Chapter 3
He feels so uncomfortable and annoyed. His irritation carried on until after a few days after the incident. Oz is now the one avoiding him instead of the other way around. Now, he's the one suffering because of that kid.
"It doesn't matter to me." Gilbert thought, drunken. "I was the one who is avoiding him anyway. It'll only make me happier. I might as well thank him for that behavior." But despite all these things that he always says to himself, he still feels that that is really not what he feels. He can't even understand how he feels anymore.
"What's wrong with me..?" He muttered incoherently while holding a big bottle of strong beer. "Why do I feel like this..? I can't… understand it…"Gilbert has been drinking himself to sleep ever since the night he saw Oz with Eliot in the middle of the fireflies. He wants to drown in the liquor to at least forget his pain.
"Oy," Break called. "I really think you should tell me what's wrong. You've been making me drink with you almost every night without any apparent reason, you know."
"Just be quiet and drink." Gilbert said.
"Gil, tell me. Do you like that kid?" Break asked frankly.
"What?" Gilbert asked credulously. "Do you even know what you're saying?"
"Then why are you like that?" He asked again. "Why are you so concerned about him? Why are you drowning yourself like this just because he's avoiding you? Why are you–" Break's words, however, was stopped when Gilbert hit him on the face for being noisy and nosy.
"Why you..!" Break also hit Gilbert on the face and the two of them exchanged punches with each other until their strength left them. "You idiot! You should just be honest with how you feel! Your pride is only making you suffer, you know!"
Gilbert stopped at that time. He looks so lost and disheveled that even Break pitied him. He then grabbed Break on the collars of his sleeves as he let his tears fall incessantly. "Why are you doing this?" He asked. "You told me you like me… Why are you taking it back now..? Don't avoid me… Like me… Like me more… Oz…" He then fell on the floor, unconscious.
"Oh, so it's something about that, huh… Poor you…" Break then put blanket on Gilbert and lay on the sofa. "You're troubled because you don't acknowledge your real feelings… I think you're being hard-headed that's why things like this happen to you… Really, you're so pitiful, Gil… I wonder how the other party really feels though…" He then closed his eyes and slept soundly.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Eliot can feel that Oz is being a little bit distant to him. He knew the reason but he's afraid to confirm anything. He doesn't want to lose Oz but he also doesn't want things to remain as they are. It has been four days since he saw Oz running while crying. And yet, Oz still would not talk about it. He's not talking at all. Eliot also thinks that the pranks are for Oz and not for him. And yet, he couldn't do anything to at least ease Oz's pain.
"Hey." Eliot called. Oz turned and smiled at him brightly. The worries that he wants to give concern suddenly vanished into thin air. He doesn't care if Oz doesn't like him like that. He'll do everything to protect the guy and also to protect the relationship they have. He'll do everything for Oz.
"Ne, Eliot." Sharon called. "Someone pulled a prank on Oz again."
"Yeah." Alice seconded. "His chair is gone together with his bag."
"What?" Eliot exclaimed. "Then why are you so calm about it?"
"Well, Alice and I kind of saw who did it." Oz said calmly.
"Yeah." Sharon said. "Actually, we're sort of waiting for that person to come back here, though Oz and Alice still refuse to tell me who it is up until now."
"I'll turn him into a chicken and eat him!" Alice exclaimed. Oz chuckled but he immediately turned serious when the person in question came in the room.
"Yoh," Oz greeted him like nothing happened. He's even smiling brightly, too bright to even be called normal greeting.
"Ah, Oz!" He called. "What happened here? Where's your chair?"
"Well, I'm kind of hoping that you'll tell me, Leo." Oz answered, still smiling.
"Huh? What? What are you talking about?" Leo asked innocently.
"You mean Leo was the one who did those things?" Eliot asked. "Oz, there might be some kind of mistake. Leo and Sharon are my friends since elementary."
"Oz might be, but I can't be mistaken!" Alice exclaimed. "I saw him with my own eyes! Oz and I are going to the classroom when we saw Leo carrying Oz's bag and chair! I was about to go and attack him but Oz asked me to hide!"
"Leo, is what Alice said true?" Sharon asked.
"N-Not you, too, Sharon!" Leo exclaimed. "This is utterly ridiculous! I'm out of here!"
"Wait, Leo." Eliot called. "Getting out of here and not clearing the situation will make you even more of a suspect. Please tell us. Did you do that?"
Leo is silent for a while. Then, the look of surprise is prevalent on their features when Leo suddenly laughed. "You know what, I hate you, Oz."
