CHAPTER 10: SOMEHOW. IT GOT THERE

I finally sigh in relief when I put my phone back in my pocket. Allen still sits beside me and doesn't seem to want to move back to his original place so we begin eating (me devouring) our food. He keeps asking me about stuff about what I like to eat, my favorite food, my favorite place to eat etcetera.

"So I'll know where to take you next time." He says calmly when I ask why he asks so many questions. The warmth is creeping up again but I immediately brush it, thinking, well, as long as he's paying, then I'm good with anything. Heh heh heh.

We finish our dinner and head back to our dorm and arrive just a little after nine. We reach my door first (because it's closer to the elevator) and Allen is about to wave at me when suddenly, completely out of nowhere, I say to him, "Wanna hang out here tonight?"

Well, maybe the reason I ask is because I'm still slightly worried about him. He seems better, but I caught him staring into nothing a few times at dinner and when we walk from the parking lot.

"Sure," Allen smiles and follows me inside. albeit after a few startled silence in his part.

"Sorry about the mess," I apologize to him, looking around the mess Chuck made. There's his boxer lying on the floor, one of his socks on the couch, his tank top is on the kitchen counter. That bastard always leaves things scattering around whenever he stays the night here. I practically have a drawer full of his stuff.

Allen just smiles and throws his body onto the couch, ignoring the sock. I scratch my head and start to tidy up a little before getting a fresh towel and hand it to him. He takes it gratefully and goes straight to my bathroom while I pick out my biggest sleepwear for Allen to wear later.

That guy is huge. I mean, Chuck is big, muscle-y and buff. But Allen's really tall. A little bit taller than Chuck and though he doesn't seem like it, but he's also very muscle-y and his shoulders are very broad.

I then walk to my kitchen and take out some snacks and a bottle of beer for myself, turn on the TV and my X-Box, and start playing while waiting for Allen to finish. I'm in the middle of leveling up when I hear the bathroom door open and then close and glance at Allen who's already refreshed and wearing my clothes.

Thank God it fits him.

"Oh, you're done?" I ask when Allen approaches me. "Wanna play?" I ask again when he flops himself beside me on the floor. He shakes his head so I quickly finish the game and turn the TV off before heading to the bathroom.

I'm taking my shower while thinking about how I can get Allen to cheer up. Not that it's any of my business or anything. I just can't stand it when people are down. I'm also not the type to confront people about such things. I know full well that some people just need to think about their own problem themselves. But I can't help but always want to cheer people up, like Marsha and Chuck always manage to do to me whenever I feel down. I sigh and decide to just try making jokes again before putting my towel around my waist and go out of my bathroom. I forgot my clothes in my room so I just go out looking like that, though I somehow feeling shy (Again... Me? Shy?).

I walk out of the bathroom and see Allen is sitting on the couch, staring at his phone but he looks up when I enter the room and head to my closet, rummaging through it clumsily. I need clothes A.S.A.P. I thought and cheer internally when I find my favorite tank top and boxer to sleep in and I immediately put it on, aware of Allen's eyes on me. I slide them on then go out the balcony to hang mine and Allen's towel to dry.

"Want some?" I ask Allen before taking a sip from my beer. He nods and I walk back to the kitchen and grab another bottle for him.

"Thanks," He says as I hand him the bottle before flopping down on the floor in front of his legs which I use to lean my back on. I put my beer down on the table in front of me, contemplating on what's to say to Allen so he'll cheer up when he suddenly moves his legs so I sit between them and he puts his chin on top of my head. He dangles his empty beer bottle in front of my face.

"Can I have another one?" he asks. Is he planning to get drunk? I ask mentally but nod anyway before getting up to grab a few more bottles so I don't have to keep going back and forth. Mine is also almost empty too anyway.

Once again I sit between his legs while he leans back on the couch, silently drinking for a while and before I knew it, there are already quite a number of empty beer bottles scattering on the floor. My head already feels so light and my eyelids are heavy. I lean back on the couch (still between Allen's legs) and sigh. Allen shifts his body so my head rests on his stomach rather than dangling like it's about to fall off my neck.

