Chapter Text
Pran knew he would have many bad breakups in his life. And he did, he broke up with boyfriends, boyfriends broke up with him, it was what usually happened. He got his heart broken, cried and eventually moved on.
But he never thought he would get heartbroken again, six months after he got over his ex.
He was staying at his parents' place and got up earlier than usual, so he walked down the stairs for breakfast. Which is when he overheard the conversation his parents were having.
“He seems happier, do you think he’s seeing anyone?” His dad asked his mom, and Pran stopped in the middle of the stairs.
“God, if he is, I hope he’s better than Arn. I was so glad to get rid of him…” She said and let out a groan. Pran frowned when he heard that.
“You were a little harsh, Dissaya. It was very risky…”
“I know, but I knew Arn wasn’t the guy for him. Did you hear how he talked about Pran when he wasn’t around? The only thing he liked about him was his money, which was proven when he took the money I offered him and ran with it. He couldn’t even soften the blow; he just had to go and break Pran’s heart? He’s an asshole, and I don’t regret doing that.”
Pran covered his mouth, trying to suppress a gasp. He quickly ran up the stairs, trying not to make a sound. And he had a quiet meltdown as he tried to text his friends to ask them if they were free that night.
After three drinks and five shots, Pran wanted to kill his mom.
“I just… I can’t believe she would do something like that!” Pran exclaimed, wanting to die.
“I knew your mom was ruthless, but I didn’t know she was that bad,” Wai mumbled, taking a sip of his drink.
“I didn’t even know how to react! Should I have yelled at her? I just… I should tell her I know, right? But I hate fighting with her; she makes me feel like a child every time we fight. And then somehow I end up apologising for something I didn’t do. She’s a master manipulator.”
“It can’t be that bad…” Louis told him.
“Oh, it is. One time, we had an argument, and we didn’t talk to each other for months. And it wasn’t as bad as this, okay? I’m guessing it will be at least a year of arguing every time we even try to talk to each other.”
“Alright, listen. She’s your mom, and she’s always going to be your mom. Do you really wanna be angry at her for the rest of your life?”
“No, of course not, but it’s really hard to forgive her right now, you know?”
“Well, you should just get it out of your system,” Wai pointed out. “Just do something that’ll make her really mad at you. It’s easier to be mad at someone who’s also angry at you, you know?”
“Like what?”
“I don’t know, she wouldn’t let you date Arn, right? What if you date someone even worse? That way she’ll realize what a great guy he was.”
“But I don’t even want to date Arn anymore, if he took the money and left. He’s an asshole! Just like my mom.”
“This is not about Arn; this is about you. You need to make her angry at you; she’ll accept whoever’s the next guy you want to date after this one, just think of the worst guy ever.”
Pran leaned back and thought about it. He could probably go out there and find him. But as soon as he tried to come up with a name, he immediately thought about the best person for the job.
“Pat Napat!” He yelled, making his friends flinch.
“Who’s that?”
“The neighbours’ kid. Our families hate each other, like… Life-long rivalry. My mom made me compete with him on anything, and she prohibited me from talking to him. She actually transferred me when she found out that we were playing in the same band. Can you believe it? It was insane. If anyone would make her angry… It would be Pat.”
“Great, call him.”
“What? No,” Pran said and leaned back, taking a sip of his drink.
“Why not?” Safe complained.
“Well, for starters. I don’t have his number, I haven’t seen him in years, and we’re not even friends. It’s an insane request.”
“Wait, aren’t you neighbours? You haven’t seen him in years?”
“No, I haven’t lived with my parents in a very long time. And I think they actually orchestrate whenever I come home to visit, so I don’t run into him. He’s never there when I go.”
“Is he hot?” Louis asked curiously, leaning closer.
“Well, last time I saw him, he was, yeah. But that was in high school, and you know what happens to guys that are hot in high school…”
“Oh, yeah, they always fall off the ledge. He’s probably balding and has a beer belly by now,” Wai said and let out a chuckle. “Which is perfect because your mom is going to think that you deserve someone better. I mean, come on, look at you. You’re hot, single, and successful. I don’t know why you can’t get a boyfriend.”
“Thanks, Wai, that’s very encouraging.”
“I mean it, call him. I’m sure you know someone who has his number.”
Pran chuckled and shook his head, taking another sip from his drink. He tried to change the subject, and they talked about something else, but Pran just couldn’t stop thinking about the whole thing. And he went back to it half an hour later.
“And you know what bugs me the most? She could’ve just told me! I didn’t know Arn was talking trash about me. I would’ve just broken up with him if she’d told me!”
“No, you wouldn’t have. You probably would’ve thought she was sabotaging you,” Safe pointed out.
“Oh, you know who probably still has contact with Pat? Jai! He was on the rugby team with him, and we were lab partners. He invited me to his wedding last year. I definitely still have his number…” Pran said, grabbing his phone.
“You know it’s bad when you start drunk texting,” Louis said, laughing. “Nobody gonna stop him?”
“Don’t you dare. Pran never gets this drunk,” Wai stopped him when he tried to take his phone out of his hands.
Pran ignored them and hit send on the text, forgetting about it for the next hour. They were at the bar, drinking. And suddenly, his phone buzzed with a notification. Jai was happy to hear from him, and he had Pat’s number.
“I have his number!” He announced right after placing the last shot he took on the table.
“Well? What are you waiting for? Call him! Do it now before you regret it tomorrow,” Wai pushed him.
“Alright, alright. I’m gonna go outside, so I can hear him,” Pran said with a chuckle and staggered outside the bar. He looked down at his phone and pressed the number before thinking about it too much.
