21- Friends

"Morning..." Ta greets Zee with a low voice along with a yawn.

"You're yawning already?" the man jokingly teases Ta. Instead of replying to his roommate, Ta playfully smacks his back.

"Waadi everyone!" Bear joins them not long after that. He's still looking fresh even after a 2 hour lecture this morning.

"Looking snatch, Bear..." Zee smiles at him. "Unlike this man who sits next to me, looking like a dead zombie even before the lunch hour!"

"Hey, compared to him, I worked harder last night-"

Bear throws his eraser to Ta, making the man tease him with his flirty laugh.

"I don't wanna know..." Zee throws a towel for that matter. He continues working with his sheet.

"What's that? Corporate Law?" Bear asks. Zee replies to him with a nod.

"Ah, the one that we worked on last night, teerak..."

"I can't remember any of it, because someone was busy eating something under the table..."

Zee glares at them.

"Guys, please let my single soul rest in peace..."

Ta and Bear laugh together.

"No... Don't get me wrong. Last night, Ta was working with that sheet. And then, I brought him the mango from home. He couldn't stop eating instead of working with the sheet. Thank God he made it!" says Bear.

"Mango is nice..."

"Where's my share?" asks Zee.

"Sorry. Maybe next time," Ta sticks out his tongue a bit.

"Traitor!"

"What? It's from my boyfriend!"

"It's not like I wanna share your boyfriend with you!"

"That won't do, mister!"

Bear watches the two bickering while doing their assignment. A smile appears softly from his face. These two men can still goof around like school boys, which indicates that they are fine even with the hectic schedule as the final year student.

"Oh, hi there!"

Ta and Zee halt immediately when they see Pan, standing at the side of the table.

"Morning, Seniors..."

"Morning! Looking for Ta?" Bear glares at Zee instead of his boyfriend. Pan slowly nods.

"Oh, wait for a second..." Ta takes out a bunch of papers from his bag.

"Zee, can you hand this to Pan?"

Zee blinks his eyes while watching Ta. The man flicks his brows and grin. Zee grabs the notes from Ta and hands them to Pan. His eyes are looking at her in a sharp note. Pan takes the note and handle them in care.

"This is the compilation of notes for these semester. It's helpful, so don't take it for granted okay?" Ta says.

"I am the one who compile them," Bear puts up his hand and smile.

"Really?" Pan looks at him in disbelief.

"Yeah. This jackass will never, ever touch those lecture notes from the lecturers. So, I help him sorting those with his style," Bear replies.

"That's why I love you, teerak!"

"You cursed at me when I hand it to you, mister!"

"Did I?"

"Yes. You tell me to fuck off-"

Before Bear roasts him even more, Ta quickly feeds his boyfriend with a piece of bread. The man glares at him, throwing a hand to smack his fingers away from his face.

"You two are cute..."

"Feeling jealous?" asks Ta. Pan squints her nose a bit before shaking her head in tiny.

"Ao... How can you be jealous! You can always act lovey dovey like this with your boyfriend later!" Ta replies to Pan.

"I... Don't have a boyfriend, Senior Ta,"

Bear's lips crook up a bit. He nudges Bear using his feet under the table.

"That's my leg..." instead of Bear, Zee is the one who jumps on his seat.

"Oh really? I am so sorry!" Bear talks in a shady note to Zee. The man gives him a deep stare.

"I thought The Econ Moon is your boyfriend? You two always roaming together," Ta continues asking Pan sone questions, more like interrogation rather than just being friendly.

"Cray? Oh, he's just a friend. He helps me with my bike, that's why we always hangout together," Pan answers him earnestly, not knowing that Ta is trying to collect some information regarding on her personal life.

"Ah... In that case, you're single then!"

Pan nods and smile at Ta.

"Don't bother looking around. Take your sweet little time. Who knows, maybe your other half is just an inch away..."

Zee stops doing his sheet. But, his head still hanging low. Pan on the other hand, looking nervous and fidgeting a bit.

"I.. have to go now. Thank you, Senior Ta for the notes. Thanks to you too, Senior Bear!" Pan immediately bids goodby to them, turning around and never to look back again.

"Can't believe you're generous enough to pass your notes to a junior..." Zee initiates the first conversation after Pan left.

"I told Pan that she's gonna be my mentee for the mentorship program. So, she asked for my notes..." Ta replies. "I find it normal, unless if you're jealous, then..."

"I won't get jealous over some silly thing,"

Ta and Bear exchange looks. They don't know if Zee is aware enough of his words. He seems like talking as if Pan is his girlfriend.

"Wow, you do sound like her boyfriend!"

Zee snaps a bit. He stops looking at his notes, try to recall his response earlier.

"I mean... Jealous over your relationship with her..."

"I am the one who suppose to feel like it instead of you, friend. Are you sure you chose the right side?" Bear wriggles her brows and smirks.

Zee feels stuck. He slams down his note softly on the table.

"I'm leaving. Got some work..."

Ta and Bear still watching him in suspicious notes. Zee shakes his head a bit before packing his bag and leave the table.

"Told you, he is sus!" Ta taps Bear on his forearm. His boyfriend nods in agree.

"Now I believe in you..."

"What should we do now? If the rumor about Pan and Cray is true, what about Zee? I can't bare watching him crushing," Ta looks gloomy.

Bear grabs his boyfriend's hand.

"That's not your job to worry over him. He's not your junior mentee anymore. He's your friend now. Just let him figure things out. If the suspicion turns out to be true, we'll support and stand behind him all the way."

Ta sighs, eventually nods softly. Zee is an adult that needs support instead of monitored adults around him. His life has been miserable from the beginning. As a friend, they should make his path easier and simple.

"Let's go grab lunch and head to class, okay?" Bear coax his voice. Ta happily grabs his hand and drag him to faculty cafe.