Content Warning: This work is intended for mature (NC17) audiences. If you are younger, please kindly leave this site.
~~~
Ai’Pete has left. Ai’Pete has already gone away from him.
It is the only thought in the mind of the man sitting by the football field as he watches the shadow of the nearing sunset. He recalls those precious moments when someone once held his hand here. But now... He is gone. The owner of those hands is no longer by his side.
The person I love is no longer here.
Clench.
These are the thoughts of someone covering his face with both hands, as the image of the setting sun trembles before him. He feels the tears streaming down and soaking his palms. Yet Inthach does not care. No matter if others call him weak or see him as nothing but a pathetic loser, he pays no mind. At this moment, his thoughts are consumed by only one person... Ai’Pete.
“What should I do, Ai’Pete? What should I do? How can I live without you?”
Though Ae is strong, though he is a man who charges headfirst into everything, when it comes to the one he loves, he has no strength left to face the truth—that another bond between them is about to disappear.
Today, Pete’s mother called to say she would settle matters regarding his dorm. Despite telling himself he needed to help, despite knowing that two women alone could never carry heavy items down, he knows, but... his legs lack the strength even to show his face and confront the reality.
Swoosh.
At that moment, the shadow of someone darkens the blazing sunlight of the day’s final moments. However, Ae does not bother to lift his head until the newcomer speaks with a concerned tone.
“Nah Patchara has already returned Ai’Pete’s dorm, Ai’Ae.” Pond informs him, but the friend who had begged him to help clear out the ‘former lover’s’ belongings sits still as a log.
Even Pond, who is usually cheerful, cannot manage a smile and instead heavily pats his friend’s shoulder while delivering a message from someone else.
“Ai’Pete’s mother asked to see you. She seems really worried about you...”
“I... I can’t face her. I can’t show my face. I’m the reason Ai’Pete had to move away. I...”
Inthach only says this much, in a way that makes his friend want to console him. Yet a fresh wound is still a fresh wound; no matter how good the remedy, it cannot heal instantly. Pond, therefore, pats his friend’s shoulder once more before stepping back. When left alone, Inthach can only raise his hands to his temples and shut his eyes.
How can I live without you? How can I possibly do it?
~~~
“Get here fast, Ai’Pond! Ai’Ae’s been downing alcohol like it’s water for hours!”
“Then why didn’t you stop him?”
“How the hell could I? He looks like he’s on the brink of death!”
In the evening, countless bars open for business. Typically, Pond would be more than happy to join his friends in a drinking session to relieve stress. However, the phone call from Pheuak Monkey wipes the smile off his face, leaving him no choice but to rush to the specified bar. There, he sees... the short friend of his, silently drinking alcohol like it is water.
"Ugh! I'm going crazy!" Pond lets out a heavy sigh as Khaen chimes in.
"I'm losing my mind too, man! Ai’Ae has been skipping practice for a week now. Every time I try to drag him there, he just shakes me off. The team says he’s been coming here to drink himself into a stupor night after night."
"Yeah, I know! I'm his roommate—how could I not know he’s been dragged back to the room like a sack of potatoes? Damn it!" The Triple S guy, usually meddlesome, curses in frustration.
He thought Ai’Ae’s rough patch would last only a few days before someone as strong as him would rise and face reality. It’s not like that though. Ai’Ae’s condition worsens by the day.
Forget football practice—he isn’t even showing up to class anymore.
“What are we supposed to do? So, where did Ai’Pete disappear to? What happened to them? I tried asking Ai’Tinn, but he won’t tell me a thing,” Khaen asks, puzzled.
While he can guess what happened between his friends, he doesn’t dare believe it’s true. After all, it’s plain as day how much the two of them loved each other. And now... they’ve broken up?
Even someone as talkative as Khaen is left speechless.
Swoosh.
“Shit! Are you trying to drink yourself to death or what?” Pond yells as Ai’Ae continues downing drink after drink.
