Do you know me

Chapter Three

A/N - Warning for a small mention of self-harm towards the end of the chapter.  I will put it in italics so you can skip it if you don't want to read it.

*************************************************

Arthit's face was inches away from his own.  Kongpob could feel Arthit's breath hit his face.  With eyes gleaming in mischief Arthit was closing the distance.

Kongpob closed his eyes anticipating a soft pair of lips to touch his.

Instead, Arthit knocked his head on Kongpob's.

Kongpob groaned in pain; he had fallen off of his bed.  It had all been a dream?  Why on earth would he see himself almost kissing a senior?  Kongpob checked the time, it was the crack of dawn.  He was too shaken to fall asleep again.

He walked over to his desk and started drawing.  Kongpob wasn't really good at drawing.  Was the person in his dream really Arthit?  Now that he had met Arthit the pictures he drew definitely had more details to them than before.

Why was Arthit so important?  Kongpob stared at the picture.  He had a feeling that the Arthit in his dream was trying to tell him something.  The dream had been quite vivid.  Kongpob had never believed in things that didn't have facts behind them.  Why did these dreams bother him now?

He sighed, burying his head in his hands in frustration.

"What do you want from me P'Arthit?"

********************

Kongpob was passing the small lake when he saw Arthit sitting under a tree looking at the water.

He didn't know what made him do it, but he had automatically started walking towards Arthit.  Kongpob was mesmerized by the serene expression Arthit had on his face.  He looked so much at peace, but also as if he was lost in his world thinking about something.

Kongpob froze, an unknown memory flashed in front of his eyes.

[" Stop moving!  You are making it hard."

"Hurry up!  My butt is starting to go numb."

"You made me look like a monkey!"]

Where was that memory from?

He quickly dismissed it and walked over to Arthit.

Kongpob genuinely felt bad for Arthit.  It was obvious he was being bullied by the hazers.  From what he noticed, Arthit didn't seem to have any friends at all.  

Kongpob asked some second-year seniors why was Arthit being treated this way.  But no one seemed to know what had caused it, because Arthit and Prem used to be close friends.

Even though he was supposed to meet Pai, he didn't want to leave Arthit alone.  Kongpob wanted to be Arthit's friend.  He remembered Arthit's beautiful smile from back in their first meeting.  He had never really seen that smile again since the day he had started university.  Kongpob was determined to change that.

********************

Arthit was having lunch alone as usual. 

Kongpob looked between his friends and Arthit, with his food in hand.  Since the meeting by the lake, he had another dream where he was holding Arthit's hand tightly.

Kongpob was starting to feel anxious.  Even to himself it all sounded absurd.  Why was this senior in his head?  He didn't even know this person well enough.  It felt like he was cheating on his lovely girlfriend.

But he needed to make sense of everything.  He didn't like to admit it out loud, but he did choose engineering because of Arthit.

In other words, he had been an idiot who didn't know what he was doing.

Konbpob sat on the bench opposite of Arthit smiling brightly.

"What the hell are you doing?" Arthit asked in surprise.

"It's called sitting P' Arthit."

Arthit sighed and continued with his food.

"P' Arthit?  Do you like spicy food?"

"N' Kongpob... do you want me to leave?" Arthit asked in a tired voice.  Kongpob hated that tone.  It was if Arthit hated life itself.

He opened his mouth to answer when he heard a voice behind him.

"0062 leave that table immediately."

Kongpob could see Arthit blinking fast.  But Arthit didn't seem surprised at all.  Kongpob was enraged.  He stood up, facing the head hazer.

"P' Prem... I'm just having lunch with a senior.  Is that against the rules?"

"I'm being nice N' Kongpob.  I'm protecting you from a freak."

A freak?

He looked at Arthit who had finally decided to give up the act he had put up.  He collected his things and started to leave the table.

"P' Arthit... please stay?" Konbpob asked.

"Listen to the head hazer N'.  He has your best interest at heart, and stay away from freaks."

Prem smirked, "I'm warning you N' Kongpob.  It's for your own safety."

What had Arthit done to be treated this way?

********************

Kongpob found Arthit running laps in the rain.  He had been at it since that morning.  Another one of Prem's brilliant ideas.  It wasn't even an effective lesson for the first years since no one seemed to care about Arthit's health.  Was anyone human in this school?

He ran beside Arthit begging him to stop.  But, Arthit ran until he almost passed out on the track.

Kongpob helped Arthit to his feet.  "Let's get you sorted P' Arthit."

For once Arthit didn't try to decline.  He could see tears pouring down Arthit's face.  Kongpob couldn't understand why his heart hurt at the sight of Arthit's tears.

As soon as he entered Arthit's dorm room Kongpob was stunned.  There was beautiful artwork taped to his walls.  His eyes stopped at one particular drawing.  It was a Prem, shirtless.

Kongpob swallowed hard.  Now he knew why Prem seemed to hate Arthit.  But, why did that piece of information hurt him?

Arthit didn't notice the dilemma Kongpob was dealing with at the time.  He was disoriented.

With some apprehension, Kongpob helped Arthit out of his clothes.

Did this mean Arthit was gay?

But none of those things had shocked Kongpob more than the multiple marks above Arthit's right knee.  Some of them were new.

Kongpob felt tears rimming his eyes.

Arthit needed his help...