Chapter Text
A light breeze blows through his hair as he stands on the riverbank and looks into the distance. The cigarette smoulders in his fingers, blowing smoke next to him, drawing such patterns that it was even a pity that they disappeared into thin air. He loved smoking, it always calmed him down and gave him strength, although there were still consequences from using nicotine in large quantities.
War had almost no friends. He was doing great on his own, he didn't need any extra communication, he loved spending time alone. He had only one friend, Prang, and communication with her covered all the needs for friendship. She was a good addition to his loneliness, although he appreciated her very much.
He even feels sorry that he can't see himself from the other perspective... Long brown hair played with the wind, oversized sweatshirt, large black shorts, massive black shoes. He loved makeup and often did it for himself, mostly he made up his eyes and made up his lips in a cherry shade, not too flashy, just right. He liked to stand out, he was definitely not like other people. And it amused him. War liked to watch reactions, he was definitely handsome on the outside. He was lucky that the university did not have a dress code, and no one suppressed the desire to dress that way. Except for Prang, who often made fun of his outfits. Sometimes he really looked ridiculous. But right now, at this moment, he looked and felt his best.
The University where he studied was located right on the riverbank, it was huge, accommodating thousands of students and teachers. Instead of smoking a cigarette, he should have hurried to a psychology class, because it would start in a few minutes. But since smoking is a very weighty and valid reason, he took his time and enjoyed the burning smoke and loud music in his headphones.
When he finished his cigarette, he threw the it into the trash, closing his eyes and enjoying the moment of the song he loved very much. In the distance, you can hear the screams of some people, they are having fun and sharing stupid stories of who sneezed where or who fucked whom. He is not interested in this, he only cares about the music in his headphones, the fresh smell of the street and the restless river at this time of the year. Being alone gave him so much strength and energy that he was ready to turn the whole world upside down.
"Hello to all those who failed the test!" A girl with short black hair attacks him sharply, hugs him from behind, screams in his ear, right at the most important moment of the song.
This is Prang. This girl was much more lively and energetic than he was. She loved to laugh, make jokes about everything she saw around her, and just smiled at the world even in the worst of times. And War knew for sure that this girl would never leave him alone in her life, even if they hadn't talked for weeks. That's probably why he loved and appreciated Prang so much.
"You scared me! Can't you see I'm busy?" He turns to her and pushes her back slightly.
"With what? Looking at the homeless people on the other side of the river?"
"Bitch"
He takes her arm, as he usually does, and she leads him towards the university for another bring class, War suggested. In his second year, he didn't really read the names of the subjects, to be honest... And he hardly ever visited them, of course.
"Is another class coming soon?" He's interested.
"War, you amaze me. Actually, it just ended... And you didn't pass the test."
He sighed irritably and started fiddling with the keys in his pocket, it was something of an alarming habit. The test wasn't something important to him, but somehow he had to graduate from university, after all, he was a sophomore. Although... It's just a sophomore year. But the test still had a big impact on his overall grade, and it pissed him off. He missed it because he listened to the music and smoked very fascinatingly. What a fucking Idiot.
"Well, then why did you distract me from my favorite activity?"
"We're going to the cafeteria to eat, because I don't like going alone, and my friends just left home. Only you are left, asshole"
"Bitch"
He knew that Prang had friends more important than him, so to speak. It wasn't a big problem for him, he usually liked being alone. Prang was more of a pleasant addition to loneliness, without her he would probably have died of boredom, but still they didn't spend so much time together. She was a little sad about it, but she didn't want to get closer without his consent. He would still rather give up and survive all alone, sometimes meeting Prang on the way, than seeing her every single day. That's how he is.
They reached the cafeteria and sat down at Prang's favorite table, in the corner. She took herself a bunch of different food, which War often liked to steal. So she took more, just in case.
"I called you yesterday," Prang said, chewing on a huge piece of chocolate muffin.
"Chew it first, otherwise you look terrible"
Prag punched him in the shoulder and quickly swallowed everything she had in her mouth. "I called-"
"Yeah, yeah, you called yesterday at about 9 p.m. local time once or twice, but I didn't pick up the phone for the same favorite reason. I was watching lacorn and you were distracting me from the denouement, of course I didn't pick up your stupid call," he blurted out in one breath and took a bite of her chocolate muffin, trying to chew slowly so as to open his mouth less. Prang sighed loudly and scratched her scalp.
"You need friends"
"I have friends"
"Who? Not counting me"
"Well... Mark?"
"He let you write his homework off once and you didn't see each other anymore because you don't pair up. And i'm almost sure he doesn't like you at all."
War rolled his eyes and leaned back in his chair, staring at the ugly, age-scarred ceiling.
"I don't need friends. I can handle it alone, don't piss me off."
"One and a bunch of different unknown sexual relationships"
Prang was right. War loved sex and didn't really hide it, so he really had a lot of sexual relations. But fortunately, he knew about protection, so there were never any incidents, since safety was above all. And it was wonderful that he would never be able to impregnate a girl, because he had never had sexual relations with them. He's gay and fucking proud of it.
