The Thing in the Woods [Phayu x Rain] (Love in the Air)

Chapter 9

Prapai wound his way through the streets of the town, anxious to be close to his love. All he was thinking thought about was making sure that his Sky was saved from the clutches of his slumber.

If Rain was right, and Prapai was sure that the boy was, then he needed to hurry. Sky and his father were depending on him. Prapai couldn’t stand for them to suffer, even if they were sleeping.

His loyal steed — Yes, yes, make fun of him all you want. Prapai didn’t care. He was clearly prince charming here and would take his role seriously, including his gallantry and noble metal steed, thank you very much! — hummed through the night, moonlight glinting off its polished metal.

As he got closer to the house, delicate light pink blooms made it shine in the distance. But their beauty was just a ruse. They were the messengers of anguish, little evil things, nothing like the authentic elegance of his Sky.

‘Pah! They had nothing on my boy’, Prapai thought.

He parked his bike on the side of the street and covered the last few meters on foot.

Less people stood outside the building than before. Unworthy bufoons held their scratched limbs as they tried to pass the impermeable wall of blooms. Idiots, all of them!

Prapai planned to honor his role as much as he could. So, he greeted the cameras with a blinding smile. He wouldn’t want to let Sky down after all. The coverage would be spread, even after this whole mess was done with… and Prapai just knew that his love would not be happy with him if he didn’t behave correctly. So, he plastered his easy-go-lucky smile on his face and tried to make his way through the crowd.

“Hey,” one of the spectators shouted. “Who are you, kid? Isn’t it time for you to go home and be with your parents?”

Prapai turned around to the imbecile and showed him his most charming smile. “Good afternoon Mister,” he said jovial, “It is such a beautiful night, isn’t it? My parents are none of your concern, but thank you for sticking your nose into things that don’t concern you. It’s most appreciated.”

“That little…”

Prapai ignored the man and walked towards the entrance where a group of people stood with plastic suits and some kind of saws, trying to break their way through the thicket.

Sparks flew in the night sky as one of the group's leaders tried to force the plants to divide. There was a crack, followed by a curse as the tool studdered to a stop.

“Son of a gun!” a woman shouted, throwing the saw to the side as she held her hand. A thick thorn was embedded in her finger.

Prapai gulped. He hadn’t really thought ahead when he left the library. As prince charming, he'd kind of expected that he would just know what to do once he was standing in front of Sky’s house. Well, as it turned out, he didn’t.

The next person stepped up to the rose bush. It was a big burly man with a flame thrower. He wasn’t gonna use that thing on the plants, was he? What if the house caught on fire and burned Sky and his father to a crisp?

“Don’t you dare use that thing!” he shouted. “The love of my life is in there!”

“Step aside, wimp,” the man didn’t even look at him as he pulled a welding mask over his face and held the flame thrower right at the base of the roses.

The flame licked at the plants, and for a second, they seemed to catch on fire, but then they glittered and sparkled, expelling the fire into the night and, therefore, into the face of the big burly man.

The crowd gasped as his body was engulfed in a fireball. The man screamed. Prapai looked around in panic. There was a hose lying in the grass. He launched himself at it, turned the knob and managed to spray the burning figure with the jet of water.