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《 ☆ 》
“Ish! I don't get it lah ! We are pretty much not jobless anymore, since we are official TAPOPS members. So how come we still need to study?” Gopal complained as he was forced to study with Fang by Ying and Yaya.
Fang, who was sitting on the opposite seat of their study table in the library, gave out a short sigh at the question that Gopal had asked.
Apparently, the teachers were complaining to Papa Zola about Gopal's concerning academic results, and were insisting Papa Zola to exclude Gopal from doing ‘his extracurricular activities’.
Of course, being the kind and considerate friends the girls were, they made Gopal study with Fang.
They even went as far as to arrange schedules for Gopal.
Gopal didn't even know how they knew his schedule so well!
(His schedule consisted of only gaming, eating, forced to go to school, forced to go on life-threatening missions with his friends, sleeping, more gaming and more eating. Still, Gopal felt like it's still unusual for the girls to figure out his schedule so easily.)
“I don't think being a TAPOPS member is considered a ‘job’, since we aren't really paid for our missions. We're more like volunteers.” Fang answered, his pen still moving on his papers as he answered yet another set of Science questions.
Gopal huffed at the deadpanned answer, rolling his eyes in disdain as he looked at his empty homework and could literally feel another year of his life span dissipating into thin air merely at the thought of having to finish the said homework.
With pleading eyes, Gopal reached over the table and started shaking Fang's shoulders in desperation.
“I can't look at this homework anymoreee! Fang, if you do not take this monstrosity away from me in less than a few seconds, I will actually die . You know what dying is, right? So save your friend here by finishing my homework for me, will you?! I'm not even exaggerating! You know you'll miss me if I'm gone, right?! Right?!”
Fang had this uncaring look on his face, eyes looking dead into Gopal's eyes and looking as uninterested and unamused as ever.
With the many Fang-deemed-stupid questions Gopal had asked, the dark skinned boy had already gotten used to Fang's blank stare.
“Pleaseee, Fang? I promise I won't tell Yaya and Ying that you did my homework for me!” Gopal tried negotiating, but it was all proven futile when Fang still had that disinterested look on his face.
Hmph. Looks like Gopal had to resort to his powerful move.
Letting go of Fang's shoulders in favor of crossing his arms over his chest and putting on a pair of sunglasses, Gopal sighed seriously before he said his next few words as serious as he could muster.
“Fang. If you do my homework. I'll get you red carrot stuff at any time and anywhere for a whole week .”
Fang finally looked interested.
Heh.
Just when Gopal thought his plan would work, Fang's eyes that had brightened up for a few seconds dimmed again before he cleared his throat.
“I wouldn't want to face Yaya's and Ying's wrath.”
Gopal apologized to his wallet internally, but then remembered how he had his super cool powers before grinning in triumph.
“ For one month. ”
Fang's eyes widened in interest.
So close to winning this!!
Fang looked like he's seriously considering Gopal's offer now, with his fingers on his chin as his gaze was casted downwards, deep in thoughts.
When Fang made eye contact with Gopal again, the human was already smiling like he had won the lottery.
Except Fang's answer was not what Gopal had thought.
“I would've, but Yaya and Ying already promised me a month worth of red carrot doughnuts - they had guessed that you were going to pull this trick.”
Gopal gaped, while Fang only shrugged, looking victorious as if he was the one who had predicted Gopal's attempt at making Fang do his homework.
When Gopal was about to start asking if the deal would work by giving Fang two months worth of red carrot doughnuts, Fang's watch beeped, and Gopal was quick to notice that it was a call from Boboiboy.
Their watches were supposed to accept calls immediately - as in case of emergencies and the owner of the watches were in danger, the caller would know once their calls got through.
Oddly enough, it wasn't the case for Fang's watch.
“Wait- You could set your watch to not automatically answer calls??” Gopal asked as soon as he noticed, as he was not the kind of person to keep secrets nor questions.
For some reason, Gopal received a glare from Fang for the question - which caused Gopal to quickly raise his hands up as if he was a criminal who was finally caught by the police.
“Uh… I was just asking! Please don't give me more homework!” Gopal cried, not even curious about Fang's watch's odd setting anymore.
Again, for unknown reasons, Fang's eyes widened a little, and the alien all of a sudden huffed in annoyance before pinching his nose bridge, mumbling something as his watch kept on buzzing.
“It's- I personally set my watch to do that to not… be disturbed. It's- It's whatever.” Fang finally said after a while.
Noticing how Fang was acting weird, Gopal was about to ask him another question when his watch received a call, Boboiboy's hologram immediately popping up on his watch.
“Gopal? What are you doing right now?” Boboiboy asked as soon as he saw Gopal, looking concerned.
Recalling his failure of being unable to persuade Fang to do his homework, Gopal sighed, exaggeratingly devastated before he said.
“Hm… I had just failed to make a deal with Fang to do my homework… Huhu… Boboiboy, would you be willing to do my homework? I'm your best friend, right? Please show me mercy…”
Simply because he could, he added sniffles at the end of his sentence.
Unfortunately, Boboiboy didn't seem one bit interested in his words.
Instead, his orange-capped friend perked up at hearing Fang's name.
“Is Fang there with you??” Boboiboy asked, shoulders relaxing when Gopal nodded.
Gopal was about to show Boboiboy that Fang was with him, but his best friend continued talking as soon as Gopal had nodded.
“ Alhamdulillah … I got worried for a second there, because Yaya and Ying told me that Fang was studying with you… but Fang didn't answer his watch when I called him, so I panicked and called you… Sorry for interrupting your study session.” Boboiboy explained, scratching the back of his head guiltily.
As if Gopal would be complaining about his study session being interrupted!
“You don't have to feel sorry, really. I was at death's door anyway - if you hadn't called, I would've died from being forced to do my homework! Fang, apparently, didn't care.” Gopal reassured his best friend, giving Fang an unimpressed glance because he could.
Fang was acting as if Gopal wasn't on a call with Boboiboy. In fact, the dark-haired alien seemed to suddenly be so engrossed in doodling all over his practice paper.
Itch. This guy!
Recalling how Fang didn't answer Boboiboy's call, Gopal grinned at having a way to get back at his ‘tutor’.
“You know what, Boboiboy? Actually, Fang over here purposefully did not answer your call. He probably hates your guts or something. You know, since he's jealous you're more popular than him~”
Something strange changed in Boboiboy’s eyes.
( Gopal was pretty sure Boboiboy looked a little sad - and hurt? - at Gopal's words, but the dark-skinned boy didn't point it out since he figured his eyes were playing tricks on him as the next second Boboiboy looked like usual. )
Fang stopped doodling, and out of nowhere Fang started to look frantic, standing so quickly that the chair he was sitting on fell.
“That's- No, I did not purposefully not answer Boboiboy's call! I was just- Gopal was asking questions and I was in the middle of answering them!” Fang said, defensive all of a sudden.
What was he getting so defensive for anyway??
Boboiboy obviously heard Fang's sudden frantic explanation, blinking a few times before he grinned in an understanding manner, waving his hand a little in dismissal.
“It's okay, Fang. You're just trying to answer Gopal's questions. I was the one who's interrupting.”
Fang furrowed his eyebrows, went to Gopal's side, and finally looked at Boboiboy properly.
“It was- No, you're not interrupting at all . I was- It was my mistake-”
Another beep from Fang's watch sounded before the call was answered automatically.
