The School Idol's Roommate [BL]

Finals (2)

His stomach grumbled for the nth time.

Aki slumped over his makeshift table and groaned. He had been studying non-stop, barely sleeping. But ever since Liam went away, Aki had not had a proper meal. Liam's cooked meals only lasted a couple of days. The more Aki studied, the easier it was for him to get hungry. Sometimes he would eat at the cafe, but he decided against it, lest Mia would tell Liam about it. Not to mention, eating out every day took a blow to his wallet.

Even when he was in the far-flung country, Liam would send Aki messages throughout the day, asking him if he had eaten and Aki would say he did. He just did not say what he ate. That did not count as a lie right? If he did mention his food, Liam would faint hearing Aki live off with instant noodles and convenience store food.

He laid down on his back on the floor of the storage room and stared outside. It had gotten dark and him really hungry. But he could not summon the energy needed to get up and prepare his meal.

It was not that he did not know how to cook food. If it was just egg recipes, he could manage it. In fact, that was what he was eating all the time the first few days that Liam left, in an attempt to conserve Liam's meals. Now though, Aki was getting nauseated just by the sight of the egg.

His stomach rumbled again as if there was a thunderstorm brewing inside.

With the remaining of his energy, he pulled himself to stand up and headed to the kitchen.

"Huh. You're kidding me," he muttered as he opened and slammed close the cupboards. Then stared dumbfounded at the empty fridge. He sat on his heels and scratched his head. Liam was the one keeping tabs with their food supplies and when he left, Aki never bothered to go and shop.

How did he even live before living with Liam?

After kicking himself mentally, he dragged himself outside the house and searched for a convenience store. He had been on a convenience store hopping lately and made a silly game with himself. If people go to different restaurants to try their foods, Aki made it a point to buy from different stores and check out their specialties. It amazed him to find out that while most of the items were the same, their budget meals were different. Like this branch had tasty sandwiches but the one on the next street had wider selection of sweets.

This time, instead of going to the branch near their unit, he opted to walk a little farther, enjoying the evening breeze in the process. He arrived at the convenience store four blocks away from home. This one was known for having delicious fried chickens. They also have fluffy pudding so that was a plus for Aki.

As he queued for the cashier, he almost cut the line, not noticing the other person as he was busy checking his food.

"Oops sorry," he said when he realized what he was about to do.

"Aki?

Aki raised his head and met Drew's dark eyes. Before Aki could reply, it was already Drew's turn to pay. Aki lined up without a word behind him.

When Aki was done with his purchase, he decided to eat outside the store where they have tables and chairs for their customers.

But when he went out, he found Drew occupying a table. Aki hesitated and thought about taking the other table. They had not been alone since his friends got together and he was never particularly close with Drew. Acting chummy-chummy right now would be awkward.

Before he could decide, Drew looked up at him. "Are you going to eat here?" Without waiting for Aki's reply, Drew gave him a space in one of the chairs. "This one's free."

A million excuses ran through Aki's head. Yet, to his surprise, he chose to take Drew's offer and eat with him.