Where the Wind Blows

29

Phayu had gone to work and dropped Rain off at the student housing building on his way, sharing a quick and sweet peck goodbye where the freshman wished him a good day at work. But walking up to the elevator and using his key card to send him off to his floor felt odd. Had he really gotten that used to Phi Phayu's house?

Shuffling down the hallway to his door where he pushed his code into the keypad sat right above the handle to enter, Rain inexplicably froze. Though it was just for a moment, he really didn't know why he suddenly hesitated to returning to his assigned home for the next three and a half years of his university experience - assuming everything goes well and he doesn't have to renew his contract or pay an extra fee.

Shaking it off, he pushed the steel handle down and opened the door to find everything exactly how he'd left it- only lacking a tinge of the life it usually had when he was rushing in and out of the door with Ai Sky at his side or the floor was piled high with his current comic book obsessions. The natural light pouring in through the scantly scattered windows letting rays of warm sunlight pour in however, revealed the slow movement dust in the air- floating peacefully and undisturbed despite the sudden intrusion.

"Hahh... Cleaning up will have to be the first thing." Rain sighed to himself, closing the door behind him with his foot and kicking off his shoes. The next task after that would have to be laundry since he'd started stealing Phi's clothes. Having some clean pairs of his clothes  available here wouldn't be too bad, right? Just how Phi had bought a toothbrush for him and even a set of boxers for when he visited to Stat tge night.

Rain sweeped and dusted the small space rather quickly, opening the windows to air the space out and then moving to mop the floors before washing what laundry he was yet to do for himself with the addition of Phayu's clothes he was wearing now to return to their owner at some point in the future. Meanwhile, his mind was deep in thought as his hands and feet moved seemingly on their own to tidy up- his eyes distant to focus on his contemplating.

Earlier that morning when Phayu had pinned him against the counter, his hot breath grazing against Rain's lips like the firey breath of a dragon... Even just tension of the memory was near palpable. Phayu's eyes were always so calm- perfectly Almond shaped and a shade of brown deeper than the ocean. Something about that collected gaze, it was so sultry; Slightly lidded, so warm and loving, and painfully intimidating all the same. How a man's eyes alone could make him feel so weak... so vulnerable like a sheep to a wolf. A bunny to a tiger. Prey to a predator.

Rain shook his head, trying to dispel the shiver that had crept up his spine and he pressed his lips together tightly into line to swallow any thoughts falling deeper down the rabbit hole of fawning over Phayu. There was a reason that the man was so incredibly popular amongst... well... everyone really, and it wasn't only his incredibly charming personality and amazing skills. It's a miracle that he would ever even see me- no less want to date me.

-Bzzt-

Rain perked up suddenly, reaching into the back pocket of his jeans to pull out his phone which had vibrated with a message notification. Ai'Sky. He was asking to come over later that afternoon to borrow a pair of his pens- a part of his large and ever growing collection of Japanese branded and imported art supplies he liked to use for his drawings; and something Rain prided himself over quite a bit. He agreed, of course.

But when he heard a knock at the front door only maybe 45 minutes later, he had to admit he was surprised at his friends urgency. Still pleased as ever to see his best friend, Rain skipped gleefully to the door and opened it with a bright smile. "Ai'Sky is in a rush?"

But the second those words came out of his mouth, his smile dropped and his stomach fell to his feet. The person in front of him was not his friend at all. In fact, friend would probably be the last thing he would ever think of to call this son of a bitch. Ai' Stop. But not only him, behind him stood three guys who looked just as rude as him.

Rain's first instinct after freeing himself from a frozen state of shock was to try and slam the door shut again- but he was unable to with the quick action of the foot of the man in front of him slipping to the edge of the bottom of the door frame.

"As if I'd let you do that again you little shit" Stop growled, grabbing Rain by the collar and pulling him outside to let the door shut behind him and pin him against it just as quickly - never once loosening his tight grip on the boy's shirt. "It wasn't my intention to mess with you this much, Rain. I tried to warn you. The more you get involved with that self-righteous bastard Phayu, the more you're going to get yourself into trouble."

Rains hands tried to push the man away or at least loosen his grip, but to no avail as it only became tighter with Stop's growing frustrations. "I warned you but you didn't listen."

"What do you want, Stop?" Rain spat in response, turning his head aside slightly just so he wouldn't have to look directly at the others face. As much as Rain was confident in himself, he had to admit that Stop was kind of scary.

"What I want? That's simple. I want Phayu to get off his high horse and pretending he's better than everyone else. I've given him the chance to step down but that arrogant bastard still thinks he's better than me, so I have no choice but to knock him down. And you, Rain, have just so happened to become his most precious thing. I want you to tell him this, okay? Until he bows to me and begs for my forgiveness, I'll continue to pay you visits."

Rain scoffed aloud almost dramatically. "Pretend? He doesn't have to pretend to be better than someone like you. He already is."

A stinging hot pain overtook his face and left a glowing red mark in the shape of the others handprint on Rain's cheek. But that wasn't all. Before he could even try to resist, Stop turned him around to press his face against the door with a fist   full of hair. "I've had my guys beat you up before, but I guess that wasn't direct enough to get you to shut you up you mouthy little brat. I guess I have to do it myself." The grip on his hair tightened and tugged harshly to throw him against the wall opposite his door in the hallway- this time sending him to stumble to the ground as he lost his footing. With that, however, the group left- deciding it was best not to cause too much of a scene lest the neighbour's tried to call the cops or something equally as silly.

But Rain stayed on the floor. He felt like crying. Had he really been stupid enough to think that someone like Stop would just go away so easily? And just as he hand Phayu had been so happy... Rain couldn't have been happier at all. He'd been exctatic. But now, even just the thought of having to face Phayu hurt him.

Either he'd say nothing and continue to he bullied and Phayu would blame himself for it or he could tell Phayu what Stop wanted to tell him... relay the message and have his boyfriend surrender his pride and dignity and safety all at once just to get that bastard Stop to leave them alone.

Everything had been so perfect. Everything had been as though straight out of a fairy tale; a handsome prince come to save him and live happily ever after... But that would have been too kind of the universe, wouldn't it? Nothing came that easily.. That simply. Especially not something as good as Phayu.

"Ai'Rain?"