Despite how much he wanted to see Techno, Kengkla didn't look forward to attending the game on Friday.

He doesn't understand why Techno finds football so fun. From the needlessly complex rules to the over-enthusiastic fans to the greasy food, there's nothing fun about it. He remembers ditching school once for an entire week just to avoid listening to his friends talk about the world cup.

If it wasn't for Techno, he would eliminate the sport completely from his life. It's the only thing that keeps him from losing his sanity at games.

"Where's my wife?" Kengkla mumbles to himself as he makes his way through the crowded bleachers toward the seats closest to Techno's bench. He has a grin on his face, hands in his pants pockets, as he finds an empty seat in the row adjacent to the sports science bench. It's when he takes a seat, staring off in the distance to spot Techno on the field that he accidentally sits on someone's purse.

It's a bit shocking that a girl would sit so close to the field, most taking a seat near the cheer squad or at the back with their football-loving boyfriend. He struggles to catch himself, to reach out and grab the purse from underneath him, and a hand closes around the purse. Soft fingers press against his skin, and "Hey!" a feminine voice yells, catching Kengkla off guard. When he lets go of the purse and glances up, he is met with a pair of light brown eyes, narrowed at him in what is misplaced anger.

She's shorter than Kengkla with long black hair, curled purposefully around her face, and she's wearing a college uniform of a black shirt and grey button-up, obviously belonging to another school. Her features are feminine with light skin and a small frame, but her frown says she's no one to mess with. "Are you trying to steal from me?" She hisses at Kengkla, standing up from her seat on the bench.

It draws some attention, and Kengkla can feel his heart thud in his chest, panicking at the thought of getting kicked out before he sees Techno. "Excuse me, P'," He says with a frown, waiing to her. "I didn't see your purse when I sat. I'm sorry." Kengkla uses the same faux polite voice when he speaks to Techno most of the time, except he doesn't need to fake happiness with Techno.

He gets a smile in response, and she sits back down on the bench, patting the seat next to her. "Sit down then," She suggests.

Kengkla stares for a moment. Her reaction is unexpected, but he nods and takes a seat next to her, sitting a good distance away. Instead of trying to make conversation, he turns away from her to stare out at the field. It's not difficult to spot Techno. He might blend in a little better with the opposing team, but he's the only one that looks the way he does on his team. But it's not only his looks that makes Techno easy to notice. He has an energy to his playing that leads him to flail his arms through the air as if he's on a stage, gesturing wildly at his teammates to command them across the field.

The cheers around him increase in volume, and with his little knowledge of soccer, he doesn't understand what's going on. His eyes scan the field before stopping on Can with the ball, kicking it in front of him toward the goal. Techno is running in front of him, waving at Can while he tries to stay away from a player on the opposing team.

"They're going to score!" The girl sitting next to him cheers, throwing her hands up in the air as she stands up. "You can do it!" She catches his attention for a moment, and Kengkla stares at her, wondering why someone from another college would cheer for Techno's team.

He returns to watching the game, trying to understand the play at hand. Can's still trying to keep the ball, kicking at it while glaring at another player, until Techno yells something. Then he sees Can's shoulders tense up before kicking the ball between another player's legs over to Techno, who stops it in front of him. When the ball doesn't get stolen immediately, the crowd screams so loud that Kengkla stands up in shock, glancing behind him at the cheering students. He really had no idea how popular Techno's team was here.

Kengkla blinks as he turns back around, spotting Techno near the goal just before he kicks it toward the net. As the ball flies through the hair, passing the goalie, and into the net, Kengkla's lips twitch, pulling themselves into a smile. He can feel that pressure inside his chest swell and ache at the sight, can feel the heat of affection so strong it presses against his ribcage. He's never seen Techno look so beautiful. He's never loved him so much.

For a heartbeat of time, it feels like he's alone with Techno, even from his distance to the field, but as the sound of students chatting and stomping on the bleaches as they leave grows louder, reality slowly comes back to him. When he glances over at the girl next to him, Kengkla catches her gaze. "Exciting, right?" She asks him, matching his grin with one of her own.

"They have an amazing captain," Kengkla points out before he can stop himself.

Her reaction is not what he expected. "You know P'No?" She asks, sounding shocked and delighted at the same time. Her smile is so bright Kengkla's instincts insist it must be a ploy even though he can see no trace of deception under it.

Kengkla considers her, weighing the pros and cons of lying, when she turns away from him, looking toward the field. "P'No, that was awesome!" She cries out, taking a step away from Kengkla toward Techno approaching them still in his uniform.

