10 Days to Forever

Part 11

Day 6 (Friday)

Chimon woke up early that morning to bake some cookies. He wanted to bring some for his friends.

Who am I kidding? I'm obviously doing this for Pluem, he thought.

I'm supposed to be saving him from suicidal thoughts and yet here I am baking cookies. What good will come out of this? He wondered.

When he got out of their gate later, he didn't find Pluem waiting for him though. Weird, he thought. He peaked at the Alonzo's gate to see if Pluem's car was there but he couldn't see it.

What could have happened to him? It's not like he has an early class or something, Chimon wondered as he waited for a jeep.

---

"Wow!" Drake was excited when he saw the cookies Chimon baked for him.

They were in front of their school's football field. There were benches under the trees and it was a nice place to have a conversation since it was more quiet than the rest of the campus.

"So this is what happens when you're in love? You start baking?"

"Shut up. I've baked cookies for you before," Chimon answered.

"Uhuh. But it was only when I was mad at you or something," Drake's tone suddenly changed. "Wait, you're not gonna fight with me today, aren't you?"

"No. I just want to talk."

"Is it about Pluem? But you said last night he was doing okay. You even said he doesn't seem suicidal at all."

"It's not about him, Draco," Chimon said with a serious look.

"Oh," Drake began to understand. "Frank must have talked to you."

"Yes."

Drake seemed to be lost in his thoughts for a few moments.

"But I'm just doing everything I can to protect him, Chi. I love him so much I don't want to leave anything to chance. I can't lose him. Especially not to some stupid disease."

Chimon saw genuine worry in his best friend's eyes. He put his arms around him.

"I'm proud of you Drakeyboy. Your love for Frank is something I wished I'd feel someday."

"But?"

"Who says there's a but-"

"I know you Chi. You rarely compliment me. It's not my birthday so I know you're just saying that to soften the blow of what you're gonna say next. Come on just say it. What did I do wrong this time?"

"It's complicated, Drake. I understand where you're coming from and as your best friend, I know I should support you fully. But sometimes when we're so afraid of something, we let ourselves be consumed by that fear; sometimes so much so that we fail to see other things."

Drake quietly looked at the few students playing football.

"Tell me. If Frank was not sick, would you be acting the same way you're acting right now?"

"That's no longer an issue Chi. Frank IS sick. There's no if here."

"But Frank is more than just his diagnosis, Drake. He's a human being just like me and you and he deserves to be treated like a normal person."

"What's wrong with the things I'm doing?"

"Really, Drake? Wanting access to his social media accounts, wanting to be with him all the time? Don't you think that's too much?"

"But I'm his boyfriend. That should be normal right?"

Chimon shook his head.

"You might love Frank, Drake. But you don't own him. Everything you guys do should be of mutual consent. Sure, some couples share their social media accounts. That's weird but if they both want to, no problem. Some couples also live together and that's cool too, as long as they both agree to it.