"And that's none of your fucking business," he snapped. Prang sighed and put her hand on his shoulder.
"I'm sorry... I just wanted to suggest a candidate to you... He looks good."
War's eyes lit up sharply and he began to listen attentively to his friend. His love of sex could not be taken away from him.
He fucked almost all the guys at the uni, although he hardly ever showed up here. He was a jerk in terms of studying, but only because he preferred to put his efforts only into what he needed. And he needs education just because, so he did everything brilliantly at the exams (while preparing all night), but he still didn't attend classes, because knowledge for the sake of knowledge itself was not interesting to him.
But he loved to draw. He did not attend any art club, he was self-taught, because it was much more interesting that way. War painted almost everything, but most of all he loved to draw different environments: the projection of the house, where the kitchen will be, the bathroom and in which corner the sofa is. He didn't know why he was so interested in it. It just seems kinda fun.
At the university, he enrolled in philology at the request of his mother... Therefore, almost all subjects seemed terribly boring to him, he hated learning languages, but for the sake of his mother he decided to do it. You can't make a living out of drawings anyway, especially when he's not actually good at it.
There was something else he just loved doing. To discuss other people with Prang, especially the good-looking guys with whom you could spend the night. He wasn't proud of his desire to gossip, but most of the time he didn't give a fuck. He is sure that he is being discussed three times more because of his looks.
"Spit it out already," War looked at her with interest, and Prang waved her hand somewhere in the distance, pointing to a guy with slicked-back black hair and broad shoulders. He's quite tall and handsome. He was in a basketball club, but he never stood out or was popular at his own club. He was very quiet for his position. It seemed kinda boring.
"Anan?" He asked and twisted his face
"What's wrong? He's very handsome."
"The only thing about him that's handsome is his broad shoulders and small waist, otherwise he's ordinary... Moreover, he's a member of a basketball club and is straight, do you think I'm that desperate?"
"Stop pretending like your ass is worth a million," Prang rolled her eyes and began to wipe the crumbs off the table.
"Maybe not a million, but more than his gym membership. Ugh, I'll only fuck with him if you're taken hostage... And I'll still think about it."
"Asshole."
War jumped up from his seat, slung his bag over his shoulder, patted Prang on the head as a sign of farewell, and began to walk home and prepare to retake the stupid test. He usually just copied it out from others, but since he didn't show up for the test, he will retake it one-on-one with the teacher, which was... fucked up. Well, if he missed it, then he needed to prepare, there was no other way, and this annoyed him even more than the test itself.
As soon as he was about to leave the cafeteria, heading to his home, he saw an all-too-familiar face, an old guy with ugly glasses.
"War Wanarat, what a meeting!"
"Fuck..." he swore softly and rolled his eyes again, raising his head to the floor. Damn professor. Remember the sun, that's a ray.
"Why were you absent from today's psychology test?"
"Here's the thing, my phone died and..."
"I understand it perfectly well," the professor interrupted him and adjusted his ugly glasses on the bridge of his nose. "But you'll have to retake today, or I'll put fail right on the gradebook."
Stupid fucking asshole. A dictionary of swear words wouldn't be enough to describe how much he hated that stupid professor with the ugly face and those glasses! Fuck! The epitome of disgust, he still lacks some kind of cap like the homeless miserable son of a bitch, it will be just a wonderful set. The same teacher unfairly failed him in his first year, and War will remember it for the rest of his life. Oh, how fucking much he hated that motherfucker...
To his terrible regret, he had to stomp after him into his office, which was as old as his face. And just as ugly.
He shouldn't have skipped that stupid test, he would have been home a long time ago if he had come on time. What an idiot, he wanted to listen to all the albums of his favorite artists and smoke half a pack, now he's stuck with that horrible looking professor... and for a long time.
As soon as they entered the auditorium, professor put the test next to War and sat down at the table, watching.
"War Wanarat, I've told you several times about your appearance. You need to dress appropriately for the University you visit."
Oh, fuck you.
He just ignored it, he heard such reproaches from teachers almost constantly, but there was nothing he could do about it. It's not his fault that he's the most stylish among the suckers who wear official clothes at this unskilled university. Moreover, there was no official dress code, so fuck that homeless looking dude with ugly glasses.
"Sit down and take a pen, I'll give you exactly 40 minutes for the test, not a minute more."
It was probably the longest 40 minutes in the history of forty-minute tests. Who knew that it turned out to be so easy that you could verbally answer this crap and leave quietly? He came up with the answers in 15 minutes and was absolutely sure of their correctness, but the stupid old fucker wouldn't let him out before 40 minutes pass, with the words "Sit still and think, you don't have to hurry."
That old bastard.
War was sure that he had an A and he didn't even try very hard, and for the remaining 25 minutes he just sat and completely lost in his thoughts, which he hated to go into. He preferred to occupy his brain with other things and not let it think too much, otherwise it turns into some kind of fucked up mess. Being a fool is always easier. So he wanted to be a fool.