Unable to stand it, Pond lunges to grab his friend’s hand. Ai’Ae, red-faced, with teary, glassy eyes and an idiotic grin rarely seen, finally looks up at him.
“Ai’Pond... wanna drink... hic... with me? It’s good stuff...”
“Ai’Ae, stop it!” Pond shouts, but words aren’t enough. Ai’Ae reaches for the bottle again, ready to chug it straight. Watching this, Pond can no longer endure it.
This isn’t who Ai’Ae is—not like this!
"Don’t try to stop me... I’ll... drink!... I’ll drink!!" Ae's voice grows louder as he struggles to reclaim the bottle of alcohol.
On any normal day, Ae would’ve succeeded easily, but the excessive alcohol in his bloodstream renders his movements clumsy and aimless. This pushes Pond’s patience to its limit.
Bang!
"Ai’Ae! Do you think doing this will make Ai’Pete happy? Huh? Even if you drink yourself to death, he’s not coming back! So why are you destroying yourself? The Ai’Ae I know isn’t like this! He isn’t like this, damn it!"
"Then what do you want me to do!!!" The drunken man roars back, his voice filled with rage. Ae glares at him with bloodshot eyes, but soon tears well up and start streaming down his face. Grabbing Pond’s shirt with both hands, Ae shakes him with all the strength he has left.
"Tell me... tell me, Ai’Pond... tell me! Hic Tell me what I’m supposed to do! He’s gone! What should I do? Tell me! Tell me!!!"
Ae shakes his friend violently before collapsing onto the chair. His hands, once gripping Pond’s shirt, fall limply to his sides as his voice softens into a whisper.
"Ai’Pete... please come back... come back to me."
"What do we do now, Ai’Pond?" Khaen whispers nervously, unsettled by Ae’s severe state.
He can’t even think of a way to comfort him, let alone joke around. Pond takes a deep breath, his expression a mix of sadness and pity for his friend, who never submits to anyone yet now looks utterly defeated.
A man who seems to have lost everything.
Grab!
"Settle the bill, Ai’Khaen."
"Let me go, damn it! Let me go, Ai’Pond!"
"Shut up and walk straight! I won’t stand by and watch my friend like this anymore!" Pond says firmly to his single-lidded-eyed friend, yanking the short one along as they head back to the university together.
He can’t bear to see Ae becoming someone he’s not. Ae is allowed to grieve, but he isn’t allowed to destroy himself like this!
Crash!
Ae's body collapses onto the grass like a lifeless pillow when Pond throws him down. Ae sits there on the ground, too drained to stand, staring listlessly at the field he once loved so much—the field he used to love running on.
Ae loved football deeply, until he met... Ai’Pete.
Thud.
Ae's thoughts are interrupted when a ball is thrown next to him. He glances up to meet the piercing gaze of his closest friend.
"Kick it. You love playing football, don’t you? Kick the damn ball."
"Leave me alone!!!" Ae shouts, his eyes bloodshot and lips parched.
Pond grits his teeth, grabbing Ae’s collar and pulling him close.
"Ai’Ae, enough! Wake up and face reality! Ai’Pete is gone! He broke up with you so you could stay here and continue your studies. And now you’re going to throw away your future by drinking yourself to death? I know it hurts, but you’ve got to get up! Get up and play, damn it! If you don’t know what else to do, just kick the damn ball! Kick it!!!"
Pond’s voice echoes across the football field as he shakes Ae’s shirt. But Ae closes his eyes and shakes his head slowly, refusing to move.
"I... don't know..."
Thud!
Crash!
Ae's answer prompts Pond to shove him forcefully to the ground, then turn his focus to the football.
Wham!
"Ouch!" Ae cries out as Pond kicks the ball directly into his midsection.
But that isn’t enough for the fiery Pond. He sprints to grab the ball and kicks it into his friend again and again. Ae, who was once more capable than anyone, can now only lift his hands in defense as the heavy ball keeps slamming into him.
Pant, pant, pant.
Finally, Pond, who isn’t accustomed to physical exertion, gasps for air. He glares at Ae, who is curled up on the ground, and wonders whether to pity him or not.
