25 When Shit Goes Down

"Five…"

Craige's heart was playing drums on his chest. And he could not tell if it's because he was anxious or if it's from excitement.

"Four…"

'She can't be serious, right?'

"Three…"

'She's just messing with me like she messed with Joshua, right?'

"Two…"

'Will she really do it?'

"One."

Zeanne rose on her toes and pulled his neck down.

And just when their lips were about to touch, he put a hand on her mouth.

Zeanne's eyes widened in bewilderment then instantly narrowed to slits as she pulled back from him. She folded her arms on her chest, looking really annoyed. "Aissh. Why take your time if you're going to reject me anyway?"

'I was tempted. But you deserve more than a half-assed relationship.'

He knew that he might regret this moment for the rest of his life. But he could not afford losing their friendship by entering a relationship that he knew he was not ready for.

"I didn't think that you were really going to do it." He smiled and ruffled the top of her head, proud of himself for not succumbing to his carnal desires. "And will you stop using your precious lips to harass people?"

"Harass?! Ha!" Zeanne rolled her eyes before pushing past him. He followed her to the kitchen with a smile on his face. She took out a bottle of cold water from this fridge and chugged it empty. Then she took a deep breath and turned to him with a smug smile that made him nervous. "Wait till I really harass you."

His smile became weary. "Please don't."

She stared at him for a while then declared out of the blue, "I'm starving."

Craige looked at his watch. "Auntie won't be here for another hour, what do you want to do?"

She grinned. "Let's have instant ramen."

"But we're eating barbeque later." He pointed out.

Her eyes grew large and she gasped with exaggeration. "Who are you? Where is Craige? Where's the guy that can eat 4 sandwiches from MoonSunBox in just a single seating?"

Craige laughed and went to get the ramen packs from the cupboard. "I'm not worried about me. I was worried about you. You get an upset stomach when you eat a lot, right?"

Zeanne was silent and just stared at him. Something that she does a lot. "I'll just take a small bite then I'll watch you eat it."

"Eh?" He raised an eyebrow at her as he poured a bottle of water in the saucepan. "Won't that make you hungrier?"

"No. I'm good with that." She said with determination, eyes glued on the stove.

"If you say so." He nodded and concentrated on the important task at hand. 'I'll bet that she'll go back on her words later.'

Ten minutes later…

Craige smiled as he watched Zeanne empty the bowl. "You're definitely going to regret this later."

She wiped her mouth and also finished the carton of fresh milk that she prepared earlier to battle the spiciness. "I have you to blame."

"Me? Why is it my fault?"

She smiled sweetly which tugged at his chest. "Just because."

The next morning, Kimmy told Craige to call Zeanne for breakfast. He checked his watch and found it odd that even though it's already 8 AM, she still hasn't come out. She usually wakes up before him.

*knock*

"Zee?" He put his ear against the door but he could not hear any sound.

*knock*

Still nothing. 'She's inside, isn't she?'

*knock*

"Craige!" Kimmy called out to him and he turned to her with a start.

"Yes!" He felt as if he had been caught red-handed when he wasn't even doing anything.

Kimmy smiled at him. "Just go inside, darling. She won't hear you like that."

Craige nodded and turned the handle of the door. The room was dark and cold but Zeanne was not on the bed. He went inside. "Zee?"

He heard a noise coming from the bathroom. "Zee?"

"You tell me you don't wanna see me cry!

But you say bye bye, Say goodbye!

Broke my heart into pieces and left me dry!

So I tell you die die, Just die die!

Never show up again or I'll make you fly!"

'She's singing in the shower.' Craige smiled when he realized the reason why she could not hear him knock.

"You tell---"

He knocked on the door to alert her of his presence.

Silence.

He could not hear anything except the sound of water coming from the shower. "Zee?"

A few seconds passed before she chirped. "Yeah?"

"Breakfast is ready. Come out when you're done." He didn't wait for her to answer and gave her the privacy that she needed to finish her ritual.

A few minutes later, Zeanne came out of her room with flushed cheeks, glaring at him. "Did you hear?"

Before Craige could deny it, his aunt did the honors by telling Zeanne what he didn't want to say. "Of course he heard! The entire complex heard you! Now take a seat and have breakfast, we have a lot to cover today."

Zeanne's face went from pink to crimson as she sat beside him on the dining table. And when Kimmy stood up to fill Zeanne's rice bowl, Craige whispered to Zeanne. "Don't worry. You sound better than I do."

She turned to him with a surprised look on her face. "You're that terrible?"

"Shh." He silenced her when Kimmy finished pounding a couple of scoops on Zeanne's bowl.

Kimmy set the bowl in front of Zeanne. "Eat up. You vomited everything last night, didn't you?"

That surprised Craige. "You're not feeling well?"

Kimmy laughed. "Didn't sound like it, right?"

Zeanne frowned. "I didn't vomit as much, but I think the toilet's clogged."

That made Kimmy laugh harder while smacking Craige's arm. "She's like that whenever she gets indigestion. That's why I've been telling her to get some exercise because her body's condition is all over the place."

"Why is everything related to exercise to you? I get a headache. You tell me to exercise. I have insomnia. Exercise. Dysmenorrhea. Exercise. Food poisoned. Exercise. Are you a fitness instructor? You own a gym?" Zeanne berated.

