Chapter Forty Three

"Marco, uh, hi." I blurted out as soon as I heard the call getting picked up. "Am I not disturbing you, am I? I just-- Is Nicolas better?"

"It's me." The moment I heard his cheerful voice again, my heart had already started doing somersault inside.

"Are you okay? Did you eat something? Got some sleep?" I asked questions one after another before I could've even stopped myself.

He laughed again and all my worries started to melt away. "I'm alright. Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah. I am. I just couldn't stop thinking about things…"

"Is that why you looked so exhausted last night?"

Since I had gotten used to that question, I answered pretty much immediately. "No, no. The work has been kinda hectic and stressful."

"You sure that's all?" He asked in a dubious voice.

"Nicolas," I whined dramatically. "I don't want to talk about work on my day off. Please."

When he stayed silent, I tried again. "Instead, tell me about your day. Or ask me about mine. Like, why am I home today and all that."

"Let me guess. You're home because it's your day off?" He laughed and I pretended to be frustrated.

"Forget it. Tell me about yours. What were you doing?"

"Well," he started and I pressed the phone closer to my ear in anticipation. "I ate a lot, slept like a log all night and woke up just a few minutes ago. I even missed the training."

I felt a pang of guilt when I heard the last sentence. I knew it was all my fault that he had been away for so long and even now he still hadn't recovered. But I also knew he would be able to sense it if I dwelled on it any longer, so I chose to change the topic.

"My turn now." I started with every bit of cheerfulness I could gather within me. "I've been awake for quite some time now and got hungry, so I thought I'd whip something to eat."

"You sound busy. We can talk later if you want."

"No, no." I shook my head before realising he couldn't see me. "I'm just trying to figure out how to cook this thing." I flipped over the huge packet in my hand to take a closer look at the instructions.

"What's it?"

I flipped it back to the front to read the name again. "It says Poha here. Apparently it's flattened rice. I'm hoping it'll be good."

"You bought it without knowing about it?"

His surprised tone made me chuckle. "Tay did. He bought some random things last time and we still haven't tried most of them so far."

"I would like to try your cooking someday." His words were barely above whisper and I probably wouldn't have heard him if I hadn't been paying all my attention to him.

For the first time in a while, I didn't have to force a smile on my face. "I would like that too."

~~~

"You're smiling?" Tay gasped dramatically the moment he saw me. "Wow. Am I dreaming?"

I rolled my eyes but continued to grin as I plated our breakfast.

"How? What changed overnight?" He crept closer to me and pushed his face uncomfortably closer to mine.

Pushing him back, I sat down with my plate on the couch. "I don't know what you're talking about."

He scoffed and took the seat beside me. "You definitely know what I'm talking about. Come on, I need to know."

"I talked to Nicolas." I whispered quickly just as the spoon entered my mouth.

He snatched my plate from my lap and placed it on the table. "Huh? You did what?"

"Nicolas." I let out once I was done chewing.

His widened eyes went back to their normal size and he flashed me a smile. "Of course. I should've known. Is he better now? Did you talk to him?"

I nodded. "Can I eat now?"

"Sure." He answered but made no move to hand it back to me.

"Jerk." I glared at him and picked up my plate on my own.

He let out a chuckle and stood up to get his own served plate. "It's nice to have you back."

"I sure hope it is." I said, flashing him a cheeky smile.

Tay rolled his eyes and settled down on the couch again. "So? Any plans for today?"

I thought for a moment, trying to remember if we had any plans. "You and I are going to get some grocery and stuff, but other than that nothing."

"Perfect. I found this list of must visit places around here. Let's go see them first."

I hummed, pretending to think before agreeing just to see the annoyance on his face. Just as expected, Tay narrowed his eyes at him while I focused on my food.

"Oh, come on." He threw his hands in the air, being dramatic.

I couldn't hold back my grin any longer and agreed. "Fine. Let's go. I'm just gonna change real quick."

"I should too." He said, looking down at his shorts and the baggy t-shirt.

"Don't take too long." I reminded him cheekily.

~~~

"Uh, Tay?" I said, trying to get his attention from his phone.

He hummed, still not looking up from his phone.

I focused my attention on him, ready to catch the tiniest change in his expressions. "How's everything going with Aaron?"

Tay's fingers stopped immediately on top of the screen of his phone.

"Why are you asking that? Did he contact you?" When his gaze met mine I saw a hint of anger on his face.

I shook my head right away, not wanting to create a scene in the public transport. "He didn't. I was just wondering. You haven't really mentioned him for quite some time."

His facial features relaxed and I felt relieved as well.

"He and my dad had an argument the other day."

"An argument?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded and fixed his attention back on his phone. "I haven't talked to either of them since then. Both of them think I should have taken their side."

Though I felt bad to hear that, I couldn't help but ask the questions popping up in my head. "Where did they even meet? And how did they get into an argument?"

"Aaron's cousin - Stacey and my parents are neighbours. I was out with dad for grocery shopping and we bumped into Aaron and his cousin."

"It really is a small world, isn't it?" I wondered in surprise.

Tay hummed, agreeing with me. "Dad had a lot to say about Aaron's choice of clothing. One thing led to another and soon they were pretty much hurling insults and threats at each other." He sighed, turning off his phone. "It all happened so fast, I didn't even get the chance to choose sides. Dad stopped talking to me saying I let him down in front of a stranger and Aaron blocked my number without saying anything."

"I- I don't know what to say." I replied, honestly.

"Me neither." His shoulders slumped and he pocketed his phone. "I'm just going to wait until either of them is ready to talk to me again, I guess."

He stood up and gestured me to do the same. "We're here. Come on."

I followed him quietly into the crowd, already trying to figure out how I was going to get in touch with Aaron.

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You're beautiful. Thanks for reading!

I'm overwhelmed by the response this story has been receiving since this month started. I honestly dunno how to thank all of you. But if you've made this far, stick around a bit longer, there shouldn't be more than ten or so chapters left unless Blue or Nicolas decide otherwise and force me to write more.

And last but not the least, you all are way more beautiful and amazing than you can ever imagine.