If I could have wings to fly

Ch. 18 Hope

In front of him was the man in the white T-shirt and Sarawat, their lips touching.

No. No no no no no.

Something snapped inside Tine.

The years of being patient. The years of hiding his feelings to accommodate to everyone else. The years of being alone, wondering what he did to deserve it. The years of swallowing down the hurt, the anger, the pain.

Bam! Before Tine realized it, his fist landed with a loud thud on the guy's cheek. 

"Ahhh!" The guy screamed in pain as he stumbled back in shock. "What the fuck man! Who the hell are you?"

Tine grabbed the man's collar. 

"Sarawat's mine!"  He screamed into his face, his eyes filled with rage.  

"He's mine! Don't touch him!" Tine sobbed as he hurled one deafening blow after another. His anger spilled out of him like a flood that had broken through a dam. The man crashed against the wall, trying to regain balance. 

 "Stop! Tine, listen to me!" Sarawat jumped in and tightly wrapped his arms around Tine.  Tine felt his heart tearing apart at the touch.

Whack!  Tine was so distracted that he failed to dodge a harsh blow to the face. He stumbled onto the hardwood floor.  

"Fuck!" Tine winced in pain as he managed to get up and push the guy onto the ground. "Aggh fuck!" He swung his arm over and over again.

---------------------------------

Tine looked up to see a crowd staring at him.

He was kneeling on the floor. The guy was lying down beneath him, sobbing in pain as he sputtered out blood.  

Oh my god...what the hell did I just do...

Tine tried to still his shaking hands.

He frantically looked around for Sarawat, who was staring at him with shock. Behind him were Man and Boss, gaping at him. His eyes jotted back and forth between the people who were pointing at him, jeering at him, whispering at him, and even taking pictures and videos of him.   

Oh god, I need to get the fuck out of here. Tine shakily managed to get himself up. He quickly stumbled towards the door. 

"Tine, wait!" Sarawat shouted, running up to him.

"Don't talk to me right now" Tine muttered distractedly.

"Tine, I swear I had no idea that was coming! You have to believe me!" Sarawat grabbed his arm and swung him back. 

Tine looked into Sarawat's desperate eyes, but he was too overwhelmed.  "I..I need to get some air". 

With that, he slipped away from Sarawat's grip.

-----------------------------------

It was completely dark outside other than a few streetlights. Tine walked across the bridge towards the ocean waves, not sure where he was going.

He had completely lost it.  By morning, everyone at school would have seen the pictures and videos. His friends would definitely find out. Ha...Tine laughed to himself. I guess all those years trying to fit in didn't work out for me after all.   

Tine knew he should be terrified about the consequences. But for some reason, he felt a wave of relief. It was the first time that he had finally voiced, or should he say yelled, his inner thoughts for everyone to hear.  He felt the ropes of responsibilities and expectations that were tied around him suddenly come off.  He didn't have to live up to a persona anymore.