Beam looked around and found those blue jackets guys roamed around in the faculty. Some of them occupied the canteen, some of them tried to flirt with girls.
"The fuck is this?!" Phana asked and Kit shook his head.
Beam just scoffed reading anything it was on his phone screen.
"Someone did some kind of teleport? Are we still in our faculty or Engineering Faculty?" Phana asked again as he scratched his head. "Ai'Kitty, you sure, this is not something done by your N'Ming?" he asked again as they arrived at the bench they always sat on after class.
"Hey! He's not my N'Ming! And I am serious when I said I don't know anything about this, Pha," Kit said as he sat next to Phana.
Beam sat across them as he put the phone back to his pocket.
"So, Ai'beam," Phana said as he and Kit watched Beam closely and Beam knew that they were about to continue this morning interrogation that was canceled because the lecturer was entering the class. "Who hit you?" Phana asked straightforwardly.
Beam raised his brows.
"I don't know," he answered honestly.
"What?!" Phana whispered in disbelief.
"Shh! Hey, that's a wrong question," Kit said. "Just what happened?".
"Umm..." Beam scratched his head because a dramatic scene was surely going to happen if he started the story wrongly. Especially it was related to Forth whose relationship was bad with Pha lately.
"Ai'Beam," Phana said sternly.
"Ai'Pha, Ai'Kit," Beam said. "Is Ai'Forth still our friend?" Beam asked.
Pha just frowned and Kit pulled his head back slightly.
"Sure, for me," Kit said and he elbowed Phana's arm gently.
"Well..." Pha said softly, hesitantly.
"Ai'Phaaa," Kit reminded him to keep his head cool.
Phana heaved a sigh.
"Alright, I got Yo, Forth left him alone now," Phana said. "So, yeah," Phana said again. "Not as close as the ol' days tho,".
Beam nodded as now he knew where to start the story.
"He helped me," Beam said.
Phana's frown got harder.
"Help you with what?" Kit asked.
"My car stopped in the middle of the night, in the middle of nowhere when I was trying to get to... some... new... club," Beam said.
"And when is that?" Phana asked. "Where were us?" Phana asked as he pointed himself and Kit with his thumb. "Why were you going to the club alone?".
Beam lifted his brows.
"Well..." Beam said. "You guys....". "...got things to celebrate....".
Kit gasped.
"Aw, Ai'Beam, we're sorry. Really sorry..." Kit said in a sad face.
"Hey, no, no, there's nothing wrong with that!" Beam said. "It was just... well... I was out of the gas....and yeah... things just happened."
"Aw, Ai'Beam...." Phana looked so guilty and he saw Kit at him. "I asked him to get the gift for Yo. But it was the wrong gift when he drove it to me. So I borrowed his car to get the right one and then drove back to Yo. We've gone through heavy traffic jams...," Phana said. "Must be because of that."
"No, Pha, it's fine," Beam said. "that's not the point,". "It's all fine, I didn't meet any gas station but I found a convenience store. So I was able to charge my phone battery and called people," Beam said again.
"Ah... right... your phone died..." Phana rubbed his forehead.
"Why didn't you call us, Ai'Beam?" Kit asked. "I was just-". "I was eating with that Nong while you-" Kit paused but he opened his mouth again as if he was about to say something. But he only ended up sighed.
"It's fine, guys, really. Forth came," Beam said. "He waited with me, help me pushed my car to a safer place, since the service hadn't come yet and he insisted on bringing me to some restaurant."
Phana squinted his eyes.
"No, Pha! I, I told him that I hadn't have my dinner at all and I was eating only chips," Beam said explained. "Stop thinking bad about Forth! He loved Wayo, that's not a sin! He was about to drink with his friend to forget N'Yo who just-". "- just performed for someone he loved, who was not him!". "He's letting him go!".
Phana nodded with wide eyes and palms showed to Beam who was suddenly became so aggressive and offended.
"So, you say, Forth was on the way to this... drinking party when he met you on the road and decided to accompany you?" Kit asked.
"Why did he do that?" Phana asked.
