Chapter 39

"Theo said to set the mood for some bonding. Gotta be romantic, see, isn't this romantic?" William said with a proud grin on his face. He and Theodore had been up to some mischief for hours. The balloons scattered on the floor, which couldn't float, were blown up by them huffing and puffing till they were red in the face. The ones on the ceiling were helium balloons they bought after running around to several amusement parks and buying out six vendors.

Brian was not impressed. "Mood? This? This messy room with all this junk?"

"Surprise! I've been setting this up since I got back. Flowers, candles, balloons, and I even prepared a feast. After dinner, we can watch a movie," William beamed, thinking he nailed it.

Brian reluctantly nodded. "Okay, I'll give you that. It's got some vibe. I thought I walked into a Christmas party at a nightclub or something." He had spotted a few balloons with 'Merry Christmas' written in English.

"I got some blockbusters for us to watch together," William bragged, showing Brian the DVDs he got.

"Gone Girl, Her, He's Just Not That Into You." Three big movies, all about romance. Perfect for bonding.

Brian was flabbergasted. He knew these three movies were infamous among the office secretaries as the 'relationship-ender' trilogy. Not a single one was a feel-good film; they were all the kind that made couples break up after watching.

Is this supposed to bring us closer or prep us for a breakup?

These three movies were like a reflection of their lives.

Not calling each other, becoming distant lovers, and realizing maybe there's not much love there.

Why wait? Let's break up.

William's eyes sparkled, "Come on, shower me with compliments!"

"You sure went all out," Brian said sarcastically. "What were you thinking? Is this your idea of romance? This is some cheesy college kid stuff. Amateur hour."

William took it as a compliment and blushed.

"Romantic my foot, more like a hot mess," Brian muttered, shaking his head. "Whatever, arguing with a dimwit makes you a dimwit."

"Go wash your hands, let's eat," Brian said, deciding to let it go. Out of sight, out of mind. He went back to change his clothes.

Just as he entered the room and hadn't even loosened his tie, he heard a loud bang from the living room.

"Crap, crap!" William shouted in panic. Brian, fearing something terrible had happened, rushed out to see.

The couch was on fire, and the TV had exploded.

"What the hell are you doing?" Brian shouted as he rushed to get water from the bathroom. The couch cushions were ablaze, and the room was filled with smoke.

William grabbed a bucket from the kitchen and threw water on the couch.

They both frantically ran back and forth between the living room, bathroom, and kitchen, dousing the fire with buckets of water. After several trips, they finally put out the fire on the couch.

Before they could catch their breath, a balloon floated down to the coffee table and was ignited by a candle. Bang! Another explosion as the burning plastic fell to the floor.

The carpet caught fire. That carpet was Brian's favorite, brought back from a business trip. Not just for its cost, but for its color and pattern.

"William Wang, what kind of romance is this? Trying to burn the house down?!" Brian yelled.

This idiot! Didn't he know the balloons were filled with hydrogen? Hydrogen explodes when it meets fire, and the plastic burns! And he put hydrogen balloons next to candles? Was he planning to blow up the house and then set the whole building on fire?

"Put out the fire first!" Brian shouted. They could argue later; they needed to put out the fire before their place turned into a bonfire.

They couldn't let the place burn down; that would cost a fortune.

William ran to get more water, while Brian hurriedly blew out all the candles to eliminate the immediate danger.

So much for romance; now they were just drowning in water.

The floor was soaked, the living room was flooded, the carpet had a huge burnt hole, two of the couch cushions were charred to ashes, and the TV screen was shattered.

The room was filled with the smell of burnt plastic and thick smoke that made them cough. Brian quickly opened all the windows to air out the room.