Oz looked surprised for a while, but then he immediately recovered. "Really..?"
"Yeah, you win." Leo said. "I did it. I threw your bag in the school pond. I also made that banner for the two of you to see. I was also the one who did the invitation thing."
"Of course you know we would like to know why." Sharon asked, a hint of anger in her voice. "Oz is Eliot's, your best friend's, lover. So why did you do those things to him?"
"Let me explain this." Leo said. "Don't look at me like that, you people. I didn't do that out of pure sadism, you know. I really hate Oz."
"Why?" Alice asked. Oz is silently but intently listening.
"Because he's an idiot!" Oz blinked at Leo's words. "He's an idiot for not knowing various things around him."
"What do you mean by that?" Oz asked.
"You want to know? Of course you want to. Let me tell you the story then." Leo said. "Everybody knows how I really like Sharon. And yet, she loves someone else. That someone else is you, Oz." Oz looked shocked at the statements. He knew neither Leo nor Sharon's feelings.
"Leo! How could you?" Sharon shouted in utter embarrassment.
"Well, that's the truth." Leo said. "I really don't care about that. But then, I saw Sharon one afternoon crying because while praying for your success in confessing to that damn teacher Nightray! Of course I comforted her. I started hating you back then, to confess on someone else and even make her pray for your success! You're the worst!"
"Leo, Oz doesn't know I like him!" Sharon said. "It's not his fault. Don't hate him…"
"Of course he doesn't know. Because he'd never bother to know." Leo said. "He only cares about himself and all his pains. Of course, later I knew that Oz and Eliot are dating. That really irritated me! Eliot, of all people, made Sharon cry once more! So I wrote that banner and displayed it on our lobby. I also did the invitation thing for both of you, as punishment. But then I learned that even Eliot was being played by you, Oz Bezarius. The person you like even until now is Nightray-sensei, right? That's why I played some serious prank on you and threw your things in the pond."
All of them looked frozen on the spot. No one talked, no one even moved. After a while, Oz smiled. "I see. You like Sharon so much as to do those things… I… I envy you, Leo."
This time, Leo was the one frozen. "What do you mean by that?"
"I'm envious of you, just like how I'm envious of Sharon and Eliot." Oz smiled. "You can all show your feelings in your own ways. You have the courage to do so…"
"Leo, please don't do anything like that anymore…" Sharon pleaded. Leo looked down, unable to look directly at her.
"Oz loves Nightray-sensei. That is true even until now." Leo said, feeling some stuff clogging his throat. "I was the one who asked him to be my lover so he can forget that guy. But as you see, I'm still not successful. I like Oz. Sharon likes Oz. Please don't hate him because of us… I don't want anyone else hurting Oz. It's my own decision to do this so stay out of it."
"Eliot, you…" Leo looks shocked at Eliot's words. He can feel how serious Eliot is.
"Can't you just forgive Oz?" Alice asked in an annoyed manner. "I'm sure Oz has already forgiven you. That's the reason why we hid and waited for you to return here instead of humiliating you outside."
"Please forgive Oz." Eliot said together Sharon. Oz smiled at Leo, and afterwards bowed.
"You, don't think that I will forgive you just because you humble yourself like that." Leo said. "I still hate you… But I promise I won't do anything anymore." Oz smiled again. Leo was about to leave the room when Eliot called him again.
"Hey," Eliot said. "How did you find us that night?"
"What do you mean?" Leo asked, this time innocent for real.
"You were the one who wrote those things in Oz's locker, right? How did you know we're there?" He asked.
"I wasn't the one who wrote those things." Leo said. "Hey, I'm telling the truth! I was also surprised when I saw that." He added when they looked at him suspiciously.
"It was me." Sharon confessed. They all looked at her. "I saw you two went to the woods, and I sort of followed you. I'm sorry for doing that. But I really think you should do those things more discretely. I won't do anything like again. Don't worry. Besides, I've already recovered from Oz." She smiled.
"'Recovered'? What am I, a sickness?" Oz asked. All of them laughed.
Sharon suddenly held her cheeks and went in a dreamy stance. "I've fallen in love with someone very cool, you know…"
"WHAT?" Leo exclaimed. "Who?"
"He's a college student who looks so much like Oz. Only, his hair is very long and in a braid. He helped me the other day when I dropped the books in Clidoren Book Store. His name is–"
"JACK." Oz finished for her. He looks frustrated.
"How did you know?" Sharon immediately asked, astounded. They also looked at him with the same expression.
