Noel didn't speak much on the way to the library. He never did. The rustling of leaves underfoot and the distant hum of students filled the silence between him and Alex like background noise in a film neither of them were watching.
Alex adjusted his glasses, glancing sideways. "You didn't tell me you had a roommate."
"Yeah he just move in," Noel replied, expression unreadable beneath the hood pulled halfway over his head.
Alex gave a quiet laugh. "You don't seem thrilled."
"He talks too much." Noel's tone was flat, but there was a twitch at the corner of his mouth—almost a smirk, almost nothing at all.
They stepped into the library, the familiar scent of paper and varnished wood wrapping around them like a blanket.
Rows of shelves stood in quiet order. A few students occupied tables near the windows, heads bent, the sound of pages turning blending with the soft click of keyboards.
Noel led the way to their usual corner, back near the psychology section. It was quieter there. Undisturbed.
He dropped his bag beside the chair, movements neat to the point of over-practiced, as if precision could ward off the unpredictability of everything else.
Alex sat across from him and leaned in slightly, voice low. "So what's he like?"
"Loud. Wears his jacket open like he's in a photoshoot." Noel didn't look up.
"Ah. One of those."
Noel's pen paused. "Yeah."
Alex watched him for a moment, tapping a pencil against the table. "You're annoyed."
"I'm not."
"You are."
Noel's eyes flicked up. "I just don't like chaos."
"Or people."
"That too."
They shared a brief silence. Comfortable. Familiar.
Then Alex leaned back, stretching his legs. "He seemed like the type who'd eat attention for breakfast."
"He tried," Noel muttered, going back to his notes.
Alex grinned. "You didn't let him?"
"I already ate."
"Brutal."
Noel didn't respond, but the corner of his mouth betrayed him again. The faintest trace of amusement. Gone just as quickly.
They went back to studying, the moment folding into the hush of the library.
But somewhere beneath the quiet, something had shifted. A ripple neither of them acknowledged.
Back in the coffee shop the hum of milk steamers and soft indie pop filled the café, the air warm with roasted beans and chatter.
Luca sat near the window, half-sunken into his chair, one leg stretched out beneath the table like he had nowhere urgent to be.
His coffee had long gone cold. The croissant sat untouched, flakes gathering along the edge of the tray.
He tapped the side of his phone, screen lighting up again—still nothing.
He leaned back, eyes dragging across the room. A couple shared headphones in the corner. A group of girls giggled near the counter.
Someone had taken the last window seat—he noticed only because he liked sitting there. Not because it mattered.
He let out a short sigh, grabbed his jacket from the chair beside him, and stood. The sleeves hung low, but he didn't bother fixing them.
His vest hung loose beneath the jacket, collarbones sharp against soft morning light, like part of an unfinished sketch.
The bell above the door jingled softly as he walked out. No glance back. No plan forward. Just another morning that didn't go the way he wanted.
By the time he reached his father's company, the front desk had already changed shifts.
He stepped through the sleek glass doors like he owned the place, nodding casually at the receptionist who looked up, hesitated, then returned to typing.
The office smelled like cologne, coffee, and polished wood.
Everyone wore serious shoes and tighter schedules. Luca stood out like graffiti on a museum wall.
He took the elevator to the top floor, humming along to the faint music playing inside.
His reflection on the metal doors showed the gray streak in his hair still catching light.
Once he stepped out, the assistant at the hallway desk looked up, startled. "Mr. Luca—your father's—"
"In a meeting. Yeah, yeah. I figured." He didn't wait for her to finish and walked straight toward the familiar office at the end of the corridor.
The door was already open.
"Look who we have here," came a voice from inside, dry and amused.
Luca leaned against the doorframe. "Hey, Jeff."
Jeffrey Mathers—Mr. Jeff to everyone except Luca—stood from behind the desk, adjusting the sleeves of his navy suit.
Salt-and-pepper hair, clean lines, and a smile that said he'd seen one too many of Luca's dramas unfold.
"Did you forget how clocks work again, or did you just ignore them for fun this time?" Jeff asked.
Luca stepped inside and dropped onto the couch like it was his own.
"Both, probably. I was gonna stop by dad's office but, well…" He pointed toward the inner door. "Meeting."
Jeff nodded, walking over to pour a cup of black coffee from the side table. "A long one. Investors."
Luca groaned. "So boring."
"Like college lectures?"
Luca narrowed his eyes. "Okay, ouch."
Jeff passed him the coffee anyway. "I heard about this morning. You finally moved out?"
"Didn't really get a choice," Luca mumbled into the cup.
"Still. That's progress. Maybe you'll even attend classes now."
Luca made a face. "I was late once."
Jeff didn't say anything—just gave him a look, the kind only someone who's known you for years can manage.
"Fine. Twice. Or… five times," Luca muttered.
Jeff chuckled. "How's dorm life treating you? Roommate weird? Hot, your type?"
"He's the opposite of me. Doesn't talk much. Reads a lot. I think he judges me with every blink."
Jeff raised an eyebrow. "Sounds like exactly what you need."
Luca ignored that and sipped his coffee.
Jeff took his seat again behind the desk, adjusting the silver pen beside his tablet. "So, what brings you here today, besides avoiding class and caffeine dependency?"
Luca shrugged, setting the coffee cup down on the glass table. "I don't know. Just felt like being somewhere familiar."
Jeff watched him for a beat, his gaze softening behind the rim of his glasses. "That's new."
Luca ran a hand through his hair, the gray strands falling right back into place.
He hated how familiar the office felt—how easy it was to slip into old versions of himself, even when everything outside had changed.
"Everything's weird. Quiet, I guess. The dorm's... not what I expected."
"You mean no one follows you around telling you how brilliant you are?" Jeff smirked.
"Exactly! No fangirls. No housekeeper. Just this guy who reads silently and eats crackers like they're currency."
Jeff chuckled under his breath. "Must be a challenge."
"You don't even know. He wears socks to bed."
There was a pause before Jeff leaned forward slightly, steepling his fingers. "And yet, here you are.
Choosing to stay on campus instead of making excuses to come home."
Luca didn't respond immediately. His thumb ran along the rim of the coffee cup, eyes fixed somewhere near the bookshelf behind Jeff.
"I think I just… don't wanna be the version of me everyone here knows."
Jeff's smirk faded a little. "And who is that?"
"The mess. The party boy. The guy who screws up and smiles while doing it." He tilted his head. "You know, that Luca said."
"Mm." Jeff leaned back, folding his arms. "I've also seen the Luca who shows up with a bruised lip from breaking up a fight he didn't start.
The one who cried when he lost that dog he only had for two weeks. And the one who let me cover for him a hundred times because he was too proud to admit when something actually hurt."
Luca blinked, lips parting slightly. "Okay… wow. That was emotionally aggressive."
Jeff cracked a smile. "It's the coffee. Makes me honest."
Luca grinned faintly and looked down. "Maybe I'm just tired of being that version of me."
"Well, you've got a fresh start," Jeff said, reaching for a folder. "Might as well use it."
Luca stood and stretched, shaking off the weight of the conversation. "You sound like my therapist."
Jeff laughed. "I should start charging."
"I'll write you a check once my trust fund unlocks at thirty."
"You'll still be late to cash it."
Luca paused in the doorway, turning back just once. "Thanks, Jeff."
Jeff only gave a slight nod, already opening the folder. "Go on. Before your roommate calls security thinking some stray broke into the dorm."
That pulled a genuine laugh from Luca as he slipped out of the office.
Elsewhere, Noel turned another page, unaware of the storm trailing quietly behind his new roommate.