Hands In The Stars

45. Water Is Thicker Than Blood

The candy fiddled its way between Ai's fingers. He popped it into his mouth, then quickly picked up another piece from the bag laying beside him on the kitchen table. A single candle lit up the dark room as he scrolled his eyes through the newspaper, having to squint to see the small text properly. He feared that turning on the lights might disturb his seemingly sleeping companion just on the other side of the hallway. He read through every single thing, from exclusive, half-dumb sales, to police investigations, political drama, the latest celebrity news, and the full three-page long list of every person currently labeled 'missing'.

Loud, terrific banging from the front door caused Ai to gasp loudly, and he almost fell out of his chair. The hairs on his neck and arms stood on end and he froze up in his seat. A shiver ran down his spine as he collected his breath. Once his muscles finally managed to relax again, Ai quickly blew out the candle and stood up from his chair. Just as he turned the corner to walk through the hallway, he heard the knocking again.
"God damn it shut up you..." Ai whispered silently to himself under his breath. He gave Datui's bedroom door a quick glance, but as there hadn't seemed to be any disturbance from in there he focused on the front entrance once more. The short teen walked up to the door, peeping through the little glass hole in the middle of the wood. He could feel the knot in his stomach slowly ease up as he noticed the person on the other side.

With all the suspense in the air, Ai almost thought the door would creak as he opened it, but it simply slid up smoothly without a sound.
"Ethan, what are you doing here at this hour? You- You scared the crap out of me!" Ai scolded his friend in a harsh whisper. He stepped out into the staircase corridor of the apartment building and closed the door behind him with a click. "What's going on? Datui's asleep, please, you need to be quieter."
"Datui is- Oh, of course, that little shit. The only time I wish he wasn't, of course, he's here. Oh, but when you need him he might just as well be in a completely different district." Ethan's rant echoed through the staircase. He opened his mouth to continue but paused once he noticed the way Ai was trying to discreetly eye him up and down. "Oh don't look at me like that..." Ethan mumbled, crossing his arms over his chest a bit.

It was easier said than done; Ai's friend had just come to his apartment at two in the night in full drag, though not the pretty kind that Ai was used to. No, Ethan's big wig was messy, he looked like he had been sweating, which now had dried, giving his skin a weird texture as his makeup had blended out and mixed together with itself. His usually so bright and fun eyeshadow now just smudged on his eyes. Ai had never seen his friend like this before, he almost didn't recognize him.
"You look cute." Ai finally lied, after a few seconds of silence. Ethan only sighed heavily, he knew that wasn't true, but he couldn't be less bothered right now.
"Whatever... Just, come with me. Since Datui's sleeping, I guess we're going to my place. I sure as hell don't want your boyfriend overhearing, he's a master at ruining everything." Ethan insisted. He took a hold of Ai's arm and started walking up the stairs one more floor. The sound of his heels echoed through the otherwise dead silent building.

Once the two of them reached Edwin's apartment, Ethan quickly swung the door open and stepped inside before finally letting go of the very confused Ai's arm.
"Well, either way, I'm glad you're awake." Ethan's lisp caused him to trip over the words as he seemed rather worked up, or maybe stressed, Ai couldn't decide on which one fit the mood best. "You're seriousy, like, the only one that I can actually talk to without having any weird rumors spreading. Come on in, have a seat!" Ethan invited Ai a little too late. He had already kicked off his heels, threw them in a corner, and walked into the living room. Ai, left alone in the hallway, took his time to close the door. He bent down to take off his shoes, only to realize that he didn't wear any. He also noticed he wasn't wearing any pants. All he had on was Datui's too big t-shirt, which suddenly caused him to feel rather embarrassed about the entire situation. Then again, he couldn't have known Ethan was going to storm in past midnight.