He could still taste the sour air of the alleyway as he was leaving the train station, half an hour later. Passing a café on the way out, he stared forlornly at its dark interior and sorely wished he could wash the feeling away with some hot steamed milk. But that was probably asking too much... at 2 AM on a Sunday night, the day before the new semester, the university station was completely barren.

Not that he was complaining – he'd rather not have anyone see him here, out wandering at unearthly hours of the night for apparently no reason. It was good enough to have even caught the hourly train back. Otherwise, he might’ve had to hail a ride share from Downtown Eastside, and that always came with strange questions.

At the very least, it was a beautiful night. Starting to get chilly, since it was September now, but dry. As he stepped out of the underground station, he paused to embrace the cool coastal air, then huffed and set off towards his dorm.

Straight down from the station, up the hill, past the central fountain, and then back down the hill – the bright lights shining through Ponderosa Common’s glass lobby was a welcome sight to his tired eyes. A young man and woman, arms linked and chortling, approached from the perpendicular road and reached the door first.

How nice.

He couldn’t help but remark silently, though he did feel a little guilty about it when the man paused to hold the door open for him. Pretending to nod in thanks, he lowered his head, keeping his face hidden beneath the bill of his black baseball cap.

It was work protocol – the fewer people who saw him, the better.

The man returned to his girl, who quickly latched back onto his arm with a giggle and a coo.

“Aww you’re sooo nice...”

“Haha, am I? Must be cause I spent time with you, your angelic spirit is rubbing off on me...”

Now he was regretting taking back his comment. Any young single university student out wandering alone past midnight would feel at least a little irked to see such a happy couple, right?

They were heading towards the elevators, where he unfortunately also needed to go – climbing eleven flights of stairs wasn’t a worthwhile alternative. Figuring that he might as well fish out his key card instead of glaring at their backs, he reached into his pant pocket… and brushed empty cloth.

… Eh?

The memories came back in a flash. Him, in a rush to take the mission, throwing his change of clothes into a gym bag and then racing out the door, leaving his key card on the table...

Shit. He’d left it in his dorm.

Again.

Ughhhhh... Sighing inwardly, he stopped and turned to the front desk. The receptionist gave him a distinct glare as he walked up to the desk. Removing his cap, he offered them a sheepish smile.

“Hi, uh, I forgot my key ca–”

“Student ID.” They interrupt him flatly, already yanking open their drawer where the spare cards are kept.

Hastily fishing out his wallet from the bundle of dark clothes in his gym bag, he pulled out his student card and handed it to them. They took it, stared at it, then squinted at him as though doubting it was real. He could see it clearly from here – his name, Lucas, next to his awkward, baby-faced, first-year grin.

Feeling their intensifying stare, he smiled and let his eyes wander abashedly off to the side.

After what felt like an extremely – and unnecessarily – long examination, they finally started reaching into the drawer.

Lucas eyed their hand, hopes rising, entire chest slowly bloating in joy.

Then, the desk phone rang.

Their hand immediately took the detour. Accepting the call, they lifted their hand at him in a gesture to wait.

He nodded, but turned away before they can see his gritted teeth. Damnit, so close.

The young couple was still lingering by the elevators. He peeked grudgingly at them, for lack of anything better to do.

The man had taken the girl’s hand, and was gently kissing the back of her palm.

“Thank you for showing me around today, I really enjoyed it.”

Gushing, she grabbed his hands instead and jumped forward, landing a brief kiss on his lips. The man seemed stunned by the sudden gesture, and she pulled away with a mischievous giggle.

“Thank you for walking me home. Good night, Hanael!”

“Ah - yeah. Good night... sweet dreams...”

The man’s startled look eased into a musing smile as he watched her depart for the elevator. He stayed there for a while longer, then stepped back and leaned against the wall with a long sigh.

Aww...

Lucas wished he could gag at what he’d just seen, but instead he smiled ruefully to himself. As much as he was trying to change, it would probably take a few more months before he could totally abandon his unfortunate taste for sappy romance.

The receptionist was now deep in conversation on the phone. Lucas waited, and… the man waited, too. They were on their phone now, leaning casually against the wall with one hand in their shiny white jeans, looking relaxed and calm and… actually pretty attractive.

Tearing his gaze away before his exhausted thoughts could go further, Lucas focused instead on the receptionist’s lamp. It gave off a steady, creamy glow... so much nicer than those ghastly yellow lamps in the alleyway. Ugh, the alleyway... thinking about it made the sour taste come back, and he grimaced as he swallowed unconsciously.

The phone slammed down with a solid clatter and Lucas turned back to the desk with his eyes wide in hope. Sighing wearily, the receptionist finally slid a spare key card over the counter.

 “Give it back once you’re done and I’ll return your student card, Lucas.”

“Okay. Thanks!”

Nodding eagerly, he took the card and turned back to the elevators. It became a little difficult to walk as he strut self-consciously past the man standing there, but Hanael seemed too preoccupied by his phone to notice him. Not sure if he was disappointed or relieved, Lucas pressed the elevator button and stood back to wait.

It arrived with a triumphant ding almost instantly. A young woman with curled hair, smelling strongly of perfume, stepped out of the elevator and brushed past him. He vaguely thought that it was strange for such a dressed-up girl to be leaving dorm at 2 AM the night before the new semester, but as he stepped into the elevator, he heard her voice.

“Um, are you Hanael...?”

“Hi! You must be Nasim. Wow, you’re even prettier in real life...”

What? No way?!

Mister lovey-dovey was picking up another girl already?!

Lucas almost shoved his hand between the elevator doors so he could get a better look. He managed to catch a glimpse of the man’s eyes – strikingly ice-blue, clear, and cold, like diamonds… and turned in his direction.

The man was probably just smiling at his new date, but for a split second… it felt like Hanael had been staring straight at him.

Then the elevator doors closed on his face with a resounding thud.

Lucas stood there numbly before remembering that he needed to input a floor. Shaking himself, he swiped his key card and hit eleven, then stepped back and leaned against the rumbling metal walls with a weary sigh. As he closed his eyes, he saw it again – the man’s frigid irises, fading in and out of a darkness broken by flashes of flickering yellow light.

… What a weirdo.

He frowned to himself and tried to shove the distortion out of his head.

Feels like I should keep an eye on him...