Flaws Within

UNFLINCING THUNDERSTORMS

Javier awoke the following morning, still feeling a slight burn and weakness in his body. However, he was well enough to stand and walk towards the kitchen, only to find Juandre attempting to cook breakfast.

"Are the maids off again?" Javier asked curiously, wondering why Juandre was cooking.

"No, I gave them the day off. I just felt like cooking," Juandre replied, struggling to cut the vegetables.

"But your hand is injured again?" Javier mumbled, his curiosity getting the best of him. When he received no answer, he stepped into the kitchen to help him out a bit.

"He knows he can't cook, yet he still insists on doing such foolish things," Javier muttered to himself as he tried to clean up the mess Juandre had created.

"Did you say something?" Juandre asked.

"No... Nothing," Javier laughed, continuing, "Juandre, Carlos is having a birthday party tonight, and he really wants to see you too. Can you come with me? Just for two hours, that's all," Javier insisted, hoping for a positive response.

"If you say so," Juandre whispered softly, gently touching Javier's back. Javier stood frozen as butterflies danced in his stomach and goosebumps appeared on his arms.

Just then, Javier's phone rang and he picked it up.

"Hey Mark, why are you calling at this hour? Is everything alright?" Javier asked, grabbing Juandre's attention as he stood beside him.

"No... Javier, please make it quick!" Mark yelled, sounding desperate and in need of help.

"Hey, calm down. Tell me what happened," Javier responded, trying to remain calm himself.

"Thyra got into an accident... I called for an ambulance, but it's taking forever! She's bleeding so much!" Mark shouted and cried in a helpless state, hoping that Javier could come to their rescue.

Upon hearing this, Javier dropped the utensils he was holding and rushed towards his car. Juandre tried to stop him from behind.

"What's wrong?" Juandre asked, curious about Javier's sudden reaction.

"Hurry up! Thyra got into an accident," Javier explained, displaying genuine worry as he frantically searched for his car keys.

"Come with me," Juandre said, taking Javier's hand, and they quickly made their way to the car. Juandre drove as fast as he could, but they ended up getting stuck at a long traffic signal.

Noticing Javier's trembling and fear, Juandre reassured him, "Javier, calm down. I know she'll be alright," gripping his hand tightly and nodding at him, encouraging him to take deep breaths.

"Mark, where... where is she?" Javier asked Mark as soon as they arrived at the hospital. In a rush, Javier followed Mark's guidance and rushed into the room. He felt a wave of relief wash over him when he discovered that Thyra was okay, aside from a few stitches on her head where she had bled excessively.

"Mark, how did this happen?" Juandre asked, concerned for Thyra, even though she was now in stable condition.

"S-sir, she was on a call when she didn't realize she had run a red light and crashed into another car on our way to the mall," Mark explained, trying to keep his composure as he detailed the incident.

Worried, Javier's parents entered the hospital and soon spotted Juandre, greeting him warmly.

"Is Javier also here?" Albertine, Javier's mother, asked upon seeing Juandre and Mark. However, Adrian rolled his eyes at this question and walked straight into the room where Thyra was.

"Yes, Mother, he's here too," Juandre replied with a smile, noticing the joy on her face upon knowing that her son was present.

"You call her... Mother?" Mark asked curiously, momentarily forgetting that he was standing right beside his boss.

"Oh, I'm so sorry, sir," Mark quickly apologized for the personal question.

"No, it's okay. I call her mother because she asked me to, after my own mother's funeral years ago," Juandre explained, conveying that Albertine had always been like a maternal figure to him. However, he struggled to understand why Javier disliked his own parents.

"Javier..." Albertine tried to speak to her son, who was sitting by Thyra's side. He quickly stood up upon seeing his parents and walked out of the room, completely ignoring them.

"Leave him be. He always chooses to walk away from problems instead of solving them, and it's disappointing," Adrian rudely speaks to his wife about Javier's actions.

Javier clenches his hand into a fist as he leaves the room, only to encounter Andriel entering the hospital.

Juandre stands there, completely shocked by the connection between Andriel and Thyra. Juandre purposely positions himself in front of Javier, attempting to make him feel safe around people he didn't like.

"Why are you here?" Juandre asks Andriel in a cold tone, while Mark stands there, confused.

"I just wanted to let Thyra speak to someone," Andriel replies, his eyes sharply focused on Javier as he smiles.

"Who?" Javier asks out of curiosity, mustering the courage to face Andriel.

"It's just someone. I swear she knows her," Andriel replies as he enters the room where Thyra and her parents are. Juandre, Javier, and Mark followed him.

Thyra rolls her eyes as soon as she realizes that Andriel is there too. Andriel hands her the phone he was on with a woman. However, Thyra seems to be really worried about the people standing around, so she can't talk properly. She only manages to utter a few incomprehensible words before hanging up the call and returning the phone to Andriel. Andriel winks at Javier, smiles, and leaves the room. Juandre tries to follow him, but Javier stops him and pleads for him to ignore Andriel.

The room falls silent once again as Kira enters. Juandre curiously asks her, "Kira, what are you doing here?" in a soft tone.

"Um...I'm actually really close to Thyra. We are friends," Kira explains, not expecting Juandre to be there as well. However, she hesitates a lot, revealing that she isn't confident about her explanation.

