The sun had set an hour ago, and the stars were already becoming visible in the rapidly darkening sky. After I had my uneventful dinner with Non accompanying me through it, we ended up strolling around aimlessly on campus.

  Nights when we didn't particurly have anything pnned except for spending time with each other easily ranked among my favorites. Sometimes we had long conversations that sted hours, and sometimes we didn't exchange more than a few words. I loved them all.

  "Cold?"

  I looked up at Non, who had just asked me the question, and shook my head.

  "Just a little."

  He grasped my wrist and gently pulled my hand up towards him.

  "Here."

  His other hand drew something out of his rge hoodie pocket. He pced it in my palm, and the warmth gave my hand an instant relief from the cold.

  I gave him a big grin. "Thank you!"

  "No problem."

  Pocketing it, I tucked both my hands in my own pullover hoodie pocket and savored the heat that emanated from it.

  Non stopped walking all of a sudden.

  "Did you feel that?" he asked.

  I didn't. "Feel what?"

  He put his hand out in the air. "I think it's starting to rain."

  "No way," I said, drawing my hood over my head as a precaution. "I don't have my umbrel on me."

  "My dorm is nearer than yours. You can take my umbrel when you go back."

  "Sounds like a pn."

  We set off at a much brisker pace, and he took my hand to make sure I was keeping up.

  We were several feet away from the building doors when the faint drizzle abruptly transformed into a pouring storm, replete with lightning fshes and crackling thunder.

  "Let's run," he said.

  He didn't have to tell me twice. We broke into a sprint simultaneously.

  Rain pelted down on me, and I could feel multiple parts of my hoodie rapidly dampening against my skin.

  "Oh no," I moaned. "We're going to get drenched!"

  I ran as fast my legs would carry me. I really appreciated that he kept the same pace as me, because I would definitely have been left in the dust if he didn't.

  When we arrived at his room, a startling peal of thunder cracked over the sky. I jumped slightly and grabbed his arm.

  "Don't worry." He drew me into a short hug. "It's just thunder."

  "Mm," I said, trying to ignore my racing heartbeat. "Thanks."

  After that, we got out of our hoodies and hung them on the hooks on the back of his door.

  "At least we weren't too far away when it really started to pour," Non said, looking down to examine the bck T-shirt he was wearing. "That was sudden."

  I pulled on mine slightly to check how much of the water had gotten to it. I was gd that it felt mostly dry, thanks to the thick material of my hoodie. Both my shoes and jeans were in the same condition—spttered with raindrops but not wet enough to be uncomfortable.

  Pleased that my socks still felt dry, I pulled my sneakers off to set them by his mini shoe rack. Non did the same before striding to his desk.

  Unlike me, he stayed in a single and didn't have a roommate, so I didn't have to worry about intruding on others. Occasionally, I came over to hang out or study with him.

  "Okay, it's not that bad," I announced. "How about you?"

  "Yeah, me too." He poured some bottled water into the electric kettle and turned it on. "Want to drink coffee or tea or hot chocote or something?"

  I couldn't help smiling. The only reason he kept any of it stocked in his room was because I occasionally came over. I'd already told him, on several occasions, that he didn't need to do that just for me. But Non had shrugged and said that he already got them, so we might as well put them to use.

  "You're offering me coffee or tea at night? What if I can't fall asleep ter?" I teased.

  "Then you won't fall asleep," he said, having the audacity to smile sweetly while speaking those words.

  "Don't you care if I get enough rest?" I mock-wailed. "I still have csses tomorrow!"

  "Chelsea," he said in a patient tone, "as far as I remember, no amount of coffee affects you enough to keep you awake when it's time for bed."

  I fshed him a thumbs up. "Good job! You remembered."

  Even while he was shaking his head, the grin on his face was undeniable.

  "So ..." he said.

  I raised an arm into the air.

  "Hot chocote, please!"

  "Got it. You can sit down, you know." I assumed he said that because I was still standing near the door. "Your jeans don't look that wet."

  "I was being cautious," I said. "Then I'll sit on your bed!"

  He pulled out a drawer and rummaged through its contents. "Yeah, sit down. I'm about to do my undry in a couple more days, anyway."

