Chapter thirty eight: Choose one

  →[flashback]←

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After the tiring day of continuous practise, thomas was on his way home. just then he received a text from perry requesting him to be present at a certain location. he was happy to finally have a sight of her. putting how busy he was the whole week, their distance was increasing day by day.

when he entered, he was startled with how suddenly perry sang out the birthday song.

"Its my birthday...?" he couldnt even remember what day it was since he always locked himself in the practise room. a birthday seemed far from it.

when her singing came to an end, she walked him to where the cake was. thats when the happiest moment of his life happened. he celebrated his birthday with her. bright smiles flashing on their faces. at last he hugged her and eased in her arms. putting all his worries aside.

while perry still couldnt get over how he forgot his own birthday, she kept teasing. "I should've known there was someone out there who cared for me." he stated seriously. which changed the air around them. as they stared into each other eyes, thomas's other hand cupped her face.

"there's something i want to tell you..." perry moved away her gaze and shifted back. the other stood quiet for her to continue. "I like you..." she refused to look at him in the eye,

"for a while now...i cant stop thinking about us...i wish to be by your side all the time."

As much as he was pleased to hear that their feeling were mutual, he was also afraid. even if they build up a relationship, what could he offer? the excuse of why he would always be absent? or that how he failed in his auditions again? From where he stood, he had no promising future. accepting her feelings would only mean dragging her down with him.

he looked at how nervous she looked for his answer. he again fell in deep thoughts. 'being happy...? i dont deserve it'

he made up his mind while cursing his cruel fate. ever since he started fighting for his dream, he has only faced a mirror that reflected how far he was from it. now letting down the only person who really cared about him, he felt...useless.

"perry," He reached out and grabbed her hand. from the way thomas looked at her eyes, she badly wished it wouldnt end up the way miles predicted. "you deserve so much better than me...you deserve to be truly loved." He struggled to say each word as he was threatened with tears. "and Im afraid i dont feel the same way for you." he lied.

perry moved back few steps. since he made his point clear, there were no reason for her to be confused with their relation. they were friends...like they always had been. he made up his mind, there was no going back to what he has said. he was at the verge of runing his life for his stupid dream, he couldnt ruin hers too.

"As expected, you chose you dream over me." perry spoke out while forcing a smile. "I understand if your standard is higher." thomas prepared himself to face whatever perry intend to do next. let it be abandoning him or cursing at him. "I'll try my best to reach that stage. you'll always be the senior i look up to." her last words were almost shock to him. he let her down so badly yet she respected him the same.

he searched for dissappointment and rage in her but there was none. her eyes reflected pure understanding. she smiled one last time before their stare came to an end. she walked to the table and served him the cake. the rest of the time they spent together, it was mostly perry who tried to lighten up their conversations with past events.

when thomas walked her home, he again tried to bring up their last talk, "perry, im really sorry about what happened today-" the other covered his mouth before he could say any further. she leaned closer, "Your junior would always be supporting you. if not as a girlfriend than as a true friend." it was all thomas wanted to hear. he felt more light headed then before. they parted ways and perry ran to her room.

she checked her phone to find miles's text more than an hour ago.

[how did it go?]

[I was rejected.]﹉p

[...Should I come over?]﹉m

[Dont bother. Im fine.]as soon as she puts down her phone, annother message pops up. she picked up to check whom it was from but their was no saved id. the text it sent brought chills down her spine. her face become a conplete terror.

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    ——♬ —— ——♬ —— ——♬ ——

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thomas didnt hear from her since then. their text always ended with greetings. whenever he tried to call, it showed busy. he wondered if it was his rejection that made her distant. it went on as he hardly got any spare time to meet. till that one worsened night. he received a sudden call from perry. he picked it up to only hear silence from the other side."perry?" he called out but there was no answer. he checked the id twice to make sure it was hers. fear took over him. he called out to her again but this time he had fright in his voice. just then, he heard a faint voice, "help...me."

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    →[flashback ends]←

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thomas and y/n stood still while she took in everything he said. 'since perry avoided him the same way she did to others, there's no doubt that a third person was involved with her.

miles and jay are unaware of thomas's side of story. still they blamed him for every turn. it was only right for them to do so since everything started since that day. perry wrote thomas's name in her letter. she wouldnt if his rejection had nothing to do with it. did the third person force her to do so...'

she was brought back to reality when thomas called her out. she couldnt decide to believe him or not. something didnt set right to her point of view. "It doesnt change the fact your parents forced to close her case. It was an obvious murder yet they stopped it as suicide."

"Perry's case against me would've stained their reputation. they had to for my future's sake." y/n flashed him the most 'as expected' smile. since the day she moved in to this place, she only witnessed how the rich acts upon poors. just then the bell rang. she walked past him.

"I'll let you decide who's right and who's wrong.

your friends, who only sees you as a replacement.

and Me, who's words were never taken into consideration." he walked off before the other could. or maybe she couldnt. his last words that stabbed like a knife.

'replacement...?' it couldnt be, right? ever since she met miles and jay, there were like a wall that protected her. it couldnt be because they saw perry instead of her...

from where she stood, darkness covered her eyes. she could only make out a maze. her friends and thomas were trapped in there with their guilt.

she wished to get all of them out of that twisted maze...but the cruel game it was, she could only save one.