The Pep-Talk

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"THAT WENT WELL," Harr scoffed as he listened to my recount of last night. The water in the spray bottle in his hands made swishing sounds as he waved his hands about, moving down the line of pots that sat in his living room.

"Tell me about it." Sighing, I grabbed one of the throw pillows on Harr's couch, smothering my face into the fabric. "It was a disaster. Everything we've worked for in these matchmaking sessions is soon going to be all for naught if Xavier doesn't do something about it."

The plastic bottle made a soft spritzing sound when Harr pressed down on the mechanism. With each movement of his fingers, dainty water droplets erupted from the spout, dancing about in the air before gently landing onto the vibrant jade leaves and merlot flower petals. They stayed on the surface like tiny jewels, catching the light of the afternoon sun with a brilliant sparkle.

"Well, the problem is sort of out of your hands now." Shrugging, Harr placed the bottle onto the coffee table before making his way over to the couches where I sat. He landed on the cushioned seats a little too abruptly, causing my body to jerk up slightly from the impact. "You can't take it upon yourself to solve all of their problems just because they're your friends."

"Yes, I know that, but I still feel responsible since I'm the one playing matchmaker here." I pouted.

Harr let out a bark of laughter, his shoulders rising and falling. The corners of his lips were stretched out, the corners of his eyes crinkling with his smile. Reaching out, he placed a hand on my head, petting me the same way one would pet a dog.

"It's already good enough that their relationship developed to this extent. A month ago, Jules wouldn't even spare Xavier a glance, much less willingly become his friend."

Those were simple words that Harr spoke, small and minuscule reminders that, in no way, helped the problem I was currently facing. Yet, it was enough to lift the dead weight off of my chest just by remembering that I had not taken steps back. Rather, I had taken more than enough steps forward. If it was meant to be, the two will find a way back to each other. If it wasn't, there was nothing I could do. It wasn't my duty to rewrite their fates— it was theirs.

"Thanks," I sighed, "I really needed that."

"Anytime." Pressing his palms against the edge of his seat, Harr used it as a means of support to push himself off the sunken couch. Back onto his feet again, he casually gestured at the kitchen, his head tilting sideways just a little. "Want some coffee? You still look half asleep. Not really a good look for anyone, no matter how attractive they originally are."

"Are you implying that I'm attractive?" I asked instantly, wiggling my eyebrows.

Harr rolled his eyes, shaking his head as he knew full well that he had walked into that trap on his own two feet. He stuck out his tongue childishly, wrinkling his nose in distaste before turning around to head to the kitchen.

"Whatever helps you sleep at night, my dear." He threw the words over to me without even looking back, waving nonchalantly as if my teasing comment was nothing more than a fly buzzing about his ear.

I raised a hand to my lips to stifle my laughter, pressed against my mouth as I choked back my voice. However, whatever giggles that escaped were soon masked over by the loud ringing of Harr's doorbell. The bell didn't ring just once. Rather, it kept going on, the person outside no doubt pressing on the button without stopping.

I was already on my feet when Harr yelled for me from the kitchen. "Aiko! The door!"

The ringing had already stopped but that short burst of noise was enough to irritate me. Without bothering to look into the peephole, I unlocked the door before pulling it wide open, ready to spout profanities at whoever's standing on the other side. However, when I was met with the familiar physique of a broad back and sky blue hair, my complaints were stuffed back down my throat.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Xavier stood with his back facing me, his hands tucked into the pockets of his sweatpants, t-shirt loosely tucked into the band. When he noticed the door had opened, he spun around, eyes glossed over and dark eyebags hanging beneath his lower lashes. Instead of acting surprised like how I expected him to, Xavier looked like he had long seen it coming and had guessed I would be at Harr's house. His eyes weren't the color of rainbows today. Instead, it was in their natural shade, a dark brown that bordered ebony. A pair of glasses rested on the bridge of his nose, thin wiry gold frames in giant circles that surrounded his eyes.

"Xavier!" I gasped in shock, my hands leaving the door. "What are you doing here?"

He spared me just a short wordless glance before stepping past me into the house. Soundlessly, he crossed the living room and headed straight for the couch, tossing himself onto the cushioned seats before burying his face into the throw pillows just like I had done a few moments ago.

I closed the door behind me, locking the doors before taking a step closer to where Xavier laid. He was motionless apart from the subtle rise and fall of his back as he breathed.

"Aiko, who's at the— oh." Harr stopped short at the edge of the kitchen, two mugs of coffee in his hands as he stared at his best friend's listless figure sprawled on the couch. His head swiveled over to look at me, biting onto his lower lip with dread before shaking his head as he muttered under his breath, "We're going to need some booze in this coffee." He disappeared back into the kitchen right after, his departure followed by the clanking of glass bottles and cups.

Taking in a deep breath, I took a seat on the armchair adjacent to where Xavier laid.

"You'll break your glasses if you sleep facing down," I gently reminded.

My hand hovered over Xavier's shoulder, ready to nudge him before stopping at the last second. It didn't feel right. He looked like he didn't want to be touched. And so I withdrew, tucking my hands beneath my thighs instead.

"Whatever," he murmured, his voice smothered by the pillow. It was much raspier than usual, a lingering gloom of despair hanging over him like storm clouds.

My mind flitted back to the image of Jules in the fast-food restaurant, hunched over the table with her eyes equally lifeless as Xavier's. Those two were more alike than they thought. They were both equally clueless when it came to matters of the heart.

"I take it that you didn't get to talk to her properly?"

Xavier raised his head suddenly, masked with a fit of furious energy. "No shit," he spat. "If I managed to talk things out with her, do you think that I'll react like this?"

