By the time Noel stepped out of the bathroom, steam curling behind him, the room had dimmed.
Only the desk lamp on Luca's side was on, casting a soft amber glow across the space.
Noel had a towel around his neck, damp hair clinging to his forehead. His skin still radiated the warmth of the shower.
Luca was sprawled on his bed, one leg bent up, tapping through something on his phone. He looked up as Noel entered.
"Feel better?" he asked, voice low and casual.
Noel nodded, walking to his side of the room. "Yeah. I needed that."
Luca watched him for a moment longer, then said, "You were gone long today. Library date?"
Noel paused mid-reach for his moisturizer. "Study session," he said. "Alex needed help."
"Right, right. Alex." Luca dropped his phone beside him and sat up slightly. "That guy's practically glued to your side lately."
Noel gave him a sideways glance. "He's just a friend."
"Mm-hmm," Luca said, lips quirking into a grin. "So was that code for 'we shared more than notes under the table'?"
Noel rolled his eyes but couldn't hide the faint color rising to his cheeks. "You're ridiculous."
Luca leaned back again, hands behind his head. "I've been called worse."
Noel sat on the edge of his bed, towel still draped around his neck. He rubbed it through his hair in silence for a moment, then—without looking up—said, "He likes Lina. Not me."
That caught Luca off guard. "Lina?" he repeated, surprised.
"Yeah," Noel said simply. "But she's got a thing for Alex too, and… well, it's messy."
Luca's gaze lingered on him a beat too long. "Sounds like high school all over again."
Noel gave a soft snort. "College just dresses the drama better."
They sat in the silence that followed, a quiet rhythm of breaths and ambient light, until Luca broke it again.
"You ever had someone like you… but you didn't know how to feel about it?"
Noel turned slightly. "Yeah. I think everyone has."
"And what'd you do?"
"I ran," Noel said. "Or… I ignored it. Pretended it wasn't real until it stopped feeling dangerous."
Luca studied him carefully, his usual grin subdued. "Dangerous, huh?"
Noel met his eyes this time. "Sometimes, feelings are more dangerous than anything else."
A slow smirk returned to Luca's lips, but it was softer now. "You're kind of deep for a guy who labels his sock drawer."
"You've never seen my drawer," Noel replied.
"Guess I haven't." Luca's voice dipped, teasing, but there was something sincere beneath it.
A silence stretched between them again—more charged this time.
Then Noel cleared his throat and stood. "I should dry my hair."
Luca watched him walk to the desk, a thoughtful look flickering in his eyes.
"Hey," Luca called out before Noel plugged in the hairdryer. "You didn't choke this time."
Noel arched a brow. "That's your highlight of the day?"
"No," Luca said with a small smile. "You coming back was."
Noel hesitated, blinking. His heart skipped, tripped over itself.
Then, like always, he covered it with sarcasm. "You're getting soft."
Luca leaned back into his pillows. "Only around you."
And for once, Noel didn't have a comeback.
Just the sound of the hairdryer filling the space—and the warmth still lingering on his skin, far more than the shower had left.
The hairdryer clicked off with a soft pop, leaving the room in quiet hums — the distant sounds of traffic beyond the window, Luca's occasional shift on the mattress, and the low buzz of the lamp.
Noel ran his fingers through his now-dry hair, the soft, warm air from the dryer still swirling around the room, mingling with the lingering scent of his shower gel. Almost 10 p.m.
Luca was still awake, arms tucked under his head as he stared at the ceiling like it held answers.
Noel padded back to his bed, climbed in without a word. A silence hung in the air—not awkward, but something else. Something heavier.
Then Luca spoke, voice low in the quiet.
"You ever think about what you'd be doing if you weren't… here?"
Noel looked over at him. "Here as in… school? Or here as in this room?"
Luca gave a small, half-laugh. "Both, maybe."
Noel turned fully on his side to face him. "I don't know. I guess I'd still be at home. Same small town. Same routines. Probably working in my dad's bookstore."
"That sounds kind of nice," Luca murmured. "Quiet."
"It was," Noel said. "But… I came here because I wanted something more. I just didn't know what that was."
Luca hummed in response. "I get that."
Noel rested his cheek against his arm. "And you?"
Luca's lips quirked, but there was a shadow behind his eyes. "If I wasn't here, I'd probably be failing out of a worse school, or couch-surfing at my cousin's place outside."
