Aim's POV

“That’s really good Wad, I’m sure Knott will love it!” I clapped Wad on the back and smiled warmly.

He grinned and put the drawing back into his bag. Wad’s our cover art designer, he’s wicked good at drawing. He does all of our singers’ album covers. My thigh started to buzz, so I pulled out my phone and grinned at the caller ID.

“What’s up Kong?” I answered.

“A-Aim, I need your help. Please, come. Hurry!” His voice was shaky and I could tell he was crying.

Me being me, I jumped to the worst conclusion.

“What happened Kong? Are you okay? Are you hurt? Did Arthit hurt you?” Anger flared up inside me at the thought of that hurting my best friend.

“No!” He screeched. “Davikah, and she- Just hurry. I’ll explain later. I need to f-find him before something bad happens.” He sobbed.

“Find who?” I stood up, putting on my coat and grabbing my car keys.

“A-Arthit. He’s gone, and it’s all my f-fault.” I heard a car engine start as I started my own.

“What do you want me to do? I’m on my way.”

I don’t like Arthit at all. Okay, so he has a great voice, but he’s homeless. The only reason I’m helping Kongpob find him is because Kong is obviously pretty torn up about him leaving. Him leaving just proves that he’s a heartless prick.

“Just drive around and look for him. Call me if you see him.” He sounded a bit more composed now, which in turn, calmed me.

“We’ll find him Kong. I’ll call Wad and Tee too.” I tried to reassure him.

“Thanks.” He said quietly.

The line went dead and I immediately called Wad and Tew. Tew is one of the other sound guys like me. Luckily we had all met with Kong and Arthit a few days before their meeting with Jay. After I explained to them that we had to find Arthit they all started driving around town looking for the wavy hair boy.

After an hour of searching none of us had found Arthit yet and it was lunch time, so I called Kong back. That was a mistake.

“Did you find him?” Kong asked hopefully.

I hated to be the one to crush his spirits, but I couldn’t lie to him.

“No, sorry. Wad, Tew, and I were going out for lunch, do you want to join? We can continue looking for Arthit afterwards.

“No.” He sighed. “I’m going to keep looking.”

“Kongpob, I can hear in your voice that you’re worn out. Just come for thirty minutes and then I promise you we will find him.”

“Fine.” He sniffed.

“We. Will. Find. Him.” I repeated firmly.

Once again Kong hung up without a goodbye. I sighed and texted him were we were going for lunch. Fifteen minutes later we were all sitting around a table in silence. Tew and I on one side and Wad and Kong on the other.

“Kong?” Wad bumped shoulders with him.

Kongpob tore his gaze away from the window and met Wad’s eyes with a broken expression. I’ve never seen him act this way before, and honestly it scares me.

“No offence, but why are you so worried about him? I’m sure he’ll come back sooner or later.” Wad shrugged.

“What happened, why did he leave?” Tew asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Why does it matter? You should be glad he left. He’s a worthless bum.” I muttered.

My cheek stung sharply as Kongpob slapped me across the face. My eyes widened in shock at his actions. Kong would never hurt a fly, so I must have touched a nerve. I mean it must have taken a lot for him to actually hit me. In all the years I’ve known him, he’s never gotten angry with me or anyone else, at least not angry enough to hit them.

“Don’t fucking talk about him like that.” He spat.

Wow. He’s really protective over Arthit. Am I missing something?

“Davikah came back when I wasn’t there. She talked to Arthit, but by the time I got there she was finished and I told her to leave. When I turned around Arthit wasn’t there anymore. I looked everywhere, but he wasn’t in the house.” A tear rolled down Kong’s cheek as he spoke.

“What a bitch.” I muttered. “Davikah, not Arthit.” I clarified.

What? I don’t want to be hit again. That hurt! I rubbed my cheek and hoped it wasn’t to red or swollen. For someone who never gets into fights, Kong got a strong arm.

“You like him don’t you?” Wad questioned.

Kong’s gaze returned to the window as he let out a shaky sigh. We all exchanged a knowing glance.

“Why don’t you like him Aim, I thought he was a good guy.” Tew frowned.

“I don’t know. I guess I’m just hung up on the whole ‘Homeless’ thing.” I shrugged.

“It’s not his fault!” Kong practically yelled, glaring at me again.

At that particular moment a wavy haired brown-eyed boy’s head looked over the seat behind us. He was sitting in the booth behind us, but had turned around so that he could hear our conversation. I elbowed Tew and nudged my head in Arthit’s direction. Wad saw me and subtly turned his head to look up at him.

When all of our gazes were on Arthit he put a finger to his lips, silently pleading with us not to tell Kong he was there. I nodded just as Kong sighed again. We all looked away from Arthit quickly and back at our friend who turned to us again.

