Chapter Text
"When you say my name, I get that dopamine release
And in my dreams it's you I see."
- dopamine by Stemo, juhye
Caleb had been half-listening to the excited chatters of his friends as they discussed the upcoming parties being thrown this week and caught each other up on their weekends. In truth, he'd been in a grumpy mood that morning. Not only had he run out of protein powder this morning, but when he went to grab his earphones, he'd realised the battery had died, forcing him to listen to the loud bustling morning commute instead.
He was lost in his thoughts, already peeved he didn't have his protein shake that would've normally energised him enough to keep up with the conversation around him, but he was over it. It was a Monday morning at 9 am (who even does 9 am lectures anymore?), and he was ready to go home and snuggle with Apple Pie, his ragdoll cat, instead.
"Caleb! You listenin' man? Are you going to the fashion department's party tomorrow night?" One of his friends shoved his shoulder playfully, snapping Caleb out of his wishful thinking. Now Caleb was a relatively tall and built guy, as was expected of him with the amount of exercise he did and as a star player in the university's basketball team. Usually, a shove wouldn't do much, except he had been happily lost in his head that it startled him and actually sent him almost flying towards the other end of the hallway.
By the time he managed to regain his balance, it was too late. Someone was already in his line of impact.
"Watch out!"
"Huh?"
The sound of two bodies colliding and papers scattering across the floor echoed in the hallways.
Caleb's shoulder ached from the impact, but he's used to rough play from basketball, so it hardly fazed him. Instead, his eyes shoot open, and he scrambles to get up, looking for the poor victim whom he had collided with instead.
"Ugh.." The surprising soft tone fills his ears as a young man with dark hair pushes himself up. He rubs the back of his head and winces before squinting at Caleb. A pair of hazel green eyes stare back at Caleb, and it takes him a moment before he realises that he was the creep that wasn't looking away. Shaking his head slightly, he stands up and offers a hand to the beautiful stranger.
"I am so sorry, are you alright? Here, let me help you up." His hand lingers in the air awkwardly when the stranger looks blankly back at him before he turns his gaze pointedly towards the mess sprawled across the floor. Before he could say anything, the same friend that shoved Caleb grabbed his shoulder.
"Dude, I'm sorry I didn't realise you'd go flying like that. Aren't you meant to be sturdier?" He mocks in a half-hearted apology.
Now listen here, asshole—No, no, he's not worth it, just forget it. Despite having half a mind to cuss the guy out, Caleb decides to plaster on a practised smile instead before the shrill sound of the bell fills the air.
"Oh shit, we gotta go, the professor's super strict about being on time. Sorry Cale, we'll see you in class!" His friends murmur rushed excuses as they sprint off to the lecture hall, leaving the hallway empty save for Caleb, the poor stranger and the pile of papers between them. He sighs in irritation, hands on his hips as he looks at the retreating figures, honestly wondering why he still bothers hanging around them.
When he turns around, he finds the stranger already crouching and picking up the papers one by one. It's only then that he registers the white lab coat he had on, and a pair of thick, rectangular-framed glasses lying off to the side. He figures it probably belonged to the guy and heads over to pick it up. After giving it a good wipe and checking for any damage, he walked over to where he had fallen and began picking up the remaining papers. As he collects them, he distinctly feels a gaze on him, knowing that the stranger is watching him.
"Sorry, my friends can be jerks sometimes, but they're not all bad people, I promise."
"You're not going to head to class?" There it was again. That voice that felt like honey on his tongue.
"Huh? Oh, my lecture?" What was with this guy and his ability to make Caleb lose focus twice now?
The stranger nods, his bangs that were styled neatly sweeping over his eyes at the motion. Caleb tears his gaze away from it and shrugs.
"Well, I figured it'd only be right for me to help you since it was my fault your papers fell and you got hurt. Besides, I'm already late, what's the worst that could happen?" He jokes, but it seemed to have fallen flat when there wasn't any reaction. Instead, the man nods solemnly before mumbling a thank you as he finally collects all the papers. As Caleb hands over his stack to him, he digs in his pocket.
