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"Nicholas, I believe you're a friend of my daughter? " My mom said while handing a plate of chicken to Nicholas.

My mom prepared a lot. My mom loves to cook but the thing is....She goes overboard if we have guests around. I'm not complaining though...it's a win-win situation for me.

We are now in the dining room eating lunch. Even if I didn't want to see Nicholas...I had no choice. We should welcome guests. 

I sat beside my mom. Right after I sat, I look at the other two with a look that I don't want anyone of them sitting beside me. They seem to get it and sat on the other side of the table. Emanwel was supposed to sit the spot in front of me, but then Nicholas sat before he can. He had no choice but to take the other seat instead.

Nicholas grabbed the plate from my mom and smiled at her. He placed one chicken on his plate and later then put it aside. Nicholas does have his manners. "We just met recently, Auntie. We spent the night together"

Man coughed. He choked on his food after what Nicholas said. He slapped his chest and cough nonstop. My mom worriedly grab the pitcher of water and filled his glass. Emanwel quickly gulped it.

I had the opportunity to look at Nicholas, who was grinning at me.  I stepped on his foot under the table. He groaned in pain, which caught the attention of both my mom and Man. He just looked at them and smiled as if nothing happened.

I need to explain what he said. I don't want them thinking the wrong thing. "By spent the night together... he means half the night only. I only accompanied him HALF the night." I focus my eyes on my plate and ate quietly.

Before the silence can consume us, my mom decided to start a conversation. "Boys, both of you are studying at CU, right? You guys know each other?"

"He's part of my circle of friends..." Nicholas looked at my mom while patting Man on his back. "So that makes him one of my bros". Circle of friends?

I took a sneak glance at Nicholas. He's busy looking at my mom, so he couldn't see me glancing. I looked at his hand, where I put the bandage on nights ago. It's starting to heal, but it's still visible.

"They treat me nice, Auntie. I'm new, but they don't see it as a problem" Man's accent still bothers me. We continued eating after that conversation. My mom asks Man a lot of questions regarding his family from time to time. I decided not to listen to them because if I join in,  Nicholas would feel out of place. And I know what that feels.

I looked at his plate and realized that he just finished eating his last drumstick. He still has an amount of rice left on his plate. I pushed the plate of chicken towards him. He looked at me confused.

"Eat," I said and continued eating. I couldn't see his reaction, but my eyes saw someone else's. It was Emanwel's.

~~~~

Emanwel volunteered to wash the dishes. My mom declined his offer, but then he insisted on helping. I decided to assist him, besides we have a lot of catching up to do.

Both Nicholas and Mom was out of the kitchen, so Man and I were left with the dishes. I stood beside him while he was busy in front of the sink.

We talked about a lot of things. Topics such as his sister,his mother, his life in the states, and a lot of stuff about me.

When we stop talking, I suddenly remembered the dare that Nicholas mentioned.

Could it be the same dare Mau talked about before?

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