*********
A week has passed after their vacation, Fluke was putting clothes in the laundry when he found a pouch in Mew's pocket, he took it out, and found the neckpiece...he smiled called out Mew to thank him. Or should he take a video, on surprise gifts...
Pulled out the camera, showing the neckpiece, "Mew, you bought me a gift"
"What??"
"Thank you for the gift", he showed the necklace.. And Mew's face,
Mew took the necklace from Fluke's hand, shut the camera, thankfully he didn't go live, "Not for you.... ", "it's mine"
Scratch his head, "Bought this decoration piece only" pointed at the mirror on the wall, "Ummmm... this necklace," should he tell the truth, there is nothing to hide so, "Gulf give it, as an apology"
"Gulf....the same guy from the beach"
"yaaa, that guy"
Fluke bites on his lips, "Wasn't he weird??"
"He is kind of different" there was a smile on Mew's face, "you know he blessed me with ultimate fertility" he laughed again remembering the incident,
Fluke's fist tightens, "He is courageous", "might have punched you", "wish I could be courageous", ,
"I never knew, you wanna beat me"
Mew teased lightening the tense mood,
"Definitely, you kissed me" chuckles, "we were idiots"
Mew chuckles too, "look where our idiocy brought us"
Wish they could talk freely like this, teasing playing, it would be fun then, were they awkward from the beginning. No...they used to cuddle, at least mew used to spoon him, or was they being delusional from the start, every move, everything was for the camera. It is hard to draw a line, what is real and what is for the camera.
Feels like puppets, getting controlled, all the time..., Fluke feels he is controlling Mew in the name of management, he wanted it to work so bad, and now...sigh, just sigh..
*
*
Mew took the neckpiece, holding it with delicacy, unlock the hook, wearing it on....it looks good, his fingers traced the articraft, lips curled up.
Gulf would be here he probably would pass some nasty comment, must have passed some nasty comment he would look at it..
He admired the piece for a while, laughing at all kinds of made-up remarks Gulf could have made in his head, Jeeze just the thought of that freaky guy put a smile on his face... ahhhh but it felt nice...
Took off the articraft putting back in the pouch.. Something rustled in the pouch. A note. he didn't notice it before, the note says... "Phi ^_^ "
The smile reached till his ears, eyes wrinkled around the corner, this guy, he has to bite on lips to smile like that, it is just Phi...
Placed the note back, with care in his closed, can't mix it with his other jewels...
*
*
*
The weekend arrived, Gulf has already informed his mother about the plan, packed his stuff, took the bus for the city, he is excited and nervous as well, Mild's apartment was not hard to find...
Had some hot beverages Mild has offered.. Now the task begins, he cleared his throat, how to voice it out, without sounding weird...
Mild has judged it already something is bothering him; otherwise, he would not just come by to see his face..."you can tell me anything Gulf"
"I... i..." shoved the whole muffin in his mouth. "I..wanth tho cub"
"You want to go to the club", "okay next"
Gulf chewed fast blinking eyes, "chu undasand??"
"Dealing with you longer than you thought", "spill it"
He bites on his lips, cheeks tuning crimson, "a gay club"
Mild smiles patting Gulf's head, "see it was easy... right??", "so gay club it is" he picked up his phone, looking for the nearby clubs...
"you will come with me"
"you want me to"
Gulf nods yes
"then I will come"
He jumped on Mild, hugging him, Mild's hands were going up and down on his back soothing way..." I am scared phi"
"Why??", "Scared to tag as gay??"
"no",
"Then??"
"what if I like it"
"Isn't that good"
"Yaa but, what if i like it, more than I should"
Mild flicks on Gulf's head, "Now am scared for the men out there"
The night became darker and they get ready for the club, it was a new experience for them... Gulf dressed up in casual plain blue jeans, and a pastel amber shirt, paired up with white snickers,
Ready to confirm, was it all curiosity or he actually likes men... His experience with women was okay, he has no issues with them, apart from he gets bored, the conversion couldn't hold him as much...but the guys he never thought them as an option, until this ken doll appears snatching his sleep aways, Now he can see the possibility...
And today is the night to confirm that possibility..
They entered in the club, Mild remain close to Gulf, headed directly at the bar counter... it was not a big club, divided in sections, with visible partition, the crowd was dancing on his left...he can check people out from here...
