The weeks seemed to pass more slower than ever. Skye was slowly being driven mad by the silences that filled the air when Jaehyun and Chittaphon were near each other.
She was very confused, to say the least. She didn't understand why Jaehyun and Chittaphon wouldn't speak to each other, or why Jaehyun was being more touchy the usual. She thought whether it was because they had shared a kiss, and if he was being more romantic for that reason; but she had an incline that it had something to do with the awkward silences between Jaehyun and Chittaphon.
Skye knew that they would soon have to talk, however, as the Hallowe'en party that everyone had been talking about was just a day away.
"Chittaphon, do you still want to go to that Hallowe'en party?" Skye asked one afternoon as they sat in the library looking up chemistry notes. Jaehyun was sat very close to her and had her hand enclosed tightly in his own. Chittaphon spoke in a strained voice.
"Yeah, if you go," He answered, taking note of the glare Jaehyun had given him. Skye also noticed (probably due to the fact Jaehyun squeezed her hand tighter at the same time), but chose not to say anything.
"I thought about it, and I've decided I will go. The only problem is I don't have a Hallowe'en costume," She stated, looking at the other two for suggestions.
"Just put some cat ears on and go in your underwear like every other girl," Jaehyun commented. Skye frowned, slightly annoyed at his answer. Jaehyun must have noticed, for he said "I'm joking, Skye. I don't have a costume either, why don't we both go shopping for some?"
Chittaphon thought Jaehyun had clearly said 'both' on purpose, hoping for only him and Skye to go by themselves. Skye, of course, had other ideas.
"Yeah, that sounds good. You coming, Chittaphon?" Skye asked in a hopeful voice. Of course he was.
"Yes-"
"You don't have to come if you don't want to. Don't feel like you need to come, Ten," Jaehyun interrupted him. Chittaphon wasn't surprised that he was trying to put him off going, but Jaehyun had to remember that Skye was also Chittaphon's best friend.
"I need a costume too," Chittaphon replied.
"Well, the party is tomorrow, so we better go later," Skye said quickly, feeling the tension slowly building. Chittaphon and Jaehyun nodded silently in agreement. Skye sat in silence, confused. "OK then," she said quietly. They stayed sat in silence until the final bell rang, signalling they could leave. Skye was relieved to finally hear some noise when she had left the library, the silence Jaehyun and Chittaphon created being almost unbearable.
Skye arrived home a few hours later with a Devil themed Hallowe'en costume; that being a sparkly red dress with a matching horned headband. She had left Jaehyun and Chittaphon on the bus, both of them also possessing their own costumes. Jaehyun had settled for a Joker costume, Chittaphon a vampire. They had talked more when they were out shopping than when they were in the library, much to Skye's relief. Of course she was confused, but she didn't want to ask any questions in fear of causing an unwanted argument. She went to bed that night thinking of possible reasons for their feud, the thought of her being the reason swimming around her mind as she slowly drifted off to sleep.
*
"We'll pick you up at seven, okay?" Chittaphon told Skye as they were leaving school the next day. Skye nodded and let go of Jaehyun's hand as they parted ways to walk in the direction of their houses.
Chittaphon had given it some thought and had decided that he would try to not mind Jaehyun and Skye showing affection to each other. He thought that as long as Skye was happy, then he was happy. He also rather reluctantly admitted to himself that Jaehyun was still his best friend, and that as long as he was happy, Chittaphon could manage.
Skye had asked her long time friend, Aria, to go to Skye's house before the party, so she currently stood waiting outside of the school gates. After waiting for five minutes, she was about to ring Aria, but jumped when someone tapped her shoulder.
"You scared me," Skye said with a shaky exhale. Aria giggled.
"Sorry, I did shout but you didn't hear. . . The amount of dirty looks I got from other people, I swear," Aria told her. Skye laughed this time, beginning to walk.
Skye was half surprised and half not surprised when Aria walked out of her bathroom dressed in a "cat" costume; a black bralette, a tiny pair of black shorts and cat ears. Of course, she also drew some whiskers on her face with eyeliner.
