A STAR FOR A STAR (XIAH FANFIC)

CHAPTER 16

         "What are you doing?" Masao asked Se7en as he slowly shook his head as a sign of disbelief at what he was seeing.

            "Drinking . . . ." Se7en softly answered as he sipped a glass of whisky.

            "You just gave Moniqa to another man . . . . and now you're here trying to drown yourself in a bottle of whisky . . . . Isn't that a little too pathetic?' Masao asked.

            Se7en looked at Masao and then he smiled bitterly. "What am I supposed to do? I can see that she likes him . . . ."

            "So what if she likes him? You like her too  . . . . But being the very foolish guy that you are . . . .you just decided to set aside your feelings again . . . . And to top it all, you're even the one who pushed Moniqa to tell him how she really feels. Sometimes I wonder if you're really a man . . . . If I were in your position, I would have taken advantage of your closeness with her . . . . And by this time . . . I would have made her my girlfriend . . . ." Masao said in an irritated tone.

            "You and I both know that she likes him . . . We can both see it in her eyes . . . And ever since from the start, all I want is for her to be happy . . . . even if it means seeing her with another man . . . ." Se7en said sadly.

            "You're really hopeless . . . ." Masao uttered.

            "She had already given up hope after she broke up with Akira . . . But now . . . . she's more determined to find a cure for herself since she has Xiah to think about," Se7en told Masao.

            Masao smiled. "That is a good news . . . .I was also worrying about her. I know she had stopped communicating with the hospitals she had gone to . . . ."

            "But honestly . . . . do you think she will ever get a suitable heart donor? It's been two years . . . .and the ones the doctors get her always doesn't match. Frankly . . . .I am starting to think whether those doctors are really doing their jobs," Se7en said irritatedly.

            "Hey . . . . It isn't the doctors fault . . . . They are doing the best they can do to help her," Masao said with a sigh.

            "There are millions of people in the whole world and they can't find a single compatible donor. . . . Now that is pathetic!" Se7en said as he poured himself another glass of whisky.

            "Does Xiah know about Moniqa's condition?" Masao suddenly asked.

            "No . . . Moniqa doesn't want him to know about it. I think she will be hiding it from him as long as she can . . . ." Se7en replied.

            "Silly girl! Why would she do that?" Masao asked as he shook his head.

            "She doesn't want him to pity her and she doesn't want him to leave her like what Akira did . . . . " Se7en replied again.

            "Akira? Akira is a total fool! Why would Xiah leave Moniqa if he truly loves her just because she's sick . . . ." Masao uttered angrily.

            "Masao loved Moniqa . . . . but he left her as soon as he learned that she is sick. He didn't want a dying lover in his hands . . . . We can't deny the fact that some men are like that . . . ." Se7en said as he continuously drank the glass of whisky that he was holding.

            Masao looked at Se7en. "Tell me honestly . . . . Are you like those men you are talking about? Frankly I still can't figure out the real reason why you keep on denying your true feelings for Moniqa . . . . And you just keep on letting her go to some other man while you're left sitting in a corner drinking away your blues . . . ."