“Ah...haha...” My strangled sounding laughter seems to sharpen his entire face while he twirls the helpless needles between his fingertips. “I w-was in the woods.” 

Quinn’s blink seems to happen in slow motion, and I watch slightly breathless as a few stray water droplets wind their way along his neck. They drip from the wet clusters of dark red strands strewn about his head until they’re trailing down to his chest. 

“There was a...kitty, and I followed it.” I shake my brain out a little at my own bullshit while another strained laugh escapes me. 

“That his nickname or something?” The weight is back in his tone, heavy enough to land right in the center of my core as his words sink slowly through my skin. 

“W-what?” I step back, the shower slides on my feet slipping slightly on the wet tiled floor. 

“The guy you were with.” Quinn’s lips press in a firm line, and the freckles sprinkling his cheeks crinkle when he squints at me. “Ethan-”

“I need to shower!” The panic bursts from me before I can fully grasp what he’s just said, but my body has absolutely no follow-through tonight. 

“Um…” The entirety of his clean cut face clouds my vision when he leans in close, those eyes sparking flecks of what looks like blue through the dark clouds swirling towards me. “I didn’t mean-I won’t say anything,” he murmurs so faintly it takes me a few seconds to catch up to it, and to realize he’s touching me again. “I just…” He trails off while he tilts my chin up, the gentle press of his fingers on my skin so surprisingly soft all I can really manage is a gulp. “Is everything okay, Ethan?”

“W-why do you keep asking me that?” The slur in my voice has precisely nothing to do with the alcohol I consumed hours ago as my legs start to shake beneath me. 

He inhales swiftly instead of answering, the suddenness of the movement jolting his shoulders forward while he examines a part of me I can’t see.

“Ah-!” I jerk out of his hold, a steady heat crawling all across my face as realization hits harder than any of the shots taken tonight. “You sh-should, uh...it’s late, so-”

“I’m sorry.” Quinn’s voice sounds like it’s miles away while I triple check that I’ve got my towel on me before heading towards the shower stalls. When I’m able to focus enough to see again, I peak around the curtain and discover he’s gone. 

~

I check the bruising in the mirror over the sinks after my shower. Even though it was, humiliatingly enough, pointed out by my own resident, it’s worse than what I spent the past twenty minutes anticipating. Although faint through the dark tones layering my neck, I can just make out a trail of deep red hickies along my jaw and winding beneath. They stop abruptly at the point where I found my voice earlier and ran away. Crap. Crap crap crap.

I grab my bathroom stuff and stomp my way out of there, then pause to calm down near the end of the hall when I realize I’m about to wake all of my residents with this stupid tantrum. My body comes to a halt right in front of my room, and I peek behind me at the door with the green rhinoceros cut-out. It’s now tilting at a sharp angle downward from the weeks of strain the simple tape I used can’t be expected to handle all that well. Mitch’s name is scribbled on the orange one placed beside Quinn’s, the sorry product of my rushed attempt to finish the last of the door decals during RA training. Seems like forever ago. 

I’m careful when unlocking my door, trying my best not to make a single noise while I ease my way into my room and flick on the overhead light. I’ve successfully hung my towel on the rack and even managed to put my supplies away and toss my clothes in the hamper before I notice I’m not alone in here. 

My own hand slapping over my mouth muffles what could have been a dorm-awakening scream when the sight of Micah curled up asleep on my bed nearly kills me on the spot. He’s rudely startled back to consciousness by the squeal that escapes me, the mess of his curls against my pillow demonstrating the level of his slumber as he slowly blinks up at me. 

“Hey.”

“How’d you get in here?!” I whisper-gasp while I nudge the slides into place in my closet to air dry. 

That tilting grin peeks up at me, half-hidden by the sheet as he snickers softly. “Did you change in the bathroom? You’re so modest-”

“Shh.” I cross my arms over the large old t-shirt that falls halfway down my thighs. The thing nearly conceals my boxers entirely while I shuffle on over to the desk to grab my water bottle. 

“Adorable.”

“How’d you get in here?”

“Master key,” he utters so lightly, I almost completely miss what he’s said. 

ResEd needs to stop giving Head Residents so many perks. I point accusingly at the silver carabiner clustered with keys that he tossed on the floor before crawling into a space that is not his to crawl into. “That’s a total abuse of power!” 

“So?”

“Micah!”

“C’mere.” He beckons from beneath my covers, making it seem like there’s a monster lying in wait instead of his chaotic, slightly-drunk existence. 

When I shake my head and take a long swig of water, he actually pushes himself to a seated position. Shirtless. Of course.

“I knocked, but you didn’t answer.” 

“I was showering.” 

“Yeah.” He nods and accepts the bottle when I hand it to him. “One of your residents told me.” 

“Wait...what?!” I choke on the last sip I took. 

“It’s fine.” Micah chuckles deeply while I cough my way back to breathing. “He was coming from the bathroom, so I promise I wasn’t being loud enough to wake anyone up.”

“Micah, you…” My words fade off as I struggle to clear my throat properly. “Like that?” I motion to his bare chest, the smooth texture of his tan from lifeguarding on New Jersey’s finest shores all summer momentarily distracting me from the present issue.