"Bright?" Gulf whispered, his mouth agape from astonishment. Why was his ex back in Thailand?!
"Hey. Yeah, it's me." Bright answered with that small, boyish smile Gulf used to love so much. "How have you been?"
Gulf blinked. And blinked again. How has he been?! Well, first of all, the nerve of him to ask that question! And secondly, he was doing just fine! He was keeping away from the male species, partly thanks to this person, but he was okay. Never better, even!
"I'm okay." He replied, trying to look away from his ex's stare but then falling into Mew's serious ones. Has he always been looking at him?! All this time?
Gulf cleared his throat, trying to will away the awkwardness. "So, how come you're here in Thailand? Didn't you move to Canada for school?" He tried ignoring Mew but could still feel his hot stare on his face.
Bright's smile turned a tad bit sad, a look Gulf never liked on him. "Yeah, but I'm almost done now. I'm just doing my co-op internship here."
Why did you chose to do it here?? Gulf wanted to yell at him but thankfully decided against it. They were in a restaurant after all. Instead, he just put on an awkward fake smile. "That's, uhm, nice."
"Yeah.." Bright replied, careful. "Anyways, are you free-"
He was just about to ask if he was free after lunch when someone suddenly cleared their throat. Finally looking across the table from Gulf for the first time, Bright came face to face with none other than Mew who was sat back on his chair, arms crossed, face not looking so amused.
"Sorry, it didn't seem like I was gonna get introduced anytime soon but that's okay." Mew said, throwing a quick dark smirk at Gulf before addressing Bright again. "We're kind of in a middle of a lunch date though so I'd appreciate it if you could maybe, give us some privacy? I'm sure you're also busy, right?"
Gulf's face suddenly burned up. "P'Mew!" What was Mew thinking?! He was being too straightforward!
"Oh, is that so?" Bright glanced over at Gulf who found himself looking away in embarrassment. "Okay, my bad then. Enjoy the rest of your lunch. I'll message you later, Gulf."
Gulf nodded, not trusting his voice, and quickly waved a goodbye.
"Thanks," Mew replied, a satisfied smile on his face, knowing full well it was going to annoy the other guy before he turned away and left with heavy steps.
"P'Mew! You didn't have to say it like that!" Gulf scolded him as soon as Bright disappeared from their sight.
Mew grimaced. "Well, I was being ignored. And I especially hate being ignored by the person I like."
"W-well," The boy stuttered, trying to think of a good comeback but failed miserably. "Whatever. Let's just finish this lunch already." I can't wait to leave this place, he added in his head.
"Whatever you say, babe~"
"Shut it!"
~.~
"Hey, my boy!" Off exclaimed, clapping Mew on the back. "I heard from Zee that you went on a lunch date, huh. So, how'd it go?"
Mew just clicked his tongue and shook his head.
Off quickly sat down beside his friend, all worried from his reaction. "What happened? You messed up? How? I thought you were better than that!"
Mew lightly pushed his friend away from him, who was currently invading his personal space. "It was going great, until a certain someone came to ruin the mood."
"Who?!"
"I don't know," Mew frowned. "But I could tell Gulf wasn't happy with seeing him."
"Him?" Off was intrigued. "Are you sure he wasn't a friend?"
"Didn't seem like it. It was an awkward situation they had. Gulf was uncomfortable talking to him, like he wasn't expecting to see him or something."
Off thought for a moment, before suddenly clapping his hands together. "That must be it! It has to be!"
"What?" Mew gave his friend a side look. What was he up to now?
"It has to be his ex!"
Mew was unconsciously twirling his pen between his fingers, his mind occupied, but as soon as he heard the word ex, the pen came crashing down on the desk. "Huh?!"
"Think about it, friend," Off tried to explain. "Why would he be so uncomfortable with someone he obviously know. It could either be a friend he had disagreements with, which would not make sense if this person tried to approach him so casually, or they used to have a thing in the past."
Mew was silent for a few seconds, taking in what his friend just told him. He swore the timing couldn't be any worse right now. "Dang, I really hate you right now. You know that?" He finally told his friend with clenched teeth.
Off threw his hands in the air. "Hey, I'm just telling you how it is! It's my job as a friend."