"What?" Aria questioned when she saw Skye's face. Skye smiled.
"I see you've gone for the classic cat outfit that half of the female students will also be wearing," Skye stated. Aria looked at her with a poker face.
"You're no better, wearing a short dress with no straps." Aria walked over towards her. Skye shrugged. "Is it for Jae?" Aria asked with a smirk.
"No, Aria. I'm not wearing this for Jae, I'm wearing it for myself," Skye corrected Aria. Aria chuckled.
"Sure. I know if I had a boyfriend like Jae I'd want to wear a short red dress too," Aria told her. Skye felt slightly uncomfortable.
"He isn't my boyfriend officially." Skye shrugged.
"Don't forget the matching headband!" Aria said in a sing-song voice, handing her the horned headband. Skye placed it over her hair, looking at Aria. "Looking very horny indeed," Aria commented. Skye scoffed.
"Don't say that!" Skye replied, standing up from the vanity. Aria laughed loudly, but stopped abruptly when a car's beeping interrupted her. Skye checked the time and saw it was already seven o'clock.
"Let's go," Skye said, walking towards her bedroom door and held it open. "Ladies first," She said, letting Aria walk through the ajar door.
They went downstairs, through the front door and down the garden path. Jaehyun got out of the car to greet Skye and Aria. He was wearing a green wig, tatty purple suit and smeared red lipstick. Skye thought he looked rather handsome, even through the pasty white face paint.
"Skye, you look amazing," He commented, taking her hand. Skye smiled at him, kicking Aria's shin when she laughed to herself.
Jaehyun opened the door to the seven-seater and pulled forward one of the seats to access the ones behind. Skye noticed the driver in the front of the car, assuming it was the boys' teacher from Thailand. Then she noticed Chittaphon.
Skye took a breath when she saw him. His hair was pushed back and he was wearing dark eye makeup. He was wearing a collar shirt with a black cape, accompanied by some fake fangs in his mouth. She thought he looked quite attractive.
Chittaphon also saw Skye as she stepped into the car. He thought her straightened hair and red lipstick looked very beautiful on her. He didn't notice her short dress or high heels.
She climbed into the very back of the car, Jaehyun climbing in beside her. Aria sat in front of them, next to Chittaphon.
"Ten." She nodded to him, looking him up and down. Skye stared at her.
"That dress looks good on you," Jaehyun commented, looking at her eyes.
"Thanks. I think you should go green permanently," She replied, running a hand through his wig. Jaehyun chuckled.
"I agree. I'll be getting all the girls," Jaehyun said, smirking. Skye stayed quiet. "But of course, I'm yours," Jaehyun assured her, holding her hand. Skye smiled then looked out the window.
"To quote from a legendary movie, your hair looks sexy pushed back," Skye heard Aria say, followed by Chittaphon's awkward laughter. Skye's grip on Jaehyun's hand tightened.
"Ten, are you looking forward to the party?" Skye spoke up, looking at the back of his head. He turned to look at her and nodded with a smile, showing his fake fangs. "Are you finding it hard speaking with your teeth?" She asked. Chittaphon laughed, nodding yet again. She liked his smile.
Once they'd arrived, they awkwardly clambered out of the car and onto the front lawn of the rather large house. Skye had seen the boy's house but had never actually been inside, meanwhile Aria had been to this house multiple times for parties before. Chittaphon and Jaehyun momentarily examined the house, their mouths slightly open in amazement at the size. Skye was fearing how many bedrooms were in the house.
"Follow me," Aria ordered the group, confidently walking up the paved path leading to the front door. There were a few people in front of the house, talking with drinks in their hands.
Aria led them into the house where the music was so loud Skye had to put her fingers in her ears for a few seconds to adjust. Skye felt Jaehyun's arm snake around her waist. She looked up at him, not understanding his actions.
