Can's POV
"Let's go down for breakfast. We will get more done with a full belly."
Even though Can wasn't keen on bumping into other people, some of whom might have seen the unsavoury ads about him already, they couldn't just bury themselves in their room forever.
He could almost see Tin's thoughts form as he was considering it, before he finally got up and wordlessly walked towards the door.
They had already taken turns to shower and get dressed earlier, when it had felt much more attractive to just stay in here and pretend there was no world outside.
"Are you coming?"
Can straightened his back and quickly followed Tin out of the room.
They didn't even make it to the stairs before they were held up.
McNeil stepped in their way, showing a serious frown on his forehead.
"Where are you going?"
"Breakfast?" Can answered tentatively.
Why did McNeil so often sound like they had done something wrong?
The teacher shook his head.
"Too risky."
Did McNeil already know about the attack on them?
As he asked himself this, Can had to admit that it was a stupid question. McNeil generally seemed to know most of the stuff that was going on at this school, it was stupid of them to assume he didn't know.
McNeil tried to usher them back towards their room, but Can couldn't have that.
"We need to eat, too!"
To his surprise, the teacher wordlessly held up a plastic bag Can hadn't noticed before and nodded towards their room with more authority.
What was going on?
Both boys turned around without further comment.
Tin unlocked the door to their room and McNeil gently but determinedly pushed them inside.
"Are you putting us under house arrest now or something?" Can protested.
"If that's what you want to call it..."
McNeil nodded towards the bed and both boys understood that he wanted them to sit down. He then pulled out one of their desk chairs and sat down.
Finally, he took a thermos out of his plastic bag and poured each of them a cup of tea.
It was always tea before a talk with McNeil, Can noticed.
Can was already about to protest about the lack of food, when McNeil handed him a sandwich – and another one to Tin, who didn't look like he had much of an appetite.
"I know you think you're all grown up... like all 18-year olds, I guess. But you need to learn when it's time to get help. This is too big for you."
"We aren't on our own," Tin said defiantly.
Can knew he was referring to their LGBT+ group, whose members were still working on stopping and cataloguing the attacks on him. Still, he kind of agreed with McNeil here – if they had thought about it, they should have gone to the adults. They knew that it was related to the thing Tin was researching for Mr. Yaxley and the biggest target under attack was the Yaxley family.
McNeil took a deep breath.
"You are not the only one who has analysed the evidence you found, Medthanan. We have been monitoring the situation. So... please tell me what happened, according to you."
While Can was still busy eating, Tin quickly summarized how they had been woken up by Can's phone buzzing, the offensive messages they had gotten, and then the scandal that had broken out in Thailand around Tin.
It was still hard for Can to grasp just how much of a celebrity Tin actually was in their home country, particularly considering the fact that Can had never heard of Tin or the Medthanan family before he had become his roommate, while... everyone else in Thailand seemed to be obsessed with them.
At least that's what it looked like at the moment.
McNeil was visibly shocked to hear about the news coming out of Thailand – they had probably not heard about this part, yet. Nobody in the Yaxley family understood Thai, so it wasn't that surprising they hadn't heard.
"We will have to contact both your families," he said gravely and looking at Tin, he continued: "It is likely that at least the Medthanans will fly over after this. So... tell me about your family. What's the story behind this?"
Can noticed how uncomfortable Tin was with the question and quietly laid his arm on his shoulder and pulled him closer to himself. Even with him, Tin had only reluctantly talked about his parents or his brother. Can silently massaged the back of Tin's neck in an attempt to make it easier for him to start.
Can would worry about his own parents later. They were probably scared for him more than anything. He hoped they didn't regret sending him here. He should have told them that he was dating Tin, whom he had presented to his family as his roommate during his birthday call. It would have made things easier now.
He just hoped they didn't believe the rumours and thought Tin was forcing him into anything.
"There's not much of a story," Tin said.
"Then you can tell me quickly."
There was no point trying to argue with McNeil. And Can hoped Tin wouldn't feel the need to.
"What is there to say..." Tin was still stalling for time.
Only after Can squeezed him tightly in encouragement, he sighed and said:
"My parents don't really care about me. My father is always busy with work. My mother is an important socialite in Bangkok's elite circles. I was raised by nannies and my older half-brother until they sent me off here."
It was strange, hearing Tin ramble all these details down so dispassionately.
"I thought at least my brother was looking out for me, I have seen more of him than either of my parents over the years. But then I found out that he has hated my guts all his life, that he curses the day I was born and that he was behind all the bad stuff that has been happening to me since I came here. Now, my parents not only don't care about me, but they are taking his side. They regret I even exist."
"Why does your brother hate you so much?"
Tin rolled his eyes.
"Because I'm the heir to the family, even though he's older. It's not my fault. He's the son of my father's first wife and she was not considered suitable for him. So, when he divorced her and got married to my mother, it was determined that her children would be prioritised in the succession. But I didn't know that until my brother started attacking me. I don't know why he is so jealous of me, I didn't choose this."
Tin's POV
He could feel McNeil's piercing gaze on him. No matter how many times they interacted with the P.E. teacher, no matter how friendly he was to them, in situations like this, he still remained scary as hell.
