A Promise to the Moon [BL]

Chapter 5.:

Mork and Sun didn’t leave until they finished their meals, chatting with Bass. Pete tried to pretend he wasn’t there, just casually eating his dinner, hoping this would be over soon. During this first day in town, he depleted all his stamina for conversation and exhausted his pool for socializing. Mork kept eyeing him, which made Pete wary about his every movement. Bass and Sun, time to time, dropped a question in his direction, which Pete answered as briefly as possible.

“We should head home.” Mork suddenly announced, directing his words mostly to Sun, who seemed to have fun and was reluctant to leave.

“Just a little longer. It had been a week since we came to sit with Bass, and auntie hadn’t even joined us yet.” Sun pulled a long face, giving the puppy eyes to his older brother. Usually it would work with Mork, but not this time. He would let Sun stay longer so they could chat more, but not today. Something felt awkwardly off about this newcomer and Mork didn’t want to stay sitting there any longer. In particular, he didn’t want Sun to get closer to him.

“We will come another day.” Mork promised before standing up from his place, pulling Sun towards him. Sun didn’t like the idea of leaving and, for a brief moment, he released himself from Mork’s grip, only to take out his phone.

“Your number.” He handed the unlocked phone to Pete. Pete looked at him, confused, not catching up immediately with his request. Mork tries to pull Sun away from Pete, but to no avail. Sun was determined to get in contact with Pete. Despite his unwillingness, Pete couldn’t come up with any polite excuse because he shouldn’t give his phone number. Being unsocial didn’t mean being rude, and Pete hated being rude to others. Even when they acted ill-mannered and impolitely towards him, he kept his principles and always behaved as his mother taught him.

Pete wrote his number on Sun’s phone, handing him the phone back. Only after that, was Sun willing to follow Mork and leave with a broad smile decorating his face.

“See you next time.” Sun called before they fully left the restaurant.

“You didn’t seem to have fun.” Bass turned to Pete once they left them alone at the table.

“I am not good with people, to be honest. I don’t like too many people around me,” Pete admitted. Bass looked at him curiously and partly confused. He never counted three people as too many.

“How many is too many?” He asked for clarification. Pete made him more and more curious.

“Two.” Pete replied to him with a serious face, yet Bass couldn’t help but laugh.

“Wait. You are serious about this?” He asked him, hesitant to take his words seriously, but Pete nodded his confirmation, which made Bass stop laughing.

“I can stay with one person for some time, but that’s it. I already count two people as too many and, as I said, I don’t like too many people surrounding me and interacting with me at the same time. To be precise, it makes me pretty uncomfortable.” Pete explained to himself although he didn’t have to, but he knew he would spend more time with Bass, especially since he wouldn’t be able to get to see the city tonight. This dinner took up too much of his energy, and Pete really wished nothing else but to go home.

“Oh, I understand, but then why did you come to a small city like this? People here live differently than in the capital. We are a small community, mostly supporting each other. Many people will try to approach you and get to know you once you live here.” Bass didn’t seem to make fun of Pete, nor did it look like he was meaning it badly. His expression looked serious, and his eyes held the honesty with which he spoke his words. Pete felt tempted to explain properly his reason for coming to the town, but he couldn’t do that. Although Bass was friendly, he was just a stranger, and Pete didn’t feel like letting someone into his little world just to lose them in the end.

Bass noticed the slight change in Pete’s posture and his entire demeanor. Those things Pete kept for himself were noticeable, although Bass couldn’t guess what exactly he kept inside. Bass had a special sense of reading people, and Pete was almost like an open book for him to just read people's emotions and his thoughts.

“You don’t need to answer if that makes you uncomfortable. Maybe later when we get closer,” Bass told him without waiting for Pete’s answer to his previous question. Pete searched for the words to say to Bass, yet he didn’t want to lie about some impossible reason, which Bass appreciated. Pete might not be open when it comes to talks, but Bass could already say Pete was honest and didn’t like to lie.

“Thank you.” Pete appreciated Bass’ thoughtfulness.

“By the way, about Sun. If you were serious about tutoring him, I am sure he would be more than happy with your help. He needs the scholarship, and the college is the one his father graduated from, so it is really important for him.” Bass changed the subject, returning to the Sun’s request from earlier. Pete wasn’t thrilled about accepting this offer, although he wanted to help Sun get into the school. Especially since he was aiming for the same college Pete just dropped out of. He could be a real help to him, but Mork’s belittling, and his constant piercing expression, held Pete back from taking this offer.