He waited for a while, hearing the tones for a minute before the call went to voicemail. Of course, Pat wouldn’t answer; it was two o’clock in the morning. He sighed, about to hang up, but then it gave him the option to leave a voicemail, and he wasn’t too quick to hang up.
“Hey, Pat? It’s Pran…” He mumbled, looking down and questioning every decision he’d made his entire life. “Remember me? Uh… Sorry for calling you so late and… Sounding so drunk. I haven’t had a good night, and I’m probably going to regret this voicemail in the morning. But… My boyfriend dumped me. Well, he actually dumped me six months ago, but I just found out that it was because my mom didn’t approve of him and offered him a shit ton of money to leave me, so… Yeah… It’s been a rough night…” Pran chuckled and ran a hand through his hair. “Anyways, my friends had this crazy, drunk idea that I should date someone who got her even more mad at me, just to have some sense of revenge, and I thought… Who worse than Pat, right? Not that you’re bad, she just… She hates you, you know that… Anyway, this is—” He let out a long sigh and shook his head. “This was a stupid idea, you’re probably not even single… You know what? Just forget you ever got this, I’m too drunk to figure out how to delete voicemails…” Pran mumbled the last part and hung up the call, groaning and realizing he definitely needed to go home. That was a new low.
He just told his friends that Pat didn’t pick up and didn’t mention the voicemail because he wanted to erase it from his memory. He convinced all of them to go home and got a cab with Wai, who was going to stay on his couch because his apartment was too far away.
He practically fell asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. And he slept for what felt like a whole day, waking up only when the sun was getting too annoying in his eyes, and his head was starting to pound. He groaned, rolling in his bed and trying to go back to sleep, but he knew he couldn’t. So he reached for the glass of water that he had left on his nightstand the night before and drank all of it.
He let out a sigh and reached for his phone. He looked at his screen with half-lidded eyes that he opened widely and gasped when he saw a notification.
Missed call from Pat.
He sat up, rubbing his face so he could wake himself up. His heart started beating louder when he saw he’d left a voice message. He called him at nine, which was a couple of hours ago. He debated on just not listening to it, in case it was too embarrassing. But curiosity was killing him, so he bit his lip before he pressed on the notification and slowly brought the phone up to his ear.
“Hey, Pran… Long time no see,” he heard Pat’s voice, and his heart immediately skipped a beat; it’d been so long. He didn’t sound pissed off or weirded out. He actually sounded happy to hear about him. “Sorry to hear about your boyfriend; he sounds like an asshole. Hope the hangover isn’t so bad…” Pran smiled to himself and leaned back against his pillow. “But what your mom did doesn’t even surprise me. Is it just me, or have our parents become even worse with the years?” He chuckled and wanted to agree with him, but Pat obviously wasn’t listening. “I had the worst fight with my dad the other day, and I don’t even work with him anymore… I know he would also be insanely mad at me if we dated, and there’s nothing I want to do more than make my dad angry. So… Yeah, let’s do it. I’m in.”
A few days later, after some texting, they both agreed to meet to talk about what they wanted to do and to catch up a little bit. Pran was bouncing his leg nervously and looking down at his coffee mug. He hadn’t seen Pat in so long; the last time he saw him, he was just leaving their high school building after his mom decided to transfer him. He just wished he didn’t think he was weird for that phone call.
He looked up when he heard the door open, like he’d done the last ten times, but this one was actually Pat. And unfortunately, Wai was wrong, not all guys that were hot in high school got uglier, some of them got hotter. Like Pat.
He walked in as he took off a pair of sunglasses, which definitely happened in slow motion, and it wasn’t just in Pran’s head, who practically choked on his coffee when he saw him. He was wearing a t-shirt that did everything to show his muscles, and a pair of jeans that Pran would definitely check out the second he turned around. He had a head full of hair and no beer belly, probably a six-pack.
He also still had the same shiny smile that lit up the whole place, and it was exactly directed at him as soon as he saw him. Pran tried to stop coughing and calm himself down as Pat walked up to his table.
“Hey,” Pat greeted him with a huge smile as he sat down in front of him. “Wow, hi, it’s been so long.”
“Hi,” Pran said, smiling back and gulping down. “Yeah, has it been… What? Eight years?”
“Nine, I think,” Pat corrected, and Pran was taken aback by him knowing that. “I’m surprised we haven’t… Ran into each other.”
“I’m not, not really… I’m pretty sure my parents make sure we never visit home at the same time. She thinks she’s sleek, but I know that she doesn’t have ‘busy weekends’.”
“Oh, my dad usually says he’s having a ‘romantic weekend’, and he doesn’t want any kids in the house. But I know he’s not that nice to my mom,” Pat explained as he chuckled. He looked up at the waitress when she came over to ask what he wanted. “So, your mom. She’s worse than I thought.”
“Oh, absolutely,” Pran said easily and let out a chuckle. “I got used to it. It just hurt that she wouldn’t tell me to my face that she didn’t like him…”
“Well, he’s an asshole too. Who takes the money?”
“My ex, apparently,” Pran said, chuckling lightly. It felt nice talking to Pat about it and being validated.
“I was happy to hear from you,” Pat said genuinely. “And honestly, Pran… Drunk ideas are usually stupid, but this one… Your friends are onto something.”
“I— I can’t believe I drunkenly called you to tell you that. I’m sure you’re not the worst guy to date, I’m sorry…”
“No, no, you’re right. My dad will hate it if he finds out I’m dating you.”
“What’s the deal with you and your dad? You don’t work together anymore?”
