Tingles and Things

Misunderstandings

The story of how Sarawat met Man and Boss is anticlimactic. Their families were part of the same social circle, so Man and Boss usually hung out with Sarawat while the adults partied.

If you asked Sarawat, it was simple. Like most things in Sarawat's life, becoming friends was the logical step. Their parents were close, they had similar interests, they understood Sarawat's moods, and they conveniently acted as buffers for him in social interactions.

However, if you ask Man and Boss, they will tell you a different story. Sarawat was an asshole, and they dreaded interactions with him at parties. Sarawat was handsome, but he had a personality only a mother could love. He wasn't a bully. He just had no filter, and when he did speak, he was rude. He would stare at the person if asked a question he didn't want to answer until they looked away. They dubbed it, Sarawat's death glare.

One day after a particularly nasty comment left Boss crying (not that he or Man would ever admit it to anyone), Man got fed up, walked over to Sarawat, and punched him in the face. Shocked but not one to back down from a fight, Sarawat punched him back. Then, clutching their bloody lips, they stared at each other angrily.

"Why did you punch me?" Sarawat asked indignantly.

"Because you're being an asshole." Man said.

"Oh." Sarawat stared at him. "How so?" Man anticipating an argument was thrown off guard.

"He said you called him stupid. He's not stupid," Man said. Sarawat frowned. He remembered correcting Boss after he commented about pebbles not being rocks because they're made of glass.

"I said, 'that's stupid; glass is made from broken down rocks, so it's all the same thing,'" said Sarawat, recalling his answer. "I didn't call him stupid."

"Oh." Said, Man. "Well, you meant it." Sarawat continued to frown, deep in thought.

"Well, I don't think he's stupid. I'm sorry I hurt his feelings. I don't think any of my friends are stupid."

"Friends?" Man asked, bewildered.

"Yeah, you and Boss. You guys aren't stupid. I'll go say I'm sorry." Then he wandered off, leaving Man to stare at his retreating back. Huh. Sarawat thought they were friends. At that moment, he realized he had read Sarawat all wrong.

That day, both Man and Sarawat learned valuable lessons. Man discovered that Sarawat does care, but he is not good at expressing his feelings. Sarawat learned a lesson of empathy and tact when it came to friends. After that, the three boys were inseparable. However, although he made a better effort with his friends, Sarawat was still horrible at emotions.

So it was a surprise when Sarawat came barreling into Man's off-campus apartment where he and Boss were lounging, bored. They were done with today's classes and were waiting for Sarawat to eat dinner.

"Guys, I did it!" Sarawat screamed. Literally screamed with a huge smile on his face. Boss fell off the bed where he was lounging upside down, and Man shot up, picking up a book as a weapon, ready to defend whatever threat coming their way. Sarawat did not do emotions; something was wrong.

Sarawat paused and wondered what the big deal was. Ah. Right. He forgot to mention that he was obsessively trying to find a boy he fell for at a concert. At the time, it seemed fruitless, but perhaps he should have filled them in as friends.

"Did what?" Boss asked.

"Well. I sort of like this guy."

"Wait...what?!" Both Man and Boss screamed. His neighbors probably hated him.

"You like guys? What happened to Pam?" Man asked.

"I'm getting to that. I didn't realize I liked guys until this guy that I met, well, saw, really, at a Scrubb concert at the beginning of summer. I never got his contact information; he didn't know I existed. So, I spent all summer going to every Scrubb concert in the area, hoping to find him again. I didn't. But I did find him this morning at a campus coffee shop! He forgot his card, so I paid for his drink. He then gave me his phone as a promise to buy me lunch to prove he wouldn't flake, but some other guy bought us both lunch, which was annoying, but whatever. He's agreed to join the music club, and I'll see him again tonight to give him back his phone."