Erin pored over the bills in front of her. For two years now she had lived on her own after finally getting a good job and getting away from her parents. She was twenty-one and lived in a small apartment in the middle of Seattle. Her job was a critique, reviewer and video maker for video games, movies and just about whatever came to her mind. A website paid her depending on her hits on her videos as well as a certain stipend for doing the videos and games they wanted as well as not doing anything for any other website or business.
She averaged a few hundred thousand hits per video and made around four or five videos a week. A movie review, a game review, a let’s play, a rant and then whatever she could come up with. The more traffic she brought to the gaming website, the more the ads paid and the more she got. Right now she averaged about two thousand dollars a month.
When Erin lived with her parents and she started earning about that much, it seemed insane. It seemed like that was more than enough to move into an apartment and live her life. But it wasn’t nearly as much as she thought. After taxes and rent, she was left with barely anything to live on. Luckily the apartments she lived in bundled her utilities with her rent and so all she paid outside that was the internet bill and food. Erin wasn’t interested in the outside world and only went out to shop.
Being a geeky girl, skinny, short and hidden behind large glasses, she never got into romance, friendship or really any relationships at all with anyone else. Her hair was dull red, down past her waist, her skin was pale and it was covered with freckles. Needless to say, she wasn’t popular in school nor in the real world.
But the outside world just wouldn’t leave her alone. This month, she had enough to pay her bills, but food was going to have to be tightened down to whatever was the absolutely cheapest possible if she was going to be able to eat for the whole month. The way this was going, she wouldn’t be able to keep up next month. Erin had ate up the last of her savings the month before and this month was barely skimming by. She was going to have to do something.
“I’m gonna have to get a roommate.” She groaned, laying her head down on the table covered with papers, pencils and a calculator.
She dreaded this course of action, but it was the lesser of two evils. The other she couldn’t even consider…a real job out there in the world. So she swept all the paper into the trash, the bills were just paper copies of all the automatic transactions that happened with her bank account online, and walked across the small living room to her computer.
Her apartment was sparse and roomy and almost always dark. The living room and kitchen were all one large room, only separated by a change from shaggy green carpet to a cream linoleum. A short hall led away from the living room, leading to two small bedrooms and a bathroom. One bedroom was her sleeping quarters and the other was just an empty room with whatever she stored in there. Right now was just an old recliner and a bookshelf full of manga. There were also a few long boxes full of hundreds of classic Marvel comics.
Her apartment itself was dirty. In her eyes it was pretty clean, but to an outsider it was pretty filthy. Dirty clothes were strewn down the hall. Random papers covered the floor in the living room. Video games and consoles of all kinds were covering the floor and shelves around the sizeable thirty inch flat screen television she prized above most her possessions. Her computer desk was covered in old game cases, game manuals and a few new comics. There wasn’t anything health-threateningly dirty like molding food or anything like that. That was something she couldn’t stand. Everything at least made it to a trashcan. Old shoes and jackets covered the floor near the door, she just picked up what she wanted to wear when she left. Her bathroom wasn’t bad, having nothing to dirty it. Erin never wore makeup and she was pretty abstinant about at least having a clean toilet and shower, even if her bedroom did look like an eruption at the Dry-Cleaning factory. To the untrained eye, the bed looked like she just slept in a mound of crumpled clothes and underwear, but under the clothes were some comfy sheets and blankets.
Although when it came to sleep, her couch and her keyboard were used much more as a bed and a pillow.
Erin found the email address for the paper ads and started to write: ‘Wanted: one female roommate. Split rent fifty percent and purchase own food. Roommate gets own bedroom, bathroom drawer, shelf in shower and equal usage of kitchen. All power of acceptance and possible eviction of roommates remains with apartment tennant.’
She then paid the twelve dollar fee for a one week ad with her debit card and sent in the email. If she didn’t get a response within the month, she was going to be in trouble.
*******
Luckily enough, by the end of the week, Erin had found one young woman who needed a place to stay while she was in college. However, she sounded masaj porno very un-excited about having a bed to sleep in for only three hundred dollars a month. There was a knock at the door and Erin got up from the couch, pausing the game she had been playing. She was wearing old basketball shorts and a worn black T-shirt.
She opened the door and looked out. A tall blonde woman stood there, almost eight inches taller than Erin, looking down at her. She wore a long skirt and a sweater. Her hair was cut neatly about her neck, making her seem very professional. She carried a small white purse and fidgeted where she stood.
