Us. (HIStory2 越界 - Crossing the Line: Zhen Wen x Zhen Wu)

The Thought of Meeting You (Zhen Wu)

"Food's here!"

Zhen Wen lifts his head up to look at me. I put the tray of food on the table and sit beside him. The canteen is not that crowded today, so it doesn't take long to queue for the food.

"Ok, my turn." Zhen Wen gets up.

"What are you doing?" I ask, holding his hand to stop him.

He gapes at me, like I've missed something so obvious. "To take my food!" he points to the queue of students not far from where we're seating.

I pull his hand so he's seated beside me again. "Your food's here!" I tell him.

He then looks at the tray of the mountainous pile of food in front of us. Eyes wide open, mouth the same, and he throws his head to look at me.

"What the—I can't eat all of these!!" he sounds genuinely scared.

I laugh. "Who says it's just for you? I've taken for the both of us," I say as I give him his spoon and chopsticks. He takes them reluctantly. We've never shared this huge pile of food together at school, that's why he's shocked. But he sometimes doesn't finish his own meal, and I usually finish it for him. Might as well combine everything.

I push the tray so it's positioned between us, and we start to dig in. The menu today is pork patties, sautéed greens, and chicken soup.

"How do you persuade the Auntie to give you this much anyway?" Zhen Wen asks after several mouthfuls of food. Everyone knows that each student has their own portion, and the Auntie is quite strict about it. "Is it because you're handsome?"

I choke a little bit. "What? No. I said it's for me and my Didi (弟弟 – younger brother)."

"Hah? It's actually possible?" he laughs. Bells on my ears.

"Absolutely. Do you think I'm handsome?" I tease him.

Now it's his turn to choke. I laugh and give him his bottle of water, patting his back gently. He grabs it away and whispers 'stop it'.

"Yeah, stop it, you stupid brothers."

Our eyes land on Yu Hao, who's sitting in front of us. How long has he been sitting there? He's nowhere to be seen just seconds ago. His face looks dejected, somewhat disgusted, and bored. He's resting his chin on the beloved volleyball that Zi Xuan gave him, which he values—I think—more than his own life. We are not allowed to hold it, let alone touch it, and we're not allowed to even breathe near it.

"How long have you been sitting there?" Zhen Wen asks him. I look at my brother, silently admiring our aligned thoughts.

"We walked here together!" Yu Hao raises his voice, eyes big and betrayed. Zhen Wu and I look at each other, equally dumbfounded. He then lets out a loud sigh. "Aah, forget it. Who am I anyway, just a third wheel."

"Where's your food?" Zhen Wen asks. Yu Hao isn't eating anything aside from drinking a bottle of coconut water that's already half empty.

"I'm waiting for Zi Xuan," he answers, looking elsewhere, voice distracted.

Both of us hum in understanding, nodding at the information. The princess is waiting for the prince, and she's not happy about it.

"The year 12 students are having a test, right? I think he's going to cut it close before the practice," I say. We're having another practice after lunchtime. "Which means he won't be joining us—you for lunch."

"Tsk... haaaahhh..." A very dramatic sigh comes out from Yu Hao's mouth. He then gets up lazily and heads to the queue of students. His shoulders are slumped.

"So dramatic," Zhen Wen comments. He continues munching away beside me.

A few minutes pass. I slowly poke my food.

I wonder if... Zhen Wen will feel down when I'm not there with him (well, not to the extent of Yu Hao is down when Zi Xuan's not there). We are almost always together, except when we have separate things to do at the volley club (which almost always happens because he doesn't actually play), but at least we're still in the same place. And except for that time when our relationship was... not that good. He probably didn't know how much it tortured me to stay far away from each other, or when he pushed me away every time I tried to stay close. It created a hollow in my heart I didn't even know existed the day he started to keep his distance. But the more I feel tortured, the more I realize that I can't even begin to imagine him bottling up his feelings for all those years, pretending to feel nothing and covering it all up by acting recklessly. I can't fathom how heartbreaking it could be... I don't know if I'm strong enough if I were in his shoes. I don't know if I am able. I might not realize my true feelings then, and for that I am to blame. It's unfair to put it all upon Zhen Wen when I was also at fault.

So now we try to stay close to each other every time we can. Well, I try to stay close to him, making up for all those lost days, looking out for trouble because something always happens when Zhen Wen and Yu Hao are together. Them combined is like a magnet for trouble. I can't let Zhen Wu face it alone if something happens (knock on wood).

"Will you be like that when I'm not here?" I try to ask him out of curiosity, pointing to the blob of gloom that is Yu Hao with my chopsticks.

He looks at me, and then at Yu Hao. "What do you mean?"

"Uh... you know, feeling down, like, sad... dispirited... blue... misera—"

"I know what down means," he cuts me off. "What makes you think I'll feel that way when you're not around?" he then takes a bite of the patty, doesn't even look at me.

I gawk at him, not knowing what to say. Am I too over confident? He won't feel that way, will he? After all, we're not that totally inseparable. And he's not that too attached to me. Oh well...

"Uhm... nothing. Forget it." I let out an awkward laugh and go back to eating my food. I feel somewhat disappointed...

And then I hear him laugh. The kind of laugh that raises a question: What's funny?

"Your face! Hahaha!" he totally can't eat anymore as he's catching his breath.

I am getting more confused.

I wait until he calms down. He puts down his chopsticks, and takes my hand. His dark enticing eyes look straight into mine, lips curve into a smile. I might have forgotten how to breathe.

"Listen. I have gotten used to you being by my side at all times, and I like that. So much. I won't trade the moments when we're together for the world. But I know we can't be physically together all the time. I mean—it's impossible unless you're my Siamese twin? And we're not, so... of course it saddens me when you're not here." He pauses and looks straight to my soul, making sure I listen to each and every word he's saying. "But the thought of meeting you after all that temporary loneliness makes it seem like nothing, like I can get through it all. Besides, we see each other every day at home."

I let out a breath I don't realize I held. At the sight of him smiling, my lips just curve up on their own. It's an automatic response that I don't need to tell my brain anymore. I feel an overwhelming joy and relief wash over me, and I squeeze his hand slowly.

"Wow, you just made Yu Hao the most dramatic queen there ever existed," I say. And he throws his head back laughing. The kind of laugh I adore most in this entire world.

***

I'm sorry for the late update! I was down with the flu for more than a week and can't update :(

Thanks for reading and I really appreciate all the comments, votes, and support <3