8: Shattered glass and broken souls #1

A/N: I noticed there's a confusion of Leo mentioned instead of Ja's name in the previous chapters. I will go back and correct it later. But Lets go with Leo from henceforth. Sorry about the delay, hope you guys will enjoy this update!

>*<*>*<

Fear burns through his consciousness with a harsh stinging of ice, as Bright hurries back to his home. The random text message left on read scaring the living daylights out of him.

This is not how it's supposed to go. He couldn't help lamenting as pulse thunders in his throat. But then again, a furious Gulf is an unpredictable feral creature. Righteous fury and the need to dole out vengeance typically seems to get muddled in his brain as Gulf readily throws reason out of the window to seek whichever path is likely to hurt his opponents the most. And his hits always land bullseye without fail. Bright has always been both fascinated and horrified by his friend's vengeful streak that came out in rare occasions. He shudders to think what Gulf has planned for him now.

That bone chilling thought has Bright screeching to a halt, mere minutes away from reaching his sliding front gate. When did he became the enemy, the bad guy in Gulf's eyes? It was just a simple misunderstanding that got blown out of proportion. They could sit down to discuss the issue and settle it like adults, no, like the best friends they are, right? There is absolutely no need for blood to be spilled and curses to be thrown around like coins in a celebratory procession. Yeah, some dissing is expected till the air cools down and common-sense returns, but Bright can deal with that.

Even as he tries to reassure himself, their friendship could withstand anything and this is but a stupid fight, Bright feels a cold sinking sensation making home in his heart. There's a certainty in the way he grows anxious about the dark fate awaiting inside the loving walls of his house; the doom he's surely walking into courtesy of Gulf's infamous hot temper. He knows beyond a shadow of doubt that clear cut battle lines have been drawn - Gulf wouldn't be at his home or sent him that ominous text otherwise - his own reckless behaviour agitating the already frail balance he and Gulf have been mindful of for days now. He didn't know what to really expect and how far Gulf is willing to go. Having been on the side lines and firmly on Gulf's corner so far whenever his short fuse blew out, it is truly scary to consider that same wrath potentially facing him head-on in a couple of minutes.

Bright acknowledges that he is undeniably in the wrong here and Gulf is well within his rights to be mad at him. Still, they're best friends and sworn blood brothers. Shouldn't that count for something? A benefit of doubt or a second chance to repent for his mistakes maybe?

Except Gulf is inside right now and Bright's mom is home as well and he's freaking the fuck out over what his irate friend is up to in the name of serving justice for Bright's follies.

What was he even thinking by dragging their conflict indoors to his family? Gulf is not going to break the news to his Mae, is he? Bright cannot face the disappointment and hurt shining in his mother's eyes if Gulf were to come clean about Bright's betrayal. Cannot stand to watch his Mae look at him as though he failed her upbringing. (Maybe he did.)

Yes, he is at fault here, true. Yet whatever has happened, Bright didn't do it intentionally nor was he such a bastard to stab his friend in the back. Things- just happened and Bright's only crime was he went with the flow, despite the voice of reason pleading him to step back and walk away. He just couldn't help it and now he's the cause for his friend's pain. Beneath this raging need to cause mayhem and thirst for his blood, Gulf is hurt and in terrible agony. Bright would feel the same if he were in Gulf's shoes.

Really, he gets it.

Still, that doesn't mean he is willing to remain silent if his mother is pulled into their dirty drama. She doesn't deserve it. And Bright will not allow Gulf to hurt his mother in the process of extracting revenge on him.

The more he thinks along these lines, the more he gets mad. When he started out to meet Gulf at his home, Bright had been tensed and worried about getting confronted by his fierce tempered friend. Now though, there's a certain anger cramping his muscles akin to a frost bite as he parks his bike and quickly pushes past the front gate. If one truly thinks about it, what Bright did isn't so wrong. Gulf may have the right to be pissed at him, sure. That doesn't mean he gets to make this personal by dragging Bright's family into it. Gulf isn't the only one capable of turning vicious and volatile in a fight when the occasion calls for it. Bright can hold out on his own pretty well, thank you.

Steeling his nerves, he makes way through the oddly quiet hallways to his bedroom where not so surprisingly destruction and war zone like mess greets him. Gulf is quite thorough in establishing the vibes of their meeting. The only thing missing is a banner declaring him guilty. Bright silently takes in the books, clothes and stuff thrown haphazardly on the floor whilst closing the door behind him. In midst of this debris stands Gulf wearing an intimidating scowl, his eyes equally dark and frighteningly cold when they meet the flames in Bright's blazing eyes.