Tin didn't know what more the teacher was expecting from him, he had told him what he could.
He wasn't proud of his family situation and just spelling it out like that made him feel miserable. Before he had met Can, before he had fallen in love with him, Tin had felt utterly unwanted in this world.
He had never properly realized how much it meant to him to know that there was at least one person in the world who didn't see him as a disappointment, an inconsequential burden, or a rival.
"Are you sure that this is the full story?"
What kind of crap question was that? What more could there be to the story?
Tin refused to answer and glared at McNeil instead.
"If I asked your brother why he is doing this, and let's assume he spoke honestly... what would he tell me? Why does he want to destroy you this badly?"
This was a strange question... Tin had never even tried to look at it from his brother's perspective... and again, why should he? He had had nothing but love and respect for his older brother until the betrayal had come to light.
He hadn't been the one to abandon his brother.
"Why the fuck should I care? He has been making my life a living hell."
McNeil sighed.
"I'm not asking you to forgive him or even to understand him. I'm trying to assess the situation. Know your enemy."
Tin frowned.
Damn McNeil. He could really guilt trip you into anything with a few words and just waiting it out.
"I don't know," he said, defeated and reluctant still, "I suppose... I suppose, he would go on about how unfair it was that he had had all the work with me, while I have gotten all the rewards or something. But has he ever talked to me? Before he revealed his character to me, I would have been really happy to share the inheritance with him. But I guess... that's not how things work in our world, is it? You have to be greedy."
The expression on McNeil's face remained unchanged for a long time.
He kept staring at him so intensely that Tin felt the urge to lean against Can's shoulder and even contemplated burying his head in the crook of his neck to escape this gaze – though McNeil seemed lost in thought more than expecting answers from him.
Finally, the teacher moved and breathed through a few times, as if he needed to ground himself in reality in the same way Can sometimes did.
"If you excuse my unsolicited advice: don't do anything irreversible as long as you are not positive you know the whole story."
McNeil seemed strangely invested in this.
Like he was talking from experience.
"Is this about the Yaxley family story?"
"Not the one you're probably thinking about." He sighed. "It's not my story to tell, though... if my daughter trusts you enough, you could ask her about her mother's family some day and she might tell you."
As much as Tin could understand that McNeil wouldn't spill other people's secrets – it was actually an admirable trait, this kind of loyalty – he still felt kind of betrayed that he had alluded to something and then had refused to follow up.
"Since your family will probably be here in a day or two... if it were up to you, what would you want us to focus on?"
McNeil had returned to his calm and serious self.
"What do you mean?"
McNeil shrugged.
"What outcome do you want, if you could choose freely?"
Tin didn't really understand what he was getting at – it wasn't like he had much of a choice. He only wanted Can and him to be safe from the consequences of the attack, and away from any further danger.
He didn't notice that he was glaring at McNeil until the teacher spoke again.
He seemed to have misunderstood him:
"If you are out for revenge, you're on your own," McNeil's voice sounded so passionate about this subject that it could give you chills, "revenge is useless and dangerous – particularly if you hit the wrong person in ignorance. Mark my words: if you go for revenge, you will regret it for the rest of your life. No matter how much you think that person deserves it. Even if they truly screwed you over. Nightmares don't care whether-"
He stopped abruptly.
"Never mind."
Tin had never really thought about revenge, all he wanted was for the attacks to stop for good. But he could feel Can shift uneasily next to him.
Did he direct these words at Can? Can wouldn't be foolish enough to go for revenge, would he?
"We also won't help you in your feud against your brother if all you want is to cement your role as the heir to the family business. That's your fight to win. But we will protect you. We can help you free yourself from your family and build up your own life, if that's what you want... or we can try to reconcile you with them, clear misunderstandings if there is anything to clear. You have to want it, though... and be willing to listen."
Tin didn't know what to think of this.
At the moment, his most pressing concern was for Can to be safe, for Can's career to be undamaged by this, and maybe then for him to be left in peace by his family. He knew all of these hopes were unrealistic, but that's what he wanted.
McNeil was pouring out more tea for them, ostensibly not expecting an answer right away – and Tin needed even more time to get his head straight.
"You can tell us when your family is on the way," McNeil reassured him, when the silence became too heavy.
"Stay in your room for now, I'll send someone up with lunch later if necessary. As you have surely guessed, there's more going on than these attacks on you. We're waiting for Mr. Yaxley to get here. We will let you join our meeting, since you are directly involved. Please, turn off your phones and your computers until then, and don't try to solve anything without us. This is too big for you, it's too big for any of us alone."
He slowly got up from his chair, putting the thermos with the rest of the tea on the desk for them. Before he made it to the door, he turned around again:
"Be ready to join our meeting when I return, I don't know when we'll be able to start. Distract yourself while you wait, I don't know... watch a movie, play a game, you'll figure something out."
He was already almost at the door when something seemed to occur to him. He stopped and looked at them.
"I don't normally care what you do in the privacy of your room, but... when I come back, you have to be ready at a moment's notice. What I'm saying is... keep your clothes on."