Porchay was sitting at a corner table during his first year welcoming party because he didn't want to interact with a certain senior. Although a few of the other freshers and some seniors had tried to spark up conversation with him, he had given them a cold shoulder causing them all to give him his space all together. He hadn't expected the night to take the turn it had taken. He woke up that morning with every intention of having a good day and it had been. Porsche had finally agreed to reduce his security detail to only two guards who would tail him from a distance, Tankhun had confirmed their weekend getaway in a few days and his mum had actually actively interacted with him. Chay thought that nothing could ruin his day until he got to the bar where the party was being held. He found his anger and irritation to be somewhat irrational but he was well within his right, or so he thought.
Kimhan Teerapanyakul, his "ex-boyfriend" was there. Kim was in his last year at Porchay's university. That's how they'd met after all. Kim never really went out so the last thing the boy had expected was to see Kim sitting with a bunch of the other freshers. After formalities were exchanged Porchay retreated to a table at the back with a single bottle of beer which was still more than half full. He had just been sitting there thinking about what could have been. Him and Kim ended on bad terms but the boy never really got his closure. He never understood why he wasn't enough or why Kim didn't feel he needed an explanation so he sat there; with his thoughts and beer bottle.
As the night went on the group became rowdier and Porchay's irritation only grew. He was upset that everyone else seemed to be happy while he was despairing at his oh-so terrible life he called the waiter over and called out random orders he had heard from customers when he followed his older brother to work when he still worked at Yok's bar. Soon after he had a glass with a strong smelling drink in his hand which he downed without thinking but almost regretting it as the liquid burned his throat and caused his skin to crawl. It was the second worst thing he had tasted after the suspicious drink he had the first time he went out clubbing with his friends a few months before. He kept drinking though and the waiter kept bringing the drinks the boy asked for and before he knew it, it was near closing time and Kim was standing over him, "Chay we need to leave."
The man was looking over him like a shoulder in his black leather jacket and tight skinny jeans. The nerve of this man, the boy thought to himself, "Bloody hell Kim, why can't you just leave me alone?"
The boy's words obviously rattled the older man as he stood for a second trying to register what had just happened. The last thing he had expected was for Porchay to take on such a hostile tone when speaking to him. He wasn't expecting the blushing little boy he had met a few moths before but he wasn't expecting this either. Kim took a brief moment to compose himself before he spoke again trying not to upset the boy any more than he seemed to be, "Porchay, your brother said I should make sure you get home safe."
"Why do you fucking care? So what if I don't get home safely? Why does that matter to you?" Porchay asked slurring his words barely keeping his head up as he spoke.
"Your brother will be worried..."
Before he could finish his sentence Porchay was wiggling his phone from his back pocket before squinting at the phone and eventually pressing it to his ear "Hello hia? I just wanted to tell you that I don't need P'Wik to take me home. I can get home by myself," he sat listening for a while, "But hia...you said you wanted me to learn to be independent. How can I do that when I have a Teerapanyakul brat looming over me all the time?" he spat only getting himself scolded for his language causing the boy to pout before he mumbled a half-assed apology.
After more persuading and bargaining, Porsche finally agreed to let the boy go home by himself. Without a word to the man still looming over him he pushed away from the table and began to walk to the door on wobbly legs. When Kim grabbed at his arm to try and keep the boy from falling over he snapped his hand back and glared at Kim, " Hia says you don't need to take me home. I'll be leaving now."
Before the older man could voice his disapproval Chay had run out of the bar leaving Kim to take care of his bill. The air outside stung Chay's cheeks but he didn't mind it. It helped calm his mind and seemed to work on slightly improving his mood. The boy had no idea how to get to his dorm from where he was and his phone had died some time between his conversation with his brother and him running away from Kim so it was safe to say he was screwed. After walking a while longer the boy began to feel dizzier than he did earlier. He decided to sit it out and leaned against a random building before sinking fully to the ground. Having finally gotten off his feet his body seemed to relax all together forgetting where he was. His vision went blurry and his eyes grew heavy and there he sat. Blacking out on the side of the road in an unfamiliar neighbourhood.
The boy on the floor startled Macau when he walked out of the gym building. He wasn't sure if the person was dead or not until he fell over. That was when Macau saw his face. He couldn't decide which was more shocking: the fact that Porchay was actually blacked out on the side of the road or the fact that Porchay was the person blacked out in front of him.
