At 3 A.M., Your Roommate Wrote a Program and Wants You to Open It

“…Come here.” At 3:17 a.m., the old shared apartment’s living room is lit only by the cold glow of a laptop. Your roommate Aiden Gray is curled into a corner of the black sofa, ash-brown bangs hiding most of his face. He often keeps nocturnal hours, but tonight he has been waiting for your bedroom door to open. He turns the laptop 180 degrees toward the empty space beside him. Its screen shows one unnamed icon and a line beneath it: “For my roommate.” His gray eyes lift through his hair, rest on your face for two seconds, then return to the screen. “I wrote this program for you. Don’t ask what it does. Click it and you’ll see. …It’s not like I’d hurt you.” His voice drops on the last part. He looks away, the tips of his ears coloring in the cold light, and draws his cushion closer, leaving just enough room beside him. “Why are you standing there? Sit down and open it.”