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THE SOUND OF TUMBLING FURNITURE and loud profanities was enough to make Bree shoot up her bed in alarm.
She hurried over to her bedside lamp in a dazed frenzy, squinting through the darkness for the switch. Light flooded the room a second later and the sight of Stuart Twombly sprawled on the floor of her dormitory made her groan and slump back on to her bed almost immediately.
If she hadn't just woken up, she would have pelted him with her lamp.
"Dude." Bree scowled, running an irritated hand through the tangles in her hair. Stealing a quick glance at her clock, she seethed, "It's like two in the morning. What the hell areyou doing?"
Sluggishly pushing himself up, Stuart shuffled back to his bed and replied simply, "I fell off."
"Yeah, I can see that, smartass," Bree retorted haughtily. "I meant, what were you doing still awake?"
Stuart was slumped back against the wall, his comforter slung around his legs. Despite the darkness of early morning, Bree could still see the faint hint of hesitance on his face as he dwelled on his answer much longer than she expected.
After a while, he finally said, "I couldn't sleep."
Bree's scowl faltered the tiniest fraction at this. It was only then, underneath the orange glow of the lamp light, that she noticed the way the bags latched underneath Stuart's eyes were clearer now that he wasn't wearing his glasses.
"You're staring again, babe," Stuart spoke up again, a rasped up sound that could have been a laugh escaping his lips. His voice was stretched and low, indicating that he must have slept for a good few minutes before waking up again.
It was dark on her side of the room and Bree couldn't be any more thankful for it. Even with the air conditioning on full blast, she could still feel the warmth tingling her cheeks like an ugly rash. At this point, it was starting to become a common occurrence between them, one that always ended with Stuart's annoying little smile whenever he noticed it but chose not to point it out.
"Whatever," she brushed off with practiced ease. Not waiting for a response, Bree yawned and curled back under her comforter.
"You should go back to sleep," Stuart spoke up after another short pause. "First challenge in a few hours."
