Forget Me

Chapter Thirty-Six

They hadn't spoken in days. It felt so strange. Korn had grown accustomed to seeing Mew every day. Even when they were at their busiest, there was still time for a quick meal or a check-in...or a make-out session. Lives that had been separate for so long now felt so completely intertwined, the threads of the braid that summed them up were indistinguishable.

It felt like he was operating without a part of him. Something was missing and he knew it was Mew. His presence was that vital. The longing for him, a living thing that could not be satisfied with anything less than his attention and affection. But Korn had promised himself that he would give Mew time. Give him time to figure out whatever this thing was...so they could move on.

Four days was all Korn could manage before he finally went in search of Mew.

He'd spent hours thinking about what he was going to do. It was a moderately pleasant change from simply thinking about him. Wondering what he was up to. Trying to understand his reasons and hoping he'd come to his senses during their time apart. But there was another part of him that was a little less certain. A part that didn't want to admit that Mew had taken an extreme position and it might be because he meant every word he'd said.

Then Mew would do something that gave his true feelings away. Korn knew that Mew missed him. He'd caught his boyfriend staring at him more than once. Instead of studying or working on whatever test paper he had in front of him, he would trace every movement Korn made with his eyes. It was so hard to ignore those stares; the longing that threaded its way through every action and tugged at Korn's heartstrings.

There was no rhyme or reason to it. At the library when they both found themselves gravitating to their table. Mew would smile like it was reasonable for them to share the space only to remember himself and move. They started avoiding the sequestered area after their second accidental meeting. Only to find that their second and third choices were the same.

It was easier in the cafeteria. They didn't have an established routine so they could stay on opposite sides of the room and not raise any eyebrows. But Korn couldn't stop giving dirty looks to anyone who sat next to Mew. While Mew never resisted it when someone moved away to sit somewhere else for fear of incurring Korn's silent wrath.

He'd been trying to convince himself to give Mew even more time but he was running out of patience. It was decided for him that afternoon. They had all skipped class to sit outside and warm themselves in the sun after being indoors for far too long. Lying down or just sitting with their faces to the warm sunlight, they looked like human sunflowers. Mew had invited himself to sit with them but kept some distance between Korn and himself.

"How's the study going?" Mew asked like he was talking to everyone but he kept looking over at Korn. It was clear who he wanted an answer from but Korn refused to answer.

The perverse sense of satisfaction he got from making Mew uncomfortable, his only way of making a point nobody else understood. His friends looked from him to Mew and back again before Nat poked Game.

That finally spurred him into action. "It is great. Korn is a great tutor but he makes us pay him in meals every day."

"I should have thought of that," Mew said with a chuckle but it sounded forced.

"So how are you getting along?" Chimmon asked.

Korn nearly told him to shut up and stop interfering but he wanted to hear what Mew had to say. Instead, all they got was a shrug. Mew looked sad but determined. A strange but understandable combination under the circumstances. What it didn't tell Korn was whether Mew thought he still needed to keep him at bay to get what he wanted. It was just the right amount of doubt he needed in the veracity of Mew's claim.