The School Idol's Roommate [BL]

Good morning

Aki woke up with a start. He stared at the ceiling, blinking a few times, trying to reorient himself. His body felt well-rested as if he was sleeping for the longest time. It had been a while since he had a good night's sleep. But last night was the best one he had in recent memory.

'Last night...'

Bits and pieces of memories came rushing back at him. Drinking alone, meeting Liam at the door... There was also crying, tugging of clothes, embracing Liam, cuddling...

Aki rolled on his stomach as he buried his head on the pillow. Why couldn't he forget the things he did when drunk like other people!? So that he could pretend that none of those embarrassing things ever happened. He was not that petulant child. Aki did not know him.

But the onslaught of memories did not stop there. Aki stopped rolling around and blinked his eyes realizing that some of the memories were not from last night but from a night a few weeks back. Other, much older memories resurfaced as if now that Aki lifted the cover, nothing could stop them from coming out of their storage.

After he woke up and realized that he spent the night with the school idol, his mind blocked his memories and stopped himself from remembering but now that it happened again, it was hard to pretend and deny that those never happened.

He was the one who clung to Liam that night and last night. It was probably how people saw them, like how they entered the door hugging last night. His action started the rumor. And he had the gall to blame Liam for that.

Why did he even do those things!? How would he act in front of Liam now? He screamed wildly in his heart and buried his head once more that he did not notice that someone entered the door to his room.

"Does your head hurt?" Liam asked.

Aki stopped thrashing and remained very still. He felt the side of the bed dipped as Liam sat down and heard movements on his bedside.

"Drink this. You should drink as much water as alcohol so you won't feel dry."

Aki shifted his head to the side peek at Liam who was smiling down on him, offering him a glass of water. With feeble movements, he picked up his body and assume an upright position. He managed a soft 'thank you' before taking the glass from Liam's hands. Aki's movements caused the blanket that was covering his body to slide down until his upper body was exposed. The cool temperature of the room combined with the refreshing water made him shiver.

Liam stood up and went to the closet then tossed a shirt at Aki. "Wear this so you won't feel cold."

Aki realized that save for his boxer, he was not wearing anything else. His face heated up as he quickly wore the shirt.

Aki sighed in his heart. Liam's kindness, his patience with Aki was like a dagger scraping at Aki's guilty conscience. This was goodwill he did not deserve yet he kept on getting. He wanted to return the favor but did not know-how.

Maybe he should start by not getting drunk anymore. Speaking of...

"I seem to have caused you trouble again last night. I apologize."

"Do...you remember last night?"

Aki shook his head.

Liam sighed. He expected this. Last night was a beautiful fleeting dream. "Really? Like nothing at all?"

Aki gulped but did not answer. Was Liam hinting at something he did? Was it possible that he missed something? Maybe he should not really trust his memory? Or Liam saw through his lie?

"I like to apologize for what I said last time. I said too much," Liam said.

Aki met Liam's eyes. He was about to complain but the look on Liam's face shut him up.

'Why do you look like... you're hurting a lot?' Liam was smiling but his smile did not reach his eyes. Aki wanted to reach out and comfort him.

But he stopped himself and said, "No. I should be the one to say that. I even left and hid without saying anything. I'm sorry. If! If... it's okay with you, I still want to be your friend."

Liam smiled, his face open and warm, none of those restrained lines around his eyes. It was as if he was happy deep down. Aki did not understand what caused the change but seeing him like this made Aki happy too. He could not stop himself from thinking, 'He really is attractive.' No wonder, he was called the school idol. He was perfect in just about everything.

And Aki would be a better friend to keep his smile.

Liam tousled Aki's hair. "Alright. Before this turn to a never-ending 'no I should be sorry' argument, let's admit we made a mistake, forgive each other and move on. Okay?"

Aki smiled.

Liam's smile deepened. "Are you hungry? I prepared a chicken noodle soup. It's good for hungover."