"Some men carry joy like a mask and sorrow like a scar. You'll know them by the way they walk away from love."
---
It was evening.
Streams of wind and golden light drifted in through the window, causing the white curtains to flutter as they glowed under the setting sun.
Inside the room stood a medium-sized bed, a wardrobe, and two tables, each with a chair tucked beneath. The place looked messy, as if it had weathered a storm just moments ago.
On the bed sat a frail-looking man.
He had black hair, unkempt and long, as if it hadn't been combed in days. His brown eyes looked dull against pale skin. His face carried a patchy beard—half-grown.
He sat in silence, anxious, and alone.
Then, his face twitched.
"Tch. What now?" he muttered under his breath.
"It didn't have to come to this," he added, his voice crushed under an invisible weight.
He let out a sigh and lay back on the bed, arms spread out, legs still hanging off the edge of the bed.
"Haaah. Even after all that…"
Thoughts began to squirm in his mind—familiar ones, like memories he'd worked hard to bury.
A figure flashed before his eyes.
Feminine. Full of charm.
He kept staring at the ceiling, motionless.
His eyelids began to droop. He felt sleepy—the kind of sleep that comes for the deeply sad, and alone.
His body grew heavier. His mind began shaping dreams from the dark. The ceiling fan above hummed like a lullaby.
And just when he surrendered to sleep—
to his dreams.
Clack.
The door creaked open.
A tall figure stepped inside—a man, slightly more muscular, brown-skinned, with piercing blue eyes and blond hair (bleached, probably).
He blinked in surprise.
"What happened to the room?" he asked, scanning the mess. "What the hell did you do in the few minutes I was gone?"
"Hey, Stuart. Get up, man. Don't get all sleepy on me—tell me what happened."
"Why's the room like this? Did something happen while I was out? Did you do this? Was someone else here before me?"
He bombarded Stuart with questions.
"Calm down, will you, Edward?" Stuart snapped, frustrated. "I already feel like shit, and now you're interrogating me like a detective."
He sat up slowly, rubbing his face, then looked at Edward with a tired gaze.
"Nothing happened, man. Nothing major. Sorry for troubling you. I'll clean it up—just give me a minute." He gestured vaguely toward the chaotic floor.
Edward grew silent.
He sat beside him and stopped him from getting up.
Stuart fell back down. They sat in silence.
"I'm sorry, Stuart," Edward said. "You know I'm bad with emotional stuff. But I can still listen—if that helps."
"I'm fine. Just…"
Stuart paused, searching for words.
"Never mind, pal. Thanks for trying. Let's just forget this happened."
"Well I'm hurt," Edward replied dramatically. "My best buddy hides stuff from me now? I guess you don't need my pathetic self anymore. Boo-hoo."
"Okay, okay, stop! Don't emotionally blackmail me. You know I'm terrible with that."
"And who started it, huh?" Edward shot back.
"Tell me what happened. You know I'm gonna pester you all day if you don't. Not like you can run—we're roommates."
"It's kind of a family thing," Stuart finally said. "And… a private matter too."
"You remember the talk we had before,"
He asked.
"You mean the wedding you mentioned a month ago?"
"Yeah. My cousin's. I wasn't going to attend… but now I have to. My mom's hellbent on the whole family showing up. We're close, apparently."
"So? What's the big deal? It's boring here anyway. Use the chance to relax, blow off some steam. Weddings are fun—free food, cute people."
"Might get someone to lay down with you while you're at it," he grinned.
"It's not that simple. I… I don't want to go because she... someone I don't wanna meet might be there."
"She?" Edward raised an eyebrow. "A woman? Past lover?"
"It's… complicated. We weren't lovers. We were something else. Something worse."
He took a deep breath.
"It was a mistake. My mistake. I shouldn't have done that to her. She deserved better. I tried to leave… but I couldn't stop myself. Couldn't stop falling for her. With everything I had. Even when I knew it wouldn't end well. It was a losing game. I still regret it."
