The hallway light buzzed softly overhead as Luca pushed open the dorm room door.
It creaked the way it always had, but this time, no voice called out. No hum of a tune. No "Luca, you left your charger again."
Just silence.
He stepped inside.
The faint scent of Noel's cologne still clung to the air—woodsy, warm, like something living that hadn't yet realized it was supposed to be gone.
His eyes swept the room.
No hoodie slung over the chair.
No scribbled post-its on the mirror. No half-eaten candy hidden behind the lamp.
Just clean lines and stillness.
Luca didn't move past the threshold at first.
His bag slipped off his shoulder with a soft thud, but he stayed standing—caught between memories and now.
Eventually, he reached for his phone. Not because he needed it, but because the silence pressed too closely against his chest.
His thumb moved over the screen—scrolling, tapping, reading nothing.
Then the screen lit up.
Noel.
He swiped up quickly. "Hey."
