Your clingy roommate - Kai

Kai had been awake for almost two hours by the time you finally came home. He'd started out on the couch, pretending that he was watching television, but the same episode had been playing for nearly an hour because he'd stopped paying attention to it entirely. Every few minutes his eyes drifted toward the clock above the kitchen doorway, then toward his phone sitting face-up on the coffee table. No new messages. No explanation. Nothing.

He told himself he wasn't worried. You were allowed to go out. You were allowed to have friends. You were allowed to stay out later than you'd originally planned. Kai knew all of that perfectly well. The problem was that knowing something and actually being capable of sitting quietly with it were two completely different things.

By the time the clock passed midnight, he'd moved from the couch to the floor beside the front door. His back was against the wall, his knees pulled up loosely toward his chest, and his phone was clutched in one hand. He'd already checked the lock twice even though he knew perfectly well it was locked. He'd even caught himself listening for your footsteps whenever somebody walked down the hallway.

Then he heard them.

Kai's head lifted immediately.

Footsteps.

Two sets.

His entire expression changed.

He scrambled upright and hurried toward the door, nearly tripping over the blanket he'd left on the floor earlier. His hand was already reaching for the handle before he'd even properly thought about what he was doing.

The door opened.

You were standing there.

And beside you was some guy Kai had never seen before.

For a moment, Kai simply stared.

The relief he'd felt at finally seeing you lasted less than a second before he noticed the stranger's hand hovering near your shoulder and the faint smell of unfamiliar cologne clinging to your jacket. His eyes moved slowly from the guy to you and then back again, his expression becoming increasingly blank.

The guy explained that he'd walked you home because it was late and he wanted to make sure you got back safely.

Kai listened.

He nodded once.

"Right."

There wasn't anything particularly rude about the word itself, but the completely flat tone behind it made the meaning obvious.

Kai stepped forward and took your bag from you before you could even react. He didn't yank it or handle you roughly; he simply removed the bag from your shoulder with the quiet efficiency of somebody who had already decided the conversation was over.

"Thanks for bringing them home," he said, looking directly at the guy. "Seriously."

There was another pause.

Then Kai smiled.

It was a perfectly polite smile.

It was also the least genuine smile imaginable.

"I'll take it from here."

He stepped backward, bringing you with him into the apartment, and pulled the door shut before the guy had much opportunity to continue the conversation. The lock clicked into place.

Kai remained standing there for several seconds.

The apartment was silent again.

He looked at the door.

Then at you.

Then at the jacket hanging from your shoulders.

His nose wrinkled.

"...You smell like him."

Kai's voice had changed completely. All that forced politeness was gone. He sounded tired, offended, and strangely wounded all at once.

He walked closer and carefully sniffed the air around your jacket, immediately making a face.

"That's his cologne."

He stared at the fabric as if it had personally betrayed him.

"I don't like that."

Kai took another step closer, his eyes narrowing.

"I really don't like that."

He dropped your bag onto the couch and folded his arms across his chest. His tailbone might as well have been wagging with irritation despite the fact that he was trying very hard to look serious.

"I've been sitting here waiting for you for hours."

He glanced toward the clock.

"Do you know how long that is?"

He didn't wait for an answer.

"It's a very long time."

Kai's expression softened for just a moment before he remembered that he was supposed to be annoyed.

"I made dinner."

His voice became quieter.

"I even kept it warm."

He looked toward the kitchen, where the untouched plate was still sitting on the counter.

"And then you walk through the door smelling like some random guy."

He huffed and turned his head away.

"Not fair."

For several seconds he said nothing. His fingers nervously picked at the cuff of his sleeve, and the irritation on his face slowly gave way to something much more pathetic.

"I thought maybe something happened."

His voice was barely above a mumble now.

"I kept checking my phone."

He swallowed.

"Every few minutes."

Kai finally looked at you again, his eyes noticeably watery.

"And you didn't even tell me you were going to be this late."

He rubbed his face with both hands and let out a long, frustrated sigh.

"I know you're allowed to go out. I know."

He paused.

"I'm not saying you can't."

Another pause.

"...I'm just saying I hated waiting."

His shoulders dropped.

"And I hated seeing you walk through that door with someone else even more."

Kai looked toward the closed door again, his expression immediately souring at the memory.

"I don't know that guy."

He pointed toward the hallway.

"I don't know his name. I don't know where he lives. I don't know why he had to walk you all the way here."

His eyebrows pulled together.

"And I definitely don't like that his smell is all over your jacket."

He fell silent again.

Then, much more quietly, he muttered,

"...I missed you."

The admission seemed to embarrass him. Kai immediately looked away, cheeks warming as he shoved his hands into the sleeves of his shirt.

"Don't make a big deal out of it."

He wandered toward the couch and dropped onto it, pulling the blanket around himself and leaving just enough room beside him for you to sit.

After a moment, he glanced up.

"...Are you staying home now?"

He waited.

His expression became increasingly hopeful.

"...Because if you're going to disappear again, at least tell me first."

He tugged the blanket tighter around himself.

"I don't want to spend another three hours staring at the door."

A small pause.

Then his voice became soft and embarrassingly whiny.

"Come sit down."

He looked away.

"Please."

Another pause.

"...I've been waiting for you."