"If you're really right, then why does he have to show up now when things are finally starting to move between the two of us?!"
"Sorry, bro. I don't have an answer for that. All I can say is, good luck."
"F U"
Well, I guess I've got no choice other than kicking that guy out of Gulf's life. Mew thought silently.
~.~
Gulf rushed towards the building for his next lab class. He wasn't going to be late, but he couldn't wait to finally sit down and message his friend on his phone. He's got an emergency after all.
As soon as he entered their room, which was still empty since he was there too early for anything, he went towards his usual seat and quickly sat down, taking his phone out of his pocket.
"Mild!! I need you to come to the lab room ASAP!" He texted his friend, impatiently waiting for a reply.
Mild: What? Why? It's still too early.
Gulf: Just come, already!
...
Gulf: He's back.
Mild: Who's back?
...
Mild: Wait, you can't mean HIM, right?
Gulf: Yes, him! So get your butt here already!
Mild: Okay, okay! I'm running now!
Gulf: Thank you!
Mild: Anytime, bestie! Wait for me!
Not even a few minutes passed and the door to the room swung open. Then a very exhausted Mild came huffing in. "W-what happened? Tell me!"
Gulf almost laughed out loud looking at his friend, despite the situation he was currently in. "You didn't have to rush so much. Come sit down. Do you need water?"
"F*ck water, now spill me the tea."
"I saw him today. In the restaurant." Gulf started.
"When you were out with P'Mew?!" Mild was flabbergasted. "I mean, didn't he go to Canada?"
"Yeah, but he said he was here to complete his co-op internship."
Mild suddenly gave him a sharp stare. "Hold on, you guys talked?" P'Mew already met Bright? No way. This was too soon, too soon!
"He went to our table. He saw me first.."
"Hah, his nerve! Where is he now?! I'm gonna give him a piece of my mind!"
Gulf held his friend back. Mild was actually a really sweet guy but he wasn't the type to just sit around when his dear friends were in a bad situation. "It's fine, Mild. I'm gonna have to get used to seeing him sooner or later, when he's finally back for good."
"I kinda hoped he would stay there forever," Mild muttered.
Gulf laughed. "Me too."
"So, what are you gonna do now?" Mild asked after a few moments.
Gulf just shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe just stay out of his way, for now."
"Yeah, just focus on P'Mew."
"Yeah, right." As if Mew wasn't enough..
How am I gonna deal with the both of them? Gulf wondered to himself.
~.~
"Gulf, can I borrow your phone?" Gun asked as he bit on his pocky stick. Him and his three other friends were currently in the library, studying for their upcoming test. It was only an elective that all four of them were taking, but it doesn't mean he can just totally flunk it.
"What for?" Gulf answered as he scanned his book for the answer to question number 8.
"I need those pictures from class last week. I knew you'd forget to send it to me so I'll do it myself now." He answered with a condescending tone. "Anyway, are you guys free next weekend?"
"Why?" Saint asked, looking up from his laptop. "Are you throwing another party?"
Gun shook his head. "Nope, not me this time. My neighbor's the one throwing a party. Apparently a friend of his was finally back from abroad so he's throwing him a welcome back party."
"And we're invited?" Mild questioned with an eyebrow arced.
"Well, initially no, but I mentioned you guys and he said ya'll should come too. The more the merrier, he said."
"Well, you didn't have to." Gulf said as he passed his unlocked phone over to Gun. "You don't have to bring us wherever you party, you know."
Gun huffed. "It won't be fun without you guys there. And I'd hate to be sad in a party, you know that."
"Yes, yes. Whatever you say, B." Saint teasingly said. "You just want us there to be your wing man."
Mild immediately started shaking his head, making Gun roll his eyes at him. "Please, not again! I am still not over the one from last time. I had nightmares for three days straight!"
"Oh, stop overreacting!" Gun exclaimed. "It wasn't that bad. It was just a small misunderstanding."
"Huh! Just a misunderstanding? Easy for you to say when you weren't the one getting humiliated!" Mild countered, clearly stressed about what happened before.
"Okay, okay. I'm sorry again, for a thousandth time." Gun said, rolling his eyes one more time. Mild kept talking but he decided to just ignore him and let him talk his shit. Lifting up Gulf's phone, he pressed the gallery button and started selecting the photos he needed. He was just about to send them to his own messenger when Gulf received a new message.