Beam frowned hard, he tried to manage his calm at Phana's sensitive, and offensive question as if that was something Forth was unable to accomplish.
"Because I'm his friend," Beam said made Phana and Kit raised his brows in disbelief. "I shooed him away, I told him to just go to wherever the place he was trying to reach. Like, you know, who the hell am I to him?". "But he asked me to stop chasing him away like that because he wasn't leaving me, alone, in the middle of nowhere, on the side road, hungry, so late at night, okay?".
Kit and Phana looked at each other.
"I think it has something to do with the value of that dumb hazing event in his faculty," Beam said quietly.
"Ok, then what's the relation between this and those," Kit asked as he pinted the scars on Beam's face.
"So..." Beam said. "The next day, after class," Beam said again. "I was bored and i-". "no, I called him to say my gratitude. And I hear sounds," Beam said. "He hung up in like five second with screaming voices and some loud thuds in the background."
"Don't say that you-" Phana opened his eyes wide while Kit covered his mouth with his palm, having wider eyes than Phana.
"I..." Beam said. "I wasn't thinking at all," Beam said. "I looked for him and.... Yeah... he was... cornered by these.... Seven? Seven pricks with baseball bats and things... alone... so... yeah...".
"Baseball bats?!!!" Phana asked in surprised.
"Ai'Beam!" a cheerful voice chirped and everyone was turning his head to Beam's back, where a tall guy stood up with a palm on Beam's shoulder.
"Phana!" Kit shouted as Phana got off from his seat and walked angrily to Forth, grabbing his collar. Beam saw those blue jacketed guys watched them closely, some of theme even walked closer to Phana.
"You should've stopped him from entering those kind of dogfight!!" Phana said as he shook the collar in his grip.
"Phana," Beam stood up as he tried to calm him down while Kit was holding Phana's big body from the back, tried to make some more space between those two big bodies.
"You know that's not his thing at all!! Look at his face! Damn bruises everywhere!" Phana said as he pointed his finger to Beam.
"Phana," Beam said as he stood between Phana and Forth, letting Forth's collar away from Phana angry grip. "calm down, this is not his fault at all. I-".
"You could've died or harmed more than this! Those are baseball bats!! It can turn very fucking ugly if it hit your head, Beam Baram-".
Phana paused as he saw Forth held Beam's wrist and pulled him to his back safely. An act he will absolutely do whenever he saw Wayo in danger. An act he always wanted to do whenever he saw Forth standing, talking in front of Yo in the past.
But that really boiled Phana's blood in a way. He felt somehow fell to this state of disbelieve because who the fuck Forth think he was?! Beam's his friend he tried to protect and now he made him as if he was a threat to Beam. It was as if Forth didn't know if he, and his everything, was the actual threat for Beam's life. And in no time, a fist was launched on the air to Forth's face.
The hard fist hit the pale jaws.
"Ai'Beam!" Kit called in surprise because Beam took Phana's hard fist and literally, thrown away from the ground.
Phana took a step back in disbelief and surprise while Forth caught Beam's body from hitting the ground. Beam's head hit Forth's firm chest instead. He could smelled Forth's woody yet fresh cologne mixed with his body's scent and some cigar's smell.
"Ah..." Beam shut his eyes tight as he felt pain on his jaw, one hand was carefully touching his jaw, one hand was clutching hard on Forth's blue jacket. He thought he was going to go unconscious, his feet felt wobbly for a while. But Forth held him tight. He held him tight inside of his arms.
"Phana..." Beam could hear the low growl and the grumble on the firm chest of Forth.
"Shhh... no, no, no, no, no..." Beam shushed and whispered as he shut his eyes tighter. He tried to weight his body down to Forth to hold him still from walking forward, closer to Phana.
"Ai'Beam..." Forth's growl turned into a gentle, guilty call as he gave the smaller figure in his arms his full attention. And instead of sitting Beam down on the bench, Forth hold him up and sat him down on the table just casually but very carefully as if he weighed nothing.
Beam's bangs brushed up against Forth's blue jacket when Forth stood himself up properly again.
