Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

I'm late! cursed the young man as he ran to the courtyard of Thammasat University, one of the most prestigious universities in Thailand. It was 7 o'clock in the evening so the place that was normally crowded with people, was now practically deserted except for a dark-haired figure. The young man smiled when he saw him and hurried to meet the mysterious figure.

"I'm here. Sorry I'm late, Bible. Mio kept me entertained with his bullshit."

The man called Bible turned and smiled at the agitated young man.

"Copper, don't worry, I just got here five minutes ago," he said nonchalantly.

Copper blushed as he looked at Bible's attractive features. He had gorgeous, shiny black hair, a white smile and kind brown eyes that looked at Copper with tenderness and adoration.

"Rough day?" Bible asked as he stroked Copper's hair with his fingers.

" It got a lot better a few minutes ago," replied Copper biting his lips.

"Really?" replied Bible throwing a playful glance at his companion "I guess we have to make it perfect then."

Bible then grabbed Copper by the neck and pulled him close to his lips to kiss him passionately. A moan escaped Copper's lips as he felt Bible smile into the kiss. "

Copper..." Bible murmured.

"Copper..." "Uh? Bible's voice sounded a little strange" Copper thought.

"COPPER!"

The sudden scream woke him up as he looked around alarmed for the source of the commotion. Immediately he found Mio who was smiling sardonically at him.

"What Copper, have you been having happy dreams?" smiled his friend with that smirk he hated so much.

"Of course I did. It was a very nice dream" Copper said VERY innocently and trying not to blush.

"Who were you dreaming about if I may ask?"

"With my parents, they were congratulating me while I was receiving an award for being the best student in the faculty" lied Copper shamelessly.

Mio's smile widened even more.

"In that case, please don't invite me to your family gatherings. I don't think I would get out of there alive" said his friend while looking at Copper's waist.

"What do you mean...?" Copper didn't finish the sentence when he turned his gaze to his lower body and to his shock and horror, he saw how there was a huge bulge in his pants.

"OH GOD!"- exclaimed Copper quickly covering his crotch.

At his reaction, Mio had a fit of giggles.

"It's not what it looks like, really."

"Of course not, your parents are ENORMOUSLY proud of you."

"Oh, go away," Copper said in embarrassment, as Mio giggled his way out of the room.

Copper got out of bed cursing his friend for waking him up too soon from that wonderful dream and headed for the shower to clear his head.

Mio would probably be waiting for him outside his room so he didn't have time to take care of "his problem". Cleaner and clearer he walked out of his room where as he had guessed, Mio was waiting for him.

"More relaxed Copper?"

"Dude, shut up and knock it off."

"Did you relax in the shower?"

"SHUT-THE-FUCK-UP."

"You were moaning, was that about our dear Bible?"

A murderous look finally made Mio drop the subject.

He and Mio knew each other since they were kids, their parents had been friends so it would have been logical to think that they would be friends too.That was not the case at first, Mio was a little shit and teased Copper for everything and of course, Copper struck back.

This changed in their teens when after a childish fight they both discovered they were gay. This strangely brought them together and they began a friendship where they would of course tease each other.

When a couple of years later, an incident occurred (for which Copper still felt guilty) Mio proved to Copper that he couldn't have a better friend than him. When they finished high school, they decided to move into the same student apartment where they shared a room.

After a few minutes they arrived at the campus cafe where they sat down to wait for Bump, a close friend of Copper's and Mio's boyfriend.

Bump was a friendly and somewhat shy young man. His great passion was music, which he could talk about for hours. Copper had heard him sing and had been left open-mouthed. This had made him click with Mio, whose great passion besides soccer was also music, and sparks flew.

When they both told Copper that they were dating, he couldn't have been happier. The three of them made a strange group, they were the same age Coppe but for some reason he still didn't know, he felt that Mio and Bump were his older brothers.

The campus cafe was full of people at that time of the morning since it was only half an hour before classes started. After a few minutes of waiting Bump appeared, who after smiling at them gave Mio a little kiss.

"What, no kiss for me?" Copper said smiling.

"Of course," Bump played along "I wouldn't forgive myself for not kissing my favourite boy." Bump gave Copper a kiss on his cheek.

"Hey, hey what's this, cheating in broad daylight?" Mio said feigning indignation.

"I have love enough for both of you, no need to fight over me," replied Bump feigning distress.

"Oh, but Copper has love for someone else, don't you Copper?”  smiled again so annoyingly Mio “what a night he had, even in a porn movie you could hear less moaning”.

"Copper, did you have a romantic night? Is that guy you liked, Buble you told me his name was?" asked Bump excitedly.

"It's Bible and no, no romantic nights, this idiot is making it all up. It was just a dream."

"Mio showed me a picture of him on Instagram, you really have good taste. A good-looking guy, but do you like him enough to have had a wet dream?"

"He's not just handsome," Copper replied excitedly, he knows English, Thai and a few words in Korean and Japanese, he is in the student council of the college he also has a podcast that talks about mental health and gets straight A's. I'm sure he even helps hungry kids....

"Sure, and he's next in line to the throne, the first Thai to step on the Moon and also the Nobel Prize for Science." interrupted a nasty voice.

Copper clenched his fists and turned towards the voice that had so rudely interrupted him to meet Nakunta, his classmate whom, by the way, he could not stand.

"Nakunta," Copper said as sweetly as he could "Haven't you been taught that it is very rude interrupting PRIVATE CONVERSATIONS?" Copper said underlining the last words.

"Private? Even people in Chiang-Mai would have heard you shouting. For God’s sake. You should control those urges of yours, fanboy."

When he heard that nickname, Copper narrowed his eyes and controlled himself not to start shouting a series of well-deserved insults.

"Well, in that case you should be VERY calm, I doubt anyone has any impulses towards you other than to smash your face in, JERK."

"You'd be surprised how many people would love to be with me" Nakunta replied smugly.

"Pretty much, but to your bad luck, there has been no news of breakout from the asylum."

"Look, fanboy you..."

"Okay, okay, time out both of you," Mio interrupted "we're in the middle of the cafeteria and we probably don't want the faculty to become famous for opening "Fight Club"."

Copper and Nakunta turned around and there were indeed students looking at them with various expressions: Some were open-mouthed, others were looking on in amusement, and Copper thought he saw some assholes making bets and exchanging bills.  

"He started it” Copper defended himself.

"No, you started it by shouting with your stupid fairy tales and your delusions, what are you, 20? I think it's time to see reality and stop living in the enchanted forest."

"Look who is talking about age - aren't you 23? We're in the same class, maybe you should think about graduating instead of being a pain in the ass."

"COPPER STOP RIGHT NOW!" Mio interrupted again; this time visibly furious.

Copper jumped startled; he hadn't heard that tone from Mio in a long time.

"Sorry, Mio."

Nakunta also seemed visibly intimidated by Mio's outburst, so he got up from his chair ready to leave.

"I have to go to class. Mio, Bump, see you.” he said deliberately ignoring Copper.

Bump who was the only one who had not intervened in the conversation, made a slight gesture of farewell to Nakunta.

Copper looked cautiously at Mio to see if his anger had worn off and at that very moment remembered how his own stupidity and big mouth had cost Mio his dreams. "It was my fault" Copper thought ruefully.

Mio turned to look at him and as if he could read his mind, his expression relaxed and he wore his stupid grin again as he patted Copper on the shoulder.

"What a scene you two have made," said Mio, "I think I should charge for tickets at this rate.”

"It's rare to see Ta behaving like this, he's usually quite nice and charming" finally interjected Bump, seeing that the tension had already disappeared.

"Excuse me, nice and charming?" Copper jumped up like a spring "he's a horrible, annoying being who only lives to torment me. And why do you call him Ta, anyway?"

"It's what he wants his friends to call him."

"Well, I'll be sure to call him Nakunta then, although jerk suits him much better. How do you know him anyway? Bump you're too good to have anything to do with such a worm, and you Mio... well, we all love Mio."

Bump laughed as Mio made a threatening gesture at him.

"Well, you know we study music and sometimes we use the rehearsal room to play. Some of Ta's friends study music too and he himself seems to have has some interest in the subject, so from time to time we've met at rehearsals and had a drink afterwards."

"I didn't know that guy could have friends. Well, until now. it looks like he has at least two more members in his fan club," Copper said looking at them spitefully.

"And there could be three, if you join us. Cheer up Copper, we'll make banners with Ta's face, we'll go to see him, we'll cry and bless the ground he steps on and if you're lucky, he might invite you to his bed" replied Mio.

"Mio, for God's sake." said Copper looking at him in horror. At such an expression, Bump and Mio burst out laughing.

"Relax Copper, we're just acquaintances and that's it, you'll always be our favourite boy." said Bump touching his heart.

"I hate you two."

"What's with that nickname he gave you anyway, 'Fanboy'? I don't get it." Bump asked.

"Oh, I can answer that, Copper was giving me one of his speeches about how wonderful Bible was and Ta listened to us. Since then, Copper has been "Fanboy" to Ta". Mio replied.

"I'll tell you the real reason: Homophobia. There are in class people even admitting how they jerk off thinking about some girl and this jerk doesn't say anything. However, I talk about Bible and he jumps all over me. He can't stand it when a man likes another man."

"If that was the case, he wouldn’t even look at our face or he would insult us and I assure you, he doesn't."

"Besides, I believe that some of his friends are not exactly straight."

"Then he's an asshole, period. What does he care if I like Bible or anyone else?"

"Copper, it's not like you've been an angel with him either, do you think I don't know that it was you who spread the rumor that Ta had crabs?"

"It wasn't a rumor, we just talked about it among us, besides it wasn't even a lie, have you seen his social media? He's always shirtless and showing off his muscles, I bet he knows more than one brothel" Copper said scornfully.

"Wait a minute, have you seen his social media? I thought you weren't interested" answered Mio mockingly.

"And I don't. Apparently, we have common followers and every time some asshole likes his pictures, I end up seeing them. Good thing he's probably never seen my social media, I bet he'd be able to use something against me."

"By the way, when are you uploading new ASMR video? The jelly video the other day was great.” said Mio.

"Maybe I'll upload one this Friday, although I don't know if you deserve it after being an ardent fan of that jerk, Nakunta."

At the mention of the name, Bump seemed to deduce something and looked intently at Copper.

"Copper did you tell me your nickname was 'Fanboy’”?

"It's not my nickname," Copper replied in annoyance, "that asshole just pulled it out of his sleeve.

"Fanboy, fanboy, fanboy, fanboy," Bump repeated to himself, "Fanboy as in 'FB'?

"I don't know Bump, by the way, thank you so much for repeating that horrible nickname in front of me, you're the best friend in the world."

Mio looked at Bump impressed as if they shared the same brain.

"Don't fuck with me, really? Mio said looking at Bump with his mouth open as he started to smile widely.

"Yeah, I think so, it seems very likely" said Bump laughing as well.

"What are you guys talking about, what am I missing?

"Nothing, nothing" said Mio amused "I think you should go now Copper, your classes will be starting soon."

"Right, I'm leaving now" Copper bid farewell.

Unfortunately, they did not share classes. While Copper had decided to study Engineering, Bump and Mio had decided to study Music, which had been a wise decision considering the enormous talent they had.

Copper felt envious. While those two could be holding hands while taking notes, he had to share classes with that jerk Nakunta, who of course had chosen the same electives as Copper.

He couldn't even take comfort in sharing classes with Bible, because he was two grades ahead of Copper.

At times like this, he wondered if it had really been worth it to go to college.

Chapter Text

If Copper thought his run-in with Nakunta at the coffee shop was the worst thing that would happen to him that week, the world proved him wrong again. A day later he got a notification on his social media indicating him that his family had updated their status.

Apparently, part of the family had gathered for a vacation in Chiang-Mai and had taken some beautiful family photos, including little cousins and nephews. What really upset and hurt Copper was his own father's comment on the posts: "Finally the whole family together".

Of course, the whole family except for the small detail of not including his own son. He had not even received a call to ask him if he wanted to go on the trip. Copper would have thought it had been an oversight on the part of his family if they hadn't done this before. For the past two years his parents had practically treated him as just another room fixture and his situation probably wouldn't change.

This fact had made him irritable and moody all week. He thought he would be used to these situations by now, but once again it had been like a stab in his heart and his battered self-esteem, so he decided to avoid all human contact until the moodiness had passed.

After a few days of exhausting classes, the long-awaited Friday finally arrived and Copper couldn't be happier. Even though there was still a long way to go before the exams, the teachers knew no mercy, whether it was setting homework or studying for a lesson. Of course, he knew he could leave it for a little later, but he didn't want to leave everything to the last minute and risk failing. He was studying on a scholarship and was not willing to lose it and have to go to his parent’s home.
Copper didn't want to admit it, but he himself knew he was a bookworm. Something that, of course, Mio made sure to remind him of every time he saw him with a book or talked to him about "magnitudes, meters and other bullshit" as he liked to call it.
To his horror he wasn't the only one who thought so, his "dearest and most adored" Nakunta had also reminded him of it sometimes Copper got straight A's on his exams and papers. Whenever Copper would tell him that it was better to be a bookworm than a brainless one, the jerk just laughed. Copper was beginning to suspect that Nakunta was a masochist who simply liked to be insulted.

Before relaxing he decided to do some outlining on the subject, "History of Architecture in Thailand". It was not a really complicated subject, but it was a particularly tedious one, and the fact that his teacher was an old man who could hardly be understood when he spoke and who sometimes had such a coughing fit that it seemed like it would be his last breath, did not help at all. For a brief moment he wondered how Nakunta would handle that subject and immediately hit himself in the head for thinking about that jerk outside of classes.

A couple of hours later, he was finally free to do whatever he wanted for the weekend, so his first action was to turn on the PC to see if Bible had posted anything on his social media or YouTube.
He was about to get down to business when there was a knock on his bedroom door.

"Copper, are you there?" he heard his best friend's voice through the door.

"Yes, I'm here" he replied annoyed knowing he would have to save the Bible video for later.

"Come on out, I have a surprise."

Curious, Copper got up and walked out of his room to see what his friend had in store for him. He hoped it wouldn't be a surprise like last year when Copper lost a bet and Mio decided to buy twin t-shirts that read: "Proud to be a power bottom." Copper thought he would die of embarrassment when Mio forced him to wear it when they went out partying that night.

To his delight, what greeted Copper was a meow.

"Ohhhh NAMO" cried Copper excitedly as he approached the cat that Mio held in his arms. Namo was Mio's cat and the one he comically called "his son", an opinion that of course Copper shared.

It was said that animals resembled their owners and Namo might be the best example of that. He had beautiful brown fur and yellow eyes. At first glance he looked like a rebellious cat who wouldn't let anyone near him or his territory, but that was only the first impression: once he liked you, Namo was the most affectionate cat in the world and even seemed to have a sixth sense for knowing when to cheer you up.

"Ah, I knew you'd like it" replied Mio with satisfaction. "Namo is just like his daddy and raises passions".

"You wish" replied Copper mockingly, "What did the vet tell you, Is Namo fine?”

"Oh, this naughty cat is perfectly fine, it turns out that his weird behavior and meowing in the wee hours of the morning are because he is in heat. Copper, I hold you completely responsible for this" said Mio very seriously.

"Excuse me, how are you going to hold me responsible for the cat being in heat?" replied Copper tense and astonished, he knew Mio was very overprotective of Namo but this was absurd.

"Well, cats are driven by pheromones and you've been very active lately, do you think I didn't hear you in the showers while you were mentioning the name of a certain engineering student?" he asked.

"Mio, I..." Copper couldn't believe that Mio had come to such a stupid conclusion.

Copper must have made the weirdest face because it was just seeing his reaction and Mio burst into loud laughter.
"Oh Copper, please NEVER CHANGE, you are every joker's dream, what a face" said Mio pointing at him.

"Idiot, give me Namo lest "his daddy's" stupidity rub off on him, it seems to be contagious" said Copper picking up Namo and petting him. At his reaction, the kitty brought his head close to Copper's chest.

"Yes, Namo, daddy is stupid, good thing your dear uncle will lead you on the right path" the kitten purred hearing Copper's voice.

"Namo, don't be a traitor".

"By the way Mio, are you doing anything tonight? I was thinking of watching some movie or play some videogames".

"I was going to go out to dinner with Bump but after what happened with Namo, I'll cancel plans. A cat in heat needs companionship, Bump will probably understand".

"Nonsense. I'll stay with Namo while you and Bump go out to dinner, and then exercise your hips".

"How subtle Copper," scoffed Mio "but I don't feel right leaving you alone with Namo, you deserve to enjoy the weekend too, I understand it's been a tough week".

"Mio, I've already told you I'm staying home and Namo will keep me company, by the time you get back he'll want me to be his new daddy. Besides, you're the only one in this house who has a chance to be with a man, even though I like to tease you sometimes, I'm not going to be so mean as to deny you that privilege".

"Okay, I owe you one, but when Namo goes to sleep, take him to my room, even if it's late I want to see him before going to sleep".

"But are you going to sleep? And I thought you were bringing Bump to your room. Don't worry, I'll wear earplugs tonight".

"Oh, shut up, Bump will also be happy to see Namo. By the way, speaking of men," said Mio changing the subject "I was talking to your favourite boy this afternoon and he asked me what we were going to do this weekend".

At that comment Copper froze and his heart began to pound. He couldn't believe it, had Bible asked about him? was he interested in what Copper would be doing this weekend? His mind flew to different scenarios in which Bible and he would have a perfect date. Maybe he and Bible could go to dinner at a fancy restaurant and end their romantic evening at a hotel where Bible and Copper would make passionate love. Or maybe they could go dancing, he had seen in some of Bible's videos the way he moved his hips and God heavens....

"Earth calling Copper, do you read me?".

"Huh?" said Copper in confusion.

"COPPER, WAKE UP!" shouted Mio wiping Bible from his thoughts.

"Yeah, sorry. Well, what did you talk to Bible about?" said Copper still shaking with anticipation.

"Sorry, Bible?"

"Yes, Bible. You just told me he asked you about what we were doing this weekend."

"Copper I only know Bible from what you've told me about him and it’s more than likely that he doesn't know who I am. Why would he talk to me?"

"You just said my favourite boy asked you what we were doing this weekend."

"Ah, sorry, I wasn't talking about Bible. I was talking about your OTHER favourite boy."

Copper looked at Mio completely confused. Bible was his favourite boy and he couldn't think of anyone else on the faculty. There were people in his class that he got along with, also people in the faculty of music thanks to Mio and Bump and he even had some acquaintances in the faculty of arts through Fuaiz and JJay but none of those people could be considered "Copper's other favourite boy".

"Come on, I'll give you a hint, he's on your same faculty and you probably talk to me about him more than Bible".

Immediately Copper's gaze darkened realizing who Mio was talking about. Of course, Copper talked about that JERK all the time. Every time he saw him, he would spout some bullshit that got on Copper's nerves.

"Please tell me you're not talking about THAT JERK".

"Of course I'm not. I'm talking about our dear friend Nakunta".

"MIO, why do you call him my favourite boy, or rather what have you been doing talking to him? Tell me you must have at least lied to him about our plans".

"First of all, I call him your favourite boy because of that sexual tension between you two and secondly, no, I didn't lie, I told him that tomorrow we would go to karaoke with Fuaiz and Jjay for drinks".

"Fuck, you're an idiot" Copper said very angrily, "I have no sexual tension whatsoever with that asshole, the only thing he lives for is to annoy me. I've been dodging him all week so I don't have to hear his voice and now you go and tell him what I'm going to do on the weekend, the only days, by the way, that I don't have to see his shitty face".

"Hey, don't be like that," replied Mio defensively "we just had a normal, run-of-the-mill conversation, and it just came up".

"Tell me all about it," Copper said jaded.

"Nothing, we just met and he asked me if I was going to upload any new songs to youtube, he also asked me about Bump and if we would do a duet soon. He told me he loved our last song."

“Wait, is that guy your follower?”

“He is,” Mio said brightly, “jealous?”

“Fuck off,” Copper replied. “What else did you talk about?”

“Well,” Mio looked at Copper cautiously, “the conversation ended up focusing on you”.

"WHAT?? What did you talk about me to that guy?”

"He told me that this week you seemed different, more distracted or worried about something. I replied that it was probably your studies and that this Saturday we were going out to karaoke, that you liked it a lot and that you had a great time, especially when we got together with Fuaiz. Now the million-dollar question, Copper did something happen to you this week? should I be worried?".

"Yes Mio, you should be worried, but about you. The fact that you made it to 20 alive is a real miracle seeing how STUPID you can be. You just fell for the oldest trick in the world. That guy wasn't worried about me at all, he just used you to get information out of you and you of course gave it to him, and now he knows where I will be this Saturday. Well, he knew, because of course after this, I will stay home. I'd rather not going outside than have to share air with Nakunta any more than I have to".

"Copper, you can't stay home alone because you might run into Ta".

"Oh yes I can and that's what I'm going to do. Tomorrow, I'll call Fuaiz and tell him something has come up".

"Copper, he really did seem worried about you, you can't think that someone is going to chase you just to torment you. Besides the fact that I told him what we're going to do doesn't imply that we're going to meet".

"Oh yes we are going to meet, he'll make sure of it".

"Copper listen to me, Ta is not a bad person and he doesn't hate you either, he's..."

"That's enough Mio," Copper cut him off "I don't want to talk about that worm with you or anyone else. Get dressed or you'll be late for your date with Bump. I'll stay with Namo tonight and leave him in your room when he falls asleep. Maybe I'll upload an ASMR video with the kitty, I need to relax and I think you owe me after the silly thing you just did".

Mio was going to answer him, but Copper just took Namo in his arms and locked himself in his room.

Thirty minutes later he heard the door to his apartment close and knew he was finally home alone. It was then that he allowed himself to reflect.
Of course, he was angry at Mio for talking about him to his enemy, even if his intentions were the best, but in fact Copper was truly scared. He had clearly underestimated Nakunta, he had always taken him for a jerk who would just say something stupid to Copper and he would talk back, but now he realized that he was more observant than he thought.
A few years ago, Copper had learned the hard way that showing your true emotions was a serious mistake and that many times, a fake smile and a funny comment could save you a lot of trouble. People in his class had commented to him in surprise how happy he always seemed and only a select few like Mio and Bump could see behind the mask how Copper really felt.

At least he thought so until now. This week he had dodged everyone including Mio and Bump because he didn't want to overwhelm them with his misery. It was an important time for Mio and Bump both academically and personally, and he wasn't going to bore them about how his family had once again snubbed him.

In class he had also kept his distance from his classmates, arriving to class just before the teacher and leaving just after the bell rang. By keeping his social life to a minimum no one would have to look at his face and try to guess what was going on. Mostly, he had tried to dodge Nakunta, Copper knew how to keep him at bay, but if the jerk ended up saying anything related to his problems, they probably would have both ended up in the police station or expelled from the university.

However, all his effort had been in vain. Somehow, Nakunta had observed him without him noticing and had guessed that something strange was going on with him. This fact surprised him, considering that Copper had never been in a good mood with Nakunta, so he wondered how his enemy could have noticed the change in him.
Copper felt bile rising in his throat as he finally realized that Nakunta hated him so much and was so obsessed with him that he was looking for Copper to have any sudden change and make a false step to humiliate and destroy him. Mio and Bump had made a mistake by trusting who they shouldn't, but he wouldn't be that stupid. "Come and get me, Nakunta" thought Copper, "we'll see who finish whom".

Copper picked up some toys for Namo from Mio's room and decided to play with the kitten before he set about recording his ASMR video. It would do him little good to make a video for people to relax and rest if he himself was irritable and angry.
Fortunately, despite his condition, Namo was eager for cuddles and care. It filled him with happiness when the kitty would run to him when he threw one of his toys at him or purred, and of course the kitty was delighted when Copper gave him treats and scratched him behind the ears.
Finally, after an hour of playing with Namo, Copper felt the bad mood finally give way to a mixture of tiredness and calm, and the kitten itself seemed to have noticed it because it was no longer as hyperactive as before.

Determined, he decided to record his video and later edit and upload it. His ASMR hobby had started two years ago when his whole life had gone to shit and he was on the brink of the abyss.
He had searched on the internet for relaxation methods to prevent his own brain from devouring him, the main suggestion was to go to therapy which Copper flatly refused, enough people had talked about his privacy without having a clue, he was not willing to divulge it anymore. Besides, therapy cost money that his parents would probably not be willing to spend now that they had discovered he was a degenerate that had ruined their good name.
After an incessant and fruitless search for methods to stop thinking, he finally read the acronym ASMR and after watching some videos he had found with fascination that they worked. There were some that hardly had any effect on him, but others, especially the whispering voice and scratching, relaxed him.

After a while of being a mere spectator, Copper decided to take the step. At first, his attempts had been pathetic because he didn't modulate his voice well or the sounds had been squeaky instead of soothing, but eventually he got the hang of it. Surprisingly people liked Copper's videos and not long after he had hundreds of thousands of followers. He knew perfectly well that it wouldn't make him a millionaire, but it gave him enough money to pay his rent and school supplies, and the scholarships thanks to his good grades made his financial situation more or less stable without having to rely on his family.

When he turned on the computer, he realized that he hadn't planned exactly how his session would go. Usually, Copper would calculate how long his video would last and the things and materials he would use, but the stress of that week had not allowed him to plan it as he should.
"Sometimes you need to improvise" Copper thought and went to the bathroom to grab a comb. He made sure it was in perfect condition because he was not only going to use it on his head, but also on Namo, whom would be the special guest and the star of that night's video.

First, he decided to make a post on his social media to announce that he would be posting a new video and that his audience would be expectant so that when the video was posted, they would leave him comments and that would make his video spread faster.

"Hey guys" Copper said in front of the camera on his laptop, "today is Friday and as you know, that means it's time to upload a new video, it's going to be a little different than what you are used to and I have a new guest that you are going to love even more than me" he said mysteriously as he smiled and winked towards the camera, "I think in a couple of hours it will be ready, enjoy it and remember to leave lots of comments".

Once the preview was posted, he decided to get down to work. His week had been a real shitty one so he decided that the content of his video would be to vent in front of the audience. Copper didn't really like to talk about himself and even less in front of strangers, but after his argument with Mio he needed to vent to someone and he wasn't going to be such a bad person to interrupt Mio and Bump's date, who would be having a great time right now.

Of course, he would not use names or specific places in his video. He had discovered that among his followers there were people from his university, which caused him some uncertainty. Some he had recognized from their photos on social media and others had directly told him about his channel. Although at first it was an overwhelming feeling "being famous", Copper soon realized that he was not unhappy to receive some support, as the reviews were mostly positive.

"Hello" Copper started whispering and already in his ASMR persona, "I want to thank you for all the support my previous video about jelly received. I'll be doing a part two soon, but as I told you, today will be a different video. Normally you tell me to talk a little more about myself in the videos" Copper smiled while moving his fingers rhythmically in front of the camera "and as I always tell you, you have to keep some mystery, but tonight I decided to make a little exception", he continued whispering.

"First of all, I want to introduce you to my guest today, he will be the one to help me make the video." Copper went to get Namo who after all his games was calm.

"Ta-dah, this is my wonderful guest and who I know you are going to love" Copper said as he showed Namo to the camera, "his name is Namo and no, he is not mine, he is my best friend's, but I am his uncle who takes care of him when daddy is not available" Copper whispered.

"I want you to relax or fall asleep today listening to Namo purring while at the same time hearing my voice, so grab your headphones and forget about the outside world. Now there is only me and especially, Namo".
Copper proceeded to pick up the comb and begin brushing Namo gently, just as he had hoped, he felt the cat relax in his arms and begin to purr.

"This week has been a little difficult. I've had to remember things I haven't remembered in a while, plus I had a quarrel with a classmate and now I just had an argument with a friend, who I hope he'll forgive me when he sees this video tomorrow" Copper whispered as he smiled at the camera and continued brushing his animal friend.

"Don't you feel helpless when you see that things continue being the same and there is no hope that they can ever be fixed?" Copper said as he thought about his family and his feud with Nakunta. "I should probably stop worrying, but I can't help how, even if I try to change everything, the result is always the same."

Copper thought he had sounded a bit depressive with the last thought so he decided to lighten the mood.
"Anyway, it hasn't been all bad at all, I have a feeling I'm going to nail the next exams and tomorrow is finally Saturday, so I'll go take some pictures. Remember that on my profile you can see them all. Personally, I'd prefer nice weather so I can sunbathe, but I bet I could also get some good pictures in the middle of a good storm. Since Namo is here, I'll leave the choice up to you: do you want me to take photos outside or maybe I'll look for a good spot somewhere indoors? I know you guys loved the coffee shop photos last time. So leave me in the comments what you prefer”.

Copper set the brush down on his desk and began scratching Namo's ears with his own fingers.
"Namo is someone very important in my life. I've seen many of your profile pictures and many of you are dog people, but if you have a cat, I assure you it will change your life for the better" Copper said smiling.

"Well, I've let off enough steam, now I'll be quiet for the next 20 minutes while you can concentrate on Namo. He has the best meows and purrs in the world so enjoy. Let me know in the comments what you thought of this video and if you want me to talk again or shut my mouth for good" Copper joked.

After 20 minutes, he got Namo to sleep, Copper said goodbye and turned off the camera. He took Namo to Mio's room as he promised and proceeded to edit the video and upload it.

He felt slightly insecure about saying all that in the video and that people might figure out what he was talking about. It was clear that Mio and probably Bump knew absolutely everything, but he had been sufficiently vague in his explanations that no one else could connect the dots.
The only one who maybe could figure out who "the classmate he had a quarrel with" was Nakunta and fortunately Copper had ascertained that he did not follow his social media.
"It'll be all right" Copper told convincing himself.

Between the time he had spent playing with Namo and recording the video, Copper realized that it was already midnight, but despite being a bit tired he still wasn't sleepy, so he looked for something to do.
Suddenly he remembered that Bible had posted something on his social media but he hadn't been able to see it because Mio had interrupted him.

His heart skipped a beat when he saw his Instagram profile. There was Bible with his coy smile and muscles in a tight little shirt. He thought it was amazing how someone with the face of an angel could have that body. However what Copper loved most about Bible were his eyes: Completely expressive and showing you what he was feeling even without saying a word. Copper sighed every time Bible smiled or laughed at something and his eyes got smaller as a few wrinkles appeared on his perfect face. Pleased, Copper noticed that in addition to some photos he had posted a video.

Bible had a podcast where some of his college classmates or friends attended and with whom he used to debate and give his opinions on some controversial topic and best of all, he didn’t mince his words, which made Copper admire him even more. However, he sometimes posted videos in which he simply narrated his daily life and his different activities. This time, Copper came across the second kind of video. Bible had decided to play basketball with his friends. When he saw the friends, he was shocked. "How is it possible that even his friends are handsome?" Copper said to himself, surprised and jealous.

Despite it being a simple basketball game, Copper couldn't stop looking at the way Bible moved, plus the sweat made his shirt stick. When Bible stopped for a while to drink water and saw how some of the liquid soaked his shirt even more. Copper was sweating and started to feel some heat in his pants.

"Oh no" thought Copper knowing what was coming "don’t do it by looking at Bible, control yourself and be strong" and yet he knew that everything was useless, Copper knew that all his self-control and mental strength were gone.

"Well, guys, I think this is the end of today’s video. I hope you enjoyed the game. From here to the NBA. Now I’m hitting the shower, take care." Bible joked as he took off his shirt and the video ended.

