❤︎

I could still remember the first day I spent in kindergarten.

Me and my classmates were all busy coloring pictures and building indistinguishable structures of Lego. Though everyone was in his own group, we were all happily minding our own business.

That was until a new boy entered our room with a bright smile that drew almost everyone's attention. I, on the other hand, was annoyed by it. While everyone crowded around him with fascination, I continued coloring big bird in red.

For me, he was just someone who wanted to be the center of attention, so I deprived him of mine. And already from day one, I disliked Kongpob that much. And although he knew that very well, he still continued to provoke me.

Through kindergarten, primary school, middle school and high school...

And here we are years later and still having the same dislike towards him years and years later, I couldn't possibly be in love with him, could I?

Even as I reached home, I still found myself contemplating about it.

And so, to distract myself, I decided to do my homework in Physics. Our teacher asked us to do a research on newly discovered concepts in the subject so I went online and searched for it. As I did, I checked my email as well. And as if Cherilyn, a friend of mine from other class, had psychic skills and knew exactly what was going on in my mind, she had sent me this email titled 'Signs of Falling in Love'.

Opening the message, I read through it quickly. There were 10 signs written and hurriedly, I read through them all.

The first one was, 'You know you're in love if you can't stop thinking about him.'

Thinking about him? Never did I experience that at all. That was unless plotting against him was counted as "thinking about him", which I highly doubted was the case.

The second one was, 'You call him every day to talk about nothing.'

Okay, so technically, I was doing that. But it wasn't because I wanted to. He forced me to do it, so it was still a no.

Moving on, the next said, 'He's the only topic you talk about.'

Oh my God. Since when had complaining about someone become a sign of one's infatuation? I talked about Kongpob all the time, but not because I liked him. Definitely not.

Already sure that the rest of the list was as incorrect as the beginning, I decided to give it one more try.

The fourth one was, 'Your heart beats wildly every time you see him or when he's near you.'

Umm...if that was true, then I was not in love, because my heart never acted that way when I was with Kongpob.

Except for today, that is.

And well, maybe a few times before as well...

Closing the email, I went back to doing my research. But as I did, I still couldn't concentrate. For some reason, what Kongpob said and did earlier was still stuck inside my head. I mean, he made Jessica fake-apologize to me, it was definitely a big deal.

But how he defended me against Jessica, it really made me wonder if he truly felt what he had said about liking me or if he was still teasing me, the way he always did.

Picking up the home phone beside the computer, I dialed May's number for distraction. I couldn't call Nam or else I'd end up thinking about Kongpob even more with her wanting to now the details of my relationship with Kongpob all the time. And besides, I still hadn't really thanked May for saving me earlier in the bathroom.

"Hello?" May answered after five rings.

"May, it's Arthit." I replied immediately. "I just wanted to thank you for saving me earlier."

May answered with a laugh. "Don't mention it. You know that it was my pleasure to do that to Jessica. If there's someone I'll never get tired of fighting with, it would be Jessica." She remarked proudly.

I suddenly remembered what she had told Jessica earlier. "But wait a minute, are you really Michael's girlfriend now? You weren't just making it up to annoy Jessica?" I asked excitedly. I had been wanting the two of them to be a couple ever since I found out about Michael's feelings for her.

"Of course I am. Only a fool wouldn't accept a proposal like that. I mean, he asked everyone in the varsity to sing for me. I'm never going to forget this day, March 14th." She replied dreamily.

0_0

Upon hearing that, my jaw dropped. Wait, if today was the 14th of March, then tomorrow would be my birthday. "Did you say March 14?" I asked, ridiculed by the fact that I wasn't aware of what date it was today. I was so caught up with other things that I had forgotten to keep track of it. Of my own birthday.

When I asked her, she seemed to have caught on to what I was thinking. "Yeah, it is. Tomorrow's your birthday, right? How do you plan on celebrating it?" she asked excitedly.

Actually, every year, whenever it was my birthday, Kongpob would give me a small box with nothing but a note inside, saying his present for me was still being prepared. Of course I knew that it was just a prank he enjoyed playing on me, but it always annoyed me a lot, so I didn't really like celebrating my birthday. He had been giving me "nothing" as a present for many many years now and that definitely showed how much he "liked" me or better say, hated me. Obviously.

"You know I don't celebrate my birthday. This year's no different." I answered her resolutely.

"But I have a feeling it's going to be different tomorrow, especially now that you have a boyfriend. What do you think, would he prepare a surprise for you?" she asked teasingly.

I was certain that Kongpob would. He would probably give me the same empty box he had been giving me all these years. It was funny how he never got tired of it at all. "If there's one thing I've learned from being with Kongpob, it's never to expect anything from him. He never does anything I expect him to do anyway." I said with a roll of my eyes.

Suddenly, I felt something vibrating in my pocket. I took out Kongpob's cell phone and saw 'wifey' flashing on the screen, signaling an incoming call. He must've charged it before giving it to me. "Hey, I need to go. Someone's calling me."

"Oh, okay then. I'll see you tomorrow then." She said in reply.

As I answered the call, my heart started beating fast again. It was like I was nervous to talk to Kongpob, probably because he might bring up what happened earlier. "H-hello?" I spoke, trying to sound normal.

"Yah, is your cell phone retarded? I already beat your high score in 'Free Kick', but it didn't save my score!" He complained in a childish cry as if he just lost a million dollar bet.

Hearing me being so silly helped me calm my nerves and I smiled before answering. "There's nothing wrong with my cell phone, you dummy. You probably just didn't save it properly." I remarked, snapping back to my normal attack-and-tease Kongpob mode. "And if you're really not happy with my phone, why don't you just give it back? I don't like yours anyway."

He instantly said no to that. "No. I know you. You're always saying the opposite of what you really feel. I bet you've already managed to check every single message and picture in it."

"W-What?" I stammered, guilty of his prediction. "I have not! Why would I do something like that?" Damnit, that didn't sound convincing at all. Come on Arthit, you need to brush up on your lying skills.

"Because you like me and you want to see if I like you too, so you checked if I kept something that might convince you. You liked seeing your pictures in it, didn't you?" He started teasing me and damn was his voice low and sexy.

Was his voice always so hot or only when he was talking to me?

Wait, what?

Due to his teasing words and sexy voice, my heart started with its racing phase again and I felt nervous again. What was wrong with me? It wasn't as if I got nervous because of some...feelings for Kongpob, right? Naaaah...no way.

And so, in an effort to stop my ridiculous thoughts and calm down my wildly beating heart, I tried to change the topic. "Yah, do you know what day tomorrow is? It's my birthday so you should prepare a proper present for me."

"A present? You mean like the one I gave you last year?" he replied in an amused tone.

I shook my head. "I don't want another prank present. If you're going to give another one of those tomorrow, I will never talk to you again. Aren't I your boyfriend? Give me something a boyfriend usually gives the person he likes."

But knowing Kongpob too well, I already half-expected him to use my words against me, like he always did. And I was right indeed. "Oh, so you want me to give you a hug or...a kiss as your present?" he replied mischievously.

"Yah! That's not what I meant!" I exclaimed loudly, immediately feeling my cheeks heat up and heart jump into my throat. And what I said next was completely unexpected. I didn't even think about it. I swear...It just came out. "What I meant is, I want you to stay out of my sight the whole day tomorrow."

...

Stupid!

I have no idea why I said it.

I swear I don't know why I said it"

I was too nervous. Too stupid and it just...slipped over my lips.

...

My heart was still racing super fast and my face was all red.

Kongpob turned very quiet after my words and I immediately regretted it, desperately wanting to take my words back. But after a few seconds of silence and me panicking, he spoke again. "If you think you'll be excused from your probation just because it's your birthday, you're wrong. Let's meet by your locker tomorrow at exactly seven in the morning, okay?"

He hung up after that by saying he had to finish an assignment. I knew it was a lie, because he never did homework, did he? But I let it go.

I really was stupid saying that...

I was just too nervous thinking about hugging or...oh gosh, kissing him...

I hoped Kongpob didn't take my words too seriously...

❤︎

The next morning at 6:59am, I rushed to my locker so I wouldn't be late (knowing he would insult me if I was) and I was surprised to find Kongpob nowhere. Thinking he was probably just late, I waited for ten more minutes. But still, he didn't show up.

I checked his cellphone and he hadn't even called or sent me a message.

Weird...

After a while of waiting, I caught sight of Nam and Joss walking together down the hallway. Knowing how close Joss and Kongpob were, I decided to ask him about Kongpob's whereabouts.

"Nam! Joss!" I called as I approached them. "Have you seen Kongpob anywhere?"

Joss shook his head. "Maybe he's not coming today." He replied like nothing was wrong.

But I felt otherwise. And I was worried.

Could it be that Kongpob took my words seriously last night?

❤︎