Author's Note: Sorry for the late update TT
The following day is a Sunday (the only weekend for every college student) and whilst others look forward to it in order to catch up on much needed rest or spend time with family or friends, both Noeul and Boss dread it albeit for different reasons.
~~~
Noeul can't describe it. He's been through this over a dozen times, perhaps more. But he could never get used to it, the pressure he feels when a tube is inserted through his neck and the sensation of tissue samples getting pulled from his heart.
During the procedure, Noeul is overwhelmed with feelings of anxiety. And albeit the strong front he puts on for the sake of his mother, he feels queasy and wants to spill his guts. And he ends up gripping the sides of his lab gown and biting the inside of his cheek to the point of tasting blood until he gets through the whole ordeal.
Once it's all over, his doctor says the same thing every time. "Wasn't so bad, right?"
And Noeul nods his head with a weak smile. Everyone points out his bravery but they miss the way his eyes glass over from wanting to cry and his trembling fingers as he brings his hand up to put pressure on the insertion site.
Nobody gets it.
Afterwards, he feels sluggish and can hardly hear his mother going on and on about what measures he must take to make sure his health is impeccable. Either that or he just doesn't want to hear it anymore.
But just as they're about to exit the hospital, his mom pipes up, "Son, hold on. I think I need to use the rest room. Stay here, okay? Don't go anywhere." She says as if talking to a child and she takes Noeul's silence as yes.
He watches her scurry off to the nearest ladies' room, sighing inwardly. He turns towards the exit, itching to leave—by himself. And go places and do anything he fancies on a whim like others his age.
But if he does, he would break his mother's heart—and possibly, his own.
Meanwhile, Boss is back home after practically spending the whole week crashing in Fort's dorm. And currently, he's having a quiet lunch with his parents—almost too quiet with only the grating sound of utensils disturbing the "peace".
They've been like this for a long time, way before Ple died. And it became worse after she passed away and Boss became something of a problem child. But that really isn't when it all started.
After letting the silence drag on for long enough, Boss' dad finally pipes up in a gruff voice just a tad bit deeper than that of Boss'. "I heard what happened...with that freshman kid last time. Tsk! Tsk!" He clicks his tongue disapprovingly.
"Uh, honey, that's been dealt with." His mother chimes in, trying to extinguish the fire before it even starts. "The family agreed to settle so it's all good."
"All good?" Her husband questions, brows furrowed at his wife. "You call your son going around beating people 'all good'? He dodged jail time by a hair strand."
Boss doesn't look up from his food even though he's not eating anymore. He's almost sure he knows where this is going and it hardly takes any time for his dad to go there.
"Son, if you can't keep yourself out of trouble in school, then you might as well quit and work for me at the garage."
At this, Boss' grip on his utensil tightens and if he didn't focus on controlling it, the metal would bend in half. Noticing this, his mom cuts in yet again, telling her husband, "Actually, Boss has been attending classes lately. And I haven't been called to the principal's office or the station for sometime now."
Not that it's anything to be proud of but given how their son has been behaving, it's an improvement. And although he doesn't appear fully pleased, Boss' father nods his head and says then, "That so? That's...good then, I guess."
~~~
When Monday rolls around, Noeul finds himself feeling self conscious about the visible bruising on his neck. Well, it's not as if people would be able to tell he just had a biopsy just by looking at it but it could still easily draw attention and with it comes question of what and why and Noeul just doesn't want to get into that. Thus, the getup.
Sitting a few tables behind Noeul, Boss can't help but question his choice of clothing for the day. He's wearing a white turtleneck under his school shirt when it's literally 30 degrees outside. To be fair, it is raining on this particular day but by no means is it cold.
Not just that but the boy is acting strange too. Boss thought it weird that Noeul didn't talk his ear off all morning and now, he's fidgeting uneasily in his seat, rubbing the back of his neck while glancing around anxiously.
What in the world?
Again, Boss tells himself he doesn't care. And whatever it is, he can always ask his friend, Peat, for help.
But as though fate is testing him, he finds out shortly that Noeul and Peat have separate classes that afternoon and now, "against his will", he finds himself following behind as the shorter male who looks even smaller with his head hung low and arms embracing himself makes his way to his next class.
"You're acting suspicious." He finally remarks, making Noeul jump and spin on his heel unsystematically, causing him to lose balance and fall backwards. But thankfully, Boss grabs his shirt and pulls him back to an upright position, overshooting just a bit and ending up with Noeul in his arms.
When the smaller male looks up at him, his ears turn an obvious shade of red but if Boss notices, he doesn't say. Instead, he just steadies the dazed boy on his feet before letting him go. "You're welcome." He says, getting a little too used to hearing Noeul thanking him.
But for once, Noeul pouts and retorts, "Actually, I wouldn't have tripped if you didn't startle me." He doesn't exactly mean that but it's his way of hiding the fact that his heart wants to burst out of his chest from happiness and he'd fall a hundred times over if it meant Boss would catch him.
At his little attitude, Boss quirks a brow and says, "Now that you got your phone back and you don't need my help anymore, this is how it's gonna be? Okay then." He makes a move to walk past to which Noeul panically squeaks, "Wait! T'was a joke. Thank you, Chaikamon. You're my savior. What will I do without you?"
"Now, you're just being sarcastic." Boss remarks which, finally, earns Noeul's musical laughter. There, now he seems more like himself. But why he was acting off to begin with remains a question.
Boss tilts his head, looking Noeul up and down. "What's with the sweater?" He asks then to which Noeul instantly stiffens. "It can't possibly be that cold."
"I-it is!" Sputters Noeul. Then he gestures outside and states the obvious, "It's raining, see."
