Right Here

Another Issue

Song of the Chapter: "Who I Am" by NIve

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King and Ram arrived at the barbecue restaurant after the others had gotten there since King had changed his clothes. Despite Ram saying nothing, he approved more of King's t-shirt and longer shorts over the outfit he was wearing earlier.

It made King look better, less revealing and King looked more comfortable in it.

"King!" Tee called, rushing over with a plate of uncooked meat he grabbed his best friend's arm and yanked him over quickly to the table.

Ram blinked once and followed. He found that Bohn's group was sitting on one side of the grill while his own group was sitting on the other side.

He watched bitterly as Tee forced King to sit down in the seat the furthest from Ram's empty seat.

King laughed with his friends, taking a seat and watching them grill meat for him. Bohn was chatting with his new boyfriend and everyone seemed to be getting along pretty well. King was teasing Boss and Tee about how they would never get the equation right, resulting in Boss whining for a good ten minutes before Mek forced him to start eating again.

This, however, was unsuccessful. Boss began to write the equation on a clean plate with the sauce and a chopstick, rushing away from his husband to show it to King.

"You lunatic," King laughed.

He still took his own chopstick and corrected the equation for Boss, who thanked his friend by running to get him more meat.

Phu asked about the classes he and Ram would be taking later on, to which the seniors laughed as they thought about their answers.

Of course, King stayed quiet when they were talking about how difficult the classes had been for them until Tee opened his big mouth.

"King's always been on top," Boss called from his seat, "He's never struggled!"

"No, there was that one calculus class," Tee spoke, looking at Bohn, "King had a complete--"

Bohn quickly stomped on Tee's foot, who howled in pain.

"What did you do that for, you lunatic?!" he cried, falling back onto the floor.

Bohn glanced at King, who stared down at the food in front of him. He moved to grab Tee and help him up, pulling him back into his seat and hissing, "You idiot, we aren't supposed to talk about that."

Tee opened his mouth to call out Bohn when he heard the sound of a chair scraping. The two looked over to see King standing up, wiping his face.

A dulled smile was on his lips and he spoke, "Excuse me for a moment, I'm going to go to the bathroom."

He walked away quickly and Bohn stared at Tee with murder in his eyes. He made a move to stand up when Ram beat him to it. He watched, dumbstruck, as Ram's long strides caught up with his senior.

Ram didn't know King, he didn't know what King's thought process was. He could hurt King more than he already was.

Bohn stood up and followed them.

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King stood at the back entrance of the restaurant, staring up at the sky. He knew that he'd hurt Bohn by leaving, that he was going to be upset, but he just needed to compose himself. Being alone, outside, was a good feeling.

"P'King."

King turned to see Ram standing there.

"Ram?"

Ram looked around and shifted where he stood. "Are...you okay?"

King smiled at the junior and nodded. He pushed his hands in his pockets, replying, "I'm fine. The thing Tee mentioned was a dark moment. It's hard to remember it without the emotions that came with that time."

Obviously, that wasn't enough to satisfy Ram, as he was still standing and staring.

"I just need a moment to remind myself that I'm not that person anymore," King finished.

Ram nodded once and opened his mouth to invite the elder back inside when Bohn grabbed Ram's shoulder and pushed him to the side. He glared bitterly at Bohn, his hands twisting into fists at his side.

Bohn rolled his eyes and turned his attention to King.

"King, are you okay?"

King nodded and moved to head back inside. He didn't want to repeat himself, it was tiring.

Bohn watching him before turning his attention back to Ram. He glared at the younger boy and warned, "Leave King alone. He has us already."

"You mean you?" Ram replied, stepping toward King, "Or P'Tee?"

Bohn felt attacked and he straightened his back and pushed himself to look Ram in the eyes clearly.

"Let me rephrase that then," he spoke, "He doesn't need you."

"That's not for you to decide."

Ram left, heading back inside with his jaw clenched. Bohn rolled his eyes and shook his arms in frustration before following Ram back inside to the table.

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Ram walked with King back towards his apartment where his bike was still locked up in front. The two had taken the bus together and were planning to take it back, but the buses stopped running long before the "King's Better Grade" party was over.

They walked in mostly a comfortable silence until King would bring up a topic of conversation, talking more to himself than he was talking to Ram.

It just felt nice to have someone walking with him at this time of the night.

"Have you ever felt alone?" King questioned, "I feel alone sometimes, but not as much as I think people think I should."

Ram glanced at him briefly.

"I mean, I live in an apartment with over twenty...maybe thirty different varieties of plants," King spoke, "I live alone and I usually only study. I know a lot of people that think that I must feel so alone."

Ram smiled briefly to himself. He could never imagine that King was lonely, he always had someone to talk to.

"But my plants are my friends," King continued, his head tilted up at the night sky, "When I talk to them, they grow better. They're nice to talk to when I don't want to talk to Bohn."

King laughed to himself. He loved Bohn as his brother but there were times when he wanted to have someone else that he trusted enough to talk about his problems.

"Ah, I look forward to the day Duen can properly get Bohn under control," King sighed, "He's a handful for all of us."

They arrived at King's building and Ram unlocked his bike, glancing at his watch before looking at King. The senior had ascended the steps to the front door of the building where he was waiting, watching Ram with a kind smile.

He lifted his hand up and waved at him before Ram turned away and started down the pavement with his bike. King sighed and opened the glass doors.

"Good night, P'King."

King turned quickly to stare at Ram, who hadn't stopped walking. He hopped on his bike and rode away, making King look at him with confusion. Had he imagined it?

He wanted Ram to care for him, to worry about his senior.

But that was more than what Ram was prepared to give and King understood that. He refused to push Ram any further than he was comfortable, even if it did mean that King was going to have to suffer in his heart for it.

Ram knew who King was as a senior and a tutor, so it was best for King that it stayed that way. Having the junior around him was more than he could ask for.