Alex leaned back in his chair, arms crossed, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"Why not?" he said shamelessly. "There's nothing evil about it. And who knows — maybe it has more than just money."
Finn stared at him. "So what… you're going to explore that?"
"Yes," Alex replied without hesitation. "I've been thinking about it since the start of this semester. Let's go and take it. We can divide the money. Ash is with me, so her share is basically mine. You can take your part too. We can settle everything now — we don't even have to take this stupid course anymore."
Ash froze, then burst out, "What on earth are you saying? I warned you so many times! You're doing this again — enough of your dramas, Alex!"
Her voice rose as frustration spilled out.
"Don't behave like a complete douchebag. Go find a proper job if you want to pay off your debts. I'll even help you. But this? No."
Alex only smiled — a sarcastic, lazy curl of his lips.
"Ash, please calm down, babe. You're being annoying. It's not a big deal. My debt is huge. I can't clear it by doing part-time jobs."
And then he shifted into the tone everyone knew too well — smooth, honey-coated, dangerous.
Manipulative.
Poor Mia fell for it first. Her eyes widened with excitement. "Honestly… I always wanted to explore that building. It's mysterious, why not? This might be fun!"
Finn didn't care either way. He rarely cared about anything. But the moment Mia turned to him with her soft, pleading expression, he sighed.
"Fine. If you're going, I'll go."
Ash reluctantly agreed too — only because she couldn't let Alex walk into danger without her. She hated the plan, but she hated leaving him alone even more that he would put himself in a more dangerous stupid position.
Noah didn't want to get involved at all in this stupid plan. But Ash was going… and Noah had always been her quiet protector as well as the admirer. So he nodded. "I'll come too. Just to make sure nothing happens to you."
---
Later that evening, they gathered in their cozy off-campus home for dinner. They had ordered pizza, the boxes spread out on the living room floor, and the five of them sat in their usual chaotic formation.
They discussed their plan, laughed, argued, and joked — the air buzzing with the kind of camaraderie only college friends share.
Ashley and Alex disappeared into their shared room at some point. Their everyday arguments — sharp, passionate, impossible to ignore — could probably be heard even on Mars, Finn joked.
Noah, as usual, stayed upstairs. He sat by his window, staring at the same night sky he and Ashley had once shared. Old pictures lay open on the desk — snapshots of their past fling, of moments they had almost built a life together. But his insecurity had destroyed it. He had been spoiled, fragile, and lost, and now, even after growing stronger and wiser, he still couldn't fully move on from Ashley where he dreams about her, eyes opened, most of the night.
Mia stayed in the second bedroom. Finn, ever the quiet genius, had given it to her without complaint and slept on the sofa in the hall as always. He didn't realize that Mia secretly wanted to share her bed with him, a small truth lost on him amid his constant observing of everyone else.
For now, everyone slept — a fleeting sense of peace, unbroken.
But Ashley couldn't. She knew this was a stupid idea.
She quietly went upstairs to get some fresh air and spotted Noah sitting by the window, writing in the middle of the night. Startled by her presence, he quickly hid his notebook.
"Why are you still awake?" she asked softly.
He shrugged. "Sleep didn't come."
She sat down beside him. Both of them looked out at the starry night, the cold wind brushing against their feet.
Ashley shivered slightly. "Don't you think this is a stupid plan?"
"I know," he replied. "I… I don't want to go either."
She glanced at him. "Then why are you forcing yourself to come?"
He looked at her simply. "I can't leave you alone."
A silence fell over them, cold and fiery at the same time, the wind swirling between them. Ashley gasped softly, caught in the intensity of his gaze — eyes that said millions of things without a single word. She didn't respond, but her eyes betrayed a shy acknowledgment of his words.
"I'm sorry," he added gently, breaking the tension. "I heard the noises from your room… sounded like a huge argument. Is everything okay?"
She nodded, but sadly, which he understood perfectly — she was not okay. He reached out and held her hands. "It's okay," he murmured.
She controlled her tears, letting out a small giggle, and took a deep breath. "Okay… it's midnight. Go and sleep. I'm going to sleep with Mia."
He nodded. After she left, he placed his hand near his heart, remembering the warmth of her hands he had held just moments ago.
Ashley stepped down the stairs with a whirlwind of emotions — shyness, happiness, guilt, regret, anger — all tangled together. She shared the night with Mia, but her thoughts lingered on the quiet moment with Noah under the starry sky.
But outside, the wind whispered past the Old C-Block. Something stirred inside its dark, dusty halls. A soft tapping… almost like fingers knocking against the walls from the other side.
No one noticed. Not yet.
Five students. One shared house. One abandoned block waiting. And a plan that would change everything.