ABIX Support
Chapter 17 – ABIX Support
They didn’t announce it.
They didn’t sit everyone down like a corporate briefing.
They didn’t say we have something to tell you in a dramatic voice.
Because Belle couldn’t bear the idea of her heart becoming a spectacle.
And Aleem–Aleem had a deep allergy to anything that felt like performance.
So they did it the only way that felt safe.
They just… showed up.
And told the truth in the middle of an ordinary day.
It was a Tuesday night.
Nothing special.
No birthdays.
No celebrations.
Just a message in the ABIX group chat:
Crystal: OKAY I AM STARVING. Supper?
Ivan: Where?
Crystal: Anywhere with carbs. I will die without carbs.
Belle: I can do supper. Somewhere near my place?
A beat.
Aleem: Okay.
Then Crystal:
Crystal: WHY YOU TWO TALK LIKE OLD COUPLE NOW. “Okay.” “Okay.”
Ivan replied immediately:
Ivan: Because they are emotionally stable.
Crystal:
Crystal: DON’T USE BIG WORDS ON ME.
Belle stared at the chat, cheeks warm.
Not because Crystal had said “old couple.”
Because the word we had been floating between her and Aleem for a week now, quiet and real.
Belle looked up from her phone.
She was in her room, sitting on the edge of her bed, fingers twisting the strap of her sling bag.
Supper.
ABIX.
The safe place.
But tonight, she could feel the truth pressing against her ribs.
If they didn’t tell them soon, it would start to feel like hiding.
And Belle didn’t want to build anything on hiding.
Aleem’s message came a minute later.
You okay telling them tonight?
Belle’s heart beat faster.
She typed:
Yes. But… no drama.
His reply was immediate.
No drama. Proper.
Proper.
Belle exhaled.
Okay.
They met at a prata place near Belle’s estate.
Plastic chairs.
Ceiling fans.
Aunties calling orders across tables.
The kind of setting that made everything feel grounded.
If she had to say something scary, Belle was glad it wasn’t in a fancy restaurant with mood lighting.
Crystal arrived first, already talking.
“Okay, I want two kosong, one egg, one cheese, one–”
Ivan cut in calmly, “Crystal. You don’t need five.”
Crystal stared at him. “Don’t tell me what I need.”
Ivan blinked. “That’s cholesterol.”
Crystal sniffed. “That’s joy.”
Belle’s mouth twitched.
Then Aleem arrived.
He greeted them normally.
No special glance.
No lingering near Belle.
Proper.
But when he sat down, he chose the seat beside her.
Not touching.
Just… beside.
Belle’s fingers tightened around her phone.
Her heart hammered.
Ivan’s eyes flicked to Aleem’s seat.
Then to Belle.
His expression didn’t change.
But something in his gaze said: Noted.
Crystal noticed too.
Of course she did.
Crystal’s eyes widened.
She leaned forward slowly like a cat sensing movement.
“WAIT,” Crystal whispered loudly. “WHY ALEEM SIT THERE. He normally sit opposite for balance.”
Ivan sighed. “Crystal, it’s a chair.”
Crystal stabbed her finger at the table. “No. This is pattern disruption.”
Belle’s cheeks burned.
Aleem’s expression remained calm.
He looked at Crystal and said, evenly,
“Because there’s no seat there.”
Crystal glanced around.
There were seats.
She narrowed her eyes.
“Liar,” Crystal whispered.
Ivan muttered, “Let him live.”
Belle swallowed.
This.
This was why she was scared.
Crystal turned everything into a scene.
But maybe… maybe ABIX could handle a scene.
Because ABIX had handled grief.
They could handle love.
Belle inhaled slowly.
Then she did what she had learned to do.
Honesty.
Not loud.
Just clear.
“Crystal,” Belle said softly.
Crystal froze.
The softness in Belle’s voice made her still.
“Yes?”
Belle’s heart hammered.
She glanced at Aleem.
He nodded once.
Permission.
Okay.
Belle looked back at Crystal.
“We…,” she began.
Then her throat tightened.
She tried again.
