Moving Day Mayhem
Edgewood University was Tessa Greer’s dream school. She had worked hard the first two years at her smaller community college so she could transfer to Edgewood with perfect marks. Creatures from every walk of life attended this university. She couldn’t help but watch a couple of fairies fly past the cab, school books in their arms.
Tessa stepped out of the cab after paying the man and shouldered her duffle bags. She looked up at the tall, red-bricked apartment building. She couldn’t afford to live by herself, so she opted for a roommate. She just hoped they weren’t stuck-up and rude.
Tessa was excited about this newfound freedom. When she attended her community college, she still lived at home.
She took the elevator to the second floor and stopped at the door to her apartment. Tessa smiled widely as she pushed the key into the lock and unlocked the door, swinging the door open. The first thing Tessa noticed when she opened the door to her new apartment was that someone had already moved in. She hadn’t expected anyone to be here already.
The second thing she noticed was that whoever it was had the back of a Greek god and the communication skills of a traffic cone. “Oh,” she said, blinking as her eyes adjusted to the dim apartment light. “Uh, hi?”
The man - if he was a man - stood in the middle of the living room like he’d been carved out of solid granite. Tall, broad, and completely still. He was shirtless, wearing only a pair of dark joggers that sat dangerously low on his hips, and his skin - if that’s what it was - had a smooth, grayish hue.
Tessa’s eyes dropped to the thick ridges of muscle that coiled across his back. Then to the massive shoulders. She couldn’t help her eyes continue to travel over his muscles. She couldn’t remember the last time she had seen muscle like his. And then her eyes traveled… to the wings.
She froze. Her eyes went wide.
Wings. Not decorative tattoos. Not some cosplay Halloween thing. Actual. Giant. Wings. They curled inward around his frame like armor, dark and leathery, tucked tight to his body.
“Okay,” she said slowly, already backing toward the door, “Either you’re really committed to a fantasy LARP lifestyle or I’m having a stroke.” She had never been known for keeping her mouth shut and keeping her thoughts to herself.
He turned. Not dramatically. Not quickly. Just… turned. Slowly. Deliberately. Like a statue coming to life.
Tessa let out a tiny, involuntary squeak.
His face - handsome in a terrifying, statue-in-a-gothic-cathedral way - remained unreadable. Sharp cheekbones. Deep-set eyes that flicked over her like a silent scan. He didn’t say a word.
“Cool. You’re… uh, silent and brooding. Love that for me.” Her voice wobbled slightly. “Is this the part where I die or…?” She tried to give him a small smile, but it quickly dropped when he gave her nothing. Still nothing. He just stared at her, wings slightly twitching behind him. Tessa took a deep breath as she straightened her spine and held out her hand. “I’m Tessa Greer. I signed the lease for this place like two months ago. So, unless I walked into some kind of magical squatter’s cave, I think you’re in my apartment.”
Finally, he blinked, looking down at her outstretched hand. “You’re early,” he said, voice low and gravelly, like rocks sliding over one another.
Tessa frowned. “Early?” She let her hand drop to her side.
“I expected you tomorrow.”
“Okay, well, the leasing office said today. Also, what even are you?”
He blinked again. “A student.”
“That’s not what I meant.”
A pause. Another slow blink. “…I know.” Another silence. Another awkward scan. He looked like he wanted to vanish, or maybe turn back into stone.
“You don’t talk much, do you?” she asked.
“No.”
“Awesome. Roommate bonding’s gonna be great.” Tessa stepped inside cautiously, dragging her overstuffed duffel across the floor. She let the door close behind her.
The apartment wasn’t what she’d imagined when she’d signed the lease online. It was… bigger. Older. More gothic. Vaulted ceilings, arched doorways, deep wood floors, and - of course - the silent mountain of muscle currently standing in the living room like a cursed cathedral ornament. She hadn’t thought to check who they had paired her to room with before she moved in. One part of her didn’t enjoy living with a man - or whatever he was. But another part of her didn’t mind.
He was nice to look at, at least.
He still hadn’t moved. Or introduced himself. Or even blinked again, she was pretty sure. “Cool,” she muttered under her breath. “Definitely not serial killer vibes. Totally normal winged man just… existing.” She gave him a wide berth as she headed toward the hallway. “Is there a second bedroom, or are we building a blanket wall down the middle of the living room?”
A beat passed. Then, without turning, he said, “Left door.”
Tessa huffed out a breath. “Charming and helpful.” She found the room exactly where he said it’d be. Sparse but clean. A full bed with navy sheets, a small desk by the window, and one lonely lamp in the corner that flickered ominously when she turned it on. “Well, that’s not cursed at all,” she mumbled.
She dropped her bags and poked her head back into the hallway. Her roommate - Wings McGravelvoice - was still where she left him. Only now, he was staring at the wall, like he’d powered down.
“Okay,” she called, hands on her hips as she moved back into the living room area. “We need to talk about rules.”
That got a twitch. Barely. But his gaze shifted toward her again, like a motion sensor had been triggered. He watched her so intently that she couldn’t control the shiver that moved down her spine.
She cleared her throat. “I’m a communication major, and this-” she gestured between them, “-is not going to work if you just stand around being spooky and silent.”
He said nothing. He continued to stare at her as if he were assessing and figuring her out.
She stepped a little closer. “I’m not going to freak out about the wings. Yet. But I would like to know your name. For you know, roommate’s purposes. And in case you try to kill me in my sleep.”
Another pause. Another slow blink at her. Then: “Griffin.”
She blinked, working hard to control a smile that was wanting to appear on her face. “Seriously?”
He tilted his head, slow and deliberate. “Yes.”
“Okay, Griffin. That’s either extremely on the nose or extremely badass. I haven’t decided yet.” She gave him an amused smile.
He looked vaguely confused.
Tessa rolled her eyes as she sighed, stepping further into the living room and flopping onto the ancient, overstuffed couch with a loud whumph. It groaned under her weight. “I have questions,” she said.
“I won’t answer most of them.” His voice was monotone as he answered her. But she could detect a hint of impatience in his tone.
“Well, that’s promising,” she grumbled.
He glanced at her then, his brows lowering slightly. “You’re… calm for this situation.”
Tessa shrugged, her hands moving over the couch fabric. “I process trauma through sarcasm. Also, I’ve had three energy drinks today, and I’m emotionally desensitized after working retail all summer.”
For the first time, Griffin’s lips quirked. Barely. Almost like a smile. Or maybe a muscle spasm. Hard to tell with the stone skin thing. She decided then that it was going to be her mission to make him smile.
“I won’t be in your way,” he said after a moment. “I mostly keep to myself. I have classes late. I don’t cook. I don’t eat meat after midnight. And I sleep mostly during the day.”
Tessa blinked up at him. “So… like a vampire, but with wings and a gym membership?”
He didn’t answer. Just crossed his arms - forearms like stone pillars - and returned to staring at the wall.
“I’m gonna take that as a yes,” she muttered. She stood, brushing dust off her jeans. “Alright, Griffin. I’m gonna start unpacking and pretend this is totally normal. But if you’re going to be my roommate, I expect some effort. Like, full sentences and maybe some pants.”
He glanced down at his joggers. “These are pants.”
“Debatable.”
