Rain's eyes simply snapped open. He closed them again and sighed. When he brought up his hands, wanting to rub his face, a coppery smell assailed his nostrils. He scrunched his nose and closed his eyes tighter. Fear was a living, breathing entity inside him. What had he done now? He had hoped that these periodic blackouts that he had back in Korea would stop once he was in Thailand. But 2 episodes in a little less than two weeks did not bode well for his sanity. He had already received couple of texts from his uncle, and plans had already been set in motion. For now, he had to open his eyes and look at his hand, and hope to every deity that it was not what he was thinking it was.

Oh, but it was. His head hurt. He got up and plodded to the bathroom, looking at the cuffs of his nightdress. It was obvious he had gone out, but where had he gone? What had he done? Was there any way to find out without rousing suspicion? What about his new friends? He couldn't obviously confide in them, but at least he could use them as a source of information. Then there was Phayu. Ideally, he should have kept his head down and ignored the other man as much as possible, running in the opposite direction the moment he saw interest flare in his eyes. But then, when had Rain ever been careful? His recklessness was the reason he was stuck in this fucking predicament.

He washed up, leaving his soiled clothes folded in a box under his bed. He would come back and take care of it. He rushed out, waving goodbye to his grandparents, and stopped short when he saw Phayu leaning against the sexiest looking Ducati he had ever seen. "Good morning," Phayu's wide smile needed to be reciprocated, so Rain did exactly that. "What is this?" Rain asked. "A bike. Haven't you seen one before?" Phayu asked. "I know it's a bike. And I have not only seen one, I have ridden it too. But my question was aimed more towards you. What is this as in what are you doing here?" Rain asked, rolling his eyes. "Well, I wanted to see if I remembered the address right," Phayu said, suddenly sounding perplexed. "Huh?" Rain asked. "Well, yesterday, after going home, I was wondering if I had dreamt you up, and had dropped someone else off. I am really glad I didn't," Phayu said. "Yuck! Cheesy!" Rain said in a singsong voice.

"Come close to me and say that," Phayu said, leaning forward and stretching out his arm, as Rain danced out of the way. "Okay fine. I won't say anything," Phayu said, throwing up his hands in the air. "Let's go," he said, straddling the bike, as he handed a spare helmet to Rain. "Did you have breakfast?" he asked. Rain came forward, shaking his head, and wore the helmet quickly, hopping on behind Phayu. "Breakfast first. Then Uni, okay?" Phayu asked, feeling Rain's nod on his back. He smiled, thinking about cute his boy was. Rain was thrilled. Phayu was an amazing rider, steady and sure. The morning breeze was on his face, and the thrumming of the engine between his thighs. It made him feel things that he had never felt before. He hugged Phayu closer, feeling a sense of freedom overtake him.

Phayu stopped at a small diner stall, right in the street. Rain hopped down first, and the Phayu removed Rain's helmet, before removing his own. "Go sit, I will get us something," Phayu said, bopping Rain's nose. Rain had noted the reactions that Phayu had got when he had removed his helmet, and the reactions when he bopped Rain's nose. Rain looked at the gaggle of girls who were trying to go out of the way to make sure that they would catch Phayu's attention. Then Phayu turned around, his eyes homing directly into Rain's, and he smiled. Rain smiled back and Phayu turned around to collect their order. This time, Rain smirked at the expressions he got. "I am pretty sure I am being cursed to hell and back," he said, as Phayu sat down with their breakfast. "What? Why?" Phayu asked, looking confused.

Rain surreptitiously jerked his head towards the girls sitting and still staring at Phayu with moony expressions on their face. Phayu made a big show of stretching and turning around and caught those expressions. He turned back at Rain's laughter. "What? It is funny!" he said, when Phayu glared at him. "Is not!" Phayu said, pouting cutely. Rain leaned forward, elbows on the table. "Okay, truth time," he said. "What about?" Phayu asked. "Why exactly did you come pick me up today?" Rain asked. Phayu sighed. He had hoped Rain would not ask him much, but it looked like he was doomed to disappointment. "You are new to the town, and I realised that you live not very close to it," he said. Rain nodded, gesturing to Phayu to continue. Phayu sighed again. "There have been two murders in town in less that two weeks. One girl, one guy, around our age. Both seemingly single, and from what the ME was able to determine, both virgins. They both died in surprisingly ritualistic manners," he said.

Rain stared at him. "And that involves me how?" he asked, hoping Phayu would mistake the tremble in his voice as fear and not self-loathing. "Because both of them were slim, fair, pale eyes, pale hair. Almost exactly like you," Phayu said, sounding a bit reluctant. "Oh my God, Khun Phayu! Did you automatically jump to the conclusion that I am a virgin, because I look like them?" Phayu looked up at him, squirming in his seat at the laughter in Rain's eyes and face. "What?" he asked, sounding defensive. "Well, it seems to me that you are looking for an opportunity to ruin me, so that I am virgin no longer," Rain said, now actually laughing out loud. Phayu blushed to the roots of his hair, holding the congee bowl to his face and stuffing his mouth.

