Hearing that voice, Ash turned his back, and Phoenix was standing behind him.
"I can do this by myself," Ash tried dismissing Phoenix. He didn't want to see him. He knew if he kept being this determined, the long months he spent ignoring Phoenix would all go to waste.
But Phoenix persisted.
"I'll help you. What do you need?" Phoenix asked.
He's so stubborn. Ash said to himself.
"If you'd like to help, you could help by listing the materials and their possible prices on the other side of the board." Ash pointed at the marker on the table. Phoenix did as he told—he took out his phone and wrote down what he could see Ash was writing and searched up their prices.
Being too busy with his sketches, he was too out of his head. Before he could even move again, he had already bumped his shoulders with Phoenix. Losing his step, before he could fall, Phoenix grabbed him by his waist. Their faces were close, and Phoenix's hold was tight. They were taking their time to breathe. After a couple of seconds of silence, Phoenix helped him to stand up.
"Sorry about that!" Ash immediately apologized to him.
"You don't have to worry about anything," Phoenix assured him, making Ash stop apologizing. They both looked at each other and laughed. Their voices echoed throughout the room, but they were immediately interrupted.
"Phoenix? Are you there?" a high-pitched voice disrupted them. Ash went to look at who was talking.
There she was, a familiar silhouette, her hair worn in a ponytail. Ash couldn't believe this sight. What he had hoped for, his biggest nightmare, came true. Meeting the girl whom he only saw in the pictures.
"Luna," Phoenix whispered. He looked back at Ash. Ash looked at him, smiling, but his eyes said otherwise.
He was hurt. No, betrayed.
"I forgot I had to do something!" Ash packed his bag up and left the room running. Phoenix tried catching up to him, but Luna held him back. Ash did not bother looking up but continued dashing outside the campus.
Running away, he doesn't even know where he is at this point. Everything was blurry—he tried rubbing his eyes, but it wasn't working, so he stopped walking. There, he cried. Early in the night, his tears accompanied him.
His feet led him to wherever it felt like going. He was too tired and too hurt to face the pain and too embarrassed. Even though he wanted to go home, he couldn't. He can't. Reality gave him a check. He glanced at his watch. 10:00 PM. It was already this late. He wasn't hungry nor did he feel anything. He was numb.
He decided to sit down on a bench near the road. His feet were hurting, but it didn't faze him. He was too busy feeling nothing. He could barely focus. This was the exact reason why he wanted to run away from Phoenix. He hated it. But he let his guard down. Not learning his lesson. He wanted to cry again, but there were no tears left.
Seconds, minutes, and eventually an hour passed by. He took a little time to breathe and regain his composure. Crying won't make any difference, right? So he took a deep breath and shook his hands. He stood up and walked back to his apartment.
"Ash?" a female voice called him. He couldn't even hear it.
"Ash? Hey!" She decided to tap on Ash's shoulder, revealing Ash in a vulnerable state.
"Gosh- Ash! What happened to you?" She decided to let Ash sit on a chair. He was already outside a convenience store near his apartment. Did he walk this fast? No, he had been walking for over an hour.
"Oh? Hi, Chey." Ash could barely let out any noise. His voice was hoarse and strained.
"You don't sound and look good! Where were you?!" Chey sounded concerned, wiping off the tear trails in Ash's face with her handkerchief.
"Does love hurt this bad?" Ash asked. Making his head lean on the table.
"Love made you look like that? How hurt were you?"
"Really... hurt," Ash was crying again.
"Gosh damn it, Ash. Stop crying. You're hurting yourself even more." Chey rubbed his back, trying to cheer him up, but it was of no use.
"Let me be, Chey." He cried even more.
"This is the worst case of love I have ever seen. Mind you, I saw how my mom and dad fought." She tried lighting up the mood. Ash wasn't laughing but cried even more.
"Oh, right, that wasn't funny."
Chey tried her best, lifting Ash up. She then decided to bring him to his apartment.
"Is this it?" Chey asked. Ash nodded, and he handed his keys to her. Chey unlocked it and carried Ash towards his bedroom.
"Will you be okay being alone?" Chey was setting up Ash's bed while he was changing in the bathroom. Ash left the bathroom with his pajamas and headed straight to the bed. Ash nodded at Chey, letting her know that he'd be fine.
"I hope you will be," Chey patted Ash's head and left him at his apartment.
Now alone, Ash cried even more. While quiet, the pain was still there, unbearable to say the least. He didn't know what to feel, but all he could do as a response was to cry. Yes, he knows he was hurting, but what else could he do rather than cry?
Crying was always his last resort. When he couldn't put things into words, he'd cry them out. Hugging one of his pillows tightly, he bit his lips and closed his eyes. He wished he would wake up with no sense of memories of this day. He wanted to forget this day—wanting it to stop. Unaware, his thoughts had already lulled him to sleep.
Just as Ash dashed out of the university, Luna had grabbed Phoenix by his arm before he could chase Ash.
"Where are you going? We're not even done yet." Luna snickered.