The rain was coming down hard.

Ethan stood outside the dorm entrance, not really ready to go in.

He hated this kind of wet weather. Everything felt sticky—same as his mood right now.

A few hours earlier, in the film club's little activity room, Noah had shoved him against the wall and kissed him for a long time.

He could still hear what Noah whispered in his ear. Quiet voice, but every word was clear.

"You're mine. Forever."

Forever. Heavy word.

Ethan pulled his hood up and pushed open the dorm door.

The hallway was quiet. Just his footsteps.

His room was at the end of the hall. The door was barely open a crack, dark inside.

He was sure he'd locked it when he left.

He stood there a second, then pushed the door open.

Pitch black.

A weird smell hit him. Not the usual instant-noodle smell you get in a dorm. More like… rust.

He felt along the wall for the light switch.

The light came on.

The room was empty. There was a puddle of water in the middle of the floor—oddly shaped, but just water.

That smell from earlier seemed gone.

Probably just tired. Ethan let out a breath, closed the door, and locked it.

He peeled off his wet jacket, thinking he'd take a hot shower first.

As he turned, he thought he saw something slide past the window. Looked like a pale arm.

He snapped his head toward the window. Nothing outside but heavy rain. The glass showed his own face—a little pale.

Nothing there.

He pulled the curtains shut and grabbed his game controller. The startup music started playing, and he felt a bit better.

His phone screen lit up. A message from Noah.

"Saw you back at the dorm. Good night. Dream of me."

Ethan's fingers went cold. How did Noah know he was back?

He looked up at the tightly closed curtains and had the feeling someone was watching him.

The next day was overcast. Ethan hadn't slept well. Sitting in the back row of the classroom, the professor's voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

Zach poked him with a pen. "Look up," he whispered, nodding toward the front. "Noah's here again. Is he even in our department?"

Ethan looked up. Noah was sitting by the window. Sunlight hit him, and his profile was so sharp it looked almost fake. Quite a few people around were staring.

Noah suddenly turned his head, locked eyes right on Ethan, and smiled.

Ethan looked down immediately.

"He's definitely here for you," Zach went on. "What did you do to him? How could someone like him…"

Before he could finish, Noah was already at Ethan's desk. He didn't even glance at Zach. His fingers traced the edge of Ethan's notebook.

"You free this afternoon?" Noah's voice was nice. "Come with me somewhere."

"I'm going to the library."

"You can go to the library anytime." Noah leaned down and murmured in his ear. "I found an interesting place. You'll like it. It's about an aquarium."

The aquarium. Ethan's body went stiff. He thought about the text from last night.

"What time?" he heard himself ask.

"Three. I'll wait for you downstairs." Noah straightened up, gave Zach a casual once-over, and walked off.

After class, Ethan hurried out, trying to avoid Noah. He turned onto a small path leading to the old library. Hardly anyone around here.

Winston was standing under a tree, looking up at something. When he saw Ethan, he froze for a second.

"What a coincidence," Winston said, looking a little uneasy.

Ethan nodded and started to walk past.

"Wait," Winston called out. "Are you… doing okay lately?"

"What do you mean?"

"It's about you and Noah…" Winston's voice dropped even lower. "I feel like something's off about him. You should be careful."

"What's off about him?"

"I can't really explain it. Just a feeling. The way he looks at you… And remember Cole? That guy who was always hanging around you? He's in the hospital. They say it was an accident, but he's been acting weird ever since he got into that fight with Noah at the party."

Just then, Ethan's phone rang. It was Noah.

Winston seemed startled and took a step back. "Take it. I'm out of here." He practically jogged away.

Ethan stared at Noah's name on the screen and picked up.

"Where are you?" There was a hint of laughter in Noah's voice. "I think I spotted you."

Ethan looked up. Just trees all around. He didn't see anyone.

"Who were you talking to?" Noah's tone hadn't changed, but it felt a little colder. "That med student? Stay away from him. I don't like him."

