Mae was not a very social person, and generally kept to herself. Living alone hadn't been a horrible idea with that in mind, but she was beginning to feel desperate for a roommate as her next rent due date loomed. New York was known for its insane cost of living, and while she had a decent job, the two bedroom she was holding down was about to be beyond her means.

“Come on, someone out there has to be normal.” she had already interviewed a collection of people, ranging from an Italian guy who thought ‘how you doin’?’ Was an appropriate greeting to a kid who did not seem old enough to even live on their own and no job to speak of.

Today, they had one more interview though. Mae glanced at her phone, safely left on the table where the dead zone wouldn’t kill it. UnluckySeven was the Internet handle. Mae still wasn’t sure if this was a girl or a guy, her lack of specific gender priorities when posting the add had given her a variety of interest.

Not that it mattered. Anyone would work at this point... Anyone with a means of income and who would not take ten hours in the shower at night hogging the one bathroom. If they could handle living with a technology cancelling mutant and also function like a normal human being in the shared living space, she could make it work.

When the door rang, Mae forced herself over and smiled politely. ”Hi, I’m Mae. Welcome and all that jazz.” She was wearing a baggy t-shit with a cartoon Cheapachu on it, in a retro screen print of course. Her jeans had a few rips in the knees but in a casual way, and her silver-blue hair was down, a wavy cascade surrounding her face. Mae was barefoot, and that probably made her short stature even more evident.

Seven was getting sick of this whole song and dance routine, but they were desperate to get out of that one-bedroom hellhole of an apartment that they currently lived in, and they were more than convinced that their landlord was the devil himself. Though...maybe that was a little insulting--to Satan, that is. So...they were off for their millionth interview, thanking the gods for noise cancelling headphones as they boarded the subway and sat in an isolated corner of the car, trying to avoid people as best they could. 

This one shouldn't be bad; it was a roommate wanted ad that they'd replied to via email, so it wasn't going to be as strict and formal as the others they'd been to. They hoped, anyway. Thankfully, nobody on the train bothered them, so they departed, music still thumping into their headphones. They wore a loose red hoodie, hood pulled up over the headphones, a baggy gray tee shirt underneath, coupled with a pair of khaki cargo pants and a pair of dirty white sneakers. 

They pulled out their phone as they hoofed it the rest of the way to the address in question, mind running through the same questions and bull**** they'd been going through for god-knows-how-long now. Finally, they made it to the place and knocked on the door, pulling down the headphones out of a forced courtesy. 

"If you like pina coladas~--Tomorrow we're looking at a thirty percent chance of rain as--SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!" 

All that Jazz? Looks like I'm not the only one who's sick of going through bull**** with finding a roommate....

"I'm Seven," they replied flatly, standing a full seven inches over the girl, funnily enough. "Yes, that is my 'legal' name," complete with airquotes, "Male or Female, I either leave that blank or add my own box that says neither, I'm a freelance IT technician, and yes, I can afford the rent," they said in quick succession, obviously having been through this whole spiel several times at the very least. 

"So, anything you need to ask that I didn't cover?" Seven asked as they brushed a tuft of blonde hair out of their face, their almost emotionless blue eyes looking down at their potential roommate. 

The applicant was very forward. Actually, on general human levels, they were almost borderline aggressive. But Mae was a very laid back person and didn’t find this too jarring. After endless interviews, she knew how exhausting this was. Apparently, Seven felt that way too.

”Frankly, cutting to the chase is easiest at this point. I am pretty done with the pleasantries. Sounds like you are too.” Mae stepped out of the way so Seven could enter. She didn’t look at all opposed to the gender situation, or the name even. At this rate she was just glad at the prospect of someone being willing to pay their half of rent.

”I guess the only things really to ask are if you will be fine with the living arrangements. There are two rooms, but one bathroom. We can duel it out who goes first or whatever your prefer. If it’s arm wrestling I will probably lose so try to make it fair for me.”

