Chapter 19: Dorm Edition
The hallway was quiet, the kind of quiet that made Noel’s steps echo faintly against the polished floor.
He adjusted the strap of his bag, fingers brushing the zipper, and let out a small sigh as he reached the door to their dorm room.
He turned the knob and stepped in—
—and stopped.
Luca was in the middle of the room, shirtless, earbuds jammed in, completely lost in his own world.
The soft thump of music bled from the tiny speakers in his ears, loud enough that Noel could recognize the beat even without hearing it properly.
Luca moved with the rhythm—loose arms, swaying hips, head bobbing to a beat only he could hear.
He was grinning to himself.
Noel stood frozen at the threshold, caught in the stillness of watching someone else come alive.
There was no arrogance in Luca’s dancing, none of the usual performative charm—just raw energy, playfulness, and something else. Something unfiltered.
He looked good. Hot, even. The way his skin caught the low light, the curve of his shoulders, the carelessness that somehow made him seem more real. More human.