“Hi, I’m Ari Lett.” The woman said with a small smile and a nervous wave, “Um…he…here’s the first month’s rent.”
“Thanks.” Erin said, taking the envelope out of Ari’s hand and walking away.
“Um…” Ari said, standing in the open doorway as Erin walked back to the couch and continued her game, “Could I come in?”
“I assumed you paid me rent because you wanted to live here.” Erin said as she shot a zombie in the face.
“Oh my! What on earth are you doing?! That’s terrible!” Ari squeaked as she saw the zombie’s head disappear in a red mist.
“They’re zombies. A shotgun to the face is perfect for them.” Erin said with an evil grin, “Or a crowbar, haha!”
“I…I don’t…I don’t know if I want to stay here…this place is kinda dirty…and those games…” Ari stuttered, still standing in the doorway.
“What?” Erin said, pausing her game and standing up, “Then why did you pay me rent?”
“I…I dunno…I don’t…really know how these things work.” Ari mumbled, trying to look at the floor.
Ari was a bit of a tall woman, making it difficult for her to hide her face. Erin walked back over to the doorway and looked at her.
“Alright, I guess I’m supposed to show you your room.” Erin sighed, rubbing her face with one hand.
“O…Okay.” Ari said, stepping inside.
“This is the kitchen. There’s the living room. The first door on the right is your bedroom. I’ll move my stuff out of there sometime. The door at the end of the hall is my room. The door on the left is the bathroom. You can have the bottom drawer and shelf.” Erin said, standing in the center of the living room and point down the hall.
“Umm…” Ari hummed nervously as she walked down the dirty hall, trying not to step on any of the dirty clothes, “There’s…There’s no bed in here.”
“Yah.” Erin said as she returned to her game.
“Where do I sleep? I…I don’t think I could sleep in a chair.” Ari said almost too quiet for Erin to hear.
“I thought you people were supposed to bring your own bedroom stuff. Don’t you have anything? A bed?” Erin asked, not looking away from her game, “Yes! Die you bastards! Die!”
Ari squeaked and jumped at Erin’s yelling. She clasped her hands and shuffled back down the hall.
“I…I have some suitcases…some clothes…a few books. I don’t have any furniture.” Ari mumbled, “And I really don’t have any extra money to buy any. I mean…all my stuff is outside on the sidewalk…the taxi driver just dumped it there and left.”
“Okay, so sleep on the couch here then.” Erin said.
“But…I…this isn’t…private.” Ari said, blushing.
“Nobody ever comes over. I don’t have any friends. The curtains are always closed. What more privacy do you want?” Erin asked, slumping back on the lumpy red couch.
“Well…I…I don’t…want to be a bother…but…I mean…if I’m changing…and someone knocks on the door…” Ari said, looking around a little.
“Okay, so sleep in my bed. Things a queen size. Lot’s of extra room in it anyway.” Erin said, “And I only sleep there maybe once a week anyway.”
“Your bed!” Ari squeaked, “I…I couldn’t…I mean…why don’t you sleep in it?”
“I fall asleep out here more often than not. Takes a lot of work to put together movie reviews and game reviews and all that. I work whenever I’m awake. I’m working right now. FUCKING DIE!” Erin yelled at the top of her lungs, firing a rocket launcher at a crowd of zombies, “So what’s the problem? I’ll just always sleep out here. Doesn’t matter to me as long as I can finally eat more than Top Ramen each month.”
“Top Ramen? That’s all you eat?” Ari asked, starting to feel sorry for Erin.
“Yah. Stuff tastes like ass but I can eat for a week on like five dollars.” Erin chuckled.
“That’s not healthy…I mean…all that sodium…and no fruit?” Ari said, “That’s not good for you…”
“Okay, Rory was it? Did you grow up in some fancy mansion or something? Finally tired of sucking on your parents’ golden, ruby encrusted tits?” Erin said, turning around in her seat, “I do what I can to make money. As a general rule, I hate the world and the people in it. I’m sorry I can’t make enough to hire a butler and cater my every meal with fancy fish eggs and all that crap. Well?”
Erin huffed and stared at Ari. Ari mumbled and shuffled her feet, looking like she was going to cry. She öğretmen porno stared at the floor and stood silently, her body quivering.
