Dear Roommate Please Stop Being Hot [BL]-Chapter 84: A Week, Almost Over

The hum of the club drifted around them — bass low, conversations rising and falling like distant tides. Emily sipped her water, her eyes steady on Luca.

He hadn’t spoken since Jordan left. Just sat there, elbows on the table, fingers lightly tracing the condensation on his glass.

Lost in thought, or maybe trying to outrun the ache in his chest—the one he didn’t know how to name.

After a long stretch of silence, she finally asked, "Wanna talk about it?"

Luca shook his head first — automatic.

Then stopped.

His voice came quietly. "I don’t even know what it is."

Emily tilted her head, gently. "Noel?"

His eyes lifted slowly.

"I think he’s mad at me," Luca said, like he didn’t fully believe it himself.

Emily waited.

"He told me," Luca continued, brows pulling together, "I just need space. That he didn’t want to see me right now."

Emily’s eyes softened. "When?"

"Yesterday," he murmured. "I came out of the shower, and... he just said it. Like it punched itself out of him."

"Did something happen?"

Luca shook his head, slower this time. "Nothing changed. At least... nothing I can see.He wasn’t like that when he left in the morning."

Then after class, I was gonna text him... I hesitated. That’s all. And when he came back—he was just... cold."

Emily leaned forward, resting her arms on the table. "You sure it was nothing?"

"I swear," Luca said. "We were fine before. Not perfect, but... okay. I don’t know. I keep replaying everything like I missed something."

Emily didn’t answer right away.

She watched him — really looked. At the crease in his brow. The quiet in his voice. The way his confidence had folded inward without even realizing.

"You ever think," she said slowly, "that maybe Noel’s not mad at you... maybe he’s just hurt?"

Luca frowned. "But I didn’t do anything."

Emily hesitated, then leaned in a little closer. "Sometimes doing nothing... feels like something."

That stung.

He looked down at his phone again, thumb brushing over the screen he hadn’t unlocked since they sat.

"You didn’t mean to hurt him," Emily added gently. "I know that. But maybe he saw something, or felt something, and it hit a nerve."

Luca was quiet.

Emily studied him, softer now. "Do you care about him?"

He looked up — fast. "Of course I do."

"Then don’t disappear," she said. "Even if he says he needs space, even if you don’t understand why — don’t let the silence stretch. Trust me, silence leaves cracks."

Luca swallowed hard. "What if he doesn’t want to hear from me?"

"Then let him know you’re still there," she said. "Even if it’s just one message. He can answer it when he’s ready."

Luca looked at her for a long time.

Then, slowly, he nodded.

"Okay," he whispered.

Emily leaned back again, her gaze softening. "Good."

The music picked up slightly in tempo — lights shifting into a slow purple pulse across the room.

For the first time since they sat down, Luca exhaled without tension.

Not because anything was fixed.

But because maybe... it could be.

Luca stared at his phone a long moment, thumb hovering over Noel’s name in his contacts. Then, almost on instinct, he tapped Call. ƒree𝑤ebnσvel-com

He lifted it to his ear.

One ring.

Two.

Then — nothing.

The number you’re trying to reach is currently not available.

Luca let the phone fall to his lap, eyes dimming just a little.

Emily saw it in his face.

"Maybe his phone’s off," she offered gently.

"Yeah," Luca said, but his voice didn’t believe it.

Just then, footsteps approached again, slower this time.

Jordan.

This time, he wasn’t wearing a grin. He had two bottles in hand—glass, condensation pooling at the neck.

He held one out.

"Relax. It’s soda," he said before Emily could snap. "Not every night needs to end sideways."

Emily raised an eyebrow but took it anyway, inspecting the label.

She nodded, half-surprised. "Alright. Respect."

Jordan passed the second to Luca and leaned casually against the booth’s edge. "You good, man?"

Luca gave a slow nod, uncapping the bottle.

Before Jordan could say more, Emily’s phone buzzed softly on the table.

She glanced at it.

Her heart skipped.

Lina: I’ll wait for you at the garden if you’re done with class.

Emily bit her lip, smiling instinctively.

Luca caught the look, and for the first time tonight, so did Jordan.

Emily slid her phone into her bag and stood up, still glowing faintly from the inside out.

"I gotta go," she said, brushing down her jacket. "Thanks for the sit-down, Luca."

Luca gave a faint smile. "Thank you for pulling me here."

Emily leaned in slightly, her voice low, direct — eyes locking with Jordan’s.