The line went dead. Ethan stood on the empty path, gripping his phone, a chill running through him. Where had Noah seen him?

At three o'clock, Ethan showed up at the dorm building. Noah was leaning against his car, impossible to miss.

"Get in." Noah opened the door.

Ethan got in without a word. Noah leaned over to buckle his seatbelt for him, coming in close.

"That guy Winston," Noah asked suddenly, "he seemed pretty worried about you?"

"We just ran into each other."

"Is that right?" Noah looked at him, the corner of his mouth curling up. "Hope so."

The car drove out of town and stopped in front of a dull gray building. Didn't look like an aquarium. Looked more like someone's house. Inside, it was dark and cold, with a strong fishy, salty smell.

Big tanks were built into the walls on both sides of the hallway. No colorful fish in them—mostly weird-looking deep-sea creatures, swimming slow in the deep blue water. The hum of the water filled the space.

Noah took Ethan's hand and led him in, gripping tight. Ethan tried to pull away, but couldn't.

Noah stopped in front of a huge tank. No fish inside—just a dense black mass writhing slowly.

"What is that?" Ethan felt uneasy.

"An ancient species," Noah said, wonder in his voice. "They don't like light. It's beautiful—this pure form of existence."

Ethan didn't think it was beautiful. He just felt cold.

Then all the lights went out. Pitch black. The water sound stopped. Dead silence.

Ethan's heart started racing. He felt Noah's grip tighten on his hand, but Noah's breathing stayed steady.

"Don't be afraid," Noah's voice came in his ear. "Just a power outage."

In the dark, Ethan felt something cold and slimy wrap gently around his ankle. He froze.

The lights came back on. Everything was normal again. Only the lingering cold on his ankle told him it hadn't been in his head.

"Did that scare you?" Noah asked, watching him.

Ethan's face was pale. He didn't say anything.

"Let's head back," Noah said, pulling him toward the exit.

The drive back was quiet. As they got close to campus, Noah asked, "Did you have fun today?"

Ethan stared out the window and didn't answer.

"You see," Noah said softly, "only when you're with me do you get to see the real world. It's a little dark, a little cold. But this is the place that suits us."

The car stopped. Noah turned to look at him.

"Good night. Sweet dreams tonight."

Ethan practically fled the car and ran back to his dorm. He locked the door and leaned against it, breathing hard.

He went to the window and carefully lifted the edge of the curtain. Noah's car was still parked below. The window rolled down, and Noah was looking up at his window. When he saw Ethan, he smiled, rolled the window back up, and drove away.

Ethan let the curtain fall and sat down on the floor. He knew something had changed.

The heat washed over me like a tidal wave, drowning me. When I woke up, it felt as if my throat were stuffed with sand. It was already dark outside; only a small desk lamp was lit in the dorm room. Noah sat at the edge of the light and shadow, half his face hidden in the darkness.

“Drink this.” He handed me a cup; the water was lukewarm. I took a sip, and the stinging sensation as it ran down my throat brought me back to my senses a little.

I remembered the cold sensation wrapping around my ankles at the aquarium. My stomach churned. I instinctively pulled back, avoiding his hand as he reached out to feel my forehead.

His hand hovered in midair, then slowly dropped. In the lamplight, his eyes were black, devoid of any light, simply staring at me. That gaze reminded me of the large felines I’d seen in nature documentaries as a child, lurking at the entrance to their prey’s den—behind that extreme patience lay a calmness ready to snap a throat in the next second.

“Zack came by earlier today. He wanted to see you,” he said flatly. “I told him you need to rest.”

I nodded, too weak to speak. I lay back down, turning my back to him. I knew he was still watching. His gaze felt like a tangible weight pressing against my back. After a long while, I heard him shift ever so slightly, followed by the faint rustle of pages. He was probably reading. But that feeling of being watched never faded.