Only Friends: Dream On.

A motorcycle pulled up to the gate in front of the house. The house was completely dark, indicating that Dean hadn't returned from the Pink Pony Club yet. For a moment, no one spoke, as if waiting for the other to make the first move. Finally, it was Tua who, with a heavy heart, stepped off Arnold the stylist's motorcycle, glancing at him nervously. But Arnold still makes eye contact, just like every time we communicate.

 

"See you," the motorcycle owner said.

 

"Wait a minute, no rush, right? Can we talk inside the house for a bit?" Arnold hesitated for a moment before deciding to turn off the engine. Arnold followed the person who invited him into the house. Tua brought water to Arnold, who was sitting on the sofa waiting. He asked out of concern. "You're not drunk, are you?"

 

"I didn't drink that much."

 

"Oh..." Then the Tua was speechless again. "And about that..."

 

"Huh?"

 

"The reason you agreed to do the photoshoot for Boston is that you didn't want him bothering me?"

 

"Yes," Arnold admitted without hesitation. "I've noticed for a while that you're uncomfortable around him, and then there's the past you told me about. I don't want you to get hurt again."

 

"So that kiss was just a trick of yours, wasn't it?" Tua closed his eyes, trying to compose himself. He hesitated, but if he didn't ask, he would hate himself for the rest of his life.

 

"You just kissed me..." Tua's voice trembled, "so that Boston would stop bothering me, right?"

 

"Tua…”

 

"Remember when I kissed you at the party? I wasn't just trying to help you with your act, but... but because I wanted to know if you felt the same way about me as I felt about you."

Arnold's eyes widened as he stared at Tua, unable to believe what he had heard. But Tuo refused to let the other person say anything more. He had wasted enough time already.

 

"I like you, Arnold. I've liked you since our first year," Tua confessed his love.

 

"If Ming knew, would you hate me?"

 

"I don't hate you. Why would I?" Arnold said. 

 

"I just wanted to reciprocate your feelings, but I'm not sure. I don't know what I'm feeling for you right now."

 

"Even stroking us wouldn't help?"

 

Arnold pursed his lips, having no answer, but he decided to ask anyway. "Can you stroke my leg once?"

 

Without wasting any time, he climbed onto the sofa and pressed his body against the other's strong frame. As their lips met, they began with slow, deliberate kisses, as if exploring each other, but as time passed, the touch became more passionate and hungrily intense. Warm tongues intertwined, unwilling to part, as they exchanged hot breaths, merging into one. Slender hands reached beneath the clothes, caressing the strong skin.

 

Like deliberate waves crushing his firm, taut nipples, Arnold's emotions spiralled out of control. He groaned in a deep, agonising voice, the throbbing desire overwhelming him. His once dormant erection, once slumbering beneath his trousers, now stood proudly against the hips of the man on his lap, uncontrollably satisfying him. He was ready to gaze at it with his own eyes.

 

"Wait!" Arnold grabbed the mischievous hand that was unzipping his pants. The young man, speaking English, with a mixture of lust and desire, said, "I don't want to make Ming sad."

 

"I won't regret it," Tua said, standing firm.

 

Having taken flight like that, Arnold allowed that side of him to unzip his pants, slender fingers mercilessly exploring, and when the pent-up frustration burst forth from the narrow opening to take a full breath, the warm mouth of Tua enveloped him, claiming it all for itself.

Arnold adjusted the smaller man's hips before inserting his fingers into the groove. They retaliated against the other party with vulgar, offensive language to exact revenge in a fitting manner.

 

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"I'd like to give you the money, but there's a problem..." The speaker, a woman in a suit who looked imposing, bent down to glance at the actors' profiles.

 

'On the paper in front of you'

 

"Why are the lead actors so mediocre?"

 

Jack, sitting opposite, overheard this and his blood boiled. He almost said something that shouldn't have gone out, but Timmy, who was standing beside him, held him back and turned his head.

 

"What do you mean, Brother Sai?"

 

"Look, the lawyer said Sodfall wasn't that bad, let alone the others."

 

"Of all the actors, it seems like only Raffy is somewhat decent. Even Nattaya can use me to promote my products," Yui said, referring to the picture of the person they were talking about. "Isn't he Sanchalee's son? I saw them on a show together last week. That's a real star, worth the investment." 

 

"My play only has actors," Jack retorted angrily. Timmy elbowed him hard in the ribs.

 

"Well, actually, everyone here is very talented, Ms Yui. If your company needs anything, whether it's photography or creating content for your products, everyone is definitely up to the task."

