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This chapter's dedicated to softyhartz! Thank youuu for being so sweet and awesome in general, I appreciate you so much ♡

When I woke up this morning, I was thoroughly ashamed of myself.

I'd fallen asleep hugging Nolan's comforter to my chest last night. It smelled so good that I had taken it to bed with me.

Solemnly, I looked down at my beloved Georgie, which was sitting on the edge of my bed. His adorable silly face stirred up an even greater storm of guilt in me. I had forsaken my blue-furred teddy bear that Ryan gave me six Christmases ago for a strange comforter last night. What had I done?

Without exceptions, I hugged Georgie to bed every night.

Ryan could never learn about this scandalous affair.

Actually, maybe he wouldn't care. When we were home for Thanksgiving break last year, his reaction to seeing Georgie's picture on my phone wallpaper was this: "Seriously, Chelsea? It's cute that you still like the stuffed bear I got you when you were nine, but don't you think it's time to at least wash it?"

I flew to Georgie's defense immediately, informing him that Georgie wasn't dirty, just well-loved. Besides, washing him meant that I would have to leave him out to dry for almost a week—there was no way I could sleep without him for that long. "I wipe it down and dust it like every night, okay, stop judging me!"

Okay, he probably wouldn't care. This was just between me and Georgie.

Picking up poor old Georgie, I gave him a quick peck on the forehead.

No one had to know that I had hugged Nolan's possession to sleep. I would just return him his comforter today, and I could just forget all about this incident.

After digging around in my drawers, I found a large cotton tote bag to stuff his comforter into.

There. No more illicit hugging.

My phone vibrated. It was a text from Ashley. Did you oversleep? Are you coming down for breakfast today?

Sighing, I sent her a quick reply that I had just gotten up. I grabbed my wet brush off my desk and started to untangle the nest on my head. I hated battling with my hair every morning. It always took so long to get it nice and straight again. The worst part was seeing my sad little brown hair strands crying for their return to my scalp stuck in between the bristles—all because I was usually in too much of a rush to patiently brush them out.

It looked like this morning was going to be no different.

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I had spent the day in the library with Ashley, trying to revise my schoolwork. Melissa had tried to join us when she caught us on the way there, but she ended up dozing off on her textbook every thirty minutes. By the end, when it was almost time for dinner and we decided that we were done, she had been drooling on her arm for the past two hours. The whole way to the dining hall she begged us to stop nagging at her unless we wanted our new official nicknames to be Grandma. Ashley only stopped when we reached the dining hall, and to her great displeasure was crowned the title of Grandma Ashley.

"Oops, sorry."

After accidentally elbowing it, Melissa caught my giant lump of a tote bag right before it fell off our table.

"It's fine," I assured her, taking it from her and placing it on my lap. "I'll just hold on to it."

"I still can't believe Nolan of all people lent you his comforter," Ashley said, finishing her bite of pasta. "And that you now have his number."

Both Derek and Melissa nodded.

"He's not that bad, I guess," I said, shrugging. "I mean, when he's not busy ignoring people."

"I haven't seen him ever have a conversation with anyone that didn't have to do with group project assignments," Melissa said.

"He transferred here about a year ago, didn't he?" Derek said.

"We've all been here since seventh grade," Ashley said, taking a sip from her bottle of organic carrot juice. "I don't remember ever seeing him in my first year here."

"Do you know why he transferred here?" Melissa asked Derek, resting her chin in her hand.

"I don't know—I don't think anyone said anything about that." He looked thoughtful. "I heard that he attended a public day school before coming here, though."

Melissa chimed in, "I heard one of the guys say that he got picked on by Bradley because he ignored everyone."

Derek grinned back at her. "Oh, yeah, I heard that too. That supposedly happened a few weeks after his arrival, right?"

"Where did you guys get all this gossip from, and how have I never heard any of this?" I said, impressed.

"Our other social circles are basically rumor mills." Melissa shrugged.

"The guys like to talk," Derek agreed.

"You two never seemed interested so I never bothered telling you," Melissa said, biting into her slice of pizza. "Derek and I gossip all the time."

He elbowed her in the arm, almost causing her to drop the pizza slice.

"Hey! It's true." She glared at him. "Sorry I revealed your deep, dark secret!"

When Ashley caught my eye, she smirked and tilted her head towards them. No, she was not going to win the bet. These two were way too stubborn for that.

"Anyway," I said, cutting into the decidedly unromantic atmosphere between them, "what happened then?"

"Wait—wasn't that why Bradley transferred out of here?" Melissa said, gaping at Derek. "I can't believe I never connected the dots!"

"Bradley? Isn't that the annoying skirt chaser who was in the basketball team?" I asked, raising my eyebrows. "I think I remember him trying to hit on Ashley!"

Ashley wrinkled her nose at the memory. "It was not a good day."

"Yeah, I heard that he got all up in Nolan's face for thinking he was too good for anyone," Derek said, nodding.

