VARSITY 9 | VOLUME II | BL

FOUR

"Kean..." Wen's lips parted slightly as he stared at the kyro standing just beyond Derin and his friends.

"Who the f-" Derin began to curse at the one who interrupted his and Wen's conversation, but he stopped short when he saw Kean's face. Derin's expression morphed from one of irritation to one of amusement, and the corner of his lip curled into a smirk. Turning from Kean and back to face his roommate, Derin then asked, "Wen, do you know him?"

Kean's gaze glided to Wen as the arlex sounded his response. He was still surprised at suddenly seeing Kean that all he could manage was a "Mm," in confirmation.

While Derin's three friends looked Kean up and down, Liyam walked over to stand beside Wen and addressed Derin. "If you don't have anything else to say, go away. We have plans." Turning to stare down the friend who kept pushing for Wen to join Derin's gang, Liyam bluntly stated, "This includes Wen." Motioning to Kean with his head, Liyam then added, "As you can see, he's been spoken for."

Wen's cheeks heated, and he just about choked on his breath when he heard Liyam's last sentence.

"Is that so?" Derin replied with a raised brow before eventually nodding his head in concession. "Come find me if you change your mind," Derin said to Wen as he motioned for himself and his buddies to head out. "See you later, Wen."

With the coast clear, Liyam retreated to his original spot and joined Lay in watching the rest of the fireworks show, leaving Wen standing alone with his gaze locked on Kean. The bursts of color that decorated the dark sky highlighted Kean and Wen's faces as the two stood before each other.

Wen's heart thumped in his chest as he gazed at Kean who was now a fully-presented kyro. Kean's eyes were now dark red, but their stern gentleness toward Wen was unchanged. A soft breeze wafted around Wen and ruffled Kean's hair, illustrating the royal red strands that peaked out from beneath the top, black half of the kyro's hair. Unlike most xaiyons, whose entire head of hair changed color, it was only Kean's bottom half that was no longer raven as well as two, thin strands on either side of Kean's front part.

While Wen was awed by Kean's new appearance, the kyro was captivated by the arlex's snow-white hair and blue and silver eyes. When Wen thought he was finally getting his thumping heart under control, it immediately sped up when Kean began walking toward him. Up until then, Kean had been standing roughly five paces from Wen, and now, he sought to close the gap.

Kean maintained eye contact as he approached Wen, stopping just short of the arlex. "Are you okay?" That was the first thing Kean said to Wen in the several months the two had been apart. Somehow, at the sound of Kean's voice, Wen's heart thumped harder than it ever had. Kean's eyes flitted down to Wen's lips as the arlex pursed them together before slowly nodding in response.

"That guy seemed pretty pushy," Kean added from his observations of Derin's relentless friend. "How do you know that jerk?"

"He's uh...his friend, Derin, is my roommate," Wen replied after he had recovered from his proximity with Kean.

Kean's brows furrowed in reaction to Wen's response. He was not fond of the idea of Derin being Wen's roommate, but he did not verbally express his displeasure as it was not his place. He was a close acquaintance to Wen and nothing more. While he was working on getting closer to Wen and gaining the arlex's trust, the awkwardness that had fallen between Kean and Wen had returned and was at full-throttle.

So, Kean did not believe it would be appropriate for him to interfere with Wen's living arrangements. However, that did not stop him from making a mental note to keep an eye on Derin and his gang anytime they were around Wen.

"Kean!!! It's been so long!" Toma's shout of excitement startled Kean and Wen out of their trance at seeing the other's xaiyon form. Kean took a step back from Wen in anticipation of the energized male that rushed towards him. "How have you been?!" Toma inquired loudly as he jumped up and swung his arm around Kean's shoulders.