If Mal knew that he considered her an oddity, she was pretty sure she’d agree wholeheartedly, even before taking into regard her sudden propensity for dream-hopping. Thankfully, there were enough girls on the island who shared her not-so-girly nature to make her feel less ‘square peg in a round hole’ about it. Still, with girls like Lexie Tibbits and Cait (as much as she hated the former and adored the latter) around, the progress she was making was easily ignored and she was still very much an oddity in that respect. Add in a pinch of dream-hopping or whatever, and she was a bona-fide freak of nature or something.
When Bast opened the door with a million-dollar smile on his face (hey, just because she was kinda dating Ed didn’t mean that she couldn’t appreciate the fact that her potential roommate was hotter than the Sahara), she responded in kind. “Hey, Bast,” she raised a hand in a subtle wave and stepped inside when he moved out of the way, toeing her ballet flats off. Maybe not responsible not to wear boots or at least sneakers, but Mal wasn’t known for her good-decision-making. Especially when it came to clothes. ‘I’m getting better at it’ was her self-consolation.
He offered her something to drink and she thought about it for a second, before nodding her head and smiling. “Sure, hot cocoa would be nice,” she said politely, “thanks,” she added quickly, shedding her coat and looking around for a coat hanger, placing it there when she found it.
“I have to admit, I’m pretty surprised that no one took you up on the roommate thing,” she explained. He was a nice enough guy, the place was cozy and she could think of at least five girls off the top of her head who would be interested in living in the same place as him. So yeah, her surprise was definitely warranted.