“No, God no. I did, for a few years after college. But we clashed a lot, we couldn’t keep going like that.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that… What do you do now?”
“I’m an engineer. You?”
“Architect.”
“Yeah, suits you,” Pat said with a smile. “So, how do you wanna do this?”
“Wait, so you’re… In it? You wanna do this?”
“Yeah, I like the idea. I can’t wait to see my dad’s face when he finds out. We just have to figure out how to tell them.”
“Right, yeah. It has to be together, right? If not, they’re going to find out some other way. But they hate each other, they’re never together…”
“Oh, wait, they’re going to be. Are you invited to Min’s wedding?”
“What? Min, from high school? No, she’s getting married?”
“Yeah, in like a week or so. Practically everyone in the neighbourhood is invited.”
“Uh, my parents didn’t say anything…”
“Yeah, because they probably know that I’m gonna be there, and they don’t want you to go. So, what do you say to being my plus one? I was gonna go by myself and sit at the singles table, but…” Pat said and shrugged. “I think this is a better idea.”
“Sure, yeah. We should come up with a story to tell them, right? Just so it’s believable.”
Pat smiled widely and nodded. Pran didn’t think he would still be so weak to that smile, but of course he was.
He honestly didn’t think anything would come out of his meeting with Pat; maybe they would catch up and complain about their parents. And Pran would see that his crush on him from high school was completely gone, and he’d been crazy for liking him in the first place.
Of course, nothing ever went his way, and it was the complete opposite of what happened. Pat was very into the idea of making their parents angry, just to get revenge on everything they’d put them through. They came up with a story, with some boundaries, and what exactly they would tell their parents. He had some groundwork to do before the wedding, just so it didn’t look too awkward on the day of.
“You know, I’m seeing someone right now…” Pran said suddenly one morning, he was having breakfast with his parents.
“Really? Honey, that’s great,” his mom said excitedly.
“Since when?”
“A few months ago…” Pran replied nonchalantly. “I’m just telling you because you might meet him soon. He invited me as his plus one to Min’s wedding. You’re going, right?”
“Yeah, we are…” Dissaya mumbled, Pran squinted, seeing how conflicted she looked about Pran being less than a hundred meters away from the neighbour’s family. “So he’s from around?”
“Yeah, I’ll introduce you to him at the wedding,” Pran replied with a smile, not giving much information because he didn’t want to be found out.
They seemed fine so far; it wasn’t weird for Pran to introduce his boyfriends to his parents pretty early on in the relationship, so they didn’t suspect anything. They were still very judgmental of all of his boyfriends, but he was actually hoping that they’d be worse with this one.
His friends supported him even though it was supposed to be just a drunken idea that never panned out. Apparently, Pat was just as crazy as his friends. They were just invited to the reception, and Pat came to pick him up in his car, which made Pran feel like he was living in a dream. There was no way Pat had agreed to pretend to date. If he thought they could fool their parents, it meant he thought they would be a believable couple, that it wouldn’t be that crazy if they dated.
“You think your parents will believe that you’re… Dating a guy?” Pran asked while they were in the car, going through every scenario of what could possibly happen when their parents found out.
“Yeah, why not? I mean, I’ve never dated a guy, but Paa didn’t either and they didn’t care when she started dating a girl,” Pat replied with a shrug.
“Your sister has a girlfriend?” Pran asked, surprised. Pat let out a sigh and chuckled when he remembered.
“Right, uhm… I forgot to tell you. She’s dating Ink,” he explained. Pran blinked a couple of times slowly, trying to process the information and waiting to see if Pat was joking.
“Ink… Our classmate?” Pran asked, baffled. Pat nodded as he chuckled.
“Yeah, they’ve been dating for years now.”
“Wow, uhm… I definitely wasn’t expecting that…”
“They’re very happy, my parents love them.”
“Did you tell them about our plan?”
“No, no, it’s better if they don’t know… Paa is a horrible liar, and Ink is incapable of lying to Paa. I don’t want them to screw this up. They’ll be happy for us, probably. But our parents… They will be very mad at me when they find out who I’m dating,” he said with a smile, sounding actually excited about the whole thing. Pran let out a loud laugh, also picturing his parents' faces when they saw Pat.
“How angry do you want them to be?”
“Very. But… Don’t worry, I called Min in advance to let her know, just in case they make a scene… The last thing I want is to make her wedding about us.”
“Really? And what did she say?”
“She’s very surprised, but very happy for us. I mean, I had to call her regardless because I didn’t tell her I was bringing a companion. But she said it was fine, because they had a cancellation.”
“That’s good,” Pran mumbled with a smile and started feeling the nervousness catching up to him when he saw the building where the reception was being held. It was full of people, and everyone was walking into the back garden.
“You ready?” Pat asked after he parked the car, turning to him with a smile on his face. Pran smiled back and nodded.
They saw Min and her husband before they saw their parents; they were greeting guests at the door. So they went up to them to congratulate them on the wedding.
“Hi! You guys came,” she greeted them with a smile. She seemed happy.
“Yeah, sorry for the last-minute addition,” Pran immediately apologized.
“What? Don’t even worry about it. You were on the original guest list, with your parents. But they told me you were busy this weekend…” Pran nodded slowly and shared a look with Pat.
“Right, uhm… They probably didn’t want us to cross paths…”
“Wow, it’s that bad still?” She asked, concerned. “Well, uhm… Good luck, okay? Just don’t get into any fights.”
“We promise,” they said at the same time before they went inside.
It was a big wedding, so the number of guests was high. They kept looking around, seeing if they would spot their parents, but it was hard.
“Did you tell them anything?”
