Can King Make Ram Blush?

Can you Hold This?

The ceremony had ended, and now couples were on the dance floor. King was seated at an empty table, longingly looking at the pairs intimately swaying to the beautiful music blasting from the speakers. The sight made Ram's heart drop. He didn't want King to be dejected by looking at other couples.

Ram had wanted, more than anything, to sweep King off his feet and boldly dance with him in front of everyone. He wanted to see King's face light up the entire room and almost give him a heart attack with his sugary smile. Most of all, he wanted to make King happy.

And Ram would be doing that if he could. All afternoon, he tried to give himself the courage to approach the boy that, though he was surrounded by friends at every constant, looked extremely lonely. But how could he talk to him when he didn't even know what he had done wrong? Sure, he could ask King, but that might result in him storming away once again. Ram didn't want to spoil King's memory of his friend's brother's special day.

King wasn't the only one in pain. Ram was hurting too. His best friend was off gallivanting in the gardens nearby with his boyfriend, gushing over what their future wedding could look like, and none of his other friends were invited. This entire evening had been celebrating togetherness, but he had no one to share it with. The one person he wanted to hold was giving him the cold shoulder.

He wished that King wouldn't be so obstinate and explain himself. Ram was never good at understanding others, tried as he might. Duen often told him he couldn't read the room even if he spent all day learning its letters. That was saying a lot considering it was coming from one of the most gullible people he'd ever met. But he was right. It wasn't that Ram was dense; it was that he never tried to figure others out before, so he wasn't given the opportunity to learn.

"You're an idiot, by the way," a snide comment from behind him said. Ram glared back around to see Bohn crossing his arms at him. He appeared more serious than usual.

In a crowd of people, at near the edge of the dancefloor, Ram and Bohn stood there challenging each other with their body language. He might've been shorter, but Ram wasn't scared of Bohn at all. If he really wanted to, he could easily take that guy down. Nothing about those fish eyes intimidated him.

"All last week, you've been dodging his advances. I don't know why you don't like King anymore, but you're missing out," Bohn said sharply. Ram frowned and mimed Bohn, crossing his own arms defensively.

What had King been telling people? Ram was under the impression that what stayed between them was private, but evidently, King was letting his friends know of their squabble like a housewife spilling the tea on a Tuesday during a book club meeting. All Bohn was missing was a tiny sandwich with an obnoxiously judgemental voice.

"What makes you think I don't like him anymore?" Ram asked. And what advances was Bohn referring to? This was a weird conversation.

"Well, when you hit on someone, and they act like they don't even know what you're doing, it's pretty obvious they aren't into you," Bohn said. The red from the flashing lights cascaded over his face, making him appear angrier than he probably was. For the first time, the tables were turned. Bohn was defending his friend's honor. Ram would've been impressed if it hadn't been against him.

"Not that it's your concern, but we were spending a lot of time together until King accused me of-," Ram stopped himself.

King might've been involving his friends, but he didn't want to. Speaking to people he wasn't close to was already more trouble than it was worth. The added expense of defending himself when he didn't even know what exactly he was defending himself for was growing tiresome.