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CHAPTER 09
「 Feelings 」
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━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━ ♡︎♡︎♡︎ HER SATURDAY MORNING started out relatively well. Zoe ate breakfast with her mother, she bought Zoey a bunch of cat toys and cat clothes for her to wear if ever there was an occasion, on the way back to her house she met Small Daniel and had a little chat with him, then her mother baked her some cookies. Everything was perfectly fine and nothing was out of the ordinary.
Except she was now standing in front of a door to a private hospital room of a person she doesn't even know, all because she heard [M.Name]'s last name from the evening news followed by the words hospital and I'll. Of course, she was worried sick for her friend, why wouldn't she be? And the fact he wasn't answering her texts and calls made her even more panicked. She had no choice but to jump to conclusions and make a dash out of the house just to get to the hospital in fear of seeing her friend laying down in white sheets.
With slightly shaking hands and an erratic heart, Zoe put her hand over the doorknob and let herself inside, and almost like a child finally seeing her parent from a distance while they were lost, she sighed in relief. [M.Name] quickly noticed her presence and turned around, nearly dropping the spoon he was using to feed the person on the hospital bed. She could tell that he was confused judging by how he quirked his eyebrows up and his lips held a light frown — but she could care less at that moment, all she wanted was to run up to him and hug him as tight as she can, and that she did.
"Zoe, what are you—"
He didn't even get to finish his sentence as the girl practically flung herself at him, pulling him down to such an aggressive yet warm embrace, her hands clasping the jacket that he wore.
"WHY WEREN'T YOU ANSWERING MY CALLS!?" She couldn't help but yell, hitting him on the shoulder and wiping the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. She heard the longest sigh she had ever heard from him, then her eyes followed his outstretched arms and down to his finger that was pointing at his phone charging in a corner. "My phone died a few hours ago, I haven't turned it on yet since I was busy." He answered, yet despite his mean face and annoyed tone, the way he still had his arms around her reassured her.
"Why are you busy?" She asked, then she felt him shift, soon letting go of her and stepping aside to give her a full view of a man that has the largest resemblance to him wearing hospital clothes and a needle stuck to his hand. Only now did she realize why there was an unknown name listed for the room.
"I was taking care of my dad." His reply was short and it didn't make it any less awkward as he took several steps back to stiffly put the bowl of porridge he was holding on the table. The man had a much kinder face, he smiled at Zoe and waved with his good hand, pointing at the vacant seat at the other side of his bed. Out embarrassment, she refused and smiled back at him even more awkwardly, suddenly feeling herself be too conscious of being in her own skin.
"Oh, uhm— Good evening, sir!" Zoe bowed at the man enthusiastically and tried to give her best charming smile, and like an switch being turned on in an instant, the man seemed to recognize her as a large grin filled with familiarity spread across his face. "You're the popular streamer girl!" He exclaimed, although a bit stunned, she nodded her head as a confirmation.
"[M.Name] is always talking about you, he's probably a fan—" The said man's father barely got out the last parts of his sentence when his own son shoved a spoonful of porridge in his mouth. Even with his head turned away from Zoe, she could tell that he was somehow muttering strings of colourful words at his father and probably a threat here and there.
But of course, she didn't mind that, what she paid more attention to was the fact that his father, out of all people, had revealed to her that he was a fan of her, and probably more so than he lets on. She didn't know what it was but just the thought of this cold, blunt, and unfeeling young man that's always tired and probably sleeps twice a year being a fan of her made it all the more meaningful to her.
She found it cute, very and horribly cute.
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Much like a few days ago, Zoe was now sitting beside [M.Name] inside the same car that fetched them at the mall, her head was gently resting against his shoulder as she drank from the iced coffee he bought for her. It felt nice knowing that someone like [M.Name] was so patient — but also very mean, unprovoked — and caring towards her, expecting nothing in return. Literally. All he ever does was answer her questions, guide her in doing this and that, giving her all the important details in a situation, and protect her from any sign of danger.
He was such a lovely gentleman, anyone would want a [M.Name] in their life.
And that — that just made things more difficult for her. Especially her feelings. Does she still like the two Daniels in her life? Without a doubt. They were both there for the majority of it. One was her classmate that spent time with her, such a selfless person, and always acts on kindness. And the other one was her classmate's supposed housemate, he was brave and undoubtedly selfless too, and he always made sure that other's wellbeing was put first. She admired greatly the both of them, but who she liked the most was a much more confusing thing to decide.
Adding [M.Name] just made her even more indecisive. Gosh. Well, guess she just has to hide her feelings until the right time comes, surely then she knows who has won her heart.
For now, all she has to do was sit back, let herself rest, and be taken care of. Along with babying their daughter.
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