[Chapter 20]

Gayeon was in the kitchen when she heard a loud thud out of the blue. It was followed by Jisung’s many, many shouts. Upon her approach into Jisung’s room, her heart had already sank as she caught a glimpse of Chenle collapsed onto the ground.

“Sungie, what happened? Is he okay?”

“I don’t know, he fainted. I think all that stress was getting to him.” The two of them brought the unconscious male back into his bedroom to rest. Gayeon was terribly worried about him. One second he was fine, the next second he becomes anxiety ridden, and now, he’s knocked out. She knew he was far from okay.

+++

“Sungie, will he be okay?”

“I think so. Yeon, can I ask you something?” Jisung has been caught up with the questions Chenle had given him earlier. Was he scared? Yes. But can he trust his best friend with his sister? Yes. Gayeon nodded at him, patiently waiting to hear what he had to say. “I know you two do not have the best relationship, but do you think everything could be okay with him? Like, do you trust him?”

She gulped nervously as she dug through her thoughts. She agreed that they were always at each other’s throats and had always despised each other. However, ever since the first time he protected her in the alley, she’s been seeing him differently. Yes, they still fought along the way, but she looked at him a little differently. And each time they proceed in taking another step to be closer, she felt more eager to have him there with her.

She then thought about the point Chenle had made earlier. Is she scared of him? Will he ever kill her though? Will he actually do that to her? “I can get scared sometimes, but...I don’t know; he still makes me feel special and safe, you know?”

“So you’re okay with him?”

“Yeah, crazy, huh? The problem is, he seems upset that I’m starting to be okay with him. That just bothers me because I just...like being with him for some reason.”

Jisung sighed heavily, acknowledging that sounds very much like Chenle. “Do you like him?”

Face quickly turning completely red, her head hung low in embarrassment. “Maybe. Yes. Is that not allowed?” She heard her brother chuckle in amusement. Rather than being upset, he was actually proud of her. He never thought he’d see the day his twin would have feelings for someone, let alone his best friend.

“Idiot, you’re allowed to like him. He’s just really scared, you know? He doesn’t want to get you hurt.”

Her lips curled upwards, cracking a wide smile. “Believe me, I know.”

“Can I ask another question? How’d you know that you like him? Why do you like him?”

It was rare for him to witness his sister acting shy because of a boy. In addition, he’s never seen her talk about someone with her eyes lit up that way. She was rambling about the male, but it seemed as though she no longer minded doing so. “I think it was when he first treated me like I mattered; he kept reassuring me that I would be safe with him. But I hate him! I hate him so much for being so stubborn. Like, damn it! I want to see him and talk to him, but he won’t let me! God, I’m such a fool for liking him, aren’t I? Ugh. I used to nearly puke from seeing his face, but now, I just want to squish his adorable face-“

“Okay, crazy . You’re so whipped for this idiot. But seriously though, I hope things will be okay with you two. He’s been a really broken and a lost idiot for so long. So try to treat him well, okay? I expect him to do the same.” Jisung couldn’t help but smile like an idiot as he was just so overjoyed by the way Gayeon looked while talking about Chenle. Maybe, things will be okay after all.

+++

Waking up with an awful headache was not what Chenle planned for. The last thing he remembered was himself panicking in Jisung’s room about Gayeon. What the hell happened? He found himself tucked in bed when he had finally woken up. It felt like he was unconscious for so long, but it was only 2:30 AM. The male groaned as he slipped out of bed, trudging his way out of his room.

His eyebrows knit together and a frown formed out of discontentment as he caught Gayeon in the kitchen. The said girl froze like a deer in headlights, immediately feeling embarrassment invade her. Chenle had unfortunately caught her with a blanket and phone in one arm, some drinks in the other, all while holding a bag of chips with her teeth.

“What the hell? Are you a thief or what?” He questioned, causing her cheeks to heat up.

“I want to eat and stargaze.” The girl replied with a mumble as the bag of chips made it difficult for her to speak clearly. “Want to join?” She mumbled, nervously grinning at him.

Rolling his eyes at her, he sighed heavily before replying, “Fine.”

+++

So, there they were, lying outside once again, prompting the guilt inside him to reappear. He kept himself at a distance from the girl. It was as if he was convinced that all hell would break loose if he even dared to lay a finger on her.

After much silence, Gayeon finally spoke up to ask the first question she could think of. They were rather awkward and anything would help. “Uh, so, how are you feeling now?”

“I’m fine, just a small headache.”

“That’s good. Jisung got really worried.” She was too, but that was something that isn’t going to be revealed.

“Of course that idiot would be. I expected to at least be asleep for the rest of the night. I guess my damn body said no.”

Gayeon smiled like an excited child as she thought of an idea to help the male get some sleep. “Looking at the stars and talking might help you get sleepier. Want to try?”

Honestly, the entire idea sounded stupid and Chenle would rather not. However, he did need some sleep and he figured he might as well. Plus, the girl beside him just seemed so delighted to share h