تسجيل الدخولAlex~I clock in at twelve forty-eight, two minutes early, because I like the feeling of being ahead of something even when nothing else in my life feels like it’s waiting for me.Jamie is already there, perched sideways on the edge of the big table like the room belongs to them, laptop open, coffee sweating through the paper cup and leaving rings on the wood. The space smells like dust and citrus cleaner, the kind they use when they want a place to feel productive instead of loved. The windows are cracked open just enough to let the afternoon in, that half-warm, half-bored light that makes everything look unfinished.Maya swivels in her chair when she sees me. “You’re early,” she says.“I woke up early,” I tell her, which isn’t a lie, just not the reason.She hums, already turning back to her screen. Maya always does acknowledging you without making it a thing and I swear it’s a talent. Jamie, on the other hand, looks up like they’re about to read me aloud.“How is the paid laborer l
Seth~ I wake up already late for something. Alex is still in bed beside me, the sheets kicked halfway down, his shirt twisted around his ribs. He’s on his side, facing me, eyes closed but not deeply asleep. I can tell by the way his fingers keep flexing against the pillow, like he’s counting breaths. I don’t move right away. There’s a version of my life now where mornings feel borrowed, like I’m always leaving something behind even when I’m still in the room. I don’t want to rush this one. Not when he’s here. Not when the day hasn’t asked anything of us yet. The light is different this late. Sharper. It cuts across his face instead of spilling gently over it, catching on his lashes, the line of his mouth. He looks older like this. More settled. Not softer—Alex has never been soft—but anchored in himself in a way I don’t remember from earlier in the year. I wonder when that happened. Maybe I was too busy looking outward to notice. I reach out, brush my thumb
Alex~ The sheets are still warm when we crawl back into them. The curtains are half drawn. Afternoon light spills in sideways, catching dust in the air, striping Seth’s bare shoulder, my arm, the wall. By this time the campus is fairly active that we can hear activities going on. A skateboard cracking against concrete, a car door slamming somewhere too far to matter, voices of people. Seth lies on his stomach, one arm tucked under the pillow, the other stretched toward me. His hair is still damp from the shower he took after breakfast, darker at the ends. I watch the slow rise of his back, the way his breathing evens out only when he’s really relaxed, when he’s not thinking about drills or meetings or the shape of the next week. I slide closer, my knee fitting into the space behind his thigh like it belongs there. My hand finds the line of his spine, traces down, stops at the waistband of his shorts. He hums, low and content, without opening his eyes. “You’re heavy,” he
Alex~ I wake up first, which is rare, because Seth usually sleeps like he’s guarding something. Light and easily ready to throw his arm across whatever’s closest like it might disappear if he lets go. Today it’s me. His forearm is warm against my stomach, skin-to-skin, the weight of it anchoring me there. The room is so quiet in a way that only exists early in the morning. Pale light sneaks through the blinds, striping his shoulder, his jaw, the corner of his mouth that’s always slightly turned down even when he’s relaxed. I don’t move right away. I just lie there and breathe him in. His hair is a mess, curls flattened on one side, sticking up on the other. His lashes look unfairly long like this, resting against his cheeks, and for a second I feel that familiar tug this soft, ridiculous fondness that feels like it could ruin me if I stare too long. So I don’t stare, I catalog. The steady rise and fall of his chest. The way his fingers twitch occasionally, like he’s dr
Alex~ The dorm feels quiet in that late afternoon way, the kind where sunlight spills in through half-open blinds and the world outside seems almost irrelevant. Jordan is perched on the edge of my bed, knees bent, backpack at his feet, and he’s talking fast, half to himself and half to me about the final edits on his project. He gestures, letting the air take the shape of his words, and I watch him, listening more than responding. It’s been so long since I’ve seen him like this, casual and relaxed. He is a little distracted but it’s good. “I think I finally settled on the last color grade,” he says, rubbing the back of his neck. “It’s subtle, barely there, but it keeps the mood from going too… theatrical, I guess. Too polished. You know what I mean?” I nod, though I’m not sure I do. “Yeah. Polished most times can kill authenticity. Sometimes too much clarity makes people miss what’s underneath.” He grins. “Exactly. That’s what I was going for. Lived-in, but intentional.
Alex~ Seth wakes me up by stealing the blanket. Not all at once though, just enough that cold air sneaks in and my body notices before my brain does. I make a sound somewhere between a groan and a protest and roll toward him on instinct, reaching out like I expect him to still be there. He is. Bare shoulder and warm skin. The quiet rise and fall of his breathing. “Hey,” he murmurs, already smiling. I can hear it in his voice even with his eyes still closed. “You’re evil,” I say into his chest, my voice thick with sleep. “Mm. Possibly.” He shifts, tugs the blanket back over us, pins me there with his arm like he’s undoing the crime just committed. “But you’re awake now.” “I was awake already,” I lie. He laughs, low and soft, the sound vibrating under my cheek. For a second, I just stay there, listening to it, letting my body recalibrate around the fact that this is where I am. That this is who I’m with. That nothing is pulling us in opposite directions right now.