Confused as to why Fang's watch answered this call instantly but not Boboiboy’s, Gopal was about to ask away before Fang's caller spoke hurriedly.
“Fang! We have a mission for you! Quickly report yourself to Captain Kaizo!”
Komander Kokoci, the caller, ended the call as abruptly as he had called the dark-haired alien.
Gopal's question was at the tip of his tongue, but Fang was already running out of the library, bidding both Gopal and Boboiboy a rushed ‘goodbye’ before he was out of Gopal's sight.
But why did Fang set his watch so that Boboiboy’s call wouldn't be accepted automatically??
Great. Gopal didn't get to know his answer.
On a more positive note, Gopal got to finally get out of the godforsaken library!
To celebrate his release from prison, Gopal asked Boboiboy if he wanted to hang out at Tok Aba's Kokotiam.
Before ending the call though, Boboiboy asked Gopal a question.
“How did Fang even manage to not answer my call? I thought our watches are made to accept calls instantly?”
Great minds think alike indeed - Gopal was asking himself the same question too!
Gopal told Boboiboy what Fang had told him, and again, there's that glimpse of sadness in Boboiboy’s eyes that was gone as soon as it appeared.
Again, maybe Gopal's eyes were playing tricks on him as a way of revenge for forcing them to look at his homeworks…
Even when Gopal was making his way out of the library, he didn't end the call with Boboiboy- because TAPOPS base on Earth was huge, and that being alone in such a huge place could be quite scary. (Read: terrifying)
“Why do you think Fang set his watch to do that? Does he only do that when it's me calling?” Boboiboy asked, concern lacing his voice and sounding like a wilted plant.
Gopal thought back to how Yaya and Ying were able to call Fang like usual, thought back to how he could call Fang like usual, and concluded that yes, perhaps Fang only set his watch to do that specifically when Boboiboy called him.
Will Gopal tell his best friend, though?
Gopal looked at Boboiboy, imagined the orange-capped human looking more sad than how he was looking at the moment, and decided that no, he did not want to see his best friend in such a depressing mood.
“Nah… you know how Fang is - that guy probably thought he would've gotten calls 24/7 if he didn't set his watch to do that since he was so ‘famous’. He probably used the same setting on everyone - everyone besides Komander Kokoci, maybe .”
Boboiboy visibly relaxed at Gopal's answer, and Gopal was happy to see Boboiboy looked brighter than prior.
Gopal's glad he did the right thing.
(That's what he thinks anyway.
Things are right as long as his friends are happy.
And as long as his stomach was full, obviously.)
《 1 》
They were on their way to an impromptu mission from Komander Kokoci when Boboiboy asked a question out loud.
“Why would someone suddenly get mad and start distancing themself for no reason?”
Gopal, who was just complaining about how unsafe he felt inside Komander Kokoci's favorite spaceship, turned to Boboiboy to see a terribly-disguised unaffected look (which spoke volume, because Boboiboy usually could handle his expression quite well).
Boboiboy was obviously anxious to hear their answers.
“Why are you asking?” Gopal asked, followed by a ‘who is this them?’ when Boboiboy hesitated to answer.
Ochobot, who was manning the spaceship, quipped.
“Are you sure you did nothing wrong?”
Boboiboy went rigid, started saying how he was asking hypothetically and it was not him who's having trouble at guessing why this ‘them’ was distancing themself, before shutting up when he noticed Gopal was giving him a you're-not-fooling-anyone look.
“Dey. You're not fooling anyone with that terrible acting.” Gopal voiced out even though he's pretty sure his eyes had said enough.
His orange-capped friend chuckled awkwardly, scratching the back of his head in slight embarrassment before he spoke again.
“It's… uh… I'm pretty sure we didn't argue or anything. Just… something happened, and ever since they started keeping their distance.”
Trying to figure out who Boboiboy was talking about, Gopal out on his thinking face, humming thoughtfully before he noticed how Qually was suddenly sweating hard.
“Oi. Qually. Do you have something to say?” Gopal asked instantly.
Qually stiffened for a second before he turned to both Boboiboy and Gopal, looking back and forth between his right and his left before stammering.
“Uh… I'm- I'm not sure. Why- There's no way anyone would be mad at you, Boboiboy. You- Maybe you're just thinking about it too much.”
Even though Qually had answered, Boboiboy didn't look like that answer was the one he's looking for.
Still, Boboiboy let out a small ‘oh’, clasped his hands, before hesitatingly asked another question.
“Just… What if someone is mad at me? Like, is there something you guys think that I do that's annoying? Like… maybe it's annoying how I'm always so stubborn? Or maybe it's annoying how...
… how I'm super famous? Are those valid reasons for someone to be mad at me?”
Aish, this guy…
Gopal gave his friend the most unimpressed look he could muster before he deadpanned.
“Dey. Only Fang would be annoyed by those things lah .”
And then.
And then Boboiboy stiffened.
And oh.
So Boboiboy was talking about Fang.
But Gopal was pretty sure nothing really changed?
The other day, the three of them went on a mission together, and those two were working together just fine; bantering like usual but still working well together.
Gopal's pretty sure he didn't notice anything unusual.
“Fang's not avoiding you.” Gopal stated matter-of-factly.
Boboiboy furrowed his eyebrows, scowled, and huffed before looking away into the distance.
“You don't know that.” Boboiboy huffed.
Gopal scowled too at the response.
“Well, you guys worked together just fine during our last recent mission. I don't know what to tell you.” Gopal countered, crossing his arms over his chest.
Boboiboy huffed again, running a palm down his face as he mumbled something. He was probably thinking to himself - so Gopal wouldn't bother.
Qually, on the other hand, still looked like he had something to say.
So cutting Boboiboy's mumble short, Qually asked.
“Why do you think Fang is avoiding you?”
Boboiboy sighed, sounding sad and clueless at the light green alien's question.
“I mean… yeah, he's acting like he usually would, sure. With the whole I'm-more-popular-than-you and supporting me while I'm fighting and stuff. But- but something feels amiss.” Boboiboy gave his answer, dejected.
Gopal's face paled, and all of a sudden he came to the worst conclusion his mind could come up with.
“ Is Fang possessed?!” Gopal exclaimed, horrified at the thought of actually talking to a spirit in his friend's body this whole time.
Ochobot sighed, said something along the lines ‘there he goes again’, while Boboiboy and Qually didn't bother to cover their disappointed stares - which prompted Gopal to shrug.
“What? I was just thinking of the most appropriate and plausible reason for Fang to suddenly be mad at you.” Gopal reasoned.
Qually rolled his eyes, but Boboiboy seemed to like Gopal's answer, judging from how his eyes brightened up significantly as a smile stretched on his lips.
“You think aside from being possessed, he would never get mad at me?!” Boboiboy exclaimed, looking as if Gopal had solved 99 out of 99 problems the capped boy was struggling with.
Obviously…
“Obviously! I mean, he's more jealous than mad whenever he gets competitive about who's more popular and who's not. So I think it will take a lot more than that to get him mad.” Gopal replied.
A factor that came to Gopal's mind immediately for Fang's anger would be his friends being harmed by someone.
The thought got Gopal chuckling.
What a softie.
Gopal's glad he got Fang by his side.
Boboiboy smiled, relieved, and practically went boneless as he slumped against his seat.