"There are a lot of drunk guys here. . .Stay close to me, OK?" Jaehyun leaned down to speak into her ear, barely audible over the loud pounding noise. Skye smiled to herself and nodded. Chittaphon diverted his eyes to a guy who seemed to be violently throwing up, quickly looking back to Skye and Jaehyun.
"Shall we go find some drinks?" Aria suggested after not-so-subtly checking out a guy who was dressed as one of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, without a shirt on, and seeing him walk towards the kitchen. Jaehyun nodded, following Aria and taking Skye with him. Chittaphon followed along, feeling slightly out of place.
"Ten?" He heard a voice call from right next to him. Slightly surprised, he turned his head with his eyes wide open. "It is you! I couldn't tell through all the white paint and fangs and stuff," Johnny continued, gesturing to Chittaphon's face.
"Hi, Johnny. Nice costume," Chittaphon complimented him, noticing he was also wearing a Ninja Turtle costume but with a different colour eye mask. He, too, was not wearing a shirt.
"Me and my friends decided to come as the Turtles tonight, you might have seen someone else with this costume," Johnny told him. He looked over Chittaphon's head, being a lot taller than the latter, and his smile grew. "Speak of the devils," He said, looking back to Chittaphon.
Two other males joined Johnny, standing either side of them. Chittaphon recognized them as the ones who wanted to blow up the janitor's closet; Yuta and Hansol.
"Ah! Ten! You came," Yuta commented, smiling widely.
"Nice costume. I got forced to dress up as a kids cartoon character," Hansol said, muttering the last sentence.
"Don't act like it wasn't your idea," Johnny told him, making Hansol shrug.
"No idea what you're talking about. Where's Michaelangelo?" Hansol questioned, turning in a full circle.
"Who's Michaelangelo?" Yuta asked. Hansol rolled his eyes.
"Doyoung, you dimwit. He has the orange eye mask," Hansol answered, a matter of fact tone in his voice.
"No idea. He probably went to find a shirt after he saw that girl looking at him," Johnny answered. Yuta snickered. "Anyway, Ten. Who did you come here with?" Johnny returned his attention back to Chittaphon. Chittaphon had a moment of panicking as he realized he had lost his only group of friends.
"Uh. . Jae, Skye and Aria. ." He answered as he looked in each direction for a green wig or bright red devil horns.
"Oh, right. You should probably get back to them, who knows what they'll get up to," Johnny advised. Chittaphon nodded and waved, walking away from Johnny in the direction that Skye had gone. He couldn't help but hear Yuta and Hansol's distinctive mischievous laughter and Johnny shouting in a frustrated voice.
He wandered through a few crowded and intoxicated-teen filled hallways before finding the kitchen. He couldn't see a bright green wig, however he could see some cat ears and devil horns.
"Ten, where'd you go? You missed the drinks," Aria asked when she saw him, pouting.
"I saw someone and got distracted, sorry," He explained. He looked at Skye who seemed to just be staring into her drink. Chittaphon noticed how much fuller Skye's cup was compared to Aria's.
"Where's Jaehyun?" Chittaphon asked. Skye looked up and shrugged.
"No idea. He just said to stay here while he went to check something," Skye told him, setting her cup down on the counter.
"So much for 'stay close to me'," Chittaphon muttered, rolling his eyes. Skye heard but pretended not to.
"I'll be right back, there's someone I have to see." Aria slipped away quickly, speaking as she walked. Skye chuckled as she saw her approach the boy who she had previously checked out. She had to stop herself laughing too hard when she saw the fear in his eyes.
"Do you want to go outside? It smells of alcohol in here," Chittaphon suggested, gesturing to the door which led to what seemed to be the back garden. Skye nodded and began to walk to the doors, hoping they were unlocked. She confidently twisted the handle when she saw many people already outside, but still a lot less than those occupying the building.
They walked outside silently, the cold air suddenly hitting them, making Skye's bare arms and legs feel cold. Chittaphon walked over to the big swimming pool that was dug into the ground and sat by the edge, starting to take his shoes off.
