It doesn’t take long for Aloe to forget the strange encounter.

When he gets home, there is no one there, confirming his assumption that Basil had left early on. It relieves him that he hadn’t bumped into him by accident. 

Aloe’s just not ready to face Basil yet. He isn’t confident that he can keep his emotions from showing, and even worse, he’s afraid that his frantic anxieties and panic will make him say things he’ll regret.

He needs time to prepare his heart and mind.

When he opens his phone, he sees there are a couple of texts from Basil.

[Thanks for taking care of me last night!! wasn’t any trouble was I??]

[I caused you trouble didn't I??? I’m really sorry !!]

[Did I say anything weird?]

[Really sorry…. I’ll treat you when we meet up!]

Aloe takes a deep breath, trying to calm down the onslaught of palpitations that begin plaguing him. Despite his messages being rather innocent, Aloe can’t help but feel anxiety over the thought of confronting Basil.

It’s fortunate enough that Basil doesn’t seem to remember a thing, but what if Aloe messes up and reveals it somehow? Surely, Basil would be upset at the thought of his best friend, of all people, seeing him in such a manner.

His thumbs hover over the keyboard, shaking, but he can’t think of any appropriate response. The app already displays that he’s read the message, so it would be strange if he didn't reply.

But then again, couldn’t he just say he was too busy to reply quickly?

I could.

That’s right. He’ll just reply this evening, when his heart and mind are ready to conjure up a normal response.

But when night comes, another set of messages send Aloe spiraling into his anxious mind. 

[You okay?]

[Hey could we talk?]

The first thing that comes to Aloe’s mind is that he knows.

He knows.

He knows.

Aloe grips his head tight to the point that some strands are getting pulled. But the pain feels numb in comparison to the gut-wrenching panic he feels right now. The thought that Basil may know what happened that night makes his head spin and his stomach churn.

Things could have been fine if he didn't know. With time, Aloe could easily push down the feelings that are going out of control. 

But it doesn’t go as he wants, because Basil knows.

That night, Aloe couldn’t eat anything. He ignores Basil’s messages, and when his phone rings with a call from his friend, it pushed him enough to turn his phone off for the night.

He hugs his dog Mary close, while the others surround him on different sides. They whimper with worry, but even with all the comfort they try to give, the anxiety doesn’t quite leave Aloe that night.

“I just need more time,” Aloe mumbles to himself. Over and over. Again and again, until he passes out from exhaustion.

But the time never comes. 

He keeps making up reasons, just any kind of excuse to delay their talk, even going as far as to skip all his classes that week, just so he could lessen the chances of bumping into Basil. 

The only times he leaves the house are early mornings, the time he knows Basil won’t be likely to show. Since the earliest that man could wake up was 7 AM, Aloe opts to start his walk at 4. 

With the dreary weather, it’s extremely cold, but at least the layers can shield him from the eyes all around him.

But eventually, he had to go out. 

He and Sage had planned another meeting for their group assignment, and he knew that if he didn't show up, she’d flip. It also didn't sit right with him to invite her over, because after all, wouldn’t it be creepy if some guy invited a cute girl all alone into his apartment?

He already has enough on his plate, so he doesn’t want to give anyone any ammunition to shoot down his already fragile state of mind.

If he gets kicked while he’s already down, he doesn’t know what’ll happen.

“Aloe?”Sage calls out.

Her voice is enough to snap him out of it, not because of the comfort it brings, but because Aloe is on high alert. These past few days, he’s been on edge, ready to fall at any minute, and it didn't help that he was with someone he wasn’t all that close with.

“Sorry, I was just out of it,” Aloe replies.

She hums in thought, and Aloe wonders if he had already offended the girl somehow. He opens his mouth to say something, anything, but Sage beats him to it.

“Are you okay?” Sage asks, she leans forward, placing a hand on his forehead. “Hm, you don’t seem like you have a fever…But you still look pretty sick. Maybe we should call it a day?”

“Huh?”

Sage removes her hand. “You should rest for the day, Aloe. Besides, we’ve been making good progress.”

“But I’m fine. I’m just a little out of it. Let’s head back to work—”

“Hey, hey! Easy there, buddy. I’m not going to be mad just because you’re too unwell to keep going. Come on, if you keep that up, you’ll worry that clingy friend of yours.” 

Aloe flinches upon hearing Basil be mentioned. He places a hand on his forehead, a vain attempt to try to ground his mind back to reality and away from all those dizzying thoughts.

“I’m fine, really. Just not having a good week. I’d feel bad for giving you trouble over my stupid problems.”

Sage goes silent, and for a moment, Aloe thinks she’s given up convincing him. But when she starts humming in thought, looking at him with an inquisitive stare, Aloe feels like she’s about to lay down something completely absurd.

“Well, since you’re so worried about troubling me, then I should probably show you I’m having a good time, too, yeah?”

Huh? 

Where is this going?

“Aloe, do you want to go out drinking with me?”