Adrien's POV

I'd be lying if I said I wasn't nervous about university. I couldn't sleep last night, tossing and turning all through the night, knowing that I'd be moving into my dorm today. No matter how much I prepared myself during the summer break, it wasn't enough to get me ready. It didn't help that my sessions with Katelin ended a couple of weeks ago either. She gave me contact information for a new psychologist closer to the university, but still. I had grown comfortable with her and now, I couldn't see her anymore.

Summer went by way too fast. I didn't expect it to go by this fast. I thought I had more time to spend with my friends, but I didn't. Summer was over and now we were all separated by distance. Preston was a forty-five-minute drive away, over an hour if I took a bus. For the last ten years, we have lived in the same area, always spending time together. And now, he was miles away.

I sighed heavily, sitting on the edge of my bed. I glanced around my dorm room solemnly, all my stuff still lying around in bins. I have yet to finish unpacking. Mom and her friend left about half an hour ago, making it now just past eleven in the morning. I had cried when I said goodbye to my mom, mostly because she was also crying, but also because I knew I was going to miss her and the cats. But now, I was sitting alone in my dorm room, not knowing what to do.

In the residential building that I moved into, each floor had apartment-style residences, with four students occupying each apartment. That meant I had three other roommates, with whom I shared a bathroom, as well as a living room and kitchen. I was anxious about meeting my roommates. I wasn't a social person, and I was terrible at making friends and striking conversation. Preston made it look easy, and so he was the one who always introduced me to people, but now, I was on my own.

After sitting on the bed for a few minutes in complete silence, I stood up and walked over to my bins, starting to unpack my stuff. I started off with my clothes and shoes, putting them away in the closet in the corner of my room. I then started setting up my art supplies by my window, setting up my easel while tucking my art supplies away in the bookshelf that was beside the window. I also put up my sketches and finished art on the wall above my desk, which was next to the bookshelf and window. It took me an hour or so to set up my art corner the way I wanted it, but once I was done, I was satisfied with how it looked.

When I was done, I smiled as I took a quick look over my art corner. It looked cozy. I still had more to unpack, but I decided that I would do it a bit later, considering I did a lot of unpacking already, and I needed to eat something.

I stepped out of my dorm room, closing the door behind me. I instantly heard chatter in the living room, and that was when my anxiety decided to hit me full force. God, what should I do? Should I go and say hi? Should I just go back into my room? I was hungry though, and I went grocery shopping this morning with my mom, so all my food was put away in the kitchen already.

Ugh, why am I so awkward?

I shook my head, closing my eyes for a brief moment as I took deep breaths. No. I can do this. I can go and say hi, and get a granola bar at the same time. They were my roommates, I was going to have to say hi to them eventually.

After psyching myself up, I walked down the short hallway and into the living room and kitchen space. When I walked into the open space, I noticed my three roommates all standing around in the kitchen talking. They were queens, one boy, a girl, and a nonbinary individual. I technically have already met them, if you count having an Instagram group chat. Talking on social media is vastly different than meeting them in real life though, and plus, I barely ever talked in the group chat. Maybe once or twice, but as I've said, I'm not good at socializing.

"Oh, hey! There you are, Adrien!" Karsten greeted me, a friendly smile adorning his face. His dirty blonde hair was shaved on both sides and pulled up into a messy bun on the top of his head. His skin was sunkissed, and his blue eyes were vibrant and lively. My other two roommates Luella and Faryn's gazes landed on me, Luella instantly beaming at the sight of me.

"Adrien!" Luella cheered excitedly, "it's so nice to finally see you in person!"

I smiled sheepishly at the three of them, standing awkwardly, "Ah...yeah. Sorry, I was just unpacking."

"Oh, that's no worries!" Faryn spoke up then with their own kind smile. Their dark brown hair was cut just below their shoulders in faint waves, a dusting of freckles over their tawny complexion, "were you able to unpack everything?"

"Yeah, kind of. I mostly just unpacked my clothes and art supplies, so I still got some other stuff," I replied. Faryn hummed and nodded.

"Well, now that you're here," Luella spoke up then, tucking a strand of her black hair behind her ear, "we were thinking of stopping by the coffee shop on campus for some food and drinks, and then taking a walk around campus. Would you want to join us?"

"Yeah, sure. That sounds like fun," I nodded my head with a smile.

"Perfect!" Luella exclaimed, "okay, let's grab our stuff and head out!"

The on-campus coffee shop wasn't a far walk from our residence building. It only took us five minutes before we were walking inside the coffee shop, the smell of coffee and pastries hitting me in the nose. The cool air lightly brushed against my skin, cooling me down from the warm sun outside. The coffee shop wasn't too busy, but there were a few people lined up to order, and others sitting around at the tables.

The four of us got in line, and when it was our turn, Luella asked the three of us what we wanted, and then she ordered our drinks and food for us. Faryn, Karsten, and I handed her some cash to pay our part, and she paid the cashier. Then, once we had our drinks and food, we found an empty table and sat down, Luella and Faryn on one side of the table, Karsten and I on the other side.

"So. Guys. What are your majors?" Luella asked us once we were all sitting, taking a sip of her iced coffee, "I'm in music production."

"Theatre and Dance," Faryn replied.

"Uhm, I'm in visual arts," I added.

"I'm also in visual arts!" Karsten butted in, nudging me on the arm with his elbow as he bit into his chocolate chip muffin, "what's your favourite sub-field?"

"I'm a big painter and sketcher," I chuckled softly, "I've pretty much been doing it all my life. Honestly, I wasn't sure if I was going to go to art school, but my friends from high school and my art teacher kind of convinced me."

"Well, good on them for convincing you," Karsten laughed, "I sketch as well, and paint from time to time. But I mostly like doing art on my tablet. I like making prints. My boyfriend is also kind of artistic. He loves music but he chose to take a biomed Major at a different university."

"Really? What University?" I asked.

"Uhhhh, Leighton," Karsten replied, "it's like over an hour bus ride from here."

I perked up slightly, "my best friend Preston goes there. He took a neuroscience major there, but he's also a big music geek."

"Really? What a small world," Karsten laughed, smiling at me, "you'll have to ask him if he's met a guy named Flores yet."

"I definitely will," I nodded, returning the smile.