Nonetheless, his shield of forced rage and denial doesn't prepare Bright for the emotionless acknowledgment Gulf throws in his face. "Welcome home, traitor!"

Ah, there it is!

<*>

"What's going on with you guys? And don't bother with the usual nonsense that you don't know. Clearly you do!"

Mike is blunt as ever, plopping next to him in the music room and cutting Bright's glower mid stride. Gunsmile is lingering behind Mike and darting gazes between them as though expecting a fight to break out. He wouldn't too off base with this assumption since Bright has been prickly of late and ready to inflict his bad temper on anyone foolish enough to approach him.

He scowls, annoyance dripping from his words. "But I don't! That's why it's been driving me crazy! Not knowing why he's mad at me.''

Their topic of conversation of late is the 'supposed' fight between him and Mew which pushed the latter into avoiding their whole gang. As if Bright wouldn't do everything in his power to solve the conflict encouraging Mew to keep him at an arm's length if he KNEW the reason.

"Mew obviously put a lot of thought in avoiding you, Bright. Also, you've got that massive guilty - 'I'm hiding something' look every time one of us brings up his topic after meeting him. Mew suddenly became good friends with Gulf, a guy you actively hate. Which is something I will do if the goal is to hit you where it hurts the most. So, tell me again that you guys didn't get into a fight because the evidence clearly suggests otherwise."

Gunsmile shuffles forward, leaning on the chair beside Mike, a disbelieving furrow between his eyebrows. "Er, actually I think you got it wrong, Mike. I mean, Mew did mention he was doing a project with that dude, and he didn't want any trouble by letting these two idiots cross paths. I'm sure once that project work is finished Mew will revert to hanging out with Bright again.''

"Ai'Satt! Did you really buy that excuse?" Mike whacks their dumb friend while Bright rubs his forehead in preparation of the major headache coming his way.

"OW!"

Gunsmile quickly returns the favor by hitting Mike. "You're the asshole! Of course, I believe Mew. Why wouldn't I? You talk as though Bright here is not irrationally possessive and jealous where Mew is concerned. He wouldn't even let us drop Mew home or keep him company when Bright isn't around. It isn't like we are romantically interested in him. Still, Big bad wolf here bursts a vessel at the mere mention of one of us spending time with his precious best friend alone. Am I supposed to believe Bright is suddenly okay with another guy, his arch nemesis no less, taking up Mew's time without going territorial and jerk about it?"

Rubbing his sore head, he continues, a placating smile in Bright's direction and rolling his eyes towards Mike. "Sorry, bro. I get where Mew is coming from. Grades are the only thing capable of stealing his attention away from you. Perhaps, he's not really mad at you but genuinely trying to hold peace since you and Gulf are likely to attack each other if given the slightest chance?"

"And he needs to completely ghost me for that?" Bright injects with a raised brow, halting Mike from coming to his defense.

Gunsmile grows thoughtful and Mike crows in triumph, acknowledging Mew's shady behavior of late and his far stretched excuses. "Um, I think he chose that as a last resort...?" Observing their incredulous expressions at his response, he sighs. "You guys keep forgetting that Mew was fine with meeting Bright and us together in the beginning. Its only when Mr. Stubborn here kept badgering him that Mew stopped and took to visiting us separately."

"Still doesn't explain why he moved out of their apartment or refused to meet Bright when he drove by his home. He even quit the music club. No, Bright is right. Something is off here. And I for one, don't believe that 'working' a project with Gulf needs Mew to drop us out of his life like this. 'Sides, what project runs for two months?''

At Mike's question, Gunsmile scratches his head and Bright falls into further introspection. "I don't know. Those engineers are always bragging about how tough their course load is- maybe their projects are that long?"

Mike groans and proceeds to argue with their idiot friend. But Bright is struck by one word that Gunsmile uttered. The gears in his head shift and he keeps repeating the phrase. 'In the beginning.' He catches Mike's eye, and an unspoken understanding passes between them in that instant. Quickly shifting gears, he addresses Gunsmile again. "Where's Leo? Isn't he a part of this intervention?"

"Ah, no. Not really. Leo has some errands to run, so he left early. Also, he mentioned to meeting Mew tonight."

Mike jumps in, correctly interpreting Bright's look of confusion. "He is more comfortable chatting with Leo these days because I tend to pry into your drama and Gun doesn't quit yapping about flirting with girls Win introduced him to."

