Tangled with you: Chaotic Friends Vs. University Alphas

My phone buzzed aggressively, lighting up with a call from Johan's number. I ignored it. Five seconds later, it buzzed again. This time, it was Hill. Then Tonfah. Then Arthit.

I groaned. "Why are they calling like debt collectors?"

Before I could even decide whether to block them all, Nao — that traitor — grabbed my phone and answered. On speaker.

"HELLOOOOO?" Nao shouted  like a drunk emcee at a family reunion karaoke night.

What followed was pure chaos.

All four Alphas were on the line — and judging by the noise, they were in a bar somewhere, very drunk, very loud, and very, very emotional.

"YOU GUYS ARE SO MEAN!" Hill shouted, his voice cracking like a teenager mid-puberty. "We flew all the way to Canada and you're hiding like raccoons in someone's attic!"

"CUTE raccoons!" Tonfah slurred. "Like those TikTok ones that wash grapes!"

"You were spying on us," Ter shot back. "That's actual crazy ex behavior."

"SO?" Arthit shouted. "You stalked us first! Checkmate!"

Phoon snatched the phone next, his mom-friend instincts kicking in. "Why are you even drinking? You're doctors! You're supposed to know your liver is suffering right now!"

"LOVE MAKES US IRRESPONSIBLE, PHOON!" Johan's voice cut through the noise — loud, dramatic, and so slurred I could practically smell the whiskey through the speaker. "North, baby, sweetheart, my soulmate — why are you so cruel to me?"

I pressed my palm to my forehead. "P'Johan, just go to sleep."

"No." His voice suddenly softened, a quiet ache slipping through. The kind of pain that could only come from the kind of love that's too big for one heart to carry. "Do you still love me?"

The room froze. Even Nao — Nao who had a comment for everything — fell silent.

"Uhhh..." I swallowed hard, my heart twisting. "I do. But my answer's still the same — we still can't be together. Not right now."

Johan made a sound somewhere between a sad laugh and a sob. "Why? I just had you. After more than ten years of waiting, of wanting, I finally had you. Why are you so cruel to me?"

"P'Johan..." my voice cracked. "Please don't make this harder than it already is."

There was silence, the kind that felt heavier than words.

"I hear you," Johan whispered, voice raw. "I really do. If you need time, I'll wait. You don't have to find me when you're ready. I'll stay where you can always find me."

My throat tightened painfully. "For now... maybe we can see each other. Hang out sometimes. But that's all I can promise."

There was a shaky exhale on the other end, then a quiet, "Okay."

"P'Johan, go to sleep."

"Goodnight, my love," he whispered, and this time, it sounded like a goodbye that didn't want to be goodbye.

I hung up, my hand trembling slightly as the call ended. The room was quiet, too quiet — until I noticed Phoon quietly crying. Then Dao. Then Ter. Even Nao, who usually played the clown, looked unusually serious.

And then Nao spoke — soft, but cutting straight to the heart.

"For the record..." he started, his voice calm in that terrifyingly real way only Nao could manage. "You know they had it really bad, right?"

We all looked at him, confused.

"When you guys were here, healing and living your best life, they were there — back home — every day, blaming themselves. They were like you during the first few weeks after the breakup. Except they didn't have a support system like you had. They worked, they called, they texted, they waited for updates you never sent. They forgot to eat sometimes. Barely slept. They hit rock bottom too, you know."