"And the second Bradley touched his shoulder, Nolan threw him to the ground!" Melissa made wide, sweeping hand gestures, speaking in a hushed and cinematic way. "And not like a judo throw! Just ... a throw!"

"What? No," Derek complained. "That's not what happened. When he grabbed his arm, Nolan swung him around and threw him into the wall."

She snorted at him. "Please. That's even more implausible."

He shook his head. "Whatever."

"So, the point is both of your versions are just stories not to be taken seriously," I said, nodding slowly and stroking my nonexistent beard. "Thanks, guys. I've learned so much from this."

"No!" Melissa snapped. "Whatever he did—though I'm pretty sure he threw him to the ground—the fact remains that they fought. Also, that Nolan emerged victorious."

"I think we both agree it wasn't much of a 'fight'," Derek said, peeling open the banana in his hand. "I heard that Bradley couldn't get up."

"I heard that he got up, but only to run away," Melissa said. "Fine, it was one-sided either way."

Ashley shook her head. "I don't believe either of your accounts. Have you seen how skinny he is? There's no way any of that happened."

"He's not that skinny," I said automatically.

Everyone turned to look at me with a stupefied look.

Defensively, I frowned at them. "What? He isn't!"

"Uh, yeah, he is," Melissa said. "No offense, but I think you need a visit to the optometrist."

"It's not about my eyes," I said, certain that my annoyance was showing. "I helped him up to his room a few weeks back, remember? He had to lean on me. He was actually decently heavy."

"Maybe he has dense bones," Melissa suggested.

"Or maybe Chelsea is saying that he has some muscles," Ashley said, rolling her eyes.

I nodded at her. "As always, you get me."

Derek said, "Whatever the case, I'm pretty sure Bradley's transfer was because of him."

I checked my phone which had its screen lit up with a text from Nolan.

I'm outside the dining hall now.

"I'm going to return this first," I said, getting up from my seat. "Be back in a bit."

When I got outside, Nolan was leaning against the wall with his arms crossed. He was staring blankly in front of him, looking disinterested in his surroundings.

I hurried over to him.

"Hi," I said, handing over the bag. "Thanks for lending it to me."

"No problem," he said, taking it from me and peering inside it.

Nolan reached inside and pulled out the rolled-up comforter, tucking it under his arm. He handed me the now-empty tote bag. "Here."

"Oh, thanks," I said, surprised. "Are you sure you won't need it?"

"Yeah, I'm going straight back to my dorm. Bye." He turned to leave.

"Bye," I said, mostly out of politeness because I didn't think he actually cared about hearing me say that.

Without looking back, Nolan raised a hand as he continued walking.

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My brain refused to power down.

I shifted under my covers, feeling uncomfortably hot underneath it; I could feel the sweat on my shins. But I knew that the second I threw them off I would be too cold to fall asleep. I forced myself to lie still for the next minute—maybe all I needed was to stop moving.

Nope. It wasn't working.

Unable to tolerate the stifling heat anymore, I sat up and tossed aside my comforter. I looked down to see Georgie being strangled by the neck with my left hand. I immediately loosened my grip and muttered a silent apology to him.

The display face of the alarm clock on my dresser glowed with a soft blue light; it was a little past one.

I groaned, pushing my sweaty hair out of my face. Why couldn't I sleep?

Setting Georgie aside, I stood up and reached for my water bottle. After drinking some water, I considered my closed window. I usually didn't open it at night, because if a cockroach flew in and attacked me in my sleep, I was pretty sure I would bring down the entire building with my screaming.

I decided to ignore the niggling fear in my brain reminding me of the hazardous risks; I was desperate for fresh air.

As I unlatched the window, I promised myself that if I saw anything flying in my direction, I'd shut it faster than Mr. Jameson threw his books at Nolan.

A rush of cool breeze greeted my face as it swept into my room. I closed my eyes for a second, relishing the feel of the wind upon my face. Resting my pullover-covered forearms on the windowsill, I leaned out of the window to admire the night sky.

My room was on the side of the dormitory that faced the forest outside; there were no other buildings facing me, so no patrolling teacher would catch me awake unless I turned on the lights.

Although the sky wasn't quite as clear as it was the other night, the moon that hung in it was bathed in a lovely glow. There were only a few stars sprinkled sparsely around. I yawned and interlocked my fingers, stretching my arms through the window.

Abruptly, there was a camera shutter sound that punctured the quietness of the night. Someone with a masculine voice swore. I jerked mid-stretch and grabbed onto the windowsill and peered all around outside my window.

What was that?

It definitely came from somewhere outside.

My confusion only intensified when I found no one on any side of the building, or anywhere near it. Then I thought to look down and saw a pair of legs jutting out from the window of the room right below mine—more specifically, a pair of jean-clad thighs.

Was someone sitting on their windowsill? Our dorm windowsills had no extended outer protrusions from the wall—there was barely any width for us to sit on. Even if they weren't planning to jump, it would be way too easy to accidentally fall off!

