The soft hum of Noel's laptop was the only sound filling the dorm room.
His fingers paused above the keyboard as he finally hit save—assignment complete. A breath escaped his lips, half relief, half exhaustion.
He leaned back in his chair and reached for his phone. 4:30 PM.
Just a short scroll, he told himself.
His thumb idly flicked through random posts and school updates, eyes glazing over—until the screen lit up with a call.
Alex.
Noel blinked, then answered.
"Hey."
"You free?" Alex's voice buzzed with casual energy. "I'm heading to the library.
Thought maybe we could work on the last part of that project together. I'll wait for you at the campus gate?"
Noel glanced at the window, dusky light settling in, casting soft amber across the floor.
"Alright," he said. "Give me ten."
"Cool. I'll be out front."
Call ended.
Noel stood, grabbed his bag, and glanced briefly across the room. Luca still hadn't returned.
Or maybe he was somewhere else, tangled in a moment that didn't include him.
He pushed the thought away, pulled on his hoodie, and left—closing the door behind him with a soft click.
By the time Noel reached the campus gate, the sky had already dipped into a hazy blue.
Evening stretched slowly across the pavement, casting long shadows from the lampposts flickering to life.
Alex was easy to spot—leaning against the railing with his usual lopsided grin—and beside him stood Lina, animatedly talking about something, hands moving as if she were painting pictures in the air.
"Noel!" Alex waved when he spotted him. "Right on time, man."
Lina turned, her smile brightening. "Hey! Look who finally emerged from the world of assignments."
Noel gave a small smile. "Yeah, and just when I thought I was free, I get dragged back in."
Alex chuckled. "Come on, don't act like I'm holding you hostage. You said 'yes' willingly."
"I said 'yes' because you always forget the citation part," Noel deadpanned, folding his arms.
Lina snorted. "He's not wrong. Last group project, Alex cited Wikipedia as a primary source."
Alex raised his hands. "Okay, okay—I've learned. That's why I invited the master of formatting himself."
Noel rolled his eyes but the corner of his lips tugged upward. "You're lucky I was bored."
Lina leaned slightly closer to Alex, teasing, "Or maybe he just missed your voice."
Alex scoffed. "Don't flatter yourself. I'm not that charming."
Noel gave a soft laugh but looked away quickly, pretending to scan the quad.
Lina caught that and tilted her head, a small smirk forming. "You sure about that?"
Alex raised an eyebrow. "Why? Are you falling for me now?"
Lina dramatically gagged. "I have taste."
Noel smiled into his hoodie sleeve, shaking his head. The easy banter between them was refreshing… grounding.
"So," Lina asked, brushing hair off her shoulder, "we heading to the library now or…?"
Alex checked his phone. "No rush. Still got time before it fills up. Besides—Noel just got here. Let him breathe."
"Fair enough," she said, glancing at Noel. "You good with hanging here for a bit?"
He nodded. "Yeah. It's… nice."
And it was. The air was cooler now, conversation light, and for a moment longer, none of them had to rush.
The three of them lingered near the campus garden, benches speckled with students lost in books or laughter. Alex was halfway through another exaggerated story about a professor's impossible pop quiz when Noel suddenly noticed a familiar silhouette approaching.
"Uh-oh," he muttered under his breath, nodding toward the path.
Alex turned—and there he was.
Luca, walking with the casual arrogance of someone who knew people were watching him. His silver-gray hair caught the fading sunlight like a mirror, and beside him, Emily strutted with equal confidence, phone in hand, sleek ponytail swaying with every step.
Lina, unaware of who they were, followed their approach with mild curiosity. But the moment Emily's gaze met hers, something shifted.
Emily slowed down.
Her steps faltered—not enough to draw attention, but enough for anyone watching closely. Her eyes narrowed slightly, not in suspicion… but intrigue.
Lina tilted her head, puzzled for a second. Then Emily smiled—sharp, radiant, purposeful.
"Heyyy," Luca called out first, lifting a hand lazily. "Didn't expect to find the nerd club out here."
Noel's brows knitted. "You're supposed to be in class."
"I was," Luca said, almost convincingly. "Took a strategic early exit. Besides, Emily was getting bored."
Emily turned to him and laughed. "That lecture was brutal. I swear that professor is trying to kill us slowly with boredom."
Then she turned her eyes back to Lina, and extended her hand with practiced ease. "I don't think we've met. I'm Emily."
Lina blinked. "Lina."
Emily held her gaze for a beat longer than necessary. "Pretty name. You in Luca's department?"
"Nope, design," Lina said. "I only suffer through theory when I'm guilt-tripped by this one." She nodded at Alex.
Emily glanced at Alex briefly, then back to Lina, as if he were background noise.
Alex, ever oblivious, just grinned. "Lina's got a better eye for aesthetics than any of us."
"Figures," Emily said, that dazzling smile still glued to her lips. "You look like someone who gets color theory. And probably has great taste in music too."
Lina raised a brow, amused. "Are you flirting with me?"
Emily didn't miss a beat. "Would it work if I said yes?"
Lina huffed a laugh, but her cheeks colored faintly. "That depends on your music taste."
Noel flicked his eyes to Alex—already grinning—but his own chest felt tighter than before. Something in the way Emily looked at Lina… unsettled him. Or maybe it was Luca's quiet smirk.
Luca leaned against the nearest pole, sipping from a canned coffee he'd pulled out of nowhere. "Well, this got interesting fast."
Emily turned to him without looking away from Lina. "Oh hush, Luca. I'm mingling."
Lina gave her a lopsided smile. "Is this what you call mingling?"
"It's what I call being efficient," Emily winked.
The moment hung there, light but charged.
"Anyway," Alex cleared his throat, dragging them back. "We were just heading to the library."
"You three go," Luca said, lazily waving them off. "We'll hang around."
Emily finally broke eye contact and glanced at Noel. "You're tagging along?"
Noel nodded once. "Yeah."
Emily turned back to Lina one last time. "Guess I'll see you around… Design girl."
"It's Lina," she said with a teasing edge.
"Oh, I'll remember."
They started walking off. As they did, Lina muttered just loud enough for Alex and Noel to hear, "What the hell just happened?"
Alex burst out laughing. "You just got Emily'd."
Noel chuckled. "That was… something."
But Lina stayed quiet a moment longer.
As they walked away, Noel glanced back—and saw Emily, still watching. Not smiling this time. Just… watching.