Do you know me

Chapter Eighteen

A/ N - Hello everyone. Have you forgotten the plot by now?  😉

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Kongpob was heading towards the cafeteria.  He hadn't seen Arthit in awhile.  He even visited Arthit's room over the weekend only to find out Arthit wasn't there.

Kongpob didn't know why he was always looking for Arthit.  He didn't have Arthit's phone number yet.  Their friendship was at a weird place .  They enjoyed each other's company.  Kongpob liked to think Arthit considered him as a good friend.  But there was a gap Kongpob couldn't quite explain.  As if there was something he was not seeing.

Maybe he pitied Arthit. That's what he told himself. The dreams he had been having, had him confused. Maybe he was supposed to make Arthit not feel lonely.

The usual table where Arthit always sat alone had another person today.

Another person who happened to be seated right next to Arthit with very little distance between them.  Kongpob watched the two from afar.

It was Toota.

Kongpob was mildly surprised to see Arthit with somebody else.  Toota was feeding Arthit food off of his own plate.

He wasn't sure if what he was feeling was something a regular friend was supposed to feel.  It was a mixture of sadness and displeasure.  That was what he wanted, wasn't it?  For Arthit to have friends?  Somehow Arthit and Toota seemed a little too close for his liking.

Kongpob walked towards Arthit when Bright walked over to Arthit's table and sat across of Arthit and Toota. 

Were they all getting along now?  Weren't they the same people who hadn't stood up for Arthit?  He wasn't sure if his reasoning for feeling bitter was acceptable.

Kongpob moved forward anyway.  He wanted to know what these people wanted from Arthit.

"Sawadee khrap P'," he greeted the seniors politely.  Toota seemed stunned to see him.  Kongpob smiled as widely as he could.

"P' Toota, why do you look like you just seen a ghost?"

"N' K... Kongpob.  I didn't see you coming.  So I was a bit.. umm.. surprised," Toota replied.  Kongpob saw Toota look at Arthit worriedly.

"P' Arthit?  Where were you on Saturday?  I dropped by your room, and you weren't there," Kongpob asked Arthit casually.  He could ask a senior a question like that, couldn't he?

"See?  Everyone has been looking for the two of you all weekend," Bright cut in.  "Where the hell did you go?"

"I told you.  We went on a trip," Arthit answered.  He turned to face Kongpob, "Were you looking for me for something N'Kongpob?"

The way Arthit stared at him, made Kongpob take a step back.  It seemed as though Arthit was trying to look into his soul.

"How come it was just the two of you?  Toota you asshole you didn't even reply to my texts, " Bright interrupted their conversation again.  For once Kongpob was relieved.  He was not sure what he was going to say to Arthit.

"We were busy," Toota said calmly.

Kongpob and Bright looked at each other.  Toota and Arthit seemed different.  Kongpob wasn't sure what it was, but he didn't like it at all.

"Doing what?  Why can't you tell me where you went?" Bright was demanding Toota.

"Bright, will you stop screaming?  We were bored and decided to go for some fresh air away from the city," Arthit replied.

Kongpob was feeling out of place.  Arthit's little group was back together.  Maybe despite what Arthit had told him,  Prem was probably forgiven too.

"N' Kongpob, why don't you sit next to Arthit?" Toota said, smiling.

"P' Toota, I ..."

"What?  Are you afraid of Arthit?  He doesn't bite.  At least he wouldn't bite you," Toota said winking at Arthit.

"Ai Toota, how would you know that?  What's going on here?" Bright seemed annoyed.

"It's nothing."

"So, N' Kongpob.  I have seen you with a cute girl outside the campus grounds.  Is that your girlfriend or a sister?" Bright asked Kongpob.

Kongpob was suddenly feeling uncomfortable.  He didn't want to bring up his girlfriend in front of Arthit.  He hated himself for feeling that way.  Pai was a sweet girl and didn't deserve the way he was behaving at the moment.

"That's my girlfriend P'," he answered awkwardly.  "Why?"

Bright looked at Toota for a second before looking at Kongpob.  "No, she is a pretty girl, so I was hoping she was a sister."

Kongpob blushed, Arthit had been stabbing the table with his fingernail.

"Does she go to the same university as us?" Arthit finally broke his silence.

"Yes P' Arthit.  She is in the faculty for Architecture.  She is an excellent artist just like you."  Kongpob wanted to slap himself.  Why did he have to compare the two of them?

Arthit gave him a small smile.  Kongpob didn't like the expression on Arthit's face.

"Are you alright P' Arthit?"

"Yes N'.  I am.  Thank you for asking."

Arthit's voice was cold.  Even Bright and Toota seemed to notice.

"N' Kongpob was being nice Arthit.  You don't have to be an ass," said Toota.  " Kongpob, don't mind him.  He is a little tired from our little adventure."

"Oh what's happening here?" a loud voice made them jump.  A voice Kongpob didn't like at all.  He stood up and greeted the senior.

"Sawadee khrap P' Prem."

Prem looked at the others, "What's he doing here?"

"I will take my leave," Kongpob replied.  Arthit had lied to him.  They were all back together.

Arthit didn't stop him.

"You can sit here Prem," Arthit said pointing at the space Kongpob had vacated.

Kongpob left the group as fast as he could and walked all the way to the other side of the campus grounds.

He shouldn't have cared, but he did.  He shouldn't have ignored his girlfriend to visit Arthit over the weekend, but he had.

Kongpob knew he wasn't fair to Pai.

His brain was about to explode.  The adrenaline from the anger he had felt when he saw Arthit ask Prem to sit next to him had exhausted Kongpob.

When he saw Toota and Arthit being close, he had been sad.  He couldn't be angry at Arthit as he had regarded Prem because senior Toota was a good person in general.  Kongpob silently prayed it was Toota Arthit was together with and not Prem.

Kongpob had never hated anyone in his life.  He always believed everyone had something good in them.

But he hated Prem.  He hated everything about the head hazer.

For some reason, he hated the name "Prem."

He imagined Toota kissing Arthit passionately.  He felt bile rising to his throat.  Arthit was just a senior he knew.  Why did it hurt to see Arthit with someone else?

A weird image of himself kissing Arthit shirtless popped into his head.  One hand on Arthit's bare waist and the other in Arthit's hair.

Pai.. he kept telling himself.  He shouldn't be imagining kissing other people.  Why did it feel like a memory instead of an imagination?  Why did he know precisely how Arthit's lips would feel against his?

Maybe his role in Arthit's life had come to an end.

A hand touched his shoulder.

"Kongpob?"