Chapter-11

Exams were always so boring. My answer sheet was blank and I had no idea about the questions on the question paper. I hadn't studied for forever. And now sitting here for another three hours, doing nothing would be terrible.

"Aren't you going to write anything? Not even your name?"

I turned to see my exam bench mate smile at me. He was one class junior than me but he was the same age as me, maybe even a couple of days older. And also he was someone who was openly gay at school and was dating one of my classmates.

"Nah man. I don't know even one answer." I smiled.

"Me too. I haven't studied for the test." He smiled back and looked at his answer script.

I looked out the window and sighed. "Guess we both are failing this test."

He chuckled lowly. "Definitely yes."

I shook my head, feigning disappointment.

"Hey Kwan." Mason called.

"Yeah?"

"Uh...since I got this chance, can I ask you a favor?"

I frowned. "Favor?"

He nodded.

"Uh...what?"

"I am not close with any other seniors other than Waylen. And I have started to realize that I don't know much about him. I don't have the guts to ask any other seniors so can I ask you about him?" He asked, biting his lips nervously. His wide eyes were like an innocent puppy's.

I couldn't say no of course. "Okay." I recalled the scenes when they both first came out in public. Some classmates were disgusted and bullied them horribly. If it wasn't for our friend circle, they both would have been pressured to leave the school.

"Can you tell me what kind of a person he is? He always seems sweet and he doesn't even show anything that he feels."

I thought for a moment. Waylen and I had been studying together for years and I realized that I didn't know much about him either.

"Um well, I don't know much but from my view, he is that kind of a person who will not say he is hurt even though he is. Like if someone had said something mean to him or something that he didn't like, he would think about it a lot but never really talk about it. I have noticed this all these years." I nodded to myself.

He nodded, staring on the desk, his eyes cloudy.

"Why? Did something happen between you two?" I asked, studying his face.

He turned to me and smiled, shaking his head. "No no. I was just asking."

"Okay." I thought he would ask more but he went on staring at the desk, thoughtful.

Something must have happened between them that was why he looked a little tense and thoughtful.

Then we spent the next exam hours knowing about ourselves. By the end, I was surprised how interesting Mason's hobbies were. He liked to play the guitar, make clay sculptures and collect stones from rivers. He called collecting stones from rivers a weird hobby but I saw nothing weird in it. I had a similar hobby too. When I visit a new place, I like collecting anything from there that would remind me of it later. Everybody just had their own type of hobbies.

"Okay, it was nice talking to you. Actually you don't seem like the talkative types but you sure talk a lot." Mason said as there was only another five minutes for exam hours to be over.

I flushed. "Yeah, I do talk a lot sometimes."

He chuckled. "I found out that you have a completely opposite personality than what your aura speaks."

"What?"

He shook his head with a grin. "Nothing. No wonder you are so kind."

I opened my mouth to say something but the bell rang and everybody got out of their seats including Mason.

"Okay bye then. See ya at hostel." He smiled and waved.

I smiled back with a nod and glanced at the door. Waylen was already at the door, waiting with a smile. The way he looked at Mason was something else, something very dreamy. Maybe that was the look someone gave to their loved ones. I had no idea.

I decided to skip my lunch that day. Hostel food sucked. I directly went to my room, switched on my phone and texted him. He was probably busy so I placed my phone down and lied down on my bed with my feet hanging on the side because I still had my shoes on. I stared at the ceiling and did what I always did-think about him. He was running in my mind twenty four into seven. There was not even a single moment when I didn't think about him.

I closed my eyes. I was exhausted by sitting for three hours and chatting non-stop. And also just two hours sleep wasn't enough for me. But no matter what, I was still ready to lose sleep for him. I just couldn't fall asleep without talking with him at night anymore. He did something to me. I was used to him. And I could never get over it. God, how much I wanted him to be mine. I was so confused about my own sexuality but after I met him, I knew I wasn't straight anymore. I was glad to meet someone like him. I was glad that I fell for someone like him. He just made me happy for no reason. Even if I had a bad day, I knew at the end of the day I had him to lean on to and that just made everything so light weighted for me.

"Kwan. Kwan, wake up. Sports time will get over soon."

I blinked my eyes sleepily. "What?" I frowned as I realized that the room had gone darker.

"This is the third time I am waking you up. Come on, sports time is going to be over." Jimmy said.

I sat up and stared at nothing in a daze. When did I fall asleep? I had no idea.

"I won't go for sports." I said.

Jimmy sighed. "I shouldn't have woken you up." He said and left.

I felt dazed and nothing made sense in that moment. I slept with my uniform on but strangely my shoes were on the floor and I didn't remember opening them. I shrugged and stretched my arms and yawned. Then realization hit me.

"Shit." My eyes widened. I quickly grabbed my phone from underneath my pillow and opened the app.

He had seen my texts and replied to them.

Mr. K

Well, you should study more if you couldn't

write anything today.

3:07pm

Um so, is the phone date still on? Just wondering.

4:00pm

??Is everything okay?

4:33pm

So um...guess you are busy...

