Chapter Text
Pran sighed softly to himself as he walked in the back door of the karaoke bar and made his way into the dressing room where he and the other hosts got ready each night. Working at a female only host karaoke bar wasn't the best job in the world, and Pran didn't always love it everyday, but he had had worse jobs before this one and at least this one allowed him to sing.
His love and passion for music is what got him in this situation anyways. Or at least was a contributing factor. When his mae sent him away to boarding school, Suppalo, she had hurt him badly. Forcing him away from home and into a new, year round, boarding school that was very strict and didn't allow any extracurriculars that weren't athletic or academic in nature. Things like art and music were not available and even if they were his mae had signed him up for so many classes he wouldn't have had the chance to play music or draw if he wanted to. Then there were the school breaks. It was a year round school, but they did have two, one week long, breaks in the winter and summer. Neither of which he was allowed to return home for, forcing him to stay at the school along with a handful of other boys who also didn't go home.
The isolation and cold shoulder from his mae and the strictness of the school had quickly broken his relationship with his parents. His mae and por also didn't call him often, maybe once a month, on the school phones, because students weren't allowed to have their own phones or computers. And Pran had quickly learned that no amount of asking or begging to be allowed to come home was going to change his mae’s mind. Then when graduation came instead of being happy and free, finally sure he would be allowed to have some control about his life, his mae had told him she had applied for him to go to universities outside of Thailand and that she had already accepted one in Singapore for him. That she had an apartment all set up and gave him a plane ticket for the next week just minutes after coming home for the first time in three years.
Any hope Pran had of mending their relationship, of finally getting the chance to have his life back was crushed within minutes of walking back into his childhood home. The resulting fight had been huge. Pran had felt the crushing weight of his mae’s control that she had on his life and determination to force him into the mold she had for his life was too much and he finally told her so. He had been hoping to go to South Tech, a university near home. He would go into architecture, not just because he was interested in it but he knew it would be something that his parents would approve of. But as he stood with a plane ticket in his hands he finally realized that even without Pat in his life anymore his mae wouldn't be satisfied with letting him live his own life. What really sealed his decision to leave and live his own life was his mae slapping him hard across the face when he told her that he deserved to be able to live his own life.
Thankfully he had his bags still right by the front door and was able to grab them as he took off and ran from his home, his parents both frozen in the entryway. As he ran Pran looked back at Pat’s home, knowing that it would be the last time he would see it as he would never return to his parents house if he had the choice.
After weeks of living on the streets, doing odd jobs and sleeping where he can, Pran luckily ended up finding the midnight laundry mat. The girl, Neon, who works there took a liking to him after meeting several times and slowly they became friends. She allows him to sleep there the nights she works, giving him the chance to sleep somewhere safe and get his clothes cleaned for free. That's where he meets Momay, the karaoke singer who gets him a job at the karaoke bar she works at. Momay is a little nuts in Pran's opinion and has a weird obsession with kimchi, which is where he gets the idea to go by the name Nutty when he begins working at the karaoke bar, Spark. The night they meet and Momay offers to get him a job Pran and Neon were joking around in the back room of the laundromat. Neon had insisted on doing his makeup and they had decided to sing loudly when their favorite song came on the radio, which Momay heard when she came in to do her weekly laundry and could hear them singing along to Sizzy.
Even though Momay scared him at times with how outlandish she could be and randomly aggressive, Pran was grateful to have met her. There had been a big misunderstanding when she first asked him to move in with her, that was quickly fixed when they both understood that they were both gay and not interested in each other. It wasn't that bad dealing with Momay on a daily basis, however her lack of cleaning habits did drive him crazy at times. However she did welcome him into her apartment, got him a job, and helped him keep up the secret that he was a guy. Not that it really lasted long. It was now more of an open secret between him and the other hosts, who he got along with enough that they weren't going to rat him out for being a guy and not a woman, especially when he helped them all the time and was always available and willing to cover their shifts.
The pay at the bar wasn't amazing, but customers tipped well, especially regulars. And having worked there for over three years had gotten him a decent amount of regulars who tipped very well. And once he moved in with Momay, Pran insisted on helping her with the bills and rent. The first thing Pran bought once he got his first paycheck was a new cell phone, his old one had been taken away by his mae the day of the Christmas party and even if he had a chance or money to buy one at boarding school, it would have also been taken away by the teachers if it had been found.
Having a cell phone again after three years was so odd at first, and Pran had to resist the urge to try and find Pat on any social media app. Not that he would contact Pat, but the knowledge that he could see Pat again, even though a posted selfie, was hard to resist.
Sitting down at his station Pran hooked his bag on the back of his chair, adjusted his wig, and began to get ready for his shift. It was his ninth day of work in a row. Ever since Momay had taken the leap and moved to Korea, he had been struggling to save money, pay bills, and keep paying rent at Momay’s, now his, apartment. Even though he ran away and had lost his opportunity for his parents to pay, Pran still wanted to go to college. Though it would no longer be for architecture, but music. Without the expectations of his parents holding him back Pran decided he was going to do what made him happy, and what had made him the happiest before being torn away from it was making music.
The second major thing he had bought for himself after a phone was a used guitar, it was pretty beat up, but once he got the strings switched out for brand new ones the guitar sounded much better. When he bought it he had decided that the price had been worth it as his chest got tighter and he struggled to hold back tears as he played the first couple chords to Just Friends?, his first and only completed song at that time. At boarding school he had written lyrics, and thought of songs he wanted to make but had been unable to complete due to the circumstances and lack of instrument. But he had never really given up his love for music, and as he held his new guitar he knew he had made the right choice.
“Oh, P’Nutty, you're here early tonight,” said Pear as she walked in, startling Pran out of his thoughts as he absentmindedly put blush on. The short girl reminded Pran of Pa, Pat's sister, who would have started her third year of university by now, and Pat would be in his last year.
“I didn't have much else to do today so,” Pran offered as an excuse, but really he just didn't want to be stuck alone with his own thoughts and worries. Pran had just had to pay for a new wig and pair of heels after getting caught in a sudden downpour last week which had unfortunately caused him to get covered in gross and muddy water on his way home. Car after car had splashed him over and over with the disgusting water, not caring for anyone, let alone him, walking in the rain. Thankfully his clothes had been salvageable after a few washes, his heels and wig on the other hand, not so lucky. So he really didn't have much choice but to buy a new wig when it was beyond saving, it had sucked too because that had been his favorite wig.
The new wig alone had cost more than he wished, but any decent wig was pricey and with how often he worked a cheap wig wouldn't have lasted long or looked good, which he knew from experience would have cost him tips on the long run. He also didn't just wear his wigs for work, he wore them on his way to and from work, and when he went out with his friends, the other karaoke girl's. In fact he almost always dressed as a girl after these past few years. After working at Spark for so long and dressing as a woman all the time for work, Pran found he didn't really mind what anyone thought anymore, and had grown to like crossdressing. In fact most of his wardrobe, even outside of work, was feminine clothing, with only a handful of clothes coming from the men's section that he wore at home. The job at Spark had given him a new perspective, and without the pressure of his parents, Pran had a chance to really think about how he felt. To allow himself to realize that while he might be physically male, he was non-binary, and had no problem switching between being masculine or feminine. He had even decided to start growing his hair out the year before but it still wasn't very long, so he preferred to continue to wear wigs, especially for work.
It sometimes amazed Pran how different his life was turning out since leaving behind his parents and the life they wanted for him. While Pran knew they weren't homophobic, they did have a strict, or at least his mae did, view on how one should live. Hobbies weren't encouraged, and a respectable, well paying job was essential, and going against most of society's norms wasn't proper in their eyes. So Pran, who now identified as non-binary and crossdressed every day, was pretty sure his new look and job would give his mae a heart attack if they ever ran into one another again. Not that that was likely. His parents didn't go to bars, let alone karaoke bars, and that's if they would even be caught dead in this part of Bangkok.
“It's going to be a busy night, Zo says that all of the private rooms are booked, and there were so many people waiting to come in as I got here,” she said as she sat at her own station and got ready.
“I'm not surprised, it's a Friday. Plus there was a big game today, so people are going to want to party.”
“What game?”
“Football, Manchester City and Liverpool I think, I don't know who won though,” Pran said as he got up to choose a dress for the night. He, like most of the others, kept several dresses, makeup, and accessories at Spark. Besides not having to carry a second set of clothes with you every day, there were often accidents with drinks, so most of them wanted to make sure they had a backup outfit to change into in case their first got ruined during their shift. It was also why there was a small set of three shower's in the back staff only bathroom, in case of such accidents. Pran had used them only last week when a drunk man had run into him full stop with a large and sticky cocktail, coating his back in the red drink, thankfully not getting any in his hair.
Pran decided on his most popular dress, a red sequin mini dress with a small fringe in the hem that showed off the shape of his body and made his ass look good. It also was easy to hide the padding that he wore in that dress that gave him a bigger chest that didn't look obviously fake to the eye.
“Ooh, going big tonight?” Asked Noona as she walked in, hopping over to her station then back over to him, poking a finger at the red dress.
“I’m only here to cover the first half of Nita’s shift, so why not. I always get good tips in this dress,” Nutty said, waving the dress lightly.
“True, you look good in anything, though,” Noona complimented her as she grabbed her own dress, a mini dress as well but in a nude color, fake gems and feathers making it look flashy.
