Chapter Seven: He’s Like a Little Brother

Drake went back home with a clear memory of the kiss with Keith. He never imagined that Keith would be gay, nor think of the possibility that he'd become Keith's object of affection.

He clearly remembered their interaction during their first year of high school. Keith would come and go to their classroom and act like an untouchable cocky fella. He does not talk too much, in fact, he's too quiet but he was well-liked by many. There was a day when some girls chatted with him and it was obvious that the girls liked Drake.

As a social peacock, Drake talked to them and went with the flow. A female classmate approached him and asked, "Drake, what do you think about my bangs?"

Drake bent down a little and smirked at her, "It looks good on you."

Then, Drake heard a mocking scoff from Nick's seat. It was Keith. Drake caught the quick expression of mockery on Keith. It was obvious that Keith has made his judgment already. Since then, Drake always checked Keith's reaction and character.

The two had bad impressions of each other. Though they hang out with their friends occasionally, they did not become friends. Nick was their only connection.

But not all impressions were bad. Drake saw how Keith would run to and fro to science class buildings, he'd run errands for teachers and his parents, and he talks just fine with the school librarian. To Drake, Keith's "high and mighty" act was not annoying because he got his shit together. But, most of the time, Keith's indifference and sudden condescending manner of speaking are very off-putting.

When he saw how vulnerable and different Keith was at their home, it gave Drake another impression of him. He talks so respectfully to dogs more than his classmates. That was cute and funny. Who would blame him if Drake wanted to be friends with an adorable person like Keith?

He was only planning to be friends with him. Being brothers would be good too. But to be intimate to the point of kissing? Drake pondered about it the whole day and could not understand why he did not feel repulsed by the kiss.

...

Keith got discharged from the hospital, prescribed antibiotics, Iron supplements, and other meds to make his recovery faster. His personal computer was moved to the living room… They wanted to monitor him. He's not allowed to use it for more than two hours in a day. He's also not allowed to play with his dogs in the meantime while his foot is still not fine. Kiara was forced to do that chore for him. So, it was a boring weekend aside from the fact that he had to endure his stomach aching like a bitch which took a long time to disappear even with pain relievers.

Keith waited for Drake to call. He kept staring at their chat history. He's contemplating whether to take the initiative to contact him or not. Later, he finished his home works and there was still no movement from the other side. He began to worry if it was because of his sneak kisses. It made it harder for him to reach out. Sunday night, Nick came over to ask for help with his home works and said many stories about what happened at school.

"You know the coach wants us to have tryouts, me, Jude, and Drake. We'll be on the team faster than the other members of the basketball club. We'll do it this Friday. If I get accepted, I'm leaving the board games club." Nick looked so happy while telling this to Keith.

"Oh. Congrats. Are you done copying?" Keith monotonously shut his story down.

He raised his workbook and said, "Not yet." He went back to writing and chatted again, "You know the manager of the basketball club, Lindsay Luo, she asked for Drake's number last Friday. She went to the classroom and approached him. So far, of all the girls who approached him, I'd say she's the bravest."

Keith stopped scrolling. He get up from his bed and asked, "So, what's their status now? Are they chatting? Did she confess already?"

Nick laughed, "There's no need for confession. Everyone knows she's pursuing him. Sooner or later, we'll have a new temporary sister-in-law!"

"Is she his type?" Keith asked nervously.

"Well, it should be. She's tall and really beautiful. Many signed up for basketball club because of her. And, they say she's probably F cup." Nick blushed.

"F? Like your grades?"

Keith lied back down. He's feeling agitated but he didn't show it. He continued watching while chanting a mantra in his mind… 'It's just temporary. If they date, they'd break up soon too… It's just temporary. If they date, they'd break up soon too…'

As soon as Nick left… Keith sent Drake a message. "Hi. What's up?"

"Tsk! Is this too cold?" Keith mumble judging the tone of his message.

Then suddenly, Drake's voice called him. He nervously accepted the call and put the phone by his ear.

Drake: "Hello"

Drake sounded calm. Hearing his voice tickled his ear and pricked his heart.

Keith: "Uhm… Hello?"

Drake: "Why do you sound like you're not sure?" Drake let out a laugh.

Keith: "Nothing. Why did you call by the way?"

Drake: "You asked me what's up. I thought you were worried about me, so, I'm being generous by calling you."

Keith: "Fuck. Is calling me an act of charity now?"

Drake: "I was kidding boss. I wanted to video call you last night but I had some things to do."

Keith: "Un…" Internally Keith was curious about the vague things that he has to do but couldn't ask.

Drake: "Boss… Can I call you Keith instead?"

Drake looked shy but he was smiling as usual. Keith's heart was beating so fast and pretended to laugh.

