6

The two boys sat hugging in silence for a few minutes. Yang Qiu patted Chen Xia's head which was rested on his shoulder. 

Once Chen Xia had calmed down a bit more, he looked back up at Yang Qiu and smiled.

"Thank you Gege, you're the best!" Chen Xia felt a lot better after being comforted by Yang Qiu. His hugs are so nice!

Yang Qiu blushed at the compliment.

"I'm just glad you're okay. Do you want to keep playing? Or do you wanna go to bed?" Yang Qiu was also happy that he was able to provide comfort for Chen Xia.

"I don't know. I guess I'm kind of tired… but if you want to do anything, let's do it together! It's your birthday after all…" Chen Xia started to feel a bit drowsy after crying somuch.

"That's okay, I'm tired too. Let's just get ready for bed."Yang Qiu was already very content with the day's happenings.

"Okay, I'll go get you some clothes and shower stuff. Wait for me here!" Chen Xia got up and left the room.

Once Chen Xia had left the room, Yang Qiu's sat silently. I have never hugged someone like that before… it really is such a comforting feeling. Yang Qiu could feel the lingering warmth of the hug, and felt quite relaxed. 

​After a few minutes, Chen Xia ran back into the room holding a pile of clothes. 

​"Gege, I hope these clothes fit you… if they don't, we can ask daddy for some! I already put all the other stuff in the bathroom." Chen Xia made sure to prepare everything that Yang Qiu might need.

​"Thanks, Chen Xia! But since you said you were tired, do you wanna shower first?" Yang Qiu felt a bit nervous to be showering in a new place.  

"Sure! You can hang out in my room. I shower pretty fast, so you won't have to wait for very long!" Chen Xia gathered his pajamas and went to the bathroom. 

While Chen Xia was in the shower, Yang Qiu went back downstairs to find Chen Xia's parents. They were sitting in the dining room, chatting. 

Yang Qiu waited until there was a pause in the conversation before he walked in. 

"Oh? Hello there Yang Qiu! Did you need something?"Mrs. Chen turned to see Yang Qiu in the doorway. 

"Hello Mr. and Mrs. Chen, I was just wondering, do you have anything I can use to call my dad?" Since Yang Qiu was not at home, he wanted to call his dad and let him know about his whereabouts.

"Of course! There is a phone on the table outside of Xiaxia's room. You can use it if you'd like!" Mr. Chen said. 

"Thank you so much!" 

"No problem!"

​At the phone, Yang Qiu carefully dialed the only number that he ever called. After a few moments, the call connected.

"Hello? Who is this..." The voice of Yang Qiu's dad came over the call. 

"Hi, dad," Yang Qiu greeted.

"Oh? Yang Qiu? Are you not home?" Mr. Chen was slightly worried.

"I'm at my friend Chen Xia's house, you know, the one I mentioned last time. Don't worry, I asked for permission and everything. We were having fun and didn't realize how late it had gotten, so they told me I could stay the night." Yang Qiumade sure to explain everything so that his dad would not worry. 

"Well, you shouldn't... never mind. I'm glad you've found a good friend. And Happy birthday son! I'm sorry I can't be there to celebrate with you... I hope you had a good day though." Mr. Yang felt a wave of regret once again. I have no right to tell him not to depend on others… I must properly thank the Chen's sometime. 

"Chen Xia's family prepared lots of yummy food and cake. His birthday is also soon, so we just decided to celebrate together."

"That's very nice of them. Make sure you thank themproperly."

"Yes dad." Yang Qiu felt that the conversation was rather awkward. 

Just then, Chen Xia got out of the shower and walked by, dressed in his pajamas and with his hair wet.

"Gege, what are you doing?" Chen Xia noticed Yang Qiu at the table.

"Oh! Hi Chen Xia, I'm calling my dad… Your parents told me to use this phone." Yang Qiu turned to look at him. 

"Can I say hi?" Chen Xia was curious since he had never heard Yang Qiu mention his parents.

"Sure, let me tell my dad." Yang Qiu turned back to the phone. "Dad, Chen Xia wants to say hi to you, so I am going to give the phone to him."

Chen Xia received the phone happily.

​"Hello, Mr. Yang! I'm Chen Xia. I'm super excited to have Yang Qiu Gege stay the night! Mom and dad already gave their permission, so you don't have to worry about that." Chen Xia wanted to make a good impression. 

​"Hello there, Chen Xia!" Mr. Yang was pleasantly surprised at Chen Xia's cheerfulness. "Well then, you boys have fun. And Chen Xia, please thank your parents on my behalf for taking such good care of Yang Qiu." Mr. Yang was relieved that his son was in good hands. 

"Of course!" Chen Xia was glad that Mr. Yang seemed quite easygoing. He handed the phone back to Yang Qiu. 

