After Aeiou forced himself to eat that salad, the two decided to pee.
After getting out of the bathroom, Zed placed his left arm around Aeiou's neck. While walking in the hallway, Zed asked, "Why did you pee in the cubicle when there are five other urinals that are unoccupied?"
Aeiou rolled his eyes away. "Because you will look down to see mine."
"Eh? What's wrong with that? After all we have been through you still feel uncomfortable around me? I bet you pee beside your other friends when you got to public bathrooms. But why not with me? Maybe even look down to see each other's penis! But why not with me?"
Because you're going to grab 'it' for sure! Aeiou wanted to speak those words loudly, but he chose to walk casually in the hallway and kept his silence.
Truly, his mind was already exhausted after the sudden appearance of Tori that he doesn't have any more energy to argue with Zed.
However, Zed felt something was wrong just from looking at Aeiou's face. Aeiou was significantly quiet all throughout their trip in the bathroom. And even after Zed knocked on Aeiou's cubicle a couple of times, and even warned that he will destroy that door's lock and barge in, Aeiou was quiet.
Zed lowered his cold voice, "Hey, everything alright?"
Aeiou nodded.
Zed tapped Aeiou's shoulder. "You better tell me if there's anything bothering you."
Aeiou hummed.
For some reason, Zed got pissed. Why is he acting like this? Is there anyone else pther than me running in his mind?! Who is that?!
Zed gnashed his teeth. He hated when he doesn't know what's running inside Aeiou's mind. He put his lips closer to Aeiou's ear and spoke in a hushed voice, "Do not even try to hide anything from me. I will find out soon whatever it is."
Aeiou gulped and his expression paled for a second, but he quickly became composed and nodded. "Go fuck yourself."
Aeiou shrugged Zed's arm off. Zed was about to put his arms back and pull Aeiou for more interrogation but Aeiou was fast enough to walk to his seat alone in a span of a two seconds.
Zed didn't even realized they were already in their classroom.
Meanwhile, Aeiou sat on his chair and stared at the window, leaving Zed stunned at the door.
Zed refused to let Aeiou go and walked to him. But even before Zed could speak, Aeiou interrupted...
"I'm not in the mood, Zed. Give me some time."
Stunned, Zed closed his eyes and exhaled a massive breath. "Okay. But I'm worried, and... I admit, possibly jealous. Promise me the first people you talk about this problem after you recover is either me or Philip, okay? If you talk to someone else for comfort, I will chew you down."
Aeioy shook his head in disbelief while Zed turned his head back to the front.
Soon, their Literature teacher went in and greeted them with a good afternoon.
Aeiou kept his gaze towards the window and stared at the quadrangle, still thinking of what happened a while ago.
That girl will be back again for sure. Aeiou thought to himself.
Aeiou looked at Zed's broad back. Should I ask him for help? Aeiou wondered. Zed has unpaid debt. He wonders if getting a restraining order cost much money than what Zed currently owed him..
The only problem was Aeiou was afraid Zed would do foolish things once he found out that Aeiou has a scandalous ex.
Aeiou was not sure how far Zed could go. Specifically, how long would Zed laugh at him for getting cheated on. If Zed found out about this, Aeiou would suffer a month or two or worse a lifetime of laughing from Zed.
Aeiou leaned his back to his chair. Contemplating and deducing the risks and benefits of asking Zed for help. It was a matter of driving away Tori for the rest of his life versus enduring a whole life of laughing and pity from the prince.
Giving this a thought for almost an hour, Aeiou forgot about the time and the discussion happening on the front has already proceeded to another teacher.
He yawned, low enough for the teacher not to hear, and leaned his head to the wide glass on his side. The teacher would not see him like this since Zed's broad figure was blocing the teacher's vision.
Fatigue finally dawned to Aeiou. He closed his eyes and immediately fall asleep.
Aeiou was in the middle of his dream when a ball of paper hit his face. He groaned, opened his eyes, and stared at the moving shoulders in front of him. Zed was suppressing his laughter. Aeiou did not even need to ask who did it.
Aeiou shook his head and was about to kick Zed's chair strongly when a figure of a girl caught appeared on his peripheral vision.
Aeiou squinted his eyes, his nose touching the foggy glass. He confirmed that it was Tori walking around the campus again.
Standing in the middle of the open-field, where bermuda grass are spiking through the shoes of the students, Tori roamed her eyes as if loooking for someone.
Aeiou's face turned pale. What is she s
up to now?! Moving her head from building to building, scrutinizing each windowpane and hallways, she's obviously looking for Aeiou.
Aeiou's heart dropped. This girl would come in the middle of their class and pester him in front of his classmates. He stood from his chair and firmly said, "Excuse me, teacher, can I go to the bathroom?"