He had seen the boy every now and then when they were in high school but after graduation he never saw or heard of him. This wasn't the reunion Macau had hoped for as he stood looking at the small boy on the ground. If he took Chay home with him the major family would kill him without hesitation or at least try to. If he left Chay there something bad could happen to him and while it was none of his business, Macau couldn't help but pity that boy. He tried to wake him up to no avail before deciding the piggyback him with the intention of taking him back to his apartment near his uni. He had only walked a few meters when the boy suddenly jolted on Macau's back, "Who are you?" the boy tried to look over Macau's shoulder at his face.
"A concerned citizen." the boy huffed.
Che was quiet for a while before he spoke again asking for Macau's phone, "Is it really normal to ask for a random stranger's phone Porchay?"
"How do you know my name?" Chay was once again trying to look at Macau's face causing the other boy to lose his grip on his legs causing them both to tumble backwards.
"Could you please stop that," Macau was fighting everything in him to leave Chay on the road and call Pete to fetch him but he had a feeling that wouldn't end well for the young boy "Macau. My name is Macau. We went to school together?" he said trying to keep Chay from throwing himself off his back.
Hearing the name seemed to calm the boy a bit "Can I borrow your phone?" he asked again.
Macau struggled to reach his phone in his pocket but he got it out and gave it to the boy on his back who grabbed it before frantically dialing a number, "Hi" he spoke into the phone, "Yeah it's me. I just wanted to tell you that... I hate you... But I hate what you've turned me into more. What you did was really fucked up but it's whatever right? All in the past and all that jazz right? But yeah...I just wanted to let you know that I hate you, have a good night." he was about to disconnect the call when he paused "No my phone died. This is Macau's phone," the boy on Macau's back seemed to stiffen, "You see this, Kim? I don't like this. You need to stop trying to control my life. Goodbye!"
"Did you just use my phone to drunk call my cousin in the middle of the night?" Macau had stopped walking and Chay had slid off his back and was looking at him with tear filled eyes.
He just nodded as the tears began to roll down his eyes. The last thing Macau expected was to dealing with a drunk, seemingly heartbroken Chay in the middle of the night but there he was. The boy sighed and grabbed the smaller one by his wrist before walking back into the gym. He was close with the owner so he could sometimes stay there after closing time, if he promised to lock up. Once inside Macau led Porchay to a training mat and handed him a bottle of water which the boy gulped down almost immediately. He didn't say anything for a while and just watched as the other boy sat with his head bowed having stopped crying but still sniffling.
Macau didn't know much about Porchay. They went to school together and Macau had returned his university application to him because he thought it was important to the boy but that was just about it. The boys had never spoken before although Macau knew his older brother. It didn't surprise him though, the estranged relationship between the major family and the minor had given him a headache when his father was still alive and the last thing he wanted was to get sucked back into that mess. When Khan died it was a system shock for Macau. He didn't know how to carry on living but one thing he was glad for was the lack of constant scrutiny that seemed to come as a package deal with the man, "Can I get another water?" a small voice broke through the silence causing Macau to blink out of his daze.
"Yeah sure," he passed the bottle of chilled water he was holding to the red faced boy sitting in front of him. After watching him for a moment longer and trying to figure out why Porchay had been laying on the ground he finally spoke up, "Where are your bodyguards?"
"What?" the question came as a shock to Porchay as the last thing he had expected anyone to ask him was the whereabouts of his bodyguards, "I don't know," he admitted.
The two guards he had been allocated were new recruits so he expected them to be clumsy but he didn't think they would let him be for so long, "Should I call someone for you?" Macau asked still watching the boy.
He was tired and wanted to go home to rest early because his brother and Pete had planned some weird family day for the three of them. As much as he didn't enjoy being dragged everywhere by his brother and his boyfriend having to third wheel for them, he enjoyed being around the both of them and wanted to always participate in whatever they roped him into so he wanted to be well rested for that.
Porchay shook his head in disagreement to Macau's offer, "Well should I take you home? There aren't any cabs running in this area this late. I've got my bike around back."
"Yeah sure, just don't tell my brother," he replied impishly.
Macau chuckled to himself, "the last thing you should worry about is me calling your brother, don't worry about that," he got up from his spot and picked up his duffel bag before reaching his hand out to help the other boy up, "Come."