I wrinkled my nose. "Well, what did you tell her then?"

"That's the thing." Sighing heavily, Xavier returned to burrowing his face into the pillows, smothering himself in the fabric like an ostrich in hiding. "I couldn't even find her, much less utter a single word. After you left—"

"Woah there, buddy," Harr's voice cut in from the kitchen before his body was even seen. He strolled out with three mugs skillfully balanced between two hands, expression peeved beyond belief. "Why does it seem to me that you're blaming Aiko for you not being able to find Jules?"

I shot him a look of disapproval. "Harr."

"I didn't say anything wrong!" He rebutted just as he set the cups down onto the coffee table. "We discussed this. It's not your responsibility that these two idiots end up together at the end of the story. Why are you living your life as some side character even in your own tale?"

"I'm not—"

"Harr's right." My words halted in my throat, stuck and unable to come out when Xavier spoke. He sat up slowly, eyes still downcast and filled with remorse as words of apology bled from his lips. "I'm sorry. It's true that you offered your help but I'm the one who should've been making opportunities for myself. I'm just rotten enough of a person to look for someone to put the blame on."

"Xavier, I want to help. Last night was just..." I hesitated, remembering my train of thoughts from the night prior only to feel a pang of piercing guilt gut me. "I just had other priorities."

I waited for Xavier's reply, watching as he fidgeted in his seat. His head still hung low, unable to look anywhere else but downwards. Engulfed by the silence, the atmosphere had grown incredibly stale and awkward.

"You know what?" Unable to take the tension, Harr fluidly plucked two mugs from the table, practically shoving it into our hands. I grasped at it as it came rushing at me, my breath held when I noticed the brown liquid inside sloshing dangerously close to the edge of the mug only to fall back into its boundaries. "Drink. It's still early but a little extra kick always helps."

Taking a sip out of his own cup, Harr picked up a pair of scissors from the side table before walking to the windowsill where his plant collection sat beneath the golden sunlight. He started to snip at the leaves, his back towards us but no less attentive to our conversation.

"So," I set down the mug, "What now?"

"I took time off of work."

"You what?" My question came out harsher than I planned, my body's natural reaction to yell at something so mind-boggling. "Spending time with Jules is literally the only thing that can salvage your relationship now! She's all talk but the girl is just waiting for you to apologize and explain. It's as simple as that!"

"I just can't face her right now. She's actively avoiding me and I don't want to have to face that at work too."

My hand itched to slap my forehead repeatedly at the stupidity of it all. "Jules knows the line between work and play. She'll never bring her personal affairs to a professional environment. At most, she'll act civil, cordial, but not friendly until you decide to grow a pair and talk to her."

Xavier's face burned red, dyed by the colors of the afternoon summer sun outside those glass window panes. He raised his line of sight to stare out, glancing wistfully at the golden light that streamed into the living room from the heavens above. The dust particles in the air seemed like glitter in the path of light, dazzlingly reflective as a cloud of diamond dust.

"I have to avoid her," he said, voice barely even above a soft murmur. "If not, I just know that I'll constantly seek her out and end up saying something out of line. She wants space from me, she's made that very clear. So at least for a short few days, I want to give her that period of time to cool down. But the truth is, to me..." he trailed off, pausing. With a hand slightly raised towards the light, he seemed to be trying to capture the light within his fists; an impossible feat. "The truth is that she's a ball of fire. I'm a mere fleeting spark, fireworks that die after a few short seconds of glory."

"People can stare and admire the fireworks but they are unable to stare at the sun with naked eyes. So now, the question is if you've done something worthy of admiration."

Xavier looked away from the windows, turning his gaze onto me instead with his red-rimmed eyes wide and round. His lips were slightly parted in shock, breath haggard and unsteady when my reply sank in. This time, my hand found its way onto Xavier's back. I gently pat it, trying my best to reassure him with the softest of smiles I could manage.

"Apologize to her as soon as you can. Sometimes, a heartfelt and sincere apology and explanation are all a person needs."

It took a few seconds for Xavier to sink in my words. When he finally reacted, I found his arms around me, his whole body leaned forward across the couch, and face buried in the crook of my neck. When he exhaled, I could feel his breath tickling my skin from my neck to my shoulders. Goosebumps rose from my skin, my hair standing from the sensation. In that position, his sky-blue hair tickled my cheeks, fanning a wave of his familiar flowery shampoo. I was immediately brought back to the night of the test of courage, my chest leaned against his back and his strong hands supporting my thighs as he carried me back to camp amidst the mud and rain.

I could feel my heart skip a beat, then many beats after that for each second that Xavier refused to pull away. In the end, I hesitantly curled my arms around his muscled back, the thin fabric of his shirt doing nothing to hide the outline of his defined body. When he felt me hug him back, Xavier's entire body seemingly melted into my hold. He seemed so utterly fragile, a meek little porcelain doll that could break if it received even the slightest impact.

"Thank you," he faintly whispered the words right by my ear, a quiet word of thanks that brought on a fluttering cascade of emotions in my chest.

My heart seemed to be gripped tightly by a fist, caged and kept under pressure, about to burst at any second. That was the power of a simple word of thanks.

However, something that seemed more prominent than that explosive sensation was the searing burn that flamed down the back of my neck. I could feel a piercing stare jabbed my way, making me itch to just turn around. Of course, I needn't turn around to know that it was Harr, since there wasn't anyone else in the house other than the three of us.

When his intense gaze finally left me, I could hear a loud snip echo through the otherwise silent living room. Those stainless steel blades clipped together, signaling the fall of the bonsai's branches.

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