Noah wasn’t sure if he had left the window open because, damn it, he remembered closing it. Or was he seeing things? And what was with this lemon scent? It was everywhere, almost as if it had clung to his clothes.
Looking towards the clock, he saw it was already past midnight. He stood up to ease himself because his bladder was practically begging for mercy, only to suddenly feel a blanket draped over his chest.
"Did I cover myself?" he muttered, frowning. "I don’t remember this."
He didn’t know if he was suddenly developing amnesia, but he definitely didn’t remember doing any of that.
Now standing, his gaze drifted to his shoes. They were perfectly arranged against the wall beside the other useless pair of shoes the previous owner of this body seemed to treasure.
He didn’t know what caught his attention more—the fact that he was damn sure he had left his shoes on him or that they were now neatly placed beside those hideous things.
"Oh, my eyes... these choices are terrible. What was he thinking? Doesn’t anyone advise him around here? They look like I’m working in a cornfield. How can a student wear shoes that are no different from a rake?"
That alone was baffling.
Learning more about this body wasn’t making him feel any better because every single thing the previous owner owned screamed mediocrity.
But back to the real issue...
How the damn fuck did my shoes get there?
Or was it his roommate?
Sneaking a glance toward the other side of the room, he looked at his roommate, only to be assaulted by a snore so heavy it sounded like a bear hibernating.
"What in heaven’s name is that?"
The guy’s chest kept rising and falling dramatically, no different from a parachute catching the wind. Noah stared in complete disbelief that someone could snore that loudly.
He didn’t even know the guy’s name, let alone question him. And with the way he was sleeping, stones looked more useful for answering questions because, goddamn, the man looked dead.
Wait...
What if he was actually dead?
...No. Dead people couldn’t snore.
"Whew."
He sighed in relief.
Oddly enough, the urge to pee completely vanished.
Walking over to finally close the window, something on the floor suddenly caught his attention. He was certain it hadn’t been there while cleaning his room earlier, nor when he returned after that exhausting day.
So... how?
Bending down for a closer look, his breath hitched.
Boot prints.
Not just one.
Several.
They started from the window, stretched across the floor, reached the side of his bed, and disappeared again toward the window.
Noah froze, his entire body beginning to shake.
"Oh no..."
His voice came out as nothing more than a whisper.
"What if my attackers from earlier came back to finish the job?"
It could be the same person who pushed Ashton off the building.
Or someone else from class he had unknowingly offended.
At this point he had so many enemies he couldn’t even keep track anymore, and Ashton being a completely useless villain wasn’t helping matters.
"I’m out of here."
He didn’t hesitate.
"I’m definitely not dying tonight."
Without another thought, he headed straight for the door.
Only one person came to mind.
Lamia.
Earlier that day, after they separated, Noah had managed to learn Lamia’s room number just in case of an emergency.
And this...
This definitely counted as one.
He rushed out, quickly locking his door before switching off the room light.
The dormitory passage was brightly lit, yet eerily silent.
Every door remained shut.
Not a single sound echoed through the hallway.
His heartbeat only grew louder.
He suddenly regretted waking up.
What if he hadn’t?
What if whoever entered his room had simply strangled him in his sleep?
He swallowed hard.
"Lamia... where the fuck is your goddamn room?"
His thoughts were shattered by a deafening roar that seemed to shake the entire corridor.
He froze.
His legs trembled violently.
Shit.
The flesh-eating creature.
Fuck.
He had completely forgotten about that monster.
If it attacked him now...
It was over.
Carefully, he tiptoed through the hallway until he finally spotted the room at the far end of the dormitory, close to the exit.
Relief flooded him.
He hurried over and knocked.
Apparently, Lamia’s roommate had already moved out, leaving Lamia alone until another student was assigned.
Thank goodness.
If someone else had been staying there tonight, Noah would’ve probably been cursed to death for disturbing their sleep.
But Lamia...
Surely he’d understand.
Knock.
Knock.
A groan came from inside.