Faced with such a sight, Copper definitely couldn't take it anymore and nervously opened the drawer of his bedside table where he found a bottle of lubricant while he lowered his pants. He applied a generous amount to his hand as he guided it to his crotch. He felt ashamed for imagining Bible that way, but desire prevailed over reason.

He could see in his mind, as he began to move his hand up and down, Bible completely naked in the shower as the drops fell down his perfect ass. Copper had never seen Bible naked but there was no need, his imagination would do the rest.

Bible turned to Copper and could see his impressive front. If the butt was splendid, the front part of it did it justice. Bible looked at him suggestively while he held his cock with his left hand.

“Copper, what are you doing standing there? Come here to keep me company. I'm feeling very alone”. Copper approached, completely hypnotized, to where Bible was, and as soon as he saw him, he hugged him. Copper noticed how his clothes were soaked but he didn't care at all.

“Copper, clothing is ABSOLUTELY forbidden here” and with one pull Bible tore off his shirt and pants and threw them aside. Copper shivered as the shower drops touched his completely naked body

"Cold?" Bible said mischievously. “Well, you know that human contact is best for that,” he said as he pressed his body against Copper's, who shuddered when he noticed Bible's erection against his own cock, which was already beginning to grow.

“Oh Copper, how big you are,” Bible said as he reached his free hand toward Copper's bare bottom.

“Oh, Bible,” Copper moaned as he used his hand to grab Bible's erection, which made him gasp.

“Oh Copper, your hands are magical and I'm sure your mouth is too.”

Copper took the hint and crouched down until he was facing Bible's wonderful manhood. Copper bit his lips in anticipation and proceeded to take the penis into his mouth and lick it hungrily.

Copper felt proud when Bible moaned his name and stroked his head while guiding him to take his cock even deeper. Copper was tremendously excited so he took his hand and started shaking his own cock vigorously while he continued using his mouth.

“Copper get up, I want to kiss you”.

Copper stood up and Bible greeted him with a passionate kiss.

“You're such a good boy Copper, let me return the favor”.

Then it was Bible who reached down and took Copper's cock in one hand.

“This looks good,” said Bible, “do you want me to put it in my mouth? I won’t do it until you beg me”.

“Bible, please do it, I need it,” Copper stammered.

Bible looked him in the eyes as he began to suck his cock. Copper began to moan, this was too much and he knew he wouldn't last much longer. Bible kept looking into his eyes as he quickened his pace.

“Oh God, Bible, I'm going to… Ahhhh” Copper couldn't resist it anymore and exploded in Bible's mouth.

“AAAAAHHH GOD” Copper screamed as he came nonstop.

When he opened his eyes Bible and the shower had disappeared and he found himself completely naked again in his room. He looked around trying to catch his breath as he enjoyed the post-orgasm tingle. His stomach was completely covered in cum so he grabbed several tissues to clean himself. He was too tired to take a shower so he would leave it for tomorrow as soon as he got up.

Copper was glad that no one was home, because if Mio had heard that last scream he would have had him in his room in less than 5 seconds and of course he would have been laughing at him for the next 10 years. Overcome by fatigue and all the emotions of that day, Copper fell asleep as soon as his head touched the pillow.

Copper woke up the next day somewhat tired. He flushed knowing what last night's activity had left him so tired. It was still early, 8:30 in the morning and he could sleep a little longer if he wanted, but he decided make the most of Saturday.

The first thing he did of course was taking a shower, his body was sticky and not just because of sweat.

Once showered and freshened up, he returned to his room and turned on his computer to see the reception his video had received. He had improvised and maybe his audience didn't like it. Copper proceeded to read some of the comments and smiled when he saw the first one.

bump_pawat:

Two of my favorite boys on the same screen. It's like being in heaven ^_^

Copper smiled widely when he saw Bump's message of support and felt a warmth flood his chest. Bump was a friend he could always count on, although he was surprised that he woke up so early when in theory he had been with Mio all night.

Jjaypf:

That kitten is the cutest thing I've ever seen and so are you Copper. Adopt one now.

fuaiz_thanawat:

Get naked Copper, so we can see who has more hair, you or the cat.

Copper laughed when he saw the comments of his two friends. Of course, Jjay would talk about the cats. He had 2 and apparently one of them was pregnant and Fuaiz would troll the comments as he did in each of his videos.

Copper realized that Mio hadn't left a comment. He wanted to think it was because he was still sleeping and not because he was still angry. “I still have to talk to him,” Copper thought. Once relaxed and having slept, Copper realized that he had no right to tell Mio who he should talk to and who he shouldn't, even if that person was his worst enemy. Mio would never do anything to hurt him and he had proven by far to him when he sacrificed part of his future to defend Copper years ago.

Trying to put his guilt aside, he continued watching the comments and was surprised by the success his video had had. Most of them were in love with Namo just as he had anticipated, but some others told Copper that they liked him to open up a little more.

He frowned when he saw numerous “MY PUSSY IN BIO” in the comments and the occasional hater that had already been coming to him from other videos.

Cool_guy69:

Now you need cats to do your work? you are pathetic dude

When Copper began to become a little more famous, trolls and haters comments also started, he asked Mio for his opinion about what to do with those comments: Whether he should answer them, delete the comments or block them. Mio replied that what he should do was taking revenge and answer with some swearing. Fortunately, a much more reasonable Bump told him what he should do was ignore them and that's it. Not everyone could like him and if he started blocking or replying, the only thing he would get was more haters showing up.

However, not everyone followed his example. Since the last year, Copper has had a die-hard follower who answered to the haters and put them in their place and of course this time was no different.

Cool_guy69:

Now you need cats to do your work? you are pathetic dude

                TaCo_TaCo

                At least he has a job and a cat. All you have is a blow-up doll, severe mental disability, premature ejaculation and a mother                                  who wants to kick you out of the house. Go jerk off and leave people alone, you loser.

Copper laughed loudly when he saw the response from TaCo_TaCo, his biggest fan. At first Copper thought that he was simply being funny, trolling the comments like Fuaiz did, but to his surprise, TaCo_TaCo watched all of his videos and commented on them in detail, indicating what things he liked the most and where he could improve.

Copper had been so intrigued by him that he had started following him on his social media. He didn't have any photos of his face so he didn't even know for sure if he was a man or a woman. The rest of his photos and videos were about tattoos, gangster movies and series, and of course ASMR.

Copper had sent a private message to find out more about him and they had begun a kind of friendship in which they told each other some things. Of course, it wasn't as close a friendship as the one he had with his two friends, but he had come to trust him in a way.

Even so, he wanted to make sure that TaCo_TaCo was not dangerous and after various times they had chatted, he had found out several things: TaCo_TaCo would be more or less his age due to the way he spoke and his tastes, he always spoke of himself in masculine terms so unless he was the best liar in the world, he was a man And lastly and most disconcertingly, he studied at the same university, although he did not know which faculty.

He found out the latter at the end of last year when a rumor arose about how an architecture professor had theoretically impregnated a student. When Copper told this to his friend, he corrected him by saying that he was not an architecture professor, but a science one. Copper didn't know if TaCo_TaCo had realized his mistake, but he preferred not to say anything.

When Copper told TaCo_TaCo that he wanted to meet him in person, he had flatly refused, claiming that his beauty was such that he didn't want Copper to get depressed, which got a good laugh from the latter.

Returning to the present, he decided to open a private message to his virtual friend to see if he was available.

copper_phrt16

So early and you're already cursing? I think it's a new record.

After 5 minutes he saw that his friend had answered him.

TaCo_TaCo

You know me, the early bird catches the worm.

Copper_phrt16

Have you watched my video or have you simply dedicated yourself to expressing your wonderful vocabulary among the haters?

TaCo_TaCo

Of course I've watched it, Namo should be a permanent staff on your channel. He has the best purrs and meows in the world. It was listening to him and starting to yawn. Thanks to you, I have slept more than 6 hours.

Copper_phrt16

I'm glad you slept. So you liked it?

TaCo_TaCo

Yes and no.

Copper was surprised by this response. TaCo_TaCo used to like his videos, although he also understood that being something completely new, he would receive some criticism. What he appreciated most about TaCo_TaCo was his sincerity and thanks to his constructive criticism, he had been able to improve.

Copper_phrt16

What did you not like? Please be honest.

TaCo_TaCo

The video is great Copper, like I told you, Namo is amazing and you know how to smile and whisper to the camera, but despite you've focused on the kitten and pretending that your stories didn't affect you, I've been able to notice that you were kind of sad. 

Copper froze when TaCo_TaCo told him this because of course he was right. He had edited the video so that his face was seen as little as possible and he had used some jokes to mask his emotions, but he had been caught.

Copper suddenly felt helpless again like when Mio confessed that Nakunta had noticed the change in his mood. He could understand that Mio, Bump or even Jjay and Fuaiz would notice his weakness, but two people who didn't know him that well had seen through his mask. One he didn't know in person and another who hated him. He clearly wasn't as good an actor as he thought he was.

The sound of notifications woke him up from his reflections.

TaCo_TaCo

Copper are you there?

Copper_phrt16

Sorry, I was in the bathroom.

TaCo_TaCo

Are you OK? I'm sorry, I think sometimes I stick my nose into other people's business

Copper_phrt16

Don't worry, it's nothing

TaCo_TaCo

I don't know exactly what happened, but I'm sure your friend will forgive you, although if you want my advice, buy something for Namo. I have a cat and I know that the best way to please an owner is to bribe his cat  🤗🤗

Copper_phrt16

Haha good advice, by the way, I didn't know you had a cat. What’s its name?

TaCo_TaCo

If I told you, I would have to kill you. Well, first problem solved. Now tell me about that classmate you had a quarrel with.

If TaCo_TaCo had told him this 12 hours ago Copper probably would have told him what had happened with Nakunta and would have been ranting for a long time, but now with a cool head, he stopped.

TaCo_TaCo was a student at the university so it was possible that he knew Nakunta and even if he didn't, Copper preferred that his feud with Nakunta be something private. The rumors had destroyed his family and social life years ago, he didn't wish that on anyone in the world, not even Nakunta.

Copper_phrt16

It's nothing, we fight all the time anyway. At this point I think it's a lost battle trying to fix anything.

TaCo_TaCo

Well, don't give up. Many times there are people who argue simply to get your attention and don't know how to do it any other way.

Copper_phrt16

Haha in this case I doubt it, well I’ve got to go. We’ll talk another day.

TaCo_TaCo

Goodbye and remember, you have me for whatever you need.

Then, Copper got up to have breakfast and of course talk to Mio about what happened yesterday. He hoped he wasn't too angry and he also had to decide if he would go out tonight. Fuaiz wouldn't be too happy if he refused, but the prospect of having to see Nakunta depressed him.

“Well, here we go” he encouraged himself.

Chapter Text

When Copper walked into the kitchen it was still 9am so he expected it to be deserted, he got a big surprise when he saw Bump sitting at the table drinking coffee while he was glancing at his cell phone.

"Good morning," Copper said cautiously. He didn't know if Mio had told Bump about the argument they had yesterday and if Bump might also be angry. To his relief, Bump looked up from the cell phone and smiled brightly at him.

"Good morning Copper, you're up early."

"You took the words right out of my mouth" Copper smiled at him too "I thought you'd be asleep until 12 noon at least. what time did you come in? I went to bed at 1 o'clock and you still weren't here."

"Almost 3. We would have come earlier, but Mio wanted to take the last one at that jazz club that opened recently."

"By the way" Copper asked cautiously "How was Mio?"

"Fine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I don't know if he told you anything last night, but we argued. I got pretty unbearable, actually."

"Oh, so that's why you said about the argument in your video last night. Don't worry, Mio was as usual."

"That's a relief. I was afraid I'd screwed up your night and when I didn't see any comments from him in my video I feared the worst."

"Not at all, if he didn't leave you a comment it's because he's still sleeping. By the way, I see Namo was in very good hands last night. You clearly have a way with animals Copper, let's see when you adopt a kitten".

"With Namo we have our hands full and I have enough taking care of myself" Copper joked.

"Well, now for the million dollar question, what did you two argue about? I was surprised to see you so affected in the video."

"So affected you say, did it show that much?".

"To people who don't know you well, it didn't show at all, but you know neither of you can hide anything from me." Bump winked playfully at him, "Now tell me, what happened?"

Copper told Bump in great detail about his argument with Mio.

"Ah, Mio can sometimes be such a big mouth."

"No, Bump. It's my fault, Mio has the right to talk to whomever he feels like and about whatever he feels like, even if it's with that guy" Copper added with some spite.

Bump laughed at the tone Copper had used.

"Mio just wants you two to get along, he doesn't want to see you angry every time you run into each other in the halls, nothing else."

"I know, but some things are impossible to achieve and getting that jerk to stop hating me is one of them and of course I'm not going to shut up every time he says something to me."

"After the argument you had yesterday with Mio I know I'm gambling my life saying this, but Copper, Ta doesn't hate you. I think he just likes to tease you to see your reaction and I can understand that, I want to hug you when you pout.

"BUMP" Copper complained.

"Hey, hey, take it easy. I'm pulling your leg".

"That's not funny" pouted Copper.

"I think I understand Ta more and more".

"BUMP".

"Okay, okay, I'll stop now," Bump laughed "anyway Copper let's take the hypothetical case that you're right and Ta hates you and it's not like he just wants your attention. What would be the big deal about you running into him tonight?"

"Are you still asking? I don't want to see him when I'm having fun with you guys, I understand it's unavoidable in class or in the cafeteria, but our outings are sacred and I don't want that jerk to make them miserable for me."

"You guys have been at each other throats for a year now since we entered college, but you've simply been limited to throw the occasional dig and the occasional insult and that's it. It's not like it got past that point and there were threats or violence. In fact, I didn't even know he was calling you “fanboy” until your last discussion. If you see him tonight, just ignore him and that's it."

"Bump I know it seems silly, but I just don't want to see him, plus if we already argued without drinking, imagine what would happen with several drinks too many. We might end up on the news and seeing his physique and mine, I bet I wouldn't come off very well" Copper said remembering how sometimes his followers had tagged Nakunta in their photos and he had seen him shirtless.

"Copper, Ta wouldn't hit you even if he had drunk the whole bar, in fact I'd love to see him drunk, I assure you his words towards you would change quite a bit...".

"I'd rather not listen to them, believe me, and not only that, having Fuaiz and Nakunta in the same space can drive me completely insane”.

Bump laughed at the comment, probably imagining the scene.

"So what are you going to do? We haven't seen Fuaiz and JJay for a few weeks now, they're probably looking forward to seeing you tonight and Copper for your sake you shouldn't limit your social life because of something like this."

"I have to think about it" Copper said hesitantly "I know you're absolutely right, but it's just that the thought of that guy makes me really not feel like going out tonight."

"Well, you have all day to think about it and if you want to talk, you know you have me and Mio for whatever you want."

"Speaking of Mio when does he plan on getting up? I wanted to talk to him before I go out to take some pictures."

"It's a losing battle. He'll probably be lounging around late or until Namo forces him to get up. Go if you want, I'll tell him you want to talk to him later."

Copper said goodbye to Bump and went towards his room to get dressed and grab the camera. It was a beautiful day, he had the whole morning to take pictures and he wasn't going to waste it.

Photography was another of his hobbies. He wasn't a professional photographer, but it was something he had always thought about. When he was little he just focused on the camera and shot, but as he got older he realized how a simple photograph could express everything: From your mood to your deepest longings.

In his last ASMR video, his followers had told him that this time they preferred an outdoor photo, and seeing how nice the day was, Copper agreed. Of course, he didn't post all of his photos on his social media. Many times, there were photos that, although objectively not the best, were the ones that had made the biggest impression on him.

He thought about what places he could visit to take good photos and finally decided on his own university. It was Saturday and there was probably not much hustle and bustle and if his university could be proud of anything, it was its immense gardens, which attracted both students and people from outside the university. Sometimes some students decided to do their homework, eat, go drinking or even go on dates there.

When Copper arrived at his college, he noted with pleasure that he had been right. The gardens were full of people, but since there were no classes, there was a calm atmosphere that did not exist from Monday to Friday.

He took out his camera and decided to get to work. It was the middle of October, so despite the autumn chill, the landscape was tinged with oranges, golds and reds.

At first, he took some pictures of the trees and hillsides and then proceeded to take some pictures of the landscape with some students in the background. He didn't want to invade anyone's privacy so he decided to take them from a distance. A couple of hours later, completely satisfied he decided to go home to choose the best ones and do some editing if necessary.

He was about to leave when he saw a figure in the distance and his heart skipped a beat. It was Bible and he was talking to a friend while hanging some posters. His hands began to sweat and he could feel the saliva building up in his throat.

Bible hadn't seen him so he had two choices: Pretend he hadn't seen him and go home or go over and say hello and risk making a fool of himself.

Copper thought about his chances and his sad reality. Bible was the perfect guy, with the perfect face, the perfect body and the perfect personality while he was the disappointment of his family, the one who had made his friend give up his dream and the one who believed in fairy tales as his despicable classmate reminded him.

He was about to leave disappointed with himself for his cowardice and self-doubt when the words uttered by Nakunta days before, attacked him again: "Control those urges of yours, fanboy" "It's time to see reality and stop living in the enchanted forest".

He could imagine his enemy looking at him mockingly as he criticized him mercilessly: "Uh, the fanboy doesn't dare talk to his idol. Of course not, stick to getting some autographs and knowing your place, loser."

He clenched his fists as he wiped Nakunta from his mind. Maybe Bible and he had no future or he would make a fool of himself when he talked to him, but he was clear about one thing. He was not going to let Nakunta win. With a determined step, he walked over towards Bible who continued laughing with his friend.

"Good morning" Copper said when he was close to the two boys.

Surprised by the interruption they turned to look at Copper whose heart skipped a beat when Bible smiled back.

"Hi Copper, how are you here today, did you come to study?"

"No, I came to take a few pictures. The campus is beautiful this time of year and I felt like photographing the grounds" Copper replied smiling nervously.

"Do you like photography?"

"Yes, mostly landscapes and places that catch my eye. I'm not so good with portraits."

"Why?" asked Bible quizzically.

"It's easier to know the nature of landscapes than people and landscapes also lie less."

Bible and his friend laughed to the answer.

"I'd love to keep listening your conversation, but Bible, aren't you going to introduce us?" interrupted Bible's friend.

"Sure, sorry. Copper this is Jet, a friend and Jet this is Copper, he studies Engineering like me and he is in 2nd grade."

Jet smiled kindly at him and shook his hand.

"Engineering huh? Another brainiac like Bible?".

"Well..." replied Copper somewhat embarrassed.

"Of course he is. Last year Copper got one of the highest grades in his course and several times he took time out to help us in student council."

Copper had to restrain himself from jumping up and down with happiness when Bible remembered all that information about Copper, maybe he wasn't as invisible as he thought.

"Jet, I don't recall seeing you around the faculty, are you an engineering student as well?

Jet made a horrified face at the question.

"God no, I'm an P.E. student, thinking about all those books, formulas, centimeters and more and I want to shoot myself."

"You sound just like a friend of mine" Copper laughed when he remembered Mio's face when he told him about the new formulas he had learned in class.

"A genius your friend, I'm sure. Bible, let's finish hanging these posters. Unlike you, I don't want to be seen on Saturday at the university.

Copper walked over to look at what the poster was about and saw something about a college soccer tournament.

"A soccer tournament?" asked Copper.

"Yes, all faculties have been ordered to collaborate and take care about promotion and preparations," said Bible, "a real muddle if you ask me."

"I'm looking forward to it, it's about time this stuffy university did something entertaining. So much excellence and protocol made me want to puke."

"So, are you going to participate? I thought you guys were more into basketball," Copper said.

Bible and Jet looked at him questioningly.

"Oh, shit," Copper thought as he was caught.

"Well.. I think I saw you guys playing basketball in a park around here the other day" Copper excused himself praying that he wouldn't get caught in his lie and deduce that Copper had seen them thanks to Bible’s channel.

"Really? Copper next time join us, the more the merrier" Bible told him.

"Well, I practice karate but I don’t know if team sports are my thing."

"In that case you'll feel right at home with us. Most of these noobs don't even know how to hold the ball" Jet taunted Bible.

"Jet, shut up" said Bible laughing. "Well Copper here's a poster if you want to participate and tell your friends. If you don't want to play, you can also help with the preparations, you know you are always welcome in the student council."

"Goodbye Copper, it was a pleasure to meet you. Dare to do this soccer thing, I think there's going to be a lot of dummies signing up and I need someone normal to talk to" Jet said goodbye.

Copper said goodbye to them and decided to head home as he reflected on what had happened.

If he had been told before he left home what his morning would have been like, he wouldn't have believed it. He had talked to Bible who seemed to have some sympathy for him and he had also met one of his friends who seemed like a nice guy. He was glad he had made the right decision having talked to Bible and ironically whom he had to thank for that was Nakunta, whose teasing had given him enough strength to take the step.

"Maybe Mio is right in the end, and Bible and Nakunta are my two favourite boys" he thought sarcastically.

That thinking was what finally made him decide that he would indeed go out tonight with his friends, he didn't care if Nakunta showed up or not. Apparently his "precious" words seemed to give him the courage he didn't know he had.

His mood improved even more when immediately his cell phone vibrated and he saw a notification from his ASMR video.

Athenswerapat:

Copper you have to recognize that Namo has been the star of today's video and you, stop worrying about bullshit 😜.

"Idiot" thought Copper fondly, "definitely before I go home, I have to get Namo some toy" thought Copper following his friend, TaCo_TaCo's advice.

When he got home from his college, he finally saw that Mio had woken up and was in the kitchen chatting with Bump while he was playing with Namo.

"Good morning," Copper said shyly to Mio.

"Good morning," scoffed Mio mimicking his tone "Copper for God's sake, don't look at me like you killed someone."

"Are you okay?"

"Yes Copper, I'm perfectly fine. I don't feel like a lost soul like you seem to be."

"I'm sorry about yesterday, I went ballistic."

"Yeah, I haven't seen you like this in a while. Clearly our friend Ta makes you revolt... AAAH" complained Mio when Bump stomped on his foot.

"You're making up remember?" admonished Bump.

"There's nothing to make up because nothing has happened, right Copper?".

"No, Mio, what I did was wrong. We could have talked it over quietly and I went crazy."

"I'm telling you to forget it, we've had worse fights and here we are. Besides, maybe I shouldn't have given Ta too much information."

"No Mio, you can talk to that jerk all you want and if we run into him tonight you guys say hi to him and I'll tell him to fuck off."

"Copper, does that mean you're going out tonight with us?" asked Bump.

"Going to karaoke to make a fool of myself with Fuaiz? I wouldn't miss it for the world."

"I knew you'd come eventually," said Bump excitedly.

"I'll call Fuaiz to tell him that it's no longer necessary for him to come home to threaten you with death and blackmail you" replied Mio.

"Oh, by the way, Mio I bought a toy for Namo" said Copper handing a package to Mio.

"Let's see what uncle Copper bought us, Namo" said Mio while he was opening the package. "Oh look Namo, a "Cinderella" stuffed toy".

"Do you like it?"

"We love it, by the way, Copper how interesting that you give a "Cinderella" stuffed toy, maybe you live in a fantasy world like Ta says.

Mio's scream was heard throughout the building as Copper and Bump stomped on his foot.

Hours later Copper, Mio and Bump were sitting in a restaurant waiting for JJay and Fuaiz. They had decided to have dinner and sit at a table so they could talk quietly because they probably wouldn't be able to talk too much at the karaoke, with all the noise and too many drinks.

When Copper saw Fuaiz and JJay waving at them from afar he had a huge smile on her face, they hadn't seen each other for 2 weeks and he had missed them a lot.

Fuaiz was a year younger than him, studied art, was very outgoing, hyperactive, had very little shame and an outrageous laugh that would get on anyone's nerves. It was strange that he and Copper had hit it off so well, considering that Copper was much quieter and more serious than him, but together they made a great team. Lately every time they went out partying, Fuaiz had decided to use Copper as a guinea pig to try new cocktails, which had ended in disastrous consequences for both of them. 

Fuaiz went running to hug him, or so Copper thought, because when he caught up with him, he pinched him on the arm.

"Aaah, man, what are you doing?"

"What am I doing? A lot less than you deserve"

"But we haven't seen each other for two weeks and I haven't even opened my mouth."

"Two weeks without seeing each other and it would have been more if it were up to you, what's this about you not going out tonight because of a man?"

"Mio, what did you tell him?"

Mio shrugged as he smiled teasingly at him.

"He told me enough to know that you were going to stand us up. Who is this guy by the way? Is he that good looking that you'd rather ditch us for a shag? TRAITOR."

Bump and Mio couldn't take it anymore and started laughing.

"MIO WHAT HAVE YOU TOLD HIM?" asked Copper in horror.

"Fuaiz calm down or you're going to end up killing him before he explains himself" interrupted JJay.

Copper looked at JJay with appreciation.

JJay was a couple of years older than Copper and like Fuaiz, he studied art. He was much more introverted than the latter and to Copper's luck, much more rational and calmer. He was also one of the tallest guys he had ever met and also one of the most attractive. If JJay could be defined by one word it was "gentleman" and Copper was sure that if it wasn't for his crush on Bible, he would have fallen for JJay's charms.

"Don't take his side JJay, he was going to abandon us" Fuaiz said dramatically.

"I wasn't going to ditch you, silly and it's not because I want to sleep with a man".

Copper proceeded to tell Fuaiz and JJay about his feud with Nakunta and why he didn't want to meet with him.

"So that's why you didn't want to go out today" said Fuaiz "which shows that besides being a potential traitor, you're stupid. I could even understand if it was for working out in horizontal position with a hot dude, but for not seeing a guy in your class, it's RIDICULOUS."

"You bastard, you're looking for any excuse to insult me" Copper replied.

"Yeah, actually" smiled Fuaiz.

"Anyway Copper," interrupted JJay "I find it very strange that he would get on your bad side. You don't think he could become dangerous? do you?" looked at him seriously JJay.

"Of course not" interrupted Mio and Bump in unison.

"Are you two conjoined twins now or what?" said Fuaiz "it must be a side effect of sharing a bed so much."

Mio made a threatening gesture at him while Bump deliberately ignored him.

"Bump and Mio get along with that jerk" Copper explained to JJay's confusion.

"JJay, they just have stupid fights, don't worry, nothing will happen" explained Bump.

"Decided then" said Fuaiz "if Copper's stalker shows up, JJay will beat him up".

"I'm not going to beat the crap out of anyone."

Can we order now? I really don't want to talk about that guy" Copper shut them off.

Thirty minutes later they were eating dinner and to Copper's luck, the subject of Nakunta had been put to rest.

"And has anything exciting happened at the art school? All I've seen this week are formulas and more formulas," said Copper.

"Nothing at all, the most exciting thing is that I got an A for painting my cat." said JJay

"Really, JJay? Nothing? If it wasn't for me, you'd be so cut off from the world."

"What are you talking about? Did something happen?"

"Word is that someone on our faculty has a record from when he was a minor, can you believe it?"

"What are you saying?" asked Copper

"It was published by "Iknowyouall" this Tuesday."

"Fuaiz, please tell me you don't follow that fucking bullshit account" replied Bump somewhat exalted.

Mio, JJay and Copper turned to look at Bump in surprise, since unlike Mio and Copper, Bump rarely said swear words.

"Well, not that I follow him, but people send their messages sometimes" said Fuaiz somewhat intimidated.

"Bump, did that bastard ever say anything about you?" asked Mio in alarm.

"Of course not, that scum probably doesn't even know I exist, fortunately I'm not famous enough. I just hate such people."

Copper shared Bump's opinion about that disgusting account. It had popped up a year or so ago and was spreading rumors about students at the college that were often manipulations and half-truths. Rumors that of course ended up destroying the reputation of the student in question and forced him or her to leave the university. 

Opinions were divided on the account. Some were in favor of them posting things in case any of the students could be dangerous and another group considered it disgusting to reveal people's privacy. Copper was in that second group; he knew the power of lies and what they could do with your life.

He had not spoken to his friends about this account for fear of what he might hear, but fortunately they seemed to be on his side. Who he had talked to more than once about this account was his social media friend, TaCo_TaCo.

It had been the famous rumor that a professor had gotten a student pregnant that had been the reason he had guessed that TaCo_TaCo was a student at the university. A rumor that of course had been started by the "Iknowyouall" account and had turned out to be a lie.

 TaCo_TaCo had also been totally against that account and was sure that their identity was some student of the university. After several talks, Copper had ended up admitting to his friend that he was scared that someday that stupid account would stir up his past. He felt a warmth in his chest when TaCo_TaCo told him that if it happened, he would protect him.

"Hey guys, what would you do if ever that account posts something about you?" asked Copper suddenly.

"Say them to fuck off, and what could they post about you, Copper? That you ever took a pen without permission?" scoffed Fuaiz.

"I'm talking in general," Copper said avoiding the piercing look Mio was giving him, "it seems easy to just say ignore them, but more than likely people will talk and talk. To our misfortune, too many people follow that account."

"But it's the right thing to do Copper. Either ignore it or report it," said JJay. "It's tough, but I think what we can't do is leave the university or give up, otherwise we would be encouraging that prick.

“You heard him Copper” said Mio smiling “anyways if that motherfucker talks too much, they will have us on their ass”.

“Right, JJay will beat them up” said Fuaiz.

“I’m not beating up anyone” said JJay annoyed.

Everyone laughed and the conversation was forgotten.

An hour later and after having filled their stomachs, they headed to the karaoke bar. Actually, it was more of a bar than a karaoke. In a normal karaoke, you rented a single room with your friends for a few hours and no one had to hear you sing.  This karaoke bar had in the same room all the tables where people enjoyed their drinks and in front of it there was a stage where people sang. To sing you had to buy drinks, plus your performance was recorded and if you wanted to take a copy you also had to pay extra, so it was a round business.

The friends sat down at a table not too close to the stage and ordered drinks. Copper was pretty sure that he wasn't going to sing being sober, he needed alcohol to cloud his judgment, even a little. He had asked Fuaiz many times why they kept going to that place instead of a karaoke if in the end, all they managed to do was make fools of themselves, to which Fuaiz had replied that precisely the fact that everyone was watching them made it exciting.

"Well, who will sing with whom?" said Fuaiz excitedly.

"I'll sing with Bump" said Mio quickly. 

"Of course" said Copper scornfully "professionals always go together, lest they hit a note out of tune and the world ends."

"Don’t be jealous Copper, it's not our fault that ONLY we have talent."

Fuaiz, JJay and Copper looked at Mio with hatred.

"Don't listen to him, let's pick a great song and make them eat their words." said Fuaiz.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't had enough to drink yet to make a fool of myself on stage." said Copper.

"You're not going to make a fool of yourself, anyway, tonight I've set out to find the perfect cocktail."

"No, no way, the last time you tried to do it, I nearly shit my pants" said Copper in horror.

"This time it will turn out well, you'll see."

"It's our turn, Copper take our pendrives and buy our video" said Bump handing Copper his pendrives, when he saw the screen put their names on it

"Well gentlemen, while you're still here crying, we'll go sing our song" said Mio.

"Break a leg" said Fuaiz sarcastically.

When Mio and Bump went on stage, Copper looked at them expectantly. He had seen them sing both together and separately on several occasions and they were incredibly good. It was clear to Copper that if they didn't succeed at something song-related in the future, it meant the world had gone to shit.

