Olivia Hart loved plans.

Not normal plans.

Color-coded plans.

Spreadsheet plans.

Backup plans for her backup plans.

So when she finally got the keys to her dream apartment in New York, she felt like everything was falling into place.

"Finally..." she whispered, stepping inside.

Sunlight poured through the large windows.

The wooden floor shined.

The apartment smelled fresh and clean.

Perfect.

Exactly how she imagined it.

Her phone buzzed.

Maya: Did you already organize your bookshelf?

Olivia smiled.

Olivia: Of course.

A few seconds later—

Maya: You're scary.

Olivia rolled her eyes.

She wasn't scared.

She was organized.

There was a difference.

A very important difference.

She placed the last box beside the wall and looked around proudly.

New apartment.

New promotion.

New life.

Everything was finally under control.

Ding Dong!

The doorbell rang.

Olivia checked her watch.

11:59 AM.

The furniture delivery company was one minute early.

Not bad.

She opened the door.

And immediately froze.

A tall man stood outside.

Messy dark hair.

Warm smile.

Several cardboard boxes in his hands.

Definitely not a delivery guy.

"Hi," he said.

"Hi..."

The stranger looked at a paper.

Then smiled.

"Apartment 5B?"

"Yes."

"Perfect."

Before Olivia could say anything—

The man walked straight inside.

Olivia's eyes widened.

"Excuse me?!"

The stranger stopped.

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

He looked confused.

"Moving in."

"...What?"

"Moving in."

Olivia blinked.

Twice.

Then three times.

"I'm sorry?"

The stranger smiled.

"My name is Ethan Carter."

Silence.

"And?"

"I'm your roommate."

...

...

...

"What?"

Olivia took a deep breath.

No.

This couldn't be happening.

She had spent weeks searching for the perfect apartment.

She had compared prices, checked reviews, and visited dozens of places before choosing this one.

How could she miss something as important as having a roommate?

Ethan seemed completely relaxed.

Meanwhile, Olivia felt like her carefully planned life had just been hit by a truck.

"So..." Ethan looked around the apartment. "Which room is mine?"

Olivia crossed her arms.

"The one farthest away from me."

Ethan laughed.

"Good start."

She didn't laugh.

Not even a little.

For the first time that day, Olivia realized her perfect apartment might not be perfect after all.

And somehow, she had a feeling this stranger was about to turn her entire life upside down.

Olivia Hart had a plan for everything.

Unfortunately, her plan had never included sharing an apartment with a complete stranger.

The morning sunlight streamed through the living room window as Olivia walked out of her bedroom.

She stopped.

And immediately regretted waking up.

A pizza box sat on the coffee table.

Three empty soda cans were on the floor.

A pair of socks hung from the lamp.

And somehow...

Somehow...

There was a coffee mug inside a flower pot.

Olivia stared at it.

For a very long time.

Then she took a deep breath.

"No."

Another breath.

"No, no, no."

This could not become normal.

Behind her, a door opened.

Ethan walked out of his room, stretching lazily.

"Morning."

Olivia slowly pointed at the flower pot.

"What is that?"

Ethan followed her finger.

"Oh."

A pause.

"I was wondering where my mug went."

Olivia looked at him.

"You put your coffee mug inside a plant."

"I didn't put it there intentionally."

"That doesn't make it better."

Ethan grinned.

For some reason, he always looked amused.

Even when Olivia was clearly suffering.

Especially when Olivia was clearly suffering.

He walked into the kitchen.

A second later, his voice echoed from inside.

"Do you want coffee?"

"No."

"Tea?"

"No."

"Therapy?"

Olivia groaned.

Five minutes later, she sat at the dining table with a notebook.

Ethan returned carrying two cups of coffee.

He placed one in front of her.

"I said no."

"You looked like you needed it."

Olivia hated the fact that he was right.

She opened her notebook.

"Okay."

Ethan immediately looked nervous.

"Why do I feel like I'm about to be arrested?"

"We need rules."

"Oh no."

"Yes."

"No."

"Yes."

Ethan dramatically covered his face.

Olivia ignored him and began writing.

"Rule number one. Clean up after yourself."

"Reasonable."

"Rule number two. No loud music after ten o'clock."

"I can live with that."

"Rule number three. Don't take my food."

Ethan looked offended.

"I would never."

Olivia raised an eyebrow.

