The Next Morning

***

I rushed out of my room since I was late, stuffed a piece of toast, and grabbed my phone charger.

"Ma, I might be late tonight because of the fest work," I said,

"Take the home keys then," she replied,

"See you," taking the keys off the hook, I jogged out.

"I cannot afford to be late for the first class. I have already missed too many classes."

"What's the rush?" I heard someone behind me as I was running. I stopped and turned around to see Sky. He ran a little to catch up with me,

"I thought you'd be in college already," I said, half panting trying to catch my breath,

"This is the time I leave, why would I be there early?"

"Have you seen the time, we're super late, dumbass," I was about to run when he caught my wrist and made me stop,

"Have you seen the time, genius?" he said calmly raising his brow,

"Of course, it's nine-thirty already,"

"Try checking again,"

I flipped my hand up to glance at my watch,

"It says eight-thirty, I told you we were super...oh," I stopped mid-sentence realizing,

"Were you always this dumb or is this some kind of a manufacturing defect that I'm just noticing?"

I flicked his forehead, "Shut up," I said,

What an amazing way of embarrassment. Great going, Dew. I mentally face-palmed,

He kept laughing sneakily. I walked ahead of him to avoid hearing those laughs when he suddenly put his arms around my shoulder,

"I didn't know you could frown," he said suppressing his laughs,

"Yeah, whatever,"

"What's with your mood? You look like you ate shit,"

"I'm not a morning person" I whined,

"Of course, that's what failures sound like," he jokingly said smacking my shoulder,

I pushed his hand off my shoulder, "Don't you think you're getting a little too comfortable with me?" I don't know why I felt offended. I would have just shrugged it off but something in me felt hurt. What failure was he talking about when I was trying each day to get better at things?

I don't know what was making me think emotionally but I could not ignore the fact that his words did offend me.

"What do you mean?" I could feel his voice drop down,

"Don't act like we're friends, Sky,"

"Why, what's wrong? Didn't you call me 'buddy' last night?"

"I didn't know you would take it that seriously," I didn't mean this. I didn't want to say this, but my ego was in control of me which made it really difficult to keep my cool,

"Why are you behaving like this out of the blue? Oh wait, did I say something offensive?" he asked his brows tensed up,

"For God's sake, Sky, I freaking hate you! Don't assume there can be anything between us more than rivalry. And don't you dare embarrass me in college by behaving like we're friends," I yelled.

God, Dew please shut up,

His expressions fell to the ground and all the laughter sounds that were floating in the air, took no time to disappear. I walked ahead of him,

How pathetic can I be? What's wrong with me?

Suddenly he held my wrist and turned me around to face him. His eyes held nothing but anger-built tears. Without a single word, he threw a punch right across my face. I fell on the ground because of the impact holding my jaw,

"Looks like someone can throw punches. Why was this someone such a chicken yesterday not being able to fight?" Anger took the best of me and I lost track of things I was going to say to him,

"I've never seen someone as miserable as you," he said heatedly and stormed off.

I was still on the ground mentally wanting to jump off some cliff. I felt like the most pathetic person to ever exist, why did I say something like that knowing it would hurt him? Just acknowledging that I had hurt him seemed like a scar on my inner self.

We were behaving like enemies, just like how we were supposed to. I wasn't supposed to feel hurt about it. Yet, seeing him hurt pained more than his punch.

Sky's POV

After reaching a distance from him, my legs refused to go any further. I quickly pushed back a drop of tear behind,

What did I even expect from him? In the end, he was Dew. The guy who hated me. The guy I was supposed to hate from my childhood till my afterlife. I shouldn't have expected anything.

Normally, his insults wouldn't affect me since they were usually aimed at me being annoying. However, today his words were not only mean but also hurtful, like he purposely targeted me with poison-dipped arrows.

It was my fault for being too comfortable around him. He was right.

Just because of last night, why did I convince myself that we would be close? In the end, the word 'buddy' was a joke to him exactly like how I was a joke to him. Like something he likes to throw away after he's done playing with.

I gathered myself back up since I couldn't afford to let something like this get to me. I need to get through today like nothing happened because I can't avoid him forever. So, I need to pull myself up to get immune to his pathetic self.

I took a deep breath and continued walking towards our college.

Dew's POV

A few days passed by. There were barely any times where I would meet him or at the very least, see him. Then, just a lingering thought came by,

If it was this difficult to see him on a normal basis, did he by any chance purposefully do things in such a way that we would be bound to meet or see each other?

I shook my head. No, he wouldn't do that, right?

Lila had divided the fest work and we had completed almost two-thirds of it. All the things that were left were to be done just a few days before the fest. Everybody was busy preparing for the term exams since they were just around the corner.

I had to take almost every exam seriously since I have always had a tough competition. I was never allowed to fail since it was Sky whom I was against. If he scored an A, I had to score an A+. It got difficult each time and I kept getting tired.

He wouldn't open his window curtains as he usually would when he would study, he wouldn't make any eye contact even if we passed by each other, and neither would he show up for little discussions for the fest work. Even if it was just me, Lila, and Jade.

It felt like those days when he wasn't here. Like those seven years without him. Somewhere it was peaceful that I didn't have to deal with him, and somewhere it was dreadfully guilt-tripping for me to even look at him. These days, he looked empty, and I knew it was because of those stupid upsetting words I said.

