World's Best Protagonist [BL]-Chapter 137: What happens next?

Etienne bit his lower lip, clearly conflicted. "I want to ask him. But I don’t know how."

Crap. I want this conversation to end. This ugly feeling started to rise inside me, and my brows began twitching, ready to be mean. I didn’t realize I’m this petty. Just talking to someone about Claude is making me jealous. Or is it only because that someone is Etienne?

Someone in Claude’s list of ’whom to treat kindly’.

I threw a roll of kitchen towel in the cart as I replied nonchalantly, "Just knock on his door with a cup of tea and hit him with a ’Hey, why did you look like a rejected soap opera actor when you saw me last week?’ Easy."

A soft laugh escaped Etienne’s lips, musical and bright. "I don’t think that would go well."

"You’d be surprised," I muttered, slightly bitter. If it’s Etienne, Claude won’t be annoyed. He might even answer seriously.

We stood there for a moment in companionable silence—me contemplating whether I had enough snacks for a week of emotional avoidance, and Etienne probably dissecting every little thing Claude ever did, like a tragic poem he couldn’t translate. I let him do that.

He was about to say something again when a voice interrupted him. Thank goodness.

"Excuse me, could you move a bit? You’re blocking the aisle."

We both blinked and turned to see a guy with a basket and an awkward smile, clearly trying not to offend the glowing angel beside me.

"Oh—sorry," Etienne said, quickly pushing the cart to the side.

I gave the guy a thumbs up. "Appreciate the manners. You’re a rare breed."

He walked past, muttering something about weird people in supermarkets, and I turned to Etienne, grinning. "Come on, let’s check out before someone thinks we’re loitering philosophers."

Etienne followed, but not before casting one last thoughtful glance at the shampoo shelf, as if it held the answers to Claude’s inner turmoil.

The rest of our vacation, I waited for this talk dreadfully, preparing to insert myself in their meeting like it was the most natural thing to do. However, our days of bliss ended without them meeting privately.

How do I know? Because in the morning, I was at the training dome watching Terrius and Claude, then at night, Claude was in my Sanctum. I’m not gatekeeping him, alright? He offered to send me home, then he’d end up sleeping in my room.

I didn’t bother to wake him up because I knew how tired he was. Yeah. Convince yourself, Jade. Argh. The anxiety is killing me!

"You should get yourself a car."

From the crisp pages of the new series I was into, my gaze moved over to him sitting casually across me with a remote in his hand. Tonight, he came again, and now he was watching TV.

"Now you’re complaining."

"I’m not. If I can, I’ll drive you anywhere. That gives me an excuse to stay over for the night." He grinned, but did not avert his eyes from the television. Nothing was amusing in the news he was watching at all. "But once we return to work, I might not be able to do that. If you have your own car, no one would try to offer to drive you home and stay over the night too."

His voice in the last part was toned down and was colder. I closed the book, carefully placed it down on the center table, and confessed that someone gifted me a car and I declined. If his expression earlier was colder when assuming some guy would try to do what he’d been doing every night, after hearing who the car came from, his expression became deadly.

"Don’t accept anything from them." He turned off the television and finally faced me. "Even if he’s Allen’s brother, don’t trust anyone in the Chambers."

"You don’t have to tell me that." I don’t trust anyone easily. Guilt crossed his eyes, but it also disappeared in a blink. What was that for?

Before I could ask, he stood and approached me. He plopped beside me, rested his head on my shoulder, then he closed his eyes after letting out a heavy sigh. What’s bothering him this time? Or is this my chance to bring it up?

Without realizing it, my heart began beating louder. I cleared my throat. He interrupted me.

"How was your visit to the UAO?"

"It was short and uninteresting."

He chuckled. "The tattoo? Does it still hurt?"

"Not anymore. It healed faster than I expected."

"It’s not a normal tattoo after all."

"I figured."

There was silence. Comfortable silence despite my heart pounding under my chest.

"I’m sorry." Okay. I did not expect the mighty captain to apologize out of the sudden. What was it for? "Do you regret involving yourself with us? Now that you are under surveillance, everything you do, wherever you go, in this world, will be monitored. So, do you regret it sometimes?"

"Nope," I quickly replied. His head turned to me, his chin on my shoulders. My cheeks blushed uncontrollably because I was thinking we looked like a couple spending time chatting in our house. God, I feel gay more than ever.

I swallowed first before continuing, "One way or another, this fate that binds me to the World Tree will come at me anyway. I’m just glad that it was your team I got to be part of." fɾeeweɓnѳveɭ.com

He stared at me for a good minute before turning his head away again, leaving a relieved sigh. I pressed my lips tightly together, thinking it was now or never.

"I got to meet you, changed myself for the better, got to like you, and then experienced this feeling I’d never thought I was capable of. So, no. I won’t regret it. Never."

I said all that while looking out the window. Who knew confessing would take so much courage to do? A minute passed, and there was no response, and every tick the long hand of the clock made, I felt my feet sinking in an invisible swamp.

Fuck. Did I do the right thing? Did I ruin us? My chest became heavy. Without looking at him, I quickly stood, and stammering, I excused, "Er...I...ah, I’m going to sleep now. Yeah."

I walked away with a feeling that the world sat upon my shoulder, mocking me for my failed confession, for my rejection. This was a rejection, right? Damn you, Claude. Way to kill my gayness instantly. I haven’t fully spread my rainbow wings and stepped out of the closet yet. It’s saddening.

I took a step forward, but on my second one, my hand was grabbed tightly, and before I knew it, I was falling. My hands instinctively landed on the backrest to break my fall, but the face between my arms, intensely gazing at me, was pulling me deeper and deeper into a fall.

I let go. Of the backrest. Of my fears. Everything. And just dived in. My lips touched his. I kissed him. I initiated it. So, I closed my eyes as I carefully pressed my lips harder against him.

If he pushed me, I got my answer. But if he lets me in, I will assume he likes me too. And so, I will have the courage to confront him further. Maybe force him to say he likes me back. Haha.

My hand was on his shoulder, while the other was at the back of his head, holding him in place as I took advantage of his shock. That way, he won’t be able to push me. God, what the hell am I thinking? I’m spiraling into chaos and evil. Let the man decide, Jade.

So, after kicking out the devil whispering in my left ear, I grabbed his hair and pulled him away. "Pulling me in while I had just confessed was a bad move. In romance books, it always ended up like this, you know?"

I chuckled nervously. I pushed him away and tried to get off his lap, but he wasn’t budging. Instead, he pulled me closer. The drumming reached its breakdown. I held my breath, waiting for the dramatic, loud, final part.

"What’s next? After this, what will happen next?"

I gulped. His gaze deepened, like he was digging into my soul. Maybe trying to find out how lewd my thoughts are, but I don’t care. I want him to look at me that way, only me.

So, then I quoted, "He pulled her closer into a kiss, deeper than she did, more passionate and intense than she intended. With that kiss, he made her realize that confessing her feelings for him was the right choice at that moment—"

You made the right choice. Claude told me with this kiss.