 

The female investor pouted and thought for a moment before a smile appeared on her face. Cunning and untrustworthy.

 

"Why not let the celebrity's child play the lead role? They're so famous."

 

"I think many more companies would want to invest in supporting this."

 

Jack wasted no time in defending his actors.

 

"Everyone went through the casting process. Drama productions have procedures, so they probably choose what to do. It's not that simple."

 

Yui shook her head and laughed. She had no idea she was being subtly insulted. Or perhaps she didn't care much, because she was a wealthy investor the other party had to appease.

 

"You performed well, but nobody watched, huh? If that's the case, I don't know why I invested the money. How many people are going to watch the play and see my product?" Jack and Timmy were stunned: Yui had dropped a bombshell in the middle of the group once again.

 

"How about you guys try changing the main actor to Raffy? I don't know, but for me, if we could get someone with a good face, a lot of fame, and a large following like him to play the role, then it would be worth the investment in sponsoring this project."

 

Jack was so angry that he was speechless. Timmy, who had been compromising for so long, was also starting to feel uncomfortable; the two of them could only exchange silent glances.

 

"So what do you want me to do? Ms Yui is the last one. If I don't get the money from her: Our drama didn't actually happen, you know!” Timmy pleaded, his anxious face showing his hands clasped together in a gesture of supplication. A sympathetic friend.

 

"I don't care. I'll go to another provider."

 

"It's easy for you to say, Jack. You're the director! But I'm the producer, and my job is to find the money for you to do your work. I've tried everything, really. You've seen it. How many companies have rejected us because of this? Maybe those guys are right after all."

 

"How could you say that? Everyone in the project is your friend. Same here! Don't you have any sympathy?" Jack had finally lost his patience!

 

"Listen, everyone's friends, that's true, but this is work. I don't want you to fire anyone, I'm just asking you to help find a middle ground. I know you can do it, and I swear you won't have to worry about money anymore!" 

 

Jack frowned, his chest filled with worry. Timmy looked at his friend with understanding, but still, he had to tell Jack to look at the world realistically.

 

"I know it's difficult, but you have to choose whether you want to make a good play or In the end, you'll never have the money to make any play in the first place."

 

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Dean had no prior experience in fight choreography. Performing the sword duel scene in Romeo & Romeo became his first test in this field. The Prince of Swordsman spent almost all his free time practising swordsmanship intensely, because the only way to make every movement fluid, beautiful, and realistic was to practice repeatedly until the body memorised every movement naturally.

 

Jack walked into the rehearsal room and, seeing the chaotic scene of the night's practice, his distress returned. He felt guilty even before he could inform the other person of the news. Dean saw Jack in his reflection in the mirror and turned to smile. Both were speaking in a teasing manner.

 

"How did the talks with the sponsors go? Did you reach a million baht?"

 

The words made Jack too afraid to make eye contact. The young commander walked closer. The actor then snatched the blindfold from the other person.

 

"Doesn't Dean have to have a partner, or not?"

 

"It's hard to practice your head movements thoroughly before you go and rehearse cues with others. If you're not professional..."

 

"I'm going to be so humiliated. I'm the lead actor, you know!" Hearing that made Jack feel even more guilty, which Dean noticed.

 

"Is something wrong, Jack?"

 

"I..." The director held his breath. He decided to look at Dean’s  face seriously: Before saying anything, he said, "Phu has something he wants to tell you."

 

"What?"

 

"I went to talk to Timmy, and a major sponsor, about getting us a large sum of money without having to rely on smaller sponsors."

 

The famous lead actor has a large social media following, which puts him in a difficult situation.

"They want Raffy Mkhitaryan be the main player!"

 

The room fell silent for a long time, so silent that Jack became worried and looked around with a hopeful expression. The other party was about to say something, but the Prince of Sin pursed his lips before speaking in a calm but icy tone.

 

"You're not so naive as to believe everything he says, are you?"

 

"I don't agree, but how could a drama be made without sponsors?"

 

"Oh, so that means you agree then," Dean smirked. "I thought you would be smarter than this."

 

"It's not just about the two of us, Dean. There are other factors that could make it happen. And besides, there are two performances, so I thought I'd have you two do one show each."

 

"I'm the lead actor! You yourself said I got the role because of a fair audition. Are you changing your mind because of something like this? Are you going to demote me to an extra when you chose me in the first place?!"

 

"I didn't demote you!" Jack tried to explain. "You'll just be a double cast, playing the same role but in different performances. I told you, our play has two performances!"

