I spent the next few weeks studying non-stop. When I signed up for college I was excited to make friends, and join clubs, and try new activities. All of that was going to have to wait until I got rid of Nick. 

At first, I considered doing my work at the library, but then I realised the kind of precedent that would set. If I spent all my time at the library, while Nick spent all his time at the dorm, soon people were going to start thinking it really was his room. I couldn't allow that to happen.

Unfortunately, Nick had the same idea, which meant that day after day we would wake up together, go to training together, share most of the same classes, and then spend all our free time crammed into the same room. I felt like I was constantly on edge. Nick was always watching and judging, and waiting with some mean comment. It was worse than being at home.

One night, I was sitting at my desk, going over my microeconomics notes, and I made the mistake of yawning. Just one quiet little yawn, at 10pm, after a full day of study, two feet from my own bed.

"Go to sleep, bitch," Nick called out from the bathroom, "You're gonna fail anyway."

I slammed my pen down on the table. Ow. Hurt my fingers.

"I am not going to fail!" I called back, "And excuse me for being tired! I've been up since five!"

"Oh, right!" I heard Nick spit, either because he had finished brushing his teeth or because he was just that disgusted with me, "You were up since five watching me run laps!"

"Because you're such an amazing person for running around in a circle for an hour!" I said, "What a productive use of time and effort! You're really making an invaluable contribution to society!"

Nick came out of the bathroom, scowling as usual. He was dressed for bed, which for Nick meant he was just wearing his boxers. He had taken his prosthesis off, and the end of his right arm glistened with what I assumed was moisturizer. He pointed his toothbrush at me accusatorily.

"You wanna talk about contributing?" he said, "You left your shit all over the sink again."

"What?" I said.

"Your toothbrush and shit!" he said, "And there's toothpaste in the sink. And you always get fucking water all over the place."

I shrugged, "So what?"

"So go clean up after yourself!" he said, "In case you haven't realised, there's no fucking butler here!"

I laughed, "A butler wouldn't clean the bathroom, moron. That's a maid's job."

Nick leaned in close, so close I could smell his breath, cool and minty-fresh.

"So go clean up, maid," he growled.

I glared back at him. Nick liked to get mad and make a big scene like this, but so far there hadn't been any repeat of our first night together, when he had trapped me up against my desk. Which was good, obviously. He was still very close to me right now, though. I would only have to lean a little bit forward and our noses would be touching. If I wanted to I could reach up and pull on his hair, or... his mouth was also very close...

I turned back to my textbooks, "I'll clean up when you move out."

Nick snarled and stomped away. I heard a clattering in the bathroom as he put his stuff away. That was something I still wasn't used to. He was so loud. It was like his parents had never taught him manners. Sure, maybe I wasn't fantastic at cleaning up after myself, but at least I knew how to stay respectfully quiet.

Nick took a little longer than I expected, and I realised he was probably cleaning up the mess he had been complaining about. Well, good. That wasn't so hard, was it?

I smirked to myself as I read over my notes. It felt good to come out on top for once. And I quite liked the idea of Nick cleaning up after me. I pictured him in the bathroom right now, bent over the sink, scrubbing away.

He slammed the bathroom door on his way back.

"Don't slam the door," I muttered.

"I'm taking the bed tonight," he said.

"No you're not," I said, without looking up, "It hasn't been a week. It's still my turn."

"I don't care," he said, "You're being a little brat tonight, and you need to learn a lesson."

I looked up, "What did you just call me?"

He didn't answer, and I realised that I was staring at his midsection as he leaned over me to tug my blankets off my bed.

"Don't!" I said.

"Too late," he said, as he yanked off my duvet. He thrust it into my arms. "If you're gonna be a bad little maid, you can sleep on the couch."

I felt my cheeks flush, but I wasn't sure whether it was anger or something else, "Excuse me?"

"Listen, bitch," he said, "I have to clean up after your spoiled ass, so I get the bed. Deal with it."

I bit my lip. I didn't want to give up the bed, but my heart was kind of racing after that bad little maid comment, and I didn't trust myself to be articulate. And... maybe he had a point. It did seem fair.

I certainly wasn't going to admit that to him, though.

"Fine," I muttered, "Make the bed then."

He hissed, "That's what I'm doing, idiot."

"Do it faster," I said.

Nick finished stripping off the bed and started remaking it with his own sheets. I sat on my chair holding my bedding in my arms as he worked. He struggled for a bit with the fitted sheet.

"I don't have all night," I said.

"I'm doing it!" he snapped, "Give me a second."

He climbed onto the bed and began maneuvering awkwardly, pinning the sheet in place with his knees as he stretched the corners out over the mattress. I realised suddenly how much more difficult it must be to do this with only one hand.

I considered offering him help for a second, then decided against it. He would probably just get mad at me. Besides, he was a big boy. He could handle it.

Nick finished making his bed and immediately got under the covers, turning away to face the wall. I rolled my eyes and went back to studying as he drifted off above me.

I didn't make much progress. I was feeling flushed and hot for some reason, and I couldn't focus on what I was reading. After five minutes I realised I had been reading the same passage in my accounting textbook over and over, and the only words that were registering were bad little maid.

I slammed my textbook closed and groaned.

"What?" Nick grunted from the bed above me.

"You know exactly what!" I said, and then realised he absolutely didn't, and there was no way I was going to tell him.

"You're not getting the bed," Nick said.

"I don't want it!" I said. I got up from the desk, abandoning my study things, and went to go get changed.