The Night Everything Lost Sense

6. Best Friend

"Briar..."

Seth stood frozen at the doorway. His mouth gaped open as he stared at his best friend, bewildered by the state that he was in. Briar's expression was emotionless. His eyes were empty and laced with red. He averted their gaze, staring at the coat rack by the door instead of enduring eye-contact with Seth. The red in the corner of his eyes contrasted his pale skin. His sunken cheeks stretched as he tried to smile, but his lips couldn't stay upwards for longer than a second.

"Hey," Briar whispered out.

"Bri... are you okay?"

"Of course," he dryly answered.

Seth stared at him with concerned eyes. He reached out his hands and shoved a box of sweets into Briar's chest. "Can I come in?"

The boy could only nod and move from the doorway, allowing his purple-haired friend to come in. After taking his shoes, Seth gave him a soft smile, gracing him with the image of his deep dimples. "Hey... can we talk?"

Briar raised his brows, lacking energy to portray any emotion. Seth placed his hand on his shoulder and shot him a persuasive gaze. "Let's sit down first, okay?"

Briar obediently followed him to the couch. When he sat down, he lowered his head and placed his lifeless hands onto his shaky knees. Seth sat by him and watched him with concern. Though, Briar was getting used to it by now. Ever since he had that breakdown at Kai's place, Seth's eyes were always full of uneasiness and attentiveness. He wasn't the only one who kept an eye out for Briar. All his friends did.

All four of them knew what had happened. They showered him with extra care and gave him more attention. Terry wrote all his homework even though Briar never asked for help. Seth was almost always around and bringing food. Casey didn't leave Briar's side when they were in school. Kai always tried to make him laugh. They were suffocating him with their love, but none of them realized it.

"It's been almost two weeks..." Seth started.

Briar held his breath and hid his eyes from the other boy.

"It pains me so much to see you like this," Seth said. "I'm so concerned for you, Bri."

"Seth..."

"I'm afraid too. Every night I think about whether she is alright or not. Every night I find myself praying that she is well. But you... I'm so scared for your well-being. You seem to be getting worse every day."

"I'm fine."

"No. No, you aren't. You are not fine. I can't stand seeing you like this. You haven't cracked a smile in so long. I haven't heard you laugh in weeks. And... and you look like a walking corpse, Bri. I'm so, so, so concerned for you."

Briar closed his eyes.

"I want to help you. Please let me help you. I want to cheer you up, even if it's for a couple of hours. I want you to be happy. Please tell me what to do. Please tell me how to help you."

"I just," Briar whispered. "I want her to come back."

"I do too, but you can't do this to yourself," Seth pleaded. "Please stop doing this to yourself."

"Doing what?"

"You are putting weight on your shoulders as if it's your fault," Seth said and took his hands, squeezing them tightly. "Please you can't do this to yourself. We are all so concerned for you. I feel so helpless. I want you to feel better."

"I want her to come back..." Briar repeated.

Seth gulped and nodded. When he spoke again, his voice was barely louder than a whisper. "I know, Bri."

They were silent for a moment. Seth shook his head and groaned. "God. What do I do? I want to help you."

He and Briar locked eyes. Seth took a deep breath and then gave Briar a serious gaze. "I care about you so much. You are my best friend. I... I 'll do anything I can to help you. I'll do anything I can to help find Soyoung."

Briar's mouth fell open ajar when Seth commented the last part.

Seeing him change expression, Seth nodded. "I will. I will do anything. I will try my best. I will not rest until we find her and until you are better."

"H-how?"

"I don't know, but I will find a way if it will help you. I don't want you to get sick..."

Briar pursed his lips as he looked at Seth's caring expression. His best friend wanted to find Soyoung, a person both of them missed dearly. Briar wanted her to be back in their lives. He wanted to see her smile and her voice again so badly. But he knew he can't. He knew she will never come back.

"They will find her," Seth assured him and squeezed his hands tighter. "I promise... We can help them Bri. We can try and... no. That's dumb."

"Hm?"

"I thought we could go search for her, but... it's not like we would have more luck than the police."

"Seth..."

"What?"

"I know where we could look."

"Ha?"

"Our hideout," he said before his voice broke.

Seth raised his brows. "Hideout?"

Briar nodded. Seth's surprised expression slowly wore off and he nodded as well. "Do you want to go back there? And look?"

Briar didn't say anything and Seth nudged him. "Hey... if it will help you. I'll go there with you. We can look together. Okay?"

"For Soyoung?"

"For anything..."

Briar's breath hitched.

"Let's go there tomorrow night. Okay?"

He nodded and received a hair ruffle from Seth. Seeing his smile, Briar's grim thoughts slowly dispersed. It suddenly made sense that they would go look for Soyoung. She was their friend. They wanted to see her again. Briar wanted her back in his life again.

It made sense. He assured himself it makes sense.

"But keep the hideout a secret," Briar whispered.

"Of course. It will be our secret." 

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And so they go to the murder place~

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