"Javier, why don't you stay at our house for today? Thyra is being discharged as well, so we can have a good meal," Albertine suggests. But Javier interrupts her.

"I have to attend a party today, sorry," Javier explains, looking at Juandre before leaving and signaling for him to leave as well. Juandre asks Kira and Mark to come with him, as they were all headed to the office. They greet Thyra and leave.

TIME SKIPS;

"It's fine if you're too tired to go today," Javier suggests to Juandre about the party they were going to, as soon as Juandre returns home from the office.

"I'm a man of my word. Why aren't you ready yet? Be quick," Juandre replies, determined to go to that party.

They both get ready to leave together. The ride to the restaurant is calm and pleasant.

"I like your perfume. It reminds me of the jasmine flowers in that famous park," Juandre compliments Javier's cologne, reminding him of their past and the park they used to play in.

Javier smiles, reminded of the good times and realizing once again that he has known Juandre from the past and not just at that rooftop. He often forgets this fact, feeling unfamiliar with who Juandre really is.

"Okay, guys! Now it's time to play the spiciest game ever made! Cards Dare!" Carlos announces, as soon as they finish cutting the cake and eating dinner. Juandre already wants to leave, but he notices how much fun Javier is having with his friends. So, he decides to stay a little longer and endure their stupid spicy card game.

"Okay, let's take a look at the task. Woah woah woah, look at that already, it says to kiss on the lips!" Carlos reads the card, and the whole friend group cheers out loud enough to make Juandre's blood boil.

"Okay, let's take a beautiful look at the numbers, and whoever number is announced will have to do this task." Carlos explains the game as he continues to find two numbers.

"The first number is 9!" Carlos announces, only to find out Javier has it. Everyone cheers out loud, but Juandre's face contorts into an unpleasant expression.

"And the next number is 5! Who is 5!" Everyone checks their cards, but unfortunately, Juandre is 3. Carlos takes a look at his card and smiles to announce that he will be the one doing it.

Javier laughs, finding amusement in the game that will make him kiss his own best friend. They were close enough to do it and really not mind it, as they both were settled with someone else. They took it lightly and proceeded to kiss as the whole friend group cheers them loudly.

As they both move forward, Juandre suddenly wakes up and pushes Carlos back, almost causing him to fall to the ground. Juandre then steps back in front of Javier, a storm brewing in his eyes. At first, Javier tries to proceed and accept the fact that Juandre is just slightly jealous, but he realizes it's more than that when Juandre continues to stand there, unmoving.

Carlos stands up, his voice dripping with anger and confusion as he yells, "What are you doing!"

"And what are you doing? Who gave you the permission to come closer to Javier!" Juandre shouts at Carlos, moving forward and punching him, clearly picking a fight.

Javier stands there, frozen and confused by this sudden violent act. He goes forward and pleads with Juandre to stop this and return to their house. Unexpectedly, Juandre backs up and returns, revealing that he might really hate Carlos to ever see him again. Carlos lies on the floor, confused and with bleeding lips, realizing that Javier is dating a complete psycho.

"What the f**k are you even doing!" Javier asks Juandre upon reaching back to the house. Juandre stands there, noticing Javier completely filled with anger, and he smiles.

"What's funny? I asked why did you hit him!" Javier asks, raising his voice and his green eyes as cold as winter's wind.

"I can hurt anyone I want to, anytime, and you dare not raise your voice to me," Juandre says, moving forward and crashing his cold eyes into Javier's. Both of them are slightly scared, as neither of them lower their eyes or move back. The thunderstorms crash in the dark sky, making the atmosphere more menacing, but to Juandre's surprise, Javier doesn't even flinch at the loud noise he was once really scared of.

"You know I have lowered myself for you, but you still manage to disappoint," Juandre speaks, almost pinning Javier to the table with his words. Javier's eyes burn like fire as he finally loses his calm and raises his hand.

Javier slaps Juandre, looking at him with disgust, not moving back a step nor flinching. Javier finally releases all the anger he has been bottling up from Juandre. Every harsh word and toxic action, he can no longer hold back his complaints. They are caught up in a physical fight.

Javier moves forward and grabs Juandre's arm harshly, pinning him to the wall and twisting his arm slightly so that Juandre cannot move further. As soon as he does, Javier pulls out a karambit, a type of knife used for self-defense. He puts it close to Juandre's neck, intending to hurt him, but he finally stops his violent acts and takes a look at Juandre, who stands there, frozen. Javier steps back, putting down the knife and releasing the arm he grabbed. He realizes that Juandre didn't even once raise a hand back, utter a word, or retaliate. Juandre just stands there, slightly smiling and looking at Javier.

"Aren't you afraid that I will hurt you?" Javier asks curiously, his voice still filled with anger.

"Such a beautiful sight is rarely seen, why would I ever stop you?" Juandre replies, his words leaving Javier confused yet feeling teased, as if Juandre knows something.

"Being caught in a fight with me is beautiful to you?" Javier asks again, not breaking their eye contact, still looking at Juandre with anger.

"No, but seeing you fight is. I don't care who you are fighting with, but the fact that you can raise this knife is enough," Juandre explains, as if it was his mission all along to make Javier fight him.

"Why would you do all this?" Javier curiously asks as he steps back, searching for answers to everything.

"If you were never able to stand against me, how would you do it in front of Andriel?" Juandre asks.