🔑 The Roommate's Friend

Who plays who

• A — The Friend: the roommate's friend, dropping by to collect something that was never really the point.
• B — The Host: home alone on a night you were told you would be alone.
• A leads Acts 1–2 as the visitor who will not leave. B leads Act 3 by deciding whether to let them stay.

What you need

• A door you can answer, and a sofa or chair that is definitely too small
• Two glasses, and whatever is in the fridge
• A jacket or bag the visitor "forgot" so they have a reason to linger
• A film nobody will watch, for cover

Act 1 — 🕯️ Setup

The doorbell goes and B answers it in house clothes, because the visitor was supposed to be collecting something. A stands on the step with the jacket they did not need and a smile that knows exactly what it is doing. You are alone in the house, and this was not the plan.

Beats

• The visitor is let in and immediately does not leave. The reason given is thin and both of you know it.
• B stays near the door for the first few minutes, arms folded, unconvinced.
• No real names, no mention of the absent roommate beyond "they're out".

Lines to say

• "They said you'd be in. I'll just wait, if that's alright."
• "You keep looking at the door like I'm going to use it."
• "I don't actually need the jacket back."

Act 2 — 🔥 Build

The jackets are on the same chair now and the glasses are half empty. B has stopped pretending not to look and A has stopped pretending to leave. Neither of you says the obvious thing out loud, which is the whole thrill.

Beats

• A closes the door, properly, at last, and nobody comments on it.
• The two of you end up on that too-small sofa, one of you leaning in and one of you letting it happen.
• First contact is accidental on purpose — a hand on a knee, a knee that stays.

Lines to say

• "If they come back early, we're just watching a film."
• "Your hand's still on my knee."
• "Accidents keep happening tonight."

Act 3 — ⚡ Escalate

There is no film playing any more and the flat has gone quiet in the specific way that means nobody is about to pretend. A asks the question the whole evening has been circling. You have to answer it in character, and in character you already know.

Beats

• A asks outright whether B wants them to stay, and B answers with a condition.
• The condition is something small and specific, and it has to be met before anything moves.
• Clothes stay on until the condition is met. That is the rule both of you are playing.

Lines to say

• "Tell me to go, or tell me what you want. Your choice."
• "Say the word and I'll be the one who leaves."
• "I'll stay if you tell me exactly why."

Act 4 — 💥 Climax

The jacket is on the floor and the answer is yes. The invented strangers have run out of reasons to hesitate. From here the two of you stop talking and simply know what you are doing.

Beats

• No more awkwardness as a device. The characters stop hesitating and the two of you do not narrate.
• Keep the flat and its sounds — the film still running, the radiator, the front door. Stay in the room the story gave you.
• Let it finish wherever it finishes, at whatever pace the body chooses.

Lines to say

• "Not here. The bedroom's down the hall."
• "Stay quiet. The walls are thin."

Act 5 — 🤍 Aftercare

The front door is locked again and there is no roommate coming back to pretend about. The two of you are just the two of you, in a flat that suddenly seems much bigger.

Beats

• The visitor's jacket goes back on the chair, and both of you drop the characters by name.
• Lock up, water, and sit somewhere with the film finally off.
• One line each about the scene, and one about the real evening.

Lines to say

• "Out of character — that was genuinely fun."
• "You played the awkward one very well."
• "Same time next week, when they're actually out?"

Aftercare

Kill the film, lock the door, and come back to your own names out loud.,Water and whatever is in the fridge, eaten together rather than served.,Say one line about the scene and one about the evening, so the invented strangers fully leave before either of you sleeps.

Ground rules and consent

• Only the two of us are in this house. The roommate does not exist here and is not coming back — no third person, ever.
• This is one real couple playing two invented strangers. Nothing about it is a real invitation to anyone outside the room.
• "Guestroom" ends the scene and the visitor goes home, no explanation owed.
• Playing awkward is fine. Actually feeling cornered is not — if the discomfort is real, say the word.

We cover the groundwork in Sharing a fantasy out loud.

Frequently asked