She stopped next to one of the door and jabbed a finger at it. ”This one is mine, if you stay yours is next door. But that brings us to the other point of controversy, my mutation.”

She felt like a magician pulling off her hat as she let go of her powers. The dead zone snaked to fill the room, stretching to the full ten foot limit like a cat that wanted to prowl. All of the noise from neighbors, traffic, even the television an upstairs resident had on vanished. An eerie quiet took its place as they stood inside the slight shimmer of the bubble.

”This is the dead zone. No sound, no electronics. If I have it stretched out don’t even try to use the microwave, it’s a waste of time.” She lifted her phone off the table to show the blank screen. ”If you value your things, they stay in your room. I am not responsible for data lost by hard reboots. If that’s something you are okay with, we can keep talking.”

This was the point 4 of the last 5 applicants had turned and left. Not being able to use their phone in the living room? That was a general hard nope.

"I'm sick of the whole process by now, and everyone asks the same questions. Usually in that exact order," they grumbled, hands stuffed into the pockets of their hoodie as they stepped inside, noting the name nor the mention of gender identity didn't seem to phase her. That was where they lost most people. If not that it was the headphones, usually.

"I normally shower towards the evening time, before bed," they stated, then gave a dry chuckle. "Or we could just go outside, draw a big circle to the dirt and have a good old fashioned death-match. Winner gets first shower, loser doesn't have to pay bills anymore." They were joking, but their dry sarcasm and straight-faced delivery made it hard to tell.

So controversial. Seven liked this girl already. And then...she did...something. "Dead zone," they repeated. "I can't hear anything." Seven's voice sounded almost dumbfounded. "My mutation picks up on every goddamn radio signal within ten feet of me, which is what I tend to use these for," they explained, touching the headphones around their neck. "So uh...yeah...I accept the terms so far," Seven stated without even giving it much thought. Hell, for some time in the quiet bubble, Seven would give up showers altogether.

Well, maybe they wouldn't go that far, but they might be willing to change their routine a bit.

The humor was not something everyone would understand. Mae was not surprised Seven had trouble getting a place. Actually, it reminded her a lot of her own struggles growing up. Maybe that was what caused the wry smile to cross her face. ”Are we talking bladed weapons or hand to hand combat? Wizard duel or larp? I can handle morning showers but if that fails I’m sure we can further discuss the dueling rituals.” Mae responded.

She raised one eyebrow as Seven explained their mutation. ”It’s like you were cursed with the opposite problem I have. Can’t tell you how many alarm clocks I tried before I realized my power was the problem.” Seeing as her companion wasn’t running for the hills, Mae took the chance and sat on the arm of the couch, tucking one leg up under her.

”If you keep your stuff in your room you’ll be fine anyway. My powers don’t go through walls, and once you shut the door it stops it. I work mornings so if you’re home you have the apartment to yourself. I don’t own a tv or a computer, for obvious reasons. The building has its own laundry and fitness room. Rent is due on the 5th, if we are late they send the nicest little old lady to ask for it who will make you want to sell your liver to pay her on time.”

"I'll let you pick the stipulations. You're gonna need all the help you can get," was Seven's reply, coupled with a smirk. "Huh. That's interesting, actually. I was just accused of faking it or hearing voices. Until I quoted a radio station that no one else could hear word for word. And I can hear through walls...anything as long as it's ten feet away." They decided to hold off on talking about the other aspect of their power. Don't show all your cards on the first play-through, right?

"Well, I don't have too much to fry. Laptop, one of those old box-style TVs, and a police scanner. Okay, my activity varies depending on job or what I have going on, but I'm usually home before dark unless I decide to go drinking or something, which isn't very often?" They shrugged.

"Alright. Laundry yes, fitness room I probably won't give two s***s about, rent's due on the fifth, and they use a completely different tactic than my current landlord." At this they pulled their left hand out of their pocket and held it up, bending a couple of fingers to make it look like they were missing. Shaking their head, they showed they weren't missing any fingers.

