CHAPTER 5

Since that day, the rhythm between the three of them quietly shifts. Stacey, encouraged after that cafe hang out, becomes bolder. She texts Perth directly, asking him out for coffee, movies, or simple strolls in the evening. Perth, being his usual polite self, agrees without much hesitation.

For Santa, it's the perfect excuse to step back. If Stacey wants her time with Perth, then there's no reason for him to tag along. That's what he tells himself anyway.

So he rarely engages in group messages. When Stacey asks if he wants to join, he waves it off with a casual "Nah, I'm busy, jee". And when Perth tries to engage, his answers become short, never rude, but just enough to keep a distance.

At night, however, it's harder to lie to himself. He replays the look in Perth's eyes that day, the warmth of his hand on his wrist, the way his chest tightened.

He tells himself it's just confusion, just a passing moment. But the silence of his room, the faint echo of his own heartbeat, makes him wonder, 'Why does it hurt so much, knowing jee is with you now?'

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Santa's POV

The days feel quieter without Perth around him.

Of course, Stacey fills the silence with her cheerful updates, "Hehe, Perth took me to this cafe today", "Ta, we watched that new movie last night! It was so good!".

Santa listens, nods, pretends it doesn't affect him. On the surface, he's the same younger brother, calm, teasing, protective.

But underneath, something breaks piece by piece.

He tells himself this distance is good. That giving Stacey her chance means he can finally sort out the storm inside his chest. Yet every time his phone buzzes, he hopes it's Perth. Every time he hears Stacey giggle while texting, he wonders if Perth is on the other end.

And worst of all, every night when he closes his eyes, the memory slips back in. Perth's grabbing his wrist, Perth's voice asking, "Are you mad at me?" and "Because, you're important to me." The way his heart raced like it would break out of his chest.

He's not that clueless anymore. He knows what this is.

He just wishes he didn't.

So he keeps his distance. He avoids their hangouts. He convinces himself that, with time, the feeling will fade. But deep inside, he already understands the cruel truth, he's falling for his phi.

And Stacey... She doesn't deserve to be hurt by that.

"God, what should I do...?"

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Perth's POV

At first, it didn't hit him. Stacey messages more often, pulls him into little outings, and he goes along easily. She's fun, she's kind, and it feels natural.

But after a while, he notices something missing.'It's quiet. Too quiet.'

He doesn't remember when Santa stopped tagging along. The group chats are filled with Stacey's stickers and jokes, but Santa's replies are rare, short, almost mechanical. When Perth scrolls back, he realises it's been days since Santa last sent him a private message.

It bothers him more than it should.

Even when Stacey laughs across the table during their hangouts, Perth catches himself wondering, What would Santa say right now? When a random meme makes him laugh, his first instinct is still to send it to Santa, until he hesitates, remembering the unread messages piling up.

He tells himself he shouldn't think too much about it. Maybe Santa is just really busy. Maybe he's giving Stacey space. But the uneasy feeling lingers, twisting in his chest like something left unfinished.

Because without Santa there, everything feels a little emptier."It feels boring without your laughs, ta..."

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It's been more than two months. They continued with their usual daily lives, Stacey and Perth still hung out a lot while Santa was inside his own world. Remember their exams on the previous chapters? As expected, Perth and Stacey passed with almost perfect scores. Santa also, surprisingly, passed all his exams with a really great improvement. Most of his friends and classmates didn't believe it, including some of his teachers. Well, at least he is finally able to breathe in relief.

In the group chat...

Santa's POV

Jee-Jee 💖: "Ta, Perth and I got perfect scores on almost every subject! I'm so happy😆"

Santa: "That's great, jee. I'm really happy for you :D"

Jee-Jee 💖: "What about you, Ta? Have you gotten your result?"

Santa: "Well, not all. Currently I've only received math, english, and chemistry."

Jee-Jee💖: "How was it though? Are they ok?"

Santa: "Yep, no worries, jee. I got 75% and above for all of them."

Jee-Jee 💖: "OMG REALLY? I'm so happy for you Tata! We definitely have to celebrate it!"

Jee-Jee 💖: "@Phi-Perth Thanks to you! Aren't you proud, teacher~?"

(Perth, who has been reading the messages, smiles through the screen, feeling happy and proud for his nong.)Phi-Perth: "Yes, congrats, Ta. I'm glad you passed your exams 'beautifully'."(Santa, reading the unusual way of Perth's typing on the word 'beautifully', suddenly remembers something.)

-Quick Flashback-

"Who said I'm here just to disturb? I'm here to study as well."Perth looked at him mockingly, shocked, "Hah, you? Study? Don't make me laugh. You literally almost failed on every test.""And that's why, since it's my final year of high school, I want to fix it." Santa sided eye him, gave him his iconic smirk while feeling super proud."Well, I wish you the best of luck-" Perth pauses for a second.

"Cause you really need that. It will take a whole village to fill that empty head of yours." He reached Santa's head and gently knocked it a few times, as if looking for any noise from inside.Santa pushed Perth's hand away, "You'll see. I will pass them beautifully and you won't be able to talk-trash about me anymore."

"Wanna bet?"

"What will I get from someone as boring as you?" He scoffs.

"Anything you want. As long as it's still logical and humane. Just don't ask me for anything funny." "Hmm.."

Santa looked up for a while, considering, an idea crosses his mind. A small grin appeared, puffing his cheeks a little. "You sure? Anything? It doesn't have any deadline, right?""Hmm. As long as I still remember it. But if you fail, you'll have to be the one granting my wish.""Heh, Deal."

