Roommates - Not in Bangkok anymore [completed]

Chapter 18

Can's POV

Even though Can knew that Tin had only been teasing him about the make-up, he had still decided to take the opportunity of a rare Sunday afternoon without too much homework to go down into town.

There should be a store that had something like this.

If recent experiences had taught him anything... he'd never know what might happen. If he didn't want to hear uncomfortable questions, being prepared might be a good idea, like having something to hide the testimony of their passion for example.

The fresh air also helped, he noticed while he walked through the chill, but thankfully rainless early afternoon.

Whatever Coach Lavinia had said about over-exercising, he felt better, now that he could at least walk a bit to sort through his emotions of the last days. It felt like a typhoon sweeping away everything around him, and he himself at the centre of it, in the calm eye of the storm, with Tin.

They didn't know how long it would take for them to be caught up in the storm and Can didn't know how to prepare for this.

He just wanted it to be Tin and him in the safety of their room and no meddling of the outside world at all – but after not even a full day he could already see that it wouldn't be this simple. There would be a lot of people who would have an opinion and who were also in a position to force them to listen.

Hell, Coach Lavinia believed that they hated each other and she still thought she was entitled to meddle with them – even if it was in misguided support of him. And you didn't even need to get him started on how messed up it was that the headmistress had threatened Tin to fail him if Can failed.

If you looked at it that way, it was almost a miracle that Tin had developed any kind of good feelings towards him. If he had been in Tin's place, he would have resented this, too. Being forced to share a room with someone against your will and being told you were responsible for that new person out of the blue.

And worse... nobody had thought it necessary to tell Can about this. They had all treated him like a fragile little baby that needed protection from bad, manipulative Tin.

Maybe this was why talking to McNeil had been the first time he had felt welcome here – McNeil had told him not to listen to the stories about Tin and trust his own judgement.

Why did nobody else think he could fend for himself?

The more he thought about it, the angrier he got at everyone – and the more he started to value that Tin, who should have been the last person to give him a real chance, had been the one to appreciate him.

Even though Tin was cast as the villain and Can as the victim in their supposed ongoing feud, they were both equally misjudged.

Maybe that was another reason they felt connected so strongly. They were both misunderstood by others, but they understood each other.

It took Can a while to find the biggest drugstore in town – truth be told, he had no idea how to go about buying make-up.

He assessed the different store clerks to figure out who might be able to help him and finally decided to ask the girl with the most impressive make-up. She had the highest chance of knowing the products she obviously used herself.

"Excuse me," he asked, "I'm looking for make-up and I don't know what to look for."

The girl seemed excited to get the opportunity to advice him.

"Awww, do you want to buy a present for your girlfriend?"

What girlfriend? Ah... she probably assumed...