Do you know the unofficial difference between skepticism and denial? Skepticism is a healthy doubt in the absence of evidence, while denial is intentional doubt despite an overwhelming amount of reliable evidence. After giving you these two definitions, I'll leave you with a freedom that readers usually don't have—I want you to reach your own conclusion about the stage Wave is in at this point in the story.
At that moment, Wave's body felt different, as if a constant yearning for something unknown—or something he knew but pretended was just a creation of his imagination—began to take hold of him.
He found himself thinking about his junior more than he should—how their differences seemed to complement each other, and how he had already, in some strange sense, come to see the other as belonging to one side of his bed. What troubled him even more was trying to understand why his body craved being close to him, especially during those recent nights. He couldn't deny that the embrace had become the best part of his day.
"When your embrace holds me, I know that nothing can hurt me." — Author Unknown
What was happening? Was this near-intimate closeness with someone else making his body blur the lines? Had he watched too many movies or read the play's script so many times that his soul started craving a story like that for himself? He couldn't be sure. All he knew was that he couldn't take his eyes—or his mind—off the almost perfect drawing on his arm. The lines, along with his thoughts, seemed to hypnotize him.
"Wave! Did you hear what I just said?" A very familiar female voice snapped him out of his light trance. "My own son doesn't pay attention to what I say anymore! What will become of me now? Alone and lonely forever!"
"What?" Wave asked, still a bit confused, looking at his mother in front of him. "What are you saying?"
"Exactly! You didn't hear a word I said!" She finished setting the table for the dinner she was preparing. "What's on your mind that's more important than your own mother?"
"Always so dramatic…" he teased with a warm smile, walking over to hug her from behind and kiss her cheek. "Nothing in the world could ever be more important than you—you're an incredible woman, after all!"
"Am I?" she asked, sounding pleased. "And why's that?"
"Only an amazing woman could bring such a perfect, intelligent, charming, and handsome son like me into the world!" he joked, making her playfully swat at him with a dish towel.
"You! Always like this!" She was laughing at her son's humor. "But you're not wrong." She stepped away from Wave to grab more dishes. "Now, be honest with your mother, what's really on your mind? Have you found a girlfriend to replace me?"
"It would be weird to find someone to replace my mother." He made a playful face, as if the topic was a bit strange. "But no, I haven't found a girlfriend yet, and I'm not in any rush…"
'Girlfriend.'
That topic usually didn't bother Wave. After all, he knew it was normal for family members to ask the younger, single ones when they're going to find someone to share a love story with, to kiss, date, marry, have kids, and grow old together. It didn't bother him because he felt at peace with it all. In his mind, his love story would happen just like all the movies and books he'd read; it would be spontaneous and romantic.
In his imagination, the love of his life would arrive in a surprising and thrilling way. Perhaps one day, while taking a carefree stroll through the city, he would accidentally bump into someone, causing them to drop their bags, and they'd both end up laughing at the clumsy encounter. Or, on a typical afternoon at the university, he might help someone whose papers had been scattered by the wind, and as they gathered them together, something special would start to bloom.
He was so certain that this would happen that he didn't even worry about it. After all, the lower the expectations, the greater the impact, right? The problem was, with such fixed ideas, he didn't notice other possible plots for his life. It was as if the movie had already started, but he still thought he was in the trailers, because everything was different from what he expected.
That night, he had dinner with his parents and enjoyed being at home with them. However, back in his room, taking care of the few plants he had left behind when he moved to the condo near the college, he felt an emptiness in his chest and a growing curiosity:
"What do you think he's doing now?" he murmured to himself while cleaning the leaves of one of his 'daughters'.
With that, Wave picked up his phone and went straight to Dan's social media. He hadn't posted anything in the last 24 hours, which only made Wave more curious. So, he decided to send a message, just to check if everything was okay—or at least that's what he tried to convince himself.
[Wave Nawat]
Serious Boy, what are you up to?
Wave sent the message, trying to appear casual. After all, it was normal to be curious about a friend's routine and ask this kind of question in the middle of the night, even though he didn't have the habit of doing this with anyone else. He waited at least five minutes, and seeing no response, he pressed on:
[Wave Nawat]
I'm taking care of my daughters, and you?
After asking again, he took the opportunity to send a picture of the plant he was cleaning at that moment. To his surprise, the response came quickly this time, and an involuntary smile spread across his face when he heard the notification.