“I told them I was bringing someone. They immediately assumed that I’m dating again,” Pat replied nonchalantly. “They were more surprised about me bringing someone than the fact that I’m dating again.”
As far as Pran knew, Pat had a girlfriend last year; they dated during college but ultimately broke up. He hadn’t dated anyone seriously since then. They both went over everything they thought they should know about each other, in case they were asked anything. They made up a first meeting, a first date, and who kissed whom first. They were ready.
“Pat! Hey,” they both turned when they heard the familiar voice. It was Paa, walking hand in hand with Ink towards them. They saw her immediately open her eyes widely when she spotted Pran.
“Oh my God, Pran! You’re here, it’s been so long,” she said immediately and went over to hug him. “Did you come with your parents?”
He leaned back and smiled at her, but before he could answer her, Pat’s parents walked up to them too, clearly not noticing that Pran was there and just following Paa and Ink.
“Hey, you got here late. Was there a lot of traffic?” His dad asked and then immediately landed his eyes on Pran, a frown appearing on his face. “What are you doing here?”
“Dad, we were just saying hi, calm down,” Paa tried to appease him.
“Well, you said hi. You parents are over there, go bother them,” he said and pointed to where his parents are. Pran looked over and saw the second that his mom spotted him and got up angrily to confront him for being with that family.
“Actually, uhm…” Pat started to say, but he was interrupted by Pran’s mom.
“Pran, what the hell are you doing with them? Let’s go,” she said, giving Ming a cold look.
“Mom, I told you I was coming with someone…” Pran tried to tell her, he saw her slowly realize what he meant as she looked back at Pat.
“Yeah, didn’t I tell you guys I was bringing a date?” Pat told his parents and immediately grabbed Pran’s hand to make a point. “He’s my date,” he said, showing them their joined hands with a smile. Pran had to suppress a chuckle when he saw their parents' horrified faces next to Pat’s proud one. Paa let out a gasp, and Ink looked at their hands with wide eyes but a smile.
“What the hell are you talking about, Pat?” His dad gritted through his teeth, clearly not wanting to make a scene.
“Pran, please tell me this is a joke.”
“Mom, I told you I was seeing someone,” Pran replied with a shrug. His father seemed shocked, and his mother looked like she was about to explode.
“Don’t be ridiculous, Pat. Let’s go,” Ming said and tried to get them away from each other.
“Yes, this isn’t funny, Pran,” his mom said, doing the same to him. But Pat took a step back and gripped his hand.
“We’re not joking, we’re together.”
“Since when?” His dad practically spat.
“Six months ago,” Pran replied easily, remembering the story they made up.
“Forget about it. No. You’re not dating him,” Dissaya told him, raising a finger at him.
“This is insane, Pat. Didn’t I teach you better than this?”
“Dad, we’re adults. I don’t live at home, and I don’t work with you anymore. You have no say in who I date. You’re just gonna have to accept it,” Pat told him, getting serious.
“Yeah, Mom, besides, you hate everyone I date. How is this any different?” Pran said, clearly enjoying seeing her fuming.
“This is not—!” She cut herself off when she realized she was about to yell, and people were already looking. “This is clearly not the same, Pran. He is way worse.”
Ming was about to tell her something, offended at the insult to his son, but that’s when people started sitting down after someone told everyone through the mic that they were going to start on the speeches.
“This is not over, Pran. We’ll talk later,” she told him like she usually did when he was a kid and he did something to upset her in public. Pran tried to hide his excitement when she left, and he was left alone with Pat’s family.
“You are crazy if you think I’m going to let this slide,” Ming threatened Pat before leaving to find their seat too.
Ink smiled at them and placed a hand on Pran’s shoulder, smiling at him.
“Congrats,” she whispered after she threw a wink at him, following Paa close behind.
They both turned to look at each other with triumphant smiles once they were alone. It’d gone exactly how they expected, but he didn’t think it would be so satisfying to see their parents so mad at them. He usually didn’t like making his mom angry, but he just had to think about how he felt when he found out about Arn, and he immediately wanted to make her angrier.
They found their seats, which were unfortunately at the same table as Pat’s family, since he was his plus one. Pat’s father threw angry glances at them every time he could, but he couldn’t tell them anything since the speeches were happening. Once they started serving the food, that’s when he spoke.
“How the hell did this happen?” He asked through gritted teeth, fuming.
“We ran into each other at a coffee shop near my place, so we got a drink to catch up since it’s been so long since the last time we saw each other,” Pat explained easily, and Pran reached for a glass of wine; he was definitely going to need it. “The rest is history.”
“How can you date? You two hated each other your whole lives. This is outrageous.”
“Ever heard ‘opposites attract’?” Pat said with a smile. Pran had to hide a chuckle behind his glass, and he looked back at his parents’ table. If eyes could kill, he’d be six feet under.
“We’re just surprised because you’re the first person Pat has dated since his ex,” Pat’s mom said suddenly, and Pran whipped his head when he noticed she was talking to him.
“Uh, yeah… He mentioned that,” Pran replied, trying to sound nonchalant. They broke up a year ago, and Pat definitely moved on. Hadn’t they?
“He doesn’t usually bring home the people he’s seeing,” Paa said, and Pran frowned when he heard that. He didn’t expect her to make a comment too.
“Paa, come on. Pran is different; you guys know him. And it’s not like we started from zero, I know him. We just…” He hesitated, looking back at Pran. “We just realized we liked each other, there’s nothing more to it.”
“I won’t allow this,” his father said suddenly.