“Oh god don’t tell me you’re going to cry. Don’t cry. Come on.” Erin groaned and tears started to drip down Ari’s face, “Aww fuck. Damn it. You’re crying. This is why I hate people. The world fucking sucks.”
Ari started to sob and she ran down the hall, running into the bathroom. Erin could hear her crying in the bathroom.
“Thank god. What brought that on?” Erin sighed, shaking her head as she went back to her game, “People need to stop being so sensitive. That’s it! Take the bullets! Die already!”
After listening to Ari’s pitiful sobs from the bathroom for almost ten minutes Erin sighed and turned her game off. She got up and scratched her head.
“Suppose I ought to go try and talk to her…I think…” Erin grunted, walking down the hall, “Hey, Rory, what’s wrong?”
Ari just cried. Erin opened the door and found her sitting against the wall next to the sink with her knees hugged to her chest. Her eyes were red and tears covered her face.
“Oh come on. What’s wrong? Alright. Fine. I yelled at you. Sorry.” Erin said, looking down at her, “God, just shut up already, will you?”
Ari looked up at her, sniffing at some snot. She continued crying, if not started crying harder. Erin sighed as Ari buried her face in her knees and cried more.
“Alright. Fine. I’ll leave you alone then.” Erin groaned, “Need to go shopping anyway.”
She walked away and grabbed her keys off the counter. She slipped on some flip-flops and tossed an old grey jacket around her shoulders. She locked the door and headed outside. She groaned at the setting sun and put on the sunglasses that were in her pocket. She hated the sun and it hated her.
Erin walked down the stairs and sighed. There were two large black suitcases sitting on the sidewalk. She decided that she couldn’t leave her roommates luggage down here for someone to steal. She grabbed the handles on the bags and pulled the back to the stairs. They rolled easy on the wheels underneath them, but when she reached the stairs it became problematic. She sighed and gripped one of them with both hands and tugged it up the stairs. At least she only lived on the second floor.
Opening the door, she pulled it inside and set it down on the kitchen floor. She went and got the other one before locking the door again. It sounded like Ari had stopped crying, but she was nowhere to be seen. So she closed the door and walked back down the stairs again. She headed around the corner and to her well under-used car. The car was an old black volkswagen beetle that still ran well even though she only drove it about once a week. Her parents had bought it for her as a ‘congratulations you’re an adult’ gift.
She slipped into the car and headed to the store.
*******
Erin got home a little over an hour later with a hundred dollars worth of groceries in the front of her car. She sighed and rubbed her face. She hated the store. So many people and so much annoyance everywhere. But she had to in order to keep stowed away in her apartment. Hopefully, before too much longer, she could get Ari to do the shopping.
She got out of the car and opened the front hatch. She grabbed some grocery bags and headed up the stairs. Erin set down the bags and unlocked the door. Inside, the suitcases were gone and Erin sighed. It meant that she should be done crying. She set the bags down on the counter and looked around. She suddenly realized what was wrong. All the dirty clothes were missing. The couch was cleaned and puffed up. Her computer desk was sparkling clean. The entire hall was vacuumed and nice. A whistling sound was coming from her bedroom.
Erin groaned and headed back down the stairs to get the rest of the groceries. She brought them all in and put them on the counter. She then walked down the hall and groaned at the sight of her bedroom. The entire room was sparkling clean. Ari was whistling and happy as she made the bed and patted the pillows up.
“What the hell is going on?!” Erin cried.
“I just want a clean house…all your laundry is in the washer.” Ari said, “I understand that you’re not the nicest person and…and I think I can deal with that.”
“Look…I…What the hell happened to all my shit?” Erin cried, looking around the room.
“Well…I…I mean…they’re…you know…” Ari started to stutter, wringing her hands together.
“Where is my stuff?!” Erin yelled.
“The…the closet…” Ari mumbled, pointing at the sliding closet door.
Erin walked to the door and opened it. She found her handheld games and other bedroom things stacked neatly in the bedroom. Behind her there was a mumbling and whimpering. Erin heard her walk out of the room and into the bathroom. The door slammed again and Erin groaned.
“What is it with that over-emotional woman?” Erin said flatly, “She seriously needs to get herself together.”
She oral porno dug out most of the things that were stacked in the closet and put them back where they belonged around her room. Things on her dresser, games that sat around on her bed-side table and her entire collection of Magic The Gathering cards that sat on the floor next to her bed. There was still whimping and mumbling from the bathroom and Erin groaned.