“Thanks, so do you,” Pran said, blushing even though he and the other girls complimented each other like this all the time. “How is Patty?”
“Good, though her hormones are wreaking havoc on her. She finally got her first round of shots last week and is having major mood swings, but the doctors said that’s normal for the first few weeks,” said Noona, talking about her girlfriend Patricia who was just beginning her official transition and had just gotten approved for her first round of hormone shots.
“That sucks.”
“It isn’t fun, but she’s excited after so long, so it’s worth it,” Noona said with a smile, her eyes full of love.
“I suppose it is,” Pran said back, happy for his friends.
“Oh, stop gossiping and help me get ready, we have less than ten minutes before we all have to be out there,” screamed Soda as she rushed in, kicking her shoes off in opposite directions and tossing her purse wherever before stripping down at light speed.
“You’re one to talk. You're always pushing it and so close to opening time, every night,” Gale chimed in from the bathroom door as she came out in her own dress, a burgundy velvet dress that was always so soft.
“Yeah Soda, remember last night? You got here at opening time and were late getting to the room you were booked with,” Honey said as she finished up her makeup, putting on a highlighter that made her darker skin glow warmly before stood up and she straightened her black skin tight minidress.
“Come on, stop ganging up on Soda, even if you are right,” teased Pear as she handed Soda a dress and shuffled her to the side as she was standing in the way of everyone who was almost ready to leave the dressing room.
Pran shook his head and ducked into the bathroom himself to change. At this point pretty much everyone had seen every other person undressed at one time or another, but he still felt most comfortable changing alone if he could. Even though his gender was an open secret, and they knew he was gay, Pran still made sure to be respectful of everyone, and wasn’t the type to show off his body like that. A short, tight dress was one thing, an almost naked Pran in a room full of women was a whole other thing.
Slipping the dress on like a glove, Pran was done in minutes and with a pair of heels, he was ready to go and joined the others as they started to file out of the dressing room and out into the bar, each girl going wherever they were meant to be that night.
There were three kinds of rooms at Spark. First was the main open room that was like any other bar or club with a huge bar, tables, a dance floor and the karaoke machine set up on a small stage. The main room was open to everyone and anyone could sing, but if there were no customers lined up to sing a host would sing until a customer was interested. Then there were the host rooms. Each host rotated daily in one of any of six medium sized rooms that were run by a different host each day, usually on a schedule so regulars knew when each host would be hosting a room. Then there were the private rooms. Private rooms were an extra charge to book, and unless it was a slow night, had to be booked in advance. Then once you booked, if you wanted to, you could select a specific host to host your room, or no host at all and do your own thing, but most people who booked wanted a host, sometimes even more than one. Each room had a minimum time of two hours, and a maximum of six hours, and the room itself was also a medium sized room. Unlike the main room and the host rooms, which were basic club settings, the private rooms were set up in more of a lounge style with plush chairs and couches, allowing for a more relaxed feel to the room.
That night Pran was working in the main room, drinking with the guests and available to sing if need be.
“Hey Nutty, over here,” Pran heard being yelled at him about half an hour after the bar opened. He easily recognized the voice, Boston.
Boston and his friends regularly came to Spark about once a month, and were regulars for Pran. Pran didn’t mind the group, he liked them in fact, but some days Boston got on his last nerve. Boston always came with his boyfriend, Nick, and their friends Top, Mew, Ray, and Sand, occasionally a pair of women would come to but not often enough for Pran to remember their names. While the others were nice and enjoyed his company, tipping well. Boston would always spend a lot of time hitting on him right in front of Nick, who honestly could go either way. Some nights the man didn’t really care, other’s he would look upset, but never did anything to really stop Boston from being too friendly. After the third time they came to Spark, Pran was sure Boston knew his secret. Despite the place being filled with gorgeous women, hosts and customers alike, he only ever hit on men.
Despite it being part of his job, Pran kept his flirting lighter with Boston than he did with other clients. Since the man always came in with his boyfriend Pran didn’t feel right flirting with him, but wasn’t able to turn Boston down completely as long as he didn’t violate the karaoke bars rules. There was also the fact that no matter how many times Nutty turned him down Boston didn't let up and would try again the next time without fail.
The group was making their way to their usual booth, which thankfully hadn’t been taken yet, so Pran made his way through the crowd and joined them at their booth.
“Sawadee ka,” Nutty said, smiling brightly as she gave them a wai.
“Sawadee khap, Nutty, you look great tonight. How’d you know to wear my favorite dress,” Boston asked as he looked Nutty up and down, his eyes lingering on Pran’s long legs.
“Just lucky,” Pran flirted back, his eye’s flicking to Nick to see what kind of mood he was in that night. Thankfully Nick didn’t seem angry, just resigned. Pran often wondered what their deal was, he was sure it was somewhat of an open relationship, at least on Boston's part, as Pran hadn't seen Nick even flirting with anyone besides Boston.
Usually when they came Pran would be with them all night, the group stayed for hours, drinking and singing throughout the night and into the early hours of the morning. Thankfully that night Pran was let off easy when a few hours in Pran saw Nita wave him down from across the room, as she joined the floor and began her shift.
“Sorry, guys. I need to be going now,” Nutty said as she stood up and wai’d to the group of friends.
“What? So early,” asked Ray, who also did flirt sometimes, as well as his boyfriend Sand. But when they did it, it was more in a friendly way, like a reflex. Unlike Boston who had propositioned him every time they came to Spark and made it very clear what he was hoping to do with Nutty.
“Yes, unfortunately I’m only covering half of a coworker's shift. And I saw she just got here, so I need to head out,” explained Pran as he collected his tips from the table and left them with a warm goodnight.
“Oh, Nutty, are you leaving?” Florence, the floor manger, asked as she ran up to him as he was about to walk into the back.
“Yeah Phi, Nita only needed me to cover the first half of her shift tonight. Why, what’s up?”
“A group of guys who booked a private room want a host for the room and I've been scrambling to find someone to take it, but everyone who isn't working won't be able to get here soon enough.”
“When is the booking?” Asked Pran even though he already knew he would take it, private bookings came with a good bonus for whoever was assigned a room.
“In fifteen minutes. Someone overlooked the request, and when Zo pulled up the booking after the last party for that room left he saw the request for a host,” said Florence, who was looking overwhelmed. “And we're so busy tonight I can't pull anyone away to work the room.”
“I'll take it. Give me some time to freshen up, fix up my makeup, and I'll be there to help clean the room before they show up. Which room Phi," asked Pran.
“The star room, thank you,” said Florence as she rushed off after giving him a quick wai, and Pran rushed off to the back and into the dressing room.
First he made a beeline to the bathroom, to relieve himself for the first time in four hours, before grabbing a bottle of water to try and hydrate. Then redid his lipstick and cleaned up his face, slowing down a little after he almost poked himself in the eye with one of his bright red fake nails while fixing his eye liner. With a quick fix to his wig, which was getting a little frizzy from the humid air in the bar, and making sure he was retucked, Pran rushed out and to the private room which is still being cleaned from the previous group. The bar made sure each private room had half an hour in between each booking for a light cleaning to make sure the room was presentable to the next set of clients. The last thing anyone wanted to see when booking a room was old food and empty glasses or bottles left behind by the previous group.
After giving the room a quick double check, Pran was joined by a small group of guys walking into the room.
“Sawadee ka, welcome to Spark. I’m Nutty, your host tonight.” Pran said as he bowed lightly, giving the group of four guys a wai, and keeping his voice soft and feminine sounding.
“Sawadee khap,” they said back together as they wai’d back.
“We’re here to celebrate my friend's twenty-third birthday,” says the closest one, who winked with his very thick eyebrows. “It’s just going to be us for now, but more will be joining us soon.”
“Ok, well everything is set up for you. If you'd like anyone of you can start singing if you want, or if you want I can sing whenever you’d like, there also is the option to turn on some regular music for when no one wants to sing. The tablet over there is available to order any food or drinks for this room and will be added to the booking bill at the end of your night,” Pran said addressing the four men, who were
looking around the room. Then Pran got a good look at the last man in the group and froze in shock.
Oh, shit. Pat?!
Chapter 2
Notes:
hey everyone here is the next chapter, sorry for the wait but i am still unsure when i will be posting new chapters as i haven't had much time to write a lot, but i hope to get each new chapter out as soon as i can
i hope you enjoy this new chapter
Chapter Text
“I’m Korn, this is Mo, Chang, and Pat,” said eyebrows, pointing to each of the other guys.
“Welcome… If you'll excuse me for just a second, I just remembered I have to check on something real quick. I'll be right back,” Pran squeaked out as he walked forwards to leave the room, forcing himself to walk out slowly and not run like he wanted to. Of all the times to meet Pat again it had to be at work of all places.
Pran had dreamed of seeing Pat again, of meeting him again after so many years, and now that they were in the same place Pran just wanted to run away. He had dreamed many things, of them just meeting and going their separate ways. Of maybe trying to be friends, it's not like he had to worry about his parents anymore. Of Pat returning his feelings, but that was really just a dream, and had no way of coming true. Never had he thought Pat would come to the karaoke bar while he was working. And for the first time in years, Pran was worried about how he looked. Pran was sure Pat wasn't homophobic or judgemental, but it was one thing to think he wasn't and another to be presented with a situation that would answer that question, and Pran was pretty sure he didn't want to find out the answer right now. Had Pat been anyone else it wouldn't matter to Pran who he was or what he thought, but this was Pat. Pat. Pat his neighbor. Pat the boy he had loved and had never gotten over. Pat, who he had wanted nothing more than to be friends with, but had never been given the chance to be anything other than enemies. Pat who was straight and would never love him back. Pat who had somehow gotten even hotter after six years.