  I liked how neat and tidy Non's room was. Some books were stacked on the small shelf above his wooden study desk. Other than his ptop and electric kettle, there was nothing on his desk. Everything else was kept away until he took it out to use it.

  "I don't think I can ever get over the fact that you brought two comforters to school," I commented, sitting down on the side of his bed, "again."

  Both were folded and stacked together at the foot of his bed, one dark blue and one gray. The dark blue one was the very comforter he'd lent me back in Fairwood during the astronomy club's meteor shower event.

  "I know," he said, "because you mention this every time you come over."

  "That's because I can't get over it!"

  One comforter was heavy enough to lug around, let alone having to carry a suitcase with two of them packed in it.

  "Yes, I know."

  Whoa, it really was getting cold in here, courtesy of the raging storm outside. Lightning fshed outside his window. A boom of thunder followed within seconds, inciting a shiver that rolled down my spine.

  Goosebumps rose on the exposed parts of my arms.

  "Would it be an exaggeration to say that it sounds like there's a waterfall outside?" I gripped onto the blue comforter with both hands. "A waterfall with thunder?"

  "Maybe, but I won't bme you. It's pretty loud. Are you okay?"

  He got two mugs out—I left one of mine in his room so I could use it whenever I visited—and poured out the hot chocote mix into mine.

  "Yup. Hey, can I use your blue comforter? It's so cold."

  "You know you can."

  "Thanks!"

  I wasted no time opening it up and wrapping it around me. Non's signature scent wafted around me, prompting me to bury my nose into it and inhale deeply.

  "It smells so good." I sighed. "Why won't you give me the formu ratio?"

  We'd been together for two years, and he still refused to tell me how much of which detergents and fabric softeners he mixed to consistently get this aroma!

  His answer was always the same.

  "I already told you," he said. "You smell good just the way you are. It's going to be weird if you copied me and started smelling like me. I don't want to hug you and smell me."

  Yeah, his reply had never changed.

  "But I really want the formu!"

  "I can't believe we're arguing over smells."

  "Well, they're delicious smells!" Non's one was, anyway.

  "Aren't there better things to argue about?"

  The most ridiculous thought came to my mind.

  Chortling, I said, "Hey, don't we sound like those people who are fighting over a secret family recipe that has been passed down from generation to generation?"

  "Uh..."

  "Like, you'd be the one who's fiercely guarding the recipe your grandma gave you before she passed with his life, and I'd be the in-w who just joined the family and is hounding you for it."

  He threw a disbelieving gnce at me over his shoulder.

  "That's it," I continued, warming up to the idea, "we sound exactly like that!"

  Non snickered. "Not really."

  "Humor me a little," I said. "We're stuck indoors right now!"

  Bundled up in his comforter, I could feel myself start to get all toasty and warm. I let out another contented sigh.

  "I did," he said, walking over to me while carrying a mug in each hand. "I said not really. If you were anyone else, I would have ignored you."

  Gratefully, I accepted the mug he handed to me. I grinned as I breathed in the sweet aroma of chocote rising up from it.

  "What! It was a perfectly good analogy."

  "And it'd have been perfectly understandable if I hadn't dignified it with an answer."

  He sat down on my left and drank his water.

  "You just don't get it."

  I sipped from my mug, watching the steam rise up past my nose and into the air. The hot drink warmed me up from the inside. His damp hair caught my eye when I gnced over at him.

  "Hey, your hair's still wet. Didn't you put your hood on earlier?"

  "Nope," he said.

  "That's reckless! You should dry it."

  "Nah, it's not like I'll catch a cold."

  I narrowed my eyes at him. "Then I'll dry it for you. Where's your towel?"

  Right away, he got to his feet and put his mug on the desk.

  "Really? You should've said that earlier."

  I snorted as he opened his closet door.

  "If you wanted my help, you could've just asked."

  "It'll dry on its own," he said. "I'm only getting the towel because you offered to do it for me."

  When he returned to the bed with a fluffy green towel in his hands, I leaped to my feet and set down my mug as well. Grabbing it from him, I threw it over the back of his head and began rubbing his hair dry. I shifted to kneeling on the bed behind him so that I was tall enough to reach his head. Through the towel, I pressed my fingertips against his scalp and kneaded.

  "Thanks," he said.

  "You're welcome." I freed my left hand so I could lean over to kiss him on the cheek.

