The Switch {EarthMix}

14.

"Thank you for sharing that with me P'Vee... but it's late now so let's try to get some sleep yea?"

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No matter what he tried though, Earth just couldn't find himself getting the amount of sleep he wanted to, turning from one side to the other and still waking up every two hours. It just seemed as if the thoughts about the upcoming conversation had his mind so occupied, that sleep didn't seem to be on the to-do list for this night.

Turning around another time, he carefully pulled his phone to himself and carefully covered his head with the blanket, so that he could use his phone without waking up Vee. But once he pressed the button and his screen illuminated, Earth was quick to close his eyyes due to the brightness of it. Why the hell had he decided again to turn up the illumination? Did he had a dead wish?

Thankfully Vee turned to the other direction in that moment and he could let a small sigh escape his lips, before slowly opening his eyes until he had adjusted them to the bright screen and could turn down the brightness to a comfortable level. But once he had adjusted it, his eyes fell on a notification and it didn't even take Earth a single second to click on it, curious to read the rest of the message he had gotten earlier from Mix:

Ai'Mix:

Hey Earth :),

Ming and I finished talking about everything a couple of minutes ago and I wanted to tell you first what we decided on, because you're my friend and our decision will influence you too...
We decided to work on our relationship and to end the Partner switch, since it just brings distance between us and makes it difficult to be the best partner for each other. Ming decided he will stop meeting other people and we won't be having an open relationship anymore...

If I am honest, I never thought this could be even an option, since it has been like this for a long time... and I can't help but feel that his decision to give it all up and focus on us is a little sudden. But as I said, we went through a lot together and all the memories I have with him mean a lot for me.

Still, I am very greatful that we had this Partner-switch, beause it gave me the opportunity to become your friend, and if you're okay with it, I'd love to continue being friends with you. I really enjoyed all the times we hung out together and you are really a comfortable person to be around... so I hope you still want to be friends with me, even when this switch ends.

If you want to, maybe we could hang out again Friday afternoon? What do you think?

While reading Mix' text message, Earth went through a million of feelings that first started crawling out from his heart before suddenly bursting and a new one appearing in the old one's place. If he was really honest, he was glad that the two of them had decided to end the switch. Of course, once he broke up with Pan he would have been out of it anyway, but still... the switch was the only reason why they still were a couple so with it being gone... maybe Pan would also understand that their relationship wasn't how it used to be, that the love and the feeling of wanting to be together had just disappeared over time until Earth couldn't feel any of it from his boyfriend anymore.

Though the thing he was most happy about, was the fact that Mix wanted to tell him all of this beforehand. He didn't want him to sit in the dark and just get to know about this from a third person, but rather tell him about it directly... and even though they weren't 'obligated' to meet each other anymore, Mix still wanted to hang out with him and seemingly liked spending time together too.

Earth couldn't help but smile brightly about this, his fingers slowly typing a reply to his friend that he could send out a little later this morning. He couldn't just put a message out at 3 in the morning... what if Mix had his notifications turned on loud and would wake up?

Hey Mix,

Thank you for giving me a message and telling me about all of this beforehand. I'm glad you and Nong Ming decided to work on your relationship and to end the switch. I was going to go home later today anyway and have a talk with Pan anyway and I'll make sure to talk with him about it as well.

I really enjoyed all the time we spent together as well and If I am honest with you, I would be sad if we went back to being strangers. You are really a nice person to be around and I hope we will be friends for a long time.

Friday afternoon works for me, what do you think about meeting right after classes and then doing whatever you are in the mood for?

Earth was about to finish checking on the text, if his drained brain had made spelling mistakes or typos, when he accidentally hit send... and the message went out.

"Shit!"

"Ugh Earth can't you be quiet..." A person whined next to him and he slowly lifted the blanket from his head, carefully glancing over to a very annoyed looking Vee, that could barely hold his eyes open.

"I know you have a lot going through your head but... please it's not even light ouside..."

"Sorry Vee , " Earth smiled back apologetically and put his phone on the nightstand before laying down in the bed again and turning to Vee. "Did you just wake up?"

"No, you throwing yourself from one side to the other all the time keeps me from getting some sleep... It's been like this the whole time but I thought, if I stayed quiet long enough you would just... yea I guess no sleep for tonight."

The older slowly sat up in the bed, leaning against the headrest of the bed while yawning a couple of times and then finally looking down to Earth again. The younger was looking a little guilty, knowing that Vee had slept on the couch the last couple of nights while Mix and him enjoyed the soft bed, of course without anything happening... but well, the couch wasn't really comfortable to sleep on and no matter how late or early they went to bed, Vee always had dark rings under his eyes...

"I'm sorry for that... I really tried to fall asleep but just ... I don't know. I am sure about my decision about Pan, but it still feels weird. We did date for more than half a year... and aditionally to him not being in my life anymore after we break up, I also have to think about something to solve this apartment problem..."

"You signed it together, didn't you?"

Earth slowly nodded, sitting up himself and leaning back with closed eyes.

After the first couple of months living in a dorm, he had decided to rent a small place himself... and through his former roommate he had gotten to know of Nong Pan, who was commuting back and forth between his parent's house and university at that point. Thinking it would be nice to have a roommate there too... Earth had reached out to the younger and they soon decided on a place together and moved in.

Well and at some point while leaving together, the two of them had thrown a party and got so drunk that one thing led to the next.... and somehow they ended up dating. If Earth now looked back on this whole thing, he couldn't even remember anymore how it all started or why they suddenly ended up dating each other, Pan and him being so different from one another.

They didn't share any hobbies or something, the only real thing the two had in common being to draw... but that was it. Oh and food of course. But beside that?

"I don't even remember why we started dating you know... now that I think back about all of it, I barely remember us doing things together or going on dates... isn't it weird?"

Vee chuckled a little and then turned his head with a raised eyebrow, as if saying ' I told you, but you didn't want to listen ' .

"You know that happens to people when they fall in love... it makes them irrational quite often. Doing things they normally never would, taking risks... or only wanting to see the good things. It's not your fault that this happened to you too... "