Chapter 51

Week 2

The rain was getting her soaked, head to toe. She looked at Takumi, and he was too. But he also looked upset. She tried to ask him what was wrong, but no words came out.

"I'm sorry." He said. "I can't do this anymore."

He walked away with another girl by his side, and she had a smug look on her face. She tried to go after him but couldn't move either. It was as if something was holding her back. She tried calling out to him, but her words only came out in hoarse whispers that were drowned out by the rain. He turned to say something, but she couldn't hear it over the sound of thunder or her own crying. She couldn't tell whether her face was wet from the rain or her tears.

She woke up startled. It took some time for her heart rate to slow down and return to normal. There was a knock on the door. She got up to answer it, and there was Hansuke.

"Hey. What's up?"

"Are you all better today?"

"Yeah, and you could've just called if you wanted to know."

"If you were anyone else, I would've called. But you're you, and you know how you are, so I wanted to see it with my own two eyes."

"I'll take that as a weird compliment."

Her mind kept going back to that dream and how it felt too real for her liking. She wasn't sure what to make of it, and the only things that came to mind were the memories of Trey rejecting her.

"Are you upset?" Hansuke asked.

"No."

"Bullshit. You look like you're about to cry."

"No, I don't."

"Yes, you..."

She burst into tears and threw herself into his arms.

"Easy there. Whatever's going on, just know that I won't kiss you."

"What?" She pulled away. "Why would you say that?"

"Usually when a girl cries in a guy's arms, she ends up wanting to kiss him."

"This isn't a cheesy rom-com, dumbass. You don't have to worry about me trying to kiss you."

"I was just playing it safe."

She cried more into his shirt.

"Why are you crying?"

"I..." Before she could stop herself, she threw up.

"Shit, are you ok?"

"Do I look ok to you?"

"Hold on," He walked her to the bathroom. "I knew it was a good idea to come to check on you," He held her hair back.

"Oh, shut u..." She threw up again.

"I'm not going to when you're puking your guts out."

"Nag me all you want later. Not..." She threw up again. "I think I'm done now. Seriously, I'm not sick. It's probably something I ate."

"Either way, it's a good thing I came over," He went to the living room and plopped down on the couch as she went to get the mess on the floor cleaned up.

"Give me your clothes," She said after she finished cleaning up.

"What for?"

"I threw up on them, so the least I could do is wash them for you."

"Fair enough," He took them off and handed them to her.

"Wait here."

She came back a few minutes later.

"I don't have anything your size, so you're going to have to stay half-naked for a while. Don't worry, I won't try to kiss you or anything."

"Phew. For a second there, I was worried. I know how hard it is for the ladies to resist all this."

"Yeah right."

There was a knock on the door.

"I'll get it," Hansuke said.

"Who is it?"

There, standing at the door, was Takumi.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"I know how this looks, but trust me, nothing happened between us," Twilight said.

"Then why is Hansuke half-naked?"

"That's because I... uh..." She was too embarrassed to admit it.

"You what?"

"I threw up on them. There I said it. His clothes are still in the washing machine."

Later that night...

"Did you really throw up on his clothes?"

"Yeah. Don't bring it up so much. It's embarrassing."

"Sorry. I was just making sure because..." He stopped himself after realising what he was going to say.

"Because what?"

"Nothing, never mind."

"Did you think that I was cheating on you?"

"Anyone who saw things from my point of view would think..."

"It's a simple yes or no question."

"Yes."

"Why would you think that?" She asked, clearly hurt.

"In my defence, I came home and found you alone with a half-naked guy. What was I supposed to think?"

"Yeah, but I know what it feels like to be cheated on. I mean, it happened right in front of me. Not to mention, I see no reason to cheat on you. I said I'd wait, and I plan on keeping my word. So how could you think that I'd cheat on you? And for crying out loud, he's your best friend. Have a little more faith in him. You know, as well as I do, he'd never break the bro code or whatever you guys call it. Or go after, as he puts it, "anyone's girl"." Tears started pooling in her eyes.

"I know. I'm sorry," He tried to hug her.

"Don't," She avoided it.

"I'll sleep on the couch tonight," He got up.

While sitting on the couch, he felt a pair of arms around his neck.

"You forgot to take a pillow and blanket with you."

"I know."

"And you didn't come back to take them?"

"I didn't want to seem like an even bigger idiot."

"But you ended up doing just that."

"I guess I didn't think it through. Look, I'm sorry I upset you. I didn't mean..."

"It's ok. I thought about it, and I wasn't really seeing things from your perspective. Now I understand where you were coming from. I also would have the same reaction, if not worse, if I came home and found you and my shirtless best friend alone together."

She buried her face in his neck.

"Come here." He got her to sit on his lap. "It's ok; don't cry," He wiped away her tears. "Remember when you accidentally marked me?"

"Yeah, you were in the hospital for almost a week."

"Then I told you to go home and get some sleep because you hadn't gotten any."

"Then you did that secret admirer thing to get me to go on a date with you."

"Which was worth it because it worked."

"Even though it was one of the corniest things you've ever done." She snorted.

"There's that smile. Does that mean that I won't sleep on the couch?"

"Oh no, you're still going to. That's why I brought you a blanket and pillow."

"I thought you weren't upset anymore."

"I'm not. As petty as it is, this is me getting back at you. Let this be a lesson. Think a hundred times before you accuse me of cheating."