Joel�s knees bounced nervously against his feet as he shifted through the box of CD�s, removing a stack and thumbing through them before setting them neatly beside him. Rose subconsciously began to hum, her lips pursed tightly together. Joel tilted his head up, watching her examine the DVD in her hand, a CD still hanging loosely in his grasp, in danger of plummeting from his fingertips. Rose concentrated hard, her hum growing in volume slightly as she read the synopsis on the back of one of the DVDs. Joel could almost feel the vibrations of her hum against his ear, and his hand flung instinctively to his earlobe in response, causing the CD to slip from his fingers, startling them both as it hit the ground with a small thud. Rose�s eyes flew up to meet his, and Joel�s mouth hung open a little. �Are you OK?� she inquired.
�You�have a really nice voice� Joel whooshed out, unable to think of anything else to say.
�Huh?� Rose raised an eyebrow, seeming slightly confused.
�You were humming,� he informed her.
�I was?� Rose replied, looking fast back down at the DVD she was holding. �Sorry,� she apologized in a tone that was obviously wistful.
�Don�t be sorry,� Joel said. �I was enjoying it actually. I bet you sing�don�t you?� He gazed at her and Rose suddenly felt slightly uncomfortable under the gaze of the still partial stranger�s eyes that seemingly knew too much.
�No,� she shot. �Dais is the singer, not me. I�used to a little but�it�s just not my�thing�� Rose instinctively looked over at her sleeping friend.
�Oh.� Joel said, feeling like perhaps he hadn�t touched on the best subject.
�Yeah,� Rose said looking back at Joel, �you�ll have to hear her sometime, she�s amazing.� Joel smiled at Rose and Rose smiled back. She felt her cheeks burn to pink but quickly shrugged the feeling off.
�I�ll have to� he said, proceeding to shift through the CD�s. He grunted softly as he pulled another handful from the box and gasped. �All Eyez on Me!!�
Rose�s head snapped up in response as he waved the CD case in front of her face. �Yeah�so?� her eyebrow was arched slightly in amusement.
�I can�t believe you have this CD! I lost this CD a long ass time ago.� He gazed down at it affectionately. �I can�t believe you like Tupac��
�Of course I like Tupac!! He�s the greatest rapper�of all time!�
�Hell yeah!! That�s what I have always said!� Joel agreed enthusiastically. �You just didn�t strike me as the type of girl to be down, that�s all.�
�I told you I was from Detroit�and I�m more down than you think I am.�
Joel smirked, �Yeah right. You said you were from the suburbs.�
�Psh, whatever punk boy,� she teased, snatching the CD from him and reviewing the song titles. After a moment she shrugged, handing it back to him. �Put it in,� she said, pointing to the stereo that sit temporarily on the floor near Daisy�s head.
�Won�t it wake her up?� he asked hesitantly.
Rose shrugged again, removing the last of the DVDs and filing them alphabetically onto her DVD stand. �Who cares? My bet is that if she DOES wake up she will crawl off the couch and just go right back to sleep in her own bed.�
�Well�you know her better than I do�you�re sure she won�t get pissed?� His eyebrows were raised in inquisition.
Rose shook her head slightly. �Nope. It takes a lot to piss her off. Just put the damn CD on already, I wanna hear it now,� she said, her tone playful.
Joel answered her with his now familiar smirk. �Alright, if you say so.� He popped the CD player open and slid the CD inside, pressing play and skipping to his choice track.
Both pairs of eyes greeted Daisy as she opened hers, letting out a small yawn. �Did I fall asleep?� she asked over the music, one of the ridiculous questions she was prone to asking.
�No.� Rose answered simply, the true answer too obvious to waste sarcasm on. Daisy nodded in response, swinging her legs over the side of the couch and standing up, stretching her arms above her head. �I think I�m gonna get some sleep. I�ll help you finish tomorrow Ro.� She stepped over a box and quietly shut herself in her bedroom.
�Told ya,� Rose shot at Joel, finishing up the DVD stand.
�Does she know it�s only 8 o�clock?� he asked, looking a little confused.
