Standing alone... In a crowded room

Chapter 1

It wasn't usually like that, not in a while...

Sky and Rain were having a marathon study session along with other faculty friends of theirs, Phayu was working overtime in the firm, no races that week... and Prapai was lonely, to say the least... Overworking at his office was off the table, He couldn't bare to sit in that place for more than the needed time with everything that has been going on...

and moreover, with the way he had been overwhelmed with no reprieve... He felt like he could crawl out of his skin...

It was usually times like this when he became grateful to have a family to go back to, except that wasn't the case that time... He would have to go back into an empty room and an even emptier bed...

His parents were vacationing, and his sister was as busy as Sky was with her exams... busy enough that the entire house was on high alert not to distract her for even a second... She was as bad as Prapai himself when she was stressed, even the slightest of noises or distractions would set her off... badly...

So that was why Prapai drove back to his parents' house, without even music playing in the background... his head felt like it would explode with the slightest of noises... If the driver weren't waiting on Plerng to get him back home from partying with his friends, Prapai would have called him and asked him to pick him up, He couldn't focus...

He walked in silently and moved about the house till he settled in the darkness of the dining room, He thought about playing some music to ease his fired nerves but the idea alone made the pain in his skull spike up...

He had poured himself a glass of hard liquor... and just sat there... He couldn't bring himself to drink anything, even that seemed like a bad idea... He contemplated calling Sky and checking on him, but he opted not to worry him, Sky is very receptive to Prapai's conditions, He would know instantly that something was off about Prapai, and the last thing he needed was to worry him and take his mind off his studies...

He heard a commotion by the door and turned his head to see what was the deal about... before Plerng stumbled into the dining room... He looked to be way more wasted than usual... Prapai stood to steady him...

"Easy there... How much did you drink?"

Plerng mumbled something about losing count of his drinks and needing to get something off his mind... Prapai eased him into one of the chairs...

"What is it that got you drinking so much? Are you ok?"

Plerng smirked at Prapai... and He could see the hint of menace in his eyes...

"Why... Why is it you get to have a happy ending while I struggle to even say hello to someone? Huh? That Nong... Woohoo..."

"Maybe you are not following the right approach?"

Plerng turned sharply to Prapai... the menace in his eyes turning to anger...

"Oh... and You did?"

Prapai shrugged, He admitted it to himself before he might not have started on the right foot with Sky, but he got better along the way... and god that had been a long way...

"Not exactly... and Keep your voice down... We wouldn't want Phan to come and chase us out of the house..."

Plerng shrugged....

"I... Don't care... My two good-doers of siblings... I can never match up to you... One got his masters already... and the other is a studious nerd... and I am... nothing... just stuck in the middle between you two..."

"That's not true... you are a talented artist... you will eventually get around to meeting someone, trust me on this..."

Plerng laughed bitterly...