The festival ended late.
Too late.
The kind of late where:
your feet hurt your voice is gone and everything feels a little quieter than it should
"Okay," Krit said, dropping onto the ground dramatically. "I'm officially dead."
"You said that three hours ago," Mali replied, sitting beside him.
"I died again."
"That's not how that works."
Phuwin walked up to them.
Slower than usual.
Quieter than usual.
Krit looked up. "…There you are."
Mali followed his gaze.
"…You disappeared."
"I know."
Silence.
Not awkward.
But… careful.
"…Are you okay?" Mali asked.
Phuwin shrugged.
"I don't know."
Honest.
Krit sat up slightly. "Did you cry?"
Mali hit his arm. "Krit!"
"What? I'm asking."
Phuwin let out a small laugh. "…Yeah."
Krit nodded. "Okay."
That was it.
No teasing.
No joke.
Just… okay.
Mali smiled softly. "That's normal."
"I hate that it's normal."
"Same," Krit said.
They sat there for a moment.
Festival lights flickering in the distance.
People leaving.
The noise fading.
"…I talked to him," Phuwin said.
Krit sighed immediately. "Of course you did."
"It wasn't like that."
"It's always like that."
Mali glanced between them. "What happened?"
Phuwin leaned back on his hands.
"…He said I felt more than he could give."
Silence.
Krit frowned. "…That's a weird sentence."
"I know."
Mali thought about it. "…But it makes sense."
Phuwin looked at her. "How?"
Mali hesitated.
Then—
"…Sometimes people don't match," she said. "Not because one is wrong. Just… different."
Krit made a face. "I don't like that."
"No one does."
Phuwin stared at the ground.
"…So what was it then?"
"What?" Krit asked.
"What I felt."
That question sat there.
Heavy.
Simple.
Impossible.
"…Love?" Mali said softly.
Phuwin shook his head. "It didn't feel like how people describe love."
Krit snorted. "Because people lie."
Mali laughed slightly. "He's not wrong."
Phuwin frowned. "…Then what is it supposed to feel like?"
Silence.
Krit leaned back. "Okay, I'll be honest."
"That's new," Mali said.
"Be quiet."
Krit looked up at the sky.
"…I think love is supposed to be easy."
Phuwin blinked. "Easy?"
"Yeah. Not… this." He gestured vaguely. "Not confusion. Not stress. Not overthinking every message."
Mali tilted her head. "…That sounds fake."
"It's not fake."
"It sounds like a movie."
Krit shrugged. "Maybe movies got something right."
Phuwin shook his head. "…I don't think it's easy."
"Then what is it?"
"I think it's…" he paused. "…loud."
Mali looked at him. "Loud?"
"Yeah. Like—it's always there. Even when you don't want it to be."
Krit frowned. "…That sounds exhausting."
"It is."
Mali thought for a moment.
Then—
"…I think it's quiet."
Both of them looked at her.
"Quiet?" Krit repeated.
Mali nodded slowly.
"…Like… when you're with someone and you don't have to think so much."
Phuwin blinked.
Krit blinked.
"…So which one is it?" Krit asked.
"Easy?""Loud?""Quiet?"
They all paused.
Then—
Phuwin laughed.
A real laugh this time.
"…We have no idea."
"None," Krit agreed.
"Zero," Mali added.
Silence again.
But this time—
lighter.
"…Maybe that's the point," Mali said.
"What is?" Phuwin asked.
"That we don't know yet."
Krit groaned. "That's so unsatisfying."
"It's true."
"I don't like truth."
Phuwin smiled slightly.
"…At least we're all confused."
"Together," Mali said.
"Unfortunately," Krit added.
Phuwin nudged him lightly. "You love us."
"I tolerate you."
"Same thing."
"It's not."
"It is."
Mali laughed.
And just like that—
they were back.
Not fixed.
Not healed.
But—
together.
The lights in the distance flickered off one by one.
The festival ending completely now.
"…Let's go home," Mali said.
Krit stood up dramatically. "Finally."
Phuwin stood last.
Looking around once.
At the empty space.
The quiet.
The place where everything felt too much earlier.
Now—
It just felt like…
a memory.
"…Hey," Krit said, already walking ahead. "If either of you fall in love again, I'm leaving."
Mali laughed. "You're not going anywhere."
Phuwin smiled.
"…Yeah," he said. "We'll see."
They walked off together.
Talking.
Arguing.
Laughing.
Still confused.
Still messy.
Still seventeen.
And still—
trying to figure outwhat love is supposed to feel like.
End of Chapter 11