Aloe feels pathetic. 

He never thought that highly of himself in the first place, but he’s now reached an all-time low with this one.

Basil is much, much stronger than Aloe is, so it takes some time for him to pry himself off of the drunk man. And every moment he was stuck in his embrace was excruciating. 

Once he pulls himself out of that hell of whirling emotions, Aloe tries to change him out of his wet clothes. As he does so, his hands are shaky and hesitant, as if the mere touch of Basil’s skin burns him. Ironic, given Basil must be pretty cold from the rain.

After changing clothes himself, he holes himself up in his room. His book has long since been discarded to the side, and all he does is huddle up with his dogs as he tries to calm his anxieties.

Why did I let my guard down?!

Just because he’d been embraced, just because he’d been told sweet things, he allowed himself to open the gates to feelings he’d been keeping in check for years. And the worst of it all is that those words were never meant for Aloe.

They were for Poppy.

Poppy—Basil’s girlfriend, a person he seems so serious about. Whatever it was that was going on with Basil last night definitely had something to do with her.

Aloe was just a mistake.

He just doesn’t understand himself.

He doesn’t understand why he couldn’t just be normal like everyone else was. If he were, then he could easily congratulate Basil and go on with his life.

But after last night, he doesn’t think he can do something like that anymore. He couldn’t even face Basil when morning came. 

Basil was never one to wake up this early, so he just uses the excuse that his dogs need to go for their morning walk to escape the situation.

With a quick note pasted on the stand beside the sleeping man, Aloe ran off outside with his three dogs.

Since then, it’s been thirty minutes—or was it forty?—since he’d left the apartment. 

The pups are overjoyed with spending a cool morning walk with their owner, but judging from the constant buzzing in his phone, he doubts Basil is as carefree.

Does he remember?

He’s too scared to check his messages. 

Any time he tries to, his heart begins to race at an uncomfortable pace. The only thing that keeps him from spiraling is the worried whimpers of his precious furry companions.

Eventually, Aloe’s stamina gives out, and he has to sit down on a park bench. And because of the terrifying appearance of his dogs, passersby are too afraid to come close to him.

At least now, he can relax. 

It’s a little disappointing that his relaxing Friday night ended up as an anxious Saturday morning, but at least he can find some semblance of peace in this little corner of fluff he has.

Because of last night’s heavy rain, the breeze is cool enough to calm his heated thoughts. His heart and mind eventually settle down, but Aloe still dreads having to read Basil’s text. 

“Excuse me,” a gentle voice calls out to him.

It’s an unfamiliar voice, but its silkiness combined with the shyness of his tone made Aloe feel at ease. 

He imagines a meek young man calling out to him, but when he opens his eyes, he sees anything but.

Despite his gentle-sounding voice, his appearance is sharp. Not the sleek kind of sharp, but edgy. 

From head to toe, he is dressed in all-black, and the only pop of color in his attire is a single purple butterfly clip on his ink-like hair. Piercings of all manner decorate his ears, giving more of an edge to his appearance.

And what makes Aloe all the warier of the man are the stark, red eyes that look down on him.