"Let's just stop playing this game," Boun gestured between himself and Prem, "I don't think we should be friends anymore."
Hearing those words come from Boun's mouth damn near crushed Prem to pieces. How could they not be friends anymore? They had...
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Three Months After the Fallout
Letting go of my best friend was easier said than done. He and I had been a duo for so long that our lives were intricately intertwined.
My friends were his friends.
No one wanted to pick sides. I didn't blame them for it either, this was our fault. Only Prem and I were the reason things got so messy and complicated.
My favorite hangout spot was his.
"Freedom! '90" was a gay bar owned by our best friends Kao and Earth, located in the same strip as my tattoo shop and Prem's coffee spot.
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Every Friday our friends would meet up there and have a blast. That tradition didn't change just because Prem and I weren't on good terms. Still, I refused to break.
Instead, I treated Prem like furniture.
I completely ignored him and put on the best front I could.
I laughed it up with our friends, flirted shamelessly with guys/girls, and even made out with a few. I didn't dare look in Prem's direction because I knew if I saw any ounce of pain on his adorable face, I would stop this brazen act of mine.
Every Friday evening I would return home and everything would come crashing down. I had to face my reality of being utterly miserable.
I missed Prem.
But the act didn't even stop there. It seemed neither one of us had enough balls to tell our parents who were friends also, what transpired between us two. Every time my parents brought up Prem I would immediately change the subject, and Prem's parents would ask why I hadn't been by in so long, I'd make some half-assed excuse about being swamped at my shop with an influx of clients, which wasn't a complete lie.
My only true moments peace was when I was tattooing. Every time I put that needle to skin, all the of tension and stress would escape me. I would instantly feel relaxed. Inking people wasn't just a job for me, it was a lifestyle that I lived and breathed. Once I got into it, I fell in love and never looked back.
