Page 13 of The Masks We Wear
“Thanks, Superhero.” He clears his throat and looks down again. “And you?”
My smile drops. “Goin’ back down to live with my folks. Studyin’ fer a year and then applyin’ to med school, who knows where.” I shrug. “New York City has been great, but…”
“It’s a big country, a big world. You’ll find your way,” Jung says.
I nod solemnly, not wanting to think about the uncertain future. The one cricket in all of New York City chirps while we sit in silence for a minute. “It’s too bad we’re uh…graduating in a few short weeks,” Jung says.
Whoop, there it is. I gulp. “Yeah.”
“Maybe we could have…” He scratches his eyebrow, and I desperately wish he’d finish his sentence. “But anyway. The real world awaits, I suppose.”
I nod, fighting the lump in my throat. “Yeah. I reckon our lives are heading in different directions. Kind of par for the course when going to school in a big city.”
“Yeah. But you get to meet all sorts of people.”
“And learn things about yerself,” I say.
“Did I…help you learn things about yourself?”
I look up, and nod. “Yeah. I’d say you did.” Staring back at his precious face, I grin. “So thanks, Jung.” He nods and we share a tenuous smile. “Well I should probably get back in there and mingle with the team. But when it comes to you and I…”
“We can agree to keep it on the down low. We’re friends now, so that’s cool.”
A tiny piece of my heart breaks, but I sweep it under the rug. “Right. We’re both cool.”
I stand up but pause when he shifts. “Oh, and uh, here.” He reaches into his pocket and takes out the green plastic ring.
I snicker. “Oh no, darlin’. That was a gift from Superhero to Kitty Cat.”
He rolls his eyes, fighting a losing battle against a smile. “Again with the accent. Jamal…please, take it.”
He juts his hand toward me and I push it back. “What I gave is yers to keep, darlin’. Besides, you took certain parts of me I can never take back.”
His smile drops, and I don’t miss the way his cheeks turn the cutest shade of pink. After a beat, he puts the ring away and shrugs. “I should head inside to make sure Firass isn’t getting too drunk.”
He nods and power-walks away. I want to let him go, but by some instinct I grab his wrist. He turns to me, and every fiber of my being wants us to be Superhero and Kitty Cat again. I want to push Jung against the wall and beg him to give us a shot.
But no, I gotta be pragmatic. Not only are we awkward as hell without the masks on, but our lives are headed in different directions.
“Jung, you uh…” I gulp and he nods. I’m not even breathing.
“Yeah?”
I lick my lips and my heart jackhammers through my chest. “Yer a helluva a dancer. And handsome as sin. You deserve everything in life you work for.”
His eyes widen and the corner of his mouth quirks up. “Really?”
“Really. Yer special to me. And I don’t regret ever gettin’ involved with Kitty Cat.”
Before he can reply, the sound of people walking through the door pops our little nighttime bubble. I quickly drop his wrist, and we break apart as a cavalcade of horny, drunk kids walks by, paying us no mind. I guess the party is moving outdoors?
As the noise level rises, I give Jung one last tentative smile. He bows his head slightly and it’s the cutest thing.
“We’ll always have Halloween,” I say, my voice nearly being drowned out by music.
“Yeah…we always will.”
PART 8: JUNG
