Darkness and sunlight were scrambling over the sky by the time Allen came out of school. He was about to go home when he heard someone calling his name.

“Mr. Allen Sanchez?”

Allen put a stop and immediately turned away when a man approached him. The man wore a white shirt and jeans covered by a long brown coat. It looks like he was in his early thirties on Allen’s first impression of him.

“Yes?” Allen courteously asked.

The man has immediately shown his ID. Allen looked at it and realized he was a detective.

“I’m Detective Kevin Tan and I would like to ask you a few questions,” the detective started.

“A-About what?” Allen asked with a confused expression.

“Let’s go somewhere else first, shall we?”

Even before Allen could answer, the detective had already walked away from him. He couldn't do anything but follow. They reached a park after a few minutes of walking. The detective immediately sat down on the vacant bench, followed by Allen, who also sat next to the detective. As they sat down, the detective immediately pulled out a small notebook from his pocket.

“I’m sure you’ve heard about the two consecutive deaths of volleyball varsity students from Staten high,” the detective started.

Allen nodded in response. Of course, Allen knew about this news. Those who died were Andrew’s teammates. He remembered the first time he heard the news of Lev’s death. He first heard it on the news and immediately recognized who it was. Although Lev was late to join the team because he was just a transferee, Allen immediately remembered him because of his height and foreigner-looking appearance. He saw him a few times whenever he picked up Andrew from school.

When he heard the news of Lev's death, he immediately asked Andrew about it. And according to Andrew, Lev was robbed and killed since Lev's phone was not in his possession anymore when he was found. He even reminded Andrew to be careful as well and not to go out at night because of that incident.

“Then I’m here to ask you a few questions about Mr. Andrew Sy. I hope---”

“Wait, what? What about Andrew?” Allen cut him off as he frowned.

“I hope you’ll answer honestly as this will be vital for the investigation go---”

“Are you suspecting him?!” Allen shouted as he immediately got up from his seat.

“Mr. San-"

“No! He won’t do that. He will never do that!” Allen bellowed, then he walked out from the detective.

He did not want to hear what the Detective would say about Andrew. He did not want anyone to suspect his best friend. The thought agitated him and pissed him. But he’s more pissed with himself. He’s mad at himself because even if he said that it was not Andrew and the latter would never do that, he considered the thought that he might be. And he hates it. He believed Andrew when the latter told him what happened to Lev, even though he had a bad feeling about it.

He knew Andrew since they were little and he will know right away when something changes with him. But he still put that thought aside and believed Andrew. But the second death was not a mere coincidence anymore. He’s not intelligent, but he knew that there’s no way that someone will die from Andrew’s team the second time coincidentally.

As he was walking, something suddenly came to his mind. If the detective came to ask him what he knew about Andrew, it simply meant that Andrew was the suspect by this time. There’s no way he’ll let Andrew get arrested. He thought Andrew could still clear his name if he admitted he was innocent.

His mind raced as he quickly ran towards Andrew's condo unit.


“What’s wrong? You didn't say you were coming,” Andrew asked Allen as the two sat on the couch in Andrew's living room.

It was past six in the evening when Allen arrived at Andrew's condo. He knew he should be in the mansion by this time, but his mind couldn't ease until he could talk to Andrew.

“I… I have something to ask you,” Allen started with hesitation. He honestly didn't know how to confirm his hunch. He didn't want Andrew to think he's suspecting him. But he wanted to hear from Andrew himself that the latter had done nothing wrong. He's ready to believe everything he would say.

“Hmm… What is it?” Andrew asked as he stared at him.

He tried to read Andrew’s facial expression. It was the usual innocent-looking face of the man he loves the most. The more he looked at him, the more he thought, Andrew would never do such a thing. How could this soft expression facing at him be a murderer? He pondered.

“Well… The thing is… a detective came to me this afternoon,” he started, slightly hesitant. He averted his eyes away from Andrew, avoiding his contact. “He was talking about your teammates who died and then he asked me about you.”

“Ohh… I see… What did you say then?”

“Of course I said nothing! I mean, it was pointless to even ask me about you when you did nothing wrong,” Allen replied as he turned to Andrew once more. "R-Right?"

Allen then felt his heart sinking and drowning in cold water. A pain throbbed in his chest as he gazed at those pair of eyes, glinting with amusement. Andrew’s lips were curved upwards and giggling. The sight of his entire expression was too menacing for Allen to bear. He felt his stomach turned upside down.

“What happened to you?” Allen muttered grimly.



-----



"Allen," Emman greeted, as he saw Allen on his doorstep.
"Can I come in?" Allen asked.
Emman nodded, and Allen quietly entered his apartment. The two immediately went to Emman's living room. Emman let Allen sat on the sofa first and then he went to the fridge. It was seven in the evening when Allen got there. After talking to Andrew, he had thought about what he could do to protect him. Because that's what he promised to Andrew when they were still kids. And today he decided to carry out what he planned.
"Sorry, I only have water in the fridge," Emman said as he placed the bottled water on the mini table opposite Allen.
"It’s alright," Allen reached for the bottled water and drank from it.
As soon as he finished, he stared at Emman, who was already sitting on the other side. Emman was just as quiet as the first time he met him. But Allen sensed a different aura from him, now that he was staring at him. Dark circles were clear in his eyes. He seemed to get thinner too, and his face was too pale. Maybe because he was still grieving from the loss of his friends, he pondered. He suddenly felt a tugging sensation from his chest.