Of course, he could just get up and leave, but professor would not take this test and would draw him a hairy dick in the gradebook. And most importantly, he had every right to do so - War had screwed up the official deadlines for passing the test, which meant the hairy dick would have been well deserved. So he had to sit alone with this old fuck for 40 minutes! That's 2/3 hours! It's 28/1000 of the fucking day!
"I hate time," War muttered and finally left the office, slamming the door.
It was getting close to evening, the sky was noticeably gray, and the sun was already starting to set. Evening classes and this retake of the test made itself felt. There was almost no one at the Uni anymore, all the lucky ones had gone home after their classes. Sometimes he thought that the universe was deliberately shitting at his door.
He walked briskly to the exit of the university and as soon as he opened the doors, he seriously almost howled. It was raining so hard that there was a feeling that there would be a flood, a tsunami, and a bunch of other natural phenomena related to water. This was a common occurrence in Thailand. And War didn't even take an umbrella with him, although it was absolutely useless, and he didn't have money for a taxi. So he's going to stay here until the rain stops, apparently.
"I hate water"
War sat down on the step in front of the university's canopy, and took out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket with a lighter. He doesn't remember when he started smoking, but he decided for himself that he was unlikely to quit. This is almost the only joy in his 23 years of life.
He inhaled once and just stared into the distance as the rain flooded the outdoor gym, the flowers that had long since dried in the flower bed, and the poor people who were fleeing the rain as best they could. Someone is running, someone is walking calmly with an umbrella (although it does not help), someone is sitting on a bench and letting the rain wash themselves. He usually didn't really pay attention to people, but life brought him to the university, where it is absolutely necessary to communicate with some of them. He tried to turn on the "I don't give a fuck" mode when he saw a person approaching him. That's probably why he didn't have any friends.
"Hey," came from a distance, but War decided to ignore it, hoping it wasn't for him. No, he prayed it wasn't for him. Please, just don't talk to him.
"Hey, can i have a cigarette?" Fuck, it was for him. He turned his head towards the sound and saw Anan in person, wearing only a puny shirt and carrying a huge bag in his hand. Life is a complete joke.
"Do basketball players smoke now?" War said, and Anan sat down next to him on the step, taking a cigarette from the outstretched pack. He was soaked all over, water dripped from his black hair, and his shirt was so wet that it could be wrung out. And of course he was without an umbrella.
"If I were a real basketball player, I wouldn't smoke," replied Anan, lighting a cigarette in his mouth. "My name is Yin Anan."
"I know your name," War blurted out, and he almost clapped his hand over his mouth. Fuck.
"Really? Because I'm on the basketball team?"
"I don't give a shit about your basketball. I just know from friends," War tilted his head down and twisted his face in a fit of shame. Well, someone please pull his fucking tongue out.
"Unfortunately, I do not know your name."
"War"
"What are you doing here, War?"
"One bitch ass professor made me write a test that I didn't pass on time"
"Been there. Mr. Ritchard?" asked Anan with a smile on his face. War could tell he knows that professor very well.
"Yes! How did you know?"
"He teaches philosophy in my class. You're not special, fucker hates everyone"
This fact did not help War to feel better at all. It was possible to assume that this old bastard likes to get on everyone's nerves, but his shitty situation has not changed. He's still there, it's still raining, he's still mad.
He didn't answer, just tilted his head down and took a drag.
"And how did you write it?" Asked Yin after a minute of silence
"It was easy, but that bastard made me sit until time ran out and now I can't go home because of the fucking rain." He was usually a man of few words, but after that professor, anger just wouldn't let him shut up. Even though the conversation was based on humiliating that old bastard, it was still a conversation.
Yin laughed at his annoyance into his fist, trying not to give himself away too much. He wasn't a talker either, but he and War were left alone on the uni grounds, not counting the teachers, so he decided to take his chance. And he was not mistaken. This boy was funny enough.
"My friends will come for me soon by car. If you want, we'll give you a ride home."
War just smiled, taking it as a sign of ordinary politeness, and tactfully declined. He didn't like to strain people because he didn't like to be strained himself, so he didn't accept such offers from strangers. He'll get there somehow on his own, it's not the first or last time.
They heard the rumble of a car, and then a tall man got out and called Yin, waving at him.
"I have to go. It was nice to meet you. I wish I'd noticed you earlier," he smiled and shook War's hand. He just nodded a couple of times and let the basketball player leave.
It was a strange meeting, considering that a few hours ago he had discussed him with his friend. But it didn't bother him much.
He returned home all wet, and regretted a thousand times that he had not accepted his offer of a ride home. He lived in a separate apartment of his grandmother, who recently passed away and transferred this living space to him. Yin lived in a dormitory, which was located not far from War's apartment. Therefore, he could have safely driven to the dorm with Yin and walked, but no, he chose to take the bus. And while he was getting from the bus stop, he got all soaked like a dog.