Pran could feel his panic rising as he walked past Pat, inches away from him as he made his way out of the room. Despite not knowing if Pat would even recognize him now, Pran angled his face away, using his hair to block his face until the door behind him shut and he stepped to the closest wall and leaned heavily against it as he took in deep breaths and tried to calm himself down. Pran felt on the verge of a panic attack and just kept breathing deeply, trying to relax as best as he could while his brain tried to process what was happening. Pat was here. Pat was here.
Pran was tempted to pinch himself, like he was in a drama, to tell if he was dreaming because he couldn't believe he was awake, that what he saw was real. After six years Pat was in the same building as him.
“No, no, this is not happening,” Pran whispered to himself, his mind spirling. What if Pat recognized him when he went back in. Pat had also heard him sing before, what if a song gave him away. Sure he was older now, and looked a little different without any makeup on let alone with make up on, but what if Pat did really end up recognizing him. If anyone besides his parents would recognize him now it would be Pat. Pat who had spent the first seventeen years of his life with Pran, who knew Pran even better than Pran’s own parents did before he transferred. The first seventeen years of their lives had revolved around each other. They did everything together, even if they were supposed to be in constant competition, they still did it side by side.
With a shake of his head and equally shaky hands Pran left the hallway of private rooms and made his way to the large bar that ran along the one wall of the main room.
“Puen, give me a shot,” Pran said as he made it to the bar and took a deep breath in, trying to calm himself.
“Wait, you’re drinking? Is everything ok, Nutty?” Puen asked, startled by Nutty’s request. Nutty very rarely drank, and definitely not if she was still working.
“Yeah, I just really need a shot, I don’t care what kind, just pour me something,” Pran said, feeling minutes away from a nervous breakdown.
“Did something happen… did someone…” Peun asked, suddenly very serious as he looked at Pran, who was very shaken even though he was trying to hide it.
“No, it’s nothing like that… I ran into someone I used to know and I’m a little… shaken up,” Pran said as calmly as he could before taking the shot Peun had just poured him and downed it.
“An ex?” Peun asked, wondering who could have shaken Nutty up so badly.
“Something like that,” said Pran as he put the shot glass down, not willing to unpack that statement or get into his teenage unrequited love and family drama. “I need to go, I’m working a private room tonight.”
“With your ex in there? Su su na.”
“Unfortunately… Thankfully I doubt he recognized me, it’s been over six years since we last saw each other. Hopefully it’ll stay that way,” Nutty said as they gathered their courage and headed back to the private room, praying to whatever god’s we’re listening, that Pat wouldn’t recognize him.
When he got back to the room there were a few more people who had shown up, including a pretty girl who was plastered to Pat's side, her hands all over his arm. She was really pretty and had a nice smile, but Pran didn't care about any of that, he told himself he didn't care, that it didn't matter when he saw Pat kiss her cheek with a bright smile that lit up his face. Why would he, Pat didn't belong to him, didn't even know who Nutty was, so why did it feel like someone was stomping on his heart.
“Oh good you’re back… How do I switch from the karaoke machine to play regular music,” Chang asked when he saw that Nutty had come back.
“I’ll do it for you, anything particular you want to play?” Nutty asked as she walked over to the machine.
“No, not now, anything is fine.”
“Tpop?”
“That’s fine, I just figured we should play some music while we wait for our other friends to show up,” Chang said as he watched Nutty switch to spotify. “Do you want to sit with us?”
“Sure,” Pran said and tried to keep a smile on his face as he followed Chang to the table Pat and his girlfriend were sitting at.
“Ah Nutty, this is Pam, Pat’s girlfriend,” Chang said, pointing to the girl that was holding onto Pat. “And these are our other friends Talay, Irin, Yok, and Dome.”
“Sawadee ka, I’m Nutty, your host for tonight, if you need anything just ask,” Nutty said waiing to the new people. As Pran wai’d he couldn’t help but see the glare that Pam shot him, even though it was only for a second.
So Pam is one of those girls, Pran thought as he fought the strong desire to roll his eyes. He hated the types of girls who always thought any other girl that existed was interested and planning on stealing their boyfriend. Never mind the fact that in Pran's case it was true, and he would kill for Pat to be his boyfriend. But Pran hadn’t so much as even looked at Pat for more than a second since he came back to the private room. Girls like Pam were the worst, especially at work when it was part of his job to flirt with the customers. They always got in the way and tended to cost him and all the other girls so many tips because they weren’t able to do their jobs properly without fear of getting attacked by a jealous girlfriend.
“So… who’s birthday is it,” Pran asked. “You didn’t say.”
“P’Pat!”
Of all the rotten luck, Pran thought as he looked towards the door and the voice that had interrupted his question. Pa was here now, he should have suspected. Yesterday had been Pat’s actual birthday, but they had probably waited until today since it was now Friday and they would be able to get as drunk as they wanted without having to worry about classes the next day.
“Hey Pa,” they all greeted except for Pam, but Pran didn’t think anyone besides him noticed. And as if he wasn’t in enough trouble, Ink of all people had to pop up right behind Pa. “Hey Ink.”
“Hia, Happy Birthday,” Pa said as she skipped over to Pat and gave him a hug, not caring that Pam was still attached to Pat’s arm. And it didn’t seem Pat cared either as he shook her off and pulled Pa into a hug, then gave Ink one as well as she also came over, much to Pam’s displeasure. This time though he could tell the other had seen Pam’s reaction and they didn’t seem surprised by her actions.
“Happy birthday Pat,” Ink said as they finished hugging and Ink put her arm around Pa’s waist, pulling Pa to her side.
“Ink,” Pat said, smiling at his friend. “Thanks for picking up Pa today, I didn’t have the chance after classes.”
“Oh course, what else are girlfriends for right Pa?”
“My faen, is the best faen,” Pa gushed as she gave Ink a kiss on the cheek, having to stand on her tips toes to reach Ink’s cheek.
“Ah Pa, you’re going to make my blush,” Ink laughed as she gave Pa a kiss on the cheek back.
“Ah, Sawadee ka, are you a new friend of hia’s?” Pa asked, getting a look at Nutty for the first time as well as Ink, who got an odd look in her eye as she also looked at Nutty. The look in her eyes made Pran nervous, Ink in highschool was super observant and Pran was sure she had figured out that he liked Pat before his transfer.
“Sawadee ka,” Nutty said once again. “I’m Nutty, the host for this room, if you need anything please let me know.”
“Oh, I didn’t know you guys had gotten a host,” said Pa.
“Duh, of course we did,” said Korn. “What's the point of coming to a host karaoke bar if you don’t hire a host?”
“I suppose,” Pa said, shrugging, conceding the point.
Thankfully as more people arrived Nutty was able to more or less avoid Pat and Pam, one which he wanted to kiss and the other he wanted to slap, both for very different reasons. Also when Pran had sung twice Pat didn’t seem to recognize his voice or pay any more attention to him than any of the other guests.
Pran had been trying to not pay attention to the clock on the wall too much but as the six hours were coming to an end Pran was very happy to see Pat and all his friends start to leave, most of whom were drunk or helping those that were really drunk.
“Goodnight,” Pran said as he placed himself closer to the door as the last of the people made their way out, Pat and his closer friends being the very last people to leave.
“Goodnight beautiful,” Korn slurred as he looked at Nutty with unfocused eyes as he leaned on Pat.
“Goodnight Nutty,” Pat said, he was also drunk but not as much as some of his other friends.
“Goodnight… I hope you had a great birthday,” Pran said sincerely for the first time to Pat, having never said it to Pat before.
“Thanks…” Pat said softly, almost unsure sounding as he looked at Nutty. Why, Pran wasn’t sure, but he saw an odd glint in Pat’s eyes that he couldn't place as he left.
With the last person out Pran watched Pat leaving and only once Pat was gone from his sight did Pran shut the door to the private room did he let a few tears escape as he leaned against the closed door and tried to put himself back together.
PATPRAN ):)
As Pran stepped out into the cooler night air he finally felt like he could breathe for the first time that night. Seeing Pat again for the first time in years had been like a punch to the gut and gave him emotional whiplash. Terror and excitement battled inside him at seeing Pat again leaving him more emotionally and physically drained then he had felt in a while.
For years Pran had tormented himself at the thought of reaching out and getting back into some kind of contact with Pat. Ever since he had left his parents house three years ago he had wanted to see Pat again, talk to him again. But even without Pran having any contact with his parents that didn’t mean Pat hadn’t moved on and wanted to see him again, that Pat’s parents wouldn’t be an obstacle, and worst of all that Pran’s feeling hadn’t ever truly gone away. He definitely denied it after being sent away. Then once his anger had died down Pran did his best to push the feelings away. And after living on his own and meeting dozens of men on any given night at work he had gone on his fair share of dates and even had a few boyfriends, but they never lasted too long because Pat was never far from Pran’s mind or heart.
