Aki walked around the town for a while after sending Zy off. Unknown to his friend, Aki had already informed Drew that Zy would come back this time. He hoped that his friends would get together again.
"Let's... both do our best," Zy told Aki before he had boarded the bus.
'Do what's best, huh.' Aki crossed his fingers, hoping that what he would do would be for the best.
A large crowd gathered in the plaza where a singing competition was being held. Aki stopped by to watch the performances. He found a free spot and sat down.
While he was watching, he remembered to check his phone. Rina texted him, asking what he wanted for his birthday. He knitted his brows. While it was the custom for them to give each other gifts during birthdays, Rina would usually just give whatever she wanted to give, without consulting Aki. So why bother now?
'What's this all about?' He replied then checked the call log. Seventeen missed calls, all from Liam. With a start, Aki remembered that he did not leave any note for his roommate. He stood up abruptly and headed straight home.
The house was dark when he arrived. He stood in front of the door, shifting from one foot to the other. Granny might already be asleep, but he was not sure if Liam was at home. Aki could not tell if he was just inside his room because his room was at the back, and Aki could not clearly see the lights. He walked to the hammock which was hung directly in front of the door and laid down as he thought of what he should do.
He had just gotten out his phone from his pocket when the front door swung open. Startled, he sat bolt upright, his chest pounding. Liam stood frozen at the door staring back at him. For what seemed like forever, Aki and Liam just stared at each other, dumbfounded.
"I--," Aki's mind was blank, so he started again. "I thought you weren't home."
Liam stared at him as if he could not believe to see Aki there. "No, 'I' thought 'you' aren't home."
"I just came back."
He took tentative steps towards Aki, his eyes never leaving the other guy. "What are you doing here?" Liam asked. Even in the dark, Aki could make out the worry over Liam's eyes. "Where's Zy?"
Aki frowned. "He went home. I thought he told you?"
"He did. It's just..." Liam lets out a long drawn out breath. "I thought you went back with him."
It felt like something squeezed Aki's chest just by looking at Liam looking so dejected. He stood up and reached out his hand, but he did not really know what to do with them. He wanted to pull the other guy to a hug, but it did not feel like something that he should do, so he lightly pinched Liam's cheek.
Liam stared at him with wide eyes.
Aki chuckled nervously. "You looked like you thought this was a dream so I helped you. Hehe." For a while, they just stood in the dark staring at each other. Aki was glad that Granny did not put bright lights in this part of the yard, so Liam would not be able to see the blush on his face because Aki was pretty sure he was red right now.