genre: bff au; romance; angst
"he will always be my soulmate; but she will always be his."
apart from my family, lucas is also my bestest friend. i've had a few folks but i've watched them come and go as they please. lucas never left. despite distance and circumstances, he stayed.
it all started one spring when my family decided to spend our habitual excursion in south korea. i met a virtual friend four months back and he actually lives in seoul which is where we'll be staying for the rest of the vacation. i gave him a heads up about this trip and we planned to meet since he promised he'd tour me around the city. no other people knows how i'd be stoked to finally see him other than my family. i told them about him and they can't wait to meet him as well.
lucas and i happened to get along with most of our interests. music preferences and books most likely. followed by our gluttonous appetite and passion for adventures. he calls me piña since it's my favorite topping on a pizza, while i call him picante 'cause he just loves spicy food.
he messaged me a few hours before our plane left from our place saying that he's super excited to take me on a pizza date because of this "delicious pizza that tastes like heaven." too hyped and lost for words, i responded with a gif of an excited jennifer aniston.
the moment we stepped out of the passenger boarding bridge, the first thing i did was quickly connect to the airport's wifi. after we took our luggage from the conveyor, i informed lucas that we already arrived. he only sent a smiley face as a response. i thought he was busy so i never bothered to message him back.
"hey, sis. he looks like your friend from the photo. isn't that him?" my older sister nudged me as we went down the escalator. i quickly turned to where she was poiting and saw a tall, big-eyed boy in a leather jacket and a beanie holding a placard with a "WELCOME TO MY HOME, PIÑA!" on it. he grinned so wide that i feel like i saw all his teeth, like every single one of it.
i gasped and covered my mouth in awe. i left my bags on the side and rushed to him as he welcomed me to his wide embrace. he carried me and twirled me around as i wrapped my legs around his waist. it's like seeing your best friend after a long time of separation; except, it was just our first meeting, and it already felt like we've known each other our whole lives.
when he put me down, i squealed and he just shyly laughed at me with his large hand trying to cover his large smile, a habit of his that i've gotten used to from our weekly video calls. everything about this boy is large. my sister scoffed from my side. "piña? seriously, this guy's weird." they shook hands and i introduced him to the rest of my family. "she actually calls me picante so we're even." my sister side-eyed me with a look of cringe plastered all over her face.
"i didn't know you'd be here, oh my god! sorry the flight got a bit delayed. how long have you been waiting?"
"just a few hours, but it's no biggie. what matters is that you're finally here."
"what?! don't you 'just' it, dude! you've waited long enough!"
"i wait for you like everyday just so we could talk? damn, timezones. but i mean, what's new? seriously, it's nothing." i gave his arm a playful punch and boy was he thicker than ice. he took the trolley from me since i looked like i was having a hard time making it work.
"you've been working out a lot. how's our diet going?" he smirked as he shows off his biceps.
"tss. cocky." i mumbled and he just giggled.
it was my third day in seoul and lucas and i went on our first date. pizzas. looking at him eat, i wonder where all the food went after he swallows them. his digestive capacity really is impressive. no wonder why he's so big for his age.
"i'm serious. last time we talked about her you guys weren't going along pretty well. did you do what i told you to do? the surprise?" he just shook his head, eyes busy on the food in front of us. "yeah, you're right. let's talk about it some other time." i shrugged.
our deal was to tour seoul but we got carried away and travelled to busan. we spent the entire day there strolling around the pink fields and took the bus again back to seoul before dark.
"by the way, did you bring the book?" he asked. we sort of made a deal where we exchange our favorite books to each other so one knows what's there to love about.
"yep, i brought it. here." i handed him my copy of rainbow rowell's eleanor & park and in exchange, he lent me his copy of seven pleasures by willard spiegelman.
"you know, at first, i've never really seen you as someone who reads."
"hmm, judgmental." he smirked.
"i don't read. i just started this year 'cause i think reading kills time. conveniently."
"you think?" i scoffed. "what made you love reading, lucas? answer me seriously this time."
