Tingles and Things

Something's Wrong

When Fong returned to his dorm later that night, Tine was awake and staring blankly at a random Netflix reality show on the TV. He was still exhausted from his earlier episode. He didn't have the energy to acknowledge Fong when he sat quietly at his desk. They sat in comfortable silence until Fong gave in and attempted to put him out of his misery.

"I talked with Sarawat," said Fong softly. Jerking, Tine looked over in surprise. He just stared, almost hesitant to ask what was next.

"It was all a misunderstanding. I got your phone back as well." He tossed the phone on the bed.

Tine grinned, picking it up and flipping it from hand to hand. Then he frowned.

"Does he hate me?" He asked quietly.

Fong hesitated, irritated that he had to answer the question. However, he was also sad, knowing Tine still needed explicit reassurance.

"No, Tine. He doesn't hate you. He blames himself for the misunderstanding, actually. He wanted to apologize and gave me his number to give you." Tine gave a small smile but then looked worried, biting his lip.

"But what do I say? Hey Sarawat, sorry I missed you. Also, I'm ready for your apology?" Fong wanted to roll his eyes, but he didn't. Tine tended to overthink body cues and wasn't rolling his eyes at the question, more the situation. This was not Tine's responsibility to figure out. Sarawat was lucky Tine still wanted to talk to him. So he took a deep breath and tried to be patient.

"You should text him hey, and tell him you're willing to meet up sometime this week. Keep it simple. This is more of a face-to-face conversation, honestly," said Fong.

"Should I text him now?" Asked Tine, excited.

"Maybe give it until tomorrow? You should probably catch up on some sleep. Plus, you both need a night to reset and start again. Today was an eventful day on both ends." Said Fong rationally. Thinking of the news he gave Sarawat.

Tine nodded. He looked at his phone. He had a bunch of notifications and missed calls, mostly from Fang and the cheer team. He didn't see anything from his family, but that's typical. They only text each other when something important happens.

He checked his IG and noticed he had a new follower, @ Sarawat.lism . He immediately liked one of his posts.

"Oops," he said, looking at Fong guilty.

"What?" asked Fong.

"Sarawat followed me, and I just liked one of his posts. So he's going to know I'm up." Tine smiled sheepishly.

This time Fong really did roll his eyes. Whatever. Tine wasn't going to do anything crazy at this point. He said they could be friends, but he won't babysit every action. Fong was still a full-time student and needed to focus on his studies. He'll keep an eye on them as needed.

"Just text him, Tine."

Grinning, Tine took out his phone.

'Hey, this is Tine. I got my phone back. Thanks for taking care of it! Fong filled me in. Sorry for the misunderstanding. I'm open to talking if you want . 😊"

"Do you want to see it?" Asked Tine.

"I trust you," Fong laughed, walking over to his book bag he dropped by the door.

"However, I am exhausted and still need to finish a paper for class tomorrow. I did get your key back. It's in your book bag's front pocket – if you finally want to hang out in your own room. Obviously, you're welcome to stay here if you want my company."