The moment I got back to the dorm, I bolted upstairs like I was speedrunning life. Straight to the shower. I needed to rinse off the day's chaos before bed.
While shampooing, I had a random intrusive thought: What if the three idiots don't make it back before curfew? Like, do the dorm doors transform into iron gates of doom at 9:00 p.m.? Do they have to sleep outside?
I stepped out, checked my phone. 8:00 p.m. Plenty of time. Still, I wasn't sleepy. So... downstairs adventure, it is. I changed into real pajamas this time. Yes, real ones. Not the "shirt-and-undies combo" I usually rocked. Gotta keep it classy when living with six boys and my anxiety.
I walked downstairs, scrolling through my phone like the world depended on it, I smacked into a wall. Correction: a Travis-shaped wall. His coffee almost splashed onto my face.
"Sorry, Travis," I muttered like a scolded toddler. He didn't even flinch. Just took a long sip of his coffee like he was in a dramatic J-drama and walked past me like I didn't exist. Honestly, I was kinda relieved. He's scary in a mysterious, might-summon-a-demon way.
I peeked into the common area and saw Twan on the couch, headphones on, talking to someone in-game. He was focused. Like, "if-you-interrupt-me-I-will-bite-you" focused. So I tiptoed past him toward the dining area.
My mission? Check if the soup Nana made me earlier was still alive. But then—
"FUCK!" Twan shouted. "That's the third L tonight!"
Dramatic. He yanked his headphones off and stood up, then blinked when he saw me. "Oh. Were you watching me rage?" he asked.
"Just arrived. I'm actually here for my soup." I replied.
"You mean that soup?" he laughed awkwardly, pointing to a nearly empty bowl on the table.
I stared.
"Oh."
"Sorry, didn't know it was yours," he offered.
RIP to my dinner, I guess. "Eh, no big deal," I said with a forced smile. "Anyway, where's Nana?"
"Oh, he dipped. He's only around in the mornings. James is probably celebrating right now."
"And why's that?"
"He lives to annoy you, duh."
"True," I said, already turning to leave before my peaceful night got hijacked by chaos. But nope. Twan had other plans.
"Wait, stay and play with me," he said, holding up a second controller like it was a peace offering.
I gave him a look that screamed bro I barely know how to turn a console on.
"Please?" he begged, activating the Deadly Combo: pouty lips + puppy eyes.
Ugh. I'm weak.
"Fine. One game. ONE." I replied.
He grinned like he just won a million yen. "Great! Be right back, getting water."
He tossed me the controller. I caught it like a pro (in my head) and plopped down onto the couch. I stared at the controller like it personally insulted my intelligence. So many buttons. Shapes. What is this, a spaceship?
I scrolled through games. "Ghost of Tsushima? Red Dead Redemption? Fornite? These don't sound like games—they sound like boss battles with my GPA."
"Does he have Flappy Bird or... Snake at least?" I mumbled.
"Aight, I'm back," Twan announced, sitting close. Too close. Like, shoulder-to-shoulder close.
"So? Found something?"
"I can't find Mario," I said, offended.
He laughed. "We don't have Mario."
"Justice has left the chat."
"No worries. Let's try this," he said, clicking into The Last of Us.
"Oh! I've seen this! My little bro plays it. He even cried during one of the cutscenes."
"Gamer blood runs in the family," Twan teased. "Too bad it skipped the older sister."
"Excuse me?" I reacted.
"Nothing," he said, smirking like a smug cat.
"I swear, if I suck, don't come for me. I'm warning you now."
"Relax. We'll take turns. Just use Minho's account."
"Is he okay with that?"
"Totally. Now pay attention, noob." Twan spent five whole minutes explaining the controls. I nodded like I understood quantum physics. Truth was... I got maybe 45% of what he said... Okay, 30%. "Got it?" he asked.
"Totally!" Not at all.
We started playing. Mid-match, a message popped up on Twan's phone.
He read it aloud. "Minho says, 'Yo cracker, you better leave the door unlocked so we can come in.'"
Twan laughed. "Yeah, no." He stood up, walked to the door, and locked it like a petty villain. "That's what you get for ditching me, losers."
I chuckled, then put the controller down and stood up.
"Calling it a night?" he asked.
I checked my watch. "Yeah."
He stepped closer, patting my head like a dad tucking in his child. "Good night, sweet dreams."
"You're not sleeping?" I asked.
"Nah. Gonna humble some 12-year-olds online first."
"Right. Well... good luck with that."
"Thanks, pro gamer."
I rolled my eyes and headed to my room. Blanket? Check. Pajamas? Check. Existential dread? Not tonight. I snuggled in and closed my eyes. Silence.
Knock knock.
My eyes shot open. What the hell? I ignored it. Could be the wind. Or a squirrel. Or a hallucination. I was this close to sleep—
Knock knock. "Elise..." ...WHAT. I sat up slowly. My window's beside my bed, so I pulled back the curtain with mild terror. Standing there outside the window? Ryan, James, and Minho. They looked cold, miserable.
"Let us in," Ryan whispered, his breath fogging the glass. "It's freezing out here." I stared blankly at them.
Uhm...
I blinked. Yup. Not a hallucination. Three actual boys. Outside my second-floor window. At night. Whispering my name like I was Rapunzel.
Ryan knocked again. "Elise, we're serious. It's cold and we're locked out."
"How'd you even get up there?" I whisper-yelled, because apparently I still cared about volume even though this whole situation was already insane.
"Minho boosted us up. It's fine. Just let us in before we die of hypothermia!" James hissed, hugging himself dramatically.
I stared at them for a second longer. A responsible, rule-abiding part of me whispered, Don't do it. Let them freeze. Actions have consequences. But then Minho gave me that smug, I-know-you-want-to-help-us look, and I hated that it was kind of working.
"Hurry up!" Minho insisted.
I immediately opened the window to let the three inside. I also realized that my room is on the second floor, so in order for them to go to my window, they had to at least climb up. When Ryan was about to go in first, Minho slightly grabbed his shoulder so that he himself could go in first.
When Minho came in, he stepped on my bed, leaving a mark of his shoes on the white sheets and also my blanket before stepping on the floor.
"You messed my sheets," I complained.
He looked at the bed before speaking to me. "I'd mess it up another way if you want me to."
I blinked, caught completely off guard—not by the innuendo, but by the ridiculous mix of cherry and cotton candy on his breath. Seriously, what did he drink? I rolled my eyes, ready to throw a pillow at him—
But then we heard it. A loud knock. Not from the window. From the door. Everyone froze.
James mouthed, "Who is it?"
Ryan was already halfway behind my curtain like it was a shield. Minho just stood there, arms crossed, like this was part of the plan. The knock came again. Louder.
"Elise?" It was Twan.
Oh crap.
He's going to open it.
And I still have three rule-breaking idiots in my room...