Thirty Days ✔

47 | QUERENCIA

querencia (noun)

a place from which one's strength is drawn, where one feels at home; the place where you are your most authentic self.

-

day twenty-four -> part two.

Chase walked home alone that day. Not because he had had a falling out with one of the boys or because he felt awkward being around Zero - it was because he wanted to drop by the electronic gadgets store nearby. 

And with the reasonable amount of pocket money he had, he purchased a phone which he would later surprise Zero with. 

He waited till they were having dinner that day - and after they had finished, he tossed the plates into the sink and sat on the couch beside Zero, who sat there fidgeting with his fingers. 

"You've been acting a little strange today, is something wrong?" Zero questioned, the concern evident on his face. 

Chase grinned, "I was hoping you would ask."

"So something is wrong?"

"Er.. not quite," Chase said whilst reaching into his backpack which sat on the floor in front of him. He pulled out an unopened phone box and quickly held it behind his back. 

"Close your eyes," he instructed. 

"Why-"

"Do you trust me?"

"Of course I do, but-"

"Then close your eyes for me."

With a sigh of defeat, Zero complied. 

Chase couldn't help the victorious grin that made its way onto his face - and he placed the box on Zero's lap. After having done so, he ordered Zero to open his eyes once again. The first thing Zero did was give Chase a look of confusion, and when he pointed to his lap - his gaze averted to the box.

Then, he let out a boisterous gasp and began scrutinizing the box with an excited expression on his face, "You didn't!"

"Oh, but I did."

"Oh my God," Zero began. "There's no way-"

"Go ahead and open it. I'll give you my number," Chase offered.

And Zero did just that. He opened the box in a hurry and took his sweet time gawking over the exterior of the phone before turning it on and opening his contacts. Chase gave him his number and asked Zero to send him a text to confirm he had gotten the right number. 

Zero typed something into his phone and looked up at Chase with an unreadable smile. 

Then Chase's phone vibrated in his back pocket. 

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and read the message on his screen which read:

'Thank you for the phone, I love you :-('

With a shy giggle, he typed back the following:

'Sorry, wrong number.'

When he heard Zero click his tongue against the roof of his mouth, he let out another chuckle before typing once again:

'I'm kidding. I love you, too :-)'

Chase didn't miss the smile that appeared on Zero's face which lasted for a mere second. 

Zero switched the phone off after drooling over it for nearly an hour and gave Chase a thankful grin. His excitement still hadn't died down.

"Thank you so much, I-.. you've really done so much for me, I don't know how I could ever repay you for this-"

"You don't have to, seeing you happy is more than enough," Chase spoke.

Zero sat and observed Chase's features for a while. 

Then, he did something that nearly sent Chase's heart into cardiac arrest. 

He placed his palms on either side of Chase's cheeks and slammed his lips against his.

-