baby we're meant to be

[ain't a lie] extra: how first meetings go

Arthit's POV of their first meeting

The first time Arthit encountered a version of the Campus Moon that was very much not 2D was on a Friday afternoon a week before university hazing finished. In hindsight, perhaps he should've taken the atmosphere leading up to it more seriously; it certainly proved to be a harbinger of the trouble that would plague him after that fateful meeting.

Dark grey clouds had already blocked out most of the afternoon sun by the time Arthit had finished assisting some professors move laboratory equipment across campuses. He shook out his aching muscles as he strode hurriedly back towards the dorm. From the way the wind had begun to build, he had a feeling that it would storm soon and he didn't fancy being caught out in it when it did, especially since he didn't have an umbrella.

It was precisely when he was almost home free - a mere few feet away from the shortcut that led off the university (aka a gate in the Economics campus leading to a decidedly suspicious alleyway that nobody was supposed to use but everybody clambered over when they were in a hurry to get morning lectures on time) - that the setup for their chance encounter happened.

Arthit had seen the figure rushing across the grass from a distance as he hastened towards his destination. The student suddenly stumbled before dropping to his knees, dumping the stack of papers he held onto the ground beside him and fiddling with his shoelaces.

Under normal circumstances, it would be an utterly unremarkable occurrence. But this time, a particularly strong gust of wind sent a flurry of papers spilling across the open space, right into Arthit's path.

A sharp curse left the boy's mouth as he looked up from his shoes. Dropping his bag carelessly onto the few remaining papers in the pile to hold them down, he lunged for the closest sheets, desperately trying to grab them before the wind decided to pluck them away again.

Arthit found himself letting out an exasperated sigh as some of the unruly papers smacked into his shins, wrapping around them or bouncing off to spin away. Bending down, he untangled the sheets from his calves and smoothed them out. He grumpily eyed the papers littering the ground, a few of them tumbling further away with the occasional gust of wind, before huffing and joining the other male in chasing down the rest of the fly-aways.

The task took only a couple of minutes, though it did involve more physical exertion than Arthit expected as the wind had steadily been picking up over its duration. Having collected all the papers that had blown past him, he shuffled them together into a haphazard pile as he walked towards the abandoned bag pinning down the few papers that hadn't been snatched away by the wind.

"Watch out!" a shout came from behind him.

Pivoting on his heel in confusion, Arthit had barely spun around before he felt paper smack into his thighs. The boy chasing after it almost crashed into him, barely stopping in time to prevent them from tumbling to the floor in a heap. With a triumphant cry, he snatched the papers off Arthit. The sharp movement caused his fingers to brush along the inseam of Arthit's jeans, leaving a trail of fire as they dragged across his thigh in that brief second of contact.

"So sorry about that!" the boy apologised hastily.

He straightened up and let out a small gasp as he realised just how close he was to Arthit. Still stunned, Arthit could only stare back at the face he'd seen everywhere the school could plaster it. His cheeks heated up, the intense gaze and proximity to the Campus Moon doing no favours for his heart rate even as his skin still tingled from the fleeting touch.

Spotting the blush that was most definitely making itself known on Arthit's skin, the boy immediately took a step backwards. "I'm so sorry to bother you. The wind blew my papers away."

Arthit nodded jerkily. He shoved the miniature stack of papers he'd collected at Kongpob.

"Oh!" exclaimed the boy, staring down at it. "Thank you so much for helping me gather them!" He took the papers and added them to his pile. "I'm Kongpob, Faculty of Economics. Thank you, Phi...?"

"Arthit," he answered. He cleared his throat. "I'm Arthit. Engineering."

Kongpob huffed a small laugh. "The red workshop jacket gave that away, P'Arthit."

Arthit raised an eyebrow, grateful for the glossing over of their far too intimate meeting. "Talking back to your seniors? What have your hazers been teaching you?" he asked, a sneer beginning to form on his face.

"Not talking back, just pointing out an observation," replied Kongpob cheekily, not the least bit affected by Arthit's posturing.

"Well maybe next time you should observe your surroundings a bit more and not let your things get carried away by the wind."

Kongpob winced at the reminder. "Ok, that's fair."

Spotting the pitiful expression the younger wore, Arthit let out a disbelieving laugh. "Are you pouting, Nong?"

"No," denied Kongpob, turning his head away. He then made to move around the elder. "I'm going to get my stuff."

Arthit's hand shot out to grab Kongpob's bicep, turning the boy to face him.

"You are pouting!" Arthit said gleefully. He left go of Kongpob's arm to pinch the freshman's cheeks instead. "You're such a kid!"

Kongpob attempted to glare at Arthit, but with his cheeks being pulled, only managed to look like a kitten attempting to puff itself up instead.

"It's going to rain, P'Arthit," he reminded the senior, the words coming out slightly muffled. "I'd like to get back to my room dry."

"Yeah, yeah," said Arthit, releasing the freshman.

He watched the freshman pick up his bag and the papers beneath it. Trailing his eyes over the figure, he could see how Kongpob had managed to win both the Popularity vote and the title of Moon. He was, objectively speaking, rather conventionally attractive. And not just in heavily edited photographs too.

As Kongpob stood up, he shot Arthit a curious look. "You're still here?"

Smirking, Arthit replied, "Just wondering if you needed any more help. Like holding your hand while crossing the road."

"Why Phi!" Kongpob mock-gasped. He approached the senior, until there was barely an arm's width between their chest, and leaned in close. "If you wanted to hold my hand that badly, you just had to ask."

Arthit flushed, his ears turning bright red. He hadn't expected the tables to be turned on him.

"Kongpob!" he shouted, before huffing and spinning around. "I'm leaving!"

Said person was smiling so widely his grin could almost split his face. "Thanks for your help, P'Arthit!" he called after the figure that was stomping away.

Arthit didn't even deign to reply. See if he did a nice thing ever again! But as he drew further away from where he'd left Kongpob, he had a feeling that their encounter wouldn't be the last time he'd see that cheeky troublemaker.