"i am serious. me and my girlfriend usually fight, you know that right? and i thought, i should use my time reading books instead if moping over her. at least i'm getting something from it. not my loss." he shrugged.
"you talk like you don't care about her."
"well, she acts like she doesn't care about me either so, win-win."
"how bout you? i thought you already broke up with that asshole?"
"i don't know. sometimes i want to but ughhh!" i threw my hands in the air in frustration. lucas tailed after me to the hotel room while my sister was out shopping for cosmetics. he closed the door behind him and sat beside me as soon as i lazily plopped myself on the bed.
"you know, if you're having doubts about breaking up with him or not, just do it. break up with him." i sat up in a jiffy and eyed him suspiciously.
"easy for you to say. if you're so laid back about your relationship with your girl then don't tag me along to your game."
"i'm thinking about breaking up with her anyway." he kept tossing the rubber ball he found on the bedside table in the air.
"i found out she was cheating. it's been months now. she has me wrapped around her fingers. dammit, i was so dumb to not see the signs."
"she would get jealous if i hung out with my college friends who are mostly girls. but seriously i'm not even doing anything wrong. we're just catching up. but she would go over the line all the time. when she's the one who's been doing some crazy shits behind my back." i bit my bottom lip with a frown.
"i'm sorry, lu. why didn't you tell me this?"
"and be another burden? nah. you've got enough problems with your guy, i don't wanna join him." i deeply sighed, a look of concern on my face. i scooted closer to his side and buried our legs in the comforter. "c'mere."
he obediently complied and moved closer to me. he laid his head on my shoulder while my fingers play with his hair. his hand on my waist, hugging me like a kid holding on to his pillow for dear life.
"she doesn't know that i'm already aware of her acts. i plan to keep it that way."
"to be honest, i don't really know."
we're halfway through with the one-month trip and lucas would join us sometimes with our daily stroll. my parents loves him. they'd even buy him sweaters and hoodies just because he mentioned it one time that he likes wearing them.
"seriously guys, he's not your son. but you've got two daughters here, hello."
"oh sweetie, you and your sister got plenty."
"lucas can buy them for himself! he's got a mom you know."
"honey, he'd be our son soon anyways. aren't you two a lovely couple? i bet lucas here will ask for your hand anytime soon. isn't that right, lucas?"
and the dork just smirked at me. i rolled my eyes at him and left the boutique to look for some distractions.
i went inside a bookstore. unsurprisingly, lucas followed.
"hey, what book do you want to buy next?" he popped up from behind me.
"you done with the sweater shopping?"
"i'm not! but forgive my mom though, she loves the idea of her daughters getting married."
"nah, it's cool. i kind of actually thought about it."
"you and me." he playfully winked.
"ew! gross! asshole go back to sweater store!"
he just laughed. god i swear his cheeks are really flexible. how can he grin that wide?
"let's be serious. what book do you wish to buy next?"
"harry potter and the cursed child."
"a book about figuring girls out."
"'cause i don't get you sometimes." i punched his thick arm and he bursted in laughter again. god, i swear this boy.
"but dude, my heart though."
"you stole it and i need it back. or should i go call the police and tell them i got the thief in front of me?" i scrunched my nose in utter cringe. he walked closer and threw his hand over my shoulder.
"come on, grumpy. let's go get some ice cream."
"before you leave next week, i'm going to give you something to remember me of." lucas placed the other pair of his earphones to my ear as we lay down the white sand. today's a beach date where we just have to spend the entire day on our bikinis and summer shorts.
"a playlist. you have to promise me that you'll listen to them. they're my personal favorites." i smiled at him and he held my hand that was resting on his side. he carresed his thumb at the back of my palm and gave it a gentle massage.
"your hands are so cute."
"that's because yours are big."
"nah. yours are really small for an average girl." i rolled my eyes and yanked my hand away from his grasp. but his hand found its way to mine again.
"i'm just kidding. but really, it's so cute." he carried my hand in the air, and compared the size to his. slowly, his hand moves on top of mine again and his fingers softly brushed against the spaces of mine. he intertwined our hands and let it stay like that for a little while.
