Gemotions

A chill snaked up Leo's spine as he re-entered the dorm room. The air felt… different. Not stale, not necessarily unpleasant, but undeniably *changed*. He'd left his journal on his desk, splayed open. He distinctly remembered closing it before his lecture. Now it was shut. He approached cautiously, his hand hovering over the cover. He glanced at Mark, his roommate, who was engrossed in a game on his laptop. *Too* engrossed, Leo felt. He felt a need to check and make sure that nothing had been disturbed.

He forced himself to feign nonchalance. "Hey, Mark," he said, trying to keep his voice steady. "Everything alright?" Mark grunted in acknowledgment, eyes glued to the screen. Leo picked up the journal. The leather felt subtly different against his fingertips. He opened it, his heart rate quickening. The last entry was about his crush on Sarah. He had left it open to a blank page. The page was now filled with a small, barely perceptible pencil smudge.