"Bri, are you free? If yes, let's go to that nearby chicken wing place. I have been craving it since last week. You in?"

This was what the notification contained when I opened my phone. It was Niko. We go to the same university and we come from the same town so yes, we were pretty close and all.

He often does this randomly. Chatting me up because he has this weird food craving due to an unprecedented picture or thread he saw on Twitter or Facebook. And me being the biggest foodie out there, I can't help but say yes even if most of the time, my wallet is already gasping for air.

"Sure. Meet you at the lobby in 15 minutes." I replied, tossing my phone to my bed, picking up my toiletries on my bedside as I beeline my way to the shower.

I took a quick bath since I mostly am a lazy bum most of the time and today is not an exception. Even if it meant that I should look good and smell good because I'll be seeing Niko in a bit.

But why? Why do I have to look nice in front if him? My constant need to look perfect is really something I should dump in the seams for all I know, Niko won't care to notice how I look. I mean, who am I anyway?

I am seriously heading down the self-pity lane now. In an attempt to clear my head off of my lunacy, I turned the shower knob slightly to the right to increase the temp.

After the shower, I opened my tiny closet and realized that all my clothes are crap. And they all make me look fatter than I already am.

"I am already here at the lobby. See ya!" Niko texted. So I pulled on the nearest clothing I can find and chucked it on my body. I picked up my worn sneakers, got my wallet and phone, then ran downstairs.

I found him sitting at the lobby's cerulean sofa, staring down at his phone, with his brows knitted and almost meeting at the center.

His eyelashes were voluptuous and thick, highlighting his dark brown eyes; his lips were naturally puckered and it was cute in a way that he always looks like he is stifling a laugh and thus, all of these features complemented his face well.

I didn't notice that I was staring at him for a while now. I mentally scolded myself and took long strides toward him.

"I am beyond starving. Let's scram." I said, as he bolted upright from the sofa.

"Yes, me too. I already tried booking a taxi but no one would accept my request. I guess we have to ride the jeepney then. Besides, we have plenty of time to kill, so it's okay that we'd be delayed." He casually uttered, as I again stared at him, nodding with every word he said even if I wasn't paying that much attention.

What is wrong with me today?

We went outside and stayed at the sidewalk to wait for a jeepney to park and load passengers. It wasn't long until one halted in front of us. Niko nudged my shoulder lightly and approached the entrance of the vehicle.

He motioned that I go up first before him. I then flashed a timid smile and hoisted myself up to the jeepney as he trailed behind me.

It was funny how Niko's little gestures made my heart flip. And it was funny how I dutifully scold myself everytime. It's as if I feel like I am sinning against the world whenever I come to realize that I may have possibly fallen for this guy.

I just cannot take in the idea of me liking him because I know, he will never ever see me as something more than just a food buddy. I was forever fated to be a friend of his. And I was okay with that. I am trying to be okay with that.

I sat near the driver's window and he sat across from me. I was suddenly hyper aware of myself. I was suddenly aware of my shirt and how it hugged my figure, showing my flabs out for everyone to see; how my thighs were colossal and if they were a bit smaller, another person could fit the pew that I was sitting on.

It shouldn't be like this. I shouldn't be thinking thoughts like this about myself. I decided to shrug such cynical thoughts off and focused on the adventure that was waiting for me.

"I hope the house isn't full today." Niko chimed, taking me off guard but I heard what he said.

"Yes, I hope so too. I cannot bear to wait for another minute. My stomach is digesting itself!" I said, clutching my stomach while slightly scrunching my face. He let out a laugh that reverberated throughout the cavities of the jeepney. Normally, I would be ashamed of such a bold act but with him, with Niko, everything is just so easy.

"Ah finally, we're here!" He signalled, as the jeepney halted, and the passengers unloaded. We were last to go out from the vehicle.

Niko was almost brisk walking as we exited the jeep. I could tell that he was utterly starving.

He is incredibly a man with a small frame but he sure does eat a lot. I am about five and an inch tall and he's just a couple of inches taller than me. Technically, he is smaller than the average guys. But he is nevertheless, very handsome.

I scampered behind him as he approached the chicken wing house with such conviction and ferociousness. He was indeed, hungry as a mad cow. I stifled a laugh for I know he wouldn't notice because I was behind him.

It's funny how moments like this added up to the feelings that I have long gone suppressed. It is preposterous to know that I every so often proclaim that I'll never fall for him and yet now, I guess I'll have to stop chanting that line.

We entered the restaurant and was lucky enough that they didn't have a teeming line of customers that usually started from the entrance up to the DVD shack next door.

We immediately found a seat and as soon as we settled in, our favorite waitress Shelly, approached our table wearing her signature cheeky smile.

"Hi kids. Are you having the usual today?" She asked. We were regulars at the chicken wing house since it offered unlimited chicken for just an affordable price.

"Hmmm. Lemme see, we'll have Garlic Parmesan and the classic flavor. That'd be all Shelly." Niko chanted, as Shelly wrote on her little paper pad, our orders.

"Oh and we'll have service water for our drinks." I followed up.

Shelly nodded generously and traipsed her way to the kitchen. We were all smiles and cheer since we wouldn't have to wait long for our order.

Minutes later, our orders were served and we ate like rabid dogs. And in between our voracious indulgence, we managed to throw each other jokes and strike funny conversations.

It was moments like this that made my heart skip a beat. It was moments like this that added up to my heart's mosaic of reasons why to like him. It was moments like this that I truly appreciate him being in my life.

I know nothing about his thoughts for me, as to how he sees me, where I stand on his life but I do know that he'll never forget me. I know that he'll never forget about a girl who drops everything just to eat with him; that even if I already bought tickets for a school show, I abandoned the ticket just because he told me he wanted us to go home together to our province. I did a lot of crazy stuff just to be by his side whenever he calls me.

A lot of people may see him as someone who uses me for his convenience but oh well. This means something else to me. I guess no matter what, I'll always be thankful that I have met him. I'll always be thankful for his help when I chatted him years ago, asking about the dormitory's rates.

I was a stranger to him back then. We were from the same town but we came from different schools. And he was three years older than me so I never really knew that I'd end up getting close with him.

"Zie, let's go for round two?" He said, interrupting me from my reverie of him. I gingerly nodded and smiled.

He called up Shelly again and asked for the same orders.

"I still can't believe that you're already in your fourth year Zie. It seemed like yesterday that you chatted me asking for some details about our school. Time really flies fast." He uttered, catching me off guard. It does fly fast. One day you're just someone and now, you run my thoughts day and night. I never dreamt he'd think such thoughts, weave such a series of memoirs in his head, let alone one that has me in it.

Niko is now on his second year as a medicine student. He was a third year nursing student when I entered the same university as him.

It was funny how things really went well between me and him. We became good friends over the years that came and went. We shared a lot of interests, mostly food. We get each other's humor, stayed up late just cranking each other up with memes and inside jokes.

It's hilarious really how we've gotten so far in our rapport, in our relationship and yet we never got THAT far, that deep.

I guess it's just me. I guess I am feeling all of this by myself. But I do find it nice yet melancholic. Precious yet fleeting.

In the haziness of it all, he's just someone I'll forget soon. Someone I'll sigh over. Someone who made me once happy. He is just someone who went and came to my life, and making it never the same.

He is just a soul that traversed my universe--to temporarily make me smile, make me view life from a different perspective. After all, he is just Niko. My soulmate. Mine. And yet I was never his.