It just serves to riddle him with more questions. At least, Bright is beginning to see a pattern and maybe a possible way out of this cursed labyrinth. "Huh. You're telling me, Leo could possibly know what's going on in Mew's head." Though cautiously spoken, it makes sense when hearing his conclusions spoken out loud.

Mew has always been a creature of habit, talkative despite his shy personality and needing to confide his troubles in effort to get rid of their burden. Granted, Mew only reveals his secrets to those he trusts most and while Leo is a friend, they weren't that close. Nevertheless, Mew kind of doesn't have better options at present. He's bound to let slip something and Leo's patience will likely help him to confess whatever has been bothering him that lead a spilt from Bright.

It's a single ray of sunshine inside a dark and dusty cave. A way out of this impasse. Bright couldn't help the tiny flickers of hope, close to waning but refusing to completely die down, from putting a positive spin on his thoughts for once. Theories and paranoia aside, getting help from an actual friend instead of strangers dedicated to following him around in some sort of freaky obsession is much more gratifying. It bolsters him with a confidence that he hadn't felt lately. Leo, sharp and perceptive, will be able to shed light on the root cause of Mew's weird behavior. Even if the engineering student refuses to talk about his newfound issues with Bright, Leo is bound to figure out based on clues Mew unconsciously drops.

This belief is enough to breathe a shred of optimism back in his psyche.

<*>

"What are you thinking so hard about?" Mike asks, sometime later as they wrap down their previous discussion.

Gunsmile is presently occupied on the other side of the room, trying to impress Win's friend as the latter subtly guides them with headshakes and hand gestures. Win is another great friend and new addition to their circle since he transferred to their Uni this term. Regrettably, Mew isn't around for Bright to introduce them to each other. But Win has quickly become Bright's confidante (after Mike) regarding his sincere feelings for Mew. The taller guy also managed to stop Bright from completely losing it after Mew ghosted him. Win didn't let up, dragging Bright to places and actually succeeded in even making the grumpy guy laugh a couple of times.

Bright exhales, setting his guitar carefully aside. "Just the usual dilemma. Something extra that I didn't place much emphasis on before."

Narrowing his eyes, Mike taps his chin. "Are you considering Gunsmile's explanation?" It's clear what his exact thoughts are on this theory, but he still tries to remain unbiased waiting for Bright to clarify.

This is why Bright approaches him first rather than Gunsmile whenever he needs to test his theories. Not that their other friend isn't as supportive, he is. Simply that Gunsmile is quite adept at distracting them with his 'unique' views. Plus, Mike is aware of certain truths since he's friends with Bright longer than Gunsmile. Stuff he is not proud of, and secrets Bright kept close to heart.

"No. I still believe Gulf has a hand in this mess somehow. Its just- Gunsmile said Mew was fine to meet us all together in the beginning..." Mike immediately nods, catching Bright's point. "And I know for a fact that Gulf got involved later-"

Mike has the same amount of frustration tinging his tone while picking up his leftover statement. "Which brings us back to square one. What happened for Mew to start avoiding our gang, er no, just you in the first place? At this point, our previous theories of the nerd getting into some sort of trouble is appearing more believable by the day. If you guys didn't really fight, that is."

Bright is THIS close to pulling out his hair and screaming till he's blue in the face. He forcibly calms himself to point out a critical flaw in their thinking. "What if- what if we're going about this wrong?'' He gulps, refusing to back down. Denial hasn't really been helping him, so continuing to cling onto it like a safety clutch is both preposterous and suicidal for his goal. Something Win flippantly pointed when he initially revealed his troubles with Mew was niggling in the back of his mind. Combined with today's discussion, Bright could no longer sweep the growing uneasiness under the rug and be done with it.

"And what would be the right way?"

He drags his teeth across his bottom lip, buying time to correctly form the words for the harrowing feeling in his stomach. "What if Mew is not mad at me like we're assuming? What if he somehow found out the truth ... about the reason for my enmity with Gulf?"

"Shia." Mike sucks in a sharp breath, the implications hitting hard and the puzzle pieces slotting together to make for an extremely incriminating picture.

Bright, miserable beyond words, couldn't agree more! "Yeah."

<*>

The best part of their day for both Bright and Gulf is undoubtedly after classes are done when they can head to the ground and play football with their friends. It's a tradition they had been practicing since their early childhood days. Their grades and classes may have changed over the years, but their strong friendship and collective habits certainly didn't.

