�Need some help with something?� a deep voice inquired, causing Daisy and Rose to jump as they turned to see who had spoken. The two were met face to face by the stranger with the hat, a small smile placed crookedly across his face. �I�m Joel by the way� he offered his hand �I�m sorry I didn�t introduce myself earlier. And you can call my ridiculous brother Benji. He�s my evil twin. Literally.�
Rose�s hand hovered in hesitation for a moment before she slid her hand into his grasp, shaking firmly and offering a weak smile. �Nice to meet you Joel, I�m Rose, and this is Daisy, my better half,� she replied, pointing to her friend.
�Better half?� he asked, his eyebrows raising with interest.
�Yeah, friends since sperm,� Daisy answered, shaking his hand too.
He gave a slight nod, �So is it an accident that you are both named after flowers?�
Rose let out a small laugh and explained �No our mothers are just insane. They have been friends since they were in high school and when they found out they were both pregnant around the same time they decided that they just had to make our names somehow related. So this is what we got, and they sorta fit.�
�If you mean they are both beautiful then yes, they do fit� he smiled and Rose threw a glance at Daisy, whose grin spread thick across her entire face. Clearing her throat, Rose ignored his comment, asking �So�if your brother doesn�t despise us for life do you think you could get him to help us all carry this beast upstairs?� she indicated the refrigerator.
Joel winced a little, then turned his head in the direction of the doors, his brother Benji bounding through them and out into the parking lot just as his head swung around. �Well, we can ask him� Joel said, all of them watching his brother approach. His pants were too long to be shorts but too short to be pants, so they hung to the middle of his shins, causing him to look a foot shorter than he actually was. His socks were pulled up so that the tops were barely visible beneath his pants, and his tattered shoes slapped noisily against the pavement as he walked. He flung his left arm over his chest and applied pressure to his elbow with his right hand, stretching. His eyes were squinted against the sun as he tried to focus on the three figures standing before him.
�Sup?� he asked, giving Joel an odd look.
�Benji, meet Rose and Daisy�� Joel said, offering a gesture as he said each name. Benji grunted in response, obviously unwilling to completely let go of the couch fiasco. He did, however, accept the handshakes that he was offered, but his grasp was cold and unfriendly. Rose offered a weak smile as Joel explained �We�re gonna help them with this fridge before we finish up our stuff, aight?� It was more a statement than a question and Benji nodded his agreement. It was immediately obvious that although Benji didn�t always agree with Joel, he respected him and trusted him.
Needless to say, after a fight to the steps, the foursome found themselves wrestling up the stairs with the fridge, all four grunting and huffing the entire way. Rose and Joel took one side while Benji and Daisy took the other, Benji and Daisy going up the stairs backwards this time. Rose muttered to Joel �I hope Benji doesn�t get any payback ideas cuz this fridge could kill us both.�
Joel let out a small laugh. �Nahh, Benj isn�t that devious,� he smiled. �He�d never hurt anyone on pur�� he was cut off just as the fridge slipped from Daisy�s grasp. Benji moved fast, dipping down and grunting under the weight of the fridge, holding it steady instead of letting it crash against the steps and fall onto Rose and Joel. Daisy quickly stooped down with him, both of them struggling to lift it back up for the final flight. After a moment of silence Joel breathed out �Told you.� Rose felt beads of sweat forming on her forehead and she attempted a small smile, concentrating too much on the fridge to respond vocally.
As they reached the top floor, they set the fridge down on its base and eyed the length of the hallway. �This blows� Rose whooshed out, still a little out of breathe.
�Yeah it does� Benji grumbled in response.
�We�ll make it up to you guys, I swear� Daisy chimed in. �We�ll cook you dinner sometime this week�. OK?�
Joel smiled �Hell yeah that sounds great, we can�t cook for shit.�
Rose laughed �Hey no one said we were good at it either, but we promise we�ll try.�
Joel shrugged �I guess that�s good enough for me. It�s more than we do already, we usually just warm up some fuckin� pizza rolls or something.�
Rose offered Joel a smile and responded, �Well I promise we can give you better than pizza rolls.�
Soon enough the fridge was placed comfortably in the corner of the girl�s kitchen, and Daisy was curled up in the corner of the couch, eyeing the living room full of unpacked boxes. Benji had already retreated to the safety of his own apartment, but Joel remained, leaning against the doorframe, fiddling with the blue bandana that was tied around his wrist. �Is this your first year here?� he asked them.
Daisy shook her head, too tired to answer, so Rose answered, �Nope�second,� Her head buried in the box she was unpacking.
Joel nodded in response and shifted his weight to the opposite side of the doorframe and asked, �Well, where are you guys from?�
Rose glanced up at him, holding two huge photo albums in her hands. �Detroit�well suburbs of�you?�
�Waldorf, Maryland. Nap town baby.� He threw his hand up in an East Side gesture, his expression serious, yet somehow comical. Rose let out a small giggle, but quickly covered her mouth. Joel couldn�t help but return her smile.
�I�m sorry,� she apologized. �You just sounded so gangsta.�
Joel�s grin grew wider and he retorted with �It�s because I am,� conjuring another laugh from Rose�s lips. Rose stuffed the photo albums onto the shelf stationed next to the window, and then busied herself opening another box, groaning at its contents�more photo albums. Continuing to unload, Rose was oblivious to Joel�s eyes on her, and she asked him, �So why New York?�
�Benj and I are in this band, and we figured what better place to get our stuff heard than New York? But we couldn�t afford it, by any means, and the only way we could get help is to go to school.� He opened his arms. �So NYU, here we are!�
Rose�s ears perked up at the mention of his band. She had been a huge fan of the local scene in Detroit and had yet to find a band in New York that had really struck her. �So I take it you�re a music major?� she asked. �What is your band called? What kind of music?� She was facing him now, her head filled with eager questions.
Joel�s eyes lit up for a moment as he saw her interest spark. �Nah, me and Benj haven�t signed our majors yet, we�re kinda avoiding it. We�re hoping to be outta here before it comes to that. And uh�Good Charlotte is the name but I�m really not sure what you would categorize us as. Benji would insist we were punk.�
Rose nodded her appreciation. �Sounds really interesting, I�d like to hear you guys play. I love punk.� She stooped down, unloading the last photo albums and placing them on the shelf. �Then again I also like rap and pop and oldies�I just love music. We both do�right Dais?� She turned towards her friend and was greeted with closed eyes and steady breath. Daisy had fallen asleep. Rose huffed, her hands on her hips and eyed Joel, whose attempt at hiding his smirk failed miserably. �This is just like her� Rose said, shaking her head, turning in a full circle, looking at the room once more, a frown settling on her lips. �There�s no way she�ll help me if she wakes up now.�
Joel stepped hesitantly into the room and stopped. �I could help you unpack�if you wanted.�
Rose met his gaze, �Are you sure?� she scrunched her eyebrows together. �Won�t Benji be pissed if you leave him to unpack all your stuff?�
Joel shook his head quickly. �Nah, we unpacked all our shit yesterday we just didn�t feel like bringing the couch up until today.�
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