"He currently works in Clidoren Bookstore as the manager. And he's… Well, I told you I have an idiotic older brother, right? That's him!"
"Really?" Sharon asked excitedly. "Oz, can I go to your house later?"
"No way!" Oz exclaimed. "That person is sick! That person is annoying! Don't fall in love with that idiot of all people, Sharon!"
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Are you sure?" Sharon asked. "But it's not here anymore."
"I'm sure I put all his belongings here in this pond." Leo answered.
"The chair is here, though." Alice said.
"Maybe someone took it?" Oz asked.
"That'll be a problem." Eliot said. "The exam is tomorrow and you need to study."
"What should we do?" Sharon asked. "And I can see that the one who should be more concerned about it is smiling like nothing happened."
Oz is smiling. "We can't do anything if someone took it. Let's just hope that someone will bring it back."
"Well, you're right but…" Eliot tried to argue but saw Oz's stubborn expression. "Alright then. I'll just let you borrow my notes. I've reviewed everything so I won't be needing it anymore."
"But…" Oz answered.
"It's alright." Eliot patted Oz's head and smiled.
"Thank you…" Oz smiled genuinely. "I really appreciate it…"
"Well, everything's okay now then!" Sharon said.
"All we need to do now is to report Oz's lost bag…" Alice started but trailed off. "Where?"
"We don't have anything like that because our school has too much liberty that it doesn't allow any rules such as that."
"Now that's nice." Leo said but got a hit on the head from Eliot and Sharon.
The day of the exams came and Oz made sure that he will pass this time. The exams took all day and they were all exhausted after it. He thanked Eliot for the notes after he gave them back.
"Hey, how about we hang out tonight?" Sharon asked.
"But we still don't know the results of the exams." Leo said. "Do you think we'll all pass this time?"
"Of course," Sharon said. "Because Oz deliberately failed the exam last time just so he can get a free tutorial and alone time with Nightray-sensei, right, Oz?"
"Hey," Oz said while chuckling. "I didn't deliberately do that!"
"Just tell us the truth, Oz!" Alice said.
"Well, I didn't deliberately fail it but…" Oz trailed off. "I kind of… took the exams easy…I didn't review nor did I answer much… That's all."
"So you deliberately did that after all!" Eliot hit Oz on the head with his knuckles.
"Ouch! Hey!" Oz scratched his aching head and all of them laughed at him. He then turned serious and told them his mind. "But now, I have no reason to do that… I really reviewed and even read everything twice or thrice before answering completely."
"That's good." Sharon smiled at him. "Let's go to the Karaoke House!"
"Yeah!" They all shouted. Afterwards, they all sang and partied.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
"Let me walk you home." Eliot offered to Oz when they got out of the Karaoke House.
"It's alright." Oz said and smiled. "No one will walk Alice home. I can take care of myself."
"Yeah, I will walk Sharon home, and it's on the opposite direction from Alice's house." Leo said. "Oz's house is also in a different way than hers. She will be alone."
"I'm alright, you know!" Alice acted very bossy and proud. "I'm ALICE after all!"
Eliot chuckled and patted her head. "I'll walk you home." He then turned to Oz. "Be careful on your way home, Oz."
"Yeah, you, too." He answered.
After some more talk, they all went their separate ways. Oz walked in the streets silently. He went to a crossing and later rode a train. He was about to go home when he saw someone who resembles Gilbert leaning by a post near Oz's house. He looked at the person for a while. The latter is wearing a black coat and a black hat, smoking a cigarette. Oz tried to remain calm. He can't just think that everyone who looks like him is really him.
Oz walked on the opposite side of road and passed him without so much as a glance. He felt relieved when he passed the guy. However, the guy stood up straightly and followed him. Because of this, all thought of the guy being Gilbert vanished in his head. He immediately thought that the guy is a gangster in need of money, or worse, a psycho or even a killer. He hurried up in his footsteps and immediately tried to open his gate. However, the guy was able to grab his arms and cover his mouth before he can even go inside his house and forcefully dragged him into a dark alley. A car is waiting there and the guy immediately pushed him inside. The car drove away instantly.
"Wait, who are you?" Oz asked, trying to open the door of the car but the guy is preventing him.
"Don't struggle." The guy talked for the first time. Oz immediately lost all his sense of escape when he heard the voice. He turned around and saw the guy starting to remove his coat and hat.
"S-Sensei…" Oz uttered. "Why are you..?"
