32 Chapter 31

Everything went back to normal after Chesca's birthday except for Theodore.

His schedule to move back to his parents' place was canceled because he decided to stay in the dorms and he has also been behaving strangely for the past few days.

"What's going on with Theo?" Paris asked as he munched on some chips while giving Theodore a weird look. "I think I know why he's being like that. Don't worry about him. He'll be back to normal soon," Rain said as he took the queen chess piece and placed it on the board.

"Checkmate," Rain said with a smug smile as he looked at Tori with smiling eyes. "Why don't you ever go easy on me?" Tori said as she frowned at Rain.

"Just because," Rain shrugged and stood up from the floor. He walked towards the bed and slumped next to Theodore.

They're currently in Theodore's room, hanging out with each other after classes. It's already been days since they started hanging out there, but Theodore hasn't said anything yet.

Normally, he'd throw them out of his room, but he never even showed a hint of annoyance that his friends are in his room.

"Did you finally go insane?" Rain asked as he took his phone from his pocket. "It's like I'm seeing the Theodore from 10 years ago," he continued.

"This Theodore," Rain said as he showed Theodore's picture with a gentle smile on his face while playing with Chase, Chester's orange tabby cat.

Theodore glanced at Rain's phone and chuckled. "I do wish I was that Theodore, though," he mumbled. 'If I were that Theodore, maybe I would have been a little more likable,' the alpha thought.

Paris walked up to them and lay on top of the two horizontally, making the three of them form an H.

"What are you doing?" Chesca laughed as she looked at the three of them in the weird position they are in. She immediately took out her phone and took several pictures of them so she could make fun of them later.

"Hey, did you think you're not heavy?" Rain said as he patted Paris' thigh. "Move it," he continued.

"What if I don't want to?" Paris teasingly said and chuckled. "Oho? You don't want to?" Rain said and smiled a little as he felt his patience thinning.

He raised his elbow and pushed it against the back of Paris' thigh, making him scream in pain. "What the hell! Argh! Stop it, Rain!" Paris said as he hurriedly got off the two.

"You did that to me too, you know?" Rain said and acted as if he was innocent. Paris, who was finally off of the two, held the back of his thigh and rubbed it with his hand.

"Yeah, when we were kids!" Paris frowned as he glared at him. "I'm just getting back at you, haha. I had a grudge on you because of that," Rain chuckled.

'They're too noisy,' Theodore thought as he sat up. "I'm gonna go out for a while," he said as he stood up from his bed.

"Where are you going?" Tori, who just got out of the bathroom, said as she looked at Theodore. "Just outside," Theodore said and headed out of his room without waiting for what she was gonna say.

"I was gonna come with him..." Tori mumbled as she looked down with a sad look on her face. Chesca noticed how Tori looked and realized that her best friend was probably upset because of Theodore's recent behavior.

Theodore, who usually gets annoyed at every little thing, has suddenly turned gentle and mellow. He also hasn't been talking much and he's always disappearing after classes because he heads to his room right away.

He even skips his club activities despite being one of the officers just because he wants to go back to his room as soon as possible.

"Just let him be for now," Chesca smiled at Tori and looked at the door. "He probably has a lot on his mind right now," she continued.

*****

'The last time I saw him was on Chesca's birthday,' Theodore thought as he walked around the campus while staring at his feet. 'It's only been a few days but it feels like it's been years since I saw him,' he thought.

"Would you like to go out with me?" Theodore overheard from the back of a building.

It was a typical line he's heard over and over again for the past years. He knew a confession just happened, so he decided to just leave because it would seem awkward if the confessing person got rejected.

"I'm sorry," the other person responded.

Theodore's ears perked upon hearing the other person's voice. His heart started beating rapidly as if he had just run an entire marathon. His hair stood on its ends and he felt himself choking on a lump that wasn't even in his throat.

'Yuri?' he thought as he stopped walking.

"I can't reciprocate your feelings towards me," Yuri continued. "Ah, that's alright. Thank you for making time for me, anyway," the other person chuckled shyly.

A strong breeze suddenly slapped Theodore's body, making his hearing a bit muffled that he wasn't able to hear how their conversation went afterward.

The next thing he knew was that Yuri was already heading in his direction. Everything was in slow motion as if the world turned even slower.

The wind blew through Yuri's blond hair, moving the hair that was covering his forehead backward.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

The loudness of his heartbeat was deafening. It got louder and louder as Yuri walked closer and closer to him.

'Even the way he walks looks...' Theodore swallowed hard as his eyes trembled while looking at Yuri.

"Beautiful..." he mumbled under his breath while still staring at Yuri.

Suddenly, as if everything was fast-forwarded after it was in slow motion, Theodore found Yuri standing right in front of him.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

"Did you hear us?" Yuri asked as he raised his brows. "Just forget what you heard. Though, it's not like you care about it or something," he continued as he shrugged.

'What? What did he say?' Theodore thought as he tried to calm the beating of his heart. 'I didn't hear him... What did he say?' he thought as his hand started trembling a little.

"Yuri, I—" Theodore stopped before he could even say more as he felt his knees turn weak. He suddenly slumped on the floor while grabbing his chest as he gasped for air.

'What... What's happening? What's this...? My body feels so hot...' Theodore thought as his fingers grabbed the grass that was on the ground.

"Haaa... Haaa..." Theodore panted as his entire body trembled. Although feeling weak, he looked up to check on Yuri, and the sight that welcomed him was Yuri moving backward with a flushed face and a trembling hand that was covering his nose.

'Am I in a rut?'