She had to admit that, as much as she thought she didn’t do anything wrong, she might as well try and talk to her new roommate.
“Hey, Rory…” Erin said, opening the bathroom door.
“Ari…” Ari mumbled from the corner of the bathroom.
“What?” Erin asked.
“My name…it’s not Rory…” Ari mumbled.
“Oh. I suppose that would be why you could be unhappy.” Erin sighed, “Look. I hate people. I’ve never had a roommate. But my bills are going to bury me if I don’t have a roommate. So…don’t fuck me around would you?”
“Waaah?” Ari sniffed, looking up at her.
“Thanks.” Erin said, walking out of the bathroom.
She hummed as she walked back into the living room and put all the food away in the fridge, freezer and cabinets. She slipped over to the couch and slumped back down on it. She turned on the game console and picked up the controller. As the game started up, there was a sound from the hall and Ari walked back into the living room.
“Um…thanks…thanks for getting my luggage up here.” Ari mumbled.
“Yah.” Erin said, starting to play her zombie game again.
“I…Erin…could…could we talk?” Ari asked quietly.
“Sure.” Erin said, still playing her game.
“Could you…pause your game?” Ari asked.
“I can talk and play.” Erin said, shooting a zombie with a machine gun.
“But…” Ari started.
“Kinda of doing my job right now.” Erin said flatly.
“Erin!” Ari squeaked, “Come on! Could we please talk?”
“Alright, fine.” Erin said, pausing the game.
“What you said earlier. About how I grew up?” Ari said, scratching her head.
“Uh-huh.” Erin said flatly.
“I grew up with rich parents and a very nice house…but about a year ago they died. Because of some issues with my father’s company, I was forced to live in an orphanage until a little while ago.” Ari said, “And when I got out of the orphanage, the director of the orphanage said I should go get a college education. So that’s what I’m doing.”
“Something you’re trying to get at here?” Erin asked, looking at Ari.
“I’m sorry…I’m just trying to tell you why I’m having such a hard time. I’m only eighteen. I haven’t even gotten my college figured out yet.” Ari said, “I’m really am a having a terrible time.”
“Tell me about it. Life is hard.” Erin said, turning back to her game.
Ari sighed and assumed this was as nice as she was going to get from Erin. She sat down on the couch near her and looked over at her.
“So what do you do for a job?” Ari asked.
“I play video games, watch movies and make online videos to review and critique these kinds of things.” Erin said as she continued playing, “And then I get paid in according to how many views I get. I’m getting about two thousand dollars a month.”
“Wow! Don’t you ever get worried about people not watching or something like that?” Ari asked, “Then you wouldn’t make any money!”
“Nah. Once people online get to liking something, it’s difficult to stop when it’s simple and free. Plus there’s always more games and movies to review.” Erin sighed.
“So…um…what game is this that you’re playing?” Ari asked, “It’s a little violent.”
“I’m doing a classic review this time. The game is called Half Life Two. I’m just replaying it to refresh my memory before I actually do the review.” Erin said.
“Mind if I watch?” Ari asked.
“Nah. Doesn’t bother me.” Erin said as she shot another zombie.
*******
Ari and Erin had been living together for more than a week now. Obviously, Erin had spent the whole time playing video games and working on her computer. Ari was having a difficult time trying to cope with college and Erin wasn’t exactly being supportive. She had at least let Ari have the bed, but sleeping on the couch wasn’t exactly a stretch for her.
However, last night Erin had decided she wanted to sleep in her bed. So she pulled her clothes off and crawled into bed with Ari. Ari had been sleeping quite soundly and hadn’t woken up from her climbing into bed. Unlike Erin’s sleeping in only blue panties, Ari wore a full length nightie. This only made the next morning even more wacky.
Ari woke up with a yawn. She felt so snuggly and warm in bed. It had been a hard week so far and she was grateful that Erin let her sleep in her bed. She didn’t know why that girl liked sleeping on the couch, maybe she didn’t like it but was just being nice to Ari. Erin was a very strange girl in Ari’s mind, cold and abbrasive in nature. But she just knew there had to be some good in her. She was letting Ari stay in her house and sleep in her bed.
As she thought about it, she sighed. She couldn’t imagine why Erin wouldn’t want to sleep in this bed. It was so wonderfully comfortable. She squirmed a bit and adjusted her pillow. Just then Ari realized why the bed was so comfortable. There was something very warm cuddled with her.