"Wait up, Bai." Gulf chuckled, as they raced towards the empty lot near the south entrance of their school. It was their spot today to mess around with football since the seniors already claimed the more popular areas.

Bright turns around to grin without slowing down his pace. "No. You snooze, you lose, Guppie!" He cheekily sticks his tongue out and dashes away from his best friend's threatening swipe. Their laughter echoes in his ears as Bright finishes their impromptu race first. "Idiot! If only you're this quick in reaching our spot after your classes are done, we wouldn't have lost it to seniors. Let's hope this one is still available, and we don't have to find another new place to play."

Fortunately, by the time they reached the secluded corner no one is around to stake temporary ownership to this quiet place with their friends. It is no easy task to find places to play with friends after the school is done since everyone and their bestie seems to have the same idea. Hanging out with a group is one thing, if you don't mind joining a bigger game. But if you want to play one-on-one with just a friend or two, then begins the trouble of hunting for a decent nook to kick a ball around.

This is the second year in a row where Bright and Gulf got allotted into different classrooms. Although their grades are close enough to warrant the same coveted spot in the top-ranked classroom A, owing to the large number of gifted students Gulf and a couple of other students are allocated to the section B for balance in numbers.

Huffing and clutching at his hip, Gulf struggles with the thin straps of his bag sliding down his hands. "I- I had to deal with this task the teacher pushed on me in the last second. Why didn't you play with the others instead of waiting for me like an idiot. I would've joined you once I got back."

"I don't mind waiting for you, brother. We hardly get time to hang out like this anymore, as it is." Bright is aware he's pouting by the amused smirk on Gulf's face. Though he hates the ribbing sure to follow, the truth in his words doesn't change.

Gulf is more than his best friend, he's like a brother Bright always wanted. In fact, sometimes they both enjoy pretending they're fraternal twins as a joke much to their family's amusement. They're thick as thieves and might as well be foster brothers given how much they spend at each other's homes. This year, however, has been a far cry from their usual traditions. One or both of them is somehow often caught up in classes or extra tasks to get together to simply talk and share stuff like they used to do. The unfortunate cons of growing up!

And Bright badly missed goofing around with Gulf like this, just the two of them. Other times these days, it's all always about competing for grades since their classes are pitted against each other. Even when they go to cram school in the evenings or have sleepovers with their gang in someone's house, others are always around, and they don't get the chance to talk freely.

"Yeah, I miss you too, you big baby." Gulf rolls his eyes, strolling by to place his bag on an empty table by the sidewalk. He silently reaches out to take Bright's bag too. "You know how it is!"

Bright, meanwhile starts kicking the football and balancing it on his feet. The earlier joy disappearing as melancholy settles in instead. He doesn't look at Gulf as he states his complaints, aware he's sulking and being a child. And he's supposed to be the matured adult among the two! "It's unfair that we got different classrooms this year too! I hate this. Feels like I don't get to spend enough time with you anymore in school. Why couldn't they pick someone else to balance numbers in class B? I can't believe my request has been turned down yet again."

He glances up when Gulf remains in his peripheral vision by the table. Hands crossed over his chest, a gesture tipping off either his defiance or nervousness, Gulf's face is shadowed by an unfamiliar expression. Bright hates that he's not completely sure which posture his friend is leaning into currently and what thoughts are running behind his closed-off face.

"You requested for reassignment of sections for us?" He finally speaks, voice pitched oddly. Whatever emotion had him observing Bright in a peculiar manner soon vanishes as Gulf shakes his head, a scoff and sarcastic drawl back to cover up the previous mishap. (Another thing Bright loathed as a result of different classrooms - the minor changes in Gulf's behavior due to the new company he keeps.) "They're not going to simply give up their top student to class B just because you requested it, you know? And I'm too small a fish to be picked for major leagues since there are students with better grades around."

"Since when do you look down on your achievements, Gup?" Bright scowls. "Your grades are fine, always have been. I think it's your new peers that are to blame for your recent attitude."

He clearly said the wrong thing because Gulf's nostrils flare up in an instant and his friend stalks forward, rage momentarily turning him into a stranger right in front of Bright's shocked eyes. Gulf has never been this quick to anger before - excluding video games and things he considered his property. That, a few choice words (absolutely true in his opinion) lead to this severe reaction in Gulf is definitely a cause for concern. And Bright is determined not to back down, finally getting a golden opportunity to confront after months of unsure speculation about the alarming changes in his friend's personality.

