Megan could hear Anne coming up the stairs. That was never a good sign. Despite her tremendous size and weight, the usually plucky young woman was generally light on her feet- for the comfort of everyone around her, Megan speculated- and if she was letting her feet fall heavily enough to reverberate, that meant something was wrong. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen. She was up the first flight. One, two, three... seventeen, eighteen, and that was the second. The reverberations were growing stronger with each step. By the time she made it up the third flight, Megan's tea was tossing up occasional drops from the vibrations. Her shutters rattled from a sudden change in air pressure as the door opened, then again as it closed. Even emotional, Anne had the self-control not to break the door.
Megan felt the slightest twinge of frustration, but it was immediately overwhelmed by guilt. Anne couldn't help how loud she was, and she couldn't help having a bad day. It wasn't like Megan ever had to stop herself from stomping around the house whenever she was frustrated. Of course, she had her own problems Anne couldn't relate to, but that wasn't an excuse. She didn't deserve to be judged by anyone for the hand life dealt her. In fact, Megan figured she ought to go check on her roommate. It was kind of silly, but she sort of felt like she owed it to her.
Having long since paused her video, Megan set her tablet aside and got up. She threw on her fluffy bathrobe and a pair of slippers for warmth and stepped into the cold common room they shared. She liked leaving the window open for the ambient sound of the rain, but she was not a fan of the cold. But for her roomie, she wouldn't let this this deter her. A few short strides down the hallway and she was knocking at her door.
"Anne?" she asked softly. Sniffles greeted her. "Anne, it's Megan." Duh. Who else would it be? More sniffles. "Can I... can I come in?"
"Okay," came the dejected response. She was really upset... Anne cried easily at movies, but when it came to her own life, she was pretty tough. Megan really hoped nobody had died.
She opened the door a crack and peeked in. "I'm coming in," she announced softly, though unnecessarily, before stepping inside. It was pretty cold in here too, but warming up due to Anne's body heat. She was hard to miss, a mountain under the covers of her king-sized bed. The walls were plastered with wildlife pictures, many of horses and flowers. Nobody seeing the room for the first time would think it could have belonged to someone who spent so much time at the gym.
Anne didn't react to Megan's entrance. So without waiting for a further invitation, the bespectacled girl slipped over to the bigger girl's bedside, placing an arm on the big, shapeless lump curled up under the covers. "Hey Anne," she said in a soft voice she hoped sounded as empathetic as she felt.
The mass shifted and she could see a few long locks of black hair spill out into view, mussed up but still sleek and beautiful. "Hey," came the soft response.
"How are you doing?" She realized it was a stupid question as soon as it came out, but it was what it was.
"Life sucks," was the blunt response. She sniffed and wiped her nose.
Megan rubbed Anne's... whatever it was she was touching. Probably her arm. "Do you want to talk about it?"
Anne didn't answer for a bit, but eventually shifted. From Megan's perspective, it was like the world was turning sideways as her entire vision was filled by the frame of her giant roommate. The blanket fell away, revealing the tremendous, muscle-clad frame of a young girl in her early twenties. She was well-dressed, but with a few more buttons undone than would be considered businesslike. Megan swallowed and fought to keep her eyes from exploring the exposed cleavage. As she succeeded, she realized Anne wasn't entirely sober. She shuddered to imagine how much alcohol it must have taken to achieve that effect.
"Fuggin' Northend Bank..." Anne slurred slightly, rubbing her eye.
Mega's face went blank. "What happened? You didn't get scammed or something like that, did you?"
Anne shook her head. "No... You remember the job interview last week?" Megan nodded. "They called me back... to tell me I didn't get the job."
Megan sat silent for a moment. "They called you... back?"
"Who the fug does that?!" Anne yelled at the ceiling. "Calling a fuggin' college student to come... in person... to tell them they aren't hired!"
"Yeah, that's a dick move," Megan agreed, shifting to sit in the bed next to her. "So... you're crying over this?" It did seem a bit much.
Anne shrugged one shoulder. "You shoulda seen how they looked at me. They got my hopes up, but then... they told me I 'wasn't right for the job'. I know what they meant." She rubbed her nose again.
Megan rubbed Anne's huge bicep gently. There was a slight stirring in her loins as she did so, but she tried to remain serious. Stupid sexy muscle. "I'm not saying you're wrong, but, are you sure?"
"Sure I'm sure!" Anne yelled at her knees. "Come on, you step into your bank and the first thing you see is..." She lifted her arms and clenched her fists, seams immediately straining to their limit against the towering peaks that resulted from the simple action. "Are you gonna go back to that bank again?"
Shit, that was a trap question. Honestly speaking, Megan wasn't sure. Full disclosure, Anne was sexy as hell to her. But coming back to that bank every week? She just didn't know. Frankly, her pants wouldn't be able to handle the strain. At least right now her bathrobe hid the effect that 'small' flex was having on her. So, instead of answering, she continued comforting her. "Hey, chin up, you have other options."
