Together With Me (Thai Novel Fan Translation)

Chapter 8B

I stepped away from her again and watched as all the blood drained from Pleng's face. I smiled and gave her a wink, while pointing my index and middle fingers towards my own apartment building, waved as a sign of goodbye and left, suddenly feeling very carefreely.

I didn't want to openly fight with her, but if she's looking for trouble... Than trouble is what she was gonna get.

I'd tell her the truth personally!

At first, I had planned to just go home as there was really nowhere else to go, but I couldn't help but feel like I was abandoning Knock, so I ended up loitering around his apartment building's entrance instead. I leaned up against the wall of the shop front on the ground floor smoking a cigarette, not really sure what to do with myself. It had started to rain not long after, so I had taken up residence under a protective awning like a gargoyle, and it annoyed me even more.

"What the hell, it's raining cats and dogs now." I felt fucking terrible now that the adrenaline and bravado had drained away; frustrated and angry, so I was whining into the emptiness of the night. At the very same moment, I saw a taxi pull up in front of the apartment, and a familiar female silhouette quickly closed her umbrella and got inside.

"Plern Pleng wasn't staying the night after all?", I mumbled to myself when I saw this, but I still felt just as terrible as I had before. Pleng had left secretly, clearly unaware that I was lingering in the shadows of a nearby awning and had witnessed her swift departure. I admit that I still felt as though a thorn was stuck in my heart, but my mind was clear as a mirror. In everything regarding Knock, Pleng had every right to take care of him instead of me. I watched the tail lights of the car until they disappear from sight, but I was not in any mood to go and check on Knock.

I turned my head to look around when I hear the damp shuffling sound of walking in water while dragging something. It was still raining heavily, and the approaching sound just felt creepily like something out of a horror movie. My heart was pounding fast and every muscle in my body tensed into a coiled spring, ready for a fight. If that sound was coming from a psychotic murderer approaching, they'd picked the wrong person to mess with tonight.

My eyes widened as soon as I saw the shape of the person.

"Damn it, Knock!" I shouted as he shuffled wetly up next to me. His clothing was soaked to the skin and that eerie dragging sound was actually him dragging his injured leg. I ran to him, and helped steady him on his one good leg. Knock wiped his wet face with his equally soaked t-shirt and immediately laid into me with his scolding. 

"Did you come down here for food, or are you just waiting to die? I waited for you until I fell asleep, and when I woke up you still weren't there! So I had to come down and look you!" His scolding fell on me as heavily as the current rain shower. Hey, what right did he have to scold me when he'd invited that woman to stay the night, essentially replacing our previous plans with no thought for me what-so-ever?

"Why would I be the third wheel if Pleng was staying?" I shot back at him, irritably.

"Fucking third wheel! She just came over for a little while, she said she wanted stay but I rejected her because we'd already made plans. I took a nap after taking my medications, and waited for you. By the time I woke up again, Pleng was already leaving, but you were gone for so long so I had to come down and look for you!"

After listening carefully to Knock's lengthy explanation, I was startled. Did that mean that when Pleng opened the door, she was actually already on her way out and then turned around an lied just to provoke me so I wouldn't stay with Knock? I laughed at myself, what a manipulative woman!

"I am not as important as you." I just calmly retorted. 

Knock's face stiffened in anger and shouted at me; "Why would I come looking for you with this busted ass ankle if you weren't important?! The rain is so heavy it's giving me eczema!" He scratched himself like a monkey, and I couldn't stop myself from chuckling.

"Don't scratch." I pulled his hand away and held it tenderly, surprised that he didn't break free from me. We waited under the overhang in silence until the rain slowed down. I had to support him because he couldn't put too much weight on the injured ankle; his good leg was trembling in exhaustion from supporting his full weight.

"Hey. What happened today was all my fault", Knock said in a low voice.

"Why?" I eyeballed him curiously, and he rubbed his nose as if he felt awkward, turning his eyes away from me, looking now at the ground.

"The soccer experience was awful and I caused you to get hurt too. Of course I have to apologize. You wouldn't be in this situation if I hadn't asked you to go with me."

"Think of it this way, at least you're not injured and alone." I held his arms to steady him and pulled him closer, offering him my support both physically and mentally. I patted his shoulder and his face gradually flooded with smile. The rain was finally light enough for us to get back to his room. 

I helped Knock to shower and change, because the gigantic splint is so inconvenient. While he was naked, both of us were wearing awkward expressions, neither of us daring to meet the other's eyes directly. Especially me, I was blushing like crazy and my ears were on fire, although I'm not entirely sure why that was. Neither of us spoke a word during that entire process. Normally, Knock wouldn't pass up any opportunity to tease me unmercifully, but as even he was silent, the atmosphere had taken on an indescribably uncomfortable and tense air.

"You said you were going out to get me food and snacks, where are they?" Knock asked when I helped him limp over to the couch.

It was thrown out by your girlfriend! I mentally shouted to myself, where the words echoed irritably inside my head, but I managed to keep myself from voicing them aloud.

"Why are you quiet, did you really forget about it?" Knock asked again, in disbelief. 

"Yep, I forgot about it." I answered curtly. I wasn't going to talk shit about his girlfriend to him, even if she was going to talk shit to me.

"Instant noodles it is, then. I can't believe you really forgot about the food!" He shoved my shoulder playfully and I just shrugged, obediently preparing the instant noodles. We both devoured two packages each, slurping the noodles without exchanging any small talk. Hesitantly, I attempted to break the silence.

"How's it going between you and Pleng recently?", I asked, quietly

"Not so good, we've been fighting a lot." He immediately looked annoyed when I mentioned his girlfriend.

"Why?" I asked again, hoping that he would elaborate if I pressed him for more information.

"She keeps asking me to do stuff I don't want to do, and it's really getting on my nerves. She wants me to meet her friends, like my sole purpose is just to be arm candy for her to show off." Knock's resentful tone was echoed clearly in his expression.

"Don't do it, if it makes you uncomfortable." I sounded calm and Knock looked at me startled.

"Just be yourself. A guy like you doesn't have to care what other people think. I appreciate you just as you are, because you're the only you in this world." My words were serious and heartfelt. Knock scratched the hair at the nape of his neck, blushing beet red in embarrassment.

My words had made him feel shy. I couldn't stop the wide smile from spreading across my face .

"I had this fucking terrible dream during my nap earlier." Knock abruptly shifted gears and changed the topic, so I just had to go with the flow.

"What was it?"

"I dreamt about a snake."

"A snake?" For some reason I found that really interesting; Knock looked thoroughly creeped out.

"Usually people dream about the snakes winding around their bodies, right? But I was being eaten by it! It was huge!"

"You dreamt of your other half?!" I snickered into my bowl of noodles.

"I thought only girls dreamt about that, maybe I've watched too many movies?" he shrugged and continued eating.

"Could be because in reality you're the one doing the eating... Or maybe the snake represented me, because I have already devoured you twice, completely." I teased him, raised my eyebrows at him.

Knock pouted, complaining, "Shut the fuck up! You ain't eating me again!" 

"Oh yes, I will." I grinned.

"You want me to throw the chopsticks at you? You'll be hurt you know, or maybe you wanna try it? Come, let's try!" He was threatening me, and I laughed out loud but refrained from further comment. This guy was so cute when he got all embarrassed from my teasing!