Adrenaline rushes up Kenkla's spine then he turns to meet Techno's gaze for the first time in nearly a week. Techno's staring with wide eyes, wet hair and skin soaked with sweat, and stops only a few feet away, glancing between the girl and Kengkla. Even when he stands still, Techno's chest is rising quickly with tell-tale signs of exhaustion, and Kengkla feels the need to rush him away.

"Ai' Dawn, what are you doing home?" Techno asks, pitching his voice loud to be heard over the hum of the crowd. "And why are you with Ai' Kla?"

Kengkla can feel his shoulders stiffen from the accusatory tone. But Dawn beats him to the answer. "This junior?" She asks with a laugh, nodding at Kengkla. "I just met him--But anyway, I came home to see you."

"What?!" Kengkla and Techno say in unison, staring at Dawn. Kengkla knows he's frowning, unable to mask his jealousy, and Techno's mouth drops open in apparent shock. "What did- did you drop out?" Techno adds, and Kengkla wants to roll his eyes at Techno. His wife is so oblivious.

"No, no." Dawn's laugh is as fake as Kengkla's politeness. "Sorry, P'No. I meant that I came home to see my parents while on break, but I heard you had a game so I came to see it." She's blushing now, cheeks flushed under the field lights.

Kengkla can't find words to respond to that. He glares instead, trying to calm himself, but Dawn is looking at Techno, laughing nervously and runs a hand through her hair. "Anyway, how do you know this junior? Ai' Kla, right?" She looks at Kengkla, saying his name as if she doesn't remember moments ago.

His attention veers sideways to see if Techno is watching him, but the elder isn't even looking at him. Techno's staring at Dawn instead, his mouth quirked up at the corner. "Glad to hear you didn't drop out. Your parents would give you a hard time for sure," Techno chuckles. "But you didn't have to come to my game. Though at least you got to see a win!"

Kengkla can feel his jaw tighten, watching Dawn and Techno practically flirt with each other in front of him. When Techno takes a step closer to her, Kengkla clears his throat. "P'No," He says Techno's name timidly, which makes the other look up and meet his gaze.

Techno bites at his lip. "Uh, Ai' Dawn, this is Ai' Kla. He's a friend of my brother's," He introduces Kengkla with the wave of his hand and glances back at her. "Ai' Kla, Ai' Dawn is P's family friend."

Before Kengkla can respond to this new information, Dawn asks, "Is Ai' Nic with you?" and turns to Kengkla with a smile.

He doesn't understand how Kengkla's never heard of her, but he can't do anything beyond act polite, especially with Techno here now. "No, Ai' Nic is at home studying," Kengkla lies as he walks over to Techno.

"Ai' Kla is my ride," Techno informs Dawn, and Kengkla's heart races itself into glowing delight at the unexpected lie from Techno. "Ai' Tharn met up with Ai' Type here, and they're going to borrow my bike. So I need a ride."

Kengkla can feel his shoulders tense at the reminder of Type. "Yes, P'Dawn, I'm here to pick up P'No," He agrees, still without looking away from Techno's face. This is such an elaborate lie for Techno to be telling. He can't help but wonder if Techno has lied to him before.

"Oh, I see," She says with a frown. "I thought I could spend more time with P'No while I'm home, but I guess not."

Kengkla lifts his gaze back to meet Dawn's, and he tries to hold back a smile. I guess not, his mind provides him smugly. He musters a lopsided smile as if the curve of his lips will be enough to keep Dawn's attention away from the heated shadows behind his eyes.

"Well, hold on, Ai' Dawn." Techno blurts, holding his hands out, then turns to Kengkla with an awkward smile. "Uh, Ai' Kla, can you go wait for P' at your car? I want to walk Ai' Dawn to the bus stop real quick."

It takes Kengkla a moment to catch up. He never considered Techno would actually want to spend time with her. It's only when Kengkla feels Techno grab his shoulder that he realizes a response is required. "Okay, P'No," Kengkla answers, managing some form of politeness thanks the affectionate yet too-tight grip Techno has on his shoulder. "I'll wait for you there, P'."

Techno nods then takes his hand back, stuffing it into his shorts pockets, and Dawn turns to Kengkla before he can respond again. "Drive safely, Ai' Kla," She says with a smile.

But Kengkla can no longer control himself, dropping the smile on his face to a frown. "Thank you," He says abruptly and walks past them, looking away from her and Techno toward the parking lot.

It's unforgivably rude not to wai someone a senior when leaving, he knows it. But he can't muster the focus to moderate his reaction when all his blood is going hot in his veins with jealousy. Techno is going to have to ask for Kengkla's forgiveness to Dawn. If he said anything more to her, Kengkla knows the ruse would be up.

...

A/N: Dun dun dun. Let me know your thoughts! Your comments and stars cheer me up even though I am still feeling unwell. :) It inspires me to keep going. Thank you all for everything! I appreciate it so much.