< Nina >
“You want me to stay over?” Gene blinks, unsure of what he heard.
“It’s getting late, Gene,” I answer, with a sheepish smile.
Besides, I don’t want you to stay outside for the whole evening while your family locks the door. I thought.
He only nods as he mutters to me a thank you.
I think I must be crazy to ask him to stay. But after the events that happened earlier, I couldn’t sleep. I couldn’t stop thinking that I will be moving away.
“Well, I have nothing against Gene staying here since I trust him. But as your mother, it’s my responsibility to say that he has to sleep on the floor,” my mom says after I told her about the plan.
She was busy washing the dishes when I told her about my plan. It’s been a while since Gene had any sleepover. The last time he did come over to sleep was… when we were eight.
“Sure thing, mom.”
“Also,” she quickly adds after she turns off the tap water. “Make sure to be extra careful unless you want to give me a grandchild,” she says with a wink.
“Mom!” I squeak. “Gene and I aren’t like that at all.”
She only giggles as I only frown.
Ah, whatever, at least she gave me an okay.
As I prepare the duvet and two extra pillows for Gene, he just stands there, pondering. Like there are many things that have been bothering him.
In fact, even before the surprise, he was staring off-space as if his mind had been drifting somewhere.
“Gene?” That catches his attention as it breaks the trail of his thoughts. He goes closer to me and sits on my bed.
“Sorry, I was thinking.”
“Of what?” After I finish preparing his bed, I stand up and sit next to him on the bed.
He hesitates for a while as he hums.
Huh, didn’t know he actually hums.
“I’m trying to think what’s even more surprising? The fact that your mom is getting married to a celebrity, your sudden transfer to the most prestigious school in the whole country, or you living with a complete stranger for a year?”
“Well, it’s definitely all the above.” I chuckle. “You know, if you accept my mom’s offer, you might easily get into Dawn Peak Academy.”
Unlike me who fails in everything, Gene is a whiz kid. Even if he misses classes thanks to our bullies, he has no problem understanding any subject as long as he reads it. It can be mathematical problems, memorizing historical facts, and heck, Spanish doesn’t seem to be a problem for him.
Oh let’s not forget that he solves Calculus as a hobby.
Gene raises a brow. “It looks like you’re taking this news well.”
“Not really.” I frown. “I can’t say no, Gene. My mom looks...she looks happy, you know?”
“And you won’t in return.”
“I guess it's just for one year.” And afterward, I’m going to Spain to be with my mom and Rodrigo, oh joy.
“Your future stepbrother,” he says as his mind goes somewhere else again. “Was he the one who’s hot enough to melt a person but his glare could freeze someone to death?”
“Huh?! Who said that?” My voice grows an octave higher but then I blush due to embarrassment.
“Your fourteen-year-old self did.”
“R-really? I don’t remember it at all.”
Frankly, I don’t remember what he looks like anymore. Each time I recall that encounter, all I remember was a faceless figure with scary icy gray eyes that could kill you in an instant.
“He’s also famous around the enterprise, I’ve read a lot about him,” Gene says. “He changed Milano Inc. for the better and deals business with finance and healthcare. A lot of companies would love to merge or acquire as it offers generous benefits in return for their sworn loyalty to him.”
“Sounds like a line coming out from the Godfather.”
“Yeah,” he nods, flatly. “Honestly with that influence and power, I think you’re safer there than here, Nina.”
I just stare at him. “That’s what you’re thinking during dinner?”
He shrugs. “More or less.”
“D-do you think I should really go? It’s eight hours away from here and...” I pause, my voice quivering as I try to emphasize my point. “Gene, you’ll be alone here.”
He doesn’t answer as once again, he looks at his own hands, a habit he often does when he’s regretting something. “I’m used to it. And as I’ve said, it would be better off if you’re away from here.”
It’s as if he’s implying that he wanted me to cut him off his life.
“Gene, I—”
“Don’t worry, Nina,” he says as he smiles, reassuringly. He pats my head, dotingly. “We will call every day.”
“B-but I don’t have a phone.”
“You will find ways,” he says, firmly.
I don’t know what to say. Sometimes my weird best friend says the most unpredictable things. Instead of arguing with him, I decide to lean on his shoulder and mutter, “I wish you’re coming with me instead.”
“You know I can’t.”
Of course, he can’t. I grimace, unsure what to say.
“T-then...can you sleep next to me?” My cheeks redden at the sudden proposal. I look up to see his expression.
Gene Sullivan, who is always stoic and never hesitates to say the harshest things to others, looks at me with his light copper eyebrows arches in surprise. His green eyes lit up and his cheeks flush naturally like the color of his hair.
If it weren’t for the bandages, I might see him as red as a tomato.
Mouth-open and unsure what to say, he immediately snaps back to reality and coughs. “Nina, in case you have forgotten, I’m a dude.”
“Well, I’m going to live with a complete stranger, right? At least give me a chance to spend more time with you.”
I know it sounded selfish but I couldn’t sleep. Today has been tiring and all I want is a familiar comfort that makes sense to me.
And Gene fits that perfectly.
Besides, after all these years of being together, we haven’t seen each other more than friends. You can call it platonic in the sense that we feel comfortable being together.
“You’re getting bolder, Nina,” he says. There is mirth in his tone. A rare sound coming from him that only I can hear. Green eyes staring at my brown ones. “First you asked your mom for this sudden sleepover and now this?”
“That’s the first time someone said that to me,” I giggle a bit, finding his statement amusing.
He let out a slight chuckle. And one thing I will definitely miss is this. The feeling of his laughter resonating in my ears feels so much like comfort.
Sort of home.
Oh drats, I’m already homesick and I haven’t left the town yet.
But he doesn’t say anything afterward when I offer it and all of the sudden, it makes me embarrassed. “Y-you don’t have to sleep next to me. I know it’s w-weird and all.”
But then again, why didn’t I just say it was a joke and move on?
He doesn’t say anything, instead, he stands up and leans to get one of the pillows on the floor and place it next to mine.
“So, what are we going to talk about?” As he lies next to me.
I stare oddly at my best friend then I burst out a chortling laugh. “You sure are a weird one.”