You've Got Me in a Haze

Chapter 11

Mild looked at Boat and told him with his eyes to help him as he tried to comfort Gulf who was no longer screaming but had started choking on his sobs.

Boat went down on his knees in front of Gulf and gently placed his hands on the younger's cheeks. Tilting Gulf's face up, Boat used his thumbs to wipe his tears away. As close as Gulf and Mild were, Boat had always been by their side as their anchor. When they both freaked out, Boat always stepped in and kept them stable.

Gulf leaned into Boat's warm hands and started following his breathing pattern to calm down. After about ten minutes of Boat stroking his cheeks and Mild rubbing his back, Gulf was calm enough to sit properly on the floor.

"Gulfie, what happened?" Mild asked softly, using his old pet name to make Gulf smile. He was pleased when he saw the edges of Gulf's lips twitch slightly.

Taking a deep breath, Gulf's voice shook when he said, "I broke up with P'Mew."

Mild and Boat exchanged a quick startled glance, never stopping their comforting touches on their youngest friend.

"The pictures from the Head Hazer photo shoot came out today and apparently P'Mew is the Head Hazer for Chula that everyone talked about. He found out I was a Head too and freaked out saying I lied and betrayed him. I explained that neither of us ever talked about it and he calmed down but he said he needed time to think about this, as if it would change our relationship." Gulf couldn't keep the incredulity from his voice.

"I asked if he was going to leave me because of this and he said he 'didn't know'. So, I broke up with him because how could he not know?? How could a competition be more important than our relationship?" Gulf's voice gradually rose as the anger came back but then he deflated right before their eyes and whispered, "I thought he loved me."

Mild's eyes grew fiery as Gulf explained and he stood up to pace as he thought over the situation.

"This doesn't make any sense. You met him way before you became a hazer through the store contest and you never told him about the hazing because it didn't truly matter unless you won today's competition to represent the school. And he never told you either, he even blew you off the past few weekends for hazing, didn't he?"

At Gulf's sad nod, Mild continued. "So, he's just as much at fault! Ugh, if I could give him a piece of my mind, he wouldn't be able to compete." As nice of a person as Mild seemed, he was extremely protective of Gulf and didn't take anything that hurt his friend lightly.

Gulf glanced down at the floor and happened to see the time on Boat's watch. "Shit! We need to get ready or we will be late for the competition!" He tried to turn and grab his clothes when Boat stopped him.

Staring deeply into Gulf's eyes, Boat asked, "Can you handle this?"

Gulf thought about it for a second and then smiled at his friends; a real smile, too, not just a fake mask to ease their worries.

"Yes. I'm not going to say I'm okay but we've worked so hard for so long in order to win this competition and represent KMUT at the intercollegiate level. I will not let my personal feelings and issues prevent our team from proving that we have what it takes. We can worry about my personal life later. For now, let's go show them what we've got."

Mild and Boat nodded, leaving the room to get ready while Gulf took a quick shower. He ran over his strategy and to do list while he got clean and dressed. When he looked into the mirror one last time, the crying boy from before was long gone and in his place stood a Head Hazer to reckon with.

****At KMU Competition****

Gulf, Mild and Boat strode onto the field wearing all black, their faces expressionless. The students that were to be hazed all whispered and shifted uneasily. They had seen the Engineering team show up and thought they'd be the winners for sure, wearing their traditional uniform. But these three Technology students were enough to strike fear into everyone present.