Chapter-7

"Kwan?"

"Hmm?"

"If we compare, we both are like the earth and the moon. I am the moon and you are the earth. We are not meant to clash together. We talk every night but that's it. We are not meant to be together."

Suddenly my sleep flew away. I opened my eyes and stared at the dark ceiling. "What?"

"See...we talk every night but that's it. We are not meant to be, just as the moon and the earth are not meant to be together."

I frowned. Recently, he had started to be very metaphorical, comparing me and him with different things.

He giggled. "Made you speechless again?"

"Uh...not really. Let's not hurt each other by imagining and having expectations, okay?"

"Yeah yeah."

"I told you I will try to get a college at the city. By then you would probably start working too. We can be together then."

"Hmm..." He sighed. "I just like the thought of it."

I chuckled. "But wouldn't it be a burden to date a first year student?"

He laughed. "Come on, you are just three years younger than me. If you would have joined school early, we would be almost passing out together and start working together."

I pouted. "But hey, your birthday is coming. You are growing old."

"Woah...is twenty one old?"

I grinned in the dark. "For you, yes."

"Woah...then what are you?"

"I am forever young."

He laughed.

I closed my eyes again, my eye lids turning heavy.

"Umm...Kwan?" He called.

"Hmm?"

"I...I have something to say."

There it was again, the anxiousness, whenever he said he had something to say. I don't know why but it always freaked me out when he would have something to say.

"Okay, go on."

"Uh..." He hesitated.

"Aiy, come on. You can tell me anything."

"Yeah...I actually wanted to tell you why I am hiding myself. Like why I don't want to show myself."

My sleep flew away again as my whole body tensed up. I stared at the dark ceiling again.

He continued. "So...few months ago, I met a guy in an online game. So it was a game where we could play in teams and individually too. So I used to play in a team and there was always this one guy in my team. So we used to text personally through the game. He was a gym guy with lots of muscles. We exchanged numbers and social media ids. At first I thought he was a good guy so in hope, I came out to him." He exhaled. "After I came out to him, he...he...started to blackmail me."

My heart was hammering against my chest. And then it clenched tightly.

"He...told me if I didn't send him money, he would expose my identity. He had my photo and address. He told he would give it all away." His voice quivered. "I immediately deleted my game account and uninstalled the game. I also immediately deleted all my social media accounts. For three days, I locked myself up in my room, scared that he might really do it. I don't know but for those three days, I had suicidal thoughts. It terrified me. I...I thought..." His voice broke and he started to sob lightly.

My heart sank at the confession and a lump rose in my throat as I heard his silent sobs. A tear escaped the corner of my eye. I had always wondered why he was hiding himself even months after talking with me. I expected him to have a reason but I never expected anything like that.

"So I couldn't trust anybody new. I didn't want to trust anyone. But then...I met you, one of the most nicest human being on this planet. You are just so different from anyone I know. You are good looking, polite, patient, caring and most importantly, you are you. I like how real you are, never afraid to ask what you really want and always following your own path. You have good grades at school too. You are the perfect person I know. Sometimes I feel envious of you, you know." His sobs had stopped and he started to sound dreamy.

I bit down on my lower lip. Too much of compliment was too much to handle.

Suddenly he giggled. "I did it again. I made you speechless."

I sighed. "Listen...in this world, you are going to meet many different types of people. There are not only bad people. There are good people too."

"Like you."

I smiled. "So it's you who has to be very careful. I am not a social person because I have a very bad habit. I find flaws in people too soon and start to feel detached. So always be careful when you decide to share about you to someone."

"I only want to trust you from now on, Kwan."

I exhaled. "You can."

In that moment, I knew I was in love with someone I had never seen.

"Now, coming back, tell me more about that guy." I said.

He sighed loudly. "I...I don't want to talk about him. It just makes me uncomfortable. It's very traumatic for me to talk about the incident actually."

"Oh, I am sorry." But I wanted to know more. I wanted to know what they talked about, how long they talked, or if they talked late night too, and if they had any type of special relationship. I just didn't like the thought of him liking someone else.

I started to feel mad at that guy. I just felt like finding him and break his nose.

"Kwan?"

"yeah?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"Nothing, just making sure you aren't asleep."

"Hmm...so you like muscular guys huh?" I asked.

"Ehhh....noooo." He laughed. "I don't have any particular type but yeah, since I am skinny, I get fascinated by muscular guys."

"Hmm okay."

"Aiy really. I don't like them. I like slim guys like you. Not too slim, not too muscular."

"Okay."

He laughed. "Are you upset?"

"No." I lied.

"Silly."

And there we were again, bickering the whole night.