Chapter Five: He's Very Lovable

Drake woke up late that's why he got to school late even if his place is just walking distance from school. He was crawling in the back because it was already the second subject when he arrived. Teacher Ma may be boring but she's very sensitive and emotional. Last year, he was late too and when he just casually walk into the classroom, Teacher Ma stopped reading and started crying because students are not listening to her and someone just dared to come in late as if she wasn't there. That was one of the top ten dramatic events last year. He doesn't want that again. It's annoying explaining to teachers when you make one of them cry.

As soon as he get to his seat, he sat and laid his head on his desk. He then began tugging Keith's sleeve and smiled at him as soon as their eyes met. He then looked down at Keith's feet and saw his right foot wrapped in a bandage and he was wearing a slipper while the left foot was wearing his indoor shoe. So he asked with a sweet low voice, "Are you okay?"

Keith nodded. And then looked down at his phone below his desk to continue reading. After a few minutes, Darryl was tasked to collect the essays. Drake proudly gave his work which he revised many times last night hoping it won't be a shitty output. When Darryl saw it, he looked at him and raised a question, "Who wrote this for you?"

"I did. Why? Why are you asking like that?" Drake glared at him feeling insulted when it was the first time he put so much work into an assignment.

"I don't believe you. The writing is neat and readable. Also, the length is not something you can pull off."

Keith butted in. "Let me see."

Darryl gave it to him expecting that Keith will side with him even if he's hanging out with Drake because the essay was indeed suspicious.

When Keith scanned through the essay written by Drake, he was surprised with his output. It was so much better than he expected. There was no grammatical error and the narrative was consistent and concise. There were examples in every point he tackled. Making him remember that Drake's IQ is not that average which means he's not dumb at all. So, if he put in hard work, something like this is not that surprising.

"We had video chat last night. I didn't help him, I just told him the topic. Ask my Ma and Pa, I'll take you there, they'll tell you that he was doing his essay last night."

Everyone was shocked. Nick turned his neck to his back and asked, "You two had video chat? You and Drake? You don't even message me but you two are doing video calls behind my back?"

"It's not enough! Even if you two video called, how would you know he didn't get help from others to do his homework?!" Darryl still insisted.

Keith glared at him and began to talk as harshly as he could. "Why would he need others to do his essay? How fucking dumb do you think he is? You're looking down on him and accusing him without any proof. Why don't you just collect the essays and give them to the teacher? It's not like checking them is also part of your frigging task! Know your fucking limits! Don't talk as if you know every little shit!"

Damn. Darryl was about to cry. Keith was so harsh and he humiliated him in front of the whole class. It's not the first time he argued with him, but this was the harshest so far. So, he just collected even Keith's essay. Then went to the teachers' office.

Drake smiled at him feeling moved. He did not expect Keith to stand up for him. "Thank you."

"What's with you two? Why are you so close all of a sudden? You're leaving me behind." Nick sulked.

"He said sorry to me. You didn't, asshole!" Keith answered resting his arms and phone on the desk and openly continuing reading. "Give your workbooks to him, so he can copy while that fucker is away."

"But I wasn't done copying your workbooks yet."

"Use your fucking brain, and if you don't have a brain, start growing one, then share my workbooks and copy them as soon as possible."

"Yes, boss!!!" The two answered and while Nick was copying the History assignment, Drake quickly copied Keith's math workbook. They would deliberately write wrong answers on three different items so that they wouldn't get noticed by the teachers.

When Darryl came, they low-key copied. Saving their asses. During the lunch break, even Jude and Rocky copied their share. They did what they have to do since Keith didn't care about copyrights. They all ate in the cafeteria, Keith was treated as the generous boss, and they indulged him by paying for his meal charged in Drake's meal card. They ate chatting while Keith had the luxury to stay quiet and watch a game stream on his phone. He's being conscious because the one sitting beside him is Drake.

