Picture Us

Chapter 5: Keefe

WARNING: THE FOLLOWING CHAPTER CONTAINS ALCOHOL

Nothing too graphic, but just in case :DD

Keefe stumbled out of class, his brain knocking against his head. Nothing could hold in the thoughts he was having. He was nearly in tears, and sighed in relief when he realised Tam wasn't at their dorm.

He collapsed on the bed, fanning his face with his hands as he did so. He needed a break. But he also needed to be top of his class. Those two things just didn't go together. Not for Keefe.

It was night now. The sun was indignant, bathing the sky in purples and blues, too much for the moon to compete. Stupid sun.

Annnnnd now Keefe was beefing with celestial bodies. Great.

He logged onto his computer, cringing at the scores he got for his assignments. He did have high grades, but he knew for a fact that Tam had higher ones. And Tam took delight in taunting him about it every night they spent together.

He attempted to doom scroll through his feed on his various social media, but even that wasn't enough to distract him from self-pity. An idea popped into Keefe's head. It wasn't really a good idea, but it was still an idea. And besides, Keefe was wasting his time here. He might as well have been wasting his time and being self-destructive.

He changed into a beige ribbed t-shirt, a pair of black skinny jeans and a brown denim jacket. But jewellery was really where Keefe shined. He piled necklaces on necklaces, donned multiple rings on his fingers and earrings on his ears. He used the last of his product for tonight, styling his hair to perfection.

He left the campus, which was completely silent with studying or sleeping students. He kept his head low, hands in pocket until he reached his destination.

A bar.

Keefe blew out a breath. He needed a distraction, and if alcohol was the only thing that could give it to him, then so be it.

He stumbled into the bar, instantly hated how crowded it was. Everybody was feeling up everyone else and the smell of alcohol tinged the air. But he came here for the alcohol, so he was in no place to complain.

He ordered an alcoholic drink. He didn't even know what it was, or how strong it was, but he didn't care. He moped on the booth, everyone else ignoring him. When the bartender asked for an ID, his heart thundered. He pulled out a fake one and handed it to him. The bartender squinted at it for a moment too long before handing him the drink.

It tasted bitter. He always imagined alcohol as sweet – after all, why drink something that tastes awful – but he downed it anyway, flinching hard as he did so. He tried to search the crowd for familiar faces, but none were there.

He stumbled to his dorm an hour later, bored and full of alcohol. He was surprised to find that Tam wasn't here, and extremely grateful. He stumbled into bed and fell asleep, not bothering to take of his clothes or brush his teeth.

***

When he woke up in the morning, at around nine, Tam was eyeing him suspiciously, stirring coffee. The mug had the most adorable green frog with sunglasses and a cup of coffee. Keefe would've teased him about it if Tam wasn't currently death staring him.

"Where were you last night?" Tam said. Keefe looked down at his clothes. Fuck. He hadn't changed out of them.

"None of your business, Tammy," Keefe stuck out his tongue.

"You're such a child." Tam groaned.

"And you're an asshole."

Tam looked like he wanted to retort, but he just shook his head and continued stirring his coffee. Keefe ran to the bathroom, trying to make himself look presentable. He jumped in the shower and left completely shirtless and a pair of shorts around his waist.

Tam couldn't hide his gasp. Keefe noticed this, smirking and flexing his muscles. "Like what you see."

Tam shielded his eyes from Keefe, angling his face away from him. "I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about."

This was fun, Keefe thought. He sat on a chair in the room, leaning back to display his abs. "You sure, Tammy? Because you panicking like this paints a whole new story. Oh, Tammy, would you like me to paint you a picture? Of me like this? A little keepsake when you're feeling single? Or would you like a picture? We both know I'm the middle out of the two of us." Tam scowled.

"I hate you."

"Hate you too."

Keefe was about to scroll through his phone when his stomach made a growling sound. Tam turned with an eyebrow raised. Keefe cursed under his breath and pulled out a pack of gummy worms.

"Hold on, you are seriously not thinking of eating that for breakfast, are you?" Tam scoffed.

"Food is food."

"Oh, don't give me that." Tam muttered a string of curse words and poured half his coffee into another mug – a matching mug – for Keefe. "Here. And don't waste any of it. Coffee is good."

"A guy drinking coffee for breakfast is giving me life advice?"

"Shut up." Tam mumbled. "And for the record, I was going to have cereal after, which I'm not sharing with you."

"Well, Tammy," Keefe said, half surprised, half amused by Tam's display of kindness. "This kind deed will not be forgotten. But you'll always be Bangs Boy to me."

Tam muttered something about being useless before turning away, curling his feet to his chest and staring out the window. Now that Keefe looked at him – and really looked at him – it was kind of cute, how he seemed so pouty all the time. Keefe wondered if that's what it would be like to date him, just adorable Tam moodiness.

Keefe pushed the thought out of his mind with such force, he almost spilt his coffee. Dating Tam? Keefe Sencen dating Tam Song? No, it was impossible. Impossible just like the prospect of Tam's hair being better than Keefe. Impossible because Tam would never like Keefe. Impossible because Keefe Sencen was as straight as an arrow and Tam was likely too.

Keefe felt goosebumps all over his body and his heart raced in his chest. He was straight. Of course he was straight. There was no question about that.

But then again, he hadn't asked a question, so maybe he never got the answer. So, when he left for class, he didn't even care that he showed up a few minutes late, because all that was on his mind was if he was ever straight to begin with.