“Dad, you have no say in this, you’re gonna have to start accepting Pran as part of the family, okay? The feud doesn’t concern us.”
“Of course it does, are you not part of this family? We taught you not to associate yourself with any of them. And you didn’t listen, you never do.”
“Dad, I’m an adult now, I think I know how to make decisions on my own…”
Pat’s dad started lecturing him, and it went on for the entire dinner. Pran simply suppressed a smile and ate his dinner. The food was really good, and it definitely tasted better now that everything had gone according to plan. Pat continued to argue with his dad, shooting down everything he was telling him with a smile, and Pran let them be until Ming stormed off angrily, his wife got up to follow him.
Pat turned to look at Pran with a smile.
“Should we go talk to your parents?” He suggested, Pran sneaked a glance to look at Paa and Ink, but they seemed to be in their own world.
“Yeah,” Pran replied and got up to walk to his parents' table. People were starting to get up from their tables, and soon enough, they would do the first dance, so it was their chance to talk to them and force them to keep a low profile.
Pran practically flinched when he felt Pat’s hand on his lower back, guiding him away. They’d discussed holding hands and trying to act like they were dating, but he definitely didn’t think it would make him feel like that.
“Hi,” Pran greeted his parents with a smile, but he didn’t get one back.
“Hey, sorry about earlier,” Pat said with a smile too. “I feel like I have to introduce myself again,” he extended his hand for Dissaya to take, but she just crossed her arms and looked up at him with an angry expression.
“Right, uhm… Can we sit?” Pran cut in, pointing at the two empty chairs in front of them.
“I’d rather we spoke in private,” she deadpanned.
“Mom, whatever you have to say to me, you can say it in front of him,” he said, knowing that would just make her angrier. He still pulled up a chair and gestured for Pat to sit down too.
“Pran, did you learn nothing? You cannot associate yourself with that family.”
“Mom, I’m not fifteen anymore. And Pat doesn’t even live with them anymore. He doesn’t run the business, what’s the point of this feud?”
“You just can’t. He’s not good for you.”
“You don’t know that. You barely know him, Mom. Why don’t you get to know him? As my boyfriend, not as Ming’s son. Who knows? He might surprise you.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” she said, rolling her eyes and crossing her arms over her chest.
“Mom, I’m not going to break up with him just because you said so. Just accept it.”
Before Dissaya could say anything else, they started playing music, and everyone turned to look at the first dance.
“That went well,” Pat whispered, getting closer to him. Pran chuckled and nodded.
It felt nice, having a secret with Pat. He didn’t even think he would see him again, much less pretend to date. But they indulged in their new relationship and got up to talk to people around the wedding. One thing their parents would hate was being humiliated in front of everyone they knew. And everyone they knew was at that wedding, they all knew about the rivalry, so it was funny seeing their faces when they revealed that they were dating.
Pran had to contain his excitement when he saw people walking up to his and Pat’s parents to congratulate them on their son's new relationship. Everyone acted like the rivalry was over, which was only making their parents even angrier. Exactly what they wanted.
At one point, Paa pulled Pat away while Pran was talking to someone else. He didn’t see him for a few minutes, and when he came back, he looked pissed off.
“Can we get out for a moment?” Pat asked, placing a hand on his arm to get his attention.
“Yeah, sure.”
The wedding was in the garden, so to get away from everyone, they walked inside the building. It was a hotel, so it wasn’t exactly empty. Pat found a balcony that overlooked the wedding, and it was empty, so they stayed there. Getting some fresh air, away from everyone.
“You okay?” Pran asked carefully.
“Yeah, my dad is just an asshole…” Pat mumbled and leaned against the stone in the balcony, looking down at the party. “How was your mom?”
“She’s not talking to me,” Pran replied and shrugged.
“They’re going to ignore the problem until we break up. We have to make them face it. You think you can get me invited to dinner with your parents?”
“Yeah, of course,” Pran replied as he nodded.
“Good, because you’re coming to family dinner next week,” he told him and turned to look at him. Pran chuckled and nodded, taking a sip from his wine and resting his hip on the railing.
Pat looked over his shoulder at everyone downstairs before he stood closer to him.
“You gotta kiss me,” Pat said suddenly, catching Pran off guard.
“What?” He asked, practically choking on the wine.
“My dad thinks I’m dating you just to spite him. We need to look a little more realistic,” Pat said and placed his hand on his waist, pulling him closer.
“Oh— Wow, now?” Pran asked, taken aback.
“Yeah, everyone’s looking. Don’t turn. They’re downstairs, looking up. So just kiss me now.”
“Okay, do you—? Like, a peck, or…”
“Pran, just do it.”
He hesitated a little bit, but he raised his hand and placed it on Pat’s cheek before he leaned in and pressed their lips together. He didn’t think that his first kiss with Pat would be like this. But he somehow didn’t mind; it was awkward at first because they both didn’t know what to do. But Pat leaned his head forward and deepened the kiss, catching Pran off guard. He left his glass of wine on the stone railing and raised his other hand to place it on the back of his neck, parting his lips into the kiss. He definitely wasn't expecting to get such a heated first kiss in front of his family, but he wasn’t complaining. Pat was kissing back just as eagerly, like he wanted to kiss him. He gently pushed Pran against the balcony railing, and that’s when Pran accidentally knocked his glass with his elbow.
They both gasped and looked down just in time to see the glass fall on the ground. Thankfully, it was grass, so it didn’t make too much noise, and it didn’t hit anyone. Pran opened his eyes widely when he saw how many people were looking up at them.
“Was that too much?” Pran whispered, not even looking back at Pat, because he didn’t think he could look him in the eyes again.
