Please Don't Be Lame

[Tally]

It was new roommate day. Ugh.  Cross hesitated just outside his door.  He knew the name of the guy who'd be in there—Malachi McLain—but he'd never really met him.  Not in any significant way.  He'd seen him around but they ran in different circles.

Just please don't be totally lame, he thought, spending a moment wishing they hadn't assigned Raley elsewhere. He'd been just about the perfect roommate, someone Cross got along with and who pulled his own weight keeping the place up to standard.  But Raley was struggling, stagnating actually, and having a roommate he was friends with was part of the problem.  So they said.

Cross took a breath and entered.  He was prepared to walk in and pull the alpha male thing if he had to, but he'd really rather not.  It was their rec day and he'd much rather spend it decompressing.  His eyes landed on McLain and he gave a neutral first greeting.  "Sup?"

[Anonymous]

Malachi was thrilled he was getting a new room. His old roommate had been utterly disgusting. He wouldn't stop jerking off and talking about all the hot candidate girls. And he reeked of body odor. Fresh out of the shower, he could still smell like an old, stale gym sock.

He was in the middle of unpacking his duffel bag, setting his few clothes up in his locker when Letendre came in. He was a Stage 2, he knew that already, and rather good looking, in a normal sort of way.

Standing, Malachi nodded his head, pushing his glasses up his nose. He had been working on a paper earlier and his eyes were still sore, "Hey. Nice to meet you. I'm Malachi."

He really hoped he wasn't going to have to get into some pissing contest with this guy to prove who had the bigger dick.

[Tally]

"Cross," he said, tossing his bag and datapad onto his bunk, taking the measure of his new roommate in a few quick glances.  Malachi looked too feminine for a man, too masculine for a woman.  Not bad looking really.  He didn't know what this guy may have heard of him, but he was gaining a reputation among the candidates as being someone to avoid angering.  It had to be that way.  If you didn't show them all you were the shit right away, some punk would get it in his head to take his psychological issues out on your face.  Cross wasn't having that, not anymore.  He'd spend his first few months here being on the receiving end of that shit.

It was different with your roommate though.  He'd never roomed with anyone but Raley, but he knew well enough just how difficult his time here would be if he and the person he lived with were always at each others throats.  He really didn't want to have to sleep with one eye open for however many years he ended up being here.

Malachi had opted to start them out on a first name basis.  That was a good sign, right?  Cross opted for a safe topic, one he figured just about anyone could relate to: complaining about their lack of free time.  "Sucks you gotta use your rec time to unpack, huh?"

[Anonymous]

"Yeah. Though, honestly, I'm just so glad I got a new roommate, I don't mind." He had heard a bit about Cross, nothing all that favorable, though nothing awful. It would be in his best interest to keep him happy. His slightly dorky looks and feminine face tended to make him an easy target for bullies.

He turned to give Cross his full attention, "I have a deal for you. I'm top of my class. You have a reputation for," Malachi chose his words carefully, "Not taking shit from people. You don't hurt me, and keep other people from hurting me and I'll tutor you. And I give great blowjobs."

Sure, it was similar to prostitution, but it beat the hell out of rape and beatings. And Cross wasn't so bad.

[Tally]

Things were just a bit tense.  They were still feeling each other out.  So far Cross didn't have a bad impression of Malachi.  His new roommate was putting things away and seemed neat.  That was good, you didn't want to get stuck with a roommate who couldn't keep his shit in order.  The Pilots would get on you for not doing everything in your power to get your teammate in line.  Working as a unit and all that shit.

Malachi drew him out of his thoughts as he turned toward him.  Cross's eyebrows rose at the proposal.  This was...new.  And, he had to admit, sort of a relief from the usual games of dominance the candidates played with each other.

Cross thought it over, considering the possibility that Malachi was bullshitting him.  Unlikely.  He'd pound the kid into the tile if he were, and he suspected Malachi knew that.  Most of the candidates did.

He held out his hand. "Deal."

[Anonymous]

Malachi was well aware of the danger of screwing Cross over, which is why he wanted to get on his good side. And really, this cut through all that irritating...foolin g around that always happened. Who had the biggest, baddest dick and all that. Malachi wasn't all that interested in that. He would much rather just get settled and not worry about things going badly.

"Wonderful." Malachi took Cross's hand, smiling at him, "This should make things go much smoother, don't you agree?" He glanced around the room, "Any rules or anything I should know about?"

[Tally]

He could definitely see the benefit to this.  It was so cut and dry, like a business negotiation.  They each got something out of it, and they each knew exactly what the other expected.  Why couldn't all the candidates be this straightforward?  It would make things a hell of a lot simpler.

Shit, who was he kidding though?  He liked to curbstomp someone who got in his face as much as anyone.  It was so satisfying to bring down someone who was asking for it.  Thrilling as it was, he wouldn't have wanted to go through that with someone he had to live with.  They might be stuck together for years.  This would serve them both better.

"Nothing special."  Cross hopped up to sit on his desk.  "Just so long as you keep up your side of the room.  I'm not taking shit from the Pilots cuz someone else can't see to their own shit, y'know?"

This was very similar to the...talk he'd had with Raley.  Less talk, more threatening to wrap his neck around a pole if he didn't get his shit together.  Sure, Raley kept up with the cleaning now, but he'd been a total slob when they first met.

[Anonymous]

"Of course. I actually find that part rather easy, I'm naturally rather neat. Speaking of, you aren't the type to leave mysterious hair balls in the shower are you?" Malachi gave a small shudder, remembering living with his old roommate. That had been...disgusting.

He finished putting the last of his clothes away, then took a seat on the bed, brushing his long bangs out of his face, "Well, that's good enough for now." He had some photos he wanted to pin up, but he would do that later. He didn't want to blow his entire rec time today.