As if on cue, the rain pours harder and Noeul beams, having proven his point. But then, his smile abruptly falls apart when he realizes that he shouldn't be celebrating the downpour. He whips his head up to the dark sky and exclaims, "Oh my god, it's raining!"
"I can see that." Boss says with a bored look only to have those doe eyes flick over to him pleadingly, making him feel some kind of way. Then, Noeul asks with his hands clasped together, "Chaikamon, would you happen to have an umbrella?"
And Boss simply asks back, "Do I look like someone who carries around an umbrella?"
Noeul gives him a once over and concludes that, no, he doesn't. Instead, Boss looks like the type to just come to class having brought nothing else but himself—and maybe a pen for good measure.
"But my class is in another building." Noeul whimpers.
"So run." Boss shrugs.
At this, Noeul looks at him wide eyed as though he just said something utterly outrageous. "I can't." He says, stating the obvious for the nth time. "I'll get wet."
"Duh." Boss scoffs. "A little rain won't kill you."
How is Noeul supposed to tell him that, as a matter of fact, it can. Due to his condition, Noeul's immune system has always been more fragile than most people. And so, he was never allowed to play in the rain as a child and was constantly reminded of the consequences if he ever gets caught in it.
"But-" He mumbles, looking downcast.
At this, Boss shakes his head and tells him, "Then just skip class."
"Everything's so simple for you, isn't it." Noeul mutters, feeling a pang of jealousy. For someone as healthy and smart as Boss, running through the rain or skipping class must be nothing. But for him...
"And everything's so complicated with you." Boss says what Noeul is thinking which makes the latter even sulkier. When Boss walks past him, Noeul thinks the other had just gotten sick of him—of his cautiousness that probably just comes off as being high maintenance.
But then, he hears the other ask in a gruff yet gentle manner, "You coming or not?"
Noeul turns around and finds Boss standing on the edge of the roofed area, his shoes getting trickled on. He stares at Noeul, waiting for a reply. And somehow, having Boss by his side gives him a bit of courage.
Besides, he has a new heart. And he'd been told that he can live with much less restrictions now. Of course, his mother doesn't agree but Noeul tells himself that he'll be careful and won't overdo it.
He bounds over to where Boss is waiting for him and, bringing his hand up over his head, they step out into the rain together. Both walk quickly but at the same time, are being careful not to slip.
Noeul shudders at the cold droplets falling on his shoulders and the now wet hem of his pants. And with the heavy rain obscuring his view and making it difficult to see Boss in front of him, Noeul starts to feel nervous about this idea.
Sure, he gets to do things he's never done in his life before like, for one, go to school. But so far, he has yet to really do anything he deems dangerous...until now.
"Ch-chaikamon!" He hears himself call out as he's overwhelmed with anxiety. And that's when he feels a large and firm hand hold his and pull him along. He looks up from under his hand and sees Boss with pieces of his hair clinging to his face, his shirt soaked and yet, he doesn't leave Noeul behind.
Their hands are clasped tightly together as monsoon rain washes over them and for the first time ever since Noeul stepped out into the real world, he feels like he really is in one of those movies he watched in his room back when he could only dream of experiencing anything like this.
He's so happy, he wants time to stop in this very moment. And before he knew it, that's what he does. When Boss feels a tug, he looks over his shoulder to find that Noeul had stopped walking and now has his head thrown back, facing the sky with his eyes closed and catching raindrops on his cheeks.
"What are you doing?" Boss asks over the sound of rains and winds. "I thought you didn't want to get wet?"
At this, Noeul smiles softly and utters with a giggle, "On second thought, this isn't so bad after all."
In that moment, Boss couldn't understand it but he can't seem to tear his eyes away. "You're crazy." He mutters yet it doesn't sound condescending, amused at most. He'd never met someone so strange and yet so pure and quirky in his ways that it's endearing.
He watches Noeul laugh after getting raindrops in his eyes and step on tiny puddles for no good reason. And it's truly alarming, the rate in which Boss feels less and less annoyed with his antics. Boss rolls his eyes but he himself knows there's no longer any heat behind it. And he finally gives up, both on trying to knock some sense into the eccentric male and on keeping his guard up around Noeul.
He shakes his head, cracking a genuine smile which Noeul doesn't miss. The latter is momentarily stunned because who knew someone could be a whole different kind of handsome just from smiling? Then, Noeul flashes his signature grin with his bunny teeth on full display and this time, he misses the way Boss has to recollect himself before piping up again.
"Now what? Do you plan on going to class looking like that?"
Noeul giggles at the thought and shakes his head 'no'. "I think I'll dry myself off and change into my gym clothes. Then, I'll head home after. You?"
Boss gestures with his head towards the direction of the dorms. "I'll shower at Fort's."
"Okay." Noeul utters softly—fondly. He just looks at Boss, unmoving, for sometime; taking a mental snapshot of this moment and of Boss' handsome face with droplets of rain sitting on his lashes and dripping off his chin.
At the moment, he looks so gentle and vulnerable, a stark contrast to when Noeul first laid eyes on him. And Noeul wants to replace that with this image and engrave it in his mind forever.
When he tells Boss that he has to go, he almost doesn't want to. But his lips are trembling and if he doesn't leave now to dry himself, he might end up in the emergency room. But before he goes, he says to the other, "I'll...see you tomorrow?" It comes off like a question because, in a way, it is. He's looking for some kind of reassurance that Boss will be here tomorrow, that he too looks forward to seeing Noeul and that today won't be like a dream and come tomorrow, they'll be back to how they were.
And after a short pause, Boss tells him, "See you tomorrow...Noeul."