BLAIR POV

The car ride back to the main campus and dorms was awkward to say the least. We sat in silence apart from Will's finger drumming on the steering wheel. I looked out the window, but I could feel Wesley's gaze on me, and Will's awkward eye contact flickering between me and looking in the rearview mirror at Wes. 

After the 5 minute drive, Will slowly stopped the car. "Are we all okay?" Will asked awkwardly. "Because it looked pretty tense back at the station and the car ride back was awkarder than the time I burped in church." Will tried breaking the tension. I looked at Will not daring to look at Wesley. 

"We're good." Wesley spoke up, surprising Will and I. I looked at him, and his face was different than it had been at the station. Now it was softer, gentler, filled with exhaustion. 

Will looked at me, "You're good B?" He asked protectively. 

I nodded, "Yeah. We're good." I replied quietly. Will nodded, kissing the crown of my head. 

He shook hands with Wesley, "Thanks for taking care of my sister." Will thanked him and Wesley nodded. 

As we walked back into our dorm building, we were both quiet. Wesley held the door open for me and we stepped into our dorm. 

"I'm sorry." Wesley blurted out. He looked at me, stepping closer to me. I was surprised, and he took my silence as as way to keep going. "I didn't mean to yell at you or scare you. I was just mad at Pete and at myself." He added. 

"Yourself?" I asked, taking a step closer to him. 

He nodded and absentmindedly drew patterns into my hand. "Yeah. I didn't protect you like I'm supposed to. That asshole hurt you once and I let him again." He said harshly.

 I lifted my free hand up to cup his cheek, "Wes.. you can't blame yourself for Pete's actions. You can't always be there to protect me, but when you are around you do a great job of protecting and sticking up for me." I assured him, hoping he would not be so hard on himself. 

Wesley still looked sullen. "My job is to protect you all the time." He reminded, more to himself I think. 

"Why do you feel like you need to protect me so much?" I asked. 

"Because I need to know that I do have the power to protect the ones I love." He replied, his eyes no longer meeting me. 

So this was about more than just me, it also had to do with Gordon.

"Wesley..' I started, leading him over to my bed so we could sit. 'It's so sweet that you want to keep me safe. I appreciate it and you do a great job of it, but you can't save everything. Gordon was sick, there was nothing you could do."  I continued gently. Wesley stiffened at the mention of his little brother but didn't say a word. 

"There was no way you could have predicted that your brother would get sick, let alone be able to protect him when he did." I told him. That's when Wesley cracked, suddenly he grabbed onto me, and I could hear him just release into tears. 

"Shh, I'm here for you." I cooed, just holding him until he was better. 

---BREAK---

The next morning I woke up before Wesley. He cried for a while last night and then he finally really talked to me about Gordon. 

I finally got stories of Gordon and Wesley's adventures, my heart breaking a little more with each story and sad smile from Wesley. He looked exhausted so I decided I'd let him sleep while I went out for a run. 

The day was warm and sunny, like a new start after yesterday's disasters. I jogged throughout campus, finishing by heading to the coffee shop to get something to drink. 

It was fairly quiet in the cafe as it was a Saturday morning and many students were sleeping in, especially after the party last night. I did see Mona sitting at a corner table, and she saw me at the same time, quickly waving me over. 

I pulled a seat out and took a sip of my warm coffee. "Did you hear?" She asked immediately. 

"About..?" I asked, not sure what she was talking about. 

"Pete broke his nose and is dropping out of Vanatta." Mona reported, taking a bite out of her bagel. 

I nearly spit out my coffee, "What?" I asked. 

Mona nodded, "That's what I heard. I mean it could just be purely gossip but I know he's definitely broken his nose." She confirmed. 

"Wow." I breathed. 

"But anyways, how are you after last night?" She asked, her tone more serious. 

"I'm okay. Wesley and I talked everything out. We're good." I answered honestly. 

She smiled, "I'm glad. Last night was intense." Mona replied. 

I took my last sip of coffee and stood up, "I'm gonna finish my run but I'll see you later right?" I asked. 

Mona nodded, "Yeah movie night in our dorm?" She asked. 

"Sounds good,' I nodded. 

I waved goodbye to Mona and continued my run. 

I stopped dead in my tracks when I noticed Wesley's dad walking towards our dorm building.

AN: The Roommates is #998 in Teen Fiction! I'm stunned and so grateful!  3K reads and over 100 votes!? That's incredible! Thank you so much to everyone who's read, voted, and even just checked out this story. It means a lot to me, and I am so grateful! You all rock!