The Number One Star in the Interstellar Era

REAS realized that he made a blunder just now because of his brother's teasing tone. He almost slap himself because of that. Knowing Astrid, he would definitely tease him to no end if he didn't give the other a proper answer. So, as calmly as he could, he answered;

"We sometimes exchange messages and he just told me that he was shooting a variety program."

"Lauren and I also exchange messages sometimes. But how come I didn't know about that?" Astrid said, giving him a knowing look. "I wonder just how often this 'sometimes' of yours is."

Reas tried his best to make sure that his expression wouldn't crack. "Sometimes, a 'sometime' is just a sometime."

Astrid laughed. "Now, that's a pretty bad tongue twister."

Reas rolled his eyes. "I'm glad you're entertained."

"Fine. I won't delve deeper any longer," Astrid said as if admitting defeat.

If he pushed more, who knew if this brother of his would feel awkward around Lauren and stop messaging the other 'sometimes'. He wouldn't want to be the reason why Reas' love life would come to a standstill.

Reas just continued eating his breakfast. If he responded to that, the other would definitely tease him more. But as he did, he couldn't help but think back to what Astrid said about him and Lauren exchanging messages 'sometimes'.

Well, it's not really 'sometimes', but at least a few minutes every night if he's being more accurate. Okay, not just a few minutes. But 30 minutes at most. They didn't really talk about anything important. Just some random stuff that happened to them during the day. That's how he knew that Lauren was shooting a program today.

But if he told all that to Astrid, the other's teasing would become even worse. He'd rather avoid that.

"So, what did Ash say?" Astrid asked, changing the topic on his own accord.

"He said he's bored and asked if I could hang out with him," Reas answered.

"Tell him we could go and hang out together."

Reas stopped cutting his steak. "Are you sure about that?"

"Yeah, why not? He's a fun guy," Astrid said with a shrug.

Although they only met once, it was easy to tell that the other was very friendly. The kind who could easily be friends with anyone if he just so wanted. A total opposite of Reas. That's why he didn't expect that someone so... chirpy could be friends with his brother.

But Astrid knew that being friends with someone like that could be good for his brother. It would bring a much needed, well, noise to his brother's otherwise very orderly life.

"And he's your friend," he added.

Reas stared at his brother. He could almost see what the other was thinking. And he didn't correct him. Because it was the truth. Despite Ash being such a pain in the ass sometimes, and he meant that as the real meaning of 'sometimes', the other was a good influence to him. In that annoying sort of way.

"I'll tell him to meet us up," he said. "Why don't you invite your friends? I'm sure this guy wouldn't mind."

"I think that's a great idea."

----------

Ash was rolling around his bed in the dormitory. He usually spent his weekends at Beowulf or simply with his older brother. But after the other left the capital with his army, Ash was stuck at the dormitory.

He could, of course, go out and go somewhere to waste time. But he really didn't want to do that alone. He could invite other freshmen he became friends with to go somewhere and hang out. But he's not really comfortable with that, as weird as that might seem.

He might look like an easy-going guy who was fine with anything, but he's really quite sensitive. Again, as weird as that might seem.

The only one he was comfortable to do that with was Reas. Probably because the other was his roommate and they had already seen each other drooling or heard each other snoring while sleeping, that's why being uncomfortable with Reas could hardly be an issue.

The problem was, that guy was always on time going home. Or at least his home here in the capital. Which turned out to be Astrid's apartment.

It's like a clockwork for that guy. There wasn't even a time when Ash woke up during the weekend and he found Reas in their dorm room. The other probably leave even before the sun rose.

But since he's really, really bored right now, he couldn't resist sending Reas a message. He wasn't really expecting anything. He just sent it because he was bored. But soon, he actually received a reply. Not just a reply, but a positive one.

Ash read the message once again and when he confirmed that he didn't just have a hallucination, he grinned and started to get ready. Just a quick shower and all.

As he got into a taxi and told the driver his destination, he received another message. He thought that it was from Reas, but surprisingly enough, it was from his older brother.

[Ash, you are friends with Andreas Townsend, correct?]

He stopped walking when he read that. Although he was confused by the question, he quickly replied back;

[Yes, why?]

[Have you met his brother?]

Now, Ash's brows furrowed after reading that. [Why are you asking, Brother?]

[I take it that you have. Can you give him my number and tell him to contact me? Of course, whenever he has time. But the sooner he does, the better.]

Ash frowned even more. [Okay, Brother, what is this all about?]

[Let's just say, it's a private matter.]

Ash read that message and his eyes went all wide. [OMG, Brother, are you actually interested in Astrid?]

There was a long pause on the other side. It actually took a while before he received a reply.

[I see that you're still in the habit of jumping into conclusions. Should your big brother give you a long lecture once I return to the capital?]