Waves (a KongArt fanfic - complete)

Waves

The day drags on, like one of those moments in time that is infinite, repeating over and over until it blurs into a mish-mash mix of nonsense and striking images that won't ever leave your conscious mind.

Inside an overpacked room, Kongpob's eyes are drooping as the final lecture finishes and they are released at last. His class, buoyed by its end, spills out into the corridors like the white tip of a crashing wave, splitting off into smaller groups as they traverse the silent corridors.

First year sucks, Kong decides as he slings his heavy rucksack over one shoulder, aware that there are still hours of work inside it, waiting for him to settle at the desk in his dorm. Beside him his own friends are equally distressed, exhausted, unhappy.

"I don't want to spend my Friday night studying." Oak complains as he trips over nothing and almost ends up sprawled all over the corridor. If it wasn't for a strong arm clutching him, he would have been for sure.

"Is that how you're going to treat the University's facilities?" A booming voice asks and the first years quickly turn as one mass to wai to their senior, P'Prem.

"No phi!" Oak stutters and then shoulders his bag nervously before sliding his glasses back up his nose.

"Good. Now, did someone say they were going to spend their Friday night studying?" Another, much happier, much shinier, much sweeter voice, calls out, "We simply cannot have that! Engineering still has a reputation to keep up, freshies!"

P'Tootah wraps his arm around a terrified and tense looking Em, "You'll come out, won't you Nong Em?"

Em exchanges a glance with Kongpob, who lifts an eyebrow and secretly enjoys his friend's predicament for a minute, that is, until P'Bright sidles up to him and tugs him closer, whispering, "I'm expecting you there, Khun Moon! With your sweetness, all the little first year ants will follow!"

He finds himself nodding slowly, Em mirroring him as the rest of the corridor fills with the voices of excited third years and hesitant freshies. The cacophony of noise reaches a level unheard of in this part of the school for a moment, until suddenly there's a loud clearing of a throat and everyone turns as one to see P'Arthit, the head hazer, standing on the edge of one of the railings, arm in the air for silence.

Kongpob tracks the movement of his Adam's apple as he gulps in a breath, then opens his mouth to speak, "All freshies are invited to join the third years for a special night out, led by Ai'Tootah! We sincerely hope you will join us, and the first drink.." he pauses and there's a hushed murmur in the crowd, followed by a roar of approval as he finishes, "On us!"

There's a mad dash after that, a whirlpool of people headed for their dorms to wash up and dump their bags, phones already chiming with Line messages sharing the details of the event. And Kongpob feels himself swept up in it, even as his eyes are swept up in something else.. something muscular and manly, something infinitely handsome and distracting.

He shakes himself out of his stupor just as Em links arms with him and whispers, "Do we have to go, Kong?"

——

Turns out that yes, they do. There's a third year sweep of the engineering dorms, everyone dragged out, a trail of ants (as Bright had suggested) dancing out and down and onwards towards the bar in the message.

Until it's full and they spill out into the street outside, a mixture of first and second and third years, maybe the occasional fourth year who has come to stare at them for sport.

"Well?" A voice asks and Kongpob twists to see Arthit leaning against a pillar, face carefully painted blank.

"Well, what?" Kongpob asks cheekily, even as Arthit raises a thick eyebrow and looks at him pointedly, breaking his calm.