More like an annoyed sigh.
Then silence.
The idiot had gone back to sleep.
"Fuck."
"Lamia, open this damn door before I get eaten alive!"
At this point Noah was praying that some helpful spirit would slap Lamia awake because he was absolutely not going back to that room.
Not with those footprints.
Not with that strange lemon scent.
He knocked again.
This time a sleepy voice answered.
"Go away... I don’t want you here."
Noah rolled his eyes so hard they almost hurt.
"Get your ass out here, Lamia, and open this goddamn door."
The figure inside suddenly jerked upright.
"Oh shit... Ashton? Is that you?"
He rushed toward the door.
Outside, Noah stood with both hands resting impatiently on his waist.
"If it’s not Ashton, then who else would it be? Your ancestors? Open this damn door before something kills me."
Lamia cursed under his breath while unlocking it.
The moment it opened, Noah practically shoved him aside and sped into the room.
"I don’t know..." Lamia yawned. "I’m beginning to regret knowing you. My beauty sleep is officially over. Why do I feel like I’ll never sleep peacefully again?"
He sighed dramatically.
Noah only grinned.
"You should be proud someone actually bothers disturbing your dry butt. Now shut up because I have a serious problem."
Lamia blinked at him before glancing back at the open doorway.
Immediately, he hurried over and locked it.
Only then did Noah notice something else.
The room looked...
Different.
Much warmer.
It actually looked lived in.
His eyes wandered over the decorations.
"Who did all this?"
Lamia shrugged lazily.
"I did. Started decorating after I moved in. Now are you going to explain why you’re here, or should I return to my precious sleep?"
Noah let out a long breath.
"I think someone broke into my room."
Lamia’s sleepy expression disappeared.
"There were footprints... and lemons."
"What?"
"The lemon scent. It was everywhere."
The moment Noah finished speaking, Lamia’s face twitched violently.
Before Noah could react, Lamia lunged forward and clamped a hand over his own mouth.
"And you fucking brought them into my room?"
His eyes widened in horror.
"What if they think we’re working together and decide to kill me too?"
He was already panicking.
Noah grabbed both his shoulders.
"Calm down."
"You’re not the one who got pushed off a building."
Instead of calming down, Lamia looked even closer to fainting.
His entire body began trembling again like it was second nature.
Noah groaned.
Seeing him shake like dried stockfish was somehow becoming a daily occurrence.
"Nothing’s going to happen to you, Lamia."
He paused.
"...And hopefully nothing happens to me either."
Right then...
Lamia collapsed.
Flat.
Noah stared at him.
Then threw both hands into the air.
"Oh, for heaven’s sake!"
"Maybe I should’ve stayed in my room..."
He paused.
"...Actually, no. Just kidding. This is still better."
Unfortunately, Lamia remained unconscious.
With an exhausted sigh, Noah grabbed him beneath the arms and began dragging him toward the enormous bed.
"For someone this skinny..."
He grunted.
"...you’re ridiculously heavy."
Somehow, after much struggling and plenty of complaining, he managed to haul Lamia halfway onto the mattress.
Then...
Something moved outside the window.
Noah froze.
Slowly, his head turned.
A shadow.
He wished he hadn’t looked.
Standing beyond the glass was a massive creature.
Its mouth stretched unnaturally wide, far too large to belong to anything human.
Its eyes...
God.
Its eyes were enormous.
Each one looked almost the size of a watermelon, glowing faintly in the darkness.
Its body towered over the window, impossibly tall, with elongated limbs that bent at disturbing angles.
The creature slowly lifted its head.
Noah’s entire body went numb.
He instantly ducked, one trembling hand flying over his mouth to stop himself from screaming.
The creature turned.
Looking directly toward the window.
Toward him.
"Fuck my life..."
His whisper barely existed.
Without wasting another second, Noah grabbed Lamia with every bit of strength he had left and dragged him fully onto the bed, praying with every fibre of his being that whatever was outside hadn’t seen him.