He probably had been thinking about his so-called 99 problems for a while now.
Seeing that Boboiboy had been thinking about this for a while now, an idea came to mind, and Gopal quickly dialed on his watch.
Upon noticing Gopal's sudden enthusiasm, Boboiboy asked in interest.
“Are you trying to call someone??”
“Fang, of course. To confirm if he's mad at you or something.”
For some reason, both Boboiboy and Qually paled, but it was already too late for Gopal to not call - since he had already tapped on Fang's contact.
Instantly, Fang popped up.
And crap .
Gopal forgot Fang had set that weird setting for Boboiboy’s contact only .
Uh…
Crap.
Gopal didn't need to look at Boboiboy to know his orange-capped friend had noticed that fact too.
Fang was wearing his usual visor, meaning he was in the middle of carrying out a mission.
Great. That alien probably wouldn't have time to answer Gopal if he asked why he set up that weird setting for Boboiboy only.
Fang seemed to be looking at another screen before turning to Gopal, noticeably glancing at both Boboiboy and Qually before turning his attention back to Gopal.
“What's wrong? I'm in the middle of a mission. Make whatever you want to say quick.” Fang greeted, ever the stick in the mud he was - at least pretend to be happy with Gopal's calling or something.... Hmph.
But then Gopal took notice of Captain Kaizo walking at the back, and forgave Fang for his non-enthusiasm in an instant.
In Gopal's and Fang's defense, Captain Kaizo could be quite intimidating - especially when people started being distracted in the middle of a mission.
Unfortunately, Gopal couldn't think of anything to ask aside from the loudest question that was playing in his head.
So he did what he had to.
“Why is your watch's setting for Boboiboy different from anyone else's?”
Boboiboy went rigid.
Fang also went rigid.
Except Fang snapped out of it earlier.
“Haven't I told you? I didn't want to be disturbed.” Fang pressed, sounding extra irritated than he normally would when Gopal asked him idiotic questions.
Gopal rolled his eyes and huffed.
“So Boboiboy calling you is disturbing and others calling you are not disturbing?”
Gopal's pretty sure Fang and Qually paled at the same time as Boboiboy had stammered as soon as Gopal finished saying his question.
Seriously, Qually definitely knew something.
Gopal was pushed out of his watch's view when Boboiboy pushed his best friend's face away by practically slapping a hand to Gopal's cheek before pushing it, laughing a bit too forcefully as he used his other hand to scratch the back of his head.
“Uhh sorry, Fang. Gopal's- Gopal's just feeling a little under the weather today. Haha. Geez, weird question, amirite ?” Boboiboy stammered, adding another awkward laugh by the end of his sentence.
Fang, on the other hand, didn't find it funny.
The dark-haired alien seemed to be desperately looking at Qually, as if the other alien would know what to say.
Qually obviously didn't know, judging by the blank look he had on his face.
Also, why was Qually suddenly making tea??
When Fang realized Qually couldn't help him, Fang nibbled on his lower lip, was about to say something but was interrupted.
“It's okay, Fang! You don't have to answer that weird question. Even I don't know the answer to the question- I mean it's because the question is so weird that I don't know the answer to it. Haha.
Good luck on your mission!”
And then Boboiboy ended the call.
Gopal looked at his best friend like he had committed murder - which was an outrageous thing for Boboiboy to do.
“Dey! Why did you cut him off? We could've gotten the answer and you wouldn't have to overthink anymore!” Gopal chided, confused why Boboiboy did what he did.
Wasn't Boboiboy usually a straightforward kind of guy??
Gopal swiped a few biscuits from Qually after asking why the light green alien started making tea all of a sudden in the middle of the call. (Qually said it was because he's stressed - which was weird because the call wasn't all stressful to Gopal. But whatever.)
Boboiboy seemed to get what Gopal was trying to say, hesitating a little before admitting.
“I… just don't want to force him to say anything he didn't want to. He looked like he was reluctant to answer your question, so I don't want to make him uncomfortable.”
Even more confused, Gopal was about to counter with his own argument by saying they should resolve this definitely-misunderstanding before it got worse when the spaceship suddenly shook significantly.
“Ochobot?! What happened?!” Boboiboy asked, panicked and quickly went to Ochobot’s side.
Ochobot said something about how he only just changed gears, which led to Gopal forgetting what he wanted to say in favor of crying out about wanting to go home.
Right. Gopal had other things to settle before he could help Boboiboy with his situation.
Alright. One by one - Fang had always told him to not be greedy and to try answering Mathematics questions one by one patiently without thinking of wanting to stop studying quickly.
( Gopal always wanted to end study sessions and homeworks quickly - so Fang's advice didn't work most of the time because Gopal's priority was ‘less time’ and not ‘correct answers’. )
Okay, sure, Mathematics questions couldn't really be compared to a best friend's woes - but Gopal still thought the concept was basically the same.
Right; so finish their current mission first, then help Boboiboy with whatever he was experiencing with Fang.
《 2 》
They might not even get through this mission judging by Boboiboy Hampa's abilities.
Oh. Right. Boboiboy Gentar. Whatever.
Gopal lost all hope ever since the group noticed how Boboiboy Gentar practically has no powers.
The dark skinned boy considered calling for backup, but Yaya and Ying had specifically told them that they wouldn't be around for their shared mission, whereas Fang, well…
Gopal was kind of - only by a little bit - terrified to contact the guy. Because of their previous uhhh awkward call.
“ Ish ! Why did you guys drag me away with you? You should’ve just left me with that robot-eating monster or whatever!” Boboiboy Gentar complained, his newest weapon on his shoulder as he looked pretty longingly at the spot they last saw the robot.
Haih… Hampa…
“Dey. Do you want to die?” Gopal sighed, turning to Qually for help only to sigh louder when Qually had started making tea again, hands literally trembling as he was holding his tea cup.
Boboiboy Gentar rolled his eyes, but then had the balls to try getting out of the room, eyes burning with confidence as he announced loudly.
“ The only thing dying today would've been that robot if you had let me beat it up! ”
The capped boy even made a show of opening the door, but was fortunately held off by Adudu who had practically slapped Boboiboy’s hand away when the boy reached for the door's handle.
“You actually have a death wish…” Adudu looked at Boboiboy as if the mentioned boy had turned into an alien.
Boboiboy Gentar only raised an eyebrow at Adudu’s statement.
Perhaps Adudu had also realized the dire situation they were in, turning to Gopal and Qually before he started asking them when they were going to start calling for backup.
“Try calling for Yaya and Ying!”
“ Haih … They're on a mission right now.”
“Uhhh Fang! Try calling Fang!” Adudu insisted, even going as far as to reach for Gopal's watch as the human tried dodging the box-headed alien's hands.
“D- Dey! Fang pon is on a mission lah !” Gopal said, still trying to get his hand out of Adudu’s reach.
Luckily enough, Boboiboy Gentar all of a sudden seemed interested in whatever Gopal and Adudu had going on, pushing Adudu's face away in favor of getting closer to Gopal.
“Did you say Fang?? Did you say Fang?! ” Boboiboy Gentar practically cheered, not missing a beat when he grabbed Gopal's wrist and started tapping on who knows what.
Panicking, Gopl tried to get his wrist out of Boboiboy Gentar's hold, but it proved to be futile as his friend was petulant.