"Ms. Choi, it's not a laughing matter, you know." He reprimanded his aunt as well then turned to Zeanne. "Are you okay now?"

"I'm fine." She answered and grinned. "Thanks."

Then Kimmy added with suppressed laughter. "But the toilet's not."

And she started laughing again. But this time, even Zeanne guiltily laughed with her and Craige could only shake his head. He scooped a large portion of rice and looked at the clump of carbohydrates before saying, "I can't believe you guys are laughing about poop in front of the food."

"You're really no fun." Kimmy told him as she leaned on her elbow, still giggling. "That's why I sometimes get the feeling that Zeanne is my real niece and you're the adopted child in this house. We just don't jive"

Craige froze.

And so did Kimmy. She straightened up and cleared her throat. "I'm sorry."

"It's fine." He said with a shrug and continued eating. "By the way, what are your plans for today?"

Kimmy was quick to answer in a playful tone, as if the awkwardness just a second ago never happened. "I'm planning to kill Zeanne today. You want to watch?"

"What?!" Craige could not believe his ears and turned to Zeanne whose face was filled with horror and tension.

Kimmy looked at Zeanne then smiled at him. "I'm just kidding."

"What--" He started but Zeanne cut him off by holding his arm.

"Come!" There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice and a frown on her face as if she's also not sure about asking him to come with them. "Come, please."

"Zee!" Kimmy exclaimed. But when Zeanne gave her a determined look, she conceded. "Are you sure that you'll be okay with that?"

Craige was not sure what the fuss was about, but he decided to just go along with it. "O-okay."

An hour later, they arrived at the acting center. It was Craige's first time in his Aunt's place of work and he was surprised to see that it was actually a three-story building instead of a rented and run down space. The security was really tight as well and their bags went through a separate scanner upon entering. It's the kind of scanner that you would usually find in the airport. Craige raised an eyebrow as he watched his bag roll its way for an X-ray checkup. Even the inside of the building was really luxurious and looked like a museum with all of the trophies displayed on each glass container scattered in the lobby. As soon as they reached the 'practice' room, his aunt turned to him with excitement while rubbing her hands together.

"Ready to witness something exciting?" Kimmy was grinning widely at him.

He shook his head. "Auntie, you look really ugly right now."

He then heard Zeanne mutter under her breath. "She's a psychopath, I tell you. She should be the one getting treated, not me."

But Kimmy heard it and her smile turned into a frown. "What's this? You know about her treatment already?"

The both of them froze. Craige glanced at Zeanne who seemed to be brainstorming for an excuse, then he decided to step up. "She told me about it."

Kimmy's eyes rounded. "Why?"

'Why? Not how?' Craige racked his brain for a suitable answer. And of all the things that he came up with, this was what he said, "Because I'm her boyfriend."

"You're what?!" Kimmy rose from her seat and her eyes darted towards Zeanne who was looking at him with horror.

"Craige!" Zeanne exclaimed in shock as well.

'She's looking at me as if I just said that I got her pregnant without her knowing.' That thought made him chuckle.

"I asked her out." He kept the smile on his face despite feeling anxious. He was not very fond of lying. "She tried rejecting me, using her condition as an excuse. But I told her it didn't matter. So now we're going out."

"You asked her out? Who did? You did?" Kimmy repeated again to make sure that she heard her nephew right. "And she agreed to it? With that attitude of yours? You're actually capable of initiating a relationship?"

"Do I really have to tell you the details? Can't we keep things private?" He gave Kimmy a weary look. Zeanne was the master of making up excuses but just when he needed her most, she was stupefied.

Kimmy's jaw dropped. "S-so...you're telling me that you two…"

"We are. So please stop prying into it and get back to your work Ms. Choi." He waved his hands at her to shoo her away.

Kimmy then turned to Zeanne who looked really perplexed at the moment. "Is it true?"

Zeanne slowly turned her head towards Kimmy. "I t-think so. That's what he's been telling everyone lately."

Kimmy shook her shoulders. "Why are you acting like you didn't know about this? Are you being blackmailed by this guy?"

"No. It's not like that." Zeanne said absent-mindedly. Craige gave her a side glance to see if she can handle this herself or if she's still finding it hard to get herself together.

"Him dating anyone is already suspicious enough. But, what? This guy, who becomes extremely silent when there are girls around, confessed?!" Kimmy's eyes gleamed with suspicion at Craige. She knew him too well for her to believe him that easily. That's probably why Kimmy resorted to grilling Zeanne for an answer instead. "Don't be afraid and tell me the truth. Did he say something to you? Did he do anything to you?"

"Auntie! Stop it already!" Craige exclaimed in frustration then he turned to Zeanne with a reassuring smile. "You don't have to answer her."

Zeanne looked at him and blinked a couple of times before she finally nodded.

His smile grew wider. 'Good girl.'

And that sight drove Kimmy crazy. "Oh my God! Are you smiling?! Is this for real? And Zee! You're actually listening to him? You don't listen to anybody other than Hailey! What's wrong with you Zee?!"

Craige couldn't help but feel proud upon hearing that. Even if their dating relationship was a sham, just the mere fact that Zeanne trusts him enough to follow his lead made him uncannily happy.

'Damn. I think I'm really in deep trouble now.'

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