You've Got Me in a Haze

Chapter 13

"I can't believe school is ending already. I'm excited for the competition next week, though!" Mild was bouncing alongside his best friend and boyfriend as they made their way to the field for their final meeting with the 10 students who would be accompanying them to the Intercollegiate Hazing Competition of Thailand that was being held in Bangkok in five days.

After meeting their kids and instructing them on where to meet next week, the trio headed back to their condo. Boat had essentially moved in at this point and Gulf was really happy for his friends. They had been worried about it ever since November when he'd broken up with Mew but he assured them that he was fine.

His Instagram told a different story, however. The quiet man had rarely used social media before he met the elder Engineering PhD candidate but now, he posted almost every day with a more cryptic caption each time. Mew wasn't much better and the sadness could be seen in both of their eyes every so often.

They both kept themselves busy with practices, school and modeling, now that Gulf had accepted P'Best's offer to be his manager. The two saw each other every weekend still, calling it "visitation rights" for Chopper but their friends all knew that it was the couple's way of clinging to each other without getting back together fully.

It had been almost 6 months since they had ended their relationship but they couldn't go one day without talking, even if it was just good morning and good night texts. Mild and Boat had been worried at first that it would make the situation worse for their friend but after sitting Gulf down back in December, they realized that he needed the contact to stay sane while their relationship was still in the air.

It wasn't the healthiest of arrangements but until the IHCT happened next week, they wouldn't make a definitive decision on ending everything. Mew still hadn't found the answers and, though it pained him, Gulf was still waiting.

Gulf had even gone to one of Mew's hazing practices secretly just to see the elder in action and try to find out what Mew liked about the activity. What he had seen had shocked him. Mew hazed harshly and with no room for error. He was like a different person on the field and it made Gulf question how much he knew the elder. They had discussed it one weekend on Gulf's visitation to Chopper and Mew explained that he believed the traditional way was better. The couple had agreed to disagree about their hazing methods after they'd almost started screaming at each other.

Gulf sat on his bed once they had reached the condo and posted a picture on his Instagram from a photo shoot he'd done earlier that week. He captioned it, "Do you think the universe fights for souls to be together? Some things are too strange and strong to be coincidences. -Emery Allen"

He still had his notifications turned off due to the amount of hate he got regularly because of Mew's fans. They had constantly accused him of using Mew to become a model and then breaking up with him. Gulf couldn't deal with the ignorance so he had turned comments off completely as well.

The senior got into bed and texted Mew goodnight and good luck with his thesis. Had he checked his phone first, he would have stayed up the whole night debating on whether or not to call the elder and ask what he meant by his Instagram caption.

****May 6th ****

"Everyone, on the bus!" Gulf ticked off each person's name as they got onto the charter buss the competition had sent to pick them up from the KMUT campus. It was 5 am the day before the competition started and Gulf was nervous. His stomach was rolling even though he hadn't eaten and he felt like he would throw up at any moment.

He said he had the answers but he wouldn't tell me until after the competition. Why is he torturing me like this??

Gulf sat in the far back of the bus and watched as the scenery flew by. His nausea got stronger as he started recognizing the buildings they were passing. Oh no...

Gulf hunkered down in his seat as the bus stopped in the parking lot of Chulalongkorn University, pissed that the organizers hadn't told him exactly which school they'd be sharing a bus with. He hadn't talked to Mew in days because the elder said he needed to focus on training. That coupled with his cryptic Instagram caption from last week, Gulf wasn't feeling too welcoming towards the elder at the moment.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear...

Mew climbed onto the bus and his face showed the same shocked confusion Gulf's had a minute prior. Making his way down the aisle, he plopped himself down next to Gulf and put his headphones in, matching the younger. They didn't speak but both felt some tension leave their bodies.

Once they had arrived and been given the welcoming speech, the teams were all sent up to their rooms for a lie down. The activities would begin with a mixer that night and hazing would begin tomorrow at 11 am. Grateful that his team wasn't on the same floor as Mew's, Gulf sank into the bed. Right before he drifted off into slumber, he remembered that all Head Hazers had to post the official logo of the competition on their Instagram to get the games started. He opened the app and posted the photo with the simple caption of, "Let's do this".

He saw that Mew had already posted the logo and said, "I've got this" along with it. Gulf snorted and liked the picture.

"You wish, Suppasit."

Gulf turned his phone off and finally slipped into sleep, no longer nervous for the upcoming competition. He'd win and get Mew's answer in the next three days; three days was nothing on the past 6 months of waiting.