The library greeted them with its usual hush—a space where time felt slightly suspended, as if the walls themselves insisted on quiet.
Noel stepped in first, the automatic doors closing softly behind them.
Rows of tall bookshelves stretched ahead, each aisle tucked with pages and whispers.
The scent of old paper and clean wood drifted faintly in the air.
He didn't check to see if Luca was following. He just assumed he would—and he was right.
Luca trailed in a few steps behind, hands still stuffed in the pockets of his hoodie, gaze flicking around like the place was a foreign country he was trying to make sense of.
"This place smells like... responsibility," Luca muttered under his breath.
Noel shot him a dry look but didn't answer. Instead, he led them toward the back corner near the tall windows—his usual spot.
It was quieter there, mostly students with headphones or deep into their textbooks, and the view overlooked a stretch of trees beyond the campus fence.
