8

They'd gone to the cinema. Felix was disinterested as hell, but he never voiced out his thoughts. Psalm did though.

Sonia, as she'd demanded to be called, told Psalm that he was a terrible host for bringing a new friend over to his house and then ignoring him throughout. She also complained that he never did that to the twins and that it was unfair to the 'sweet Felix' who'd been all alone.

Felix wouldn't deny that he'd wanted to talk to Psalm. But if the boy didn't want to talk or was too busy, he'd let him be. There were many ways to be entertained and study.

"You're quiet."

He almost jumped out of his skin as he felt a hot breath near his ear. He'd momentarily forgotten that he was sitting in the middle of mother and son.

"Because it's a cinema," Felix whispered.

Psalm gave him a look of amusement as he watched him shove a handful of popcorn into his mouth.

"I'd initially wanted to take you somewhere tonight, but I guess this isn't so bad," Psalm muttered, Felix barely catching his words because he was trying to calm his heart rate.

The screen suddenly lit up and everyone's attention was caught. There weren't too many people in the cinema, but Felix didn't mind. But he wouldn't have minded if he were sitting separately from Psalm.

They'd watched the movie Black Panther and each scene made Felix wonder why he'd never attempted to watch it. He'd never been a fan of Marvel movies because they were mostly about superheroes so that put him off, but now… Now, he might have to take Ada's usual movie suggestions.

*****

Their next destination after the movie was a restaurant. A really fancy one. Sonia wanted them to eat out for dinner and no one, even Psalm, protested this time. The woman seemed happy with her arrangements and wouldn't take no for an answer anyway. The movie and food were probably all for her at this point.

The two boys never spoke to one another, especially not when they'd briefly brushed hands in the cinema. While Felix's mind was everywhere, Psalm seemed unbothered. It was annoying, really.

"Oh, wow."

The two had almost bumped into the older woman's back when she'd abruptly stopped.

"Mom?" Psalm asked in concern as he reached out to touch her arm.

They were already near the restaurant door. The cinema was close by so they didn't see the need to get into the car to reach the door. She turned around to face them with a complicated look on her face.

Psalm and Felix exchanged brief looks at her silence and total focus on her phone.

"Mom?" Psalm repeated.

"You two will have to have dinner without me," she said, removing her attention from her phone. "There's something I need to do."

Felix's eyes widened. "B–"

"Take this card. I'm sure you remember the pin. Anyway, use it to order whatever you want," she rushed. "And if you're uncomfortable, you can always order for a private setting."

She tiptoed to kiss her son on the cheek and to his surprise, did the same to Felix too. She smiled as she gave Psalm a card, telling them to take care.

"Mom!" Psalm called.

"Collins is going to be back to pick you up!" She said. "I'll tell you what happened later, okay? Love you!"

"Love you too," Psalm said slowly, eyes now on his nervous looking companion.

"We don't have to go in if you–"

"Let's go in," he interrupted, leading the way.

Felix quietly followed, wondering how people would perceive two young men walking into a restaurant. People were usually very judgemental.

Psalm took care of everything and it seemed like they knew him because he was offered smiles, and the manager even came out to greet him, addressing him with so much respect and familiarity.

Feeling his phone vibrate while following Psalm and the manager up the stairs, he took his time to read the message his friend sent.

Ada: Where are you? You said you'd call.

Felix: I'm at a restaurant.

Ada: ?? With who? Psalm?

Felix: Yes. I'll tell you about it later.

He knew Ada would freak out and he prepared himself for the influx of emojis and the paragraph she'd send that wouldn't be able to contain half of how she felt.

Felix: It's not a date. But it certainly is nerve-wracking.

Ada sent a laugh emoji in response.

Ada: Enjoy yourself. It's a fancy restaurant and you're not going to pay a dime for anything. In front of you is going to be one of the hottest and richest guy in school who seems to be very interested in you.

Felix sighed at the message. He wasn't sure about Psalm being interested in him though. It seemed far-fetched.

He raised his gaze to meet Psalm's head-on. It looked like his eyes had been on him for a while.

"Let's enter," Psalm said, pointing to the door they were in front of.

The manager pushed the door open with a smile on his face as he told them to ring the bell whenever they were ready to order.

The room was so beautiful and well lit. There were flowers and vases inside and the furniture looked too beautiful to have been made out of wood. It was shining. Same with the floor.

"This is nice," Psalm simply said, to which Felix nodded. He didn't think it was 'nice' though.

Now left in silence and the presence of each other, they decided to sit down. They faced each other, eyes on the fancy menu in front of them. Psalm had wanted to help Felix with his chair, but he refused. It was weird and that action made Felix go crazy on his thoughts.

Because the menu was confusing and quite intimidating for him, Felix had to admit that he had no idea what to order. After sighting that Felix had no allergies, Psalm decided to order the same thing for the both of them.

"This almost seems like a date. Except, we're not dressed properly for it."

Felix who was in the middle of gulping the sweet wine in his glass almost choked at the words he'd heard.

"What'd you just say?"

They were just served their food and the enticing aroma was everywhere. Felix didn't know whether to react to the food or the man in front of him.

"This isn't a date though," he said after Psalm repeated himself. "It's just dinner."

"Would it be a bad thing if it were a date?" Psalm asked. "I don't think it'd be bad."

"Um…" Felix really was at a loss for words.

"Why do you look so shocked?" Psalm asked, genuine curiosity written on his face.

"I don't think it'd be a date since we're of the same gender. I mean, you're not interested in men and I never said I was either," Felix rambled.

Psalm paused his usage of cutlery to give Felix an intense perusal. After a few seconds of silence, he spoke.

"If I said I was interested in you, would it then be a date?"

"Excuse me?"

Psalm continued. "And if I said I know you're gay and that I like you…what would you think?"

Felix's eyes widened.

"Fine then," Psalm said when Felix didn't respond. He dropped his cutlery, folded his arms across his chest as he let out a few words, "I like you. And I want to date you."