"Let me see," Forth said as he bent his tall body down and he held Beam's chin carefully. One arm was still wrapped on Beam's back protectively, he tilted Beam's face so he could see a clear sight of the hit jaw, serious, careful.
"I'm fine..." Beam breathed out as he held Forth's wrist lightly.
"You got a new cut," Forth said as he found the scar on the corner of Beam's lips got a little bit longer. He was then casually positioning his body between Beam's thighs and then he took out this... rather magical things for a Forth Jaturaphoom, from his bag; a bottle of ointment and blue bandaid.
Phana and Kit walked closer to them as Forth put some ointment on the scar just carefully. Forth's long fingers that were usually fiddled around heavy iron and engineering things was surprisingly skilled and careful when they touched the open cut on the pale skin.
Beam looked up and he saw Forth's serious face. He was so handsome, he knew it that Forth was the one who supposed to be the moon instead of the bastard that flew punch as he liked (Phana).
Forth stood himself up as he stared at his first medical work after he put the blue bandaid on the scar. Beam shut his mouth tight because Forth looked like a little boy who played doctor with a friend and obviously proud of his work, and that really made him wanted to smile, or laugh, he didn't know.
But then he walked a little bit close to Phana and Kit. Beam held his wrist and Kit stood in front of Phana. Then Phana, Kit and Beam saw Forth showed his free palm to those blue jacket people around them before he closed his fist loosely. And everyone stayed at their places.
"I know this is my fault," Forth said surprisingly calm. "I am sorry," Forth said as he nodded and dropped his eyes from Phana's eyes respectfully.
Beam turned his eyes to Forth. He somehow felt so proud. He didn't even know why.
"I'm here to check on him," Forth said again. "And actually... ask him to have a lunch with me because-".
"Ai'Kittyyyy~!".
A cheerful call was heard and another tall body wrapped around Kit like a slime on the wall.
"Ish!" Kit shoved Ming away from his body, meanwhile Wayo wrapped his arms around Phana's arm and took Pha's attention immediately.
Beam and Forth looked at each other unintentionally.
Beam scoffed as he turned his head away and Forth put his hands inside of his pockets .
"Hey, what do you want to eat?" Forth asked as he leaned his body down, closer to Beam.
"What do you have on the menu?" Beam asked as he carefully got off from the table, while everyone saw Forth held his hand up around Beam's body just really casually, ready to catch Beam's body anytime without Beam knew any about it.
"Everything you have in your head," Forth said as he tilted his head.
"Ai'Forth, if you do this out of guilt -".
"I'm not," Forth said. "It's just... we're not that close but you took fists for me, so... I just want to keep a friend like that close to me," Forth said.
"Oh, come on, we're not that close but you didn't leave me and abandon your best friend for me," Beam said.
"You're in need," Forth said.
"So were you," Beam said.
"No, I can take care of them by myself," Forth said.
Beam squinted his eyes.
"Arrogant! I can take care of it by myself too!" Beam protested in disbelief and Forth laughed with glee.
Phana, Kit, Wayo, and Ming looked at each other in surprise.
"Those engineering guys, your work?" Phana asked.
Ming shook his head and he pointed his chin to Forth.
"For what?" Kit asked.
Ming pointed his chin to Beam.
Kit and Phana looked at each other while raising his brows.
"Ai'Beam, Ai'Forth, I am..." "Ehrm," "I am so sorry. This lunch is on me, let's go together," Phana said and Wayo nodded cheerfully. Forth and Beam could see Phana held himself in as he saw Yo stared at Forth with his idolizing eyes.
"Yeay!!" Ming chirped and Kit smacked his head.
"Not you!" Kit whispered and Ming pouted his lower lip.
Forth and Beam looked at each other.
"It's fine, Pha. You guys just go to date. I took a lot of fists for him, so he'll take care of my lunches from now on," Beam smacked the back of Forth's head.
Forth caressed the smacked place and nodded with a smile. Did never they know that this all will start a drinking routine between Forth and Beam. Which led things to that night, and Forth's bulletproof chase after Beam.
***
Third Date End