"The hell are you talking about?" The murderous face and scary glower don't intimidate Bright one bit. "What 'recent' attitude, huh? The company I keep is just fine. Do I need to remind you that you're also a part of it, Bright?"

The ball forgotten, he pushes into Gulf's personal space as well, jabbing a finger repeatedly to his chest with every outburst. "You think, I'm oblivious to the news you are ending up in classroom squabbles a lot these days? That you're hiding things from me now when we used to share everything? How you're running late everyday when your classmates have long since emptied the room and there are no 'tasks' which keeps a student thirty minutes late after the final period is done? Tell me gulf, do you think of me as an idiot or that I don't care about you when you freaking chose to keep me out of the loop?"

The fumes of irritation and temper deflates as quickly as it arose. Bright's frustration changes lanes into desperation, wanting to help his soul-brother from the wrong crowd he'd fallen into and any trouble that came with it. "If there's something going on, something bothering you- Gulf, you can always talk to me about it. I'm here for you." He soothes the crinkled corner of his shirt and shakes him slightly. "We are brothers in everything but blood, Gulf. I'm always on your side no matter what. I hate it - hate how you're keeping things from me. I don't want you to do that anymore. P-Please Gulf! You don't ever have to think twice about approaching me for help because I'll always have your back. I will do anything for you, Idiot. How could you forget that?"

As Gulf sags and surrenders into his embrace with a quiet sob, Bright tightens his hold promising to take care of his friend and to protect him forever.

"I don't need your protection, jerk. I'm the older one, remember! I will take care of you as your Phi." Amid Bright's grumbles of definitely being the smarter one, Gulf adds softly. "Just promise to be my best friend always Na. That's the only thing I need from you, Bright. You're the only person I trust, doesn't matter how many new friends I make. I can't lose you or your friendship. It will kill me."

Bright eagerly nods and promises sincerely without missing a beat. Of course, he will always be Gulf's best friend, younger but wiser brother and his constant loyal companion. To even imagine otherwise is a blasphemy.

"Of course, I will Gulf. You won't be able to get rid of me if you tried!"

They soon go back to the game after Gulf haltingly reveals about the crowd he's been recently hanging out with and how he imitated their antics to fit in with their supposed 'cool' image. They bicker and laugh and joke around, back to normal now that their little tiff resolved the issues lingering akin to black cloud over their heads. Gulf also swears to reveal further stuff he hid from Bright out of fear and apprehension of his reaction to them.

There is no hurry though. Bright knows everything is alright with them again and he can wait till his bestie is comfortable enough to talk about it. They merely discuss how to get Gulf away from the problematic batch attempting to assert their influence on him in a less problematic manner. Even if those lot put up a fight, Bright is there to kick their assess and look out for Gulf.

Like he always did and will continue doing so in the far future.

What they didn't know yet - as they wrapped up and left for the bus stop, hanging off each other's shoulders - around this time a year later, Bright will break every single promise he made to Gulf since they were kids. He will commit the ultimate sacrilege of any friendship and betray Gulf's trust. Yes. Bright is going to brutally stab Gulf in the back and their friendship will not survive his cruel act of treason.

Transitioning from best friends to sworn enemies, Bright is single-handedly at fault for this swan dive. A fact, Bright is aware of and gets constantly reminded every time he crosses paths with Gulf in the university campus. Guilt and shame make him lie to himself, returning a glare for a glare until it becomes a habit.

Until it becomes second nature to view Gulf as the bad guy. He steers clear of him, ignoring the fading voice of reason demanding Bright to beg for Gulf's forgiveness and work on setting his mistakes right.

But that becomes easy to ignore too.

<*>

The unique ping from his selective group chat instantly draws Bright's attention back to his phone and he hastily swipes the notification to read the text. Win approaches him, probably bored with Gunsmile's nagging and intrigued by the way Bright and Mike huddled over the screen as if following an intense football match.

Bright still gets updates from his loyal fanclub, those he deemed less crazy based on their comments on his Insta posts to personally keep tabs on Mew. The fact, some of these girls also happen to be engineering students being a major bonus. It's a dick move, he knows. Win certainly insists its an invasion of Mew's privacy as does Leo. But unsurprisingly, Mike is on his side this once and backs him up that Bright's fangirls will help in looking out for their friend from afar.

The text itself is short and vague: location for a campus cafe inside the engineering faculty grounds.

"Ask them to elaborate. Whether this is regarding Mew's study session with his group or if he's in trouble of any sort." Mike nudges him. "There's just too many random solo shots and unproductive details of Mew all over the campus spammed as updates to be useful for us. Tell them to only reach out when something out of ordinary happens."