“Oi! Why are you so eager all of a sudden??” Gopal stammered out, watching in horror as Boboiboy tapped on Fang's contact.
Boboiboy Gentar smiled smugly, winking at Gopal as he answered his best friend's question.
“I wanna ask him something.”
Before Gopal could say anything else, the call was connected.
Fang popped up, and it seemed they were lucky as the dark-haired alien seemed to be on his break.
“Haih… Gopal, how many times are you going to call me today?” Fang asked, looking at something on his table as he seemed to be writing something down. A plate of red carrot doughnuts could be seen not far from him.
When Gopal didn't respond, Fang looked up, and his eyes widened at the sight of Boboiboy Gentar - Boboiboy Gentar who's smiling all smugly before he winked at Fang when they made eye contact.
“Heh. What's poppin?” Boboiboy Gentar greeted, smiling all too smugly. Gopal wished he could run far away from the second hand embarrassment his best friend was making him feel.
Fang's surprise also lasted for only until before Boboiboy Gentar spoke, covering his lower face as they could make out a distinct gagged sound from the other line.
Why were Fang's ears so red though…
“Oi. What's wrong with you?” Fang asked, once he got over what-Gopal-assumed the urge to puke, looking at Boboiboy Gentar in distaste as he put aside whatever he was doing prior in favor of talking to his ‘loser’ friends (affectionate).
Boboiboy Gentar scowled at the question, making a show of swinging his new weapon before cooly resting it on his shoulder again, grinning boyishly before asking.
“Do you think the weather will be lovely tomorrow?”
Gopal gave a fed up look at his best friend.
They're about to lose their lives, and that's the question Boboiboy Gentar decided to ask Fang?? Seriously?
Feeling pity for Fang who probably was already exhausted from his mission, Gopal was about to go as far as to apologize for Boboiboy’s behavior - which had never happened before this by the way - when Boboiboy Gentar said again.
“ ‘Cuz I wanna make sure I want to spend it with someone as lovely as you. ”
…
Umm, excuse me what the actual-
“ Dey. Buang tabiat ke kau ni? ” Gopal questioned, practically could feel himself dissociating from how internally embarrassed he was at Boboiboy Gentar's attempt at… at whatever he was trying to do.
Gopal had expected Fang to say something too, but then a few seconds passed by, and there was still not a word from the other line.
It was only when Gopal tried to check what Fang was doing did Boboiboy Gentar suddenly laughed boisterously, sounding so proud for no reason.
“ It's true then! Fang could blush quite easily~ Or wait- Maybe because you're so amazed by my awesome new outfit and charisma? Hehe… couldn't blame you, I am super amazing! Definitely number one hero of the galaxy~” Boboiboy Gentar went on and on, excessively and annoyingly cooing at Fang like the dark-haired alien was a cute toddler.
It didn't help that Fang was actually blushing. Hilarious, sure, but Gopal was more concerned over the fact that he was practically at death's door.
Gopal was about to literally smack Boboiboy Gentar in hopes of trying to get whatever his friend was on out of his system, when he recalled back Boboiboy Gentar's words.
‘Fang could blush quite easily’ equaled to ‘Fang actually could get flustered easily’ equaled to ‘Fang could be distracted quite easily’ equaled to ‘ Gopal can distract Fang easily and escape study sessions’ !!
The dark-skinned boy grinned in mischief, looking at Fang who had just gotten over Boboiboy's lowkey ‘pickup’ line, before he tried.
“Dey, Fang.”
“What is it now…”
“ Are you my amma's curry? ‘Cuz I found myself thinking about you all the time~ ”
Yeah, Gopal gave himself a pat on the back for this one.
Except when no response was heard, both Fang and Boboiboy Gentar were looking at him with matching unimpressed faces.
“ Oi. Kau ni buang tabiat ke? ” Boboiboy Gentar had the audacity to ask.
Even worse was when Fang backed Boboiboy Gentar up!
“ Entahnya .” Fang said, arms crossed and totally - definitely - looking down at Gopal.
Gopal was about to say something, but Boboiboy Gentar quipped again.
“It only works if it's from me lah .”
In the blink of an eye, Qually was suddenly beside Boboiboy, wrapping an arm around Boboiboy Gentar's shoulders and laughed loudly and, well, awkwardly.
“HAHAHA. HAHA. HA. WOW, WHY WOULD YOU THINK IT ONLY WORKS WHEN IT'S YOU??” Qually stammered out, sweating profusely and looking even more stressed and anxious than before.
Thinking Qually was backing him up, Gopal crossed his arms, and gestured over Fang lazily.
“That's what I'm saying! Like, it's not like Fang was swooned or whatever because he was in love with you or anything” Gopal claimed, oblivious to Qually turning pale as white - which said a lot because Qually was literally green.
Fang stiffened, and Gopal raised an eyebrow at the dark-haired alien.
“Why are you suddenly so rigid? You're not in love with Boboiboy or anything, right?” Gopal pointed out, squinting his eyes at Fang.
He knew Fang was obviously not in love with Boboiboy, he was really just playing with the guy.
Except Fang's response was getting a bit too weird as it seemed to take a moment too long for him to give his usual snarky remarks.
Just when Gopal was about to go into detective mode, Boboiboy Gentar had the nerve to smack Gopal's back.
“It works when it's me because he's my fan , obviously. See? He has great taste! Unlike you!” Boboiboy Gentar claimed, sticking his tongue out childishly.
Even when Boboiboy Gentar had practically answered the question for Fang, Gopal found himself looking at Fang, who had crossed his arms and was tapping his fingers rhythmically on his arm.
Recalling how Ying has once said it was one of Fang's anxious habits, Gopal was about to ask what was making Fang so anxious when Adudu, who had been silent this whole time, barged into the conversation.
“Oi. Instead of saying corny pickup lines, how about coming here to save us?” Adudu suggested, sarcasm thick in his voice.
Fang stopped tapping his fingers, and all of a sudden he was intrigued by whatever Adudu was trying to say.
As if he wanted to change topics.
“Also, why are you guys calling Boboiboy Gentar as ‘Boboiboy Hampa’-?” Fang asked when Adudu was retelling the dark-haired alien about what happened.
Gopal, ever so eager to complain, was quick to start talking.
Except he didn't actually get a word in because a certain someone decided to cut his words short.
“ Because- ”
“ BECAUSE, they're just jealous of my oh-so amazing abilities. Don't listen to them, my dearest fan.”
Fang mumbled something along the lines ‘why am I your fan?’ when the door to the room they were hiding in was suddenly being forced open.
Panicking, Gopal decided they should just end the call in favor of focusing on what they could actually do aside from throwing pickup lines around.
“Are you guys going to be okay?!” Fang asked worriedly, seeming to have stood up to probably come to their coordinates.
Fang didn't get to take a few more steps when Boboiboy Gentar quipped cheekily.
“You don't have to come, Fang. They got me .
Have I ever failed you before? ”
While Qually and Adudu were desperately trying to hold off the incoming monster, here Boboiboy was still saying corny stuff. Haha.
…
At least Fang seemed to be comforted by Boboiboy Gentar's words, his eyes softening and all that.
…
Wait. On second thought.
Weren't they calling Fang to save them in the first place-?
“I'll leave them to you, Gentar.” Fang said, trust evident in his voice before the call ended.
Gopal's life pretty much ended too as he couldn't really figure out a way to get out of here alive and in one piece.
