They wasted no time in the lecture hall before heading back to their hostel. They ran almost the entire way, excitement bubbling out of them and the fear of causing a scene in public pushing them to move faster. They needed to get back to their room before they could properly scream it out. Anyone who saw them would have thought they'd just won a lottery ticket.
At least to Ryan, it felt like one.
In the rush of excitement, he briefly forgot the weight that had been tugging at him earlier, the unease that had refused to settle since he left the library.
"What do I do now?" Ryan slumped into the chair at the corner of the room, chest rising and falling, drained from all the screaming and jumping they'd done the moment they burst through the door.
"What do you mean?" Ethan asked, pulling his sweat-soaked shirt over his head.
"I mean… he just said he accepted the proposal. Then what?" Ryan said, staring at the ceiling.
"What do you mean, then what?" Ethan asked, genuinely confused.
"Why are you acting clueless about this? If someone gets accepted into a school, don't they give procedures or a manual or something after that?"
"Ohh," Ethan nodded slowly, rolling his eyes like it finally clicked, though Ryan wasn't convinced it had.
"So Adrian, after sending that first message, the one where he accepted the tutoring, should have followed up with details. Like the schedule, meeting point, his rules or something. Instead he just stopped at the acceptance."
"Huh? Is that it?" Ethan blinked, his brows knitting. "I don't think that should even be something to worry over. I mean, Adrian already acceptd, so you can just ask him about that yourself. Besides, inquiring about it might even show him how serious you are." He shrugged.
"Right?" Ryan bit his lips, picking up his phone and sliding into the messenger app.
He started typing.
Hi Adrian. Thanks for accepting the tutoring request, but I'd like to know about the schedule and meeting point, as you didn't send anything about that.
He pressed his lips together, clicked send, and silently prayed, though he wasn't exactly sure what it was for.
After a few seconds, a buzz dropped into his phone.
Tomorrow night. 9pm prompt at the school library.
"9pm? The school library? Why?" Ryan muttered, eyes widening as a swarm of thoughts hit all at once.
Is it about that party night? Is he going to confront me about it? Is he angry because I ran out on him at the library? Is that why he said to meet at the library?
Ethan, sensing the shift in Ryan's expression and the tension in his body, asked, "What's wrong? Did Adrian say something?"
Ryan flinched. "Umm… It's nothing. He just said we should meet at the library tomorrow."
"That should be great, I think. So why do you look like that?" Ethan pressed.
"I don't know. I'm probably just tired," Ryan replied, rushing to climb up the bunk. "I need some rest."
"Ain't you taking off your clothes? They're soaked in sweat and would be uncomfortable," Ethan pointed out.
"That's the least of my worries right now. I just need rest!" Ryan turned to the side, pulling the blanket over his head as if to shutting the conversation down.
His afternoon gigs were occasional, so he decided to use that opportunity to get some rest before his evening shift. As soon as he closed his eyes, something felt strange. Instead of drifting into thoughts about the incident, about what had happened ,and what and whatnot to do next like he usually did, he slipped straight into a deep sleep, as if he had been sleep-starved for days.
Time passed with seconds turning into minutes, minutes into hours, and then into the next day.
Ryan went through it in his usual structured routine. An early morning shift. Three to four lectures with breaks in between, some he attended, some he skipped. His occasional afternoon shift. And finally, his night gig at the convenience store, which he was currently wrapping up so he could meet Adrian at the library.
Adrian had said 9pm, but for some reason, Ryan felt he should be there earlier. He thought that even a minute of lateness might provoke Adrian, and that arriving early might earn him some points instead. Because of that, he asked the storekeeper if he could clock out by 8:30 instead of the usual 9:30. The man was stern and no-nonsense, so persuading him wasn't easy. He gave Ryan a hard time before finally agreeing, though not exactly at 8:30, but a little later than that. Apparently, it was because Ryan had been diligent and consistent with his work.
Ryan threw out several thank-yous as he headed for the exit, picking up his puffer jacket from the hanger by the door. It unusually really cold that night.
The convenience store was closer to campus than the café he worked at. If he ran or walked fast enough, he could make it to school in time, but Ryan wasn't taking any chances. He boarded a taxi and headed straight for the library.
By the time the taxi arrived, it was almost 8:50. He stepped out, adjusted his clothes, and paused briefly at the entrance, pulling himself together. When he noticed the flicker of a security guard's torch nearby, he immediately strode inside.