"How does that feel? Awake yet? Is this enough, or should I kick you to death?!" Pond demands sharply, glaring at Ae, who remains silent on the ground.
Then he shouts: "Ai’Ae, you're not Ai’Mai! You don’t drink yourself stupid! You don’t destroy your athlete’s body! If you need to exert yourself, if you’re stressed, take it out on the field! If you’re so damn tense, kick the ball! But don’t drown yourself in alcohol! That’s not you! Ai’Pete isn’t here now, but if he could see you, do you know how worried he’d be? And what about me, your friends in the faculty, your teammates, your parents, your siblings, your nieces and nephews? How do you think they’d feel seeing you like this?! Get up, Ai’Ae! Your time for weakness is over!!!"
Pond’s words carry a serious tone, revealing how he can no longer stand to watch Ae deteriorate like this.
Ae is supposed to be the one scolding him, not the other way around!
Those sharp words drift into Ae’s mind as he sits there, drained, unable to meet Pond’s gaze. Pond then walks over and crouches down beside him.
"You still have us, Ai’Ae. Your life still has so many people in it. I’m begging you—don’t do this again."
Though Pond is usually playful, his tone is earnest this time. For the first time, Ae looks up at him and responds simply.
"I... apologize."
"You don't need to apologize to me. Get up, damn it. You look like you've been wrestling with a dog," Pond says curtly, disregarding the fact that he was the one who kicked the ball at Ae. He prepares to drag Ae up but stops when Ae speaks.
"Let me... be alone. Let me think by myself."
Although worried that Ae might sink back into sadness, Pond sighs deeply and reluctantly leaves him alone, with a single football and the quiet, empty field as his companions.
~~~
Swish.
In the midst of the dark silence, a man lying on a large bed opens his eyes. He gazes into the darkness and realizes he is in a hotel room—a place his lover often stays when working late.
Ae turns to look beside him and sees someone curled up under the blanket, tucked up to the neck. He shifts closer, his sharp eyes softening with affection as he reaches out to gently stroke the soft hair he loved to touch during their university days and still cherishes today.
"Mm... Ae... what time is it?" The light touch stirs Pete, his raspy voice heavy with drowsiness.
The man who had just arrived from Rayong a few hours ago and had come straight to see Pete reaches for the phone resting by the bed.
"It's almost 4 AM"
"Ae... you're crying."
The sudden glow of the phone’s screen makes Pete blink fully awake. He sits up straight, switches on the bedside lamp, and turns to face Ae. Dressed only in boxers, Ae’s sun-kissed face is streaked with tears, glistening all the way down to his chin.
"Ae, why are you crying?" Pete asks urgently, his hand reaching out to gently wipe away the tears.
His eyes show deep concern, prompting the crying man to smile and pull the taller figure into his embrace. Leaning back against the headboard, Ae rests Pete against him, leading Pete to ask, still confused,
"Ae, what’s wrong? You can tell me."
"I had a dream."
"A dream?" Pete repeats, prompting a laugh from Ae.
"I dreamed about the time when you and I had just separated. It felt so real it made my arm hurt. I thought Pond really kicked a ball at me," Ae says with a faint smile on his sharp features.
Though the memory of the past brings tears, the reality of Pete being back in his arms brings a smile. However, the story causes Pete to sit up abruptly.
"What do you mean?"
"Back when I almost lost my mind, Pond was the one who helped me. Thinking back, it’s funny—he even compared me to Mai and told me not to drown my sorrows in alcohol. He said if I had issues, I should take it out on football instead. Honestly, it was smarter advice than usual for him," Ae says with a chuckle, as Pete adjusts to lean back against the bed, resting his head on Ae’s shoulder.
From there, Ae recounts the events of that time to Pete, who can only smile, even as the memories sting his heart.
Back then, if it hadn’t been for Su and Alvin, Pete might have been in just as bad a state as Ae—crying every day, mourning a love that was lost to the power of money, and endlessly questioning why it had to be that way.