They ordered the drink, Gulf's heart was racing, it is like riding motor bike for the first time, makes him anxious, yet thrilling.
Mild eyed him "We are not here to get drunk, face up and look for your guy"
Gulf gulped down the vodka shot.. "I am ready" twirled on his sit, facing the crowd, wow so many people, are they all gay, it feels like a different world, a few guys were dancing close pretty provocatively, grinding together... his ears buzzed at looking at those things, he ordered one more drink...
Mild poked on his side, "how about the guy with long hairs"
"Where??"
"In corner, couch, with two ladies and a guy"
"I think he is with someone"
"I don't think so", "how??"
Soon the said man was pinned down to the couch, the man beside him was shoving his tongue in his cavity... Mild gulped looking somewhere else, he is accepting the gay thing, but watching Ummm little uncomfortable...
Whereas Gulf was in awe, he was enchanted by the scene going on on the couch...
He wants to try, with the new adrenaline kicking in, bottoms up another drink, and moves to the dance floor...
Mild held his arm,
"All fishes are their P", "let's eat one"
Mild shakes his head, ohhh boy, don't get drunk and do some weird shit... "be safe" he shouts, keeping his eye over Gulf... hoping nothing goes wrong...
Gulf stumbled, they were coherent, in his mind he was dancing like a Michael Jackson. Feet stopped in front of this shorter guy, swaying his body with the music, he was wearing a very very loose shirt, must be double XL on his petite body, moving in a wavy form, looks alluring..
The shorter guy checked out Gulf up and down, then circling his arms around the neck, Gulf's hand find their place on back globes of the guy, hooyiiiee squishy, squeezing on them. Is it allowed on first time meet up, is it okay, all the sensible, rational questions were already thrown out in the dumpster...
The guy was amused, he licked on Gulf's adam apple, and get a satisfactory trembled breath. Delightful, that was go go single, he sucked on his jaws, moving closer to mouth.. Gulf held him in place, capturing the lips, woiii new sensations, thrilling, exciting, craving... yes just that... name, person, place, good-bad, doen't matter... the thrill was running in his veins right now..
Felt good, his hands started to wriggle all over the places, groping over the guy's body, rubbing all those areas, which shouldn't be rubbed publicly, was it toxication or lust, he wanted to rip clothes..
Mild choked on his beer..Gulf was going crazy, ran towards the duo, it was supposed to be a trailer, not the full-fledged show, they agreed on this...
He went up to Gulf, pulled him out of the guy's arms, the disapproving growls were shocking for Mild's ear, how much he had in the system.
He literally dragged him out, apologizing to the pissed-off shorter guy..
*
*
*
Whoever said that hangover is worst, was absolutely frekingly correct, it is worse, Gulf confirms it. The earth is shaking under his feet, any kind of sound irks, and the light, he can understand how vampires must have felt under the sun... pain...
Crawled up to the commode without tuning on the light, puking his gut out, ahhh, much better...
The clock ticks at 6 am, he has time to sleep, crawled back to the bed... fell asleep just like that...
The next time his eyes open it was 1 pm, head was still heavy but his stomach calls were much aggressive...
"Morning phi" he greeted Mild in a groggy voice...
"it's noon",
"Good noon phi"
Mild passed the medicine and water, He let him settle down, "Are you dumb Gulf how can you kiss anyone in the bar"
"I can phi... I am an adult" massaging his head
"We agreed it is trial, not the full fledged f*Ckry"
He pouts in response, and the fragments of the night started to build... "sorry"
"No problem, do it when sober"
Gulf nodded understanding, gulped the tablet, still massaging his head, "I am never gonna drink" he moved toward the table, plastering it on the surface... "can I visit you next weekend??,"
"Club again"
Nod nod, more likely eager nods...
"promise me you will be sober"
Raised his hand, swearing in the name of god.
"You are not gonna f*ck around??"
Cackles a little, "can't believe, I am into dudes", "can you believe that"
"you demonstrated perfectly", "I can believe that",
Hides his face between the arms feeling shy all of sudden... "sorry"
"Be careful Gulf"
Gulf nodded again...
Packed his stuff and bid goodbyes to Mild... he wanna go to that club one more time, and will be there next weekend
******
The things his manager told him were going through his head, a big channel planning to make a live-action on some BL manga, which is quite popular among the fans...their audition clips were required for the first phase of the audition...
