Don't Come Near Me, I'm Just a Background Character [BL Harem]

66 - He Fucked Up

Time stopped.

The world hushed into an eerie silence, as if waiting with bated breath.

The careful ticks of the grandfather clock seemed to mock him, echoing in the suffocating air of the living room. Reask was paralyzed. It was as though the weight of the universe pressed down on him. His entire body felt like it was pressed onto the achingly cold marble floor, electrocuting him with thin, incapacitating shivers.

"Do you like me?"

The question hung in the air like a specter. The soft words seemed to pierce his mind like an arrow, over and over until he couldn't think. What did it mean? How should he answer?

In just half a second, his mind pounded awake as questions shot through his mind like bullets slicing through his skull. His chest felt like it was stuffed with cotton and a choking, revolting feeling surged from his heart. Tears stung at the corners of his eyes, his throat tightening with the overwhelming rush of emotion.

He had no idea how to respond.

Of course he liked him. He adored him. Every aspect of Remis was etched into his mind, each trait more captivating to him than the last. His compassionate personality was just as stubborn, so endearingly adorable that Reask would give him anything he wanted. His sharp, creative mind which changed the fire element like no one else in the world could. His eyes, as bright and vibrant as the sun. His fascinating jet-black hair seemed to suck people in. His soft, fair face was so breathtakingly lovely. He radiated innocence, so much so it was almost unworldly, like a deity visiting the world on an impromptu vacation.

Everyone who met him was infatuated. It was impossible not to fall for someone like him.

He wanted to say yes. He felt like his chest was spilling out of his body, repeating the words he liked him, of course he liked him, he wanted to love him, he wanted to protect him, he wanted to learn and treasure him... But amidst the whirlwind of emotions, doubt lingered. The crown prince just confessed to the person he liked, he was just a commoner with one-sided love.

But there was an unrelenting bud of hope that sprouted in his heart. He felt himself being pulled closer, led on by the vain dream that maybe, just maybe, Remis asked him for a reason.

I feel helpless.

"I..." Remis started, his voice soft. His face was covered by a shadow, his expression indistinct. "I don't know why I'm asking you this. I should go."

Reask's breath seemed to stop. The confusion of the strange event was overtaken by the fear of Remis leaving. The fear of never seeing his beautiful face again, never listening to his brilliant mind go on incomprehensible tirades as he tried to make sense of a complicated spell. Reask felt his heart tighten. Without thinking, he reached out and grabbed his waist, pulling him back. Remis let out a small cry as he stumbled back into the knight's arms.

"Yes," Reask said. He felt his heartbeat grow infinitely faster.

"Yes...?" Remis mumbled. He tried to struggle out of the redhead's arms, but they remained firmly wrapped around his waist, so carefully soft as if afraid of hurting him yet still securely unmovable. "...what-"

"Yes, I like you. I like you so much I think I might die." Reask said, his voice cracking. He buried his head in the Remis' smaller frame, breathing in the fragrance to calm his mind. "I've liked you since I first met you..." his voice, slightly muffled by the nobleman's shirt, became all the more sincere.

Remis felt his stomach knot as a complicated lump of feelings grew. His struggling slowly stalled as his mind began to buzz. He barely noticed the arm tightening around his waist, as if it grew even more scared of him leaving after his silence.

He likes me? Remis thought. He... really likes me? Remis gulped. I... I was just scared.

After Lucius confessed to him, his agitation blew out of him like a volcano. His entire life here he was so scared of changing the plotline, and now one of the main capture targets liked him.

Remis didn't know how long it had been going on. He didn't know anything about it, but it meant so much more than just a prince liking him.

There must have been an aberration in the plotline. A bug, a wave of change. What else could have changed?

He just wanted to see. Just to confirm, his presence actually meant nothing, it was nothing. He couldn't ask a capture target whether he liked him, though. What if he really did? What more damage could he have done?

Maybe he just wanted to ease his doubts. Remis knew, almost for a fact, that Reask, that flustered little tomato, would never like him. He just wanted to hear it for himself: that he was crazy, why would he ask such a weird question to his roommate. He wanted to see a normal, expected reaction from him: that flustered, embarrassed and bashful reaction as Reask said "are you crazy, why would I", like usual.

And yet, this happened.

Remis glanced down at the firm arm circling around his waist and felt his skin tingle. He thought back to the firm and determined confession he had just received, the opposite of a normal and expected reaction he wanted.

His mind was stretched taut as it continued buzzing, faster and faster until he could barely push his thoughts out.

Shit. Just what have I done?