 

"It's no different," Dean cursed, glaring at Jack with clear disappointment. "You, Jack? The one who keeps saying theater is art, the one who makes plays because of fans, the one who believes acting is the most important thing, yet you let sponsors manipulate you into wavering like this?!" Dean snatched the blindfold back and angrily threw it, shattering it into pieces.

 

The bewildered Prince of Sin wiped away a tear from the corner of his eye before walking towards the director. Jack was standing right in front of Dean, doing his best to comfort him.

 

"Dean, calm down first."

 

"I'm sorry I'm not the child of a celebrity. I'm truly sad that I'm not famous enough to have enough followers to help you and others. But I want you to know that I will never give up on something like this."

 

Dean didn't wait for Jack's answer. He walked out of the rehearsal room without looking back, leaving the director watching him go, feeling guilty for not being able to help him at all.

 

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Tua woke up before realising Arnold was gone; only a piece of paper remained.

There was a Post-it note stuck on the bedside table.

 

"I'm going home now. I can see you're tired. I didn't want to wake you up."

 

The recently awakened man automatically smiled. He took a picture of the piece of paper. Save the handwritten message to your phone before typing it to the owner of the handwriting. 'See you at the university.'

 

On his way to university, Tua stopped to buy some snacks! He had a small hope of finding Arnold practising his dance moves during a break, and his hopes were fulfilled. He saw the young dancer showcasing his fluid moves in front of the mirror in the rehearsal room, with loud hip-hop music blasting in the background. When Arnold noticed him approaching, he quickly turned off the music.

 

"Hey, you can keep dancing if you want. I didn't mean to disturb you," he quickly said.

 

"You're not bothering me at all, Tua."

 

The young stylist broke into a wide smile, so shy that he almost forgot that. Why did you come to see the other person? "I brought you lunch. You haven't eaten anything yet, right?"

 

"Oh yeah, I forgot," Arnold scratched his head, avoiding eye contact with the other man. "Thanks."

 

Tua handed the other person a bag from a fast-food restaurant. Arnold took it and saw that it was a hamburger with fries.

 

"Let's eat together. You bought so much, I can't eat it all," Tua accepted the invitation. He sat down next to the person who invited him and took a burger. They were silent for a long time, as if neither of them knew how to act, just letting time and silence pass. Finally, it was Tua who spoke up.

 

"Have you gotten your answer yet?" Arnold raised an eyebrow in a questioning manner, but when he saw the other man's expectant gaze...Then he turned away again!

 

"You want an answer from me that quickly?" the burly man asked.

 

"I just want to know what our current status is."

 

"I can't answer that yet!" 

 

His face fell instantly, his heart trembled, and he felt tears welling up.

 

"Do you hate me?"

 

"That's crazy," Tua forced a smile just in time to avoid Arnold's gaze. "I'm not that serious. I'm just curious so I can act accordingly. We can just keep it like this, a 'situationship' for now."

 

Arnold couldn't tell that Tua was in pain. When he heard that, he smiled, feeling comfortable with the offer.

 

"Then we can just stay like this for now, don't you think?"

 

"Hmm," Tua didn't answer what he was thinking. "This is good enough!" Tua silently bit into his hamburger, wincing in great pain in his chest. Arnold had A noticeably more relaxed posture than before.

 

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Ever since the talk show "Mouth Tip Tid Kaeng" aired, Raffy has gained attention from his classmates and students at the university. By implication, that's because they've fallen head over heels for the beautiful and graceful young man. On screen, everything is created through manipulation, completely different from reality. Raffa was somewhat annoyed, but he pretended to be arrogant and acted stubborn. Not taking a bath will make you seem arrogant, and everyone will bring up your mother, who is like a goddess to you. So, he separated the scrolls and sat alone, memorising the lines to prepare for the next training session.

 

Rome walked into the garden beside the faculty building. He stopped short when he saw Raffy sitting alone under a banyan tree, being secretly photographed by a group of students with their cell phone cameras. Although he was about to go to music practice, he chose to walk over to the person there instead. Raffy looked up when the other person walked in, blocking the sunlight.

 

"You're famous now, aren't you?" Rome taunted.

 

"What are you talking about?"

 

"Ever since the show aired, your voice has really gotten hoarse, like a real star's, not just old. Just a regular celebrity," Rome grinned, baring his teeth. "In the comments section, everyone's gushing over you."

 

"So you've become another one of my club members, huh?"

 

"No," Rome said, his voice laced with sarcasm, without turning around... He smirked, "I’m not a fan club member. I'm more than that. You know exactly what I mean."

 

"I know," Raffy said casually. "It's the beam that used to be yokes."

