Black's POV

"Aunt Autumn! I'm home!" I exclaimed as I entered the door. I could hear the shuffling of feet coming from the kitchen towards me.

"Black, I'm gonna go out." My aunt said as she poked her head out the kitchen. "There's been an emergency at the hospital and they need all the help they can get."

"Oh, sure. When will you be coming home?" I asked.

"Tomorrow evening." She replied as she picked up her keys and made her way to the door. "I left your dinner at the table. Make sure you eat. Bye bye!"

I made my way to the kitchen as I heard the door shut. I guess I'm alone again for tonight. My aunt works as a nurse at a nearby hospital so it's normal when she gets these kinds of emergency calls.

I saw my dinner at the table and sat down. It was fried chicken. I guess she didn't have enough time to make something. No matter. Anything she cooks is delicious anyway.

After I finished eating, I washed the dishes and placed the leftovers in the fridge. I cleaned up the kitchen and immediately headed up to my room. I placed my stuff down and turned the air conditioner on. I'm gonna sleep soon anyway, so I might as well take a bath too.

I grabbed my towel from the chair in front of my desk and turned the bathroom lights on. I have my own bathroom inside my room since I really don't wanna make the effort of going down every time I needed to go. It's very convenient for me. Especially when we have guests. My aunt's aware of my condition, which is why she rarely visited us. I wonder what made her visit that day?

I entered the bathroom and took my clothes off. It's so cold, but I guess taking a hot, steamy shower will help. I turned the shower on and the water to come out. God this is the life. Come to think of it, it's been a long time since I relaxed. I don't even know if I can take one more love letter. The school year isn't even halfway done and I'm already worn out. The school festival is also coming up in a few weeks, so there's gonna be a lot more stuff to do.

*ding dong*

Huh? Was that the doorbell? Did Aunt Autumn forget something?

*ding dong*

There it was again. Shit, well I have to hurry up.

I finished my shower and immediately put some clothes on. I hung a small towel on my shoulder so that I could dry my hair on the way down.

*ding dong*

"Coming!" I exclaimed as I ran down the stairs. I opened the door. "Hey, Aunt Autumn. Did you-" I stopped. It wasn't Aunt Autumn at the door. It was Crimson.

"Hey, Black." He greeted me. "Do you mind if I stay the night here?" I stared at him for a bit, and he looked troubled. He lives a bit far from here, so I wonder why he made the effort to come here in the first place?

"It's okay." I replied as I gestured for him to come in. "It's just me tonight though. My aunt just got called in to work."

"You live with your aunt? Where're your parents?" He asked as he entered.

"Well..." I stopped for a bit. "My parents passed away when I was younger."

"Oh... I'm sorry... It must be a sensitive topic for you." He replied with a very panicky tone in his voice. He obviously doesn't get faced with awkward situations like this often.

"No, it's fine. It's been years anyway." I replied to hopefully calm him down. "They passed away four years ago. My dad died in another country, while my mom committed suicide."

"I-I'm sorry. I should've watched my mouth."

"I already told you, it's fine. Place your stuff somewhere there." I told him as I pointed at the side of the table, beside the door. "Have you eaten yet?"

"Not really..." He replied.

"Perfect!' I exclaimed as I pulled on his arm towards the kitchen. "There's still some leftovers in the fridge. I'll just heat it-"

"Black, it's fine." He replied. "Actually..." He said as he took out a paper bag full of ingredients. "Do you mind if I use your kitchen?"

I stared at him in shock. "Go ahead... Um... Why do you have those with you?"

"For dinner. I was gonna cook something when I get home."

"So, why are you here?" I asked as I took a seat.

He walked towards the kitchen and rolled up his sleeves. "I wanted to talk to you about something important... But that can wait till later." He replied as he grabbed a pan and started cooking. "Did you just get out of the shower?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"Dude, your hair is so wet, it's still dripping." He laughed loudly as he chopped a few vegetables up.

"Oh shit! I didn't notice!" I exclaimed as I used the towel on my shoulder. "I was in a hurry to answer the door."

He chuckled a bit. "Sorry about that."

He continued to cook as I waited for him to finish. I had no idea what he's cooking, but it sure as hell smelled amazing.

"I didn't know that you could cook?" I said.

"There's a lot of things that you don't know about me, and it just so happens that cooking is one of them." He answered." I learned how to cook when I was still living with my parents. I didn't regret learning it, because now that I live alone, it helps a ton."

"Hey, where do you get the money to pay your rent?"

"My dad sends me money every month, but I also have a part time job in case I need to spend more." He finished cooking and placed the dish on the table. He cooked pasta, and the only thing I could say is that it looked and smelled really amazing. "I didn't know what you'd like, but here's some chicken parmesan."

"Oh, but I already ate." I replied.

"Come on." He insisted as he handed me a fork. "Eat some with me. I can't finish this whole thing on my own."

"Ugh, fine." I eventually gave up. "Do you want anything to drink?" I asked as I stood up.

"Water is fine, but no ice." He replied.

I took some water from the fridge and poured us both a glass. I sat back down and took a bite of the dish. "Dude, this tastes awesome!" I exclaimed.

