Chapter Eleven: He Made a Dream With Him

They awkwardly went out of the car and strutted to the mall. People's glances kept going toward them. Keith was in his casual sweater and denim jeans, bringing out his youthful charm, especially when he smiled with those cute dimples on his cheeks. On the other hand, Drake wore a stylish denim jacket, a white v-neck shirt under it, and tattered black jeans. His height and unruly hairstyle with his over-the-top savage and handsome face made him look like an angsty teenage protagonist, rich and rebellious but with daddy issues. Nevertheless, they both looked delightful in everyone's eyes.

They ignored other people and chatted about the movie they wanted to see and their expectations from the film. Instead of buying popcorn and soft drinks, they went to the supermarket to purchase junk foods they prefer and cans of soda and water bottles because the popcorn and soda they sell by the movie theater were so expensive for their quantity and taste.

Keith paid for the snacks while Drake paid for their movie tickets. They chose to watch a 2D sequel film of an anime series adapted from a light novel they previously watched along the lines of romantic heterosexual mainstream films.

"Should we buy tissue first?" Drake asked, omitting the endearment because they are in public.

"For what? In case our hands get dirty from all these jerkies?"

"No. In case the ending is really, really sad." Keith laughed at Drake's cute concern. He has read the novel, cried tons, and a box of tissue was not enough to quell the heartache brought by the story's ending.

There are still thirty minutes before the movie starts when Keith checks the time. "I hate to spoil you, but you'd definitely need a lot to wipe your tears later." He smiled at the denouement Drake's about to face. He's been there. Just hold on. "I'll buy them for you. Wait for me here."

Before Drake could speak out to go with him, Keith handed the bag of snacks to him already and left. He had to go to the ground floor to buy tissues, which was too bothersome for him. So, when a glass stand full of handkerchiefs caught his eyes, Keith immediately opted for something Drake could reuse. Practical and environment-friendly, he thought.

People would think that gays are naturally sharp in fashion and design, but Keith doesn't have that. All his clothes and belongings, if not handed down from his sisters, Kyrie, Kylie, and his mother, did all the work to dress him up like a decent human being. The handkerchief's design looked the same to Keith when he looked through the glass. They're all dark colors. Different shades, but Keith doesn't recognize that.

So he asked the sales lady who approached him to help him since he looked interested in their display.

"How may I help you, sir?" She asked in a cute voice.

Keith scratched his ears because he felt weird hearing a Lolita voice from a tall mature woman. "Uhm… how much is this?" Keith nervously pointed to a navy blue handkerchief.

She smiled and answered, "You have a good eye, sir, this set is on sale with a 45% discount, and you can buy it for 150 dollars."

Keith immediately pulled 150 NT$ out of his pocket and handed it to the lady, but the lady blushed really hard at the sight of his money. "I meant 150 US dollars, sir."

"Fuck!" Keith can't hold back from cursing anymore. Due to his good looks, many people have been looking at him. It was the first time it dawned on him that a piece of cloth capable of wiping crocodile tears can amount to 150 US dollars after a 45% discount.

He tried to salvage his face and forced a smile on them. "Sorry. I'm not interested anymore. It's so cheap." And he left as fast as he could to the ground floor and picked up a bundle filled with tissue rolls… it was on sale, and he paid 99.9 NT$ for it. The sales ladies from the store before smiled when they saw Keith strutting with a big bag of tissue rolls.

When he came back, twenty minutes had already passed. He immediately spotted Drake's head in the middle of five young ladies. They're dressed really cute. Two of them have long curly hair, two have ponytails, and one girl with a pixie cut. From how they dressed and their mannerisms, it is evident that they are rich cultured girls who probably studied in the international schools nearby.

Keith got annoyed in an instant. He pulled Drake and handed him the tissue rolls. "These are too much! Is the ending really going to be a tearjerker?" Drake didn't know how to laugh or cry when Keith bought too much.

"Of course, Miyuki will die after all." Keith spilled the beans.

Drake's jaw dropped... Keith told him before that Miyuki is the heroine's younger brother. Keith would only share little bits from the movies, animes, and drama they watch from time to time. He doesn't spoil to the extent of revealing who will die, so he's back to indifferent Keith from the tone of his voice. He felt nervous and riddled. 'Why is my baby mad?'

"Really? Oh my god, that's so sad. I really love Miyuki's character in the anime, and it's a bit hard to take when he's actually going to die at the end of the movie." The girl with a pixie cut interjected with the conversation. She looked so sad with the news.

"Miyuki did not show up within the 12-episodes in the anime. He was only mentioned in the conversation between Touka and Kirara in episode eleven. You can't map out his character from a brief foreshadowing from that scene." Keith's tone did not change, and his expression worsened at how pretentious this girl could be without learning the facts first. He really wanted to add a lot of fucks in the sentences, but he's holding back.

The three other girls awkwardly laugh to save their friend. "OMG! You got found out, Alice!"

"You are Keith, right?" The girl with short bangs and ponytail asked with her cheeks blushing and a charming smile. They're all beautiful ladies, but she has the most gentle smile among all of them.

Keith looked at drake; his eyebrow was raised. "They asked who I was with," Drake explained.

"Yes." Keith looked at her with a poker face which was slightly better than how he looked at them before.