"Honestly, I should thank Pond again, but just thinking about how he’ll either tease me or make a joke about it makes me lose the will to bother," Ae says, shaking his head, which earns a smile from Pete.
"Why are you and Pond so close anyway? No, wait—you seem closer to your high school friends than your university friends," Pete asks curiously, as it’s always puzzled him how two men with such opposite personalities became such close friends.
The question that made Ae sigh heavily: "Because he probably likes to stir up trouble."
"How so?"
"Do you want to hear?" Ae turns to look directly at the person asking, who nods vigorously.
"The story goes back to when I was in Grade 10, maybe. Have I ever told you that I didn’t attend the same junior high as Pond’s group? I only moved there when I reached high school..."
It seems like tonight neither of the two will be getting any sleep.
~~~
"I got a senior from Grade 11, man!"
"Hey, seriously? That’s easy! You said you’d take about a month. This is just two weeks. Nice, really nice. My friend’s truly impressive."
Monday mornings are always filled with boredom for students coming to school, just like the students of Class 4/2 who slowly enter the spacious classroom with forty classmates, and the group that stands out the most is undoubtedly the group of good-looking people who gather together.
Mai, the school leader, who might not stand out in a good way in terms of appearance, but definitely stands out in being someone to reckon with, making him someone you'd rather not approach.
Pond, the charming guy with Italian blood running through his veins, comes from the same class as Mai.
Sun, the good-looking guy, extremely good-looking, the type who can charm anyone. He's been in the same gang as Mai and Pond since junior high.
Dīe, with a somewhat cute appearance, but seamlessly fitting in with the group of the others mentioned.
Diao, the smart guy with glasses who doesn’t know how he ended up in this class instead of the King’s class, which he was in before with Dīe.
Five guys who stand out in different ways, yet have been close since the first day of school, becoming popular with the girls in the class, and even the ones from other classes, though it’s unclear whether it’s a coincidence or divine intervention that they end up in the same group in high school.
And while there’s a group that stands out in the class, there are also those who don’t stand out.
At the beginning of the year, Ae is still just a new student with dark skin, who is there because his parents want him to attend a prestigious school. By chance, he receives special consideration through a sports quota. He’s the one who quietly sits in a corner, getting to know a few classmates during the foundation course, but not close to anyone.
He looks at the standout group and shakes his head slightly.
How can they talk about girls like this?
Ae tells himself, not feeling too pleased, but it’s not his business to intervene. So, he just sits quietly and waits for the end of the school day to go practice football.
“Turn in the homework, guys! Turn in the homework! Whoever’s submitting it, place it here.”
At that moment, the cute guy walks to the desk in front of Ae, so he has to look up.
"Hey, Pam, let me leave it here. The desk in front is the easiest to submit."
"Sure. Then you’ll submit it before the homeroom starts," Dīe turns and tells the desk’s owner, who nods, then turns to smile broadly at the person sitting behind.
"Hey, don’t forget to submit your homework after playing football, Ae. You forgot last time," Dīe says as a reminder, now remembering the name and face of the new classmate, and the listener nods.
"Sorry, I really did forget last time."
"Hey, don’t forget again. Khun Chok is sharp like this... You just transferred here, right? If I’m not mistaken, you’re the school athlete, right?" Dīe smiles brightly, remembering and asking the new friend, who nods.
"Really? How tall are you?"
"160 cm."
"Whoa, I’m taller! Hey, Diao, you can’t call me short anymore. I’m taller than the school’s football player!" With that, the guy who was once 165 cm and had grown a centimeter each year for the past three years turns to boast to another friend, who adjusts his glasses, smiles widely, and speaks seriously.
"Be happy, but I think when you graduate, you still won’t catch up in height."
"Damn, Diao!" Dīe turns back to yell at his friend before walking off. Ae doesn’t pay much attention, not thinking he belongs in this group. But who would have thought that some events would lead someone unnoticed to end up joining the most prominent group in the class?
~~~
Thud.