Of course Zed refused to let him off the hook that fast. But the teavher didn't let Zer, and Aeiou was able to get out of the classroom with Zed's devious eyes staring sharply at his back.
Aeiou reached the quadrangle and saw Tori standing absentmindedly on the same spot moving in circles like a lost girl.
A smile as gentle-looking water spread along her face when she turned and her eyes met Aeiou's figure standing behind a tree. She ran towards Aeiou but before she could speak Aeiou held her by the wrist and took her away from the quadrangle, away from the possible chance of Zed catching them by looking at the window.
Aeiou took the girl inside their building and hid the girl behind the glass staircase. He spoke between his teeth, "Are you really looking for trouble-"
"I will only stop when you tell me you have a new girlfriend or you give me the last chance to set a date for us." Tori interrupted Aeiou.
"What?"
Tori raised her chin, and spoke firmly again, "Give me the last chance to date you for one more day and I will finally stop. If you don't want to do that, there's another option, show me your new girlfriend and I will stop."
Aeiou couldn't believe what he just heard. A date? A girlfriend? How could this girl set the conditions like they were still on their relationship? But then a realization hit Aeiou, he had no girlfriend to show.
Suddenly, Aeiou felt nostalgic-the kind of nostalgia that reminded him of how much he was in the past.
What happened to the happy-go-lucky guy who's always after girls and boobs? What happened to the guy who never stayed single for a month since he was in high school?
That guy was nothing but memories to Aeiou now, was it because he just entered a new chapter of his life that he forgot about girls? That he had to stay focus in doing his projects and homeworks because he needed to do two versions of those homeworks every time?
Or was it like... he outgrea that version of him because someone else entered his life?
Suddenly, Zed's devious smile flashed inside Aeiou's head and he blushed.
Aeiou snapped back to reality when Tori spoke, "Do we have a deal?"
Aeiou sighed. Thinking about the offer, he could just ask Heather to pretend... Hell no. Aeiou shook his head. He shouldn't involve Heather to this stupidity.
And who knows what Tori would do once she met the girl that Aeiou exchanged her with? Definitely something crazy. Aeioi couldn't risk it.
But if Aeiou don't ask Heather to pretend, he would suffer because Tori won't stop bothering him. All the disturbance that Tori had caused flashed before Aeiou's eyes.
Not to mention if Zed found out about this, Zed would laugh at Aeiou's face endlessly.
Aeiou thought, if a one-night date would end this misery of sleepless nights due to unending drunk calls, and would put Zed behaving his ass in a corner, then so be it.
I will eat a bunch of foods during that date and would leave this bitch with a jaw-dropping bill as payback for cheating on me.
Aeiou spoke with a firm tone, "8 pm on Tuesday, you set the place and you pay to for all the food. Now leave my sight and never bother me until then."
Tori smiled a very sweet smile and mouthed a thanks. She turned her back to Aeiou as she walks away.
Tsk... What is that bitch planning? Aeiou thought to himself.
Aeiou put his hands to his pockets and walkbed back to the hallway back to their classroom. Having a perplexed state of mind, he bumped into Hansel.
Aeiou looked down and took a hold of the President's wait before Hansel fall. He spoke, "Hey, President. I haven't seen you for a while. Where have you been-"
"Run!"
Hansel stood and pulled Aeiou away in panic. The president pulled the playboy behind a soda machine and sneak out his head to gaze on the hallway.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Aeiou worriedly asked.
"Just stay put, someone is harassing me."
Harassing - hearing that words, Aeiou immediately became vexed. He just got harassed earlier of a girl who did not know are and now his friend was also experiencing it. If Aeiou couldn't pour his anger to Tori because she's a girl, then maybe to a random stranger, he could.
Aeiou walked away from the soda machine, leaving Hansel in an abrupt panic-trying to pull him back, Hansel groaned.
Ashton came out of the hallway where they came from. Sweating. He almost choked when he saw Aeiou.
Aeiou stopped. What is this guy doing here? Aeiou thought to himself.
He gave a side gaze to the glass wall where Hansel's reflection was translucent. Hansel pressed his eyes closed and put his palms together-it was obvious Hansel was praying with a desperate look on his face. Aeiou squinted his eyes in confusion.
"Aeiou," Ashton smiled, "Have you seen Hansel?"
Hearing that questions, Aeiou snapped back to reality. Although Aeiou has his suspicions, he acted indifferently, "Hansel? Why are you looking for Hansel?"
Ashton scratched his head, "Ah... He and I, need to talk."
"Talk about..?" That time, Aeiou was already smelling something fishy.
