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“You take a small jump to the left while you swing your arms to the right. Hop back in place with the glow sticks in front of you before doing the same thing in the opposite direction. Hmm, not bad for a newbie, but you have to feel it, you have to glow!”
It wasn’t often that Idia and Jamil could meet up. Between his responsibilities and Idia’s active efforts to avoid being seen in public, their interactions dwindled down. Still, Jamil put much effort to finish everything and put Kalim (or the entirety of Scarabia) to bed early in order to visit the brooding wallflower known as Idia.
It was strange, really, how they danced to the numerous songs Idia played. It was a style Jamil was not familiar with, and while annoyed, Idia made the promise of improving him from being a newbie to a pro. Neither understood how their interactions came to be, but it was undeniable that they both enjoyed it. As foreign as it may be, Jamil could let out his expressions with the dance. The stress of the previous weeks would slip away as he spent more time in Ignihide.
On the occasion where Jamil or Idia were too tired, they would sit on the floor or bed and enjoy the other’s company. They didn’t feel the need to replace the silence, in fact, it was what they needed. Someone they trusted to just let them exist in peace, even if it was for a few moments.
Once though, after the events that took place that winter break, Jamil was just too exhausted for anything. Without realizing it, he fell down on the bed beside Idia who was battling in some mobile app. His mind was fuzzy from the nightmares that plagued him, how addicting the blot was becoming. Fear and pleasure mixed together and created a horrible cacophony of visions. Not being able to take much more, he finally collapsed at Idia’s side. Through the haze, he could faintly hear Idia’s stuttering or the dying screams from the phone. That night he didn’t have any blot-filled dreams.
It was Ortho who woke them up in the morning with a cheerful but teasing tone in his voice. Unknowingly, Jamil curled around Idia’s arm in his sleep, preventing the other from getting up. Apparently he didn’t want to move Jamil, and opted to wait before falling asleep as well. Now his cheek was nestled on the top of Jamil’s head as he breathed softly before abruptly shooting up when the first thing he saw was Jamil staring back at him with a dazed look. In great embarrassment, Jamil quickly got up and apologized before booking it to Scarabia, ignoring the way his cheeks flushed or how he didn’t want to leave the warmth of Idia’s room.
“Jamil, you’re always on time everyday. Did something happen today? Can I help you with it?”
“I… There was a bug in the closet.”
Since that day, whenever the two would meet up, their dancing lessons grew shorter. Idia’s stuttering and ramblings increased as the tips of his hair grew pinker the more he stared at Jamil before looking away. To Jamil, he assumed that Idia was embarrassed or even ashamed from what happened that night. The days passed by until he stopped visiting entirely. Guilt and shame gnawed at him, preventing him from looking towards Idia and ignoring any mentions of Ignihide.
Watching from the sides, Kalim eventually dragged Jamil to a hallway and expressed his concerns. How Jamil became more sullen as time went on, his mood soured easily and snapped to any dorm member unfortunate enough to make a mistake in his presence. It shocked Jamil, because at that moment, he understood just how alone he felt. Truth was that he missed being able to talk to Idia, to dance with him, to be in his company. What was worse was how his feelings ran deeper . How he looked forward to seeing Idia smile when he finished a dance correctly, or when they would occasionally brush hands when Idia handed him a glow stick, or how his cheeks turned pink as he laughed at a witty comment Jamil made.
He told Kalim that he had a falling out with a friend, but was resolved to fix the problem. He knew what he felt, and he would be damned if he didn’t do anything to at least salvage what was possible. With Kalim’s encouragement and cheerleading, Jamil marched to the kitchen and prepared the best snacks he could make that would also appeal to Idia’s tastes. Wrapping them up in a beautiful gift box, he marched towards Ignihide with Kalim crying and giving his blessing.
Jamil was fortunate that most students of Ignihide were also reclusive and stayed in their rooms. Hardly anyone walked out unless it was to scavenge for food. So far not many students knew that he was a regular visitor, and Ortho promised to take care of anyone who did catch sight of him. It must have worked, as no one dared make any mention of his relationship with Idia, and if they saw him on school grounds then they would pale before running away.