“He may be homeless, but he’s the sweetest guy I know. He’s kind, and caring. I know he’d never hurt anyone. I love how shy and awkward he is, it’s quite adorable actually.” Kong cracked a smile. “He’s quiet, but he’s not afraid to be himself. I may not know everything about him, but I do know that he’s an amazing person.” he sighed again. “I just don’t understand why you can’t see that.” He muttered and turned back to the window.

I glanced up to Arthit. He was grinning like a madman and a light blush crossed his cheeks. I winked at him and he disappeared for a few seconds. Then he was standing in front of our table and we were all grinning at him. Kongpob's staring out the window sadly, not knowing that Arthit was standing literally two feet away from him.

“Do you really think that?” Arthitspoke quietly.

I swear I have never seen Kong move so fast in my life as he did in that moment. His head whipped around and after letting out a noise somewhere between a scream and a sob. He launched himself over Wad and wrapped his arms around Arthit in a bone crushing hug.

***

Kongpob ’s POV

I squeezed Arthit tightly and slowly his arms wrapped around my waist and brought me closer. I rested my head on his shoulder and breathed in his sweet scent, strawberry with a small amount of mint.

“Whatever she said, she lied. I’m so sorry.” I whispered against his shoulder.

I kept muttering apologies over and over again until finally Arthit pushed me back gently and put his hand over my mouth, silencing me.

“If I forgive you will you stop apologizing?” He chuckled.

I nodded my head frantically and he removed his hand. I immediately latched myself onto him again. This time he didn’t hesitate to hug me back.

***

We went home after saying goodbye to the guys. I made Aim apologize to Arthit, but he waved it off saying he heard those things all the time, which made me want to cry all over again. We were watching TV when a thought occurred to me.

“Why were you in the café anyways?” I turned my head away from the TV and looked up at Oon.

I was lying down on the couch with my legs thrown across Arthit’s lap carelessly. The fact that he let me and even had a hand resting on my shin, sent tingles up my spine. He looked at me and frowned.

“I was cold and it was the nearest place.” He stated flatly.

“Well for once I’m glad you were cold.” I looked back at the TV.

He snorted and turned to me with an amused expression. I gave him a weird look and he rolled his eyes. His index finger started tracing imaginary circle on my legs and he bit his lip.

“Did you really miss me that much?” He laughed, but I could tell there was some seriousness behind his question.

“Yes, I hate being alone.” I felt my cheeks heating up under his intense stare.

“I was only gone for like an hour and a half.” He shook his head, grinning.

“What did she say to you?” I abruptly changed the subject.

The curiosity has been eating me alive ever since Davikah said she had a ‘little chat’ with Arthit. He tensed and looked away from me.

I sat up, but kept my legs on his lap. I tapped his shoulder and he turned his head, but kept his eyes on his feet, refusing to meet my eyes.

“She said that you didn’t really care about me. She told me that you were just going to break my heart like you did to everyone else. She said that I couldn’t trust you. She said you’d make me feel special, but then kick me out and leave me alone. She said it was all a lie and that I should get out while I still had the chance.”

“Oon -“ I started to speak, but he interrupted me.

“I didn’t want to believe her, but she was right. Who would care about a loser like me?”

Well, there goes my heart.

“I do. I care about you Oon, probably more than I should.” I said honestly. “Don’t listen to her or anyone else. Everything I said at that café was true.” I cupped his cheek and made him look at me.

“Why?” His voice cracked.

“Why what?” I whispered.

The way he was looking at me and the way he was trembling made me feel like if I spoke to loudly, he would just shatter into a million pieces. His eyes were brimming with tears and I could feel my own eyes begin to sting. Seeing him in pain has got to be the worst sight in the world, it’s something I hope I don’t have to see often.

“Why do you care? Why did you bring me here? Why are you letting me live here with you? Why did you buy me all that stuff? Why did you get me a record deal? Why did you help me when I was sick? Why did you try so hard to find me when I left? Why?” He rambled, the tears now falling freely down his flushed ckeeks.

“Because you’re worth it.” I wiped a few tears from his face with my thumb.

At that, he went completely limp and fell onto me. I slowly laid back, taking him with me. I shifted so that he was lying in front of me, but still facing me. His eyes were closed and his bottom lip was sticking out as he tried to stop crying. I resisted the urge to kiss him as he buried his face in my shirt. I threw one arm over him and pulled him closer. He was gripping my other hand tightly, causing it to have this weird burning sensation. Our legs were tangled together, but I didn’t mind it one bit.

He looked so vulnerable like that. Like he was a little kid that needed his mother’s comforting. It was terrible to see him like that. I knew then that I had just seen him hit his breaking point.

And that’s how we fell asleep, curled up together on my couch while the rain outside created a bittersweet lullaby.