Damn you, Fang and Boboiboy Gentar!
《 3 》
“ Ala… TAPOPS members probably had enough of seeing me sending in power spheres… This is just me being considerate of everyone by not showing my face! Aren't I doing them a favor?? Besides, it's about time you be the one to give the report on our mission, don't you think? You keep on running away as soon as missions are finished - which is why you ended up being not as popular as meee!
Don't you think so, Gopal? ”
Boboiboy was saying and asking nonsense again.
The two of them had just managed to save Codebot, and had returned to TAPOPS's base on Earth to send Qually off before Komander Kokoci told them to give their reports after resting.
So now the two of them were already on Komander Kokoci's favorite spaceship, already making their way to TAPOPS station.
Which made Boboiboy’s reason to not be the one to report even more absurd! If Boboiboy didn't want to do the report, then why did he get onto the spaceship anyway??
“Dey. Wrong guy lah . I choose food over popularity any day. Fang, on the other hand, would be swayed by your words.” Gopal said, the two of them sitting in the spaceship side by side to where Komander Kokoci was supposedly waiting for them at TAPOPS.
Boboiboy scowled, arms crossed as he let out a long sigh.
“ Awww come onnn, Gopalll. I promise I'll treat you to some of Tok Aba's special drinks for a day- two days even! As long as you are the one to report our mission this time around!” Boboiboy tried, and this time managed to pique Gopal's interest.
Except the offer seemed too generous.
So generous, that Gopal got suspicious.
“Dey Boboiboy. Aren't you usually excited to report missions and stuff? How come you're trying to get yourself out of this one?” Gopal asked, making it obvious that he was suspecting his best friend.
Boboiboy averted his gaze, and Gopal immediately knew he was onto something.
“Oi. Boboiboy. Just tell me lah . Maybe I could help you with it.” Gopal offered, curious but was also getting concerned - since this was Boboiboy, and Boboiboy rarely got so jittery over nothing. Well, sort of.
Gopal adjusted his hold on the Codebot, who was still on sleeping mode to reserve energy, and gave his best friend an encouraging look.
His orange-capped friend nibbled on his bottom lip, casting his gaze downward and was about to say something when the spaceship announced that they had arrived at TAPOPS station, the spaceship carefully and automatically entering the said station.
Once landed, the spaceship’s exit started opening.
Thinking whatever Boboiboy wanted to talk about could be said while they were walking to where Komander Kokoci was waiting for them, Gopal made his way to the spaceship’s exit.
“Let’s go, Boboiboy! The sooner we report the mission, the sooner we can go back to Earth, and the sooner we can enjoy some delicious special hot chocolate by your dearest grandfather, Tok Aba! Your treat, of course. Since I’m still basically reporting this mission. Hehe.” Gopal said as he walked to the exit.
The dark-skinned boy heard Boboiboy stammering before all of a sudden he was in front of Gopal, hands flailing excessively while facing Gopal and facing away from the exit as he stuttered, basically blocking the opening exit.
“Wait- No, actually, yeah, talking to you might be a good idea! It’s just- maybe we should, like, talk about it first before walking out of here-”
Missing his step, Boboiboy fell backwards, and Gopal had almost dropped the Codebot in his arms to grab for his best friend when someone else had grabbed the orange-capped human.
Fang was conveniently standing there, hands under both Boboiboy’s arms as the orange-capped human had practically fallen backwards and into the dark-haired alien’s chest, cap not properly on his head anymore.
“Careful there.” Fang mumbled, an eyebrow raised at Boboiboy’s unusual clumsiness.
(Gopal got a feeling that Fang was more endeared - or maybe amused would be the right word? Gopal was unsure - than annoyed, for some reason.)
Boboiboy abruptly turned his head, and then quickly got out of Fang’s hold, cheeks flaming oddly as he corrected his cap on his hat and giggled embarrassedly.
Fang smiled at the orange-capped human, looking suspiciously fond, in Gopal’s professional opinion, before that fondness was gone in the blink of an eye. The alien crossed his arms and gave the two humans a perfectly raised eyebrow.
“What took you guys so long? I had to wait for you guys because the other spaceships we have are being used and Komander Kokoci wanted his spaceship back. Qually told me you guys were on the way long ago. Did something happen during your journey here?” Fang asked, unable to hide the concern in his tone.
Gopal liked moments like these - moments when Fang didn’t shy away from showing his concern for his friends.
Of course, this time his worry was all for naught, since they were late because a certain someone purposefully set the spaceship to operate at a slower speed.
So Gopal told Fang just that.
“Boboiboy ni lah . He’s suddenly all shy and anxious the moment we got on board this spaceship. It was as if he didn’t even want to come here or something.” Gopal exposed his friend, not guilty whatsoever.
Boboiboy, who was still a little bit red from embarrassment(?) from falling into Fang instantly turned pale with mortification, looking at Gopal like he Gopal had said he loathed free food and meals.
Fang turned to Boboiboy, concern written all over his face.
“Are you okay, Boboiboy? Something you want to talk about?” Fang asked, voice uncharacteristically soft and Gopal felt like he should be reading more into the dark-haired alien’s tone.
While Boboiboy had his mouth opening and closing like a fish, Fang seemed to notice Gopal was still holding Codebot.
So Fang reached out in the general direction of Boboiboy and Gopal, and the dark-skinned human took that as his cue to dump the sleeping robot into Fang’s awaiting hands.
Except Codebot didn’t get to be transferred - because Boboiboy for some reason took one of Fang’s outstretched hands, hand visibly trembling. Fang was as surprised as Gopal was, judging from how he went rigid as he abruptly looked at Boboiboy who had his gaze down casted, oblivious to how he had misunderstood Fang’s actions.
“It’s, well, I was thinking about what had happened back then with Ying and- and the rings. Ying told me she had handed your ring back to you, so I was just wondering why you’re not wearing it since- since I thought you like it, but then, you’re well, you’re not wearing it anymore. So uhhh I mean I know this is so random but I feel like you’re mad at me so I kinda don’t want to see you but that’s kinda impossible since we meet each other almost everyday but as I was saying-”
Boboiboy didn’t get to finish his sentence.
“Boboiboy, calm down.” Fang cut the human’s rambling short, the hand Boboiboy was holding squeezing Boboiboy’s hand in an attempt of comforting the human.
During all that, Gopal gaped.
What’s this about rings??
Fang’s mad at Boboiboy??
Did they have a fight?? Rings?? What??
Whatever Fang did manage to snap Boboiboy out of his thoughts, and before Fang and Gopal could do anything, Boboiboy pulled his hand out of Fang’s hold, casting his eyes upwards and realizing his mistake of taking Fang’s hand, before he turned red yet again.
“Oh- Uh- Sorry- I thought- Um” Boboiboy scrambled for a sentence in his head.
Halfway through trying to make a coherent sentence, Boboiboy gave up, and exclaimed quite loudly.
“WELL, LET’S NOT MAKE KOMANDER KOKOCI WAIT ANY LONGER.”
And then the orange-capped human practically sprinted his way out of there.
Both Fang and Gopal stared at the disappearing orange-capped human sprinting away, vaguely hearing Boboiboy mumbling ‘ So embarrassinggg! ’ until he was out of their sight.
Once they couldn’t see Boboiboy anymore, Fang turned to Gopal. (Somehow with a suspicious flush on his cheeks - as if he was stifling a smile.)