The four were all well-informed about the show last night at Keith's house. They owe Keith for their home works, so they hold the jokes about how people misunderstood that he's in love, about him not jerking off, and about him crying like a mad baby. They're two-faced and the face they're wearing is that of opportunistic friends who know where and when to stab. Keith's too indifferent for their shenanigans. All he cares for now is how to make sure he's not obvious with his feelings for a certain friend.

The class ended at 5 p.m. Some students stayed for clubs. Some stayed to hang out and some left to go home in a flash. Nick went to the basketball court with Rocky and Jude. They were expecting Drake to follow too. They had fun yesterday, and they became friends like brothers with the basketball club members. But, Drake stayed in their classroom. Keith was too focused on watching the anime adaptation and he did not notice that the class has already ended. He also did not notice that Drake pulled his chair beside him to watch what he was watching too until he leaned on the back of his chair and felt Drake's arms resting on it. He turned left and saw Drake's magnified side profile. He was watching the screen.

Drake felt Keith's movement and looked at him. The distance between their faces was more than ten centimeters but that was already close. Keith immediately pulled his head away but he was stunned and he couldn't pull a straight face. He pulled out his earbuds. Then, he stammered, "Wh-what d-the fuck… Why are you here?"

Drake smiled and maintained that position while looking in Keith's eye directly. "You weren't moving at all. I want to walk you home, I guess?"

This time, his heart was about to run wild out of his chest. He wanted to keep it hidden. He knew Drake was straight, he knew there was no hope. But all of that seemed to be forgotten as if they were not part of his train of thoughts when the atmosphere became so pink and flirty. He felt a bit nauseated and he finally noticed that his tummy has been aching for a while now.

He pursed his lips and then smiled at Drake which was something that has never happened before. Drake has never seen Keith smile for a long time, let alone smile at him this close. He smiled back at him too. They were two guys smiling closely at each other. They came back to their senses when someone ran into the hallway screaming, "SHIT!!!! I'm dead!!!".

And they chuckled. Keith figured he should pick up the conversation. "You want to walk me home?"

"Hmmm. Yeah. I mean, it's going to be hard to walk with only one leg, right?" Drake leaned back on his chair, still looking at Keith.

"I have to wait for my mama and papa. They're putting me in the backseat for now." Keith answered looking again at the phone on the desk evading Drake's seducing gazes.

"We saw you yesterday. Your parents went to the backseat, then you opened the door for them and drove away. You were very cool, you know." Drake wanted to see him smile again.

Keith was trying his hardest but his blushing up to his ears. "Well, sooner or later, I'll have to drive. I just did it earlier."

"Do you have a license?"

"Nah. I have a student permit though. I'm getting my license when I turn eighteen."

"Cool. When will you turn eighteen?"

"Next year. October 31."

"What?! That's Halloween! Wait… So, you're still sixteen?"

"And you? When will you turn eighteen?"

Drake smiled. "February 27, next year. Which means that I am older than you."

"You're seventeen?"

The ending song suddenly played. And Keith can't remember the plot anymore.

"Damn. You're older but I'm more mature." Keith joked. He knew about Drake's birthday. Among their group of friends, he was deliberately left out when they celebrated a few months ago. He just learned that Drake had a birthday party when the whole school couldn't stop talking about it a day after they partied so hard.

"Ahhh, I didn't know someone mature can cry like a baby!" Drake also joked.

Keith glared. And immediately Drake said, "I'm sorry. Crying is normal. It's a sign of maturity sometimes."

After a long silence, he asked, "Can I have your SNS accounts? I want to add you as a friend there too." It wasn't that sudden. He wanted to search for Keith last night but he doesn't know Keith's username. He also forgot to ask about it while they were doing the video call, and then, he was just reminded about it when he was about to sleep.

"Oh. We've been hanging out for a year now and we're still not friends online? Geez. This is weird." Keith asked in a slightly condescending manner.

They scanned their phones and they now became friends. Drake immediately opened Keith's page and saw that Keith has less than a hundred friends and only 13 people followed him who are mostly his family members. His wall was filled with pictures of food and dogs.