"Ouch! If you’re so tough, stop being a coward!!!"
"You’re the one! Don’t meddle with other people’s partners, you little shit!"
After football practice, it’s usual for Inthach to walk to the bus stop to head home, but it’s strange when he hears a fight outside the school, making him frown. Most people would walk away, but for Ae, he just walks toward the noise to make sure no one needs help.
Wait… that’s my classmate.
The football player thinks to himself when he sees a tall figure in school uniform, with black pants, lying on the ground while three university students are kicking him.
"Who’s meddling! Your girlfriend’s the one who spread her legs for me!"
Thud.
"You want to die, you little bastard!" One of them punches Pond square in the face.
"Hey, let him go!"
That makes Ae shout out as he throws his school bag and football to the ground, causing Pond to look up at the person coming to help.
"Mai..." However, the person who shows up isn’t who he expected, and he shouts out.
"Don’t come in, you’ll get caught too." Of course, with a friend much shorter than him, what could he expect from him?
But that doesn’t make Ae step back; instead, he takes a step forward.
"Let go of my friend."
"Don’t meddle, you little shorty. This isn’t your business," the other side says, making Ae tighten his fists as he stares at the taller group. Yet, he refuses to back down.
"I said, let go of my classmate."
"What if I don’t?"
"Then it’s like this..."
Thud!
A heavy punch lands squarely on the university student’s face, making him stagger, dizzy. Without waiting for them to recover, Ae knows they won’t stop looking for trouble. He quickly kicks another person in the midsection, then runs under the arm of another to reach the one who looks the worst off.
"Are you okay?"
"You... Ai... Ae... Hey, watch out!..."
Ae doesn’t dodge in time when one of them lunges at him with a punch. Although he’s a football player, he never said that he has not tried boxing. He quickly regains his balance and sweeps the opponent’s legs, causing him to fall. At that moment, Pond manages to get up, rolling up his sleeves and wiping the blood from the corner of his mouth.
"You’re so damn good."
"I used to box," Ae replies, raising his hands in a guard as the odds shift to three against two, making the others unsure.
"What’s going on with you kids?!" At that moment, a whistle cuts through the air, followed by the voice of the school disciplinary teacher approaching, causing both sides to hesitate.
"Let it slide for now," the taller one says, leaving his anger behind as he runs off in another direction.
Ae quickly grabs his bag and football before Pond pulls him away from the scene as fast as possible. "Run faster, man. I’m on probation. If we get caught, my dad will kill me!" Pond says, astonished at how the shorter Ae runs farther, even though he started running later, making him think...
"This short guy is actually awesome!"
~~~
Despite the thrilling events of yesterday, the classroom is peaceful again the next day, and the hero who helped his friend quietly sits and studies as usual.
Today, Ae looks around and notices that the guy who got beaten up for messing with someone else's girlfriend hasn’t come to school yet. They didn’t talk yesterday, just hurriedly went their separate ways home.
Swish.
“Hm?”
The person hurrying to finish homework (because they completely forgot last night) looks up when several shadows gather around their desk. They see the prominent group staring at them intently, with Sun rubbing his chin thoughtfully.
“Ai’Pond told us yesterday that you helped him, didn’t you?”
The listener is initially confused but gives a simple answer.
“I just happened to see it.”
“Is it true that you kicked that damned nuisance so hard they flew into the wall?”
The listener makes a strange face, certain they didn’t kick anyone into a wall. Before they can respond though, a cheerful voice from the cute-looking friend speaks up first.
“Hey, hey, hey, did you learn boxing or something? Ai’Pond said you pulled off the Hanuman Offering the Ring move!”
“No, that’s exaggerated,” Ae quickly replies, as it seems the shameless one has embellished the story so much he sounds superhuman.
Meanwhile, Diao smiles and adds, “Well, Ai’Pond is exaggerative, but he never lies. You helped him yesterday, right? If you ask me, you should go tell him he owes you a meal today. When you do something good, you should expect something in return, you know."