Mio and Bump had chosen a ballad which contrasted with the rowdiness of the bar, but he knew they had done well. If it was a matter of voice, it was where they could show off the most.

As the song began, Copper watched in wonder as their faces transformed. Bump who was usually shy and quiet took on an air of confidence while Mio had a much more serious countenance than he always had.

Their voices were soft and rhythmic and had the perfect pitch. When they both looked at each other, something stirred inside Copper. If anyone was stupid enough to doubt his two friends' relationship, he simply had to watch their performance.

Copper wondered if he could ever be on that stage with someone who looked at him the way Bump and Mio were looking at each other: respect, admiration, illusion and love.

When the song ended, Copper stood up to applaud with sparkling eyes and watched as virtually the entire bar did the same.

"They make me so angry" said Fuaiz "we can't even make fun of them for singing off-key because it was perfect. Mio is going to be more unbearable than usual. Copper what are we going to...?

Fuaiz paused to look at Copper and suddenly let out a hysterical laugh. Copper looked at him in confusion.

"Copper, please tell me you're not crying," Fuaiz said with a chuckle.

"Huh?"

Copper touched his eyes and sure enough, they were wet. Oh, stupid sentimentality, again he had been carried away by his romantic fantasies.

"Of course not, my eyes are itchy in this stuffy atmosphere" Copper justified himself.

Fuaiz laughed even harder as he noticed JJay patting his shoulder.

"Don't worry Copper, it was very nice. Better to have a lot of feelings than none at all" said JJay looking at Fuaiz.

Fuaiz suddenly became serious and looked at JJay.

"That's a low blow and you know it."

"Well, it's okay to express ourselves, we're "friends" for a reason" said JJay casually.

Copper was surprised by that sentence, JJay was serious, but he wasn't sarcastic nor did he usually attack anyone that way. Clearly something odd was going on between those two.

"Well, we have to choose a song. If we don't sing, Mio is going to be calling us cowards for the whole year" Copper said trying to change the subject.

"Fuaiz, you pick the song and give me your flash drive, Copper and I will go get the video of Mio and Bump's performance."

Copper and JJay got up and headed to the bar to buy the performance video and order more drinks.

"Are you okay, JJay? That last thing you said was weird."

"Ah, sorry you had to see that Copper. I should have kept my mouth shut, but I've been pretty cranky lately when I have Fuaiz around."

"How's that? You two have always gotten along well, too well, I'd say." said Copper remembering that the last few outings he'd seen JJay and Fuaiz hugging and flirting shamelessly.

"I see you've noticed. Yes, Fuaiz and I have had a thing these past two months or so I thought."

"What has he done?"

"Well, everything was going great. We started dating as a couple and not just friends, we told each other personal things, about our families and even..." JJ started to falter "we ended up in bed, several times."

"But that's great, JJay how did it all go wrong?"

"Despite not saying anything, I thought we were a couple, but when I told him I wanted to tell you everything, he said there was no need to rush and no need to "label" the relationship."

"Oh," Copper said wincing.

"I knew Fuaiz liked to have fun and liked to laugh at everything, but I thought he would at least take our thing seriously. After all, we've been friends for a long time, but he doesn't even seem to respect that. I feel like I've only been the fuck of the month. I almost didn't go out today, but I wanted to see the 3 of you" JJay finished.

 "I'm really sorry JJay, Fuaiz is an idiot, but I think you should at least talk to him later. He's a real insensitive but I can't imagine him doing that to you."

"I'll see what I do, how's your love life Copper?"

"Well, I've had a crush on a guy in college for a while, as I told you."

"Oh yeah, any progress?"

"Well, we met this morning and talked for a while. Apparently in 1 month there is a soccer tournament against another university and the student councils have to help with the preparations. He told me I could help them or try to join the team. Anyway, JJay, Bible is just being nice to me, he has absolutely no feelings for me."

"Well Copper, if he has asked you for help in any way he trusts you. Maybe if you spend more time together, he starts to feel something too and if not, you can always find someone else. Even though this Bible seems like the perfect man, maybe your love is elsewhere."

"As if I could be picky," Copper said sarcastically.

"What are you talking about Copper? Anyone would wish to be with someone as romantic as you. You've cried watching those two sing, which says how sensitive you are and what you want in your relationship. If that Bible can't see it, someone else will, Copper. I assure you."

Copper was at a loss for words as he looked at JJay gratefully and completely moved.

"Don't go on JJay or I'll cry again and then Fuaiz will never stop bothering me."

JJay laughed as it was finally their turn to order drinks and of course order a copy of Mio and Bump's performance. Copper knew he would end up watching that performance quite a few times in the future.

When JJay and Copper returned to the table, Mio and Bump had already returned and were talking to Fuaiz animatedly.

"Finally, you guys are here, I thought you got lost on the way," said Mio.

"We were just ordering drinks and buying the recording of your performance" said Copper handing them their pen drives.

"Thanks Copper, by the way you two liked the performance?"

"Very much. You shined on stage" said JJay smiling at them.

"Copper, did you take so long because you were wiping your tears in the bathroom" said Fuaiz teasing him.

At such an answer Copper gave him a big kick on his shin and Fuaiz let out a shriek.

"Pick the song at once you idiot," said Copper angrily.

"You can't take a joke," said Fuaiz with a pained look on his face "by the way, I've decided that the three of us will sing "Eye of the Tiger".

"What, the Rocky song?"

"That's the one. It's upbeat and we can do whatever we want on stage, people will laugh anyway."

"I think I need to drink a little more before I go on stage and have some drunk guy sing before us. No way I'm coming out to sing right after you two" Copper said pointing to Mio and Bump "the difference would be too big".

"Alright, we'll wait a couple of songs and go on stage" said Fuaiz.

Twenty minutes and four songs later of drunks and people who definitely didn't know to sing, gave Copper enough courage to be able to get on stage with Fuaiz and JJay.

"There's no way we can do better than those two, so we do whatever we want and see what happens," said Fuaiz.

"Whatever we want?" asked JJay.

"Yeah, we can't do any worse than that guy earlier who almost ended up in an alcohol poisoning in the middle of the stage."

As they took the stage Copper looked at the screen where the lyrics would appear and everyone's turn to sing them. This suited Copper just fine because while he loved English music and knew the song, he didn't know the lyrics well.

Copper positioned himself on stage between Fuaiz who was to his left and JJay was to his right.

Copper tried to relax when he noticed the stares from everyone. He told himself that just as Fuaiz had said, it was better doing whatever they wanted. They could never do as well as Bump and Mio so he decided it would be a comedy act.

Risin' up, back on the street

Did my time, took my chances

Went the distance, now I'm back on my feet

Just a man and his will to survive

Copper saw that was his cue and started throwing punches in the air while making faces of intense concentration. He heard JJay and Fuaiz laughing beside him as they tried to keep up with the song.

So many times, it happens too fast

You trade your passion for glory

Don't lose your grip on the dreams of the past

You must fight just to keep them alive

He looked at JJay and gave him a signal and JJay knew what he had to do.

JJay threatened him jokingly and started "boxing" with Copper while Fuaiz was about to choke with laughter.

There was a moment when JJay grabbed Copper by the neck and Copper took the opportunity to approach the microphone and sing the last verse of the song.

It's the eye of the tiger, it's the thrill of the fight

Risin' up to the challenge of our rival

And the last known survivor stalks his prey in the night

And he's watching us all with the eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

The eye of the tiger

The song ended and the audience began to applaud them with laughter and shouts, although they could hear some booing. When they left the stage, Fuaiz was still laughing out loud.

"Copper I almost couldn't finish the song when you started boxing with JJay," Fuaiz said with a chuckle.

"You said let's do whatever we want" Copper replied with a chuckle.

"Well, at least we made our performance memorable" laughed JJay.

When they returned to the table Copper had some of his good mood taken away when he saw that Bump and Mio were not alone, but talking animatedly with two other guys. One he didn't know at all and the other he unfortunately knew well.

Bump smiled when he saw them.

"What did you guys do up there? You can't be taken out of the house."

"Copper, how did you come up start boxing? I thought the poor guy recording the performance was going to have a heart attack" said Mio.

"And when JJay grabbed you by the collar and you kept singing, you're nuts" laughed Bump.

"Oh, I don't know if you guys know each other, this is Us" said Mio, "Us this is Fuaiz, JJay and Copper".

The boy named Us smiled at them amicably and JJay and Fuaiz introduced themselves as he shook their hands. Copper was tempted not to do so seeing who his company was, but he preferred not to be rude. It wasn't fair to think that someone could be a jerk, solely for hanging out with a jerk.

"Hi Us, I'm Copper" smiled Copper shaking his hand.

"Hi Copper, I finally meet you after hearing so much about you" said Us greeting him effusively.

"Good things, I bet" said Copper sarcastically looking at Us's companion who gave him a mocking look.

Us who observed the exchange of looks, laughed even harder.

"Fuaiz, JJay, this is Ta, he's Copper's classmate" said Bump.

Nakunta smiled politely at them as he shook their hands.

"Hey fanboy, don't you say hi to me?"

"No need. To my misfortune, I already know you, jerk".

This made Us cover his mouth and Fuaiz alternately looked at them with a smile.

After introductions were made, everyone sat down. Copper remained next to JJay and Bump and to his misfortune in front of Nakunta. Well, he would focus on his two companions and try to look ahead as little as possible.

"Copper, is this the guy you told us about earlier?" whispered JJay to him so only he could hear.

"The same one. I told you he'd show up, isn't he awful?"

"He seems pretty normal, I expected him to be quite a bit worse after how you described him to us."

"Wait till he starts talking. The last thing I wanted in this life was to have him and Fuaiz in one space and now we're all here thanks to our dear Mio" Copper said annoyed.

JJay laughed at the last clarification and patted Copper's back.

"Don't worry, I don't think it's that big of a deal, and if things get really bad, I assure you, I'll step in."

He looked over at Nakunta who was talking animatedly with Fuaiz sitting next to him. A shiver ran down his spine thinking of what might come out of that conversation. Nakunta was smart and Fuaiz was a loudmouth, more so when he drank. If the younger man mentioned that he hadn't been about to go out because of him, Nakunta was sure to rub it in for a long time.

"Copper you look pale, are you all right?" he heard Bump next to him.

"Watching those two talk is my worst nightmare come true. One will talk too much as usual and the other will use the information to torment me."

"Fuaiz is no fool Copper, if Ta were to mess with you, he'd stop him in his tracks."

That he could not deny. Fuaiz might be brash and mouthy, but he would never sell out his friends.

"Don't take it like that, I think this is a really good opportunity for you two to get to know each other outside of college and smooth things over”.

"I don't know, Bump, I don't feel comfortable with him here, in fact, I'm going to go get some fresh air and then go home. Would you mind telling them that I wasn't feeling well? I don't want to give any explanation, least of all to that guy.

"What? you can't go Copper, you said you were going out with us tonight."

"We've been almost a couple of hours at dinner and another two at karaoke. It's one in the morning Bump. I think this can be considered going out."

"You've only sung one song, stay a little longer, if you want, both of us will sing the next one”.

"Puff, just what I needed, having to sing in front of him. By the way, did he see our performance or was I lucky?"

"He saw it with us and he loved it, especially when you boxed, he even stood up to applaud you."

Copper looked at Bump in surprise and the latter laughed.

"Copper, I've already told you that you take Ta too seriously. Now I'm asking you to please stay. Come on, do it for me, your best friend who always gives you good advice" Bump said making puppy dog eyes as he held Copper’s hands in a pleading gesture.

"All right, blackmailer. The night better be good or I'll hold you directly responsible."

"Hey, hey what are those two doing pawing at each other? Mio you should intervene" Fuaiz interrupted them pointing at them.

"Shut up, you fucking drunk. You’re just jealous" replied Copper.

Mio and JJay rolled their eyes while Us and Nakunta laughed watching the exchange of insults. Copper was surprised to hear his laughter, it was lighthearted but not as outrageous as Fuaiz's. He had almost never heard him laugh, probably because they spent the day exchanging sarcasm and insults.

"I'm going to get some fresh air, I need to clear my head, I'll be right back."

Copper got up from the table and headed for the exit to get some air. As soon as he stepped outside, a puff of air hit him in the face. There weren't many people at the exit except for a few guys chatting amongst themselves.

He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes as he enjoyed the breeze. Part of him was tempted to get out of there and not look back, but he had promised Bump to sing at least one more song, so he was stuck.

He shouldn't get upset about something like this. Copper knew that he and Nakunta were likely to meet after Mio told him of his plans, plus Nakunta had come with a friend who seemed nice. He had watched Us when they had introduced themselves trying to detect some sort of sarcasm or venom in his voice and had found none.

It seemed unlikely that Nakunta had come out solely to make his life bitter, let alone drag a friend along with him. Mio and Bump were Nakunta’s friends and since they were studying different careers, they saw less of each other, so it was logic to think that their encounter had to do with his friends and not with him.

"Hey, are you okay?" he heard a voice.

"Yeah, thanks a lot." Copper said distractedly.

Copper opened his eyes, interrupted in his musings and found himself face to face with the person he had been thinking about a moment ago.

In the darkness of the bar he hadn't been able to observe him well, but now Copper noticed how he was dressed: He had light, worn jeans that clung to his hips and legs and a white shirt with one button undone that looked great on him and stood out with his swarthy face. Copper wasn't stupid and despite not having a good relationship with him, he had to admit that Nakunta was incredibly attractive.

"What are you doing here?" asked Copper.

"Same as you, getting some air."

"Okay, I'm going inside now."

"Wait, being alone is boring, keep me company."

He thought about ignoring him and going inside, but he remembered Bump's words, "This is a great opportunity for you two to get to know each other outside of the faculty and smooth things over". So he simply stood silently in his place. He didn't know if anything good could come of it, but he wasn't losing anything either.

After a moment of silence Nakunta spoke again.

"Good performance, by the way."

"Are you laughing at me?".

"Of course not, I loved it when you boxed and when JJay grabbed you by the collar and you kept singing."

"Thanks, I guess."

"I talked to Fuaiz for a while, by the way, and he said something interesting about our dear fanboy."

"Shit," Copper said holding his hands to his head as he cursed Fuaiz inwardly.

Nakunta laughed seeing Copper's expression.

"What exactly did he tell you?"

"That apparently behind this big fanboy, there is a magical and wonderful voice."

Copper laughed as Nakunta described his voice. Fuaiz liked trolling as much as the next guy.

"Poor jerk. Fuaiz has fooled you, don't let his angelic face fool you, if he can laugh at you he will and if he laughs at me in the process, it's killing two birds with one stone. The only thing I've ever been good at in my whole life is being a bookworm."

Nakunta's face, which had been smiling, darkened.

"Don't do that."

"Do, what?" asked Copper confused by the sudden change in mood.

"Don't throw yourself down like that. I've noticed you've been moping around all week, barely talking to anyone."

"I don't know what you're talking about," lied Copper.

"Yes, you do. Taciturn, barely looking at anyone. I've even missed your insults."

"What's the matter?  Are you watching me now?"

"Of course. You're always in my thoughts and in my heart."

Copper felt something strange in his chest when he heard those words.

"What do you mean?" he looked at Nakunta in surprise.

Nakunta burst out laughing at Copper's astonished look.

"You moron" Copper said with a chuckle. How could he have fallen for such an old trick.

"Much better that way, fanboy. Insulting and laughing like you always do."

Copper didn't know what to say at those words.

"The night can't end without knowing whether Fuaiz is right or wrong about your vocal ability, so come to the stage with me to sing a song".

"No way," Copper said indignantly.

"A romantic song to be exact. It would be nice to show off those talents of yours."

"I said no."

"Ohh, are you afraid? I don't blame you if you are. How disappointing that you're chicken."

"It's not that I'm afraid, it's that I just don't want to," Copper said sulkily.

"I hear excuses and fear, nothing else. Fear, fear, fear. I thought you had more balls."

"OH SHUT UP, you're like a child. I won't sing with you a romantic song, but I challenge you to sing a romantic song and let's see who do it better. Who has no balls now?" shouted Copper indignantly.

Nakunta froze for a moment at his outburst, but gradually a huge grin broke out on his face.

"Deal. Remember it was your idea so you can't back out. I knew my fanboy had huge balls. I'm going in, I have to get ready for our challenge."

Nakunta then disappeared into the bar, leaving Copper paralyzed.

"What the fuck did I just do?" said Copper to himself in complete despair.

Minutes after he pulled himself together he walked into the bar to meet his friends. They were all still at their tables, Copper noticed that Nakunta was talking completely excited about something with Us.

"I bet he's laughing for having deceived me" Copper thought ruefully.

"Copper you're finally back" said Fuaiz as soon as he saw him approach "I have two pieces of good news, the first is that I have found my new cocktail that will absolutely revolutionize everything and the second is that I have found the next song we will be singing tonight that perfectly reflects your personality".

"First, I don't plan to go near any of your cocktails and second what song is that?"

"A great one, it's called "Show me your banana."

"Fuck you" said Copper indignantly.

"Copper you have to sing this song with me, the rest have refused" whined Fuaiz.

"I wonder why" said Copper sarcastically.

"Yeah, fanboy I think it would be interesting if you show us your banana" interrupted Nakunta.

Bump, JJay and Us who were drinking started coughing, Fuaiz and Mio laughed uncontrollably and Copper felt himself blushing.

"I see you love the song. I'm sure you won't mind getting up there with Fuaiz and sing it to us all" Copper said.

"Of course I won't. Come on Fuaiz, this bunch of chickens don't understand us, and you pick a song for our challenge" said Nakunta pointing to Copper.

"Ta, I think you're my new best friend" said Fuaiz looking at him admiringly.

"Of course I am, let's get on that stage".

"Traitor" muttered Copper between his teeth as the other two walked away.

Copper was met with 4 pairs of eyes staring at him.

"What?"

"What's this about a challenge between you two?" asked Mio.

"Oh, we were talking and in the end that guy tricked me into having a challenge."

"What kind of challenge?" asked Mio with anticipation.

"Ehhh, I proposed that we each sing a love song and see who could do better." said Copper embarrassed.

The table was filled with laughter.

"A love song? Clearly Ta goes all in" guffawed Us.

"Well done Copper, now that's smoothing things over" quipped Bump.

"This is the best night of my life" laughed Mio.

"Copper, I wish I had enemies like yours who sing romantic songs to me" JJay told him amused.

"I'm such a stupid" said Copper holding his hands to his head.

"Oh look, they're coming up" said Us.

Copper looked towards the stage and there he watched as Nakunta and Fuaiz came up and stood in front of the microphone. Some of the audience laughed as Fuaiz proudly said the name of the song.

Fuaiz began:

"When you are tired, my love"

"when you are angry, my girl"

"please let me comfort you"

"and I'll show you my banana".

Nakunta holding his laughter continued:

"oh my boy, let me see it"

"oh my boy, let me feel it"

"please, hug me

"and show me your banana"

At the table were all the friends guffawing.

"For God’s sake, who made this song?" doubled over with laughter Bump.

"The big question is why didn't he turn himself in to the police" Us followed.

Copper was laughing and at the same time surprised that Nakunta had such a sense of humor. Clearly if he and Fuaiz got together, it meant danger.

Fuaiz and Nakunta sang the last verse of the song in unison:

"And I'll be happy"

"when you baby"

"SHOW ME YOUR BANANA"

Nakunta and Fuaiz waved exaggeratedly to the audience as they started clapping. Copper found himself clapping as well.

When the two returned, the table greeted them with applause.

"Ta, I don't know how you could have gotten up there to sing that aberration" Us patted him on the back.

"Fuaiz how could you find this song? I've never heard it before in my life, thank God" asked JJay.

"It had a funny title and it sounded good."

"This place must be acknowledged for having the greatest variety of music" said Copper.

"And speaking about variety of music, have you picked your song for our challenge yet?" asked Nakunta.

"You're not going to let it go, are you?"

"Never" Nakunta told him very smiling.

"Wait, what challenge?" asked Fuaiz confused.

"Your dear friend didn't believe me when you told me he had an angelic voice, so he has challenged me to sing a romantic song."

"You tricked me" protested Copper.

"No, you have such big a mouth. You can't back out now."

"Copper, that's great. I don't think I've ever heard you sing about romance. I know, I'll pick your song."

"Never."

Still, Fuaiz was right. Copper never used to sing romantic songs because they reminded him of his nefarious love life. Now he had to sing a romantic song, and sing it well too if he wanted to  leave that jerk speechless.

"I can choose any song, right? It doesn't have to be Thai."

"Whatever you want, as long as it's romantic."

Copper thought of a song he loved when he was little and had heard so much at home. It was very romantic and also reminded him of better times with his family before everything went to shit, the problem would be make the cut singing it.

"I think I've got it, which one are you going to pick?"

"It's a secret, you're going to love it fanboy" said Nakunta exultantly.

"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"

"You have no idea" said Nakunta smiling even wider.

"Why?" asked Copper quizzically.

"Why, what?"

"Why you're enjoying the fact that I'm going to sing a love song in front of you."

Copper was puzzled when he suddenly saw Nakunta turn slightly red and to fidgeting his hands nervously.

"Well, you know..."

At that reaction Us, Mio and Bump had a fit of laughter.

"What are you 3 laughing at? I don't understand anything" Copper said confused.

"Ah, what I mean fanboy is that after so long we are going to compete, that's all. And you 3, shut your mouths already" said Nakunta when Us, Mio and Bump laughed even louder.

"You think I'm going to make a fool of myself, don't you? That's why you're so happy," Copper said starting to get angry.

"Of course not. If my friend Fuaiz says you sing like an angel, it has to be true."

"You've got a big mouth Fuaiz" said Copper annoyed.

"Well, I didn't lie, Copper you sing pretty good."

"Do you want to go first?" asked Nakunta regaining his composure.

"No."

"You're delaying the inevitable, fanboy," Nakunta grinned at him.

"I told you I'll sing, I never break my word, jerk."

"Ok, ok. Me first then. I'll go prepare my song."

Nakunta got on stage and addressed the audience with a confident smile. He had an incredible presence: with his clothes, his smile and his confidence he looked like he owned the place.

Nakunta stepped up to the microphone:

"Before I start singing, I want to dedicate this song to my friend who is watching us and who I'm here for right now. He's probably cursing me in his mind right now, but I want to tell him that this night and college life wouldn't be so entertaining without him."

The crowd applauded and Copper felt the stares from around the table focus on him. Us, Mio and Bump looked at him with a mischievous smile and Fuaiz and JJay with curiosity.

Copper looked up at the stage in surprise. What was that jerk saying? friend? That college life was interesting because of him?

Copper looked to Us.

"You're the one who knows him best. He is kidding right?"

"Of course not. I told you he’s talking about you all the time," Us told him with a chuckle.

Copper looked at the stage puzzled as Nakunta was about to sing:

“When the rain is blowing in your face”

“And the whole world is on your case”

“I could offer you a warm embrace”

“To make you feel my love”

“When the evening shadows and the stars appear”

“And there is no one there to dry your tears”

“I could hold you for a million years”

“To make you feel my love”

When Copper heard him sing, his mouth dropped open. That was not the Nakunta he knew, he was used to the self-centered Nakunta, who teased him for anything and laughed at his fantasies.

The man on stage, however, had a soothing, sweet smile on his face and his melodious voice flooded the bar.

“I know you haven't made your mind up yet”

“But I will never do you wrong”

“I've known it from the moment that we met”

“No doubt in my mind where you belong”

”I'd go hungry, I'd go black and blue”

”I'd go crawling down the avenue”

”No, there's nothing that I wouldn't do”

”To make you feel my love”

”The storms are raging on the rolling sea”

When Nakunta began to sing the next part of the song he felt himself freeze. He knew that from the stage, his table was not clearly visible, but he could have sworn that Nakunta had given him several glances and that confused him.

Did he want to beat him so badly that he had to dedicate the song to him and look at him while singing? Was it a way to provoke him? Yes, it had to be that, there was no other possible explanation.

However, Us had just told him that Ta often talked about him among his friends and apparently not in bad terms. 

Something stirred inside Copper. He understood absolutely nothing.

”And on the highway of regret”

”The winds of change are blowing wild and free”

”You ain't seen nothing like me yet”

”I could make you happy, make your dreams come true”

”Nothing that I wouldn't do”

”Go to the ends of the Earth for you”

”To make you feel my love”

”To make you feel my love”

Copper was speechless when Nakunta finished his song. It had been amazing. He couldn't imagine that he could sing so well. His voice was not that of a professional nor was it on the level of Mio and Bump, but there was something about his voice that had cast a spell on him. It was as if he was a different person.

"Bump, he did well, didn't he?"

"Yes, quite well in fact."

"Oh God, I'm done," Copper said holding his hands to his head.

"Why?"

"What do you mean, why? he's been awesome, now I'll look ridiculous and have to listen to him brag all year."

"You won't look ridiculous because you sing great too. Fuaiz may have a big mouth, but I assure you, he didn't lie."

"Bump, people seemed mesmerized by him, clearly I'm not at that level."

"Copper this challenge of yours is just a joke, relax and enjoy the moment like Ta has."

"It's not a joke Bump, he wants to see me sunk, didn't you notice how he dedicated his love song to me? He's doing it to bring me down."

Bump stared at him for a moment and then laughed.

"Ah Copper, you're really adorable."

"Bump, it's not time to laugh. I need some advice on how to do it right."

"Fuaiz told us earlier that you cried watching us sing, is it true?"

Copper was surprised by the sudden change of subject.

"Well yes, but what does that have to do with Nakunta and his song?"

"Play along with me here, Copper."

If you're going to laugh Bump, give it up, I'm not in the mood."

"Not at all Copper but I want to ask you, why did you cry?"

"Promise me you won't laugh."

"Promised."

"I loved seeing your look, your gestures and complicity. That performance screamed LOVE and I even felt jealous that I didn't have a relationship like yours" Copper said slightly embarrassed.

Bump smiled when he heard those words.

"Ok, now tell me what struck you the most about Ta's performance, was it his voice?".

Copper thought for a moment before answering.

"No, it wasn't his voice. it's nice and pleasant, but there was something else."

"Go on," Bump urged him.

Copper reddened before he uttered the words.

"It seemed pure and sweet. Like he was really feeling everything he sang."

Bump smiled at his answer.

"Exactly Copper. I'm of the same opinion as you, if it came out so well it's because he really felt and believed what he sang."

"Bump, I don't see how knowing this information can help me...".

And as if the light had been made, suddenly Copper really understood why Nakunta had impressed him.

"Nakunta is in love," Copper said in amazement.

Bump smiled even more when he heard those words.

"Give that man a prize. Indeed, Ta is in love and if I am right, for quite some time now."

"Wait a minute, do you know who the person he's in love with is?"

"I have my theories," Bump said with a laugh.

"I haven't seen him dating anyone."

"Maybe he hasn't confessed his love yet."

Copper felt a little strange when he discovered Nakunta's secret. Actually, it was nothing strange that he could fall in love like anyone else, but he had a hard time imagining him hugging and kissing someone else. He didn't know if Nakunta was straight, gay or bisexual so he couldn't imagine what his type would be.

"Copper, are you still in shock?" said Bump smiling at him.

"A little, I can't imagine him in love. But how does this help me with my song?"

"Well, I think it's clear. If Ta has expressed his feelings of love, you should do the same."

"Huh?"

"Copper, you said that precisely expressing love in our songs is what made you moved, why don't you do the same?"

"Bump there's the small detail that you and Mio are in love and from the looks of it Nakunta is too. I'm not."

"And Bible?"

"It's different Bump and tonight I could see it with my own eyes. I like Bible a lot, but in the end he's nothing more than a 'crush' whom I’ll probably never have anything with. It doesn't compare to what you two feel."

After a moment of thinking, Bump's face lit up.

"Copper, Ta has said more than once that you live in the world of fantasy and romance, hasn't he?

"Yes, thanks for reminding me, by the way" Copper said sarcastically.

Bump smiled and made an apologetic gesture.

"Well then, why don't you use that fantasy to sing your song?"

"I’m not following."

"Copper you're probably one of the most romantic and idealistic people I've ever met. Use that ability to imagine you're in love to sing your song."

"I doubt that can be done, Bump."

"Oh yes it can. There's not much difference between a singer and an actor, Copper. A lot of singers talk in their songs about tragedy and about true love. Obviously, they won't always feel the same thing, so they have to act in order to convey those emotions.

"So are you telling me I have to act or imagine myself completely in love while singing?"

"That's the idea."

"I don't know if I can, Bump," Copper said somewhat unsure.

"Yes you can and you're going to do great. Anyway, Copper even if this went wrong, nothing would change."

"What do you mean?"

"It's what I told you before, it's just one song and nothing else. When you come back from singing everything will still be the same and nothing will have changed."

With those words Copper felt a weight lifted off his shoulders. It was true, his friends would still be there whether he was a better or worse singer and if Nakunta annoyed him because he was a better singer than him, then let him enjoy his victory.

"You're right Bump, I'll do as you said. Thank you."

"You're welcome Copper, although now that you mention it there's something I'd like you to do. Ta has dedicated his song to you, I want you to do the same."

"Why?"

"Do me that favor, Mio and I want to see his face when you do" said Bump winking at him.

"Okay" Copper said blankly.

When he got up to go to the stage he passed Nakuta coming back to the table. When he saw him, he smiled proudly.

"Did you like it, fanboy?"

At any other time Copper would have snapped back at him, but he still hadn't recovered from the shock of knowing that jerk was in love. For some strange reason, he noticed an awkwardness in his chest.

"Speechless?" Nakunta smiled even wider.

"Actually yes. You did great, I didn't think you had that hidden talent."

Nakunta seemed surprised by those words.

"I was expecting some sarcastic comment, do you have a fever?"

"I'm perfectly fine. I'll go sing now."

"Uh, okay," said Nakunta somewhat confused.

When Copper saw himself on stage alone with so many people around him, he started to get a little nervous. This wasn't like when he had gone up there with Fuaiz and JJay to clown around, he had to get it right. He took a deep breath and started with his "dedication" as he had promised Bump.

"I want to dedicate this love song to my dear friend who came on stage earlier. For all those wonderful times we had in class, this song is dedicated especially for you" Copper said sweetly (and sarcastically) as he blew a kiss into the air. 

He chuckled as in between the whistles he heard some shouts that sounded like "let them kiss", "let them sleep together" "let them get married".

He watched as the music started to play while the lyrics of the song appeared on the screen and he concentrated on what Bump had told him: Imagine a scenario in which he was completely in love to sing the song.

He didn't need to watch the screen in order to sing the song. It was one of his favourites and he had been hearing it since he was a child so he closed his eyes briefly so he could concentrate on the image in his mind.

And suddenly he could see it: Copper saw himself with a beaming smile with a man whose face he couldn't make out, holding his hand and smiling sweetly at him:

"Copper...".

He was Copper's ideal type. He had a nice smile, with a sense of humor, who wasn't afraid to speak his mind, who occasionally tease him a little so he wouldn't get bored, and who liked animals and children.

With the image of his ideal man in mind, Copper opened his eyes, turned his gaze to where his table was and began to sing:

"Fly me to the Moon"

"Let me play among the stars

"Let me see what spring is like

"On Jupiter and Mars

"In other words

"Hold my hand

"In other words

"Baby, kiss me"

Copper and the man were in a park at midnight. They had gone out to look at the stars and the park was their favourite place especially for the intimacy it offered.

