The Devil's 5'5

Chapter 3 - First Night

January 20th, 7:05 PM - Elgin Hall Residence - Chicago, IL Preston's POV

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"You can just put those in the room to the left. Thanks." Preston instructed the two volunteers, sent by Ms. Jordan, on where to place the few belongings the firefighter crew managed to salvage from the damage. Aside from that, the regular necessities of a desk chair, table lamp, and such were also generously purchased on behalf of the university.

While Preston knew that they were trying to keep his mouth shut to avoid any negative news leak to the media he still felt that it was a bit...excessive. They had even given him a temporary cell phone and laptop until he decided to buy his own.

He was not one to complain about the showering of such gifts and happily indulged in the pampering for however long it would last.

To be completely fair, I could have died.

Taking the last box, he bid his helper's goodbye, finally having the place to himself. As he walked into the living room, he paused by the quiet hallway leading to his new roommate's room. He hadn't encountered him since the time he arrived in the morning and it was almost late afternoon now.

Making a mental note he decided it would be best to leave a note later tonight so no surprises were given when he got home.

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It must have been at least 3 AM when Preston was woken from his slumber. Loud shuffling and banging coming from outside his room. Groggily slipping out of bed, he moved to the door, opening it just enough for him to poke his head out. His eyes, heavy with sleep, searched for the source of the noise. The dimly lit living room was enough to expose two people. As he tried to focus his vision, the two figures seemed to merge into one blob that was continuously moving.

Rubbing his eyes, he tried again to make out the people. A guy and a girl who were lip-locked were in the process of stripping their clothing. Abruptly shutting his door, he practically dove back into bed. There was no trace of his initial drowsiness as he remained wide awake. He had never encountered such an episode during his dormitory experience with Dilan since he never brought a girl over when he was home.

As he laid there in bed, chanting to himself to sleep, his mind ran wild as the sounds from outside started to become mixed with moans.

The sound only made him tenser as he eyed his room door, the only partition between him and the atmosphere outside. Grabbing another pillow, he sandwiched his head between them, only muffling the sound silently.

How long was this going to go on for? Are they going to do it in the living room all night? Was this going to be every night?

Preston was left with his thoughts and an unwanted erotic soundtrack for the rest of the night as he tried to fall back to sleep.

Yet before his alarm went off at 700AM, Preston had already hit the stop button. He needed to have been asleep to require his usual alarm. Given that it only became silent about half an hour ago, Preston was both astounded and traumatized.

Still in his bed, he was frozen in fear at the thought of what exactly awaited him outside his bedroom door.

Should I go outside? Or I can yell really loudly that I'm here? Maybe I can just miss the morning lab.

But nature's call forced him to make a move he dreaded. Slowly tiptoeing to his door, at a snail breaking pace, he turned the doorknob and pushed it open. Enough for one half of his vision, he tried to spot what was on the couch. When he was unable to get a clear picture, he pushed it open further. When he saw a bare leg sticking out, he immediately slapped his hand to his eyes before yanking the door shut.