16 Panotti of the Opera (5)

Klick was revising for tomorrow's test when Floopy returned. He was slightly surprised because the composer was back earlier than expected. Was his inspiration really good? How did he finish composing an entire ensemble piece in less than an hour?

"Did it go well?" the bat demon asked but didn't receive a reply. Instead, he heard Floopy throw himself on the bed with a sniffle.

Alarmed, Klick put down his books and went over. "Hey," he approached with a soft voice. "What's wrong? Did someone bully you on the way?"

Floopy shook his head and cried harder. How could he put this into words? The sound of Syris' screaming still haunted his ears and Floopy hugged Klick who was taller than him. The bat demon bent down awkwardly and sat on the small boy's bed, patting his back and pushing his ears out of the way. Floopy might be bullied a lot but he never bawled like this before and the roommate found himself worrying if things had gone too far.

"What happened?"

Floopy shook his head and choked as he tried to explain, going into a coughing fit. Klick brought some water over and cuddled with the panotti. They huddled together under the blanket and Klick listened to Floopy's heartbeat until it slowed down to the regular rhythm.

"I heard it," Floopy groaned. After crying so hard, his head was hurting and his eyes were now smaller than they were if that was even possible.

Klick didn't speak and listened as Floopy told him bits and pieces of what happened. By the end of it, the assassin knew two things. The first thing was that Floopy definitely was having feelings for the Siren Prince and the second was that the rumours were indeed true.

"You know," Klick hated to break it to him but someone had to give this musician a reality check. "If he cannot carry tune and is going to tear his vocal cords trying to 'sing', you shouldn't give him false hope. He isn't like the frogs and crickets of the forest that you can talk to and charm into singing."

There was a frown on Floopy's face when he heard that. "I know," he told Klick. "However, I have to try. He sounded like he was in so much pain, I don't want to see him so sad over this especially when he is such a wonderful person. He is handsome, smart, kind and gentle... There's so much more going for him than just his voice and I hate it that everyone can only call him a defective siren because of the one thing he couldn't do. Everybody has at least one thing that they're bad at, why do people have to criticise him for this?"

It was rare for Floopy to get angry and Klick didn't think this angel was capable of getting angry. Seeing the panotti getting so riled up for Syris made Klick slightly worried. He didn't know what sort of reckless actions Floopy will take. They always say that you have to watch out for the quiet ones because nobody knows what will happen when they snap.

"What are you going to do now?" Klick asked once Floopy had mostly calmed down.

The musician didn't answer immediately and Klick didn't rush him. Whatever choice that Floopy made, Klick would do his best to support him. He might not like the idea of Floopy trying to pursue a fruitless love but if that was what the musician wanted, he would support. For a musician like Floopy, everything he experienced in life translated into great compositions. There would be no loss as it was usually better to have loved and lost than never loved at all. Amanda has been dying for some good romance works but Floopy had never written those before.

"I-I have a request..."

"I'm all ears."

Floopy squirmed a little and his face felt heated. "I want to write Syris an anonymous letter to cheer him up. Could you help me to pass that to him?"

The assassin couldn't say he was very surprised. If anything, he was pleasantly impressed by the courage Floopy managed to gather to do that. The boy wasn't just shy, he was painfully shy and that was the reason why many people bullied him. Klick agreed earnestly and told Floopy to let him know if he needed help writing that letter.

Floopy blushed when Klick offered to help and quickly declined the offer. Who knows how embarrassing it would be if his roommate knew the content! While it sounded horrible, Floopy was thankful that his roommate and only friend here was blind. There was no way Klick would be able to find out what he wrote and nobody would suspect a blind bat demon to be the delivery boy. The plan was perfect! If it worked, he might be able to establish a slow friendship with the beautiful siren through letters. That way, Syris wouldn't be mocked when he was seen around the unwanted panotti.

"I'll get writing right away! Do you think he will send me a reply after he reads it?"

Klick raised a brow. "A reply? Aren't you just writing a confession letter?"

Blood shooting to his face and turning his large ears pink, Floopy tried to cover his friend's mouth to prevent Klick from saying anything else. He tried to deny it but Klick was having way too much fun teasing the innocent boy until Floopy was close to tears.

"Alright, alright... I'll stop. If you want to be pen pals with him why not use a notebook instead of a letter?"

Floopy considered it but shook his head. "I don't want to pressure him to reply, letters are fine. That way if they stop coming, at least I get to keep the ones he already sent."

Mixed feelings welled up in Klick's chest when he heard his poor friend say it. Those pure innocent feelings might get cruelly crushed in this seemingly futile love and while Klick wanted to discourage his friend, he couldn't.

"I understand. Let me know when the first letter is ready and don't sleep too late. There's a test tomorrow, I'm going to revise."

Floopy nodded. "I'll revise a little after I'm done with the letter. Can you help me revise for the test? I still don't remember the name of the great witches who founded alchemy..."

Naturally, Klick agreed and Floopy thanked his friend before drafting his first letter to Syris with an unbreakable concentration much like how he usually was when thinking of new songs. Klick felt sorry for his friend, his mind no longer on the revision. Syris and Floopy lived in two different worlds. He couldn't help but fear what would happen to Floopy if he was really able to make Syris sing again. Would the Siren Prince abandon him in favour of the throne and getting a better bride?

Only time could tell.