"It's nothing, but thanks for the compliment."

"Do you wanna marry me? I'd love to eat your cooking everyday." I jokingly said.

"Fuck off, man." He replied and laughed. "But you can always swing by my apartment if you wanna hang. I can cook up some food for you."

"Awesome! I'll take you up on that offer."

We finished eating and cleaned up the kitchen before going up to my room. He took his guitar and bag by the door and proceeded to climb up the stairs.

"Hey, you need some help?" I asked.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about it." He replied.

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah."

"Alright then."

We got to the front of my room. I've never had anyone besides my aunt enter my room before. Oh my God! I don't even know if it's clean! I'm pretty sure I just placed my stuff all around.

I opened the door and we both stepped inside as I switched the lights on.

"Your room is pretty neat." Crimson said.

Thank you past self for instinctively cleaning up.

"Uh, thanks." I replied. "I have a mattress at the closet. Wait a bit."

"Sure, sure."

He looked around my room for a bit. "You have a console?" He asked. I got the console as a gift from my dad before. I haven't really used it much so it's just there most of the time.

"Yeah. You wanna play something?" I asked as I took the mattress of out the closet.

"Can we?" He asked as he turned to look at me with his eyes lighting up. He looked so adorable honestly. I can't even believe people call this guy a delinquent.

"Yeah, but you can just play a single player game if you want." I replied as I placed the mattress on the floor with some pillows and a blanket on top.

"It wouldn't feel right. I'd rather play a multiplayer game so that we both have something to do."

I chuckled a bit. "Fine. My games are in the cabinet below the TV. You can pick whatever game you want." I told him as I pointed at the cabinet.

He opened it up and decided which game to play. "You have Minecraft?" He asked.

"I... Had a bit of a phase..." I replied. I was a creative kid, so my dad used to buy me tons of sandbox games. He wanted me to expand my horizons and create art to my heart's content.

"Well, let's bring that phase back." He replied while taking the game out. "By the way, your console is full of dust. Do you even use it?"

"Uh..." I stopped for a bit. "Not really. I just sketch stuff to pass the time."

"That's the arts department for you." He laughed. "I'm turning it on now." He said as he turned one of the controllers on and placed the Minecraft disc inside the console.

"I'm gonna get some chips downstairs." I said as I opened the door.

"Wait." He stood up. "Let me help you." He offered.

"Uh, sure."

We both walked downstairs towards the kitchen to find some food.

"Hey, Crimson, can you get the chips inside the cabinet over there?" I asked him as I pointed to the cupboards.

"Sure, sure." He replied.

I went to the fridge to get some sodas for us. I'm sure it's okay to sleep late. Tomorrow's a weekend after all.

"Hey, Black..." Crimson called me. "Does your aunt love to bake?" He asked.

"Huh? What do you mean?" I replied as I took some sodas out.

"Well... I found a stash of sweets here."

"Sweets?" I turned around and saw that the cabinet he opened was the one where Aunt Autumn keeps all her stuff for breakfast. "Oh... That's breakfast..."

"Breakfast?? Dude, have you been eating normally? Are your teeth okay?" He asked with a concerned tone in his voice.

I burst out laughing. "I'm fine, Crimson. Stop worrying too much. My aunt just likes to be... Creative with her dishes."

"Sure. Creative." He said as he closed the cabinet.

We finished getting food and immediately headed to my room. We placed the food down by Crimson's mattress and sat down. I reached for the other controller and turned it on.

"Are we really playing Minecraft?" I asked.

"Yeah!" Crimson replied very enthusiastically.

"You're being too happy about this."

"And you're being too salty."

We started the game and got to the title screen.

"Make a new world." I told Crimson.

"Oh sure. What do you wanna call it?" He asked.

"Anything. I'm bad with names." I replied.

"Alrighty then. I'll just name it Survival."

The world generated and the two of us started chopping down trees. I handed Crimson a can of soda and opened one of the bags of chips. The sweet smell of salt and air. If only chips actually filled the bag.

"So... What did you wanna talk about?" I asked.

"Oh... Yeah..." He replied, the volume of his voice getting lower.

"If you don't wanna tell me, then don't..." I stopped a bit. "But if you have a problem, you can rely on me. That's what friends are for."

He went quiet for a bit, but continued to play. "Do you remember when I got into that fight?" He asked.

"How could I forget? Lilac was so concerned for you." I replied.

"Yeah, well... The guy I fought with..."

"Hm?"

"Before I transferred to this school, I used to be in a band."

"A band?" I asked. "Hey, look out for that creeper!"

"Oh shit!" He got a little startled. "Yeah. A band. Can you give me some wood?" He asked.

"Oh, sure." I replied as I gave him some wood from my inventory. "So, about the band?"

"Oh, right. I used to be the main vocalist and guitarist of the band... And the guy I fought with was the bassist... He also used to be my best friend..."

Oh, shit. "Um, can I ask what happened?"

"Some complications within the band. I started dating our other vocalist, and well.. I guess you could say things got complicated from then on. We were both outcasts, and we both liked each other... So I thought we were perfect for each other..."

"But...?"

He looked at me and smiled. "My best friend liked her too."