  The smile on his lips was so faint I wondered if I was imagining it.

  He turned his head around the moment my lips made contact with his skin, and his mouth met mine. Non's hand reached up and grasped my wrist as he kissed me hard. Closing my eyes, I leaned into him.

  It ended sooner than I wanted, and he pulled back to say, "Thanks for the hot chocote."

  Heat rushed into my cheeks.

  "No problem," I mumbled into his shoulder.

  Then I sat back on my knees and resumed my previous task of towel-drying his hair.

  "It's so dark right now," I said, looking at the sky through his closed window. "It's interesting how the sky gets this dark when it's raining. If I didn't know it was only seven-thirty, I'd have thought it was ten or something."

  "Yeah, I used to like when it rained like this." Non's tone was wistful. "I'd hole myself up in my room and watch the rain droplets run down my window."

  "You don't like it anymore?"

  He shrugged. "The couple of hours right after sunset are the only times I ever get to walk around outside to look at a slightly lighter sky before night falls. It wouldn't be so bad if it rained in the day."

  That was a good point. While he could look out into the day sky from the safety of inside a building, he couldn't really step out to experience it.

  "Actually, if it rained like this every day," I said, moving my hands to work on the sides of his head, "we'd be able to go out in the day. After you got enough sleep, of course."

  "Yeah. I wouldn't have to check the weather forecast."

  "And we'd be able to go out every day! Except when you need to nap."

  "But the sky would still be dark."

  "Trade-offs," I said with a shrug.

  "I miss being under the sun," he said suddenly.

  I didn't know what to say. I merely continued drying off the bottom section of his hair.

  "Do you remember that picture you sent me yesterday?" he asked. "You said you had an early css and decided to take a walk before going."

  "I remember."

  There was something about the day that felt so different that early in the morning, right when the sun was rising. Even the air tasted nostalgic in my lungs, like I was back in Fairwood getting ready for school.

  I'd witnessed the murky darkness of the sky fade into a golden hue, smearing the clouds with various shades of orange and red. It was so pretty that I wanted Non to see it too.

  I recalled wishing that Non could have gone on morning strolls with me, that we would hold hands while soaking in the serene atmosphere.

  I'd snapped a photo of the sky and sent it to him, telling him that I was on a walk.

  "I wish I could've seen that with you," he said. "I'll never get to see the sun with my own eyes again."

  I removed the towel and hung it over the back of his study chair.

  I truly didn't know what to say.

  I didn't know what it felt like to miss the sun--I got to bask in it whenever I wanted. If I thought it was too hot, I'd hide under the nearest shelter. If I wanted to feel its warmth on me, I'd simply walk out into the open air.

  I couldn't tell him that it was okay, that one day he'd get to walk out into a sunny area again, when he very likely wouldn't for the rest of his life.

  Could I say that I wished he could've seen it with me too? I didn't know if that would hurt him even more. It was something he could never do.

  Sitting back down beside him, I cuddled into his side.

  "I wish I knew how to make you feel better," I said. "I'm sorry."

  "Don't apologize," he said, wrapping his arm around me and holding me tight. "It's not your fault. I'm just venting. Sorry, I'm compining again."

  "No, please vent to me whenever you need to. I'll listen. I want to be here for you."

  Apart from his dad and me, Non had literally no one else to talk to regarding his condition. I never wanted him to feel like he had nobody to turn to.

  I wondered what his dad would say. Did Non even share his problems with his dad?

  He shook his head. "You make me feel better just by being here."

  Not for the first time, I was thankful we agreed to go to the same college. I didn't want to imagine what it would be like if we'd gone to different ones. It would be so painful if I were unable to be physically there for him when he needed me.

  "I just—I'm just a bit overwhelmed these days," he said, his voice growing quieter. "When I saw that photo, I couldn't stop thinking—I wish I could've gone down to meet you when you sent me the text. I wish we could go out and do all the things everyone else does in the day instead of at night when you can barely see anything."

  Would it be too insensitive to say "me too"? Non sounded so vulnerable right now. I didn't dare to say it.

  "I want to watch the sunrise with you."

  "That would be nice," was what I settled on as I buried my face into his chest.

  I didn't think we'd ever get to.

  I couldn't say that, either.