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When Adam unglued his focus from the laptop screen almost an hour later, his eyes were tired and heavy. He stretched back on the chair, trying to relax his tense muscles, and looked to the sink where Collin was washing a few materials, head bobbing along to the music playing in his earphones.

A smile perked Adam's lips, watching him. Collin hadn't interrupted him since they had returned to work and had kept a steady pace. It was a shame Collin didn't share his love for scientific research. He nagged and he whined but when he was focused on something, he could do a great job and, with practice and had-work, Adam was convinced Collin had the potential to do well in that field. But that wasn't his calling and Adam got it. He had seen Collin act and he had no doubts that was what he was supposed to do in life.

Collin had told him about the deal he had with his parents about following acting in his future. It couldn't have been easy for Collin to have his dream delayed, but Adam couldn't say he didn't understand their apprehension. Scientific research wasn't a bed of flowers either, but acting was one of the riskiest paths to take and every parent should want their child to do well in life. Adam got it, but he also hoped Collin's parents saw their son's talent and how much he loved to act, Collin deserved to get that support.

The sound of the water disappeared and Collin placed the last goblet on the designated plastic basin. He reached for a cloth beside him to dry his hands, noting Adam looking at him from the corner of his eye. In response to the inquisitive look he received, Adam gestured for Collin to take off the earphone.

- Are you done?

Collin nodded, putting down the cloth. – You?

- Not exactly, but I could use a break. – he tipped his head with a small smile. – Care to join?

Collin perked up, hands reaching for the lab coat's buttons. – Finally, - he said, already moving towards the door. – I'm famished. We could go to a café.

Adam stood up from the chair, closing his laptop and grabbing his phone. – Every café must be packed at this hour.

- The weather's nice today, we could buy something and just sit somewhere.

Adam nodded in agreement, fishing his wallet from his bag. He would probably end up paying. Locking the laboratory behind them, they began their way down the hall, until Adam's phone buzzed in his pocket. Opening the message, his pace slowed down until it came to a stop.

- The professor wants to talk to me, - he told Collin, who had stopped a few steps ahead. – You don't need to wait for me, I'll eat something from the vending machines.

Collin shook his head at the suggestion. – I'll buy something for both and wait for you.

- Do as you want. – Adam reached for his wallet, extending it to Collin. – Please don't buy the whole café.

With a smile on his face, Collin took the wallet. – You said I could do what I want, - and with that said, he turned around and made his way to the stairs.

Adam scoffed to himself, placing his phone back on his pocket as he followed down the hall to the professor's office. After a few knocks, he was told to go in. As soon as he stepped foot in the office the air around became dense.

The professor was seated at her desk, elbows resting on the desk, fingers laced together. As he closed the door behind him, her eyes shifted from the laptop screen to him, latching on in a firm grip. Adam's shoulders tensed by instinct. That wasn't normal.

- You wanted to see me, professor?

- I do. – she gestured to the chair in front of her desk with a tilt of her head. – Take a seat.

He crossed the office towards the desk, taking the seat as he had done many times before but that now felt much more uncomfortable. - Is there a problem?

She paused. – I'm afraid so.

Adam's chest tightened, but he couldn't find anything to say while the professor leaned slightly back on her desk chair, with a sigh.

- Before I say anything else, - her eyes met his once again, - is there something you would like to tell me?

His confusion doubled as did his pulse. She wasn't asking him to simply tell her something, she wanted him to confess to something. His mind went into overdrive searching for any possible mistake on his part, any small detail that had escaped him. They had spoken just two days before and everything seemed normal.

- I'm sorry professor, - he said through the ball in his throat, - but I have no idea what you're alluding to.

Her eyes stayed on him for a few more seconds, searching for something, until her gaze finally fell to her laptop and she grabbed it, turning it around so he could see the screen. Right away, Adam's heart fell to his feet. A plagiarism software filled the screen with his dissertation inputted, which wouldn't have been cause for alarm weren't for the red notification that accused of extreme levels of similarity. The pain in his chest grew as his eyes ran from the red sign to the document again. And again. And again.

Without thinking he grabbed the laptop, pulling it to himself. – That can't be right. – he said, franticly scrolling down the document until he came face to face to the part of the text that was highlighted in red. He kept scrolling down hoping to see something, anything, that could explain what was happening. But the only constant was the red stash across the text. There were a few breaks between the red highlight but they weren't comparable with the various pages that had been flagged. As his heartbeat grew more erratic, Adam clicked somewhere on the highlighted area, bringing up a link credited as the original text. Without hesitation, he clicked on it and a new tab opened, showing a page of some random website that had his stomach turning. There, teal letters on a white background spelt out a slight variation of his dissertation's topic title and, when he skipped to the text under it, any hope for a magical misunderstanding vanished into thin air.

His eyes veered back to the woman in front of him. – This is not true. I didn't plagiarise any of this. I-I'd never even seen this website in my life.