"Don't worry, I will not do anything." He said. "I just want you to go to my house and talk to somebody. I knew you would refuse if I ask directly so I used this method. Sorry, Bezarius." His crimson eyes smiled together with his lips.
"You're not with a lollipop today, Break-sensei." Oz said.
"Idiot, I'm driving so I can't afford to take my hands off the wheel and lick something." He answered, grinning.
"I can't believe I mistook you for Nightray-sensei…" Oz muttered to himself. Unfortunately, Break heard him and laughed.
"Actually, I kind of dressed like him just to get your attention." He explained. "I thought I want to know your reaction when you see him."
Oz sighed in exhaustion because of Break's prank. "By the way, why do you think that I would refuse talking to that someone?" Oz asked, innocent first but then he looked like he realized something. "No, don't tell me… Sensei! I want to get out!"
"Sorry, we're here." Break said as he drove the car into a garage. "That person and I live in one house and share the rent. We're friends after all."
Oz looked down. He doesn't want to talk to Gilbert right now. He's a bit scared of him… But more than that, he's afraid about having to talk to him about his real feelings. He doesn't want to get hurt like that again. He's afraid to get hurt…
"Don't worry, I'll be there…" Break then laughed. "Though I think neither of you will talk if someone else is around."
"Why…" Oz asked. "…are you doing this?"
"Because," Break said as he started to get out of the car. "Things need to be clarified. That guy's pride is soaring in the sky. And yet, it's also the one that makes him suffer. That's why, you need to talk to him and he needs to talk to you as well."
"But why me?" Oz asked.
Break smiled and brought out of the car a case of strong beer. "Because he's been drowning himself with these every night."
"But…" Oz looks more confused than earlier. "I… I don't understand… What do I have to do with him drowning in alcohol?"
Break smiled again and put his arms around Oz's neck. "Let's go inside. You'll see."
They went inside the house, or mini mansion, and saw its elegance. Gilbert is trying to turn an empty bottle of beer upside down just to lick a drop.
"Hey, you're back, Xerxes." Gilbert said, not noticing Oz is behind Break. "What took you so long? I've finished drinking everything here."
"Woah, you haven't called me that for a while now. I see you're really drank to the core for you to call me that. I still had to pick up something after all so I was kind of late." Break said. "Here's the alcohol, and… here's a delivery service from me. Don't tell anyone though because I only kidnapped this one."
Gilbert's drunken eyes widened when he saw Oz trying so hard to hide behind Break.
"You… why are you here?" He said quite forcefully even though his voice is calm.
"Well, I'll leave you two for a while then." Break said but stopped when Oz grabbed his shirt.
"Y-You said you'll be here." He mumbled.
"Oh, I'm here." Break said. "I'll just be sleeping in my room. You can call me if you want. I told you, didn't I? You'll not be able to talk properly if someone else is here. Goodnight then!" He smiled and went upstairs.
"It's alright." Gilbert said between some hiccups. "I won't hurt you… at least not physically. So, why are you here again?"
"I… Break-sensei dragged me here by force…" Oz looked down. He wants to help Gilbert in his seemingly tiring position of sitting on the floor and leaning, half plunging, on the sofa and holding a bottle of beer.
"I see…" Gilbert muttered. "Cheers?" He then grab Oz's arms and made him sit closer. He gave Oz a bottle of beer and tossed his own with Oz's.
"Uh, uhm…" Oz tried to put down the bottle but Gilbert gave it again to him. "I'm still a minor, sensei…"
"Oh?" Gilbert's eyes looks like their drooping. Oz is thinking how in the world does Break expects him to talk properly to this half-asleep half-drunken guy.
"S-sensei?" Oz tried to make a conversation. "Why did you get angry at me last time? Why did you try, I mean, why did you choke me?"
"Ah, that?" Gilbert's eyes went smaller, like trying to scrutinize Oz. Oz blinked innocently at the act. "Because even though you're cute, you're so stubborn…"
"Eh?" Oz blinked again. "Sensei, are we talking about the same thing here? I'm Oz. Oz Bezarius. I think you're mistaking me for someone else…" Oz was surprised when the statement felt like he was stabbed by a knife on the heart.
"Oz…" Gilbert repeated. "Oz, right, Oz. Let's drink."
Oz felt the veins of annoyance showing on his face. "I think it'll be a long non-sense teacher-student conversation."
Ren-sama's Note:
I'm so grateful to everyone for reading my fan fiction. I really like making fan fictions so it's making me the happiest when someone is reading them and saying something good about it.
I'm thanking you for reading and appreciating it. ˆoˆ