"Hey son, sorry again that I couldn't be there with you today…"

"It's really okay, dad. I know you are working hard! I am doing fine, so you don't need to worry about me. You should make sure to take care of your health." Yang Qiu didn't really feel the need to hear his father's repeated apologies. 

​"Thank you, son. I mean it." Mr. Yang was moved by his son's words. "I'll talk to you next time then."

​"Bye, dad."

​"Bye, son."

​They ended the call.

​"Your dad seems really nice, just like you!" Chen Xia grinned. He was still curious about Yang Qiu's family but decided not to say anything. Since he doesn't seem to want to talk about it, I guess I probably shouldn't ask.

​Yang Qiu blushed a little at the compliment. 

"Your parents are really nice too, just like you Chen Xia."

"Hehe, I'm glad you think so." Chen Xia was very happy to receive praise from his friend. 

​Noticing the water dripping from Chen Xia's hair, Yang Qiu was reminded that he had not yet showered. 

​"Well then, I guess I'll go shower now…" Yang Qiu started to head towards Chen Xia's room to retrieve the clothes. 

​"Okay! You can use any of the stuff in the bathroom. And if you need any help, just call for me!"

​"Thanks, Chen Xia!" Yang Qiu picked up the pile of clothing that Chen Xia had brought to him earlier. He went to the bathroom, walked in, and closed the door behind him. 

​By the sink were two toothbrushes, one clearly used, and the other brand new. Yang Qiu picked up the new one. This must be the one I am supposed to use.

He squeezed some toothpaste onto it and began brushing. This toothbrush feels kind of weird, probably because it is new… 

I've experienced so many new things since meeting Chen Xia… He finished brushing his teeth and got in the shower. 

After stepping out, he noticed two towels hanging on the wall near the shower. One had colorful dinosaur patterns all over it and was haphazardly thrown onto the drying bar. 

Even his towel matches his personality! Yang Qiu smiled to himself and grabbed the other towel. 

He dried himself off and put on the clothes. They fit well enough, though they were just a bit too small. The pants were a bit short. After all, he was older and taller than Chen Xia. 

He walked back out and into Chen Xia's room, whose owner was hugging the gifted teddy bear while reading a comic book on his bed. When he saw Yang Qiu, he immediately looked up and put down the book. 

​"You finished showering? Your hair is still wet. Do you want me to help you dry it?" Chen Xia seemed to be unaware of his own wet hair. 

​"Oh, that's okay. I usually just let it be."

​"But you'll get sick if you sleep with wet hair!"

​"I sleep with wet hair every time I wash it… I've never gotten sick from that before." Yang Qiu had never bothered to dry his hair properly before. "Your hair is wet too! If you're worried, would you like me to help you dry your hair instead?"

​"Oh yeah…" Chen Xia finally remembered to be self-conscious. "Mom usually dries it for me, but if you wanna help, I'm totally fine with it!" Chen Xia was actually quite willing to let Yang Qiu dry his hair for him. 

​"Alright then, do you have a dry towel?" Yang Qiu had never dried someone else's hair before but felt that it couldn't be too hard. 

"One second!" Chen Xia ran out and came back with a small dry towel. 

Yang Qiu took the towel and began to wipe around at Chen Xia's head. He has a lot of hair!

"Hehe, Gege, it tickles!" Chen Xia kept giggling. 

​"Well, as long as it doesn't hurt, then that's okay!" Yang Qiu felt that Chen Xia's giggles were oddly contagious and couldn't help but let out a few laughs as well. 

"This should be dry enough!" Yang Qiu made a few final swipes with the towel. 

Chen Xia ran his hands through his hair a couple times, finding the results satisfactory.

"You're just as good as mom is! Thanks, Gege!" Chen Xia was very pleased.

Yang Qiu blushed a little, but he was indeed quite proud of himself for drying Chen Xia's hair so well for his first time. 

​Just then, Mrs. Chen came to knock on the door.

​"Hello, boys! Have you showered yet?"

​"Hi mom! We both showered already! Gege even helped me dry my hair!" Chen Xia felt a want to boast about Yang Qiu.  

​"Oh wow! Thank you, Yang Qiu." Mrs. Chen was surprised that Yang Qiu was willing to do such a chore. "Oh, but your hair is wet too, Yang Qiu. Do you need to dry it as well?"

​"That's okay, I always sleep with wet hair, and I never get sick. Plus, it dries up pretty quickly if I wait a bit after I shower," Yang Qiu explained to Mrs. Chen.

​"Well, whatever works for you! Now let's get you boys to bed. Xiaxia, can you help me go and get the air mattress?" 

​"What? But it's so uncomfortable! I want Gege to sleep on the bed with me!" Chen Xia objected. 

