Someone came upstairs to take their order, and soon two beers and a lemonade were set upon the table. 

"Cheers!" said Tibur, raising his glass, "It only took a life changing accident, but we've finally got Tristan out drinking with us!" 

Millie quickly pulled her glass away from her lips, "Yup" she said, "I'm right there with you. Cheers guys." 

Tibur frowned at her. 

"What?!" she challenged, "It's hot out, I'm thirsty." 

Tristan held his lemonade with his good arm and clinked their glasses. "To new friendships" he said, with a small but hopeful smile.

Millie downed half her glass at once. 

"I thought you were broke" said Tibur, "You keep drinking like that and you'll need another one in a minute." 

Millie could never follow Tibur's example when it came to frugality; she would always overspend to satisfy her urges, while Tibur was able to make a single beer last for much of the night. 

"Don't you need to drink more?" she asked, "If you go home sober you'll never be able to sleep through the noise."

"What noise..?" asked Tristan. 

"I'm surprised you haven't heard him yourself" said Millie, "Though I suppose the soundproofing at the Phoenicia is probably worth the price. One of Tibur's neighbors has a habit of bringing over loud guests." 

"Like for parties..?"

Millie laughed. "Maybe... but a very private kind of party. Tibur, play him the recording."

The trio leaned in around the table, as Tibur's phone became their focus. 

"Is she being attacked..?!" asked Tristan, before the words became audible. 

"Yes! Fuck! Oh... oh... yes! There! Oh fuck! Yes! Ahhh!!" 

Tristan blushed as Tibur pressed pause. 

"Every. Single. Night." he said. Tristan was a little impressed. He'd never once cried out like that during sex. 

"They must be very compatible" he suggested.

"They're not a couple" Millie told him, "It's a different woman every night. I honestly don't know how he finds the time, let alone the energy. He must have ploughed his way through the entirety of Modesh at this point."

"But not Millie" said Tibur, "She's not into dating. Not romantically at least. Oh. Do you mind if I tell him that? Maybe I should have asked first."

"Bah" said Millie, "I don't care who knows. It's not like Tristan will be disappointed that he can't make a move on me. Or, will you? Tristan are you into girls at all? Or is it only tall, jacked men that you're attracted to?" 

He thought of Jed. He was relatively tall, but he was kind of skinny. As he mused over the question, Millie interrupted him. 

"Or is it only Caleb that you like..?" 

Oh. That was right, as far as they knew, Caleb was his husband. It would make sense that they would assume he was his type.

"Just, men" said Tristan, "The way he looks doesn't matter all that much. But it's always been men I've been attracted to." 

Millie finished her glass. "That's good then" she said, "All the women on this island appear to be taken already. That's why Tibur is still single, he can't match the intensity of his neighborhood Casanova."

"Don't pay her any mind, Tristan. I'm single because I want to be. Between my work and my studies, I really don't have time to entertain the thought of a relationship. My last girlfriend was before I started college, though I will say she was more than satisfied."

"So he says..." said Millie, "I didn't know him then so there isn't any proof. How about your hubby? Does he satisfy you? Or... do you satisfy him? I don't want to stereotype you." 

Tibur sighed. "Don't feel like you need to answer, Tristan. Whatever you do in your bedroom is your own business. Millie stop asking stupid questions, we've been hijacking the conversation. What did you think of the books I brought over?"

It was surprising. Although he hadn't talked much, he hadn't feel suffocated. 

"I... I liked the historical one, about the siege of Modesh. It made me want to visit some places on the island." 

Millie looked at Tibur and raised her eyebrow. 

"Trip up north to the temples?" she suggested, "What do you reckon?" 

Tibur considered it. 

"Let me save a bit first. We'd need a taxi to take us beyond the nearest bus stop. There's no way I'd walk it this time of year." 

Tristan was intrigued. "You both like history too?" he asked, "But then... surely you've seen it all before."

Millie wrapped an arm around his shoulder. 

"While other people go crazy for love, I go crazy for 12th century carvings. Don't you worry, Tristan, I'm always looking for an excuse to go back and take pictures. I've dragged everyone that's come to visit me here to go and see the temples."

Tibur nodded his head. "She has. What about Caleb? Is he interested in history too?" 

Tristan didn't know. He didn't know anything about what he liked. Tibur noticed the blank response. 

"Ah... sorry" he said, "Maybe that's something you can ask him. I forget sometimes..."

"So did Tristan!" exclaimed Millie, thrilled with her own wit. "What do you know!" she said to the silent pair, "I'm going downstairs to order another beer." 

As the night continued with another round, Tristan finally found the courage to check his phone. 

CALEB:
Just let me know what time you get done and I'll pick you up from wherever you are.
No rush, just enjoy the time with your friends and try not to overdo it.

That was it..? No demands to tell him where he was, or that he should come home immediately. Just how much freedom was he allowed? 

"Is your phone working again?" asked Tibur, finishing his second beer and beginning to feel the effects. 

Tristan nodded guiltily. "Would you like another?" he asked, "Let me buy you both another beer." 

Millie was not about to refuse, and by the time they were ready to go home, only Tristan was still sober. 

"I'm so happy you came here!" Millie shouted, "If it was just Tibur I'd get so bored! When you're better we'll do all the things. Don't you worry. Don't anyone worry! I've got you covered."

