Rules

"So, you gambled for love?" He answered it with a nod, finishing his leftovers.

"Yeah.. once."

"Why?" Tilting my head to the side, I genuinely wanted to know. Why, and how.

"..."

"I-it's okay if you don't want to answer that, I completely understand! I-I won't pester you for your answer if you feel uncomfortable sharing-" He stands up, completely cutting my sentence off, taking the dishes off the table, including mine, and bringing it all the way to the sink. Turning on the faucet, water rushed out. The atmosphere became quiet and tense, like you can cut it with a butter knife. 

"Silas..?" My voice trembled when asking. He didn't answer. My feet were going back and forth, kicking the air but slowly stopping themselves each second passed. Well, this is awkward. A minute has passed, it felt like an hour or so. Rubbing the sponge against the plates, the squeakiness and the water running out from the sink filled the air. Silas's voice then resonated with the air that surrounded the area we both were at. 

"He… was someone that I would die for. Someone I would entirely risk my life just so he can be safe.. But in the end, I lost it all.. I expected too much from him.." Silence was all I heard after that, ears ringing from the deafening noise. Although I couldn't completely see his face, I knew it was full of sorrow, maybe even regret. Before my mouth could utter a word, I stopped myself from doing so. 

I can't ask him for more details, we just met today. I only gripped the sides of the chair, clutching it hard while thoughts began to intrude. Intrusive as they were, they soon began to cloud my mind, seemingly blacking me out. 

"That's all I can give you," Finishing up the rest of it, he turns his attention back to me. "I'm surprised you haven't asked for more."

"More what?"

"More details. Sometimes people don't know how to mind their own business in this city." A chuckle slipped out of my mouth. 

"Yeah, I guess we are so bored of our own lives that we seek others' lives to entertain ourselves." Chuckling as my response, he turned his whole body around, walking to the table I was sitting at. 

"I guess that's right," He pulls out the chair he once sat, sitting down before making direct eye-contact with me. Instead of his eyes being warm like it did before, it was cold. For a split-second, I felt shivers going down my spine while the hairs on my arm stood up. 

"But first, let me speak out on the rules I have set out.."

.

.

"If you want to live here before you've earned enough money for your apartment, here are the things you must do-" My mouth swallowed its own saliva, wondering what he's going to say. 

"One-" He puts up one finger, attracting my attention. "You must never ask me what I do, even what my job is."

I think that might be a little too late for considering what the paper said in my folder.

"Two," Putting up two fingers. "You must clean up after yourself."

"Wait, wait wait wait, isn't that rule- I don't know, common sense? Or better yet, respect?" I interrupted.

"Apparently not to some people. But besides that-" He waves his hand off, seemingly saying, based on his body language, that it's time to move on to the rules. "Three, we take turns on cooking and four-" Finally putting up four fingers.

"Never, open the door unless I'm around your area or I tell you to."

"Oh.. um, okay.." I'm... not going to question, considering he said it with such a serious tone too. Glancing at the balcony, the view of the lit up city suddenly brought drowsiness in me. Opening my mouth to yawn and bringing my eyes to a close, I realized that nap barely did anything. That nightmare made me feel restless, almost like I hadn't slept at all. Looking in the hallway I passed through, I got up. 

"Are you going back to bed?" He asks. Turning my head to place all my attention to Silas, I responded-

"Yeah, I guess I need more rest than I thought I would.." 

As I was about to go through the hallway and into my room, my upper body twisted itself, turning its full attention to Silas. He had his hand placed around his cheek, as if he's thinking deeply, I couldn't help but be mesmerized by the way he posed. I'm surprised he isn't a model yet. And that hair, did he dyed it or-

"I almost forgot to ask you something." I asked, my eyes locking in on him. 

"Oh yeah? What is it?" He questioned, snapping back from whatever he was thinking about.

"Is that your actual hair or-?" I pointed to his hair. "It almost looks too good to be true, considering that it looks bleached, and surprisingly not dry… as hell… no offense.." Giving me a blank expression before he starts bursting out in giggles. He then took it out, in a very clean way. Turns out it was a wig this whole time. 

Ebony hair. That's all I could focus on. He looks so much better in ebony hair, than any color in the world. Kinda makes him depressed in a way, but his cheery face makes up for it. 

"Wow." That's all I could say.

"Wow?" He mimics, instead of mocking it, he uses his tone as a question.

"O-oh, I mean like, you're p-pretty- i-in a guy way I mean!"

"You think so?" Giving me a small smile, he showed his teeth, briefly showing me semi-fangs.

"I know so." I replied. He shows me a tender look, before turning his head to look over the balcony. 

"Thanks.." As comforting as the atmosphere was, it soon became uncomfortable, realizing how long I was standing, gazing at his face, his body, just him in general. 

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow? Possibly, in the morning?" I ask him in hopes of leaving the kitchen without feeling awkward about not having to say anything. 

Changing his head to my direction, while giving a smile as warm as a ray of sunshine to me. "I'll place my bet on that." And so, I can feel sparks in my eyes as I gleefully hopped away from the area and turned back to give him a beaming smile, before heading back to the bedroom.

My bedroom.