As Copper stood gazing raptly at the glow of the stars he noticed how the man's gaze was riveted on him.

"We were supposed to come here to look at the stars remember?" said Copper.

"I can only look at you," said the man.

"What's the matter, are you watching me now?" laughed Copper.

"Of course. You are always in my thoughts and in my heart" replied the man.

Copper felt a deja vu as those words were spoken.

"Fill my heart with song"

"And let me sing forevermore"

"You are all I long for"

"All I worship and adore

"In other words

"Please, be true

"In other words

"I love you"

The stars were beautiful, but much more was the man he was kissing passionately in his room. They had undressed and the touch of their skin was tremendously arousing.

"Ahh" moaned Copper as the man kissed his nipples.

"Do you want us to go all the way?" the man asked him huskily.

"Of course I do."

Copper gasped as the man thrust inside him.

Fill my heart with song

Let me sing forevermore

You are all I long for

All I worship and adore

"In other words

"Please, be true

"In other words

"In other words"

After making love they lay on the bed completely exhausted. The man looked at Copper smiling as he held his hand.

"Is everything all right? I think I've been a little rough" the man asked him with concern.

"Of course you haven't. It's been great as always" said Copper

The man smiled in relief and hugged Copper.

"We've been together for many years, and always after we have sex, you hug me to sleep. don't you ever get tired?" asked Copper playfully.

"I will never get tired of you, fanboy."

And after those words, the unfamiliar face of that man took on the shape of someone he knew perfectly well.

"I love you."

Copper froze in shock.

"What the fuck was that?"

The sound of applause brought him back to reality. Copper looked around and saw all the tables applauding him. He felt slightly embarrassed with all the attention on him, but waved to the audience as he smiled.

Now was the moment of truth, he didn't know if he had done well or not. The audience seemed delighted, but considering it was 2 a.m. and probably most of the attendees were half drunk or worse, it wasn't a reliable criterion. He had to get back to his table and see the reaction of his friends.

As he walked back, he thought about what he had just seen as he sang the song. Clearly Bump would be proud to know how he had not only imagined being in love, but had set up a romantic date with sexual fantasy included in a 5-minute interval. The problem was that last image that he didn't know where it had come from.

"It's the accumulated tension and nerves" Copper reasoned "I've been thinking about him since I got here. It's normal for the subconscious to do these things".

When Copper arrived at his table, he expected to hear laughter and some shouting, but to his surprise there was absolute silence. He wondered if something had happened. As he approached, the stares from around the table turned to him.

"Oh shit," thought Copper "it's been so ridiculous and embarrassing that they don't even dare to speak."

"Hey," he said sheepishly.

"Fanboy," Nakunta said to him.

Copper looked at him and realized that Nakunta was looking at him strangely, which surprised him because he should be laughing and mocking. Copper was about to avert his gaze remembering what he just imagined in that scenario, but he stood his ground. He couldn't show weakness now.

"Yes?" asked Copper trying to keep his nervousness from showing.

"You're a liar."

"What?" asked Copper confused.

"You told me that Fuaiz was exaggerating when he talked about your angelic voice."

"What?"

"That was great, Copper," Us applauded him.

"Copper you will definitely participate in our next song" Mio told him in amazement.

"Why didn't you tell us that you sing like that?" said JJay.

"I knew you were good, but not that good" commented Fuaiz to him.

"I did know" said Bump smiling smugly.

"Of course you did, smartass" joked Mio.

In response Bump stuck his tongue out at him.

Copper sat confused next to Bump, so had he done it right? It didn't look like they were joking.

"Sinatra, Copper? I didn't know you were a fan," Bump told him as soon as he sat down.

"I listened to this song a lot when I was a kid, my parents loved it."

"Very good choice. Sinatra has a bit of a shady past, but his songs were the best."

"Bump, what happened, why were you guys so weird when I came over?" Copper whispered to him.

"You happened, Copper," Bump smiled at him.

"So, did I do good?" said Copper somewhat uncertainly.

"More than good Copper, they were all staring with their mouths open, even I, who knew you'd do great, was surprised".

"Whew, what a relief, I thought I would never be able to appear in public again."

"So did my advice work for you, fanboy?" joked Bump.

"Oh, shut up," said Copper laughing.

"No, seriously, did you take my advice?"

"Yeah, I took it," he said slightly embarrassed.

"Curiosity is killing me, did you imagine Bible?"

Copper was surprised that he hadn't even thought of Bible at the time of singing his song. He had told Bump that his feelings for Bible weren't like Bump's feelings for Mio, but he had hoped that at least think about him.

"No, I didn't think about him."

"You did a masterful performance, though, who did you think of?"

Copper reddened when from starting to think of a stranger he ended up thinking of who was the complete opposite of Bible. Someone who he had in front of him right now.

"Bump, I'll tell you tomorrow when we're alone, I still have to take in everything that's happened."

"Now I'm really curious, but I'll take your word for it. By the way, Mio is right, you will participate in our next song."

Copper looked straight ahead and found the man he had been thinking about for most of the night still staring at him with a look he still couldn't decipher.

"What?" said Copper finally.

Nakunta rolled his eyes.

"You're going to make me say it, aren't you fanboy?".

"I didn't say anything, jerk."

Nakunta shot him a half-smile and rolled his eyes again.

"Attention, gentlemen, one moment, please," Nakunta said drawing attention to himself "I declare the winner of our challenge Mr. Copper Phuriwat. A round of applause, please."

They all applauded Copper who looked at them in confusion.

"What do you mean I won, how do you decide the winner anyway?".

"You've left us all with our mouths open Copper" Us told him.

"And that made you win, come on, get up and let's go to the bar" Nakunta told him.

"What for?"

"To get a recording of your performance Mr. Sinatra, anyone else want the performance? Give me your USBs."

To Copper's surprise, everyone gave their USBs to Nakunta.

"Wait" said Fuaiz "I'm coming too."

"We can go just the two of us, Fuaiz," said Nakunta somewhat annoyed.

"Hearing you sing has brought me the inspiration to prepare my new cocktail. Copper this time I've really hit on the perfect formula. You're going to love it."

Before Copper had time to protest, Fuaiz ran to the bar leaving Copper and Nakunta alone.

When they were alone, Copper noticed something Nakunta had said.

"Wait a minute, just now you called me, Mr. Copper Phuriwat."

"So what?"

"Do you know my name?"

Nakunta burst out laughing.

"What?"

"I asked if you know my name."

"No, fanboy, I don't know your name. I've only heard it a dozen times tonight and I've probably heard it dozens of other times in these two years we've been sharing classes," Nakunta said sarcastically.

"Then why don't you ever call me Copper and go on with that fanboy bullshit?".

"Ah, that" he said smiling "Copper is a too normal name. Fanboy suits you much better, with your movie romances, unicorns and glass castles. Besides, I'm the only one who calls you that. It's my special nickname for you.

"You're such a jerk" Copper grumbled.

"You always call me that, that can be your special nickname for me."

Copper snorted and Nakunta laughed again.

"Hey jerk, you shouldn't have declared me the winner" Copper said suddenly.

Nakunta looked at him quizzically.

"You sang great, you conveyed the emotion of the song, you knew how to smile at the audience and your eyes were even sparkling. You should have been the winner and not me." 

"Fanboy, that sounded like flattery, do you have a fever?" said Nakunta smiling broadly at him.

Copper was surprised at how happy he seemed to receive a compliment.

"You must really like her," Copper mused.

"Her? Who are you talking about?"

"The woman you thought of when you sang the song."

“What makes you think I thought of anyone?"

"Bump has a theory that if someone sings the way you did, they're in love."

"Bump sticks his nose where it doesn't belong," said Nakunta.

"Is he right or wrong?" asked Copper.

"Ah, shut up fanboy and let's go at once and ask for your song."

"That means Bump is right" thought Copper.

"And just so you know, you are the deserved winner, you'll see tomorrow when you watch your performance quietly" Nakunta ended the topic.

After approaching the bar, they had to wait for about 10 minutes for the girl at the counter to serve them. When it was their turn, the attractive young woman smiled at them.

"Ah, it's you," the girl greeted them.

"You know us?" asked Nakunta quizzically.

"Me and the whole bar. Quite a performance you two have put on."

"Ah, thank you," said Copper somewhat shy.

"No, thanks to you. You've seen what the level is usually like, I think someday someone will end up dying on stage from an alcoholic coma. Do you want your songs?".

"Yes, I'll buy both performances, and he'll buy his," said Nakunta.

"What are you talking about? I'll buy both of them too" said Copper handing over his and his friends' USB.

"You'll have them right away" the girl smiled at them again as she walked over to the computer.

"Do you want to buy my performance?" asked Nakunta quizzically.

"Of course. I told you, it was exceptional."

At his surprise Nakunta blushed slightly.

The girl came back and handed them their USBs.

"Here you go guys. I wish someone decent would get up on that stage and dedicate a song to me like you two did. You make a great couple" the girl said winking at them.

Copper noticed how he blushed.

"No, no, we don't..." Copper started to say but the girl had already left to attend to other customers.

He heard Nakunta's laughter next to him.

"Let's go back to the table, my beloved" laughed Nakunta.

"Jerk."

Fuaiz joined them as they returned to the table with several glasses containing a bright green liquid.

"Ah Copper, here is the ultimate cocktail and one that will revolutionize the world, you're going to love it. Copper, why are you blushing?"

"No reason, let's go to the table" said Copper once again ignoring Nakunta's laughter.

When they arrived at the table, Fuaiz made his announcement.

"Here is the masterpiece of cocktails".

"Looks good" said Us innocently as he reached for one of the glasses.

"NOOOOOOOO" shouted Copper, Mio, Bump and JJay at the same time.

Us freaked out and put the glass down.

"What's wrong?" asked Us

"Us, I've only known you for a few hours, but you seem like a nice guy to me, so I can't let you touch that potential weapon of mass destruction" said Copper.

"Excuse me?" asked Us

"This guy has been improvising cocktails by mixing drinks for quite some time and always with disastrous results."

"No big deal, Copper" excused Fuaiz.

"No big deal you say, do I have to remind you what happened last time?"

"What happened?" asked Us curiously.

Copper took a deep breath before answering. It was a pitiful and ridiculous story, but he had to convince Us. No one deserved to be the victim of one of those cocktails, well maybe his ex-boyfriend.

"I don't remember exactly which bar it was at, but Fuaiz decided he found the perfect cocktail this time. At first when I tasted the drink, everything seemed fine until two minutes later, my stomach started acting up. I ran to the restrooms, but there was a long line waiting and I knew I couldn't hold out that long. I went outside until I finally found a secluded spot between two cars to relieve myself. Just as I was finishing, the police showed up and I had to run away, it took me 30 minutes to give them the slip."

After a moment of silence, Us and Nakunta burst out laughing.

"Now I really want you to try that cocktail" said Nakunta doubling over with laughter.

"Okay, okay, you've convinced me" laughed Us as well.

"You guys are exaggerating" said Fuaiz "see how nothing happens".

Fuaiz then took a drink from one of the glasses.

"Aaaah, lemon flavor, delicious".

"Looks like everything is fine" said Nakunta when he saw that nothing was wrong with Fuaiz.

"That doesn't mean anything" said Mio "for some reason unknown to us, he's immune to his own creations, like when you take a dump and you don't smell your own shit".

"Thanks for the mental image, Mio" replied Bump.

Copper saw that no one dared to drink that hellish concoction, so he decided to sacrifice himself. In the end it had been a great night and it was his friends who had encouraged him to go out. He had met Us, who was a nice guy and had even had civilized conversations with Nakunta.

"Okay, I'll do it" Copper said taking one of the drinks.

"Copper you don't have to" Mio told him.

"Anyway, what's the worst that can happen? Bump, one thing...".

"Relax, I've got emergency’s number on speed dial" replied Bump.

Copper picked up one of the glass and took a shot of that bright green liquid and to his surprise, it tasted delicious.

"Well?" asked Nakunta and to Copper's surprise, he looked slightly worried.

"It's tasty, it's sweet and tastes like lemon."

"See, I told you so. The perfect cocktail" said Fuaiz exultantly.

"Wait before you drink, there are times when the effect is noticeable over time" said JJay "Copper, I'll drink the other glass before the rest do."

"You guys are really brave" said Bump with admiration.

Copper drank another drink and relaxed, it was definitely scrumptious, he felt his mind become lighter and his whole body filled with happiness. "Aaaah life is wonderful" thought Copper.

When he drank the third drink, everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, Copper felt like his head was about to burst. He touched his head with his hands and checked with relief that there was no wound or bump.

"Where am I?" thought Copper amidst all the pain.

Copper looked around and to his relief, he recognized the walls and ceiling of his room. Now all he had to do was remember how he had gotten there and what had happened to the rest of his friends.

He got out of bed and grabbed his cell phone to at least know the current date and time. He was surprised to see that he had several notifications, but ignored them for the moment. To his relief it was 11 a.m. Sunday morning, so it hadn't been that long.

Despite the headache, he tried to make a memory of what had happened the night before and then he slowly remembered. The dinner with his friends, his arrival at the karaoke, eye of the tiger, his meeting with Us and Nakunta, the song challenge, Nakunta's beautiful song, his own song and then Fuaiz and the drinks....

"Fuaiz and the drinks" thought Copper.

Now it was all clear, Fuaiz had once again screwed up and given them some toxic concoction. Still, Copper felt that something was wrong with his memory. Was it possible that Fuaiz's drink had knocked him unconscious? If that were so, why was he in his bed and not in a hospital?

Copper decided that the first thing he had to do was to take a shower to clear his head and try to relieve the headache that was killing him.

In the bathroom, he stripped completely naked and relieved, he confirmed that indeed his body had no wounds or injuries. He stepped into the shower and felt relief as the warm water hit his head.

He loved Sundays when he could shower without being in any hurry or worry. He usually got to empty his mind and relax his body. On many occasions he even felt inspired and could relieve himself sexually by thinking about Bible but to his misfortune the pain would not allow him to do any of that.

He concentrated on stroking his head just as he did in his ASMR videos to relax. Fingers on the temples and circular motions to start. Then rubbing his scalp vigorously to increase blood flow and finally massaging his shoulders to remove tension.

After half an hour of improvised ASMR, Copper came out of the shower and luckily, the headache had subsided quite a bit. He was not in optimal condition, but at least he could function normally.

As Copper made his way to the kitchen, he saw Bump and Mio talking animatedly. It seemed that unlike him, they looked good which reassured him.

"At last, the star is rising" said Mio when he saw him.

"Are you all right?" asked Bump.

"I woke up with my head about to explode, but I'm a little better now, are you guys okay? I bet it was that hellish cocktail."

"Bingo," said Bump.

"I didn't think it would be strong enough to knock me out anyway," said Copper.

Mio and Bump looked at him quizzically.

"Knock you out? What are you talking about Copper?" said Mio.

"I drank 3 shots of that poison and everything went black."

"Tell us everything you remember Copper" Bump told him.

"I remember our dinner and how we talked about that stupid rumor throwing account, the karaoke, your song, how Fuaiz, JJay and I sang eye of the tiger, our meeting with Us and the jerk, the song challenge and that's it."

"Well it looks like the memory loss is only partial" Mio told him.

"Memory loss?"

"Copper you weren't knocked unconscious at any point, quite the opposite. We almost had to tie you up" Bump told him.

"WHAT?"

"You see Copper..." began Bump.

"No, don't say anything I want to see his face," said Mio to Bump "Haven't you watched your cell phone to see if you have any notifications?" asked Mio starting to smile.

"Ah yes, I noticed I had some, but my head was hurting too much to look."

"Please do and you Bump please don't miss his face."

Fearful of the tone Mio had used, Copper looked at his phone and found several messages on his social media.

 ASMRfan:

Is that you Copper? Haha you know what fun is.

Suzy2411:

Great to see you singing instead of whispering for once. I wish my Saturday would have been just like yours.

Jeff1515:

Banana, banana haha.

"Banana, banana?" said Copper out loud completely confused.

Mio and Bump laughed when he mentioned that word.

"Keep looking" Mio urged him.

After several similar messages he saw another notification that made his hair stand on end.

fuaiz_thanawat tagged you in a post.

"No, please," Copper began to sweat.

With a trembling finger he pressed on the notification and a video popped up. It was him and Fuaiz on stage. At first Copper thought it was the moment he had sung "Eye of the tiger" but JJay wasn't with them.

Copper pressed play and his worst fears were confirmed.

There he and Fuaiz were on stage. Copper noticed that he was grinning stupidly and his face was quite flushed as he waved to the audience. The song started to play and Copper felt his world fall apart.

"Show me your banana, show me your banana".

There was Copper dancing and singing that horrible song while hugging Fuaiz and then blowing kisses to the audience.

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!" shouted Copper in horror.

Copper looked away from the cell phone when he heard a click and found Mio pointing the cell phone camera at him.

"This is the face I needed" said Mio laughing.

"No, no, no, no, no" repeated Copper like a mantra.

"Wait there's more, look at Fuaiz's stories" said Mio who was having a blast.

Copper went on to look at the stories:

"Hey" shouted Fuaiz completely drunk "we just sang the best song in the world and all for you, dear fans. Copper come over here and say hi".

A completely smiling Copper appeared on camera and started singing like crazy "Show me your banana, show me your banana".

"This is my friend Copper and he's single. Although probably not for long, he got a love song dedicated to him today so if you're male, handsome and like princess stories and all that shit, give him a call."

"Everyone wants me" Copper said stupidly. 

"How could you allow this?" said Copper indignantly.

"We tried to stop you but you ran out on stage while laughing like a madman" Bump explained to him.

"How did I get home then?".

"Shortly after singing the song, you started throwing up like you were posessed."

"Please tell me I didn't throw up on myself or worse, throw up on someone."

"No, fortunately Ta saw that you were about to throw up and managed to get you to the bathroom to avoid any further misfortune."

"He did that?" asked Copper in surprise.

"Oh yeah and thank goodness, because your breath smelled like dead dog," said Bump.

"Oh shit, that means he saw me make a fool of myself on stage."

"Yes he did, anyway, it wasn't that big of a deal. Even drunk you sang well" Bump encouraged him.

As he listened to his friends, memory fragments began to come back to his mind.

"I think I remember almost everything. I drank every glass of this stupid concoction. Good thing I at least got JJay not to drink and then I remember we came home in a cab while I was singing that stupid song again. Is that right?"

"It is, it's lucky the cab driver was nice and you were funny to him, I was afraid he would kick us out of the cab" Mio told him.

"Although I feel like I'm forgetting something important" Copper said thoughtfully.

"Well, you'll remember" Bump told him.

"Oh God, how could I have ended up like this. I had won and now it's all gone to shit" Copper lamented.

"What are you talking about?" asked Bump.

"Our challenge. The one about the songs, even that guy liked my song. He'll be laughing his head off by now."

Mio and Bump looked at each other and laughed.

"Ta is probably the happiest man in the world just because you sang a song and dedicated it to him, Copper" Bump said smiling at him.

"I bet he thought I was going to make a fool of myself singing" Copper said smugly.

"Oh, Copper" said Mio covering his face with his hands.

"It doesn't matter anyway, I ended up making a fool of myself in front of him in the end thanks to that devil's cocktail."

"It's no big deal. We all laughed a lot and as we told you, even drunk you sang well" said Bump.

"Besides it was Ta who took you running to the bathroom, if you had thrown up on yourself, I assure you that would have been ridiculous" Mio reminded him.

"That's true" Copper acknowledged.

Suddenly his head clicked.

"That's it" said Copper.

Bump and Mio looked at him questioningly.

"That's what I still don't remember, going with that guy to the bathroom to throw up."

"Well, I don't think you missed anything then,” said Mio.

"Well Copper, I think you promised me yesterday that you would give me a certain explanation about your song" said Bump.

"I don't understand,” said Mio.

"Bump was the one who told me the way to sing. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have sung the song well."

"Nonsense Copper. I only gave you a little advice and you did the rest."

 "And what advice is that?" asked Mio.

"I told Copper that when he sang the song, he should imagine himself completely in love."

"Oh, my boy is a real genius" said Mio to Bump as he gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Oh, stop it" said Bump laughing.

"Turns out it worked or at least that's what you told me" said Copper.

"It clearly did Copper, you better watch your performance later, because you looked like someone else. I hope someday you animate to be in one of our videos, singing."

"Well now the million dollar question Copper, what did you think of or rather who did you think of? You promised to tell me," Bump reminded him.

Copper blushed, but a promise was a promise.

"Promise you won't laugh."

"No," said Mio.

"What?"

"Every time you say that Copper, you tell something that makes me end up laughing" Mio told him.

"Dog" said Copper spitefully.

"We promise it won't get out of here, at least" Bump told him.

Copper thought about what to tell them and decided he wouldn't lie but he wouldn't tell the whole truth.

"Well I didn't picture anyone specific," Copper said.

"Not even Bible?" asked Mio.

"No, I didn't think of Bible all night."

"Then who?"

"I pictured my perfect man. Someone who liked animals, kids, with a sense of humor, who would tease me once in a while and not mince words" Copper said dreamily.

Mio and Bump looked at him curiously.

"We'd go stargazing, but he couldn't take his eyes off me so we'd come home and end up fuc...sleeping holding hands" Copper corrected himself.

Mio and Bump burst out laughing.

"You said you wouldn't laugh" protested Copper.

"No, we said It wouldn't get out of here" corrected Bump.

"You guys are the worst" said Copper sulking.

"Oh Copper, how could you possibly make up an affair and a shag while singing a song" laughed Mio.

"Leave me alone" replied Copper.

"Hey, stop teasing him," scolded Bump to his boyfriend

"Anyway, you described that man's personality. what was his face like?".

At that question, Copper froze. He couldn't tell that part.

"Well, I told you I wanted to imagine an ideal man so I couldn't put a face on him" said Copper.

"Bullshit" replied Mio.

"What?"

"We've known each other since we were practically in diapers and I know when you're hiding something."

"Touché. But it's not something I can tell right now."

"Copper we've already told you it won't get out of here, maybe we can advise you," Bump said.

"No Bump, it's something I can't tell you yet because it's something that even I don't understand. I'd rather not take any false steps. Besides, it’s probably a nonsense."

Mio was going to protest, but fell silent when he saw that Copper was completely serious.

"Well it's okay Copper, but when you're ready you know you can tell us anything" Mio said.

"Anyway how did you guys get to the challenge thing? One moment you were about to leave because you didn't want to see Ta and the next one you were challenging each other to sing the best song" Bump changed the subject.

"Well, you know I went to get some air to clear my head for a while and soon after he showed up. It was kind of weird, he told me the same thing he told you Mio, that he'd seen me weird all week and that he'd rather see me swearing than being like that. Weird right?"

"What happened next?" Bump asked him anxiously.

"Apparently that loudmouth, Fuaiz, told him I had a magical, wonderful voice."

"Oh, God," laughed Mio.

"He told me to verify if it was true, I had to sing a romantic song with him."

Mio and Bump looked at him open-mouthed.

"He wanted you to sing a romantic song TOGETHER?" asked Bump.

"Yes, but I refused and in the end he manipulated me into making us compete. What a weird guy, don't you think?".

Mio and Copper let out some giggles.

"Very much so, Copper, very much so" Mio told him with a chuckle.

"I don't understand those giggles" Copper said.

"Well Copper. So, what's the verdict?" asked Bump.

"Verdict?"

"Yeah, about the night, are you glad you came out or not?"

"Pretty much, actually. Even for the fact that I ended up singing that infernal song. It's been fun."

"And the verdict on Ta?" asked Bump again expectantly.

Copper had to think before answering. The truth was that his classmate had surprised him all night, he had seen gestures and words of kindness, which he hadn't noticed before.

"Well, maybe I was too hasty in thinking he hated my guts. I get the feeling he's someone who wants to tease you to see your reaction but if he sees you really bad he'll support you or at least leave you alone. It's not like we're friends and probably never will be, but I think I got to know him a little better yesterday."

Mio and Bump looked at him with a smile.

"Looks like Ta made a lot of points yesterday," Bump said satisfied.

"Copper I think there are still things about Ta you miss, but I'm glad you finally realized that he doesn't have hatred for you" said Mio.

"In fact, I think you'll be friends soon” said Bump.

"Don't push it" Copper told him.

The three of them laughed.

Hours later and well into the night, Copper was in front of his computer after having spent the afternoon talking with Mio and Bump. He was a little tired, but it was too early to go to bed. He'd rather sleep a little later than get up in the wee hours of the morning.

He checked the notifications again to see if there was anything new. He decided to ignore the comments that kept coming in about his disastrous performance with Fuaiz and smiled when he saw a comment along with a friend request.

Usnttr

Copper, it's Us. Ta and I had a great time yesterday with you all. Hopefully we can do it again soon. I hope you don't mind if I follow you on your social media and we talk from time to time. I observed you do ASMR, I'll be watching from now on. Follow me if you want, I make videos about videogames and computers if you are interested.

P.S: Thank you so much for saving me from the Fuaiz’s cocktail. I will never forget it

Copper immediately followed him, not only because he seemed very nice, but because he loved video games and wanted to see how Us expressed himself about them.

He got another notification, this time it was a direct message:

TaCo_TaCo

Hello, is anyone home?

Copper_phrt16

Yes, I'm here. I don't think it will be long before I go to bed though. It's been a busy weekend.

TaCo_TaCo

Oh, yeah, I can imagine.

Copper_phrt16

¿?

TaCo_TaCo

Oh Copper, I didn't know about your great vocal talent 😂😂🤣

Copper_phrt16

Oh no, please tell me you haven't seen a certain video.

TaCo_TaCo

Show me your banana, show me your banana

Copper_phrt16

Noooo. Not you too. 😑😑

TaCo_TaCo

I have it saved on 2 hard drives so I never lose it.

Copper_phrt16

Bastard

TaCo_TaCo

Hahaha

Copper_phrt16

Well just know that I do have vocal talent. You should have seen me singing my previous song.

TaCo_TaCo

Sure, sure, of course I believe you 😏😏

Copper clicked his tongue. He wished his friend had seen him sing Sinatra, he would surely swallow his words or at least he thought so. That reminded him that he had to watch his own performance later, Mio and Bump had sworn to him that he looked like someone else and even Fuaiz hadn't been able to make fun of him, so he supposed he wouldn't be bad.

TaCo_TaCo

Let me guess, now you're grumbling thinking about what a great singer you are.

Copper_phrt16

WHAT? How do you know?

TaCo_TaCo

Hehehe you are so transparent Copper.

Copper_phrt16

I don't know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment.

TaCo_TaCo

Compliment of course. I love people who always express their emotions.

Copper felt a certain blush on his face when he read his friend's words. He wasn't used to being told such things.

TaCo_TaCo

Now you're blushing, aren't you?

Copper_phrt16

Get out of my mind, you idiot.

TaCo_TaCo

Hahaha

TaCo_TaCo

Now seriously Copper, was the night fun? did you have a good time with your friends?

Copper_phrt16

Much better than expected actually.

TaCo_TaCo

Ohhh that's great to hear. I'm glad you're in a better mood than you were two days ago. By the way, did everything go well?

Copper_phrt16

Perfectly, turns out my friend wasn't angry, I overreacted to the whole thing.

TaCo_TaCo

Why am I not surprised? Hahaha

TaCo_TaCo

And the other thing?

Copper realized that by the other thing, he meant his discussion with Nakunta. Certainly, things had changed or so he guessed. He thought that if he ran into him outside of class, things would get ugly, but that hadn't been the case. In fact, he thought he understood his classmate more now.

Copper_phrt16

Surprisingly well.

TaCo_TaCo

Sounds interesting, out with it.

Copper_phrt16

Well, Do you remember I told you we argued all the time and there was no solution? I think something changed yesterday.

TaCo_TaCo

Wait and let me guess. You realized that those fights were hiding a deep desire between you two and that you really love him and this Monday you are going to propose to him to run away to an island where you will get married and adopt children.

Copper burst out laughing when he saw such a comment, where did that come from? and why did he seem so excited about it?

Copper_phrt16

You've been watching Korean dramas again, haven't you?

TaCo_TaCo

Yes, but you still haven't answered my question, did I get it right?

Copper_phrt16

Of course you didn't, you nutcase. Good grief, you even made up kids.

TaCo_TaCo

Hahahahaha. You are so boring, Copper. Come on then tell me what happened.

Copper_phrt16

Well, we had a few conversations and he said nice things to me like he had noticed me weird and that it was almost better to see me insulting and arguing than sad. I got the feeling that I had taken our discussions too much to heart and maybe they were harmless teasing.

He was surprised when TaCo_TaCo didn't answer him immediately.

Copper_phrt16

Did you fall asleep? I'm sorry I think I talk too much sometimes.

TaCo_TaCo

Of course I'm still here. That's what I told you a couple of days ago remember? He wanted to get your attention.

Copper_phrt16

Maybe you're right. We'll see what happens.

TaCo_TaCo

Sure and I'll be thinking of names for the kids....

Copper_phrt16

DUDE

Copper laughed, he really loved talking to TaCo_TaCo because he always got a smile out of him.

Copper_phrt16

Well, we've talked enough about me, now it's your turn. How was your weekend?

TaCo_TaCo

A new gym has been opened and it looks good. I went with a friend and it's really nice.

Copper_phrt16

Great, let me know where it is.

TaCo_TaCo

Copper, do you work out?

Copper_phrt16

Yes, I usually go with a friend. It helps me relax. I also practice karate from time to time.

TaCo_TaCo

You're full of surprises.

Copper_phrt16

Did something else happen?

TaCo_TaCo

Yeah. Something cool. I saw my special someone 😊😚 😍😍

Copper_phrt16

Wait a minute, do you have a special someone?

TaCo_TaCo

Yessssss. He was so wonderful, pouting and laughing with his friends. I got a video of him and I swear I've watched it non-stop since this morning.

Copper_phrt16

I picture you in your room shouting and hiding your head in your pillow.

TaCo_TaCo

Now you're the mind reader.

Copper_phrt16

You got it bad, huh?

TaCo_TaCo

He's so smart and such an idiot at the same time.

Copper_phrt16

If you want, I can think of names for the kids 😂😂😂

TaCo_TaCo

Can you imagine?

Copper laughed loudly imagining his friend talking about his love non-stop. He didn't imagine TaCo_TaCo could be so lovey-dovey. Copper wondered what kind of person his friend had fallen in love with to make him into that incoherent mess. He thought about how Nakunta would have called TaCo_TaCo a fanboy if he had read him right now.

Copper_phrt16

Romeo, I have to go to bed, I'm starting to get sleepy and I have classes tomorrow. May you dream of your special someone.

TaCo_TaCo

Bye Copper, glad you had such a great time this weekend, I'll talk to you another day.

When he closed the chat, Copper received a notification from Mio, who had tagged him in a post.

Athenswerapat:

When your friend remembers the previous day's drunkenness.

Next to the text he had posted the photo Mio had taken of him earlier that morning, in which Copper was looking horrified, staring at his cell phone.

There were comments inmediately.

bump_pawat:

Idiot, you said you weren't going to post it. Copper, I’m always on your team #TeamCopper.

Us:

A true hero if you ask me. Copper we will never forget your heroic sacrifice. #TeamCopper

fuaiz_thanawat:

What a shame to be that age and not know how to drink.

"That bastard" thought Copper furiously.

Jjaypf:

Fuaiz this is all your fault. #TeamCopper

ta_nannakun:

For better or worse, he's been the star of the night 😝 #TeamFanboy.

