Chapter Text
“Fuck!!”, Arm jumps, almost spilling the ice cold water out of the bottle he just opened. He tilts his head up and locks gazes with an all too familiar face, a fierce face that has plagued him for too long.
“What? Did I scare you?”
That annoying, conceited smirk on the other man’s lips fills Arm with aggravation, continuing to step even closer into his personal space.
“P’Arc!!”, Arm whines, his distaste for him reflecting in the frown on his lips.
"Cheer for me?", Arc asked, crouching down until he reached Arm’s eye level from where he sat on the bleachers. Arm flinches as he feels Arc’s breath on his face, not expecting him in such close proximity.
"Why would I do that?", Arm retorted while pushing him away, raising a brow at his unusual words. ‘What does this asshole want from me this time?’, he thinks, narrowing his eyes. Arm was more used to Arc making annoying bets before his soccer matches, just another ordinary day of pushing his buttons. But for Arm, it was just another ordinary day in hell. So he wondered what was different today.
"What? Do you need a reward for you to cheer for me?", Arc glowered down at him as he stepped even closer, until both his legs snuck in between Arm’s. Arm tries to ignore that, grimacing at that stupid look on his face.
“10,000 baht.”
“Greedy brat.”, Arc snapped, rolling his eyes before he stepped away and jogged back to the field with the sound of the whistle blowing.
Arm made faces behind Arc’s back as he walked away, mumbling curses at him under his breath as his eyes followed his senior stepping onto the grass. But before he knew it, a giant grin crept onto Arm’s lips while his gaze still followed his peer mentor.
“Wowwww. You really are pathetic.”, Sand groaned beside him, staring at Arm with an ugly sneer.
“Shut the fuck up. Like you’re any better than me.”
–
The crowd of students and faculty began to cause an uproar on the bleachers, screams and cries and cheers echoing across the football field. Some students arrived in matching jerseys, some in bright colors that represented their teams, some even had paint smothered on their faces. With colored flags and streamers in their hands, they waved them in the air every time their team scored a goal.
“Is this a school match or the fucking world cup?!”, Arm scoffed in disbelief, as he looked around at the others surrounding him.
“Any match is a passionate match when P’Arc is here.”, Sand replied, too distracted to even face his friend. “It’s even more exciting now that they’re against this team. They are a formidable bunch in their school, but I just know today is the day our uni will make history.”, he added with a tone way too dramatic, as he waved his flags in the air. “What other reason do you think so many students are here right now to watch?”
Arm rolled his eyes, but continued to watch the players with the same passion as everyone else. Excitement dazzles across the crowd, different players’ names being shouted and cheered by Arm’s schoolmates.
“Gooo!! P’Arc! Hey, Arm, he’s carrying the team so much right now!”, Sand exclaimed, his arms thrown in the air with anticipation.
But Arm stayed quiet, quieter than he usually is. “Hey, Arm. Aren’t you going to cheer for your peer mentor? It’s like you two aren’t in the same gear code.”, Sand grumbled, elbowing Arm to get his attention.
‘Why would I cheer for someone who isn’t worth cheering for?’, Arm thought, crossing his arms while he shrugged at Sand’s words. He tried to shake off the pure displeasure he felt since entering the oval, or rather, since he was forced to enter the oval to watch the match by an annoying person here.
‘Whatever’, Arm thought as he sulked there by himself, his eyes finding his fiery senior on the field before him. Arm began to spiral into his thoughts, blinded by the annoyance he felt whenever the other guy manages to ruin his day.
Arc is different from anyone else on campus. He is a blazing wildfire, drawing eyes and gazes wherever he goes. Even worse when he's on the field playing soccer like today, where his flame shone even brighter, and Arm hated it. He hated how everyone only looked at him. He hated how beautiful Arc made it look, running across the sunlit grass with sweat that glistened down his face and down his neck; how he made it seem almost an artform.
He hated how handsome he looked, his long raven hair in the summer sun and how wet strands of it stuck to his skin from sweat, and how the frame of his shadow was perfect, drawing in eyes that gazed with longing. Arm hated the effect he had on them, hated how his presence was always impossible to ignore. He huffed and shifted in his seat, feeling the sharp pain of his own nails digging into his skin.
Arc was always insufferable, he thought, as he stared at him dashing across the field in that stupid soccer attire. He despised how good he always looked in them, despised how good he was at playing the sport. Arm tries to ignore the roaring of the crowd surrounding him, the incessant hollering of girls and boys alike cheering and screaming his name.
Arm huffed, never understanding why and how everyone on campus worships this dude, always kissing the ground he walks on. He wonders while he watches him from afar, feeling his body jump as Arc's team scores another goal that earned another loud bellow from the crowd.
