✒ Chapter 19 : Little by little

SUNDAY morning...

Khein was cleaning his wheels outside their house with only a white sando on and a pair of basketball shorts. He was whistling when his phone vibrated and the psycho guy's code name appeared on the screen. Khein ignored the first message on his phone and continued doing his stuff.

"He's pestering me for good." Khein mumbled as he peeked at his phone again. Another message arrived from Rei but Khein was a lazyass to even pick his phone up.

"Just because he bought me those cool stuffs doesn't mean he can already pester me all the time." Khein mumbled as he glanced at his phone again. Khein felt his heart jumped because of his deafening ringtone when Rei called. He picked up the phone and answered Rei.

"What do you want, dumbass?" Khein bitterly said but he just received a slight chuckle from the other line.

"I assume you are busy" Rei said on the other line. Khein frowned as he realized how dirty his hands were and he softly cursed for being so stupid.

"I very am. Now, get lost and find other people to chat with" Khein said bitterly. The truth, he got used to calling Rei random shitty names and stuffs in a not so rude way. He just felt weird when he calls the psycho guy by his real name.

"I got no other person I wanted to talk to except you, Kheiny." Rei said boldly which made Khein scoffed unconsciously.

"I only have your number on my speed dial" Rei added with a soft chuckle. Rei was currently sitting on a sofa inside the living room while sketching something on his sketchbook. He was sketching Khein's frowning yet cute face. Rei stared at the drawing in front of him as he said, "Let me guess, you're frowning right now"

Khein rolled his eyes as he protested that Rei was wrong when the truth was the psycho guy accurately guessed it right.

"Me? Frowning? Definitely not, boy! I'm definitely smiling, widely" Khein said sarcastically. Rei nodded and bit his bottom lip as he hesitated to talk or not.

"I... Uhm... I made a sketch..." Rei stuttered as he was not able to find the right words to say it properly and normally to the rebel guy.

"And so?" Khein asked carelessly.

"...I can give it to you when it's done. It's you I'm drawing anyway." Rei said shyly on the other line.

"What the fuck?! You... You... Can you send me a picture?" Khein demanded and Rei nodded like a puppy.

"Yeah sure, I'll send it quickly." Rei said and politely ended the call. He took a picture of the sketch he made and send it to the rebel guy. After few seconds , Khein already received 3 messages from Rei, including the two previous unread messages. He opened his messenger and read them.

*Psycho:

[Hi Kheiny! :)]

[Are you busy? Can I go to your house?]

[Psycho sent a photo]

"Dumbass" Khein cursed when he saw the drawing. It was a picture of him sneaking out of the window while holding his rollerblades. He thought Rei could be an artist in the future. Khein slightly smiled and slapped himself softly when he realized what he just did. Rei just made him smile.

*To: Psycho

[Stop disturbing me, you're annoying.]

Khein frowned as he sent the message and didn't receive any reply from Rei. He may sounded stupid but he really did wait for Rei's reply, yet he never got one again.

Rei just finished the drawing and he leaned back to the wall. The house was so big yet he was living there alone. All he could ever think was Khein. He went inside a room full of action figures and anime stuffs which would surely make the rebel boy wanted to live in that room if he would ever see them.

"Should I let him see these?" Rei asked himself as he took several photos of every corner of the room. He smiled at the idea of having Khein come to his lonely house. He wished the rebel guy could live with him.

•••

"Just in time!" Khein said as his mother brought him a tray of snacks. He just finished cleaning the wheels and washed his dirty hands at the faucet near their small garden. His phone vibrated and he immediately opened it.

"Holy! mothe-" Khein stopped his mouth from cursing when his mother glared at him for good.

"Can I go to a friend's house?" Khein asked his mother like a child asking for an approval to play outside the house.

"Are you sick? Why are you asking permission, have you hit your head somewhere?" Khein's mother asked sarcastically. Khein never asked for his mother's approval before. He would just leave the house without telling and even sneaks through the window if needed. Now, why did he even bother to ask?

"Is my boy inlove? Did that girl taught you good manners?" Khein's mother said teasingly as Khein hissed.

"What? No!" Khein said immediately and put on his blades. He started skating away from home and picked up his phone. Rei answered his call happily.

"Jeez, when will he learn?" Khein's mother murmured when she saw Khein left his wallet on the floor.

"Yes, Kheiny?" Rei answered, smiling widely. He was riding a bike while heading towards Khein's house. He had never imagine before that Khein would willingly visit his house so he assumed that he needed to visit Khein. Rei immediately pressed the brake when Khein appeared in front of him, panting. Khein was wearing his roller blades on.

"Hey?" Rei greeted the rebel guy with wide eyes.

"Hey" Rei said awkwardly and waved a hand.

"Can I see that room?" Khein asked. Rei's eyes widened as he nodded happily.

"Of course!" Rei said and turned his bike to the opposite direction. Rei was about to pedal when Khein grabbed his shirt from the back.

"I'm freakin tired, give me a ride" Khein suggested which made Rei hopped off his bike immediately.

"Yeah sure! You can have my bike, I'll carry your blades for you" Rei suggested which made Khein rolled his eyes. His heart skipped a beat.

'How can he be so selfless when it comes to me?' Khein thought unbelievably.

"I'm not confiscating your bike. I'm asking you for a ride, dumbass" Khein said and frowned. The rebel guy sat at the small extension on the back facing away from the front. Rei consciously drove in order not to touch Khein's head with his back. Khein noticed how uncomfortable Rei was with their backs slightly touching each other. Khein leaned backwards so the back of his head touched Rei's broad back. The psycho guy flinched but he immediately relaxed. It felt magical for him to feel the rebel guy's head leaning on his back. Rei bit his bottom lip as he tried to hide his genuine smile but he failed. He decided to smile freely since Khein would not see it anyway.

"Stop smiling, dumbass" Khein said frowning when he felt that the psycho guy's back was vibrating because of his soft chuckles. Rei's eyes widened as he heard Khein speak. He stopped himself from smiling so that Khein won't get disgusted with him. Rei bit his bottom lip as he kept looking down the ground like a puppy. Khein noticed the psycho guy's change of behavior. It felt like he developed some superiority complex towards Rei. Without thinking, Khein made a genuine smile because of the idea. Too bad Rei didn't notice it.