The Unexpected Guest

♔♔♔

THE NEXT MONDAY came by faster than a bolt of lightning. In a flash, the events that transcended during the short camping trip we had were buried, laid forgotten deep in people's hearts and minds. Whatever fun-filled memories and melancholic experiences weren't heard of again, a strange phenomenon considering how we were all a bunch of gossipy youths.

For someone like me who was jobless and planless, I would've spent every morning in bed until the sun was high in the sky, signaling the coming of noon. However, somehow, at seven-thirty in the morning, I had been pried from the comforts of my bed. Still dressed in my pajamas and wearing signs of exhaustion on my face, I reached for the doorknob of my front door, yawning.

The doorbell had gone off a minute or two ago and it hasn't stopped ringing since. Unable to sleep with the ruckus, I was forced to deal with whoever was at the door.

When I finally unlocked it, pulling it open just a little to peek outside, I was surprised to see Jules standing there. She was dressed in her usual work attire, simple dark jeans and a black t-shirt, but what stood out was that she held an extra paper bag in her hands.

"Oh, it's you." Seeing that it was none other than Jules, I opened the door a little wider.

"Good morning. Sorry to disturb you so early, Aiko," Jules greeted sheepishly. Then, she raised the bag in her hand. "I need a favor. I'll make it up to you, promise."

"What are you doing here so early, Jules?" I whined, rubbing at my eyes. "Are you headed to work?"

"Yeah. I need you to help me pass this to Xavier. You might be meeting with Harr later, right? Since you're always over at his place anyway."

"Maybe. It's too early in the morning to decide. I might have to stay in to finish a commission, though." I raised a hand to my lips, stifling a yawn before smacking my lips together a few times. "What is it that you need to pass to him? Can't you just do it at work?"

She shook her head. "Can't. He's not working this week, according to the schedule." Jules lightly shoved the paper bag that she held onto my hands, gesturing to the contents inside. "It's Xavier's jacket. He loaned it to me on the last day of camp. I've already washed and dried it so just help me pass it to him and..."

"And?"

"And..." Jules's voice dropped to a soft murmur, "help me thank him."

Jules's cheeks were scarlet, a bright burning rosy red that rivaled the brightening sky outside and the yolky golden sun. Though she wore a pout, it certainly held no malice. All traces of animosity from before had disappeared without a single trace. The sight made me grin, lips curling upwards as I leaned against the doorframe.

"You know, the local summer festival is coming up again rather soon. It starts in a few days if I'm not mistaken. I'm planning on asking Harr to tag along with us this year. Should I invite Xavier to join as well?" I asked, a sly grin shaping my lips.

If it were even possible, Jules's cheeks turned even redder. She resembled a ripe apple, blushing as she pursed her lips shut.

"Erm..." She stuttered, caught off guard by my sudden question. Then, she quickly recovered by following up with a string of quick words. "Do whatever you want. I've to get going. Don't want to be late for work! Thanks again!"

With my laughter sprinkled around the atmosphere, Jules dashed away down the corridor, swiftly disappearing into the elevator of my apartment building. She had escaped the scene before I could slip in another teasing word, sprinting away with cheeks flushed scarlet and steam practically bellowing out of her ears. Even after her figure was long gone, I couldn't help but chuckle to myself.

The sight of my best friend flushed and bothered by the face of budding romance was such a refreshing sight to see as compared to her usual stoic and anti-love self. Love that blossomed in the face of youth was beautiful.

So beautiful and so out of reach.

♕♕♕

I arrived at Harr's house in the late afternoon. By then, dusk was already threatening to draw near. The skies were no longer a bright azure but instead purple, tinted by the red of the setting sun. Yet, as usual, Harr didn't question my untimely arrival. He simply opened the door with his usual jovial smile, a pair of scissors in hand and the other raised in a wave.

"Doing some trimming?" I asked, removing my shoes before stepping into his house. It was a habit that was ingrained to me long ago, one that Harr, thankfully, also practiced.

"Yeah." He shuffled back to the potted plant by the window, returning to trim at the leaves and branches as I locked the door behind me. "It's getting a little out of hand." His mouth was a little opened, lips parted just a little in concentration. "What's that in your hand? I doubt you're so nice as to bring some good food over."

"And to think that I brought some cookies over for you." Sighing, I clicked my tongue a few times in disappointment. "But you got me. Jules wanted me to return Xavier his jacket for her."

I walked over to where Harr sat, crossing the room in seconds before landing on the couch lazily. Raising my hand, I stretched it out to pass Harr the bag with Xavier's jacket. He looked away from the small bonsai plant for a bit, receiving the bag fluidly in one swoop before peering inside.

