Vice Versa (BL)

Chapter 9

I threw my bag into the boot of the bus and climbed inside. The first look I caught was Puen's, who was sitting next to Julia, but it didn't last more than a couple of seconds, as if he'd wanted to end the eye contact quickly. It was the first time I'd seen him in two weeks. After my professional fault, the agency had left me out of the plan and Niran had taken care of everything with Dara.

I stopped beside him.

"Hi, Puen."

He smiled slightly at me.

"Hi. "He answered and turned to Julia to resume their conversation.

I'd understood the message. As I started walking again, my hand brushed his arm and I heard him take a breath before speaking again. I made my way to the back of the bus and Andy waved his hand at me. He pointed to the empty seat next to him. I sat down next to him with a dejected sigh.

"What are you doing here?" I asked.

"What's with your face? Aren't you happy to see me?"

"Oh, it's just that I'm not in the mood."

"The hotel  has a SPA, so you can relax there."

"What are you doing here?" I repeated."

"I'm one of the stars chosen to support Puen and Julia's film. I love them, but I'm here more for the free hotel stay."

"He pushed me off his shoulder."

"I see it didn't work out with Puen."

"No...it's even gotten worse. Wake me up when we get there."

We arrived at our five-star hotel. Baggage handlers took care of our luggage and soon everyone was assigned a room. Andy asked me to sleep in the same room as him. He didn't like to be alone. I noticed Puen's squint  as he looked at us. The situation was getting burdensome. I was sure he'd been avoiding me since the day at the beach because of the...'almost kiss'.

I had to talk to him to erase the awkwardness between us. But to do that, he had to let me approach him. We were going to talk, whether he liked it or not.

I went to Puen's side. His eyes widened for a second and he took on a neutral expression.

"I'm going to get some rest. I couldn't do it on the bus."

"But...wait!"

He disappeared at the speed of light.

Niran gave me a sidelong glance.

"You don't look so friendly anymore, do you?"

He didn't hide his smile, taking off in the direction Puen had gone.

I felt someone tap me on the shoulder.

"Come on, let's go see our room." Andy said.

I nodded, less excited than he was at the idea of staying in a luxury hotel.

It was more like a suite with separate rooms. This favored everyone's privacy.

The walls and curtains were in cream tones. The minute I dropped onto the hard mattress, Andy appeared.

"You'll get a chance to talk to him."

"He shuns me like the plague." I grumbled discouraged.

He frowned.

"What happened to make him react that way?"

"Oh...nothing."

He raised a skeptical eyebrow but didn't insist.

"You'll be able to talk to him over dinner".

His optimism made me feel better.

I just...wanted him to stop keeping me away from him, as if he didn't want me in his life anymore. I didn't want to seem like a leech who wanted to pressure him into talking. I was going to act natural.

Time passed slowly. I thought I was going to disintegrate from waiting so long. I waited for Andy, who came out of his room wearing different clothes.

"You catch him after dinner. He'll feel too heavy to run away. I hear the chef is excellent."

We went to the hotel restaurant and spotted the agency team at a long table. I took a seat opposite Puen, whose eyes were riveted on his empty plate from the moment I entered the room. Julia's hand was resting on his. Julia's gestures of affection towards Puen made my stomach turn. She loved monopolizing all his attention. She kissed his cheek and Puen gave her a torpid look.

"We don't need to pretend here."

I hadn't been able to eat the succulent-looking meal. I passed the time by nibbling my bun, then one of the make-up artists stood up, a little tipsy, and announced she was going back to her room. Puen was the first to follow. Andy's elbow dug into my ribs.

"Now is the time!"

I stayed back, following him. He took the walkway around the hotel buildings and sat down by the pool to soak his feet. He looked so peaceful that I didn't want to break the moment. But we had to talk.

"Puen."

His shoulders tensed up.

"Tess?"

That name again.

I sat down next to him.

"Why are you calling me Tess now?"

"Isn't that your name?" He said with a jaded look." I decided to call you Tess when it's  just the two of us. I thought you'd like to be called by your real name."

"Uh...Yeah. That's very kind of you."

It makes you feel like you exist and remember your old life.

"But I have the impression that you're doing it because of something else.

He turned a penetrating gaze on me. It was as if he was silently deifying me to say it.

"It's because of what happened at the beach." I said confidently.

His lips were pressed into a hard line.

"And just what did happen?" He asked with restrained anger.

I could see the storm on the horizon.

"We almost..."

"Nothing happened!" He interrupted, grabbing the collar of my T-shirt.

He stood up abruptly, sending drops of water at me as he went. I followed suit. My hands were shaking uncontrollably.

"Puen...I've got something to tell you."

He took a step back.

"I'm tired. We'll talk another day."

"No, it's important." I insisted.

He shook his head curtly.

"I said we'd talk about it later."

Then he stomped off, as if he had the hounds of hell at his heels.

"Puen!" I called.

He quickened his pace. In fact, it was me he was running away from. Maybe I'd gone about it the wrong way. This couldn't go on. I had to tell him the truth.

"I knew it."

The voice startled me. I turned to see Julia with her arms crossed and her face contorted with anger.