Haru

It was five that afternoon when Jess appeared before me in the library.

"Hello," she said, grinning cheekily. "I was looking for you. Did you get my text?"

"Hey, Jess," I said. "Sorry, I switched my phone off."

Because I didn't want to get another text from Aiden, and if I did, it meant I'd have to reply to him, which I didn't want to.

She cocked her head to one side as she looked at me closely. "What's wrong? Did something happen last night?"

I couldn't believe she could tell with just the expression on my face. I'd better pull myself together if I didn't want Jess to think something was up between me and Aiden.

I shook my head. "No."

She folded her arms across her chest. "Haru, you know you're shit at lying, right? You're paler than usual and your eyes are red. What the hell happened?"

I unconsciously rubbed my eyes. "How're my eyes red?"

"Have you been crying?" she asked, looking more than a little shocked. "What happened?"

"I haven't been crying," I said. Fuck! When the hell had I been crying? After all, I was a bloody adult now. If anything, I felt frustrated.

Jess looked at me for a moment and then asked, "Haru, do you want to come over to my place?"

I swallowed hard. An angel was offering me an escape route and I took the opportunity without a second thought. I asked, "Can I?"

She nodded, a gentle smile playing across her face. "I'm not sure what's going on but it looks like you don't want to go home, do you?"

Jess was always so good at reading me. Well, we had been best friends since we started middle school, so of course she'd know when I felt like shit.

I nodded. "You got that right."

We took the bus to her shared apartment, and the moment we were inside her room, I threw my bag onto the floor and sat down on the chair behind the study desk.

Jess's room was pleasantly neat and tidy, with stacks of textbooks, and of course, BL manga and light novels, sitting on the desk. On her single bed were a few soft toys. Naturally, they were of male characters who had strong gay undertones from famous anime such as Sebastian and Ceil from Black Butler, Yuu and Mika from Owari no Seraph, Eren and Levi from Attack on Titan, and Yuuri and Victor from Yuri on Ice. I knew the characters because I had to suffer countless hours watching the anime with her.

"Want some iced tea?" Jess asked.

I nodded. "Yes, thanks."

She was about to head out when she asked, "Are you planning on going home tonight at all?"

I thought about this for a moment and then shook my head, my cheeks flushing hot. I didn't want to see Aiden, after all.

She chuckled. "Then you're lucky. My roommates are all out for the night. You can sleep on the couch in the living room."

"Really?" I asked. "Thanks, Jess. I promise I won't bother you tomorrow."

She smiled. "Yeah. Yeah. But don't forget to let Aiden know you're here. He's a worrywart where you're concerned."

"Yeah, I'll do that," I said quietly.

Once Jess was gone, I slipped my hand into my back jeans pocket and took out my cell phone. I stared long and hard at Aiden's name on the messenger app, my heart pumping loud and fast in my chest. I passed the name and went down to Reo's instead and then started texting. By the time the message was sent, Jess had returned with two glasses of iced green tea. She handed me one, and I gratefully took it, downing the lot in one go. It was hot and I was thirsty as hell.

"It's been a while since I've made you dinner," she said, grinning. "What do you want to eat?"

I shrugged my shoulders. "Whatever you have in the fridge is good enough."

She rolled her eyes. "Gosh, Haru, it seems like the only person you ever make demands of is Aiden." She turned on her heel and walked out the door again. "'Aiden, I want pizza for dinner. Aiden, I want pasta. Aiden, I want this. Aiden, I want that.'"

Following behind her, I asked, an amused smile playing across my lips, "What are you implying, Jess?"

She tossed her long blond hair over her shoulder and turned to glare at me. "That you only want Aiden to pamper you and you don't give a shit about me." She stopped right there in the middle of the hallway and turned to look at me fully. "I'm your best friend, Haru, and you never, ever let me pamper you like you pamper me. I mean, seriously, you listen to me yapping on nonstop about my BL manga. You suffer hours watching anime with me because I asked you to, even though you don't even like them. You make sure you get all the heavy workloads at work. You protect me from those crazy boys at school who come on to me."

I grinned. "Isn't that what best friends are for? And besides, I'm a guy. I don't need to be pampered," I said matter-of-factly.

And yet I wanted to be pampered by Aiden. Weird, eh?

Jess sighed. "You still don't get it, do you? I mean, I seriously don't know why you're so…I don't know, depressed today, even though you got to spend a precious night with your beloved Aiden last night, but since you're super depressed, because I can totally tell, then I want to at least, you know, pamper you. So? What do you want to eat for dinner? I'll cook, and if we don't have the ingredients, then we'll go shopping. The supermarket isn't far."

I smiled and then said, "Then spaghetti Bolognese. I'll help."

"You sure you want to eat that? And not just because it's easy to make? And also, just because I totally suck at cooking?"

I chuckled. "Stepdad had used to make that for me as a child when I got upset. I missed his spaghetti Bolognese."

Jess closed the small distance between us and gave me a tight hug. "Mine won't be as good as his but I'll do my best."

I nodded.

Luckily, Jess had all the ingredients for the Bolognese sauce, and I found that I was enjoying myself helping her cook. Once done, we sat down to eat, chatting about our life at university and eventually, BL manga, all the new ones that just came out this month. It was pleasant, and it took my mind off of Aiden.

After dinner and then a quick shower, I lay on the couch and checked my cell phone. I received a reply from Reo, telling me he had informed everyone at home that I was staying the night at Jess's place. I sighed in relief that I didn't get any more texts from Aiden, and just as quickly, I felt my heart ache.

Had I pissed him off because I didn't reply to his message today? Shit, I didn't know, and soon my mind went off thinking about him again.