Call It What You Want (BounPrem-Reimagined)

xiv

"I didn't even asked you to go here!" I scolded Ohm as best as my croaky voice could do. It's day two of being sick and sadly, my adorable little nurse had to go to his job today. I mean, he generously offered to stay with me but I didn't want to be a burden. Besides, I was the one who persuaded him to get the job in the first place. I don't want him to call it a day off just because I got a stupid flu.

"Yeah but Prem told me to go here and take care of you or some shit." He mumbled, still rummaging through my fridge after scavenging through my cupboards.

"I said I was fine." I mumbled, crossing my arms in front of me and biting my lips, trying to stop myself from smiling. Just the thought of Prem going through the trouble of calling my annoying brother, I couldn't help but to smile at the thought.

"Stripper turned into a caretaker. Interesting." My brother chuckled as he grabbed a bag of chips, ripping one side of the bag open and shoving a good amount in his mouth. "Wait. Is that the actual name of your book?"

"Shut up. He works for Fluke now." I said, sounding rather proud and defensive really, I am both. "Stop being so fucking rude, please?"

"Sweet sweet Flukie." Ohm shook his head, a smug look on his face. "So he works for Fluke now?" He added, raising an eyebrow.

"Mm-hm." I hummed, going to the refrigerator to get a glass of water.

"Yo, so he's Fluke's boy-toy now?" He laughed and I almost spat my water, turning to look at him with my eyes bulging.

"What? No, not like that! He works in one of his bookstores, remember?" I shook my head, coughing a few times seeing as yelling at my brother made my throat hurt and itch, the cool water having little to no help at all.

"Shit I thought you passed him over to Fluke." He's literally laughing his ass off now, his palm coming in contact with the kitchen counter with his eyes closed, tears of sheer joy spilling.

I shook my head, actually done with my brother and it's not even 9 am yet. "He isn't something that can be passed over, don't talk about him like he isn't a normal human fucking being." I know that he can be rude but this much? I didn't expect this. And this is coming from someone who grew up with the shithead. "Ohm, I swear, I didn't know that you could be this rude. You're disgusting."

"Same." He laughed, pushing me away and grabbing a can of beer. "Anyways, I'll be on my way."

I sighed, "Good, you can go home now."

"No. I'll be on my way to your living room because Netflix." He laughed and I didn't even dare to argue anymore, I didn't want to stress myself further because of him.

--

"It's been cool, actually. I mean, I've never been, like, a bookworm or whatever before but it's fun in the bookstore." Prem explained as we both started eating our dinner. As best as I could, I actually cooked for us today. The actual first time that I used my own kitchen and my appliances. That says a lot about me, to be honest.

"Yeah? I'm glad you're liking it so far." I beamed, genuinely happy.

"Yeah and you know what, I actually saw a couple of books that I think I'd like." He shrugged, scooping a mouthful of mashed potatoes.

"That's good. What kind are they?"

"I'm not really sure." He looked thoughtful for a moment. "What genre are your books?" He bit back a smile and in a whim, I felt my cheeks go hot.

"Oh my god." I chuckled.

"Why? They all seem nice and interesting!" He said and just the way that he said it sounded so genuine, as if it instantly boosted my confidence or ego, actually. I don't know. I don't know why and how he could make me feel like that.

"Oh god, I don't know. I'm just a little weird about them. Especially the older ones." I scratched the back of my neck, gulping down a mouthful of water just to try to keep my blush on a minimum.

"Stop being so humble; it's cute but c'mon. Dude, I bet they're fucking great." He shrugged again, wiping his mouth with a napkin. Okay, first of all, what? Did he just called me cute? I've never been called cute by a guy before? I think? I mean, I'm sure I've never been called cute by a dude before - yup, I'm sure. Not until Prem called me cute.

Wait.

"I- uh, I just, I'm- I'm not so con- confident with what I do, is all." I stumbled through my words, trying to piece together the shit-storm that formed inside my damned head.

"I bet you're a great writer. I'll check them out again tomorrow." He smiled at me warmly and somehow I see these cheesy twinkles in his eyes as if from fondness? I don't know. Also, lately, I've been in these crazy series of hallucination and daydreams with Prem in it so basically, I cannot tell which is real and which isn't with him anymore.

"I guess." I mumbled, not knowing how to respond to his too-good complement. The day ended with us talking a bit more about his first day at work, about the people that he encountered there and about how he's kind of stoked to go back tomorrow.

Having Prem stay in my home is an experience and it feels so foreign to me but I found myself never complaining or hating these feelings that I've been getting. Every night before I go to bed, I actually spend a decent amount of time writing and wanting to finish a solid part of my book. Maybe that's another factor as to why I'm welcoming these feelings with little to no hesitations - because he's literally the my inspiration to write this book.

I remember before I met him, I couldn't even bring myself to type in a few words without deleting them as soon as I see them coming together in my computer screen. But now, it's different. I could actually type with ease. I don't have to force myself to stay up until sunrise just so that I could formulate words in to paragraphs. Now, everything just comes naturally.

And is it weird? Yes, I do feel kind of weird about it but at the same time, I really like the feeling.

I'm liking the feeling of having someone with me and having them to be there with me especially whenever I feel like having someone fill-up the quiet corners of my house.

I feel weird around Prem and although I like the feeling, thinking about it is actually scaring me.