Walking home in the late hours had made Pran never more thankful for the quiet peace that four am brought to Bangkok as he made his way home. No crowds and vehicles to avoid or watch out for, no street sellers asking him to buy the most random things that no one needed. And thankfully it wasn’t raining. If it had been any other night it would have been perfect. Too bad it wasn’t a perfect night.
Pran’s thoughts were encompassed by Pat. He was going to university in Bangkok. He had somehow gotten hotter in the past six years, his eyes stood out more along with amazing cheekbones, and he seemed even more confident if that was possible. He knew where Pran worked, even if he didn’t know Nutty was Pran.
Pat and his friends, minus Pam, seemed to have a good time at Spark, but if anyone was going to have a bad experience Pran had wished it was Pat and his friends. If they hated it then they wouldn’t be interested in coming back. But they had a good time, and now Pran was unsure if they would be coming back or not.
As Pran got to his apartment building he saw his neighbor Wai was coming home. Like Pran, Wai worked at a bar and often got home early in the morning, sometimes at the same time as Pran like tonight.
“Late night?”
“Yes, it was so busy tonight. I can’t believe we're closing. We’re so close to South Tech, we get a good amount of people every night, and super busy on the weekends,” Wai complained as they made their way inside their apartment building.
“Have you looked for a new job yet? I can probably get you in at Spark,” Pran offered as they made their way up the stairs. The apartment building didn’t have an elevator, but it wasn’t too tall so it wasn’t that bad, unless you had to carry something up stairs.
“I’ve been looking, and if I don't find something soon I might take you up on that offer, as long as it's not as a host. I don’t think I can pull off a dress like you can,” Wai joked as Pran pretended to be offended.
“Excuse you, I don’t just pull this look off. I rock it.”
“Yes, yes, you're so hot. No one is as hot as you,” Wai said with an eye roll.
“And don’t you forget it,” Pran said, poking Wai in the chest with one of his fake nails.
Wai had also figured out that Pran was a guy. Well it wasn’t hard to figure out when you kept seeing your neighbor in a dress and wig one day and short hair and a t-shirt the next. Wai might not have been his friend for long but they had gotten close since he moved in and they started seeing each other come home early in the morning, sometimes sharing late night snacks that might as well have been breakfast considering the hour of the morning and arrival of the sun.
“Night.”
“Night, breakfast tomorrow?”
“No, I have off so me and my friends are having a study night at their dorm,” said Wai as he unlocked his door.
“Ok, I’ll see you later then. Su su na.” Pran wished Wai as he continued down the hall to his own apartment. Pran stopped outside the door and looked at his door hanger the ):) hung with the smile facing up and Pran was stuck as to whether he wanted to leave it that way or flip it around. Seeing Pat again had shaken Pran to his core and left him feeling cold and unsure how to feel. On the one hand he had seen Pat again, felt his heart stop beating and then beat faster at seeing him. Pat returning to his life, even for one night, had left him feeling so confused. In his heart Pran knew he hadn’t gotten over Pat, not even a little bit, but seeing him also made him feel like a helpless child again, stuck in his parents stupid feud.
Sighing to himself Pran turned the door hanger upside down so it was frowning, and walked into his apartment, just as confused as before, and no closer to figuring out how he was feeling about everything.
Chapter 3
Notes:
hey everyone, here is the next chapter i hope everyone loves it
also if any one is interested i am open to suggestions for this fic
and is anyone excited for Nanon's first solo concert next saturday?!?!?!?! I wish i coulb be there in person but im still happy even if all i can do it stream it live
Chapter Text
It was a week later that Pran got his second Pat related heart attack at work.
He was back . Pat and his friends were back.
After a few days Pran had relaxed when he didn’t see Pat or his group of friends come back so he had foolishly thought he was in the clear and that they wouldn’t be back so soon, if at all.
Pran hadn't seen Pat right away since he had been with a regular client, who had to leave unexpectedly after getting an important phone call. So Pran had started to make rounds walking around the floor looking for a new client to drink with, when he spotted them at a table drinking and laughing. Immediately Pran's heart rate picked up, and he felt like bolting from the room as fast as he could in his heels. Turning away quickly Pran started towards the other side of the room, hoping the group wouldn't see him and would leave without interacting with him. But luck had never been on Pran's side where Pat was concerned, and Pran ran right into Pat's friend, eyebrows.
“Ahh,” Nutty gasped as they collided, Korn wrapped his arm around her waist as they both struggled to regain their balance and stay up right.
“Sorry,” Korn said, his arms still around Nutty. “I didn't see you there… Wait, you’re Nutty right? The host we had last week for Pat's birthday?”
“Yes, I’m Nutty. It's all good, I didn't see you either,” Pran said as he got his footing and pulled himself out of Korn’s grasp. Pran hoped that Pat's friend would be satisfied at recognizing him and would let him go without wanting to talk, or invite him to their table.
“Are you busy? Would you be available to join us again?”
“Well, no but-”
“That's great,” Korn said, smiling widely. “You can join us again, we’re over here.”
“Sure,” Nutty said through her clenched teeth, cursing her bad luck. Pat had always brought him bad luck, it was the only thing about him that Pran disliked.
“Sawadee ka,” Pran said as he got to the table and Korn offered him a seat.
“Sawadee khap,” the three other guys said back after looking up at Nutty.
“You guys remember Nutty right, I accidentally ran into her and invited her to join us again,” Korn said as he sat down as well.
“That's fine. Do you remember our names Nutty,” Mo asked, ready to flirt with Nutty as he leaned over the table. “It's ok if you don't, we can remind you.”
“I remember your name, Chang right,” Nutty said pointing at the right guy. “But I'm not sure about the rest of you, sorry. I meet so many people every week, I don’t typically remember the names of people who aren't regulars.”
Pran was lying of course, he would always remember Pat's name, but the other two he wasn't sure about and he didn't want to act suspicious or give anything away that would trigger Pat's memory.
“I'm Korn, that's Pat, and the idiot over there is Mo,” said Korn as he caught onto Mo’s flirting.
“Hey, who are you calling an idiot, idiot?”
“You, that’s who, idiot,” said Korn, taunting Mo, and then quickly ducking out of the way from Mo who moved to hit him on the back of the head.
“So what brings you all back so soon?” Nutty asked the burning question she had on her mind, hoping to distract them from arguing, and wondering how often Pat would be giving him jump scares like he was in a horror movie.
“We liked it here last week, so we decided to check out the main room tonight,” Chang said as he took a sip of beer.
“The bar we usually hang out at is closing soon and we don’t know if anyone is going to buy the place and keep it open,” Korn said. “We came here last week cus of Pat’s birthday, and we decided to come back now cus we’ve been looking for a new bar to hang out in.”
“Oh,” Pran said as he fought the urge to scream out that they wouldn’t like coming to Spark instead of finding a regular bar to hang out in and that they should keep looking. “Have you decided yet if you’re going to keep coming back?”
“I don’t know about all of us, but I’m down to keep coming back. Drinks, hot women, and the chance to embarrass my friends by making them sing? What more is there to love,” Korn said as he looked Nutty up and down, a small smirk on his face as he wiggled his thick eyebrows.
“Just for that I dare you to take and get a number and sing something,” Mo said as he pointed a finger at Korn.
“I have no problem singing,” Korn taunted Mo. “Don’t forget that I was singing when we won the freshy day music contest freshman year.”
“Excuse me, we only won because you all bullied me into joining you guys,” Pat said.
“Don’t remind us. We had to beg him for over a week to play the drums for our band for the contest,” Chang complained to Nutty, shaking his head. “Even now he won’t give us a good reason why he kept refusing to play with us.”
“I told you. I stopped playing in highschool. I don’t really like playing the drums anymore anyways. So I stopped and don’t want to play again. What’s the big deal,” Pat complained but his eyes were betraying him, at least to Pran. Behind the irritation Pran could see pain in Pat’s eyes, pain that you wouldn’t see if you didn’t know him well enough to find it.
Part of Pran wasn’t shocked by Pat’s answer. After the horrible day that was the Christmas party and class concert, Pran wouldn’t be surprised that Pat had stopped playing the drums. Pran probably would have reacted the same had the roles been reversed. That day had ruined his life and while he wouldn’t wish the pain he had been in after that day on anyone, Pran had hoped Pat had been devastated when Pran had been taken away though, because it would have meant that Pat had cared about him in some respect after everything. The hint of evidence that even if his romantic feeling hadn’t been returned, their attempt at friendship wasn’t completely one sided.
The last time they had seen each other was when he and his parents had been standing outside the school office waiting for his transcript paperwork so all his academic records would be available to his new school, and Pat had been watching from the otherside of the room, confusion and worry plain on his face before Pran disappeared from his life.
“Chang, you should know better by now,” Korn admonished their friend. “When Pat decides something he isn’t going to change his mind. Even last time, we had to all but force him into playing for us.”
“Well you must have done great if you guys won,” Nutty chimed in, hoping to distract them and get away. “What would you like to sing? I can go get you a number?”
“It's all good, I'll go get in myself. It wouldn't be very nice of me to make you go get me a number,” Korn said as he stood up and went over to the side of the stage to select a song and get a number to sing. In the main room customers had to get a number to sing and were limited to one song per turn, so there wasn't a chance of people cutting in line or not being able to sing cus there were so many other customers.
