He wakes to noise.
Indistinct talking and banging filter through the morning hush, and he almost dismisses it in favor of going back to sleep, but then he remembers he's not in his apartment, with its thin walls and constant construction going on outside. He's in Jade's well-insulated penthouse, a space so soundproofed that when there's no music playing downstairs, Noel feels like he's living in a big, abandoned museum.
Noise is highly unusual.
By the time he's dragged himself out of bed and into some slightly presentable clothes, the noise seems to have abated. Curious, he heads downstairs.
Halfway down the steps, he falters.
