Chapter Text
It started with a notification. A small yellow bubble lighting up your phone at 11:47p.m.
[Welcome to: Night Owl Cafe ☕ - 23 members active now]
You hadn't planned on joining - you'd only been scrolling through forums, half-distracted, half-bored, when someone had dropped an invite link. The kind of space where people talked about music, shared playlists, sometimes complained about work or insomnia. You'd told yourself you'd just look. Lurk. Maybe stay for five minutes.
The messages moved fast.
Moon.jinn: i can't sleep again lol
Sunny.lix: drink warm milk
Moon.jinn: that sounds disgusting
latechannie: works though
Meownho: no it doesn't, you just like milk, freak
Sunny.lix: be nice 😭
You watched the texts scroll for a moment, thumb hovering over the chat bar. It felt strange, stepping into a room full of strangers - but something about the energy was... kind. Lighthearted.
You typed before you could talk yourself out of it.
You: Warm milk actually does help sometimes. Depends on the brand though.
There was a pause - just long enough to make you wonder if you'd said something weird - and then:
latechannie: finally someone with common sense 😊
Sunny.lix: nooo not you too 😭
Meownho: you're all lactose cultists i swear
You laughed quietly, leaning back against your pillow. it wasn't much, but the warmth that came from being acknowledged - from being part of something for once - settled soft in your chest.
The conversation shifted easily after that. Someone dropped a late-night playlist; another complained about deadlines. You added a few songs to your own library, replying once or twice more when someone asked for recommendations. It felt like sitting in a cafe you'd never been to, surrounded by voices that didn't expect anything from you.
At some point, one username kept catching your eye - latechannie. He wasn't loud like the others; his messages came with calm humour, the kind that steadied the flow of chaos without trying.
When the others started signing off one by one, you noticed he was still typing.
latechannie: you're new here, right?
You: Yeah, stumbled in by accident.
latechannie: best accidents happen after midnight 😅
You smiled at the screen, typing slower this time.
you: is that a motto or just sleep deprivation talking
latechannie: bit of both, maybe. i just like meeting new people. especially ones who don't start fights about milk.
You laughed again, quiet but real.
Somewhere in the background, your scent blocker gave a faint hum - the low, steady pulse that had become part of your silence. It was strange how something so mechanical could feel almost alive. You brushed your thumb over the device, grounding yourself.
You: I'll take that as a compliment.
latechannie: good, it was one.
The chat stilled there - not awkward, just comfortably paused, like the kind of quiet that didn't need filling. You let the phone rest on your chest, watching the little unread dot fade from yellow to grey.
For the first time in a while, the night didn't feel so empty.
You didn't mean to stay up that late.
By the time you looked at the clock, it was already past one in the morning. The chat had gone mostly quiet now - a few stragglers posting sleepy goodnights, one or two random memes that made you laugh more than they should've.
You: Do people actually hang out in here this late usually?
latechannie: sometimes, it's like background noise when you can't sleep.
You: Comforting noise?
latechannie: Yeah, exactly that
You hesitated for a second, fingers hovering above the keyboard before you typed again.
You: So you're a night owl then?
latechannie: unfortunately. part-time insomniac, full-time snack enthusiast.
You grinned, setting your phone against the mug on your bedside table. The conversation wasn't anything special - no heavy question, no oversharing - but there was something soothing about it. He typed like someone who thought before he spoke, choosing his words with a kind of quiet care that made you want to listen.
Another message appeared:
latechannie: what about you? you're new but you seem chill
You: Depends on the night, sometimes I'm chill, sometimes I spiral over burnt toast.
latechannie: thats fair, toast is a delicate science
You laughed softly, burying half your face in the blanket.
The messages slowed after that, tapering into comfortable silence.You should’ve been tired, but you weren’t — not really. Your body was heavy, eyes blinking slow, but your mind was calm in a way it hadn’t been in weeks.
You scrolled back up through the conversation, watching the string of usernames light up the screen: moon.jinn, sunny.lix, meownho, latechannie. Little pieces of people you didn’t know, voices you couldn’t picture, but somehow already felt familiar.
Your thumb lingered over the last message — the one that simply said toast is a delicate science.
You didn’t know why that made you smile again. Maybe because it wasn’t trying to be funny or clever. It just felt real.
Outside, the night had turned quiet. The kind of stillness where even the city seemed to exhale. You let the phone rest beside you, screen dimming slowly, and closed your eyes to the faint hum of your scent blocker.
Maybe you’d leave the group in the morning.
Maybe you wouldn’t.
But for tonight, it felt nice not to be completely alone.