"Hold on a second, you forgot something else."
"Hmm? What is it?" He tilts his head to the side, brows furrowed in confusion.
Cute, Caleb thinks as he produces a pair of glasses. Using his left hand, he gently brushes the fallen bangs from those mesmerising eyes, too lost in the action to notice that they widened in surprise.
"What's your name?" He looks down at the glasses as he asks.
"…Zayne." The corners of Caleb's lips kick up instinctively at the name. It suits him, he thinks to himself.
Unfolding the legs of the frames, he gingerly places the glasses onto Zayne's face. As his fingers follow the ends of each leg, a warm heat tickles him right as he brushes against Zayne's ears. Satisfied that the glasses were on securely, Caleb meets Zayne's gaze.
"Nice to meet you, Zayne."
Turns out the worst thing that could happen after all of that was the professor giving Caleb the biggest earful he's ever had since leaving the orphanage to attend university. His friends had been right, the professor was indeed a stickler for timely attendance. He'd been so displeased with Caleb rocking up to class fifteen minutes late that he called him over to his office right after and assigned him to help organise paperwork at the labs after class as punishment.
What is it with me and papers today? Caleb sighs as he leaves the office, sliding the door shut.
In truth, his bad mood had all but vanished after this morning's incident. Yes, he'd been late to class and sure, he'd have to stay back to run some errands for the professor, but he was pretty cheerful ever since bumping into Zayne.
Caleb didn't want to toot his own horn, but he was a fairly popular guy. He knew he was handsome, with strong eyebrows, stunning purple eyes and a great physique to boot. So it wasn't an exaggeration to say that, along with his friendly demeanour, everyone on campus knew him and wanted to befriend him. And yet, how was it that in all the crowds of people he'd been surrounded with, he hadn't registered seeing Zayne before?
He was intrigued. He wanted to know more about this cold beauty that hadn't reacted even an inch to his charm, and wondered how or when he'd see him again. All he had was a name to go by. As he racked his brain, he found himself standing in front of the professor's lab. With an exasperated sigh, he hitched up his training bag and opened the door. As he stepped in, he could hear the swoosh of papers being leafed through as someone read them.
"Dr Noah, how do you want me to-"
"Hey there, I got asked by Dr Noah to-"
Both spoke at the same time, and almost immediately snapped their heads up in attention. Caleb's lips parted slightly, surprised to see that the one person who'd consumed his thoughts all day was sitting right in front of him. He noticed Zayne's eyes widen ever so slightly before a frost settled over his features once again.
Okay, first order of business: I'm going to crack that ice.
"Zayne? I didn't think I'd run into you again! What're you doing here?" Caleb grinned widely as he strode forward, one arm already shrugging off the straps of his bag as he reached over to the chair right across from Zayne.
The late afternoon sun was slowly settling through and cast a warm yellow hue to the otherwise cold lab. It felt appropriate, Caleb thought, for seeing Zayne again warmed his heart up just like the colours around him. When he settled in the chair, he leaned forward on his elbows, crossing his arms and settling himself on them. Zayne blinked down at Caleb.
"I…I'm part of Dr. Noah's honours research team. I've been tasked with going through the scientific papers on toxoplasmosis and the impacts it has on humans."
Toxoplas-what now? Caleb nodded, looking back up at him. Zayne shifted slightly in his seat before getting back to the piles of paper surrounding him.
"That's pretty neat! I don't really know what that is, but you should tell me more about it. I'm Caleb, by the way, I don't think I got to introduce myself earlier? I hope the papers weren't crumpled after this morning. By the way, what department are you from? Are you in Sports Science too? You must be since-"
Happily gazing at him, Caleb was content to keep yammering until Zayne gathered half his pile and gently placed it on his head.
"Wha-"
"Since you're here, I'm assuming Dr. Noah asked you to help out. So, here. This is your pile."
He informs Caleb coolly before resuming his task. Pouting at the immediate loss of Zayne's attention, Caleb blindly reaches up to his head to grab the papers before sitting up straight and placing them before him. He glances quickly at Zayne and smiles to himself before getting to work. There would be plenty of time to get to know Zayne.
