"Hah?" My mind went blank. I stared at her, mouth slightly agape.
"Like I said," she continued, unfazed "you don't mind if I stay over, right? Y'know- long term." The girl continued, or whatever her name was.
In the first place, what the hell was she? Who and where did she even come from? And what's with all this stuff she's spouting?
"Uh, what? No way. Why should I let you stay over? I don't even know you in the first place." My reply was immediate, my recovery from my previous shock dissipating the moment I started to grasp the situation.
But even as I refused, that look of certainty in her eyes threw me off more than I admit.
It's as if her stay was already decided, with or without my permission. Like she was simply asking me the question for courtesy's sake and still live with me nonetheless.
As I watched her expression, I could see a slight pout on her face, showing her displeasure at my refusal.
"Just because you're pretty doesn't mean I'll just let you live with me, alright? We're still strangers, and I don't trust strangers." I added, my tone resolute before crossing my arms over my chest.
"In the first place, how'd you even get inside? Are you some sort of ghost or something? If you say you are, just know that I don't believe in those things." My eyes narrowed, watching her every move, when suddenly, she just sighed, her arms falling back on her sides, her demeanor suddenly changing from the seemingly carefree girl into a more serious one.
The gnawing feeling I got the moment I saw her earlier came back in full swing, threatening to bring me to my knees as the air inside my room grew heavier each second.
But I stood my ground, this was my place, not hers. If it was a fight she wanted, I'd give her that.
I'm not sure if I'd win against something unexplainable like her though. Let alone land even a hit.
She stopped smiling.
The air surrounding her, for some reason, felt as if it bent at her very presence.
"I'm no ghost," She said softly "that much is true at least."
"I'm something much worse actually." As she continued, she suddenly started walking towards me. Each of her steps was slow and deliberate, solidifying her presence.
"An anomaly. That's all you need to know." The air around her grew heavy- not crushing, more akin to the silence before the storm, threaded with something eerie.
And with a casual snap, a dim light flickered in her fingertip, which expanded at an impossible speed, eventually forming something akin to a star in her palm, but smaller.
The very space around her warped into something unintelligible, however, her form remained intact.
"You recognize this, don't you?" She asked, her tone losing It's playfulness as she stared at me, her eyes glowing.
"Is that... A star-"
"Bingo, brilliant guess." She just interjected without even letting me finish.
And then she just took over the conversation completely.
"That's right, it's a star." She continued, poking at the miniature star floating over her palm.
The way it pulsed, how its heat radiated through the room, raising it to scorching levels in just seconds, turning the room into a hellscape with its mere appearance.
Yet, she just handled it like it was no big deal. Without breaking a sweat nonetheless.
I came here to start anew, not deal with whatever this was! What is this anyway?? Rather, what is she??
Gradually I felt throat dry up, every breath burned like sandpaper, my body was heating up slowly until it started to sizzle in front of my eyes.
As the scene unfolded. My vision swam, my consciousness slipping away as I felt everything go dark.
Even as everything went dark, I could feel my body burning, like I was put inside of an over.
But gradually, the burning started to subside.
Before I knew it, I found myself floating amongst a realm of nothingness.
That was then when my vision suddenly shifted into a dream-like place, a meadow, the grass yellow as it reflected the gentle orange dim of the sunset.
Within my dream, there, I saw the exact same girl who somehow got inside of my room. She cheerfully walked in front of me, her hands behind her back as she turned to me with a smile.
And just then, I woke up. Still a bit disoriented, I scanned my surroundings.
"This is... my room..." I muttered under my breath, gently rubbing my eyes before realizing that I haven't even unpacked my belongings.
I immediately got up, but the moment I did, I saw that everything had already been arranged neatly. My bed was already set up, its sheets slightly disheveled after I slept on it.
My books properly arranged in rows depending on their genres on the cabinet next to my bed, my study table also already set up, even my lampshade next to it.
Now that I looked at it closely, even the curtains were already set up.
"Oh... It's already nighttime..." Looking outside, everything had gone dark.
And then it hit me, the girl- whatever that thing in her hand was, my room carved out of reality, suspended in a place where there was only nothingness.
In a panic, I immediately went off, slamming my room's door, making my way into the living room. Things didn't feel right, it felt like there was someone else in this house aside from me.
Just when I was about to take another step, the smell of home cooking filled my nose. The gentle aroma of a warm meal being made, the umami seemingly pulling me closer from its origins.
The kitchen, and even as I stood just on the corridor that led there, I could still hear the sizzling of the food being made, and this time- it was far stronger, more tempting.
And so I stuck my head slightly from the side of the doorframe, and there, I saw something absolutely stunning, something completely out of this world. A beauty that couldn't possibly exist in this world filled with defects, a sight that could potentially heal even the most defective heart, absolutely indescribable.
But wait, who was this girl anyway? She looks a bit like...
Wait, it's her?! The one from my dreams... the one who knocked me out?? But why is she still here?
"Why don't you come out instead of peeking?" She suddenly spoke up, all while she served what seemed to be a kind of stir-fried noodles with chicken pieces in it? Similar to an authentic asian stir fried noodle dish I'm familiar with.
Untying her hair, she glanced at my direction, our eyes meeting before she looked away, taking off the apron she wore.
Reluctantly, I stepped out from where I hid and went inside the kitchen, eyeing the noddle dish she made.
"This is edible, right?" I asked, my tone incredulous.
I looked at her, shifting my gaze from the food on the table, and then back at her.
"You're pretty rude, I tried my best making that, y'know?" She replied, almost- no, offended even, making her seem more human- but I knew better. She was anything but human.
And before I could retort, she grabbed a fork, picked up the dish, scooped up a bit of the noodles and walked towards me, forcing me against the wall.
"Taste it yourself before judging." This girl, she then forcefully spoonfed me the dish that she cooked, not giving me any space to argue or refuse.
After pulling the fork back, I wanted to argue, to try and give her a piece of my mind. But then, the actual taste of the dish she made hit me, it was... Actually good, scarily similar to my mom's cooking even.
It wasn't perfect, but it tasted like home...
Not realizing the face that I was making, she stepped back, putting the dish down before looking at me with a smug grin, as if she'd won something.
"So? It's good, isn't it?" She huffed, puffing out her chest, crossing her arms. "Don't underestimate me, I may not be human, but I still understand the essence of cooking."
I bit my lip, this girl... She barged into my house unannounced, suddenly threatened me by doing whatever she did hours earlier, and now she cooked something out of the things I had with me after moving in... And now she's standing in front of me, being all smug and that...
She's beautiful though, so that's a plus- no wait, that's not important right now! I can't let her stay here any longer!
"Listen here you, even if you cook or whatever, I still won't-" And then she cut me off, dismissing my words while she just spoke into a phone she... Wait, isn't that my phone...
"Ah, yes, mhm. Okayy, I'll take good care of him." She nodded, before hanging up and handing my phone to me which, she somehow got her hands on... Somehow.
"Who was that?" I asked, putting my phone back in my pocket.
"Your parents," She casually smiled, being all flippant about everything. "I got their permission, so we'll be living together from now on."
"How'd you do that?"
"I manipulated their memories and implanted a few where I was the child of a close family friend."
"Say what?"
"Yeah.
"
"..."
"..."
"WHAAAATTT!??!?"
And just like that, new life went up in flames - courtesy of the world's most dangerous roommate.