"The missing chocolate bar says otherwise."

A guilty expression flashed across his face.

"A misunderstanding."

"You ate it."

"A delicious misunderstanding."

Olivia wrote even faster.

"Rule number four. Respect personal space."

"Fine."

"Rule number five. No unexpected guests."

The moment she said that, the doorbell rang.

Both of them froze.

Olivia slowly looked at Ethan.

Ethan slowly looked at Olivia.

The doorbell rang again.

"Are you expecting someone?" she asked.

"No."

"Then who is that?"

"I have absolutely no idea."

Olivia walked toward the door and opened it.

A young woman stood outside holding a cake box.

She had long blonde hair and enough energy to power an entire city.

The second she saw Ethan, her eyes lit up.

"ETHAN!"

She rushed inside.

Then suddenly stopped.

Her eyes landed on Olivia.

Silence.

A very awkward silence.

"Oh."

The woman blinked.

Then smiled.

"You must be the girlfriend."

Olivia nearly dropped the notebook.

"What?!"

The woman pointed between them.

"You live together."

"We're roommates."

"Sure."

"ROOMMATES."

The woman looked unconvinced.

Behind them, Ethan was laughing so hard he had to sit down.

Olivia wanted to throw the notebook at him.

The woman extended her hand.

"I'm Emma."

Olivia shook it.

"Olivia."

Emma nodded.

Then pointed at Ethan.

"Unfortunately, I'm his cousin."

Olivia immediately understood why Emma seemed so comfortable around chaos.

It clearly ran in the family.

Emma placed the cake box on the table.

"I brought dessert."

Ethan's eyes widened.

"You're my favorite cousin."

"I'm your only cousin."

"Still counts."

Emma rolled her eyes.

Then she looked around the apartment.

Her gaze moved from Olivia's perfectly organized bookshelf...

To Ethan's pile of random boxes.

Then back to Olivia.

Then back to Ethan.

A slow smile appeared on her face.

"Oh, this is going to be fun."

Olivia didn't like that smile.

Not even a little.

An hour later, Emma was still there.

Somehow she had already learned Olivia's entire life story.

And somehow Ethan had already embarrassed himself six different times.

Emma leaned toward Olivia.

"Can I tell you a secret?"

Olivia hesitated.

"Okay."

Emma lowered her voice.

"When Ethan was twelve, he tried to microwave a spoon."

Olivia blinked.

"He what?"

"It exploded."

Ethan pointed at Emma.

"Traitor."

Emma ignored him.

"And when he was sixteen, he accidentally locked himself out of the house."

"Emma."

"He spent three hours climbing a tree."

"EMMA."

Olivia laughed.

For the first time since meeting Ethan.

A real laugh.

Ethan noticed.

And smiled.

Something about that smile made Olivia quickly look away.

Later that evening, Emma finally stood up.

"I should go."

"Please come again," Olivia said.

Ethan looked shocked.

"You like her more than me."

"Obviously."

"That's hurtful."

"You'll survive."

Emma laughed.

Before leaving, she glanced between them one last time.

Then said something strange.

"You two are going to change each other's lives."

Olivia frowned.

"What does that mean?"

Emma simply smiled.

"You'll see."

Then she walked out the door.

The apartment became quiet again.

For a moment, neither Olivia nor Ethan spoke.

Then Ethan pointed at the notebook.

"So..."

"What?"

"Any more rules?"

Olivia looked at him.

Then at the messy apartment.

Then back at him.

A small smile appeared.

"Probably."

Ethan groaned dramatically.

And for the first time...

Living together didn't seem completely impossible.

At least not yet.

Because neither of them knew that tomorrow would bring a problem much bigger than dirty dishes and stolen chocolate bars.

And that problem was already on its way.

To be continued...

Olivia woke up at exactly 6:30 AM.

Just like every morning.

She stretched, checked her phone, and smiled.

Today was going to be productive.

She had a meeting at work.

A grocery list to complete.

And a peaceful evening planned.

Perfect.

At least...

That was the plan.

Then she walked into the kitchen.

And froze.

Again.

The sink was overflowing with dishes.

A half-eaten sandwich sat on the counter.

There were potato chips on the floor.

And somehow...

A spoon was sticking out of a cereal box.

Olivia slowly closed her eyes.

Count to ten.

One.

Two.

Three.

No.

That wasn't enough.

She counted to twenty.