Bright begs to differ. When it comes to Mew, nothing is too inconsequential or inane in his eyes. Besides, he's rather have thorough data of Mew's whereabouts for his own mental peace than not. Still, this message feels ominous despite the worst thing it could possibly contain is Mew hanging out with Gulf ... AGAIN!

"Are you still on this?" Win rather sounds disappointed but Bright ignores him in favor of firing rapid texts demanding more info about the situation in the cafe.

'Send pics.' He adds later, as a forethought.

This time Win smacks his shoulder, clearly in revenge for not paying heed to his advice. "Ai'Bright! I can't believe you are stooping this low and ordering people to spy on that poor guy. How do you think Mew will react when he finds out about this?"

"I'm just worried about him."

The excuse sounding flimsy to even himself. Yet, he stubbornly glares at Win, refusing to give up his only connection to Mew these days. "Yeah, you keep telling that to yourself. Just remember that I warned you about this when it comes back to bite you in the ass." Win retorts dryly and Mike shifts guilty next to him. Bright, however is unmoved by his argument.

They don't get it, none of them do. Even Mike, knowing what he does, underestimates the extent of Gulf's wrath and his uncanny ability to extract vengeance. Bright feels like he's barely breathing most days waiting for the other shoe to drop. And it will, only a matter of time.

He used to know Gulf like the back of his own hand, once upon a time. A couple of things might have changed over these years but Gulf's relentless personality in achieving whatever he set his mind up to is bound to remain unshaken. Bright sees it in the blaze of his doe eyes as they make contact across the pitch and by the rigid set of shoulders in perfect imitation of his own whenever they happen to walk past each other in the same hallways. Gulf hadn't forgotten a thing (not that Bright expected him to!) and he sure as hell obviously didn't give up on his promise of destroying Bright when he least expects it.

And it feels like Gulf already won the war.

The influx of replies confirms his gut feeling as his stomach is suddenly filled with lead. Incriminating clear pictures with timestamps covering the past hour, of intimate setting, evident proof of shy smiles and lingering glances captured to personally taunt him. The truly wretched thing of it all? The guy leaning over the table, caressing his cheek and making Mew blush isn't Gulf. Bright instantly recognizes the bastard as that senior he warned off from loitering around Mew in his first year. Now that Bright isn't around, Plowden must have thought he had a shot at Mew.

Wait, no that's not it.

He clenches his fists, the jagged puzzle pieces at last fitting together seamlessly. Gulf became Mew's second shadow soon after he left and there's no way Mew noticed the senior's interest on his own. No. Mew's always been a little oblivious to his surroundings, stuck in his own world. Also, the introvert nerd is not the type to be comfortable either to seek out or be approached by new people. Which could only mean Gulf must have instigated for this 'date' to happen somehow.

Bright wants to blaze through the campus akin to flash and disrupt this stupid meeting, hiding Mew in his protective embrace. He's furious that Mew is drawn into his battle with Gulf, as an unsuspecting pawn. Turns nauseous at the thought maybe, just maybe, Mew is a willing participant after learning the truth from Gulf's brutal one-sided explanation.

As much as he wants to rage and destroy property letting his irrational jealously run rampant, Bright begrudgingly understands there's something else he needs to do that he'd put off for quite a long time. He needs to pay a visit to his former best friend and tackle their fight headlong. Bright had been passive for far too long, playing it safe because he didn't want Mew to get hurt in the process. This doesn't seem like a good bet anymore. Nothing is more important to him than Mew's well-being and happiness. Its high-time he stopped twiddling his thumbs and confront Gulf, before he spewed more venom to Mew and did irreversible damage to their already tattered friendship.

Gulf's threats echo from his memory lane, menacing like an unwanted prophecy coming to life. Bright, unfortunately is aware, if anyone could keep their word whether months or years down the line, its Gulf.

"I will make you regret crossing me, Bright. I swear, I will do everything in my power to inflict the same pain your betrayal caused me. I will destroy your life, if it's the last thing I do."

Fear runs down his spine swiftly, hands shaking as it sinks in just how close Bright came to losing it all. Still could.

>*<*>*<

A/N: Please vote and share feedback if you enjoyed this chapter. I love to hear your thoughts. It tends to give me plenty of motivation to write the next chapters soon rather than waiting for inspiration to strike.

Also, nope! Bright and Gulf are just best friends who had a falling out because of something Bright did. They're like brothers in this fic before they became enemies.

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