The Slut's Guide to Chess

chapter 27

The next morning, there was a loud knock at my door. I woke up with a fright, nervous that maybe I'd forgotten about someone. I went through names in my head and nobody came to mind. The clock on my bedside table read 10:08 AM and though it was still early, I normally woke up a lot earlier. Last night, Xander and I stayed in his office until the early hours, talking and talking until I finally escaped back to my dorm at around 4 AM.

I threw a jumper over my head and glanced at Eliott's empty bed, still feeling a pang in my chest at her absence. I forgot to close the curtains last night and so the light of morning flooded through the window, leading my eyes to scrunch at the brightness. It was a grey day, reflecting my mood perfectly. Not even the bird song was enough to lift my spirits.

Arwyn Truong was at the door with an uneasy smile and the bright red hat that I had knitted for him.

"Uhh- hi," I greeted.

His hands were overflowing with bottles of brightly coloured paints. They were clutched in his large hands, tucked under his armpits and piled one on top of the other. In his other hand was a bunch of paintbrushes all clashing from side to side in a cup making an echoing noise, under that was a tin.

"What is all this?" I pointed to his hands.

"I know you might hate me right now." His voice was hoarse. "And if you do, then that's fine. I was out of line last night. I shouted at you for telling Aleena about a secret that wasn't even mine to keep. I regretted it as soon as you left, I sounded like one of the arseholes from chess club, but I just wasn't sure what to say. See, the thing is, Nora, you've become a really good friend of mine recently. I feel comfortable with you which is new and exciting because I rarely feel comfortable in front of new people. You're funny, you're kind, you're...amazing. When you said that you read The Song of Achilles because it's my favourite, my heart did this thing where it felt like it would burst out of my chest and I knew I'd screwed up. Anyway...I, uh- basically, I can't afford to lose you.

"So, all night last night, I was up and thinking of how to make it up to you. Remember when I told you I could paint and you wanted me to teach you? Well, here we are." He lifted his arms up and gestured to the paint. "My idea is that we go to the girls' toilets, the one by the maths block, and we paint over the stalls. We paint over the comments people have written about you or about anyone else and just fill it with art. I'm hoping that no one will think I'm a pervert by going into the girls' toilets, I promise I'm not. I just wanted to paint it for you. Also, I baked you a cake. It's a really bad one, I think. But, I snuck into the kitchen last night and had my mam on the phone just so that she could show me how to do it. I wanted to bake it for you because you bake things for me all the time. Would you like that? Or is this really stupid? Actually, you don't have to answer that. I'll just leave and pretend this didn't happen-"

I grabbed onto his shoulders with a wide grin. "Arwyn," I chuckled. "This is perfect, thank you. And for the record, I forgive you."

"Great, you get ready and I'll wait by the toilets for you. Is that okay?" He murmured.

"That's perfect. I won't be long."

And just as he was about to leave, I grabbed his shoulder again.

"I didn't read it, by the way. I listened to the audiobook. And, that's the last time I'll ever read- or listen, to a book ever again. It kind of broke me."

He smiled. Shy, gentle, so quintessentially Arwyn Truong that my chest tore itself inside out. "I'll make it up to you, Nora."

***

Aleena was stood by Arwyn when I walked around the corner. They were an uncomfortable distance apart and every time she turned to start a conversation, he diverted eye contact and shuffled awkwardly further away. The sight of my best friend was enough to sober me from the amusement though.