He almost broke into tears.
Silence returned.
Edward said nothing. He'd never been in love—he had no words for a pain like that.
"I'm sorry I made things worse," he said softly, standing with his back to Stuart. His face looked heavy, ashamed—grieving his own helplessness.
Both stood in their places, quiet.
---
After a while, Stuart let out a long breath.
"Oh, to hell with it. I've got more pressing matters—semester finals are around the corner," he groaned.
"Haha! I totally forgot about that!" Edward laughed.
"Let's clean this place up and get to studying. No way I'm wasting time on remedials again."
Stuart didn't say anything, just looked at him with quiet gratitude.
They started cleaning.
Wrinkled clothes, scattered stationery, the open wardrobe with its contents spilled everywhere, open suitcases with stomped-on clothes—Edward could feel the fury that had torn through this room earlier.
"The quiet ones are always the scariest," he thought.
---
An hour and a half of sweat and toils later, the room looked clean.
They collapsed to the floor, drenched, in sweat, breathing heavily.
"Let's shower. We stink," Stuart laughed—his first laugh since that emotional unraveling.
"Ladies first," Edward smirked.
Stuart smacked his hand. "Ow! That hurt! Nobody likes violent ladies, you know," Edward yelped, then burst out laughing.
"Then I'll go first," Stuart said, heading to the bathroom.
He disappeared as the door closed behind him.
Edward's smile faded.
His demeanor shifted.
His eyes narrowed, filled with fury. His teeth clenched. He sat, brooding, his face darkened like a storm, brewing.
- - -
Meanwhile, in the shower, Stuart felt lighter, better. Refreshed.
For a moment.
Then the weight returned.
He sat under the water, hands clenching his chest.
"I wish we had never met… Just forget about me. What do you like about my pathetic self anyway?"
The words echoed like thorns in his mind.
His breath became ragged. Suppressed memories clawed their way back up.
"Hey! How long are you gonna take? Come out already!" Edward shouted from outside.
"Come on, man! Hurry up!" he sang annoyingly.
"Yeah, yeah—shut it, will you?" Stuart muttered, finishing up. A few minutes later, he stepped out.
"What are you, a girl or what? Next time, I'm going first," Edward said, barging in and slamming the door.
His smile faded behind the door.
"You're more trouble than you show, huh, Stuart?" he whispered, stepping under the water.
"I'll have to do something… to save your skin after all."
"Huhu!, Hahahaha!"
He laughed—quiet at first, then madly.
---
Time passed.
A month later…
Stuart had passed his finals with decent grades.
Meanwhile Edward had flunked—two subjects at that.
"Damn it, Stuart! You cheating bastard! I'm stuck redoing this shit while you get to go home and relax. I wanted to come too!"
"Don't blame me, idiot. I told you a hundred times to focus. You were too busy binge-watching web series before finals."
Stuart stood outside their room, luggage in one hand, backpack slung over his shoulder.
He was finally leaving for the short vacation they'd gotten after exams.
"Next time, don't flunk. We'll go together—your place, then mine. Let's take turns."
"Bye, Edward. See you after the break. Study hard, my friend."
His eyes gleamed with a rare shine.
He jogged off, walking down the corridor lined with identical rooms.
He turned back once, waving.
Edward waved back.
Then Stuart vanished down the stairs.
---
In the corridor, Edward stood silent. There was a stern look on his face — his usual idiotic self was gone, like it had all been a facade to begin with.
He stood a while longer, watching Stuart leave the dorm building and get into the cab.
Afterwards, he turned and went back inside.
Behind him, the door closed.
Clack! Crash!
And the corridor once again went silent, like it was home to ghosts.
- - -
Outside, Stuart glanced back from the window. The building kept getting smaller and smaller until it finally disappeared.
He turned forward.
The car reached a crossroads, then turned — toward a bigger path, full of people and obstacles.
Minutes later, in the distance…
it disappeared.
---