"I'm not going in there," Skye warned, looking into the deep water. Chittaphon laughed.
"Neither am I, I'm just putting my feet in." He took each shoe off and rolled up his skinny jeans, dipping a toe into the water.
Skye sat next to him, unbuckled her short heels and without needing to roll up any leg wear she put her feet into the cold water too.
"This is so uncomfortable," She said as she tugged the horns off of her head, making her hair fall in her face.
"Why did you wear them then?" Chittaphon asked as he watched her brush her hair behind her ears and shrug.
"Because people wouldn't know I'm supposed to look like the Devil," She answered, a slight laugh leaving her lips. Her breath turned into moisture as she exhaled.
"I'm pretty sure the Devil doesn't wear a sparkly red dress either," Chittaphon smirked. Skye rolled her eyes and lightly punched him on the arm. They paused for a few minutes in a comfortable silence, watching their feet sway around in the water before Chittaphon spoke again. "You really don't like parties, do you?" He asked, but it sounded more like a statement. She looked at him and shook her head with a small smile.
"Not really. . . It's mainly the drinks that annoy me. You might have noticed I didn't drink any of mine," She told him, looking back into the water. Chittaphon continued to look at her.
"Why are you friends with Aria then?" He paused before adding, "As in, she really enjoys this kind of stuff, but you don't. How did you become friends?"
"Our dads were friends in college, so I was kind of forced into being friends with her," Skye admitted. "But I don't mind. Aria is really nice most of the time, it's just she can sometimes be annoying."
"Oh, right," Chittaphon said, looking at a crowd of people who seemed to be doing body shots in the corner of the garden.
"What about you and Jaehyun?" Skye asked, taking him slightly by surprise. He and Jaehyun hadn't spoken much in the last few weeks, so to be saying his name again felt strange.
"Well, Jaehyun isn't from Thailand but he moved there when we were about seven or eight, so I've known him since we were very young," He informed her, not sure how to tell her their story. "When he first came to my school no one wanted to be friends with him, and since I was the loner we naturally became friends," He added. He decided not to tell her everything.
"I find it hard to believe you were the loner," Skye spoke her thoughts out loud, blushing slightly.
"Thanks, but I have to agree I was a loser. I still am, really," Chittaphon said rather sadly. Skye smiled at him.
"If you're a loser then I don't even know what I am," She replied. Chittaphon was about to reply before he got interrupted by a head coming between them.
"Skye," Aria said her name in a fake surprised voice. "Where's Jaehyun?" She asked in a suggestive voice. Skye frowned, confused.
"He left when we went to get drinks, remember?" Skye replied, looking at her. Aria smirked.
"Sure," She said sarcastically with a wide smile. Skye continued to feel befuddled. Aria leaned in closer to Skye's face, looking at her lips. "How come your lipstick isn't smudged?" She asked. At this point Skye felt as though a tonne of bricks had been dropped on her head.
"Aria, what are you talking about?" Skye questioned. Aria shrugged, a hint of a smirk still on her face. Aria stood up straight again, turning to Chittaphon.
"Hello, Ten," She said in a cheery voice. Chittaphon was as confused as Skye. Aria spoke again, saying, "I must be off now, I need to find someone." She walked back into the house, giving them a final wave with her fingers as she shut the door.
"Do you have any idea what she's talking about?" Chittaphon asked Skye whilst still looking at Aria through the glass door.
"Absolutely no idea. She's probably drunk, I wouldn't be surprised." Skye shook her head. Chittaphon nodded his head in agreement, but for some reason he wasn't completely convinced. Skye sighed.
"What?" Chittaphon looked back to Skye. She gave a half-hearted laugh.
"We've been here for, like, an hour and I'm already tired," She explained, bring her feet out of the water and putting her head on her knees. "We also need to wait until Aria and Jaehyun are done before we can leave," She added, a groan following her words. Chittaphon laughed.