Walking down familiar halls, he grew nervous as he neared Idia’s door. With a few deep breaths, he knocked on the door. There was a slight gasp and hushed whispering quickly began. A few moments later he was about to knock again before Ortho opened the door. From behind him, Jamil could see Idia curled up on his bed, shocked, with his eyes slightly red.
“Ah, excuse me Ortho, I would like to talk to Idia.”
Ortho narrowed his eyes slightly but quickly turned to look at Idia. With a slight nod towards Ortho, he opened the door before moving to the hallway.
“Call me if you need anything, okay brother?”
“……Alright”
He left, not before tossing one more glance towards Idia.
Stepping in Jamil took a look around the room. Idia would normally clean most of the stray wires or piles of dirty clothes whenever he would visit, but with such short notice the room was left a mess. Idia himself curled his blanket around him and kept his eyes on the floor while sneaking glances towards Jamil.
Stepping forward, Jamil gingerly cradled the sweets in his hands.
“Idia, I-“
“What type of surprise boss is this? You leave and come back with what, a gift? It has to be a trick, something to lower my def before you go aggro on me!”
“No, I-“
“I know that’s it! I’m just the guy cursed with rotten luck and this strange, gross fiery hair, aren't I? W-well just go! You accomplished your mission and I failed this level, so you can just go!”
The flames that made up his fair flickered before dying down as Idia became more emotional. Tears threatened to fall once again as Idia hid his face in his blanket.
It hurt Jamil to see the object of his affection be so self-deprecating. He softly placed the gift down before sitting down and moving to pat Idia’s head.
“Idia, I didn’t come here to antagonize you. I actually wanted to apologize.”
“…”
“I’m sorry for leaving without warning. I thought you were not comfortable with me after I fell asleep here and pushed you away. I’m sorry for not realizing this mistake sooner and making you feel like this.”
Idia’s face reappeared, a look of disbelief on his face, yet a small sparkle of hope in his eyes. Jamil saw it and gave a small but soft smile. Moving closer, he encompassed Idia in a hug, or at least tried. It was awkward to do so while Idia was one big ball in a blanket and limbs. Still, he did his best and stayed there, hoping that his sincerity would reach him.
Little by little, Idia would shift from his cocoon and lean onto Jamil. Eventually he let the blanket fall from his arms as he returned the embrace, tears still falling. Jamil rubbed his back as he waited for Idia to calm down. With a small voice, Idia spoke up.
“Do you really mean it? You’re not trying to fool me?”
“Yes.”
Retreating Idia looked at Jamil, trying to find any form of deceit. In return Jamil lightly wiped away tears on Idia’s cheeks, causing him to blush and look down. He started crying once again when Jamil finished. He chuckled as the red from Idia’s cheeks moved to his ears.
“If you keep crying like this, I’ll have to ask you to do the Kobeni dance.”
“Does that mean you’ll take me on a date first?”
They both stopped at those words before Idia hid his incredibly red face in his hands. His pale skin only made it more noticeable. Jamil was shocked to a stupor before responding bashfully.
“I-ahem, If that’s what you want…”
“WHAT?!”
Idia looked at him with astonishment, and seizing the opportunity, Jamil leaned forward and pressed a light kiss on Idia’s cheek. Laughing, he tackled Idia down on the bed.
“You asked for it, didn’t you?”
“I-I, I HAVEN'T PREPARED FOR THIS! This is cheating!”
Despite his fretting, neither of the boys could hide their smiles.
“This has to be a dream, how could I have possibly gotten the good ending? I was sure I failed this route.”
“Call it a fake out, I’m sure you experienced many of those.”
“Well, yeah but-”
“But this is what happened, now quite down, you look like you need sleep.”
Picking up the blanket, Jamil set it on the both of them as they closed their eyes. For the first time in a while, they drifted off with nothing but happy thoughts and hopeful futures.