“Are you sure he didn’t get stung by something weird or anything?” Fang asked, gesturing vaguely at where Boboiboy was standing before the orange-capped human had made his ‘escape’.
Gopal actually gave Fang’s hypothesis a few seconds of consideration before leveling the alien with a deadpan look.
“We went to a planet that makes robots , Fang. Obviously there were no insects to sting Boboiboy.” Gopal answered oh-so-smartly.
“Use that ‘smart’ tone on me again and I’ll make our study session an hour longer.”
Gopal had never shut up so fast.
Unfortunately though, he had to sacrifice some of his pocket money to treat Fang to lunch - the guy asked for a slice of red carrot cake since he had a ton of red carrot doughnuts coming his way already.
The two walked side by side, and Fang somehow deemed it was the right time to break terrible, horrifying news to Gopal.
“We’re supposed to study as soon as we get back to Earth."
Gopal should’ve ran away as he usually would as soon as a mission ended! The only reason he came this time was because Boboiboy wanted him to-
Oh.
About that…
“What was that about rings or whatever? And how is Ying involved in all this?” Gopal asked, cradling Codebot close to his chest to make sure he didn’t drop it.
Fang opened his mouth, as if to answer, before he closed it and opened it again after a while.
“Nothing important.”
As if!
Unfortunately for Gopal, he didn’t get to ask for more information, because they noticed Boboiboy jogging up to them, grinning rather awkwardly as he mostly faced Gopal.
“I finished reporting to Komander Kokoci.
Let’s go back after sending Codebot to Nut for him to check on Codebot.”
Gopal thought if he let Fang walk beside Boboiboy, the two would talk it out and maybe Gopal could listen in to have an idea on what exactly the two had gone through about the rings and stuff.
Unfortunately, all Gopal could see was endless awkwardness and occasional glances those two sent at each other when the other was not looking.
Haha.
This was not fun. 0 out of 10 would not recommend it, everyone.
《 4 》
Apparently, Gopal had improved a little according to the quizzes Fang had given him.
So Fang treated him to whatever he wanted at Tok Aba’s Kokotiam.
“Whatever that had possessed Fang, thank you for the meal~” Gopal exclaimed, excitedly digging in Tak Aba’s chocolate cake before sipping the special iced chocolate drink that came with the mentioned cake.
Fang looked at 'Gopal basically absorbing the cake' in distaste.
“Aside from studies, maybe you should also learn some table manners or something.” Fang chided, taking out some tissues and putting it near Gopal oh-so-thoughtfully.
Again, Fang should really just admit that he had a soft spot for Gopal and the others.
Gopal obviously took the generously offered tissue papers, wiping his mouth a little as he hummed delightfully, stomach practically singing at the scrumptious and thankfully-free meal.
The dark-skinned human exclaimed a ‘thank you!’, looked at his watch, and stood up, getting ready to leave.
“Where exactly are you going?” Fang asked.
Gopal shrugged like it was obvious.
“Back home? Duh.”
Fang rolled his eyes, stood up, and questioned looking unimpressed.
“Did you forget we are supposed to be training??”
…
“ Aish … But Fang, could you not see how this evening is the most perfect time for us to chill, play some video games, and basically do anything but train?? Come on, Fang! Loosened up!” Gopal tried his luck, hoping his friend right here would be interested.
Obviously, Fang was not interested.
“I feel like it’s a more suitable day to train my friend to protect himself than to play games and waste his precious time.” Fang retorted, walking ahead of Gopal and making his way to the small but large enough field for them to practice at, probably expecting for Gopal to follow suit.
Gopal did so - but reluctantly of course.
“ Alaaa … But Fang, I’ve just finished eating! What if I accidentally puke on you??”
“I’ll make sure you face the same fate.”
“Are you saying you’re going to puke at me?!”
“Ugh… Don’t make things disgusting…”
“You were the one who implied something disgusting first though!”
Fang groaned, and Gopal took that as a signal to shut up.
The two were already standing at the field, yet Gopal was still as reluctant as he was a few seconds ago.
“Alright… what are we going to train for this time?” Gopal sighed in the end, knowing he could never escape Fang if he were to start running away anyway.
Fang smiled in triumph, probably thinking he had won because Gopal followed along his words in the end, as he gestured over a number of things that were conveniently there and grinned.
“We’re going to try to make you change things into other things aside from food.” Fang answered, hands on his hips as he gave Gopal an encouraging smile.
The encouraging smile was not really giving Gopal an ‘encouraging’ effect though.
“Haish… this might take a while…”
“What? Backing down without a fight so easily?”
“Not that… You know how food is literally the only thing in my head most of the time! Usually I’m too panicked to think before changing things - which is the reason why most things I touch turn into food!” Gopal reminded his friend, sitting down with his legs crossed petulantly.
All of a sudden, an empty plastic bottle was thrown at him, and Gopal barely managed to dodge before he changed it into fried chicken.
Swiftly, Gopal caught it and started munching on it.
Fang raised an unimpressed eyebrow while Gopal raised a ‘what?’ eyebrow.
“I thought you said you were already full? How come you’re still thinking about food?” Fang asked, disbelieving and exasperated.
Gopal shrugged, and finished the chicken quickly, even going as far as licking his fingers clean.
When Gopal turned to look at Fang, he noticed how Fang had actually waited patiently for the dark-skinned to finish his food.
Awww~
Perhaps Gopal’s touched stare was too loud, but Fang quickly noticed, and he rolled his eyes at Gopal’s touched and amazed stare, feigning annoyance even though Gopal was 99% sure Fang was just embarrassed at being caught being considerate. Heh.
“Okay. Let’s try again. Try to change this thing into something small - something you can catch and your palm can cover when you clench your fist.” Fang said, showing a bottle cap as he tossed it upwards before catching it again.
Okay, fine. Gopal decided to give it a try.
Gopal tried thinking of something small, and his mind went back to a few days ago - when they had brought Codebot back to TAPOPS and Boboiboy had said something about a ring or something.
Determined, Gopal gave Fang an equally determined nod.
The dark-haired alien took that as a sign to throw the bottle cap, and threw the bottle cap he did.
It was difficult for Gopal to try to shoot such a small thing, but by a miracle, Gopal managed to turn the bottle cap into a silver ring.
Gopal wasn’t as lucky to be able to catch it though.
The ring flew right past Gopal, and the dark-skinned human was already dreading thinking about how he should find the ring as proof that he did manage to change the bottle cap into something else other than food when someone else managed to catch it.
“Got it!” Boboiboy grinned, walking over to Fang and Gopal at the same time.
Excited, Gopal quickly exclaimed and told Boboiboy how he managed to change something small that was mid-air into something that was decisively not food.
Boboiboy, ever the supportive friend he was, hyped Gopal, gushing about how cool his best friend was with positively sparkling eyes.
Ego boosted, Gopal grinned.
“Heh! I could definitely change other things mid-air again! To make it more challenging, how about you go stand beside Fang over there, and I’ll throw some things to you guys, change them, and you guys catch them? Brilliant idea, isn’t it?” Gopal suggested, brimming with confidence.
Gopal turned to Fang, and the dark-haired alien gave the two humans a green light by shrugging.
Boboiboy went by Fang’s side, deliberately leaving a small distance between him and Fang, and gave a thumbs up at Gopal to say he and Fang were ready.
