Leonard Astersin, or Leon for short. My best friend for fifteen years, but also the most infuriating and spoiled bastard I’ve ever witnessed. He burst into my room, smmed open the doors with a thud, and entered as if he owned the pce. I winced, biting back a curse.

  "Would it kill you to knock?" I asked. He didn't answer, dropping the figure in his arms onto the bed. Oh, yeah, did I mention the unconscious guy he was holding in a princess carry? I eyed the figure; fluffy hair the color of wheat, long eyeshes, slender build, wait…

  "Don't tell me." I wrinkled my nose, "That's him, isn't it? The guy you said you were pursuing. El, or whatever."

  "You're studying medicine, right? Just perform a basic check up on him," Leon said in a gruff voice.

  “But I technically don't have my license yet," I answered, raising an eyebrow. "Why not ask my uncle? Or go to a hospital."

  "Just get on with it!" Leon snapped, and I rolled my eyes.

  I didn’t argue. I wasn’t stupid, it wasn’t like Leon would tell me shit if I asked. For the time being, I just sighed and did as I was told.

  El, or Elliot, according to his nametag, was wearing a waiter's uniform, as if kidnapped mid-work. There were also blue and purple bruises next to his colrbone, and chains around both wrists. But as I've said before, I've learned not to question things. I searched around for the correct device in the leftmost drawer, and started to loosen his colr and undo the buttons to bring it closer to his chest.

  "Don't touch him," Leon growled, tightly grabbing my wrist.

  His hand felt cold and painful against my skin. I twitched, startled, before shaking him away.

  "You're the one who told me to check up on him." I said, clicking my tongue in annoyance. "How am I supposed to do that if you won't even let me touch him?"

  "Do it without undoing his clothes, then."

  Medical checks are typically easier when you’re allowed to touch the patient, but here we are, I guess. And did I mention the chains?

  I pricked his finger with a small needle and fed the info into the scanner. Pinched from an acquaintance, it was an old model, but not unusable. Meanwhile, Leon watched me like a fucking hawk, ready to swoop in if I made contact with his precious El for too long.

  “Elliot is malnourished and weak,” I said absently, ”but otherwise the scanner didn't detect anything wrong with him. The blood test, however, that's another matter."

  I scowled at Leon. "A milligram or so of zolpidem tartrate with added soltsmize compounds to pronounce the effects. In other words, he was drugged around six hours ago."

  Leon looked away and didn't reply, which only confirmed my suspicions.

  "You kidnapped him. What the hell’s wrong with you?"

  Okay, time off. I admit, Leon and I have had our fair share of fucked up fun. We’ve blown stuff up and danced along the lines of legality before. But kidnapping? And drugging someone against their will? And wanting to fuck them? That was reckless. That wasn't something that could be brushed off; that could fuck Leon up completely, and I couldn’t believe he was acting so nonchant about it.

  I adjusted my gsses, trying to calm myself. Not to mention the impact this would have on Leon’s reputation, there was his family. God damn it. Leon already had a fucked up situation with his family as it was, and I was hoping things wouldn’t get any worse, but here we were.

  I gnced at Elliot, my eyes burning with anger and annoyance towards the guy. I knew it was irrational—he was just a victim, but still. “And why are you getting me involved?”

  Oops. I may have accidentally said that st part out loud.

  Luckily, or unfortunately, Leon didn’t care about my anguish. I watched him shrug off my words and reach for some healing balm, as if this was just another average day.

  "So El's alright?" He asked, sounding concerned.

  I tried not to let it get to me, but my voice sounded sharper than I meant it to.

  "Yes, he's alright, but I'm more surprised he hasn't woken up already. He's only inhaled a tiny amount of the drug, and soltsmize typically reduces the duration of the effects. The only reason he's still asleep is because this guy—" I prodded him coldly, ignoring Leon's gre. I was still annoyed at him, "hasn't been sleeping properly. I mean, look at those dark circles."

  Elliot mumbled and tossed over. Then his eyes fluttered open and blinked slowly.

