stoLen

Chapter 10

Belle of the Boulevard

(Special)

"Forth?"

"Pring!"

"What's up?

"I'm in deep shit again."

FLASHBACK

Forth and I have known each other since college. Many people used to misunderstand our friendship. Being the Campus Moon and Star, they expected the two of us to be together or to develop a certain feeling towards each other. Little did they know that this Moon and this Star have already made a pact with each other to remain best friends from then on.

I knew about Forth's adventures with girls. And guys. Yes. Gender isn't a priority for Forth. However, the title he received sort of made people expect for him to be the understandable player. Girls from side to side admiring him like a god. The guys could easily feel weak and powerless when he's around. He enjoyed the attention but never really took advantage of anyone. That's the thing I liked the most about this guy.

We were always there for each other even in times of trouble. That's why when he needed someone to pretend to be his boyfriend, I didn't hesitate to call another good friend to rescue him.

Phana. We call him Pha, an introvert kind of guy although he got along pretty well with Kit and me. As long as we didn't force him to party with us or hang out with all our other crazy friends, he'd be alright. He transferred to KU in our sophomore year for reasons he vaguely explained but didn't bother us. KU has a good reputation when it comes to pre-med. He made a good choice.

I didn't expect for things to go that way.

I helped out Forth with his hazing task, and seeing Pha as the perfect fit, I introduced them to each other. I thought it would end there like a one-time thing. Although Pha never expressed any complaint, it was Kit who was more upset about how Pha was only wasting his time with it, I could tell he was giving way too much effort to help Forth.

That's when I realized something must have been happening. Kit and I would sometimes talk about how the two of them had been spending too much time together and getting a little more comfortable with each other. Pha opening himself up to new environment, new friends and a new feeling, that was strange but good for him.

We let him. I let them. More like, I was pushing for it even though I didn't know the real score between the two of them. I saw how Forth acted being possessive of Pha in front of our friends. I believed that Forth would never do anything to hurt Pha and break my trust in him. Why didn't I even try to ask Forth about his real intentions?

However difficult it was to read Pha, Kit and I understood what was going on with him. He might not have expressed what he was feeling, but we knew. We could tell how he really saw Forth, but we were not ones to judge. Silent support was all we could do.

I thought I was being helpful. I was wrong.

SOPHOMORES' PARTY

"Pring, I need to leave. You can ask someone to drive you home, yeah?"

Pha caught me by surprise. I might have left him alone to say hi to my friends, but my eyes didn't leave him even for a second. I saw Lam greeting him. I saw his fierce eyes following Prija. I took the same steps he took to find out where Prija was headed.

The hallway was crowded, but I saw Prija enter the room on the right and Pha leaning on the wall next to the open door. I waited. I figured it wasn't my business, but when I saw Pha crushing that plastic cup in his hand, I realized he must've heard something wrong.