The bar pulsed with bass, dim lights flashing in time with the music. Bodies moved in waves—some drunk, some desperate, some just dancing to forget.
Luca stepped through the crowd like he wasn't part of it anymore.
Jordan spotted him immediately and lit up like the neon sign above the bar.
He stood up from the booth, arms wide, grin even wider. "There he is! My man! I was starting to think you ghosted me for good."
Luca smiled, casual, like slipping into an old jacket. "You know I can't say no to you."
They bumped shoulders in a half-hug. Jordan already had two drinks on the table.
"Your usual." He pushed one toward Luca. "You're lucky I remember all your bad habits."
Luca picked up the glass and swirled it a little. The smell hit him before the taste did—sweet, dangerous, familiar.
He took a slow sip.
Jordan leaned in, arms crossed on the table, eyes scanning Luca's face. "So? Where the hell have you been hiding? You went from party prince to... what? Dorm ghost?"
Luca laughed lightly. "I've been around. Just… different vibe lately."
Jordan raised a brow. "Different vibe?" He leaned back and spread his hands.
"You used to walk into a room and own the damn night.
Now you're sitting there sipping like you're at a coffee shop. What happened?"
Luca shrugged. "Nothing happened. I'm just not in the mood to perform every time anymore."
"Perform?" Jordan echoed, scoffing. "That's not performing, that's just being you."
"Maybe that was me," Luca said, swirling his drink again, "or maybe it was just the version I thought I had to be."
Jordan narrowed his eyes. "You sound like a guy who's either in love or in therapy."
Luca laughed at that, looking away. "Neither."
But the way his jaw tightened gave him away. Jordan caught it.
"Oh?" Jordan grinned. "That's new. Luca hesitating to flirt? Luca who used to collect numbers like trading cards?"
Luca didn't respond immediately.
His eyes scanned the bar—the people, the noise, the chaos. It used to fill him. Now it just buzzed around him, like static he couldn't tune into.
Jordan watched him with a flicker of something softer behind the teasing. "Hey," he said, voice lowering, "I'm not judging. Just surprised. Whatever it is… he's got your head spun."
Luca didn't confirm or deny it. He just took another sip.
Jordan chuckled and shook his head. "I never thought I'd see the day.
The Luca I know would've had half the dance floor wrapped around his finger by now."
Luca leaned back in the booth, tilting his glass, his voice calm. "The Luca you knew might be changing."
Jordan's eyes narrowed slightly—not angry, just... cautious. "I hope whoever it is... doesn't make you forget the fun parts."
"They don't," Luca said softly, with a small smile. "They just remind me which ones are real."
Jordan raised his glass slowly. "Now that sounded like therapy."
They clinked glasses, but Luca's eyes flickered briefly to his watch.
8:02 p.m.
His heart beat once, then again.
Still time.
Luca took another sip, the drink going down smoother now. Familiar burn, familiar buzz.
The music thrummed deeper into his chest as Jordan leaned forward with a grin.
"One drink in and you're already brooding," Jordan said, standing and holding out a hand. "Come on. One dance. You owe me at least that."
Luca groaned, tipping his head back with a chuckle. "Jordan…"
"Don't Jordan me. One. Dance. Luca. Just like old times."
Luca hesitated, but then sighed and stood, drink in hand. "Fine. One."
Jordan whooped and led the way to the dance floor, weaving through bodies until they found a spot near the center—dim lights spinning, the bass low and heavy.
Luca moved easily. His body still remembered the rhythm even if his heart wasn't in it the same way.
Jordan was all smiles, close, teasing, spinning him around like they used to.
And for a few seconds, Luca let go—his laugh came out more freely, his body moved with the beat, and the room blurred into motion.
Jordan leaned in, lips close to his ear. "See? Still got it."
Luca laughed, shaking his head. "It's not about having it."
"No," Jordan said, eyes glinting, "it's about owning it."
The crowd shifted. The lights dimmed again. A slower beat pulsed.
Jordan slid a little closer, hand brushing Luca's arm, testing boundaries.
But Luca had already pulled back—just an inch, but enough.
He turned slightly, the music fading beneath a rising discomfort he didn't want to name.
His eyes flicked down to his watch.
8:26 PM.
