Five days passed after the incident.
For five days, Flynn barely spoke, barely ate, and barely left his room. He hadn't gone to school for three days. His father was growing concerned, but every time he knocked, Flynn would only respond with the same lines—that he wasn't in the mood, that he wasn't okay, and that he just wanted to rest.
Nathan, on the other hand, was completely puzzled by Flynn's sudden disappearance. Flynn might come to school late often, but he never skipped this many days. Three full days of absence was completely out of character. Even their teachers had begun asking where he was.
Jacob was worse—he had been pestering Nathan nonstop for updates. Ever since Flynn went home that night, neither of them had heard anything from him. But Nathan couldn't give Jacob an answer because he didn't know anything either. Lately, he had even started avoiding Jacob just to escape the interrogation.
Eventually, Nathan decided he couldn't wait anymore. After classes, he went straight to Flynn's house.
When he arrived, he found Lucas outside, watering the plants.
"Hi, Uncle," Nathan greeted. "I came to check on Flynn. He's been absent for three days, and I'm getting worried."
Lucas turned off the hose and gave him a polite smile. "He's not feeling well," he explained. "He's been resting."
Nathan's brows knitted. That didn't sound like Flynn at all, but he nodded anyway. "I see..." he murmured, then took a breath. " Uncle, is it alright if I go inside and check on him? I just want to see how he's doing."
Lucas was about to say something else when he suddenly looked past Nathan, toward the side of the fence. His expression shifted.
"Oh," he said with amusement. "Your friend is here too."
"My—what?" Nathan turned around.
And there, crouched terribly behind the fence like a suspicious raccoon, was Jacob.
Nathan's eyes widened. "Jacob?! What are you doing here?!"
Jacob straightened up, completely unapologetic. "Well, someone kept refusing to bring me along and even started avoiding me—" he shot Nathan a pointed look, "—so I had no choice but to follow you."
Nathan groaned into his hands. "Unbelievable. Why would you—"
"Because you wouldn't tell me anything," Jacob cut in. "So I followed you. Simple."
Nathan could only sigh in defeat while Lucas watched the two of them with mild confusion and amusement. "Alright, you two. Just go check on him in his room."
Nathan nodded and headed to flynn's room with Jacob trailing behind him. When they reached Flynn's door, Nathan pushed it open without knocking.
Inside, Flynn was sitting at his desk—completely immersed in a game on his old laptop, headphones halfway on, eyes glued to the screen.
Nathan let out a long breath. So much for being sick.
He quietly stepped inside... then smacked Flynn lightly on the back of the head.
"Ahh—f*ck!" Flynn jerked in shock, clutching his head. When he turned to look, his eyes widened. "What the... Nathan? Jacob? What are you doing here?"
Nathan crossed his arms. "Should we be the ones answering that? You've been absent for three days... and here you are playing games."
Flynn froze. Only then did he notice the screen flashing GAME OVER. He groaned, rubbing the back of his neck before standing up.
"I'm just... not in the mood lately," he muttered.
While Nathan and Flynn talked, Jacob's eyes wandered around the room. He noticed the bed—clearly two beds pushed together—and the familiar belongings scattered on Flynn's desk.
Dylan's.
Nathan headed out first, but before Flynn could follow, Jacob suddenly spoke.
"It's Dylan, isn't it?"
Flynn blinked, confused. "What are you talking about?"
Jacob leaned casually against the doorframe. "Dylan's the reason you're like this, right?"
Flynn frowned. "How did you even come up with that? What does he have to do with me?"
Jacob's gaze swept the room again. "The layout pretty much says it all. Dylan obviously stayed here for a while, and his stuff is still on your desk. And the past few days? It's written all over his face too."
Flynn stiffened. "D-Dylan... still goes to class?"
"Yeah," Jacob answered. "I see him whenever I drop by your classroom. I don't talk to him, though." He raised both hands as if surrendering. "One wrong word and I feel like I'll end up a corpse."
Flynn hadn't expected that. He honestly thought Dylan would stop showing up to school—maybe even transfer after everything that happened. The idea that Dylan still came every day... it caught him off guard.
"I don't know what's going on between you two," Jacob said quietly as he placed a hand on Flynn's shoulder. "But judging from the way you both look, it's pretty obvious you're hurting. Both of you. Whatever it is you're going through... I hope you figure it out."
With that, Jacob gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze, then stepped out of the room to follow Nathan.
The moment he left, something in Flynn stirred, like someone had reached into his chest and twisted his heart. His pulse quickened, uneasily fast.
Was I too harsh on him?
Did I say things I shouldn't have?
Did I... misunderstand Dylan?
One question after another flooded him, each one hitting harder than the last. And for the first time in days, Flynn found himself replaying everything, wondering where things had gone wrong.