When she opened her eyes, the mess was still there.

Unfortunately.

"Ethan!"

No response.

"ETHAN!"

A door opened.

A sleepy Ethan appeared.

His hair looked like he had fought a tornado and lost.

"What happened?" he asked.

Olivia pointed dramatically at the kitchen.

"What happened?"

Ethan looked around.

"Oh."

"Oh?"

"I was hungry last night."

Olivia stared.

"Last night?"

"Yeah."

"It's eight in the morning!"

Ethan shrugged.

"The sandwich has been through a lot."

Olivia wanted to scream.

Instead, she grabbed her notebook.

The notebook.

The rules notebook.

Ethan immediately looked worried.

"Why do you keep carrying that thing around?"

"Because somebody keeps breaking the rules."

"Wow."

"What?"

"You made that sound personal."

"It is personal."

Ethan laughed.

Olivia did not.

Not even a little.

Thirty minutes later, Ethan finally cleaned the kitchen.

Well...

Mostly cleaned.

Good enough.

For now.

As Olivia prepared to leave for work, she noticed Ethan sitting on the couch.

Doing absolutely nothing.

"What are you doing today?" she asked.

Ethan looked up.

"Nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Yep."

"You don't have work?"

"I work from home."

Olivia frowned.

"What exactly do you do?"

"I'm a graphic designer."

"You design things?"

"I try."

"Do clients actually pay you?"

Ethan placed a hand over his heart.

"That was rude."

Olivia smirked.

For the first time.

Just a little.

Ethan noticed.

And smiled.

A strange feeling appeared in Olivia's chest.

She quickly ignored it.

A few hours later...

Olivia returned home exhausted.

The meeting had gone terribly.

Her boss had rejected one of her projects.

The subway had been crowded.

And it had started raining.

It was officially a terrible day.

She unlocked the apartment door.

Then stopped.

The apartment looked...

Different.

The living room was clean.

The boxes were gone.

The couch was organized.

Everything looked neat.

Olivia blinked.

Once.

Twice.

Three times.

Had she entered the wrong apartment?

"Ethan?"

No answer.

She walked farther inside.

Then noticed something on the table.

A paper bag.

And a note.

She picked it up.

The note read:

"Bad days require emergency snacks. — Ethan"

Inside the bag were chocolate cookies.

Olivia stared at them.

For a moment, she didn't know what to think.

Then she heard footsteps.

Ethan walked into the room.

"Oh, you're home."

Olivia held up the note.

"What is this?"

"The note."

"I know it's the note."

"Good."

"Ethan."

"What?"

The corner of his mouth lifted.

"You looked stressed this morning."

Olivia stared.

"You noticed?"

"You were yelling louder than usual."

Olivia rolled her eyes.

But secretly...

She appreciated it.

A little.

Just a little.

The two of them sat on opposite ends of the couch.

The silence felt surprisingly comfortable.

Until Ethan spoke.

"So..."

"So?"

"Do you always plan everything?"

"Yes."

"Everything?"

"Everything."

"What if life doesn't go according to plan?"

Olivia looked away.

That question hit harder than she expected.

For a moment, she didn't answer.

Then she quietly said,

"I don't like thinking about that."

Ethan's playful expression disappeared.

For the first time since they met...

He looked serious.

"Sometimes the best things happen when plans fail."

Olivia laughed softly.

"That sounds like something someone says when they forget to do their homework."

Ethan grinned.

"Fair."

The serious moment vanished.

But somehow...

The conversation stayed with her.

Later that night, Olivia sat in her room reading a book.

Then she heard music.

Loud music.

Very loud music.

Her eyes widened.

Rule number two.

No loud music after ten.

She checked the time.

10:37 PM.

Olivia immediately marched toward Ethan's room.

She opened the door.

"Ethan!"

The music stopped.

Ethan removed his headphones.

"What?"

Olivia pointed at the clock.

"Rule number two."

Ethan looked confused.

Then embarrassed.

"Oh."

"What?"

"The headphones weren't connected."

Silence.

A very long silence.

Then Olivia started laughing.

Actually laughing.

Ethan stared.

"Did you just laugh at me?"

"No."

"You totally did."

"Maybe."

For the first time since becoming roommates...

Neither of them were annoyed.

Neither of them were arguing.

And neither of them realized it yet.

But the wall between them had become just a little smaller.

To be continued...