Maybe today wasn't a bad morning after all.
Silence filled the room as the two boys worked, one fully focused on the task at hand, the other sneaking occasional glances at him. Soon, the sun returned to the embrace of the clouds and the warmth of the room was replaced by a soft purple sunset. Caleb flipped through the last of the papers on his pile and set them aside. Finally done.
He stretched out, arms overhead and eyes shut as he released the tension in his back and shoulders after sitting still for so long. When he opened his eyes, Zayne was already stacking the papers up and tidying his space, ready to head out and hand them over to Dr. Noah. Caleb shoots up from his seat, yanking his bag onto his shoulder as he gets onto his feet, and rounds over to where Zayne was, blocking his exit. Having not anticipated the sudden movement, Zayne jolted in surprise and eyed Caleb suspiciously, clutching onto the papers and his own backpack. The cautious demeanour he adopted reminded Caleb instantly of Apple Pie, and how she'd stand with her fur puffed up in preparation for an imaginary threat. Okay, note to self: no sudden movements around this feline.
"I was wondering, could I get your phone number? Is that a little weird? I just thought that since we met twice already, maybe we're destined to be friends in some way. Plus you could call on me any time to help out with stuff like this…"
Caleb had steeled himself to ask this question, and it was the one thing he found himself slowly desiring as time passed in that little room. He didn't want to miss the opportunity to befriend him, who knows when they'd run into each other again? The experience was strange for him, he'll admit. Usually, he was on the receiving end of this question, no stranger to people coming up to him and asking for his contact information on the daily. While Caleb hadn't thought much about it at the time, he realised now how much courage it actually required to approach a virtual stranger and build the first blocks towards a friendship. He found himself yammering on in nervousness, unable to stop and instead felt like a businessman presenting his proposal with its pros and cons, waiting for an approval and dreading a rejection.
"….and if you ever need more hands, I know lots of people. Heaps. Oh, but I promise they aren't like the friends from this morning—"
"Sure."
"I'll find some that are more— wait, what?" His spiel screeched to a halt, not expecting the casual approval. He'd expected more resistance, actually.
Unbeknownst to Caleb, his earnest speech had touched Zayne's heart, and the frosty man actually melted the slighted bit in the face of his sincerity. As he kept fidgeting and appealing himself, Zayne's lips had twitched and quirked into an ever so slight smile, one he immediately squashed as soon as he noticed it before he decided to put Caleb out of his misery.
Zayne wasn't blind. He was a stoic man, aware that he had the reputation of 'Ice Prince' on campus. Many admired him just as much as they did Caleb, but while Caleb had a magnetising charm and an approachable attitude, Zayne was a bit more standoffish. It wasn't like he had been opposed to making friends; he'd actually love that more than anything. Having been a honours student, he was at the tail end of his degree and found himself surrounded by less and less of his friends as everyone graduated and began joining different research labs. Soon, he had close to no one left around him, was accustomed to being alone. He'd smiled less, used his voice less and avoided social gatherings solely because he hadn't wanted to make anyone uncomfortable with his social ineptness.
As such, Caleb's request felt like rays of sunshine peeking through after a long period of gloomy days. He'd known of Caleb since the young man entered Linkon University, the handsome youth being the hot topic of conversation in nearly every department. For such an attractive person to desire Zayne's friendship, he'd almost thought it too good to be true. After all, who'd want to be friends with such a bore like him?
But maybe it was time to stop being frozen in time. Caleb had started a chip in his icy fortress, and for the first time in his life, Zayne found himself wanting it to break.
"Sure, you can have my number," he repeated. This time, he couldn't control the microscopic hint of a smile that made itself known at the idea of being friends with Caleb.
It felt like indigo eyes that seemed to miss nothing had latched onto his lips. Zayne's ears heated up instantly. Nah, there's no way he actually noticed it.
A dazzling grin was Zayne's reward as Caleb's eyes lit up, reminiscent of a puppy given a treat. As the two took out their phones and exchanged numbers, something blossomed within each of them.
It was the start of something new.