“You look different tonight, your hair has changed,” Pat said, looking over the table at Nutty after Korn left and Pran mourned his chance of escaping.
“My real hair is pretty short right now, so I usually wear wigs for work,” Pran explained, cursing his idea to wear his new wig that night. It was pretty different from his other wigs, but he had wanted to try something new for a while. So when he saw the long, dark rooted and blonde wavy wig at the shop he had taken the chance and tried it on, and had decided to buy it. He had decided to wear it that night with a dark blue wrap dress that was short, and had paired it with a black belt, chunky ankle boots, and sparkly silver hair clips.
“I like it, you look great,” Pat said, smirking like he had in highschool when he flirted with the girls they went to school with.
“Thanks,” Pran said back softly as he failed to hide how quickly he blushed, unable to help his mouth drying out and his hands getting sweaty. Pran after over six years was still in love with Pat and was unable to guard himself from the influx of emotions that Pat easily ignited in him.
“You know, there's something about you… you remind me of someone, I just can't put my finger on it,” Pat said as he squinted his eyes at Nutty, taking a good look at her trying to figure out why she seemed so familiar. “I noticed it the other night, but I still can’t figure it out.”
“I’m sure it’s nothing,” Pran said, nervous that Pat would figure him out. While he didn’t always show it, Pat was very smart. They both were. Throughout every year of school they had come first and second in every class they took, always trying to outdo the other. For almost everything they were pretty evenly matched and were always beating each other in everything from grades to sports.
“Maybe. Where do you go to school? Maybe I've seen you on campus?” Pat asked, not letting the subject go right away, his eyes glued to Nutty as he tried to figure out what about her was so familiar.
“I don’t go to school right now. I’ve been trying to save up for a few years… but I do want to go to university someday,” Pran said, his voice tinged with sadness.
“Really,” Mo asked, “are your parents not able to help?”
“No. They… we, we haven't talked in over three years now. When I told them I wanted to live my own life my way, they were not supportive at all. They had my life planned out for me and didn’t care what I wanted, so I left and haven't looked back,” Pran said, not enjoying thinking about his past with his parents.
“Fuck, that sucks. What faculty do you want to go for?”
“Music… I love making music, it’s why I like working here. My parents are a little old fashioned, they don’t believe in jobs that aren't proper or reliable. If my mae had her way I would be going to university for something that would come with a big paycheck and stable career. She hated it when I bought my first guitar for myself in highschool. She's always said hobbies were a waste of time and money, that my time was better spent on studying. I may not always like it everyday, but I’ve been way happier struggling by myself than I was when I was doing things her way, living my life according to her rules,” Pran said and he meant it. He may not like struggling some months to pay rent, or having to stretch out his food and skip a meal or two, but he was much happier without his parents in his life even when he missed them sometimes.
“Wow, but your singing is really good, I can’t believe that that’s all it took for them to turn on you,” Korn asked, looking shocked.
“The day I graduated high school the first thing my mae told me was her plan for me to move abroad and go to a school she picked. Within minutes of coming home I found out that my thoughts and hopes about what I wanted to do and living my life didn't matter to her. And when I told my mae I wanted to live my own life the way I chose, she slapped me across the face. I left home right then and there, and I don’t regret it one bit,” Nutty said, her voice becoming tight as he thought back to that day, cheek aching in phantom pain from the slap she received.
“You’re mae is wrong, living your life for her isn’t worth it… I would know I’ve tried. My por had the same idea. He wanted me to follow in his footsteps and do everything he did and it’s made me miserable. We have a family business, he wants me to take over after I graduate, but I’m not going to, no matter how long he keeps bugging me about it,” Pat said before taking a drink of his beer.
“I’m gonna get another beer,” Chang said before getting up, suddenly feeling a little awkward at Pat’s mini rant.
“I’ll join you,” Mo said before darting away too.
With everyone gone except Korn, Pran wasn’t able to help but feel more uncomfortable than he had in many years. He wanted to look at Pat, but looking at him without talking was a recipe for awkwardness that Pran definitely didn’t need on top of everything else. Thankfully Korn liked to babble and was able to keep Pran’s mind off of the awkwardness until Chang and Mo got back, which was quicker than he had expected.
“So, how long have you worked here?” Korn asked just as Chang sat back down next to Nutty.
“About three years. I started working just after finishing highschool and left home,” Nutty said. “I got lucky and made friends with someone who worked here then, she took me under her wing and got me a job here and a place to live.”
“Is she still working here?”
“No, she moved to Korea almost a year ago, she’s hoping to be the next Lisa,” Nutty joked.
“What about you? No dreams of becoming a Kpop Idol?” Mo asked as he also sat back down with another round of beers.
“No, I have no wishes to go through all that,” Nutty said, not wishing to think of how well his crossdressing would affect that dream if he had the desire to pursue that kind of dream career. “That world is very competitive and too crazy for me.”
“I get you. It looks so much fun and amazing to be an Idol, but I don’t know how some of them even make it through everything. The trainee process seems so demanding and intense by itself, let alone if you actually get to debut,” Korn agreed.
“So how close are you to getting into a university?” Pat asked, his eyes staring at Pran in a way that made him question if he was building things up in his mind, an easy thing his brain did around Pat.
“Not very. I mean, I got into a bunch with high exam scores when I first applied when highschool ended, but without my parents I don’t have a lot of extra money to cover school expenses as well as the living expenses I already have. But I’m always trying to save what I can. It also helps that I’ve been working here for so long, I have a lot of regulars who tip very well.”
“What about picking a university? Have you decided which one you want to go to?”
“Ah, probably South Tech… I had hoped to go there originally for school, now it’s still my top choice, especially since it’s pretty close and has a good music faculty,” Nutty said as she wondered when she would be able to make it there, it wasn’t like she was getting any younger, most people her age we’re in their last years of university or already graduated.
“Hey, that’s where we go,” Korn exclaimed with a grin. “We’re all in the Faculty of Engineering… Too bad you aren't already going there, we would be your seniors, even if we wouldn’t be in the same faculty.”
“And who would want you as their senior,” Pat taunted Korn, “you're lazy and always hitting on everyone.”
“Hey, what’s wrong with hitting on people?”
“Nothing… But you hit on everyone, no one is safe from your cheesy lines,” Mo chimed in with a look of disgust.
“You're just jealous cus I don’t hit on you,” Korn claimed.
“Blah, who would want that? Besides you’re too busy starting fights with the Architecture students and dragging us into it, you and Pat,” Mo complained.
“Yeah, well they deserve to have their faces punched in, especially that asshole. After three years you’d think he would give up by now but he starts fights way more than I do,” Korn proclaimed even if almost all the fights he started were just with Wai.
“Architecture? Do- do your faculties not get along… What about the fact that you’ll have to work together later in life?” Pran asked, wondering for the first time if he had dodged a bullet by not going to South Tech as an Architecture student like he had wanted to six years ago.
“No… we hate each other. The Engineering and Architecture feud has been going on for over twenty years. When my por went to South Tech the feud had already started, and it’s still continuing now and has gotten even worse nowdays than when it started,” Pat said.
“So you have to hate everyone in Architecture?” Pran asked, feeling a little sick to his stomach as he wondered what would have happened if he had ended up going to university the way he had planned. We’re he and Pat destined to always be on opposite sides? Never on the same team? Would he and Pat have ended in the middle of another feud that would have made them enemies once again?
“We don’t have too… but we get too! They're all assholes anyway, on the first day the other Architecture students started the first fight we got into and we’ve been fighting ever since,” Korn said with a smile. “Besides. School is way more fun when we get to beat them in class and with our fists.”
Nutty laughed lightly along with the guys as she felt sick inside… thinking of another life that she could have had. Looking up at Pat Nutty had never felt more unsure of her choices and her unreturned feelings. Maybe they were destined to be nothing more than enemies…
PATPRAN ):)
Pat shook his head trying to shake off the drowsiness as he got back into his car after dropping Korn’s drunk ass off at his dorm, having to half carry him to his room as he was swaying and singing to himself.
On nights like this Pat wished he still lived with his sister, even if he and Pa argued with each other like cats and dogs, annoying the other just for the fun of it. But as it was Pa had moved into Ink’s dorm with her during her second year after they had been dating for a few months, leaving Pat to have his whole dorm to himself once again. There was something about the quietness that got to him sometimes that made him feel like he didn’t fit in his skin, like there was something he was missing that would make him feel at home… complete. He felt better around his sister, his friends, his girlfriend… Pam. He and Pam had been together for about eight months now, and she had been hinting at wanting to move in together, but Pat had been ignoring the hint, pretending that the hints flew over his head, or acted like he didn’t hear her. He didn’t like living alone and sometimes didn’t understand why he acted the way he did with Pam. He was happy with her… right? So why did it constantly feel like if he got closer to her, moved their relationship forward he would regret it later.
It was a feeling that hadn’t only plagued his relationship with Pam, but even other less serious relationships he had had in the past. There was always an off feeling that surrounded Pat, one that he was unable to understand and get past.
Shaking his head again to stop himself from getting lost in his own thoughts Pat started the car up and began his short drive back to his empty dorm, empty except for a secret he didn’t let himself think about much these days, buried away in his memories until it was nothing more than a faint thought if it came to the surface.
