A year later.
We made it through a year; an entire year.
Amy thought as she watched Hobi cooking. As she stared at the back of his head, it reminded her of the time she used to see him in the library before rushing out of her chair.
Wow… those days seem like a dream now.
Amy raised her arm and looked at her wrist. The line still showed its presence. Faint, but it was there.
I honestly don't know what I did to make it stop.
The pain, the same cycle over and over, the mental torture, it hasn't happened in almost a year. Amy smiled.
She walked to him and hugged him from behind.
"What are you making?" She asked. Hobi turned around and kissed her cheek, before returning to the stove.
"Scrambled eggs," he said.
"Aaah the only thing we both know how to make," she said before walking away. He laughed and said, "In that case, we should take cooking classes."
"Or watch Masterchef and wing it," she said. Hobi snickered.
"Your hair grows pretty long, doesn't it?" He asked. Amy turned around and asked, "Don't you like it?"
"Sure! I just wondered what you'd look like with short hair," he said shrugging. Amy nodded, lost in thoughts.
"What are your plans for dinner tonight? It's Friday. We should have something different," she said looking through the neatly stacked mail.
"Actually," Amy turned at the change in Hobi's tone. Hobi continued, "Actually I have plans with some friends."
"Game plans?" asked Amy. Hobi nodded.
"Which friends?" Amy asked again.
"Work friends. You don't know them," said Hobi looking away and concentrating on cooking.
Amy observed him, folded her arms and said, "It's them, isn't it? The ones from trekking?"
Hobi sighed. "I don't understand why you don't like them. You have hung out with them before. Multiple times!"
"Twice! I have hung with them only twice. And I don't like them because they are irresponsible!"
"I don't understand why you think so."
"You can't see it because you are friends with them. I can see it because I'm watching from an unbiased view."
"I'm going Amy. I need to spend time with my friends too."
Amy remained silent after this.
"Let's just eat breakfast, okay?" Hobi said as he carried two plates to their small dining table. Amy watched him serve the food on either plates. As he walked away, she said, "I know you need your space. I just wish it wasn't with them."
Hobi came back to the table, and said with a small smile on his lips, "It will be fine."
Next day evening, the doorbell rang. Amy opened the door and Hobi walked in, reeking of alcohol.
"Jeez! What did you all do last night?" She asked.
"Just a few drinks. I'll have a quick shower and come," Hobi replied as he walked in. He took off his shirt, crushed it into a ball and threw it from a distance into the laundry bag.
"Why don't you take a long shower?" She asked him at the top of her lungs.
With a bowl of freshly made popcorn in front of her, Amy sat on the sofa flipping through the movies on Netflix. Having finished his bath, Hobi dropped himself onto the sofa beside her.
"What are we watching?" he asked, popping a few popcorn into his mouth. "I'm still searching," said Amy.
Picking some random movie, she leaned back and relaxed on the sofa. That was when she observed him shooting popcorn up in the air and catching them with his mouth.
"You are playing a lot of shooting games today," Amy commented.
"We played beer pong yesterday," said Hobi amidst his game.
"Ofcourse," said Amy under her breath.
As the movie began, Hobi sat up straight and cleared his throat. He said, "I was thinking."
"Yeah?"
"I was thinking that maybe I should quit pursuing music and focus on a stable career," said Hobi rather seriously.
Amy tore her eyes away from the screen and turned to him at this.
"Are you serious?" She asked. Hobi nodded.
"I mean, my parents have been telling me for a long time. My friends have stable jobs. And you too, you aren't into art anymore. You'd rather do something more secure, wouldn't you?"
Amy thought for a second. This was not the first time this discussion had occurred. Hobi had mentioned before that his parents thought that his career in music may not be good for a long term plan and Amy had agreed.
"I guess so," said Amy nodding her head, though a bit hesitant. "I guess that makes more sense."
"Yeah…" Hobi agreed, a hint of disappointment in his tone, "When did you buy corn?"
"Umm…" Amy spoke carefully, "Jimin had dropped by. He insisted I take it. He said his fridge is broken so he can't keep the corn…"
"Ohkay. Got it," Hobi said before they both fell quiet in the uncomfortable silence, as the movie played.