Rai stared at Zade with growing frustration as the words tumbled out of his mouth one after another.
"Have you never heard alcohol will kill you? Aren't you a doctor? Will you slow down a bit? Will you stop now? That's enough. For fuck's sake, it's the third can of beer! Why did you even drag me here? Are you listening to me at all? I am-"
"God, will you shut up for a second?"
Zade's voice cut straight through his rant.
Rai froze mid-sentence, glaring at him. Being interrupted irritated him more than he wanted to admit. The scoff that left his lips came naturally as he stared at the man beside him.
"You dragged me here," Rai said firmly. "So I'm going to stay. And I'm not going to shut up."
Zade chuckled quietly, clearly amused, before taking another careless gulp of beer.
"Okay," he said lazily. "Continue."
"…What?"
"Continue. Your stupid lectures. That's all I needed to hear at last. But alright."
Rai blinked, disbelief flickering across his face.
"I am leaving."
"You are not."
"I am."
"You won't."
"I will."
Rai glared at him, the challenge hanging between them.
"You can't," Zade muttered.
"Heh. I can."
Rai pushed his hands against the sofa, about to stand just to prove his point.
But he didn't.
He could have.
Yet somehow, he stayed exactly where he was.
Why?
The question echoed quietly in his mind.
"Please… stay."
The words were barely above a whisper.
Was it because of that voice?
Or because the faint tremor in it reached his 'empathatic' heart?
Or was it simply because this was the first time Rai had ever heard Zade sound so… helpless?
Which one was it?
Rai wasn't exactly sure.
All he knew was that his body felt strangely heavy, as if he had been glued to the sofa without realizing it.
His gaze remained fixed on Zade.
The man was sprawled across the couch, occupying almost all the space except the small corner where Rai sat. A crushed beer can was trapped loosely between Zade's fingers, the metal bent under the careless pressure of his grip.
He looked completely drunk.
Messy.
Unbothered.
And,
Not okay.
'Okay. I will fucking stay.'
He was nice like that.
"Then treat me with respect, asshole. And stop drinking in front of me like an alcoholic." Rai leaned back into the sofa, crossing his arms, staring anywhere but at Zade. But he saw it, the tired, lazy, faintly mocking smirk on Zade's face...
'Bastard is never going to behave but still maybe I should actually shut u-'
"Continue," Zade said aloud, forcing Rai's head to turn slowly toward him.
"...What?"
Zade tilted the empty can in his hand, like it held some secret truth about the universe. "Your lecture," he muttered, voice low. "You were halfway through murdering my ears."
Rai frowned. "Yo-"
"Actually, it's better than what I hear from my father all the time," Zade interrupted, smirking as if he knew exactly how to push every button. "You're just… bitchy~, and I like it. Yeah. So… continue."
Rai's fingers curled into fists.
Rai had stayed here, with the bastard, because the bastard didn't look so okay. And this bastard just called him a bitch, didn't he?
Well, that's expected of Zade. But, Rai would not shut up about it now.
"Zade, you're an asshole."
"You had told me before," Zade replied, leaning back lazily, taking another sip of beer. The clink of the can on the table made Rai's teeth grit.
"And I want to punch you so badly right now," Rai said, voice low but tight, controlled, like he was trying not to explode.
"You may hold back, darling."
Zade said it lazily, but every word in his tone suggested the opposite. It was almost like an invitation.
Rai took a slow breath and tried to calm himself down. He knew what Zade was doing. Zade was trying to push him, trying to drag his temper out into the open just so he could watch it burn.
Rai refused.
He would endure.
He would not give in to the temptation today.
'I will not lose my temper with him today,' Rai told himself firmly.
He was nice like that.
"Why did you drag me here?" Rai finally asked, his voice tight but controlled. "You know I have work to do. If you just called me here for this then-"
"Then what do you want to do?"
Rai blinked. "…Huh?"
"What do you want to do?" Zade repeated, staring at him with dull, tired eyes.
"I want to leave," Rai replied flatly. "I hate the smell of alcohol. And you're already drunk. So-"
"Oh, I know." Zade let out a quiet laugh, low and rough. "You hate me. I know that one."
The bitterness in his voice made Rai pause.
Why did that make him feel… bad?
Rai had said harsh things to Zade before. Truly harsh things sometimes. But Zade had never sounded like this. Never looked like this.
Something about it felt wrong.
No.
This was manipulation!
Still… guilt crept into Rai's chest.
"Isn't that what you wanted, Zade?" Rai said slowly. "Me hating you? Me losing my mind because of your stupid, idiotic actions?"
Zade tilted his head slightly.
"Yeah," he admitted quietly. "I wanted that. I wanted you to hate me to the bone. Hate me so much you'd want to kill me."
His gaze hardened.
"But why is it that you're so good at it?"
Rai frowned.
"Hating me," Zade continued. "Hurting me."
His lips curled slightly.
"You're evil, Rai. So fucking evil."
Rai let out a low, disbelieving chuckle, irritation mixing with something darker.
"I'm evil?" he said. "Zade, you're drunk. And confused. If you think clearly for five seconds you'll remember who started all of this… and why I apparently became evil in your eyes."
Zade gave a hollow laugh.
"Heh… yeah. I'm drunk. Sure."
He leaned back, staring at the ceiling.
"But my mind is very clear."
His eyes slid back to Rai.
"And to answer that? It was you."
Rai's brows drew together.
"You started it," Zade continued slowly. "You were standing there… so proud. So self-righteous. So fucking high-headed."
His voice grew rough.
"I hated it."
Rai stayed silent.
"I hated the way you acted like you were some kind of authority. Like you knew better than everyone else."
Zade's grip tightened around the empty beer can.
"I always knew people like you were the worst."
His voice dropped into something colder.
"Acting like saints. Acting like they are perfect…"
He looked straight at Rai now.
"But deep down? They are the cruelest ones. The most disgusting. The most evil."
Silence filled the room.
For once, Rai didn't have an immediate answer.
After all this time… he had actually been left speechless.
He never knew Zade carried this much hatred.
For him.
For the way he acted.
No....that's a lie.
He knew...
He just never heard it said out loud by him, in this tone...
It felt weird.
Hearing Zade explain...his stupid reasonings...
And, anger slowly returned.
"So you decided I piss you off the moment you stepped into our school and saw me?" Rai asked quietly.
The calmness in his voice was almost unsettling.
He wasn't sure where this conversation was going. Maybe they would both lose patience and start digging up old incidents. Maybe it would turn into a fight.
Maybe fists would get involved.
But something else had taken hold of Rai now.
Curiosity.
He wanted to hear it.
All of it.
Everything Zade had not told him before.
And, about them. Him and Zade.
Everything...