His stomach sank a little.
He stepped back from Jordan, breath a little shallow. "I should go."
Jordan frowned. "Already? We just started."
"I told someone I'd meet them," Luca said, avoiding the full explanation.
Jordan's gaze narrowed a little, reading between the lines.
"Someone important?" he asked.
Luca didn't answer that. He just offered a quiet, almost apologetic smile.
"I'll text you later, yeah?"
Jordan didn't argue. He just nodded, masking disappointment with a shrug.
Sure. Go be boring. I'll hold the dance floor without you.
Luca turned with a quiet grin and slipped off the floor, weaving back through the crowd, the thump of music following him out.
As he pushed through the bar doors into the cooler night air, he exhaled hard.
Time to keep a promise.
8:46 PM.
The room was quiet. Too quiet.
Noel lay sprawled on his bed, one earbud in, the other dangling near his shoulder, half playing a song he wasn't really listening to.
His thumb hovered over the phone screen, the brightness of it reflecting faintly in his eyes.
Nothing from Luca.
Noel sighed, locking the screen.
Maybe he forgot.
He told himself it didn't matter—that it was just a movie. That people cancel plans all the time. That Luca didn't owe him anything.
But still…
He sat up, eyes flicking to the door.
The coffee cup from this morning still sat on his desk. Empty. A tiny reminder that Luca had remembered that. That he'd said, "Movie night, right? Don't let me forget."
Noel had smirked then. I won't, he'd said.
Now?
Now he wasn't so sure.
His stomach flipped in that quiet, uneasy way it always did when expectations slipped quietly into silence.
He checked the time again. 8:50. The theater closed by 10:30. If they were going, they needed to leave soon.
Still nothing.
Noel stood, wandered aimlessly around the room, then paused by the window. The hallway outside was dimly lit. Empty. Still.
He leaned his forehead lightly against the cool glass.
"I knew it," he whispered, no real bitterness in his voice—just a fragile disappointment curling at the edges.
His phone buzzed, startling him like a breath in still air.
He blinked and looked down.
Luca: "On my way back. You ready for a night out?"
Noel froze.
For a second, he didn't move.
Then, slowly, something bloomed in his chest. Quiet. Stupid. Warm.
He didn't reply right away. Instead, he smiled to himself, shaking his head, whispering under his breath.
"…Idiot."
But the smile didn't leave his lips.
9:03 PM.
The door creaked open, and Noel barely looked up from his phone, trying very hard not to seem like he'd been pacing the room for the last fifteen minutes.
Luca stepped in, the cool night clinging faintly to his jacket. His cheeks were slightly pink from the breeze, his curls messier than before, but his eyes — bright and fixed on Noel.
Noel raised an eyebrow casually. "Thought you weren't coming back."
Luca smirked, kicking off his shoes. "Please. As if I'd ditch you."
He tossed something onto Noel's bed. His phone.
Noel caught it instinctively, confused, and glanced down at the screen.
Two cinema tickets.
9:30 PM showing. Seats F8 and F9.
Noel blinked, then glanced up. "You already got the tickets?"
Luca nodded, stretching. "Booked them before I left for the bar. Just in case you were still up for it."
Noel opened his mouth, then closed it, his fingers tightening around the phone. He didn't know what to say.
"You thought I forgot, didn't you?" Luca asked, grinning as he peeled off his jacket.
"…Kinda," Noel admitted.
"Well, I didn't." Luca flopped onto his bed with a lazy groan. "I knew I wouldn't be long. I told Jordan I had plans, and guess what? I do."
Noel chuckled under his breath. "Since when do I count as plans?"
Luca turned his head toward him, that lazy smile softening. "Since always."
That shut Noel up for a second. His heart did a little tap-dance against his ribs, and he looked away, pretending to study the ticket screen like it was something important.
"So…" Luca pushed himself up. "You gonna get dressed or are we going in pajamas?"
Noel scoffed, tossing the phone back. "Gimme five minutes."
Luca caught it, still smiling as he watched Noel disappear into the closet area.
Quietly, he sat there for a moment longer, staring down at the screen. The second ticket glowed softly back at him.
He didn't know why this night mattered so much. Only that it did—and he didn't want to forget it.