He had never been to the library at night, so he wasn't sure if being there at that hour was allowed but he waiting around to find out. The fear of consequences pushed him forward.
The library was dim, lit just enough for him to navigate through it. No one was there. No librarian. No students. He strained his eyes, scanning the study area in search of who he had come to meet.
Adrian wasn't there.
He moved toward the shelves, searching quietly, using just his eyes. The hall was silent, and he was afraid that even the smallest sound might draw the attention of the security guard outside. He tried a few doors, all of them locked. He went upstairs, but still nothing.
Ryan made his way back to the study area and slumped onto the nearest couch, pulling out his phone to let Adrian know he had arrived. Just as he was about to tap the send button, he caught a glimpse of someone walking out of a door with a bold print above it that read ARCHIVE ROOM. The person had a book in hand.
Why is he coming out of there? Shouldn't it be locked by this time? he thought, watching the figure stride toward him.
He hadn't bothered checking that room earlier because he had assumed it should be closed at that time of the day.
His eyes lingered on Adrian taking in how smooth and precise his step were, like a model on a runway.
Ryan raised a hand in a small wave, trying to say hello, but Adrian ignored it as he pulled out the chair at the opposite end of the desk and sat down.
"With all that noisy walking around, you were basically asking to be caught by the security guard," Adrian remarked, flipping the pages of his book. He paused midway, frowning at how Ryan had interrupted him.
"Wait… being here is against the rules?" Ryan whispered, a hint of fear in his eyes.
"Why? You going to dash out again if it is?" He stopped at the page he was reading , straightening his posture. "I'm just going to finish this up. You'll have to wait."
A pause.
"Quietly," he added, dragging the last word out like it wasn't a request.
Ryan mouthed an okay, sheepishly making the hand sign in concurrence.
Waiting turned out to be harder than expected. He went from folding his arms between his laps, to tapping on the table, to shifting in his seat. Eventually, his arms stretched out on the table, his head resting on them, his eyes fixed on Adrian. How graceful looked reading that book, like a prince pulled straight out of some fantasy book.
He couldn't help but notice how that moment Adrian seemed different from the usual Adrian he knew. And at a closer watch, came the realization that this was the first time he had ever really paid attention to his face. Sharp enough to make you flinch, yet smooth enough to make you want to keep looking with thick brows, long lashes, a pointed nose,thin red lips and deep, dark eyes that looked like it held deep secret. That man was… breathtaking.
Lost in the thought, he didn't notice Adrian looking up until it was already happening. Their eyes met, and Ryan flinched immediately, like he'd been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.
Adrian closed the book slowly and turned to him. "About that night of the BAD party, did you..."
"I'm really sorry about that night," Ryan blurted out suddenly, cutting him off. He clasped his hands together under his chin, eyes squeezed shut.
"Huh?" Adrian raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised.
"I was totally drunk that night," Ryan rushed on. "And I tend to mess up when I get drunk. I don't even remember most of what I did. So… jumping on you wasn't really intentional."
"Jumping on me?" Adrian repeated, surprise giving way to amusement.
"Uhm… we had sex," Ryan said, biting his lower lip, trying to keep his nerves in check.
"Yeah," Adrian replied, calm. "But we didn't go all the way. Someone's call interrupted it."
"Regardless," Ryan insisted, "what I did was unacceptable, especially since you even had to take care of drunk me. So… what about I treat you to a meal and apologize properly?"
"Treat me to a meal?" Adrian echoed, his eyes widening slightly, amusement deepening at the absurdity of it.
"Yeah," Ryan nodded quickly. "Anywhere you pick is fine…"
Adrian studied him for a moment, then leaned back slightly. "Fine," he said at last. "I'll take the meal."
Ryan blinked, relief washing over his face. "Really?"
Adrian nodded, an amused smirk tugging at his lips. "You do lots of part-time gigs, right?"
"Yeah," Ryan nodded, sitting upright.
"So how do you plan to fit this tutoring into your schedule when you can barely make time for lectures?"
"It doesn't really matter," Ryan explained, a small smile forming. "That's why it's tutoring. I can set it at my convenient time, but I can't do that with lectures." He felt lighter than he expected, pleasantly surprised by how warm the conversation had become.
"Mmm," Adrian said, tapping on the table. "But we'll be making it my convenient time. We'll meet at my apartment, but that might change if the need arises. Wednesdays and Fridays, 4 to 6 pm."
Before Ryan could respond, Adrian added, "And that's it for now," standing up and moving to leave.