By Zephyria “You only need me for the rest of your life.”
“Huh?”
Koi made a dazed sound. Ashley laughed again. Seeing him keep smiling like that, something good must have happened. Koi thought, then tilted his head. What good thing happened while he was in the school store?
‘Homecoming ticket?’ He thought, but soon erased it from his head. To say he’d go with me when it was a ticket given to him to go with his girlfriend, that can’t be the reason. Did something happen to his girlfriend? So that’s why he’s trying to go with me?
Then what’s the reason he came to buy homecoming party tickets in the first place? It doesn’t make any sense. What the heck is it? I have no idea!
His head was all tangled up, and Koi finally gave up. He couldn’t understand anything Ashley was saying. The only thing that was certain was that Koi would follow everything he said.
“Are you really going? With me? To the homecoming party?”
“Yeah.”
Ashley said.
“I want to go with you.”
Those words were more pleasing than anything, but there was one thing that bothered him.“Do guys go together too?”
Ashley countered Koi’s careful question.
“Do you not want to go with me?”
“What? No, it’s nothing like that!”
Koi jumped, waving his arms wildly. Ashley laughed again.
“Then it’s settled.”
“Oh… okay.”
It felt like things had been decided haphazardly, but it seemed the decision had been made anyway. Koi still looked up at Ashley with a bewildered expression. Ashley also looked at him. More precisely, his gaze was fixed on Koi’s unconsciously parted lips.
I want to kiss him.
The urge was so strong that he had to clench his fist tightly. Hold it in, Ashley Dominique Miller. Ashley admonished himself. You haven’t even confessed yet.
“Is this all that’s left?”
Ashley suddenly looked around and asked. Koi hurriedly followed him as he started walking.
“Ah, yeah. We just need to organize this much.”
“Okay, let’s finish quickly.”
“Huh?”
Ashley, who had already picked up a box, said to the surprised Koi.
“Let’s hurry up and finish so we can go, I’m starving.”
“No, well, but.”
Koi was flustered and didn’t know what to do.
“It’s my job, I can do it alone.”
“It’ll be faster if we do it together. Let’s just finish it quickly and go get something to eat.”
Ashley pointed to an empty space and asked.
“Can I put it up there?”
“Ah, yeah. That’s right…”
Before Koi could finish speaking, Ashley pushed the box he was holding onto the shelf. Koi had to struggle to lift it, step onto a footstool, and organize it, but Ashley handled it easily.
“Is there more?”
Koi tried to stop Ashley, who turned around and asked right away, one more time.
“It’s really okay, Ash. This is my job, my volunteer hours.”
“Koi, I’m starving right now.”
Ashley said with a sigh.
“Let’s hurry up and finish so we can go. You haven’t had dinner either, have you? Isn’t that your dinner you brought?”
Ashley glanced over. Ashley continued, speaking to Koi, whose gaze followed his to the trash can containing a moldy bread bag.
“Unless you’re planning to take out that dinner and eat it, let’s hurry up and finish so we can go. If it gets too late, there won’t be anything to eat besides cheap hamburgers.”
Ashley’s will was firm. In the end, Koi couldn’t win against him and gave up. While organizing the remaining items according to Koi’s instructions, Ashley occasionally looked towards Koi.
I can’t be sure that Koi’s feelings are the same as mine.
He felt his heart racing like crazy, but he analyzed the situation as calmly as possible. Koi had told him he liked him several times so far. But he shouldn’t be mistaken.
To Koi, I might just be a friend. A friend he likes an awful lot.
It was a very realistic assessment. Even if his feelings were the same as his, it was uncertain whether Koi was distinguishing it from friendship. Of course, that was just a very optimistic expectation. It wasn’t a very welcome conclusion, but Ashley admitted it.
I might have started a one-sided love.
*
“Thank you so much for today, Ash.”
Koi said with sincerity. Ashley, who had taken Koi’s old bicycle out of the trunk and placed it on the sidewalk, looked at him and asked.
“Are you really okay? I don’t have to walk you home?”
