39 Zinnia

Yitian was glad that he was thoughtful enough to grab the keys before he stormed out of Chao's apartment. And that he had all the keys in one bundle. Because he forgot that his mother was on a long work trip, where Chao's family sent her after her last attack on Yitian. So, the house he came in was as dark, cold as his life now.

Yitian went into his room and felt no warmth at all. Some of his things were like from a stranger. He didn't see himself in them at all. Strange. As if he abandoned who he was before, for Chao. How could that happen? He sat on his bed and curled into a ball. Yitian closed his eyes, trying to find himself.

***

"Think more about something else than the game?" Chao shouted and threw his keys on the shelf, kicked Yixing's boots that were in his way, and stormed into the living room. For once, Yixing was in the apartment watching a movie or something and eating on the sofa. He turned around and looked at Chao, with noodles in his mouth. Some other times Chao would laugh at him but no he wasn't in the mood.

"Where is Yitian?" he asked innocently, not knowing about the fight they had. Chao pulled off one of his slippers and threw it at Yixing.

"Shut up!" Chao shouted and sat in his gaming chair. The Secret of Legends was still on, on both computers. Chao turned to Yixing.

"Do you think I'm thinking only about the game?" he asked, hit with sudden reality.

"Honestly or friendly?" Yixing slurped the noodles up and looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Honestly..." Chao breathed out rubbing his temple.

"Honestly. Yes. You are. If I weren't talking to Yitian I wouldn't even know about you. You are always with your nose on the screen, playing. To be honest, I really don't get Yitian, how can he take you shouting at him all the time. Go there, kill that, this spell. Sometimes I have to wear headphones when I'm fed up about you ordering him around." Yixing shrugged at the killing face, Chao shot at him.

"I gave him a phone as a birthday gift. Did he have to get so mad about that?" Chao asked. Somehow Yixing knew Yitian more than him. It pissed him off a bit.

"Wow, you just went and bought a phone? And you gave it to him while playing games right? Tsk, no wonder he is mad. Remember what he did for you during Christmas." When Yixing said that Chao was ashamed of himself. Yitian designed things that Chao wanted the most, he took him shopping, to have lunch, and then to play old arcades. He showed him the Christmas lights and even took him to release sky lanterns.

"I'm such a jerk right?" Chao closed his eyes, his head leaning back, he didn't want an answer for that but Yixing, being an amazing asshole friend, gave him one nonetheless.

"Yes, you are. You are worse than scum," he said and continued slurping the noodles. Chao wanted to punch him, but first, he wanted to punch himself for being a jerk.

"What should I do? I never noticed how much he does for me." Chao asked Yixing.

"Oh, you mean only those little things, or that he does everything around the house? Or that he plays games with you even after being totally tired from his job? That he always finds time and situations to prove that he is useful to you?" With every Yixing's word, Chao wanted to punch himself more and more. Chao wasn't treating him as a friend, Yitian was right, he treated him more like a lost puppy needing help. Someone who will depend on him and would never leave him. But right because of this treatment he left.

"Do I treat you as a friend?" He asked Yixing again, who was slowly agitated by the number of questions.

"I don't think so. But I know you think of me as a friend. So I'm cool. Sometimes I'm pissed that you changed me so easily for a game." Yixing finished his food and went to the kitchen, cleaning up the dishes after himself.

'The game again?' Chao thought, looking at the lit-up screen. Was he really there so much? He looked up his account log and widened his eyes in surprise. He knew that when he wanted to be the best he needed to invest time, but he was in the game more than in school. He rolled to see Yitian's account log and his mouth fell open. This guy was only a few hours less there than him. How was he able to do everything and help him in the game so much?

"How can I make him go back?" Chao asked one last question. Yixing halted in his tracks and thought for a bit.

"Man, I have no idea. If he were a girl I would send him flowers or something. But no idea what to do with a guy." Yixing went back to his room, leaving Chao there.

Honestly, this wasn't the best idea but he had no other, so he turned to the computer and looked up the flower meanings. Which flower would be the best to send? Finally, he found one. Zinnia. He ordered the flowers and had them delivered to Yitian's old apartment.

But he knew it was still not enough. Chao looked at the phone in the chair next to him and couldn't think of anything. His mind was blank. He never had friends before, how could he know how they treated each other. Cheo grabbed his hair into both hands and sighed. He got up and went to the kitchen. He opened the fridge to take water out but halted. There was a wrapped plate with food, he took it out.

'Have a midnight snack :) Y' was written on a paper sticker on the plastic wrap. He looked at the perfectly made snacks and he wanted to kick himself once more. But his mind made a plan. How to say sorry to Yitian. Because he was really sorry.