Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL] Chapter 8: Missed Moments

The alarm blared like it had a personal vendetta. Sharp, repetitive, louder than necessary.

Luca groaned and slapped at his phone. The noise paused—only for it to resu with vengeance five seconds later.

He cracked one eye open. "You’ve got to be kidding ."

This ti he found the right button and silenced it for good. His arm flopped back to his side. Silence.

He stayed that way for a while.

By the ti he rolled over again, the corner of his eye caught the clock. 8:32 AM.

Luca sat up halfway, back stiff from the narrow mattress. "Ugh. This bed is a joke." He rubbed his neck. "How does anyone sleep in this shoebox."

The room was quiet. Noel’s side of the room—books lined up neatly, lamp off, chair tucked in—already untouched.

"He’s gone," Luca muttered, yawning.

Another glance at his phone. Almost 9:00.

"Oh my god."

He sprang out of bed, nearly tripping on yesterday’s jeans.

Threw on the least wrinkled hoodie from the chair, didn’t bother checking if the socks matched.

One shoe was under the bed, the other near the bathroom door. He cramd them on as he ran out.

By the ti he reached the lecture hall, he was sweating.

And the professor was walking out.

Luca slowed at the entrance, chest heaving. His hoodie clung to his back.

He looked past the crowd spilling out of the room, already debating whether to just turn around and go back to sleep—

Then he spotted him.

Noel.

Still sitting.

Luca swore softly under his breath, wiped his forehead with his sleeve, and slipped into the hall before he could lose his nerve.

"Hey, Luca!"

He turned, startled. A girl near the third row offered him a small, folded handkerchief with a smile.

"Uh... thanks," he said, hesitating before taking it.

"Here," another voice behind him said. A guy handed him a bottle of water.

Luca blinked. "Do I... look like I ran a marathon?"

They laughed.

He gave a quick smile, mumbling a thanks, and kept walking toward where Noel had been sitting.

But the seat was empty.

Gone.

His eyes darted across the fading rows of students, so standing, so slipping bags over their shoulders—but not one black hoodie or crooked smile in sight.

Luca stood frozen, the condensation on the bottle slick against his fingers. That one glance, missed or dismissed—he didn’t know which—had jolted him more than the sprint across campus ever could.

The girl—Emily—moved closer, sitting on the empty seat to his left. George slid in from the right, still holding his own drink, casual like they’d done this before.

"It’s been a while," Emily said, nudging his arm. "I thought you dropped out or sothing."

Luca leaned back, bottle resting on his knee. "Nah. Just... been busy."

"Busy," George repeated, raising a brow. "C’mon, man. You never showed up even when you weren’t busy."

Luca gave a non-committal shrug.

Emily grinned. "Still pretending you don’t care, huh?"

He didn’t answer. Just twisted the cap off the water bottle, took a long sip.

George chuckled. "Let’s go grab sothing, yeah? Morning’s done anyway."

Luca hesitated, then nodded once.

They stood together, heading out of the hall. Emily linked her arms loosely with both of theirs like it was nothing new.

As they walked past the lockers, heads turned. Not subtly either. Girls leaning out of conversations, guys pretending not to look. Soone’s phone cara blinked.

Luca didn’t react. Just kept walking like it was the air shifting.

Emily laughed under her breath. "Still got it, huh?"

"Still what?" he asked, not looking her way.

"You know exactly what." She bumped him lightly with her shoulder.

George added, "We’re just the background characters when you’re around. It’s fine. We’ve accepted it."

Luca cracked a faint smile. "You guys talk too much."

"You missed it," Emily said. "The drama. The chaos. You disappearing? It threw off the whole ecosystem."

George laughed. "The cafeteria wasn’t the sa without girls losing their minds every ti you showed up."

"You both are annoying." he muttered, tugging his hood down as sunlight spilled onto the path ahead.

They stepped into the sunlit walkway leading toward the vending area, students milling around, and Luca’s na trailing behind in hushed, eager voices like it never left.

They were still at the table when Luca spotted him—Noel, walking in with Alex, drinks in hand. Noel’s eyes flicked across the room once before settling elsewhere.

Luca lifted a hand. A casual wave.

Noel didn’t wave back. Didn’t nod. Didn’t even pause. He just walked past the table and took a seat at the far end of the hall.

The space between them felt heavier than silence—like sothing unspoken was pressing against his chest, and Noel had chosen not to hear it.

Emily tilted her head, amused. "Who’s that guy ignoring you?"

Luca dropped his hand, clearing his throat. "He’s not ignoring ."

"Oh?" she said, half-grinning. "Sure looks like it."

"That’s my roommate."

That made her laugh. Loud and unfiltered. "Wait—what? You have a roommate now? Luca, the king of avoiding people, living in a dorm?"

George leaned in, shaking his head. "Now that’s new. You used to swear you’d never share space with anyone."

"Yeah, well... don’t talk about it."

Emily raised her hands in mock surrender. "Alright, alright. No roommate jokes."

George wasn’t done. "So tell us about him. This Noel guy. He looks like the type that reads three textbooks before breakfast."

Luca scoffed softly. "You’re not wrong."

"Must be rough, huh?" Emily smirked. "Soone that serious stuck with soone like you."

He smirked too, faintly. "It’s fine. We don’t get in each other’s way."

George chuckled. "Bet he studies with the lights on while you’re gaming in the dark."

"Sothing like that," Luca muttered, eyes drifting back toward the corner where Noel sat, already flipping through a book while Alex talked beside him.

Emily noticed the glance. "So... are you two actually cool? Or is it like—cold war in the dorm?"

"We’re good," Luca said, maybe a little too quickly. "He just takes things seriously. That’s all."

"You an school. Or... everything?"

Luca didn’t answer.

George clapped his hands once. "Alright, this is getting interesting. Let’s grab our drinks before the line builds."

They stood, laughter fading into the background noise, but Luca’s eyes lingered—just a second longer—on the boy with his head bowed over a page, not looking his way.