Rain shook his head at Phayu's antics but his insides had turned to jelly. How would he ever explain the soiled clothes? The blood on his hands? Was it him? His mind was in complete turmoil, unable to comprehend the extent of his culpability. But for now, he would choose to concentrate on what was in front of him, than wonder what was going to be. It was his responsibility to be more vigilant. That would probably mean sleepless nights, but it was not like this had not happened before. Back in Seoul, he had learnt to ensure that he wouldn't sleep. It had taken only one incident to make him feel the absolute necessity of staying awake, and he could do it here too.

"Done?" Phayu asked, and Rain jolted a bit. But he gave an easy smile to the boy in front of him. "Yup!" he said, trying to seem as enthusiastic as possible. He must have been extremely believable, because Phayu jumped up with a shit-eating grin and held his hand out to Rain, which Rain took happily. Phayu was an absolute demon for speed, and Rain enjoyed clinging to the man. It made him feel happy and settled; something he had not felt in a really long time.

Sky looked at Pai, who was busy reading a document they needed for their project. "Phayu is not here yet," he said, quite unnecessarily, since he knew that Pai was aware of the fact. "He will be here soon my Sky," Pai said, without looking up from his work. "Don't you think it's weird he is not here yet? He is always the first to reach," Sky said, glaring at Pai, even though Pai couldn't see him. Something about his tone must have alerted Pai, because he immediately looked up. "What's bothering you babe?" he asked, his tone gentle. He knew Sky had a temper that was quick to ignite, but there was something else bubbling under the surface today. "Don't you think Phayu asking Rain on a date was way too quick?" Sky asked. "Maybe," Pai said, non-committal, not wanting to anger Sky. "Pai," Sky said, a snap in his voice.

"Sky, you and I have been unofficially together since 10 years and officially since the past 5 years. While we don't really do much of the couple stuff in front of Yu, how do you think he feels when he tags along with us everywhere. Haven't you noticed how he has been a little aloof since a while now? Yesterday, I saw him smile for the first in a long while. He has never begrudged us our happiness, should we not do the same for him?" Pai asked. "I hate it when you are this logical. But I still don't have to like it," Sky said, pouting. Pai frowned. "Then you are going to hate this more," Pai said, gesturing lightly with his head.

Sky turned around and watched as Phayu and Rain walked in together, both of them holding helmets, which easily gave Sky the idea why Phayu was late. He saw the way Phayu's head was bent towards Rain, listening to him intently, as he gestured gracefully with his empty hand. Sky realised that he was not the only one staring at the couple; and that's exactly what they were. Even though he knew that Phayu and Rain were not dating, there was this aura around them that made it clear that they both only saw each other, that they were completely into each other. They belonged. Sky could feel the speculation. The Phayu, the most eligible bachelor of not only their faculty, but their entire Uni, was suddenly very, very obviously taken now. And that too by someone who had joined yesterday, an almost unknown entity. He turned back and looked at Pai, and saw the small smile lurking on his lover's face, realising that Pai was just simply happy for his friend, and that's how Sky should have also felt.

But he didn't, so he would be the one test Rain. Rain may have walked in with Phayu, but he was not walking out with him, not if Sky had any say in it. He had a plan, but he would not say anything to Pai, knowing that Pai would simply thwart each and every one of them. "Hey guys!" he called out cheerfully, and Pai immediately looked suspicious. Not two minutes ago, Sky was sulking about Phayu being pally with Rain, and now he was greeting the two of them like he had been doing nothing but waiting for them. "Hi Sky, hey Pai!" Rain said, bouncing over with the sweetest smile. Phayu shared fist bumps with both his friends and sat, tugging Rain to sit next to him. "Wait! Don't sit Rain! Let's go get some coffee before the class starts. Then we can come back and work on the project," Sky said. Rain nodded happily and went off with Sky.

"Ai'Yu, Sky has an agenda, I am pretty sure," Pai said, as he watched Phayu stare at Rain's retreating back. "Huh? What did you say?" Phayu asked, dragging his eyes away from Rain and focusing on Pai. "Jeez dude! You are already so whipped!" Pai said, shaking his head in disgust. "Huh! As if you are any better. I have seen you shake your sappy ass for Sky so many times!" Phayu retaliated. "Yeah, yeah! Well, the point is, I think Sky is upto something," Pai said. "What do you mean?" Phayu asked, looking confused. "He thinks you are moving too fast with Rain, especially since we know nothing about him. And I think this is his step one in keeping you separated," Pai said. Phayu's face fell. "Why would he do that Pai?" he asked, sounding a bit heartbroken.

"Ai'Yu! Sky loves you a lot. He just thinks it's too fast because Rain is new," Pai said, trying to placate his friend. "Loves me? Loves me? Well, he has a nice way of showing that for sure!" Phayu said, his voice thickening with unshed tears. "Yu, he is just being a protective friend," Pai said. "I will have you both remember that I am as old as both of you. In fact, older than both of you. I am not stupid Pai. Nor am I a foolish teenager. I am a grown ass man, and I think I am mature enough to make my choices," Phayu said, standing up. "I will now go meet Rain, and you can tell Sky that if he tries to interfere between me and Rain, I may have to re-think our friendship." "Yu! You can't do that! You have known Rain all of 24 hours! Are you going to end a 20 year old friendship for someone you have not even known 20 hours?" Pai asked. Phayu looked at Pai. "He is it for me Pai," Phayu said quietly, and walked away without looking back, leaving Pai staring at him open-mouthed.