as the thread stays, i stay | taynew, offnew

3

— still 10 years ago

New could say their friendship is written in the stars. There was something between them, something so scarce that he couldn't quite label, but he knew it was different from what he had with his other friends. New enjoyed Tay's company, which made him enjoy his punishment even more. He would sometimes skip the only time slot for his classes just to accompany Tay in the pool.

Oftentimes, New would split his lunch so that Tay could eat. One time, Tay was overly tired; he almost collapsed the moment he got out of the pool.  Luckily, New was there to witness and gave him his untouched lunch. Both of them didn't realize a month had passed by because of how much fun they had in each other’s company.

A day before his month-long sanction was to end, New discovered why Tay was always in the pool. Tay was not one of the main contenders for the regional school competition and was listed as a sub. This is why he continues to swim in order to prove to his coach that he is deserving.

“Does your coach know this? You, swimming here in the pool every single day.”

Tay shrugged as he bit on a bread roll. “He does, but he doesn’t know I’m here everyday. We’re allowed to train by ourselves. Those who didn’t make the cut are allowed to attend classes but I choose not to.”  

Even after New's sanction ended, the freshman never failed to stop by the pool. The pool became his canteen, as he ate lunch there with Tay every day. 

He and Tay also started going home together. New did not know where exactly Tay's house was since his house was the first one on the way. Tay would drop him off first and then go home. 

One time, New decided on a different route to find out where Tay’s house was.

"Tay! Let's stop by the night market afterwards! Let's eat!" Said New the moment Tay came out of the swimmers' locker room with his gym bag. 

Tay agreed, and they found themselves at one of the tables at the night market, waiting for their early dinner. 

There were quite a lot of people in the night market, considering it was a Friday night and people liked to stay out. Not far from them was a table full of ladies laughing and looking in their direction. New noticed this and leaned closer to Tay in front of him, who was leaning against the table and busy drawing random invisible shapes on the table with his finger.

"Hey, 9 o' clock. Seems like these ladies are interested in you," New grinned.

Tay did not bother to pay attention to what New was referring to. He looked him in the eye, and New realised with some mortification how close they were. Their noses were almost touching and despite the pounding of his heart, New made no move to pull away.

"I'm not interested in them." Tay’s breath ghosted across his lips.

If the food had not come, they'd probably still be looking at each other and making no move to withdraw. 

As they ate in silence, New felt a strange sensation in the pit of his stomach, and he knew very well it was not from the food. 

After they were done eating, they headed home and as New had planned, Tay was the one to be dropped off first.

"So, this is my stop," Tay said as he tilted his head to point at his house. New looked alternately at the house and at Tay.

"Isn't this Aunt Moo's house?"

Tay nodded, "You know my mom?"

New was just looking at Tay, until his eyes widened and his mouth opened in awe. "You're Aunt Moo's son?!" 

Tay was confused as to why New was acting this way so he nodded slowly. 

"You're coconut boy?!" New was pointing towards Tay, anticipating his response when Tay's eyes widened as well. 

"Hin?!" 

New's expression slowly turned to joy as he walked up to Tay and put him in a headlock. "So your name is Tay! I always called you coconut boy when we were young."

Tay just laughed as he loosened New's arm around him, still gripping his hand. "How funny that you always cause my head scars. Back then it was rocks you threw at me, hence the nickname, and now it's a goddamn cleaning net"

When Tay and New were little, they were playmates at the park. They both came from different daycare centers, but they met at the park every afternoon because their mothers knew each other. Young Tay wore his coconut hair look, which earned the nickname "coconut boy," and young New loved to throw pebbles, which earned him the nickname "hin."

Things got a lot more interesting between the two after they found out they were childhood friends. They became closer, if that's even possible, since they were close before they found out about the past. Tay's mother also met New again and occasionally invited him over for dinner.

In the course of the weeks that New and Tay were together, the former finally admitted to himself the butterflies he felt. He already thought it was cringey when he caught feelings for his friend but he just graduated high school and still thinks it's okay to act like a high schooler in love. It also did not help that Tay made him feel special by offering him food in the middle of dinner, giving him unexpected hugs out of nowhere, and New's favorite of all was that Tay listened to him and showed full interest in whatever topic he spoke about.