Silence fell upon the four of them for a long while and they could swear that they saw a black crow fly past them.
"Is he the one?" Aspen asked again as if he was yet to realize the weight of his question. Berry cleared his throat awkwardly as his face turned into a very light shade of pink. Amelia saw this and she cooed loudly.
"So both of you already kissed?" She asked, squinting her eyes at the two of them.
"They did not kiss!". Aspen shook his head calmly, "this weird man kissed Berry yesterday at the bar. He refused to let Berry go and cling to him like a child". His tone was filled with disdain that the three of them felt shivers run down their spine. Only Aspen could deliver that effect.
Stuart was speechless. All it took was one night to destroy his perfectly built image. Who knows how many people saw what he did? If a 'blind' man like Aspen could see it, it wouldn't be much of a problem for the others.
"You saw that?!" Berry's voice was raised without knowing because of how shocked he was. He thought that his friends were all distracted because they were drunk but Aspen, the only sensible friend he had, saw it.
"I saw it. I saw everything!" Aspen confirmed before turning to look at Stuart with peering eyes, "And what were you thinking, taking a man like him home with you? He could have done something to you!"
At this point, Stuart could not bear it any longer. At least now he knew that Aspen was not blind and could see clearly and was not disabled in any way. He did not have to feel bad saying some negative words to him.
"I know what I did was wrong but I was drunk. I had no…"
"Now you are making excuses?!" Aspen cut him off again with a slight frown. "You should take responsibility for your actions, not cover them up with some excuses!"
Stuart's lips were parted in disbelief. Why was no one willing to listen to him? He looked at Berry for help but the latter was smirking and even raised his eyebrows at Stuart. Stuart sighed in defeat. Aspen was right. He should take responsibility for his actions.
"I am sorry. I only kissed Berry because he looks a bit like my ex-boyfriend".
"Your ex-boyfriend must be really handsome then!" Amelia chirped as she slung her hand around Berry's shoulder and touched his cheek. It was work for Stuart not to roll his eyes. "And why do you say sorry? We asked you to take responsibility, not apologise, right Aspen?" Aspen blinked multiple times when he heard Amelia. He had intended to make Stuart apologise but now that he heard Amelia, he couldn't help but sneak a glance at Berry.
The tip of Berry's ears was red, and his face was a light shade of pink. He was biting his lower lip softly as a shy smile played on his lips. He would be really blind if he did not understand what this meant.
"... Right! I did not ask you to apologise".
At this point, Stuart was confused, "then what am I supposed to do?"
"It's very simple. Marry him!" Amelia declared with a straight face like what she said was not outrageous to the ears of anyone who heard her.
"What?" Stuart was shocked. He wanted to believe that his ears were not functioning properly. Why else did he hear Amelia asking him to marry Berry?
"You heard me…" Amelia began again but Berry stopped her. "I think I just saw your husband there. He must be looking for you".
Hearing that her husband was looking for her, Amelia ignored the rest and held her dress in her hand before striding towards where she thought her husband would be but only after sending Stuart a glare that made him shiver.
"Aspen, you should go too". Berry suggested and even began to push aspen but he refused to budge.
"It's fine if you don't want to get married to Berry. You can be his boyfriend. Marrying you or not is Berry's decision to make". He said solemnly before walking away with hands tucked into his pockets.
Stuart almost fell. The series of things he just heard was enough to send him to the hospital for some head treatment. How could those people ask him to marry their friend? All because of a stupid kiss!
"Are you alright? You don't look so good". Berry commented when he saw how Stuart was struggling to keep standing. He led them to one of the benches and sat him down before walking away to bring some water.
"Don't mind my friends, they were just being silly". Berry spoke as Stuart helped himself to the water. His lips curled up in a smile when he saw the unmasked disbelief etched on Stuart's face. "Hungry?" He asked as he gently patted Stuart's shoulder like he was dusting off some dirt. Stuart only shook his head.
"When can we go back home?" He asked but when he saw the overflowing affection that suddenly appeared in Berry's eyes. "I meant to ask…"
"I understand what you said". Though he said that, Berry still looked like a love-struck fool.
"I feel like you don't!"