Lollipop

03 - Lollipops Make You Feel Better

Corey

Despite telling the Jun that he might have gotten over Anastasia, somewhere in him continued to cling to her.

If he had gotten over her, his heart wouldn't feel like it was about to jump out from his body when their shoulders brushed against each other.

Right now, he was accompanying her in her shopping for her sister's birthday gift in the nearby shopping mall.

Thinking back, he knew he shouldn't offer to accompany her when she asked in the w******p group chat that consisted of him, her and Jermaine about the matter.

He must have seemed desperate in front of the girls when he replied a second after Ana sent the message. He told himself he didn't care that Ana would never reciprocate his love, and forced himself to believe that his presence would allow Ana to pick the right gift, but it was undeniable that he was there to blanket himself in her warmth.

He had his weekly gym session today, but he decided to skip it just so he could go with her.

Anything for Ana, as long as she was happy.

Even if she was his best friend's girlfriend.

"Corey, thank you for coming out with me today, even after..." said Ana beside him. Turning towards her, he was faced with a small smile formed on her pale complexion. Her blonde wavy hair flowed over her other shoulder, her baby blue eyes boring into his emerald ones, her peachy lips slightly parted as if there were more she wanted to say. Ana was the polar opposite of Jermaine. Under Jermaine's slim and slender figure, she was a brute. However, Ana was the embodiment was what he would call 'purity'. Just being beside her could make him feel so comfortable that it scared him that he would crave for more, even though he knew he shouldn't.

"It's nothing. I have nothing to do anyway. Don't worry about that, I'm over it already," he said as he forced an assuring smile.

"Perfectly fine, Ana, really."

"I see," she gave a small laugh. "Well, my sister is an otaku, so what would you recommend for me to buy?" She asked teasingly, tilted her head to the right with a cute grin. Ana didn't, and would never know that Corey found this gesture of her adorable and endearing. However, the emotional conflict that welled up in his chest left an uncomfortable sensation that he couldn't fathom about.

"Which show does she like?" asked Corey, but he received no response from her. Turning to his side, he spotted her furiously typing on her phone as if she was... having fun. He peeked into her phone, only to see the chatroom between Jermaine and her flashing cruelly in the screen, as if it was mocking him for being such a loser. Balling his left palm, his nails dug into the flesh until he could feel the sharp pain arising from the act. Annoyance, irritation and vexation--whatever you call it, it tickled his skin and it was not all that comfortable.

So, don't ask him why he said the things he said subsequently, because even he wanted to give himself a nice, hard punch in his throat for that.

"Is that Jer? Wow, am I so boring that you gotta message her to curb your boredom? Should I just go home and let her take over me? That'd be a better alternative, do you think?" said Corey half-jokingly. He tried to make it sound like he was sarcastically making a crude joke, but the look of hurt in her eyes was enough to tell him that he was too much. She looked like she wanted to say something, but didn't know what to say, so she had to swallow down her words indignantly. In the end, the atmosphere thickened to a point Corey could feel his palm sweating. s**t, I screwed up.

"Just joking, don't think too much about that. Since your sister is an anime fan, I'd recommend for you to look at manga and anime merchandise. Let's go to that store," he suggested as he pointed to the direction of the said store. Ana hesitated, but nodded her head grimly. He increased his speed, but she was walking behind slowly, and perhaps cautiously if he had to say. He wanted to oh-so-much grab her hand and ask her to hurry up like what he always did, but something in him persuaded him not to, especially after the things he said to her earlier.

I should stop being so pathetic, he chided himself. What should I do to make her smile again?  Make her smile, goddamn it! Say something stupid or ridiculous, as long as it makes her laugh. Say something!

"Ana, I-" Ding! His phone rang as a signal that there was a new message. Fishing his phone out from his pocket, he unlocked into the phone and saw a new message from his lollipop maniac friend.

Jun: I read one of your fanfictions on w*****d just now. The YumiKuri fanfic. It's f*****g great by the way. I'm expecting regular updates •̀.̫•́✧

A small chuckle unconsciously left Corey's lips as he read the message.

Corey: that fanfic is completed already. no more updates sorry lol

Just when he was about to put his phone away, his phone rang again.

Jun: NO WAY? IT'S great though! Why is there only 10 chapters? How on earth would that be enough? WHY

Corey: there's other fanfic though

Jun: Yours are the best (●'ϖ'●) wanna meet later? we can talk about the wonders of fan-fiction and rainbows and unicorns and anime and anime wives and some nonsense. Anything basically. Up for it?

Should I? And is it right to actually text the other person while being with another person? Corey contemplated at the back of his mind. Glancing at Ana, it didn't seem like she cared that he was texting. In fact, she was texting too. Is that why she's walking so slowly? Corey, just shut the f**k up already and stop being so paranoid.

Corey: ok. same park.

Unknowingly, they have reached the shop. Corey then attempted to sweep the increasing awkwardness away with light jokes and some recommendations on what she should buy. That helped, but it was undeniable that the shopping trip was one of the worst he had so far in his entire life.

