“Are you alright?” Pete slowly lifted his head and gulped. Derek had come back up from his smoking break. He looked stunning with his black coat slightly opened and his hair dissheveled from the breeze. “Why don’t you just open a window if you want to smoke?” “Are we answering questions with counter questions now?” “You did it too.” Pete propped his chin onto his elbows and then shrugged. “I’m alright. How about you? I’m sorry for earlier. I didn’t mean to hit a nerve with my question. You’re not obliged to answer.” “I didn’t think I was.” Derek’s gaze shifted towards his door and he searched for his keys. “Are you going to spend the night here?” He asked and Pete smiled. “Now you asked a question without replying to mine first.” He bit down on his lip and suppressed a laugh. “I’m good, Hallberg.” “Pete. It’s weird if you keep calling me by my surname. Call me Pete.”

Derek didn’t reply for a while. Pete gazed up into his eyes and Derek didn’t avoid it. They were looking at each other with a soft smile. “You locked yourself out, didn’t you?” “Perhaps.” “Did you call the janitor?” “He’s already out. He’ll come back in the morning.” Derek nodded and walked away. He opened the door to his room and glanced back at Pete. “You got a friend coming for you, right?” Pete could have been honest. He could have said no and asked Derek to let him in but he still felt bad for his question in the morning. “Yeah.” Pete said and shrugged. “He’ll be here soon.” Derek hesitated. Then he walked back towards Pete and took off his coat. “It’s cold in the hallway.” Pete should have thanked him but he was too stunned when Derek covered him with his coat. “Goodnight, Hallberg.” Derek vanished into his room and shut the door. Pete cuddled the coat and blushed. “Pete.” He quietly corrected Derek even if he couldn’t hear him.

Sleeping in the hallway would be uncomfortable but he’d had worse experiences at the coffee shop. Sometimes when trains were cancelled he had to spend the night there. It was horrible and he always ended up sick a day later. If only he’d had Derek’s coat back then. Pete’s neck was stiff when he drifted off into sleep. He dreamt of a date with Derek. They were visiting a bookstore together and Pete rambled on about his favourite authors. After that they went to a coffee shop and kissed in the pouring rain. He couldn’t notice it but Pete was talking in his sleep. He was whispering Derek’s name. Even as two strong arms picked him up from the ground Pete didn’t wake up. He clinged onto the person, mumbled incoherently and shivered when the coat was replaced by a thin blanket. He cuddled it nonetheless and took up the whole sofa by himself.