Distant Signals: The Love Between Us

Chapter Twenty-Five

Arthit didn't know what he was doing by avoiding Kongpob again, but even after the weekend passed by, he was still confused and anxious about what happened that night. He wasn't ready to talk about it. Frankly, he wasn't ready to talk to Kongpob at all, about anything, so he put his phone on silent and pretended he hadn't received numerous calls and texts from his junior throughout the morning. Eventually, after their last class before lunch, he checked his phone. Based on the sheer number of attempts to contact him, Arthit could see that he was probably just as worried and anxious as he was, and a better person might have at least sent him a text letting him know that he wasn't ready to talk yet, but Arthit didn't. He couldn't do it.

But...it wasn't that hard to send a single text saying 'I need more time'. Arthit sighed, putting his phone away, and lethargically followed his friends as they made their way across campus. All he wanted to do was crawl back into bed and sleep for days.

"Damn it, Arthit!" Knot nudged his arm to catch his attention. "Didn't you hear me?"

"Huh?" Arthit looked around, realizing for the first time that he'd followed his friends all the way to the canteen. "What's the matter?"

"Is everything okay? You've been quiet since this morning."

"I'm just sleepy. I was up late watching a football match."

"What match? The Premier League already ended, didn't it?"

Shit. He should've known better than to lie about watching football. "Forget it," Arthit snapped. "I'm hungry. What should we eat?" Like his comment about watching football, his claim about being hungry was a giant lie. He had no appetite, but if it'd get Knot off his back, he'd force himself to eat.

While his friends argued about what to get, Arthit heard one of the juniors call Kongpob's name and without saying a word, he slipped away and hid in the bathroom. He just wasn't ready to confront Kongpob. Couldn't he understand that he needed more time? Why did he keep calling and messaging him? Leave me alone,he thought, hoping that Kongpob would magically get the hint without him having to actually say it.

Arthit's phone buzzed twice. One message came from Knot asking where he'd run off to, and the other from his uncle. He ignored the first, and opened the latter.

Puen: You free tonight? I need to get away! Eat dinner with me? My treat
Arthit: Without Sam?
Puen: Just us. I'll tell him I'm meeting a colleague so he doesn't try to come with
Puen: He keeps asking about you, though...I don't know why but he wants to see you

Arthit's blood ran cold at the second message, and he quickly typed that Puen could go tell Sam to fuck himself. He didn't send it, though. No matter how much he despised that man, he couldn't put his uncle in the middle of it. So, he erased the message.

Arthit: want to eat at 6?
Puen: 7? At that canteen by your dorm?
Arthit: Sure

Not wanting to loiter by the toilets anymore, Arthit put his phone back in his pocket and found a place to sit nearby. He didn't want to go back just yet—Kongpob tended to be persistent and he worried that the junior may have stuck around to wait for him—but eventually he joined his friends back in the canteen, where he found them studying.

"Where the hell have you been?" Prem asked, looking up from his book. "You were gone for a while. We've already eaten."

"I had the runs," he lied.

Prem shook his head, turning back to his notes. "The toilet bowl must be filled up..."

"By the way," said Knot, "a junior came to ask for you."