The worst part? Leon knew Richard was enjoying every second.
During break, Leon finally escaped to the campus café. He ordered iced coffee, determined to have at least one peaceful moment.
But of course, fate didn't believe in peace.
Richard slid into the seat across from him. "So, Leon. How's the love life plan going?"
Leon nearly spilled his drink. "I don't have a— Why are you even here?!"
Richard shrugged. "I'm your roommate. We stick together."
"We do NOT stick together."
"Sure we do." Richard leaned forward, elbows on the table, eyes glinting with teasing mischief. "Besides… watching you try to flirt is the highlight of my day."
Leon groaned into his hands. "You're unbearable."
"And you're predictable," Richard said lightly. "Same Leon from our diaper days—always trying to win, always trying to run ahead of me."
Leon looked up sharply. "And you're still the same Richard—always getting in my way."
Richard's smile softened for the tiniest moment, almost unnoticeably. "Maybe you just never stopped looking back at me."
Leon froze.
Richard stood, stretched, and tossed his empty cup. "Come on, we're going to be late."
Leon followed slowly, heart thumping for reasons he stubbornly refused to understand.
The rain had started without warning—thick, heavy drops pounding against the tin roofs of the neighborhood. Maya stood under the old mango tree at the corner of their street, hugging her thin sweater around herself as the wind pushed the storm sideways. She had promised her mother she would deliver the herbs to Mrs. Bako before the evening cold worsened the old woman's cough, but halfway through the journey, the skies opened like a burst drum.
She told herself she could wait it out.
But then she heard footsteps splashing through puddles, coming fast.
"Maya!" a familiar voice shouted over the thunder.
Leon.
He reached her side, dripping wet, hair plastered to his forehead. He looked half-irritated, half-fiercely worried. Leon had always been like that—brave enough to pick fights with boys twice his size, but terrified when Maya scraped her knee.
"What are you doing here?" he demanded, breathing hard. "Why didn't you wait for me? I told you to call when you had errands in the rain."
Maya blinked at him, startled. "I didn't know it would fall. And I'm not a baby."
"That's not the point."
He took off his jacket—thin but dry on the inside—and wrapped it around her shoulders before she could protest. His hands lingered there, warm and protective, forcing her still.
For a moment, they just stared at each other.
Lightning flashed behind them. Thunder followed, shaking the ground.
"We need to go," Leon said softly, guiding her closer under the tree's thick branches.
But before they could move, another figure stepped into the dim light of the streetlamp—dark umbrella, neat posture, dry clothes despite the weather's fury.
Richard.
He looked like the rain avoided him out of respect.
"Maya," he said, voice smooth, almost calm. "I came to walk you home. Your mother asked me to check on you."
Leon stiffened beside her. Of course he did. Leon and Richard had been enemies since their toddler days—two forces that could never blend, like oil and water. Where Leon was fire and instinct, Richard was ice and calculation.
Maya swallowed. "I… I didn't expect you both."
"You shouldn't depend on him," Richard said, eyes flicking to Leon with pointed annoyance. "He acts first, thinks later. You could get hurt."
Leon stepped forward, jaw locking. "And you think being cold makes you reliable?"
"It makes me smart."
"It makes you heartless."
"It makes me focused—on her safety."
Maya's pulse jumped. The rain roared around them like a crowd waiting for a fight.
Before either boy could say another word, she stepped between them. "Stop. Both of you."
Silence fell—slow but firm.
She pulled the jacket tighter around herself. Leon reached out slightly as if to steady her, but Richard angled his umbrella to shield her from the rain, refusing to be outdone.
"Thank you," she said quietly. "But I can walk home with either of you. Or alone."
"Not alone," they said in unison.
Their voices collided.
Maya sighed. "This is exactly why I didn't call either of you."
Richard's expression softened—only for her, never for Leon. "Let me take you. Your mother's expecting you."
Leon shook his head. "She asked, but I came because I wanted to."
Thunder cracked across the sky again, and Maya finally gave up, rubbing her temples. "Fine. Both of you walk me home. But no fighting. Please."
Both boys nodded, though their glares said otherwise.
And so the three of them walked through the storm—Leon on her left, Richard on her right, both close enough to shield her, both stubborn enough to refuse stepping behind.