Tamed by the Bad Boy Next Door

Bros Being Bros

As it was a Friday, many students who lived within a few hours’ commute from their university chose to go home for the weekend. Among them were two of Seb’s friends.

And as Seb had more or less expected, Jay pleaded out of joining him tonight to eat dinner at their usual cafeteria and hang out afterward. He said he wanted to take advantage of having his lodgings to himself to be with his thoughts.

As if he wasn’t doing enough of that these days already.

Seb didn’t really think that leaving him alone was a good idea, but Lewis—who also lived farther away, making a weekend trip back home inconvenient for him—said they should let him be.

He commented, “It’s best if he got used to the idea of, you know, being alone. The sooner the better.”

Seb looked across the table at his friend. “You think it’s better this way too?”

“Nah, I’m not saying that. I’m saying, things are this way, and since he can’t change it, he might as well accept it.”

“…Huh.”

There was a pause as the two teenage boys focused on their food, wolfing it down in a heartbeat.

Then Seb asked, “What do you think Jay saw in her?”

“Colleen?”

“Yeah.”

Though Lewis was smiling, there was also a wary look in his eyes. “You’re not just asking that to be mean, are you?”

Seb was not offended. He answered, “No, I’m asking seriously. Their personalities are very different. Jay is so meek, and Colleen—I got the sense that she’s the take-charge type of person. Do you think it’s the contrast that attracted them to each other?”

No longer as suspicious, Lewis only narrowed his eyes at Seb jokingly.

“Maybe?” he said. “I mean, both pretty much offered what the other needed. Jay could never have plucked up the courage to talk to a girl himself, so Colleen’s forwardness saved him the trouble. She’s also interested in many of the same geeky stuff as him. Jay said they could talk for hours on end without running out of things to say.

“And since Jay has no aggressive bone in his body, Colleen felt completely safe with him. He never talked down on her or ignored her just to be mean. He doesn’t play with her feelings, or play around at all. The worst thing that could be said about him is that we are the people he hangs out with.”

After letting out a brief chuckle that Seb echoed, Lewis grew quiet and thoughtful. He sounded bummed when he continued, “I guess that’s why it hurt Colleen so much more when she thought Jay betrayed her. He really is the last person you’d expect to do that kind of thing. The slightest suspicion was enough to ruin the perfect image she had of him.”

Finding himself feeling equally bummed, Seb looked unseeingly at his empty plate. “No one’s perfect to begin with.”

This time, it was Seb himself that Lewis laughed at.

“‘Tell me you’ve never fallen in love without telling me you’ve never fallen in love’—that’s the kind of vibe you’re giving off right now, dude.”

Seb squinted at Lewis in curiosity. “Have you fallen in love before?”

“Mhm.”

“Huh. I’ve never heard you talk about having a girlfriend. Must have been back in high school since you’ve been single all this time.”

The quirk of Lewis’ lips was not quite a smile. “You’ve never heard me talk about a girlfriend because I’ve never had one.”

Now Seb was really confused. “But you just said you’ve fallen in love before.”

“Yeah—but I didn’t say I got loved back.”

Seb was finally enlightened. “Ah… My condolences?”

Lewis shrugged. “It’s years ago now.” Meeting Seb’s eyes, he joked, “I got used to it, eventually.”

“Damn. Sorry for bringing it up, then.” Seb paused. “Why are we talking about this again?”

Amused, Lewis answered, “I wanted to ask you that. You’re the one who brought those two up. So strange how you’re suddenly so curious. Suspicious, even.”

Instead of addressing Lewis’ roundabout way of asking what was up with him, Seb prompted them both to leave the cafeteria. He then asked if Lewis wanted to kill more time at his place.

“We drinking again?” Lewis asked, sounding pumped. “Let’s just hit the bars directly. No offense to Jay, but last night was such a downer. What’s the point of drinking if you’re just going to get sad halfway through?”

Seb nodded. “We shouldn’t have brought him out at all. My bad, though. I want to stay in tonight. But you can drink there if you want.”

“Just me? Then never mind. Let’s just play games or something.”

When the two drew closer to the narrow three-story building that had only two units on each floor, Lewis looked around curiously and asked, “So where’s Ainsley staying?”

For some reason, Seb remained quiet for a long moment as they took the stairs.

Lewis couldn’t help but feel both amused and weirded out. “You said you’re staying in the same apartment building, right?”

This was actually the first time Seb had invited any of his friends to come over. Though he had other reasons—like that he still felt uncomfortable about how he got to stay here for free, therefore making him feel that it wasn’t really his place—the one he gave them was that Ainsley also lived here.

Not that Lewis would have minded it if they happened to bump into her. When she stopped looking at Jay, she stopped looking at Lewis too. He honestly kind of missed the attention, and he was glad that the two of them got to talk earlier.

It wouldn’t be the worst thing if that interaction opened them up to a relationship that wasn’t just one-sided on Ainsley’s part. It didn’t even have to be romantic, at least for now.

Lewis didn’t just find her pretty, after all. He also thought she was unique and interesting.

When they reached the second floor, and then Seb’s door, which was the closer one to the stairs, Seb nodded towards the farther unit and answered at long last, “That’s hers.”

Lewis felt like he was about to choke from amusement. “You guys are next-door neighbors?” he asked in a whisper. “That’s news to me. Why didn’t you say so before?”

Seb shrugged as he was unlocking his door. “I thought I did. Besides, is that important?”

“Uh, yeah it is,” Lewis said, laughing quietly as they both entered the apartment. “You’re like that and all. I would have made fun of you to no end knowing how miserable you must be about this. Does she play loud music or bang things around? Ainsley seems like the type to be clumsy and careless.”

Seb frowned in thought. “Actually?” he said, sounding surprised despite himself. “No. The walls aren’t as soundproof as I would like, but she hardly ever makes a peep anyway.” His frown deepened as he wondered aloud, “Maybe she isn’t always in?”

“Well, is she there now?” Lewis asked, still whispering as he took the couch placed against the wall that Seb shared with Ainsley. He was almost leaning the side of his head towards the wall—as if he wanted to press it flush so he could hear whatever was happening on the other side.

“Stop that, man,” Seb immediately said to tell him off. “You’re being creepy.”

Lewis laughed and moved his head away. He didn’t take it to heart. “I was just curious.”