Harr wrinkled his nose, tossing the bag to the ground before returning to his task at hand. "Why can't she just pass it back to him herself?"

"Oh give the girl a break." I waved my hand, dismissing the idea. "She's still too shy from what happened that night. It was a rather cheesy straight-out-of-a-romance-novel scene, to be honest. Much too cliche for anyone to think it can actually happen in real life. I don't think she's stopped thinking about it."

"It's got even me blushing," Harr jokingly admitted. He cast a quick look over his shoulder, leaning left and right before turning back to the plant.

I frowned a little, turning to the same direction instinctively to try and see if I could spot what he was looking for. However, there was nothing that seemed out of the ordinary.

Slowly, I turned back to face Harr. I adjusted myself a little, making myself comfortable on the couch. "What Xavier did was rather bold. I'm surprised that Jules didn't slap him then and there, to be very honest. She would've on a usual day, no doubt. Maybe she was caught in the moment."

Finally unable to contain his laughter, Harr guffawed loudly. He raised a hand, pressing the back of it to his lips in a poor attempt at choking back his own laughter. Then, he sharply turned back, loudly shouting in the direction of his study room.

"Heard that, buddy? She was just caught in the moment. There's no need for you to get so flustered over it like a teenage girl in love!"

Harr's words nearly made me fall out of my seat. I stumbled up a little, my back straightening and eyes widening into the size of saucers as I spun around. A head poked out of the door of Harr's study, light blue hair ruffled and in a mess with eyes squinted in annoyance. Xavier Park stood there in all his irritated glory, a mad dragon awoken from the beautiful fantasy of being a knight in shining armor instead of a scaled beast.

"Shut your trap, Harr," he grumbled. Storming out, I barely even managed to close my mouth before he made it to the living room. My jaw was still slack in shock, staring blankly at Xavier and wondering if his sudden appearance was just all in my imagination.

"Since when did you... How did you... What?" I stuttered, pointing an accusing finger at Xavier before spinning to Harr. "You could've told me that Xavier was at your place!" Red with embarrassment, I sunk into the couch, slouching my back with my head tucked in my hands. "That was mortifying. I shouldn't have said anything," I whispered to no one in particular.

"Relax, Aiko. Xavier has really thick skin. This won't stay on his mind for too long."

Still laughing heartily, Harr lightly slapped my back a few times in a friendly manner, an action that I suppose he thought was comforting. Instead, it only made more blood rush to my head and it rendered me dizzy.

Xavier snorted loudly, puffing a jet of air past his lips before smacking Harr over the head.

"Speak for yourself. There's no one on this planet with skin thicker than yours," he scoffed.

"Rude."

"So..." Xavier started to speak, leaning a little on the backrest of the couch with his right hand. His left hand rested on his hip. "What brings you here?"

Internally, I rejoiced at the fact that Xavier's question most likely meant that he hadn't heard the entire conversation between Harr and me. However, the damage was still done. The one sentence that I didn't want him to hear was still most likely heard.

Sighing, I raised my head from my palms. My mood was no longer as bubbly as compared to five minutes back.

"Jules wanted me to return you your jacket for her. She mentioned that you wouldn't be at work but I didn't think that I would run into you here." Lifting a hand, I pointed to the bag that was now tossed to the ground by Harr. "Don't worry, it's washed."

"Didn't think otherwise," Xavier swiftly remarked, striding over to where the bag laid before picking it up.

"Also..."

"Also?"

I scratched my head, grinning a little when I thought back to Jules's reaction this morning when I mentioned the festival. "There's the annual summer arts and music festival coming up. I usually attend it with Jules but she wanted to invite you two along this year. Care to join?"

Xavier's lips instantly turned into a bright smile. The shift in mood was so quick that I nearly got whiplash, staring at Xavier, stunned as he nodded his head enthusiastically.

"Of course I'll go. Did you even need to ask?" Xavier puffed up his chest proudly, declaring.

"You'll even run to the end of the world if Jules was the one that asked," Harr deadpanned. He rested his hand on the back of his hand, elbow pressed against the backrest of his seat. Then, he perked up before switching to speak to me. "Count me in, Aiko. It'll be fun for the four of us to hang out again. It gets boring when it's just me and Xavier. All he ever talks about is Jules."

"Sweet. I'll pass Jules the message." Beaming, I chuckled lightly at Harr's exaggerated words.

From that point on, I began to count down the days to the summer festival. Hopefully, all that awaited us would be fun times and blessed memories. After all, we were in the middle of our high school summer holidays. If there was a time to create treasured experiences, this was it.

The height of our youth.

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