Behind the Light

This is a story about BangChan and A girl

"I hate you, Nova Frost, I never want to see your face again!” were the last words Lee Know, my childhood best friend, said to me during our fight, and the last words he ever said to me before we both stopped talking. It was Monday 25th of March, a week since Lee Know and I had our argument, a week since the person whom I thought I’d never lose left my life. It had been a tough seven days without being around someone I value a lot, someone who means everything to me. I spent most of my time over at my friend BangChan's house to try and forget about the argument, about my and Lee Know’s friendship, about him. BangChan was sitting on his couch in the living room, watching whatever stupid things he enjoyed. I wasn’t paying attention; my mind was elsewhere. The room was quiet, other than the sound of the TV in the background and the faint sound of BangChans breathing. The silence between us was comfortable, like it usually was when we hung out, a peaceful, nice silence. Well, that was until he broke it by speaking, “Hey Nova Rose, it’s almost 11 pm, are you planning on staying over tonight or are you heading home soon?” he questioned, his voice soft as he turned his head away from the TV he had been focusing on to look at me, his head tilted slightly like he always did when he asked something. A habit I found adorable. I was staring off into space, not paying attention. He noticed my lack of focus and nudged me gently to try to get me to listen. “Hellooooo…. Nova?” he spoke a bit louder, waving his hand in front of my face to try to snatch my attention. I come back to reality, “Yes?” He raised an eyebrow at me. “I asked if you were staying here tonight or if you planned on heading home,” he repeated what he had asked me earlier, noticing I had zoned out. “Oh, umm, can I stay here?” He nodded. “Of course,” he spoke softly as he turned his attention back to the TV, trying to find something else to watch. After a few minutes, he seemed to find something he was interested in and turned the TV volume up, but not by much, as he didn't want to risk waking up his little sister, who was already asleep in her room, and his parents. This was something I admired about him; how caring he was to everyone he loved and held close, his selfless actions, and just the way he acted in general, it was one of the many things I found to be so admirable, likable about him. He didn't know it, but I found myself staring at him again, my thoughts drifting, admiring him, taking in the sight in front of me. He looked relaxed, calm, and comfortable. After a moment, he turned his head to face me, my gaze instantly averting from him to the floor, hoping he wouldn't have noticed. He raised an eyebrow as he caught me looking at him for the second time. “Why do you keep staring at me?” he asked, his voice soft and sweet as usual, no malice or annoyance in his tone. I gave him a playful shrug, avoiding eye contact with him. “No reason.” I replied, trying to act nonchalant, but I knew he probably wasn't buying it. He gave me a playful, skeptical look. "You're a bad liar," he teased, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. I pouted in response, crossing my arms over my chest. "Am not." I protested sulkily, but knowing he was right, I was a terrible liar. He chuckled at my sulky expression, finding it endearing. "You really are," he teased. "You can't even make eye contact." “Can too!” I bit back.  He raised an eyebrow, challengingly. "Prove it then," he countered, amusement evident in his eyes. He couldn't help but laugh; my failed attempt at proving him wrong was just too funny. "Ha! See, I was right," he said through laughter, shaking his head in amusement as he tried to compose himself. I rolled my eyes and turned my attention to the TV. Once he had calmed down, he did the same, the two of us sitting watching the TV in comfortable silence once again. He snuck glances at me now and then, noticing the slightly sad look in my eyes, which concerned him a little. After about ten minutes, he decided to break the silence, his curiosity getting the better of him. "Hey, Nova..." he spoke softly, turning his head to look at me once again, his gaze soft. “Mmm?” I hummed.  He hesitated for a moment before speaking again, his tone gentle. "Is everything okay? You seem a little... off, tonight," he said, his eyes filled with concern as he studied my face, "No, not really,” I said. He furrowed his eyebrows, my answer only making his concern grow. "What's wrong?" he asked softly, his voice full of genuine worry. “Me and Lee Know got into a fight. We haven't talked or seen each other in two weeks.” I said. His face softened as he listened to me, his expression now empathetic. "I'm sorry to hear that... Do you want to talk about it?" he asked gently, giving me his full attention. “No, not really,” I said. He nodded in understanding, respecting my decision. "Alright. Just know that I'm here if you ever do want to talk about it, or anything else, okay?" he said softly, offering me a reassuring smile. “Okay,” I said. He turned his attention back to the TV, the room falling silent once again. He occasionally snuck glances at me, wondering what was going through my mind and hoping I was alright. I fell asleep on top of BangChan by accident. He noticed me drifting off beside him, a small content smile forming on his lips. He gently shifted his position, making sure he wouldn't wake me, and continued watching TV, occasionally glancing at me to make sure I was comfortable. I shivered a bit in my sleep. He noticed me shivering and immediately went to grab a blanket from the back of the couch to drape over me, making sure I was warm and comfortable. He sat back down beside me, continuing to watch TV, but his focus was occasionally stolen by sneaky glances at me, making sure I was still peacefully sleeping. A small part of him wished he could always have moments like this with me, just simple, peaceful moments where he could be near me.

Author's Note

If you like this please review it and thank you for reading and if you want me to make any changes I'm still thinking what to right

Reviews

[Rachid Amrani]

A very well-crafted piece of writing. You really have a knack for storytelling. As I read, I was eager to know how this back-and-forth interaction between Nova and BangChan would evolve. There were times when I got the impression, they were merely friends, other times more than just friends. In doing that you kept us guessing and reading to the end. I also like how you incorporate sensory details after each dialogue tags. About dialogue tags, I would probably have them in separate lines to differentiate them from the expository text.
Just minor remarks:
"His voice soft and sweet as usual, no malice or annoyance in his tone.": both parts of the sentence mean the same thing so I don't think you need the second part to avoid repetition.
Also: I wasn’t paying attention; my mind was elsewhere. I was told semi-colons are to be avoided because they're not as popular as they used to in the classics. Maybe something like: I wasn’t paying attention. I guess my mind was elsewhere. or I wasn’t paying attention because my mind was elsewhere.
Great job though.

[Ash]

OMG thank you You don't know how Long I've been waiting for a review

[Rachid Amrani]

It was pleasure. Keep writing.