Married Strangers (complete)

5. Fall out

They heard a bang on the roof of their car, it sounded like something had jumped on it. Yibo's heart nearly jumped out of his chest. In a moment of panic, he grabbed hold of Xiao Zhan's hands. He was trembling slightly. Soon, they heard it jump to the ground and run off into the bushes. Xiao Zhan observed Yibo all through, Yibo seemed like a different person in the moment. His palms were sweaty as he held tightly to Xiao Zhan's hands, his finger nails digging into his skin.

Yibo realized whatever came by was gone so his tension gradually loosened up and he let go of Xiao Zhan's hands.

"Let me go out and see what that was...", Xiao Zhan didn't finish speaking before Yibo cut him short.

"I see you're trying to act brave but there is no one here for you to impress. That could be a wild animal and it could tear you in pieces in the blink of an eye. You should listen to me, stay still and wait for day light".

"Yibo, of course, there are animals around, this is their territory. We are the ones intruding". Apart from checking their surroundings, another reason Xiao Zhan wanted to go out was to get some fresh air. The air in the car was stale, they were both sweating and Xiao Zhan was becoming more and more uncomfortable. From the look of things, Yibo intended to stay that way till morning. He didn't mind staying outside, while keeping watch over the scared to death Yibo. "Let me go out for a bit, I'd..."

"No!", Yibo's answer was firm, leaving no room for negotiation.

Zhan sighed. "Okay, please bring down the window a little more. You can bring down the one on my side, it's really hot in here".

Yibo finally lost his patience. He had refused so many times yet Xiao Zhan was unrelenting. "What exactly are you aiming at? Do you have a plan? You're the reason we got into this situation in the first place, can you not make things more difficult for me? You kept on driving knowing fully well we ought to have reached our destination, couldn't you stop to ask for directions? As for this trip, the reason we had that 'marriage' was because you dragged us into a chapel". Yibo blamed Xiao Zhan for everything that happened. Zhan sat, surprised by Yibo's attitude. Where was all of this coming from? They were getting along so well until he slept off. What went wrong.

"Yibo, I understand you're under a lot of pressure but you should watch your words, no matter what, you can't take them back and you can only be responsible for them when you're no longer angry."

"Watch my words? Responsibility? Coming from a 29-year-old who threw a tantrum and ran away from home at the mere mention of marriage! That says a lot about you, you know..."

Xiao Zhan had had enough. This was utter disrespect and Yibo had no reason to do that to him. He was no longer polite, directly opening the door and walking out of the car. Yibo came out and called out to him. "What are you doing? Where are you going? Is this what you always do when you encounter any little challenge? You run away, refusing to face it?"

Xiao Zhan kept walking, totally ignoring him, not looking back. He was close to getting angry and he didn't want to be pushed that far. As for where he was headed, he had no idea. What had gotten into Yibo to make him act that way? Was it due to the stress of the break up? Maybe he was wrong when he thought they could remain friends.

Yibo watched Zhan walk away. He was angry, full of adrenaline so he didn't care. He resolved to wait in the car the daybreak then find himself some help. Yibo watched as Zhan's back gradually got smaller and smaller. Soon, he blended into the night and was out of sight.

When Zhan was no longer within his sight, Yibo returned to the car. He raised the windows up completely and turned to look at the empty passengers seat. He had calmed down a little and slowly recalled the words he said to Xiao Zhan. He was wrong, he realized. He had poured all of his anger and frustration on an innocent man. Zhan was right, those words have been said and he couldn't take them back.

Yibo sat on his own, he wanted to go after Xiao Zhan but...it was too late. It was now more than 30 minutes, who knew how far Zhan had gone...all alone...in the middle of nowhere. Zhan had left because he...he hurt him with his words. What had he done? Soon it started to rain. Thinking of Zhan's lonely figure in the dead of night, Yibo became frightened. He was also afraid of being alone in the car, he was even more afraid to get out of the car. Being made to face his fears in that manner, Yibo broke down in tears.

......

Xiao Zhan had no direction in mind. He walked away to clear his head. He admitted, Yibo's words were not entirely baseless. He was 6 years older but it seemed Yibo was more mature. Yibo was ready to settle down but he was running away from a marriage proposal. Was it his fault he was gay? He had tried to be with women, so many times but, he just wasn't wired that way. Should he consider the random advice he got and see a psychologist? Was he really...ill? Was something really wrong with him?

Soon it started to rain. There was no shelter in sight, Xiao Zhan was drenched and he was cold but he kept going. He remembered Yibo who was all alone and terrified of the dark. How was he coping by himself? What if something actually happened to him? Yibo's fears were not baseless but Xiao Zhan felt the possibility of such happening was really low. He wondered what exactly got Yibo acing like that. He could tell there was a dark experience related to this. Was it okay leaving him there by himself? Yibo had a lot going on, even if he was impulsive, Xiao Zhan was a cautious person. If something did happen to him, he may be unable to forgive himself. As Yibo said, Xiao Zhan's drunken actions led them to this situation in the first place. With that in mind, Zhan stopped on his tracks. He turned around, intending to go back when he noticed a small untarred road branching off the highway.

Xiao Zhan could go back to Yibo or he could explore, see if he could find help. He struggle with this decision for a few minutes and decided to explore the other road. It would be even better if he could find help and take Yibo somewhere safer, it would do better to ease Yibo's tension. Besides, Yibo hated him right now and his going back may not be necessarily met with a warm welcome.

He had barely walked for 5 minutes when he noticed another highway, a lot busier than the one he and Yibo found themselves. Zhan sighed in relief. He tried to flag down many vehicles but non stopped. Not long after, a good Samaritan stopped and after a short discussion, he was taken to a nearby gas station.

Across the road from the station was a motel, Zhan decided to check it out. Luckily, there was a room left. Zhan paid for the room, afraid they might return and the room would be taken by someone else.

......

It had been a few hours since Xiao Zhan left. Yibo had cried his heart out for different reasons. Partly because he felt bad for how he treated Xiao Zhan and partly because he felt helpless, just as he did when he grew up a bit and realized his teacher had died that night.

They were on a school trip to a neighboring city and they took a wrong turn. They ended up being chased by a group of people in a car, as for who they were, he still could not tell. His teacher sustained a bullet wound but died before she could get medical help.

This incident had been hazy in his memories but it all came rushing back with much clarity. He placed his head on the steering wheel, trying to calm himself. He soon heard a motor cycle approach, he intended to go flag it down but...if Xiao Zhan came back, he would meet an empty vehicle, finding him may be difficult so he sat still. The motor cycle stopped close to him and for some reason, Yibo didn't look out the window. He sat unmoving, not raising his head up even when someone knocked on his window.

"Yibo, it's me, open up", that was Xiao Zhan's voice. Yibo almost jumped up in joy.