"What's with your long face, woman?" Chris asked jumping down on Ava's bed who was sitting leg crossed in shorts and a loose long sleeved grey top curled at the cuffs with hher books and notes. It's been few hours since they had returned from the hospital and Mason called him to come and check on the girl who had locked herself in the room in self-crippling depression and hadn't come out of her room since her return.

"Your dad must be worried sick to call me. So, tell me what has got you in this pathetic Juliet mood?"

"I am not pathetic!"

"So, who is it? That doctor?" Ava just shrugged and chewed on her lower lip.

"Baby, you have got it really bad." Chris clicked his tongue and made a sound of mock pity to tease the girl.

"I haven't!" She snapped and closed her books.

"Please, denial is only half affirmation."

"I do not have a hopeless crush, nor I'm dying out of some unrequited love..."

"Could have fooled me." Chris remarked.

"...I just wanted to see her and properly say goodbye to her, that's all." Her voice raised which could ended the argument between the two, but Chris wasn't having end of it.

"Oh No, you have got it worse."

"Shut up!" She smacked him with a pillow who picked the pillow and hugged it to his chest.

"What about you?" She changed the subject back to him. She still had to ask him about his black eye and bruises.

"What about me?" It caught him confused.

"You have got a purple eye."

"Really?" He jumped up from the bed, and rushed to see his face in her mirror gasping in horror. "When did this happen?" And Ava rolled her eyes at his over-dramatic ass.

"Chris, no need to lie to me."

"David punched me." Ava quirked her brow at him in question."I might or might not have flirted with your father."

"Please, don't tell me!" She flopped down on the bed with a pillow on her face and groaned before Chris plucked the pillow out of her grasp.

"But I'm telling you." Chris insisted as he let out a laughter.

"Whatever, but what about those around your neck?"

"I have had a rough night, got banged up good."

"Someone really banged you up to silence?"

"Old men are like that." He muttered looking around the room. He didn't want to this conversation with her.

"You sleep with an old men? You do know they are really cracked up psychotic who..."

"I did not woman! What's wrong with you?" He cut of Ava's random babbling, who instantly closed her mouth suddenly feeling insulted.

"It's just Aaron's father's way of showing his gratitude for taking care of his son." He finally spoke and Ava shifted uncomfortably on the bed.

"Does Aaron know? I don't think it's his first time for..."

"Aaron can't know. I don't want him to come to hate his own father."

"Do you love him?"

"Who? Aaron's father?"

"What are you little...I'm talking about Aaron!" Ava slapped his arm in anger earning an ouch from Chris

"Why would I love him? I have a fine taste in men." Chris bemoaned, rubbing his arm in pain.

"So proud of yourself for having Aaron, huh?" Ava knew how to push his buttons into talking.

"He is just A friend." Chris spoke stressing on 'a' and Ava had a good reason to roll her eyes at his stupid antics. "There's nothing between us."

"Denial is only half affirmation." She retorted back.

"You can't use my own words against me."

"Fair is fair. Have a taste of your own medicine, lover boy. Besides, it is only you who thinks there's nothing between you two."

"Aaron doesn't love me. He has grown accustomed to my presence and has got naive idea of being in love with me. It's a fleeting feeling that would pass. One of us has to be responsible here."

"Don't make me laugh, you bullshit me."

"I am not lying." He was getting tired of having this conversation with Ava.

"Then what is it? You're reducing his feelings towards you as a mere lust but I can tell you're too afraid to sleep with him even for one night."

"Why should we?"

"Should you not? Dissolve the sexual tension between you two and sleep it off with no strings attached. But you're scared, Chris. Scared enough that it wouldn't mean anything between you two, that he'll lose his interest in you once he gets sex from you and it'd be you in the end picking up pieces of yourself."

"Don't...don't talk about it."

"Okay."

"So..."

"So?"

"On the scale of 1-10 how much are you smitten with your doctor?"

"Chris!"

_

Aaron was sitting on couch with a mug of coffee in his hand, waiting for Chris to return home in the living room. It was 2:30 am and the Chris hadn't returned, neither did the other male answer his calls and texts which worried him. He had almost dozed off lying on the couch, when the door opened and Chris entered inside living room from the foyer and Aaron slid off the couch, placing his mug on the table and ran towards Chris.

"Where were you? You weren't answering my calls and texts I got worried." Aaron asked taking in the boy's disheveled look and flushed face; shirt buttoned wrong in a rush half tucked in his belt and red hickeys on his neck which didn't escape his notice made Aaron curl his hand at his side in anger.

"I  went to see Ava, then was out with Jake. He didn't like it when I'm on phone."

'Of course, you were with your new love interest.' But Aaron bit back a retort, not to sound immature. Chris walked past Aaron towards the stairwell before Aaron asked him from behind.

"Have you eaten"

"I am not hungry." He nonchalantly answered and climbed the few steps before Aaron spoke again.

"I have not eaten." Chris stopped midway and turned to face the other male who just shrugged. " I can't eat without you." Shame from the events of night and making Aaron stay hungry curled into his stomach. He was torn between shouting he didn't ask him not to eat, and running down to grab the other man in a kiss, instead he said,

"Let me take a shower first." Aaron nodded going inside their separate kitchen inside the living portion of their house and Chris went upstairs to his room taking a quick shower and changed into clean clothes, loose pants and grey shirt before going downstairs into the kitchen when Aaron was heating dinner in the microwave. He pulled out the bowl of orange beef cooked in red and green chillies and set it on the table with boiled rice and grilled chicken.

"I have asked the servant to put leftovers in the fridge for us. Do you need anything else? I will get the salad." Aaron didn't wait for Chris to answer and stalked up to the fridge grabbing bowl of salad and sodas for them.

He passed the bowl of beef to Chris and put rice in his plate before filling his own plate and dug into eating.

"You're quiet. Did something happen with your friend Jake?" Aaron forced out Chris' friend's name . He stole a glance towards his hickey resting above his collarbone and a bile of bitterness formed in mouth.

"Nothing." Chris said when he wanted to scream 'You'. Everything was wrong and it's Aaron's fault.

"Do you like beef? I asked them to prepare it for your especially since..."

"Stop! Just stop okay!" Chris finally snapped.

"What's wrong?"

"You are wrong. Why are you acting like as if we are boyfriends?"

"Chris..."

"You kissed me in the hospital what the hell did you mean by that?" Chris shouted

"Are we talking about that now?"

"Yes, since I lost my appetite it's what I can do." Chris put down the spoon and fork on the table and Aaron sighed pushing his own plate away.

"I did kiss you because I like you. I thought it was obvious?"

"I am with Jake."

"You didn't care about him when I kissed you!" Aaron accused scoffing at Chris' hypocrisy. He could become a good liar if he tried too, but for Aaron he wouldn't.

"We are in open relationship." Chris defended gulping down water from glass nervously and tried not meeting the other male's gaze.

"So you're getting a good fuck from him while enjoying the kiss I gave you. You're hilarious." Aaron mocked his laughter which made Chris fum up in anger.

"You are the one who forced a kiss on me."

"So am I wrong in this if we care for each other?"

"Caring doesn't mean we like each other, Aaron!" Chris barked pushing back the chair and stood up to leave the table.

"For how long are you going to lie to me and yourself?"

"There is no lying!" Chris shouted losing all of his temper and rubbed his face in a nervous gesture of being frustrated at Aaron.

"You are just my friend, Aaron. We are just friends and there's nothing to it." He left from the kitchen and ran upstairs to his room. Aaron remained seated alone in the kitchen with dinner and clenched fork in his hand.

If Chris cannot admit his feelings for him then he can force him to admit.