Unedited.
"You’re still coming, right?"
Chris stared at the text ssage from Sky, his fingers hovering over the keyboard as he contemplated his response. The events of the past day replayed in his mind, each piece falling into a puzzle that was still too complex to comprehend.
He sighed, his emotions a swirling mixture of confusion and frustration. He felt like he had just been thrown into a web novel with a weird plot. Because how can Sky suddenly be engaged?
Like... he didn’t just say he had a girlfriend or sothing; he was straight-up engaged to marry. And of everyone, it was Ash’s sister.
The sa Ash it was quite obvious Rain and Sky did not like.
The sa Ash at whose party he had been drugged.
Was the reason he had refused to push it because it had happened at his "brother-in-law’s party" or because he didn’t want them to know he had been in that kind of situation in the first place?
Brother-in-law. Eww! That sounded weird and crazy.
But that was not the most important thing to Chris right now.
Sky was engaged!
It was a harsh wake-up call from his delulu. The flirts, the glances, everything. Once again, he was a victim of this. Because he was so stupid!
"Are you going to continue like this?" Wilson asked him in concern. "You’ve sighed like a million tis, and you look like.. well, you look terrible." He was at a loss for words.
They were both currently in Wilson’s hotel room. Chris had escaped from it since yesterday. Whatever would remind him of all the weird and crazy delusions he’d had in that room, he wanted to get rid of them.
"I’m fine."
"That’s what you’ve been saying. What exactly happened between you and Sky?"
"Did I say sothing happened?"
"Isn’t it obvious? You’ve been acting like this since yesterday, and I can no longer act like I am not concerned. You should be talking now."
Chris really wanted to share this with soone. But he couldn’t do that for two reasons. One, it was Sky’s privacy. And even without him being told, he knew Sky wouldn’t want anyone to find out about it. Now it made sense why Sky’s friends and sister had been mysterious about it. Secondly, he didn’t want Wilson to remind him that he was an idiot.
Sothing else occurred to him, and he wondered if Sky was keeping this a secret because he didn’t want his reputation in school to be ruined and he wouldn’t want to lose his ’fans’
Argh! It was all driving him crazy!
"CHRIS!" Wilson snapped and faced him with concern written all over his face.
"Seriously man, what is wrong with you? Did you by chance kiss him like I suggested, and he punched you or sothing?"
"I didn’t."
"Then what? What could possibly be troubling you like this? I don’t want this to happen again."
"What to happen?"
"You know what." He said pointedly. "So make up your mind if you want to pursue him or let him go, and stick with that."
Did he want to pursue him?
Did he want to let him go?
Chris had no idea. But one thing he knew was that he wanted to get to the bottom of this and find out what exactly had happened and what was happening.
With a determined look, he sat up on the bed and typed out a response, his fingers tapping the screen. "I’ll be there," he replied, his ssage short and devoid of any emotion.
Almost as soon as he sent it, Sky responded with a map of the place and the ti.
He had 3 hours to prepare for this ’battle.’.
*****
The apartnt was smaller than Chris had imagined. It was obvious he was in the right place judging by the cars parked in front of the apartnt, but he had to check his phone again just to be sure.
His brows furrowed in confusion as he approached the door, wondering if this was where all of Sky’s family really lived. Why? Didn’t he say his mother was a teacher and his father was into real estate? People make good money from real estate, right?
And the siblings had also inherited a ’fortune’ from their grandmother, hadn’t they? Or was he missing sothing?
In reality, the house was a normal, cozy apartnt suitable for a family of 4. But considering Chris was a rich prince who was used to hos being grand, this was confusing for him.
He rang the doorbell as he adjusted his shirt, wondering if he was underdressed or too dressed since he wasn’t exactly used to these people.
He was wearing a black button-down shirt and grey corporate pants with sneakers.
The door opened, revealing a slightly nervous-looking Sky. Their eyes t, and for a mont, the tension between them was palpable. Chris could see the shadows of sleepless nights in Sky’s eyes, but he also noticed a flicker of gratitude.
