“Your devious schemes have caused wrath upon me, mortal.” He roared, feeling all blood rush up to his face. His eyes were focused and hand tightened into a fist. If he spoke much louder, his voice would certainly echo in the room. “You’ve done enough damage, mortal. It’s time you pay… With your life.” 

“What does ‘wrath’ mean?” The boy who had been speaking, or yelling, priorly turned around to see his roommate, foreign exchange student by the name of Xu Minghao, sit on his bed with textbooks spread in a circle around him. Minghao’s head was tilted to the side as he stared up at the other boy. Vernon, as he was called, held down the script he was holding tightly and sighed.

“Sorry, I didn’t know you were listening.” Vernon thought it would be okay to recite his lines for the play since Minghao was studying with headphones on. Usually nothing could get through to that boy when he had headphones on, but today he was proven wrong. “It’s like - anger. You’re really angry at something.” 

“Ah…” Minghao nodded, taking his headphones off and placing them aside on the bed. He had some issues with English as he had transferred to the school a couple of months ago and before that only spoke Chinese to get around. But despite his lacking English, he made a decent attempt to improve. 

“You’re reciting for the audition?” Minghao asked, slowly packing his literature books away. Vernon shook his head. 

“No, this is for the actual play. I already passed the audition.” Vernon said, scratching the back of his head and ruffling his brown hair in the process. Despite the fact that he landed the role for the demon king in that weird school play a student had written and knowing he should be happy about it, he wasn’t. He was incredibly anxious. Vernon hated theatre and being on stage made him hyperventilate. The only reason why he decided to audition for the role in the first place was because it would give him better qualification points. 

Vernon, like Minghao, was a literature major. They both attended an art school, but naturally felt left out from the ‘spectrum’. The guideline to properly be an art student was to be weird. In an artsy way. Neither of them had dyed their hair blue, they didn’t smoke and they most certainly never tried to reenact a Shakespeare play with bodypaint. They both just had an interest in writing and they were therefore, by natural selection, your average students in a colorful circus.

“You look stressed.” Minghao said, breaking the silence that had taken over the room while Vernon was questioning his academic decisions. 

“Huh?” He blinked at the exchange student, confused for a minute. Minghao repeated his question before Vernon chuckled. “I’m sorry. I’m just… Stressed, yeah. I’m stressed.”

“Why are you stressed?” Okay so, Vernon and Minghao were rooming with another guy named Mingyu. Vernon and Mingyu were a lot closer than any of them were with Minghao, meaning there’s a significant gap between the two in the room. Instead of telling Minghao how worried he was about the play and the eventual turnout, he’d tell Mingyu. But Vernon realized it wasn’t fair of him to keep information from Minghao like this, despite not knowing him for that long. They were roommates after all.

“The play.” Vernon cleared his throat. “I’m kind of worried that I might not do well.”

“Ah…” Minghao nodded, knitting his eyebrows together into a frown as he thought. “Shouldn’t you talk to Mingyu about it?” 

Well, so much for trying to give him insight on Vernon’s life.

“I… Guess I can.” Vernon tried not to sound too confused or put off as he dug his free hand into his pocket. It was kind of silly that he still clutched onto the script but too much of a bother to place it on his bed when he already was on the other side of the room. He noticed that Minghao had gotten up from the bed as Vernon dialed Mingyu’s number. Luckily he picked up sooner than expected.

“ What’s up ?” Vernon felt like he was brought back to consciousness once he heard his best friend's voice. He sighed in relief and regained his composure if not just by a tiny bit.

“Can you come back to the dorm?” He felt awkward talking about it over the phone and would rather vent his stress to his friend when they were in the same room than on the other side of campus.

“ Uhh…. ” Mingyu’s voice grew distant and Vernon heard a racket in the background consisting of slams and talking.  

“Are you with someone?” Well obviously he was. Smart, Vernon. Damn, he really just wanted to talk it out but this wasn’t helping… It was silent for a while until Mingyu spoke up again.

“ By the way, did you know the lute my mom sent is handcrafted ?” 

“Causing diversion in the subject, are we?” Vernon facepalmed, watching Minghao chuckle next to him. “Your mom doesn’t love you enough to give you a lute.”

“ Stop being petty - I need to go. There’s apparently spoilage in the fri- ” 

“When will you be a good friend and not keep secrets from me?” Vernon became grumpy and impatient, subsequently tapping his foot repeatedly against the floor. He just wanted Mingyu to understand he was anxious and needed some emotional support. 

“... When I’m sterile. I’ll be back at 8 !” And he hung up. Vernon sighed and looked down at his phone where Mingyu’s caller ID stood. He cursed under his breath, but turned to Minghao as the Chinese boy spoke up.

“Why is his name ’Gunky Mimi’?” He asked, looking innocently down at the phone. Vernon chuckled.

“It’s an anagram for his name, Mingyu Kim.” He explained, feeling it was kind of silly to think about it. It was an old inside joke, but it stuck with them.

“So what’s your name on his phone? As your name is Vernon Chwe, right?” Minghao asked, not seeming to understand the joke. At least he knew what an anagram was.

“Uhh…” Now he felt more embarrassed to think about it. His face grew color from blushing as he mumbled loud enough for the other to hear, “Oven wrench.”

-

Minghao and Vernon left the compound that they called dorm and went to the convenience store next to campus after Minghao had gotten Vernon to rehearse his lines for a while more. Minghao had to agree that it was a very odd play when words like ‘diabolical’ and ‘outrageous’ had been thrown - no, yelled - into the air by Vernon. It was an awkward thing to witness.