Just let him be. From when did you start caring this much? I sighed. I wouldn't have cared so much if he was just sulking for attention. I cared because he was genuinely hurt. I hurt him. That's why it bothered me this much.

I was walking back home from college; it was late evening. After some distance, I saw Sky walking ahead of me with his head bent to the ground. I was seeing him after four days.

I guess it still bothers you, Sky,

I wanted to approach him and apologize, but I was too afraid to do so. I felt powerless at that moment. Instead, I decided to quietly follow him from a distance, remaining behind the tip of his shadow. The streetlights flickered every two minutes in a pattern, causing his shadow to flicker along with them.

After a while, we reached our houses. After I saw him enter his home, I was about to go home too but then I heard his sister.

"Dew?" she called out,

I turned around and greeted her. She was one of the sweetest people I knew,

"Can we talk?" she asked politely,

"Of course," I nodded smiling,

She was always a warm person. Whenever our parents fought, she took Sky, Dani, and me to the park to spare us from hearing them. She always referred to us as her three younger siblings.

We walked towards the bench that was just around the corner of our neighborhood. The bench was not seen from any of our houses, so it was safe for us to talk there.

"Have you been well?" she asked with a welcoming warm smile,

I nodded,

"I don't know what happened between you and Sky. You don't have to tell me because that's your personal matter. However, I want you to answer something honestly," she said,

I nodded again. She didn't sound upset,

"Are you okay?" she asked. I was taken aback by this question. Instead of getting worked up for hurting her younger brother, she was asking me if I was alright,

"I'm okay, I guess," I almost stuttered,

"I asked you to answer honestly, Dew," she replied, her tone remained calmer,

"Well, I'm not completely alright,"

She kept a hand on my shoulder, "Is it because of Sky?" she asked,

"It's because of me and my pathetic self," I said giving in to her. I couldn't hold myself any longer,

She gently caressed my back as we both sat on the bench, "Do you know what Sky said when I asked him why he wasn't alright?" she asked with a smile,

I shook my head,

"He said it wasn't because of you, it was because of him and his miserable self. He told me that he said some mean words that hurt you, which in turn, hurt him,"

What? My eyes widened as I looked at her in surprise,

"Do you realize how annoyingly similar you guys are?" she said raising her pitch half smiling,

I chuckled, and now I wanted to smack the shit out of myself,

"You could've thrown all the blame on him. You had all the right to do that since you can put it under your 'rivalry' title, but you decided not to. You both didn't want to blame each other for being so depressingly quiet. Have you ever thought why?" she asked,

I shook my head again. Words just wouldn't sit in a sentence in my head.

"Because you both are just two silly guys who genuinely care for each other," she said warmly.

"You both have always cared for each other. No one knows that better than I do. Since you both are, again, similarly stubborn, and arrogant, none of you would agree to this. Right?" she asked,

"Right," I replied smiling back,

"I came here to tell you something, Dew. As you grow up, you will make mistakes. But don't be afraid to take responsibility for them. Even if your ego is controlling your mind, do not make fun of someone else's insecurity. You never know how deeply it might hurt them," she said calmly.

"Insecurity?"

"That day, when you saved Sky from those guys, I had gone to the market for some groceries. I saw you helping him, so I didn't feel like intruding. However, four days ago when I stepped out for a morning jog, I saw you both talking before going to college early in the morning. I was about to come say hi, but then I saw him punch you."

"I didn't mean any of it, I swear,"

"I know that you didn't mean to say what you did, Dew. You're not the kind of person who would intentionally hurt someone. But unfortunately, Sky overheard your words and took them to heart. Sometimes, words can have a powerful impact on people, for better or for worse. It's important to remember that."

I nodded. For a while, we sat in silence. I apprehended all her words,

"What insecurity were you talking about?" I asked turning to her,

"I don't think Sky will ever tell you this, so maybe I have to do the deal," she said,

"Are you sure? I think this is something super personal to him,"

"So are you, plus, I think this will help him open up more to you,"

I continued listening,

"Did you notice a scar below his chin?" she asked,

I nodded, "It's a bit faded though," I said,

"Have you wondered how that scar got there?"

I shook my head, "How?"

"I remember when my son started at his new school after we moved. He was eager to join the basketball team and worked hard to show his skills. After a few days, he even managed to beat the lead player. The news quickly spread around the school, but unfortunately, instead of being happy for him, the other players became angry and started bullying him. It was a tough time for him."

"He was just twelve when he had to go through that..." she said as her voice broke a little,

"Afterwards, there was a time when he attempted to get back into basketball. A few days ago, Sky's team won a game, and the guys you saw that day were the lead players from the opposing team. This is why he couldn't fight back. The memory of his past hindered him, to the point where he couldn't even look at them."

My heart broke for Sky as I imagined his twelve-year-old self,

"No matter the scale of a trauma, it can still cause the same amount of pain, Dew. Sky only seeks out people who make him feel safe and secure. He becomes at ease and may act foolishly at times, but we both know he never intends to say hurtful things." With that, she stood up.

"I hope now you know what you should do next," she said with a smile,

I held her hand and thanked her for trusting me with her brother's past.

"Why can't I? I have three siblings, including you and Sky," she winked smiling,

I chuckled and we walked back to our homes.

Now, I know what steps to take. It's true, words either do magic or wreckage. Since I created a problem, it's my responsibility to take care of it. Having this conversation with her told me so many untold things about Sky, things I never cared to notice.

I'm going to fix this, Sky.

***