"It's wonderful having fans" Copper thought sarcastically.

At first, he was surprised that Nakunta wrote a comment, but he immediately remembered that Mio and he followed each other on social media.

"Well, at least it wasn't a bad comment" he thought.

He immediately remembered that he had yet to see his own performance. He was intrigued to know if it had been that big of a deal, Nakunta had conceded victory without complaint and Mio and Bump who knew about music, had told him it had been great.

He took the USB from his bedside table and stared at it for a while. It was strange and he felt a little nervous. Of course, he had seen videos of himself when he was a little kid, but this was different.

With shaky hands he inserted the USB and proceeded to watch the video of his performance.

"It's just a song" he said to himself.

There he stood in the middle of the stage, Copper noticed he looked a little nervous and started to hear his "dedication" to the jerk.

"If it wasn't for the fact that we both know the truth, if would sound like a love dedication. No wonder the waitress thought we had a thing."

Copper tensed as he caught himself closing his eyes briefly, he knew that was when he had started fantasizing about his perfect boyfriend.

"Fly me to the Moon"

"Let me play among the stars

"Let me see what spring is like

"On Jupiter and Mars

"In other words

"Hold my hand

"In other words

"Baby, kiss me"

Okay, he definitely didn't sound bad at all, not a prodigious voice, but he kept in tune. He noticed his expression and all nervousness was gone. His gaze shifted to what he assumed was the table where his friends had been sitting while he sang his song.

The song continued and Copper noticed that his face showed confidence, assurance and happiness. He had certainly gotten into the role perfectly.

When the end of the song came, Copper held his breath. He knew that this was the part where he had put a face to the stranger in his fantasies. He had to see if there had been any change in his expression.

"In other words"

"Please, be true"

"In other words"

"In other words"

"I love you"

Copper had to replay the moment one more time and stop the video because the image threw him off. So that would be his face if he were really in love.

There he was with the prettiest, brightest, most expressive smile he had ever seen in his life, his face radiated peace and illusion. He certainly looked like a completely different person just as had happened to Nakunta on stage.

Copper had fallen in love only once in his life when he was in high school and the results had been disastrous. He wondered if he could ever show anyone the face he had just seen on the video. He wished it was Bible, but he found it rather unlikely.

"Hey," said a little voice in his brain "Who were you thinking about when you sang that last verse?".

"Huh?"

He shook his head trying to shake away those absurd thoughts.

He decided that he would watch Nakunta's performance again to see if his perception of his performance was still the same as when he had seen him live. He had loved it the day before, but at the same time he had been somewhat nervous knowing that it was his turn to sing next.

When he turned on the video, he saw Nakunta again. Standing on the stage and making that dedication to him saying how life at the university wouldn't be as interesting without him and calling him friend and Copper once again felt strange hearing those words.

When he started singing, it was all just as he remembered it. His confident smile as if the stage belonged to him. His melodious voice and delicacy singing the song and once again, Copper could have sworn his gaze was drawn to his table as he sang. Clearly Nakunta had done a good job with his song.

Once he had watched the two videos, Copper decided to turn off the computer and lie down on the bed. When his head hit the pillow, he decided to reflect on everything that had happened to him last night.

A small part of him told him that he should forget about it all, that yesterday had been a mirage and that everything would be back to normal on Monday. However, another part of him was telling him that there had been a change between Nakunta and him.

First, he had confirmed Mio's words when he told him that Nakunta had been worried about him due to his unexpected hermeticism all week, plus he hadn't let Copper sink into self-pity when he denied Fuaiz's words about his singing ability.

Then there was Us, who seemed delighted to meet him thanks to everything that Nakunta had told him about Copper. Of course, he could be lying to cover for his friend, but Us had been great to him all night and had even added him to his social media. If Nakunta had said something horrible about Copper, Us wouldn't have approached him.

Mio and Bump had also insisted him over and over again that he shouldn't take Nakunta's words so seriously and that there was no ill intent behind it.

And then, there had been Nakunta's affectionate behaviour. He had called him a friend yesterday and had even confessed that college life was better because of him and that fanboy was his special nickname.

Could it be that he had been wrong about Nakunta? It wasn't the first time something like that had happened to him. He and Mio had been irreconcilable enemies until one day they stopped being enemies and became best friends.

Could something similar happen with his classmate? He didn't know yet, only time would tell.

He closed his eyes and his consciousness faded with the image of Nakunta smiling from the stage....

And he found himself in the karaoke once again. He had just sung with Fuaiz the best song in the world "Show me your banana" and the night was going great.

He sat down at the table with his friends

"Heyyyyyy, what a performance we have done Fuaiz" said Copper very happy.

"Exactly my friend, let's order more drinks" replied Fuaiz equally happy.

"Order more of this wonderful cocktail".

"Okay, you two stop that. You've had enough to drink" said JJay very seriously.

"None of that JJay, we are perfec..." Copper couldn't continue because he gagged.

"Oh God, Copper stop it," said Bump.

"I'm fi..." Another retch prevented him from continuing.

"Okay, that's it, fanboy get up, we're going to the bathroom."

With no time to answer, Nakunta grabbed Copper and took him to the bathroom.

"Hey, hey what's the matter, don't you know how to pee by yourself or what?" asked Copper as he had another retch.

"Ah, shut up and kneel on the toilet before you end up puking all over the bar."

Fortunately, Copper heeded him because just as he knelt down, he began to violently empty the contents of his stomach while Nakunta held his hair back so he wouldn't stain himself.

"That’s it, fanboy, don't worry, it'll all pass right away."

"I'm going to die" Copper whined as his stomach churned again.

"Dramatic" said Nakunta laughing as Copper vomited again.

After several minutes, Copper seemed to calm down and noticed his stomach finally returning to normal.

"Looks like you don't have any more of that cocktail in your stomach fanboy, come on, get up" said Nakunta as he flushed the toilet and lifted Copper off the floor.

"Heyy" Copper started to say.

"Oh god, what a breath. Here, have a mint" said Nakunta as he popped a mint in his mouth.

"You look horrible fanboy, let's see if I can fix you up a little."

They went to the washroom to look in the mirror and sure enough Copper looked pitiful. Sweaty hair and a completely flushed face.

"A singing star like you can't go out like this, let's get your face a little wet."

Nakunta pulled a handkerchief out of his pants and dipped it carefully.

Copper was startled when he saw him bring the handkerchief close to his face.

"Hey, what are you doing?" asked Copper.

"Making you feel better," said Nakunta bringing his face close to his "do you want me to make you feel better, fanboy?"

Copper nodded somewhat nervously.

"Alright," said Nakunta as he began to wet Copper's face with the handkerchief very gently.

Copper flinched when he felt the coldness of the wet handkerchief on his face, but he didn't say anything, Nakunta continued to moisten his face, from his forehead to his lips.

"Aaah" Copper stifled a moan as the handkerchief moved to his neck.

"Sssshhh, easy" he noticed Nakunta's soft voice in his ear.

Nakunta's hand moved to the back of his neck and Copper moaned once more when he noticed the contrast in temperature.

"That's it" he heard Nakunta's voice just inches from his face "look now".

Nakunta made him look in the mirror once more and certainly his appearance had improved quite a bit. The sweat had disappeared from his face and his face had returned to its normal color.

"Much better, you look as handsome as ever now," said Nakunta brushing a lock of hair away from Copper's face.

"I helped you not to throw up on yourself and cool off, so now you owe me two favours" Nakunta continued as Copper couldn't stop staring at his lips.

"The first is that one day we come back here and sing together that romantic song I proposed to you. A romantic song sung by both of us and I assure you we would make history" Nakunta said smiling at him "and the second one... well, I'll tell you when the time comes."

"What do you think, will you return these two favors? You have to tell me yes or no."

"Yes, yes" Copper said somewhat nervously.

Nakunta gave him the brightest smile he had ever seen in his life.

"Then we have a deal, Mr. Copper Phuriwat" he said whispering in his ear.

Copper jumped awake as the images replayed vividly in his head.

WHAT THE FUCK HAD THAT BEEN?

Chapter Text

The weeks went by and fortunately for Copper, the karaoke thing didn't transcend too much, beyond the occasional jokes from his friends, his followers and some classmates, which was a relief for him. He didn't think his mental health could handle listening to "show me your banana" all year.
Copper gritted his teeth as he recalled his conversation with Fuaiz and how the bastard didn't regret putting him through that ridicule.

copper_phrt16

Idiot, why did you upload those stories?

fuaiz_thanawat

What stories?

copper_phrt16

The ones where we are clowning around, singing that horrible song.

fuaiz_thanawat

That song is a hit Copper, it’s incredible that considering how well you sing, you don't know about music.

copper_phrt16

You are doing this on purpose, don't you?

fuaiz_thanawat

😂 😂 😂

copper_phrt16

DELETE THOSE STORIES

fuaiz_thanawat

No, they are an indelible memory of our unforgettable night.

copper_phrt16

Dude, I'm getting messages from perverts 😭 😭 😭 😭 😭. Some have even sent me their nudes.

fuaiz_thanawat

Really? anyone interesting?

copper_phrt16

Of course not. I've blocked them all. What kind of decent person introduces themselves sending me a picture of their dick?

fuaiz_thanawat

One who knows what they want, Copper. Why don't you meet up with one of them and have a good time? I've seen you in the showers and I'm sure they will be pleasantly surprised too.

copper_phrt16

You are so vulgar. I'll pass on dating someone who doesn't even really want to get to know me.

fuaiz_thanawat

Copper, I really understand that you want the charming prince and the ideal man, but if you keep going like this, you won't find anyone. Prince Charming doesn't exist, all men are trash.

copper_phrt16

You the first, what have you done to JJay? you fucking scumbag.

fuaiz_thanawat

What, what did he tell you?

copper_phrt16

None of your business, but I find it unbelievable you are playing him.

fuaiz_thanawat

I haven't played with anyone Copper, don't talk about what you don't know.

copper_phrt16

It doesn't matter what I know or don't know, it matters what JJay knows.

fuaiz_thanawat

Don't worry, I'll talk to JJay, and no, I'm not the monster you think I am.

copper_phrt16

😒 😒 😒

fuaiz_thanawat

I would never hurt you Copper, let alone JJay.

copper_phrt16

Ok, but talk to him asap.

fuaiz_thanawat

And now that you bring up the topic of talking, do you have something to tell me?

copper_phrt16

¿¿¿???

fuaiz_thanawat

You told us Ta was the devil incarnate and he ends up dedicating a love song to you in front of everyone. So Copper, do you have something to tell me?

copper_phrt16

I don't even know what happened, I really thought we would come to blows.

fuaiz_thanawat

I do Copper, you've overreacted as usual 🤣 🤣 🤣.

copper_phrt16

I don't know what to tell you....

fuaiz_thanawat

I was talking to him most of the night and even though he tried to disguise it, he was especially interested every time your name came up in conversation.

copper_phrt16

Really?

fuaiz_thanawat

Yes, his eyes sparkled when I told him you sang. By the way, we've added each other on social media, I can make him talk if you want 😉 😉 😉.

copper_phrt16

DON'T. He's going to think I sent you and I don’t want him laughing at me.

fuaiz_thanawat

Say what you want, but even when you guys were taunting each other that night, I saw a spark between you.

copper_phrt16

I think your wonderful cocktail has affected you too much.

fuaiz_thanawat

Maybe I should encourage him to send you dick pictures to see if you want to go out with him.

copper_phrt16

BYE BYE FUAIZ.

Remembering the conversation he had with Fuaiz a few weeks ago, he thought again about his classmate, Nakunta.

On Monday after his karaoke adventure, Copper went to class not knowing what to expect from Nakunta. Would he remind him of what had happened in the karaoke bathrooms? Would he laugh at his famous performance with Fuaiz?

None of that happened. When Nakunta saw him, he began to tease him as usual as if Saturday had never existed and yet, Copper noticed something he had never noticed about him before. Nakunta's eyes narrowed in amusement as he spoke to him, his cheekbones accentuated as he tried to hold in his laughter, marking beautiful dimples.

"Had he always been like this?" thought Copper in confusion.

In that last year they had shared classes, every time Nakunta had addressed him, for Copper it had meant open warfare with no possible mercy.

However, when he'd heard Nakunta that Monday, instead of noticing the fury invading his body and start swearing as usual, Copper had laughed and teased him back and Nakunta instead of getting angry, had laughed even harder. 

Certainly, something had changed between them.

Copper felt some uncertainty at such a change, the easy thing to do was hating each other and not have to think much more. However, now he didn't know what would happen with Nakunta. Would they be just classmates who played pranks occasionally? Maybe friends like he was with Mio and Bump?

Of course, the images of the karaoke bathroom still lingered in his mind like a vivid memory. When he had woken up, his first impulse had been to think it was all a dream. Many times, being with one person for so long meant that, during sleep, his brain could mix up situations and people that could in no way happen in reality.

And, even so, Copper knew that it had not been a dream. He was used to having nightmares, normal dreams and even erotic dreams, and he knew clearly that this was a memory. It was all too coherent to have been one of his dreams.

What did it all mean?

A knock on his bedroom door brought him out of his thoughts.

"Copper, are you ready?" he heard Mio's voice.

"Yes, I'm coming" Copper said stepping out into the hallway.

"You took too long to get dressed"

"Sorry, it's always the same with me and I end up engrossed in my thoughts".

"That's weird, brainiac" mocked Mio "Again thinking about whether you'll get any honors this time?"

"Well of course not, that's a given" said Copper pompously.

"Ohhh, what is it then that worries the best student of the university?"

"Nothing special," said Copper elusively.

"Every time you say that, it means you've been thinking for a LONG time about it. Is it about Bible? Have you been dreaming about dirty things again and now you're making wedding plans?"

"Of course not," Copper said slightly embarrassed.

"If it's not Bible, I'm only left with the second option, our dear singer Nakunta."

"Don't talk nonsense" said Copper quickly.

"Hoho, your tone gives you away, so you have two choices: you tell me now or I'll be asking you all the time, even in front of our esteemed Ta."

"You wouldn't dare" said Copper scandalized.

"Try me" said Mio smiling.

"You damn blackmailer."

"Speak up already, nerd."

"Well, remember what I told you about what happened in the karaoke bathroom?"

"How could I forget, I've seen adult movies starting like that."

Copper decided to ignore the comment.

"I've been racking my brains about what our relationship will be like from now on."

"That's your main problem Copper, that you think too much about everything."

"Tell me something I don't know."

"Well, someone who holds your hair while you throw up and then wipes the sweat off your face has to have good intentions don't you think?" asked Mio.

"Yeah, I think so too. Besides I actually think that what has really changed has been my perception of him and that he's still the same as always. As much as I hate to admit it, I think you guys were right from the beginning.

In response Mio smiled enigmatically at him.

"I know it's kind of impossible in your case, but just let yourself go Copper, only time will tell..."

"Yes, you're right."

"But I really have a good feeling about you two. Take my advice on this Copper, I know what I'm talking about."

Copper decided to heed Mio. For some reason unknown to him, Mio and Bump liked to talk about Nakunta with him and sometimes let out some laughter when Copper didn't understand something. They clearly knew something that Copper missed.

"Well, changing the subject, do you think your friend TaCo_TaCo is right and that new gym is so cool?"

"He told me it was great and I should try it out."

"I don't know what to tell you Copper, didn't you also say that he likes to troll you from time to time?

"He wouldn't send me to a place to make fun of me."

"All right, let's go fast. If it's such a good place, if we're late the best exercises machines will probably be occupied."

Copper and Mio left the house and headed to the gym that TaCo_TaCo had told him about a couple of weeks ago. He had wanted to go earlier, but Mio had been busy with exams and assignments and didn’t want to go alone the first time. As good as a gym was, he wanted to see what the atmosphere was like first. If it was full of cocky musclemen, he wouldn't go back, no matter how much TaCo_TaCo had raved about the place.

After 15 minutes walking, they arrived at the address TaCo_TaCo had given him and before them stood a huge place, on it were the letters "Tantijibul Gym" and below, the slogan "Change your life and join the JJ team"

"Well, the place looks pretty BIG" said Mio impressed.

"Too much in fact. It probably costs an arm and a leg" said Copper.

"Do you think your friend is a millionaire and thinks we can afford this?".

"We've been talking for 1 year and he knows the state of my finances perfectly well."

"Did you notice the owner's name?" asked Copper.

"Yes, why?" Mio asked

"Tantijibul rings a bell, but I don’t know from where" Copper said trying to remember.

"It also says “Team JJ”. What if it’s our JJay?" said Mio.

"No, please, I couldn’t put up seeing Fuaiz every day around here bragging about having a millionaire boyfriend."

Mio made a weary face at Copper's words.

"Well, let's go inside and see how it goes."

When they entered the gym, they found a guy about their age taking notes at a counter with a look of absolute concentration on his face.

"Good morning" greeted Copper.

The boy looked up from the desk and smiled kindly at them.

"Good morning guys. Your face doesn't ring a bell, first time here?"

"Yeah, can you tell?"

"A little" said the boy with a chuckle.

"Could you describe the facilities for us?"

"No problem. You guys have machines for leg, ab, arm, cardio, plus weights. Also, seeing as there are two of you, you also have a ring and a tatami if you want to practice."

"A ring and a tatami?" asked Copper impressed.

"Copper, that's great. We can practice karate here" said Mio excitedly.

"Out of curiosity why has the owner decided to install a ring and tatami if it's not a gym specializing in boxing?" asked Copper.

"The owner loves all kinds of martial arts and believes that the more people practicing it, the better. If you want to practice on the tatami or in the ring let me know, but a word of warning. The owner doesn't like foul play or revenge in his gym. So if you're thinking of meeting here to beat you up or settle a score you'd better forget it, the last ones who tried that had to crawl out of here."

From the way the boy was talking about the owner, it was clear that it was best to stay out of trouble with him. Copper decided that, if at all possible, he would never meet him.

"How much would it cost to train here?"

"Here are the fees."

The boy handed them a booklet listing the various plans: daily, monthly, quarterly and annual fees, and to Copper's surprise, the prices were quite affordable.

"It's pretty cheap," Copper said surprised.

"The owner thinks working out should be affordable for everyone. By the way, you guys are college students, right?"

Copper and Mio nodded.

"A lot of our customers are, maybe you'll find someone you know."

"For now, we'll pay for today. Is there a problem with us using the tatami?"

"None. Next to the tatamis you will see uniforms of various sizes and next to it some lockers for you to leave your clothes while you use the tatami. Here are two keys to the lockers. But, first of all, let me see some identification."

Copper and Mio gave him their IDs and paid.

"Alright, Copper and Mio enjoy the gym, I'm sure you'll love it. By the way, my name is Good”.

When Copper and Mio entered the gym, they watched in amazement as Good had not exaggerated it at all. It was still early so there weren't too many people and some tatami and machines were free.

"What are you going to do first? I had thought about being on the treadmill and then doing weights" said Copper.

"I'll go straight to the weights, see you there."

Copper broke away from Mio and got on a treadmill as he looked around. Certainly, the gym had amazing facilities and the people he saw seemed friendly or were minding their business without messing with anyone. He recognized a few students from his college and once again, he wondered if among those people would be TaCo_TaCo and if someday his friend would be encouraged to talk to him face to face.

After being on the treadmill for half an hour and having sweated his shirt, he joined Mio who seemed to be concentrating on the weights.

"I love this place Copper, even the weights are in good condition, do you remember that gym we went to last year, that the weights were rusty? We almost had to go get a shot."

"How could I forget, Bump had to reassure you because you thought you were going to die" scoffed Copper.

"Shut up, it wasn't like that at all" Mio defended himself.

"Yes, it was. Call him and swallow your words".

"I'm not going to bother him while he's in the middle of his creative inspiration" Mio excused himself.

"By the way, we have to tell Bump, JJay and Fuaiz to come to this place as soon as they can, I bet Bump loves the treadmill" said Copper.

"Well, enough chitchat and get on the weights for a while. We're not leaving here without trying out that tatami" said Mio.

"Okay, okay. You look like you miss kissing the tatami" Copper teased him.

"You're the one who'll be kissing the tatami, nerd."

Copper got on with the weights. Truth be told, despite his tiredness, he missed exercising as it helped him to stop thinking, which was probably, his biggest flaw.

After he had been doing weights for a while, Mio interrupted him.

"Oh, look who's coming over there."

Copper put down the weights and turned to look towards the entrance to see Us and Nakunta enter the gym.

Copper elbowed Mio.

"Aaaah what are you doing, you animal? At least wait until we're on the tatami."

"Did you tell him again where we were going to be?" accused Copper.

"How could I tell him where we were going to be if you were the one with the address?"

"That's right" said Copper

"Did you tell your friend TaCo_TaCo you were coming?"

"I told him I'd probably stop by, but I didn't specify the time either."

"Maybe TaCo_TaCo told Ta. Do you know if they know each other?"

"We've talked about Nakunta sometimes but I've never mentioned his name."

"Well Copper, Ta is quite popular and it's enough to see you two "chatting" a couple of times to know that you are very close, maybe TaCo_TaCo has figured out that the one you talk about all the time is Ta."

"I don't talk to him about Nakunta all the time, and what do you say about close?" said Copper shocked.

"It's the truth" said Mio smiling.

"In any case, I can't imagine TaCo_TaCo spreading my schedule around. Besides Good told us that college students came here. Maybe Nakunta is a gym member and comes here normally" Copper reasoned.

"Well, whatever, let's say hello to him" said Mio.

"No" said Copper firmly.

"Why not? you told me this morning that things are much better between you two, the more you talk, the easier it will be for you to have a good relationship."

"If we say hello to him, we'll be talking for quite a while and we won't be practicing karate."

"Copper you are making excuses, besides Us is with him and I know you talk quite a bit online."

He wasn't wrong, since they met, he and Us talked practically every day. Us wasn't lying when he told him he was interested in computers and video games. He was a computer science student in college, as well as a streamer where he would do live broadcasts playing his favorite games. Copper, who was also an avid video game fan sent him several messages telling him what his favorite parts were. Us had made him promise that someday they would play in one of his live streams.

"Do whatever you want, but I don't want to leave here without some practice," Copper said.

"Maybe Ta could help us practice a little. You probably don't know this because you don't follow him on social media, but he has a sports channel and sometimes he has recorded himself practicing martial arts."

He didn't doubt Mio's word but Copper definitely didn't feel like having physical contact with him, less in a practically unknown place like that gym was.

"If you want to practice with him, I'll pass" Copper said getting up ready to leave.

"Okay, okay, take it easy. We'll practice for a while, the two of us, and when we're done, we'll say hello. I'm not leaving here without saying hello to a friend, Copper."

"All right, we'll greet them when we're done."

Copper and Mo approached one of the tatamis (Copper made sure it was as far away from Nakunta and Us as possible) and saw some karate uniforms hung up. They changed and left their clothes in the lockers Good had mentioned.

"Well, how long has it been since we practiced?" asked Mio.

"At least 6 months. You've been too busy doing another kind of sport with our dear Bump."

"I smell jealousness even here, Copper. Don't worry, you'll find someone to do horizontal tango with and for what I believe, it will be before long."

"What do you mean?" asked Copper.

"That you're blind Copper, but enough talk, we've come to smash your face in."

"We'll see who smashes whose face."

Copper and Mio got into position and began to analyze each other. When they competed the friendship of the past few years disappeared and they returned to being the rivals they had been long ago. Once they had been so aggressive that they had gone for days without speaking to each other, until things got back to normal. Copper hoped that this time they wouldn't go to such extremes because truth be told, it hurt him not to talk to Mio.

Mio was the one who attacked first, running up to Copper and throwing a punch with his right hand, Copper dodged him and grabbed his collar flap ready to put him in a lock, but Mio dodged guessing his opponent's intentions.

"Good reflexes" Mio told him smiling.

"You too, now it's my turn" said Copper.

This time it was Copper who went towards Mio and threw a kick to his side, with his left leg, Mio put his hand to cushion the blow, but immediately Copper lowered his left leg and instead hit with his right leg on Mio's other side, who fell to the ground.

"Gotcha" Copper said to him smiling.

"Ah nerd, using dirty tricks" said Mio feigning anger.

"It's called using your brain" replied Copper mockingly.

"How dare you" said Mio.

Mio ran up to Copper and threw another punch, but when Copper was looking at Mio's arm, he used his leg to trip Copper, who fell to the ground.

"Who's playing dirty now?" complained Copper touching his back somewhat sore.

"I'm using my brain, thanks nerd" smirked Mio at him.

Copper grinned as he got up from the ground, he loved these little taunts with Mio.

Copper ran towards Mio and rammed him causing them both to fall to the ground. There Copper grabbed Mio by the arms with the intention of pinning him down.

"Surrender" Copper told him as he held him down.

Copper got a bad feeling that Mio didn't try to fight or resist and he was right not to trust,  because Mio smiled at him.

"What are you laughing at? You're trapped."

"Ah, Copper, always so impetuous and confident. There's something you always forget."

"Um?"

"The weight."

Thereupon Mio used his legs and hips to turn around and take Copper, who was now the one underneath, with him. Mio wasted no time and pinned Copper down by entrapping his neck.

"Ha, who has to give up now?" said Mio triumphantly.

"I will never give up" said Copper stubbornly.

At that answer, Mio squeezed Copper's neck even tighter.

"You have no way out, Copper, admit defeat" said Mio savoring every word.

He tried to resist and realized he was effectively helpless, he looked at Mio reluctantly and tapped the tatami indicating his surrender.

Mio stopped imprisoning him and helped him up.

"Ah, nothing cheers me up more than the smell of sweat and sweet victory" said Mio rejoicing.

"Well, that wasn't bad for have been 6 months without practicing" said Copper.

"Copper, you've gone soft."

"I did it for you, what would our dear Bump say if he finds out that I've left him without a boyfriend or worse, that his face is no longer what it used to be? I remind you that your face is your best asset."

"You jerk" said Mio pushing him.

"Hey easy, it's a joke. Bump is too decent to dump you over a matter of physical appearance."

"Yeah, that's my boy" said Mio proudly.

"You hit the jackpot with him."

"I won't deny it."

As Copper looked around, he noticed that the gym was a little more crowded. He checked the time and realized it had been a couple of hours since their arrival.

"I think it's about time to hit the shower," Copper said.

"Not so fast, you promised we'd say hi to Us and Ta before we left."

Copper clicked his tongue, he hoped Mio had forgotten about it, but no luck.

"Look, there they are," said Mio pointing at them.

Indeed, there were Us and Nakunta. Us was stretching while Nakunta was practicing punching and kicking a punching bag. He was clearly no beginner and his punches were accurate.

Copper noticed Nakunta. He was wearing shorts and had taken off his shirt. Despite the distance between them, Copper noticed that he was sweating and it made his skin glow, highlighting his muscles even more.

It wasn't the first time he had seen a picture like that. Nakunta posted pictures doing sports often. Bump and Mio (and now also Fuaiz and JJ), as well as some college classmates followed him on his social media so every time they "Like" one of Nakunta's pictures, it appeared on his wall.  However, it was far more impressive to see him in person.

Nakunta wiped the sweat from his forehead and chest, and Copper unconsciously bit his lips.

Copper heard Mio's laughter beside him that brought him out of his thoughts.

"Dude, what are you doing?" Mio laughed at him.

"I've done absolutely nothing."

"You bit YOUR LIPS looking at Ta" Mio told him laughing even more.

Copper blushed slightly seeing himself exposed.

"Of course not, you're making it up" Copper lied.

"Bullshit, I've been watching you to see what face you were making and you definitely bit your lips."

"We've been working out for 2 hours, obviously my lips are dry and that's why I've bitten them, I just need water" Copper excused himself.

"I bet it's not water you'd want to have on your lips exactly" Mio continued to teasing him.

"How can you be so vulgar" said Copper indignantly.

"Let’s do this. I greet Us and you wet your lips with Ta's sweat, I advise you his nipples".

"Bump is definitely going to become widowed before his time."

"What a bitch you are, Copper."

"Dude stop it, I don't feel any attraction to him!" shouted Copper, which earned a few looks and some laughter from those around him.

"Why are you getting so angry? It's not like I accused you of killing someone. In fact, it shows what good taste you have. Big muscles, handsome face and masculine. It's the whole package, Copper."

"Maybe it's YOU, who should be licking his sweat. You seem to be in love with him" Copper replied.

"You know my tastes are others" replied Mio.

"Well, mine too. I assure you I have no feelings for the jerk, he could fall on the ground right now and I wouldn't even turn to look at him" he said looking at Nakunta once again.

As if everything was happening in slow motion, he saw a man approaching Nakunta from behind, Nakunta was still hitting the bag and had not noticed his presence. The man closed the gap with Nakunta and punched him in the back of the head causing him to hit the floor.

"What was that?" asked Mio in shock.

"EEEEHH YOU" shouted Copper as he started running completely barefoot and still in his karate uniform towards where everything had happened.

"Copper what are you doing? COPPER" shouted Mio.

Copper ignored him and kept running towards the man which earned some curious looks. Drawn by the sound of footsteps he saw Us turn towards him, as did the unknown man while Nakunta began to get up from the floor.

"Copper? What...?" started to say Us.

Copper heard no more and lifted his leg towards the man's head, who to his surprise, blocked the leg with his left hand.

Copper got into a defensive stance as the man focused his gaze on him.

"What are you doing kid?" the man asked him in a bored voice.

"What are YOU doing, why did you hit him like that? And to make things worse, from behind."

"What's your name?" asked the man.

"I'm Copper."

The man's look of indifference changed to one of curiosity when he heard the name.

"So you're Copper" said the man to himself.

"Listen Copper, he..." started to say Nakunta who had already recovered from the shock.

"Shut up" the man interrupted him "we are talking Copper and I".

The tone outraged Copper even more.

"How can you talk to him like that?" said Copper angrily.

"What are you going to do about it?" said the man, amused.

"What?" was Copper surprised at the man's shamelessness.

"That kick of yours was well-aimed. You want a dance?"

"Huh?"

The man rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'll start, then."

Copper didn't have time for more because the man threw a punch to his jaw, luckily Copper had good reflexes and deflected the fist with his hand, but the man didn't hold still and used the other fist to try to hit him again and Copper had to barely deflect it again.

He knew that if he kept defending himself the man would end up hitting him, so he decided to go on the offensive. When the man finished throwing another punch, Copper took action. He threw a kick at the legs of the man who had to retreat and again repeated the same tactic he had done with Mio a few minutes ago, he raised his left leg and when the man went to parry the attack, he used his right to hit him in the side. He hit the target, but unlike Mio, the man did not fall to the ground.

"Is he made of stone? I don't think he even felt the blow" Copper thought.

If the man was upset or angry about the hit he didn't show it, on the contrary, he smiled even more.

"You're good, it's clear you've been practicing for a while" the man complimented him.

"And you're a pro, no novice would move like you."

It wasn't a question, he didn't know exactly what sport the man practiced, but it was clear to him that he wasn't an apprentice. The way he moved, struck at the right moment and watched Copper like a hawk told him that this man was very experienced as far as martial arts were concerned.

Copper knew at that moment that he would not win that fight, but he could not back down after seeing how that man had cowardly attacked Nakunta from behind.

The man smiled when he heard those words.

"Besides you're smart, you’re really interesting."

The man threw a high kick and Copper had to duck to dodge it, seeing that it was his chance Copper charged at the man, which was a mistake because Copper didn't take into account the man's hulking and strength.

