Closed And They Were Roommates

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan obviously knew his roommates. They had shared a room for six, nearly seven years. But if he was being totally honest they were practically strangers even after all this time. He liked them all well enough, even if Emery could be exhausting. But this year was a little different. It was their last year but now that he was dating Marnie and her best friend was dating Todd, it made sense that they should also try and be friends. He had struggled figuring out what they should do together until he finally mentioned going to the lake to look for the eel. He had expected Todd to laugh or maybe brush off the idea but much to his surprise the other boy agreed to come with him. Now they were here. Staring at the water looking for....something. Ethan pulled out some owl treats and tossed one out into the water hoping to get something to show. He glanced at Todd, "Do you want one?" he asked hesitantly.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd was trying his best to be present, but he did feel a bit out of his comfort zone hanging out with Ethan. He’d known Ethan for almost seven years, but they had never really bonded beyond the occasional chat about homework. Now, standing at the edge of the lake, he wondered if maybe this was an opportunity to change that and find something in common, aside from dating Hufflepuffs of course.

Todd watched the water, half expecting the eel to surface in an instant when Ethan tossed an owl treat into the water. He glanced at Ethan when he offered him one, “No thanks. I tried those once and they don’t taste very nice,” he replied, his tone deadpan but his eyes creasing in the corners. He hoped the joke would lighten the mood and make the whole situation a little less awkward.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan didn't have many expectations for what this would be like but he was trying. He blinked at Todd's response and didn't know what to say at first. He wasn't entirely sure what was in these owl treats, he had never gotten quiet that bored while working in the shop. "Oh, uhh ok." he said before looking back down at the treat. It was dried and compressed into a small crumbly disk, and nothing looked identifiable as human food to him. "And you didn't get sick?" he asked, more curious this time.

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd felt his skin crawl with awkward embarrassment, the sensation creeping up him like a hairy spider crawling up his arm and making him want to wince. He had meant it as a joke, and now Ethan was actually asking if eating owl treats had made him sick. He cringed inwardly, trying to figure out how to explain the misunderstanding politely.

"Um, no, I was just joking about eating the owl treats," he explained awkwardly. "I didn't actually mean that I ate them... But, uh, you know what? Sure, I'll take one to throw into the lake." He forced a smile, dying inside as he reached for the treat.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan felt a little embarrassed as Todd explained his joke. "Oh!" he said a little too loudly and wondered if it was too late to laugh. Instead he smiled. "That's good." he added. "Cause they're good for owls but I don't know what they actually put in these." he explained with some caution in his voice. "At least it's not a dead mouse." he said in his own attempt at a joke, and laughed lightly. He smiled again as Todd agreed to take one of the treats. It was kind of a silly activity, he knew that. But there were only so many ways to coax out a creature no one really believed in. But after seeing the Loch Ness monster in person last year he wasn't considering the story fiction quite yet. Maybe the eel was just in some kind of hibernation cycle and would wake up any minute. It was anyone's guess really. Ethan reached out and out one in Todd's hand. "I'd probably aim for some of the rocky areas. They're not that deep but I've read that's where eels usually are."

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd laughed at Ethan's reaction, feeling slightly less awkward than he had, "Yeah, I’m not exactly into dead mice either," he said with a grin, taking the treat from Ethan's hand. "Thanks for the tip! I’ll aim for the rocky area over there and see if we can coax out that eel." He said, pointing to the area he meant.

He tossed the treat towards the rocky area and then leaned forward, looking for any signs of movement in the water. Deciding to break the silence, Todd glanced at Ethan and asked, "So, how long have you and Marnie been dating?" Todd really didn't know much about Ethan even though they shared a dorm all these years.

 

[Ethan Alexander]

Ethan grinned and nodded in agreement. "Me neither." he said in regards to the mice. He watched as Todd tossed the treat and had pretty good aim. He tried to look encouraging but he also knew the treats and the observation was all a bit of a pointless mission. No one had seen the eel in quiet some time but the small sliver of hope he carried around kept drawing him back. Ethan blinked when Todd changed the subject and brought up Marnie. He should have figured that would have come up eventually since it was the main reason they were hanging out. They had spent over six years as roommates and never spent this much time talking in one go. "Um, it's been about seven months." he explained. "We started dating on Valentine's day." he added with a small smile. It was a little cheese for that day to be their anniversary but it did make it easy to remember. "What about you and Penelope, that's pretty new right?"

 

[Todd Cobbler]

Todd watched the water but after no sign of the eel, he thought that might as well stay and chat just in case something came along. He could see the small smile and hear the pride in Ethan's voice as he talked about Marnie, "Valentine’s Day? That's convenient!" Todd said with a grin.

When the conversation shifted to him and Penny, Todd felt a warm rush of emotions. "Yeah, it’s pretty new. We got together over the holidays," he said, talking comfortably about it. "I totally didn't see it coming but it's great, she's amazing!" He glanced back at the water, realising this was one of those rare moments where he was opening up about something real, and it felt good. For once, there was no awkwardness, just excitement. He felt like he wanted to tell everyone how lucky he was to have Penelope as his girlfriend.