[Dan Zanon]
Your daughter is pretty.
I'm at home too, haven't seen my mom in a long time.
[Wave Nawat]
Tell your mom I said "hi"!
[Dan Zanon]
Why would I do that? She doesn't know who you are.
[Wave Nawat]
Dan! So you sleep with me every night and don't even mention me to your family?
That hurts!
Wave was laughing, knowing Dan would respond in his usual dry manner or with a comment that would cut off his joke. So, he waited for the reply... waited 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 20 minutes, but it never came.
[Wave Nawat]
Serious Boy, you still there?
This time, the response came almost instantly:
[Dan Zanon]
What should I tell my family?
[Wave Nawat]
What do you mean?
About me? I guess... the truth?!?
[Dan Zanon]
And what is the truth?
"What is the truth?" Wave whispered to himself. "What do you mean 'what is the truth'? The truth is the... truth!"
Wave was confused by Dan's question and was trying, without much success, to understand what Dan was getting at.
[Wave Nawat]
The truth is the truth! Haha. I don't get you.
The truth is that I'm your senior and you're my junior, that's all!
[Dan Zanon]
Ok.
"He's weird sometimes." Wave chuckled to himself, and then an involuntary yawn escaped him.
[Wave Nawat]
Dan, I need to go now! See you tomorrow!
Good night! Dream of me, haha.
After the joke, Wave set his phone aside and began arranging his plants before turning in for the night. A few minutes after he had settled under the covers, another notification buzzed. He was intrigued by the message, and as he read it, his drowsiness disappeared almost instantly.
[Dan Zanon]
I will.
"I will??" Wave sat up slightly and read the simple message several times. "That's not something he would say. He doesn't usually join in on these jokes... What does this mean?"
He stayed like that for a few minutes, even considering sending another message to confirm whether his junior's text was genuine or if someone had kidnapped him and sent the message in his place.
Wave completely ignored the new and intriguing feelings fluttering in his chest at that moment. If he wasn't interested or confused about his junior, he would have laughed off the message and not given it another thought.
That night, Wave took a while to fall asleep as his thoughts wandered through the brief conversation he had with Dan. Occasionally, he recalled how he had been carried away by a strange desire when he looked at the fake tattoo on his arm. The drawing was still there, and unconsciously, he brought that part of his body as close to his heart as possible and fell asleep holding it.
Throughout the night, the usual dream began but took a very strange turn. When he was drowning in the canal again, he looked at his arm and saw a drawing of the Eye of Horus. The lines lit up, seeming to give strength and coordination to his limbs, allowing him to swim out of the water as quickly as possible.
This time, no one appeared to save him; he managed to escape the situation he had created thanks to the drawing on his skin. Thus, he woke up in the early morning, but unlike other times, he wasn't scared, sweating, or trembling. He was calm and felt a sense of peace throughout his body. Then, he looked at the fake tattoo on his arm again and, with a gentle smile, whispered:
"Thanks, Serious Boy."
The next day at college, Wave discovered the location of Dan's final class and waited by the door. Excited about finally having slept a full night alone, he had an idea he wanted to act on. When Dan exited the classroom, Wave surprised him by grabbing him suddenly.
"What…?" exclaimed the tattooed guy, startled, as his arm was seized and pulled to the side of the hallway.
"Dan, hi!" Wave said with a smile on his face. "I need you to come with me to a place."
"What place? Wait…" Dan glanced at one of his friends behind him, who was watching with a curious smile. "I need to take care of something. I'll see you tomorrow!"
"Bye, bye!" Even though he didn't know Dan's friend, Wave gave a cautious nod. Then he turned his attention back to Dan. "Now, come with me!"
Dan was almost dragged through the college halls by his senior, who was more excited than usual. From Dan's expression, it was clear he was curious about where they were going.
"I think this will do…" Wave said, stopping at one of the smaller classrooms. He opened the door. "Empty! Perfect."
As he looked around and saw no one, he pulled Dan into the dark room and closed the door behind them.
"What are you doing?" Only Dan's trembling voice could be heard.
"Light, light, light…" Wave said, quickly feeling his way along the wall behind Dan. Their bodies bumped into each other occasionally, but Wave didn't notice. "Here!"
With that, a 'click' echoed, and the room lit up, revealing an ordinary environment. This only increased Dan's curiosity.
"What are we doing here?" Dan asked, his breath a bit uneven as he looked around.