"Sorry," I say weakly to him. He caresses my hair for a while before lowering his body to the floor and hugs me from behind. He puts his chin on the crook of my right neck and circling his arms around my waist. I feel kinda awkward because no one (besides Chuck and Marsha) ever really hugged me like this before. This close. I awkwardly pat his head gently and I can feel him sighing heavily in my neck a few times. It's really ticklish, but I bit my lip so as to not make a sound. I think he needs this, so I just sit there, relaxing against Allen's broad chest.

I keep brushing his soft blonde hair that's tickling my face with my right hand while my other hand rests on Allen's hands which rests on my stomach. His hands are so big but surprisingly soft. For a basketball player, that is. I can also feel his muscles as they move along with every heavy breath he inhales and exhales. I can smell my shampoo and soap on him, but they smell different somehow. Sweeter? Better than when I smell them on myself (if that's even possible... Or makes sense).

Allen then buries his face further in my neck (it's so ticklish!) and kinda squeezes my body (I can't breathe!). But I just sit there, not wanting for him to get discouraged and awkward if I brush him off. I'm just sitting there, leaning against Allen's squeeze on my body, thinking, when I suddenly let out a chuckle as I remember something of the past.

Allen shoots his head up and turns to me with a frown. "Oh, sory," I immediately turn to him and apologize. "I'm not laughing at you," I tell him as I shift my position so I'm halfway facing him now. "I just remembered something," I smile at him and he looks at me curiously. He looks at me intently, closely and the warmth is back to my cheek but I brush it off again as I chuckle before telling him a story,

"I remember in sixth grade, I have my first fight with Chuck," I tell him without looking at him as I reminisce about the past. "I mean, like a real fight. With fists and everything. We were on the playground, during recess, I think. And like, on the ground, kicking, punching, and wrestling each other for a good fifteen minutes, more or less. None of the kids dared to break our fight because they were afraid they'd also get punched. And then Marsha, little Marsha with her beautiful long hair and beautiful long dress, threw a bucket of ice water on us," I chuckle again.

"We're drenched head to toe and finally stopped fighting. We stood there flabbergasted staring at her. We're covered in dirt and blood. There were scratches all over our bodies. Then Marsha, sweet, beautiful, calm and compose Marsha started to scream at us, saying all of these things about me and Chuck being friends and how stupid we were for fighting over silly things and about how we should stick together forever if we still want to be friends with her.

"That was also the first time we realized that Marsha was, and is, in fact, the scariest of the three of us. The next day, Chuck, as usual, picked me up and we headed together to Marsha's house to pick her up for school. Just like usual, walking together, chatting, laughing, just like nothing happened the previous day. Only our bruises and bandages indicated that we had a fight. But I think, even then, that very next day we didn't quite remember what the fight was all about. In fact, until now, even if you ask them, none of us really remembers what happened," I chuckle again then I turn my head towards Allen, tilting it a little so I get to see his face who's apparently smiling at my story.

His eyes are still a little dark when it usually shines so brightly, just like the sky in the spring. Bright and warm. Blue and beautiful. Especially when he smiles. My hand moves unconsciously to touch the base of his eyes. Frowning, I continue. Hoping that he'll get what I want to say, what message I want to relay to him.

"That was the point where our friendship changed," I continue, stroking his face absentmindedly. "We got even closer and we promised, silently and with words, that we'd stand by each other's' side through everything, bad and good. Staying strong at the worst and celebrating at the best," I lower my hand from his face to hold his hand.

I know exactly what I want to say to him. What I want to tell him. But it's kinda embarrassing to say it straightforwardly. So, I'm really hoping that he understands where my blabbering is going as I gently put my hands on top of his. Squeezing it gently, I continue, "It's nice, isn't it? To know that you had, have, and always will have people who will stand by you no matter what? To realize that you are not alone. Because it's a fact that you indeed, are not alone. Probably never have, and definitely never will," I say softly to him, smiling. Embarrassment creeping up to me in the most annoying way. Hey! I'm trying to do a good thing here!

Allen blinks at me a few times before his lips start to curl into a smile. He lets go of his hands and gently caress my hair. "Thank you," He whispers softly and I turn my head in embarrassment. Well, at least he gets it.

We're staying in silence once again but this time, Allen's eyes are a little brighter. I sigh and lean my body sideways so my cheek leans on his chest and he engulfs me in his embrace, pulling me closer and I relax myself against his warmth. It's very comfortable and I'm tired. I close my eyes and stay that way for a little while longer, letting my drowsiness take over once again, claiming me as I fall asleep in Allen's arms.