Lucian came back with an ice pack. He gently grabbed Sherdan's arms, avoiding the swelling part and gently patted it against the injured area.
He tried focusing on it, but was still uncomfortable, Sherdan's a bit too close for comfort.
He wasn't normally a 'shy' person. Rather, he's truly not a shy person. He's brazen, although it's limited to his closest friends. But normally, in general, he can still act like a perfectly ordinary person.
The only reason why he's like this, like a bashful teen, is because what he saw from Sherdan's memories made him feel like he's a creepy voyeur.
In the original timeline, there was also this typhoon, and this sleepover event. Only that in the original timeline, it was Friedde who was sleeping over. In that timeline, Sherdan also showed Friedde the guestroom.
Inside that guestroom, they almost reached the third base!. If not for a thunder startling them and making them lose their 'vigor', they probably hit a 'home run' at sixteen.
Lucian's nape felt numb after remembering it again. Knowing other people are 'riding each other' or 'making out' is different from actually seeing it in full detail!.
He felt awful, seeing other people's memories makes him feel like he's a bad guy. Like a pervert.
He never even asked for it. Sure, he's quite glad that he knows certain parts about Sherdan that others do not know, but does he really need to see 'That part' of him too?.
His ears had become red again. See, even if it is someone else, they would be so embarrassed that they will trip too!.
Sherdan saw his ears becoming red all of a sudden and was unable to figure him out. He doesn't seem to be sick, so he must be embarrassed about something?. But what? Treating his injury?.
"Are you fine? You're all red." Sherdan asked.
Lucian only shook his head. Nothing Mister Sir. It concerns him, but he shouldn't concern himself about it.
"I'm fine." He silently gulped down that lump in his throat.
Now thinking about it again, how come he was the one brought here and not Friedde?. He frowned, now he was curious.
But he can't think of a good reason to back up why he would ask Sherdan about this once he did ask. So he contemplated for a second.
"You were quite sociable weren't you?." Lucian started. He glanced at Sherdan while still patting the ice pack on his arms. He remembers it has to be 20 minutes, more than that might do harm than good, so he had set up an alarm beforehand.
"Not really. You're more sociable."
Well, that's the truth.
"Hmmm. Not really, but do you normally just let anybody sleep over like this?" Lucian asked, with a smile on his face. Smile, smile, so he will feel at ease and answer him without doubting.
Sherdan's brow raised lightly. "Not really. You weren't a stranger."
Lucian stilled. He couldn't help but feel a little happy. Well, at least he wasn't a stranger.
"Then, do you hold sleepover like this? With your friends?. I mean, your house is big and has several guestrooms. A good place for sleepovers." He laughed, getting quite nervous.
Sherdan stifled a smile. Sleepovers. His friends are all guys. Most people who enjoy sleepovers are girls.
He looked at Lucian, he had already caught up to his schemes the moment he asks whether he hold 'sleepovers'. For someone who had been dealing with schemes, he's already good at discerning an honest question from a calculated question.
Sherdan pursed his lips, he was still quite happy about finding a 'genuine' person earlier, but now that person started asking questions like this. He wonders what he really wanted to know, after all he was someone from the future. There might be something he wanted to know from his '16-year-old' self that will be useful for him.
Sherdan turned cold. He was already thinking of the worst case scenario. No matter how far his 16-year-old self had fused with his future self, the matter of trust-issue is still inside him. It was like a plague that had no cure.
"No. Nobody among us is really fond of sleepovers." Sherdan answered. He felt sour in his heart. He had been looking for someone who can be honest to him, but just when he thought he had found one, he started acting like most adults he knew.
He propped his chin with the palm of his left hand, disinterested.
"I-is that so?. Don't you have a best friend? That guy, Friedde? Does he sleepover too?" Lucian asked, and he gulped. This is where shits get real. This is where he will know whether he was successful in running around the circles for.
Sherdan glanced at him briefly. Friedde? He did, in the past.
"Not really." But he doesn't now, so he was telling the truth.
"What 'Not Really?'?!" Lucian was so surprised he couldn't help but shouting.
Not really? How come this guy is so uninterested?
As far as he can see in Sherdan's memories, Sherdan is someone who is quite 'aggressive' when it comes to their lovers. So what 'not really?'.
This is weird, truly weird.
Now thinking about it again, he only barely heard it, but he remembered Sherdan telling something about 'not doing something again' to Friedde when they first met in this timeline.
And in school, he never sees them hanging out together unlike the usual timeline.
And now, the 'typhoon event' didn't happen and Friedde was nowhere to be found.
Lucian had a sudden thought, and he indeliberately pressed harder on the injured hand than what was required.
Sherdan flinched from pain and he almost grunted. Lucian saw this and apologized.
He can't be so sure, but he had to try!. His quick-wittedness has been logging off lately. And his train of thoughts doesn't match with his 32-year-old self. Now that he had brooded over it, this is not normal at all.
If he was supposed to have come back as his 32-year-old self from the past, then how come he had lived his life this past few days so normally like his 16-year-old self?.
Although his future self is still quite sociable, he had already forgotten most of his high school friends name. But after coming back here, he communicated with all of them so normally and knows all their names like the back of his hands.
The alarm rang. And Lucian placed the ice pack back. He then walked towards Sherdan, ready to pour his heart out. It doesn't matter if he's seen as weird, but he had to make sure of this gut feeling he had. He doesn't have to worry about being sent to become an experiment subject in some labs or institute, he knows Sherdan wasn't that type of guy who would report him over this matter.
Lucian breathed in an out. Readying himself. When he had prepared himself enough, he spoke.
"I came from the future. And I know this might sound weird, but I also have your future memories. All of them."
Now, it's to do or die.