"What's up with you?"
Juan looked up from his phone, "...nothing."
"Are you sure? You look sick."
"...my friend's ignoring me." Juan sighed, rubbing his tired and sunken eyes, "...I don't know what I did."
Caspian slumped beside him, "...is it the guy you were talking about the other day? What was his name again?"
"Oren."
"Right. That friend since high school.." Caspian offered him a can of plum tea, "You said he goes to the central college right? He must be busy."
"...but it's been…weeks."
Ever since Juan went home after the first day and proudly displayed that he was capable of making other friends to Oren, the latter had been acting distant.
He barely showed up to his house on weekends and was also ignoring his texts and calls. Juan had let him be for a few days, wondering if he needed some space.
But he had noticed earlier this morning that Oren's texts had gotten shorter and shorter as days passed, and starting at some point, he was left on seen.
Caspian reassured him that there was a high probability that it was nothing serious and once again, Juan set his phone down and focused on his conversation with his friend, occasionally glancing at the blank screen. No matter how much he looked at it, it never lit up.
When Juan went home, he was surprised to see Oren on the front porch. He rushed to his friend, "Oren?! Where have you been, you idiot?"
Oren smiled at him, a little startled at his loud voice, "Hey, buddy."
"Don't you dare hey buddy me! I've been calling you like crazy!" Juan grabbed his shoulders, "What happened? Let me see, are you hurt somewhere—"
"Juan," Oren said calmly, his tone reassuring Juan a whole lot, "I'm fine. College has been stressful, that's all. Sorry about missing your calls and messages." He waved his phone lightly as they entered his studio apartment, "...I saw your texts though. I'm so glad you made friends. Tell me about them."
Juan wondered if he was imagining it, or did Oren sound sad?
He glanced at his friend before brushing it off, "Those three are idiots, I tell you!" He snickered as he recalled the embarrassing accident Seraph had gotten himself into earlier that morning, "But they're nice to be around. I joined their club and there's not many people. It's fun!"
"Really? That's great."
"Yeah! You should really meet them!" Juan beamed, "I think you and Cas would get along well! He's just like you."
"No way," Oren grabbed the glass of cold water he had taken to drink, gulping it down in one go, "No one can be like me!"
Juan chuckled, "What? Jealous that I made friends?" He teased as he snatched another glass, "You're the one who encouraged me. Don't regret it."
Oren rolled his eyes, smacking his arm playfully before slumping on the couch, the TV remote in his hand, "What do you want to watch?"
Juan passed by him, "We should watch this new movie that came out! Seraph loved it. Kaia said he bawled his eyes out, so I want to see what it is and tease him later." He grinned, "It's called The Onyx. Put it on, I'll wash up quickly."
"...okay."
Juan paused by his room door, stealing another glance at his friend. He knew it, he sensed something was wrong. Oren's voice lacked the usual warmth, was college too stressful for him? He quickly joined his friend's side, the two spending hours watching multiple movies.
In the middle of the night, Oren ended up falling asleep and Juan stared at the blank TV screen. He sighed softly, closing his eyes to enjoy the silence.
Although he has come to cherish his three friends from college, this was still the best. Silent nights like these reassured him that Oren was still here.
He covered Oren with a blanket, "Night." Oren hummed sleepily and Juan chuckled, retiring to his room to sleep.
The next morning, Juan is woken up by the scent of a delicious breakfast. He found Oren roaming around in the kitchen as he used to do every Sunday morning and smiled, "You didn't have to. We could order in."
"For breakfast? You must be loaded, Juan. " Oren laughed, "Did you secretly get rich when I was away?"
"Not rich, idiot. I joined part time with Caspian's help. He works at this convenient store close to college. It helps a lot with extra expenses."
"...your friends are nice to you, huh?"
"They are. They're amazing." Juan reassured him, "Are you worrying?"
"...tsk, why would I?" Oren passed him his breakfast, "Do you want to go out later? We could go pick some groceries."
"Oh, sorry. Can't." Juan sighed, "Have a team meeting with the movie club. Everyone's planning on going for dinner after. Monday after classes?"
"...I'll be busy on weekdays." Oren ruffled his hair as he made his way to the living room to grab his sweater, "Make sure to stock up and don't starve."
"..what? You're leaving already?" Juan frowned, "...what about your—" The door slammed shut, " –breakfast?"
Something was definitely wrong.