"… Well… Yang Qiu, what would you like to do? Are you okay with sharing the bed? Or would you prefer the air mattress?" Mrs. Chen couldn't help but shake her head at her son's stubbornness. 

​"Oh uh, I can just sleep on the air mattress… and I can set it up myself. I don't want to bother you guys too much." Yang Qiu had never had a sleepover before, much less slept in someone else's bed, and so he didn't really know what to do. 

​"Oh, that's not a bother! Have Chen Xia help you set up the mattress." Mrs. Chen looked over at Chen Xia sternly, but he was too busy pouting to notice. 

"Thank you, Mrs. Chen, and good night." Yang Qiu was facing away from the bed, and so he did not see Chen Xia's unhappy expression. 

"No need to say thanks! And good night to you too." Mrs. Chen sighed as she left the room. Why can't Xiaxia be more mature? I guess it's good that he can spend more time with Yang Qiu. Hopefully he will learn some maturity…

​Once she was gone, Yang Qiu turned around, intending to ask Chen Xia where the mattress was. 

​"Chen Xia, let me help you with the mat-" 

Unexpectedly, he saw Chen Xia huddled up on the bed with his arms crossed and a frown on his face. He quickly rushed over and kneeled by the bed. 

"What's wrong?" 

"Hmph." Chen Xia's frown grew deeper.

"… Chen Xia… do you really not want me to use the air mattress?"

Chen Xia turned his eyes up and nodded a little. 

​"Okay, then we don't have to get the mattress." Yang Qiu felt himself smiling. His mood changes so quickly! 

"I… I've never slept at someone else's house before… I don't know if my sleeping habits will be bothersome. I just didn't want to disturb your rest…" In front of Chen Xia's pitiful act, Yang Qiu felt a need to explain himself. 

​"Is that really all?" Chen Xia finally sat up and looked at Yang Qiu. "I… I thought you didn't like me and so you didn't wanna share my bed. I don't care about any of that! Mom says that once I fall asleep, I sleep like a dog. You won't be able to wake me up even if you tried!" Chen Xia was finally feeling better now that his worries were resolved.

​Chen Xia crawled across the bed and lay down on one side.

​"Come on, Gege! You can have that half of the bed." Chen Xia motioned for Yang Qiu to join him. 

​Yang Qiu tentatively walked around to the other side of the bed, sat down slowly, and moved to get under the covers. But before he could get comfortable, Chen Xia spoke up. 

​"Hey Gege, can you turn off the light? The switch is right next to the bed." 

​"Sure." Yang Qiu leaned over and flipped the switch. 

He shifted around a little until he was comfortable. This bed is so soft… and it smells like laundry detergent. It smells good… Yang Qiu immediately felt very relaxed.

​They lay in silence for a while. 

But, unable to fall asleep, Chen Xia instead began to talk to Yang Qiu. 

​"Gege?" Chen Xia's voice was quiet, just in case Yang Qiu had already fallen asleep. 

​"Hmm?" Yang Qiu also couldn't fall asleep due to excessive nerves and excitement, though he tried not to show it. It was his first sleepover after all. 

​"It feels kind of weird that I call you Gege and you're still using my full name." Chen Xia began thinking out loud. 

"Do you want me to call you something else?" Yang Qiu had never thought about this much, but now that he considered it, he felt that it was indeed a bit awkward. 

​"Um… I mean if you want to… I don't know. I was just thinking that it makes you feel so distant even though we are so close now…" Chen Xia was unhappy just thinking about the possibility of distance in their friendship. This was his first true friendship, and he wanted to maintain it for as long as possible. 

​"Can I call you Xiaxia then?" Yang Qiu blushed as he asked. That's what his parents call him… is that appropriate?

"Yes! I like that a lot!" Chen Xia was very satisfied. 

"Well then, goodnight Xiaxia!" Yang Qiu tried out the new nickname. He smiled to himself.

"Goodnight Gege! Hehe." Chen Xia couldn't hide his happiness. 

The two boys stopped talking and went back to trying their best to fall asleep. 

Yang Qiu stared at the ceiling for a while, thinking about the new status of their friendship and all the fun things they had done during the day. 

He didn't know how long it had been, but his thoughts kept running until all he could hear was the light breathing of Chen Xia who had fallen asleep. Hmm, I guess he doesn't snore. 

Yang Qiu continued listening to Chen Xia's breathing as well as his own, and slowly he drifted off to sleep as well. 

​Not long after the boys had fallen asleep, Mrs. Chen quietly came to the room to check in on them. 

Carefully peeking her head inside, she was pleasantly surprised by the scene in front of her. 

Oh? Would you look at that! Xiaxia must have convinced Yang Qiu to sleep on the bed. He always seems to know how to get what he wants… Ah, only when they are asleep are they this peaceful… She shook her head and smiled. 

She then got up and closed the door carefully behind her as she left the room.