'All this attention he gets–', Arm thinks, 'and that stupid face. Do they know how rude this bastard can be?' And he really was rude, how could Arm possibly forget how Arc treated him, flipping him off and blocking him on all his socials? Posting that picture of him falling off the stage? Is that really how a senior should treat his peer mentee?
'That asshole definitely has a way with words!', Arm thought as he reminisced every single time Arc had thrown him some kind of insult, which was every time. Why was he even in this gear code? Could there be a worse punishment? Maybe he’ll call up P’Yeepoon later begging to quit; that, Arm has pondered many times.
Arm grinds his teeth, aggravation fills him to the brim at every taunting and teasing he’s had to endure. Arc picks on him every chance he gets. What right did he have? He doesn't control Arm's life. He never consented to being messed with, with those provoking, witty comebacks and how Arc remembers little things about him only to torment him about it later. How abhorrent, the way Arc knows exactly which buttons to push to set him off.
Most of all, Arm hated how it all made flowers bloom in his chest. Arm hated how good it secretly made him feel, despite forcing himself to loathe Arc with every bone in his body. He should hate him, curse at him at every opportunity. How did it ever turn out this way? Why did it have to be him? Arc just ruins his life, but he just couldn't get enough of it.
“That guy is a dirty player!”, Sand grumbled, pointing at the opposing team.
“Shit, you’re right. That was a clear foul.”, Arm replied, scowling at the guy who clearly tripped and pushed Arc until he tumbled onto the ground.
“What an asshole. They must be threatened by our dear star player.”, Sand whined while shaking his head. “Is P’Arc okay?”, Arm snaps out of his thoughts, his heart beginning to race when he stares worryingly at his senior limping as the referee approaches him.
“It’s alright, our main guy won’t be defeated that easily.”, Sand reassured as he grabbed Arm’s face, pulling his gaze back towards Arc. The crowd screams in celebratory relief as Arc was allowed back in the game. “He won’t be injured that easily either.”
Without knowing it, Arm stares daggers at the guy who pushed Arc, moments before the game continued. Something boiled up inside him until he could no longer help himself. Something overwhelming, something that was on the tip of his tongue this whole time yet he only repressed himself from saying it.
“P’Arc!! Go!!!”, Arm cups his hands around his mouth as his voice roars, the students beside him flinching at the sudden sound that echoed out. The crowd followed his cheering, hyping up the team twice as much as they did before.
Arc swiftly turned his head as he jogged, a voice he longed to hear suddenly ringing in his ears. He finds Arm in the crowd instantly, locking eyes with him before flashing the biggest grin he’s ever made. Arm felt his chest tighten, his breathing somehow becoming more labored than his seniors on the field when Arc winks at him before getting back into the game.
Strangely, everything felt like it had slowed, and all of Arm’s senses had been taken from him, the oval turning silent for a second before he was brought back to life by the whistle blow. He thinks for a second; has Arc ever even smiled like that? Confusion swept over him from all that he felt, but the sheer intensity of the match kept him grounded, kept his soul from floating off into the clouds.
All eyes were on Arc, and Arm was no different. “He’s even faster somehow, right?” , Sand said to him inquisitively, carefully observing their senior with narrowed eyes.
‘The fuck? Did he get a powerup like Mario or something?’, Arm thought, on the same page with Sand’s words. The game continues with what felt like eternity, Arm’s eyes strangely only gravitating to his peer mentor that he says he hated so much, and in the back of his head lingered only feelings of worry and care; though to someone like Arm, he would fail to admit that to anybody.
And there he was again, shining and dazzling on that field. Arm shakes his head, losing the fight to his sensibilities completely, giving in as he just watched his senior before him. He secretly notices how much Arc would glow when he does the thing he loves most, almost like he was born to do it.
The crowd watches with intense anticipation, holding their breath as the match reaches the end of its final stretch. "Score!!", a roaring voice calls from the loudspeaker. The bellowing screams that followed were deafening, as the big game had finally concluded.
“Hey, Arm!! We won! We won!! I fucking told you!”, Sand cries out as he shakes Arm’s shoulders in delight, the rest of the crowd jumping and shouting as they celebrate their victory.
“Pipo!! You owe me 500 baht!! History is made!”, he turned to their other friend, hugging each other until they had both tripped and fell.
Arm shook his head as he watched them, an unwarranted chuckle leaving his lips. He looked back at the field, and like opposite poles of a magnet, his gaze naturally pulled to where Arc was. As soon as he caught hints of a grin creeping up his lips, he looked away, palming his cheeks in case they appeared red.
A few minutes passed of constant cheering and noise, Arc’s teammates singing a chant while pointing at him, honoring their star player. Arc couldn’t help but flash a shy smile, hugging his teammates longer than he initially intended to, swept away by the triumph and euphoria he had felt in the moment. His team settled and walked to the side after a while, screaming and cheering once more as the trophy was presented before them.