When he first found out from Andrew that he had a boyfriend, he remembered that he had been protective of Andrew. He was the first to persuade Andrew to introduce Emman to him because he wanted to check on him. He doesn't want people to take advantage of Andrew because of his family's wealth. But other than that, it was because he couldn’t accept that Andrew had a beloved and he wasn’t that person.

He remembered the first time he had prepared to check Emman from head to toe until he finally encountered him. But he didn’t expect what he would see. Emman was far from what he was thinking. He's the complete opposite of Andrew, but Allen saw why his friend liked him. And Allen realized Andrew was in good hands.

He still thought the same way, now that he faced him once more. And the more he thought about it, the more he felt sorry for him. Allen didn’t like what happened. He also didn’t want anyone to get hurt because of his friend. Despite that, Andrew was still his priority. He felt sorry, but he needed to protect Andrew.
"You don't seem to answer Andrew's calls. You don’t show up to him either," Allen started.

Emman looked down at his knees. "I’m sure you didn’t come here to force me to meet Andrew."
Allen knew how smart Emman was. But he never thought that he can easily pick up on things so fast.
"Then... You probably know."
Emman stared at Allen. He had met Allen on some occasions. He got along with him sometimes, though they never talked as much as today. And from what he observed during those times, he already knew that Allen was in love with Andrew, probably more than he could imagine.

"You probably know him more than I do, but Andrew is my boyfriend for three years now. Even if he doesn’t tell me, I’ll be stupid if I don’t," Emman responded grimly. His expression darkened.
He stared at the frame sitting on the table. On the left side was his childhood photo with Ralph, and on the right side was his photo with Andrew. His chest hammered in pain the more he stared at it. As if the frame was telling him to choose. But he loves both of them. That is why he’s been suffering all along. He remembered his parents who died to save him. He thought maybe it was the path for him to choose as well. Die to save the person he loves. It sounded heroic whenever he thinks of his parents. But doing it himself sounded pathetic to him. A cowardly person who just wanted to run away from the pain more than wanting to save someone.
"I want to die... I want to face Lev and Ralph and asked for forgiveness. I brought it upon them. If I hadn’t..." Emman’s voice broke as tears fell from his eyes. "If I hadn’t like Andrew, this wouldn’t happen. Andrew will stay as he was and… And our friends wouldn’t have to die…" Emman added as his whole body shuddered. "I-It was my fault. I can’t live with this. I deserve to die..."
Allen stared at Emman in awe. His resolve faltered now that he’s facing the person who’s in greater pain more than anyone.
"I-I’m sorry," he muttered.
Emman then stared at Allen. "Do it, Allen."
Allen got startled by what Emman said. "W-Wha-"
"You came here to kill me, right?"
Allen suddenly felt the gun on his back. He had almost dismissed in his mind that he has it with him. He’s from a wealthy family. Getting a gun was no problem for him.
"H-How did you know?" Allen asked with a confused expression. Emman was too fast at catching things.
"You won't meet me just to confirm if I know. You want to save Andrew, that’s why you are here. You want to take the responsibility for what he had done."
Allen bit his lip. Yes. That was his actual intention. But he couldn’t do it anymore as he felt sorry for Emman. It’s not his fault. He doesn’t have to sacrifice himself as well.
"I... I can’t..." Allen muttered.
"Do it. I don’t know what you will do once you do it, but I don’t care. Just... Just kill me, Allen," Allen cried as he stared at Emman. His eyes were pleading as if saying he’s ready to die. Allen realized that this was Emman’s intention of letting him visit when he can’t even show himself to Andrew.
Allen slowly pulled his gun from his back. He shakingly pointed it at Emman.
"Do it," Emman urged. "I want to die. I can’t live with this."
But despite Emman’s plead, Allen couldn’t do it. He immediately lowered the gun and bowed his head. "I can’t..."
Emman knew what he wanted was too hard. But his mind was in disarray. He couldn’t think straight anymore. All he wanted was to end this. He wanted to end his suffering and to prevent anyone from getting hurt.
He stood up from his seat and walked close to Allen. He bent on his one knee and gripped Allen’s hand with the gun. He then pointed it at his forehead.
"W-What are you doing?!" Allen asked apprehensively. He tried pulling his hands, but Emman was holding on to it tightly, as if Emman’s resolve was stronger than his.
"Do it, Allen. Even if you don’t. I will just kill myself and there will be no one you could save for."
"N-No, I-I-"
Emman pulled a recorder from his pocket and placed it on Allen’s lap.
"That’s a recorder. I record everything from the moment you got here. I don’t know how you will use it, maybe to save yourself? I don’t know. It’s up to you," Emman muttered. He felt so selfish pushing Allen to kill him, but he had thought that he could save Allen if the latter changes his mind.
"S-Stop-"
"I’m sorry, Allen."

With a smile on his face, Emman pulled the trigger with Allen’s finger, clutching the gun. Blood splashed on Allen’s face, and Emman dropped to the floor.