VARSITY 9 | BL

TWENTY | HE SAVED YOU??

"You alright?"

"Hm?" Wen looked up from his backpack as he slid the tablet into the bag. The last academic class of the day at ended, and the students were heading out of the classroom to grab some lunch when Lay asked Wen how he was doing. "Yeah, I'm fine," Wen answered as he slung the strap of his bag over his shoulder.

"You just seem out of it lately," Lay responded. "Did something happen Friday night?"

Wen paused for a moment before denying, "Not really, why?"

Lay released a short breath at his friend's answer. He knew Wen too well to buy the white lie. Looking around to make sure none of the other four were close enough to hear, Lay leaned toward Wen before asking, "It's because of Kean, isn't it?"

Is it that obvious? Wen's eyes lowered at the accuracy of Lay's assumption. Seeing Wen's expression, Lay snapped his fingers before declaring, "I knew it! Okay, spill the beans. What's going on?"

Aware that keeping quiet about what had happened between Kean and himself was no longer an option, Wen sighed before saying, "Rooftop."

Satisfied with Wen's answer, Lay nodded his head in agreement. "Let's get something to eat first, though."

After grabbing something quick to eat from the cafeteria, Wen and Lay went to the roof of their residential building where they made themselves comfortable under one of the canopies supplied on the rooftop. The roofs of each building on Azari's campus had been designed to host small gatherings of students, so there were plenty of chairs and canopies under which the two could sit.

"Okay, now talk," Lay ordered as he opened his packaged bread with a black sesame filling.

Wen took a bite of his sandwich before beginning, "I danced with Kean."

"What?!" Lay's eyes bulged at Wen's statement. "Like dance danced?"

"Not exactly." Wen shook his head before explaining further, "He caught me as I fell and helped me find my way out of the crowd."

"So...he saved you??"

Although he hated to admit it, Wen had to agree that, yes, Kean did in fact save him from falling and getting stuck in the dense crowd of dancers.

"I thought he hated you," Lay voiced as he set his bread down and furrowed his brows. "Did he know it was you?"

Wen nodded in confirmation, only adding to Lay's confusion.

"What if he likes you?" Lay's sudden blurt caused Wen to choke on his bite of sandwich.

Shaking his hand, Wen denied, "That's impossible. Not with our history."

"I used to think so, too, but...after hearing this, I'm not so sure," Lay said. "Kean wouldn't do that for just anybody. And he especially wouldn't do that for someone he hates."

Wen fell silent as he pondered over the whole situation. Kean had avoided him more than ever after their encounter on the roof Friday night. The entire first half of the day, both Kean and Wen avoided making eye contact with the other and remained far apart. Lay had noticed this and recognized that it was different from how the two would normally act.

On any other day, Wen and Lay would not avoid eye contact. Rather, anytime their path of sight crossed the other, each would glare at the other before continuing on with their day. The past few days, however, were filled with silent avoidance and complete ignorance. Kean was also not as talkative as usual. He appeared to have a lot on his mind and hardly engaged in conversation with the group. Wen mirrored this behavior, and that was how Lay knew something had taken place between the two last Friday night.