One week and a day later Kian was back at Club Ricardo's.

It had been exactly the same time period since he last saw Enzo. So, how did he end up here again? 

It took a lot of courage and one unexpected invite.

Totally unexpected.

***

There's nothing more scary than confronting the remnant of one's mistakes but it was also very much necessary. If not for Enzo then definitely for Kian's own conscience. He was unable to function with the heavy weight of regret on his chest more so when Enzo wasn't giving any surprise visits to his workplace. 

Kian figured since he was the one who messed up their friendship, he might as well take full responsibility for it and have closure once and for all. If this was their ending, he at least wanted to own up his side of blows to it.

So, after some encouragement and delusional possibilities from Audrey, Kian ended up sending an awkward text to Enzo. And to his worst nightmare, it was left on read for most of the day.

Hey Enz, I know you must think of me as an asshole, always sabotaging our friendship. If possible, can you forget about the kiss. I was doped to my brains. The point is - it was a mistake, Enz. The one I regret from the bottom of my heart. If by any miracle you happen to forget the exact moment I messed up, can we be friends again?

His finger hovered over the send button and before he chickened out, he pressed it. He chucked the cellphone aside and sat down on the floor leaning his head against the corner of his bed. 

There were only a few moments in his life which made him feel like his existence was utter chaos. One of those moments was when he came out to his parents and his dad looked at him like he was a stranger to his own father and second was when he saw the look on Enzo's face.

Two hours passed with him sitting on the floor, with a hand propped on the knee of one leg, a joint between his trembling fingers and other leg stretched out while his head lay on the bed, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling. He was patiently waiting for a reply. 

Every so often his phone did vibrate with Kian instantly jumping to check them but they turned out to be meaningless notifications. Eventually, he silenced his phone and pocketed it, cementing his resolve to not open it unless the world was falling apart.

When he got to work after a string of lectures, he busied himself in taking orders and brewing coffee, trying to stay as far away from Simone as possible. Simone had an uncanny way of knowing when something bothered him and he really had no answers to offer.

"What's the matter with you Kian? You look awfully distracted today." Simone said as he leaned over the counter while Kian was wiping off the coffee spills which his disoriented self had caused. "I can't believe you just did that."

"What? Spilled some coffee?" Kian frowned, tossing the dirty paper towel into the trashcan and washing his hands in the sink.

"You know I'm not talking about that." He looked up into his deep brown eyes which appeared more amused than concerned.

"Then what are you talking about?" Kian passed an iced latte to one of the waiters and gave Simone a side glance. Simone could be overbearing at times but he was also the god of good advice. He was also pansexual so he'd probably understand Kian's feelings better as he had dated both guys and girls before. And people who did not belong to either of the genders. He was the first one who made Kian realize that people never fall in love with a person but rather the souls that hide underneath their skin. Yes, Simone had an obsession for cosmos and spirituality.

"That guy was totally hitting on you and you didn't even give him your signature dimpled smile. I never saw that happening here before." Kian had a hunch that Audrey had put Simone up to seek out whatever was going on in my head.

After all, Kian hardly stayed out of his room the whole week, let alone hang out with his friends or meet Audrey for burger and drinks after the uni classes. Maybe she thought he needed someone like Simone to talk him out of his miserable shell.

"Maybe, I did notice him but given he was a minor, I figured it wouldn't be wise to lead him on." Kian scoffed, crossing his arms across his chest and giving Simone a raised brow.

"Come on. Spill the beans already." Simone rolled his eyes and tipped his head towards the back door.

Kian sighed. He slid the apron off his waist and placed it on the racks before he and Simone snuck out into the back alley. Simone snapped his fingers and waved at Anna to take over Kian's place on the way out. She flicked at Simone's back which only Kian saw and in return she grinned at him. 

Anna was a year younger than Kian. She worked part time at the library in town and did modeling for a small fashion magazine on the side. Her dream was to be the top model of LA but the internship hardly paid her bills. So, here she was, working multiple jobs but not giving up on her dreams.

"So, it is about the pretty boy who paid you a visit last week and the week before that," Simone said, leaning against the brick wall. "What happened there? Tell me from the beginning."

That was the perfect motivator for Kian to seek out a cigarette or a joint so he could avoid having another awkward conversation about Enzo.

"Something that shouldn't have. We grew up together. He was my best friend then I started having a crush on him, I messed up, we separated, he reached out for a second chance, we went for drinks, danced and smoked, I messed up again." Kian omitted the kiss from his sob story. And also the part where he tried texting Enzo and his fingers shook at the send button every single time. He never hit the send button until one week later.

"That's it?" Simone asked, crossing his arms and raising one eyebrow.

"I'm not telling you the gross details. Now shut up and drop it already." He snorted.

"Gross for whom? You or the other lad?" Simone countered. Kian shoved his shoulder and glared at him. "From what I've heard from your roommate, it doesn't seem like a gross detail but rather a romantic moment." Now he was getting as ridiculous as Audrey. And Audrey really couldn't be trusted with a secret.

"For the record, Enzo is not into guys. He's a friend I crushed on since seventh grade and one god awful day I kissed him. He broke contact with me and we fell apart. And then he came back trying to mend the bridges and I did it again. I kissed him again. And now the connection between us is finally severed and I doubt he is ever going to see me again." Kian tilted his head back and sighed.

"Says who? Did he say that to you?"

"No, but he is not responding to my text." Kian was really losing his calm now.

"And what exactly did you type in that text?" Simone had genuine curiosity on his face.

"Sometimes, you're just plain annoying, you know that right?" Kian snorted.

Simone simply shrugged and Kian knew he wouldn't give up until he had analyzed the whole scenario. So, after giving him a hard glare Kian fished out his phone, unlocked it and almost dropped it when two text notifications popped on the screen with Enzo's name. 

"I'll leave you to deal with that one alone." Simone patted his shoulder and walked back inside the café.

Kian's hands shook and sweat collected on his forehead, contemplating whether to leave the texts burning in his inbox or read it and let Enzo's reply burn his heart instead. Nonetheless, he clicked it open.

Tomorrow is my last gig in California. I would really like it if you decided to show up, Kiki.

The second message was an attachment. It had his band's concert tickets.

***

So, that's how Kian and Audrey landed in Ricardo's the next evening, pushing and shoving their way towards the bouncers who were too occupied with the mountain of people at the door.

As soon as one of them scanned their tickets and let them in, Kian knew he was finally going to face the consequences of his wrong decisions headfirst.

And it would either break his heart or crush it into an irreparable heap. 

***

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