"Hey, thank you for inviting us. We really had fun."
As soon as Asher tapped the answer button, these words were the first thing he heard from Cosette. His expression relaxed, and so were his tensed shoulders.
"No problem. You didn't have to thank since you already know the Blacs were always at the top of the Quinn's invite list." A subtle smile turned up on his face, lting on the couch he was sitting on.
Asher cocked his head back until the back of his head was resting on the backrest. His eyes fixed on the ceiling, holding the phone still.
"Why did you call? Did you just get ho?" he asked, distracting himself from the previous phone call before this one.
"Yes. We just got ho," she said, making his brows raise.
"Just now? But you left early, didn't you?"
"We fetched Maxen. He was with Luke, so we dropped by so we can go ho together." Cosette plopped her butt down on the edge of the bed, smiling from ear to ear as if she was in a great mood. "Are you still at the party? Or did you go ho?"
"Ho now." Asher drew his lips into a thin line, not knowing what to say anymore. Especially after hearing Maxen's na.
There was a mont of silence in the line before Cossette's voice was heard again.
"Are you okay?" she asked, tilting her head to the side.
"Hmm?"
"You sound… I don't know. Did sothing happen?"
'There's is, actually,' was what he wanted to tell her, but Asher bit his tongue to stop himself.
Still, it amazed him how Cosette imdiately detected sothing was off even though they were just talking on the phone. Asher was certain he was doing his best not to sound shaken or anything like that.
"Ash?" Cosette blinked, calling him once again since he didn't answer. "Are you okay?"
"Ah… yes." Asher cleared his throat. "I'm okay. Just… just tired. I had a few drinks with my dad, so you can imagine how tiring it is to take care of a drunk father."
"I can't relate, but I can imagine."
He chuckled. "Anyway, thank you for coming and calling." he took a deliberate pause, smiling a short smile but sincerely genuine. "You don't have any idea what this ans to ."
"Uhm… of course." Her soft voice slightly faltered, almost a little awkward. "We're friends now, right? So of course, I'll check in on you."
Friends.
His smile remained, but with a slight bitterness in his eyes. This was when Asher knew being friends with her was impossible. However, it was still better than having her glaring at him every ti they et. Moreover, Asher didn't think he had to ask for more right now. After all, he could barely handle the things that were going on in his life. It was impossible to pursue or even compete with soone who clearly got a good hold of her heart.
"Yeah…" he returned after a mont. "It really ans a lot. Anyway, I'll go and rest first. I'm really tired. Thanks for coming again. Let's hang out again next ti."
"Okay… good night."
"Night."
Asher didn't idle even for a second as he ended the call, resting his arm over his forehead. He closed his eyes and breathed out heavily, still holding his phone tightly. When Asher reopened his eyes ever so slowly, the side of his lips curled up bitterly.
"I should be thankful," he told himself, almost convincing himself.
After tonight, there were many things Asher realized. Aside from the ones he had after talking to Mister Devilsin, there were also those he realized with Cosette.
From the beginning. In the very beginning, even before he bumped into her in that corridor, he was already interested in the young lady of the Blac. All the rumors about her in the academy and the occasional ntion of the daughter of Conrad Blac piqued his curiosity. It just so happened there wasn't any ti for them to et even though they enter the sa school.
Both Asher and Cosette sounded so similar back then, and they're both busy trying to prove themselves to other people.
Their first eting wasn't what he expected. It was abrupt and unexpected, sothing that neither of them had ever imagined. He thought they would probably et at one of the important etings they were required to attend, but no.
Asher might not admit it, but the mont he laid his eyes on her, the first word that ca into his head was… beautiful. Cosette was beautiful even when her eyes shook before her irises slowly dilated upon eting his.
Her voice as she blurted out under her breath, "husband of the year," still rang in his head until today.
If Asher didn't react the way he reacted that ti, or if he didn't jump to the conclusion she was one of those stalkers who wouldn't leave him alone. Would their present change?
'To be honest, I don't want to think about the what ifs anymore,' he whispered to himself, more like a reminder. 'Because after that encounter, Cosette transferred schools for personal reasons. She took a leap of fate to change herself for the better.'
Her action had taken a lifeti of guts, which inspired Luke to take the sa risk. Now, that risk he called proved itself effective. Cosette seed happier — especially after hearing her story before that tonight — and Luke also seed he had matured.
"Now I see my problem," another whisper slipped out of his lips, comparing himself to Cosette and Luke, not in a bad way. Those two had guts, but Asher… not that he wasn't courageous enough, but he believed what was effective to them wouldn't work on him.
After all, Asher's problem needed a different fix. He needed to be less greedy, just like what he felt when taunting Mister Devilsin.
"I hope…" Asher breathed out, closing his eyes to rest while trying to clear his mind of all his worries. "... this kiddie alliance he called will give peace."
Because at the end of the day and the back of his head, Asher was most terrified of himself or what he might do if he wouldn't get himself together.
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