"You'll see." Wave smiled before stepping back and sitting in one of the chairs. He pulled out a laptop from his backpack, connected a cable to the table, and turned on the projector. Everything he did on the computer was now displayed on the large screen at the front of the room. "I have something to show you."
Dan approached the desk and sat down cautiously, watching the screen in front of him as his senior searched for something on a video site.
"I think I found it…" Wave said, clicking on one of the videos. Before anything started playing, he paused and looked at Dan seriously. "I… I wanted to tell you something."
"What?" Dan looked at him with curiosity.
"Okay, before I show you this, I gotta be real with you about why I've stayed so close to you, why I've taken you to the movies, the theater, and done everything to get close to you." He let out a breath. "I feel like I need to be straight up, and I hope you understand." He paused, like he was trying to find the right words.
"You did all of that because my uncle asked you to, didn't you?" Dan interrupted, maintaining the same expression on his face.
"What?" Wave exclaimed, startled. "What do you... how did you know? You knew all along?"
"Are you surprised?" Dan raised an eyebrow, a faint smile forming on his usually serious face.
"Yes... I mean..." Wave struggled to find the right words but failed.
"The day I started at the theater, my uncle came over for dinner. I happened to be visiting my mom," Dan began. "During the conversation, he mentioned something like, 'I asked Wave to get you interested in theater. He's the best, and I don't think you'll be able to resist.'"
"Oh…" was all Wave could say, turning his gaze away, embarrassed that his junior had been aware of his reasons all along.
"Maybe he was right," Dan muttered, almost to himself, as he stared at the frozen screen in front of them.
"What?" Wave hadn't heard what the other guy said.
"Nothing." The faint smile lingered on his thin lips.
"And you're 'okay' with this?"
"With you getting close to me just because my uncle asked?" Dan looked back at Wave.
"That's not exactly it! I would've gotten close to you even if he hadn't asked. It's just… after being ignored so many times, maybe I would've given up if it wasn't for…"
"I'm okay with it," Dan interrupted. "I don't care why someone approaches me."
"You don't?" Wave turned to him, genuinely surprised.
"No." Dan's tone was almost serious. "I only care if the person stays in my life or not."
In that moment, they locked eyes in silence, only the sound of their breathing filling the air. Wave felt a storm brewing in his chest, and each heartbeat seemed to echo in his ears. The confusion in his eyes mirrored the realization that something significant was happening.
"What do you mean..." Wave started to ask but was interrupted again.
"What's that?" Dan asked, shifting his focus to the paused video in front of them.
Returning to reality, Wave remembered the video he had intended to show Dan.
"Well, this…" He smiled faintly, adjusting himself. "You'll see!"
He hit 'play' and the video started rolling on the large screen in front of them. It was a homemade recording of a children's play. On stage, at least eight kids were performing Romeo and Juliet. Seeing such small children act out dramatic scenes was amusing.
The video, which ran about four or five minutes, captured the final scene—the death of the protagonists—quite intense for children. The boy playing Romeo, small with black hair that hung just above his eyes and a round, expressive face, froze in the middle of the scene. He forgot to take the fake poison and seemed to have lost his lines.
For a child that young, there was only one possible outcome: tears. And that's exactly what happened. The boy, with an innocent face and flushed cheeks, began to cry on stage. Immediately, all his fellow actors, just as small as he was, broke character and surrounded him, hugging and comforting him, even though they had no idea what was really happening. It was an instinctive gesture.
Eventually, he calmed down, and they all returned to their original spots. Instead of Romeo delivering his lines, each of the other child actors joined in to recite the scene, line by line. It was truly heartwarming to watch. The video ended shortly after the protagonist smiled at his friends' actions.
"That was…" Dan began, still staring at the screen, searching for the right words.
"So, what'd you think?" Wave watched him with curiosity and excitement.
"The kid…"
"Did you recognize him?" Wave's smile grew even wider. "Cute, right?"
"That was you!?"
"Uh-huh," Wave mumbled without moving his lips. "My first play was a total disaster. I was nervous, and they wanted me to act out a suicide scene at seven years old! Can you believe that?" He laughed loudly.
"But it all worked out in the end," Dan concluded. "Um... but why are you showing me this?"
"Because tomorrow you have to give Marco your answer, and I feel like I need to help you... the same way you helped me."
"I helped you?"
