My Straight Best Friend Thinks It's Bro Stuff novel · Chapter 14 of 24
Chapter 14: Past Midnight
Tang could not find him anywhere.
He checked the flat on Phoenix Lane, the dark taping room, the canteen, the river path and the bench by the East Gate.
He ran into Aunt Lin outside the Old Natatorium, with her scarf over her head and her handbag clutched in front of her.
"He's not at the restaurant," she said, before he could ask. "I called. Go and look where you'd look."
Tang stopped on the pavement.
He thought: where would I go, if I had never said it?
It was close to midnight when he was climbing the fire stairs of Building 9, out of breath.
The roof door was propped open with a brick.
Fu was sitting on the parapet at the far side, in his sweater and glasses, with his back to the city lights.
The notebook was open on his knees.
Tang stood in the doorway and could not speak.
"You took a long time," said Fu, without turning.
"I went to the wrong places. I'm not a detective."
"No."
Tang walked across the gravel and sat down beside him on the parapet, a hand's width away.
The air was freezing.
Below them the lights of the campus went down toward the river in orange rows.
"I'm angry with you," said Fu.
His voice was very even, and his hands, Tang saw, were not.
"I know."
"I made myself a promise," said Fu. "I promised I would never take your friendship by surprise."
"For three and a half years I did everything correctly."
"Tonight he read it out in front of three hundred people, and you stood up on a stage and said it before I could."
"You'd never have said it," said Tang.
"No."
"Then somebody had to."
"I wanted you to choose it," said Fu. "I wanted to watch you choose it when nobody was pushing."
"And now I'll never know if you would have."
His voice broke on the last word.
The rest of this chapter is part of the paid portion of the series. Chapters 1–12 of My Straight Best Friend Thinks It's Bro Stuff are free to read — start from the beginning, then unlock the rest with coins in the app.
← Chapter 13 · All chapters · Chapter 15 →
Want to keep talking to characters like these? Chat with AI romance characters: AI Boyfriend · AI Girlfriend · Dark Romance · Fantasy Romance · BL (Boys’ Love) · Billionaire Boyfriend · Mafia Boyfriend · Possessive Boyfriend · Hockey Boyfriend · Older Boyfriend · K-Drama Boyfriend · Anime Boyfriend · Vampire Boyfriend · Werewolf Boyfriend · Demon Boyfriend · Fae Romance · GL (Girls’ Love) · Anime Girlfriend · Goth & Alt Girlfriend · Gamer Girlfriend · Tsundere Girlfriend · Fantasy Girlfriend