"Oh! We haven't introduced ourselves to you yet. By the way, I'm Iris." She smiled and then gestured for her other friends to follow through.

"I'm Alice, and I'm sorry. I actually lied. I don't watch anime." She giggled as if it was funny. It was annoying as hell for Keith.

"You're a terrible liar, Alice." The girl beside her laughed at her, then looked at Keith, noticing that it was her turn now. "Oh! I'm Cassandra."

"I'm Amy." The girl with long hair said. She looked shy and reserved, clinging to Iris.

"I'm their chaperone, Tris. Iris's sister." The shortest among them smiled. "Drake, your friend is a little grumpy, just like what you said." She joked with so much familiarity with Drake. It gets to Keith's nerves observing the two's interactions.

"Where am I friggin' grum-" Keith took a deep breath. "You know them?" He asked.

"Oh. I know Tris. She's a member at Hansel's sports gym," Drake explained, and at the sight of Keith's pricking eyes, he explained further, "You know that sports gym and internet café we visited… It was Hansel's."

'Oh. Your friend's name is Hansel?'... "Okay," Keith let it go when Drake said they visited the café and the gym when they actually visited the rooftop and hooked up there. "The movie's about to start. Let's go."

The two started to walk to the theatre, but giggles followed them. When Keith turned his head, he saw them following. "You're also watching Sun Sets when you haven't watched the anime series first?" He asked. He was condescending, but they treated him as just being grumpy like Drake described.

"It might be interesting. You wouldn't know." Cassandra cheerfully countered Keith. "We can just go back and watch the anime later."

"Yeah, right! I'm definitely going to start watching anime from now on," said Alice.

Keith rolled his eyes, frowning when they entered the movie theatre. They sat on the second last row, next to the middle aisle. It was very annoying when the five sat above them in the back row. He wanted to flirt with Drake in the darkroom of the movie theatre, but with the five pairs of eyes at their back, he had to hold himself back.

"I swear, I'm not close with Tris or the others." Drake leaned and whispered to his ear.

"Then, do something to shoo them away. They're acting like your chicks, and you're their mother hen". Keith whispered back.

Then, Drake whispered again, intentionally close to his ears. "Are you jealous, babe?" He asked and bit his ear.

"Fuck!" Keith laughed because it felt so ticklish and arousing in the middle of a silent crowd. The glares made him shut up. "Sorry."

"Why did you buy so much tissue?" Drake asked.

"To wipe your tears and other little shits." He answered in his lowest speaking voice with a glance behind him when he said little shits.

"Oh my gosh! I'm so excited!" Alice giggled.

Keith, "…" He rolled his eyes at their giggles.

The movie started, and Drake's attention was on the big screen. His eyes would juggle which to see first, the subtitle or the animation. But in the action scenes, he focused more on the actions and disregarded the subtitles. Meanwhile, Alice at the back continued showing big reactions as if she's a vlogger doing reaction videos.

"No. Don't kill him….OMG!!!"

"Why? Why is he so mean?"

"Wow. They're so cool!"

"Huh? What happened? She what?"

"Oh. I get it. She did it because she has a crush on him."

Keith even opened the snacks in the most silent way possible to be considerate to others but here is someone ruining the experience around her effortlessly. Even Keith wanted to watch and enjoy the movie even though he already knew the plot.

He was already taken away from their chance to flirt in the cinema. Must she take the experience of watching the animation of a novel he likes too? The last saving grace snapped when Iris's phone rang so loud.

"Fucking shit! Turn that off and shut up!"

For the five young and 'cultured' girls who typically book a whole movie theater if they really want to watch a movie, being told off like that was traumatic. As for the other audience, who pride themselves as otaku privately, hearing a manly sadistic voice felt so satisfying.

…

Then the movie reaches its climax, and sniffles are beginning to be heard. Drake, on the other hand, opened the bundle of tissue. He took a roll, and he infinitely kept pulling the tissue papers since the tears just kept falling. The sight took all the irritation in Keith's head.

The movie ended, and Drake used one and a half tissue paper rolls. It was hard for him to stand up while the credits roll were on the screen. They both stayed until everything was over. They might have not memorized all the names behind the movie, but Drake felt so thankful to them for showing such a marvelous experience to the audience.

"I thought my heart was ready because you spoiled it that Miyuki died in the end, but I guess it's still cumbersome."

"The plot was good, right?! God, the girl at the back, kept talking nonsense too far from the plot. It makes me question whether we're watching the same movie." Keith joked it off.

"Really? I didn't notice." Drake was too absorbed in the movie, and Keith saw that. It was cute. Keith started picking up their trash after he gave Drake a water bottle. The girls have already left, and so are the others.

"Babe, you really have good taste in movies and drama you recommend me to watch." Drake smiled at Keith. The film ended, and the theatre was no longer dark because of the lights. Keith saw how red Drake's eyes and nose were. Keith bent this time and kissed Drake. A light kiss. A heart-stopping light kiss.

"Get up, babe. Let's have lunch." Keith smiled back.

Drake stood up, and he let out a laugh. He leaned on the chair to continue walking.

"What's wrong?" Keith got worried.

"My legs fell asleep." He murmured.

"Pins and needles? Ugh!"