  I raised an eyebrow. He gnced behind himself, and his eyes widened as they made contact with…you guessed it, Leon. At least now I knew for sure the drugging wasn’t voluntary. And that expined why Leon was so against going to a hospital.

  I clicked my tongue anxiously. Should I call Uncle? But I just knew he would make a huge fucking fuss, and it would be easier if everyone kept their mouths shut. That, and Leon never snitched when it was me who fucked up. My eyes narrowed.

  Shit, what was I supposed to say in this situation again?

  "Oh, you're awake." I gave Elliot my most charming smile, trying to ease his wariness, “Leonard brought you here after you fainted. Do you feel any pain?"

  He certainly didn’t look okay. The poor guy seemed to be experiencing nausea. He raised his hands to his forehead, mumbling, "No. Leon…ard…"

  I nodded, carrying on, “I've taken the liberty to search up on your medical records, but it looks like you don't have any. Do you have any history of diseases or illnesses—”

  That snapped him out of it quickly. I watched as the trembling hamster stood up, his eyes regaining focus.

  "I've never been to a hospital before, so, um, no records." Elliot shook his head, "And I’m absolutely fine, so... I’m going home."

  "El, please, no," That was Leon. His voice was sweet to the point I felt sick, and he pced his arms around Elliot’s waist, making him flinch.

  "Don't touch me.”

  Leon looked completely heartbroken. I gnced at his expression, studying it with distaste and curiosity. I could tell he was trying his best to look as pitiful as possible, but it evidently wasn’t working against Elliot. At all. It was kind of funny. Even while knowing the situation was a terrible one, a part of me pitied him, and a part of me tried not to snort mockingly.

  Instead, I nodded, masking the small grin tugging at the edges of my lips, grabbing my pen and notepad, “Remember to tell me if something pops up ter, and I’ll take care of it. Just wait a second, I’ll pass over my number—”

  "Do I need to pay?" Elliot asked.

  "Don't worry about any fees, Rowan's an old friend. And no need for exchanging numbers, I'll handle all of it." Leon shook his head, finally opening his mouth. This time, I was the one who gred at him.

  Was he… suspecting me? That fucker?

  Of what? Of potentially harming Elliot? I would never—okay, to be honest, the thought did pop into my head for a moment there, but still. Leon was the one who drugged the poor dude, not me! I was acting nice!

  I paused, jotting down an extra sentence on my note before putting it away.

  “Take some tea before you go...” I added, ignoring Leon’s unhappy gre, handing a cup over to Elliot. My eyes narrowed in surprise.

  There was a clink.

  The cup I was handing over completely shattered. Leon and Elliot both recoiled.

  Accidents happen sometimes, especially when your friend decides to kidnap someone one day. Then you drop a cup or two. Leon furrowed his brows, distracted. I took the opportunity to shake Elliot’s hand in a friendly manner, slipping him the note as I did so.

  “Bye, El.” I smiled sweetly, letting go before Leon noticed. Elliot quickly shoved his hands into his pockets nervously. He gnced back up at Leon, who was in a visibly bad mood.

  “Don't call him like that,” Leon snapped.

  “Are you jealous?” I teased, shaking my head. My voice was light hearted, but my eyes carefully searched Leon for signs he’d noticed anything. If he did, he didn’t show it. He was ignoring me, heading towards the door, grabbing onto his crush’s shoulder.

  “Really, you should talk things out with Elliot.” I added. “Please don’t do something like this again in the future—”

  Leon smmed the door behind him, not responding.

  I let out a frustrated sigh. regretfully looking down at the broken cup on the ground. It was one of my favorites, but it couldn't be helped. It had died with honor. Come to think of it, Leon was actually the one who gave it to me as a present on my tenth birthday, though I doubted he remembered that.

  My lips pursed together thoughtfully as I recalled the moment, long, long in the past, just a distant memory by now. I should ask him to buy me a new cup. Not now. Maybe after this entire farce ends, when Leon comes back to his senses.

  I stood up, my hands hesitating before reaching for my phone, and I typed in Leon’s name into the search engine.

  Oh, right, I almost forgot; I have to clean up the broken porcein first.

  StoneInky