The professor's indecipherable expression didn't crack, although she leaned slightly back on her chair, the sound of the leather in the silence almost deafening to Adam. – I believe you. – she said. – Not only are you not one to resort to plagiarism, but you're also far too smart to be that obvious.

Relief filled Adam's lungs, forcing a deep sigh off him. However, before even the slightest sign of a smile could reach his lips, her frigid gaze pierced him once again. – However, - she continued, - my trust in you has no weight in this situation.

For the second time in a matter of seconds, Adam's hopes were crushed into thin shards that pierced into his chest. He rummaged for anything to say, but his mind could only come up with a brittle - What?

- As much influence I might hold, my beliefs mean nothing to the jury without proof. – she pointed out. – The publishing date on that blog post is from a month ago and unless you can prove you had that part completely written before that, I don't see a way to take care of this matter in time for the due date.

She paused for a beat, leaning forward on the desk, her eyes meeting his.

- Adam, - she said, – I need you to think about it. Is there anyone that has or had access to your work? I know you said you would follow my advice of keeping it confidential, but if there is anyone that could have done this, we need to look into them.

As if shaken up out of a deep fog, Adam's mind was kicked into high gear, listing every person that had even the minimal contact with his work. He had asked for some information from some colleagues but they had only sent him things and not the other way around. He had also saved the file to a USB pen, but that pen was safe in his apartment. Jane had a copy of the file at some point, but that had been way before he had written the plagiarised part. The only person left was...

No.

- There wasn't anyone that could have done it. – he said.

At his reply the expectation in the professor's face disappeared with a sigh, followed by a slow nod.

- It was probably a case of hacking then, – she fetched the laptop, turning it back to her, – but there's still no proof your document is the original, – her eyes returned to him. – To be blunt with you Adam, I don't see a way to help you. If you were to turn in this text, not only would it not be accepted for evaluation as well as mark you for plagiarism, and by association, me.

She was right. She was right. There was no way he could turn in his dissertation with those pages, but he couldn't simply delete more than fifty pages from his work without damaging the whole thing.

But - it occurred to him with a new gust of hope – there was a way for him to have time.

- You might be able to be accepted for the special season, - she said, apparently reading his expression. Her tone, on the other hand, didn't seem to carry any optimism. She looked to the side in a moment of silence, and Adam's stomach turned all over again. She was stalling. He had never seen her stall. That couldn't be a good sign for him. – However, - her eyes fell onto Adam, cold as ice. – that would delay your PhD for about three months and I can't hold the position at the centre any longer waiting for you.

For the first time in maybe forever, Adam felt he could throw up from a simple sentence. His throat closed and tears stinging his eyes, but he stayed put, staring her back without hesitation. If he was going to get his dreams crushed, he would very well do it with dignity.

- Unless any proof arises, - she continued, - I'm afraid I have to officially withdraw the job proposition.

Under ten minutes. Ten minutes. That was how long it took for years of hard work, stress and lack of sleep to go out the window. In a split second of weakness, he felt his bottom lip want to tremble, but he didn't let go of his control. He wouldn't cry. Not in front of anyone.

- I understand. – he forced himself to respond.

The professor's gaze ran his expression, a hint of sadness in crossing her eyes. Adam hated it. He was the one that had the right to be sad. He was the one that had his plans for the future destroyed because some fucking hacker decided to steal his work. He was the one that had busted his ass to be the best he could just to be screwed over.

His hands curled into fists and he stood up. – I believe we're done here, professor. – he said, trying his best not to sound too harsh through clenched teeth. – May I go?

She didn't react to his obvious rage, instead nodding with a calm demeanour. That made him even angrier. – Sure. – she looked at him with a small smile. – And, if you see fit, I'm not opposed to you taking a few days off.

- Thank you. – he replied, turning towards the exit. – I think I will.

- Thank you, have a nice day.

Collin smiled back at the girl, grabbing the bag of pastries and the cup holder with two drinks. He left the café mumbling a random tune to himself as he took a sip from his bubble tea. He pondered doing the same with the chocolate iced mocha but decided it would be better to let Adam have the first sip. After all, Adam wouldn't be able to tell him no if he asked later.

A break and something to eat was exactly what they needed. Especially Adam. That guy spent so much time working that he might as well tattoo those dark circles under his eyes at the risk of no one recognizing him if he ever got enough sleep.

Collin looked at the paper bag and smiled. Maybe he couldn't force Adam to take a break, but he could at least help. And what better help than copious amounts of sugar and caffeine? Knowing Adam, he would be staying late at the lab and Collin had class from five to seven so they both could use the incentive.

If it weren't for Adam nagging him and May threatening to shave his hair in his sleep if he left her to suffer alone, he would probably be skipping that class, but since he had to go he could always take the opportunity to pass by the lab to make sure Adam didn't skip dinner. Better yet, he could convince him to join him and his friends.

The idea alone had his heart skip a beat with excitement. Adam had met Blake and Dean in passing, but he had yet to introduce him to the others. He knew he would be setting himself up to for chaos, especially since Mark had decided to join them that evening but he couldn't help but smile at the plan.