I facepalmed myself. I fell asleep and I had no idea about it. Shit. I checked the time and it was five in the evening. I immediately texted him to call me when he would come online because I was going to stay online until I changed. So I rushed to change my clothes and freshen up. I sat on my bed, staring at the screen. His last online was four forty five. I sighed and scratched the back of my head, thinking maybe I should ask for his number soon. We liked each other so there was no need to stay anonymous anymore.

My heart lit up as the green sign lit up beside his name on the screen and he started typing. Without waiting for anything, I clicked the call button. He immediately picked up.

"Hi." I greeted, a little breathy from the excitement.

"Hi."

I bit my lips. "Um...I am so sorry. I fell asleep earlier. I came back from school and just lied down. I have no idea when I fell asleep. I am so sorry."

He chuckled. "I am glad you got some sleep. I was worried the whole day."

I blushed. "Well, yeah I slept well so that means we can talk the whole night tonight."

He laughed. "That sounds awesome."

"It does."

"So?"

"Hm...wanna go on a date with me?" I asked, grinning from ear to ear.

"I would die to do that."

I laughed and quickly grabbed my earphones and plugged them in.

"Hey I was wondering if we could, you know, maybe exchange numbers..." I trailed off, unsure about how he would react. I was just so anxious about it that I couldn't wait to ask. And now that I blurted out without thinking, I wasn't prepared for his reaction.

"Oh god!" He exclaimed.

"What?" I asked. I knew it.

"I was dying to ask you that. I thought you didn't want to do that."

I smiled, my heart hammering against my chest. "Guess took me long enough to ask that."

"Yes."

"So?"

He giggled happily and texted his number.

That was a historic moment for me. I had never felt so happy about getting someone's number before. I stared at the number on the screen with a stupid grin on my face. Now I could call him anytime, anywhere and whenever I liked.

"I will call you." I said. Had it been always that easy? I was freaking out to even bring the topic of exchanging numbers.

"Okay." He sounded nervous.

I hanged up and copied the number. I pasted the number on the dial and took a deep breath before calling him. He picked up after two rings.

"Oh god Kwan." He said.

"What?" I couldn't stop grinning.

"I feel like my heart is going to burst. I feel so happy."

"Me too."

He sighed.

I quickly wore my hoodie to cover up the earphones in my ears and shoved the phone in my pant's pocket. I wore my jacket that covered my pant's pockets and I was set to go. Since it was Saturday, we were allowed to be outside our hostels till six.

"So what are you doing?" I asked, walking out of the hostel.

"I am taking a walk. There is an empty park in the neighborhood. Nobody comes here at this time. So, it's nice and quiet now."

I smiled, walking to the path where there was no other student's taking a walk. "Hmm the wind is quite cold today, isn't it? Maybe we should hold hands to warm ourselves a little."

He giggled. "Silly. If you are cold, just hold me."

I blushed. "I will."

"What are you doing?"

"I am taking a walk outside too."

"Huh? Is it okay for you to talk over the phone in open?"

"It isn't okay but I am hiding it well. It's fine. It is quite dark now so nobody can really see."

"Oh okay."

Silence...

"So...how was your day?" I asked, unable to find any other topic.

"It was good. What about yours?"

"It was fine. I nailed my exam." I said sarcastically and rolled my eyes.

He laughed. "Well done. Next time, set the answer sheet on fire."

"Sure." I laughed.

Silence stretched again and I heard him sigh after a few moment. There was nothing awkward in silence between us. It felt perfectly normal. Silence itself spoke a lot. I walked around, scanning around me for sight of any teacher but luckily that evening there was none.

"Kwan?" He called quietly.

"Hmm?"

"You told you had something to say."

"Oh." It clicked. "You had something to say too. You go first."

"No, you go first."

"No, you."

He sighed. "Okay. um...I just wanted to say that the other day I was talking about my future plans like how I am confused. And also you told once that you want to come to the city to a college to be with me. Like to be together. Last night you told you won't give up on me so I was just wondering..." He paused.

My heart beat started to fasten as I had no idea what he was going to say next. Was he going to ask me to give up on him? Was he going to say he would like to go abroad and not be with me? What was it?

"...if that is true then c-can we really be together?" He shuttered.

I heaved out a sigh of relief. And in that moment, I made a decision. A decision I knew I would love to comply to.

"Listen...if we want to be together, we will have to work on it. I am ready to do it. I will understand if it is a hard decision for you to make so I will respect whatever you decide on." I said and gulped down anxiously.

"Kwan, there is nothing more I want than to be together with you. I am literally dying to be with you. It makes me go crazy how much I think and every thought leads to the undeniable fact of impossibility but you being ready to be so courageous to be with me just gives me so much of power and desire to do the same. If you are ready, I will stay and be with you."

My heart felt heavy and I just wanted to burst into sobs. I gulped down the huge lump in my throat. Why was I feeling that way?

"The thought of you being with me, beside me is so beautiful. It is like a dream come true. I could never be happier." He said softly.

I gritted my teeth together, unable to determine the alien emotions I was feeling.

"Let's go on a real date this time. I will go to visit you. Let's go on a date, hold hands and be the happiest." I said, deciding immediately.

He gasped. "What! Really? But you live so far. It would be at least seven to eight hours of drive."

"Distance doesn't matter. I will make things work." I promised.

.................