"But seriously," she said, firm but calm, "don’t let him drink tonight. I’m not joking."

Jordan raised his hands. "I heard you the first time. Scout’s honor."

"You were never a scout," Emily deadpanned.

"Still," Jordan said, giving her a small salute. "He’s safe."

Emily gave Luca one last look — reassuring, a soft squeeze to his shoulder — then turned and disappeared through the crowd, the beat of the music rising faintly behind her.

And Luca just sat there, watching after her, fingers tightening slightly around the soda bottle.

Something about her steadiness had made the air feel lighter — even for just a little while.

Emily was gone.

The booth felt quieter without her — like her presence had been holding something steady, and now the edges were beginning to fray.

Luca sat back against the cushion, the soda still untouched in his hand. His thumb rubbed aimlessly at the damp glass, eyes distant, following nothing.

Jordan watched him across the table, one leg slung lazily over the other, spinning his own bottle slowly between two fingers. For once, he didn’t grin. Just... looked.

Jordan spoke again, his voice lower now. "So... that bad, huh?"

Luca didn’t answer right away. His lips pressed together.

"Worse," he finally muttered.

Jordan gave a slow nod, then leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table. "You two argue?"

"Not exactly."

Jordan tilted his head. "Then what?"

Luca hesitated. "He told me he needed space. Said he didn’t want to see me right now."

Jordan blinked. "Ouch."

Luca gave a dry laugh with no humor. "Yeah."

"I mean... did something happen?" Jordan asked. "Did you screw up? Miss a date? Say something dumb?"

"No," Luca said, shaking his head slowly. "We were fine that morning. He even texted me during class. But when he came back... and he just—he looked at me like he couldn’t stand to."

Jordan sat back again, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "Man. Relationships are weird."

There was a beat.

Then he added, "Oh, wait. It’s not even a relationship yet, right?"

Luca looked away.

"It’s just... a one-week try," he murmured. "That’s what he said. One week."

Jordan raised an eyebrow. "So... when does that week end?"

Luca’s jaw tightened. "Tomorrow."

Jordan paused, then let out a small breath. "Right. Just one week. Cool plan."

Luca gave a weak shrug, but his chest ached. "I didn’t... I didn’t plan to end it after one week."

Jordan watched him, eyes sharper now beneath his easy posture. "But you never said that, did you?"

Silence.

Luca shook his head once. "I guess I was waiting for him to say it first."

Jordan reached over to the edge of the table, grabbed a different drink bottle from a passing tray — nothing too strong — and slid it in front of Luca.

"Here," he said. "Just sip. I don’t wanna see you spiral like before."

Luca stared at it.

He didn’t want to, not really. But the ache in his chest, the silence from Noel, the fact that tomorrow was the day it might all just end...

He took the bottle.

Just a sip.

It burned a little, but not enough to stop him.

Jordan leaned back, giving him space, letting the music around them swallow the rest.

They sat like that for a while — Luca drinking slowly, the club growing louder around them, and the night stretching long ahead, full of things unsaid.

Luca was on his second bottle now — not drunk, but warm in the face, looser in his posture, words trailing a little longer between breaths.

Jordan didn’t push. He just let the silence sit where it needed to, nursing his own soda, watching the way Luca’s eyes kept drifting — toward the door, toward nothing.

Eventually, Luca exhaled and slouched deeper into the booth.

"I don’t want to go back," he said quietly.

Jordan glanced at him. "To the dorm?"

Luca nodded, eyes glassy. "Noel doesn’t want to see me. I’ll just make it worse."

"You sure?" Jordan asked. "You could try."

"He told me not to come near him." Luca ran a hand through his hair, slow and tired. "And if I see him now, I’ll probably say something stupid."

Jordan leaned forward slightly. "You want me to drop you home?"

Luca flinched.

"My dad’ll ask questions. I don’t want that either."

Jordan hesitated, then said casually, "You can crash at mine."

Luca blinked at him.

Jordan shrugged, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal. "Couch is lumpy, but it’s better than sulking alone in a club."

Luca stared for a moment longer, then gave a small nod. "Okay."

Jordan stood and reached out to steady him as Luca got to his feet. The younger boy wasn’t stumbling, just... slow. Like his thoughts were weighing him down.

They slipped out of the club quietly—no drama, no scene. Just two boys walking into the night: one drowning in silence, the other steadying him, so it wouldn’t drag him under.

This chapter is updat𝙚d by f(r)eew𝒆bn(o)vel.com