Rose let out a snort. �Yeah don�t worry. She�ll wake up around midnight and wonder where all the boxes went.�
Joel shook his head some. �You guys sound just like me and Benji.�
Rose had started on the CDs now, filing them alphabetically as well. �Yeah well our moms are best friends and we grew up best friends. She really is my other half.�
It was obvious that Joel understood completely and he asked, �Are you two studying the same thing too?�
�Nopers,� she answered, fixing a CD that was out of order and opening another box, this one full of bathroom necessities. �I�m a psych major and she�s studying Journalism/Creative writing.� She walked into the bathroom, setting up the toothbrush holder and placing a few towels as she spoke. �I really think she should do more with her voice, but I think she�s almost content just singing casually, though she says she wants to be a star. She has a problem singing in front of people, though she�d never admit to it.�
Joel was in the bathroom doorway now, handing her the contents of the box one by one, watching her place them, mumbling the Tupac lyrics under his breath as he listened to her speak. �Yeah, before we started the band I sorta had that problem too.�
Rose glanced at him. �Really?? You�re the singer??�
His head bobbed in response. �That would be moi.�
�Mmmm,� Rose let out without thinking. She was positioned halfway in the tub now, straddling the side as she struggled to loop the shower curtain up. Joel noticed her difficulties and strode across the room to assist her. She watched his fingers work in silence, sucking thoughtfully on her bottom lip. After a few moments the shower curtain hung in its proper place. �Thank you.� She said quietly.
He cracked his knuckles and casually answered, �You�re more than welcome.�
She followed him back out to the living room and proceeded to set up her entertainment system, another area she ended up needing assistance in. She found herself tangled in the cable cords more than once. Each time she let out a frustrated moan, drawing Joel�s attention. He seemed to get amusement out of her predicament, his hands freeing her quickly, his small chuckle an appropriate response to her confused expression. Their conversation remained casual and playful, and by the time he finally left around 12:30, the only thing Rose had left to do was hang up her clothes and take a shower before bed.
Rose locked her apartment door behind Joel and leaned against it, closing her eyes in exhaustion. Sliding herself back up onto her own feet she flicked the light on in the bathroom and glared at the reflection staring back at her. Her fingers tugged at the circles under her eyes and ran over the freckles that lay comfortably across her nose, and she let out a tiny dissatisfied sigh before stripping off her clothes and rewarding herself with a fairly long shower. Drying off, she let her hair hang loose and wet, wrapping a towel around her torso and left the bathroom.
She found Daisy curled up in the lazy boy, her thick chocolate hair bunched on top of her head sloppily, the hem of her pajama bottoms tugged over her feet to keep them warm, the remote resting on her knee. �Enjoying the fruits of my labor?� Rose asked with a smirk as she slipped by, only to be answered by Daisy�s tongue. Rose shook her butt a little as she waltzed by and Daisy let out a cat call, giggling.
Rose changed quickly into a baggy T-Shirt and baggy pajama pants donning hundreds of tiny cherries, and brushed her hair, shaking the excess water from her head as she reentered the living room, sprinkling Daisy with water. Daisy wrinkled her nose in response and waved Rose out of the way, dramatic music pumping softly from the speakers on the TV. Rose observed Daisy biting her lip as she watched the TV, and she shook her head in amusement. The shows credits began to roll and Rose teased, �You are so ridiculous.�
Daisy wiggled her toes at Rose in response and Rose grabbed her pinky toe and twisted. Daisy then shook her foot from Rose�s grasp and asked �So didja kiss him?�
�Who?� Rose asked, her question sincere.
�Uh�Joel?� Daisy responded with raised eyebrows.
�Joel?� Rose repeated. �Why would I kiss him??�
Daisy let out an exasperated groan. �Because he obviously wanted to kiss you!?� she said through gritted teeth.
Rose let out a small laugh and eyed Daisy. �Where do you get this shit?�
Daisy changed her tone slightly and said, �Rose. Seriously. What guy would just RANDOMLY sit and chat it up about TUPAC while helping unpack an assload of stuff that wasn�t even his?�
�Um�a nice guy?� Rose retorted incredulously, her eyes narrowed at her friend. �And how do YOU know we were talking about Tupac, Sleeping Beauty?� Daisy�s cheeks pink as a proud smile spread across her face. �You were AWAKE!?!� Rose yelped. �I just unpacked EVERYTHING and you were awake!?!�
Daisy waved her hand. �Oh hush, you had help. I wouldn�t have made you do it alone. And I was�half sleeping� she nodded seriously.
Rose rubbed her eyes with the heels of her palms. �Whatever. It doesn�t matter. It�s done now,� she sighed a little, her eyes suddenly heavy with the need for sleep. �I�m going to bed. Wake me up to sometime tomorrow.� Rose climbed off the couch and found herself sound asleep in her bed within no time.
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