The School Idol's Roommate [BL]

The King's Game (2)

Aki and Liam went to the supermarket to buy the things they needed for the party. When they came back, Liam got busy in the kitchen preparing their food while Aki helped with the decoration and being Mia's errand boy.

Seeing as everything seemed to be in place now, Aki intended to take a break at the pantry. Instead, his feet brought him in the kitchen, convincing himself that it was to check how the others were doing. He happened to see Liam on the side, busy preparing. Aki glanced over his roommate's shoulder and his face broke into a grin.

"Coffee jelly!"

Liam turned to Aki and grinned back. "It's your favorite right?"

Aki knitted his brows. "How--?"

"You always buy them in the cafeteria when they're available," Liam scooped a spoonful of jelly and then held it towards Aki's direction. "I'm not sure if the taste is okay."

Aki ate from the spoon on Liam's hand. "More sugar? About 2 teaspoonfuls I guess?"

Liam nodded and turned back to his recipe. Aki left him to avoid disturbing his roommate and went back to work as well. The cafe closed two hours earlier than the usual time. They chose the cafe as the venue to keep the cost minimal.

"So, uh, first, thank you guys for coming! This is for our third-anniversary party! And also to welcome the newest staff, Aki!" Mia said as someone clapped Aki's shoulder. "But since Liam and Jay are busy doing the final touches in our food, let's have some games first!"

The first game was a charade. They were divided into two teams. Both teams were competitive. Aki's team almost won but lost by 1 point in the final round. Despite the fact that they lost, Aki had a lot of fun so he did not feel like he lost at all.

The next game was the rock-paper-scissors game. Each participant was given a fund of $1 each. Every time they win, their opponent would give them their fund as the prize. The more people they beat, the higher prize they get. Aki beat Tin in the final round earning $10.

After the games, the dinner started. They sat in a big round table they found in the storage room. Mia said that it was kept for reasons like this and not used for the cafe during business hours. With everyone sitting around and eating together, Aki finally had time to mingle with the other part-timers he rarely worked with due to their shifts. There was Shane who was a single-mother and always in the morning shift. Another part-timer was Dylan who was a freeter. Working in the cafe was just one of his many part-time jobs. There was also Max who goes to the same school as Zy and Drew.

Aki enjoyed chatting and listening to others' stories when he felt someone slid a chair beside him. He subconsciously smiled as he glanced to his side.

"How's the food?" Liam asked.

"Perfect as usual."

Their exchange had been brief as they listened to their workmates' stories and jokes. But that did not stop Aki to be very much attuned to what was happening beside him. Sometimes Liam's arm would bump into his which made Aki giddy and lightheaded before he even touched his beer. He would be lying if he said that he did not enjoy this closeness.

They ate and drank some more until it was time for the early shifts to leave while the others, like Mia, Aki, and Liam remained. The remaining ones are all pretty drunk at this point.

Mia, who had a silly look on her face, stood up and clapped her hands to get everyone's attention. "Alright! Time for the next game!"

For reasons unknown to him, Aki felt a shiver down his spine as he watched Mia's devious smirk, feeling an ominous aura behind it.