To Play His Card Right

'I feel it deep within,

'It's just beneath the skin,

'I must confess that I feel like a monster.'

Klein didn't realize he fell asleep. He just woke up to the ear-shattering heavy metal music that almost made the bottles of sorcery on the shelf dance. Propping on his elbows, Klein squinted his eyes at the sight of this white-haired man trying to become a rock star while holding a broom.

Calix continued to bang his head, his hair swishing wildly in the air while his lips moved without any sound. He was so lost in his own world it took him a second to notice Klein's incredulous stare. And when he did, he went back to sweeping the floor like nothing happened.

"Sorry," Calix said, pointing at the jalousie window. "The neighbor's music is loud."

Klein plopped back down and covered himself with the blanket. He tried his hardest not to laugh, but it's hard to suppress the laughter that's threatening to leak out.

"Stop trying to hide. I can see you shaking under the blanket."

Through a small opening of the blanket, Klein peeked to see the color of embarrassment on Calix's face. A giggle escaped him. He never giggled. That would be the first.

Hold on. Why was he acting so damn comfortable here?

Clearing his throat, Klein sat up and shed out the blanket covering his naked body. Only to pull it back up again.

"Your clothes are beside you."

Klein scrambled to get dressed. It was his turn to feel embarrassed. Shit! He just fell asleep in a stranger's house with nothing but a towel on. What was he thinking? He found no logic in this stupidity.

"Don't make it a habit to sleep like that even if you're a guy." Calix sent him an amused smirk. He already recovered from his embarrassment and was sweeping the dirt to the door. "If I'm a bad person..."

Calix's voice trailed off and left the unspoken scenario hanging in the air. Klein already understood what he meant. It just baffled him that the thought didn't bother him as much as it should. Thankfully, Calix had gone outside with his broom and dustpan to dispose of the dirt he swept, or else he would have caught Klein's blush deepened.

Klein folded the blanket and arranged the bed the way he would on his own bed. Then a sudden thought came to him. "I wonder where he slept last night."

———

With a trash bag in hand, Calix exited the gate and put the trash outside, where it would be gathered later by the trash collectors. He received greetings from people he knew, and he returned it with a nod, a smile, or a wave.

After several hellos and good mornings, Calix went to a nearby bakery to buy breakfast. It was still early in the morning. The sun was barely peeking out, so he could still catch their steaming pandesal.

"I should have asked Klein what he wanted for breakfast." Calix paused and considered going back. But after he saw the store selling rice porridges, he smiled and continued walking. "Ah... I just remembered what he likes."

———

Klein hung the towel on the clothesline inside the bathroom. He had brushed his teeth and washed his face with water, but he's still not satisfied. He only had the toothbrush he carried to school, but he didn't have his other essentials.

"Should I go back? Or should I just buy a new one at the mall later?" Klein mumbled, caressing his cheek while standing in front of the rounded mirror.

The pillowcase seemed clean enough, but who knew how many times it had been used. He's not too finicky when it came to his skin, but the last thing he needed was an acne breakout.

Klein only sighed and stepped out of the bathroom. He still had no idea where Calix was planning to take him. Was Khalil even that dangerous? They had been together since junior high and he had never harmed him even once. What if Calix was mistaken?

There were too many questions in his mind and his imaginary weighing scale kept tipping back and forth as he searched for answer.

The internet was not even an option. What he might find about werewolves online could be fiction. Unless he found a peer-reviewed book or journals about werewolves, his only option right would be to learn about them through Calix. But even Calix's knowledge about werewolves was questionable.

"What if I ask Khalil instead?" Klein mused, staring at his smartphone on the bed while it was charging.

Learning about werewolves through an actual werewolf was a plausible idea. If what Khalil felt for him was real, he could use that to his advantage to gather concrete facts. He could even ask for samples so he could study their molecular biology.

But the problem was Khalil's intention to turn him into one of them. If Calix was right and Khalil truly posed a threat to him, then the werewolf had to be...

As much as possible, he didn't want that to happen. There was no need for unnecessary bloodshed, so he needed to play his card right.

Glancing at the door, Klein removed his phone from the charger and scrolled through his contact. Upon seeing Khalil's name, he tapped on it and made a call.

It only rang once and the call recipient immediately answer, as if he'd been waiting for Klein to call.

"Klein!" Khalil's raspy voice flittered through the speaker. "Are you okay? Where are you? Did he hurt you?"

The music from the neighbor was still blasting through the window, but it helped conceal the pounding of his chest. Klein gulped down before he answered. "I'm... okay. How's your wound? You were stabbed."

"Don't worry about me. Where are you? I'll come and get you."

Klein rubbed his nape. It's still slippery from the oil Calix applied on him, so he wanted to give it a little test. "I'm not really... sure where I am right now. Wouldn't you be able to find me?"

Wolves' sense of smell was a hundred times greater than humans. If Khalil had the characteristics of a wolf, then he would be able to find him, right? The district of Tondo wasn't that far from Alpha Tower. Unless Calix's sorcery was effective.

"It's not that easy, Klein, I would have to fully turn myself into..." Khalil sobbed. "Klein, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hide it from you, but it's not like I can just tell you about it. You didn't... you didn't believe we exist. And—!"

"I think I've seen enough to believe it now." Klein moved to the door and checked for Calix outside. "Can we meet?"

"Sure! Sure, Klein! Where did he take you? I mean, what landmark do you see around you? I can go there."

"Hold on." Klein slipped on his shoes without putting the heel of his feet inside. He tiptoed through the hallway, but froze as Calix rounded a corner and saw him. "I'll... I'll just see you at school. Bye."

"Klein, wait—!"

Klein ended the call and turned it off to prevent Khalil from calling back. Then he slipped it inside his pocket, facing Calix. "You're back."

"Yeah." Calix raised a plastic bag. "I bought breakfast. Who are you talking to?"

"Maya."

"Oh, the girl? Okay. Did you tell her?"

Klein shook his head and walked back to the dingy apartment alongside Calix. "I don't think she'd believe it if it came from me. But I think she'd be happy to turn into one."

Calix grinned. "Not all of them are nasty. But eventually, they might harm people."

"What do you mean?"

"Let's talk about it later on. Let's have breakfast first," Calix said, resting a hand on the small of Klein's back. Once they're inside, he spoke again. "I heard what you said. You're going back to your school?"

Klein turned to Calix and his expression told him he's not thrilled about his idea.