He and Adam weren't a couple – yet – but having Adam meet his friends seemed like a step in the right direction. Maybe that would prompt Adam to introduce Collin to his friends.

Daydreams of a future relationship between him and Adam filled his walk back to the department, which, together with the bubble tea and the June sun shining on his cheeks, had his energy levels rising. His imagination was cut short and a smile grew on his face when he approached the building to see Adam opening the door. His smile was quickly replaced by confusion, however, when he noticed Adam's quick pace and bag on his shoulder.

- Adam? – he called, but to no avail.

Adam must have not have heard him. So Collin called again, this time louder as he sped up to catch up to him. When he still didn't stop, Collin stuffed the paper bag under his arm to free his hand and reach for Adam.

- Adam! – Collin grabbed his harm and Adam stopped, although still not facing him. A few seconds of silence went by, each ticking moment growing a sinking feeling in Collin. He slowly let go of his grip. – Where are you going?

More silence. Collin stepped to the side, trying to get a glimpse of Adam's expression. – Did something happen?

- I need to leave. – he said. – Do you have my wallet?

The cut and dry tone in his voice sent a chill up Collin's spine. He paused, waiting to see if Adam would look his way, but once it became obvious that wouldn't happen, he reached for the wallet in his pocket, placing it in Adam's hand.

- Are you feeling sick? – he insisted, gliding his hand from the wallet to Adam's wrist in a very loose grasp. Once again, there was silence.– You're acting weird... Did the professor say something?

At his words, Adam's body grew stiffer and he finally turned around to face Collin. His expression could have been carved out of cold marble, jaw clenched and nostrils flared, but everything else was overshadowed by the veil of shininess in his eyes. Collin's heart constricted as did his grip on Adam.

- What happened?

As soon as he spoke, Adam evaded his eyes, tugging at his arm a few times until Collin let go.

- I'm done here for today. – Adam turned his back to him, pausing for a beat. – You can go too, - he said, and without giving Collin the chance to ask anything else, he rushed away towards the parking lot.

Collin's instinct was to follow him, but his feet were glued to the ground and they stayed that way as he watched Adam walk away until he disappeared from his view.

Collin was at a loss and the tightness in his chest spread to his throat and down to his stomach. Something had to be wrong. Not only did Adam look furious, he seemed to be holding back tears. Collin had never seen him like that, not even under pressure when the results kept coming back wrong.

Before he could even consider what he was doing, Collin found himself in front of the office door.

- Come in. – the professor's voice said after a few knocks.

Collin opened the door, trying his best not to squash the pastries or spill the drinks in his rush. The professor's eyebrows arched as he entered, eyes scanning him up and down. – Collin. – she greeted, putting aside her confusion to give way to a sweet smile. – I wasn't expecting you. Did we have a meeting that I might be forgetting?

The realization that he had more or less just barged into the office of someone who usually required setting an appointment with began to set. He tried to clean the discomfort lodge in his throat, rolling his shoulders back in hopes it would give him some sense of courage.

- No, professor, - he said, - we didn't.

- If that's the case, I'm actually a bit busy righ-

- I'm so sorry for showing up like this, - he cut in before she could turn him away, - but it won't take long. I just have a question.

Surprise in her eyes, but Collin stood his ground. As much as he didn't want to spite a professor, especially the one who could dictate whether or not he would complete the internship, that was the best chance he had at discovering what had left Adam in that state, and he wasn't going to let it go without a fight.

She studied his stubborn expression for a while but, to Collin's disbelief, a small smile of amusement perked the corner of her painted lips. She gestured to him with her hand. – Go ahead, then, - she said. – I'm listening.

Collin wasted no time wallowing in his surprise. – Adam said you wanted to see him and I just passed him at the door and he looked upset. – that was an understatement, but there was no need to share the extent of it. Adam wouldn't want that. – Did something happen? He just left without saying anything.

The professor sighed even before he could finish talking, crossing her arms on the desk.

- I'm not sure it's my place to tell you.

- Has this anything to do with his dissertation? – he insisted. He moved closer to the desk, supporting the cup holder on the back of the chair. – It does, doesn't it? I can help. He can still make it, right?

– Unfortunately, I don't see a way for us to help him at this point. – she looked down at the laptop in front of her, clicking around a few times before turning it to face Collin.

Confused, but more eager to find a way to help Adam, Collin studied the screen and, right away, he realized the problem. That was a software to check plagiarism. Adam would make him use a free version of a similar software to check his own report from time to time.

There was so much red.

Collin's head snapped up to gape at her. – Is that Adam's dissertation? – he didn't wait for a reply. Placing the drinks and pastries' bag on the edge of the desk, he sat down in front of the laptop, scrolling down, dipper into the sea of red. – How much of it?

- Fifty-seven pages, – she said. – I counted.

He forced his eyes to detach from the lines of red highlight to the right edge of the screen where the link