When they were on the ground, the man grabbed Copper's arms and squeezed them hard. Copper hissed in pain, and realized that he couldn't use his legs in that position either, so he did the only thing he could think of: He headbutted the man's forehead, who released him by surprise, a moment that Copper took advantage of to do a backflip and separate himself from the man.

Copper heard some exclamations of astonishment around him. The man stood up and to his frustration, looked even happier than before.

"It's been a long time since someone has made me sweat so much, but I think we should wrap it up," said the man.

Without Copper having time to react, the man ran at him with the speed of an animal and punched him in the pit of his stomach.

Copper doubled over in pain and fell to the ground.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw someone standing between him and the man.

"Okay, that's enough, STOP IT NOW!" shouted Nakunta at the man.

Copper got up with difficulty and stepped forward.

"Looks like Copper doesn't feel the same way, do you think you can win?" asked the man.

"I know I can't win" replied Copper.

"Do you have some masochistic fetish, then?"

"No, but I can't stand by and watch you attack him from behind" said Copper pointing at Nakunta.

Nakunta, Us and the man looked at him curiously.

"Copper..." started to say Us, however, Copper interrupted him.

"I really understand the great temptation to whip this guy from time to time. I've thought about it myself from the moment we met, but to do it behind his back and treacherously, for not mentioning that you're a professional fighter. You're supposed to use it to defend or protect yourself, not for things like this.

"Copper..." said Nakunta this time.

"And by the way you're violating the rules of this gym, we've been told that the gym owner doesn't allow fights or revenge on the premises. Aren't you ashamed of yourself?"

Nakunta and Us held their hands to their heads as the man smiled at him in amusement.

"Looks like you have a knight in shining armor, Ta. By the way, Copper, I haven't introduced myself, I'm 2J Chalach Tantijibul, the owner of this gym."

Copper was speechless thinking it was a joke and suddenly understood why the name had sounded familiar when he had seen the gym's sign.

"2J Chalach Tantijibul, like Thailand's mixed arts champion. THAT 2J?" asked Copper.

"In the flesh" he replied.

"Oh, fuck. Of all the gyms that exist in this country I had to come where the champion is and to top it off, I challenged him to a fight."

Us, Nakunta and 2J laughed.

"But wait a minute, if you are the owner why did you beat him then? I don't study business, but I assure you that hitting customers is not a good business strategy."

2J laughed again and Nakunta took the opportunity to speak up.

"Copper, 2J and I have been friends for a long time. Hitting from the back is a game of ours to always be on our toes."

"And you obviously failed today, you need training" admonished 2J.

Copper didn't know where to hide. He had obviously misread the situation and had hit the gym owner, who was also one of Thailand's top fighters and a hero of the sport in Thailand. He looked around and noticed that there were people looking at him, some impressed and some disapproving, so he decided not to prolong the agony any further.

Copper bowed his head and addressed 2J.

"I'm very sorry, I clearly misread the situation and attacked you without you deserving it. Now I will leave this gym and you will never have to see me again" Copper said completely embarrassed and ready to leave the gym and never return.

"Wait Copper, you don't have to leave" 2J told him.

Copper turned to 2J.

"Actually, I do. I violated the rules, Good said not to come here to stage fights and on my first day, not only do I end up in a fight, I end up punching the owner on top of it."

"You didn't organize any fights. You defended a friend from a shady guy who hit him from the back, plus you had enough balls to stand up to me. I assure you a lot of people would have left Ta in the lurch to stay out of trouble."

Copper felt somewhat embarrassed by those words.

"Ohh, he's such a good boy," Nakunta said mockingly.

"Ahh shut up, every time we meet, I end up making a fool of myself. I should have left you on the ground to see if he'd hit you harder" said Copper still embarrassed.

"My herooooooo" said Nakunta exaggeratedly.

"God, I hate you so much"

Mio arrived at that very moment at his side.

"You can't imagine what just happened" he said to Mio.

"I've been watching it all. Hitting the Thai champion huh? Good job on your gym debut." said Mio sardonically.

"I was hoping for some support, you know, as my supposed best friend" Copper expressed annoyed.

"I told you to wait and you started running around like crazy."

Nakunta became interested when he heard this.

"You started running?"

"You should have seen his face. It was seeing you on the ground and he started screaming and running to your aid."

"Definitely a real hero."

"Go fuck yourselves" replied Copper embarrassed.

At his response the other two laughed.

2J walked over to him.

"Copper, take a shower and wait a moment for Ta, Us and I to finish training. I want to talk to you for a moment," said 2J.

"Why do you want to talk to him? He already apologized to you" Nakunta asked him defiantly.

2J rolled his eyes.

"Because I feel like it. Copper, do you mind waiting for me?

Copper didn't understand why 2J would want to talk to him, but considering he had made a fuss in his gym, he thought it prudent not to refuse his offer.

"No problem" he finally replied.

"I'll walk you to the showers, I think I've had enough exercise for today too" Mio said.

Copper and Mio headed for the showers, when Copper took off his clothes, he felt a sharp pain in his stomach where he had been punched. When he looked at his stomach, he saw that it was bruised.

"Phew, that looks bad," said Mio as he looked at the bruise.

"I was lucky, I've seen him fight on TV and he could have destroyed me in a matter of seconds,” said Copper.

"Why did he fight you? He could have explained to you what was going on from the beginning and saved you the trouble."

"Like I say, he wasn’t fighting for real. I guess he was testing me and I don't understand why, he didn't know me at all".

"I was a little late to the party, did 2J know your name?

"He asked me before the fight and I got the feeling he was interested" Copper said remembering he had gone from indifference to interest upon hearing his name.

"Well then I'm sure what happened" said Mio.

"What? We haven't met before and obviously I'm not famous enough for him to have heard of me" asked Copper quizzically.

"Oh, but it's just that I'm pretty sure he has heard of you" Mio told him confidently.

"How?"

"Well, I heard how Ta said that he and 2J are long-time friends, so it makes the most sense that Ta told him about you" concluded Mio.

"I doubt he told him about me. I get the feeling that 2J isn't very interested in college life."

"Copper, I’m pretty sure that Ta talks about you, even outside of college."

"I have no idea," Copper said.

"Why does 2J want to talk to you?"

"No idea, I hope it's not to report me or to get revenge."

"I don't think so, he could have broken your bones in that fight and he didn't."

"True."

"Well, you already have a tale to tell your grandchildren. You got punched in the stomach by a national champion."

"Considering my contact with men is limited to insults and now assaults, the only grandchildren I'm going to have, will be Namo’s children."

"Nonsense Copper, in less than a year you'll have a steady partner and in ten you'll have children that will make your life so miserable that you'll wish you didn't."

Copper looked at Mio longingly.

"You think so?" asked Copper

"I don't just believe it, I know it."

"I really would love to have your optimism."

"Me too Copper, sometimes you're so negative."

Copper smacked his arm playfully and they continued showering.

Minutes later and much more refreshed, Copper emerged from the showers with Mio, ready to meet with 2J to see what he wanted. He was a little nervous about meeting the owner after what had happened, but it was better to know what he wanted.

He watched as Nakunta was hitting the punching bag while 2J gave him instructions, Us was sitting watching them, when he saw Copper and Mio he waved and gestured for them to sit next to him.

"What a triumphant entrance Copper" Us said to him when he saw him.

"Not you too, please" Copper said closing his eyes.

"I never guessed you practiced karate, and did it so well too."

"We practiced since we were little" said Mio "our parents had hopes that if we practiced sports, we would become friends".

"And the opposite happened, our rivalry became so strong that there wasn't a day that at least one of us didn't end up crying. Another success of my wonderful family" Copper added with disdain.

"Hey, easy" said Mio sympathetically.

"Someday you two have to tell me the story between the two of you" said Us.

"Anytime" said Mio smiling "it's an amazing story about a young man with talent in sports and music, and an annoying nerd who is jealous of him".

Copper gave him a slap on the back of the neck.

"Oops sorry, it must be the jealousness."

Us laughed at his antics.

"By the way Us" said Copper changing the subject" do you know why 2J wants to talk to me?"

"Nervous?" asked Us amused.

"A little, you know, considering he's a professional wrestler..."

"Relax, he probably liked the way you fought and how you defended Ta and just wants to get to know you. 2J and Ta are like brothers."

"It's weird to me that Ta knows someone so famous" said Mio.

"Ah, that story is not for me to tell, but I will tell you that they have known each other for almost 10 years."

"Copper..."

Copper looked up and saw 2J and Nakunta completely sweaty.

"We're done for the day, we'll take a shower now, wait for me just 5 more minutes and we'll talk. Us, take a shower too before you get cold."

"Sure, no problem" Copper said.

10 minutes later they came out refreshed.

"Sorry I'm late, this idiot has been splashing us with water" said Us pointing at Nakunta.

"Are you 5 years old?" asked Copper.

"Bah, being with these two bores makes everything look like a graveyard. You'll see how much fun you'll have the day we'll have a shower together" said Nakunta.

Us and Mio laughed and Copper decided to ignore him.

"2J this is my best friend, Mio" Copper said.

They both greeted each other with a smile.

"Well, what did you want to talk to me about?" asked Copper.

"It's after 12. If you don't have any plans, I wanted to invite you to lunch" said 2J.

This surprised Copper and he wasn't the only one because the other three guys made the same surprised face.

"Why do you want to invite him to lunch?" asked Nakunta suspiciously, something that surprised Copper considering how close friends he and 2J were.

"You're a real pain this morning" replied 2J "I just want to meet the guy who would get into a fight to defend you. He must be crazy or maybe you had to pay him to do it" joked 2J.

Copper calmed down when he heard those words, it seemed that 2J simply wanted to have a friendly chat and wasn't looking for any revenge.

"It's clear why, he clearly A-D-O-R-E-S me" replied Nakunta.

"I don't adore you, you jerk" Copper replied.

"Your stomach probably doesn't say the same" said Nakunta smugly.

"Please, next time hit him harder, I promise I won't step in."

"Oh, by the way, Copper, take this," said 2J.

2J handed him a bottle and Copper looked at him questioningly.

"It's a very good anti-inflammatory, tomorrow it won't hurt at all, and in two days, the bruise will be gone, apply it every 4 hours" 2J answered him.

"Thank you."

"Don't thank him, you wouldn't need it if this blockhead hadn't hit you" interrupted Nakunta looking at 2J spitefully.

2J rolled his eyes.

"Well, what do you decide Copper? I assure you I have great taste in food and while we eat, I'll tell you his dirtiest secrets" said 2J looking at Nakunta.

"I suddenly really feel like that invitation" joked Copper.

"Hey" complained Nakunta.

"Then, it’s settled. You three, get lost. Mio please come to the gym as many times as you want, I promise to return your friend in one piece."

Copper said goodbye to the three of them and walked with 2J out of the building. After walking for about ten minutes, they arrived at their destination. The place was nothing fancy, an ordinary steakhouse.

"I don't know why, I figured that a super champion would go to an expensive restaurant."

"Those restaurants where they practically don't feed you and also charge you millions? No, a restaurant where you don't fill your stomach, it's not a real restaurant. You're going to love this place, Copper. Best meat in the world, so please tell me you're not a vegetarian."

"I love meat, although I'm not saying no to a nice salad either."

"Ah, you're not a picky eater, this gets better and better."

2J walked up to the people in charge of the restaurant and shook their hands. He was clearly a regular.

"I'll order the usual, Copper do you want anything special or will you let me order for you?"

"Order for me, but please not too much, I want to be able to walk this afternoon" Copper said.

"Perfect then, as I told you I have great taste, you are going to adore me after this" said 2J with a cheerful gesture.

After 20 minutes of waiting, their meal arrived. For Copper, a huge steak and for 2J, two steaks, two fried eggs and a salad.

"You're going to eat all that?" asked Copper impressed.

"Sure, why?" asked 2J.

"How can you eat all that and have that body?"

"In a good training it's important to eat right, Copper," 2J explained to him.

Copper smiled not knowing what to say and decided to change the subject.

"Well, what do you wanted to talk about?" asked Copper.

"Well, you got into a fight over our dear Ta. Between that and everything else that he told me about you, I wanted to see what you were like."

"Ah, that's right, Us told me that you and Ta have been friends for a long time."

"Yeah, since that boy was a 15-year-old brat, look here I have this picture."

2J showed him the cell phone and Copper looked at the photo. There was a slightly younger 2J with a different hairstyle, and a very different Nakunta. His face was much more boyish and rounder, his body was also much slimmer. His arrogant pose when posing for the photo was what gave him away.

Copper smiled unconsciously as he looked at the photo.

"Adorable, he still has that face of: I'm better than you" Copper said.

"Adorable? That's because you didn't know him at the time" said 2J.

"Was he that bad?"

"No, he wasn't bad. In fact, most of his problems came from getting in fights to protect people or because he was attacked first."

"Isn't it a good thing that he protects people?" asked Copper.

"He was like a rabid dog, Copper. Between his rage and teenage hormones, if he kept going down that road he would have ended up behind bars." replied 2J.

Copper had to admit that he was interested in the story of the one who, up until a few weeks, had been his enemy.

"Did his parents ask you for help or something? How did he reform, then?"

"Sort of. I was competing in tournaments, but in the meantime, I was running a gym. It wasn't half as big as this one, but it paid the bills. I focused mostly on training teenage boys. Ta's family thought it would be good for their son to train so he'd have some self-control."

"Did it pay off?"

"I’m telling you, he was half crazy at first. I had to kick his butt several times to calm him down and have respect for me, but in the end, I got him to focus and pick well his battles."

"Well, I'm glad he straightened up, if he's already unbearable at times now, I'd rather not imagine him in his rebellious days" Copper said.

2J laughed at the comment.

"Enough about him, tell me about you Copper. Especially where you learned those moves."

"Well, there's not much to tell. I signed up for karate when I was a kid, my parents thought it was a good idea. You've seen Mio, the guy from before, when we were little, we hated each other's guts and our parents thought that by training we would work things out. It didn't do any good until many years later, but at least we learned how to fight."

"So karate made your fates come together?" joked 2J.

"Karate and destiny made us smash our faces, cry and threaten each other's lives for years" he continued with the Copper joke "but seriously now, karate has helped me at many times. I don't know if Nakunta told you, but I'm a real nerd. Sport helped me to have discipline and to relax."

"Wise words, so you don't usually go to gyms to beat people up?" joked 2J again.

"No, it's the first time and hopefully the last time. By the way, thank you" Copper replied.

"For what?"

"For not tearing me apart, if you wanted to you could have done it in less than 10 seconds and now the key question. Why?".

"It wouldn't look good for the gym, killing my clients" replied 2J sarcastically.

"You were testing me and I still don't know why" Copper replied.

2J smiled enigmatically at him.

"Ah, well, I couldn't pass up the chance to meet the famous Copper, at last."

Copper looked at him quizzically.

"You're the famous one remember? My only time in the spotlight I think was when I won the children's chess championship and my face was only in the school newspaper" Copper replied sarcastically.

"Oh, but you are famous, at least to a certain acquaintance we have in common."

Us had told him the same thing that night at karaoke, but it still surprised him to know that that guy was talking about him to his friends.

"Really? I find it weird that he talks about me to his friends. It's not like we get along that well."

2J looked at him quizzically.

"Copper you got into a fight over him. Don't tell me now that you two aren't friends because it doesn't add up."

Copper reddened at such a statement. The truth was that he still didn't understand why he had reacted so strongly to Nakunta being hit.

"Well these last few weeks we're getting along a little better, but I assure you, we were like cats and dogs, all the time arguing. That's why when Us told me he was talking about me, I was so surprised, and now you say the same thing."

2J looked at him quizzically.

"Do you guys really argue?"

"All the time. Ever since we started college a year ago, I even thought he hated me."

"Could it be..?" said 2J to himself.

"Yeah?"

"Copper, you might find weird what I'm about to ask you, but do you have a nickname?"

"What?"

"Does Ta call you usually by your name or has he given you a nickname?"

"By a nickname, why?"

"And let me guess, you got so angry about the nickname that you started arguing with him, until a few weeks ago, as you remarked."

Copper didn't know where all those questions were going, but he nodded.

2J put his hand to his head and suddenly started laughing.

"Oh God, he's so stupid" continued 2J laughing.

"Who are you talking about?" asked Copper puzzled about his companion's sudden change in mood.

"Ta, of course. Copper I'm going to tell you one thing about that guy that will probably surprise you. He's really awkward around people who catch his eye, whether it's friendship or romantically speaking."

Copper felt something in his chest when 2J mentioned the last words.

"I don't get it," he finally said.

"You've seen him how he is with a lot of people right? Outgoing and even charming."

Copper remembered how Mio and Bump had told him on numerous occasions that Ta had been very nice to them and he had never believed them.

"My friends had always told me how nice he was to them, but with me he wasn't the same."

2J nodded to himself as he smiled.

"It’s not the first time something like this happens with Ta. I saw you were talking to Us this morning, so I assume you're friends or at least acquaintances."

Copper smiled thinking about Us.

"I really like Us, we only met a few weeks ago, but since then we talk a lot. He's incredibly smart and loves video games just like me."

"Well, brace yourself. Although they seem to be very close now, Us and Ta detested each other, or rather Us detested Ta while Ta desperately tried to get his attention" said 2J.

Copper leaned forward, very interested in the story.

"So what happened, how did they start getting along?"

"Oh, it's hilarious. There was a point when he was fucking shit of Ta and decided to take action. You know Us is a hacker don't you?

Copper's eyes widened, impressed.

"WHAT? I know he's a computer science student, but not a hacker."

"Well, he is. He's capable of miracles with a computer, but as I was telling, he decided to take action, so he hacked Ta's webcam and got videos and pictures of Ta completely naked."

"WHAT?" said Copper with his mouth hanging open.

2J laughed at the look on Copper's face.

"Oh yeah, he threatened Ta that if he ever looked at his face again, he would post the videos and pictures all over the country" laughed 2J probably remembering the scene.

"Ta came to me shaking with fear and told me everything, so I told him to be honest with Us and just tell him he wanted to be his friend instead of clowning around. A few days later, he ended up crying in front of Us and the relationship started to improve to what it is today."

Copper chuckled imagining Nakunta imploring Us, but still was amazed at the behaviour of the one who, now he was pretty sure, he HAD BELIEVED had been his enemy.

"So does he argue and make up nicknames of people he wants to be friends with or is he sentimentally interested?" asked Copper still impressed by his classmate's mentality.

"Yeah, he's like that petulant kid in kindergarten who pulled your hair and stole your toys to get your attention" 2J told him.

Copper realized something.

"Wait a minute, is Nakunta interested in Us?

2J shook his head.

"I am quite clear that his interest in Us is merely platonic."

"I see," Copper said.

"Anyway, the fool is in love again. I hope it's not too late and he's spoiled everything with his nonsense."

"So Bump was right with his guess" thought Copper.

"Out of curiosity, what's his type?" asked Copper.

"Interested?" asked 2J with a half-smile.

Copper laughed at the comment.

"Well, after what you just told me, all that's left is for you to tell me that his type is an alien" replied Copper.

"Just like with his friends, he has always been attracted to smart people, maybe it's because he's more athletic and likes that contrast. Something similar happens to me.

"And do you know who that is?"

"Oh, yes I do" smiled 2J triumphantly "but I'm afraid I'm not going to tell you, it's something for Ta to say and not me. Don't worry, as soon as you get to know Ta a little better, you'll know who is it."

Copper nodded and remembered something else.

"2J, besides Us, do you also have a nickname?" asked Copper out of curiosity.

2J smiled.

"I do, it's Blockhead, Us's is Brainiac and Barcode's is Beethoven."

He didn't know this Barcode guy but his name rang a bell and after a few moments, he remembered it.

"Barcode is a music student?"

"Oh, so you know him."

Copper shook his head.

"Not directly, but my friends study music and have talked about him. Bump has told me he's a powerhouse."

"He is" conceded 2J "he's another of Ta's friends and as you remarked, a real musical genius."

"So what happened this time? Barcode hit Nakunta over the head with a guitar?" laughed Copper.

2J let out a laugh at his quip.

"Not this time. Barcode is the only one besides me, who managed to figure out Ta's intentions from the beginning. He's always been able to read people very well. Well Copper, now it's your turn, what's your nickname?"

Copper blushed a little, but if 2J had unveiled his nickname it wasn't fair for Copper not to unveil his.

"It’s fanboy."

2J looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Well, I've always been inclined to fall in love, and there's someone on my faculty that I quite like. That jerk noticed and started calling me fanboy" Copper said shyly, hoping 2J wouldn't laugh too hard at him.

"Jerk? Is that what you call him?"

Copper nodded hoping 2J wouldn't get too angry, after all, Nakunta was his friend, but 2J only laughed.

"Well, finally someone gives him a nickname. Maybe I'll use it too," 2J said.

Copper laughed with him and finally they finished their meal.

"Copper, it was nice to finally meet you."

"Likewise" Copper replied.

"By the way, you better come to the gym regularly from now on. We'll train and if you want, I'll teach you new tricks you can use on Ta when he drives you crazy" joked 2J.

"Now you've really convinced me" replied Copper.

"Now seriously Copper, I'm so glad you're part of Ta's life, he's like a little brother to me. I know sometimes he can be irritating, but when you really get to know him, I assure you, he is so worth it. If you have him on your side, he will never betray you."

"I'll think about what you've told me," Copper replied.

Copper said goodbye to 2J and went back home. He hoped Mio wasn't too worried. 

When he got home several minutes later, Mio and Bump rushed over to him.

"Are you okay, does anything hurt, should we call the doctor?" bombarded him with questions Bump.

"Yes, a little and no" Copper replied in order.

"It's a shame that a professional hit you."

"Bump, it was me who hit him first," Copper told him.

"Still, why not settle the misunderstanding before the fight started?"

"Well, I was really angry so maybe I wouldn't have listened and he wanted to test me in battle."

"You should report him," Bump said stubbornly.

"I don't plan to report him. In fact, I'm going to that gym from now on."

"Why?" asked Bump in surprise.

"He's a good guy and with him I can learn an awful lot. Besides, Bump, you don't know him yet, as soon as you do, you'll see it too" said Copper.

Bump reluctantly accepted the explanation.

"What did you talk about at lunch? Was there a problem?" asked Mio.

"No, on the contrary. Our favourite jerk had apparently told him about me and wanted to meet me. Would he stop talking about me to everyone? Let's hope he doesn't have a hitman friend or I'll be screwed."

"Must be due to your overwhelming personality," Mio said sarcastically.

"What did you talk about at lunch?" interrupted Bump.

"I told him a little about me and we talked about the jerk. They have been friends for a long time. Apparently, the jerk was a rebellious in his teens and he had to tame him with martial arts."

"Nothing else?" said Bump.

"Oh yeah, you're not going to believe this," said Copper excitedly, "turns out that jerk gives nicknames to people he likes. Amazing isn't it?"

Bump and Mio just smiled at him which surprised Copper.

"I was expecting some reaction from you guys like “Really?” “No way".

“I already told you that he probably wanted to get your attention when he was teasing you, remember?" Bump told him.

"What's amazing is that you needed a stranger to tell you that, instead of believing us" Mio said pretending annoyance.

"Yes, yes you were right" said Copper reluctantly "by the way Bump, there is one other thing you were right about too".

"About what?" asked Bump curiously.

"Okay, brace yourself. 2J has confessed to me that he's in love. Bump, your theory at karaoke was right."

"Did he tell you who he is?" asked Mio.

Copper shook his head.

"No, he told me I'd have to spend more time with him and I'd find out."

"Well then, I have good news for you. We're meeting Ta and Us this afternoon" said Bump.

"When did that happen?"

"When you went to lunch with 2J, I called Bump and we went with Ta and Us to lunch, taking advantage that we were together."

"Well, now it's your turn, what did you talk about at your meal?" asked Copper.

"Nothing special, Bump wanted to call the police believing you had been kidnapped, it took quite a while to Us and Ta to reassure him" said Mio.

"You told me Copper was beaten and then taken away. What do you want me to think?" said Bump.

"And solved the case of my disappearance, what else did you do?"

"We talked a little about 2J and his sports career - did he tell you he made a gym for troubled teens? He's a hero," Mio said with her eyes sparkling.

"Yeah, that's where he met the jerk, have you become a fan of 2J or what?" replied Copper amused.

"I remind you that he beat up our friend" Bump said again.

"That makes me worship him even more."

"Son of a bitch" said Copper.

"I want us to go back to that gym, I bet he has a thousand stories to tell us".

"Let's stop talking about that man and let’s cut right to the chase" interrupted Bump "I heard that this afternoon there is a fair nearby, you know cotton candy, prizes and most importantly, they sell second hand books and maybe some old records too" said Bump excitedly.

"Did you say books?" said Copper equally excited.

"Yes, hopefully there will be some novels related to music" Bump replied.

"Oh please, we're talking about a fair and you guys are thinking about books? Nerds" scoffed Mio.

"It must be wonderful, walking around with your head so empty, I bet you never feel any weight" Bump answered him scathingly.

"Ha" said Copper high-fiving Bump.

Mio crossed his arms angrily and Copper ignored him.

"Wait a minute, I understand Us wanting to come, but why would the jerk want to go to something book related? I get the impression he reads only a little more than you do, Mio."

"Dude, stop it already" replied Mio.

"Ah well, he's probably interested in games, though..." said Bump.

"Yeah?"

Bump suddenly smiled at him.

"I bet he's really looking forward to see you after this morning."

Mio smiled as he joined the conversation.

"He was completely excited telling how you had come to his aid, probably as soon as he sees you, he'll give you a kiss" Mio said.

"Don't even say that as a joke" said Copper.

"I admit I was shocked when Mio told me about it. Why did you defend him?" asked Bump.

"And just a minute earlier, you had said you wouldn't lift a finger for him" Mio appended.

Copper had to think about it for a while. It had been a practically unconscious thing to do.

"I can't tell you for sure myself, but I guess that despite we swear at each other, I don't want anything bad to happen to him."

Mio and Bump smiled when they heard his answer.

"Well, this afternoon you will talk it all over with him, now lie down for a while, you look tired, Mio and I will wake you up in a couple of hours" said Bump.

"Really? I really appreciate it, I could use some sleep".

"Don't worry, Bump and I can manage without you, can't we handsome boy?" said Mio winking at Bump.

"I don't know, you called me a nerd, I guess as a good nerd, I'd rather read some book while Copper sleeps" said Bump feigning indignation.

"Come on Bump, forgive me" said Mio making puppy dog eyes.

"Okay, but I'll have to punish you" said Bump.

"Oh God, I'm leaving, you guys are nauseating" said Copper running off to his room.

Copper locked himself in his room trying to forget what he had just seen. Truth to be told Bump was right, he was completely exhausted. Certainly, practicing karate with your friend after 6 months and then fighting a super champion took its toll.

First of all, he decided to write to JJay and Fuaiz to see if they were up for an evening out. He felt more at ease to deal with Nakunta having more friends around him.

To his misfortune, they both declined his invitation.

fuaiz_thanawat

Sorry Copper, I don't feel like doing anything today. I'll be watching TV. Take lots of pictures.

Jjaypf

I'm meeting up with some friends from college to play a game of soccer. Have a good time.

Copper changed his clothes and noticed that his stomach area was still a little bruised. He applied the ointment carefully and put on his pyjamas. He laid down on the bed and thought about the busy morning he'd had. Every time that jerk showed up in his life, something unusual happened.

He thought back to the question Bump had asked him a few minutes ago: “why did you defend him?”

His eyes closed and he drifted into the world of dreams.

He noticed a sensation in his head as he felt someone slide their fingers through his hair.

"Copper" he heard a voice.

"Uuhh" said Copper half asleep.

"Fanboy, wake up" the voice said again.

"Copper" he half opened his eyes to find Nakunta smiling at him as he stroked his hair.

"Time to get up" he replied.

Copper smiled at him even with his eyes half closed.

"Five more minutes" Copper said.

"COPPER!"

Copper opened his eyes and saw Bump looking at him worriedly.

"Something wrong?" said Copper somewhat startled.

"You were making funny noises and not waking up, I thought it was a bad dream."

"Ah no, don't worry. Just a weird dream."

Copper tried to get up and noticed he was still very tired.

"Whew, I'm still exhausted. Even more than before”.

"It's time to go Copper. We're meeting in half an hour."

Copper pulled the blanket over himself once more.

"I think I'll stay, I can't move," Copper said.

Mio then entered the room.

"Come on, get up, we have to go now."

"I can't, Mio."

"Yes, you can. You'll sleep tonight, besides Ta just texted me and told me they're ready. You can't back out."

"Tell them I can't no more."

"Stop whining already."

Mio reached over and ripped the blanket and sheets off Copper.

"Noooo, give me back my blankets" said Copper still half asleep.

Mio looked at him and started laughing.

"Do you really wear your Disney pyjamas?"

"What's your problem with Disney?" said Copper rubbing his eyes.

"Nothing, just the opposite" replied Mio.

He then picked up his cell phone and took a picture of Copper.

"Why did you take a picture of me?"

"I just sent it to Ta, it's a really good picture."

"NOOOOOOO, you idiot" shouted Copper fully awake as he got out of bed.

"He answered me, look."

Mio showed him the cell phone screen.

ta_nannakun 

Disney pyjamas? Adorable 🥰🥰🥰🥰🥰

Copper punched Mio in the arm.

"Dude, you almost threw my cellphone" complained Mio.

"I should burn that cellphone after what you did, thanks for turning me into a joke" said Copper very angry.

"Bah, it's just a normal picture" said Mio playing it down.

"I'm 20 years old and you sent that jerk a picture of me in Disney pyjamas. Picture that he'll probably share with everyone, so NO. It's not a normal picture."

Bump stepped in between the two of them.

"Copper, don't worry, Ta won't share that picture," Bump said.

"You don't know that, Bump."

"Yes, I do. Besides you already read the comment, he loves the picture" Bump tried to explain.

"Yeah, it's so good, I bet he'll share it."

"Copper, do you trust me?" asked Bump.

"Of course I do. You're the ONLY one I trust," said Copper looking spitefully at Mio.

"Then I assure you Ta won't share that picture. Besides you can use the time we're with him to get to know him better just like 2J told you."

Copper looked at Bump with his mouth open.

"Bump, you're a genius. I know what I'll do. 2J told me that if I got to know him more, I could find out who he's in love with and in exchange for not telling the 'lucky girl' I'll tell him to delete the picture. It's a perfect plan" Copper said excitedly.

Mio and Bump held their hands to their heads.

"Okay, that's it Copper, stop it. I'll talk to Ta and make sure he doesn't share the picture, although I'm telling you, he wasn't going to share it, it's just a joke" said Mio.

"Copper, Mio is right. Trust Ta a little, just today one of his best friends confirmed that he likes you, and most of all, trust us. We would never put you in a dangerous or ridiculous situation."

Copper looked away knowing his friends were right. He couldn't be distrusting Nakunta all the time, 2J had told him he was a good person.

"You guys are right, I'll try to trust that guy more."

"Finally," Mio said jaded.

"Give me 5 minutes and I'll get dressed."

Copper went to change his clothes and noticed a sharp pain in his stomach from the blow. As he put on his clothes he put the bottle of ointment in his pocket. 2J had told him to apply it every 4 hours and he didn't know how long they would be at the fair.

Half an hour later the three of them left the house and headed to where the fair was being held. It was in a nearby park so fortunately Copper could go back quickly if he ended up tired and sore, once the initial shock of the picture had passed, Copper had noticed that he was still really exhausted.

