Night had fallen, and echoes of laughter could be heard throughout the youth hostel where the two schools were staying. To everyone's surprise, friendships formed quickly, and the usual school cliques began to blend together. The 'new' students acted as an icebreaker between the different groups.

That was the case in room 315 as well.

Taylor stared at Morgan with his mouth slightly open. He had not expected Morgan to agree to Eden and Anna’s request—but he had.

And now, there he was, sitting on the floor in front of them while they applied creams and powders to his face.

"Your lashes are so long... I do not think you even need mascara... lucky you..." Anna said as she dabbed eyeshadow onto Morgan’s eyelids.

Morgan laughed shyly. "Thanks... I guess..."

Daniel and Will were deep in their own conversation, occasionally throwing a comment at the girls and Morgan, telling the girls to stop teasing Morgan because he was too naive to tell them no.

"Isn’t that the cutest thing you’ve ever seen?" Will asked Daniel as he showed him something on his phone.

"So freaking adorable!" Daniel replied.

"What are you looking at over there?" Anna asked curiously.

Will took his time answering, just to heighten her curiosity. Eventually, Eden and Anna stopped what they were doing and looked at him, waiting for his response.

Will smiled mischievously and said, "Oh, just my sister and my future brother-in-law..."

"What?!" They both jumped on Will, and Eden snatched the phone from his hands.

"Aww... so adorable."

"You can already tell he is going to be a heartbreaker when he grows up..."

Will snatched his phone back. "That is not going to happen, because he is going to be with Alex. And besides, he is not going to be that type."

"How can you be so sure?" Anna teased him.

"Because I know his sister. And she is not going to let that happen," Will replied.

"Really?" Taylor joined the conversation. For some reason, what Will said bothered him. He wanted to know who he was talking about.

"Yeah, of course! There is no way Megan would let her brother become a player who messes around with girls," Will said confidently.

"Your sister is little Eli's girlfriend?" Morgan asked in a soft 'aww' tone, his voice full of fondness.

"Who's Meghan?" Eden asked with curiosity mixed with excitement.

"She's my girlfriend," Morgan said.

Eden and Anna froze, their smiles still on their faces.

"And how did that happen?" and "The plot thickens," each one muttered through her fake smile.

Taylor started to shift uncomfortably. He was afraid someone would blurt something out, and Morgan's expression became confused.

Taylor started biting his thumb nail. Maybe if he pretended nothing had happened, they could change the subject as if nothing had occurred.

Will kept watching Taylor, trying to gauge his reaction. He felt bad for him, so he turned to Anna and asked, "Any fun projects these days, aside from makeovers?"

She looked at Will, fully aware that he was trying to change the subject. She had wanted to keep teasing Taylor and Morgan a bit longer, but the look in Will’s eyes warned her not to push it.

With a sigh, she turned back to her makeup bag and started searching for more products to put on Morgan.

"I am still looking for the perfect place. I narrowed it down to three," she said, holding up three fingers.

"I am really looking forward to it. I hate thinking that the only chance we will see each other is if our school trips just happen to line up," Will said bitterly.

"You can always come to my place on weekends. You know my house is always open for you," Daniel offered.

Will shot Taylor an accusing look. Lately, all his weekends had been taken up by various dates or outings that Morgan had dragged both him and Taylor to.

Outside the room, someone began to play the guitar, and they could hear him singing to the rhythm of the music.

His voice brought a calm atmosphere; despite the late hour, the sound of his voice and the old songs he played created a pastoral feeling.

It no longer felt like a school trip.

"I guess Matt brought out the big guns," Daniel said with a half-laugh.

Will laughed. "Yeah, Matt really never misses an opportunity."

The four friends laughed.

When Eden noticed Taylor's curious expression, she said,

"Matt is Will’s ex,"

She dropped it without any warning, and Will started coughing as he choked on his own spit.

Taylor's eyes widened. "W-what?" he stammered.

He knew about Will's preferences, and Will had even told him about an ex—the one who had taught him how to smoke.

Was it him?

And judging by the fond way Will said the name... maybe he still had feelings for him.

A painful squeeze clenched in Taylor’s chest.

