❤︎

Upon opening my locker, I saw the same box of chocolates that Kongpob had earlier.

It can't be...

Could it really be from him or was it from Daniel?

No, it couldn't be from Kongpob Suthiluck, because he hated me and well, from what I remember, there was also a red rose with his chocolates. But then again, I wasn't sure if it was from Daniel either, since he wasn't answering his phone.

I decided to worry about it later. As I placed my books inside the locker, I found a red rose buried underneath a pile of books.

My heart skipped a beat. With the presence of the rose, I was certain it that it was Kongpob who placed it there.

But why would he...

"Arthit!" Nam suddenly called me as she stood behind me. I turned around to face her. "Look, about earlier, I'm sorry for overreacting. I just told you yesterday that I would be fine if you decide to go out with him yet there I was, acting all jealous when there wasn't really anything going on."

Seeing how freaked out Nam already was when she assumed Kongpob and I had something going on earlier, I couldn't let her that Kongpob was the one who gave me these gifts or else she'd definitely get hurt. And being preoccupied by that thought, I just waved my hand dismissively. "That's alright, you don't have to apologize."

As I was talking, I attempted to hide the gifts behind my back. But Nam was too keen not to notice. "What are you hiding behind you?" she asked, trying to catch a glimpse.

Knowing that I couldn't possibly continue hiding these anymore, I decided to show it to her and just think of an alibi. "These?" I asked back, showing her the box of chocolates and the rose. "They're presents from Daniel."

I couldn't help but feel good about having thought of that lie. "You mean, he gave something to you? I knew it!" she remarked cheerfully, not even suspecting my alibi. "After you left so quickly earlier during lunch, Daniel explained that the roses he was holding were from Michael and that he was just the person who delivered them. And after that, Michael arrived with another present for May."

That was all I needed to hear to make me feel excited again. Daniel didn't like May at all!

As Nam and I walked home, we discussed on the chances of Daniel liking me.

"I really think he likes you, Arthit. Think about it. He didn't give anyone else anything. Just you." She reasoned, sincerely excited for me.

Well, technically, Daniel didn't give me anything yet. But he did say he was going to give me something so that counted as something. "But you're not really sure if he gave someone else a rose or something else." I pointed out, though I was hoping that wasn't possible.

"You are so dense, you know that? How can you not notice when someone likes you?" she remarked, hitting my arm lightly.

"I'm not dense." I complained with a pout. "I'm just making sure that I'm not jumping into conclusions. I don't want to think that he likes me just because he's giving me something, because that doesn't prove anything. I want a bigger proof."

After that, we went our separate ways. As I walked home, I couldn't help thinking about Daniel. Why wasn't he answering my call? Could it be he was mad at me? But it wasn't like I did something, did I? Maybe I should try to call him again, and ask him, instead of asking myself?

Taking out my cell phone as I entered the house, I suddenly noticed that I had a new message. Somehow, I already had a guess on who it was, and I was right. It was Daniel, explaining why he couldn't answer his phone before. "Hey, I'm sorry I couldn't answer your call earlier. I was in the middle of talking to someone. But I left something in your locker. Did you see it?"

He left something in my locker! Then could it be a coincidence that he gave me the exact gift that Kongpob was planning to give to a certain person he liked? I mean, the chocolates and the rose were the only gifts I saw in my locker, and since Daniel claimed to have placed something in my locker, then it must've been really his gifts, and not Kongpob's.

A small part of me felt weirdly disappointed at the realization that the gifts were not Kongpob's, but I quickly brushed it off and smiled at the thought of Daniel giving them to me.

I decided to say 'thank you' as a reply, seeing clearly that those were from him. "Yeah, thank you so much. How did you know I love almonds?"

It took a while before he answered my message. But what he said really confused me. "What do you mean?"

"Well, you gave me a box of chocolates with almonds. Was it because you knew I loved them or it was just a lucky guess?" I explained, thinking he just needed a little more elaboration.

This time, he replied quickly. "I think you're confusing me with someone else. I gave you a pink rose, like I said I would yesterday."

