling pooling in my stomach.