Kiss Me, If You Dare

Pran’s friends stopped their banter, and Wai turned around slowly, annoyance and aggression clearly written all over his face. 

"What do you want, dickhead?" Wai spat back, and Pat wondered, not for the first time, why these two had to antagonise each other all the damn time, and how to stop it. He thought after building the bus stop together, they would’ve buried their feud, but he was clearly mistaken. 

"I just wanted to ask why my favourite server isn’t on duty tonight. We’re going to your bar, and I was soooo excited to see you." There was a dangerous smirk on Korn’s face as he sauntered over to Wai. Everything about his body language, from the cock of his head to his rolling gait, was a deliberate provocation. "We had so much fun together last time. I thought you might want to repeat the experience."

Even from a distance, Pat could see the muscles in Wai’s jaw working and how he squared his shoulders to match Korn's provocative stance. 

Next to Wai, Pran looked concerned and mildly panicked, as he looked from Wai to Korn and back again, before catching Pat’s gaze across the courtyard, widening his eyes and motioning with his hands from one to the other, as if urging him to interfere. Pat knew he had to do something, not only because he didn't like seeing Pran upset, but also because this was getting increasingly more serious and dangerous. 

"Guys, leave it," Pat said loudly, desperate to diffuse the tension. "Come on, let’s go to the bar and help Mo embarrass himself in front of the waitress!" But he knew the two guys weren't listening to him anymore. 

"What's wrong, Pat? I'm just talking to my friend," Korn replied, the last word coming out so disdainful it startled Pat. They went toe to toe, sizing each other up, and Wai's fists were clenched as if he was just barely holding himself back from throwing the first punch. 

"Go fuck yourself, Korn. That's the only person who'll have you," Wai said, and Pat winced, knowing it was over.

When Korn raised his hands and pushed against Wai's chest with the most arrogant and infuriating smirk on his face, Pat felt the distinct urge to punch Korn himself. Wai stumbled backwards and fell right into Louis, who caught him, but looked ready to tear Korn apart. And Pat had to admit that he couldn't deny that Korn deserved the fist to his jaw that he caught seconds later, from none other than Safe, who had jumped forward to avenge his friend.

It was chaos from there on. Korn and Wai were at each other’s throats, Louis being held back by Mo as he kicked out towards Cheng, and Safe tackling him from the side to protect Louis from both of them. He saw Pran trying to pry Korn off of Wai, pleading with them to calm down, but they were too focused on each other to listen to him. Pran got caught up in their shuffle somehow, and Pat barely managed to catch him when he tripped over Korn's feet and toppled backwards.

"Are you okay?" Pat asked him, worried that Pran had accidentally been the target of Korn's fury. 

Pran didn't answer him. "Shit!", he yelled instead, getting up from the ground and pushing Pat's hands away that were fussing over him. "I told you where we were going! Why did you guys come here?"

"I didn't realise you were still here! I thought you'd be long gone," Pat tried to defend himself, but it didn't matter right now. They had to stop this fight, and not get caught, and then he had to make sure Pran was alright. And he probably had to apologise. But he decided to think about that part later. 

For now, Pat scanned the area for cameras, glad to see that there were none around, before he heard a loud crack and an excruciating yell from Cheng, who clutched his hands against his nose. By the sound of it, it was most likely broken. But instead of backing off, the fight got even more heated, with Wai and Korn now wrestling on the ground, clawing at each other.