"Alright guys," Ronan stretches his arms above him now that we're back outside and have the room to move, "it's early but we've still got some unpacking to do, and I'm stuffed full of brussel sprouts so I need to walk this off."

I nod. "Yeah I've got a project to work on. Have a good night guys, I'll see you at work tomorrow Kal."

"You didn't want to walk together?" Kal asks.

"Are you guys in the same direction?"

Kal and Ronan share a confused look before Kal continues. "...yeah? I would hope so if we're in the same house..."

Now I'm confused. "Same house?"

"Yeahhhh," Ronan draws out. "We just moved in today? We're your new housemates? Any of that ringing a bell?"

"OHHH. Shit, you're my new housemates??"

They both laugh at my sudden realization and Kal manages to get out, "You actually didn't know? I thought you were joking!"

"No! I knew we had new people moving into the spare room today, but nobody told me who they were! That makes so much more sense now... I'm assuming Ronan found out we were looking from Wren?"

"Yep," Ronan says. "I'm surprised she didn't tell you."

"Oh I'm sure she didn't tell me on purpose, the little minx. To be fair though, I don't think she knew Kal was you're other roommate, but she could've told me your name at least."

"Ah, yeah that was partly my fault. She seemed so excited to finally fill that room, I just told her it was me and a friend. She didn't even ask who it was, and I didn't think to tell her at the time."

"It's cool, at least we've met now. You'll just have to meet our roommates too and then we'll be all set with introductions, but I don't think either of them are home tonight so I guess that will just have to wait."

"I guess that solves that then, let's head home," Kal says, setting off down the sidewalk.

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I lay shirtless in bed, my window AC and desk fan working together to blow cool air over my chest. I glance at my phone to check the time: 1:04am. Thank fuck I don't have classes tomorrow (today?) since it's Saturday, and I don't have to be at work until noon.

I worked on some school stuff after we got back to the house while Ronan and Kal split off to their room to finish unpacking. I learned that they had dropped their stuff off this morning while I was at class, but they didn't have time to go through everything since they had their own classes to get to.

I'm pretty sure I was in bed by 11ish which means I've been laying here trying to go to sleep for 2 hours now. It's pleasantly dark in my room, I can just barely make out my desk and roommates empty bed, so I know the lighting isn't the problem. The fans create enough white noise to block anything from the rest of the house so it's not that either.

The problem is that it's too damn stuffy in here. The window AC brings in a little bit of fresh air from the outside, but not nearly enough, and the fan just moves the stale air around. It's not too crazy hot in here, I could just use more fresh air.

Deciding to do just that, I climb out of bed and throw on a sleeveless shirt with the running shorts I was already wearing, before leaving my room and heading downstairs.

The house is pretty simple, but it works great for us. A kitchen with an island and six-person table, cozy living room, and three bedrooms. Wren and Aster have the master with its own bathroom. My roommate, Jasper, and I have one of the bedrooms upstairs, and the other room was used by our friends who graduated last year. Having the extra room and wanting more people to split the rent, we started looking for new housemates. So now it's Kal and Ronan's room, with the second bathroom shared between us.

I sneak through the living room, into the kitchen, and through the sliding door to our back deck. Sitting in a lawn chair, I close my eyes and take a few deep breaths. The cool night air feels great, so I relax and let it surround me for awhile.

A noise in the kitchen startles me, and deciding I could use a glass of water anyways, I head back in.

The source of the noise turns out to be Kal, rifling through the upper cabinets. He stands with his back to me, on his tiptoes which happen to be covered in... yep, fuzzy socks.

The door slides open with a slight squeak, causing Kal to whip around, hand on his heart, with a little squeak of his own.

"Aiden?! Shit dude, bout gave me a heart attack! I didn't realize anyone else was up, or outside for that matter."

His hair is a mop of messy curls that reaches just past his jawline—but it suits him. His wide eyes reflect the nightlights meager glow, which was just enough to see by.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I heard someone in here and thought maybe Wren and Aster had come home. I was out back to get some fresh air since I couldn't sleep."

"What, so you didn't come in here just to see me? How rude!" He feigns offense before cracking a smile. "I woke up thirsty, and then realized I don't know where the glasses are yet." He looks around again at the cabinets.

"I was about to grab some water too actually." I open the cabinet next to me and grab two glasses, handing him one.