"Well, I'll be a couple of hours and then I'll go home" thought Copper.

When they arrived at the site, they saw that it was crowded and there were several stalls. Some were for food, some were games to win some prizes and some were selling some items and books.

"Mio, call them to check if they be long" said Bump.

"By the way, I talked to JJay. He couldn't come, he had a soccer game with his college buddies and Fuaiz told me he wanted to stay home today" said Copper.

"They're probably avoiding each other," said Bump.

"I hope they work it out. As much as I like to tease Fuaiz, I think he and JJay make a great couple. JJay has the seriousness and maturity that Fuaiz needs and Fuaiz has the funny point that JJay lacks" said Copper.

"I don't know what to tell you Copper. I think Fuaiz lacks the maturity to commit" said Bump.

"We'll just have to trust" said Copper resignedly.

Mio returned from the call.

"Okay, they told me they were here, now they are coming to get us."

Five minutes later they saw Nakunta and Us heading towards them.

Copper hugged Us when he saw him.

"Hey Copper, I see you made it through the meal unscathed" Us joked.

"By a whisker, I thought your friend would kill me" Copper joked as well.

Copper looked at Nakunta and didn't know what to say, much less after what had happened that morning. Should he greet him with some insult as usual or be polite?

Nakunta must have noticed his hesitation because he smiled broadly at him and threw himself into his arms to Copper's surprise.

"Dude, what are you doing?" said Copper trying to get away.

"My hero," said Nakunta with mock admiration.

The rest laughed.

Finally, Copper managed to get loose.

"Thank you so much for this morning, I was so scared" continued Nakunta in a frightened (and feigned) tone.

"I hate you with all my soul" said Copper.

Nakunta laughed at his comment and waved to the rest.

"First of all, let's take a picture" said Mio.

They stood to have their picture taken and he noticed how Nakunta stood next to him.

"Okay, smile, one, two, and three" the click of the cell phone camera was heard.

"I'll pass it to you now."

He heard the notification on his phone and looked at the picture.

Actually, they looked pretty good. Mio had struck a victory pose and was winking, Bump and Us had a slightly more serious pose, Copper had a soft smile and Nakunta was smiling brightly beside him, winking.

"He has a beautiful smile" thought Copper "and he poses so well, he even looks happy next to me".

"Ok, I propose we have a look around the whole fair and then everyone goes where they want" said Us.

They all agreed and set off.

The stalls had taken up practically the entire park so there were tons of things to see and do. Copper's attention was drawn to a huge second-hand book stall, he knew he would find something useful there.

He had also noticed some games where if you won you got a stuffed animal, although he told himself not to go too close. If the jerk found out he liked stuffed toys he'd be teased for years to come and he'd had enough of him seeing him in his Disney pyjamas.

"Where do you guys want to go?" said Us.

Before anyone could say anything, Nakunta spoke up.

"Us, you told me earlier that you wanted to buy some books and some second-hand video games. Why don't you go with Bump and Mio? Fanboy and I will go get something to eat."

"No way, I want to see books and video games too. We'll eat later" Copper protested.

"Bump knows your taste in books and with everything you've talked to Us these past few weeks, he knows your taste in games too, don't you?

Bump and Us nodded.

"Mio doesn't like books. Go eat both of you" said Copper.

"Negative" said Mio" I'm going with Bump, I've seen an old soccer video game that looks really good".

"Copper, we promise to pick up a cool book for you" said Bump.

"I will do the same with video games Copper, and next week we will play online. I promise.

Copper reluctantly agreed as the other three went the other way.     

"Alright Fanboy, let's go to get that cotton candy and those pancakes."

"Not that I'm complaining, but why do you want to buy me food?"

"How can I not treat my savior to eat?" said Nakunta.

Copper just stared at him with a frown.

"What? you saved me this morning" said Nakunta laughing.

"I didn't save you this morning because you were never in danger. I ended up making a fool of myself in front of the whole gym, what a debut" Copper said remembering the incident.

"You didn't make a fool of yourself, when you left to shower, several guys came up to me and 2J impressed by the fight."

"Really?" asked Copper in surprise.

"For real. I don't think I've seen 2J that happy in a long time."

They arrived at the stall and after waiting a few minutes, it was their turn.

Nakunta paid for the crepes and cotton candy.

"What flavor do you want the crepes, fanboy?"

"Chocolate," Copper said as his eyes sparkled.

"You're drooling, do you like chocolate that much?".

Copper looked at him indignantly for asking that question.

"Chocolate represents everything good in this world. Everything is good if you add chocolate to it."

Nakunta looked thoughtful.

"Does that mean that if I smear chocolate on me you'd like me better?" said Nakunta winking at him.

Copper remembered Nakunta's torso as he had seen it this morning and imagined how instead of sweat, it was covered in chocolate and heard Mio's voice in his ear: "I advise you his nipples." Copper felt the blush in his cheeks imagining the scene.

"Not even all chocolate in the world wouldn't get that, you jerk" said Copper trying to make sure Nakunta hadn't noticed his reaction.

Nakunta brought his face close to his.

"However, your heroic act this morning doesn't say the same thing."

"Ah, shut up," Copper finally said.

Nakunta gave him the crepes, and took the cotton candy for himself, as they walked away from the stall.

Copper greedily bit into a crepe as he noticed how the chocolate flooded his mouth, he licked his lips to make sure nothing was left out.

"Oh God" moaned Copper "this is scrumptious."

He noticed how Nakunta looked at him intently as if he was in a trance.

"What?" said Copper somewhat intimidated by his stare.

Nakunta returned to normal and looked at him mockingly.

"That will make you fat, you're going to have to go back to the gym," Nakunta said.

"Well, 2J told me to go whenever I want, so you'll be seeing me around a lot, to your disgrace" Copper said smugly.

"Relax, getting your ass kicked is never a disgrace, but don't worry, the face will remain intact so you can keep making googly eyes at your precious Bible."

Copper smiled at the provocation.

"You’re so thoughtful. I'll be careful too so that you at least keep your teeth when you go to see your dear love" Copper replied.

Nakunta was taken aback at those words.

"What are you talking about, fanboy?"

Copper smiled; this was his chance.

"Well, as you know, I've been having lunch with your great friend 2J and he confirmed what I already imagined. Our dear jerk is completely smitten."

At his surprise, Nakunta turned pale.

"What else has he told you?"

"Absolutely EVERYTHING. That this person is incredibly smart, attractive, good and that every time you see them, you feel like your whole world is spinning."

Of course he was lying. 2J hadn't told him anything at all except that Nakunta was attracted to smart people, the rest was completely made up.

Nakunta seemed to struggle with himself.

"Well, yeah so what? They are all that and more, any problem?" said Nakunta restrained.

Copper's eyes widened in surprise at that statement.

"Does he really like that person that much?" thought Copper.

"None at all, and as for their name..." began Copper.

Copper stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Nakunta's face. He was completely tense, serious and even looked somewhat distressed. He had never seen him in that state before and seeing him like that, he felt a twinge of guilt.

"I have no right to make him confess" thought Copper.

"I'm sorry" said Copper truly sorry.

"What?" managed to say Nakunta.

"I was teasing you, 2J didn't tell me anything."

"Nothing?" asked Nakunta unsure.

Copper nodded.

"Nothing, just that there was someone who caught your eye. Promise."

His companion seemed to relax at those words.

"Nakunta, I'm sorry. I'm so used to you teasing me that I thought in some payback, but I've gone too far" Copper explained.

Nakunta's face changed from a serious one to a mocking one as he snorted.

"For God's sake, don't make that face, fanboy, it gives the impression that you're going to collapse right now".

"Asshole" Copper replied smiling.

"Anyway, to make it up to me, you have to accompany me to participate in some games. I'm not leaving here, empty handed."

"You know most of the prizes are bullshit, right?"

"I'm sure there's something decent and if you behave yourself, maybe I'll give you something" said Nakunta.

"What an honor" replied Copper sarcastically.

Copper and Nakunta set off towards the booths where the games were.

"Hey, fanboy" said Nakunta suddenly.

"Huh?"

"You're a good guy" Nakunta told him.

Nakunta walked forward and Copper followed him, completely mute.

There were a multitude of games to choose: catching fishes, ring shot, paint your own mug, shotgun pellet shooting.

"Where do we go first?" said Copper.

"We could catch a fish."

Copper shook his head.

"Go if you want, if I bring a fish home, Namo will kill it and will wreck our apartment."

"Right. Mafia would do the same" Nakunta nodded.

"Who is Mafia?"

"My cat."

"Do you have a cat?"

"Yes, the best in the world."

Copper burst out laughing.

"You called him Mafia"

Nakunta bragged.

"Of course I did. He's a tough, cool cat, just like his owner."

Copper laughed again.

"Alright tough guy, what about painting mugs? I'll paint yours and you paint mine" Copper proposed.

Nakunta's face lit up.

"Finally the occasion I've been waiting for, I'll show you no mercy, fanboy."

"Same here, jerk."

They made their way to the mug stand and after paying for the mugs and acrylic paint, made their way to a table in the establishment to begin their task.

They both sat across from each other with their mugs.

"Remember jerk, I paint yours and you paint mine" said Copper.

"It's been a long time since I've drawn anything but stupid blueprints, at last I'll be able to express my art to its fullest" said Nakunta pompously.

"What are you going to paint?" asked Copper.

"It's a surprise fanboy, you're going to love your new mug. When I was little, I had an innate ability to draw dicks, I hope I haven't lost my touch."

"WHAT?" yelled Copper indignantly.

"What are you yelling for? I'm not deaf" said Nakunta covering his ears.

"You can't draw that on my mug."

"Fanboy, I see you have a lot of resentment towards penises and that leads me to a painful conclusion."

"What are you talking about, what resentment?" asked Copper confused.

"Well, you're a nerd so obviously you don't lack brains, but maybe you've been deprived in other areas" said Nakunta feigning sadness.

Copper finally understood what he meant.

"You..." said Copper controlling himself so as not to blurt out any insults "just know that I have nothing to be ashamed of, and no one has complained so far."

"Really? Sounds like an excuse, I think I'd need graphic proof to believe you."

"I'd rather not embarrass you, like I say it's a PERFECT shape and size" Copper said proudly.

"Well, that's ok, we'll have time for you to show it to me" said Nakunta.

"Never. Now please can we please paint the mug?" said Copper settling the issue.

"Okay, okay. Whatever you say" conceded Nakunta.

Copper turned his gaze to his mug and ignored a chuckle from Nakunta.

He really couldn't think of what to paint. Part of him was tempted to draw a giant penis and tell Nakunta: "Now you have something to drink from every morning," but knowing his classmate's personality, he would surely burst out laughing.

He had to think what he wanted to express in that mug. It was for Nakunta, so he had to ask himself whether he should draw something that represented Copper or the owner of the mug himself. He finally decided to draw something related to his own perception of Nakunta. 

He looked out of the corner of his eye to see if his companion had started painting and to his surprise, he had a look of absolute concentration as he looked at the mug.

"Since he's clowning around all day, sometimes I forget how smart he is" Copper thought.

He thought about Nakunta and what could define him best. Unfortunately, he didn't know him too well because of all their fights and it had only been a few weeks ago when their relationship had started to improve.

The first thing he thought of, was his optimistic smile and it gave him an idea of what to paint. The emoji of the face winking and sticking out its tongue. 😜

Despite being a game, Copper wanted his drawings to look as good as possible, it was not the same to paint plans on a sheet of paper where he could use instruments than on a mug where his space was limited.

After about 5 minutes he managed to make the emoji, it was not perfect, but it was perfectly distinguishable, in fact, those small imperfections made it look more adorable. He smiled proudly to himself.

He glanced sideways at Nakunta again and saw that he was smiling as he painted his mug.

"He looks happy, I hope it's not because he's drawing a penis" Copper thought.

Well, now he had to think about what he would draw next. He thought of something else that could represent his classmate and remembered the pictures he often saw on social media and what he had seen that morning at the gym.

Nakunta shirtless working out. Obviously, he wasn't going to paint a naked man on a mug and of course, he wasn't about to feed that guy's ego, so he decided to paint a boxing glove.  He took the red paint and painted the glove as best he could. It really didn't look bad either.

Almost all the mug was already painted but there was still a blank space left and he had to decide what to paint. He had painted the tongue emoji that represented Nakunta's confident character, the gloves that represented his love for sports and now he had to think of one more aspect of Nakunta's personality.

"Fanboy, I'm done," Nakunta told him, interrupting his thoughts.

"So soon? How did you come up with what to draw so quickly?" said Copper in surprise.

"I didn't have to think of anything. It was clear to me from the beginning."

Copper narrowed his eyes.

"You've drawn cocks, haven't you?"

Nakuna laughed.

"Maybe, I'll show you when the paint dries."

"Wait for me then, I'll be right out."

Nakunta left without showing him his mug and Copper went back to work.

He had one more drawing left. At first, he thought of drawing a troll face, knowing his companion’s hobby for teasing him, but he wasn't convinced. He wanted it to express something deeper about his personality.

"Why am I taking this so seriously? Surely he's drawn bullshit" Copper thought.

Suddenly Copper thought of the karaoke night and the concern Nakunta had shown for him: "Much better this way, fanboy. Insulting and laughing like you always do" he had told him.

Then there was what 2J had told him that same morning: "I know he can be irritating at times, but when you really get to know him, I assure you he's very worth it. If you have him on your side, he will never betray you."

Smiling, he knew what he had to do.

Moments later and completely satisfied, he handed his mug to the stall keeper who told him to come back in a couple of hours, when the paint had dried.

He ran into Nakunta who was waiting for him.

"About time, were you painting a mug or a new Da Vinci painting?" asked Nakunta sarcastically.

"There are so many ways to insult you, I couldn't decide which one to paint" Copper replied in the same tone.

Nakunta snorted.

"I've chosen the mug thing. Where do you feel like going now?" asked Copper.

"I feel like trying the shotgun. Maybe we'll take some prizes," said Nakunta.

"I don't know if hanging out with you and having a shotgun nearby will be a good idea. I might be tempted," Copper joked.

Nakunta stuck his tongue out at him.

The stall was quite full so they had to wait a while. The mechanics were pretty easy. You had a pellet gun and in front of you, a wall with prizes, from key chains to stuffed toys. Each prize had a wooden stick on top of it. If you shot and broke the stick you got the prize.

"Are you sure you want to come here? It looks like it's a real scam," said Copper.

"It probably is, but it's very fun. Let's play at least once," said Nakunta.

Finally, it was their turn.

"Well, fanboy, you do the honors and start."

"But it was you who was eager to come."

"I want to see you shoot."

"I think you just want to laugh at me," Copper said suspiciously.

"Shut your mouth and start."

Copper picked up the shotgun, the truth was that, that thing was too heavy and he had never fired a gun before. They had been told they had 5 rounds per set so he shouldn't waste his chances.

He looked at the wall to see what prizes there were. Among key chains, chewing gum and similar junk, he noticed that there were adorable stuffed toys. One of Mulan especially caught his eye. He would love to have it on top of his bed and even cuddle it while he slept.

"Fanboy, are you going to shoot or not?" Nakunta interrupted him.

"Yes. I’ll do it"

He took aim with the shotgun and tried to focus his sights on the target, all right, now he just pull the trigger and....

PAM!

Copper clicked his tongue when he saw he had missed.

He took aim again, this time a little higher.

PAM!

Another miss, this certainly wasn't his strong suit.

The next 3 shots got the same result.

Defeated, he lowered the gun and handed it to Nakunta.

"What a disappointment fanboy, I expected quite a bit more from the power and aim of your gun" Nakunta told him with derision.

Copper gritted his teeth understanding the double meaning of the sentence.

"Let's see how your gun works" Copper told him grudgingly.

"My pleasure" said Nakunta smiling.

Nakunta picked up the shotgun and noticed that he was positioned differently than he had.

PAM!

Nakunta missed. Copper was about to make a hurtful comment, but he restrained himself. It wasn't right to be a sore loser, in addition Nakunta still had 4 more attempts.

Nakunta fired 3 more shots and missed, although Copper had to admit that he had gotten very close to the target.

Nakunta repositioned himself and this time Copper looked at his face. Absolute concentration, he closed one eye to focus on the target, firmly gripped the gun and....

PAM!

The stick holding the Mulan stuffed toy broke in half and the stuffed toy fell.

Some people around him applauded and Copper saw himself doing it too, it had been amazing.

The attendant looked at Nakunta with a scowl as he handed him the stuffed toy and Copper looked at him enviously, he had wanted that stuffed toy.

"You see fanboy, my gun is always ready."

"Give me that gun, I'm going to try again" said Copper.

"You're sore" laughed Nakunta.

Copper tried again and finally won a lighter. He smiled politely at the attendant as he handed it to him and held back from throwing it at Nakunta, who was laughing to tears at him.

"I've almost got it, I'll try again," Copper said.

"Okay, stop it, fanboy."

"I don't want to, I have to take something useful."

"Copper, STOP NOW."

Copper was surprised when Nakunta used his name to address him.

Nakunta realized he had raised his tone of voice and calmed down.

"There are people waiting to play and I must remind you that you are a college student and your income is limited enough to spend it here."

Copper realized that indeed Nakunta was right, he had been carried away by a stupid game and his pride.

Nakunta put an arm in his shoulder.

"Let's clear our heads for a bit so you can calm down and then you can try again, is that okay with you?"

Copper nodded and followed him.

"Sorry jerk, I acted like a brat."

Nakunta laughed.

"It's great to see you look human once in a while" Nakunta said ruffling his hair.

"Shut the fuck up" Copper said pulling away.

"Okay fanboy, now breathe out and breathe in a couple of times, I still don't see you completely calm."

Copper closed his eyes and did as he told him and remembered his own words when he was doing ASMR.

"Breathe in and count to 10. 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 and then breathe out" Copper thought adjusting his breathing.

After doing this 3 times he felt much better and opened his eyes, meeting Nakunta's big brown eyes looking at him sympathetically.

"He has beautiful eyes" thought Copper.

"Better?" asked his companion.

"A lot" replied Copper coming back to himself and averting his gaze.

"Well, you want to hear my big tips on how to handle a gun?" said Nakunta.

"Dude, stop it" said Copper.

"And I was going to tell you the trick to taking a stuffed toy, but well, you're right, better leave it" said Nakunta with a plaintive tone.

"Is there a trick?" asked Copper in surprise.

Nakunta laughed once again.

"It's amazing that you're so naive. Well of course there is fanboy, as you told before, it's a scam."

"I like his laugh more and more" Copper thought unconsciously.

"If it's a scam how did you win?" asked Copper.

"Well, they can't make it completely impossible or people would stop playing and they would lose money and as for why I won" Nakunta struck a proud pose, "I'm a natural."

"Someone taught you, didn't they?" asked Copper.

"Of course not. Besides, that's not important" replied Nakunta.

"Someone taught him" stated Copper in his thoughts.

"Well, listen to all the rigging they do, so you can see how innocent you are. What do you think about the weight of the gun?"

"It's very heavy" Copper acknowledged.

"It's no coincidence, if you notice the stuffed toys are placed on top while the key rings and lighters are underneath. Why do you think it is?"

"Because when I have to lift the gun to aim at the stuffed toy, I'll be aware of its weight and I’ll aim worse."

"Give that man a prize, did you notice anything when you were aiming and shooting?" asked Nakunta again.

"Yes, that if I hit that lighter it was a fluke. The bullets didn't go where I wanted them to," Copper replied.

"And that's because the shotgun is deflected" replied Nakunta.

"What do you mean, deflected?" asked Copper.

"No matter how well you aim at the target it will always go to one of the sides, in the case of this shotgun to the left. That's why I couldn't hit it until the fourth shot."

"You didn't hit the fourth, you hit the fifth."

Nakunta smirked.

"And that's the last cheat, my dear fanboy. I didn't hit the little stick on the last shot, I hit it on the fourth as well."

"What?" asked Copper with confusion.

"I don't know if it's because the bullets are too weak or the sticks are reinforced, but it took two shots to break them."

Copper couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"You figured all that out in only 5 minutes you've been in that stall?" asked Copper.

"Indeed," he said proudly.

"I thought about it while I was painting the mug, but you are definitely more observant and intelligent than you look" said Copper.

Nakunta's eyes widened in surprise.

"Is that a compliment, are you okay fanboy?"

Copper snorted.

"An appreciation, don't get used to it."

"Oh fanboy, I can see it. You're liking me more and more” Nakunta pointed out smiling.

Copper preferred to change the subject.

"We should report these scammers, I bet they can be caught somewhere."

"I doubt it, it's done all over the world and in the end, it's not like it's impossible to win, as you can see."

"That’s bullshit."

"You talk just like Barcode when he gets mad about something."

"Your friend, the music student?"

"Yes, his father is a lawyer and probably knows more about law than any law student."

"Introduce him to me, if I become friends with him, I can probably sue YOU for something."

"Of course. Of stealing your heart," said Nakunta touching his heart.

Copper let out a laugh and as he did so, he noticed a pain in his stomach.

"Aaah" hissed Copper.

"Are you okay?" asked Nakuta worriedly.

"I am" said Copper playing it down “What do we do now?"

"I've told you before, haven't I? You're going to try again and win that stuffed toy."

"I'm not going back now that I know it's all a trick."

"Fanboy, the best way to teach a con man a lesson is beating him at his own game and that's what you're going to do."

"How?"

Nakunta pointed a finger at himself.

"With the best teacher, who will teach you how to shoot."

"Are you going to teach me in five minutes how to shoot or what?" asked Copper with derision.

Nakunta nodded.

"Once you know how it works, it's not that hard, come on, let's get to work."

Nakunta stepped behind Copper.

"What are you doing?" asked Copper startled.

Nakunta rolled his eyes.

"I have to teach you the position and how to do it, and for that, I need you to relax."

"Okay."

"All right, first, get your back straight."

Nakunta grabbed his shoulders and made him stand completely straight, his head and Copper's head were mere millimeters apart and Copper swallowed nervously.

"We don't have a shotgun here, but I'll tell you how to hold it and how to position your arms."

"First" said Nakunta taking his right hand "right hand to the trigger while the left hand has to go to the barrel." Nakunta proceeded to take his left hand and placed it where the barrel should be, "and the most important thing is to rest the butt against your shoulder, that way you keep the shotgun from moving."

Copper visualized the gun in his hands.

"I think I've got it, but why do you have to position the arms this specific way?"

"You put the butt against your shoulder so the shotgun doesn't move and something similar when you hold the barrel with your left hand."

"Now the second step and it's just as important as the first: Breathing."

Nakunta placed his head next to Copper's and whispered in his ear:

"It is key that you coordinate the breathing with the movement and first and foremost being veeeeeery relaxed."

Copper felt a shiver as he felt Nakunta's breathing in his ear.

"Okay fanboy, try it now, just like when you do it on your ASMR channel. Breathe in and out."

Copper spun around like a spring.

"How do you know I have an ASMR channel?"

"Us told me, and now, look to the front fanboy, this is important."

"Ah, okay."

"Close your eyes and count with me to 10 while imagining you have the shotgun in your hands."

Nakunta brought his face even closer to his and began to count.

"1,2,3,4,5..."

Nakunta's soft voice next to him made him calm down. Certainly, the jerk would be good with ASMR.

"6,7,8,8,9,10, now open your eyes."

Copper obeyed.

"I think you've got it, but remember it's not the same with the real shotgun, remember the important thing is to distribute the weight between your shoulder and your left hand so your aim doesn't deflect" Nakunta reminded him.

"I think I've got it, Mr. Professor, anything else?"

"Yes, remember that the shotgun is slightly deflected to the left, so aim a little more to the right to compensate. Watch carefully where each shot hit and from there, correct the trajectory. Remember not to get nervous and that you will probably need to hit the target twice".

Copper stood still.

"Something wrong, fanboy?"

Copper shifted his feet uncomfortably.

"What if I still don't get the stuffed toy?" asked Copper unsure.

"Fanboy, it's just a fucking stuffed toy and a fucking game, not the final exams.

"That's right" said Copper to himself.

"And if you fail, we'll call Barcode and have his father throw them all in jail" joked Nakunta.

Copper laughed, much more relaxed until he remembered something.

"Wait a minute, if everything is rigged, why did you talk about the power and aim of my gun?" asked Copper indignantly.

Nakunta let out a laugh.

"It seems unbelievable that in these two years you still don't know that my favourite time of the day is watching you rage. You're like my cat when I take his toys away and he starts growling and scratching."

"Asshole," Copper said.

"Come on, let's win that stuffed toy." Nakunta said with a laugh.

Copper walked towards the stall once again with Nakunta at his side, and paid as the attendant handed him the shotgun with a kind smile.

"Scammer, disgusting guy" Copper thought spitefully for having been tricked.

As if Nakunta had read his mind he tapped him on the shoulder as he said with a twitch of his lips, "Focus".

The first thing Copper did was looking at which stuffed toy he would like to get and when he saw it, he knew it had to be his: it was a teddy bear with dark sunglasses and a black t-shirt with a skull on it.

"Adorable, but with a tough pose" Copper thought, "it reminds me of someone next to me".

Copper took the gun the way Nakunta had taught him moments before and found he had much better control of the weapon than before. His shoulder and left arm balanced the weight so moving the shotgun was lot easier.

He aimed at the stick holding the teddy bear and began to control his breathing to coordinate it with the heavy weapon in his arms.

Before shooting, he remembered Nakunta's words, “Remember that the shotgun is slightly deflected to the left, so aim a little more to the right to compensate”.

He moved the shotgun slightly to the right and....

PAM!

He missed, but remembered what Nakunta told him and looked where the first shoot had hit. A little above the target and a little to the right so he corrected the trajectory of the shotgun slightly....

PAM!

He missed again but this time he was almost a millimeter away from his target so he moved the shotgun just a little bit.

PAM!

This time he didn't miss and the bullet hit the stick, but the stick didn't break.

He heard Nakunta's exclamation next to him, but didn't turn to look at him. It was a relief that he had warned him of what might happen because otherwise he would have lost all his concentration.

PAM!

Again, he hit the stick but once again, it didn't break.

"This is unbelievable" thought Copper indignantly, but still he didn't lose his concentration, the stick had been hit twice and, in all likelihood, would be about to break.

PAM!

Copper felt the thrill run through his body as he finally saw the stick break and the stuffed toy fell.

He heard the shouts and applauses next to him and turned to see Nakunta all smiles as he flashed him the thumbs up.

Copper became engrossed watching him and felt his face redden.

"He's really happy for me" Copper thought and immediately made sure to record the image before him in his head.

He turned to look at the attendant (who was no longer smiling at him) as he handed him the shotgun.

"Thank you very much sir" Copper said smiling broadly at him as he took his teddy bear.

With the teddy bear in his hand, he walked over to Nakunta and completely excited, hugged him while he kissed him on the forehead.

"I did it, jerk, I did it!" he shouted excitedly.

Nakunta froze at Copper's show of affection.

"Is something wrong, jerk? You're flushed. Are you all right?"

Copper looked around and saw people looking at them, even he heard an "ooohhh" and realized what he had just done.

Copper broke away completely embarrassed.

"Sorry, it's the excitement" Copper said wanting to hide under a rock.

To his luck Nakunta recovered from the shock and hugged him too.

"Look at my perfect student, it seems like half an hour ago when he was only winning lighters and look at him now, with his stuffed toy" said Nakunta pretending to wipe away a tear.

Copper chuckled and felt the twinge in his stomach again.

Copper clutched his aching stomach and Nakunta grabbed his hand.

"Let's get out of here, it's too crowded and I think the manager wants to kill us for taking two stuffed toys from him."

Nakunta led Copper to a side of the park where no stall had been set up.

"What are we doing here, don't you want to see anything else?"

Nakunta shook his head.

"No, I'm tired and so are you."

"Well, yes, but how do you know?"

"You said it yourself before, I'm more observant than I look."

"Oh, by the way, you didn't tell me anything. What do you think of my gun now?" asked Copper with derision.

"What I already guessed fanboy. When your gun works best is with me." said Nakunta

Copper snorted.

"Well, Mr. Professor, here's your prize, for you." Copper said handing him his teddy bear.

"What are you doing fanboy?" asked Nakunta confused.

"I wouldn't have won the teddy bear if it wasn't for your advice."

"Fanboy, the teddy bear was won by you, it's yours," said Nakunta.

Copper shook his head.

"I got it especially for you, look at him. Sunglasses, cool pose. It's you" said Copper laughing.

Nakunta stared at Copper doubtfully.

"Are you really giving it to me?"

"Yes, for my favorite jerk. Put it on your bed so you'll remember me every time you sleep" said Copper mockingly.

Nakunta picked up the teddy bear and looked at it fondly as he petted it.

"Thank you, fanboy" Nakunta told him with a huge smile.

Copper felt himself blush.

"Ah well, I think It'd be better off with you" he finally replied.

"Well, it was going to be a surprise for later, but here's your present, Disney boy. Your Mulan doll." said Nakunta handing him the Mulan stuffed animal.

Copper made a serious face.

"Jerk, I didn't give you the stuffed toy to give me yours."

"I know that, as I told you, I was planning to give it to you at the end of the night. I noticed how you were looking at it in the stall."

"Jerk, stop being SO observant."

Nakunta smiled.

"I'm only like that with you, fanboy. Here's the doll and it will match your precious pajamas" Nakunta said handing him the Mulan doll.

When Copper took the stuffed toy and saw Nakunta's eyes sparkle, he felt something warm in his chest.

"And speaking of pajamas" said Nakunta, "check out my new wallpaper."

Nakunta showed his cell phone and there was the picture from a few hours ago, Copper scratching his eyes on the bed in his Disney pajamas.

"Dude, what are you doing?" said Copper completely flushed.

"Showing you my new wallpaper" said Nakunta as if it was a no-brainer.

"Delete that picture."

"No way, it's the best wallpaper I've ever had" Nakunta refused.

"Why do you want to have a picture of me?" asked Copper.

"That's my business" settled Nakunta.

"At least tell me you're not going to share it or upload it to social media."

"Of course I won't. Like I said it's M-I-N-E" emphasized Nakunta.

"You are so weird" said Copper.

"Not at all, now lift up your shirt" ordered Nakunta.

"What?" said Copper without understanding.

"I want to see your stomach"

“Why?” Copper said defensively.

"Because I've already seen you touched it 2 times in pain, now show it to me."

Copper reluctantly lifted up his shirt for Nakunta to look at.

Nakunta snorted angrily.

"That blockhead. He shouldn't have hit you so hard."

"It wasn't that hard," Copper excused himself.

"He shouldn't have hit you, period."

"Jerk, it was me who hit him first."

"Shut up, he's my friend and I can offend him all you want, don't defend him."

Copper laughed.

"Did you bring the ointment?" asked Nakunta.

Copper nodded, taking the bottle out of his pocket.

"Perfect, let's go sit by that tree."

Nakunta sat down and leaned his back against the tree.

"Alright, put your head in my lap."

"What? No way" Copper said.

"Fanboy, to my misfortune I've had to heal myself several times from the blows of that blockhead. Now put your head in my lap and give me the ointment, I'll heal you" Nakunta sentenced.

Copper listened to him and put his head in his lap. He felt a little nervous about seeing himself in that situation, but he knew Nakunta wouldn't do anything wrong.

"Okay, now give me the ointment and pull up your shirt."

Copper obeyed without a word.

Nakunta applied some of the ointment to his hands.