“Has anyone seen Arc?”, one of his friends cried out, and they all noticed he was gone, concern started to paint their faces.
“Don’t worry, everyone. You know how he is, plus, he wouldn’t like his picture posted anyways.”, another one of his teammates reassured the others.
Arc had gone, in fact, to someplace more urgent, to someone more urgent to him at this moment more than anything. His feet take him to the other side of the field, where Arm’s block had been seated. His friends instantly found out where he was, only having to listen to the loud hollering and screams of admiration that always followed him throughout the campus.
“Arm… Arm.. He’s.. coming.. this way.” , Sand blurted through his teeth, elbowing Arm with widened eyes.
“I fucking know that, stop it!”, Arm retorts, pushing Sand away before his whole face paled at the sight of Arc pacing towards him. A group of people, mostly girls, flocked around him and made a scene, blocking his way, before a brief silence followed as they stepped back, clearing the way for him to approach Arm once again.
“Shit, he’s really coming.”, Sand squeaked, straightening himself before greeting his senior.
“P’Arc! You were amazing out there!! Congratulations!”, he beamed, standing up as the two met, Pipo following after him. “Thanks.”, he replied casually while never breaking eye contact with Arm.
Silence ensued between them, Arm looking up at him baffled and speechless, somehow not knowing the right words to say. He finally decides to speak out, “Uhh, you did great–”
“You never cheer for me.”, Arc interrupts as he says. “Thanks.”, a big warm smile flourishes on his lips. It was the kind of smile that Arm has never seen him make before, something different from that shit-eating smirk he always found obnoxious, but a smile that was fragile and mellow, almost treading the line of affectionate ; something so out of the ordinary for Arc, at least that’s what Arm had thought.
Arm feels his throat tighten as he swallows, blinking to avoid the fierce eyes that could’ve seen right through him. Thanks? When did Arc even learn these words? He could feel his own chest flutter, his sweaty fingers mindlessly grip and tap on his knees.
‘Why does he have to be so handsome?’, he thought, irritated by the panicked thoughts that wanted to flee his mind. It didn’t help how Arc appeared to glisten in the sunlight from his sweat, his raven hair tousled and unkempt, his cheeks and face red from the heat and physical activity. Arm wished he didn’t look the same, because what excuse did he have to look such a mess?
Arm grabs a water bottle and shoves it in Arc’s hands. “Whatever. There, I cheered for you. Where’s my reward?”, he huffed while trying to conceal himself, reverting back to brooding at him.
Arc sighs and leans down at him in a way Arm had definitely not anticipated, his breath stolen from his lungs. “Then…”, Arc started.
“How will you have me, nong Arm?”, he smirked with that same shitty smugness that always got on Arm’s nerves. But now the only thing Arm was worried about was whether or not he had noticed the redness in his own ears and cheeks. Arm wanted to die right then and there, the first case of death by overwhelming embarrassment would now belong to him. In front of all these fucking people, too. Arm wanted to curse at him, hit him, kick him, block him, but instead returned that smugness back all at once.
“Transfer my 10,000 baht, then.”
Before he knew it, the wet sensation of Arc’s sweaty towel smacked him in the face, making him jump and fall back in his seat.
“Fuck you, gross!”, Arm growled, swiping his hand away. That earned a few bursts of laughter from the people who watched them, and Arm had wished a meteor would crash down on earth already, so he could die instantly. If he worried he was red in the face before, he was definitely sure of it now.
“Forget it. I never asked you to cheer for me, got that?”, Arc hissed back, as he turned away from him and went off. “Asshole.” , Arm jeered, trying his best to straighten himself out after that disastrous interaction. ‘What the fuck is wrong with him? Did he want me to cheer for him or not?’, he thought to himself, huffing and pouting as he stood up and swung his yellow backpack onto his shoulder.
Sand leaned towards him, opening his mouth as if to comment, but all it took was a ghastly glare from Arm to shut him back up. Only as Arm began to walk, did he notice the strength in his knees dissipating, causing him to tremble slightly with his first few steps. He tried hard to seem like he was fine, but his once tough interior had now begun to melt; feeling himself starting to crumble from the inside.
Why he started acting so strange like this, he wouldn't dare to dig into his own thoughts to remember why. One thing is certain however, it was not because of Arc. At least, that's what he kept telling himself on the way home. To say that he’s only thought about it is a huge understatement. Arm is consumed by his thoughts. As much as he hated it, not even a girl has left him with such a whirlwind of emotions, completely sweeping him off his feet.
He laid there on his bed, 3:30 AM, seemingly unable to sleep. He still kept talking to himself, flashes of an annoying person haunting Arm even in his dreams, leaving his poor heart in shambles. He never knew the feeling of going crazy, at least not until this moment. Arm covers his eyes with his palm shamefully, as he finally accepts what his mind and body had been screaming at him for days.
'Oh.'
'Oh, fuck...'