-End of Flashback-

The bet.

The silly little bet that he made with Perth without any thoughts behind it.

If they were still in a good relationship, that would have been great. He would have asked him to buy him some expensive figurine or even do funny dares with him. But, things are far more complicated now.

He has been avoiding Perth since forever, he rarely opens and replies to his reels, and even his messages. Back to Group Chat:

Jee-Jee 💖: "Tataaa we need to celebrate, ok?? I'll plan something after school!!"

Santa: "Alright, jee 😄 Just tell me the details."

(Santa puts down his phone, thinking the conversation is over. But a new notification pops up, this time from a private DM.)

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Private Chat Between Perth and Santa:

Phi-Perth: "So... what are you going to ask for?"(Santa stares at the message, his heart lurches. Perth really still remembers about the bet.)

Santa: "??"

Phi-Perth: "Don't play dumb. You said you'd pass beautifully, remember? You won the bet."

Santa: "That was months ago."

Phi-Perth: "And? I told you I'd remember."

Santa: "I thought you'd forgotten..."

Phi-Perth: "How could I? A promise is a promise."

(Santa hesitates. He wants to brush it off, saying he doesn't need anything. But at the same time, his chest feels heavy, half guilty, half... yearning. He types, deletes, retypes. Finally, he settles on something vague.)

Santa: "I'll think about it."

Phi-Perth: "Don't take too long. You studied hard for it. At least let me reward you."

(Santa grips his phone tighter, cheeks warming. The word "reward" lingers in his head longer than it should.)

'God just take me already... I'm not your strongest soldier.'

End of Santa's POV..

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-Santa's room-

Santa tosses his phone onto the bed, but it doesn't stay there long. His eyes keep glancing to the screen, waiting for another notification, another bubble with Phi-Perth's name. When nothing comes, he groans and buries his face into his pillow.

"Why now? Why would he remember that stupid bet now?"

The truth was, Santa remembered it too. Every word, every smirk Perth had given him that day. He remembers the warmth in his chest when Perth promised, so casually, "If you pass beautifully, I'll give you anything."

It had been half-joking, half-challenge. But Santa had treated it as his fuel to study even harder.

And now, when the words actually come back... he doesn't know what to do.

"I should just ask for something small. Something safe."

"A snack? or maybe a book voucher?... anything but the truth." He feels like crying. (well, more like the author who wants to cry for him...〒▽〒)

But the truth is louder, he wanted time. He was the way Perth used to sit beside him, the way he'd tease him until he laughed without realizing. He wants to ask, "Stay with me again. Don't go."

He clenched the pillow tighter."But what if he doesn't mean it like that? What if I ask, and it ruins everything?"

"What if...He doesn't even see me that way?"

The glow of his phone tempted him again. He randomly types, "Can I ask for 'you'?" His heart is pounding like crazy, before he quickly locks the screen and throws his phone across the other side of the bed instead.

"No. Not yet. It's better if he thinks I'm still deciding."

But even as he closed his eyes, that word replayed in his head like a secret he wasn't ready to say out loud.

Reward.

And deep down, he knew the only reward he truly wanted was Perth himself.---------------------------------------------------Perth's POV

A notification buzzes, and Perth instinctively reaches for his phone. He unlocks it, expecting another routine message from Stacey... but what he saw made his heart skip a beat.

"Can I ask for 'you'?"

Santa just sent that message to him.  

He blinks, squinting his eyes hard. Re-read it. Blinks again.

Confusion washes over him first. 'Did he... mean what I think he means?' His brain scrambles for a logical explanation, but none comes.

And then... warmth spreads through his chest. A small, unsteady smile appears at his lips. He even almost jumps out of his bed. (Author would too tbh...)

Santa, of all people, actually asked. For him.

His mind is in a mess now. Excitement, disbelief, and a little thrill of something new. It feels reckless and sudden, and yet... it feels right.

Perth swallows hard, trying to steady his racing heart. His fingers hovered over the keyboard, wanting to reply, but not trusting himself to sound normal. He's asking me... me.

A strange, light feeling settled in his chest, confusing and happy all at once, and for the first time in months, Perth didn't want to hide it.

Santa's POV

Santa's phone buzzes again. Slightly confused, he picks it up, heart already racing. The screen showed Perth's reply:

"Do you mean what you said?"

'Huh? What is he talking about?'

He is still clueless as why do Perth even sent that message, when he realised what he just sent his phi.

The words hit him like a bucket of ice water. His chest tightened, his stomach dropped, and for a second, he felt like he could disappear entirely.

'DAMMIT, since when did I even press send?!' cursing at himself.

He buries his face in his hands, wishing the earth would open up and swallow him whole. His fingers had betrayed him, typing and sending something he wasn't ready to admit out loud.

"I didn't mean to... I wasn't ready... Why now?!"

He peeks at the screen again. Perth's name glows patiently, expectantly, waiting for an answer. Santa's heart pounds like a drum in his ears.

And somewhere deep down, even under all the panic and regret... a small, dangerous part of him hoped Perth won't laugh it off.

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OK THIS CHAPTER IS VERY LONG AHHAHA 〒▽〒 I had mixed emotions as I was writing this and I didn't even realise that it has gotten this long oops..

Anyways that will be all for today's update hehehehe 💖I hope this chapter stirs your feelings just like how it stirs mine HEHE

Any comments and suggestions will be greatly appreciated eheheh LOVE YOU 💞💞💞