- Lucas -

“ I just want to make sure I’m not alone…”

Lucas sighed for the umpteenth time. Hendery’s soft and sad voice made him guilty. As angry as he was over missing his training camp, he realised he couldn’t stay mad at Hendery for a long time. After all, to Hendery, he was the only pillar he could lean on.
When the bus stopped, Lucas held Hendery’s hand. He gently pulled Hendery up, picked their bags and get off the bus together.

“Didn’t yeye said he’ll pick us?” Lucas asked as he looked at his surroundings. There were no houses within the area. The only shelter that could shed them from the summer hot sun was a small bus stop in front of him, which he felt grateful that it can accommodate both of him and Hendery. He was busy studying his surrounding that he didn’t notice the bus had moved to its next destination, leaving him and Hendery in the middle of nowhere.

“Is yeye coming?”

“He said he will. Did you inform him what time we left the bus station?”

Lucas turned and stared at his brother. How could he forgot to inform his grandfather? If he called now, how long will they be stranded in the middle of the country-side with no sight of humans? He fished his phone out of his pocket and scrolled through his contact. No signal. He began to panic. He was about to spat profanities when Hendery reached out to his left hand, “it’s okay. I figured you would forget, so I called yeye in the bus while you were sleeping.”

Lucas exhaled in relief. “I guess you knew our location by hearing the announcement in the bus?” Hendery didn’t reply. He looked up at Lucas, gave him his toothy grin smile and asked, “can I have milk tea please?”

“First, let’s get away from the sun,” He guided Hendery to the bus stop, their only existing shelter, “and no, you can have it now.”

Hendery gasped. His face crumpled in the funniest way that Lucas can’t help but turned away to hold his laughter. Lucas knew his brother was just expressing himself, but one thing Hendery can’t do was to control his facial gesture. Lucas often , saying that he looked like sulking Donald Duck with long face, which earned him a whack on his hand.

“Because we are in the middle of nowhere, and yeye is not here yet.” He said while rubbing the sore spot on his arm.

“That’s odd, yeye is never late…”

“He is now….”

“What are we going to do now?”

Lucas shrugged his shoulder. They can’t watch nor listen to music without internet connection. How he wished he downloaded some songs or video in his phone before they left to their grandparents.

“Let’s play a game.”

“What game do you have in mind?” Lucas asked curiously.

“How about we count how many vehicles pass by…?”

The game sounds childish, and it doesn’t make sense to him, but Lucas agreed anywhere. “Like I have anything better to do anyway….”

~~~~
The twins were engrossed in their little world when they heard a vehicle honking at them. They turned towards the direction of the vehicle in sync, watching as it approached and stopped in front of them. It was a small white pick-up vehicle. Lucas recognised the vehicle immediately. He remembered he used to followed his grandfather to deliver fruits and vegetables to the market with it. He stood up and approached the vehicle.

“Is it yeye?” Hendery asked Lucas.

Before Lucas replied, someone got out of the vehicle. It was someone they least expected.

“Sicheng?”

“Sicheng? He’s with yeye?” Hendery asked.

Lucas could feel his brother was getting hyped. He rushed to Hendery, making sure he isn’t too excited till he slipped or hurt himself.

“What are you doing here?” Lucas shifted his attention to his cousin.

Sicheng was about to answer Lucas when another person came out of the vehicle. “and who is that?”

“My boyfriend,” Sicheng answered shortly.

“Ok… then what are you guys doing here?” Lucas asked again.

‘Baby, I thought you said we’re picking up one person?” the mentioned person interrupted Lucas. He was fair and lean. Lucas couldn’t help notice his honey-like voice and foreign accent when he spoke their language.

“I thought so too,” he heard Sicheng said. “I didn’t expect Lucas to come.” Sicheng turned to Lucas. “Didn’t you said you have training camp this Summer?”

“And didn’t you said you have short semester this Summer?”
~~~~
“You were suspended for what?” Lucas asked in disbelief

Sicheng was probably expecting this reaction, hence he neither flinch nor showed sign of embarrassment, though he was uncomfortable at the question.

“No, seriously… you got into trouble for doing what?”

Before he could reply, Sicheng's boyfriend leaned forward from the back seat. He glared at Lucas, making his cat-eyes looked smaller. “When you attend a prestigious private university, even something trivial can get you in trouble.”

Lucas gulped. He was not used to anyone other than his brother’s face close to him. He intended to push the stranger’s face away from him when Sicheng spoke up, “Ten, you’re scaring Lucas…”

Lucan felt relief after Ten moved back to his seat. “And don’t you dare start your funny business with Hendery at the back there. I warn you, Hendery may like your ideas, but you might end up hurting him,” Sicheng warned him.

“Now I’m terrified of your boyfriend,” Lucas whispered to Sicheng lowly, not wanting Ten to know his first impression of him.

Sicheng chuckled. He was aware of Lucas’ impression on Ten the moment he set eyes on him. “Don’t worry about Ten. He’s an angel.”

“He got you suspended!”

Lucas suddenly jumped, and because of his tall figure, he accidentally bumped his head on the vehicle ceiling. He rubbed his arms and hissed at Ten. “Why did you hit me for?”

“For your information, banshee,” Ten scoffed. “I did not get us suspended…”

“I got suspended,” Sicheng interrupted him. “You voluntarily quit the semester just coz you’re bored without me.”

“It’s not our fault that bald-head caught us…”

“Says the person who promised me the classroom door is locked.”

Lucas could only watch the couple bickered. Each time he wanted to say something, he ended up swallowed his words back. He didn’t want to risk himself rubbing Ten in the wrong way.

“Come on baby… we were just making out and smoking…”

Ten's statement caught Lucas’ attention. He stared at Sicheng, “you got suspended for smoking and making out with your boyfriend?”

“Well, that’s the story,” Sicheng sighed.

“Are we there yet?” They heard Hendery asked impatiently. “My is stiff for sitting too long, and I’m thirsty.”

“We’re almost there,” Sicheng said as he increased the speed of the vehicle. “We’ll be there in 10 minutes,” he promised.

Lucas leaned at his seat, “I was starving, but you guys ruined my appetite”

"Nobody asked..." Sicheng and Ten said in unison.