Fujoshi Fever: A PerayaAU COMPLETE

Chapter 3

Singto's eyes opened. His room was dark, and for a moment, he was disoriented. Something had woken him up. Groggily, he sat up in the bed, and blinked sleep from his eyes. Night sounds filtered in and he could vaguely hear a cat purr near his feet and he had to smile. Well, he had not lied to his coworkers. He had curled up with the cats and gotten sleep. He had had to finish his homework first because he could not afford to get behind, and his father had cooked, so he was unable to get out of eating at least a little of the food. He had managed, but as soon as possible, he had come to his room and crashed out.

Singto reached for his phone intermittently flashing its charge light and checked the time. 3 a.m. He still had two more hours to sleep before he had to get up and start his morning routine. Then, he noticed what had probably woken him. Suddenly, he was wide awake.

"...I'm ok, P'. sorry about before. Just exhausted." Krist had sent him a message along with a cute cat picture.

"Liar." Singto's quiet voice of disbelief was loud in the silence. He stared at the message that had come through less than five minutes ago.

"...Tell me the truth." He typed the line message and waited a couple of seconds before sending another one. "...I know something is up. You don't act this way with me. Others, maybe. But. Not. Me."

He knew that Krist was awake. Still or again he didn't know. "...Come on, Kit. Talk to me! What did I do?"

"...Nothing. Promise. We are fine."

"...Then who? We are partners, Kit. We are more than friends. Tell me." Singto was getting frustrated with Krist's lack of--well, anything in his replies. They felt as distant as the mainland.

"...It's nothing. Just had a lot on my mind. Sorry, it won't happen again."

"...Don't say what you can't keep! I have been worried sick."

"...I heard. Mae Yui and P'Jane chewed me out for missing work and making you worry. Why are you up? Get some rest!"

"...Hypocrite." It was harsh, but truthful, and the lack of response on the other end of the message indicated that Krist felt Singto's frustration and anger. Krist telling him to get sleep was laughable, since he was awake at this time also. Tossing his phone to the side of the bed, he got up and went down stairs for some water. He doubted he would go back to sleep. He might as well put in some time studying, but he had a feeling he would be playing his game instead.

When he returned to his room, he was not surprised to see no messages waiting for him. He was more hurt than angry now. Ever since they had to work on their own independent projects, he and Krist had been growing apart. Whenever they were together, it took only a short time for them to regain their repartee, but lately, there had been something secret standing between them, and Singto knew it wasn't with him. Maybe the rumors were true, and Krist had a girlfriend. In some ways, it was almost heartbreaking to consider, but he couldn't hold back his best friend from being happy.

Singto tried one last time. "...Kit, please talk to me. If you don't want me to worry anymore, you have to talk to me. I won't even tell if it is something we can work on together."

Silence. Singto waited. Five minutes. Ten minutes. Finally, he flopped back against the pillows and his phone thumped against his chest. He stared at the ceiling unable to concentrate, his thoughts chasing like an ouroboros.

"Come on Kit. Talk to me." His words reverberated in the dark; the only answer was the cat purring.

***

Three days. It was amazing how interminably long such a short period of time could feel, especially when someone who is supposed to be a best friend and on screen lover had become a master at avoidance. Class was stressful; Singto's dance routine still felt like a marionette with broken strings, and the gulf between Singto and Krist was as big as the English Channel. What mastery they had over their routines before now felt contrived and uncomfortable, especially since they spent more time doing choreography repeatedly with no time for chit chat or sidetracks thanks to Krist's dedication to only work when at GMM. He knew that the others could tell something was wrong between them, but at least they had not tried intervention – yet. The last time was a near disaster, but fortunately it left everyone laughing and broke the tension. He didn't think that this time would be so easy.

Singto sat at the breakfast table and could only pick at his meal, not really hungry but knowing he needed to eat just to keep his metabolism from turning cannibalistic. His dad regarded him over a cup of coffee, until Singto became aware of the stare and looked up. The bags under his eyes had faded some with getting sleep the last couple of days, but he was exhausted both mentally and physically. This morning he had woken at 4 am, and had only managed to fall asleep again fifteen minutes before his alarm went off.

"You had a fight with N'Krist, didn't you." It wasn't a question.

"Not really, Por." Singto didn't know what to call it. He spooned some of his food in his mouth, but sawdust had more flavor.

"Hmm."

There was silence again, as Singto continued to play with his food, not able to force more across his defunct tastebuds. Fortunately, he had a late class this morning, so maybe he could put in another hour or two on his piling homework assignments that would need to be completed if he didn't want to be working on homework between duties at the fanmeet or in the hotel instead of viewing the sights.

"Have you talked to him?"

Singto sighed. "I tried, Por. I really did. But he doesn't want to talk to me. He is avoiding me unless it is work." He didn't want to admit how much that actually hurt. Separation was inevitable, but this was something else. He had a feeling that his dad knew, but as a man of few words, left it alone.

"Hmm."

Finally, the sound of the coffee cup thudding to the table lightly had Singto looking up from playing with his food. "What should I do? We are not going to be able to pull off this fan meet if we don't talk."

"So go talk to him. You know his schedule. Where's he at right now?"

"Probably at home. Mae Yui has him coming in later because we practice after I get out of classes. Everything is focused on our upcoming event right now, and he is not filming for another show until after the meet. He has already finished his part of the adverts."

"Hmm." There was silence for a few minutes again as Singto watched his father get up and rinse out his coffee mug and put it into the drainer. "What are you still doing here then? Go talk to him."

"What?"

"Go talk to him at home. No one likes to air dirty laundry in public. Go fix it before it becomes a spectacle. Just get to class on time."

A heartbeat later, Singto flung himself at his father and gave him a hug that would impress a bear. Short, simple and practical advice. Why had he not told his father before this? The problem might have never gotten so out of hand if he had. "I love you, Por!"

"Hmm." The smile was heard as he hugged his son, and then gently shoved him toward the door. "Don't be late for class or work."

"Yes, Por!" Singto grabbed his school bag and keys, and rushed to the door before stopping rather quickly. He turned back, only to see his father give him a raised eyebrow as Singto hurried back to the table and quickly cleared his place, putting the dishes into the sink.

"I will finish. Go."

"Yes, sir! I am going first!" Singto fairly galloped out of the house exhaustion and headache forgotten. He slid in the driver's seat after flinging his bag into the passenger seat for the short ride to Krist's condo. He knew if he gave him fair warning, Krist would find a way to leave before Singto arrived. Fortunately, he saw Krist's car still parked in front so he had only to hope that the van had not picked him up or had taken a taxi to GMM early.

After putting the car in park, Singto took a deep breath and steadied his nerves. He knew he had to have an answer today. There was no way they could keep going on like this. If Krist would not talk to him, he would have no choice but to bring it up with Mae Yui and P'Jane officially. He got out and headed up to Krist's door, thankful of one thing. He had a spare key.