COMFORT PLACE | bang chan.

[ 13 ] a cat doesn't give what's his away easily

"Are you drunk?"

"No."

"Then you hit your head?"

"No."

Nao stares at me with wide bemused eyes, blinking, unmoving.

I watch with a stubborn look as she slowly leans left, her eyes never leaving me as she whispers to Ryuu.

"Should we call an ambulance?"

Ryuu is sitting next to her on my bed holding an emotionless expression. His own eyes are calculating as he studies my face, stern and analysing. He's thinking, deep in thought, and I let what I had just told the two of them slowly sink in.

They both sit in front of me in my bedroom side by side whilst I'm sitting before them on my desk chair, legs up and crossed and my arms tight around a plushie. Ryuu continues to stare at me with a hard gaze while Nao only looks at me like I've grown two heads.

I told them about SKZ. I told them that I'm close friends with them.

They seem to be taking it... okay.

Probably because it hasn't hit them yet.

"Prove it." Ryuu's leveled voice draws me out of thoughts.

"Yeah, we don't believe you," Nao adds, a perfect eyebrow raised. "A prank like this is low even for you."

I frown. "Why on earth would I prank you both?"

She shrugs animatedly. Ryuu's eyes narrow the slightest bit. I gulp.

"Look," I continue, twirling a lock of hair around my finger. "I need you both to listen to me. I need you both to try to understand. Is that okay?"

I'm caught off guard at the way Nao's confused expression suddenly melts into concern. Concern was definitely not something I had expected. She leans forward, a frown adorning her lips. "I'll try," she tells me, "But I'm just confused. Didn't those boys hurt you?"

At those words, my grip around the plushie tightens, and my reply is instant, sharp. "They didn't," I insist, my tone harsh. "Not on purpose."

Nao startles at my sudden glare. I only feel a little bit bad.

"But they still did," Ryuu chimes in, filling the silence that had followed, and I can definitely see something swirling in those cat-like eyes of his. Something bitter. Something fierce.

Heavy confusion settles over me, and I find myself being taken aback. Out of all the ways I expected them to react, I didn't expect anger, I didn't expect worry, I didn't expect hesitance. I expected them to be upset that I kept something this important from them for so long, but instead, they seem to be concerned that I've kept in touch with them.

I didn't think that would be a problem.

"They're kind people. They didn't mean any harm. They're my friends."

"They're idols, Pecha," Ryuu answers and the sudden shift in his tone does nothing but make my blood run cold. "They care more about their image than people like us."

Something stirs up inside me, and I feel something snap. I regard him with a hard glare. "Don't say that," I murmur. "Take that back."

Ryuu only continues to stare at me, unimpressed with his lips in a straight line, not startling at my sudden anger as Nao had.

Her voice draws my eyes away from him, turning my head to fix her with a look, but her expression is different from Ryuu's — she's worried. "So you're saying you still talk to them? As friends?"