The School Idol's Roommate [BL]

The proposal (2)

"God, you're gawking." Mia hissed beside him. She rested her elbows and leaned forward from her place behind the counter, joining Liam in watching Aki.

Liam turned his head towards her slightly as he narrowed his eyes. But he did not say anything and continued leaning against the counter.

She leaned over, placing her hand over her mouth. "Do you ever plan on, you know," she gestured with her hands in the air, "confessing?"

"...It's just a crush. It'll go away."

"Liam." Mia's voice was so grave that Liam did turn around, only to yelp when she pinched his arm. "You dare lie to me."

"But it's true." Liam did not dare hope for something more. Aki would not like him, not in the way Liam hoped. Perhaps never. Aki seemed to still be very much in love at the guy from Moonlight. So much that he was willing to leave everything behind. So much that his anger for Liam lasted for a week.

How could Liam even try to compete?

That flippant guy from the bar had his little fingers wrapped around Aki. Liam could tell even before they knew each other. Just watching them interact night after night and it was obvious how Aki was so taken in by that guy as if the rest of the world disappeared. How could he wiggle himself inside that orbit?

"Is it," Mia lowered her voice, "still about your ex? Fear of commitment or betrayal or something?"

Liam winced. It was a memory he did not want to revisit as much as possible. "No, it's not that."

Mia studied him, long enough for Liam to feel prickly on his skin. "I never knew you're such a coward."

"He has someone he likes!" Liam gritted his teeth, trying to control his temper and his voice. "What good does it make if I c-confess!?"

"Perhaps a whole better. You'll never know. Because you'll never do." Then she smirked and Liam knew that look too well that he scowled before even hearing what his cousin was about to say next.

"So I have a chance?" Mia asked in that tooth-aching sweet voice of hers that she reserved to annoy Liam.

"Don't. You. Dare." Liam growled and glared. The thing with Mia was that they became close because they had the same taste for toys when they were kids, music when they were teens, and, now, hobbies. But their likeness also extended to people. If Mia found her friend beautiful, she would pair this friend to Liam, knowing full well that she was to her cousin's taste. Liam did so in return.

So when he saw Aki, sitting in their cafe, his heart almost stopped beating for a lot of reasons. One of them was because Mia's eyes glinted in a way that told Liam she found her new target. He would never allow that.

"Oh no." There was a hint of worry on Mia's voice that made Liam turned his face towards her, only to realize that she was no longer looking at him. Instead, she was focused on what was happening to Aki's direction. "Little Princess is here to make us all miserable."