Entering the convenience store, the two boys were instantly embraced by the green tinted lightning from the ceiling. The two had decided to get some soda because Vernon was in no way going to sleep and Minghao might as well get high on sugar to survive the night with a paranoid roommate. And if Mingyu really was going to be a phantom in Vernon’s life and support system, Minghao might as well sacrifice some time.

“By the way, when’s the play?” Minghao asked as they had exited the convenience store, opening his soda can and taking a sip. 

“Tomorrow.” Subsequently, Minghao was about to choke on his drink. He coughed and turned to look at Vernon, who just stared vacantly ahead of him while chewing on a candy bar. 

“What? You’re not joking?” he asked to reassure himself, though only earning a nod from Vernon. Now he understood why Vernon was so anxious, as it didn’t seem like he had the past week. Minghao gave a sympathetic pat on Vernon’s shoulder and they walked back to the dorm in silence.

-

It was a good thing they decided to get some sugar supply. Vernon was up all night reciting the play, Minghao being a supportive roommate for him. Mingyu had been gone all night, so the two had to fend for themselves. They were up until 3 am, when Vernon felt comfortable enough to sleep. Since it was Saturday when they decided to go to sleep they had the day off until the play would start later in the afternoon. But that didn’t really do any good as the entire day, from 8 am, was spent rehearsing with the cast for the play.

The hours had gone quicker than Vernon felt comfortable with and soon he stood there, in a very odd choice of costume consisting of black and red fabrics and a set of horns. A classmate had applied heavy eyeshadow on him and he felt the same way he looked - hideous. He was standing in silence in the midst of a chaotic environment, watching some students fixing the backdrop. Students taking on the roles as stylists of actors were running around trying to get everything ready before the curtain dropped. Teachers were waving arms everywhere and trying to sort out the chaos, but in vain. The only good thing about it was that it was a silent chaos, so no one in the audience heard any of the immense stress being the curtains.

Vernon had texted both Minghao and Mingyu, asking if they would come. He had seen Minghao among the crowd a couple of minutes later when he peeked through the curtain. But no sign of Mingyu. Not even a reply. The anxiety was overwhelming. It didn’t feel right, it felt as if he was going to slip at any moment and ruin everything. The play hadn’t even started yet. Unlocking his phone with trembling fingers, Vernon sent a spam of messages to Mingyu, asking if he was coming or not. Why was he like this so suddenly? Mingyu had always been a supportive friend, why was he suddenly not there?

Vernon exhaled a shaky breath, feeling the time disappear through his fingers. He really, really regretted this. 

“Wow, what kind of character are you playing? Some demon king of some netherworld?” Vernon turned around, feeling his heart in his throat. It didn’t get easier when he saw Mingyu stand there, smiling sheepishly at him. 

“W-what are y-” 

“Doing here? I’m supporting my friend, of course.” Mingyu chuckled, ruffling Vernon’s hair in a way that shouldn’t mess it up too badly. His hair was spray painted with white and black and it stained. 

Vernon was silent, feeling a heavy lump on his throat. He felt like crying, but it wasn’t something he’d like to admit.

“I’m sorry, man.” Mingyu sighed, scratching his neck after letting go of Vernon’s poorly ruffled hair. “I know I should’ve been more helpful and supportive - I didn’t know it was tearing you up that badly.” 

“Wh… What?” Vernon was confused, sniffling. No tears though. The classmate that had done his makeup casted him an evil glance earlier, he couldn’t risk it.

“Minghao told me when I got back.” Mingyu looked like he understood he was guilty. His eyes were cast downward, looking at the floor and their feet. “He also scolded me in Chinese, probably saying stuff like I’m a bad best friend.” 

Mingyu then turned up to Vernon, sincerity in his eyes. “I’m really sorry. I should’ve taken your feelings to consideration. Can you forgive me?” 

Vernon wasn’t angry. He was actually really happy that Mingyu came. “No, it’s okay. I shouldn’t have depended so heavily on you. You need to breathe too sometimes.” 

“I guess we got Minghao to thank for this, huh?” Mingyu’s smile was a thin line, almost as if he didn’t like saying it. Like it had a sour flavor to his mouth.

“I guess.” Vernon nodded, chuckling at the other’s reaction. “He’s good. I feel kinda bad for not getting to know him earlier.”

“What? I’m still your favorite best friend right?” Vernon could hear Mingyu’s fear rise inside him and he kind of enjoyed this form of revenge. 

“When did you become so competitive? So what if he’s my favorite now?” Vernon crossed his arms. Smirking with a brow quirked up.

“Don’t be like that! I said I’m sorry.” Mingyu laughed, understanding Vernon was sarcastic. He opened his arms, pouting. “Can’t we just hug it out?” 

“Are you trying to bribe me with hugs? Won’t work.” Despite what he said, Vernon did hug Mingyu. He tried not to press his face or hair, or anything at all, to hard against Mingyu’s bosom. Obvious reason being hair and makeup that stained. 

“Chwe, five minutes. Kim, get out.” The theatre teacher passed the two, leaving as quick as she arrived. The boys separated and Mingyu gave him one last good luck before going back to the audience. 

Vernon took a deep breath and turned around to the stage and the heavy curtains. He watched as the kids playing the protagonists went up and nodded to himself. He took heavy steps and walked up, making his entrance and recited his god awfully dramatic lines in comfort. When he glanced at the crowd, he found himself smiling a little when he saw Minghao and Mingyu following the play intently. It’s good to have supportive friends, isn’t it?