It was a December morning, and outside the window of their dorm room, an intense blizzard raged. Snow and wind whipped against the glass while the wind howled through the trees outside. Despite the storm's noise, his roommate slept soundly in the upper bunk, clearly enjoying the cold weather.

Derrick shivered beneath his blankets, unable to return to sleep. He'd struggled through a restless night, his mind replaying memories he wished he could forget. The events with his roommate kept cycling through his thoughts—how their confusing relationship had formed in the first place.

That day his team lost, and Derrick had been devastated by his poor performance. The way his roommate had looked at him with such understanding... the words of comfort that had made Derrick's heart skip a beat... then returning to their dorm and crossing a line he never thought he would cross.

Their relationship had become purely physical since then, or so Derrick told himself. Just release with no attachment. Still, he couldn't help noticing how his roommate seemed to care, maybe even loved him. Derrick squeezed his eyes shut tighter.

"Oh, whatever this will pass," he muttered under his breath, trying to sleep again, pushing down the confusing emotions as he always did.