The flickering lamplight cast long shadows across the cluttered living room, highlighting the dust motes dancing in the air. Offroad, hunched over his textbook, was trying to decipher the complex anatomy of a lion's paw when his phone buzzed. It was Cheetah, his voice thick with excitement, "Offroad, you gotta come over! We're having a mini-party, just us guys. You can't miss it!”
Offroad sighed, "Cheetah, I'm trying to study. Can't it wait?"
"Come on, it's only occasionally besides tomorrow is Saturday. You should come you're the only one missing!" Cheetah's voice was laced with a playful whine. wWWWQW knew he couldn't resist Cheetah so he doesn't have a choice.
"Fine," he relented, "But I'm only staying for an hour."
The party was in full swing when Offroad arrived. The air was thick with laughter and the scent of cheap beer.
"Oho! You finally came," Cheetah said, greeting Offroad as he entered the gate. They were having drinks in the garden.
Some of his friends were already drunk, some were singing off-key, and others were dancing like there was no tomorrow.
Frank walked over to him and handed him a can of beer, whispering teasingly, "Daou's here."
Offroad looked at him confusedly. "So what if Daou was here?" he said. Frank just laughed at him.
Offroad drank quietly, feeling someone's gaze on him. He tried to ignore it, but it seemed impossible. He looked around, hoping to catch the person staring at him, until his gaze landed on a man sitting on a chair not far from where he was. It was Daou, his academic rival, but they were all part of the same circle of friends.
As the night wore on, the teasing started. "Come on, you two! You're the only ones left single! It's like you're destined to be together," Frank said teasingly, nudging Daou and Offroad closer.
Daou looked Offroad up and down. "He's not my type."
Offroad heard it. "Lol. As if you're my type too," he said, trying to calm himself. He was irritated by Daou's bluntness.
"I've dated guys before, but I would never date Offroad," Daou added.
Offroad, his jaw clenched, cursed under his breath. He could feel Daou's gaze on him. His irritation fueled him to finish his beer in one gulp. He could feel the tipsiness setting in.
He stood up and found Cheetah, luckily, he was nearby.
"I'm going home," he said.
"Oh! Wait, I'll call Tatam and he'll send you home," Cheetah replied.
"No need, I'm sure he's already drunk too. I can still go home alone," Offroad assured him.
"Are you sure?" Cheetah asked.
"Yeah," Offroad replied, nodding.
"Well, I'm sorry if I can't send you home myself. I can't drive anymore," Cheetah apologized.
"No problem," Offroad said. He tapped Cheetah's shoulder before walking towards the gate.
"You're going home?" Frank said as Offroad opened the gate.
"Yeah, I feel tipsy now," Offroad replied.
"Oh, okay. Want me to send you off?" Frank asked, feeling worried for his friend.
"It's fine, you should rest now," Offroad said and walked out of the gate.
Offroad had a low alcohol tolerance, so it was difficult for him to drink far from home and go home alone. Even though Cheetah and Frank offered help earlier, he declined because he knew his friends were also drunk.
As he walked down the street alone, he hugged himself against the cold wind.
"Did someone already tell you that the route you're taking isn't the route to your house?"
A sudden realization hit him.
"Who said I'm going home?" he replied to Daou, trying to deny to the guy that's he's taking a wrong route. Even though he didn't look at the man speaking, he knew it was Daou.
Daou followed Offroad silently. Offroad could feel the guy behind him, but he ignored it.
"Offroad," Daou called out, but Offroad pretended not to hear.
"Offroad," Daou called again. "Are you mad?"
"No," Offroad replied shortly.
Daou remained quiet for a while until he decided to hug Offroad. "I'm sorry, I was just joking earlier."
Offroad kept silent.
"You know how much I love you, right? I was just kidding when I told them that I would never date you and you're not my type."
"Heh! You're just drunk. Let's go home," Offroad said, trying to hide his smile.
Daou ignored Offroad's comment and hugged him tighter.
"I love you," Daou whispered.
"I love you too," Offroad replied.
Daou broke away from the hug and held Offroad's shoulder, turning him to face him. He gave the smaller guy a kiss on the cheek and then on the lips.
"You're beyond my type, you're the best. I love you," he said and kissed Offroad again.
Offroad gave him a warm and genuine smile. Daou held his hand as they started to walk.
Their friends had just teased them earlier, but little did they know that the two were already dating and living their happy lives to the fullest.
