Walls

Complications

Phana's POV

I checked my breath before I opened the door to our room. Our room. I really liked the sound of that. I was excited to finally spend some time alone with Yo. He hadn't been feeling well this morning, so I had a wonderful excuse for taking care of him tonight. But when I came in the room, Yo was talking on the phone.

"Ai'Ming says 'hi.' We both miss you." Yo was saying, apparently making a video call. I came around the side of the bed to see who was on the phone.

"I miss you too, N'Yo," the voice replied. It was the same voice that had yelled at me from the phone before. "Where are you now?"

"I'm at the hotel by the beach, in my room," Yo said.

"Why isn't Ming with you? Are you all alone?"

"He's drinking with some of our friends," Yo replied, smiling. "I'm not alone, though, P'Pha just walked in."

"You're sharing a room with the guy who threatened you? Who was the genius who came up with that plan?"

I felt like a jerk, listening to their conversation, especially now that it had turned to my bad behavior. I sat next to Yo on the bed, letting the guy see my face.

"I'm not going to hurt him," I said, trying to be polite. It was difficult, because I was pretty sure this was just another guy who wanted to date my Yo.

"That's not what it looked like last time," he said, his face filled with anger. "N'Yo, if you don't feel comfortable with him, you can get another senior to share your room."

"I'll be okay," Yo said. "I can protect myself."

"You're too patient," the guy continued. "Some people don't learn to behave until you put them in their place."

I could feel the anger bubbling up in my chest. Who the hell do you think you are? I didn't like the way this guy looked at me or the way he protected Yo. Yo is mine. He might not know it yet, but that was just temporary. I didn't want Yo angry at me for arguing with someone that was important to him, so I stepped out onto the balcony to let them finish their conversation without me.

I kept my eyes trained on Yo while he talked to his friend. He laughed and smiled with ease and familiarity. I hated the way it felt to see him so comfortable with someone else, when he didn't feel that way with me. I knew it was my fault, I had been a jerk to Yo and he didn't trust me yet. I'll erase all the bad memories, just wait for me. When his call was over, I walked back into the room.

"You talk to that guy a lot," I commented, hoping to get some details.

"Yeah," Yo said, picking up a book and turning to his bookmark. "P'Joss is in London, so we don't get to talk for very long, but we text everyday."

"Is he your boyfriend?" I asked. I was afraid of the answer, but I had to know.

"If I had a nickel for every time someone asked me if P'Joss or Ai'Ming was my boyfriend, I'd be drowning in nickels," Yo responded, laughing. Does that mean he's your boyfriend or not?

"You didn't actually answer the question," I said, wanting to know for sure.

"P'Joss and Ai'Ming are my best friends," Yo said. "They're my family."

I let out a breath I didn't know I'd been holding. I hoped that meant that Yo was still single. We sat quietly for awhile. I didn't know what to say and he went back to reading.

Someone knocked on our door and I went to open it, hoping it wasn't Ming. I still needed time to talk to Yo before we went to bed, I just needed time to figure out how to talk to him. At the door, I found Kookgai, one of the Stars from this year's competition.

"Would you help me move some furniture in my room?" She asked, grabbing my hand and pulling me along with her.

"Of course," I said politely, trying to hurry so I could get back to Yo. I went into her room across the hall and moved the furniture where she asked, but when I tried to leave, she grabbed my arm.

"P'Pha," she said, smiling seductively, "would you like to stay for awhile tonight?"

I was trying to think of a polite way to refuse when I heard someone in the hallway, the door was open and Yo was watching us. He looked down, his face turning red and quickly walked back inside our room. Kookgai and I were standing in the doorway, very close together, and she was holding my arm. I knew what it must look like. Why is my luck so bad?

I quickly detached Kookgai's hand from my arm and told her that I needed to keep an eye on Yo because he was sick today. I walked back into my room to find Yo sitting on the bed. I didn't know what to say that didn't sound like I was a guilty boyfriend that got caught cheating.

"Aren't you going to P'Forth's room for drinks?" Yo asked.

"No, I'm not interested tonight," I said. Taking off my shorts and getting ready for bed.

"You could have stayed with Ai'Kookgai," Yo said. "I don't need a babysitter."

"If I'm going to be with someone, I want it to be my someone special," I replied, wanting him to understand how I felt about him.

"Does that mean you've found someone special?" he asked.

I didn't know what to say, so I didn't say anything. I went into the bathroom, trying to still a heart that was beating too hard. He didn't understand how I felt. Of course, I'd spent all my time making absolutely certain that he would hate me, so why would he suddenly understand? When I came back out, he was reading his book, ignoring me.

"Are you hungry?" I asked, trying to get his attention. "Why don't we walk to the convenience store and grabs some snacks?"

"Sure, P'Pha," he said, smiling. I love his smile. I took a deep breath, wishing we could start this whole night over again, but at least I had a place to go from here.

We walked to the store, we made small talk and I tried to make him feel comfortable. When we went inside, I told him that I would buy his snacks and he started loading up a basket. How many snacks does he think two people need?

"You won't be able to eat all these," I said, grabbing his basket before he could put more inside. He looked at me, a frown spoiling his beautiful face. He didn't say anything, but he actually looked sad. Why am I always a jerk? "I'm teasing, N'Yo, you can get whatever you want."

I handed back his basket. He smiled at me again, making my heart stop. He's so adorable!

"P'Pha!" I heard someone calling to me and turned to see Kookgai and another Star at the front of the store. "I didn't know you were coming here."

"We're getting some snacks. I thought you were going to bed?" I said, maintaining my polite smile.

"It's barely 9 o'clock, P'Pha," Kookgai said, walking up to us. "Wait for a minute and we'll walk back with you."