Hide and Seek.

Chapter 6

Her heart stops beating for a second, and she thinks that maybe she is going to die because Allan saw them together and he is going to leave her for sure, but without him, she will die. It will be gradual, and she will fight it a little at first, but eventually, her fate will be to perish and die. This is why she didn't pull Peter closer until she eventually lost her mind. Because Allan means everything to her, and now she's lost him.

Now she lost everything.

"I see you finally found each other," Allan murmurs from the doorframe, hands crossed in front of his large chest. "It was just a matter of time, really."

She can't speak, probably won't ever be able to. Luckily for her, Peter still can form a couple of words.

He tries. "Listen, Allan, we,"

"I mean, that's half the reason I invited you here, isn't it?" he says before Peter can finish speaking. "Something was just...wrong, and I wanted to fix it. But I couldn't. Not me." He lets out with a breath. "And here you are now. Fixing it."

She's tensing up now, like a wild animal trapped in a cage that is far too small for its frame. Her muscles clench and it will either be in order to flee or fight. She expects both maybe. "Allan, please, I didn't mean-"

"Sarah, it's all right."

He gives her a condensed little smile, and she doesn't understand it because he should look pissed, betrayed, broken down, not...calm. But maybe that's just the thing. Sarah thinks that maybe he's been imagining his life without her for so long, that the thought isn't that frightening anymore.

Like everything else, when it comes to her, he sees it ages before it happens. He knows her like she doesn't even know herself.

"But I..." she trails off.

"I've always seen it, you know? Even when it was years later, and we were already together, I knew that you were thinking of him. And I knew you wondered what it'd be like to be with him."

"No, Allan! It's not like—"

"I saw the way you guys looked at each other. Remember? Things happened." He says, avoiding specifics because the last thing that they need is to bring even more tragedy to the plate. "Everything got messed up, and there's nothing we can do about that. But even then, you guys still..." he trails off, this time to spare himself of the dreadful conclusion. "So, I get it. You need each other."

"No, but I need you," the too goes unsaid because she can't bear to admit it out loud. Not yet. Especially in front of Allan. "Please..."

"I know. I'm not going anywhere."

"...what?!" Sarah stares at him, utterly confused. She turns back and stares at Peter, just to make sure that it wasn't a hallucination. He's looking at Allan too, but she can't decipher what he's seeing. Peter just looks calm. Not angry or possessive. There's some sort of mutual understanding there. It's silent, but it's there. "...I don't..."

"Always the good guy, aren't you Allan?!"

Peter says, and it's probably meant to be reassuring but somehow it still sounds a little condescending. Like there's a hidden critique over the fact that Allan always had to be the bigger person. Never gives anyone else the chance to do the right thing before he does.

He's playing with Sarah's long auburn waves, but she's still too stunned and confused to jerk her head away.

Maybe she's just afraid to look back at Allan.

"Thanks." Is all he offers as an answer.

"I just...I don't understand," she whispers, trying to get her voice out. "I—I've been trying to figure this thing out...and I don't...I just can't."

Allan smiles again, a little less cryptic this time. "Maybe you don't have to."

But that doesn't make sense. She feels her head getting foggy all over again. Things like this don't work. It's just a recipe for disaster and one that not even Allan's incredible cooking skills can save. People need to choose, everyone does. You're either a republican or a democrat. You like the day better or the night. You either love Peter or Allan. People are only supposed to have one or the other, but never both. Never.

"Are you serious?"

"Never been more serious in my life."

Peter snorts. Even when Allan is trying to play the serious type, his baby-like face still gives him away. Peter knows that he's being honest - he is indeed serious about what he's saying . But the thing is, he knows Allan enough to recognize when he tries to power through things. He's scared. Maybe more so than he's ever been before. But he won't say anything about it for now.

"And Sarah, you..." He shakes his head, trying to recollect his line of thought. "You have this fire inside of you. It's like...impossible to get enough." He looks back at Peter again, never even blinking, trying his best not to be misunderstood. "And if Peter and I have any differences...we're both adults. I think we can figure things out without much of a struggle."

"Allan..."

It still doesn't make any sense. Peter makes her burn inside, but Allan makes her feel warm and tingly all over. Peter sends electricity through her, but Allan makes her shiver. They're so different, and the feelings they give her are so unique to them, but she's convinced that Allan doesn't mean this. That he's just putting his feelings on hold, like he always does, just to make her happy. Because what man would sacrifice his pride and share her with someone else, just to make her happy? Who would ever do such a thing for her?

"I was never here," he tells them, with a mix of curiosity and amusement. "I'll be in our room for the rest of the night."

"No! I can't, Allan, don't go. Please!" What if Allan just packs his bags, walks out and leaves her here with him? More alone than she ever was before, simply because she couldn't restrain herself enough and practice a little self-control?

"Hey..." Peter's voice softens in a way that surprises even himself. This is the pivotal moment that will either make or break this thin thread that's been forming around them, so he needs to play it carefully. "Allan..." And then he extends a long hand. "Come here..."

Allan stares, watching him cautiously. "...hu?"

"You were right before. She needs me, but she needs you too. So...come here..." He stares deeply into Allan's eyes, unblinkingly, like one might do while trying to charm a spooked snake. "Unless this is just too much for you."

She can tell that there's challenge in his tone. Peter's always gotten off on a challenge, hasn't he? But her fiancé is no stranger to games himself. They would constantly play-fight through whatever childhood dispute they might have with each other, and although Peter had always been physically stronger, Allan could outsmart him any day of the week, with his eyes closed and his hands tied up to his back. Peter was the one to get off on pinning Allan's smaller frame down and declare himself the king of the playground. But Allan always found a way to circle his victory around and somehow end up the winner. Peter was always confused by the outcomes, but he was never one to hold a grudge for too long. And Sarah, she never fully understood it herself, but she liked it either way.

Watching their cat-and-mouse games had always been fun. In this sense, things haven't changed that much.

Allan looks at Peter and gives him a quiet chuckle. "What, you take care of her alone?"

Peter laughs too, a muffled yet husky sound. Her mind goes back to something he said before when they were still fighting. 'I went out with people.' He said people, not just girls. She begins to imagine just how busy he actually got these past few years. Thinks that there was definitely a reason behind his experience. He had been experimenting, and with things that she hadn't even imagined.

"I want things to be like before. And if this is what'll do it, I'm okay with it."

"You mean us," he motions back and forth between the empty space that separates them. "...together?"