Classes have passed by, and it's been 1 month since the opening. Ash and Phoenix have spent their whole time together, glued to each other. While Ash was trying his best to keep his composure, he'd long wanted to ask Phoenix about the girl he posted.
But he had no guts to ask him. His thoughts have been eating him alive for quite a while. Whenever he would think it would be the perfect time, something would always come up.
Today was the day Ash was going to ask Phoenix. Inside their rooms, it was Ash, Phoenix, and some other classmates. They were busy talking about the quiz they had earlier. Some were ecstatic, while others were in dismay.
"Let's stop talking about that and talk about something more interesting!" Leon, a guy with cream-colored hair, spoke.
"I'd love that, Leon! How about some of your love life?" Mika, the one with the braided hair, agreed to Leon's suggestion.
Ash smiled at this thought, finally getting the chance to gossip about the mysterious girl, which could possibly be Phoenix's girlfriend.
"Let's start with you, Ash! Do you have a boyfriend?" Mika pointed at Ash. Taken aback, he stuttered in disbelief at the accusation.
Ash dramatically gasped, acting like he'd clenched his pearls.
"How dare thee!" The four of them laughed at Ash's reaction. He rolled his eyes at them.
"I have been single for a year now. No mingling, but ready!" Ash giggled.
"How about you, Phoenix?" Leon asked the quiet one.
Ash was sweating at the edge of his seat. Hoping he'd be wrong to make his feelings valid. But to his surprise, all hope was lost.
"I do have one. We've been together for over six months now." Phoenix was shy. And Ash, Ash was devastated. He put on a forced smile and tried to coo Phoenix.
"That's so sweet," Ash commented, trying to hide the pain.
That was all that he needed. A confirmation of what he was feeling. He knew if he kept it, he'd only make it worse. But now he knows.
He knows that he has to draw a line between him and Phoenix. To save their friendship, or rather, to save himself from embarrassment.
The day after, Ash was different. Even Phoenix noticed his change. He became distant and quiet, but most of all, he avoided Phoenix the whole day. Phoenix, who was very aware of his surroundings, decided to message Ash after their class.
Phoenix: Hey! Are you doing okay?
Ash: Hey! Yeah, I'm doing fine.
Phoenix: Are you sure? You were kind of distancing yourself from us.
Is he serious? This boy has to be kidding me. Ash said to himself, rolling his eyes behind the screen.
Ash: You got me... I just felt, you know... Hurt?
Phoenix: What do you mean hurt?
Ash: It's nothing that you need to worry about. I can handle this, lol.
Phoenix: Are you sure?
Ash: Yeah, thanks for your concern. I need to get to bed now.
Ash did not bother looking at his phone after. He buried his face on his pillow and screamed. He tried letting his frustration out, one scream at a time. His feeling was heavy, and this feeling does not seem to fade away anytime soon. And Ash hated it.
The next day, Ash tried his very best to go back. He hung out with his classmates once more and tried talking to Phoenix like he usually did. Which was hard for him. But it was even harder when he'd mistake Phoenix's action as leading him on. Phoenix was just that friendly. Reality slapped Ash on his face five million times that day alone.
Ash hated it, and Phoenix, deep inside, knew something was still wrong with his friend. Phoenix had a little bit of an idea but didn't want to conclude anything.
Ash remained the same. One month. Two months. Three months have passed, and Ash has continued to put a line between him and Phoenix. But Phoenix didn't like how Ash was acting. Phoenix knew he had to do something to take this doubt out of his chest.
"Hello, freshmen! You all don't look fresh anymore!" Chey joked. She entered their room, trying to announce something.
"You know that our school festival is fast approaching. In 3 weeks time, we would be having our festival, and I was assigned to look over the freshmen!" Chey exclaimed. She was much more excited than the students. Most of them groaned after hearing this, not wanting to do anything.
"With that in mind, I would love you all to work together and think of something creative to be our booth. You can go crazy, artistic, or be a chef! It's up to you!" she added. Chey walked towards Ash and asked him for a favor.
"Can you please be in charge of the designs, Ash? I really need your help, especially the creative part." Chey showed Ash her sad kitty eyes. Ash rolled his eyes jokefully and laughed.
"If it's for you, Chey, I'd be glad to help!" Ash smiled. Chey gave him a tight hug and thanked him once again. Chey left, and everyone tried brainstorming for an idea.
They had different ideas, fun ones, and crazy ideas that could possibly leave them all expelled if they went with them. Finally, they landed on a simple idea that would let them generate a huge income for the whole duration of the festival.
"This would be final, and we have 2 weeks to buy the equipment and everything," Leon, who managed to lead the brainstorming, left Ash in quite a shock. He didn't know he had it in him.
"We could cram it, right?" a student in the back shouted, making everybody laugh.
"Probably," Leon responded, making the laughter grow bigger.
"Then it's settled. We would buy the equipment a week before and do the designs on the day. We'll just have Ash sketch the whole layout and template, and we'll be going off on that. Meeting adjourned!" Leon was great as a leader. Despite his outside personality, he was a serious person.
While everybody slowly left the room, Ash was planning on staying in the room for a couple of hours to do his work. He didn't want to procrastinate like the others. He used the markers and tried brainstorming and drawing on the whiteboard of their room. He used his phone as a reference to sketch the different ideas he'd love to implement.
"Do you need a hand?" the familiar voice echoed throughout the quiet room.