"What's this?" He asked showing his phone screen.

"You're stalking me?"

"Yeah, I'm curious about you."

Keith screamed internally, is this intentional? Is this just him being natural at flirting? What the FUCK is this!!!!?

"Fuck. You didn't even dare to deny it." He scoffed and then answered him. "That's the new puppy at home, Kookie. Ma wants me to find someone to adopt it but, he's really cute. I'm a bit reluctant to give him away."

"That puppy you picked up on Sunday night?" Drake asked filled with interest.

"Yeah… He still looks so weak. I'm going to bring him to the vet this Saturday, my nephews will probably go with me…"

Their talk was almost unending. Keith began to talk about his dogs and Drake happily asked and listened. Until Keith's phone rang. It was his mother.

"Hey… my parents are already waiting for me in the car, do you want to carpool?", Keith asked while putting his books in his bag.

Drake laughed and said, "I'm still awkward with them. And my house is just walking distance from here."

"Oh. Really? Where do you live, again? Nick and the guys hang out at your place sometimes, right? Come to think of it…I've never been there." Keith awkwardly laughed. Sending signals.

"Then, how about tomorrow?!" Keith's eyes got bigger. He didn't expect his signals to get through to Drake so fast. "Tomorrow. Hang out with me at my house after class. We can watch movies, answer homework, perhaps, we can even play games. How about it?... Do you wanna come?"

Keith gulped. Straight or not, whatever this ambiguity between them, he gave up and went with the flow. Keith thought, " I don't care if it's intentional or not, but if Drake comes to him this strong, then perhaps there's no need to think much and just flirt."

"Just the two of us?"

Drake smiled. "Yeah!"

Keith has been blushing all along and he felt that his cheeks are getting hotter. "Uhm… Can you help me walk to the parking area outside?"

Drake took his bag and carried Keith's bag and hung it in front. He looked like a sandwich "Let's go. Your mom is waiting." He laughed.

"Hey, you don't have to carry mine too. I know, it's fucking heavy."

Drake raised his elbow and offered it to him. "Hold onto me tight."

Without too much inner deliberation, Keith held his arm, leaning on him, and walked side by side with his crush. They walked together talking about their plans for tomorrow. Keith was feeling all the butterflies in his stomach, enjoying this flirty air around without any care in the world, meanwhile, Drake was enjoying this moment. He was very happy to become so close with Keith easier than he expected.

"At this point, we're as close as brothers!", Drake was overjoyed at his own assumption.

When they reached the open parking area. There were almost no people around anymore. Mrs. Lim went out of the car to took her son. She was taken aback that the guy who's helping Keith was not Nick but the one his son was talking with on the phone last night.

"Thank you, student Ran. I hope my son did not bother you…It's late. Where do you live? We'll drop you off."

"No, teacher. Keith is my friend and this is nothing. I live in Spring Maison, just two blocks away from here teacher. So, I'll just walk from here." Drake smiled.

"That Spring Maison?" Mrs. Lim pointed to the tall condominium beside the private hospital where her son-in-law is working which was very luxurious and expensive. This town is a suburb and just thirty minutes away from the city without traffic, the condominiums and apartments are very expensive because many rich bachelors are choosing to live here where the air is less toxic.

They knew Drake Ran is rich. But it was quite a shock because this school is a government public school. There are many private academies around this area too. He could have easily chosen to be there but he's here. Anyways, it's none of her business. She thought that it was not like he was going to be her son-in-law to be scrutinized like this. It doesn't matter who her son wanted to befriend. She trusts Keith's guts in judging people. But it doesn't hurt to have a rich friend, right?! And she laughed inside.

"Okay. Get home safe. Next time, we'll treat you to dinner. How about that, student Ran?" Mrs. Lim smiled gently without any of her schemes showing.

Drake nodded and agreed. "Get home safe too teacher." He looked at Keith and handed him his bag. "See you later."