"So, besides dunking other kids heads in toilets, what do you do for fun?"

[Tally]

"Mysterious hair—what?  Who the fuck does that?"  Cross pulled a face at the very thought of it.  If someone left such a thing for him to find he'd be stuffing that hairball down their throat.  That was straight up disgusting.  If that's what Malachi had to deal with with his last roommate, Cross felt sorry for the guy.

"I used to lift before I got into the program, but we do so much of that anyway I get sick of it.  Mostly I hang out in the rec room and try to keep Raley from doing anything too stupid."  Ah, the rec room.  For those high on the food chain it was a great place.  Problem was, there was a limited amount of entertainment to be had there and if you didn't have numbers on your side you weren't getting any of it.  The TV, the game terminal, the chess board...they were commodities during rec time and candidates were willing to fight for the privilege to use them.

[Anonymous]

"My last roommate. I could tell you horror stories I'm sure. He was awful." And out weighted Malachi by 100lbs and dominance in the room had been quickly established, much to Malachi's intense dislike. Which is why he wanted so badly to get along with Cross.

"Ah, the rec room. I don't tend to go there much. I lack the brawns to get my hands on much. While I can hold my own one-on-one, I never seem to manage to get one-on-one odds there, ya know? Besides, I've always been more of a brains than muscle kind of guy."

Laughing, he held up his arms and flexed. He had a wiry strength to him, but he lacked any real power, "It's what happens when you have the physic of a 12 year old girl."

[Tally]

"That's why you need to have allies around here.  Good allies, not losers who can't hold their own in a fight."  Lone wolves could make it through the program but it had to be tough.  Like Blaine, always off by himself, never anyone to watch his back.  He was way too tempting a target for people to take their problems out on.

"We'll have to get you into the rec room, let everyone see they can't deny you shit when you demand it.  Once they know how it is, you won't have any trouble anymore, not after the first couple days at least.  Some'll try to act like tough shit at first but they'll fall in like everyone else when they see we're serious."

[Anonymous]

"Yeah. That's just been my problem. I don't tend to interact with the ones that can hold their own in a fight until they are punching me." Malachi shrugged, not really bothered by it, "Most of my friends are the geekier types. Little do the fools know that I just have to make it through alive. Then I can get my sweet revenge when I'm the head of the Ministry."

It was his goal pretty much as soon as he entered the program. He smiled at Cross again, "That will be pretty sweet. You're not quite what I was expecting. All the rumors make you out to be...brutal. You're actually really awesome."

[Tally]

Contrary to what might be said about him among the other candidates, Cross didn't give half a shit what kind of person they all were.  Tech geeks, academics, jocks, pop culture addicts, they were all the same to him.  What he did care about was getting the respect he deemed he deserved and he would get it from anyone, no matter who they were.

"Yeah well that's part of the trick.  The worse the rumors are, the more I benefit.  The person telling it benefits from exaggerating, too, because they look like less of a pussy if I was a raging psychopath instead of just pushing them around in a hallway."

[Anonymous]

"Oh. Point. I never thought of it that way. I'm not really all that into violence, I prefer avoidance." Malachi cracked a smile, "Or deal making when I can." He was confident in himself as a person, secure in his own worth and he didn't need to alpha dog it with someone else to prove anything.

But to each there own and it was very useful to him that Cross was very good at getting to the top of the food chain. Standing up, Malachi lightly pressed his glasses back up his nose, "Might as well head over there before time is all up."

[Tally]

"That's a risky stance to take," Cross said, holding the door open and ushering Malachi out.  "Don't people see that as weakness?"

That was certainly the impression he got when he saw another candidate scuttling through the halls, head down and avoiding making eye contact.  It was sort of the way he'd been himself, when he'd first gotten into the program.  He'd learned real quick to meet conflict head on around here.

[Anonymous]

"No. Did you find my deal weak? There is a difference between cowering and using your own personal strengths." Malachi exited the door and headed out into the hall, "Avoiding violence doesn't mean I plan on rolling over for anyone. But I don't have your strength or build. I would much rather take someone on my playing field than theirs."

And get someone else to inflict the violence for you. Ah, that revenge would be sweet.

[Tally]

"What do you do when someone doesn't want to deal, then?  Some people are just gonna take what they want and not give a shit what you choose to give them."  Like, for instance, Raley.  Now Raley was his friend, and he wasn't gonna go thinking ill of him or whatever, but he figured it was about a fifty-fifty chance of Raley either accepting a deal like that or laughing at it and taking offense at the very notion.

[Anonymous]

"Find someone that does take the deal and will make sure the non deal taker doesn't kill me. There is always someone willing to trade something. And, really, take yourself for example. Most bullies, pardon the phrase, are like you. A decent person that has to prove they aren't a victim in order to keep from being abused. And as you have just proved, it's much nicer to have a willing partner and some tutoring help then forcing me down and raping me. Which, really, I'm quite sure is in your power."

Malachi smiled, "Plus, I'm not totally useless in a fight. Not many people around ever expect magic." He held a finger to his lips, "But don't tell. That's out little secret."

[Tally]

Cross laughed and shook his head.  This one was a trip!  He really just laid it all out there, didn't have any qualms saying things that usually went unspoken for one reason or another.

"Oh!"  Another surprise.  He glanced around to make sure no one was in earshot then leaned in closer. "What can you do?"

[Anonymous]

Malachi just shrugged at Cross's laugh, a light smile tugging at his lips. He pushed his glasses up his nose, his black hair hanging in his face, "I told you before, I really don't see much point in playing games and beating around the bush. It's not like everyone isn't thinking that."

The smile got a little wider and he wiggled his fingers, "A bit of fire magic. But everyone here expects psionics or physical. Magic throws them. And no one really expects a red hot hand to the face."