"Matt is Will’s ex," she repeated in a teasing tone, enjoying Taylor’s reaction. "Why? Are you jealous? I did not think you were the jealous type."

"Enough," Will said. He did not want to drag this out too much—especially not with Morgan around. Maybe he thought Morgan was naïve, but Will was sure he was not stupid.

"Tay, do not worry. Anyone can see Will only has eyes for you," Morgan said, trying to comfort Taylor.

Both Will and Taylor blushed. Will had not expected Morgan’s words to affect him so much.

Taylor buried his face in his hands in embarrassment.

Seeing Will’s reaction, his old friends became even more interested in whatever was going on between him and Taylor. Judging by their smug grins, Will knew this was far from over—and he could expect a flood of messages in their group chat soon.

"I cannot take you seriously when you look like that," Taylor said after lowering his hands.

"What is wrong with the way I look?" Morgan asked as he picked up a small mirror and looked at his reflection.

The girls had applied mascara that lengthened and thickened his lashes to an unnatural proportion. His already full lips were now coated in a pinkish-red gloss, and they had used makeup to highlight his cheekbones.

To Taylor, Morgan looked like a porcelain doll straight out of a horror movie.

"Do not listen to him, you look absolutely fabulous," Anna said dramatically, fluffing Morgan’s hair.

Please," Taylor rolled his eyes, "he looks like he is about to crawl out of the TV."

Will and Daniel burst out laughing.

"Tell the truth Morgan, you are not planning to kill us tonight, right? Otherwise, I will not be sleeping here." Daniel added between chuckles.

Morgan gasped in mock horror, placing a hand over his heart. "So you are saying I should not keep this look?" he asked with exaggerated offense.

"I think you should wipe that off before it haunts all of us forever," Daniel said.

Morgan laughed. "At least take a picture of me so I can show Megan."

He handed his phone to Taylor to take pictures of him, posing dramatically.

"Why on earth would you want to show that to your girlfriend?" Anna asked.

Morgan feigned offense again. "Hey, I thought you said I did not look bad."

Anna placed a hand on Morgan’s shoulder and sighed, as if what she was about to say pained her.

"Of course you look good... under this lighting... in this room…"

Taylor joined in Will and Daniel’s laughter.

Morgan placed a hand over his heart in fake dramatics.

"Ouch... That cut deep. You really do not hold back, huh?"

"Honey, we are going easy on you," Eden said as she gently stroked his hair.

"Wow... Now I am the one who is scared," Morgan muttered with a nervous smile.

Will's friends stayed the night in the room.

They all went to sleep late, after sharing embarrassing stories about Will with Taylor and Morgan.

In the morning Taylor was the first to wake up. He noticed Daniel and Will sleeping in the same bed.

They were hugging in their sleep, Daniel's legs wrapped all around Will, and Will's head rested on Daniel's chest.

He got into the bathroom. He felt like something heavy was sitting on his heart. He looked at himself in the mirror, a big frown on his forehead and his lips stretched bitterly.

He had to confess to himself he had not been himself lately. Maybe he needed to sit with himself and understand why his emotions were like a rollercoaster.

By the time everyone woke up and the teachers told them to pack up their belongings,

Will's friends had already snuck back to their rooms.

All the students put their belongings on the bus and went to the dining room for breakfast.

There, the nature reserve staff told them what they were going to see and do today.

A hiking trail in another part of the reserve that they had not seen yet.

One of the staff members told them they would be divided into three groups.

Will did not know if he was lucky to stay with Taylor, especially with Taylor's grumpy face.

He had been so happy to meet his friends — he would give anything to walk inside with them instead.

Morgan and Megan were also in the same group. Both of them noticed the atmosphere between Will and Taylor, and tried to cheer them up. But nothing seemed to help Taylor from analyzing his own feelings in his head.

Will's mood cheered up a little when Daniel called him, asking for tips for the bingo they did yesterday.

Will was smiling and laughing until one of the teachers told him that it was not allowed to use a phone unless it was an emergency. 

By the time the trip was done and everyone was on the bus, Will asked Megan to sit next to him instead of Taylor.

Megan tried to talk to him, but Will pretended to be asleep.

She peeked toward the seats in the back and saw that her boyfriend was in the same situation. Megan and Morgan exchange concerned looks.