Soulmarks and Destiny

A Sweet Friendship

The, more or less, forced date had ended with the both of them smiling.
Ram had even squeezed his hand.
Can you believe that??
I surely can't.
My heart was overflowing with happiness.
When I came home afterwards, I had thrown myself into the bed and rolled around while squealing like a girl who's crush had finally acknowledged her.
No one would know about that but still, I felt a bit embarrassed about it.
My friends would surely tease me to death if they knew.
So, after two hours, I had sat up and focused on my assignments instead.
Just like a dutiful senior should do.
Around 5 am I had finished every assignment, even the ones that we still had four months for.
I hadn't noticed how late, or early, it already was and just knew that Bohn won't be happy with me if he found out.
And he always found out when I stayed up longer that I should.
He definitely won't accept it when I say that I was just in a work flow and didn't noticed time flying by…
Oh well, I should start planning my funeral.
Naturally, in that exact moment my phone started ringing.
I took it and answered.
"You pulled an all-nighter, didn't you?"
"Good morning to you too, my dearest friend", I answered, genuinely wondering if Bohn was stalking me.
"So you really didn't sleep at all. King, how many times do I have to tell you that it's not healthy to stay up all night", he started nagging and I sighed.
"Do you have some kind of sixth sense which is why you always know when I didn't sleep or are you stalking me?"
"Both but that's not the point"
"What?"
"What?"
"Anyway, I didn't do it intentionally so please stop nagging and just let me eat my breakfast", I pleaded, hoping for Bohn to get distracted by something.
"You-", Bohn started but got interrupted by a faint voice in the background.
Well done, N'Duen!
Go on and distract him even more, please!
"I… roses but…know if you like…"
"What?? Ah, well, I mean.. I… No, no! I take them N'Duen! Don't you dare throw my roses away!"
Ah, so he did buy roses for Bohn.
Aww, Bohn is shy!
Aren't they the cutest?
That's some big bottom energy you are radiating there, my dear friend!
"Since I wouldn't dare to interrupt your time with your sweetheart, I'm going to hang up now. Greet N'Duen from me and tell him that roses are a great choice, please! See you!"
Before Bohn could complain I hang up and grinned gleefully.
Bohn sure is in for a lot of embarrassment if N'Duen persistently pesters him like that.
Ah, young love!
So cute!!
After eating breakfast, I got ready and then left.
On my way to university, I thought about ways to win Ram's heart.
Maybe I should buy something for his dogs?
But I don't know much about dogs so I'd better not do that…
Should I buy him flowers as well?
No, that's Bohn Duen's thing and not very original.
A book about dogs might be something he'd enjoy but I don't know which books he already owns…
God, who could have known that being in love was this tough?
Sighing, I ruffled my hair in frustration.
"Everything alright?"
I flinched when Mek appeared out of nowhere right next to me which only made him even more worried.
"Mek! Sorry, I didn't see you there. I was lost in thoughts. I'm fine, no worries"
"Are you sure? You look terrible. Did you pull an all-nighter again? You know that's not healthy"
I smiled slightly embarassed.
"I know, I know. It wasn't intentional. Besides, that's not what I was frustrated about"
"You're truly a workaholic. Make sure not to overwork yourself, King. What did you worry about then? N'Ram?"
Surprised and horrified, I looked at him and he smiled softly.
"Don't worry, your crush on him isn't very obvious. It's just that you look a lot happier with him around and since he's your soulmate it isn't hard to guess"
"I look a lot happier, hm? I guess that possible…"
"What are you worrying about? Maybe I can help?", Mek asked and I smiled at him.
"You're a good friend, you know that? I appreciate it a lot. I was trying to think of ways to make him fall for me or at least make him like me more"
"Hm… i don't really know N'Ram but from what I've seen I don't think he dislikes you. What are things he likes?"
"Dogs"
"Oh", he frowned and looked at me slightly concerned.
"That explains the dog part of your soulmark but… Are you going to be ok?"
I sighed.
"I thought about trying to get over this fear before but… An actual therapy is pretty expensive…"
"That's true and a part-time job would be hard to maintain with all the assignments, homework and projects we have to do…"
"Besides, finding a job would be hard already because a lot of shops don't need any part-time workers and our school schedule makes it hard as well"
Mek sighed and scratched his neck.
"Maybe N'Ram could help you with it? He owns dogs, right?"
I nodded.
"Then that would be the perfect opportunity for you to not only work on your fear of dogs but also get closer to him!", Mek said excitedly but I wasn't as positive as him.