"Yeah." Wave got up from his chair and moved closer to Dan, showing the now completely smudged lines of the drawing on his arm. "With this."
"What do you mean?"
"The nightmare was different last night. I feel... I really feel like I'm not gonna have that dream again, at least not for a long time. All because of this." He was standing very close to Dan, and their eyes were locked on each other. "I don't think you'll need to sacrifice yourself and crash at my place every night anymore."
"Really?" Dan's expression was unreadable.
"Yeah. I'm okay now, thanks to you!" He rested his right hand on Dan's shoulder and, almost involuntarily, moved it closer to his neck, gently tracing the Eye of Horus tattoo with his index finger. "Thank you."
"I..."
"And that's why I needed to show you this video!" Wave said emphatically, pulling his hand away. "I want to repay you for helping me, and to do that, I'm gonna try—if it's for the last time—to get you to like theater a little more."
"How?"
"Look, in this video, I was just a kid, totally insecure, which is normal, right? I mean, at seven, we don't know anything about life. But it was on that stage where I realized the coolest thing about theater." Wave's smile grew, full of excitement. "You get a family, a second family, really! Everyone wants you to do well, and they'll do whatever it takes to make that happen. We're all there to tell a story together, and that's what matters."
He stared off into space, his dark eyes lighting up as he talked. Then, he turned his attention back to Dan and continued:
"They helped me a lot back then and still do to this day. Sure, there's a bit of competition, right? That's normal. But when it really matters, they're always there for me. Even when I messed up, they never judged me. I always had support, even when I decided to stop acting and tried production, and now I'm directing." Wave seemed serious but calm. He took Dan's hand without realizing it and began gently rubbing his fingers with his thumb. "So, whatever you choose to do, backstage or on stage, you're already part of the group. And you'll always have someone by your side." Wave smiled, his eyes softening, and his face lighting up as if every word carried genuine affection. "And I'll be there for you, always."
"You..." Dan stared at him without blinking. "You'll always be there?"
"Yes." Wave replied with a sincere smile. There was something deeper in his emotions. He raised his other hand to Dan's hair, fixing a strand that was out of place.
When he did that, Wave felt Dan grip his hand with surprising strength and firmness. In his junior's eyes, there was a need and a feeling he'd never seen before. His gaze moved across Dan's handsome face, noticing his slightly reddened, parted lips, and, as always, his attention was drawn to the visible beginning of that tattoo on his pale neck.
He couldn't ignore it anymore: his whole body ached to touch his junior's warm skin, and his lips burned to kiss that tattoo. The drawing on his own arm wasn't enough anymore. But that wasn't the only place he wanted to kiss. With all these emotions exploding at once, he abruptly let go of Dan's hand and turned his back, trying to hide his face before it betrayed him. His chest rose and fell rapidly, reflecting the swirl of feelings and sensations racing through every vein in his body.
"Wave." It was the first time Dan had ever said his name. "Wave, I... I need to..."
"Dan!" Wave interrupted, still facing away. "We need to go. We shouldn't be here, and I hear footsteps!" He lied.
With that, he quickly shut the laptop, shoved it into his bag without care, and rushed to the door. He stopped to glance at Dan, who remained frozen in place.
"Come on, Dan! We have to go." After saying that, he turned off the lights, leaving them both in darkness once again.
"Wave." In the middle of the darkness, Dan had moved closer, and Wave heard his name spoken right near his face. "Thank you."
The darkness was so intense it was impossible to tell how far apart they were, but Wave could feel the warm air of Dan's breath near his ear, sending shivers through his body. The only thing he wanted at that moment, in his most pure and raw desire, was to pull his junior's body close to his own. So, he gripped the strap of his bag tightly, channeling all his willpower into the intensity of that action. Then, the door behind him opened, letting a sliver of light in, and he saw the silhouette of the 'Serious Boy' walk through it.
So, Wave stood there, completely absorbed in his own feelings, as he realized that various parts of his body were reacting to what had just happened, even though it hadn't been anything major. His head was resting against the wall, his eyes closed, and the straight strands of his hair fell across his face. He was trying to compose himself amidst all the things that were clearly unsettling him.
Whether you've come to any conclusions about denial or skepticism, it no longer makes any difference. No one can deny or be skeptical about something that hits so intensely in the heart and body like that, not even Wave. At that moment, he was fully aware of what was happening, he just had no idea what to do with it.