Unraveling and Entangling

chapter 7

Pat tried to understand why his stomach dropped looking at Pran and Ink laughing together in the empty classroom. He knew he liked Ink and had been flirting with her since she transferred here but Ink had never flirted back. Did she not like him? She would be the fourth girl that he liked who didn’t like him back. At least she didn’t use him for his money. He appreciated her even more for that.

But was he so unlikeable? Maybe he wasn’t what people wanted in their partners. Maybe he was too much or too little all at once. Even Pran and Ink were closer to each other than they were to him. Was he not even worth being a close friend?

He had thoughts swirling around his head about confessing to Ink since the day she came over to his house. She had fit in perfectly with his family but maybe he was the only one who felt that way. Ink had spent more time with Pa than him and now she was with Pran. Pran, who was laughing so openly with her. He had only heard that laughter a handful of times and even then it was never with him.

Maybe he was never meant to be that close to anyone.

With that thought, Pat returned to the playground to have lunch with his group of friends who might not have even noticed his absence.

Ever since the day Pat saw Pran and Ink laughing together, Pran seemed to fidget a lot. Was he nervous? Pat had never seen Pran being nervous. What was he nervous about? Did he like Ink too? Was he going to confess to Ink?

These were the thoughts going through his head since that day. He couldn’t ask Pran directly though. ‘Mind your own business.’ would be the reply he’d get in return. Pran had always refused to call him his friend and as ‘not a friend’, he didn’t have the privilege to know things about him. And Pat didn’t have the courage to cross over to Pran’s room to talk to him, following the night he started having those stupid thoughts.

Ink spent three lunch breaks with Pran that week and Pat wasn’t jealous. No he definitely wasn't. He was happy that at least two people that he considered his closest friends were getting along well together. They would make one hell of a pair if they decided to get together. Pat would be happy for them.

That was what he thought until Ink informed him during lunch break one day about how she had set Pran up with a friend of hers. That the said friend and Pran were getting together splendidly and they might even be interested in each other romantically.

What?

Pran was considering dating someone?

Whom?

He needed to know. He didn’t know why but he felt protective of Pran and he didn’t like to see him get hurt, physically or emotionally. So he had to know everything about this person.

Would they be a good match for Pran? Would they make Pran laugh the way Pat couldn’t? Would Pran be happy with them? Pat fired off a flurry of questions at Ink about this friend of hers. The answers he got, gave rise to even more questions.

He is a he? Pran liked boys? Pat had never given much thought about their preferences but he didn't think genders matter much when it came to love. Pran could love whoever he wanted, as long as he was happy. But was he happy with this person? What was his name? Tao!

Ink showed him some pictures and Tao wasn’t too bad to look at and he had a similar body build to Pat. Is that what Pran liked? Did he have a type or was it about the inside of a person and not the outside for him? Pat was left with so many questions he wished he could ask Pran.

Some evenings when Pran’s curtains were open, he could see him texting someone with a constant smile on his face. Was he texting Tao? Pran never texted HIM though! Another reminder about how unimportant Pat was in Pran’s life. Would Pran want to turn dating into a competition as well? Like they did with everything else? Maybe Pat didn’t want that. He’d definitely lose to Pran. Pran could get anyone he wanted. He didn’t scare people away like Pat.

He wanted Pran to text him sometimes too. He wanted Pran to ask him how he was feeling? How was his day going? What did he have for lunch or dinner? Some important questions, some unimportant questions too. He just wanted to talk to Pran. Was it too much to ask for something as simple as that? How could Pran consider dating other people and yet couldn't even grant a simple friendship to Pat? He couldn’t understand why he wanted to be friends with Pran so badly?