Chapter 10

Mew was leaning on the door inside his room. For the nth time that evening, he took a deep breath. He slowly slumped on the floor and covered his face with his hands. I couldn't have done anything, he reasoned to himself. He thought about what happened earlier and he still couldn't believe how his two 'friends' ended up staying in his house for the night.

When the two guys asked his permission to sleep over, he was flabbergasted. He froze like a comic statue with mouth ajar and a lone sweat-drop pasted on his forehead. He tried to argue with "uhms" and "buts" but he was no match for the stern looks he got from Tong and Alex. When he came to think about it, he felt like he was bullied into agreeing into letting them get their way. What were they thinking anyway? he asked himself.

A few minutes later, he decided to go down to the dining area where they were waiting for him. He stood up and turned around to open the door when he suddenly blacked out for a second and lost his balance. He then fell on the floor with a dull thud. "What the fuck?" he grunted. He had not eaten since lunch, he remembered; and it's almost midnight. He sat up and tried to stand up when the door abruptly opened, knocking him down.

"Ouch," complained Mew.

Alex was horrified. "Oh no, Mew, I'm sorry! I thought… I heard—" He cut himself from blabbering when he realized that Mew was still lying on the floor, hands on his head. He quickly helped Mew stand up then continued apologizing.

"I'm okay, don't worry…" said Mew, massaging his temple.

Alex looked like a sad little puppy that Mew couldn't help but feel sorry for him. Alex looked down the floor and spoke, "What took you so long…? You went up almost an hour ago… if I make you uncomfortable, it's okay if—"

"Hey," Mew interrupted, "don't think too much about it. I was just doing something and I… kind of just forgot about the time. Sorry, okay?"

"Sure thing." Alex smiled a bit. "Uhh, we made dinner… would you like to go downstairs?"

"Yeah, I'm already hungry, thanks."

Mew thanked the other boys silently as he went down the stairs. As usual, he only realized he was hungry until it's almost too painful to bear. He stopped at his tracks however, when he saw that the dining area was transformed into an elegant-looking-Christmas-lighted place. The table now has a table cloth with flowers and delicious looking food on top. Beside the table was a smiling and guilty looking Tong.

"How…" Mew cannot form the sentence.

"Let's just say," Tong pulled a chair and signaled Mew to sit there, "I was kind of planning this—with Ying's help." After Mew sat, he pulled a chair for himself and sat as well. Tong was completely ignoring the dagger looks that Alex was throwing him. Tong was sitting on Mew's left while Alex sat on Mew's right. On the table were cups of hot chocolate, some bread, ham, and a bowl of apples, grapes, and oranges. There was also a pair of expensive-looking china wares…for him and for Tong. Alex, however, got the old dining wares he usually use at home.

"Let's just also say," Alex spoke, looking grimly at Tong, "Tong planned this only for the two of you." He then looked at Mew, "So, sorry for interrupting."

Mew's eyes widened. He quickly raised his hands a bit and waved them like crazy, "No-no-no-no! It's not what you think!" He looked at Tong for support. To his disgust, Tong smiled and said, "It's what he thinks it is." Tong threw a challenging look at Alex. Both boys looked at each other, eye to eye.

Dead air.

I can't believe this is happening! Mew thought. "Guys please, a-ha-ha-ha…"

More dead air.

Mew wanted to die right there and then.

A full minute passed and Tong broke the silence. He looked at them and smiled sweetly. "Merry Christmas, Mew… Alex." Both boys were taken aback.

"Oh…" Mew looked at the wall clock. It was five minutes passed midnight. "Oh… yeah… Merry Christmas too…"

"Uhm, Merry Christmas guys" said Alex.

Mew remembered the first and last time he spent Christmas with Tong when they were kids… and last year, when he got dumped; both were filled with sad memories. Mew's just happy that they're finally spending a normal Christmas—warm, cozy, and without drama. This is really sweet, Mew thought. Tong and Mew smiled at each other.

As if by magic, the tension earlier completely dissipated. The boys ate their meal in peace. They even shared stories and laughed at each others' jokes.

When the meal was over, Mew tidied up the table while Tong and Alex washed the dishes in silence. Mew looked at his ex-boyfriend and his almost-boyfriend disbelievingly and thought, "So the war isn't over yet."

Mew couldn't have guessed better because when bedtime came, both insisted on sleeping beside Mew.

Mew can't sleep. He felt weird lying between Tong (on his right) and Alex (on his left). His brain was swarming with thoughts. I admit that it's nice… okay, exciting. But… damn! How did I end up here?! Why did Tong come back? Why did Alex forgive me all of a sudden? How am I going to think about my issues when my issues are lying beside me?! Who am I going to choose? WHAT? Why am I choosing?

A thousand more questions flooded Mew and it was almost morning when the dream king took him. He dreamt about his grandmother, about Ying, about Alex, about Tong, about weird stuffs and happier days.