moonflowers and jasmines

• twenty one •

without much thought, he pressed the call button.

asher - best friend:
*yawning* heyyy, everything alright?]

jihan:
[yes, yes. merrick and i went on that date]

asher - bestfriend:
[oh yeahhh, i wanted to ask about that on
monday. how did it go? did you enjoy it?]

jihan:
[yes! it was great!
we actually made a lot of progress,
as you would call it]

jihan looked back and slightly giggled.

asher - bestfriend:
[ooh la la~ i see my training didn't go in vain]

jihan:
[i don't know but, we have to ask merrick about that]

asher - bestfriend:
[tsk. anyways, did anything peculiar happen?]

jihan:
[yeah, kind of]

jihan went on to briefly summarise some parts of the date, and even about an overnight stay at ms reverie's house. he also confided in about the little breakdown merrick had at the club.

asher - bestfriend:
[mhmm. i see i see. i think ms reverie is right.
maybe merrick has some sorta bad
memories with alcohol in general,
cos out here, not everyone has control
over their alcohol intake.
some people have the tendency
to be aggressive, some lose
themselves and whatnot.]

jihan:
[but, i really really want to try once tho]

asher - best friend:
[not to sound like im nagging, but
i really don't think you should.
now you're alone. maybe next time.
how about this friday? i'll accompany you]

jihan sensed the slight tone of worry in asher's voice. but still, deep down, jihan had another weird desire.

jihan:
[but i want merrick.
i realised one thing asher.
i think i really do like merrick
in the way you told me.
like the ones i saw in dramas.
i'm suddenly feeling bold and everything.
i don't know, but i certainly didn't like
when merrick and that pranawin guy
were so close with each other]

asher sighed, collecting his response.

asher - bestfriend:
[i think you know by now jihan.
and i am really happy that you can admit it.]

jihan:
[thank you. so i as i was saying,
i was thinking maybe
i should bring merrick w me to the club.]

asher - bestfriend:
[what! no way! you don't want to trigger him again]

jihan:
[then, how do i get to know why he is like this?]

asher - best friend:
[it's quite simple actually. talk to him.
in a private setting. don't probe him about it,
just wait until he is comfortable to open up to you.
people generally have trust issues,
and merrick's scepticism is as clear as daylight.]

jihan:
[i don't know if i can wait that long.]

asher - bestfriend:
[take things slow and steady han.
i know in the dramas they skip
a lot of things. but this is life. so like,
just let it flow naturally.
if you both have fast development,
which seems to be the case here,
good for you.
otherwise, it's best if you dont force it,
alright?]