Shallow Depth: The Anthology

II. ❈❈

Those small things that he gave me for the past few months. Those small talks that we shared. It all became so overflowing, as if I've taken myself a molly. Like a bliss, everything that surrounds me don't matter anymore, aside from the pleasure... the sensation... the euphoria.

And this abnormality, what do you call it again?

"Where is he by the way?" Putting everything aside, I have to get rid of those things first before someone else could notice. If I don't, I'll get kicked out by the landlord. I may get myself into trouble, too, if I've become suspicious. Not to mention that I'm his stalker.

Thinking back, I can't even remember why I did it. I don't even know if the reason why I did is 'cause I liked him, and it's not like I would do this to any other person that I've met. It's all fucked up.

"Where the hell is he...-" My eyes widened when I saw him staring at me from afar. I immediately switched up to tensed mode as I tried not to lose my composure. Trying to act cool, I then hastily grabbed the bottle of water beside me and drank it, but I heard him chuckle. I realized it too late that the bottle cap was still there. "Shit..."

His name was Sade, 21 years old, graphic design student major in visual design, and he's the perfect definition of a real people person.

"Yo! It's been a while, Kiel." That pitcher guy then sat beside me, waving his hand as he grinned.

"Hey. Sup?" It's a good thing that I mastered having a poker face expression. That way, he wouldn't notice a single thing.

"I was just wondering if... are you free tomorrow night?"

I raised my brow, surprised. "I don't have much to attend to in my schedule tomorrow, so I guess?"

He beamed. "Great. Let's go to Vincent's party!"

"Vincent? You mean, the chairperson from English department?" Sade nodded as a reply from my question. It was quite intriguing seeing him invite me, and I also need to relieve some stress, so I wouldn't mind going. "Alright. I think I'll go."

"That's my guy!" He then placed his arm around my shoulder in impetuous. To him, it was just a normal affection towards friends. However, it didn't have the same effect to me. If only there wasn't any distance between us, he would totally hear how hard my heart was pounding... as if I'm in palpitation. "I'll text you the address later. See ya'!" After class, Sade left and went to invite his other friends.

I get it. There's no way we would be more than friends.

It's starting to occur to my mind now that this euphoric feeling that I've felt solely... won't last long. That this is just my temporary happiness. A fragment of my unstable emotions. A real life curse. There's nothing more cruel than this, right?

"Now... what should I wear?" And as if the time flew quickly, it was now the night of Vincent's party. I've somehow spent two hours picking what to wear before I went to the said address. In the end, I stick with my casual polo and brown cargo pants. I also heard from Sade that he's one of the top-notcher student who nailed the architectural board exam, that's why they're giving him a party. I'm not even surprised, since he was way smarter than any of us in our batch.

When I arrived at the place, Sade and the rest looked dumbfounded as they all saw me get off my car. "You own a car?!" He screamed. "And it's a freaking BMW!"

"My uncle gave it to me as a present when I became independent. No need to be that shocked." I chuckled. "Is everybody here?"

"Yeah. You're here, so let's go?"

As far as my intellect could gather, the chairperson's girlfriend booked a luxury hotel enough for all of us to have a party. When we all headed to the place, I was instantly flattered at the violet and magenta lighting. The place was bigger than we expected, too.

"Oh? Sade! I'm glad you came!" Of course, Vincent will greet everyone in the party. We didn't talk that much in our previous years, so I doubt that he knew me.

"Yeah. I've also brought some of my friends from the art department and philosophy class."

"Oh, I see some familiar faces of my juniors here and... KIEL?! Oh my god! It's you!" Huh? He knew me?

"You know him?" Sade asked in perplexity.

Vincent then nodded. "Honestly, who doesn't know the former ace player of our soccer team in high school?!" He exclaimed.

"God! That was ages ago!" I laughed, a bit surprised.

"Well... I'm glad that you all came. Please, enjoy the party!" Vincent welcomed us with a warm smile and patted my shoulder.

Somehow, it made me grin. "Sure."

After that, I went to the bar section to get some drinks. It also startled me when Sade sat beside my figure.

"I didn't know you were a soccer player." He mumbled first.

"Well, that was four years ago. I already stopped joining the league when I went to college." I have to get a job after that, that's why I can't pursue that career... even though my uncle told me that he'll take care of all my expenses.

That time, I refused to rely everything on him. I didn't want to be a bother, nor worry anyone. He seems to be able to understand it, too, that's why he let me study away from town... and became independent.

"Why didn't you pursue your career in soccer?" He asked me.

I smiled as a response. "There's no point on doing something you used to like... when the person who used to support you were no longer here." There was an awkward silence after I said that, he probably didn't want to hear any of my drama. That's why I replaced the silence through laughing nonstop as I took the bottle of champagne in front of us and drank it. "I'll just go for a quick dance." I said and walked away.

It's been a while, since I last drank alcohol. I'm still sober, though, but the alcohol effect is making me feel like I'm levitating. I didn't even drink the first half, yet I'm already dizzy.

"Hey." It startled me again when Sade popped up, and took the bottle of champagne away from me. Instead, he drank everything inside the bottle himself... and I was amazed for no reason. "Why don't we... dance?" He smiled.

"I don't know... you look drunk." I teased him, giving me a glare in return. "Alright. Alright. Let's dance."

Every last minute that I spent with him were priceless. And it's even harder to hold back now that I'm already falling for him harder than my obsession.

To be continued...