Synergism

Chapter 6

Zhan was feeling extremely good. It had been a very long time since he felt so wonderful and that in itself was a huge problem. After he was discharged (on the same evening he had thrown Yibo out of his hospital room) he locked himself up in his penthouse, refusing to see anyone. He emailed all his professors, saying how he'd just been discharged from the hospital and asked them to please send him his assignments and readings. Being a conscientious student that previously aced all his tests and assignments had its advantages. The professors were all very accommodating.

All his friends messaged and Kenneth had even come to the penthouse and banged on the door, begging Zhan to just let him in. Luckily he changed the passcode to get into the apartment.

It was approaching the fifth day of his self-imposed exile when he realized he was running out of food. His first thought was to order in from a local restaurant, but then he decided he was in need of some fresh fruits and vegetables. He quickly got online and made a grocery order and then waited for it to be delivered.

A few hours later, the concierge of the condominium called up to make him aware that the delivery boy was here and they were sending him up. The buzzer of his door sounded a few minutes later. The digital display in his hallway showed a boy wearing a baseball cap and face mask holding three large bags of groceries.   Zhan quickly opened the door and ushered the delivery boy in and directed him to the kitchen. He reached for his wallet to tip the boy when he noticed that the young man was no longer standing by the kitchen counter.

In a panic he looked around and found the figure staring out the large windows from his living area.

"Nice view," he said.  His hands were on his hips and he did a slow turn back towards Zhan, whilst taking in his surroundings.  His mask and hat removed.  "That's a really big TV."   

His heart leapt at the sound of Yibo's voice before remembering why he had forced him to stay away in the first place. The desire to be close to him, fought with the knowledge of what would happen if he allowed Yibo back into his life. Missing Yibo had become ingrained into his system, and he would continue to bear the pain if it meant being able to protect Yibo's wellbeing. 

As if anticipating what Zhan would say, Yibo spoke first. "I'll go after you tell me what you're protecting me from."

How did he ...?  "Fucking Kenneth," Zhan said in realization.  He muttered under his breath about how he was going to kill him, while rubbing his forehead in exasperation. There was no use trying to get Yibo to leave given the fact the younger was determined to obtain an explanation for why Zhan had lied to him.  With a resigned sigh, he pointed at the couch. "Take a seat, I'll go get us some tea."

Zhan took his time making the tea so he could get his thoughts in order. Now that they had spent time apart and were no longer friends, maybe Yibo wouldn't want anything to do with him once he found out. Plus Yibo had a girlfriend to think of, one he could potentially marry and have kids with. In truth, he was nothing to Yibo anymore. All he would be if he stayed in Yibo's life was some disgusting parasitic creature that would slowly kill him with his needs. His palms were sweating anticipating how Yibo would react when he heard the truth.

He brought the tea over and made sure to keep as much distance from Yibo as possible.

"Tell me," Yibo said, before Zhan could even take a sip from his mug.

The way Yibo stared had Zhan questioning all the conclusions he came to while making tea. He carefully placed his mug on the coffee table, trying to calm his nerves. "Yibo... I have this healing thing under control..."