“Probably… Sorry!” He yelled when he saw a waiter cleaning up the mess, a few people chuckled at the mistake, and Pat turned to him. “Maybe that was good, it will get people to stop looking at us when we’re alone. That was one hell of a kiss, Pran.”
“What? You— You were… Oh, never mind.”
Pat laughed at him, getting flustered, and Pran’s face only got redder when Pat didn’t remove his hand from his waist. Like it belonged there. It certainly felt like it.
They went downstairs after they composed themselves and got a few looks. But they only cared about their parents, clearly angry at the whole situation.
“They’re definitely going to leave early at this point…” Pran mumbled, seeing his mom talking to someone and looking like she wanted to die. “Don’t you wanna talk to your sister or something?”
“No, it’s fine. You wanna dance?” Pat asked and grabbed his hand. Pran frowned and looked at the dancefloor. A slow song was playing, so only the couples were dancing.
“Okay…” He mumbled a little hesitantly and let Pat guide him there.
Pran placed his arms around Pat’s shoulders and suppressed a gasp when Pat pressed their bodies together. He was holding his waist, and he leaned in against his ear.
“You’re gonna have to guide me because I’m awful at this…” Pat whispered. Pran let out a laugh that earned them a few looks. He still placed his hands on Pat’s back, his elbows resting on his shoulders, before he made him sway to the beat of the music.
He allowed himself to rest his cheek on Pat’s shoulder after a while, closing his eyes as he danced slowly with him. He could feel Pat’s breath next to his neck, and the shivers it gave him reminded him of how much he liked him during high school.
After so many years, he thought his crush would be gone. He couldn’t be more wrong.
Pran would be lying if he said he didn’t feel nervous about having dinner with Pat’s family. But seeing their parents so angry at them was just too satisfying to pass up.
“I can’t believe you’re going to their house… I didn’t raise you like this, Pran,” his mom complained when he saw him getting ready to go to Pat’s house.
“Mom, start getting used to this, okay? He’s my family now too. And remember that Pat’s coming here on Thursday for dinner.”
“I didn’t agree to this.”
“But Dad did, he’s making an effort, can’t you do the same?” She only let out a long sigh and walked away, not saying anything. Pran smiled to himself when he looked in the mirror and walked down the stairs to go to Pat’s house.
“Alright, I’m leaving, I’ll be back later!” He yelled before he left. Thankfully, Pat’s house was right next door, so he just walked up to the door and rang the doorbell. He only then realized that it was the first time he had ever done that. He’d never been inside Pat’s house and it was a little nerve-racking.
Paa opened the door with a smile, thankfully. He wouldn’t have known how to react if Pat’s dad opened the door instead.
“Hey,” she said and looked behind him. “You’re not with Pat?”
“Huh? No, he told me to meet him here.”
“He must be caught up at work, come in,” she said nonchalantly and let him in. As soon as he walked into the living room, he could hear Pat’s dad arguing with his wife in the kitchen. He couldn’t hear exactly what they were saying, but he knew they were arguing about Pran staying for dinner. He awkwardly greeted Ink when he saw her sitting on the couch; at least he was glad to see a familiar face.
“I’ve been dying to interrogate you about this,” she said, making him sit down next to her. Pran chuckled and shook his head.
“There’s not much to it…” He replied, shrugging.
“Of course there is, you two told your parents about your relationship. You must be very serious about this if you’re willing to go through this,” she said excitedly. “How did it happen?”
“We ran into—”
“Yeah, yeah, I know that. But how did you two go from just catching up to dating?”
“I, uh…” He started to say, but they heard the front door open, and Pat walked in. Pran looked at the living room entrance with a smile and got up from the couch.
“Hi, sorry I’m late,” Pat said with a smile and placed a hand around his shoulders, leaning in and giving him a quick kiss on the lips. Pran was caught so off-guard that he was barely able to react. He didn’t even hear what Ink and Paa were telling them, something about going to the kitchen to tell them that they were there. So he waited for them to leave to speak.
“So we’re just… Casually kissing now?” Pran asked, not even turning to look at Pat.
“Right, sorry, I guess I thought it would look more natural. You don’t mind, right?” Pat said easily with a smile. Pran turned to look at him with a frown. He couldn’t say no to that smile. “Plus, I kinda like kissing you, is that weird?”
Pran raised his hand and flicked his forehead, making him whine loudly.
“Yeah, weirdo,” Pran said, making him laugh before he walked over to the dining room.
The dinner was awkward and quiet. But he wasn’t expecting anything else. He was at least glad that there was no yelling involved.
“Sorry, we’re not used to Pat bringing anyone over…” His mom said suddenly, breaking the silence.
“Yeah, he’s only brought home one girl,” Paa remembered. “But, well, she didn’t really count because she was already my friend, so she’d been here before. He doesn’t even talk about the girls he likes. You’ve only told me about Ink, right?” She asked in a teasing tone, letting out a chuckle. Pran turned to look at Pat and saw him let out a humourless chuckle as he nodded, not even raising his eyes from the plate. But they all chuckled.
“He didn’t tell you?” Ming asked when he noticed that Pran wasn’t laughing.
“He had a crush on Ink,” Paa explained, even though Pran already kind of knew that. “He even confessed in college. But he didn’t know that Ink didn’t even like men.”
“Yeah, I— it was a little awkward when I told him…” Ink said and chuckled too. Pran saw from the corner of his eye that Pat seemed a little quiet; he wasn’t laughing along like the rest of them. He reached a hand out under the table and took Pat’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Especially when I actually started pursuing Paa. But it was a little funny seeing him realize the whole thing as it was happening,” Ink continued and laughed.