Fluke sit on the couch, calculating all the risks and benefits, he was scared to act and meet people, it is easy for him to be in the room and chat with his fans, who had already accepted them, but meeting people out there, going through their judging gaze is not easy, he envies Mew for his courage....
Mew plopped on the couch, changing the channels, "watching the news since when??"
Fluke was still dazed,
"Is anything bothering you??", munches on chips, while switching from program to program..
"Manager called a while ago"
"Ummm hmmm and??"
"There is new series coming soon, he wants us to audition for the show"
Mew's hand stopped turning the channel, "finally something good" he munched on his chips, Fluke was still contemplating, Mew put the remote down,
"We can do it",
Fluke forced a nod, but no his entire body was shaking with the thought of so many strangers around, Mew held his hand, "no need to worry, just focus on the camera", "are good at dealing with the camera, aren't you"
Fluke smiled, ya he is good with the camera,
"Just think it is you and the camera", "and that's it"
"So are we in??"
Fluke smiled, "yes"...
He patted on his back, resumed changing channels and munching on chips.
************
They were short-listed for the second audition.... And it will be the one-to-one audition, they reached the venue, there were a lot of people, bunch of their fans were there as well cheering for them.
Mew's arm was lazily rested on Fluke's shoulder, fans squealed at gestures, clicking their photos, catching the lovely moments, the audition went pretty good, happy with how they performed and answered the questions...
Mew cocooned on the sofa, "It was a tiring day"
"Why did you lower the temperature," Fluke asked
"You like it low, I can manage," pulled the comforter till his neck, Fluke smiled, these are the moments he cherished...
"Did you enjoy the hustle today??" Fluke sat beside..
"So much", "but had you seen the director's face", "it was blank, don't know I performed well or not", "The story is trash though, how you can fall in love with abuser"
"It's fiction"
Mew sighed, "My image gonna be ruined though, it is a strong negative character"
"The character developed in the end, happy ending"
Mew hummed in response, "what do you think, are we gonna get the role" scrolling through tags...
"I don't know, maybe"
There are pics going viral, along with the show name, trending on social media..
Mew put the phone down, "Don't you think.... they milking way too much"
"We are doing the same", "show business"
Mew hummed, "yaa show business", eyes on the phone, going through the comment section of their new video, one comment caught his attention...
It is definitely a fake id, but who makes this stupid name, Handsome_kendoll, he can't think of anyone apart from Gulf...can it be him, he might have forgotten about him, that guy can't stay at one place...
"It is a fake smile Mew, can't see your eye crease, show me that crease" he smiled at the comment... at least there is one who can tell whether the smile is fake or not...
From that day onwards, he started noticing.... Comments from Handsome_kendoll here and there frequently, nothing special, just a few questions, random questions, like how you doing, are you tired, I have the same blue shirt.
Mew started to creep out, it is weird, questions are asked to him only, nothing about Fluke, or channel, or content, it was like the person was having his own conversation with mew...
But should mew feel relived the messages stopped, there is no message form the same id, is the person using different id now.. He has no idea.
The email confirmation of being selected took his all attention, he is beyond happy...
*****
"What are you guys doing, have you not eaten.... Run faster," Gulf yelled at the boys...
"Is something bad happen, coach, seems really frustrated"
"yeah, been three days and he is making the workout extremely difficult"
"Maybe going through menopause," they loughs..
"stop dilly-dallying, keep moving your legs, if I see any of you talking, 5 laps"
Students run faster, segregating to avoid the punishment....
***********
Brrrrrrrr, brrrrrrrr Gulf's phone vibrated "yes phi"
"Are you coming this weekend??"
"Yaa"
"Bring the home-cooked cookies, and a few side dishes too"
"Okay",there was silence for a while, "phi???"
"Hmmm"
"I messaged someone", "but didn't get a reply"
Mild massaged his head, Gulf really is going through some crisis and his crisis is making him suffer. "I hope you are not spamming someone Gulf",
Gulf realized, he is actually spamming Mew with a fake Id, "What is happening Phi, I...I"
"We will talk Gulf, it is ok just, don't message anymore"
Gulf agrees to not message, but he can't stop watching videos and feeling frustrated, a good run can help him out...