Keith: "Well, it's up to you. But, is there a reason why you're asking me this all of a sudden?"

Drake: "I don't want to be like everybody else but calling you Keith the same way your family calls you feels more personal... I guess."

Keith: "Well, you can call me whatever. You don't have to ask for my permission."

Keith gave in and hid his embarrassment. He just didn't notice how sweet his voice has become.

Drake: "Keith. So, how have you been? Are you okay now?"

He casually called him by his name right off the bat. Keith chuckled and his smile made his dimples sink deeper like how he's falling for him.

Keith: "Well, I'm fine. I'm like grounded though, but, it's okay."

Drake: "Grounded?"

Keith: "They took my PC."

Drake: "Well, that's because you have to have enough sleep."

Keith: "So, you're siding with your auntie and uncle now?"

Drake: "Yeah. They're doing it for you. So, of course, I'm on their side"

Keith: "You're a fucking traitor sometimes."

The call lasted for more than an hour. The next day, Keith went back to school. He was very excited. For someone who just got back from the hospital, he looked lively and blooming. His complexion has no sign of sleep deprivation. The color of his lips was pink and luscious, ready to prowl anytime. His rosy bubbly cheeks have a slight tint of blush. The news last week about him being in love died down but seeing him with a pink bedazzling aura, who would believe it was fake news?

The usual cool indifferent aura around him changed. He looked gentle and approachable. Seeing Keith limping touched the hearts of onlookers making them want to carry him to his seat but they can't. Because he's still indifferent. Someone approached him wanting to help him but Keith just passed by as if he saw and heard nothing.

The class started and Drake's seat was empty. Keith no longer feel any restraint in chatting with Drake, so he sent him a message.

Keith: Where are you?

There was no response. So, he messaged him again.

Keith: "Class has started. You coming?"

Keith: "Are you skipping class? ;)"

Keith typed… "School's boring without you." He smiled looking at it but he deleted it.

While he was in this bubble, he heard a clicking sound and saw that teacher Li took his picture. Then the teacher showed him the photo he had taken. "You know back in the day, in college, I joined the photography club to court someone… That person taught me about the camera. Now, I'm pretty decent at taking pictures. And this picture, I know it captured the innocent bliss of first love!!! So, Keith, everybody knows you're in love… but can you tone it down a little bit, it's hurting single people like me!"

His classmates looked at Keith, smiling, making sounds to tease him. Nick squinted his eyes and grinned maliciously.

"I'm posting this photo on the school website so students can give me high ratings when teacher evaluation comes!!! No need to thank me, you're all welcome!!!" Teacher Li immediately did what he said, and when he already posted it, he showed it off to the class before he continued where he left off in his lesson.

When English class was about to end, Drake snuck into their classroom and sat when teacher Ma finally left and dismissed them.

"Hey, Drake!!! You just missed a good show!!!" Nick told him as soon as he noticed that Drake finally sat down.

Keith also immediately turned to look at his side. Drake was looking at Nick and asked, "What did I miss?"

Nick showed the post in the school website forum. "Keith was caught chatting with his mysterious baby girl, look at him being obvious!!!"

Drake smiled when he saw it and looked at Keith who was frowning and his cheeks puffing… He laughed at him. "Pfft… Who would believe you're not in love if you smile like that?"

Keith screamed internally, "It's because I am in love… not with a mysterious girl but with you!!! Can you blame me if I smile thinking about you? Shit!!! I sound like a coquettish bitch!!! It's all your fault!"

"I just saw a funny meme. I wasn't chatting at all!!!" He lied with a straight face.

When they ate lunch, Nick was busy talking about how he got more followers thanks to that selfie Drake posted. Many people are asking him about Keith and Drake. Thinking about how Keith and Drake can affect their SNS status, they took many group pictures and tagged them. Keith didn't mind it at all, Nick was thick-faced enough to state his intention of taking his photo with them and posting it. It's not like he cared about Social Networking Sites, he's more into interactive forums on novel publishing platforms, and he didn't care about the glamor and hype that comes with the number of followers at all since he doesn't know them on a personal level and doesn't affect his private life.

But taking a photo together with Drake? That was a different story. Who wouldn't want to be in the same frame as their crush? He smiled carefree, revealing his dimples from so many different angles.

While they were taking group pictures, suddenly, a group of girls approached them. The one sticking out from the group was the tallest and prettiest of them who was standing in the middle like the center girl of girl groups. They pushed her and cheered for her, she then took out a bottle of sports drink from her back and put it on the table beside Drake's plate.

"Manager Luo, how come there's only one sports drink?" Nick teased her.

Jude waved his hands to greet her and the ladies, "Have you eaten girls? Do you want to join us?"

"There's only one sports drink because we can all share it among ourselves," Rocky responded to Nick almost at the same time as Jude. The girls glared at him scorning him with their eyes for being an idiot.