-

Jun

"Guess I'm the first to reach huh," Jun thought out loud as he placed his black Kanken bag onto the same bench that both Corey and he sat on the previous time and sat down. Five minutes in, he was beginning to feel a little bored even though his eyes continued to survey his surrounding. The park was irrefutably abandoned, but for some unknown reasons, it was a great place to sort out one's heart. That's why Corey came here the previous time, a soft expression formed on his face.

Taking a coke flavoured lollipop out of his pocket, he threw it in the air and caught it in between his index finger and his middle finger. Sooner or later I'm going to get a toothache, Jun scorned. When he switched on his phone, a spam of messages, mainly from his beloved best friend, Aimi, screamed at his face.

Aimi: Call back

Aimi: Call back

Aimi: b***h told you to call back I need to talk to you about something

Aimi: What the s**t are you doing? It's been 10 minutes since my first message

Aimi: ignoring me I see?

Aimi: I'm taking Umaru figurine then

Oh no, I can feel the impending danger even though I'm not by her side, Jun dreaded. And Umaru? How dare she!

Jun: NO YOU CAN TAKE ANYTHING BUT NOT HER

Jun: NOT MY ANIME WIFE UMARU

Jun: I'LL HUNT YOU DOWN

"Sorry for being late!" He heard a voice in front of him. Glancing forward, the beholder of the voice was known to be Corey, who was running towards him frantically, as though a monster had chased him down earlier. When he reached Jun, he was panting with his eyes blinked. Apparently, the other male wore an azure checkered shirt and midnight blue baggy jeans. Observing Corey, it also seemed that he had styled his hair to make it look neat. His outfit suits him but I don't think he's dressing up like this just to meet me, Jun thought while raising an eyebrow mentally.

"You don't have to run you know? I'm not going to leave just because you're late. Come, take a deep breath and relax. Want some water?"

"Sure." With that, Jun handed him a water bottle and shifted his position so the other male could sit. He could feel the vibration of his phone on his lap, but everything in him decided to ignore it and focus on Corey instead. Even though he knew that his dear friend would slaughter him later.

"You look great by the way. What was the occasion earlier?" asked Jun as he fixed his eyes on Corey's face. When the latter's exhausted expression turned into a grim smile, Jun felt the urge on slapping himself. A good way to rub salt into his wound, he chided mentally.

"Thanks. I just went out with a friend to pick a gift, nothing else," replied Corey as he gave a forced smile. For some reason, somewhere in Jun wanted to reach his hand out to Corey and touch his cheek. Then, he would assure him that he didn't have to worry about anything else when he was around.

But he didn't.

Nah, friend. You're not close enough to him to just randomly do that. Anyway, that might seem like a romantic gesture. He just had a heartbreak, he doesn't need any unneeded romance. Romance? That's a little too far. We've just only met, Jun reminded himself inwardly. You're too touchy for your own good, Jun. Instead, he reached his hand out to pat Corey's back.

"Well then, my best bro, will you accompany me and show me around this place?" Without waiting for the latter's reply, he stood up and pulled his hand. "Come on, let's go," Jun then broke into a smile as he waited for the older man to realize what was happening. When his eyes peered to Corey's left palm, he noticed the abnormal red half-rings on the said palm. There wasn't any blood, but it looked so red that Jun couldn't help but to worry. That mark... What happened earlier? Judging from his expression earlier, it doesn't seem like he would enjoy it if I ask him about it. Then, he dropped Corey's left hand and grabbed his right hand instead. Instead of bringing those memories back to him, I'll just stay by him so at least he won't feel like he is alone in this. "Corey?" 

To his surprise, Corey stood up by himself and said in delight, "Sure. Have you eaten lunch? If not, I'll bring you to one of my favourite restaurants. Let's go." Seeing Corey smile like that, a string in Jun's heart tugged a little as his initial smile spread into a big one.

-

"Damn, Corey. The spaghetti that we've just eaten is really good! I wouldn't mind eating that for dinner later, or even as breakfast tomorrow!" Jun exclaimed in joy as they walked out of the restaurant, feeling satisfied as ever.

"There's a reason why that restaurant remained as one of my favourites of all time. We can come here again next time," Corey responded beside him. "So… Where do you want to go next? You want me to show you around, but honestly, I have no idea where to bring you even though this is my hometown."

"Ah, welcome to the family. The family of indecisive people," Jun joked.

"I don't know whether I should be honoured that I'm invited to this so-called family or be insulted," Corey deadpanned. The response made Jun chuckled a little as the urge of pinching the latter's face became uncontrollable.

And so he did.

"You look slim, but your face is really nice to pinch," Jun blurted out as he gave Corey's cheek a gentle pinch.

"It hurts, bastard! I don't really appreciate it when someone just pinches my cheek. I'm not a kid," Corey retorted as he smacked Jun's hand away. Afterwards, Corey rubbed the spot that Jun had pinched to soothe the pain.

"Haha, sorry, sorry. Does it hurt that much?" Right after he said that he could have sworn that a smirk had flashed across Corey's face. I smell danger from him, Jun smiled nervously to himself. However, before he could do anything, Corey gripped onto his cheek and gave it a sharp pinch.