"Okay, I'm stupid. But I wouldn't put it past that dickhead." 

Mae had a bit of sympathy after hearing how Seven’s powers worked. Listening to so many noises all the time must get annoying fast. ”Do the headphones actually block it out?” she was curious and couldn’t resist asking.

She chose not to comment about needing all the help she could get. While it was a joke, it was very likely true. Beyond their heigh difference, Mae was not a fighter. She could get in a decent punch for self defense but after that she was toast.

”You can come and go as you like, I’m not judging. Noise doesn’t keep me up since I take my bubble of silence with me to bed.” she commented.

Reaching over to a side table, Mae produced two different paper stacks. ”Top one is my current rental agreement. It shows I’m played for a roommate to cost-share. The second would be our agreement between each other. Basically, if you break shit you fix it. Don’t be an ass. Pay your bills on time.” the paperwork was very standard, and Mae had preprinted it at work so it would be on hand.

”If everything works for you then you can move in as soon as you pay first months half. If you need to contact me you can text or leave a message, 80% of the time my phone is off but I check it about once every few hours to make sure I didn’t miss anything.” honestly she never did. Being antisocial meant no one needed to hint you down for entertainment.

Seven shrugged. "They work about as well as you'd expect. Imagine being in a crowded room where people are talking, only all the time. The headphones dull it, but you have to have music or something playing to cancel it completely, so...there's rarely a moment of complete silence," they explained, not in a 'hey this is interesting' way but more of a 'this is why my life sucks sometimes.'

"Fair enough, and you don't have to worry about me bringing strangers home or **** like that." They listened, going over the paperwork. They hated these things, but...fair was fair. After going through it, Seven signed their name, though they always thought 'Seven Seville' looked kind of funny. Oh well, some things you just couldn't help. Apparently to survive in this world you need a last name, and Seven was pretty good at surviving, so they did what they had to do.

Seven nodded. That, they could do. Except for the whole not being an ass part; but they had this apartment in the bag and didn't want to risk ruining it like they'd ruined every other opportunity, even if 100% of them were not their fault. After a moment, Seven pulled out their wallet, emptied out the cash therein, and handed it out to Mae.

"I'll be in by the end of the week," was their response as their hands went back to their hoodie pockets.

Mae was fairly professional while she made sure the paperwork was in order (a habit from her day job), and the took the cash, feeling a rush of relief that this was done. Some people would be nervous living with someone new, but she was just glad to have the finances taken care of. Reaching to the table she handed Seven a key. ”I’ll copy these at work and leave one for you. Guess welcome to the apartment.” one of them could have sold their soul to the devil doing this so fast, but sometimes, that was better than the alternative.

•A few days later...

Seven was quick to get settled. One day Mae came home and suddenly, she had a roommate. It was a little weird seeing stuff in the second bedroom, but there were no pagan alters or animal sacrifices so she didn’t feel too inclined for concern.

It was the first night having Seven sleeping there that felt the most odd. Mae was fighting insomnia hard, and wandered sleepily from her room in a baggy shirt and shorts, hunting for tea in the kitchen. The dead zone drifted in the open space, shutting off electronics as it went. She muttered sleepily, climbing on the counter to check the higher shelves.

”Where the hell did I put it...” she grumbled, unaware someone else was witnessing her bleary-eyed scavenging.

Seven was moved in pretty quickly; they didn't have a whole lot to move in, a simple bed, a desk, a table to put the old box-style TV on, a laptop, a police scanner which went on the desk next to the laptop, a few outfits, a CD player, radio and music collection, and a box full of nothing but headphones.

Admittedly, it was weird at first, having a roommate. They were used to being alone, and so that first night there was a moment where they almost didn't get dressed after getting out of the shower, or left their shoes and clothes lying somewhere. Maybe they'd get the hang of that eventually. Mae wasn't that bad a person though, and Seven could stand to hang around them, that bubble of silence did help considerably.