Ashton lowered his head, but not to bow, but to hide a shy smile that was spreading along his face. Ashton said, "Some private things... Anyways I have to go now, if you see him back in class please tell him I will be waiting for him in the gym." Just then, the tall guy turned his back and ran back to the hallways where he came from.
"He's gone now."
A sigh of relief sounded, then Hansel walked out behind the staircase and walked to Aeiou. Hansel's voice was filled with lethargy once he spoke again. "Aeiou... I'm tired."
Aeiou turned and asked the President what was happening, and words just came out of Hansel's mouth like a heavy downpour.
"Yesterday, I was forced to eat dinner with his family, as his supposedly fake boyfriend, it was all a play-I was even forced to stay overnight at his house, nust to save him from getting shamed by his older brother." Hansel cupped his face and slapped it viciously, "Then I woke up to Ashton calling me honeybunch with a smile on his face and treating me like his fucking girlfriend! I thoight it would only be that one night tha we pretend as boyfriends but he... Kept playing the part even at school."
Aeiou wasn't able to suppress his laughter anymore and burst out laughing. "So you guys are basically in a fake relationship now?"
"For a night only!"
Aeiou shrugged his shoulders. "I'm going back to our class now, are you coming with me?"
Hansel shook his head. "I need to feed the fishes this afternoon, thank you for driving him away." with a gloomy face, Hansel walked away.
Aeiou sighed. How can he leave someone feeling so down... Aeiou took a long stride and put his arm around Hansel's neck. "Let's feed the fishes together!"
Hansel's frowned face turned into a smile. The two walked towards the alley, halt by the SSG office to get the bag of fish food, and stopped in front of the pond.
As they threw the food to the pond, the two boys just talked about their studies-how lucky Hansel was for having the luxury to go out of the room and skip classes, whilst Aeiou being lucky or possible unlucky of having a dog, by how Hansel-the jealous one- define Zed, guarding Aeiou all the time.
"Even Heather and Angeline can't go near you because of him, he would glare with murderous intent once we took even a stride closer to you."
"Hahaha... He's a pain in the ass but he loves us all."
Hansel sighed. "You won't even backstab him now, huh? I see... Zed is lucky I guess."
"Huh?"
"Nothing."
Hansel casually threw a handful of beads to the pond, and so did Aeiou.
Once Aeiou would gaze back at Hansel to get reload again, he would catch the Hansel staring at him and avoiding eye contact quickly. Aeiou responded with a joyful smile.
Aeiou thought he can do all this stuff with other fellow guys-smile at them and enjoy their company without tension, but why can't he do it with Zed without feeling 'something' that makes him uncomfortably happy?
"So when are you going to tell Zed about your ex?" Those words came like a lightning from a clear blue sky.
Aeiou turned his head to Hansel with an abrupt astonishment. "How did you-"
"How would you think an outsider like that girl would get in without my eyes landing on her?" Hansel threw a handful of beads to the pond casually, " I saw her walking on the hallways and asked her why is she here, she immediately asked me about your room number without introducing herself."
Aeiou sighed, "Then why would Zed need to know about her?"
"Because it is unfair."
"Unfair how?"
"Because Zed loves you, you know?"
"I know."
"You know." Hansel repeats Aeiou's words with modesty.
Aeiou bit his tongue. "He loves me as a brother."
"He loves you as a brother? I doubt that-"
"Hansel!" Aeiou looked at Hansel with his hand clenching on his side. His eyes was burning with rage. "I don't know what Heather is telling you but that's all her imagination, Zed doesn't love me that way."
Without warning, Hansel spoke without emotions, "I love you, Aeiou."
Aeiou's clenched hands immediately lose its grip.
"I love you and you didn't sense it. It's understandable because I am hiding it but there are always hints when someone loves you. And when Zed is always with you he is full of those hints. The problem is you kept on dismissing his feelings as brotherly love. Why don't you ask Zed himself?"
Aeiou was about to say something when Hansel pushed the bag of beads harshly towards his chest and looked at him, "In prior, I wish I could be Zed. But now, I'm happy that I'm not him. I would lose my mind seeing you dismiss my obviously romantic love as brotherly. Thankfully, Zed is just as confuse as you. But trust me, once Zed discovers you're hiding a girl from him, Zed would surely snap like never before." Hansel walked away into nothingness, leaving Aeiou with a bag of fish food on his hand.
Staring at Hansel's back until Hansel disappeared, Aeiou's grip on that bag tightened every second until the fish's food got crushed into tinier bits. Aeiou gritted his teeth, "We are just brothers... Tsk. What nonsese are they talking about. Just the fact that Hansel loves me is hard enough to believe. Forget it, I need to focus now to Tori first."