From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

155. Two Things 2

"I know it might be difficult for you guys because you will have to face a lot of pressure from the family if you go against P' Alan and Khun Saen," Fluke said in an understanding tone. "But, not for me." He slid off the swing in which he was sitting Ohm. "It's not that I can't or I don't have my own ways of dealing with those people, but I think it would be better for P' Boun to handle it himself. After all, it is his family affair and I as an outsider shouldn't be interfering."

"But, Fluke, you don't understand that it is difficult for Boun to go against them. They are his Por and Phi. He is already heartbroken to know what they did." Ohm knew how much Boun loved the two people despite what had happened. He also knew that his cousin hoped to fix everything between them and become a complete, happy, family, which seems impractical.

"As if he knows how big of a douchebags those two are," Fluke muttered.

"What?" Ohm was aware of the fact that Fluke was still gatekeeping a lot of information on Saen and Alan from them. One didn't have to be a genius to guess that that information would do nothing good to them.

"I was saying that P' Boun should stop playing the Damsel in distress and stand up for himself and the ones who love him." Fluke's frustration was evident in his tone. "How long does he think, things are going to go so smoothly?"

He placed his both hands on his hips and looked at Ohm. "Even now, do you think that Khun Saen wouldn't have noticed that P' Boun had gone back to his family?"

He questioned Ohm who looked back at him in bewilderment. "Of course, he would have if I didn't send my men to cause trouble for him. You have no idea what all I had to do in the past few months to keep Khun Saen and his men occupied so that I could buy time for P' Boun.

I have no idea how long I will be able to successfully distract them, but if they even get a hint of what P' Boun is doing, they are going to strike back in full force and P' Boun will be caught completely off guard."

Ohm sighed. He knew the seriousness of the situation. He wished he could stay by Boun's side, but he couldn't bypass his father's orders. He will have to leave. All he could do at this point was to finish his mission as fast as he could and return.

He leaned against the backrest of the swing. "What's the second thing?"

"Second thing is pretty simple." Fluke finally smiled. He didn't want to discuss Boun's family matters when he was with Ohm. "The second thing P' Boun has to do is to man up and confess his love to Prem."

Ohm stared unblinkingly at Fluke. That was the least expected condition from Fluke.

"It might seem like something that is not so important to you, but for Prem, it is. I am damn sure that he is dying to hear it from P' Boun." Fluke rested his hands on the handrail of the balcony. "People say 'actions speak more than words', but sometimes a few simple words may mean way more than any grand gesture."

He spun on his heels letting the soothing night breeze gently hit his face. "You know, Prem has always been an insecure person when it comes to interpersonal relationships.

Even back in school, when he would be away from the class because of training or a match or something for a few weeks and come back, he would be keeping a distance from us. It was normal that he had missed out on a thing or two while he was one, but that didn't mean that he wasn't part of our group anymore.

We had to continuously assure him that we were going to be his friends and that nothing was going to change even if he didn't attend the classes for a few days. That we are going to haunt him to the day he dies."

Fluke chuckled at the funny childhood memories. "I know that Prem is feeling insecure and scared of his relationship with P' Boun. Especially today, there are high chance that he felt pressured during the party. Being here, in between all these old money, isn't an easy thing to handle for a person who came from an ordinary family. He was clearly uncomfortable today. He must have been thinking that he shouldn't have come here in the first place."

He threw his head back. "I just want P' Boun to give him the kind of assurance we gave him in our friendship, in their relationship. I want to give him the confidence to hold onto whatever they have between them. Above all that I want P' Boun to be willing to own up to his feelings instead of living in denial."

"That's not going to be easy." Ohm got off the swing and walked towards Fluke. "He may find your first condition easier to do compared to the second one."

"I know." Fluke smiled at Ohm, "But if he wants to keep Prem beside him, he will have to do that. Or else, in the long run, Prem's habit of overthinking things would get in their way."

Ohm joined Fluke near the handrail. He felt his thoughts wander away in a different direction when he saw Fluke sticking out his small pink tongue to lick off the little remanence of the ice cream he finished earlier. He awkwardly looked away, not letting his intrusive thoughts get into his head.

"Anyway, we should let them deal with that themselves." Fluke glanced at Ohm. "Now, I better go check on those two ladies. The last thing I want them to get during menopause is depression." He picked up the empty ice cream tub and headed inside.

Ohm looked down at the ground. Somewhere inside he felt guilty for yelling and taking out all his frustration on the two women. He could have said everything in a much calmer way.

"Fluke" He called out before the younger could exit the room.

Fluke turned to Ohm with a questioning gaze.

"Did I cross the line talking like that to Mom and Pa Jane?" Ohm asked hesitantly.

"No. You were on point, Phi. In fact, I would say that you handled the situation better than I could have." Fluke smiled encouragingly.

"But, wasn't I a bit disrespectful?"

"Disrespectful? Yes. You were disrespectful. But Phi, respect is something that is to be earned. If today you lost control over your emotions and spoke so much to them, that means that they did do things that would maintain that respect you had for them because they were elders."

Ohm bit his lips feeling conflicted. He suddenly felt Fluke's arms around him. He was shocked to see that Fluke was actually hugging him.

"Don't think too much, phi." Fluke pulled away from the hug and patted Ohm's shoulders as if dusting off something. "I will be back in a while. By then, get freshened up."

Ohm watched Fluke leave and turned to look at himself in the standing mirror. "Shia!" He saw how unruly his hair looked and how his face was tear-stained. "Don't tell me Fluke saw me like this!" He was embarrassed