He could tell Pat needed that little bit of support, because he was squeezing his hand back.
“Yeah, you've liked her since high school, right?” Pran said suddenly, grabbing everyone’s attention and making Pat flinch. Ink gave him a surprised look. “I guess we’ve all had high school crushes, those last pretty long, don’t they? I’ve liked Pat since high school,” he confessed, making everyone stare at him with wide eyes.
“What?” Paa asked, clearly surprised. “Did you?”
“Yeah, of course, huge crush,” Pran said, letting out a chuckle. “But if I’m being honest… I’m not as brave as Pat is,” he said, squeezing his hand and looking over at him. “I would’ve never had the guts to confess to him, even in college. The rejection would’ve devastated me.”
Suddenly, everyone at the table was a little quiet after Pran said that, not knowing how to react.
“I’m happy for you, Ink,” Pran continued when nobody said anything. “It’s not easy to confess to your high school crush, and I remember you really liked her, right? How did you muster up the courage?”
“Oh, I—·” Ink hesitated and looked at Paa before she explained. “I didn’t exactly tell her straight up… I just— I guess I just started flirting with her until she caught on…”
“Right, yeah,” Pran said with a nod. “I think I did the same with Pat. It’s very hard to just confess like that,” he finished with a shrug.
“But you two hated each other. There’s no way you liked him back in high school,” Ming pointed out.
“We didn’t hate each other,” Pran said easily with a chuckle, like it was a crazy idea to him. He saw Pat smile next to him. “Sure, we argued and competed, but it was always about school. Which is meaningless in the real world. We never did anything to actually hurt each other.” Pran couldn’t believe he was getting away with throwing so many jabs at them. But he wasn’t going to stop now, he was on a roll. “Have we?” He asked, looking at Pat.
“No,” Pat replied easily with a smile, they were still holding hands under the table. “No, yeah, without the stupid high school competition… When we met again, it felt different,” Pat finished.
“Yeah, right, let’s see how long this stupid relationship lasts,” Ming practically spat out, repeating the words back to Pat. But Pran couldn’t even be mad; it was exactly what they wanted to hear from their parents.
Thankfully, they didn’t interrogate them any more after that. Paa changed the subject, and they started talking about something else. Throughout the entire dinner, they talked about different subjects but barely included him or Pat in the conversation. They just ate, laughing when they had to and listening to the conversation. Pran could tell that Ming was pretending he wasn’t there.
Once they finished eating, Pran offered himself to help clean up, but Pat’s mom dismissed him quickly and disappeared into the kitchen with Paa.
“Come, let’s go,” Pat mumbled and grabbed his wrist to drag him upstairs.
They went into Pat’s room; it was weird seeing it from the inside for the first time. Pat had been in his room, but he’d never been in Pat’s room. Pat locked the door and let out a long sigh before he dropped on the tiny couch he had next to his window. Pran followed him and sat next to him; he had clearly renovated his room since the last time Pran saw him.
“You okay?” Pran asked carefully.
“Yeah, that went well, right?” Pat said with a fake smile. “I know my dad is fuming now.”
Pran nodded with a frown, thinking of what to say. There was an elephant in the room that he needed to tackle first, and he’d been thinking about it since the wedding.
“What is going on between you and your sister?” Pat raised his eyebrows but didn’t look at him, like he wasn’t expecting him to ask that of all things, or to even notice that there was something going on.
“Listen, uhm… It’s been a little weird between us since I broke up with my ex… I should’ve told you.”
“Why?”
“I started dating her best friend from college and… The relationship didn’t end too well, so she had to comfort her. It didn’t make me look good, honestly…”
“So? Breakups are supposed to be bad. What was she expecting? Isn’t that like a rule or something? To never let your friends date family members because it’s just a formula for disaster?” Pran asked and chuckled. Pat only shrugged. “Wait, do they still get along?”
“They were friends before me… I’m just the guy who broke her best friend’s heart.”
“You’re her brother. And you guys aren’t together anymore. Isn’t it weird to have her around?”
“Yeah, obviously. But I wouldn’t want her to break up a friendship over me. They’re best friends.”
“Right, yeah…” Pran mumbled even though he didn’t agree. “And Ink? You didn’t seem too happy when they started talking about the whole thing…” He asked, but Pat only let out a long sigh. “Are you still…?” Pran started to say hesitantly.
“No,” Pat replied immediately and whipped his head to look at him. “No, of course not. I’m completely over her. It's just…” He let out a long sigh and looked down. “It just doesn’t feel nice to hear about a rejection like that… Yeah, it was a long time ago and I don’t like her anymore. I’m very happy for them, but… She broke my heart and they tell the story like it’s this funny anecdote that we should all be laughing at…”
“Yeah, it didn’t sit right with me either,” Pran mumbled, looking down.
“Honestly, Pran. Thank you for saying all of that. It was really hard to muster up the courage to tell her. And honestly… Ink was really nice about the whole thing, that’s why we stayed friends. But I guess since it’s been so long and she’s dating my sister now, they just think it’s… Funny,” Pat explained and let out a sigh. “And that whole lie about you liking me in high school was very believable, thank you. I don’t think they’re gonna joke about the whole thing anymore.”
Pran chuckled nervously and nodded.
“Right, yeah…” He said and looked out the window before looking back at Pat. “I didn’t think it was that bad with your family…”
Pat let out a long sigh before he answered.