"nice song." i whispered.
"yeah. sorry it's a bit different from all the other songs in the playlist."
"no it's fine. what's it called?"
"me too. hey, we should go strolling tonight. just go around the beautiful buildings in the city and see what it looks like from up above."
"that sounds great, lu. can we do it every night for the rest of my remaining week here?"
"of course. anything you want, y/n."
lucas and i stood at the edge of building with our elbows leaning on the railings for support. i have to admit, it is pretty beautiful up here.
"it's your first time doing this, am i right?" i giddily nodded. "how is it?"
"i don't want to go home!" i yelled through the busy streets and the wild lights of the city.
"then stay. we could do this every night and lots more." he softly answered.
"i know. i'm sorry." he heaved a sigh and bended his body, palm supporting his chin.
"lu.. what do you think would happen if we broke up with our partners?"
"that's so random, y/n. what's bothering you tonight?"
"well, you know what they say. curiosity killed the cat."
"since it's random, why don't you answer it?"
he stood up straight and stuffed his hands inside his pocket while he exasperated.
"then it's over. we'd both be sad. either way it's going to be miserable."
"what if we won't be? what if it turns out the way we didn't expect it to be?"
"okay y/n. what's your point?"
"no i'm just saying, what if the solution to all these heartbreaks is the breakup and not reconciliation?"
"then we'd both be happy. case closed."
"are we still gonna be friends after it?"
"what? of course, y/n! there's no doubt about that. the breakup, it won't change anything. it won't change what we are and what we have now."
"really? that's all we're gonna be? just friends?"
"where are you going with this?"
"what do you think would happen if we both stepped over the line of friendship?"
"let's call it a day, y/n. come on, i'll send you back to the hotel."
i pulled his wrist, stopping him from leaving when my heart was already a shattered mess. i shouldn't be feeling this way. this is wrong. but curiosity got the best of me. and being the masochist that i am, i kept talking.
"lu, we're just talking. no harm done here. you're not like this when we talk about deep stuff late at night via phone calls. maybe you're the one who's bothered tonight."
"y/n, i know we're close. and we've been getting a lot closer lately. but i'm sorry. this is all we'll ever be."
"don't apologize, lu. like i said, no harm done. and it was just a silly question anyway. nothing more."
we both stayed dead silent for a minute, waiting on whoever gets to talk first. we've never been this awkward. and in that moment, i just wanted to jump right off the edge.
"c'mon, lucas. let's go back."
spending time with lucas was really fun that i forgot my boyfriend back home. it feels different with lucas. he makes me feel safer than i already was. today's my last day and we'll be leaving first thing in the morning. i didn't bother to tell lucas becuase i don't want him to wake up very early just to send me back. he's done too much already.
but knowing him, he wouldn't miss the chance to see me, despite the tension we had last night.
we arrived early than our check-in time. but lu came earlier than us.
"you've got to be kidding me." he opened his arms, gesturing me for a hug and i rushed to him. he carried me for a while as his embrace started to get tight.
"i'm gonna miss you." he whispered softly in my ear. he buried his face on the crook of my neck, sniffing my scent. "i'll miss everything about you."
"hey, ssh, you're telling me these as if we won't see each other anymore. jeez, lu. i'll be back soon, okay? thank you for making my stay here very special."
"but you'll go back to college for another course you've been wanting to take. you'll get busier."
"we can still facetime each other. i promise i will still have some time to spare."
"facetime's different. it's different than seeing you up close and touching your skin like this." he pulled me in again for a tighter hug. "i never really got the chance to say this to you. and even if i had, i don't think i'll be able to let these words out of my mouth. but i..."
"i... i care deeply for you as a friend and that i'm really really concerned about your well being and i-"
"oh, honey you could just tell her you love her." my mom interrupted. lucas chuckled and turned to me again.
"so uhh... i guess this is goodbye for now. take care of yourself, you silly pineapple." he kissed my forehead longer than i expected and his lips stayed there for a little while.
"come back for me, okay?"
"i'll come back for you, lu. i promise."