"You ca," Sky said, his voice genuine but tinged with the weight of unspoken issues.
Chris guessed he was neither overdressed nor underdressed since Sky wore a Blue shirt and black pants with... a house slipper.
He looked kind of cute and funny, especially with the way he had buttoned his shirt up to his neck, giving him a pastor’s vibe.
Chris nodded, his throat suddenly dry as he struggled to form words. "Yeah, of course." His voice was clipped, lacking the warmth and familiarity that used to characterize his interactions with Sky.
Sky stepped to the side, allowing him to enter, and he did. The first woman he saw amongst the crowd, he could already tell she was Sky’s mother. The resemblance was uncanny.
The party was in full swing, with a mix of people chatting, laughing, and celebrating. Chris felt like an outsider, observing from where he stood. Of course, Sky’s three friends were there. But he tried to find soone. Soone he had never t and had no idea what she looked like.
He was looking for his so-called fiancée or at least Ash. But Ash was nowhere in sight. And although there were a few young ladies around, he just could not pinpoint any of them as the kind Sky would date, much less marry.
"I’m guessing you aren’t exactly keen on being introduced to people?" Sky asked quietly, and Chris cringed imdiately. Of course not!
A smile played at the corner of Sky’s lips when he saw his reaction.
"My mother is eager to et you, though." He inford Chris.
Although Chris’s mission here wasn’t to et either of his parents, he didn’t mind saying hello to her.
Sky led Chris to where she was. They waited until she was done chatting with a man before Sky tapped her, getting her attention.
Sky’s mother was wonderful. He had been a little bit skeptical because so parents were very uncomfortable to talk to and always acted too busy, trying to quickly dismiss them because they had other important things to do, but the woman wasn’t like that.
She fawned over him, asking about his campus life and whether he enjoyed the town. She even asked if he enjoyed her als and apologized if they were not to his liking. Chris answered politely, realizing where Sky had gotten the habit of always apologizing and caring for others.
"If you have any trouble, always ask Sky here. You are in good hands."
"He knows he is," Sky said, smiling warmly at Chris, who turned away from him.
Since they could not continue chatting like that since they all had other things to do, especially Chris, who was on a mission, they dispersed. And Chris looked around, searching for Rain.
The plan involved getting closer to Rain in order to gather more information about Sky. But first, he needed to nd fences with her after their recent argunt. He spotted her in the corner of the room, chatting with a group of people, her presence like a lighthouse in the sea of unfamiliarity.
He took a deep breath and approached her, a sense of determination pushing him forward. "Rain," he said, his voice tentative.
She turned to him, her expression guarded. "Chris."
It was quite obvious he wanted to talk, so she excused herself from her friends and stepped to the side with him.
"I wanted to apologize," he began, feeling a sense of vulnerability that he hadn’t anticipated. "For our argunt the other day. I should have been more careful and not offended you."
Rain studied him for a mont before her features softened. "I appreciate that," she said, her tone less confrontational than he had accepted. "It’s fine. I guess I may have overreacted too."
Chris felt a weight lift off his shoulders, and a glimr of relief and hope ignited within him. "Thank you."
"You look good," she said, her eyes looking at him up and down.
Nah. Hold it, girl!
Chris was guarded. He knew it was wrong, but he could only get legit information out of her. He didn’t want anything else.
Although he was curious to know if she and Sky had settled their differences, he didn’t ask for fear of annoying her again.
They chatted about inconsequential things instead—classes, hobbies, the town’s quirks. Chris couldn’t help but feel a mix of unease and excitent. He was getting closer to his goal, but it felt like he was walking on a tightrope.
Throughout the conversation, he noticed Sky’s gaze on him, watching them from a distance. Chris couldn’t decipher the emotions in Sky’s eyes—was it curiosity, concern, or sothing entirely else?
But then, how did he know Sky was staring if he wasn’t?
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