Roaring Hearts

Rivals In Love

Perth has been part of the Chatri Motorcycle gang since he was sixteen. For him, the members are family, his brothers, whom he would even die for.
A few days ago, P' Earth, the oldest, gifted him a new chopper for his birthday. After some modifications, he can now finally take his new bike for a ride through the city.

The lights turn red, and Perth lets his bike slowly stop at the line. He hears loud roaring coming from his left.
Three rival gang members are waiting at the intersection for a green light.
His eyes instantly move to the rider closest to him. He can recognize this frame anywhere.
The bikes start to move, and Perth follows his first love with his eyes as he passes him. The latter only gives him a quick glare before he looks ahead.

Perth only takes a quick ride as his head is clouded by images of the man he has seen earlier. He falls on the bed and covers his eyes with his arm. Memories from seven years ago appear before his inner eye.

He feels the light summer breeze caressing his skin as his hand moves to cover his best friend's hand. Both look deep into each other's eyes, smiling as their fingers intertwine.
"Chimon, will you be my boyfriend?" Perth babbles, his smile fading at the sincerity of his words.
The older boy nods before his face illuminates with joy. The atmosphere quickly changes as they both move closer until their lips touch.
Unconsciously, Perth's finger moves to his lips, lightly brushing over them as he remembers the softness of his lover's kiss.
It was their first kiss, and they took it very slowly to discover the other man's mouth.

Perth smiles as he remembers how playful Chimon traced his bottom lip with his tongue before lightly biting it. Before Perth closes his eyes to fall asleep, he curses: "Fuck, why cannot forget him! It has been fucking seven years, and all I linger for is feeling his lips against mine again."

On the other side of the city, Chimon lies awake. It has not been the first time he has crossed paths with Perth, as both belong to rival gangs.
"You better get some sleep. Tomorrow will be an exhausting day. We will have to drive to Pattaya for another drug delivery."
Chimon turns towards the wall so as not to give the other member any attention.
Unfortunately, this path he is on now was not his choice. He fears closing his eyes, knowing that the same nightmare will haunt him again, but soon, he cannot keep his eyes open.

Chimon smiles brightly at Perth as they walk home hand-in-hand. They have finally confessed their love for each other, and Chimon is sure if they had not been in a public place, both would not have been able to stop exploring each other's bodies.
"I cannot wait to see you tomorrow night," Chimon tells his boyfriend with a light blush. Perth will be alone at home, and he has invited him over for a movie and more.
Perth pulls Chimon behind a wall where no one can see them. He pins him against the hard surface and claims his lips in a passionate kiss that leaves the older boy breathless and wanting more.
"I will call you tomorrow," Perth says, out of breath, before he runs away.
Quickly, Chimon rounds the corner and sees his boyfriend waving with the biggest smile on his face.
Chimon falls back and takes deep breaths to calm his racing heart. It takes him a few minutes before he comes out of the hideout and walks to his house next to Perth's.
"Where have you been?" His mother ambushes him as he steps into his house from the backyard.
"Out. Why?" Suddenly, panic overtakes him as he sees his mother frantically putting things into a box and a suitcase.
"Get in the car! We need to go!" She orders, but Chimon is overwhelmed by everything happening before his eyes.
"Why? Where are we going?" Chimon's head is full of questions that his mother is not answering. "I will not go!" He suddenly screams, his mind going back to the kiss he had shared with his boyfriend moments ago.
"There is no NO in this. Get in the car!" His mother demands in a harsh tone as she closes the trunk to the packed belongings.
"Why? Please, I want to stay here."
"Get in the car, or we will all die! NOW!" His mother jumps in, and Chimon feels helpless. Lights coming closer with a roaring sound, Chimon finally gets in the car. As they dive down the alley, Chimon's eyes catch sight of six MC members heading towards their house. He looks back and sees the gang stopping at Perth's house.
"Perth!" He screams out in fear as he tries to get out of the car.
"He will be fine. But you should never see him again if you want to survive." His mother orders as they drive through the dark night until they reach a hotel outside Bangkok.
"Why are we staying here?" Chimon asks when they step into the dimly lit room.
"Your father will come to get us tomorrow morning." She informs him as she places the suitcase on the bed.
"Father? I don't have a father." Chimon looks at his mother in disbelief.
"Don't be stupid. Of course, you have a father, Chimon."
"Then why did you make me believe he was dead?" Chimon accuses his mother as he takes a seat.
"I never said he was dead. You believed that."
"Yes, because you never mentioned him and when I asked about him, you never gave me an answer." Chimon feels tears coming to his eyes.
"That does not mean that he is dead. It is just that he is ... he is ..."
"What is he? Married? A drug dealer? A murderer? A gangster?" Chimon tosses words around himself.
"Yes, all of that." His mother replies bluntly.
"What?" Chimon breaks out in tears as he feels overwhelmed with all the information his mother is so brutally delivering to him.
"Your father is the leader of the c̄hlām gang." His mother explains as she takes a seat in front of her son. "I met him in a bar the day before he got married. When I discovered I was pregnant, I reached out to him, but he told me he never wanted to see me again. However, from the day you were born, he transfers money every month to support us. A few months ago, when you turned sixteen, he contacted me and wanted to know everything about you."
"I still don't understand why we needed to flee our home?" Chimon paces the room, trying to understand the whole situation.
"One of your father's men called earlier, instructing me to leave with you immediately. I told him I would only do so if he told me why." Chimon's mother walks towards him, stopping him from pacing. "Your father shot Perth's dad."
"Perth's dad is dead?" Chimon bursts into tears. The man had always welcomed him with open arms when he visited his best friend. How could someone murder him?
"Why? I don't understand. He was such a nice man."
"I only found out a few months ago. Perth's father is one of the main members of a rival gang."
Chimon falls on his knees, his world crumbling down around him as the pieces of information he is fed make no sense.
On instinct, he takes out his phone, his heart breaking as he thinks about Perth and how he is all alone now.
"What are you doing?" His mother screams as she snaps the phone out of his hand and smashes it against the wall, breaking the device into a hundred pieces.
"Mae! Please, I need to call Perth. Please!" Chimon begs as he tries to get to his mother's phone.
"No! And don't even think of running away. You have no clue with whom you are dealing." She explains as she locks the hotel room door.