Toxic [2gether]

Part 2

He knew that chuckling laugh. Sarawat slowly turned his head around and felt almost blinded by the sheer perfection.

Tine was standing tall, a briefcase in one hand and a dark blue suit accentuating his lean frame in all the right angles, his waist tiny and shoulders wide. The dark, side parted hair brought out the delicacy of his pale skin as he laughed at something the group of men he was with had been joking about, showing his pearly whites. Sarawat's breath got caught in his throat. He had not seen Tine this lively since he decided to distance himself and throw himself headfast into the music, oh what a silly choice. Seeing Tine now, being mature even with that silly bunny grin on his face, made something hot rush through his body. His heart stuttered.

He made a motion to get up from the couch in the waiting area of the lobby and approach the group of the smartly dressed men but as he was still debating the pros and cons, there was a familiar ping of elevator doors sliding open. The men got into the cramped metal box, still discussing something vividly. Tine's mirthful gaze swept suddenly outwards and over the lobby, going blindly over Sarawat's tall frame. Shit. He was a man drowning.

Godspeed, soldier.

"Sarawat!" Someone hit his shoulder and he looked up, finding Boss staring him down with a pinched gaze. "I'm done with the meeting. Come on we need to hurry, people are starting to recognize you."

Sarawat nodded absently and rose into his full height, his legs seemingly going on for miles, following his friend turned manager out of the skyscraper and slipping in the back seat of a sleek car with tinted windows. He took off his shades and stared unseeingly at the passing scenery outside the car window. Boss cast a glance at him through the rearview mirror.

"Why so serious?" He teased noticing the grim line of Sarawat's hard pressed lips. The other man just gave him an unimpressed look before turning back.

"So," Boss said undeterred by the dark energy in the back seat. "I recently bumped into Green and you know how he's kept in touch with Tine all this time, right?" He sneaked a glance at Sarawat and that had gotten his attention indeed. Between one word and the next he had turned his whole body around, leaning forward to intently listen to Boss' next words. Boss sniggered, feeling the dark energy almost skyrocketing as Sarawat glared daggers at his head. "Well I told him to bring the old university gang to your next concert. Said I would send him tickets for free."

Next concert? That was next month. Tine's birthday was next month as well. Sarawat felt suddenly all jittery, trails of anticipation dancing at his fingertips.

"You think-" he cut himself off, looking to the side, gaze pensive.

"What, if Tine will show up?" Boss asked as he effortlessly turned the wheel. "Who knows," he shrugged. "You have been avoiding him like the plague. He might not even remember you anymore."

"Very funny."

"I aim to please," Boss singsang, feeling smug. His mission was now accomplished, he just hoped that Green, and further down the line Tine, would get the bait. Sarawat had been an awful piece of shit for the past couple of weeks and that had to go. He would soon ruin his image with how awful he had been acting to the interview hosts and fans, being all condescending and disinterested. Something had to change. He just hoped that Tine was still up for it. He sighed. And if not, at least they would get a last chance to clear things up.

***

Sarawat exhaled and knocked on the door, which seemed quite menacing through his dark shades. Fuck. Why had he knocked instead of using the buzzer? He was such a weirdo. There were muffled steps on the other side of the door and then it ripped open.