Who's jealous? Definitely not Pat

Pat always knew that he tended to get jealous very easily, and that his jealousy was very momentary, that he would forget all about it just as easily. It didnt take too many years to realise that, what with growing up and having to share all his things with Pa. There were some moments which he's not proud of, moments when he fought for attention from his parents if they focused too much on his younger sister, or when he forced himself to smile and not react while the neighborhood aunties gushed over tiny baby Pa, the jealousy twisting his expression momentarily. Of course this didnt mean his love for her reduced. It just meant that Pat's base ugly emotions came out from time to time for no good reason, and he hated it. 

So he thought he was well prepared to feel and fight that ugly green monster of jealousy which grew when he saw Pran with Ink on the bleachers after the game. But what he wasn't prepared for was that the monster had grown in size and strength over the years. He had pushed it away, shoved it to the back of his mind, and he had been successful at it.... until he wasn't anymore. He ended up asking Pran if he liked Ink too, and couldnt help the relief he felt when Pran very firmly denied it. The relief which turned into a weird pain in his heart when Pran said just as firmly that he hated Pat. And though the years of growing up together, of saying one thing and meaning the other, of sending smirks and glares with equal intensity had taught Pat when to identify if Pran was being honest, and he definitely wasn't  at that moment, it still hurt. 

That should have been enough for Pat to identify that his jealousy was misplaced. And if not that, it definitely should have been the many times Pat got jealous of Wai. This jealousy hit him out of nowhere, when he realised that Wai was a very constant, very annoying fixture of Pran's life. Really, what did Pran see in him? Admittedly he did seem loyal to his friends and ever ready to defend them, but he was also a little shit. 

Pat vividly remembers the first time he got so mad at Wai for something that wasn't exactly Wai's fault. A couple of days before the Freshy Music contest, Pat had been home for the weekend, using the excuse to have Pa do his laundry again. He had stepped out into his balcony for a few moments of peace and quiet before bed, when he noticed the light in Pran's bedroom was also on. Pran was home for the weekend then.

Excited, Pat was just about to make his usual way across the roof to Pran's room, when he heard a loud laugh, much too boisterous and rough to be Pran. The source of that laugh soon became visible through the window, and Pat had never felt a rush of emotions as bad as he did at that moment. Emotions that he wasnt able to pick out and name, as all that ran in his mind was a constant chant of what the hell what the hell what the hell. 

Because of course, it was Wai in Pran's room, Wai laughing at something Pran said, sitting on his bed. Pat stood stock still, glaring at the window, when he realised that there was another person at the window. Pran stood there in baby blue button down pajamas, looking soft and rumpled and ready to sleep. In no time however, as their gazes met, Pran's entire expression changed into a cold mask as he glared back at Pat and motioned at him to go back into his room. He then huffed and pulled the curtains closed, as if that didnt make the situation a hundred times worse. What were they doing?

Why was Wai in Pran's room? They were probably practicing for the contest, Pat's fairly sure about that. But what his mind was fixated on was : Why was Wai allowed to be there? It wasnt fair! Why was Pat always the enemy, even when he wasnt trying to be one? 

It only got worse after that. It was like he saw Wai everywhere, and at this point Pat could almost swear that Wai did it on purpose. To make matters worse, Wai always had Pran in tow, or maybe it was the other way around, Pat couldnt be sure. But those two were always together and doing their best to bring Pat to an early grave - Pran with his cute dimples and Wai with his equally annoying smirk. At one point, Korn had even noticed his preoccupation, and asked if Pat had a sudden crush on Wai, as if that was possible. No. Way. In. Hell. He also seemed relieved when Pat vehemently denied it. Even though Korn brushed it off as a joke, a tiny bell in Pat's head rang, and he wondered if Korn liked Wai. Seems like he did. Huh. Small world.