Noel blinked. "You don't seem like someone who fails at things."
Luca smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "That's the thing about seeming, Noel. It's easy to hide behind charm if no one asks for more."
Noel studied him quietly, the layers starting to show.
"I'm asking," he said softly.
Luca turned his head then, their gazes locking across the space. "You always do. And I never know what to do with that."
Noel didn't drop his eyes. "You don't have to do anything. Just… be honest."
Luca let out a slow breath. "Okay. Honest? I don't always feel like I belong here. Not in school. Not in this routine. It's like I'm playing a part, and everyone's waiting for me to mess up the lines."
Noel's voice was quiet. "You haven't."
"I do," Luca said, without flinching. "All the time. I just pretend it's on purpose."
Noel didn't answer right away. He reached for the throw blanket near his feet and tossed it across the gap toward Luca.
"Then tonight, take a break from pretending."
Luca caught it, surprised. "You giving me a blanket?"
Noel shrugged. "You looked cold." His voice was dry, but something flickered behind it.
Luca chuckled and pulled it over his chest. "You're something else, Noel."
"So I've heard."
A pause.
Then Luca's voice dipped, more serious this time. "Thanks for not treating me like a joke."
Noel's eyes softened. "I never thought you were one."
Their eyes held a moment too long. The light above them buzzed softly.
Luca's voice was a murmur. "Goodnight, Noel."
"Goodnight, Luca."
But neither of them turned away just yet, the weight of unsaid things hanging in the space between them.
The room had quieted again, the kind of silence that made small things feel louder — the rustle of fabric, the occasional shift of a limb against the mattress, the soft hum of their breathing.
Noel had turned back to face the wall, but his eyes were still open, fixed on the corner of his pillow.
He wasn't sure what kept him awake — maybe Luca's words, maybe the strange flutter in his chest that hadn't quite settled since.
A few more minutes passed.
Then, from across the room, Luca's voice broke the stillness again — quiet, hesitant.
"Noel…"
Noel turned his head slightly. "Yeah?"
"I can't sleep."
Noel blinked. "Too much on your mind?"
Luca let out a soft laugh, almost sheepish. "That… and maybe the four energy drinks I had earlier."
"You're ridiculous."
"I'm aware."
Another moment passed. Then:
"Want me to put on something? Background noise helps me sometimes," Noel offered, voice gentler now.
"Only if you're okay with it," Luca said, already shifting to prop himself on one elbow. "What do you usually play?"
Noel reached for his phone. "Lo-fi. Sometimes nature sounds. Or… weirdly enough, old classical music."
Luca grinned. "Why am I not surprised you fall asleep to the soundtrack of a Victorian ghost novel?"
Noel shot him a dry look. "Would you rather I play thunderstorms and tragic violin?"
Luca smirked. "Honestly? Might fit better than I'd like to admit."
Still, he didn't argue when Noel tapped a playlist. Gentle piano filled the room, soft and distant, like rain falling in a faraway dream.
They both lay back again. Luca exhaled slowly.
"This is nice," he said, quieter now.
Noel nodded against his pillow. "Yeah."
Luca shifted again, the bed creaking faintly. "Can I ask you something?"
Noel looked over, eyes barely adjusting to the dim light. "Go ahead."
"Do I annoy you?"
The question caught him off guard — not because it was out of character, but because of the softness behind it.
Luca, usually full of swagger and noise, suddenly sounded… small.
Noel hesitated. "Sometimes."
Luca let out a faint laugh, but there was tension under it.
"But," Noel added, "you also make things… less heavy. Even when you're a mess."
He paused, then added quietly, "You're not as easy to figure out as you pretend to be."
Luca turned toward him fully now, propped on one elbow. "What if I said I liked that you try to figure me out?"
Noel didn't flinch. "I'd say that's the first honest thing you've said all day."
A breath of silence passed, but it didn't feel empty.
"Can I ask you something now?" Noel said.
"Shoot."
"Who's Kian?"
Luca stilled.
Not defensive. Not alarmed. Just… quiet.
Someone I used to know. The weight in his tone made the 'used to' feel heavier than it should've.
Noel didn't press. He didn't need to. The way Luca looked at the ceiling after said more than the words ever could.
The music played on.
Outside, the city wound down. Inside that tiny dorm room, something shifted—unspoken, but felt in every shared breath and lingering glance.
And neither of them, for now, tried to look away from it.