Since Kong and I met, I'd only seen him this stressed twice; the first was when James and my breakup began telling on his relationship with Patty. The second was the first time he'd cooked dinner. That night, we'd ended up ordering pizza.

Turns out my bestie was cut out for waiting, not cooking.

Now, Kong and I had just finished our business admin lectures for the day and were currently on our way to the carpark. If we didn't get there in five minutes, we were going to be late for work and Roy would have our heads. However, I didn't think that was the cause of Kong's current unrest.

His knapsack was slung across his body diagonally over his shoulder. Our footsteps matched and the silence between us was louder than the noises students made in the hallway.

As we rounded a corner, Kong finally spoke up for the first time since we left the lecture hall.

"Am I the only one concerned that James is moving into our apartment?" he asked with a straight face and an attention fixed on the tiles his feet stepped on.

Of course he wasn't. Infact, he probably wasn't half as concerned as I was. For the sake of all good things, James was frickin' moving into our apartment! That meant we were certainly going to be seeing more of each other.

What was even more bothering were his intentions. I was sure he knew very well that I lived there. Why would he want to breathe the same air I did, talk more of live in the same apartment? The whole thing was brain-rattling. So I tried to not think about it too much.

It wasn't working.

"No," I replied to him simply.

Kong sighed heavily as we entered the school's carpark, running both hands through his dark straight hair, momentarily pushing back his brand new bangs so his blue eyes were visible.

"You're being alarmingly quiet," he breathed. It sounded like he was trying to comfort himself. "You do realize that if James is moving in, Pat would constantly come to visit, right?"

Silently, I scolded myself for being so selfish. While letting my mind run wild with how bad this situation was for me, I'd totally forgotten that it was equally as bad for Kong-if not worse. He chose me, his best friend, over his girlfriend.

The next words that left my lips were, "I'm sorry." And they came out as a bare whisper.

Kong brushed his bangs away from his eyes again. He'd gotten this new haircut yesterday despite all my warnings. As it seemed, he was currently regretting his decision. "You don't have to be."

Oh, but I did. He put me before his own self.

"How's your family business doing?" askedKong suddenly, literally out of nowhere. Here I wanted us to talk about how he was feeling, not my failure to do what my parents asked of me.

"Bad," I said in a flat tone. "Mum called yesterday while you were out to get a haircut." My hands motioned to his new bangs for reference to which he replied with a small smile. Even though I couldn't see his eyes behind his bangs, I knew they were twinkling. They always did when he smiled. "Apparently, more people are taking back their shares."

King pursed his lips and put both his hands deep into his pockets. "That sucks."

"It does." I bit down on my lips and stared at the moving floor beneath us.

As much as I didn't want to talk to James or ask for his help, my family's business felt like my responsibility. I needed to find a solution. Fast.

Not wanting to think too much about my piling problems, I looked up to Kong's gaze. "What was the need to get a new haircut?"

Kong hesitated a second too soon, causing me to raise an inquisitive eyebrow at him. Then he shrugged with his hands still in his pockets. "I wanted to look different."

The way he said it made me suspect that there was more to the action than he was putting out. But we'd reached our cars which were parked side to side and he was already pulling out his keys. I made a mental note to talk to him about it later, pulling out my own keys from the pocket of my baggy jeans.

Just as I unlocked the driver's seat, something caught my eye. Or rather, someone.

Making his way to us at jogging speed was Adam: James' best friend. The guy I supposedly cheated on him with.

His blue shirt ruffled up in the wind as he jogged towards us, sneakers squeaked against the floor and his eyes were solely fixed on his target; me.

The only word in my mind at this second was, "shit".

It'd been four months since I'd last spoken to Adam. Four months since I'd broken James' heart. And even now, the mere sight of him scared me. After I'd publicly announced to James that I was cheating on him with his best friend right in the presence of the aforementioned best friend, we hadn't talked. I'd believed Adam felt it best for us to avoid each other. I'd felt that way too. I wanted absolutely nothing to do with James or the life I had with him.

Adam slowed down only when he was a few meters from me. In the background, I heard the door of Kong's car swing open and from the corner of my eye I saw him step out of the car, a frown on his face. So as Adam came within a two meter range with me, Kong hurriedly came to my side and stood a few inches behind me.

A smile broke out on Adam's face, showing off his dimples and momentarily stunning me to silence.

Well, that was unexpected

"Hey, Avery," he said, extending his hand for me to shake it. His white teeth displayed themselves as he grinned. "Long time no see."

Fuck.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Kong spat before I could reply. I took hold of his wrist trying to tell him to calm down. Between him and Adam the difference was obviously clear. While Kong was the same height as Adam, he was way skinnier. Adam was a rugby player: the quarterback of the team. So all the ripped muscle he packed was very much expected.

In less nice terms, Adam could break Kong.

"Ah," sighed Adam, still grinning. "Asia. A happy new year to you too. I absolutely love the bangs by the way." Letting out a small chuckle, he turned from a fuming Kong to me. His smile fell dramatically. "We need to talk."

Finally finding my voice, I let go of Kong's wrist. He was stupid, but he wouldn't try to fight Adam. I knew it. I lifted my jaw slightly in the air. "About?"

A humorless chuckle left Adam's lips and he swiped his palm over his jaw in pure unbelief. "You're something else, you know? Four months ago you did something absolutely marvelous that almost ruined my career and when I tell you we need to talk, that's what you say? Of fucking course we have a lot to talk about."

"It's been four months, Adam. Why did you come back now?" I asked.

Adam took a step forward and I took a step back. By now, he was smiling even in the slightest way. "Because we..." he motioned between the both of us, "...have some unfinished business."

I tried to swallow subtly and stare up at him in defiance. "I have nothing to say to you."

He raised a brow at my work, appearing suddenly amused. "I think we both know that's not true. What you did had consequences and I won't let you ruin everything that I've got going on. Got it?" He paused before continuing, stepping back as he did. I let out a breath without realizing I'd been holding it. "Our school has a game tomorrow. Three-thirty sharp. I'd suggest you be there. We could even grab coffee afterwards to clear the thick air between us."

Who drinks coffee at night?

And speaking of air, I could really use some at the moment. I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't even reply to him. All I could do was stand there and watch his dark figure retreat slowly. "Be there, Avery." Then to Kong, he smiled. "It was nice seeing you, Asia."

His nickname for Kong wasn't an insult. The man just really liked pushing Kong's buttons.

Once he had his back to us, I heard Kong mutter, "stupid Adam with his stupid dreadlocks."

My mind was still reeling as I turned to look at him. Kong had his nose now buried in his phone, swearing under his breath. He announced wearily, "Roy's gonna fire us. Fucking Great."