"I don't know if he would do that. I mean, we've started talking to each other just a few months ago and it would take quite some time and effort to work on that trauma…"
"You don't want to annoy him, hm? Well then… Why don't you ask Duen for suggestions while N' Ram is nearby? Nobody knows that you know he has dogs and even if someone would have told you it can't be guaranteed that you remember, right?", he said grinning and I ended up smiling as well.
"Mek! Who would have thought you can be this scheming! That's a good plan!"
He laughed and put an arm around my shoulders.
"You know what they say: Still waters run deep!"
After we had a plan, we just joked around and laughed.
"Mek, King!"
Looking up, we realized that we had already arrived at university and saw Bohn, Duen, Ram and Boss standing next to a bench.
"How unusual for you to arrive together", Boss commented and I looked at him.
Is that jealousy I hear?
"Yeah we don't normally meet because King always gets up earlier than me but today we actually managed to go together", Mek answered and I could tell that he had the same thought as me by the way he observed our friend's reaction.
"Right, but it really is nice to walk with you. So I might consider to actually wait for you", I teased, feeling amused and he laughed.
"Awww, aren't you the sweetest? You would even waste your precious time to wait for me?", Mek sobbed theatrically and hugged me.
"Come on now, others might think you're a couple", Bohn joked.
"Honestly, it could be worse. King is one of the smartest if not the smartest of our class!"
"That's true. It sure would be nice to be with him instead of a dumb person", Boss said with a fake laugh and I elbowed Mek lightly.
"Your sweetheart is feeling a bit bitter. Make sure to cheer him up", I whispered into his ear and he nodded and let go of me.
Bohn immediately caught on.
"Jokes aside, we still have to talk about something, King"
I grimaced.
Of course, he wouldn't forget about that.
"Why? What is it?", Duen asked and Ram seemed curious as well.
I sighed and rubbed my neck awkwardly.
"I told you I didn't do it on purpose"
"I know but that doesn't make it any better"
"Look, I know it's not healthy to stay up all night but I just kinda… Forgot"
"You forgot to sleep?", Duen echoed.
"What he means is that he was so absorbed into doing assignments etc that he worked all night without noticing. He's probably done with every project and homework we got even those we still have some months for till we have to be done", Bohn muttered, obviously dissatisfied with my behavior.
"Wait, seriously?!", Boss asked and I nodded hesitantly.
"It's really not good to overwork yourself like that, P'King", Duen said, looking genuinely worried.
Why is everyone getting so invested?
I didn't do it on purpose!
I swear!!
Even Ram was frowning at me.
Ugh, why is he staring at me so intensely?
N'Ram, please stop staring holes into my soul.
"Shouldn't you call in sick and rest a bit?"
My friends stared at Duen in surprise.
"There's no need for that. He's done this several times already", Mek answered and the two juniors stared at him.
"That's really unhealthy! Besides, P'King is already done with everything and he's a great student so it should be ok if he rests today", Duen argued, sounding a bit angry.
"It's fine, N'Duen. I'm not very exhausted, so-"
"No! You look tired! P'King, please. Take better care of yourself!"
Surprised and a bit shocked, I looked at him.
"Hahaha, Bohn you better be careful! N'Duen might have a crush on King!", Boss laughed and Bohn and I frowned.
"Stop it, Boss. He's just worried about him. They're friends, after all"
Careful Bohn, your inner softie is showing.
"You should rest, P'King", Ram muttered softly.
…
Oof, that was a hard hit.
I think I just lost 5000 HP.
N'Ram, can you stop saying things when I least expect it?
Especially in such a sweet way!
Honestly, I might die from a heart attack!!
Have mercy with this senior!!
Trying my hardest to suppress a blush, I rubbed my nose a bit.
"He talked!", Boss exclaimed.
"It's not like he can't talk. He just rarely does so", I responded.
"Eh? You seem to know him really well!", Boss said with a suggestive grin which resulted in me and Bohn simultaneously slapping him.
"Will you stop?!"
"Don't talk about things you don't know shit about!"
"Jeez, calm down! No need to yell at me!", he sulked and rubbed his sore head.
"You two sure are in synchro", Mek commented in amusement.
Why am I friends with them again?
"Anyway, you really should rest. I will write notes so you don't have to worry about missing anything important", Bohn said and I smiled at him.
"Notes?! YOU?!", Boss yelled shocked and Bohn glared at him.
"Yes, I will write notes! Stop acting so surprised!"
"But you never write notes", Mek added.
"Well I will do it today!"
"For King"
"Yes, for King! Get over it!", he hisses blushing, grabbed them and pulled them with him.
"You better take good care of yourself, King!", he yelled and was gone.
"He's such a softie", I commented laughing.
"He really is", Duen agreed and even Ram agreed.