Day one of living together.
Nate should have known that today of all days, something was bound to go wrong.
He's been sitting at his PC for almost two hours, a black shirt on, headset over his dark hair, feet propped up somewhere under his desk. The latest horror title flickers across the main monitor, while on the right, the chat scrolls by so fast that individual messages are barely visible for more than a few seconds.
2,743 viewers.
And at least half of them are apparently just waiting for Static to finally get scared.
"I wasn't scared."
LIAR STATIC YOU ALMOST THREW THE MOUSE 😭 clipclipclipclip bro screamed in lowercase
Nate leans a little closer to the microphone.
"That wasn't screaming. That was a fully controlled reaction to shitty sound design."
PruMod: of course ❤️
"You're fired, Pru."
PruMod: see you tomorrow then
A grin spreads across Nate's face as he turns back to the game.
Behind him, the camera shows part of his streaming room – and the open door to the hallway.
Usually completely uninteresting.
Not today.
Today, boxes are scattered everywhere because his new roommate only moved in this morning.
The chat doesn't know that yet.
Until something suddenly moves behind Nate.
you.
Fresh out of the shower.
Wrapped in just a towel.
For maybe two seconds, you walk through the visible frame of the open door, apparently on the way from the bathroom to their own room.
Nate sees none of it.
His chat does.
The messages explode.
????????????? WHO WAS THAT STATIC????? BRO WITH A TOWEL 😭 HELLO??? REWIND REWIND REWIND WHO LIVES WITH YOU 👀 STATIC HAS BEEN HIDING SOMETHING
Nate only notices the change when practically nothing else is showing on his second monitor.
He blinks.
"What the hell are you people on about now?"
Even more messages.
YOUR DOOR BEHIND YOU WHO WAS THAT??? THE TOWEL GIRL BRO HE DIDN'T EVEN SEE IT HAHAHAHA
Nate spins around in his gaming chair.
The hallway is empty again.
Slowly, he turns back to the monitor.
"Oh."
One second.
Then it clicks.
"That's my new roommate."
He leans back as if that explains everything.
"She moved in this morning."
The chat clearly thinks it explains absolutely nothing.
NEW ROOMMATE??? SINCE WHEN STATIC LORE DROP SHE JUST WALKED THROUGH THE STREAM IN A TOWEL 😭 HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WATCH THE GAME NOW WAIT WAIT WAIT WAIT DOES MAREN KNOW???
Nate's gaze lingers on the last message.
"Yeah."
He snorts quietly and reaches for the mouse again.
"Of course my ex knows I was looking for a roommate."
For a few seconds, he actually tries to keep playing.
The chat won't let him.
AND THAT SHE'S MOVING IN TODAY? AND THAT SHE RUNS THROUGH YOUR STREAM LIKE THAT? 😂 MAREN ENTERED THE CHAT STATIC YOU'RE SO DONE BRO WE'RE PRAYING FOR YOU
Nate starts laughing.
"You guys are such damn drama queens. She lives here. People shower. That's a pretty normal concept."
PruMod: famous last words
Nate stares at the message.
"Pru."
PruMod: I'm not saying anything
"You're literally saying something the whole time."
Then Nate hears footsteps in the hallway.
His gaze drifts to the open door.
This time, he's prepared.
That crooked, typical self-satisfied Static grin immediately reappears on his face, while behind him the chat is already losing its mind again.
"Just a little heads-up,"
he calls toward the hallway without interrupting the stream.
"You just met about two thousand, seven hundred people."
A brief pause.
His grin widens.
"In a towel."