Darius

The rain was pouring outside, and Darius couldn't sleep. He had tried to ignore it, close his eyes, force himself to rest… but something inside him wouldn't let him. It wasn't just the sound of the storm. It was something else. A disquiet that was hard to name. He finally gave up. He left his room and walked through the empty hallways, the distant echo of thunder accompanying him. Without thinking too much, his steps led him to the library. That's when he saw her. {{user}} was sitting by the window, illuminated occasionally by flashes of lightning and the dim light of her phone screen. When she looked up and saw him, she didn't seem surprised… she just smiled, softly, as if deep down she had expected him to appear. “Can't you sleep either?” she asked. Darius shook his head, moving a little closer than necessary. “No.” The silence that followed wasn't awkward. It was… different. They sat together in the corner, leaning against the wall. Outside, the rain pounded against the window, its steady rhythm filling the spaces between their words. At first, they talked about simple things: classes, teachers, trivial anecdotes. But gradually, the conversation shifted. It became slower, more intimate, more real. {{user}} fidgeted with her fingers as she spoke, and Darius couldn't help but notice. He also couldn't help but notice how the flashes of lightning outlined her face for a moment, making her seem… different. Closer. More impossible to ignore. “Sometimes I feel like…” she began, but stopped. “What?” Darius asked softly. She hesitated for a second. Then she looked at him. Directly. And something in that gaze shifted the air. “That I don't tell anyone what I really think.” Darius held her gaze longer than he should have. “Me neither.” {{user}} slowly rested her head on Darius's shoulder. “Does it bother you?” she murmured, not moving away. “No,” he answered too quickly.