Just One More Night

Chapter Twenty-Six

It had been a week since Mew and his bandmates left for their opening tour. Gulf had kept himself as busy as possible, because every time he stopped his mind wandered, thinking about how much he missed him. How everytime he went to sleep, he missed his back hugs, the smell of his unique scent blending with his own and the way he used to stroke his hair to help him fall asleep. Gulf wanted to beat himself up: he didn't want to be clingy and besides it had only been a fucking week; that's why he needed to take advantage of all of this free time to focus on what he did best: soccer.

"So...how you feelin'?". His best friend handed him a water bottle and a towel during the break time.

His eyes looked concerned but Gulf just nodded. "I'm ok, just a little tired. But we're only a few minutes away, I can handle it".

Mild took a long sip from his own bottle, feeling thirsty. "If you say so".

Gulf knew he shouldn't overdo it, but there were a lot of important people watching the game, so he had to leave a good impression if he wanted to be chosen as captain of the team, like he was promised. One more push couldn't hurt him.

Until it did hurt him.

He was running like crazy and was about to kick the ball when an incredible pain in the knee forced him to fall to the ground. He screamed loudly, scaring his whole team who ran to his rescue. "Gulf, what happened?".

Gulf recognized Mild's voice but his sight was getting foggy. "Don't...know". He mumbled, visibly sweating. Quickly, they moved him on a stretcher, as careful as possible.

Before leaving with the ambulance, Gulf was asked to choose someone to keep him company on the way to the hospital. The only name he could think of in his delirium was: "Mew. I want Mew".

The woman looked confused and asked to the rest of the team. "Which one of you is Mew?".

They all fell silent, until Mild stepped forward. "Here I am".

On the drive over Gulf regained his consciousness a couple of time, during which he looked at Mild with a sad expression: "You're not Mew...".

Mild bit his lip, holding his hand tight. "I know. You'll have to settle for me".

Gulf tried to smile but he was feeling crappy, his body temperature rising dramatically. Mild did not know what to do, Gulf was usually the one taking care of him. He wanted to return the favor and be there for him too. He dried the sweat from his forehead and kept on holding his hand, trying to keep him awake.

When the nurses finally let Mild enter the hospital room, Gulf's leg was in a cast and he was looking absent-mindedly out of the window. "Hey, champ".

Gulf smiled weekly, looking at his leg. "Not so much of a champ now".

Mild glared at him, sitting next to him. "It's not your fault. These things happen all the time".

Gulf sighed, frustrated. "Not to me. I was so close...and now I have this thing on my leg for God knows how long". Mild fixed his pillows for him and handed him a glass of water. "I can say goodbye to any hope to become captain now".

Mild tucked him in, putting the glass back to the bedside table. "You shouldn't think about this now". When his phone started ringing, Gulf asked Mild to give it to him. "You should rest...".

Mild stared at him, undecided. "I don't want him to worry. Please".

His best friend sighed, handing him the phone. "I'm right here if you need me". 

Gulf waited for Mild to close the door before answering his phone:  "Hey, I almost gave up. I called you at least four times".

Gulf looked at his phone, scrolling the phone records. "Sorry I...".

But Mew stopped him, and he could hear his smile even miles away. "...you fell asleep after the game, didn't you?".

Gulf felt a lump in his throat. "Yeah...exactly".

Gulf knew he should have told him the truth, but something inside him didn't want to ruin his day too. "Are you okay, tua aeng?".

Gulf realised how much he missed that nickname too, and because of that he nearly burst into tears, which he was trying so hard not to. "Yeah I just...miss you a lot".

During their phone calls he was usually the one less sentimental, not because he was shy or something, but because he didn't want to make him feel guilty about leaving in the first place. "I miss you too. Tong wants to kill me already because I won't shut up about you".

Gulf laughed, the first time since the accident. He felt some pain on his leg but he ignored it. "At least I know you're not leaving me for some groupie...".

Mew snorted. "Hey, you have so little faith in me?".

Gulf smiled, softened by his reaction. "Well, a guy has to double check, okay?".

They fell silent for a few seconds, smiling through their phones. "I wish I was there with you". 

Gulf thought about how much he wished he was really there with him too. "Don't worry about me, I'll be here when the tour finishes, just...have fun for the both of us. Not too much fun, though".

Mew laughed, and Gulf could hear his friends' voice in the background. "Point taken. Are you sure everything's fine? There's something in your voice...".

Gulf pretended to yawn. "Yeah, I'm exhausted. In fact, I'm gonna hang up, or I'll fall asleep with the line open".

He could hear Mew was not fully convinced but he decided not to insist. "Okay, sleeping beauty. Dream about me, okay?".

He was definetely going to dream about him, considering he was the only happy thing in his life now. "Keep dreaming".

He teased him, starting to feel the tiredness of the day. "Goodnight, tua aeng". Gulf instinctively caressed his phone. "Goodnight, tee rak".  

Hello everyone ❤️ I just wanted to let you know there's only two chapters left so we're close to the end 🙈 I'm not ready to say goodbye but hopefully I'll come back soon with a new story✨