Leave Me Alone, Big Brothers! [BL]-Chapter 119: Dating?

Alexander sat like a madman on the hotel room sofa. The champagne glass in his hand was empty, and he had been clutching it too tightly for who knows how long.

"Huan, Huan, Huan... Shit!!" he cursed, tightening his grip on the glass.

This was the first time he had felt helpless. This was the first time he had let a problem go unchecked for more than three days. If he let Huan go, then this matter would be over. It was that simple.

But he didn’t want to let the man go. He wanted to make Huan stay and beg him to stay.

He had to make it that way. Otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to live in peace.

But it seemed that Huan was very serious about leaving him. That was the problem.

"Damn!"

It was very frustrating not to have control over something, and that made him feel confused. He was angry at something that had no form.

As the day of Huan’s departure drew nearer, his feelings became more and more frustrated.

Huan stood in front of the room. He couldn’t hear anything from outside, but it was as if he could hear all of Alexander’s thoughts. He had known the man for years. He even knew how many breaths Alexander took every time he got angry.

Huan looked down. He felt a slight sense of victory in his heart seeing Alexander go crazy over his departure. But rather than being happy, he was more worried, worried that he had let go of something precious, something he wanted.

Huan wondered, would Alexander ask him to stay? Lower his ego, make him a partner instead of just a slave to satisfy his desires. Could that man see him as a man?

Probably not.

If he let go of everything and returned to that man, his pride would be further shattered. He would also have to restrain himself from being treated like a doll that could be used arbitrarily. And he would be discarded if the man felt he was no longer needed, and he would be heartbroken again.

Huan took a deep breath. Why did this feeling bother him so much?

He reached into his pocket and found a keychain with a gold coin tied with a red ribbon, a Valentine’s Day gift from Alexander.

"You like money and gold, right? Take it." Those were the man’s only words. It felt like an insult, but he knew the man had mustered the courage to give him this gift.

So he kept it. He was sure the coin was pure gold.

Steven appeared from the end of the corridor. His steps were quick and silent, but Huan was alert and immediately turned his head.

"How is it?" Steven asked.

"Bad. We will go home soon," Huan replied.

"Why? He didn’t like him?"

Huan shook his head.

Steven sighed. "Please tell me how you flirted with him the first time? I need to prepare someone to replace you. If not, he will go crazy, and everyone will go crazy as well."

Huan looked down. "I don’t know. I don’t remember how it started."

It all just happened. Sometimes they drank together, then joked around, before finally, one night, Huan ended up in Alexander’s room, tied up and naked.

And it all happened so fast. Everything was so fun and exciting, until they didn’t realize how much time had passed.

"He’ll find someone. Don’t worry. He’s not a child anymore," Huan said.

"You never know how crazy he is without you. Once you were in Norway for a month, you know what he did."

Huan chuckled softly. He had heard about it, because Alexander followed him two weeks later.

Steven looked at Huan seriously this time. "About Argonne, be careful. She seems to be targeting you."

Huan nodded. "After I go, she won’t care about me anymore. I won’t be her obstacle."

"You’re going after Roger’s birthday?" Steven asked.

Huan nodded. "Yes. Jack is ready. I could even go now, but I’ll finish it next week."

"Damn! I never expected you to leave us. You really are a good man."

Huan smiled. "Don’t flatter me. You can shoot me anytime after giving me compliments."

Steven chuckled. "Sorry. Business is business."

"If you truly value your friend, you will never trade him for anything else."

"I don’t want to have friends. I prefer it that way. I can die peacefully with a hundred bullets in me."

Huan patted Steven on the shoulder. "It’s what Alexander wants."

Steven sighed. "I heard Mr. Dante and his wife are coming."

"They said they would come after Christmas. But I don’t know, I haven’t heard anything yet."

Steven looked curiously at Huan. "You’re from the same village as Mrs. Natasha. I heard a rumor about it. She wanted to come, but she couldn’t."

Huan was silent for quite a while. He had told Alexander about it, and the man didn’t believe him.

"I don’t know. After all, a mother would definitely want to see her sons."

"I’m worried the same thing will happen to her, like Sir Antonio, how he lost his wife after the twins came back together."

Huan sighed. "After all, it’s what they need to pay."

"Is the rumor true?"

Huan shrugged. "I only know Natasha because of her, I met Alexander. But other than that, I don’t have any explanation."

"Well, I don’t want to be nosy. But I like to prepare everything in case something happens, especially something you can’t explain."

Huan nodded. "I know. From what I heard, Salazar was cursed for seven generations with twins. They hurt a witch who lost one of her twins. At that time, Salazar had twins, and one of them had to be killed to save the entire Salazar line."

"Yes, I heard about it. But it sounds like a fairy tale."

"I think so too. But after some time, they tried to find a new way out. They tried to separate the twins for seventeen years. The problem is, if you can’t control yourself and you see your abandoned child before they turn seventeen, one of the parents will die. But at least it doesn’t hurt everyone. Still, it’s a sacrifice."

"That’s why Sir Antonio’s wife died. She spent a lot of time playing with Lily back then."

"Yes, but nobody believes that. She died because of an accident."

Steven took a deep breath. "Well, I hope Natasha is okay. I like her. It’s better for her to stay away from the twins for her own sake."

"But Nathan is seventeen now. It should be okay for her to meet him."

"Let’s see. Usually she comes on her son’s birthday."

***

Zane sighed deeply in the car. He had arrived at the school parking lot half an hour ago, but he hadn’t dared to get out. He was still cursing himself. What had he done?!

"Sorry... for loving you."

The memory made him want to crawl into a hole. Nathan hadn’t said anything. They had finished the tutoring session in very awkward silence, and Nathan had left with a quiet, "See ya tomorrow." No "I love you too," no "Let’s try this". Just... silence.

Zane felt pathetic. He caught his reflection in the car window, pale, dark circles under his eyes. He hadn’t slept all night.

What was he actually thinking? Who was he kidding? He was the moody, asthmatic kid with no social skills. Nathan was vibrant, a Salazar, surrounded by people like Gabriel, who actually had a strong body and a happy family.

He walked into the classroom with his shoulders hunched, his eyes fixed firmly on the floor. He could feel Nathan’s gaze on him the moment he sat down, but Zane refused to look up. He opened his laptop and notebook and began sketching jagged, angry lines.

Nathan was beyond confused. Yesterday, Zane had been vulnerable and sweet, admitting his feelings in that quiet, intense way of his. Today, he looked like he was mourning a funeral. Every time Nathan tried to catch his eye, Zane turned away. The tension was thick enough to choke on.

When the lunch bell rang, Zane didn’t even wait for the teacher to finish speaking. He bolted toward the back gardens, his favorite spot. He needed to numb the buzzing in his brain. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a crumpled pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

He was just about to flick the flame when a hand snatched the cigarette right out of his mouth.

"What’s wrong with you?!" Nathan barked, standing over him, his face flushed with a mix of anger and worry.

Zane froze, his lighter mid-click. He stared up at Nathan, his heart leaping into his throat. He hadn’t known the boy was following him.

"You’ve been acting like an asshole all morning," Nathan snapped, his eyes flashing. "You say what you said yesterday, and then you just... ignore me?"

Zane looked away, his voice small. "I thought you didn’t want to hear it. You didn’t say anything back. I figured you realized how much of a mess I am."

Nathan let out an exasperated huff. He grabbed Zane’s other hand, the one holding the pack of cigarettes. "We’re dating, right? So that means you have to actually listen to me and talk to me!"

Zane’s head snapped back up. His brain stalled.

What? Dating?

Zane was still shocked by Nathan’s sudden statement.