The Art of Confessing

Chapter 3: I've always been here

If there was any word that can describe Dylan Wang, then it would be the word persistent. He would always get things done as quickly as possible and whatever Dylan wants, Dylan gets and right now he wants to know why Darren is at Shen Yue's apartment and why is he the one who took her home.

As he was walking towards Shen Yue's apartment, he couldn't really understand why he decided to come here knowing that his girlfriend, Ciaxo is sick.

He rang the doorbell and impatiently tapped his foot while waiting for Shen Yue to come open the door. He already prepared his apology when suddenly, it was Darren who let him in.

"Huh, still here?" He timidly asked as he marched his way inside Yue's apartment.
Darren smiled and nodded
"She's already asleep."
"Isn't that your cue to leave?" Dylan didn't mean to sound rude but he was pretty sure that Darren has a small crush on Shen Yue.

And he doesn't know why he was bothered by it. Darren is a great guy. In fact, he's exactly Shen Yue's type. So why was he being rude anyway? They both looked at each other as if challenging the other one to speak.
Dylan would've laughed at the situation but he saw how Darren's face suddenly became serious.
"You both are my friends but why are you leading her on?" Darren was the first to break the silence and he knew he caught Dylan off guard by his question. Darren didn't mean to interrogate and he didn't mean to sound rude either but just like all of their friends, they want to know Dylan's feelings towards Shen Yue.

Dylan's eyes went wide and for the first time in his life, he was speechless. 

"I'm not leading her on. I treat her how I treat my other friends and she just happened to be closer to me."
Darren scoffed at Dylan's answer and sat down on Yue's sofa.
"You and I both know that you treat her differently. And if you try to deny it again, didi I swear I'm going to punch you."
"I don't know why you're trying to pick a fight at 3 in the morning but can we talk about this later?" Dylan avoided eye contact and went to Yue's kitchen to get a glass of water. 

I'm not leading her on. Dylan thinks to himself. He loves Shen Yue and yes, there were times where he would be mesmerized by her beauty and his heart would skip a beat when they were shooting those kissing scenes in meteor garden but he only loves her as a friend.

or so he thought. 

He opened Yue's fridge and gladly took a bottle of water and gulped it down. He went back to the living room to find Darren still sitting in the sofa.
"Are you going to leave now?" Dylan is now annoyed at his friend.
"No." Was all Darren said before taking out his phone and doing God knows what.
Dylan glared at him before making his way towards Yue's bedroom
"I told you she's asleep" Dylan ignored Darren's voice and opened Yue's bedroom door.
He looked stunned to see Shen Yue sitting quietly on her bed. Is she crying?
"Woah, hey" he rushed towards her crying figure and sat beside his bestfriend.
"What's wrong?" He gently asked and Shen Yue, being the stubborn girl she was, simply shook her head.
"Its nothing" she meekly replied.
"No its not. Tell me. Now"
Shen Yue looked him straight in the eyes
"Get out."
Dylan was confused. Why is she mad at him? Sure she's pissed because he didn't showed up at the reunion but he didn't expect for her to be this mad.
"Listen, I'll make it up to you. Tomorrow I'm yours"
What dylan said caught Shen Yue offguard and she found herself being lured in back to Dylan.
"Don't say those kinds of things to me, Wang He Di!" She shouted and stood up. 

Oh now she's definitely pissed. Dylan also stood up and crossed his arms against his chest. 

"You're being dramatic, you know that right? I said I was sorry what more do I have to do??" Dylan was tired. First, he drove all the way to Shen Yue's apartment to comfort his drunk now sober friend, second Darren tried to pick a fight with him by saying he's leading Shen Yue on, and now Yue's actually mad at him. For whatever reason he doesn't know and he was getting impatient. 

"I hate you for not showing up!!" Was all Shen Yue said before Dylan exploded. 

"Can you please stop acting like my girlfriend for a minute and calm the fuck down?! Why are you so damn mad? I drove here at 3am to check up on you and now you're screaming and getting mad at me? To make things worst, Darren is also fighting with me. Are you all that mad because I didn't showed up at the stupid reunion?!" Dylan was mad as hell and he was fuming. He didn't mean to shout at Shen Yue and this is their first real fight.
Shen Yue on the other hand was trying hard not to cry. 

I'm not his girlfriend. She thought. 

Before she could stop herself, she was crying again.
Dylan at the sight of Shen Yue crying, softened his gaze and tried to hug her. Yue only step further away at Dylan and wiped her tears.
"Yue Yue, you know I didn't mean to shout at you." Dylan's voice was soft as a feather and he really looked apologetic. He tried hugging her again but she stopped him before he get any closer to her.
Their they were, staring at each other and waiting for the other one to speak up. Dylan was scared to mess up their friendship and Shen Yue was hurt. Both were stubborn and prideful in their own ways but as always, Shen Yue was the one to first speak up.
"W-why didn't you go for me?" She asked him, while looking down. She couldn't dare meet his eyes but knowin Dylan, he knows how confuse he was about the situation.
"Huh?" It was a stupid response but you can't blame him. Dylan was genuinely confuse.
"Why did you pick Ciaxo Wu... and not me." 

Dylan was dumbfounded.

Shen Yue bit her lip waiting for his reply.
"She just gets me but I'm not saying that you don't get me either. Its just that..." dylan couldn't continue his sentence for he doesn't know the answer.
Why didn't he went after Shen Yue?
Dylan was anxious and he was hoping for Darren to enter the room but it never happened.
Damn did he fell asleep on the couch? He thought.
Shen Yue sighed and looked towards Dylan who was staring at her. She could see that he was concern and for a moment, she regretted getting mad at him.
"Did you think you led me on?" She asked him and all Dylan could do was shrug.
She scoffed at him and he panic slightly.
"I think you're still drunk. Why don't you lie down?" Dylan montioned for her to go back to bed but she refuse.
Maybe it was the alcohol taking a toll on her thinking or maybe it was the way he was looking at her at this very moment, but whatever it is Shen Yue couldn't hold back her emotions anymore.

She took a deep breath before speaking. 

"I've always been there for you, Dylan. I'm always the one who would answer you phone calls no matter how busy I am because you needed someone to listen to your stories. I'm always the one who would accompany you to do grocery shopping because you find it very boring. I'm always the one who would comfort you whenever the hate gets too much and would prepare your favorite meal in order to cheer you up. I'm always your one call away person but the truth is, you couldn't see how much I care for you. I-I love you." Shen Yue finally confessed her feelings before wiping her tears.
She looked at the boy she happens to love ever since the beginning of shooting. The boy who first made her feel something. The boy who taught her how to kiss. 

But as she looked at him, her heart began to break. He was looking at her as if they were strangers; with no love in his eyes. Did she misread his actions?

"Go to bed. I think you're still pretty drunk. Sleep on it. I'm going now" Dylan's voice was monotone and before Shen Yue could reply, he exited her bedroom.