Imperfect Desires

Xiu silently watched as Dylan and Nora shared the stories about their mothers. Xiu laughed to the point of tears that's how funny their stories were. However, those weren't tears of joy, those were tears of sadness instead. She was envious of both of them for having amazing mothers.

Even though both their mothers nagged them all the time, for Xiu, that was a very special thing. She wiped the corner of her eyes discreetly. She didn't know what kind of a relationship Destiny had with her own mother but hers wasn't anything special.

"Since both of your mothers have the same hobby of insulting you, why don't you both start dating?" suggested Xiu, languidly looking around. Dylan scoffed while Nora dropped her knife. Seeing their reaction, Xiu added, "It will keep your mothers busy with each other and they will let you off the hook."

Dylan and Nora looked at each other for a minute before both of them shook their heads in sync and said, "Nah."

Xiu found their response quite funny. She never thought she'd suggest something like that. But she had seen the way Nora and Dylan interacted. They understood each other very well and that's why she thought they'd make a good pair. However, they didn't agree with her at all.

"Why won't you date my best friend? What's wrong with her? Don't tell me that you're looking down on her just because she dates around a lot." Xiu's strike was directed towards Dylan who felt like he was being wrongly accused yet again.

Dylan snorted in reply, "Please, I can't possibly judge her for that. We live in the 21st century. Besides, if I had to judge someone I'd do that with my own best friend. Darren's dating history is no joke."

Xiu's face fell again as he said that she looked like she was on the verge of tears as she said, "Are you trying to indirectly tell me that my boyfriend found someone else there and now, he's abandoning me?"

"Huh?" Dylan was dumbfounded more so with her intonation than her words as he said, "How did you come to that conclusion? Hold it, Darren might have dated a lot in his teenage years but he had never been the kind of person who would keep a girl guessing where she stands in his life."

Xiu believed his words without a single doubt but came back to the original point, "Then what's your issue with Nora?"

Nora propped her face on her hand and stared at Dylan asking, "Yes, Hedi. Do tell us. What's wrong with me?"

Seeing Nora's amused expression, he was really irked but he still replied, "Honestly, nothing is wrong with Nora but she and I can never work out. It's just that... Sometimes, first love leaves no desire for a second one."

"Ah, you're one of those people," said Xiu with a hint of sympathy in her voice.

"What kind of people?" The one to question that was Nora but the question had been at the tip of Dylan's tongue as well.

"You still dream about the ones lost in your memory, fabricated by your nostalgia and romanticized by your broken heart," she scoffed to herself and went on, "Didi, I suddenly find you very miserable. Stuck in an old love that's no longer yours, doesn't that hurt?"

Considering how she had been stuck in the past for a long time herself, she felt like she had no right to question him. But since she knew the feeling of being stuck with some feelings, she could understand him deeply. 

"Love doesn't guarantee happiness. Besides, I can't possibly forget her just because it hurts," replied Dylan.

"And just because it hurts doesn't mean you should give up on finding love again," retorted Xiu in the same way. She looked at her best friend, looking for some support as she said, "Don't you think so, Nora?"

"Yeah, what's your take on this Nora?" Dylan looked at Nora and provoked her in the same way she did earlier. "Who do you think is right? And don't try to be biased."

Nora saw Dylan's provocative look and Xiu's genuine curiosity and sighed heavily. "I think you both are right in your own way." She turned to Dylan and added, "Feelings don't have a switch button. You can't possibly forget someone just because it hurts." Then she looked at Xiu and went on, "Yes, giving up is not an option either."

Dylan scoffed at her for taking the safe route out of it while she narrowed her eyes at him in a warning. Xiu wasn't paying attention to their childish staring fight as she said, "Then what about you, Nora? My boss can't date you because of some old flame. What's your reason for saying no? He's not that bad."

Nora smiled at the way Xiu complimented Dylan and said, "I told you before. For me, there are only two categories of boys. One, those that I can kiss and second, those that I can't bring myself to kiss." She looked at Dylan and said, "He falls in the second category. I can't bring myself to kiss him. I can't even imagine it. It just doesn't feel right."

Xiu actually felt dejected that they both weren't willing to give it a shot. But remembering her own pitiful state, she decided not to say anything. Her phone rang and she looked at the screen. It was a private number, she frowned but picked up the call, "Hello?" No one answered from the other side. Xiu again called out, "Hello? Who's it? If you're calling then say something as well!" The call disconnected and Xiu was left puzzled. This was the third blank call of the day. Annoying!

She looked up and saw how both Dylan and Nora were engrossed in their old stories and became curious, "I was wondering, you both seem quite close. How come you both lost contact with each other?"

As Xiu voiced out her question, Nora's body stiffened and even the color of her face shifted. The one to answer was Dylan as he said, "I also have the same question. She went to the United States and that's when we lost contact." 

"Oh, you mean when Nora took a break in the second year of college and went to the United States for four months but ended up staying for like 7 months?" Xiu's question was directed at Dylan who nodded in reply while Nora stayed silent. 

"Excuse me, I have to use the restroom," Nora excused herself and ran away from them. It was obvious that she was running from something. But Xiu or Dylan didn't notice her change at all.

After she went away, the rest of the two fell into tacit silence. It was obvious that they were gonna bicker if they even tried to be civil, so keeping quiet was the best option.

 Xiu's phone rang again and she annoyingly picked it up and yelled, "Who is it now?"

"Your boyfriend," came the reply.