Innocuous (YiZhan/ZhanYi)

Chapter 12 I Can't Make You Love Me

Author notes: English is not my first language, so please forgive my mistakes and awkward writing. This is NOT for profit. I don't own them. AU (as in Alternate Universe) and maybe OOC (as in Out of Character).

Author notes 2: My eternal gratitude to @JJSin2020 for editing this.

Author Notes 3: The song is I Can't Make You Love Me by George Michael

Thanks for the votes and comments! They really encourage me.

The ring of his doorbell sounded loudly, waking Yi Bo. Still disoriented, he took a moment to remember where he was. Last night at Zhan's home had been so emotionally draining for him that he was still in a daze. He was in his own apartment, wearing his pajamas. After arriving home last night, he had taken a quick shower before going to bed.

It had been a painful, but necessary task. The warm water droplets sliding on his skin had erased Zhan's scent and washed away the evidence of their passion, but the sensation of his touch on Yi Bo's skin still lingered. The water had wiped not only his passion's remnants, but also the tears that he allowed himself to spill freely from his eyes. After that, he had gone to bed and cried himself to sleep.

The ringing on his doorbell gave no respite. Whoever was there pushing that button was relentless. He finally felt conscious enough to get up, reaching for his cellphone he looked at the hour, 8:00 in the morning on a Saturday. What the fuck?!

He padded barefoot towards his doorway, 'this better be a fucking emergency' he thought. "I'm coming," he kind of shouted towards the person asking for entrance at the other side of his door. It did nothing to deter that person since the doorbell didn't dwindle one bit.

At last, he reached the door and opened it, truly annoyed by the impatience of whoever was there. A huge surprise was waiting for him behind that door.

"Lulu? What are you doing here?" he asked dumfounded. Lulu had never set foot in his apartment before. Ever. He couldn't remember if he had even told her where he actually lived since all her interactions with his family had taken place at his parents' home.

"Good morning to you too. Can I come in?" was her acerbic response.

He had barely moved out of the way when she walked decidedly into his home.

"Can I offer you something?" he asked, trying his best to be a gracious host, like his mother had ingrained in him from early childhood.

"No thanks. I'm not here to pay you a social call. We need to talk," she said matter-of-factly. She was impeccably dressed, hair and make-up perfect in this unholy hour of a Saturday morning.

"Sure, I..." he was really confused by her attitude. "I need to change," he said while waving his hand at himself to point out he was still wearing his PJ's.

"That...will not be necessary, I'll be brief. I just have some questions that need a prompt answer."

"Okay, what do you need to know?" he asked her nonplussed.

She looked at him in the eye and point blank asked him, "Are you in love, Yi Bo?" A determined look graced her face.

"What?!" Now he was genuinely confused.

"Please, answer me as sincerely as you can. We are still friends no-matter-what, aren't we?" she tried to sound reassuring. However, Yi Bo perceived an inner turmoil in her voice.

"Of course, we are. I...I'm. Yes, I am in love," he finally confessed to her.

"For the sake of clarification, are you in love with me?" she questioned him. She was after something, but for the life of him, Yi Bo didn't know what it was.