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13

Screaming into a pillow was indeed one of the first things I did after waking up in the real world again. First, my own, and then I left the house to pay Felix a visit, only to scream into his pillow as well. Using someone else's pillow to take out your frustration is strangely satisfying but it still wasn't enough. So I took the freedom to flop down onto my best friend's bed, burying myself into his blankets.

Now, I'm curled up into a little, pathetic ball on his bed, hugging my knees to my chest while the orange-haired boy quietly observes me from his spot on his desk chair, concern settled in his eyes.

"Ji, are you sure you're fine?" he questions for the umpteenth time, seeing how I still didn't give him a proper explanation ever since I stormed into his bedroom and dove onto his mattress, nearly scaring the living out of the boy.

Am I fine? Am I okay after Lino looking at me like that while putting a freaking special ring on my ring finger, the smirk never leaving his lips? I swear, that boy probably holds the power to make straight boys question their sexual orientation. Imagine what he does to a poor gay like me.

I'm defenseless.

A weird, strangled whine leaves my throat as the image of that smug grin flashes through my mind once again and I'm sure he knew exactly what he was doing. I might not know Lino that long and that well yet, but I know him enough to tell that he's a confident flirt and my poor heart isn't used to that.

My confidence just falters whenever he acts like that, no matter how hard I try to keep up my game. I might have made him blush a few times as well, but he is definitely better at this and I'm pretty sure I haven't turned him into a flustered mess yet.

Maybe I should try harder but then again, will I survive that? His flirty remarks and actions hit so hard I'm afraid I might start losing health points because of them at some point. How embarrassing would that be?

The sound of old wheels scraping over a wooden floor approaches me and a moment later, Felix's hand smacks down on my back, causing me to yelp in surprise and sitting up rapidly, giving my best friend a bewildered look.

"What was that for?" I inquire, frowning lightly. "Why can't you let me suffer in peace?"

"I let you harass my favorite pillow, now you owe me. So tell me what's wrong," is the reply, and the boy gives me a pointed look.

 "Gay panic," I mutter, my voice muffled as I hug his pillow close again. 

"I thought you were past that?" Felix asks, lightly tilting his head to the side. "Last time I checked, you were even flirting with the new waiter at the traveler café because you thought he was cute." 

"I am past that, this is just temporary, I swear," I defend myself, leaning back against the wall without letting go of the soft pillow. "But then Lino suddenly showed up and I have no idea what he's doing to me. I barely know that guy and look at this, I'm a mess."

Then I huff and add, "and about the waiter, I wasn't flirting, that was just me trying to be nice."

Not much to my surprise, the corners of Felix's mouth curl up into a grin as he leans closer, as if that would draw more information out of me. I just scrunch up my nose in joking disgust and lean back a little. Whatever I do, interrogation is sure to follow.

"Ah, so it's LeeKnow, what happened?" my orange-haired friend inquires, not looking surprised at all. I just happen to know from previous experiences that Felix won't stop nagging me until I tell him everything and let's be fair, I kind of owe him that much after bursting through his door like a maniac.

With a sigh, I rest my chin on top of the pillow that's still tightly being hugged against my chest.

"Well, first he taught me how to ride a horse and it was like, throwing back and forth some flirtatious jokes until I had enough of the entire horsey thing so we stored our horses and decided to do something else," I begin, and Felix's eyes widen.