“Aleem and I are… trying,” she said quietly.
The word was deliberate.
Not dating like a headline.
Not together like a declaration.
Trying.
Slow.
Proper.
Crystal stared.
Her mouth fell open.
For once in her life, she didn’t speak.
Ivan didn’t react at all.
Which was, in itself, a reaction.
He simply picked up his kopi and took a sip.
Then he said, calmly,
“Okay.”
Belle’s throat tightened.
Okay.
Crystal finally found her voice.
“WHAT.”
Ivan sighed. “Crystal.”
Crystal ignored him.
She pointed at Belle, then at Aleem, then at Belle again.
“YOU– YOU TWO–”
Belle’s cheeks burned.
Aleem spoke gently.
“Crystal,” he said. “No shouting.”
Crystal froze mid-breath.
She whispered, aggressively, “HOW TO NOT SHOUT WHEN THIS IS–”
Ivan cut in, voice flat. “When this is predictable?”
Crystal snapped her head toward Ivan. “Huh?”
Ivan looked at her. “You have been making ‘lovebirds’ jokes since Hokkaido.”
Crystal’s eyes widened further.
“So you knew?!” she hissed.
Ivan shrugged. “I suspected.”
Crystal turned to Aleem. “YOU?”
Aleem’s expression stayed calm.
“I didn’t want to assume,” he said.
Crystal turned to Belle.
“YOU?”
Belle’s cheeks burned.
“I…,” Belle started.
Crystal’s voice softened suddenly, like someone had flipped a switch.
“Belle,” Crystal said quietly. “Are you okay?”
The question landed differently from her yelling.
It landed like love.
Belle’s eyes burned.
She nodded quickly. “Yes. I’m okay.”
Crystal stared at her for a long beat.
Then she exhaled.
“Okay,” Crystal whispered.
Okay.
The bridge.
Then Crystal did the most Crystal thing possible.
She grabbed Belle’s hands across the table.
Belle flinched from surprise.
Crystal squeezed hard.
“First of all,” Crystal said, voice shaking with emotion she refused to admit, “I will kill Aleem if he hurts you.”
Ivan muttered, “That’s not how support works.”
Crystal glared. “That is exactly how support works.”
Aleem didn’t laugh.
He didn’t get defensive.
He simply nodded.
“Fair,” he said.
Belle’s throat tightened.
Crystal’s eyes flicked to Aleem.
Her voice changed again–gentler, quieter.
“And I will also kill Belle if you hurt him,” Crystal added.
Belle blinked. “Huh? Why me?”
Crystal sniffed. “Because you are powerful. You don’t know, but you are.”
Ivan sighed deeply. “Can we not talk about murder with prata?”
Crystal waved him off.
Then she leaned forward, eyes sharp.
“Okay,” Crystal said. “Explain. Properly. I want timeline.”
Ivan groaned. “Crystal–”
Aleem cut in calmly, saving Belle.
“We’re not doing full timeline,” he said.
Crystal glared. “Why?”
Aleem’s voice remained gentle but firm.
“Because Belle doesn’t need to relive everything like gossip. We’ll tell you what matters.”
Crystal froze.
Then her eyes softened.
“Okay,” she whispered again.
She leaned back, hands raised in surrender.
“Fine. No gossip. Just… confirm: you both happy?”
Belle swallowed.
Happy was a big word.
She wasn’t healed.
She wasn’t floating.
But she was… held.
She glanced at Aleem.
His gaze was steady.
He wasn’t asking her to perform happiness.
He was letting her choose truth.
Belle turned back to Crystal.
“I’m… not fully okay,” Belle admitted softly. “But… I feel safe.”
Crystal’s eyes shone.
Ivan’s gaze softened slightly.
Aleem’s jaw tightened, like the word safe mattered more than any romantic label.
Crystal nodded slowly.
“Okay,” she said. “That’s enough.”
The prata arrived.
Life resumed, because life always did.
Crystal poured curry like she was blessing the table.
Ivan reminded her not to spill.
Aleem ate quietly.
Belle’s appetite came and went.
