Our Heart (Rewritten)

Cats And Dogs

"Didn't I tell you to go to the cafeteria?" Peat chides whilst he straightens Noeul's collar like an upset but concerned mom. "Ugh! You never listen. You almost got punched on your first week in school."

"What's his deal?" Noeul mutters. "Not like he owns this spot and this isn't high school. Why is he marking his territory like a high school bully?"

"Mm." Peat hums, giving his friend a curious smile. "And where did you see that, in TV dramas?" He teases to which his friend frowns and claps back, "Yes, in TV dramas. Why? It's not my fault that I've never gone to regular high school."

Peat chuckles at this. "Okay, okay. I'm sorry. But you should just let him be, Chaikamon, I mean. They say this spot is meaningful to him."

"And why is that?"

~~~

Moments later and Noeul's expression has flipped 180 from being stubborn to looking thoughtful and somewhat guilty.

"Is that true?" Noeul asks, getting goosebumps. "His girlfriend...died?"

"Mm, that's what I heard." Peat answers. "She's from another faculty so I don't really know her but I heard it was a hit and run and that they never got the guy. That's why Chaikamon's lashing out; he still can't accept it."

"Then...you should've said so from the start." Noeul mumbles. "I didn't know."

"I was going to but you're always so impatient. Tsk!" Peat averts his eyes and suddenly looks somber, muttering softly, "Do you know how worried I was? What if you collapsed? Your mom entrusted you to me but you just do whatever you want."

Noeul's struck with a second wave of guilt. He scoots closer to his friend, hooking an arm with Peat's and saying in an apologetic voice, "Peat, I'm sorry. I'm just...really happy to be out and about. But you're right, I was being thoughtless. Forgive me, hm?"

At this, Peat rolls his eyes but that's how Noeul knows he's won him over.

"Fine but you better listen to me from now on." Says Peat to which Noeul salutes and chirps an, "Aye, aye, captain!"

But then he adds, "And steer clear of Chaikamon, understand?"

Okay, that last part, Noeul can't promise.

~~~

As Noeul lies in bed that evening, he can't get Chaikamon out of his head. He never imagined someone as young as him is carrying something so heavy. But if anyone knows all about what that's like, it's Noeul.

And that's probably why he feels for him and regrets being so bratty earlier. Would it have hurt to just leave? Noeul shakes his head at himself and turns on his side, propping his head on his arm. The clock on the bedside table reads: 12:02 am. But Noeul can't seem to fall asleep.

Just then, he hears footsteps and knows for a fact that it's his mom. Noeul quickly kills the lamp light and shuts his eyes just in time for his mother to peek inside his room and find him "soundly sleeping".

She smiles contentedly and quietly exits but not without leaving the door ajar. She has a strict rule about her son keeping his doors and lines open at all times to make it easier for her to check in on him but he sometimes "forgets".

Noeul slowly opens his eyes once he hears his mother's retreating footsteps and he sighs to himself, wondering if he'll ever get to live his life, unsupervised.

~~~

The following day, after his only class which he doesn't share with Peat concludes, Noeul—albeit guiltily—disobeys his friend once more and goes out, looking for a certain someone.

And he didn't have to search for too long because right there, lying under that tree with an arm over his eyes is none other than Boss or as others would call him,

"Khun Chaikamon." Noeul calls softly—nervously. And just as he expected, when Boss peeks from behind his arm at whoever's disturbing his peace, his brows are furrowed and his gaze sharp. And it becomes even fiercer when he sees that it's Noeul.

"I thought I warned you-" He already sounds triggered but Noeul cuts him off to explain himself. "I-I just wanna apologize...about yesterday. I think maybe I was being too stubborn. I didn't know what this place meant to you so...I'm sorry if I offended you."

He kind of stumbled along the way but once Noeul has said his piece, he instantly feels much better. On the other hand, Boss isn't exactly moved by his effort to reach out and simply mutters, "You should be."

Noeul's mouth twists slightly at this, thinking, "Would it hurt him to be a little more polite?" But he brushes it off and asks for good measure, "So does that mean you forgive me? You see, I'm new here and I really don't wanna have enemies."

Boss' arm hangs over his head as he—impatiently—waits for Noeul to finish and once he's done, Boss tells him in a pissy manner, "Whatever. Just don't ever let me find you sitting here or even just lurking around this place. Got it?"

Okay, rude. But that's a win for Noeul nontheless since his only goal was to ask for forgiveness and be forgiven—and that's what he did.

He smiles brightly for doing a job well done and he closes it off by saying, "You got it, Khun Chaikamon."

Boss isn't sure what to make of his reaction and part of him is wondering if Noeul is mocking him. But he doesn't care enough nor does he have energy to spare to start another argument so he brushes it off...or at least, he's about to when Noeul does something that pushes his buttons the wrong way once again.

"Don't do that." Boss says, suddenly sitting up.

Noeul looks visibly taken aback and asks, "Do what?"

"Don't scrunch your nose!" Boss exclaims to which Noeul's hand flies up to his face and covers his nose.

Out of habit, he tends to scrunch his nose when he smiles especially when it's his goofy or cheeky smile. But no one's ever reacted this strongly against it before, making him feel slightly conscious.

"Was it that awful to look at?" Noeul sulks but Boss doesn't reply. Instead, he gets on his feet and for a moment, Noeul imagines he'll get physical again. But to his surprise, the male just walks away.

"What was that about?" Noeul mumbles as he drags his feet towards the opposite direction.