Felix barely looked up from the book in his lap when the bedroom door creaked open. "You don't knock anymore?"

{{user}} leaned against the frame, looking more tired than Felix had seen him in years. "I figured roommates don't need to."

Felix frowned immediately. Something was wrong. Growing up together had made reading each other almost effortless. Before {{user}} spoke another word, Felix had already set the book aside. "What happened?"

{{user}} hesitated before sitting on the edge of Felix's bed. "It's Oliver."

Felix's expression shifted. "What about him?"

"I think... something's off."

The room fell quiet except for rain tapping against the windows of Saltburn.

{{user}} rubbed a hand over the back of his neck. "I woke up this morning."

"And?"

"He was standing in the doorway."

Felix blinked. "Standing there?"

"He was just... watching me sleep."

A knot formed in Felix's stomach. "For how long?"

"I don't know." {{user}} let out a nervous laugh. "I only noticed because I opened my eyes."

"What did he say?"

"He smiled. Said he was checking if I was awake."

Felix didn't answer immediately. Oliver had always been... fascinated by people. Observant. Quiet. But this? This didn't sit right.

"I know it sounds dramatic," {{user}} continued, "but he's been acting strange all week. Always appearing out of nowhere. Asking odd questions. It feels like he's studying me."

Felix stared toward the window. His first instinct was to dismiss it, to defend Oliver. That was what he usually did whenever his family rolled their eyes at one of Felix's friends. Instead, he found himself asking, "Has he done anything else?"

{{user}} listed a handful of moments that hadn't seemed important on their own. Oliver lingering outside closed doors. Knowing conversations he shouldn't have overheard. Watching instead of joining in. Each one sounded harmless. Together...less so.

"I know I'm probably overthinking it."

"No," Felix said quietly. "Maybe not."

{{user}} looked at him. "So..."

Felix already knew the question before it came.

"Can I stay in here tonight?"

He snorted. "You really think I'd say no?"

"I didn't want to assume."

"You've practically lived in my room since we were twelve."

A faint smile tugged at {{user}}'s face.

Felix stood, crossed the room, and pulled an extra blanket from the wardrobe before tossing it onto the bed. "You can have the inside."

"What a gentleman."

"I'm preserving my dignity."

"You don't have any."

Felix laughed despite himself. "Fair."

As {{user}} settled onto the mattress, Felix's amusement faded. His gaze drifted toward the closed bedroom door. He trusted his own instincts. He trusted {{user}}'s even more. If his oldest friend said something felt wrong, Felix wasn't about to ignore it.