Dorm Room 210 [Original]

*Dorm Room 210: React to Change*

Author note: Re-written and edited on the 2nd of October, 2017. 

Chapter 15:

React to Change

I hear him before I step through the dorm room.

It's nine o'clock on a Wednesday night, and Noah is sitting on his bed, tapping a pencil on his thigh, and singing to a song I haven't heard before. I bite the smile I have when he sings off key, but what he lacks in focus he makes up with arm movements. It doesn't look like he's aware of me yet, with the way his eyes scrunch up, he doesn't seem to be paying attention at all to his surroundings.

For a moment I think of letting him enjoy the comfort of his space. Maybe Nicole and Rachel will allow me to stay the night.

Except, Nicole was the one who told me to get my butt moving and talk to him. Going back now will just make me look like a coward.

My insides tighten up as I walk through the threshold, eyes following the motion of the door closing behind me until a satisfied click locks into place.

Noah stops singing.

I brace myself before I turn around and stretch my cheeks into a grin. "Hey."

"Hey," he replies, giving me a quick smile before looking down at the papers before him, pencil playing at his side. "I was just looking over a few notes for the exam I have tomorrow. It's not as bad as I thought."

"Well, music does help you concentrate." He hums, and I make my way to my side of the bed. The small courage I had to face Noah is going down the drain faster than a needle and thread, but instead of turning around to use what is left, I get my sketchbook out and make myself comfy on my covers.

No one speaks. The music pouring from Noah's phone drowns out the voice in my head to freak out until I have something to freak out over. The rustle scratching of pencil to paper on either side of the room wears out the tension in my shoulders. Noah and I sync up without having to say a word.

And it's because of this conscious thought, I look towards the guy who was willing to help out a friend, even if it meant putting his own needs away, who honoured his promise of telling the truth. Who made me adjust to a situation I didn't like in the first place.

Who I have come to really like in the amount of time we shared.

I swallowed down the heavy weight sitting in the back of my throat. "Nicole said you two never dated in the first place. That it was all a show." He turns his head towards me, mouth a little ajar. "She also told me that you like me, and that we should talk. But I don't wanna talk unless you do."

He seems to be battling something inner, for in the next couple of seconds, he opens his mouth but no words let out.

"All right," he says, finally, moving his books and papers aside before standing up on his bare feet and making his way to my bed. Every inch of my attention lands on him. "Let's talk."

I fail to look in his eyes when I ask, "Why do you like me?"

He shrugs, and then runs his hand through his hair. "I just do. There's really no way to explain it."

I frown, an unsettle feeling drumming inside of me. "Are you sure it's not just physical attraction? Maybe you're into blondes."

Noah breathes out through his nose with a laugh catching the end of it. "I'm attracted to all of you. Liking you is just the added bonus, you know?" I shake my head, and Noah shifts on the bed. "Liking you, Lillian, has more to do with how you are than anything." His voice drops and so does my heart. "I see how happy you are around the girls, how at ease you let yourself be. I'm happy that you're happy. It's beautiful. You're beautiful."