“I am not sure Mork would let him.” Pete replied to him, directly wording his worries, which only made Bass laugh.

“To be honest, Mork is just a barking dog. He will give you eyes, say some mean and rude words, but other than that, he won’t do anything. And especially if Sun says he wants you to tutor him, Mork won’t say a word and just comply with Sun’s request. Also, you don’t need to take Mork this seriously. He is like this towards any strangers who come to the town. The only strangers he can treat with respect and without caution are guests in the resort, since they pay him, but that’s it.” Bass kept the conversation casual, trying to let Pete know about the people he might meet many times. Especially since his ulterior motive was to make Pete a little more social. The other goal was to help Sun with his studies.

Pete thought about what Bass had just said. He was used to long and unhappy faces around him. He aced in college and many people approached him, asking for tutoring, but each semester he never took more than two students, so he always refused dozens of others, which made them very resentful. Many of them talked about Pete being too heartless, cold and some of them got him a very rude nickname, but Pete never cared about such things. He learned quickly to ignore such talk and just closed himself in his bubble.

“I’ll think about it,” Pete answered at the end. He couldn’t decide properly what kind of person Mork was, since all he knew were just words Bass said about him, but his presence simply made Pete uncomfortable. He made Pete feel heavy around him, cautious about his every single movement and word. Tutoring Sun meant regularly meeting Mork, which was something he really had to think about, if he could handle it.

“You can discuss with Sun to come to your apartment, so you won’t need to put up with Mork at all.” Bass refused to give up. Since Pete was already thinking about it, he could just provide the options Pete had to make up his mind faster.

“Is that so?” Pete asked curiously. Tutoring students in the most comfortable environment was the best option, but since in the capital most of the students lived in dorms, he simply tutored them in the library, which was a perfectly silent and suitable place. Here he simply assumed he would have to go to Sun’s home to tutor him there, especially since Pete doubted they had a library in this small city.

“Trust me on this. Sun will accept anything which would make you comfortable in order to get a good tutor. Once you know him, you will understand how determined and hardworking he is.” Bass didn’t save any praise later. Pete felt slightly pressured by the way Bass was selling this tutoring session. It almost made Pete think this tutoring was for Bass and not for Sun.

“Give me a few days to think about it. I didn’t properly settle in my new home, either.” Pete hoped this would make Bass stop for now. He wasn’t lying, since he did really come to town just today and the only thing he organized was his clothes in the wardrobe. Pete still didn’t know his way around the town. He didn’t know where to go shopping and he needed to buy a lot of things for his home.

“True enough,” Bass replied to him. They spent a lot of time chatting with Sun and Mork and then eating. It was getting late, and Pete seemed to be tired, which Bass’ observant eyes couldn’t miss. He began feeling that today’s trip around the city should be postponed and instead he offered to drive Pete back home, which he accepted gratefully.

“If you want, you can make a list of necessities and just send it to me. I’ll make sure you have those things by the morning.” Bass offered, before Pete got out of the car once he parked in front of the house. Pete didn’t want to bother him, but the truth was he had almost nothing to eat at home except the leftovers from the breakfast, which Mrs. Aranya prepared for him in the morning.

“If you send me the location, I could go shopping by myself in the morning.” Pete tried to politely refuse the offer and get the location of the markets instead, but Bass shook his head.

“It would be better if I took you the first time, so you get to know the locals and their prices. They like to haggle when it comes to selling and prices here differ from in the capital. You might get cheated.” Bass expressed his worries openly, practically badmouthing those sellers in the market. During this short time Pete had already spent with Bass, he began wondering whether he always talked this openly with everyone, using no filters for his words. On the one hand, it is a good trait for a person. Pete at least knew what he could expect from him, and no matter what they would talk about, Pete wouldn’t have to read in between the lines. On the other hand, not everyone can always handle such an open way of talking, so Pete guessed Bass also had to get himself into trouble.

“Alright then.” Pete exchanged his number with Bass, promising to send a short list before he went to bed. Having someone delivering groceries wasn’t new in the capital. Pete wasn’t from a loaded family, but they were poor, either. His family could afford to pay others for doing stuff like shopping, cleaning and sometimes even cooking, but having such service in a small town like this one. Pete noted for himself to make sure to repay Bass’ help later. He wished him good night before he closed the gate after himself, disappearing into his new home. Bass waited in front of the house until Pete opened the light in the living room, thinking about this strange little fella who had moved into his town.