imPROMPTu

Take Me Home

A/N: This is for the prompt "Loyalty" from the list curated by JVH624 . Tagging Meggyhashope Daphnecs8 Zazounette86 monicacantwrite Dr-Cokebottles
————————————————————————
Lei sat at the foot of his bed, his thumb idly scrolling the phone which he held in his hand. His eyes were glued to the phone, but his mind was far away, anywhere else but in that room. Shancai had been gone for a week. Nobody knew where she had gone and her best friends were getting frantic with worry, especially Xiaoyou and Qinghe.

He thought of their first encounter with the tiny spitfire of a girl. He had been mildly amused; no other girl had dared to stand up to the high-and-mighty, untouchable Daoming Si before that. And then the very same high-and-mighty Daoming Si, his best friend, had done the unthinkable. He had fallen in love with her.

Nobody would have expected that the four princes of Mingde University would be hanging out with a bunch of freshmen. It was socially unthinkable. But then, where Ah Si led, they would follow.

But where once Ah Si led, he was now lost. Lost without the tiny girl who had consumed his heart and his soul, so entirely and so completely. And the three of them who had looked to his leadership, were equally as lost. Their leader had retreated to his old ways, looking as if he would break anything and anyone in his sight.

Lei sighed as he continued scrolling, not registering anything that came up on the screen, until suddenly something on the live stream caught his eye.

It was her.

He had found her.

She was wearing a stupidly adorable hat in the shape of a giant squid, her beautiful face flushed as she worked in the heat, grilling and serving.

Lei felt as if he almost couldn't breathe. He hated the way he felt about her, but he couldn't help it. He liked her more than just a friend. But was it love? He didn't know. He only knew that she was special to him like nobody ever was.

His first instinct was to go to her and bring her back. Beg her to stay. Tell her how he would be so much better for her than Daoming Si. And show her how he could care for and cherish her.

But he could not betray his conscience. Si was his best friend. For as long as he could remember. They had had their ups and downs, but he would never turn against his best friend. Or would he? Where did his loyalty lie?

His mind in turmoil, he snatched up his keys and got into his car. He took a deep breath, willing himself to decide in which direction he should steer the car.

With a final deep sigh, he pressed the ignition and pulled out of his driveway.

********************************************
Daoming Si sat at a bar, scowling as he downed his fourth drink of the evening. He had never drunk this much in a long time, only after Shancai had left him.

He slammed his glass on the counter, almost smashing it to smithereens.

How dare she say I am not worthy?!

That rainy night still haunted him in his dreams. He hadn't been able to shake from his memory that final look on her face before she had run off, not looking back.

And he had made no effort to look for her, even though it was eating him up inside. But he didn't want to go where he was not wanted. He couldn't bear another rejection.