A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Nicky's POV

I had intentionally dropped that bomb of a question just as Kao was stepping out of my car to see what his reaction would be.

His reaction told me exactly what I had been suspecting all this time since I first met him in Cooheart's hospital room. I mean if he was just being a tenant of Cooheart's mom, why would he go through all the trouble of visiting Cooheart in the hospital, buying him and his mom food and staying in the hospital from the time Cooheart was confined until the time that Cooheart left to visit Title.

I needed to confirm what in my heart I already knew.

When he lost his footing after I dropped the shocker, that confirmed to me right there that Kao had something going for Cooheart, whether he admitted it to himself or not.

I sighed a long sigh as I parked my car in the driveway of my parents' house. I already had a hard enough time getting through to Cooheart with Title blocking all my chances, and now I had to deal with Kao as well.

I greeted my parents when I entered the living room. They were both watching some cooking show on tv. My parents were so into cooking and liked to experiment with new and foreign dishes. There was always something new on the table that I had never tasted before. Fortunately they always turned out to be delicious and I ended up eating so much that I'm surprised that I haven't gained too much weight from my binge eating. Maybe it's because I was always very active. I was never one to sit around the house. I always found a reason to go outside. My parents had already gotten used to my not being around the house every single day.

My parents did not even bat an eyelash when I told them that I was going out again because I needed to do some research in the university library.

When I passed by Cooheart's house, a student who was renting a room in Mrs. Namwirote's off campus dormitory was walking into the driveway.

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

For those who don't know him, his name is Kaownah Kittipat. He played the role of Lhong in the BL series TharnType.

He was carrying a bottle that was barely wrapped by a brown paper bag. I could tell that it was a beer bottle. I wondered what Mrs. Namwirote's rules were about bringing alcohol into the dormitory.

The student tenant seemed to recognize me because he waved at me when I slowly passed by.

Wait, was it really him? I should have worn my eyeglasses because I had blurry vision when I tried to see farther away.

I waved back so as not to offend the person in case he was somebody I was supposed to know.

My heart started to beat faster than usual. If that was really him, Cooheart and Mrs. Namwirote were in for some serious problems.

This guy whom I just saw, although because of my blurred vision I wasn't a hundred percent sure that it was him, has a bad reputation at the university. He was well known for always causing trouble of some kind or other.

By the time I finished my research it was close to six in the evening. I hurried back to the parking lot with a feeling of satisfaction that I had enough material to turn in a really good assignment to my professor.

Before I turned my engine on, I decided to send a quick text to Cooheart.

Hey, how's tricks

After a few seconds Cooheart texted back.

I was told by the nurses that tomorrow I could start having a regular diet.

That's great news.

I will stop by the market tomorrow after classes and buy you some mangoes.

Omg, that would be great. What time do classes end?

Five in the afternoon. So I'll be there before six.

Cool. I'll be waiting for you.

See you tomorrow... 💖

I quickly sent off the last text with the glittering heart before I could lose my confidence and delete it. Cooheart would probably just smile and shrug it off.

I could hardly concentrate on the professor's lecture the following day. It was my last class for the day and I was itching to leave and go buy the mangoes that I promised Cooheart. I knew that mangoes were Cooheart's favorite fruit.

I went to the market that was known for good quality produce. The prices there were significantly higher than the ones in the other markets but the prices were worth it.

I chose the best mangoes of the bunch and then went to the area inside the market where, for an additional fee, they would peel and cut up the mangoes into convenient bite size pieces and place them into transparent plastic food containers.

When my mangoes were ready I brought the plastic container to the checkout counter and paid for it.

I was surprised to see that Cooheart was all alone in his hospital room. His face lighted up and he gave me the sweetest smile I had been given so far.

"You're my best friend ever," he said as he accepted the plastic container of mangoes, "thank you so much, this was really sweet of you."

"Yes, I'm sweeter than these mangoes," I responded with a bright smile.

There was a knock on the door and then an orderly came in with a tray of hospital food. He placed the tray on Cooheart's bedside table and wheeled it towards Cooheart's bed.

Cooheart thanked the orderly and then turned to me, "Would you like to have some of my food?"

"No, thanks," I replied, "my mom will be upset with me if I don't eat the dinner that she will be cooking for me and my dad this evening."

"What international dish is it this time?" Cooheart asked. He already knew all about my parents' inclination towards cooking foreign dishes.

"If I remember right, she said something about beef and cheese enchilada. It's a Mexican dish," I replied.

"What is an enchilada?" Cooheart wanted to know.

"I have no idea," I said honestly, "I will have to ask my mom when I get home."

We chatted as Cooheart ate his hospital dinner.

For a hospital food, it didn't look bad at all. There was a mini bowl of lentil soup with bacon bits in it and then on his plate was a cup of brown rice and on one side were strips of teriyaki beef and a mix of cut up vegetables beside it.

After dinner, Cooheart rejected the mini bowl of cut up assorted fruit in favor of the mangoes that I had brought him.

"These are so sweet," he said appreciatively as he ate the second piece of mango, "I'm so lucky and grateful to have a friend like you."

I opened my mouth to say that I would like to be more than that, when we heard a knock on the door.

The next second, a nurse came in, pushing Title in a wheelchair.