As he pulled into the parking lot his phone dinged as he got a text. Pulling out his phone as he shut the car off he saw that Pam had texted him asking him to come over for the night. With a deep breath Pat put his phone back in his pocket like he hadn’t received the text and made his way up to his dorm room alone.
On nights like these Pat couldn’t help but think of the past and despite not wanting to be alone the one person he wanted to be there with him was long gone from his life. As Pat went to bed he unconsciously thought of guitars, windows, and dimples he would never see again.
Chapter 4
Notes:
hey everyone here's the next chapter. sorry for taking so long to get it out but I've been very busy at work... its been a crazy couple of weeks
000000000
Trigger warning note for this chapter. Pran does get hit by a male customer when his sexual advances are rejected and is also called a fews name… as a female presenting worker at any bar this is an unfortunately realistic situation that happens and I can't imagine the bar scene in Thailand is much different to the situation here in the States, so this isn't an unrealistic situation that happens for Pran and the other girls who work at Spark, they do have bouncer's so the triggering part is pretty small, but if just want to give you a heads up
Chapter Text
Pran usually had good nights when he was working. Sure sometimes things went wrong but that didn't happen often and wasn't usually a big deal. Tonight though everything seemed to be going wrong from the minute he had woken up that morning. First his phone had died in the middle of the night, Pran having not plugged it into the charger properly, making him get up an hour later than he needed to be. When he went to make breakfast, he had forgotten he had emptied his container of sweetened condensed milk he liked to eat on his toast the day before and had meant to buy some yesterday when he had gone out to get his groceries for the week.
On the way to work he had torn the skirt he had been wearing on the bus, it's hem catching on the doorway as he exited. He had probably flashed some people his underwear before he gathered the extra material of the skirt with his hands and made his way down the block to work, the bus stop was thankfully very close by.
Then as he got ready for work his favorite lipstick broke just after he opened the tube and rolled the lipstick up, the cap had rolled off the table and when he bent over to grab it from the floor he had accidentally mashed the lipstick itself into the counter and ruined the whole stick.
What really took the cake was the latest client of the night that had asked him to sit and drink with him. The older man had started off fine. Then after a few songs and drinks he had begun to get handsy. Pran wasn't unused to this kind of reaction from male customers, and even a few female ones, but they normally backed off when he rejected them or kept their touching light and flirty that he didn't care. This man did neither. If Pran scooted away, he scooted too. If Pran removed a hand it came right back, and went bolder places than before. And if the man had only stopped there Pran would have let it go, but he didn't seem to care or notice Pran's attempts to reject the man kindly.
It was a busy night, the place was packed and the music from everyone singing was loud. It wasn't out of place for two people to be fooling around in the darkness of the bar. So it didn't raise anyone's suspicion if they did look over and see the man close and touching him. It also wasn't technically against the rules if anyone did respond to a customer's advances, and he knew that some of the other girls would hook up occasionally with customers. He had done it himself once or twice, but that was very rare for him and always consensual occurrence, this wasn't.
The man kept trying to kiss him on the lips and kept burying his head in Pran's neck trying to bite and kiss him there too.
“Come on, let's have some fun,” the man whispered in what he probably thought was a seductive way but just made Pran have to fight back the desire to throw up. Men who acted like this rarely took no for an answer, and if he did feel anything while he kept trying to feel Pran up as Pran was trying to push him off there was a fifty fifty shot that he would either be pissed that Pran was a guy, or wouldn't care and would keep going.
“No,” Nutty said softly, pushing the man away lightly, not that he listened.
For unfortunate situations like this Pran was so happy that call buttons were hidden all over the bar, each of which would alert the bouncers that they were needed. At times like these though, Pran wished they were at every booth and table, unfortunately the closest one to him was two tables away and he couldn't see any of his coworkers who would be able to get help for him.
It wasn’t until the man started to work his hand under the bottom of Pran’s dress that Pran had reached his limit. With a good shove Pran pushed the man away and scurried out of the booth as fast as he could and rushed towards the nearest call button pressing it repeatedly before the man grabbed his arm and tugged him back into his arms.
“What the hell bitch,” he yelled as he held on tightly to Pran's arm, fingers digging in, not caring for the bruises he was leaving. “I just wanted a good time, you can't just walk away from a customer.”
“Please, let g-” was all Pran was able to say before the man backhanded him across the face, silencing what Pran had been about to say.
“You don't get to say no to me, you're probably just a whore anyway. You should be begging me to give it to you,” the man shouted at him as he continued to pull at Pran as he struggled against the man's tight hold.
“Hey, let her go,” a familiar voice yelled out after a few seconds as Pran's face throbbed and neck ached with the force of the hit that had snapped his face to the side.
“P’Pine,” Nutty yelled out when she heard Pine’s voice, as the man shook her arm forcefully when she tried to get away again.
“Palm, get Nutty out of here,” Pine yelled over the music as he pried the man's hand off of Nutty’s arm before he, Cher, and Man, the other bouncers, grabbed the man and tried to get him out of Spark without a full blown fight breaking out.
“Nutty, come on,” Palm said softly as he put an arm around Pran's waist and another across the back of his shoulders as steered him away from the rude customer that was spitting curses and struggling in Pine, Cher, and Man's hold as they moved him though the crowd towards the nearest exit.
“P’Nutty, are you ok,” Anne asked as she ran up to them, her eyes wide with fear, concerned for Pran having seen the end of the attack. Not that it was easy to hide what you were doing while screaming and attacking a host, even in the middle of such a crowded room.
“Nong Anne, go get some ice from the bar and meet us in the dressing room,” Palm said as he led Pran away and into the back where he would be safe.
“Ok P’Palm,” Anne said, nodding before running over to the bar.
Palm made sure to be gentle and calm while he walked Nutty to the dressing room, while also keeping an eye on Pine, Cher, and Man, who with the help of another bodyguard, Gumpa, were able to wrestle the customer out of the building.
As Palm and Nutty got into the dressing room Palm made Pran sit right away as he was shaking a little and still seemed a liitle scared if his eyes were anything to go by. Unfortunately this wasn’t an unusual occurrence. As hosts, Nutty, and the others had to be nice and welcoming to all the guests, and that included flirting and drinking with them. Most customers, especially at Spark, followed the rules and didn’t make trouble compared to other host bars that didn’t have bodyguards for the hosts. Spark, despite not being the fanciest or most expensive karaoke host bar, did its best to make sure the hosts were as safe as they could be, which was more than most bars did for the women working there.The owners, Pisang and Kawi, did they're best to try and protect everyone, but even then they couldn't avoid incidents like this completely.
Stepping away from Pran for a moment, Palm grabbed a bottle of water out of the mini fridge in the dressing room and handed the bottle to him, coaxing Pran to drink some of the cool water.
“I saw P’Pine and the others as we walked away, they were able to get him out of here. Are you ok?” Palm asked as he lightly touched Pran’s face, which was red and had already begun to swell a little from the forceful hit.
“I’ll be fine,” Nutty said, this wasn’t the first time a customer got out of hand and it wouldn’t be the last.
“Phi,” Anne said as she burst through the dressing room door with a glass full of ice, Florence hot on her heels.
“Nutty! What happened?”
“P’Florence,” Palm said as he took the glass from Anne and placed some of the ice in a towel before handing it to Pran. “A customer got out of hand, P’Pine, Cher, Man, and Gumpa have already removed him, but he got a good hit on Nutty’s face before we could get to her.”
“Shia,” Florence swore as she took in the reddening cheek and the bruising that was also developing on Pran’s wrist from the man's grip and tugging. “Rest up in here for a while then head home for the night… keep icing your face and wrist ok, then let me or Julia know how you feel tomorrow and how bruised your face is, I’ll start asking around tonight for a replacement for tomorrow.”
“But-”
“Nutty. Take the next day off. At the very least, see how bad the bruising and swelling gets, then we’ll see if you're able to come back the day after. You work so hard already, you can always get extra shifts after your face heals up and cover the bruising with make up,” Florence said, not backing down even as Pran tried to protest.
Slumping in his chair Pran knew Florence was right and he would have suggested the same to anyone else who he worked with, but that didn’t mean he had to like it and wanted to argue against taking the next day off.
“Do what I said, get some rest. I’ll call you tomorrow,” Florence said insistently before she left the dressing room. “Come on Nong Anne, go back to work, Nutty will be fine with Palm looking after her.”
Pine walked in while Florence and Anne were leaving and made no effort to hide how angry he looked at the sight of Nutty’s bruised face. Pine had been around for years and was one of the first friends Pran made when working at Spark. Pine was very dedicated to his job and looking out for everyone at Spark, but Nutty was someone he, and almost everyone else, had a soft spot for. When Pran first started working at Spark Pine made sure to keep an eye on him as he was pretty shy and took a little while to warm up to the job and settle in.
“Nong Palm you can go if you want, I’ll stay here with Nong Nutty,” Pine said as he sat down across from Nutty and took the towel filled with ice out of Pran’s hand and held it to Pran’s cheek for him.
“Ok, let me know if you need anything Phi’s,” Palm said before giving Nutty a kiss on the forehead and leaving the room with a wai to Pine and Nutty.
“Phi, I can hold my own ice pack,” Pran whined as he tried to get the ice back from Pine who held onto the ice tightly.
“Let me take care of you, please,” Pine asked as he placed the ice gently back on Pran’s swollen cheek. “If I had gotten to you fast enough you wouldn’t have a bruised face anyway.”