"Hey, what are you doing? Why are you sitting there?" I cupped my hands to my mouth and called down to him, trying to make sure it was loud enough for him to hear me, but not so loud that a teacher would catch me. "Are you okay? Don't do anything rash!"

"...Chelsea?"

I stiffened and leaned over to get a better look. "Who are you?! How do you know my name, you creep? Show yourself!"

Unexpectedly, the guy bent forward so that I could see the back of his upper torso. Then he twisted around so that I could see his face. I would recognize that black hair and green eyes anywhere. "You were the one who was looking at me first, but I'm the creep?"

My jaw dropped. "Nolan?!"

He was staying in the room right below mine? Why hadn't I noticed that before?

"Shh!" he hissed up at me. "Shout louder why don't you, I don't think the people in Canada heard you clearly enough."

"Sorry," I lowered my voice. "But—no! Wait! This is so dangerous! What are you leaning your whole body out of the window for?!"

He didn't seem at all fazed by my panicked warning. "Relax, I'm fine."

"How am I supposed to relax when you could fall any moment? If the teachers find out that you're not only awake, but also hanging out like that, you'll be dead meat!"

Irritation twisted his facial features. "How are they going to find out? Are you going to tell them?"

I spluttered. "Well, of course not! Do I look like a snitch?"

Besides, I sat beside the guy in so many of our classes. I wouldn't make life harder for myself by making the guy who sat next to me every day hate me with every fiber of his being.

"I meant that they would find out once you lose your balance and actually fall!"

"I won't."

"What were you doing?" I said, looking suspiciously at him.

"I was trying to take a picture of the moon. I forgot that I hadn't turned off the shutter sound."

"But why aren't you in bed?"

And why is he still wearing jeans at this time of the night?

"Why aren't you in bed?" he challenged. "You could get into trouble too."

"Way less trouble than you if they opened the door now and caught you perched there like that!" I paused. "I couldn't sleep."

"I get enough sleep in classes," he said.

Okay, what?

"Wait, you mean you sleep in class on purpose?!"

"Yeah. What, wasn't it obvious?"

"All those – all those times I tried so hard to wake you up – you have a bedroom to sleep in, don't sleep in class!"

"I didn't ask you to wake me up."

Suddenly, he sat back up and his legs were withdrawn from sight.

"Hey! I'm trying to make you see sense, why did you just leave—"

"I went to get this," his voice said, just as his thighs reappeared. "Catch!"

Something came flying up at me from below. I made a wild grab for it as it came up in front of me, but my hand missed it by a wide margin.

It fell back down, and, to my amazement, his hand flew out and caught it again. Okay, that was impressive.

He poked his head out to look at me. "Was it too far away? Try again."

The object shot up right in front of my face this time, and since my hands were ready and waiting, I managed to clap both of them together over it.

"I got it!"

Now that it was in my hands, I could finally take a good look at it. It was white and looked like a supplement bottle. 'Melatonin' was printed in the largest font on its label.

"What's this for? Are you giving it to me?"

"You can't sleep, right? It's a dietary supplement. It helps you sleep better."

Despite being startled, my heart warmed a little at his explanation. "Like sleeping pills?"

"With less side effects. It's a pretty safe option."

As I turned the bottle around in my hands, I noted that it was still sealed in its original plastic packaging.

"Thanks! But wait, is it effective? I mean, you are still awake ..."

"It works, I just don't take it anymore. You can have it. I don't need it."

"Um, you're the one compulsively sleeping in class all the time, I think you need it way more than I do."

I heard him snicker. "Read the instructions on the bottle. Good night."

His legs disappeared again, and with that I knew that our conversation had come to an end.

Strangely, I felt refreshed after the short interaction we had. I almost flopped back down on my bed before I remembered that my window was still open. I dashed back to shut it. The last thing I wanted was to wake up in the morning with a roach in my face. Not today, insects.

I peeled the plastic seal off the bottle and pulled out the plastic tab that held the lid closed. Following the instructions on the bottle label, I put one of the tablets in my mouth to be dissolved.

The possibility that he was basically nocturnal had never occurred to me; I thought he just slept, period. All day and every day. There was no way I was going to expend my efforts on waking him in class from now on.

I decided to send him a text to tell him exactly what I thought of this.

'Thanks. That said, you're the one who should be taking it!'

'It's only a temporary fix. It's not meant for long-term use, so if you have insomnia you should see a doctor.'

What a surprise—that part of my message was completely ignored.

'Okay, I'll take note. I don't have insomnia though.'

'That's good. Hope you get to sleep soon.'

My eyebrows rose when I saw his reply. That was nice of him.

'Thanks, I hope you do too. Good night.'

'You probably know better than to get your hopes up like that. Night.'

Stifling a laugh, I placed my phone back on my desk. He could be easy to talk to when he wasn't being curt. What a pity he couldn't be like that all the time.

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AN: This was pretty long, but it was too short to be split up so I just left it as it is! I decided to remove the chapter titles and consider restoring them when I've finished this story + have time to think about them. Thank you so much for reading! I hope you're all having a great day. ♡

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