You, Me, and Her

Verse 04: Best Friends

Sitting by the bed and playing with the business card through his fingers, Halwyn must've sighed several times since and still couldn't change the outcome. He wasn't sure which one to blame; himself or his sister. Perhaps he should blame Aidan for coming back to his life. This was all his fault after all.

"Knock, knock?" a face peered from behind the door, with crescent eyes and dimples on both sides. Instead of a warm welcome which he expected, a pillow was thrown on his face.

"Get out," Hal replied scathingly.

The youngest of the three siblings, Eurion Yale, grinned at his brother and threw the pillow back at him. "Yeah, I miss you too, bro."

"What do you want?"

Ion jumped and spreadeagled his limbs while lying on Hal's bed, completely ignoring the look of abhorrence on his brother's face for wrinkling the bed sheet. "I'm free this coming weekend, by the way."

"So?" Halwyn frowned and started kicking him. "I've just changed the bedsheet, Ion!"

The younger one continued to ignore his distress and sat on the bed. "I'm just saying I'm free in case you need someone to assist you."

Halwyn narrowed his gaze. "Why are you so excited to be my assistant for free?"

"It's not actually free. I get to eat free lunch, dinner, and snacks if I'm lucky."

"Yeah, most of the food I fed you is free and courtesy of the company. Tell me honestly, are you crushing on one of the employees?"

Ion acted like he was outraged. "Bro, I'm trying to help you out of the goodness of my heart!"

"Goodness my ass," said Halwyn. "I know you. You're stalking someone at the office, are you?"

"I'm not!" Eurion looked away as he replied. "So, do you need an assistant?"

"No," he sighed and sank back on the beanbag where he was sitting earlier. "I need a miracle. Do you have a miracle?"

"No. Are you okay?"

Halwyn chose not to answer and pulled up his laptop to review the list of questions he had prepared beforehand. Usually, he takes the time to learn about the other person and avoids asking questions about their personal life. But Aidan Pryce was not just a random celebrity nor was he a stranger. Because at some point in his life, he was his favorite person...

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It was a hot summer that day and it was his first day as a freshman high. Since their parents' divorce, their mom was making sure to spend their dad's money filling their house with all kinds of furniture that he had never seen in his life. The divorce was actually a long time coming and neither Halwyn nor any of his siblings were even shocked about it, let alone sad.

As he was walking to school eating his ice cream, he came across one of his classmates from primary school. Thrilled to see a familiar face, he wanted to greet him but noticed immediately that he was not alone.

...with him was the other tall guy in their primary school.

Aidan Pryce had always been an enigma and everyone in their neighborhood knows that. He often spends his time alone or with the same people who share their interests, listening to music and making emo-influenced art. Nevertheless, rumors about him kept persisting and everyone avoided him. That was why Halwyn did not hesitate to intervene at the scene, especially when he noticed how discomfited the other boy was. It didn't seem like an expression one would wear when with "friends".

"Hey, what are you doing?"

The two people quickly glanced in the direction of the voice. The other boy's face visibly changed the moment he saw Halwyn and did not think twice about running to his side. He looked at the boy whom he only talked to once or twice at primary school.