The next few days were awkward, to say the least. Tee's jealousy lingered in the air like an unspoken tension between them. It wasn't just his possessiveness that weighed on Nio - it was the fact that Tee seemed so conflicted about it. There was a certain vulnerability in the way Tee's walls seemed to rise and fall with every interaction they had.
Despite the tension, Tee continued to show up at Nio's side, especially when Nio least expected it. He would walk with him to class, insist on carrying his books, and sit too close to him during group projects. But when Nio would smile at someone else, he could feel Tee's gaze burning into him, sharp and calculating.
The whole thing was starting to drive Nio crazy. He wasn't used to being the center of someone's attention like this, especially not Tee's.
One evening, after a particularly frustrating study session where Tee had practically hovered over Nio, whispering comments about the assignment, Nio snapped.
"Do you always have to be like this?" Nio asked, his voice barely above a whisper but laced with annoyance. "It's like you can't let me talk to anyone without getting mad."
Tee's expression faltered, his lips pressing into a thin line. He didn't speak for a long moment, and Nio thought he had made a mistake. But then Tee's voice broke the silence, soft yet heavy.
"I'm not mad," Tee said, his eyes suddenly softening. "I just… don't want to lose you, Nio."
The confession left Nio speechless. He wasn't sure how to respond. He had known that Tee was complicated, but hearing him say something so raw, so honest, shattered the walls Nio had built around himself.