Royals

Chapter 11 - Classmates

"Why did you call me here so late at night?" San asks as he sits down on the bench beside me.

I turn and hand him a Popsicle that I picked up from the convenience store on the way here. He gratefully accepts it.

"Your parents allowed you to come out so late at night? That doesn't seem right" he muses as he stares into the cityscape with me.

All the big buildings look so small from here, the people, mere dust. I like it here.

I just look ahead and try to count all the lights that look like a mesh of fairy lights over the buildings from here.

"I sneaked out" I shrug and San quickly turns to me and forces me to look at him. His eyes are wide and he has a worried expression on his face.

"What happened? Did something happen?" he fires nonstop questions at me and I shake my head.

I turn back to look ahead.

I forgot the count I was on.

Shit.

I need to start again.

"Yeah, Yuri. You are scaring me. Are your parents okay? Is it related to your brother? Tell me. Why are you being so quiet? You are really scaring me" he blurts out and I shake my head.

We have been best friends since prep school. He was always been like a protective brother to me.

I just let a tired small smile play on my lips as I stare at him, wide-eyed and frantic.

"Nothing happened. I have just had a really long day today. I wanted to relax. What better place to relax than here? And you know I cannot come here without you" I say but my answer doesn't seem to appease him because even though he takes a seat beside me, he still gives me a questioning glance.

"I call bullshit. Tell me what happened? You're not gonna call me here in the middle of the night to just hang out and relax. That too when you have work early morning tomorrow. Tell me honestly, what is going on. Did you and Auntie fight?" he asks me, genuinely concerned.

"Well, that did happen" I shrug.

I did need to get out of the house.

This was the perfect excuse.

Well, not the one I told San but I am not lying to him though.

"Was it about college again?" he asks and I wordlessly nod.

He just sighs and puts his arms around me as he rubs my shoulder. I lean my head against him, my head on his shoulder, and well fall into our little cocoon of bliss, him comforting me and my day a little less tiring.

"Tell me about your day" he speaks into my hair and I shake my head.

Usually, this was what he did.

Whenever I had a terrible day, we would come and sit here together and I'll vent out my problems to him. He would give me logical answers that helped clear my mind and made me feel stupid for acting the way I was before but not today.

Tonight I really don't want to talk about myself.

Today was just an overall shitty day for me.

From handling creeps at the chicken place to being scolded by the mother of the student I am tutoring to taking that extra hour at Hive to dealing with that rascal to finally my fight with my mother.

The biggest contributor to making my day like this was that pink-haired boy.

Just thinking about him made me angry.