Water poured mercilessly from the faucet into the sink, its noise filling the tiled silence of the bathroom.
Then the water cut off.
Kyle ran his wet hands through his unruly hair. Staring at his reflection, he hesitantly lifted a hand to his face and pushed his bangs slightly aside. His eyes were suddenly exposed, damp strands sticking to his cheekbones.
He shook the water from his hands, looked at himself again — and frowned.
A second later, his bangs fell back into their usual place, still slightly wet.
Back in his room, he sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled out his phone. Almost six in the evening. Megan had mentioned they shouldn't be late.
Kyle let out a short sigh and dropped backward onto the soft mattress.
Some strange tension had been building inside his chest. For the past few days, he hadn't been able to settle: his thoughts kept blurring together, his focus slipping, his attention drifting somewhere it had no business being. And today, it had only gotten worse.
Holding his phone in one hand and scrolling through TikTok, he nervously ran his fingers over the folds of the thick blanket with the other.
As usual, his feed was full of anime, music videos, and book reviews. His gaze lingered for a few seconds — like — swipe. Something interesting — like, comments, save.
A while passed like that.
His finger slid upward across the screen again.
And this time, the video was completely out of place in his feed. Some amateur boxing tutorial: bad audio, cheap camera, no color grading. The presentation wasn't even particularly engaging.
But the movements of the person on screen felt very confident.
And… familiar.
The thought flashed instantly.
Kyle blinked sharply and locked his phone.
There it was again.
Again and again, his thoughts kept pulling him back to Darren's video. To that story he'd rewatched far too many times that night.
He turned his head toward the desk. Then his gaze slowly slid toward the armchair.
The memory caught up almost immediately: Darren sitting there, the manga spread across Kyle's lap, long fingers holding the page far too close to his hand.
A vibration pulsed from his palm up his arm, making him flinch.
Kyle looked at the screen immediately.
A message from Darren.
Without opening the chat, he read the preview — and froze.
Darren:
We're on our way. See you soon 😉
A moment later, the screen went dark in his hand.
Kyle stared blankly at his own reflection in the black glass.
Strange. Usually it was Megan who texted him things like that.
A few seconds later, he unlocked the phone anyway and opened the chat. Two checkmarks appeared beside the message. The first message in several days.
Kyle took a deep breath and pushed himself off the bed.
He didn't want to wait for them in his room.
----------------------------------------
Resting his chin against his hand, Kyle absentmindedly stirred the already melted sugar into his long-cold tea. His empty gaze followed the tiny whirlpool in the mug with too much focus.
The doorbell rang.
The whirlpool fell apart.
Kyle exhaled and went to open the door.
As he approached it, a second ring echoed through the house.
"...I'm coming!" he called out.
He was already opening the door, muttering under his breath,
"You have a key, so why are you—"
And then he stopped.
Darren stood in the doorway with his hands full: several pizza boxes in one arm, a pack of beer and a thick black bag in the other.
Megan's hands were full too — she was holding a large turquoise cake box with both arms.
"He-e-ey," she dragged out. "Move over!"
Kyle didn't even have time to answer. Megan had already slipped past him and into the house.
"Hey," Darren said calmly. A faint smile touched his lips.
"...hey," Kyle replied quietly, a beat too late.
Only afterward did he realize he'd been staring at that smile for too long. Unable to look away.
"...Can I get through?" Darren's voice finally pulled him out of it.
"Huh?"
"Can I come in?" he repeated, still smiling. "Unlike Megan, I probably can't squeeze past."
"...!"
Kyle instantly dropped his gaze to the floor and stepped aside.
As Darren passed by, one of the pizza boxes lightly bumped his shoulder. That made Kyle look up.
Their eyes met. A moment longer than the situation called for.
"Oops. Sorry," Darren said, his smile widening slightly. "Didn't account for you."
"It's fine," Kyle answered flatly.
Once Darren walked farther inside, Kyle shut the door and pressed his fingertips into his palms.
Trying to regain some sense of control.
The appetizing smell filled the kitchen. The table quickly became crowded with pizza boxes and beer cans.
While Megan and Darren unpacked everything, Kyle stood leaning against the counter, arms crossed.
He watched them carefully: Megan's quick, chaotic movements — and, in contrast, Darren's calm, deliberate ones.
Opening the last pizza box, Darren suddenly looked over at him.
"How's school?"
"Fine."
"Economics?" One eyebrow lifted slightly.
"Better than before," Kyle answered, his gaze drifting somewhere to the side.
Darren smiled wide, his blue eyes flashing.
"Glad to hear it," he said quietly.
Then he went quiet. The smile disappeared, but its trace still lingered in his gaze.
That gaze moved over Kyle far too closely: the light blue T-shirt without any print, almost brand new, packaging creases still visible; ordinary jeans, barely worn too; his slightly messy hair, same as always.
"Looks good on you," Darren said suddenly.
"What..?" Kyle frowned.
"The color."
Darren tilted his head slightly.
"Light blue suits you."
Several cola cans landed noisily on the table.
"Almost the same shade as your eyes," Megan commented, glancing between them.
"Really?" Darren asked with a smile.
"...they're actually completely different shades," Kyle muttered under his breath.
