Between the Lines | Oneshot

-2-

Time flies a lot faster when you’re actually studying. I tried my best to keep myself distracted, as much as my world would let me.

I found a lot of friends among my colleagues. I’d sometimes drink the night away with them when I felt too stressed, which was really often, because of academics and personal life.

Even in all these, my promise to Yo isn’t left for naught. I do my part and I help him every time I see the slightest chance for him to talk to P’Pha.

“Isn’t your relationship getting better, already?” I teased him. I mean, I can still remember the first time he talked to P’Pha and it turned out to be a complete mess, which is typical of Yo. He can be rude when he feels shy.

“Is it?” He looked doubtful, trying to reevaluate and recalculate everything that has happened between him and P’Pha.

“Yeah, I think there’s a chance he likes you too.”

“How can you say?”

“I just feel it.” Something tells me P’Pha likes Yo, too. The way P'Pha would look at Yo--I know those eyes.
Something tells me he's just holding himself back. “Ai’Yo. I have to go, na. I need to do something.”

“Oh. Ai’Ming! What the fuck?! Where are you going?!” Nowhere, really. I just saw P’Pha going our way, so I had to exit the scene, for both our sake.

I kept myself hidden in a corner where I can see both of them, but their backs were almost against me. Just enough distance and angle, so I can see whether their conversation is going well or not.

Few minutes of being a creep and what felt like a small hand began tapping on my shoulder. I tried to shrug it off the first few times, until it got irritating.

“What the hell do you want?!” Wait, it’s P’Kit. My bad. Why isn’t he saying anything, anyway? “Oh, P’Kit. Did you need anything?”

P’Kit was shorter than Wayo, which was pretty rare in my experience. He was so much shorter than me, that I think almost have to crouch down if I ever wanted to talk to him face to face.

I knew him because he was always with P’Pha and P’Beam, all three of them were pretty popular back when we were in high school. Even now, I'd see him wherever P'Pha is.

“Nothing much. I just saw you creeping and …” He was trying to look over my shoulder. “And I want to see what you’re looking at.”

“P’! I’m not looking at anything!” I tried to block him as much as I could, but him being short made it easy to sneak a peak from under my arms.

“Hoho.” He had that smug look on his face as soon as he saw P’Pha and Yo talking, and well me peeping at them. “Look at those two married couple.”

“Oh, P’. Why aren’t you with P'Pha today?” I tried to change the subject.

“This.” He held up a tall, clear container filled with pink milk. “The boss told me to run errands for him. And you? Why are you looking at them like that?”

“Looking at who?!” I defended. “I was just leaving Ai'Yo to be alone with him. I was about to go too!”

“Hmmm.” His face was clearly distorted in doubt and disbelief; he's not buying anything I'm saying.

“Let’s leave them alone, P’!” I forcibly turned him around and pushed him to a seemingly random direction.

“Oh?! Ai’Mingkwan! Where are you taking me?!" I placed one hand over his mouth to shut him up, or at least tone down his volume. I had no choice, it had to be done. "I still need to give the pink milk!"