It was only because of the fact that it was nearly impossible to say no to Frankie that Noa found herself up, dressed and out of her dorm on the night of the group date. She walked reluctantly alongside Frankie as they left the Second House, heading up the sidewalk together; she tried to keep her reluctance to herself as best as she could for the sake of her friend, who was visibly excited to spend time with her boyfriend and his friends. In no time they were crossing the street and approaching the First House; Noa let Frankie take the lead, following behind her and taking in her new surroundings as they headed into the athletes’ domain, their sights set on the elevator.

When they reached the third floor, the sight of the open dorm room doors surprised Noa; she tried in vain not to look into the rooms as they walked by, finding people talking, laughing and living comfortably in each doorway.

“So they just…leave them open?” she inquired incredulously of Frankie. “Just…open all day?”

“Pretty much,” Frankie responded with a nod. “They’re a lot closer than the other houses are; probably because they spend a lot more time together.”

“So weird…” Frankie slowed to a stop outside of a room and Noa followed suit, watching as she cautiously knocked on the open door.

“Yeah,” a voice called out, one Noa wasn’t familiar with. With this verbal invitation Frankie led the way into the dorm; an upperclassman’s space, built like a spacious studio apartment and equipped with a kitchen, a fully furnished living area and a flat screen television. There were three two seat living chairs instead of a couch or sofa; sitting on one was a handsome guy and a girl Noa didn’t know, while the other two were occupied by Shu and Hikaru – Noa and Hikaru’s eyes met and he smirked briefly before turning his attention back to the television.

“Oh, you must be Noa,” the first guy stated as he stood from his seat; he was on the taller side like Hikaru, with skin a couple of shades paler than Shu’s and Hikaru’s, and dark hair that framed his perfectly angled face and fell into his dark, almond shaped eyes in short, tousled waves. Noa smiled a little.

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“Nice to meet you,” he said with a brilliant smile of his own, walking over to her with his hand extended. “I’m Hinata, Hikaru’s brother.”

“Oh, you’re his brother,” Noa said, her eyebrows raising as he shook her head. “At least somebody came out nice.”

“What was that?” Hikaru demanded from his seat. Hinata laughed.

“It’s hit or miss in our family,” he admitted. “It depends on which brother you get.” While Shu flirted with Frankie, Hinata took the time to introduce Noa to Seiko, his girlfriend; she smiled and returned Noa’s greeting, but Noa could tell when someone was genuinely nice, or just being polite – the formalities ended, and she decided then and there that, in the event that she somehow became good friends with these people, Seiko would not be someone she got close to. The couples took up two of the three seats available, leaving a space open beside Hikaru on the last seat. Noa paused briefly, looking over at him. They weren’t exactly at each other’s throats anymore, but she couldn’t guarantee that sitting beside him for an indefinite amount of time wouldn’t result in an argument at some point. Before she could make a decision, Hikaru, who had been watching her as well, rolled his eyes and stood from his seat; Noa watched as he took a seat on the floor directly in front of the television, leaning back against the coffee table behind him. Noa paused for a moment in surprise before moving to take the seat he had wordlessly offered, expressing thanks as she passed him; he didn’t respond, his eyes intent on the television.

Please Subscribe to read the full chapter