“Phi, it’s not your fault… I waited too long to try and get to the call button, I had hoped I wouldn’t need to call for help but everything went south so fast, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway,” Pran said as Pine looked at him softly, worry still in his eyes.
“Still, it’s my job to protect you, all of you, and now you’re hurt,” Pine said, looking disappointed in himself.
“P’Pine, you can’t be everywhere at once, and you came so quickly after I called for help. There was nothing more either of us could do to stop that customer, short of me punching him myself. And I haven’t been in a fight since I was seventeen and I doubt punching someone with fake nails on would feel too good to me,” Pran joked even though his face ached with the effort to smile.
Shaking his head with a small smile of his own Pine nodded at Nutty and once Pran had changed into his regular clothes, minus the skirt he had ripped earlier, Pine walked Pran to his bus stop. Worried in case the man had stuck around outside to follow Nutty home or attack her once she left Spark.
“Thank you P’Pine,” Pran said as his bus came to a stop and Pran waited to get on.
“It’s my pleasure, get home safe and make sure to get some bruise remedy for yourself,” Pine reminded him and gave her a tight hug before Nutty hopped on the bus.
“I will Phi,” Pran said as the bus doors closed and he sat down in the nearest available seat.
As the bus made its way closer to Pran’s apartment building Pran tried to remember if he had any bruise cream at home and decided to stop and pick up some before heading to his apartment as well as some more ice and probably a extra concealer and foundation as he knew he would need the extra coverage to cover up the nasty bruise he was sure he would end up with from that backhand.
Thankfully as he got to the pharmacist he was able to buy the last tube of bruise cream they had left in stock along with the other things he needed before going to leave the small shop and ran into the last person he wanted to meet at the end of such a crappy day.
“Oh, Nutty?” Pat said as he saw who he almost ran into at the last second as Pran exited the store. His beginning of a smile immediately turned into anger as he saw Nutty’s face and the bruising that was setting in on his cheek, slowly getting darker as the night continued. “Shia… what the hell happened? Did someone hit you?!”
“It’s fine, just call it an… occupational hazard … anyways I’m fine. Good night,” Nutty said and moved to walk away when Pat grabbed him on the same arm that the man did, causing Pran to flinch and drop the bag of stuff he just bought, and bite back a scream when Pat grasped his injured arm.
“What the hell?” Pat exclaimed as he dropped Pran’s arm like it was on fire as the small amount of the scream that Nutty tried to suppress escaped her and Pat caught sight of the bruising on her wrist. “Who did this to you?”
“A customer, if you must know… Not everyone is friendly and takes ‘no’ for an answer, you know? I’m fine now, the bouncers got him out and now that I've got the medicine I need I’m going home,” said Nutty as she crouched down to pick up the bag of spilled medicine and makeup.
“Here let me help,” Pat said as he bent down too and moved to help pick up the spilled bag.
“I’ve got it,” Pran said, trying to scoop up his stuff as Pat got in his way and his arm throbbed in pain when Pat bumped into it.
“Just let me help,” Pat insisted, his eyes wide as he looked at Nutty.
“Help? I can do it myself, and unfortunately your ‘help’ isn’t helping. You ran into me, grabbed my already hurt arm, made me drop my bag, and bumped into my arm again. Any more ‘help’ from you and I’m going to need to buy more medicine,” Nutty said, trying to keep calm and polite and was failing miserably. Pat always had a way of getting under Pran’s skin so easily and with just a few moments he felt like he was back in high school with Pat trying to ‘help’ him back then and messing things up even more that made him revert back to the usual level of irritation that Pat brought out in him.
“Wait…” Pat said softly, and looked deeply at Nutty, like he was trying to see something that was escaping him before closing his eyes and shaking his head. “N-nevermind... Please, just let me help. I’ll carry your bag for you and walk you home. You must live close by, right?”
“I’m good… Besides, I don’t let any customers see where I live… no exceptions, “ Nutty said as she picked up the last items off the ground and tried to walk away.
“Wait,” Pat shouted behind him and came running up despite how quickly Pran was walking.
“What?” Pran asked sharply, turning to face Pat, no longer interested in even trying to be polite anymore.
“I… I just want to help you,” Pat said softly as he took in the irritated look on Nutty’s face.
Signing deeply and frowning, Pran closed his eyes for a moment before saying, “I get that, but I don’t need any help… I just want to go home. So please, leave me alone.”
“Wait! You- you have dimples?!” Pat asked, as he caught sight of them as Pran turned to walk away again, his cheeks sucked in in frustration, showing off the dimples that had until now remained hidden from Pat's sight. Pat’s eyes grew wide with confusion and something else that Pran was unsure about, but it made his stomach twist with anxiety.
“Yeah… What's so strange about that? Lots of people have dimples,” Nutty said as she covered her cheek with a hand, smoothing her cheek out and making the dimple disappear.
“Nothing. It's just… they reminded me of someone,” Pat said, his voice soft but filled with emotion.
“Ok… good night,” Pran said, confused by Pat’s sudden change and walked away for good, unconcerned if Pat was watching him as he left. Before he turned the corner Pran had to stop himself from looking back to see if Pat was still watching him from in front of the pharmacy.
PATPRAN ):)
Pat stood at the top of the steps outside of the pharmacy as he watched Nutty walk away into the night, still wishing he could walk her home, but accepting that his presence was unwelcome. However he was unsure if it was just at this moment in time that his presence was unwanted or if it was him and not the situation that made him unwanted.
Despite only having met twice before and the fact that Nutty was constantly reminding him of something or someone, Pat got the feeling that Nutty was trying to avoid him specifically. Each time he and his friends had gone to Spark Nutty seemed not cold, but more distant towards him than anyone else. Nutty had no problem talking and even flirting with his friends, but towards him there seemed to be something that made her keep her distance.
The whole situation made him confused and determined to figure out what was going on with Nutty, especially if Korn, Mo and Chang got their way and they kept returning to Spark.
As Nutty disappeared from his sight he shook his head and headed into the pharmacy to get the bruise cream he had come for, he had more bruises from rugby practice and a small fight with a few architecture students.
“Can I get a tube of bruise remedy?” Pat asked the pharmacist behind the glass that separated him from the customers.
“Sorry, I just sold the last one to the woman who just left,” the pharmacist said before turning away and returning to the task he was working on before Pat had come up to the counter.
“Great…” Pat sighed as he walked away thinking about the next closest pharmacy to his dorm, and wondered if it would be worth it to walk to another store.
Pat didn't have long to think. As he walked out of the small pharmacy his phone began to ring before he even got to the stairs that lead to the store.
“Hello,” Pat said as he answered his phone, seeing that it was Pam calling him.
“ Where are you? You said we were going to hang out tonight and that you would spend the night at my place,” Pam whined through the phone.
“I needed something from the pharmacy… I'll be over soon,” Pat said to appease Pam, knowing that since he answered the call Pam wouldn't give up until she got her way, as always.
Chapter 5
Notes:
hey everyone, long tinme no see. sorry to leave you guys for so long. i can't seem to get much motivation to write these days. the ideas are there, my desire to write is here, but I can't seem to get much out. but I do have this shorter chapter, it isn't my best work but I feel so bad to leave everyone hanging for so long.
Chapter Text
Waking up was a true struggle for Pran the next morning, as he began to wake his face and arm ached fiercely as the afternoon light streamed in brightly through his curtains. Since Florence had ordered him, and Lucy probably wouldn’t even think about allowing him to work that night once she heard what happened, Pran took advantage of the situation and allowed himself to sleep in very late, a rare occurrence. Not that Pran usually woke up early in the morning anymore like he had for the majority of his life. Before running away Pran had a pretty strict wake up time, first from his mom, then also at boarding school, but working at a karaoke bar where he usually got home anywhere from three to five am didn’t work too well with getting up at seven am. His usual wake up time these days was one pm, sometimes later if he stayed up with Wai to have breakfast.
The ache in his face and arm intensified as Pran forced himself to sit up and stretch as the sleepiness began to fade away as he woke up and his bladder became demanding. What really woke him up completely was the nice dark bruise that he got a good look at in his bathroom mirror. It had finished developing a deep purple shade overnight, and it looked ugly along with the swelling that accompanied it.
“Shia,” Pran whispered to himself as he touched his cheek with a wet hand, poking lighty at the bruise that covered the majority of his left cheek. As he looked at it he knew that he would definitely be needing the foundation and concealer he bought, and even wondered if he would have enough to cover the bruise well enough. With a deep sigh Pran turned away from the mirror and made his way into his small kitchen and pulled out some bread to make toast.
He leaned against the counter as the toast cooked, mentally counting up how much money he had left until the end of the week when they would be paid. With the tips he had made the night before last he decided he would be fine as long as he didn't buy anything besides a little food, but it would be close, and without tips from last night and no chance to get any from tonight he would have to be careful this week with his money so he wouldn’t have to dip into his precious savings.