But she found herself eating.
Because she was nervous.
And because she was trying.
Halfway through supper, Ivan looked at Aleem.
“What’s the plan?” Ivan asked.
Crystal stopped chewing immediately.
“YES,” she whispered. “Plan.”
Aleem didn’t flinch.
He answered with the same calm he used for everything.
“Slow,” he said. “Private. Protected space. No unnecessary noise.”
Crystal nodded solemnly like he had just recited scripture.
Ivan asked, “Have you told your parents?”
Aleem’s jaw tightened.
“Not yet,” he said.
Crystal’s eyes widened.
“Wah,” she whispered. “Boss level.”
Belle’s stomach tightened.
Aleem glanced at Belle briefly.
A quiet reassurance.
Then he looked back at Ivan.
“I’ll tell them when it’s stable,” Aleem said. “When Belle has had time to learn. When we’ve had time to… be sure.”
Ivan nodded.
Then he looked at Belle.
“And you?” Ivan asked.
Belle’s throat tightened.
“My parents know we’re friends,” she said. “They know ABIX. They’re… close. They’ll ask.”
Crystal leaned in. “What will you say?”
Belle swallowed.
She remembered her mother’s texts.
Eat properly.
Don’t disappear.
Okay.
Belle’s voice came out small.
“I’ll tell them… when it’s time,” she said. “But I don’t want them to feel like I’m leaving them.”
Aleem’s voice cut in gently.
“You won’t,” he said.
Crystal nodded firmly. “You won’t.”
Ivan added, like it was a given, “We can help. If your parents want to meet us again, we show up.”
Belle blinked.
Show up.
While hurting.
Crystal slammed her palm lightly on the table. “YES. ABIX is buffer. We are emotional firewall.”
Ivan stared. “That’s not how firewall works.”
Crystal glared. “You know what I mean.”
Aleem’s lips twitched faintly.
Belle felt a laugh escape.
Small.
Real.
Crystal grinned. “See? Belle laugh. This relationship already good.”
Belle rolled her eyes weakly. “Crystal, stop.”
Crystal leaned closer, whispering dramatically,
“Also, I will personally fight any auntie who tries to say anything.”
Ivan sighed. “Crystal, please don’t fight aunties.”
Crystal smiled sweetly. “I will fight politely.”
Aleem said, calm,
“Proper fighting.”
Crystal’s eyes lit up. “YES.”
Belle laughed again.
And in the middle of a noisy prata shop, surrounded by plastic chairs and curry and ABIX chaos, Belle felt something settle in her chest.
Not certainty.
Not happily-ever-after.
But a quiet, solid truth:
She wasn’t alone in this.
They weren’t alone.
ABIX didn’t become a barrier.
They became a buffer.
A shield.
A family that didn’t ask for drama.
Only honesty.
Only showing up.
When they finally stood to leave, Crystal linked arms with Belle immediately.
Ivan walked ahead to flag a taxi.
Aleem fell into step on Belle’s other side.
A triangle.
Protection.
Belle glanced up.
Crystal was talking again, already planning something.
“We should do double date– no, no. Not date. We do group hang. But you two can sit closer. Slightly. Like 2cm.”
Belle groaned. “Crystal.”
Crystal grinned. “What? I’m supportive.”
Aleem’s voice came softly, amused.
“Two centimetres is very specific.”
Crystal pointed at him. “See? He is learning humour. This is love.”
Ivan shouted from ahead, “Taxi coming.”
Belle’s phone buzzed.
Her father.
Home already?
Belle’s throat tightened.
She typed:
On the way. Okay.
Her father replied quickly.
Okay.
Belle slipped her phone away.
She looked at Aleem.
He was watching the road, alert.
Steady.
Proper.
And when their eyes met, he gave her the smallest nod.
Not a promise.
Not a performance.
Just a quiet message.
We’re doing this with care.
Belle exhaled.
Okay.
She could do care.
She could do slow.
She could do mercy.
Because now, the start wasn’t just private.
It was held.
By a man who didn’t take.
And by friends who stayed.