 

Rome didn't know how to feel when he heard that. Raffy said the sentence in a flat, ordinary tone, no different from saying 'I'm hungry'.

 

"Hello'

 

"Are you going anywhere today?"

 

"Why are you asking?" The actress's son bent down to read the next line.

 

"Just in case you need a driver...."

 

"My car's fixed," Raffy said, frowning. "Are you free today?"

 

"No..."

 

"What the hell is wrong?" Raffy asked, genuinely confused. "Today I have to rehearse for the play, please don't disturb me.

 

"You're not in the mood much these days, are you?" Rome decided to whisper into the ear.   Raffy put down his highlighter pen and gave a teasing wink to the person leaning in close. "Not with you, because today I'm going to meet Jack."

 

"Huh, I thought the breasts had flipped over and were now unfolded."

"Which tuba is that?" Raffy decided to pack his belongings, as both Rome and the people around him were distracting him completely. He decided to escape and sit quietly in the newly repaired car. Rome felt extremely humiliated at being ignored. He was about to reach out and grab the other man's arm, but before he could, a loud round of applause erupted. The sound echoed throughout the area under the banyan tree, drawing everyone's attention.

 

Dean, the source of the applause, appeared with a grim expression. It wasn't often that the Prince of Arts radiated such a terrifying aura to those who saw him. Both Raffy and Rome froze almost simultaneously. Rome had a strange premonition that something bad was about to happen.

 

"Where are you going now, big star?" Dean chuckled after his final clap. "I really admire you. They cut you, and you still went to great lengths to beg them to let you back as an extra. And to make matters worse... now you're even stealing roles from other actors."

 

"What the hell are you talking about, Dean?" Raffy didn't understand a thing. "I went to snatch Whose role and in which scene?"

 

"Don't play the victim. No matter how you act, it won't be convincing. If you could act even half as well as your followers, you'd be a leading actor in the Asoke building a long time ago."

 

"Why don't we all calm down first?" Rome, who was also clueless, tried to reason with them. "Let's calm things down with cold water," he said. "Whatever the problem is, let's talk it out nicely, Deen."

 

"Why don't you ask that celebrity's son?"

 

"I told you I don't know anything about it!"

 

"How shameless!!!"

 

Without hesitation, Dean landed a powerful punch on Raffy, sending him staggering. Rome quickly rushed to help the injured man, but Raffy pushed him away and prepared to retaliate. However, before he could, Jack, who had been following Dean from the start, arrived in the middle of the fight. He quickly pulled Dean away while positioning himself between the two sides.

 

"What the hell happened, Jack?" Raffy asked the director. "What the hell is going on? He suddenly started a fight with me."

 

Dean was about to retort, but Jack quickly restrained him. The director sighed. It's going to be a long wait before the truth is revealed.

 

"I was just about to tell you this. From now on, I'm going to make you a double cast."

 

"The Romeo role," Jack said, swallowing hard, "the same role as that guy last night." Raffy fell silent. He was surprised but also pleased. Even neighbouring Rome couldn't believe their ears.

 

"Why, Jack?" he asked his brother.

 

"Because it's loud!!" Dean said himself, "Its loudness will..."

 

"The theatre troupe has funding, unlike me, who has absolutely nothing."

 

"Dean!" Jack understood how the other man felt, but he also wanted Dean to understand him. "I didn't want to do this, understand? But you have to think about it. There are other expenses, too, like the set, costumes, props, and all those other little things. Everything is an expense. How are you going to get anything from me? As a director, I have to consider all of that.

 

"Overall, you know!!"

 

Those words did nothing to calm Dean down. The Prince of Sin pushed the other man away, freeing him from his captivity. He wiped the tears from his cheeks. Before flashing a pained smile, he said, "Okay, I understand now. If followers and fame are that important to you..."

 

"Dean..."

 

"I'll show you," the Prince of Fine Arts declared without waiting for the other person to finish their sentence. "You've fought hard as a director, haven't you? I'll fight hard as an actor too!"

 

Dean glanced at Raffy, who was smirking, out of the corner of his eye.

 

"Go ahead and practice with that incompetent son of a celebrity, who's only good for his face and two brain cells, to your heart's content," he laughed one last time, "because I bet you're going to have a really tough time!"

 

The Prince of Sin walked away, leaving Jack, heartbroken, to stand alone. Soon, one hand was placed on Jack's shoulder. Raffy said  with empathy, “I understand, Jack.”

 

Rome continued to watch the situation unfold. In the end, Raffy wouldn't give up on Jack's heart. It seems that there is no way that Rome can defeat his older brother and win Raffy's heart.