Still brimming with confidence, Gopal took two bottle caps, threw them towards the space between Boboiboy and Fang purposefully - just to see them failed to catch the items, obviously - and turned them into yet two other rings.
Lady Luck was definitely not smiling at Gopal, because his two friends still managed to catch the newly-turned rings anyway. Their hands brushed for a moment, but the moment ended as soon as it happened as they seemed to be more engrossed in what exactly Gopal changed the bottle caps into.
With the ring that he had made earlier, Gopal approached those two and grinned proudly.
“Now we have matching rings! Like, friendship rings or something! You guys were so evil for using matching rings like couples do without inviting me to join in… So here, made by yours truly~”
Boboiboy blinked a few times, looking at the ring in bewilderment, while Fang looked at Gopal in bewilderment.
“Well… that’s not…” Fang seemed to hesitate to say.
Before Fang could finish his sentence, Boboiboy grinned gratefully at Gopal as he beamed.
“Thanks for the ring, Gopal!
…Although… I’m not planning to wear any kind of rings anytime soon…” Boboiboy chuckled awkwardly at the end of his sentence, pocketing the ring in the process.
Gopal took notice of how Fang stiffened a little.
“Um… Yeah. Me too.” Fang added robotically.
Gopal scowled at his two suddenly-unsupportive friends.
As much as Gopal wanted to complain about them being ungrateful, even he knew his two friends hadn’t solved the issue about the rings or whatever.
So Gopal decided to be the bigger man for once.
“Would you guys prefer friendship bracelets then?”
Each of them went back home with new matching bracelets.
The very next day, when Gopal noticed none of them wore the bracelet, Gopal bursted out laughing.
“Too girly?”
“Definitely.” Fang and Boboiboy said in unison.
At the very least, Gopal’s pretty sure his friends had kept the bracelets somewhere safe. Besides, the bracelets didn’t really fit their outfit and color schemes anyway - being just plain silver bracelets, after all.
The only thing Gopal had learned was that his two friends still hadn’t made up quite well when Boboiboy asked him yet another odd question.
“If I give you a 1 year worth of red carrot - uhhh your mother’s curry, would that be enough for you to accept my apology? Hypothetically, obviously…”
Boboiboy deserved the done look Gopal gave him as a response.
《 5 》
“Psstt! Ying!”
“What?”
“What do you know about what had happened between Boboiboy and Fang??”
“Hah? I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“It’s not good to lie lah !”
“I don’t know which one you’re talking about.”
“You know - the one about the rings??”
“...I-”
“Don’t say you don’t know! I heard Boboiboy saying your name and about the ring thing in the same sentence before!”
“Oi. What are you guys whispering about?” Fang asked all of a sudden, narrowing his eyes at the whispering humans.
“Nothing important - Ying was just asking me a question she didn’t understand.” Gopal was quick with his quips as usual - except anyone with a brain would know it would take the world ending before Gopal’s lie could be true.
Fang rolled his eyes, told Gopal to not disturb Ying studying, before going back to solving whatever problem he was doing before he was butting into Ying and Gopal’s conversation.
Why did Fang even think Gopal was the one pestering Ying?? What if it was the other way around?? Has Fang ever thought of that possibility?? Huh??
For once, Kokotaim weren’t hanging around TAPOPS’ base on Earth. Unfortunately, they were hanging out in a place far more terrible than TAPOPS’ library.
They were studying at the school’s library.
Exactly. Studying. School. Library.
Three things that Gopal feared most.
They were sitting at a rectangular table, with Fang sitting beside Boboiboy, Gopal and Ying sitting opposite those two, while Yaya sat between Fang and Ying. For this study session, it was Yaya’s turn to lead, as she and Ying took turns to lead study sessions.
Fang had just finished asking Yaya a question, and the girl in pink hijab effortlessly explained the question while Fang, in return, effortlessly understood her explanation, his sleeves folded halfway up his forearm as he started scribbling on his paper.
Gopal sighed, turned to look at Boboiboy, and found himself grinning a little when he saw how Boboiboy seemed to also be struggling with a question.
At least he wasn’t the only one suffering! Yeah!
“You’ve been on that question for some time now.”
Gopal sneaked a glance at Fang just as Boboiboy had jumped in his seat, head turning to Fang who was still writing on his page.
“Uhh…” Boboiboy trailed off.
Fang took his eyes off his book, and then abruptly scooted closer to Boboiboy before resting his arm around the back of the orange-capped human’s, leaning over so he could see which question Boboiboy was stuck on.
Boboiboy, as a response, somehow shrunk himself so he wasn’t in contact with Fang’s arm that was behind him.
“Which question are you stuck on?” Fang asked, eyes still going over Boboiboy’s papers before they turned to look at Boboiboy, an eyebrow raised annoyingly perfectly in a questioning manner.
Boboiboy blinked a few times, looked away for a second, before turning to his work and pointed to a question that had a lot of words and numbers that were scratched and clearing his throat.
“Uh. This question.”
The dark-haired alien looked over the question, and hummed a little as he mumbled a ‘this question was quite hard - I get it’ before taking the orange-capped human’s pen that was in Boboiboy’s hand, their fingers brushing before Fang started jotting down some working while explaining his workings.
Why was Gopal so invested in whatever those two were doing anyway??
Despite him asking himself that question, Gopal still observed his two friends anyway. (At least whatever that was going on with those two was definitely more interesting than the homework Papa Zola had given him.)
While Fang was busy explaining, it was getting obvious that Boboiboy was definitely not focused, eyes darting back and forth between Fang’s side profile - that was definitely right in front of Boboiboy’s face. Geez, leave the guy some room to breathe, will you? - to Fang’s forearm to the worksheet.
By the time Fang finished explaining, it was obvious whatever Fang had explained went into Boboiboy’s right ear and out of his left ear.
“Oi. Boboiboy. Are you okay?” Fang asked when he, too, noticed Boboiboy spacing out.
Boboiboy blinked a few times, going beet red before mumbling a ‘I think I need a break’ before covering his face, actually looking exhausted for some reason.
“Well, I guess we’ve already studied for an hour straight. 15 to 30 minutes break, and we’ll get back to studying. Sounds good?” Yaya suggested, nodding in reassurance when Boboiboy gave her a grateful smile. Fang and Ying also agreed, and Gopal disagreed because, well, he obviously wanted to stop studying altogether.
Everyone practically ignored his complaints, and Fang stood up before turning to Gopal.
“Gopal. Let’s get some snacks for everyone. Since you used the least amount of brain juice today, you should be energized enough to help me get us some snacks at the vending machine.”
Gopal was about to argue, since he was feeling lazy, but then Yaya agreed to Fang’s suggestion as long as they ate outside the library; and Yaya’s decisions were absolute.
So there Gopal went, having to use his break to get snacks.
Before leaving, Fang had squeezed Boboiboy’s shoulder, reassuring the human that he didn’t mind going over the question again after the break - which earned him a grateful smile from Boboiboy.
On their walk to the vending machine, Fang asked Gopal as he was entering some money and coins into the vending machine and choosing some of their favorite snacks.
“Did Boboiboy talk to you about anything?”
Gopal clicked his tongue as a response.
