From the bed above, muffled by pillows, the lyrics to Imagine Dragons' latest song, Bones, barely reached her ears, played on repeat thanks to Luna's perpetually overly energetic roommate, Jody.
Look in the mirror of my mind
Turning the pages of my life…
To avoid giving herself away as still awake, Luna suppressed a heavy sigh. In her current state, she wasn't up for late-night conversations.
Normally, she'd jot down the day's events in her phone—a practical habit for someone who had to manage two lives in two separate worlds, ensuring she remembered everything when she returned. It was easy to forget details after a day in the other world. But tonight, she refused to focus on specifics. Focusing on details would bring to mind the one thing she was trying to avoid thinking about.
She had made a decision and had to stick to it, no matter the consequences.
It was past 10 PM, and the Timeless University campus seemed under siege. Even through the large window with partially drawn blinds, located in the attic of the dormitory, the sounds of the last few partygoers braving the cold outside could be heard covering the not so discreet whistling of the wind. They lit small fireworks, chatted, and laughed loudly, celebrating yet another historic victory by the Timeless Eagles, the national basketball team.
"Eagles! Eagles!" the not-so-sober voices still chanted, echoing between the dormitories walls.
The image of the famed team—was also its captain and the country's star player—was, to Luna's despair and the university administration's pride, also a top student in the architecture department. As such, the university allowed live broadcasts of their famous games—and somehow, all of them turned out to be famous—on the stage reserved for ceremonies.
Hundreds of students would gather, some as die-hard fans, others as admirers, or, more precisely, fervent girls admirers of the gifted Tandru Solace.
Another swallowed sigh. How can you not think about something or someone when others shout about it outside your window?
Tandru Solace stood out effortlessly due to his unusual build for a basketball player, although he was tall and athletic, he had a bit of a burly, rugby player look to him that made him stand out wherever he went.
His constantly tousled hair was an impressive mix of black that ended in perfectly white tips. All of this was in addition to his slightly mysterious manner, which he maintained by staying away from the tabloids, adverts and countless interviews with journalists who would do anything for a few minutes of his time to skyrocket their ratings.
His smile was always polite and warm, a trait that, along with his black, curious and kind eyes, made people feel comfortable in his presence. However, he always remained far too reserved, much to the frustration of many who wanted his company in one way or another.
But none of this was Luna's concern. She wasn't one of the fans glued to the giant screens during the games, nor was she one of those who lined up with various excuses to exchange a few words with him whenever they crossed paths in the university halls. That's because Tandru Solace was the one who called Luna every evening, just to check if she was okay.
Tandru—Tan was the boy she had known since she was eight and he was ten.
She knew every side of him. She knew his two-tone hair was natural, inherited from his father.
And, she knew that architecture university was no joke for him, it was something they had both thought about all through high school before deciding... but back then she chose interior design, neither of them foreseeing the change that would happen in her, ending up choosing medical university.
She knew a younger Tandru, the one who argued with his computer every time he was losing at Counter-Strike, while his ever-loving mother yelled from the other room:
"Tan, if you break another keyboard, don't expect to see a new one anytime soon!"
Luna also knew that his carefully curated playlists still secretly contained songs from their childhood that he hummed when he thought he was lonely - songs like So What by P!nk, Hot N Cold by Katy Perry and Right Now (Na Na Na Na) by Akon. Of course, Luna wouldn't miss any excuse to tease him about it.
In his first years he'd often hit himself in the head with his basketball during practice and return home with bruises in the most unexpected places.
You'd expect him to give up, but all the failures brought an uncommon grin to his face as he plopped down on the couch next to Luna he would say:
"Tomorrow, I'll make 'em lose! I'll show them." he'd say every time and he'd always come back bruised or hurt.
Even when he sprained his ankle pretty badly and the doctors told him to take a longer break, he wouldn't give in.
"You're going to lose your legs, silly, if you go on like this." Luna had tried vainly to curb his enthusiasm, for she knew that nothing stopped Tandru Solace when he set his mind to something.
And, damn, Tandru Solace loved basketball.
But she also knew another side of him, reserved solely for her. He was the one who would grab her hand when they were younger, and run with her when her bullies from elementary school showed up, calling her:
"Haystack!" which later evolved into "Mophead," and then "Sleeping Trash"—nicknames meant to make her feel worthless just because she had unusually thick hair. Well, unusual was litterly a big understatement.
Though her hair was straight, it was so light and airy that when her mother cut it to shoulder length, it puffed up as if electrified, resembling the wildest wigs of Tina Turner, without having the excuse of a curly hair. And because it was so much, her mother had always, but always, trimmed it just above her shoulder.
As if all that was not enough, she had the misfortune of suffering from narcolepsy, meaning she could fall asleep without warning at the most inopportune moments, even while walking.
Tandru had taken on the role of protecting her at any cost—even with his fists, when words failed—from the moment he showed up in her class because his mother was her teacher. And he had to use his fists far too often, as many loved to clean the bathroom floors with Luna's hair.
And, more often than Luna could count, he'd carry her home in his arms whenever her narcolepsy struck, causing her to collapse who knows where.
All of this made the famous basketball player her best friend of 11 years, much to the envy of many who made her life miserable because of it. At least until recently.
Lately things had settled down. Tomorrow marked two years since her last daytime narcoleptic episode, and Luna had made herself a big promise to celebrate the occasion.
He won't get upset, I'm sure. He won't! she repeated endlessly, staring at the white wood of the bed above her, which formed her ceiling.
Tonight, her heart was beating too fast, keeping her awake despite her still-present narcolepsy during the evening.
A year ago, when she and Tandru celebrated her first narcolepsy-free year during the day, Luna made herself a promise. If another year passed without narcolepsy ruining her life, she would confess her feelings to him.
Her eyelids become heavy, this was the moment, only a brief second in which she was aware that the transition was taking place. She felt her body fall into a heavy sleep, and her mind jumped to the other side like flicking a quick, off-on switch.