WHILE Astrid was having a fun conversation with Wulfric, back in the living room, two people were feeling the exact opposite of fun.

After Astrid went to his room, an awkward silence filled the living room. Lauren wanted to break the irritating silence, but somehow, words just wouldn’t come out of his mouth. He couldn’t even remember how exactly the two of them bickered with each other.

It was fine when Astrid was around. Because the other was like some kind of a rope holding them together. He was the one facilitating the conversation between the three. No, it was more accurate to say that he was the only one the two were talking to while completely ignoring each other.

Now that Astrid left them alone, Lauren suddenly didn’t know what to do. This was a first for him. Someone who always started the conversation, someone who always spoke his mind, someone who never hesitated, suddenly didn’t know what to do. 

Where did his eloquentness went? Did it get buried somewhere? Why? Just because of this guy? Being like this to the point of speechlessness, and all because of one person? Had he completely lost his mind? 

He suddenly felt angry, no, it was more like anger caused by too much frustration. How could he let a single person affect him like this? It’s like he wasn’t himself anymore. And he didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all. It’s better to get things off of his chest than to keep it all to himself. 

Lauren turned to the still silent Andreas and decided to just say whatever was on his mind.

“You, why do you dislike me so much?”

Reas was startled by Lauren’s question. He turned to the other and his eyes shook when he saw the expression on Lauren’s face. One could see frustration and anger. But besides those two emotions, one could also see sadness. Because of that, he didn’t know what to do but to just stay silent.

Seeing the other not responding to what he asked, Lauren’s anger and frustration just gone up a notch. He had already put down his pride to ask that question and yet the other just stared at him with those cold eyes as if he couldn’t care less to give him an answer.

“Why can’t you answer? Is it because your reason for disliking me was childish and irrational?” Not hearing another response, Lauren only scoffed. “Okay, let’s say it’s because of the rumors around me or because you don’t like how close I am to Astrid. But are those really enough for you to treat me like I’m some trash you can’t bear to be near with? Am I that much of a horrible person in your eyes?”

He didn’t notice that the last part he said was full of dejection. But Reas did. 

Reas’ body trembled. He was suddenly filled with guilt. The feeling that everything was his fault permeated into his every cell. Each word Lauren spoke was like a stab in the gut. 

Was he really being too much? He already knew the answer to that. In fact, there was a part of him already shouting the answer. Yes, he was indeed being unfair in how he treated the other. No, more than being an unfair, he was being a complete asshole.

“You know what, forget it. I don’t care anymore,” Lauren said with a resigned voice after letting out a frustrated sigh. “Let’s just continue this way, as if we don’t know each other.”

Reas didn’t know why, but he suddenly felt nervous and scared when he heard the other say that. Before he could think more, he already found himself blurting the words;

“I’m sorry.”

Lauren was surprised when he heard that. Probably because he didn’t expect that Andreas would actually apologize. But he quickly pushed that thought away. Hearing the other apologized didn’t mean that everything was okay.

“If you’re really sorry, then answer my question.”

Reas became silent once again. How could he say that it was because he didn’t like how he was being affected by the other’s every move? That he didn’t like his reaction to the other’s every action. Wouldn’t that just make him stupid? Maybe Lauren would even interpret that in the wrong way.

But he also knew that he should answer. Because if he didn’t, it would only look like he was apologizing just because he didn’t want the other to think that what he said was correct. But then, what kind of answer should he give? 

“I- I don’t want to bicker with you. So, I decided that it’s better to just ignore you. That way, we don’t have to bicker anymore,” he said.

He was not really lying. It was part of the reason why he decided to ignore Lauren. But now that he said it out loud, it just sounded childish and stupid. He was contemplating on his idiotic answer when he heard a chuckle that slowly turned into a laugh.

He raised his head and saw Lauren laughing. It was not a sarcastic laugh. It was a laugh that showed that he found something really funny. The sadness in his eyes vanished and was replaced with amusement. Even the tense atmosphere surrounding them disappeared in a blink.

Suddenly, Reas thought that it wasn’t too bad doing something idiotic sometimes.

“What kind of stupid reason is that?” Lauren said while still laughing.

The grievance he felt popped like a balloon. It disappeared just like that. Because of such reasoning, he realized that Reas was still a kid. Resorting to that as a solution to them bickering just showed his young age. 

As the older one, Lauren should be the one more understanding and patient. He shouldn’t be throwing tantrum like he just did. He should handle the situation in a more mature way.

“Fine. I also don’t want to bicker with you. So, let’s just start over this time on a good note.” He stood up and offered his hand to Andreas in a handshake. “Friends?”

Reas looked up at the other. He really didn’t think much, he just stood up and reached for Lauren’s hand. “Friends.”

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