Always A Step Behind: An EarnPete Fanfic

2. Acceptance

Earn

Two weeks had passed after the gymnasium incident. I never had much time to enjoy my brokenhearted state because a certain asshole kept on pestering me using our band as front. If not for asshole Pete, I would have wanted to extend my absence from school for a week. But the turd kept on coming back to my dorm and seemed to have had found a new hobby of disturbing and annoying the hell out of me.

The weeks passed by in a blurr. I am slowly getting accustomed to seeing  Phun and Noh all tacky and fluffy together. It still stung but it wasn't as painful as that fateful day at the gym.  After the band contest, when I saw how Noh looked at Phun who was performing on stage, that was when it slowly dawned to me how far of a compettitor I was. I was on the losing end. If not for Noh's friendship still. I thought I would never bear it. This time, I was content of having Noh as my friend. Even if it's from a far, at least I can say that I'm still part of his life.

I remembered what Pete told me right after we stepped off from the stage after getting our award from the Battle of the bands...

"Trust me. This was all for the best. Maybe it's time for you to stop looking far, and see, really see what's right in front of your eyes all these time.." He tapped my shoulder before walking past me. I can't help but follow the disappearing  mold of my bestfriend. Was he sick? What nonsense was he blurting out  just  now?!

As I shook my head, I went further inside the auditorium only to see Phun and Noh smiling at each other while inconspicuously holding each other's hand. How  I wanted to be that person Noh is smiling at and be the one holding his hand. But I guess that was what everything was  right now. A wish.

I was pulled back in the present when some hard knuckles landed on my head. In reflex, I closed my eyes as I accumulated the pain before opening them again and see turd Pete with a gloomy expression in front of me. "What did I say, about looking far, huh?!?"

"Shia! What the hell is your problem!?! You could have knocked my brains out!" I said as I massaged my still burning head. I looked around and see how everyone in our car was so engrossed in teasing Noh and Phun who were sitting next to each other.

"Serves you right! Maybe that way, you'll finally realized how far you've come over your craziness with Noh and how maybe it's time for you to wake up!" He went straight to our assigned seat in the train and carelessly slumped his bag on it leaving me confused.

It's the school break and were heading to a province for the Pharmacy Team Building slash Tree planting activity camp that we signed up for so as to get extra points. I was not really into this kind of thing, and so was Pete. We also didn't need the extra point, but since I learned that Noh's joining, I joined too. I didn't know about Pete though. I was actually surprised to see him here. I thought, him signing up was bogus.

"I didn't know you're into this kind of activities." was what I said when I sat right next to him.

"I'm not." was his short reply. "But I want to see how you'll hurt yourself more than you already do as you watch Noh getting all chummy with Phun!"  he continued.

"Hey! It wasn't like that!" I lied. Yes. I promised to move on from Noh. Not move away. That was why I still grab every opportunity I got to be close to him. After all, were friends. Right? And this cause is good for the environment. Right? Okay, who am I kidding? This was all still because of Noh.But I won't let asshole Pete know that. "I'm here for the extra points, since I had a lot of absences." Another lie.

"Yeah, okay, go on. Just pretend that I accept all of your lame reasons. Oops! Wait, sorry, I think you don't know what acceptance means, do you?!?"

Of course I do. I'm in that stage with Noh right now. I accept the fact that he no longer can be mine but I also accept the fact that it will not be very easy to move on from him. That was why, I was doing it gradually. Furthermore, I accept the fact that I'm stuck with a bestfriend who's idea of support was very different---way too different from mine.

And with that in mind, I looked at Pete and wondered, what was wrong with this asshole? As I watched how the crease that formed in his forehead got deeper and deeper as his face showed obvious annoyance all the while as he watched Noh's group from a far.