“Yeah, it’s okay. I just need to turn that corner.”
Ashley looked reluctant, but he didn’t insist on taking him home. He knew very well when to back off and when to push forward. Now was the time to back off.
“Okay, Koi. See you later.”
As Ashley said goodbye first, Koi also waved his hand.
“Bye, Ash. Drive safe.”
Even though they had said goodbye, neither of them moved. Ashley noticed that Koi was planning to go home only after he left. If it had been an official date, Ashley would have walked Koi home, checked that the light in his room was on, and then started the car. But the time they spent together today wasn’t a date. He decided not to rush.
Ashley readily got into the car and started the engine, and Koi stepped back. As expected, Koi stood there until Ashley had driven quite a distance away.
After confirming that he could no longer see him in the rearview mirror, Ashley pulled the car over to the side of the road.
“Haaa…”
He took a deep breath and leaned over the steering wheel, finally releasing the tension that had built up.
He had never felt like this before. It wasn’t like Ariel was his first girlfriend, and he had experienced several meetings and breakups before. They all suited him well, and there was excitement. They ended the relationships by mutual agreement, but they still remained as good memories.
But he had never been so on edge and tense the entire time he was with someone. It felt like every cell in his body was alive and moving to remember every single one of Koi’s actions and words. On top of that, he had to struggle to suppress his desire to kiss him constantly.
Why is Koi so lovely?
He wanted to savor the overwhelming happiness a little longer, but he still had something left to do. It couldn’t be any later, and it couldn’t be postponed. After checking the time, Ashley hesitated for a moment and then sent a message.
[Can we meet for a bit? I’ll go to your place.]
A notification came a few seconds later.
[What is it?]
Ashley typed another text.
[Let’s talk in person.]
This time, the reply came back quickly as well.
[Okay. Text me when you get here.]
Ashley put down his phone and started the car. As he headed to Ariel’s house, he de
liberately tried to clear his head. Anyway, he was the one who was at fault. He was prepared to accept whatever criticism Ariel had.
And he got slapped three times.
*
The weekend sky was as clear as ever. Koi slept in late for the first time in a while, checked the refrigerator, which was always empty as usual, and then took his bicycle out to buy something to eat. He had bought bread in advance to eat until the weekend, but Ashley had thrown it all away the day before, so he had nothing to eat again.
He was about to head towards the store that sold leftover bread from the previous day when he impulsively changed direction and headed towards the school.
It’ll be a longer route if I go this way, but…
Even as he thought that, Koi didn’t stop. The ice hockey team would be training around this time. He had met Ashley late the day before, but he wanted to see him again.
He eagerly pedaled with a fluttering heart.
Huff, huff.
Gasping for breath, he arrived at the school and slowly circled the campus on his bicycle, scanning the sports field. He looked for Ashley among the ice hockey team that was undergoing physical training, but no matter how much he looked, he couldn’t see him.
“Hey, Bill!”
Koi, who was looking for an opening, quickly called out when he saw Bill breaking away from the group to drink water.
“Hi, Koi.”
“Hi, Bill.”
Koi, who returned the greeting to Bill, who was gasping for breath, quickly got to the point.
“Hey, I can’t see Ash, what happened? Is he not here today?”
“Oh? Ah.”
Bill replied, twisting the cap off his water bottle.
“He said he was sick, so he’s taking a few days off.”
“Ash is sick?”
Koi asked in surprise at the unexpected news. Bill gulped down the 500ml of water in one go, then wiped his mouth with the back of his hand and nodded.
“Yeah, he said it was a cold.”
“Again?”
The image of Ashley suffering from a cold before came to mind. Thanks to that cold, Koi had gotten closer to him, but that didn’t mean he wanted Ashley to be sick.
“Is he very sick? If he’s missing training…”
And for several days at that.
When he asked carefully, Bill chuckled.
“Well, it could be that he’s really sick, or it could be that it’s not a cold.”
“Huh? What do you mean?”
Bill said nonchalantly to Koi, who was puzzled.
“He broke up with Al. Didn’t you know?”