Him and I

Of confessions and courage

Sky watched Rain eat as he scrolled down his phone. After the music competition earlier today, when his band had placed 1st in the Freshmen category, Sky had wanted to go up to talk to him, but Pai had held him back, and he had watched as Phayu had gone upto Rain. They had spoken about something and moved away. But Sky could see him, and he was pretty sure that the expression Rain's face was the exact same he probably had when P'Pai had spoken to him about liking him. Rain had stared at the older man, stumped. He had seen Rain's face change from shocked to pensive. He had nodded, and then said something to Phayu. This time it was Phayu's turn to nod. He had stroked his hand down Rain's hair, and Rain had smiled shyly and blushed. 'Wait what? Blushed? His bestie had blushed!'

But on the way home, or even after reaching, Rain had not uttered a word, which was not very surprising. Contrary to their external personas, Rain and Sky were very different people. While Rain seemed like he was the outgoing, gregarious type, truth was he was an expert at internalising. And Sky, who seemed like a shy introvert, was the one who constantly felt the need to tell Rain everything that was in his heart. This whole silent mode was getting on Sky's nerves. So he decided to break his news first. "Rain," he said. "Hmm?" Rain said, without looking up. "P'Pai asked me for a chance," he said. "Nice," Rain still showed no reaction, as he continued to do his work.

By now, Sky was getting bugged. He wanted Rain to talk to him. He wanted to open his heart and pour out everything he was feeling, and he wanted Rain to do the same. He sat and watched Rain for some time, realising there was not going to be any response, unless drastic measures were taken. He knew that once Rain started working, he would be totally engrossed in it, and would not budge even if the world was coming to an end. So Sky quietly got up from his place and went to his room. Hidden in one of the draws was an old whistle that Rain had made for him when they were young children. He had taken the help of their grandfather and had done it with a piece of wood that he had found.

Sky took the whistle out. It was still one of his most prized possessions, and he always kept it safely and carefully. He took it out and went back to the living room. He stealthily approached Rain and sat right next to him. Rain was still deeply in work. Sky blew the whistle loudly in Rain's ear. Rain was shocked and he literally jumped up in fright! Sky rolled of the floor laughing his ass off. Rain stared at his best friend and cousin as if he had lost his mind. "Ai'Sky!! Have you finally lost it?" he asked, still trembling from the fright he had got. "Oh my God! You should have seen your face," Sky said, holding his tummy, unable to stop laughing.

"Ai'Satt!" Rain hit Sky on the head, wanting him to get serious. "What the hell were you thinking Ai'Sky?" "You were not listening to me, so I had to do something," Sky said, still grinning. "Jeez Sky, do you ever plan to grow up?" "Why should I? You are grown up enough for both of us," Sky said, smiling sweetly at Rain. "Okay what did you want to talk about? Tell me now? I am listening," Rain said, rolling his eyes. "I wanted to talk to you about P'Pai," Sky began. "What about him?" Rain asked. "He confessed to me and asked me to give him a chance to prove himself worthy of me. What should I do Rain?"

"Sky, first things first. Do you like P'Pai?" Rain asked, getting straight to the point. "From the time you met him for the first time, when he showed you the way to the debate club, you have spoken about him. So? Do you?" "I think I do. I have never really liked anyone before. But I am afraid. I am afraid that I am not good enough. He wanted a chance to prove himself worthy of me, but the truth is, he doesn't deserve someone like me Rain, someone broken and lost," Sky said sadly. "Sky, crayons also break. Broken crayons colour the same, don't you know? And also, we are all a little broken. Doesn't mean we start giving up on life. If you like P'Pai, give him the permission to hit on you. It's as simple as that," Rain said, matter-of-factly. "And what about you?" Sky asked him. "What about me?" "Rain..," Sky drawled out his name. Rain laughed.