Once bedtime came though, it was back to the same old same old. Buzzing from devices on the floor above and below, someone was talking on the phone about some stupid thing their dog did. The wifi-routers made that god-awful digital screeching sound that they were just young enough to not understand. They never really slept well, so Seven was just lying in bed, eyes open, wearing a pair of headphones that had the wire snipped, just to quieten the buzz. But it never really helped. They still caught on to certain sounds, and you never really got used to it.

After awhile, Seven got up, figuring maybe if they lay on the couch there'd be a dead zone that didn't have any electronics somewhere. They left their room, wearing nothing but a baggy tee shirt, and just so happened to see Mae rooting through the kitchen.

"Whatcha lookin' for at this hour? A good night's sleep? If you find one, be a doll and share," they said in their usual dry tone of voice.

Mae jumped slightly when Seven spoke, and turned around, holding the empty box of tea in her hand. ”I just have some standard insomnia. I was hoping tea would help but looks like I’m out.”

Sliding down to the floor, she yawned and pushed hair from her face. ”I’ll probably chill in the living room and read or something if you don’t mind. I don’t want to invade your space.”

Mae was trying to give standard roommate courtesy, but also was not one to walk on eggshells for fear of offending someone. They would have to learn to deal with each other’s habits eventually.

"You might just wanna get used to seeing me awake late at night," they said, leaving it at that. Knowing Seven's power, Mae would hopefully understand what they meant by that. "Well, I don't have any tea.."

They let out a sigh as they looked at Mae, pondering the thought of her sharing space with them. Actually, it seemed like it might be beneficial. At least to Seven, anyway. If Mae sat close enough to Seven for them to be in the silence bubble...they could sleep. The radio-mutant sat up on the couch and patted the empty cushion.

"You can come sit if you want...we can't sleep so might as well....keep each other company." Yeah. Company. That was the reason...[/i]

Mae nodded when Seven told her about being up late being a common thing. It was something Mae would just need to get used to, not that it was a big deal. She was somewhat of an insomniac herself from time to time, as the current hunt for tea was proving.

Mae picked up a book from a nearby table and followed the invitation to sit on the couch. The good news was that, while it looked a little shabbier than some furniture, the couch was remarkably comfortable. Mae had some great naps on this couch before taking in a roommate. Now she was perhaps a bit more conscious of sleeping in the shared living room.

"Sorry there isn't much for entertainment. I know most people would watch a movie or something to pass the time," Mae admitted. She wondered if she should invest in some type of old TV for situations like this, with a simple DVD player. She didn't really bother before, but it felt a little empty when all she had were book cases and, well, books.

Pulling her legs up close, Mae turned to her page and tried to get back into the story.

Seven didn't know if their condition was insomnia, or just from the world not shutting the eff up, but it was annoying as hell regardless. The couch was surprisingly comfortable, as was the silence as Mae settled in next to them.

"Hey, I understand. Hell, I keep what electronics I have turned off unless I need them for a similar reason," they answered. While Mae thought it felt empty, to Seven...it was just right. They propped their feet up on the coffee table, just basking in the silence. After awhile, the blonde curled up on their side of the couch, knees folding up to their chest as cold blue eyes softened before drifting closed.

At some point, Seven would stretch out in their slumber, leaning against Mae and snuggling close.

Mae wasn’t sure when Seven finally fell asleep, but it was past midnight and into the early stretches of morning when her eyes felt heavy and she shut her book. About that time, her roommate had curled against her, and Mae chuckled to herself. For all the gruff exterior displays, at the end of the night that had softened into a slight vulnerability in the silence Mae created.

Looking down, she found herself temporarily mesmerized seeing Seven’s face this close. She could have moved back to her own room, but the peaceful expression made it too hard to shake away. With a Yawn, Mae made herself comfortable and let sleep take her where she was sitting. They were just enjoying the silence, that was all. But Mae felt a small twist in her gift that made herself wish her powers weren’t the only thing worth sticking around for.