We fill up our glasses and stand next to each other, drinking our water. It's slightly awkward, and I think he speaks up just to break the silence.

"Want to go for a walk?"

I peer at him, my head tilting. "A walk? It's like two in the morning... pitch black out..."

"Yes, a walk. You know, left foot, right foot, left foot, so on? Midnight walks are the best, especially when you can't sleep." He grabs my empty glass from me, sets them both in the sink, and then shuffles back towards the living room. "C'mon, it's fun, trust me... lemme just go grab my shoes real quick, I'll meet you back here in a second."

He quietly runs upstairs and then comes back down with some sandals on. No, he didn't take his socks off. Fuzzy socks and sandals, what a winning combination right there. His outfit is complete with sweatpants, a baggy long sleeve shirt and bed head. Somehow he still makes it look good.

"Aren't you always cold? Did you want to grab a jacket or anything?"

"Nah, I'm actually not too bad right now," he shrugs. "Unpacking all my clothes before bed got me moving around enough, and I've got a big heavy comforter while I'm sleeping, so I'm fine for now. I'll survive, it's the beginning of summer after all."

I glance at his thin shirt. "I'll be right back," I murmur. Then I jog up to my room and open my bottom dresser drawer, pull out the sweatshirt tucked in the very back and tie it around my waist before returning downstairs.

"Alright, let's go."

He looks at my feet, and then the sweatshirt. "Your not wearing shoes... I thought that's what you were grabbing. And why did you grab a sweatshirt, aren't you always hot?"

"You never know. And I don't want shoes, sometimes I just prefer being barefoot. If we're just going up the road I'm good."

"Whatever," he shrugs. "Who am I to judge... you're happy, I'm happy."

He opens the door and we head out together. One barefoot, the other with socks and sandals.

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〈 Special POV: Kal 〉

Truth be told, I was a little chilly. But I didn't want him to worry, and sometimes it was nice not to bundle up in layers all the time. I just tucked my hands in my pockets as we walked down the center of the road.

The crisp night air feels good against my cheeks while the wind ruffles my hair. It's dark and peaceful, the occasional street lamp and croaking tree frogs keeping us company.

Aiden is about a step or two in front of me, lost in thought while gazing at the clear, starry sky. His short, dark hair sways slightly in the breeze, amber eyes and strong jaw facing skyward. For once his brows aren't furrowed, and his broad shoulders are relaxed.

I noticed it earlier, but now with his sleeveless shirt his tattoo is on nearly full display. Sweeping dark lines cut across the olive skin of his left arm. Starting around his elbow, the tribal flames flicked and flared around his bicep and shoulder before disappearing under his shirt.

He must've felt me staring at him because he turns slightly to look at me out of the corner of his eye. I expect him to shy away or comment on me watching him, but was pleasantly surprised when his lips turned up instead, eyes warm.

He looks good smiling. I've know him less than a day but I'm pretty sure this is only the second time I've seen him smile.

"What were you thinking about?" I ask.

"Mmm... I was thinking you were right. Midnight walks are nice... But I was also thinking that I didn't want it to go to your head, so I was debating if I should even tell you."

"Ahh, well if I promise not to let it affect me can I at least say I told you so?"

He laughs. "Idiot. Why'd you even ask if you already said it?"

I shove his shoulder, but he barely moves. "Shut up, I was trying to be polite."

He shoves me back and I nearly topple over. "Trying to be polite about being rude? Good try."

"Hey! That was a hard push! I thought you didn't touch people anyway." I rub my shoulder, partly in mock offense, partly because I'm chilly and rubbing my arms helps.

"You started it," he retorts with a boyish grin. "You really shoved me without expecting me to shove you back? That's your own fault."

"Shut up," I mumble, crossing my arms across my chest so I can tuck my hands in.

He looks over at me again, his eyes focused on my arms. "You're cold aren't you?"

"...A little."

He pulls off the hoodie from around his waist and holds it out to me. "Here."

Eyeing it warily, I finally give in and throw it on. It's perfectly big and comfy, and has a faint woodsy-smokey smell, almost as if he wore it next to a campfire.

I shoot him a sly smile, "Aw, you didn't bring this just for me did you? I'm touched." I place my hand on my heart, batting my lashes.

He shoves me.

"Idiot. I knew you'd get cold... I'm pretty sure this is the part where I say 'I told you so'".

I shove him back.