VARSITY 9 | BL

TWENTY-EIGHT | CHECKED OUT

The student union shared between the residential buildings was fairly empty. Many students had already set out for winter break, and those who remained were exhausted from completing their examinations and either sat in silence or napped on the cushioned sofas of the giant lounge area. This was the case for the seven friends who had just finished their examination over their semester's training sessions. Toma was passed out, his head using Stryke's lap as a pillow, and Brix was staring into nothingness, his expression blank.

Liyam was immersed in music and was nodding off while Lay read a novel on his holopad. Kean was lounging on a low-back sofa and was staring at the ceiling, and Wen was watching him. Although Wen was not being covert about his gaze being locked on the raven-haired, the others were too tired to catch on to his lingering gaze.

Wen watched as Kean's chest rose and fell gently. His gaze wandered to the edge of Kean's collarbone that stuck out from his shirt just enough to catch someone's eye, and then Wen's gaze moved up to Kean's jawline and then his lips. From there, he looked at the tip of Kean's nose and then his opened eyes staring up at the ceiling. Wen watched as Kean's long, dark lashes lowered and then raised as he blinked slowly.

The dark strands of hair that hung just above Kean's eyes were Wen's next targets. From there, Wen found himself circling back to Kean's body and admiring his physique that was lounging on the sofa. Although he was sprawled over the couch lazily, Wen still found his form to be quite attractive. The way Kean's arms lay on the spine of the sofa, the way his abdomen rested against the cushions, everything was really attractive in Wen's eyes.

However, when he realized he practically checked Kean out, Wen immediately averted his gaze and let his eyes fall to the floor. What are you doing? You're crazy! Wen shook his head and bit his bottom lip as he mentally scolded himself for letting his gaze linger on Kean a little too long.

As Wen stared at the floor, memories of running into Kean at Manik flashed through his mind. The way Kean's chest felt against his back, his strong but gentle grip around his wrist as he led Wen through the dense crowd, his hand around Wen's waist to steady him, everything resurfaced as Wen allowed his thoughts to be filled with Kean. But just as he recalled his exciting moments with Kean in Manik, so did he remember Kean's pained expression as he confronted Wen on the rooftop later that night.

"Do you hate me?"

Wen recalled Kean's saddened eyes as he asked Wen if he hated him. And he recalled Kean's sharp sigh and moist eyes as Wen replied, "Yes."

"You know...I never understood why." Kean's eyes filled with pain, and they turned hard as he walked past Wen.

The guilt Wen had felt in that moment came crashing down on him once again as he replayed that moment in his head. Conflicted emotions swirled through Wen as he then recalled his sister's passing and the cause behind it. And to add to the confusion, the kindness Kean had been showing Wen in recent days came to mind.

This is messed up. This is all so messed up. Wen buried his head in his hands as he struggled to dampen the heavy emotions swirling within him. Wen's chest became tight as his breathing increased in pace. I need to breathe. I need to clear my head. I need to get out of here.

As the many scenes surrounding his and Kean's relationship continued to flood his mind, Wen quickly stood to his feet and left the group. Hearing Wen leave in a rush, Kean sat up straight and watched the brown-haired hurry out of the student union. Lay lowered his holopad and looked to see Wen quickly exiting the building and heading into the courtyard that was located in the center of campus. He was about to go after his friend, but he sat back down when Kean sprung to his feet and started after Wen.