"Alright!" Megan clapped her hands. "Stop loitering, gentlemen. Sit down."
The last thing added to the center of the junk-laden table was a cream cake topped with bright strawberries.
Kyle's gaze immediately locked onto it, openly hungry. He unconsciously licked his lips.
Waiting for Megan to sit down, Kyle took the seat across from her. Darren hesitated for just a second — then sat beside him. On his left.
Beer and cola cans hissed open one after another. The pizza disappeared at an alarming rate.
"At least remember to chew," Kyle told Megan.
"I'm hu—gry as h—ll," she mumbled through a mouthful.
Finally swallowing, she added:
"We haven't eaten all day. Wanted to finish up early."
"Don't tell me it was for me."
"Of course it was for you. And we had to buy all this stuff too!"
Kyle smiled — genuinely.
Then his gaze drifted across the nearly empty pizza boxes and stopped on one — the really good one.
The other one had olives. Displeasure flickered across his face.
Three slices left total. Megan grabbed one from the first box without hesitation. Kyle reached for one too — but didn't make it.
The last slice of his favorite pizza had already landed on his plate.
He looked at Darren, puzzled.
Darren tilted his head slightly, the corners of his lips curling into a half-smile.
"Birthday boy gets the best," he said softly.
Then he took the olive slice for himself.
"...thanks," Kyle murmured quietly, staring down at his plate.
Megan quickly cleared the empty boxes off the table and pulled the cake closer to Kyle. Then she pressed number-shaped candles into the cream: '1' and '8'.
She cleared her throat with great ceremony.
"Gentlemen and… gentlemen. And me," Megan began, barely keeping a straight face. "Today, we've gathered here for a wonderful occasion — to celebrate the birthday of my beloved little brother."
She pulled a box of matches out of her cardigan pocket.
"And not just any birthday," Megan paused for effect. "His eighteenth."
Kyle had already started rolling his eyes.
"Kyle," she continued, softer now, "you're entering a very important stage of life. A stage of change, opportunity, and growth."
Under the table, Kyle awkwardly gripped the fabric of his jeans.
"I want to wish you all the best. I hope your dreams come true, and that the challenges in your path are only ever as much as you can handle."
Her expression suddenly turned more serious.
"And one more thing…"
A short pause.
"I really want you to find good people to surround yourself with. Real friends."
"Me-e-eg," Kyle groaned, practically hiding his face.
"Okay, okay!" she waved it off. "The point is… I just want you to be happy."
For a moment, her voice went quieter. More genuine.
"And no matter what happens — I'll always be on your side."
Kyle looked away. His fingers tightened harder beneath the table.
Once she finished, Megan looked expectantly at Darren.
He straightened slightly and turned to Kyle.
"We haven't known each other long," he began calmly. Then, quieter, "But hopefully that's temporary."
A brief silence followed. A faint shiver ran across Kyle's skin at those words.
Darren was watching him too closely. Almost burning.
Kyle suddenly became painfully aware of his own hands — damp palms, fingers that no longer knew what to do with themselves.
"But even in this short time," Darren continued more gently, "I've realized that you're a really capable guy."
A small smile appeared on his face.
"And I think you'll achieve anything you actually set your mind to."
A slight pause.
"You just have to believe that yourself."
Darren lifted his beer can in a loose imitation of a toast and took a small sip.
"Brevity is the soul of wit," Megan muttered under her breath.
She quickly struck a match.
The candles lit up in soft golden light. The smell of sulfur and smoke mixed with the lingering traces of pizza, sweet cream, and alcohol.
"Make a wish," Megan said quietly.
Kyle stared at the candle flames. The tiny lights trembled faintly from his breathing.
What did he even wish for?
Did he even have the right to wish for anything at all?
He wasn't sure.
But maybe…
If there were people beside him who wished happiness for him — then maybe he had the right to want something for himself too.
Even if only a little.
Kyle slowly closed his eyes. The light faded behind his eyelids. He drew in a slow breath.
I want to live my own life.
He opened his eyes and blew the candles out.
A thin curl of smoke rose and disappeared near the ceiling.
Eighteen.
He shifted his gaze from the smoking candles to Megan — who had stayed beside him for so many years, through everything. Through family pressure, her role as an heir, and all the limits placed on her.
Then he glanced briefly at Darren.
The thought came a second later.
A new person. Strange. Unreadable.
Dangerous.
It wasn't the first time the thought had crossed his mind.
He looked at Darren again — lingering on his blue eyes for only a second.
He drew a deep, deliberately quiet breath — almost held back. His fingers slowly curled and released.
Yeah. He was eighteen now… There was so much waiting ahead of him. And he still didn't know if it would be good or bad.
His attention returned to the cake. Megan had already taken out the candles, leaving only thin indentations in the cream.
The crease between Kyle's brows finally smoothed out. His shoulders dropped slightly.
And for the first time all evening, he let himself smile — properly.
"Thank you," he said quietly.
Then, a little more firmly:
"Really."
His voice still sounded careful. As if he were afraid to scare the moment away.
"Happy birthday, Kyle," Darren said with a soft smile.
He was already leaning lazily on one hand, a faint warmth clouding his gaze from the beer.
"Happy birthday!" Megan added right after him.