Dorm Room 210: Stormy Weathers

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Author note: This chapter has been revised and edited. Updated 13th July 2017

Chapter 10:

Stormy Weathers

We're both quiet and exhausted on the way back to campus. Noah has his attention focused on his phone, and hasn't looked up since. I play with the dress while the events of today runs through my head.

Stacy hasn't called, but I make no active decision to call her myself. Missing out on our weekly calls doesn't settle well with me, and there's a part of me just wanting to text her goodnight. There's the other that stubbornly reminds me of what she said.

I glance at Noah's profile, taking in his crinkled attire and messy hair. Dinner with his parents was awkward to say the least, but comforting. It's weird, I think, to take a back seat and observe a broken family that doesn't look all that broken. Just an eternal, emotional baggage of thoughts and wishes silent to every subconscious but theirs. It must be easy to pretend everything's okay than it is to live with it in the open. A facade mastered over the years.

"You know," I say, catching Noah's attention, "tonight was kind of fun. Besides some of the stuff that's happened, your parents seem nice."

He scoffs. "They socialised only because there was a guest. Usually, dinners with them are much more quiet."

"At least you have dinners with your parents," I mumble.

"What?"

"Nothing."

We say goodbye to Devine when he drops us off at the student car park, the cold air creating goosebumps on my legs.

"I'm getting the shower first," Noah says, opening the door to the dark and chilly dorm cottage. He switches the lights on the to the heater, before heading straight to the bathroom. Before he goes in he turns back to me. "You feel better?"

"Very."

"Cool." He slips inside.

I take the chance to remove the dress and put on my comfy kitten pajamas. I hum a tune and prepare for bed, waiting as patiently as I can for Noah to finish the bathroom. 

He steps out in nothing but a towel around his waist, steam coming off his chest. I'm more awake than I've ever been.

"Whoa! A warning would have been nice."

"The bathroom's yours," he says, moving around my to reach his bed.

A scent of cinnamon reaches my senses as I step inside. It waffles around me when I wash off the make up and brush my teeth, while the remaining steam fogs up the mirror. I should've stared just a little longer...

Noah leaves his desk light on as I get cozy in my sheets, my back facing the opposite, occupied bed. My body is stiff. It's hotter than it should be in this dorm. I turn around, facing Noah with his headphones in and his back against the wall. I don't have the energy to question when we began to feel comfortable enough to sleep in the same room, or further over-analyse it until the words take a mind of its own. It's an unfamiliar territory. We lock eyes for a split second.

"Sorry," he says, voice heavier than usual. "I'll turn the lights off in a sec, yeah?"

I nod and cover my mouth in a yawn. "Yeah." What am I saying? I think. Analyse this. Freak out a bit. Think and think some more. Do something!

Darkness creeps over me, lulling me to sleep. 

***

Jesse doesn't say anything when he visits the dorm the next morning. He waits for Noah to come back from wherever he went, eating fries and checking his phone. I'm quiet too, focusing on getting my assignment done for a class, darting every so often to the blond. It's unusual sitting alone with Jesse close by, knowing our last confrontation had him glaring daggers at me for wanting to see Rachel. I eye him when he leans over and offers me some of his food. I blink.

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