Of course, Leon never expected things to return as the day before he confessed his feelings for her. Deep down, he knows that he never expected them to stay friends with each other after he told her about the song. But, hearing it directly from her lips, spoken from her mouth—that hits differently.

Leon has to admit; he doesn’t have many friends. Most of the close friendships he had in the past have drifted away naturally due to distance. Okay, that was fine for him, he didn’t mind—it was just natural. But, this time, this friendship, was severed intentionally, and that broke his heart.

Forget about the confession, he told himself. Right now, he just doesn’t want to lose a friend.

He doesn’t want to lose her.

He kept his head low, cheeks red between anger and embarrassment. Tears were falling from the corner of his eyes unintentionally, as he tried his best to avoid her hateful gaze.

“If—” his words were caught as he bit on his lips. His palm clenched into a fist, and this time, he clenched it too hard to the point he could feel his own nails stabbing his skin. “Reynatra,” he called her, as gently as he could in this kind of circumstances.

“If—if I’m the one who ends up telling him, would it... would it be selfish of me to ask that we—that we remain as friends?” he asked her, a shameless question that he shouldn’t need to ask.

Leon knows that he’s just being desperate, but he only has her and Eli as his closest friend, and he was well aware that his relationship with Eli was going to be ruined sooner or later. At the very least, right now, he wishes to keep his relationship with her, with Reynatra, as a friend... until they eventually drift apart.

He could feel her gaze over his head as he looked down. He was anxious, his heart was beating so fast. Cold sweats were dripping on the back of his neck and another tear fell down his face. God, how long has it been since he asked? It truly felt like an eternity has passed. He doesn’t know how long she’s been giving him the silent treatment, and honestly, he doesn’t want to know.

Soon, the bell rang, and Reynatra still hasn’t answered his question. She simply took her legs out of her seat and began walking away, answering his question with the coldest silence she had ever given. Ah, damn it, he guessed he doesn’t even deserve a proper rejection.

Though, after she took two steps, she abruptly stopped moving. She stood still, not even turning her head to look at him, and then she spoke, with a bitter and cold tone. “I suggest you tell him quickly,” she warned, her voice echoing through his ears. “I’ll remain as your friend... if Eli chose to do so as well.”

And those were her last words before she left for her class.

He should’ve gotten going too. The bell has rung, but Leon remained in the cafeteria. He waited for a few minutes before going to class, and he contemplated Reynatra’s words, eventually coming up with his own conclusion.

And well, he was going to lose both of them. He has already lost Reynatra as a friend, as somebody that he could rely on. The moment he told Eli the truth, he would lose two precious people in his life. He’d lost everybody he could depend on. He’d be lonely, and he’d be hurt.

So, he did the most logical and reasonable thing a person would do to avoid the confrontation—Leon chose to delay the talk, as long as he possibly could. He won’t be able to avoid it eventually, so, while he still can, he’ll try to avoid it now. And, who knows... maybe he would be able to avoid it for a lifetime.

And so, a few days passed. He thought that plan of his would work, if not for Reynatra who just had to set him up to tell.

A week after their conversation, on the first recess of the day, Eli came up to Leon’s class. He was still sweaty due to having PE as his first subject, and then he began to question Leon about what he needed to talk about with him. And Leon couldn’t be more confused.

“What?” he asked. “I didn’t—I didn’t ask you to come here, I—” his words were caught on the top of his throat. He soon realized that oh, it was Reynatra’s doing. She was sly. She had set up the stage to tell Eli about the truth and send him here.

“Fuck,” he whispered. He buried his face between his hand, stopping any more swears from slipping through his mouth. Damn it, Rey. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself down. He tried to think clearly, deciding on what was best for himself, and after he made up his mind, he let out a sigh.

Fine, he thought. Okay... okay, he’ll do what she wants. You won, Reynatra.

Leon will tell Eli about what happened the other day. He’d fucking do it, regardless of the consequences. He doesn’t care anymore. Even if it’s bound to break his heart, he’ll fucking do it, and she’ll leave him alone afterward. They both would leave him alone after.

He turned his head and gave Eli the most forced smile down his lips, and he began talking to him. “Um, it’s—it’s not exactly something that I could talk about ‘round school,” he told him, lying through his teeth. “Um, why don’t we talk about it later? Four o’clock at Starbucks, you think you can make it?”

Eli wiped his sweat and shrugged. “Sure, see you there, then,” he said.

And then he left the classroom, and Leon kept his eyes on him until he couldn’t see him through the windows. But, one thing’s for sure, when he was gone out of sight, Leon’s expression turned bleak, and he buried his head between his hands once again.

“Ah, fuck it,” he grunts, under his breath. This was going to be a long day.