“Haih… Usually, he would. But I feel like lately, he has been refraining himself from telling me something. When I tried to ask him or when he tried to talk about it, someone was always able to interfere and interrupt the conversation. And then when I tried asking him again, he would say it’s nothing important.” Gopal added again after a moment, since he knew it wasn’t Fang’s fault that Boboiboy was not telling the dark-skinned boy something.
Although, Gopal was pretty sure the change in Boboiboy’s behavior definitely had something to do with the ring secret. After all, Boboiboy had been acting all weirdly ever since Gopal had heard of this oh-so-secret ring issue.
Handing Gopal some of the snacks before carrying some himself, the two walked side by side back to the library - specifically to the room beside the library where the others were probably waiting for them so they could enjoy the snacks and drinks.
“Well, I just hope whatever he’s experiencing will be resolved soon. I’m worried if it would distract him too much that he would endanger himself on missions.” Fang voiced out his concern genuinely, clutching the snacks in his arms a little as his lips pursed into a frown.
Gopal suddenly felt like hugging this alien…
“He’ll get over it. Hopefully.” Gopal replied.
And then added.
“Maybe you should ask him.”
Fang furrowed his eyebrows at Gopal.
“Why so?”
Because I got a feeling you could be the solution to whatever was running around in Boboiboy’s head - since it was highly possible that you were the cause in the first place.
“Because, you know, you’re his friend too, aren’t you?” Gopal answered instead.
Fang hummed, and said how he’ll give it a try.
Eventually, they reached the library, and found Boboiboy leaning against the wall outside the room, looking at the sky with a dazed, somehow a little solemn as he did so.
When he noticed Fang and Gopal approaching him, Boboiboy forced a smile and waved a little.
“That was quick.” Boboiboy commented, somehow looking so… exhausted.
Gopal suddenly felt like this was a very, very , dire situation.
His heart ached seeing Boboiboy like this.
Such nice weather, yet Boboiboy didn’t look one bit nice .
“I’ll bring the snacks inside.” Fang claimed, taking the snacks in Gopal’s arms before entering the room - was probably his way of giving Gopal a chance to try and talk to Boboiboy about whatever that was clouding the orange-capped human’s mind.
Alright - that was exactly what Gopal was going to do.
Leaning against the wall beside Boboiboy, Gopal cleared his throat as he looked at the clear sky.
“Nice weather, isn’t it?” Gopal asked as a way to start the conversation.
It at least managed to evoke a laugh that lasted for a short while from his best friend.
“Yeah.” Boboiboy answered in return.
Silence descended upon them, and Gopal started trying to think of ways to ask his best friend if there’s something he would like to talk about.
Fortunately, before Gopal’s brain fried from overheating, Boboiboy broke the silence.
“Is it possible to change something that you realize has been brewing far too late?”
Aish… Why was Boboiboy trying to get philosophical with him all of a sudden??
“Are we talking about coffee beans??” Gopal asked instead.
Boboiboy laughed a little before answering.
“Well, if you want a simpler way to put it… Uhh… Is it possible to return back to the way things were once something changed?”
That was Boboiboy’s definition of ‘simpler’??
“So, like, if you cook rice, but accidentally put too much water, and it turns into a bowl of porridge?” Gopal tried.
Boboiboy laughed again.
“Yeah. Something like that.”
Gopal shrugged.
“Who cares? It’s food - I’ll eat it.” Gopal answered honestly.
Gopal had expected another laugh from Boboiboy, but the laugh he expected never came. Instead, a tired, barely-above-a-whisper voice mumbled instead.
“That’s the thing - I can’t eat porridge. ”
???
“You’re allergic to porridge?” Gopal asked dumbly.
In Gopal’s defense, it was his first time getting all philosophical!
Boboiboy turned to look at Gopal, smiling but somehow not smiling as he said.
“Thank you for going along with me, Gopal. I feel better.”
You don’t look like you’re feeling better.
Before Gopal could say another word, Boboiboy walked past Gopal, entered the room and was suddenly all bright once again - as if he wasn’t just smiling all sadly when he was outside.
A terrifying thought crossed across Gopal’s mind - and he could only hope Boboiboy would not make masking his emotions a habit.
As his friends started calling for him, all Gopal could do was enter the room and pretended like everything was okay.
《 +1 》
Gopal kept on repeating Boboiboy’s words and trying to make sense of it.
It didn’t.
Gopal was at his wit’s end.
He wanted to share what he discussed with Boboiboy with Fang, but a huge part of him felt like that would be a bad idea.
Anyway, Gopal was supposed to have a training session with Fang at the moment, but he stopped in his tracks when he saw Fang and Boboiboy laying down on the field they usually trained on cozily.
Gopal wanted to join, but he knew whatever conversation those two were having may put an end to Boboiboy’s 24/7 exhausted look.
So Gopal hid behind a tree that was close enough to those two so he could listen in.
From where Gopal was hiding, he could only see Fang’s face, not Boboiboy’s.
“-so it really was just because you’re trying to make a point to that guy that we’re not… you know…” Gopal heard Boboiboy said.
Gopal could see Fang nodding.
“Obviously… I know you Muslims can’t date someone of the same gender - in fact, pretty sure you guys aren’t supposed to date before marriage.” Fang said in return.
Boboiboy sat up, crossing his legs as he beamed, complimenting Fang for being so knowledgeable about Islam, while the dark-haired alien also sat up, saying how he had to thank Ying for most of his knowledge about Islam.
Boboiboy, whose cap was on the ground and who was facing Fang, let out a loud sigh of relief before he faced away from Fang, letting Gopal see his best friend’s side profile.
“...well, I was worried for nothing… I thought you hated me or something…” Boboiboy chuckled, looking relieved as he laid back on the ground, crossing his arms behind his head leisurely with his eyes closed.
Funnily enough, Gopal had this huge feeling that what got Boboiboy to be so exhausted recently was not just because of the rings. Perhaps, maybe the ring was a factor to whatever Boboiboy was thinking about.
“I could never hate you… After everything we went through…” Fang said, eyes on Boboiboy ever since Gopal had seen the two of them talking.
At that point, all Gopal could focus on was the expression on Fang’s face as Boboiboy started talking for a long time, as if he was catching up with an old friend since, well, it has been quite a while ever since those two had what-Gopal-would-call their misunderstanding.
The more Gopal looked at the two of them, the more Gopal felt like he was the dumbest person on Earth.
Gopal had always looked for Boboiboy whenever the dark-skinned boy was in danger - so maybe that was why it took Gopal so long to properly look at Fang, as Kokotaim has always somehow managed to put themselves in dangerous missions and whatnot.
Looking at Fang at that moment, eyes not shying away from showing how fond he was of the oblivious human lying on the ground talking to his heart's content, Gopal felt his heart drop.
He thought back to what he thought were harmless jokes - about Fang being in love with Boboiboy. He thought back to how sometimes, he caught Fang staring at the orange-capped human, how Fang grew easily flustered whenever Boboiboy was around.
Gopal wished he could take it all back.
All of a sudden, it was too painful to watch Fang staring so fondly and longingly at Boboiboy.
Recalling Fang’s words about Muslims and Boboiboy’s ‘philosophical’ words, Gopal deemed he was experiencing too much emotional damage to be in any shape to train with either Fang or Boboiboy.
So Gopal returned home and sent a quick message to Fang saying he had a stomach ache before going to his mother.
“Amma.”
“What is it?”
“Could you make me some comforting curry?”
《 END 》