THE JOCK JUST WANTS THE NERD [2]

29

||JACKSON||

Ethan gave me a smile and a nod, motioning me from where he stood to unlock it. I heaved a sigh and did so. Opening up, I look at her to see that she was about to attempt another knock but stopped midway. Her eyes slowly drift at me. Quietly, she slowly leans over to my side to gaze around, seeing Ethan waving at her. She exhaled with relief as she placed her palm on her forehead, "geez, I thought I got the address wrong for a second," before letting out a small giggle. I took a step back to let her come in and closed the door after.

"Welcome," Ethan gave her a hug to which she returned warmly.

I leered at her with a pout. Where's my hug?

"I was just starting to make the sushi or kimbap," Ethan tilted his head.

"Oh nice," Kyomi gleamed. She took a second to assess the apartment just like I did. While she did that, I went back to my spot on the couch in silence. "So... this is where you and your dad have moved to," her voice was calm and collected. She glances at Ethan who went back to work on the food, "how long have you guys been living here?" She questioned.

"Ever since we left," he gave a small smile in response. I couldn't exactly pinpoint the tone, it almost sounded like he was a tad bit sad about it, hidden behind his expression. Kyomi must have noticed it too. "I see," she murmured. I caught on to something from what she mentioned. She referred to it as Ethan and his dad moving here, but no mother. Maybe something happened. It must be a personal and touchy subject to converse about and I'm only realizing it until now. She walks over to the other end of the same sofa I was on. Her attention then focused towards me. "Jackson right?" She says.

"Uh yeah," I affirmed.

"How'd you and Ethan meet?" She asked.

I snatched a look at Ethan who was semi paying attention to our conversation. He makes eye contact with me and almost as if was waiting for my answer. Going back to Kyomi, I responded, "we used to go to the same high school."

"Ahh, that would make a lot of sense," she said with a smile. Her smile, she looked so pretty showing such a happy emotion. Though I envy her, the beauty she held is very attractive that a lot of people could fall for her. Ethan came by for a moment and asked if we would like something to drink. I said that water is fine, Kyomi wanted any sort of juice. Checking the fridge, he returned with two glasses of cups for us and poured our beverages. "You guys can turn on the Tv if you want," he suggested.

"Oh, that reminds me," Kyomi perked up, "is it a smart Tv by the way?" She pointed to which Ethan shook his head from side to side, "ah, it's fine then, I'll show you my 'channel'" she quoted with her fingers.

-

After a while, Ethan was pretty quick to finish our servings. Staring at what he made, the sushi almost looked like art; it had a colorful arrangement to it, there were side dishes, damn he even garnished it with specks of spices and stuff. He had a whole tray ready and placed it at the center of the coffee table for us. "Have some, I hope you like it," Ethan says heartily. As soon as he said so, Kyomi had snatched a couple a stuffed one right in her mouth. She grins with approval as if foreseeing that it is really good. Seeing that she seemed to enjoy it, I took one and ate it whole. Chewing on it and tasting the flavors, it felt like I had a mouthgasm. It would sound ridiculous to describe that the moment it hit my taste buds, I felt a shock run through my tongue, but that was the best way I could express it, "this is so good!" I muffled with the food in my mouth, the two sharing laughs and giggles as they watched me. I could taste the juicy meat, the fresh vegetables, the sweet rice, the spices combine together to make mouthwatering flavors...

He can cook! Fuck, he's perfect, I wanna marry him!

-

While we enjoyed our lunch, we had conversations with one another. Kyomi shared her channel with both of us, to which she showed that she had about 500 thousand subscribers. She explained that she was recording her daily life, sang, and danced to as well to choreography. It was an interesting insight, to say the least. It took a while for Ethan to understand, but I wouldn't blame him if he couldn't since he has such an outdated device. At one point, he had to leave for a moment to use the bathroom, leaving Kyomi and me to ourselves. I asked how Ethan and she are friends this time. "oh, that goes 'way' back then. We've been childhood friends since we were 7 actually," she moved with her hands.

"Very young. Elementary. He was kind of anti-social. I noticed that he didn't make any friends, so I opted to be one for him. We went along well..." she carried a longing look as she reminisced at her memories. She remained quiet as I listened, "we were the best of friends and did a lot of things: singing, dancing, sometimes cooking, which we know he's very good at it. Heck, we would go to taekwondo classes too..." she looked at me, then I noticed that her expression was fading into a frown, "...then something happened..."

Blinking, I didn't know where this direction was leading to, "what?" I mumbled.

"Ethan and I were always together during our classes during our freshman year. But one day, he didn't show up. I thought I would give him a text and asked if he was alright. Throughout the day, no response. I was worried that something might have happened, though I shrugged the feeling off.

When I arrived home, I still got no response from him. My parents were watching the news on the Tv at that moment. I was in the same living room, though wasn't paying attention much until they called for me to see what was going on. Wondering why, I did so and asked what was wrong. Then, I saw the screen. It was a news report of the day before that day about a road casualty. It was alleged that a driving drug addict had crashed on another vehicle at night. After, the newscast detailed that the person was immediately rushed over to the hospital with a fatal continuous loss of blood.

I felt my heart drop.

It showed a picture of the victim. A woman of a familiar face. In a frenzy of panic. I rushed to pick up my cellphone from my pocket and immediately called Ethan, "come on, come on..." I said. The moment the call was picked up, I heard the sound of crying on the other side of the line.

"K-Kyomi..." he was sobbing.

"My mom... s-she's dying...my mom is dying!"

An agonizing cry was heard from my phone that night..."