Lindsay usually ties her hair for convenience, but today, she let it down and even got them curled. She was also wearing lip gloss, her cheeks were tinted with blush, her eyelids has a very light orange color, and her eyebrows were in perfect shape. She was wearing makeup making her face look more gorgeous when she's already naturally beautiful. She made it so obvious that she was doing her best so that Drake will like her back. She smiled at Drake and without any hint of shyness, she said, "I heard that you guys are going for a tryout this Friday. I bought you this so you can have energy when you practice."

Keith clenched his chopsticks and gobbled down the rice in his bowl without picking some side dishes. He choked on it and grabbed the sports drink, drank half of it to push down the lump on his throat and to steal the efforts of his rival. He coughed afterward because he doesn't like the sweetness in sports drinks. The tinge of artificial orange flavor felt so unpleasant in his throat. He then took his flask that has warm water to get rid of the taste of vinegar in his heart.

"Are you okay?" Drake asked him and patted his back.

Keith forced a smile and deliberately schemed for an indirect kiss. He placed the opening of the bottle of sports drink in his mouth, tilted it down to his mouth, and said, "Drink it." When Drake gulped it down, Keith took the bottle and closed it with a lid. "Ugh! It's too fucking sweet and sour, right?" He rhetorically asked with an expression on his face that he just tasted something weird.

Then he looked at the tall girl who gave him the sports drink. He faked a smile to them after throwing that act to bitch at her. "Sorry. I didn't mean to do and say that." He then took some money from his wallet, then gestured to hand it to her without standing or moving from his position. "Here, I'll feel bad if I don't pay for it." His hand stretched near her. She froze at the sight of money that she has no choice but to take since people are watching and Keith worded it in a way that did not allow any room for negotiation.

Seeing that she wasn't moving at all, Keith faked a kind and sorry expression, "I'm sorry. I will just buy another sports drink in exchange." He stood and started walking while limping.

Keith's guilt-tripping technique put the people under pressure and made Lindsay look unfavorable in the sight of those who were watching. The girls gestured to stop him from walking any farther and the other girls tugged Lindsay's skirt. "Hey, just accept the money. It's making us feel bad for him."

The boys didn't understand how the atmosphere got heavy but deep inside they think Keith is a bummer who accidentally killed the mood because of his carelessness. They just felt awkward, so they kept silent and watched the show.

Lindsay then took the money. "This is more than the cost of the sports drink. I should give the change." She fished out for his pouch in her pocket. But Keith gestured to stop her.

"Please don't. There's no need." Then he stopped smiling and sat again to eat the side dishes as if he doesn't care if they stood there or stay in such an awkward place.

Drake looked at him and gave him half of his rice. Then he look at where Lindsay and the girls were standing. "Thank you for the effort. But next time, you don't have to give me anything."

Lindsay was stunned. She said, "Sorry." She awkwardly left and the girls followed her.

As soon as they left, the boss finally felt relieved. Nick used his chopsticks to intercept Keith's chopsticks, he was annoyed. "Why were you so rude at Manager Luo? That's our future manager. You're putting us in a tough spot."

"You're saying I'm rude? I didn't mean to do it, I said sorry, and I paid for what I drank. Please tell me, in what way was I rude?" Keith raised his eyebrow and picked the meat in the bowl.

"You made her feel uncomfortable and you accidentally ruined her plan."

"If it's any consolation, she also made me feel uncomfortable because the drink she brought is a disgusting sweet orange flavor! I don't owe her any pity or shit."

They were all speechless at him. Keith has been lenient to them that they momentarily forgot how indifferent and cold he is.

Then Keith said after swallowing his food, "Was that the girl who asked for Drake's number? I expected so much because of your exaggerated description. What a bummer."

"Keith Lim, son of the great tyrannical demon Katherine Lim, was manager Luo not that pretty in your standard?" Nick's jaw dropped but he nitpicked him first.

"Nick Chun, son of the great saint gossiper Anna Chun, how dare you to look down on me. I don't judge women by the thickness of their make-up or the size of their breasts. It's in the student handbook that wearing make-up is not allowed. And why the hell would you feel that I put you in a tough spot? Because she's pretty? Because she's the manager of the club you want to join? The moment she openly pursued Drake, she's putting you all in a "tough spot". Let's be real. Whether or not I did that, you're bound to be on that shitty tough spot anyway." Keith tried to justify his jealousy.

Everyone looked at him, their jaws dropped at how ruthless he can be even with girls. Drake was sitting beside him all along. Keith realized that he has just shown his ugly side.

"Speaking of a shitty tough spot, my tummy aches because of that disgusting drink, please excuse me. I'm going to the teachers' restroom." He lied and used that as an excuse to leave.