He did the same routine for the rest of the days that week, came, have dinner, and run until he can't take it, and fell asleep, didn't open YouTube, avoid watching Mew...
The weekend came, and he left the house, with the things Mild asked for, his mother packed a few more things and he rode the bus to the city....
Finally, he settled on Mild's couch...
"what is bothering you??"
Gulf rested his head back, eyes closed but moving frantically...
"Don't know phi", "there is this person", "want to talk, nothing much",
"Like what??"
"Hell, have no idea, just anything, hear him","Talking is such a difficult thing, "followed his channel, commented on his videos", "he didn't reply"..."and the videos felt scripted and I want him to hear him, not the illusionary words"
"Don't tell me you are having a celebrity crush, spamming the guy with some fucked up messages"
Hides his face, ashamed,
This was enough clue for confirmation, he was doing it...
"you have crossed the age for doing that shit," Mild was having a mental breakdown "I can't help you with that"
Gulf sighed again
"Come on don't feel down, we will find someone, who will 'Talk' to you"
"Get up and let's hit the club, this time you will be sober and we will find a best partner, so you can forget your celebrity,"
They freshen up getting dressed for the outing...Gulf found a guy, talked for a while, but they didn't hit, signaled Mild to rescue him. And just like that night fun was over, even before it started..
*
*
*
In the morning Gulf felt light, thankful for not drinking much and being sober, it gave time to him to think....Mild was already up and preparing breakfast...
"Morning phi"
"Morning, how was your night, did you sleep well"
"I did" , "umm... Phiii"
"hmmmmm"
"Not gonna hit club anymore,"
"Okay?? and??" Mild-handed, Mild and toast...
"Nothing will visit you once in a while though, club is not the place for me," took a bite, munching on his toast...
"You will find someone" , "Let's go somewhere fancy".. "How about that"...
Gulf nodded "sounds good", "call your girlfriend, are you even gonna introduce me or what"
"She is on tour right now, some other day"
*
*
*
They went to a restaurant, it was a nice restaurant with an outdoor open sky sitting, as well indoor, they settled inside, ordered their lunch...
Enjoying their meal, laughing along, someone put a hand on Gulf's shoulder ..."Gulf??"
Gulf raised his head, looking back, and here is the man, who made him go through existential crises, multiple sleepless nights, tons of unreplied texts...
His mouth gaped, god the happiness he felt right now, he stood, grabbing Mew's hand in his both hands, clutching it tight,
"Mew what a great surprise" his eyes stuck on face, he is really here, can't help but grab that hand, to make himself believe, yup he is here...
Mew return the squeeze on his hand, with same enthusiasm, "I and Fluke," turned a little, showing Fluke standing behind, he waved at him, greeting Fluke quickly and then turning his attention back on Mew...
"We have some lunch meeting here", "I want to be on time, so we came a little early," "How about you??"
"Bored man, so I came to see phi" He introduced Mild with Mew and his boyfriend... Mild smiled and shake hands politely...
"I didn't know you live here", "do you guys wanna join us, until the people you are waiting for came by,"
Mew looked at Fluke, and then he refused "Thank you for the invitation but, may be some other time they will be here soon..."
"Oooo, come on....who knows when we are gonna meet"
The waiter came to the table, serving the dessert, he turned to leave, somehow the tray in his hand gets unbalanced, to catch it before falling, he almost falls down, but Mew holds him back, straightening him back on his feet, "you okay", "be careful" dashed that charming smile...
What was that, the sound, Gulf gaped, is it his heart beating that loud, what is wrong with it, held his chest. Can others can hear it too... He looked at others with doubt..
Mew eyed him what's wrong,
"As usual superman on work", it is better to divert the attention from his heart, jeeze this guy has some quick reflexes...
"at least have dessert with us" There was hope in his eyes, say yes, please say yes...
Mew laughed "Some other day", "gave me your phone" he typed his number on Gulf's phone, handing it back, "let me know your next visit", "I'll show you around"
"You promise"
"Promise"
"Even though you would be busy"
Fluke took Mew's hand from behind giving signals to leave.... Mew leaves after saying "I will" and they left.
Gulf was smiling all the way back home.... Once again unlocked the phone looking at the number saved as 'Mew Suppasit', he changed the name, to superman.... gaze fell far in distance, from the moving vehicle. Isn't the world looking beautiful now a day..
**********