"I'm sure you can survive a couple of hours. If not, you can sleep here and I'll stay with you," Chittaphon said. He actually meant his words and wouldn't mind staying at Skye's side for a few more hours to protect her. She turned her head so she was looking at Chittaphon whilst still resting her head on her knees and smiled.
"Thanks, but I wouldn't make you do that," She said.
"I made you come to this party," He countered. She thought for a moment.
"That is a very true point," She stated. "Wake me up when they're ready to leave." She closed her eyes.
"Sure," Chittaphon agreed whilst laughing. "Feel free to lie on my leg." He tapped his thigh to show her what he meant. She did as he suggested, turning around and placing her head on his thigh.
She liked how natural everything between them was, and that nothing was forced. She enjoyed his company and his friendship more than she probably should do.
It was hard for Chittaphon to not look at her. Her eyelashes were casting shadows on her cheeks, whilst the rest of her face was illuminated by the bright moon. Chittaphon was convinced she was asleep when she got woken up again by a pair of noisy voices calling her name, making Chittaphon startled as well.
"Earth to Skye," Hansol said, waving a hand above her face. She sat up, yawning. Chittaphon realized they must have been sat there for at least half an hour.
"What do you want?" Skye asked, looking between Hansol and Yuta. They looked at each other awkwardly before Yuta spoke.
"A little birdy told us that your boyfriend was upstairs kissing another girl,"
"The 'little birdy' being Yuta himself," Hansol added
"Although it doesn't seem like you're any more loyal, lying on Ten like that," Yuta said in a fake displeased tone. Hansol giggled. Chittaphon said nothing.
Skye was still groggy from her sleep so it took a few moments for their words to sink in. She looked up at them.
"Say again?" She said, standing up. Chittaphon followed her actions and stood up, too.
"Jae is - or was - upstairs kissing some random girl. I've never even seen her before," Yuta repeated. Skye nodded slowly, not quite sure how to respond. Then she realized.
"Did you by any chance see Aria?" Skye asked with an aggravated voice, her eyes fixed on a stone a few feet away.
"We passed each other on the stairs, why?" Yuta frowned. Skye looked at him.
"Because I want to leave," She said. Yes, she wanted to leave. But she also had a hunch that Aria had seen Jaehyun kissing someone too.
Skye walked passed Yuta and Hansol, stopping when Yuta called her name again.
"Hey, if he asks, I didn't tell you," He told her. Skye gave a nod and started for the door again, this time feeling a person by her side.
"Skye, slow down, you're gonna trip," He told her.
She ignored him and continued to walk through the whole house until she was met with the front door. She walked through it and down the pathway she had walked on earlier. She wasn't even thinking to move her feet, they seemed to be doing it on their own accord. She was stuck in her head, her thoughts drowning her. All the while, Chittaphon was following behind her.
"Skye will you just stop for a second?" He asked with annoyance in his voice. He had been calling her name for a few minutes and was starting to get frustrated.
She stopped but didn't turn around to face him. Instead, he walked around to face her and was surprised to see her face completely blank. He was half expecting to see her crying. He hesitated before speaking.
"Are you okay?" He said.
She didn't answer for a while. She didn't know if she was okay. She thought about all of the reasons why Jaehyun might have done what he did. Was she not enough? Did she not mean anything to him?
She simply shrugged, looking up from the floor and into Chittaphon's eyes. He noticed her eyes were glazed over with tears and her bottom lip trembling. He put his hands around her, holding her in his arms. She let her tears fall as she buried her head in his shoulder, staining his black cape with red lipstick. He gently rubbed her back as she cried in his arms until her tears had almost stopped.
"Come on, I'll walk you home," He said to her as he took his arms away from her, holding her shoulders as she wiped her tears with her hand.
They quietly walked to Skye's house, neither of them quite sure what to say. Every now and then Chittaphon would hear Skye sniffle, shortly after raising her hand to wipe her face. He didn't like seeing her like this. He wanted to cheer her up, but he honestly didn't know how.
His thoughts and the sound of Skye sniffing carried him all the way to Skye's house.