Tibur bundled Millie out of the bar, and Tristan fired off a message to Caleb. 

Having waited a safe distance from the store from afternoon until close, and then tailing them as they walked to the bar; Caleb was left sitting in his car and trying to work out just how long it should have taken him to arrive from the Phoenicia. 'Be there in 5', he replied from the shadowy side street. After a short wait, he started the engine and rolled around the corner, stopping just outside the bar and opening Tristan's door for him.

"I can manage" he said, as he slid into the passenger's seat. 

"Get in, I'll drop you home" Caleb told the others. 

Millie's place was furthest, through the winding streets, along the coast, and tucked into a back alley at the top of a hill. 

"Just here" she said, stumbling out of the backseat. "Take a good look how the other half live..!"

Tibur waved at her to leave and slumped back into his seat. "She may complain but at least she's got a balcony..." he told them, "She even grows chili peppers." 

Next home was Tibur, only across the road from the side entrance of their building. 

"Thank you both for a wonderful evening" he said, leaving Tristan and Caleb in silence.

Fortunately it wasn't for long. Once they were parked, Tristan went on ahead as Caleb locked the car. 

"How was your evening?" he asked Tristan in the elevator. 

"Fine" was the succinct reply. 

"Did you eat..?" 

Tristan lowered his head as he shook it in apologetic denial. 

"It's okay" said Caleb, "I can make you something before bed." 

As the elevator doors opened, Tristan felt his body weaken, and his legs give out from under him. 

"What's wrong?!" asked Caleb, making a grab for Tristan's swaying body and being pushed firmly away in return. 

"I'm just tired... I'm going to sleep." 

Caleb wanted to protest that he needed to eat to take his medicine, but the bedroom door was closed before he had the chance to hold him back.

Across the street, Tibur had made it inside the lobby of his building only to find the elevator was out of order. He took a deep breath, held onto the straps of his backpack, and frustratedly began to climb. By the time he reached his floor, his legs were aching and he was sticky with sweat. Without the energy to shower straight away, he opened the window and let the slight cool of the night air flood his stuffy room. 

"Oh... oh... ahhhh..!" 

Tibur closed his eyes, his face twisting in anger. 

"Yes! Yes... Harder..!"  The woman's moans were deep this time; guttural cries as she teetered on the edge of climax. Every time it seemed the end was in sight, her cries would continue, drilling into Tibur's brain as he tried to cool himself.

"Uhhh.... uhhuhhhhh.... uhhhh..." 

Tibur couldn't take it any longer. 

"Oh just fucking cum already!" he cried, grabbing the paperweight from his desk and hurling it through his window at the apartment opposite. 

The sliding glass door shattered, and a naked man came rushing to the balcony to see where the missile had come from. Tibur moved too late. The naked man had already locked eyes with him, pointing his finger as he made a mental note of which floor he was on. Tibur slid down to his feet, covering his ears with his hands as tried to block out the reality that was fast approaching. They don't let strangers into the building, he told himself, at most he could report him to security; it's not like he could really come and find him.

Therein posed another problem. If he got kicked out of the student accommodation he'd be royally fucked. He considered pleading with the security guard that there'd been a mistake, but even then, word would reach the student council. There was nothing else for it, even if it meant getting beaten up, he would have to go and apologize. His eyes were wet but there was no time to cry, sobering himself with a deep breath, he grabbed his keys and phone and left his room to face the consequences of his actions.

Halfway down the stairs he found them. 

"You!" shouted the breathless man, "It was you, wasn't it?!" 

Tibur took a step back up the stairs. 

"I was coming to apologize..." he told him, "I'm truly sorry. I didn't mean to damage your door. I've been drinking... and I know that's no excuse... but, if we can find a way to work things out then... Honestly, it was a stupid moment of passion. I lost my temper and acted rashly. Really. Really, truly sorry. If you've come here to punch me, I understand."

The Modeshi student was glistening with sweat, his dark hair pushed back from his desperate face, and his black eyebrows knitted together above his long, fluttering eyelashes. The breathless foreigner pulled his robe around himself, staring up at the unusually alluring young man, and trying to remember why he was so mad at him. 

"I should punch you!" he said as he collected himself, "Do you have any idea how much you scared my guest? Not to mention the damage you've done to my apartment. I should call the police right now..." 

Tibur's pleading hands reached out, "Please" he said, "I'm willing to pay for the broken glass. Can we make an arrangement between us? Without involving the school or the authorities? It may take time to pay you back, but I can find a second job if I have to."

"What's your name?" asked the man, "Do you have your ID?" Tibur had a photo of his student ID on his phone, he found it quickly and handed it over. "Tibur Farina? Or is it Farina Tibur?" 

"The first one. Tibur Farina."

"Twenty-three? Aren't you a little old to still be a student? You're certainly too old to be throwing rocks at peoples' windows." 

Tibur reached out for his phone but the man held onto it. He typed a number into the keypad and tried to make a call. 

"Why isn't it working..?" he asked. 

Tibur's cheeks were burning hot. "Because... there's not enough money left on it" he admitted in his broke embarrassment. 

The man seemed perplexed that such a problem could exist.

"Then follow me to my phone" he said, "And I'll call your number instead."