Bright: Hey, how's it going?
Gun read the pop-up message from the top of the screen. Bright? He thought to himself. Like, the Bright I know? "Gulf, you have a message from Bright." He said out loud and noticed right away how Gulf froze and gave Mild a side look. What's going on with these two?
"Oh. Just leave it. I'll deal with it later." Gulf hurriedly answered as he tried to immerse himself in his book.
"O-kayy," Gun singsonged. Already taking a note in his head to ask more about this topic later. Does Gulf actually know the same Bright that he does? And why did he react as such upon hearing his name? Very interesting..
Meanwhile, Gulf was burning holes in his book. Why is he messaging me?! Can't he just leave me alone? Ugh. I don't wanna deal with him anymore. He said to himself. I just want him to never talk to me ever again. I don't care if I have never seen him in over three years. I do not miss him at all! I don't-
His little thoughts were suddenly interrupted by a book falling to the ground just beside their table. And unconsciously, his mind went back to that memory a few years ago in high school.
~ Flashback - Five Years Ago ~
Gulf was in the library, combing down the aisle, searching for the book he needed for his English class assignment. He smiled as he finally spotted it. His hand moved toward the book but suddenly froze, upon hearing his name from the other side of the shelf.
"You mean, Gulf, right?" A boy said.
"The good-looking one from the class next door?" Another boy added.
Gulf looked through the space in-between the books and saw three boys on the other side. Two boys had their backs to him while the third one had his head down and was leaning his back on the bookshelf, facing him.
"Yeah," the boy leaning on the shelf responded. "That one."
"No way!" The first boy exclaimed, which was immediately shushed by the other one. "Sorry, I just got too excited."
"So you like him, huh?" The other one asked.
"Yeah, I do." He answered as he finally raised his head up.
Gulf threw his hand to his mouth as he realized who the boy leaning on the shelf was. No, it can't be! He thought to himself. He was too confused and surprised at the same time that he accidentally moved a few books in front of him.
He immediately froze, praying to everything holy that he didn't make too much of a noise. But as he looked forward across the shelf to check, his eyes met another. The boy that was leaning on the shelf before was now stood up and staring right back at him.
Gulf panicked, pushing himself away from the shelf. He desperately knocked his head for why he was there in the first place. Then he finally remembered the book he needed. He looked to his right and immediately saw it. He quickly grabbed it and went to sprint to his left but then he crashed onto someone.
He dropped his book and watched on as someone bent down to grab it from the floor. As the person stood back up, Gulf's eyes widened. It was the boy from the other side of the shelf!
"Wuthering Heights, huh?" The boy said as he handed over the book to Gulf who took it with shaky hands.
"Thanks.."
"No problem." The boy had a boyish smile as he reached his hand for a handshake.
"I'm Bright, by the way."
~ End of Flashback ~
"Gulf? Gulf!" His trip down memory lane was interrupted by someone calling his name. "Why are you spacing out?"
"What do you want, Mild?" He asked his friend. Irritated with himself about what he just thought of. Of all the memories he has, it had to be that one.
"Oh, I'm the bad guy now? Gun's been trying to get your attention, you know!"
Gulf glanced over at Gun who was looking at him with an amused face. "Oh please, carry on with your daydreaming. But you gotta tell me later on what it was about! Your facial expressions were very interesting."
"No, thank you." He briefly answered as he grabbed his phone from him. "You're done with this right? I'm gonna go get some drinks. Text me if you want anything."
Then he quickly grabbed his bag and left their table, rushing to leave the library and ignoring his friends calling after him. He needed a drink right now. Unfortunately it can't be anything alcoholic but anything would suffice this instant.
Gulf was lining up in the Starbucks located in their university library when someone suddenly tapped on his right shoulder. He turned to look behind him.
"Hey! Fancy meeting you here." The person said as he turned to look.
"P'Mew? What are you doing here?"
Mew put his hands in his jean pocket and smiled sheepishly. Gulf almost unconsciously covered his eyes, this person was definitely radiating in front of him right now.
"Actually, I was hoping I'd find you here." Mew replied.
"Why?"
"Are you free next weekend?" He asked.