Nocturnal Reveries: A DiYue One Shot Collection

The Socks

"So you like him," Wang Zi Wei said.

I was caught off guard. "Excuse me? Of course not! Why would you even say that! I told you, he kept annoying me the whole time we were there and he teased me a lot! There was this one time I slapped him so hard in the back, I thought he'd spit blood – " I started laughing and stopped when I saw the look on her face.

"What?!" I yelled.

She looked at me boringly but she was smirking. "Nothing, go on," Zi Wei said.

"Come on, what is it?" I demanded.

"It's just.. Yue Yue, I just asked how it was filming in Arxan. I didn't ask about Wang He Di but you've been talking non-stop about him for the last twenty minutes. I get it, okay? You like him."

"Okay first of all, no I don't. Second, I keep complaining to you about how he was teasing me and how childish he was the entire time – "

"Look, can you stop and listen to yourself? You talk about all the teasing and hitting but you never once talked about him being rude, being mean or being disrespectful. So the way I see it, you're not really complaining, you're just telling me how comfortable you are with each other," Zi Wei said.

I was dumbfounded.

"I.. was just trying to tell you.. I was just saying that.. I had fun in there.. even if it was cold," I said in a low voice.

Wang Zi Wei laughed. "It's okay, Yue Yue. You can be honest with me. You know that. Plus, I can tell he's a nice guy. So?"

I had to pause and think for a good minute.

"Look, I never really thought about it, I don't know if I like him but I feel at ease when he's around. I don't have to act like I'm having fun, I really am having fun."

"Yeah? And isn't that true with your other guy friends too?" Zi Wei asked.

"But.. it's different with him. We joke around all the time but he does these little things that make me feel.. secure," I tried to explain.

"What about him, what does he think of you?"

Before I could answer, my phone rang. It was him. Zi Wei looked at me and smiled. "Speaking of. Answer it," she said, and I did.

"Hello?" His voice echoed through my head.

All of a sudden, Dylan's voice doesn't sound the same to me. Suddenly, it's like a lullaby slithering through my consciousness, awakening every thought I had when we were together. My heart started pounding. I started to get confused. Wait, do I really like him?

"Shen Yue, you forgot to return my socks last night," he said.

Oh crap. He let me borrow it because it was freezing cold in Arxan and I wanted longer socks.

"I'm sorry, Di Di I forgot, I'll just buy you a new one. You have so many anyways, you don't need those," I tried to sound cool.

"Are you sick? Why do you sound different?"

"Just the weather, I guess, but I'm fine."

"Rest well and don't stay up too late. And about the socks, I want that pair back. Those are my favorite," he said.

"You know we don't have time to meet up, just forget you ever had them," I answered back.

"I'll make time for you – I mean for the socks.. but maybe for you too."

I can't see him but I know he's smiling. Why the hell does he always play this game with me?

"Why are you always like this? What do you want? What's all this for?" I asked almost angrily. My head was swirling.

"Whoa Yue, I just wanted the socks back. And I just wanted to check up on you," he said.

"We literally just saw each other today, why do you have to constantly check up on me? Why do you have to do these little things that make me feel cared for? Why do you even care if my voice sounds different or if I don't get enough rest or who I'm with? Why – "

He cut me off mid-sentence and said, "I like you."

I couldn't speak. I looked at Zi Wei's direction and she was smirking and just shrugged while sipping her tea.

I can hear his breathing though the phone, it was silent for five seconds before he said, "I do those things because I like you. I didn't know when but you make me happy. Your simple but real personality got me, okay? Now can you just please meet me and return my socks," he said calmly.

"WHY WOULD YOU SUDDENLY SAY SOMETHING SO SERIOUS AS THAT, WE WERE JUST TALKING ABOUT YOUR SOCKS – " I said while sobbing.

I felt Zi Wei's hands started to gently rub my back to comfort me.

"Are you crying? Where are you? I'll go there now," he insisted.

"You're not even in Beijing you idiot! How will you go here, just go to sleep!"

"Just.. stop crying. If you're crying because you pity me, it's fine. Yue, you don't have to like me back. I just wanted to let it out because I didn't want to lie to – "

"I like you too!" I blurted out before ending the call.

Zi Wei and I looked at each other and with a silly smile on her face she said, "I told you."

She was right. I really, really, really like Dylan. (End)

A/N: Initially posted on Twitter October 17, 2018.