“Pran, your call…” Pat started, and Pran opened his eyes widely when he heard him get choked up. Pran moved closer to him to place a hand on his leg. “It was like a blessing. I’ve had a very difficult year with my family. My sister doesn’t behave the same around me, Ink is wary of me, my dad barely talks to me after I left my job, and my mom thinks she’s neutral, but she’s never on my side…” Pran raised his hand to wipe away one of his tears. “And then you called. Just as angry as I was, but with your parents. And I remembered that if there was anyone else who would understand what I feel right now for my family… It’s you.”
Pran nodded, listening to him. Pat looked him in the eye on those last few words. Pran couldn’t take it anymore, and he placed his arms around his shoulders to bring him into a hug. Pat rested his head on his shoulder and hugged him back, clearly needing it.
“I just thought that… Making them angry at me would be a hundred times better than this constant… Apathy.”
Pran nodded slowly, still holding him, because he knew that nothing he said would make it better. He could tell Pat’s family had been very slowly driving him away because he didn’t turn out exactly like they wanted him to. They both flinched away from each other when they heard someone knocking on the door.
“Pat, we’re gonna go out for a walk, you wanna come?” They heard Ink’s voice on the other side.
“God, I don’t wanna deal with them…” Pat whispered, burying his face between his hands.
“Just us, Pat! Don’t worry, come out,” Paa spoke up, knocking on the door a little harder.
“She’ll leave eventually, right?”
“Oh, you don’t know my sister… She just gets more annoying when you ignore her…”
Pat’s point was proven right when Paa started pounding on the door and whining so they would open it. Pran took one look at Pat’s exhausted face and got up from his seat to walk towards the bed. Pat gave him an inquisitive look as he watched Pran stand next to the bed and push it with his leg. He started pushing it against the wall, getting gradually quicker and making the bed hit the wall.
He knew he would be embarrassed, but he still opened his mouth and let out a fake moan. He had to suppress a laugh when Pat flinched and covered his mouth, also trying not to laugh.
“Oh, I see…” Pat whispered and got up to help him. He grabbed the bed and started pushing it too.
Pran chuckled and sat on the bed, bouncing on it lightly so the mattress would make noise too.
“Oh God, Pat,” Pran moaned, still looking at the door to see if Paa and Ink would leave.
Pat buried his head between his shoulders, suppressing a chuckle before he joined him
“Mh, Pran…”
Pat made a gesture so he would keep going, and he slowly approached the door to check if they were still there, pressing his ear against the door.
“Fuck, right there, don’t stop—” Pran faked, still moving the bed and watching Pat listen for any noise. It took him a few moments, but he finally turned and gave him a thumbs-up.
“I just heard the stairs. They’re gone,” he said with a smile. “You’re a genius,” Pat said, walking up to the bed. “She never leaves.”
“You think your parents heard that too?”
“Probably. But it’s better, they’re gonna hate that. I don’t think they’ve ever heard me having sex, or even thought that was a possibility in this room.”
“Are you not big on PDA?”
“I am; very big actually. But my last girlfriend hated it. She actually pushed me away when there were people around, including my family. Also, since she got along so well with Ink and Paa, everyone saw her as more their friend than my girlfriend.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I… I was excluded from a lot of things because they wanted to do stuff with ‘just the girls’, which is fine; I want them to have fun. But if it’s all the time…”
“Well, listen. They need to move on; you broke up with her a year ago. How are they still talking about her?” Pran said, a little surprised. “I also feel like it’s a little disrespectful to me. Nobody likes comparison.”
“I know, that’s why I never bring home anyone…” Pat replied and shrugged. He let out a sigh and ran a hand through his hair. “Oh, right, I have something for you…” He said suddenly and got up.
“What? You got me something?” Pran asked, surprised.
“Well, kind of. I’ve just had it for a while…” Pat said, letting out a chuckle as he opened the closet and took out something. Pran immediately gasped as soon as he saw what Pat had in his hands. His guitar.
“What?” Pran asked, baffled as he took it in his hands and opened up the case. Pat smiled down at him and sat next to him to watch him. “You had this?”
“Yeah, I just… I took it when they were going to throw it away, and I haven’t been able to get rid of it since…” Pat replied with a shrug.
“Pat, this is…” Pran started to say, not finding the words. He placed the guitar on his lap and swiped his fingers against the strings, not wanting to make too much noise. “Thank you.”
“It’s nothing, I just thought you should have it back,” Pat replied easily with a shrug. Pran chuckled and put it aside just so he could lean forward and hug him. When he leaned back, he looked into Pat’s eyes and only then realized how close they were, so he immediately leaned back and chuckled awkwardly. His heart was beating out of his chest, and he didn’t know if it was because he had his guitar back, but he felt like he was back to being fifteen, standing on that stage and singing that song he could never forget.
“Oh, I’m sorry, by the way…” He said suddenly, and Pran looked at him with a frown.
“Why?”
“For kissing you earlier without your permission. I know we didn’t discuss that. I didn’t really think it through, it just felt natural…”
“Pat, I…” Pran chuckled before he continued. “I was joking. I don’t care.”
“Seriously?”
“Yeah, I was just teasing. We’re faking a relationship here, of course, we’re gonna have to kiss… A heads-up would’ve been nice though.”
“Got it, yeah,” Pat said and chuckled too, sounding a little more relieved. “You’re a very good kisser, by the way.”
“Thank you,” Pran replied, feeling his cheeks get a little heated. “You too,” he told him, trying to sound as nonchalant as he could. Pat only chuckled, but Pran was happy just to see him smile after such a hard night for him.
Even if they were faking it, he was glad that, after so many years, he was able to talk to him again, make him smile, and comfort him. He wished he could do that with Pat all the time.