"Does it hurt that much? I think I don't have to answer that question anymore. Since both of us have no idea where to go, let's just get ice cream and sit down somewhere," Corey said nonchalantly and he walked ahead of Jun. That cheeky little… Jun grimaced in his head. Despite that, he just couldn't suppress the laughter that was built up in him ever since they spent time together.

He didn't know why, but spending time like this with Corey felt so right. They have only just met, but Jun felt like they knew each other for a very long time. It was absurd to admit, but the future felt so distant and his worries had vanished into thin air just being with the older male. Corey definitely did intrigue him. To Jun, Corey was like an onion. Ignoring the fact that onions can make one cry, every layer of him that Jun peeled would reveal another layer that would make Corey so interesting he wondered why he had never met the older male before.

How he wished time would stop and remain at this moment where worries were non-existent.

With that, he hastened his footsteps and shouted, "Wait for me, Corey!"

-

And so they reached a park that was different from the abandoned park that they had first met. The park was vibrantly filled with life - children were chasing one another in obvious exhilaration, adults were watching them in bliss as they reminded their child to be careful and elderly taking a stroll as they made light conversation with the person they were with. The leaves of the trees swayed with the wind, as though they were welcoming Jun and Corey to the paradise that was known as the park. Back in Japan, he had seen something like this whenever he went to parks, but it was a completely different feeling here.

Sitting on the bench in front of the fountain, Jun placed his bag on his right as he waited for Corey to come back with ice creams. Just after they had reached the park, Corey said that he would buy ice creams for the both of them. Now, all he had to do was wait.

After a while, Corey came back with ice cream that was contained in ice cream cone. "Do you want the mint or the chocolate?" Corey asked as he sat down. Taking the mint, Jun expressed his gratitude as he looked ahead of him. Although what came after was silence, it wasn't the uncomfortable silence. It wasn't the type of silence that would make Jun struggle in keeping a conversation alive. In fact, it was the type of silence that both parties had come to terms with until someone decided to break it.

And it so happened that Corey was the one that did it.

"Thank you for proposing to meet today. If we didn't meet today, I would continue to feel suffocated for the rest of that day. How do I put this... You saved me from the trouble of making up terrible excuses to escape in a sense," Corey sighed beside him as he licked the ice cream. Turning to Corey's direction, Jun remained quiet for a moment and said softly, "Was that friend… Anastasia?" That earned a small nod from Corey.

"I'm a fool. I said that I have let go of her, but things I do are the opposite of that. I wanted things not to change, but I'm the one that causes the change. When I was with her earlier, all I thought about was her being Jermaine's girlfriend and not mine. Even our conversation became stilted. Everything became so goddamn awkward and it's all my fault. I hurt her feelings and now our relationship is starting to sour. She isn't one to hold grudge, but I kinda feel bad for that. I sorta vent my frustration on her and that's totally not okay at all," Corey gave a bitter smile as the pain became evident on his face. I don't want him to be sad. If it's me, I will not make him have that expression, Jun thought. Wait... what 'if it's me'? Stop it, he is straight. He is having a heartbreak, so stop having such thoughts and be the friend he need. With that, Jun gave Corey a gentle pinch on the cheek.

"Revenge for earlier. Stop making that face! You're making the ice cream melt. Poor ice cream, all it wanted to do was to be eaten," Jun teased as he took a bite of Corey's ice cream before he could react. "Want to try mine? It's nice," Jun offered. Hesitantly, Corey ate a part of Jun's ice cream and delight twinkled on his face.

"It's nice. Though I have tried it before," Corey thought out loud.

"Right? Eating always makes me feel better. You should do that too. Ah, watching anime too. In my opinion, I think you should give her some time. Give yourself time too. Heartbreak isn't that simple to get over. Been there, done that. But it's a part of life, you see? So, you should slow down your footstep and take a bite before carrying on with life." Jun said with a gentle smile on his face as he pinched Corey's cheek again. "Your smile suits you better," Jun winked. When his eyes glanced at the corner of Corey's lips, the ice cream stain of the corner of his lips glared at him. Being a clean freak that he was, he leant forward to the latter's face.

That moment, he could have sworn that crimson had coloured Corey's ear. Why is he blushing? Jun thought. Then, he used his thumb and wiped the ice cream stain off. That was when realization had struck him - he was too close to Corey. Immediately, he backed off and faked a cough.

"Ice cream stain. Haha..." Jun tried to laugh it off but he could feel his heart thumping like a mad rabbit. Likewise, Corey did the same even though he was still blushing.

"Thanks!" Corey accidentally raised his voice and that made some people turn to their direction. With that, he looked away and cupped his face in embarrassment. He's adorable, he smiled to himself. Taking the coke-flavoured lollipop from his pocket, he handed it to him.

"Eat a lollipop and you'll feel better! Hey, why don't you show me the street? Okay, without further ado, let's go!" Jun faked a superman pose and that earned him a laughter from Corey.

"Eating a lot of lollipops will give you toothache, excuse you?" Corey retorted but that didn't erase the helplessly cute smile on his face. "Let's go then," Corey mimicked his tone of enthusiasm and stood up. With that, both of them finished their ice cream and left the park.