Chapter 11: The Missed Beat

The phone lit up again.

Buzzing.

Shaking softly against the sheets like it had a soul and knew what it was doing to him.

Felix flinched like it might explode.

He scooted away from it. Literally moved back on his bed like it had personally insulted him. The name on the screen glared back at him like a dare.

Kelvin.

His stomach twisted.

Why the hell is he calling?

He stared.

Didn’t move.

Didn’t breathe.

The call ended.

Felix still didn’t move.

But then—

It lit up again.

Same name. Same buzz.

He exhaled, long and slow, like he could breathe the confusion out of his chest.

Then, without thinking too much, he snatched the phone and pressed accept.

His voice came out groggy, dry, and perfectly annoyed. “What?”

Pause.

Then Kelvin’s voice came through. Soft. Too soft. Like he wasn’t entirely sure of the call himself.

“I just wanted to check in.”

Felix blinked.

“…Check in?”

“Yeah. I mean—I just wanted to know if the others are okay. If they’re asleep. If everyone made it back alright.”

Felix stared at the ceiling, lips twitching into something between a scoff and a bitter smile.

Right. The others.

Not him.

Never him.

That disappointment shouldn’t sting—but it did. And that only annoyed him more.

He cleared his throat and replied with robotic flatness. “They’re asleep. Knocked out after the vlogging chaos.”

“Oh,” Kelvin said. “Okay. That’s good.”

Silence.

Not awkward.

Just… too calm.

Like they were both waiting for something neither would admit to.

Then Kelvin said quietly, “Alright. Goodnight, then.”

Felix stared at the screen.

The words were there—pushing at his throat—before he could stop them.

“Wait.”

Kelvin paused. “…Yeah?”

Felix closed his eyes, pressed a fist to his mouth for no reason, then asked, voice still bored but quieter now.

“Are you coming back tomorrow?”

Silence.

Then Kelvin’s voice, careful. “No. I’m staying here for a bit. Two weeks, maybe.”

Felix didn’t respond.

He couldn’t.

Something inside him went quiet again.

And it wasn’t the peaceful kind.

Felix swallowed.

“Okay,” he said quietly.

Just that. One word.

No inflection. No emotion. Not even a pause to let it land softer.

But Kelvin didn’t hang up.

Not yet.

There was a pause. The kind where something unsaid dangled on the edge of someone’s breath.

Then Kelvin spoke again—tentative this time. Not stiff. Not snarky. Just uncertain.

“…Felix, about earlier—”

Click.

Felix ended the call.

Just like that.

No warning. No goodnight. No chance.

The room returned to silence, but his pulse was anything but still.

He stared at the screen, blank now. Then let the phone slide out of his hand and hit the pillow beside him.

Whatever you were about to say, Felix thought bitterly, I don’t want to hear it. I don't want to hear you call me a freak. Or tease me about it.

Felix believed it was probably going to be another offhand joke. Another “don’t take it too seriously” type line.

Something that would unravel the tiny thread of calm he’d spent the whole night trying to rebuild.

He didn’t want to hear it.

Not when it might’ve mattered.

---

Kelvin had decided not to think about why Felix ended the call and left his car. He didn't know why he came home but now that he was here, it wasn't too bad. He sort of missed home.

The house was too quiet.

Kelvin slipped through the polished front doors of his family’s estate and felt the familiar weight settle on his shoulders. Everything was in its place—not a speck of dust, not a wrinkle in the wallpaper. Just elegance. Order.

The kind of silence that echoed.

He had barely dropped his bag by the entryway when his father’s voice cut through the calm.

"You're home early. Did something happen at work?"

Kelvin glanced up, finding his father standing at the edge of the hallway. Still in a suit, hands behind his back like he’d been carved from tradition.

"No," Kelvin said. "Just... a short break. Downtime between shoots."

His father raised an eyebrow but nodded. "Good. You don't take enough breaks."

That was it. No lecture. No suspicion. Just that measured calm.

Kelvin nodded and moved to step past him, but he didn’t make it far before another voice called out.

"Kelvin! My baby!"

His mom rushed over in a blur of perfume and pastel silk, immediately wrapping her arms around him. She cupped his face, inspected his skin, pinched his cheek.

"You're getting thinner. Are they feeding you? Have you been sleeping? Why do you look so pale?"

"Mom," Kelvin muttered, gently peeling her hands off his face, "I’m fine."

She didn’t believe him, but she smiled anyway. "Well, you’re home now. That means you’re mine for the weekend."

He didn’t argue. He just might have missed his mom's cooking too much.

It's funny how his family isn't the typical rich family. Everyone believed that his relationship with his parents should be bad but it's not and his dad is strict but kind to an extent. He let Kelvin do what he wants. Like becoming an idol.

---

Kelvin's room hadn’t changed.

The desk was still organized by color-coded files. His books were still alphabetized. The trophies on his shelf gleamed in the soft afternoon light.

Too perfect. Too still.

He dropped onto his bed and stared at the ceiling. His fingers reached for the notebook he’d left behind last time—half-filled with lyric scraps and scribbled melodies.

He flipped it open and glanced at the most recent page.

"You laugh like it’s wrong to smile." "You look tired. But so do I." "We speak in arguments, because peace is too loud."

He blinked.

Was that... about Felix?

He shut the notebook like it burned him.

---

Down the hall, Kylian was mid-battle when Kelvin walked into his room without knocking.

"You're in my space," Kylian muttered, not taking his eyes off the screen.

"You owe me a rematch from last time."

Kylian grinned. "Oh, so you came home to lose again. Bold."

They dove into the game. Trash talk flew. Laughter filled the room in a way it never did downstairs.

It felt... normal.

Until the pause screen hit.

Kylian tossed the controller onto the couch. "So... is there something going on between you and Felix?"

Kelvin groaned. "God, no. He’s the worst. He’s exhausting. He never shuts up."

"Right," Kylian said, smirking. "That didn’t sound like a denial. That sounded like a slow-burn drama plot."

Kelvin grabbed a pillow and launched it at him.

Kylian ducked. "Well, that’s good, then. Because you do remember you’re already engaged to Janice Li, right?"

Kelvin blinked.

The words didn’t register at first.

Then his fingers slipped from the controller.

"...What?"

Kylian turned, clearly confused by the reaction. "What? You thought that dinner last year was just... social? Dad already agreed to it. You’re technically her fiancé."

Kelvin didn’t say anything.

He just sat there.

Silent.

Cold.

His fingers still tingling from where they’d once brushed against Felix’s.