Episode 3: The First Battle

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...

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