VARSITY 9 | VOLUME I | BL ✔

FIFTY-ONE | A STEP CLOSER

"Stop running, please."

Wen swallowed dryly. He could not respond, so he continued to stand there, toes curled into the soft sand.

"I think there's been a misunderstanding...Wen." Kean's voice was quiet as he gently eased into the conversation Wen had been putting off. "Wren called me that night-"

Wen's head snapped up at the mention of his sister, and he jerked his wrist from Kean's grasp. Wen's chest heaved as his breathing tightened and images of his sister's body on the cold ground flashed through his mind. It's as I thought; I'm not ready.

Wen was quick to turn from Kean, but Kean was quicker. He had expected Wen to try to run, so he was swift to wrap his arms around Wen's chest. "Just hear me out, please!" Kean was desperate to end the tension that had separated him and Wen since Wren had left their lives, so he held onto Wen for dear life.

By this time, Wen's eyes had filled with tears. The desperation in Kean's voice caused Wen to stop fighting Kean and to instead sink to his knees. Feeling Wen falling toward the ground, Kean kept a hold of the brown-haired and eased him down. Kean could feel Wen's chest pulsing as he began to cry.

Confused by Wen's reaction, Kean released his hold around Wen and quickly maneuvered himself to be in front of Wen. As Kean came to kneel in front of him, Wen struggled to say the words he had been running from. He had realized Kean did not know the full story that night on the rooftop after their escapade to Manik.

When Kean asked why Wen hated him, Wen immediately knew Kean did not know of Wren's passing. But Wen needed someone to blame, so instead of telling Kean the full story, Wen chose to hide the truth. He needed somewhere to channel his pain, so he intentionally left Kean in the dark.

But now, he could no longer skirt the matter. Kean had attempted to reach out numerous times, and Wen had shut him down every single time. But not this time. Now, he could not run. So, he shut his eyes and dug into the sand as he cried, "She...she's dead..."

Kean's heart stopped in his chest. "What-what do you mean?"

"Wren's dead!" Wen cried out louder. He lifted his tear-filled eyes to look at Kean as he then asked, "Why didn't you make sure she got home safely? You were supposed to take care of her!"

Wen quickly forgot his guilt as he remembered why his sister had gone out, and the anger he held for Kean was reignited. "Why did you leave her all alone?! Why?!"

"What are you talking about? What do you mean Wren's dead?" Kean was dumbfounded. Why did she die? "What do you mean was I supposed to take care of her? I didn't see her after school was done."

A sharp scoff left Wen's lips as he bitterly said, "Stop playing dumb. I know you asked her out on a date."

Kean was silent for a long time until he slowly answered, "...I never asked Wren on a date..."

Kean's confession caused Wen's heart to drop. "You-you didn't? Are you sure? Not even accidentally?" Wen knew just how big of a crush Wren had on Kean, so even if Kean mentioned going to a cafe after school, Wren could have easily misinterpreted it as Kean asking her out.

"Positive. She wasn't the one I liked."

"Then...why did she get so excited when you had asked her out?"

Kean furrowed his eyes as he remembered the short call he had had with Wren the night she was supposed to meet him on a date. "Wren had called me that night. She said to not contact her again and that she was transferring. I had no idea she had been waiting for me."

Kean suddenly felt sick. This was all evidence of foul play. Someone had known of Wren's crush on Kean and had used him to pull a prank on Wren. The missed calls, Wren's hurt-filled voice, her excitement the morning before the supposed date, all of it started to make sense.