The School Idol's Roommate

The dread Aki expected to feel during dinner did not happen. Everyone was convivial. Even Liam got into a better mood after talking and sharing jokes with Aki's friends.

After dinner Drew volunteered to wash the plates as Aki brought Zy to the spot beside the window overlooking the lush trees below.

"This is amazing!" Zy's eyes were round with amazement and Aki felt a surge of pride. This was his favorite place in the house.

Zy put a hand over his mouth and leaned a bit, the look in his eyes reminded Aki of the characters in movies who were about to spill top secret information and he could not help but chuckle at the thought. Zy looked at him with a warning as if to silence him, though he did nothing to hide the smile threatening to spill on his lips. "We're like peasants groveling at a king don't you think?"

The idea of Zy groveling and faking his obeisance looked ridiculous in his head that Aki could not stop giggling. Zy joined him. They probably looked like idiots laughing out of the blue.

"We're not really groveling though," Aki snorted.

"No, but just look at Liam and at this place. Then look at you and me," Zy pointed at the two of them, "we might as well beg at his feet."

"Where did you even get that crazy idea?" Aki berated his friend but also could not stop grinning. "Your sense of humor is weird." And they laughed together at that.

Someone cleared their throat behind them. Aki turned and found Liam crouching in front of the TV fiddling with the remotes. "What do you want to do next? Shall we play a game?"

"Let's do it!" Zy happily joined Liam and browsed the games available.

Aki was once more filled with uneasiness. Liam with that strained voice again. He plopped on the sofa and hugged his knees and let Zy and Liam decide on what games they should play. The knot on Aki's gut was back and it was more intense than earlier.

He kept on stealing glances at Liam, trying to understand him as if even a single blink could give Aki a hint of what goes inside his roommate's head. With his mind and eyes focused on something else, Aki kept on losing the game. Zy teased him while Liam kept his face blank, his full attention to the game.

After a while Drew joined them and all four of them played and drank the booze, along with the snacks that Drew and Zy brought. Tired of losing, Aki binged on the foods instead, watching the other three as he curled on the sofa.

Not long after Aki stopped playing, one by one, his friends got tired of playing too. It was Zy who suggested they do something else instead.

"Let's watch some movies!"

Drew and Aki sighed, both of them knowing full well this would come up eventually.

Liam was the only one who looked excited. He asked, "Alright, what do you want?"

Zy grinned. "Don't worry I've created a list on Netflix. You can choose whichever you like," he said as he prepared. "These are my favorites so they're all good."

When Zy opened his list, his face brimmed with pride. Meanwhile, Liam froze on his spot.