As the toast popped up Pran grabbed the plastic bag from the table and started to pick through it until he found the new bottle of sweetened condensed milk and drizzled it on his toast. As he chewed and tried to ignore the ache in his face Pran thought back to the night before and how he let Pat get under his skin so quickly when they bumped into each other. Maybe if his night hadn’t ended so badly he might have been able to hold off his temper and not have snapped at Pat who had just genuinely been concerned for him “Nutty”. And had Nutty been anyone else Pran wouldn’t have doubted that Pat had been anything but sincere, especially since he already had a girlfriend. But the night hadn’t gone well, and even if he was just “Nutty” to Pat, he was still Pran inside, and fifteen years of conditioning to fight and argue with the boy next door didn’t disappear overnight just cus they hadn’t seen each other in six years. Still that didn’t stop Pran from getting frustrated that now Pat had more knowledge of Nutty and from what he knew of Pat, even though he did back off last night, Pat would still be back at least to check in with Nutty now that he knew she had gotten hurt at work.
Pran groaned into his hands then winced when he touched his tender bruises. Swallowing the last bite of toast Pran took the makeup he bought into the bathroom with him and began to test out what kind of coverage he would need even if he didn’t have to work that day. Knowing that he should at least take the time to see if he could cover it up decently with what he already had, hoping that tomorrow Florence would let him work if he could cover it up well so she didn’t see how bad it really looked.
To say it took a while for Pran to blend out the foundation and concealer on his bruises was an understatement considering how tender his face felt and the sharp pain that went through his face with every stroke of his makeup brush. And even then he had to continue to add more concealer as the first layer only slightly hid the bruises underneath. Pran had covered up bruises from work in the past but this was probably the worst, at least on his face, that he had had in years. When he was a kid and a teenager he and Pat would give each other nasty bruises all the time, but everyone knew what was going on and they were kids, even when they weren’t fighting they always came home with bruises from one thing or another.
With a final spritz of setting spray Pran looked over his face, giving it a close inspection, before declaring it good enough to run out and pick up some more concealer, a color corrector, and a late lunch.
After a small internal debate Pran decided to go out as Nutty, rather than risk going out as Pran, just in case Pat ran into him again, now that he knew Pat didn’t live very far from him, if they're late night run in was a good indicator. Once he was dressed in a simple flowy dress with a floral pattern, his favorite everyday wig that was a simple shoulder length black color with bangs, and a pair of simple sandals. Pran made his way to his favorite food stand and ordered noodle soup with three wantons. While eating Pran felt the old sensation of being paranoid flow across him like he was a teenager again, always on the lookout so he wasn’t caught hanging around Pat, his parents and fellow students always around to watch his every move.
As he finished his food, Pran had to admit to himself that it wasn’t just Pat he was being paranoid about. It was everyone, especially other men, especially when he was dressed very feminine today, which might have been a choice he was regretting. You’d think after many years and an unfortunate amount of minor and major instances at work, to him and to the other women he worked with that Nutty would be able to handle being out alone, but the feeling of not being safe didn’t go away easily. Sure Pran had taken much harder hits from Pat on a good day, but it was different knowing that he and Pat were on equal playing fields. The realization of being trapped and attacked by someone you don’t know, and don’t know how far they are willing to go to get what they want from you still made Pran’s heart stop in fear. The ability to fight back didn’t play into the rush of fear that came before the logic that followed, it only came back after the cause of fear was gone, which despite not wanting it to show was definitely there and hard to ignore.
This uncomfortable feeling didn’t help with Pran’s decision to go to a different, slightly further away, pharmacy than his usual one. While he didn’t think he would run into Pat there again, since they had only ran into each other the night before, Pran didn’t feel like taking the chance and went to a different store instead.
PATPRAN ):)
It had taken three days of non-stop begging for Florence and Lucy to allow him to come back to work, and even then they didn’t allow him to work without one of the bouncers to shadow him for the first night back.
‘Just in case’ they said, worried that the night would prove to be too much, or in case the guy had come back.
Pran couldn’t fault them and the other girls, who also said they would be looking out for him too, since it was the usual routine after any incident, and he had done the very same for the others over the years. It just felt odd to accept help, and to be the one being looked after, Pran knew how to look out for himself. But it did feel good, deep down to know that he had people around him who cared about him, and would watch over him, even when it wasn’t a necessity.
Thankfully that first night back went off without a hitch, no sign of the horrible guy who hit him, or Pat looking at him with sincere and concerned eyes. Palm had also been watching over him like a hawk, never more than 10 feet away, just in case he was needed, close enough to help without being overbearing with his obvious presence.
Nutty didn’t see many regulars that night so she didn’t get as big of tips as usual, but that didn’t mean tips were necessarily bad. A few drunk men here and there usually gave decent tips, it was the regulars though that went beyond, paying to keep each hostess at their side, usually to fluff their own egos or impress friends.
Half way through the night Pran took a break, desperately interested in refreshing his make up, if only to keep everyone from worrying about him.
“Hey Ai Nutty, how many tips have you gotten so far?” Noona asked when he got to the back dressing room from her seat, refreshing her lipstick.
“Almost ฿600, it's been a slow night, I haven’t seen many of my regulars,” said Nutty as she made her way over to her station, already seeing how much her makeup needed touching up from across the room.
“Me either, then again week days are always a gamble… How are you feeling? Your cheek still looks pretty tender,” Noona observed as Nutty lightly brushed more concealer on her cheek. “It must have been a really hard hit if it still looks so purple.”
“Yeah. Unfortunately he got a good hit when I was trying to get away from him,” said Nutty as they blended the concealer into the existing makeup without having to redo the whole face.
“Thankfully the guys got to him before he could hurt you more. I'm so happy we have them, it makes me feel safe, even when accidents can still happen,” Noona said, getting a sad look in her eyes. “My Phi works at a cabaret, they don’t have as good of security as we do… a few years ago they were attacked backstage. It was pretty bad and she got sent to the hospital. Thankfully they got better security after that, but… I just wish my sister didn’t have to get hurt for it to happen.”
“You never told me that before,” Nutty said as she turned around to fully face Noona who was trying not to tear up, still filled with fear for her older sister despite how long ago the incident was.
“I mean, it's not exactly fun to bring up… Thankfully the guy who owned the cabaret got bought out and someone else owns it who treats the workers better and got them good security, but I still worry about her,” Noona said.
“It's good to worry about her, but please don’t be sad about me, we know the risks of our work, and we have such amazing bouncers. Accidents will happen, unfortunately it's part of the risk of working, but the guys get to us as quickly as possible without following us like shadows,” Nutty said with a dry laugh, not trying to dismiss the seriousness of the bouncers' jobs.
“I know, I just wish none of us got hurt, or even had to worry about getting hurt,” Noona said with a sigh as she stood up and walked over to Nutty’s station and watched her add more setting spray to her makeup before they both walked back out into the club.
Pages Navigation
Danevan05 on Chapter 1 Sun 31 Dec 2023 10:18AM UTC
Comment Actions
LadyMay on Chapter 1 Sun 31 Dec 2023 10:37AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 1 Sun 31 Dec 2023 11:26PM UTC
Comment Actions
chromaticfrog on Chapter 1 Tue 09 Jan 2024 04:26AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 1 Mon 22 Jan 2024 07:07AM UTC
Comment Actions
nuandia on Chapter 1 Sun 21 Jan 2024 07:52AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 1 Mon 22 Jan 2024 07:10AM UTC
Comment Actions
strangestsea on Chapter 1 Tue 27 Feb 2024 10:49PM UTC
Comment Actions
Emma Susan Baskerville (Guest) on Chapter 1 Thu 05 Dec 2024 03:16AM UTC
Comment Actions
Emma Susan Baskerville (Guest) on Chapter 1 Fri 06 Dec 2024 01:24AM UTC
Comment Actions
Emma Susan Baskerville (Guest) on Chapter 1 Mon 09 Dec 2024 02:41AM UTC
Comment Actions
LadyMay on Chapter 2 Tue 20 Feb 2024 08:19PM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 2 Thu 22 Feb 2024 07:31AM UTC
Comment Actions
Danevan05 on Chapter 2 Tue 20 Feb 2024 11:43PM UTC
Comment Actions
chromaticfrog on Chapter 2 Wed 21 Feb 2024 01:35AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 2 Thu 22 Feb 2024 07:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
strangestsea on Chapter 2 Tue 27 Feb 2024 10:49PM UTC
Comment Actions
nuandia on Chapter 2 Thu 29 Feb 2024 10:43AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 2 Thu 29 Feb 2024 09:00PM UTC
Comment Actions
Amelia Jules Ravenwood (Guest) on Chapter 2 Fri 29 Nov 2024 11:18PM UTC
Comment Actions
Emma Susan Baskerville (Guest) on Chapter 2 Fri 06 Dec 2024 02:39AM UTC
Comment Actions
Emma Susan Baskerville (Guest) on Chapter 2 Mon 09 Dec 2024 02:44AM UTC
Comment Actions
Evelina Angie Huntington (Guest) on Chapter 2 Thu 13 Feb 2025 08:05PM UTC
Comment Actions
Jinitak on Chapter 3 Mon 18 Mar 2024 04:54AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 3 Wed 20 Mar 2024 08:24PM UTC
Comment Actions
LadyMay on Chapter 3 Mon 18 Mar 2024 05:51AM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 3 Wed 20 Mar 2024 08:21PM UTC
Comment Actions
LadyMay on Chapter 3 Wed 20 Mar 2024 10:01PM UTC
Comment Actions
1kinkyslytherin on Chapter 3 Wed 20 Mar 2024 10:48PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation