Arthit & Kongpop ✔️

In love

Monday morning, the next day, I felt like I was about to give a speech in front of the entire school.

My stomach was clenching and unclenching, my hands were slightly sweaty, and I kept wanting to check how I looked.

But I was only walking towards Kongpop's truck.

Leaning against the car, he was looking at something on his phone. It's warmer now, so he's wearing a short-sleeved shirt.

When I stopped in front of him, he put away his phone and gave me a relaxed, lopsided smile.

"Morning, A."

"Good morning, Kongpop. Reading up on the news?"

"Nah. Just checking Twitter."

"Like a responsible millennial."

"Exactly," he laughed.

I fished the truck keys out of my pocket and unlocked the car. We both got in, put on our seatbelts at the exact same time, and as I checked the mirrors, Kongpop turned the radio on.

"Think you're gonna do well today?" I asked, as I drove out the driveway.

"Should hope so. I didn't go hiking all
weekend, just so I could study."

I shot him a quick smile. "I'm so proud of you."

"Though I did play Runescape with Wad and Prem last night..." he continued.

"Introducing you was a bad choice."

"To be fair, Prem told me to stop playing and go study."

I shook my head. "But he is good at history, and you couldn't care less."

"Don't worry, I studied all weekend. But I appreciate that you're concerned about me," he smiled.

I turned to catch the smile, but instead met Kongpop's eyes.

My heart jumped in my chest.

I'm in love with you.

The knowledge burned in my mind and mouth, wanting to be spoken aloud, wanting to be shared.

Instead, for the first time in forever, it's me who looked away first.

"Are you going to May's party on Friday night?"

"Uh, dunno." Kongpop shifted in his seat. "Maybe. They're okay."

"Yeah."

The song on the radio faded out, and a more upbeat pop song started playing.

I could feel his eyes on me.

"Are you going?" he asked eventually.

"Yeah."

"Oh." He shifted in his seat again. "Well, maybe I'll go too then."

My heart jumped again. It's getting a little ridiculous.

"Yeah," I said, forcing myself to sound casual. "That would be fun."

"Alright."

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Monday, at lunch, Kongpop, Wad and Prem were so engrossed in their conversation about Runescape that it allowed Prae and I to have a somewhat private conversation.

Private, because Bright was always asleep on Mondays.

"I can't believe another year's almost over," Prae sighed. She smoothed down the see-through fabric of her dress. "Another year without Maprang knowing my name."