Yin Mei narrowed her eyes, and the ice reached for his face but stopped at his shoulders. A comforting warmth wrapped around his back. Eyes widening, Aiden recognized the familiar sensation. He grabbed his shoulders with both hands and ripped himself toward the warmth protecting his back.
His eyes snapped open to the sensation of his arm shaking, his fingers the only part he could control amongst the numbness. A shaky breath left Aiden’s lips, and he moved his head off his arm. It took several squeezes of his hand to slowly return the blood flow through the rest of his arm. A jacket fell from his shoulders.
Someone tapped away on a keyboard, and he looked beside him to see Brendan concentrating on the laptop. It was just the two of them in a familiar study room.
Slowly, he grabbed Brendan’s jacket from the ground and grasped it to his chest.
The other boy looked up. “Did you sleep well?”
Aiden nodded. “You should’ve woken me up.”
“I don’t mind. I had homework to do anyway.”
“When did Christina and Javier leave?”
“About half an hour ago.”
He played with the long sleeves that still smelled of Brendan. “I should apologize for how I reacted, right?”
“Nope.” Brendan closed his laptop, packing it up. “Just tell them that you’re not mad at them anymore. That’s enough.”
“Would they still even want to be friends with me if I don’t apologize?” Aiden’s arms shook. Mr. Zhou’s man bowed low to the ground, praying for forgiveness. Sorry, the man repeated. Sorry.
“They’re the ones who brought up a sensitive subject, and you didn’t even say anything mean to them. You’re perfectly fine.” Brendan grabbed his backpack and walked over to Aiden. He offered his hand.
Confused, still clutching the jacket to his chest, Aiden grabbed Brendan’s fingers with his own. Brendan stared, wide-eyed. Coughing, the other boy looked away. “Err, my jacket?”
“Oh.” His heart fluttered. Instant heat filled his face. Aiden shoved it back to Brendan. “You don’t have to wait for me,” he said, keeping his face low.
“I want to.”
Why do I always feel so good when I’m with him?Aiden wondered. The two walked side by side out of the library. They meandered through the campus like the first club meeting, observing random things on campus. A flower. The old tree. A squirrel that wasn’t albino. Eventually, they got to the main road. Aiden called an Uber from the sidewalk, basking in the warmth that radiated from his heart and formed a shield around his body.
“So, um,” Brendan stammered.
Aiden turned toward him. Brendan glanced downward and shifted from leg to leg. Despite the evening darkness, Aiden watched a warm red slowly spread across Brendan’s cool face.
“Yes…?”
“Right. This might be bad timing, but I just wanted to ask—”
Aiden’s phone burst into light, vibrating and ringing. Both jumped, the phone almost slipping past his fingers. One glance at Yin Mei’s name, and the color drained from his face.
“I’m sorry, I have to take this,” he mumbled, moving a distance away. He did not miss Brendan’s face falling.
I’m sorry.His heart squeezed tightly against his chest.I have to do this, Brendan. I’m so sorry.
The various photos of his brother flashed before his eyes.
The phone leapt against his hand, and the ringing grew louder. He stared at his stepmother’s ID staring back at him.
His hand clenched tight.
He slid the phone to hang up, silenced it, and slipped it into the deepest pocket of his backpack. “Brendan!” Dashing, Aiden smiled at seeing Brendan who still patiently waited. He stopped himself short from colliding into the other boy.
Brendan held his arms out, but Aiden steadied himself and stared up into the beautiful blue eyes that focused on him and only him. He gazed up at that honest face that hid no ulterior motives. He thought back to Brendan handing the picture of his brother to him—a flimsy piece of paper cut out from a mock spread that had already begun to fade in color. He preserved it to be returned without a single bent corner. Only with Brendan did his opinions matter. Because of Brendan, he met Christina and Javier, who spoke out of concern for his state. Always with Brendan.
“Don’t you need to take that call?” Brendan was still thinking of him.
