Thirty Days ✔

35 | KAKORRHAPHIOPHOBIA

kakorrhaphiophobia (noun)

an abnormal, persistent, irrational fear of failure. in clinical cases, it's debilitating: the fear of even the most subtle failure of defeat is so intense that it restricts a person from doing anything at all.

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day fourteen.

Surprisingly, Zero had awoken before Chase that day - and the position he was stuck in was enough to make his cheeks burn. 

It appeared that the two of them had fallen asleep in each other's arms, with Chase having a secure grip around Zero's torso and Zero's face being nuzzled against Chase's neck. 

Zero let out a quiet squeak which caused Chase to stir in his slumber. Finally, he awoke as well. 

Instantly, both the boys let go of each other and jumped back in surprise, both their cheeks a flaming red. They shared a grin of embarrassment and Chase cleared his throat, scratching the back of his neck. 

"I'll go.. make breakfast-"

"No," Zero protested. "Let's spend the whole day in bed today."

"You don't want to eat anything for the entire day?" Chase questioned, tilting his head in surprise. 

"We can have lunch or dinner together - for now, let's just stay here. Please?" 

Chase couldn't deny Zero when he was giving him those darn puppy eyes. 

"Fine then, but what are we going to do here all day?"

"Let's talk," Zero said with a half-grin. 

"About?" 

"Hmm," Zero began, tapping his chin as if he were deep in thought. "Right. Remember that day I told you about my name?"

Chase nodded.

"You never asked me what my real name is. Why's that?" 

"You told me that it gives you bad memories," Chase explained. "I want to make you happy this entire month. I don't want to trigger some sort of negative flashback."

Zero's grin widened just a little bit, "Thank you."

"But don't you think that you only feel that way because you chose to associate your name with a negative memory? You could try to associate it with something more positive, right?" Chase questioned in a soft voice. 

Zero hummed, "You're right, I could."

When they fell silent, Chase took a good look at Zero.

Even with his messy bed-head hair and droopy eyes, he still looked so precious. 

Chase leaned back against the headboard of his bed with his eyes still on Zero, "You told me that you chose the name 'Zero' because the number zero has no value according to you, right?"

Zero nodded.

"I don't think that's the case."

"Then what is?" Zero inquired with a confused expression. 

Chase inhaled sharply - and with his heart racing, he spoke, "Think of the number thousand - and now think about it without the zeroes. In that way, it's just one - and any sensible person would know that one thousand exceeds one when it comes to size."

When Zero's confused expression only grew, Chase explained again - this time in a more simple way, "Without the zeroes, one thousand is simply one. The zeroes are what make it special."

"What are you trying to say?" Zero asked. 

"Exactly that," Chase said, giving Zero a bright grin. "You're special."

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