Chapter 6

"Senior, do you have any more popcorn?"

August turned his attention away from the screen when he heard Edward. Gesturing to the kitchen, he explained, "There should be some microwavable bags in the left cabinet."

Edward nodded. Just as he was about to stand up, he stumbled, his legs numb due to the lack of movement. Blindly grabbing onto whatever he got his hands on, he winced in pain.

"Ouch!'' Edward cried, crimson red blood dripping from his hand. When he stumbled, he had actually grabbed a pointed ornament on the wall which scratched his hand.

"What happened- Oh my god, are you bleeding?!"

August hurried over, taking Edward's hand in his before carefully examining it. He looked at it several times to make sure it wasn't a deep cut and released it somewhat reluctantly.

"Fortunately, it isn't anything serious. Let me get some bandages for you," He offered.

"No, no. How can I trouble senior? I'll get some myself," Edward politely declined.

"What trouble? Aren't we familiar enough?"

"It's because we're familiar that I'm saying this," Edward gestured to the screen. "Isn't the movie at its climax part right now? You watch, I'll be right back."

"How can I do that? Let me-"

"No means no senior," With one hand on August's shoulder, Edward made him sit down. "You stay here, I'll put something on this. No need to pause, just watch carefully, okay? I'll be counting on you to recap it for me."

August could only nod at that. Although he wanted to go with him, he knew Edward would still refuse. In the days they spent together, if there's one thing August knew for sure, it was that Edward is painfully stubborn. If he decides to do something in a particular way, he'll do it in that way only. There was no room for adjustments or modifications.

August sometimes felt strange with Edward. It was like they were familiar, but complete strangers at the same time. Sometimes, he even felt like he didn't know Edward at all.

There were also things that didn't add up about him. Most of the time he was cheerful and friendly, but occasionally, he'd show a weird expression around him. Like he's disgusted and doesn't want to be here. Although August pretended not to notice, it still irked him. It's almost like...a mask being ripped off. Was that the real him, after all?

August slapped his face lightly as he tried to get his mind back on track. What was he thinking?

Of course he knows the real Edward. Why would Edward pretend to be someone he's not? Why would he approach him and pretend to be friendly? He simply has no reason to do so. Maybe August was just thinking too much. Of course, that must be it.

"Where's the first aid box, senior?" Edward's voice came from the hall.

"Ah, I forgot to tell him where the first aid box is!"

He cupped his hands around his mouth before shouting back, "Third room from the left! Second drawer!"

Since that guy wasn't around, he didn't have to maintain that idiotic smile anymore. His face expressionless, Edward opened the door. It was a small room with two drawers.

Bending down, he opened one of them. It was stuffed with antiseptics, antibiotic creams and bandages.

Edward raised his eyebrow. Why would a 'normal' university student have so many bandages and antiseptics? The drawer wasn't exactly a small one. It almost looked like he just walked in the storage room of a hospital or something.

Taking a band-aid from a band-aid box in the corner, he carelessly wrapped it around his finger before getting up. Just as he was about to close the door, the first drawer caught Edward's eye. He wondered, 'What could be there? It's not like there will be more medicine.'

He made sure that the coast was clear before entering the room again, curiosity shining in his eyes.

Edward's curious expression morphed into one of surprise when he saw what was in that drawer. "Wait, why are there-"

"EDWARD!! Edward! Wait!!!"

August rushed into the room. He was out of breath, like he ran here. He panted, "Edward! Wait...d-don't open the dra..wer.."

"What happened, senior? Is everything alright?"

"You...You didn't open the first drawer, did you?" August's hand on the doorframe was trembling anxiously, beads of sweat glistening on his fair forehead.

Edward shook his head, "Nope. Didn't you tell me to only open the second one?" He pointed at the bandaged finger. "I just got this from the second drawer."

August released a breath as his shoulders visibly loosened. "-Really?"

Edward nodded, "Yeah. I just opened the second one." He paused before asking softly, "-Is there something I can't see in the first drawer?"

August tensed again. He anxiously wringed his hands as he tried to shrug it off, "What? Of course not...It's just filled with some, uh, old things of mine. Nothing important, really. It isn't anything strange. Why would there even be something strange here? Haha," August desperately tried to cover up, which just made the whole thing more suspicious. His voice was shaky, barely able to form full words without stuttering.

Edward saw August's hands trembling as he tried to hold them still. By now, even an idiot would have realized that there was definitely something wrong there. After all, who would believe it were some 'old things' after seeing just how fast August ran here screaming not to open it?

But Edward just nodded, trust shining in his gaze. "Of course there wouldn't be anything strange. Should we go back now? I kind of wanted to hear the backstory of the ceiling fan ghost."

August was shaking, afraid of the upcoming questions, the judging stare, the disgusted look. But it all never came. Edward believed him, just like that.

He knew that Edward wasn't a fool but didn't ask for the sake of his privacy. August was really liking him more day by day.

Palms wet from sweat, his arms were still trembling from earlier. August was still very much on edge and could feel his face heating up due to all this, his insides a mess. He really should calm himself first and take his pills so Edward doesn't find anything strange.

"Y-yes...Yes, you- you go back first. I'll follow you in a, a bit."

Edward obediently went away as August closed the door. As soon as he was out of sight, August's legs gave up. Curled up in a ball on the floor, he wept as he tried to make his sense of existence smaller and smaller. His legs were tightly pressed against his chest as he took shuddering breaths. "H...huh...calm down..."

"He-he didn't see anything...'' August took shaky breaths and tried to stop his trembling. "...Yes, everything's alright...Edward- Edward didn't see it...he's still your friend...He-"

"-He's still here..."

Little did August know, the very person he was talking about was standing right on the other side of the door.

"August Castellan, they're quite some interesting things you're hiding there. Blades and blood stained bandages, huh? And here I was wondering why you never show your arms. Guess you forgot to clean up,'' Edward smirked as his eyes darkened. "Looks like this game is going to be a lot more interesting than I thought."