The guy who’s been running with the group since high school chimes in. However, Ae responds in a serious tone, “I just happened to pass by. There’s no need for anything in return. If it were you, you’d step in to help too.”
Clink.
The entire group stares at their new friend in unison and then bursts into laughter.
“No way, no, no, no! I wouldn’t help. I don’t fight. I’m afraid I’d end up as dim-witted as they are.”
“I can’t handle it either. One hit, and I’d be out cold,” Dīe adds, reinforcing the point, while Ae shakes his head.
“Yeah, just let it go.”
The hero says that, but at that moment...
“Where’s my hero?!?”
The mixed-race boy runs in with a plaster stuck to the corner of his mouth and heads straight toward the person surrounded by the group. Then...
Swish.
“I humbly pay my respects!” Everyone is stunned when Pond drops to his knees and clasps his hands together like a martial arts movie character at Inthach’s desk. The so-called hero is left bewildered.
“Hey, stop! What the hell are you doing?”
“I’m thanking you! If it weren’t for you, I’d have been in big trouble. Those guys just wanted to cause problems! I didn’t even mess with their girlfriends. Their girlfriends came to me willingly!” His explanation, self-serving no matter how it’s heard, makes Ae furrow his brow.
“You deserved it. Speak respectfully about women!” Ae says what he feels without fear, even though he’s still surrounded.
This makes Pond pout. “But it’s the truth! They came to me willingly.”
Smack!
“You shameless flirt! Ai’Ae is right,” Dīe scolds, smacking him on the head before Mai turns and pats their classmate and dear friend on the shoulder.
“You’re really something. Hey, if there’s a fight next time, I can call you, right? Good, good! These guys are weaklings,” Mai says, pointing over his shoulder at the group of friends, causing them to erupt in protest.
“Hey, enough! First period is physics. Switch classrooms, go, go! Ai’Ae, come with us,” Diao chimes in, scolding the others and ushering everyone to move to the next class.
He doesn’t forget to invite the short one, who made a name for himself yesterday, to join. Ae stands, gathers his things, and follows the group of five.
Grab.
“Sit with us. I want to hear about yesterday,” Sun says, slowing his pace to wrap an arm around Ae’s shoulders and speaking in a cheerful tone.
Ae, still unfamiliar with the group, simply nods. “Yeah, but it’s not as dramatic as your friend made it sound.”
And that... is the beginning of their friendship.
It’s often said that childhood adventures forge lifelong bonds. It seems... This is true.
~~~
“So, does that mean you fought a lot in high school, Ae?”
“Yeah, when Mai invited me, I’d join, but I had to make sure I didn’t get caught by the teachers. Otherwise, I would have been kicked off the football team.”
The morning now begins, as the story reaches its end. The listener smiles faintly, seeing how much their stern-faced romantic partner visibly enjoys reminiscing about the past.
“So now Pond is the one helping Ae? Does that mean Ae has to kneel before Pond in gratitude?” the listener asks teasingly, causing Ae to shake his head firmly, clearly unwilling to do such a thing.
“All right, sleep. There are still a few more hours to rest.”
Smooch.
Ae leans down to plant a firm kiss on Pete's cheek but then gets up, leaving Pete looking on in confusion.
“I’m going to the bathroom,” Ae says before walking away.
Pete, left lying on the bed, picks up his phone and scrolls to find the name of a close friend with whom he exchanged numbers just a month ago. He types out a short message and sends it. By morning, a reply comes back saying...
...What do you mean?...
As for Pete’s original message, it likely said something like:
...I, a most humble person, ask to bow in gratitude on another's behalf, Pond...
It doesn’t matter if the recipient doesn’t fully understand. For Pete, he knows this friend is the kind of friend everyone wishes to have—the kind who has helped both him and Ae countless times. A friend who, despite having many bad habits, is without a doubt Ae’s truest and closest friend.
If Ae is too stubborn to say it himself, then Pete will say it on his behalf.
They’re partners, after all. Speaking up for each other is part of the deal, isn’t it?
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