From what I remembered, the rose in my locker was as red as a rose could be. But I could've been wrong so I checked it again, taking out of my bag and swirling it in between my fingers, and undoubtedly, it really was as red as the passionate feelings of love can be. So this is not Daniel's rose after all...

"Wait, are you sure you placed it in my locker and not someone else's?"

"Definitely. I had May to help me with the location and the key combination." He responded.

"Then, did you see any other gifts inside when you opened it?" I asked again, this time formulating a new theory. The chocolates and the rose were from Kongpob, I was sure of it now. And if Kongpob placed them after Daniel placed his pink rose, then it was possible that Kongpob took it.

"No, I just saw how messy your locker was. Why? Is there something wrong?" he answered back immediately.

Damn Kongpob Suthiluck must've really taken Daniel's rose! He was so dead! That brat always tries to mess with me one way or another!!!

But in the meantime, I didn't have the heart to tell Daniel I didn't get his rose, especially since he seemed eager to know my reaction. And so, I just pretended like I was able to get it. "No, there's nothing wrong. I just can't believe you went through a lot of trouble just to give me something. I really appreciate it."

"It's nothing, as long as I know that it made you smile." He replied sweetly, making heart flutter.

If I wasn't running out of credits, I would continue to send him messages. But unfortunately, I was, so I just ended our conversation by saying, "Thank you, really. Good night!"

Having nothing better to do, I found myself planning on how to deal with Kongpob tomorrow. I couldn't just shoot harsh words towards him because it never seemed to hit him. Maybe I could throw his gifts in front of him so he would know how it felt to have presents thrown away, like what he must've done with Daniel's rose.

However, I couldn't do that, for one, I was already eating the chocolates (damn almond chocolates, my weakness...).

And another reason was, if Nam found out and somehow misunderstood the situation, I was sure that it would create a bigger problem. Therefore, I had no choice but to simply confront him and force an apology out of him.

❤︎

The next day, I arrived to school early. As expected, there weren't many people present yet. And so, I decided to look for someone I knew always arrived early, who else but May.

She was by her locker, as usual. "May! How was your Valentine yesterday?" I teased her as I placed a hand on her shoulder to get her attention.

"Arthit! Yah! Why didn't you tell me Daniel likes you?" she exclaimed with a pout as she saw my face. "You even got him begging for your locker combination from me."

"Well, unfortunately, I wasn't able to receive his rose because Kongpob stole it." I remarked angrily.

"Are you serious? Why would he do something like that?" May responded quickly, shutting her locker close.

I noticed on her hand was a pure silver bracelet with small pink diamonds. "Is that what I think it is?" I asked her with a teasing smile, forgetting about Kongpob for a moment.

She looked at what I was focused on and gave me a smile. "If you mean this bracelet from Michael, then you're right." She answered me shyly.

"Then, does that mean you're giving up on Daniel?" I asked her, somewhat feeling happy not to have her as a rival on a guy I liked. Not that it bothered me, since what we had was just a friendly competition. But it would really be better if she didn't like Daniel anymore so I wouldn't feel guilty about liking him.

But she shook her head in reply. "Of course not. I'm only wearing this bracelet because Michael claimed it was chosen by Daniel." She remarked cheerfully.

For me, it was pretty obvious that it was just one of Michael's white lies to get May accept his present, because it was evident that Michael was the pinkaholic and not Daniel. But I didn't dare say it, fearing May would take it the wrong way and assume that I was trying to pull her out of the competition. And so, I decided to bring back the topic from earlier. "Anyway, about Kongpob, I'm planning to confront him about it. And by doing so, I want to wipe that stupid arrogant smile off his face."

"I don't think you need to do that anymore." She suddenly said, gesturing me to look behind me.

I turned my head an there was Kongpob walking with Joss down the hallway, not too far away from us.

And for the first time in while, there was no trace of a teasing smile on Kongpob's lips as he looked at me with a dark look in his eyes.

Uhoh...

Why do I have a feeling I had something to do with that?

❤︎