"It will be a little cold at first and may bother you, but you'll soon get used to it.

Immediately, he felt on his bare skin his companion's fingers and felt a shiver.

"I'm going to massage the area so that the skin absorbs the ointment" Nakunta informed him.

Copper felt how Nakunta made circular motions with his fingers on his stomach and noticed how his body relaxed at the gentle caresses.

Copper gave a long yawn and Nakunta laughed.

"Looks like you're more tired than I thought" Nakunta expressed.

"Yes, since this morning and even after napping, I feel exhausted, I don't know why."

"I do. You have fought with 2J for the first time. Probably your exhaustion is due not only to the fight itself, but also from trying to guess his moves" Nakunta explained to him.

"You seem to know what you're talking about" Copper said.

"The first time I fought him, I was almost a whole day without moving."

They fell silence for a while as Nakunta continued to massage his stomach.

"Why don't you sleep for a while?" asked Nakunta.

“How can I sleep here in the middle of the street?"

"Nothing will happen, I'll keep an eye out for anyone approaching."

"It's not proper," said Copper stubbornly.

"Fanboy, while we were on our way here, I saw two drunks puking and two other men making out, they're probably exchanging fluids now. I assure you that if you fall asleep for a while, it won't come as a surprise."

"What about our friends? They're probably waiting for us" Copper continued to argue.

"They're probably still entertained. If they need us, they'll send us a message, now relax for once."

Thereupon, Nakunta placed his fingers on Copper's head and began massaging his hair.

"What...?" began Copper.

"It's to help you relax, don't worry" Nakunta replied.

Certainly, Nakunta was right because when he noticed his gentle fingers on his head, he felt his body relax even more, Copper closed his eyes.

"Hey fanboy" Nakunta said suddenly.

"Yeah?"

“May I ask why you like Disney so much?"

"You'll think it's bullshit, but probably it’s because I love happy endings. Real life is shit, so I like to think that no matter what crap you have in life, we're all in for a happy ending in the end" Copper explained.

"Is Mulan your favorite princess?" continued Nakunta.

"I've never thought about which one is my favorite, but I certainly like Mulan quite a bit."

"You have certain similarities" said Nakunta.

Copper laughed.

"What are you talking about? We have nothing to do with each other except for the fact that we are both Asian" Copper laughed.

"No kidding, I really see the resemblance" insisted Nakunta.

"If your next sentence is that we are both princesses, I will break your neck" threatened Copper.

This time it was Nakunta who laughed.

"Think about it, Mulan sacrificed everything for her family and her country, even at the risk of losing everything."

"And how is her story similar to mine?" asked Copper.

"I know you would give your life for Mio and Bump. You even risked your safety for me this morning, when you don't even like me."

Copper was taken aback by Nakunta's comment, especially the last part.

Copper thought about his relationship with his classmate. If that statement had been made 2 months ago, he would have agreed with him, but the karaoke night had changed everything. Since then, everything he thought he knew about Nakunta had fallen apart and this night had been more charming than ever.

Copper finally laughed.

"You jerk, do you really think if I didn't have some sympathy for you, I would have allowed you to be stroking my hair, given you a stuffed toy or been with you all night? And here I thought you were reasonably intelligent!" said Copper mockingly.

He heard Nakunta's surprised exclamation.

"So, do you like me?" asked Nakunta and Copper seemed to detect a certain enthusiasm in his voice.

"Let's just say we're getting to know each other and I don't dislike what I'm seeing."

"You'll see fanboy, you'll soon fall for my charms" he said recovering his arrogant tone.

Copper laughed once more.

They fell another moment in silence as Copper felt Nakunta's fingers moving through his hair.

"Anyway, there's a big difference between Mulan and me, I don't have a prince charming" Copper said finally.

"A prince who studies engineering and belongs to the student council?" asked Nakunta with an amused tone.

"That wouldn't be bad" said Copper following the joke.

"At the risk of pissing you off, do you want my opinion on prince charming?"

"Go ahead" asked Copper curious.

"I think there are many ways to be happy and that many times we get so blinded by prince charming that we miss out on who we have around us and it is in the end, who suits us best. Look at Mulan for example, she's the only one who didn't marry a prince."

"That sounded incredibly clever. Besides being observant, now it turns out you're also a deep person? 

"I'm full of surprises fanboy," said Nakunta laughing, "but seriously, think about what I've told you."

"I'll keep that in mind. By the way, speaking of princesses, tell me about yours."

"Do you want me to tell you about my favorite Disney princess?"

"No, about that princess 2J talked about and the one you like so much."

"Princess?" asked Nakunta.

"Yes, that amazing perfect and wonderful woman you're interested in."

Nakunta let out a laugh, which surprised Copper.

"What, it's not funny."

"Yes, it is and I'm not telling you who it is, fanboy."

"Are you two together?" asked Copper.

"Why are you so interested in my love life?" asked Nakunta laughing.

"Well, you know mine. It's only fair that I know yours" Copper justified himself.

"No, we're not together" said Nakunta finally.

"Do you have a chance?"

Nakunta thought about it for a while.

"A while ago I would have told you no, but lately, there are times when I think I notice something in their eyes, though it may be my imagination."

"Is she that impressive?" asked Copper again.

"They are" nodded Nakunta "that person is intelligent, mature and responsible, although they have a childish side.

Copper was surprised by the dreamy and passionate tone Nakunta used to describe this woman.

Copper yawned.

"Now stop talking fanboy and get some sleep. I'll wake you up when we have to get the mugs."

"What are you going to do in the meantime?"

"I'm going to be engrossed in watching your beautiful, ethereal face," Nakunta said mockingly.

Copper was going to answer him, but realized he didn't have the strength at all. He let himself be carried away by Nakunta's caresses on his head and soon fell asleep.

He noticed someone lightly moved his shoulders and whispered something to him.

"Uuuuuuuhhhmmmm" Copper said half asleep.

"Fanboy, wake up" he heard someone whisper to him.

"Uuuuuuummm."

"Fanboy, come on, up" the same voice told him gently.

Copper sat up still somewhat disoriented.

"How long did I sleep?" he finally asked.

"An hour and a half" he heard Nakunta's voice behind him.

"What? Why didn't you wake me up earlier?" said Copper turning to look at him.

"Because you were completely exhausted, you needed to rest" explained Nakunta.

"Really? Thank you" said Copper getting a little flushed.

"You're welcome fanboy, as I told you I've been enjoying your perfect face" replied his partner.

Copper stuck his tongue out at him.

"It's been long enough, we need to go get our mugs" said Nakunta.

"Right, they must have dried by now" said Copper.

When they arrived at the stall, the attendant handed them their, already, dried mugs.

"Well, who explains their mug first?" asked Copper.

"Explain? Fanboy don't tell me you painted a mug that needs explaining" Nakunta told him smiling.

Copper reddened hearing his classmate.

Copper felt stupid. The mugs were just a game, not a project to hand in at the university. He had overdone it.

"You're right, jerk, it's stupid. Let's get the others and go home," Copper said.

"What? No, wait," Nakunta interrupted him.

"Why? It's the truth, it's just a stupid mug. Not a doctoral thesis."

"I was pulling your leg. I've done drawings that symbolize things too, so calm down and explain your mug."

"Really?" asked Copper impressed that they had both had the same idea.

Nakunta nodded and pressed him to show his mug.

Copper picked up his mug and examined it. It was completely dry and truth be told, it had not been bad.

"My first drawing is the emoji of the winking face with the tongue out. I think it reflects well your confident and energetic personality. I've seen sometimes how you pose like that in pictures and you convey positivity."

"My second drawing is a boxing glove. I think it's clear why. Not only did I see it this morning, but I already knew it from the pictures you post on social media and from the videos Bump and Mio have told me about, in which you talk about sports. This glove symbolizes your consistency, effort and hard work."

"And lastly," Copper breathed, nervous about what he was about to reveal, "I have painted the Lys flower, which symbolizes loyalty."

Copper nervously watched the reaction of his companion, who was looking at him very carefully and without uttering a sound, in fact, it looked like his eyes were drilling into him.  

"Even though we still don't know each other that well, I think it's very much related to your personality. I could see it weeks ago at karaoke when you fussed over me when I drank that infernal concoction and just today when you helped me to win a stuffed toy when you had no reason to. I get the impression that even though you like to tease everyone, especially me, in the end you want the people around you to feel good, especially the people you feel close to" Copper finished.

He expected to hear laughter or even some teasing, but it didn't come.

"Well? Say something" he said to Nakunta who continued to stare at him.

Nakunta was still in a trance.

"Well, here's your mug, jerk."

Copper handed the mug to Nakunta, who looked at it and stroked it with a smile as he looked at the drawings.

"Thanks fanboy, I love it. I think it will be the mug I use for all my breakfasts from now on."

Copper felt the pride inside him.

"Now it's your turn. I'm warning you, if I see a penis drawn on my mug, I'll break it over your head," Copper warned him.

Nakunta laughed at the threat.

"Well, just like you I drew an emoji in the first place, it was the nerd emoji." 🤓

Copper frowned and Nakunta smiled seeing his face.

"I wanted to draw this emoji" continued Nakunta "because it represents your bookish and intellectual side as well as your perfectionism when it comes to doing things. You won't stop until something is the way you want it to be."

"My second drawing is the face of our beloved and famous Mickey Mouse. I got the idea when I saw the picture of your pajamas and along with the conversation we had just now, I think I made the right choice. I think it represents your dreamy and more childish side in opposition of your logic and perfectionism. As you told me before, you believe in justice and happy endings."

"And last and not least, I've drawn a heart" and this time Nakunta blushed a little, "I think it's probably what defines you best, your insatiable quest in love, in which you also seek perfection. I don't know if you'll ever find that perfection, but I'm sure one day, you'll give all your love to one lucky guy."

Copper's heart was beating wildly after that revelation. He certainly hadn't expected those words and yet, they had defined him perfectly.

"Here's your mug, fanboy."

Copper took the mug with trembling hands and looked at it. Maybe the drawings weren't perfect, but after hearing those words, he knew he would treasure it. He noticed that his eyes were sparkling.

When he looked up and looked back at Nakunta, he was looking at him with a beautiful smile.

"It's perfect, thank you so much," Copper said sincerely.

"You're welcome, just know that I will talk to Mio every day to make sure you use this mug for everything" Nakunta warned him.

Copper laughed.

"You are definitely the winner of the night" stated Copper.

"What?" asked Nakunta in confusion.

"Remember when you told me I won at karaoke? Well, today, you win."

They both stared at each other for a while, until Nakunta looked away.

"Let's go to the entrance. Us sent me a message and they're waiting for us there."

They went to the entrance and there Mio, Bump and Us were waiting for them with several bags in their arms.

"I see you guys had a great time too," said Bump when he saw them with the stuffed toys and mugs.

"We had to do something after you guys, DROPPED us" said Copper.

"Bah, don't complain, I’m sure you didn't miss us, besides, we bought you some stuff" said Mio.

"Copper we got you a couple of books that you will love and I got you a copy of this old car videogame. Next week we'll play it online" interrupted Us.

"Great, I hope I beat you this time, I'm sick of biting the dust when I play with you" said Copper.

"Don't count on it, little guy" Us replied.

"I think it's about time we all go home; I don't think I can look at one more book" said Mio.

"Next time, tell me how soft the stuffed toy is, fanboy" Nakunta said winking at him.

"Same to you, jerk" Copper replied smiling at him.

They said goodbye to Nakunta and Us, and left for home.

"How was your night?" asked Bump as they walked home.

"Incredibly good" replied Copper.

"Come on, tell us," said Mio.

Copper told them everything from the mugs to how Nakunta had taught him to shoot to win the stuffed toy.

"I told you weeks ago, remember? You'll end up being friends," Mio told him.

This time, Copper didn't feel bad hearing those words.

Chapter Text

Riiiing Riiinggg

Copper stirred in annoyance in his bed as the piercing sound of the alarm woke him up.

“Ummmm no, not yet” he groaned in annoyance.

Of course, the cell phone gave him no respite and the alarm continued to ring until Copper reluctantly turned it off. He watched as the cell phone pointed to the time in bright letters: 7:00 AM.

“Stupid college” he grumbled in annoyance as he got out of bed.

He hated those days with a passion. He had only one class at 8 AM and the rest of the day he was free, which in a way helped him study for the exams he had in a month's time, but it was still frustrating to have to get up early for only one hour of school.

He looked at the Mulan-shaped stuffed animal he had cuddled all night and smiled, he had had that stuffed animal for two weeks now and it had become indispensable in his bedroom.

As he brewed his coffee, he looked at the mug, which had become his favourite. It wasn't the prettiest mug in the world: it had an emoji, Mickey Mouse and a heart drawn on it. When he saw the last image, he remembered the words of the person who had given it to him: “I think it's probably what defines you best, your insatiable quest in love, in which you also seek perfection. I don't know if you'll ever find that perfection, but I'm sure one day you'll give all your love to one lucky guy.”

Copper smiled unconsciously thinking about that moment as he left his house to go to college.

As he entered his college, he felt an immense relief when he felt the warmth. It was not yet eight o'clock in the morning and it was freezing outside. He rubbed his hands together, trying to warm them as he made his way to class.

When he got to his class he found a message on the door: “Urban Planning and Planning class has been suspended.”

“WHAT?” shouted Copper indignantly. Now he understood why he hadn't seen any of his classmates as he made his way to class.

“I got up at 7 for nothing. You bastards, and why didn't anyone warn me?” Copper continued ranting.

In the middle of his tantrum, he felt a glance at his back. When he turned around, he noticed a boy looking at him with eyes like saucers. Copper reddened at being discovered at that moment and waved at him in embarrassment.

The boy waved back and smiled at him as he approached him.

“Is this the 2nd Engineering class?” the boy asked.

“Yes, but apparently there is no class. Something that of course I didn't know” Copper said looking back down at the note grudgingly.

The boy laughed a merry laugh.

Copper watched him, he was a good-looking boy, he had big black eyes and shiny black hair, he was slim and gave off an aura of a lovable boy, like Fuaiz before Copper knew his true personality.

“He's a really handsome boy” thought Copper.

“Excuse me, but I'm not familiar with your face. Do you study engineering?” asked Copper curiously.

The boy shook his head.

“No, my friend studies here and I was meeting him. It seems that just like you, I was not informed that the class had been suspended.”

“What do you study then?” asked Copper.

“Music, the best career in the world” said the boy proudly.

“Great, I have two friends who study music. Their names are Mio and Bump. I don't know if you will know them” said Copper.

The boy smiled.

“Boy, I do know them, Mio is a real walking disaster and Bump has an awesome voice” the boy replied.

Copper thought about the description the boy had given of his friends and had to agree with him.

“Mio and Bump don't have class early morning, so they're probably at their faculty cafeteria. I was thinking of meeting them, do you want to come too?” proposed Copper.

“Sure, I'll write my friend to meet us there, thanks Copper” said the boy.

Copper looked at him in surprise.

“You called me Copper?”

The boy looked at him quizzically.

“Well, yes. Isn't that your name?” the boy asked.

“It is, but I don't remember telling you” he said with some suspicion.

“Ah, that” laughed the boy ”I knew you before, although we had never met. My friend told me about you and even sent me a video of you at karaoke”.

“Oh, no” said Copper fearfully ‘look, about that song, I was really drunk and Fuaiz made me drink that death cocktail’.

The boy gave him a puzzled look.

“What are you talking about? It was an amazing version of “Fly me to the moon”” the boy told him.

“Oh, you mean that song” Copper said relieved.

“Sure, my friend sent me the video all excited and let me tell you something, Copper. If you ever get bored of Engineering, move into music, I see talent” the boy told him.

“I'll keep that in mind. By the way, you know my name, but I don't know yours” Copper replied.

“I’m Barcode.”

Of course he had heard of him, Mio and Bump had said he was a real genius, 2J had said something similar and Nakunta had also told Copper about him.

“Wait a minute” Copper thought ”if he has a friend in engineering...”

“And your friend's name is...?” said Copper thinking he knew the answer.

“It's Ta, and considering he talks about you a lot, it's clear you know him” Barcode replied.

When he heard Nakunta's name he got a little nervous, he had been on his mind a lot lately, and every time he saw his mug and stuffed animal, he couldn't help but remember him.

“Copper” said Barcode snapping him out of his thoughts ‘I'll write Ta and we'll go to the coffee shop, is that okay with you?’ asked Barcode.

“Ah, yeah sure” said Copper somewhat startled and hoping Barcode hadn't noticed his reaction to Nakunta's name.

Barcode fiddled with his cell phone with a face of absolute concentration and after a couple of minutes turned smilingly to Copper.

“Well, that's it. Ta's in. The bastard had told me he didn't feel like coming until I mentioned your name. Bloody traitor,” Barcode said with a laugh.

Copper reddened at that response.

“Ah well. He loves teasing me” Copper said somewhat embarrassed.

“He loves teasing me too, but he's never been dying for coming to see me. Clearly, you're his favourite” said Barcode amused.

“Ah, shut up” said Copper even more embarrassed.

They both headed to the music faculty cafeteria where Mio, Bump and Us were waiting for them. Copper and Barcode greeted them all as they sat down at the table.

“Where's Ta?” asked Barcode when he didn't see him at the table.

“He told me he was coming over in a moment, which is odd because he told me earlier, he didn't feel like coming” replied Us.

“As soon as he heard Copper was coming, he was in” said Barcode.

“Oh, of course. Copper, he clearly can't live without you” said Us laughing.

“Ah, shut up. By the way don't you have class, Us?” changed the topic Copper.

“Yes, but as soon as I found out that Barcode and Ta were free, I decided to pass. It's a pretty easy subject anyway,” Us said nonchalantly.

Copper thought that the subject probably wasn't that easy and it was because Us was a genius, but decided not to say anything.

“Copper if you had told us you didn't have class, we could have all come together” Bump told him.

“I didn't know I didn't have class, fucking teachers, no one told me anything” Copper said again spitefully.

“Ta must have known he didn't have class, otherwise you would have found him there” reasoned Bump.

“Come to think of it, there was no one in the halls, did you see anyone Barcode?” asked Copper.

Barcode shook his head.

“Copper, your classmates are bullying you” laughed Mio.

“Shut your mouth or you're going to know what bullying is” threatened Copper.

“Well, you can ask Ta, here he comes” Bump told him.

Copper looked up and saw Ta entering the cafeteria with a confident stride. He spotted them and waved to them all as he sat down.

“Good morning Mio, Bump and of course my three favourite geeks: Brainiaic, Beethoven and my beloved Fanboy.”

“Jerk” said Copper.

“Loser” said Barcode.

“Asshole” said Us.

Mio and Bump laughed at the exchange of insults.

“The morning has just started and it's already being amusing” said Mio.

“Guys, stop” said Bump laughing.

“He started it” said Barcode, Us and Copper in unison.

“Ah, these three don't appreciate me at all Bump” said Nakunta pretending to wipe his tears.

“What's with these Brainiac and Beethoven nicknames anyway?” asked Copper.

“Ah that, this guy here” he said pointing at Us, ”he lives glued to a computer, I bet if someone x-rayed him they'd find a hard drive in him.”

“I'd rather not say what they would find, if somebody examined you” said Us.

 “And as for our dear Barcode, do I need to say that he's a real genius at music?”

“Ah, well, in that case it's a good nickname” said Copper somewhat quizzically.

“Tell him why you call me Beethoven, you bastard” said Barcode spitefully.

Nakunta smiled sardonically.

“Fanboy, what was Beethoven famous for other than his music?”.

Copper thought for a moment before coming to the obvious conclusion.

“He was deaf.”

“Exactly” said Nakunta happily “just like this guy with his musical tastes, can you believe he follows kpop groups?” asked Nakunta mockingly.

“Which one of them do you follow?” asked Copper curiously.

“NCT are the best” replied Barcode proudly.

“I like them a lot, but I prefer ATEEZ. They have awesome dances” replied Copper.

“Really? Who I like is EXO, especially Chen” joined Us.

“Oh my god, you three are the same. Bunch of freaks” said Nakunta in horror.

“Shut up, you’re jealous of them” said Copper ”Us is very fashionable and look at the cool electric blue he paints his nails with. He looks like the leader of a secret society fighting against the oppressive empire in a dystopian society and look at Barcode, he's gorgeous, he's like an enchanted prince who has to break a spell and save his country.”

His words provoked absolute silence at the table. He could feel Us, Barcode and Nakunta looking at each other and Mio and Bump looking at Copper with a strange expression.

“Leader of a secret society?” asked Us dumbfounded.

“Prince Charming?” asked Barcode in the same way.

“Oh, no” thought Copper fearing what was going to happen next.

The 5 burst out laughing as Copper blushed.

“Copper, what are you saying?” said Mio laughing out loud.

“Shit, I got carried away” thought Copper even more embarrassed.

“You never disappoint, fanboy.”

Copper looked at Us and Barcode and cleared his throat.

“Sorry, I didn't mean to be a tease” Copper said.

Us and Barcode laughed even harder.

“Relax, I love the description, maybe I'll do some roleplay with that theme” replied Us satisfied.

“Yeah, you could learn these nicknames already, JERK” said Barcode to Nakunta.

Nakunta suddenly became serious.

“Don't call me that,” said Nakunta.

You can call me all the names you want and I can't have some payback? You got some nerve” said Barcode mockingly.

“Make up any nickname you want, but you can't call me a jerk,” Nakunta replied.

“I've always called you that and you've never complained” said Copper quizzically.

“Exactly. That's YOUR nickname for me and no one else can use it.”

Copper felt something strange in his chest as Us and Barcode let out a chuckle.

“Quit goofing off and tell me. Why there are no lesson today? And why have I been the only one not to know about it?” asked Copper to Nakunta.

“Fanboy, don't tell me you got up JUST to come to a class we didn't have,” said Nakunta mockingly.

“I didn't know we didn't have it and apparently I'm the only one” said Copper sulking.

“I told you Copper, it's bullying” said Mio.

Copper in response glared at him with hatred.

“Fanboy aren't you in the class LINE group? I understand we all signed up at the beginning of the term.”

“Oh,” Copper said finally understanding why he hadn't heard why the class had suspended.

“Copper, don't tell me you got kicked out of the group and that's why you didn't hear about it” said Mio holding his laughter.

“Mio, you're earning yourself ending up with coffee on your face, and no, I didn't get kicked out, I have the group silenced” replied Copper.

“Copper why do you have your class group muted? There might be important news, plus you can always send cool songs like we do in ours” asked Barcode curiously.

“Because your class group must be normal Barcode, in ours there are a couple of perverted pigs who keep sending porn. I had to give to Bible a thousands of explanations when I got one of those videos while I was talking to him” said Copper remembering the embarrassing moment. To his good fortune, Bible had simply smiled and played it down.

“Now I remember, you were whining all afternoon” said Mio smiling.

Copper glared at him again with hatred.

“Oooh, poor fanboy, unable to see a pair of boobs, were you really scared?” said Nakunta mockingly to him.

“SHUT-UP” Copper said.

“Really, sex is not bad fanboy, if you want I can give you a few practical lessons.”

Bump and Us who were drinking a soda, started coughing at the last sentence while Mio and Barcode had a fit of giggles.

“Can we change the topic, please?” said Copper starting to tense up. He didn't like talking about sex, much less with Nakunta.

 “I understand that boobs aren't your thing for obvious reasons, but maybe a hard cock or are you more into a good ass?

At that taunt, Copper exploded.

“I see you very interested in boobs, why don't you stick some in your mouth and shut the fuck up?” said Copper indignantly.

“Maybe I will, I'll probably be the only one eating some” his partner replied looking him up and down.

“Please DO it and forget about me while you're at it,” Copper replied angrily.

Copper then started to pick up his things as he got up from his seat.

“Copper, where are you going?” said Bump.

“I'm getting out of here, maybe Fuaiz is free” replied Copper still angry.

“What? No wait, stay” Nakunta told him in a hurried tone.

Copper ignored him and picked up his jacket as he headed for the door, he thought he heard Us say something like, “Ta, you're an asshole,” but he didn't pay attention.

He had used Fuaiz as an excuse, but he didn't know if his friend was really free or not.

“I'll message him and if it turns out he's not free, I'll go home” Copper thought. He had the whole day off so he could take advantage of it to study for pre-Christmas exams or else entertain himself for a while by playing some video game. Anything was better than going back to that coffee shop with that jerk.

copper_phrt16

Hey precious, are you free?

fuaiz_thanawat

Precious? Bufff, I thought it was a notification from one of my apps. 🤣 What do you want?

copper_phrt16

What makes you think I want anything?

fuaiz_thanawat.

You usually greet with some insult and today you look SO cheerful. Shoot.

copper_phrt16

I just wanted to talk to you for a while. Are you free or not?

fuaiz_thanawat

I'm in class, I'll be done in 15 minutes. Come to my college and we'll talk for a while.

copper_phrt16

Alright, here I go 😘

fuaiz_thanawat

You give me the creeps 🥶

Copper ignored him and set off for the arts faculty. Fuaiz would probably tell him nothing but bullshit, but he needed to clear his head a bit after his argument with Nakunta.

Ten minutes later he arrived at the Faculty of Arts. It was a slightly older building than the Faculty of Engineering. However, Copper liked it quite a bit better. It was painted with landscapes and many colours, which gave it a much homier and more bohemian look, unlike the cold building where Copper studied.

He had been in that faculty on numerous occasions, so it was not difficult for him to locate the classrooms where Fuaiz was teaching. He looked at the clock, there were still 10 minutes left until the end of the hour so he decided to sit on a bench and wait.

His mind went back to the argument he had just had with his classmate. Copper knew he had overreacted and that it was more than likely that Nakunta hadn't really meant to offend him but teasing him, but he had a certain complex with his lack of sexual activity.

He wished he could have sex like any normal person and best of all, be able to cuddle with some lover and be able to make plans together, but he just couldn't. After the fiasco of two years ago every time someone approached him with more than friendly intentions, a part of him panicked.

Of course, he had also tried casual sex and to his misfortune it hadn't worked. He had been having a few kisses and things seemed to be going well, until the moment of truth when Copper had become completely paralyzed when it came to sex. The fear of betrayal weighed too heavily.

Fortunately for him, the boy had not been angry about leaving him hanging, but it had brought home a painful reality: It would be very difficult for him to be intimate with a man. He knew that maybe a visit to a psychologist would help him with his problem, but that was a problem too, he didn't have enough money to afford therapy and he wasn't about to ask his parents for money after the way they had been with him lately.

Copper knew that if he ever had sex again it would be with someone he truly trusted and that could take a long time.

“Copper” he heard a voice as his shoulder was tapped.

Copper startled and met JJay's gaze, who was looking at him worriedly.

“Hey, hi” Copper said smiling at him.

“Are you okay?” said JJay to him.

“Sure, why?”

“Copper, you looked like someone who's about to collapse.”

“Ah, that. It's nothing, just thinking about past times, nothing more” Copper said downplaying the matter.

“Okay” said JJay somewhat unsure ”by the way what are you doing here? It's not that I'm not glad to see you, but it's a surprise that you're here.”

“Ah, I was meeting Fuaiz for a drink, and since you're here, I'd love for you to be with us.”

JJay's face changed when he heard Fuaiz's name.

“Come on JJay, I miss you, we haven't talked in a while” Copper pleaded with him.

“Copper I really want to be with you, but for now I'd rather keep my distance from Fuaiz, until things calm down.”

Copper felt somewhat defeated with the response, but understood him perfectly.

“I understand, but JJay I'd like us to talk more, don't stay away from us because of whatever is happening to you with Fuaiz.”

JJay smiled brightly at him as he patted his shoulder.

“No problem, Copper. If you want, we can meet one of these days at my place, I want you to see the cats” JJay replied to her.

“I'll take your word for it, I can't wait to hug them” Copper told him.

“Well, now I have to go to my next class. Don't worry, I don't think Fuaiz will be long in coming.”

JJay went on his way and Copper was left alone once again.

He thought about whether his friends would still be in the cafeteria, hoping that his outburst had not broken the mood. He felt a little embarrassed thinking about the stunt he had pulled in the coffee shop.

He had told Nakunta to stop it, but still, it was no excuse. He had finally met the famous Barcode he had heard so much about and they had all gotten together, and because of a stupid tantrum, it had all gone down the drain.

“Well, I'll ask Mio later and if I have to apologize I will” Copper thought.

After a few minutes of waiting, he finally watched as Fuaiz walked out of class and said goodbye to his classmates. When he saw Copper he threw him a smile.

“My favorite nerd” Fuaiz greeted him, ”What are you doing away from a library?”

“I deigned to come see you, aren't you happy?” replied Copper.

“Ha, I bet those two kicked you out to get laid” said Fuaiz.

“What? Don't talk nonsense.”

“They kicked you out for not having sex with them?”

“You're sick,” said Copper.

“Shut up and buy me breakfast, being in my free time near a classroom gives me heartburn” said Fuaiz looking apprehensively at the classroom he had just left.

Minutes later they were in the cafeteria with two coffees and a donut for Fuaiz, of course Copper paid for it all.

“Are you going to tell me what's wrong with you?” asked Fuaiz.

“Why would anything be wrong with me?” replied Copper.

“Copper, you probably don't realize it, but when you think no one is watching you, sometimes you make a face like it's the end of the world” explained Fuaiz.

Copper was taken aback, JJay had said something similar to him minutes before.

“Go ahead” said Fuaiz snapping him out of his thoughts.

With some embarrassment, Copper told him what had happened with Nakunta in the cafeteria.

“Copper, I guess even you yourself must have realized that you got upset over something stupid” Fuaiz concluded.

“Tell me something I don't know” said Copper chagrined.

“Why did you explode, then? By now I think you know perfectly well that Ta's intentions are harmless.”

“I told him to stop with the topic and he didn't stop” said Copper trying to excuse himself.

“And I think the problem is in THAT particular topic” said Fuaiz.

Copper smiled self-deprecatingly.

“Bingo.”

“Copper I know you don't hold me in very high regard, but if you ever want to talk, you know I'm here.”

Copper smiled warmly at him and stroked his hair.

“How can I not hold the most handsome boy in the College of Arts in high esteem,” Copper said as he pressed kisses to Fuaiz's forehead.

“Aggg, get off, I don't want to be seen with you” said Fuaiz feigning indignation as he pushed Copper away.

“Well and now changing the subject, how have you been doing, any new adventures?” asked Copper.

“Well, anxious, I've been training, I hope everything goes well, have you been practicing?”

Copper looked at him quizzically at the curious choice of words.

“Well, I've been studying as much as I can, I don't know if I'll get straight A's, but I think I'll have no problem passing” Copper replied.

“A+? What are you talking about Copper?” asked Fuaiz equally puzzled.

“From the pre-Christmas exams of course, isn't that what you're training for?”

Fuaiz grimaced derisively.

“Only YOU would be thinking about the exams, I'm obviously talking about the match.”

“What match?” asked Copper confused.

“Copper, don't tell me you haven't heard about the inter-college match, it's been the talk all this month” said Fuaiz indignantly.

Suddenly Copper remembered how about a month ago he had had a conversation with Bible and his friend, Jet.

“That's right, there was going to be an intercollegiate soccer game, but I thought it would have been held by now, Bible told me about a month ago.”

“Gosh Copper, you look like you live under a rock, the game was going to be around this time, but it's been postponed to next month. You can still sign up, I think in two or three days it will be tryouts.”

“I think I'll pass, I have to study for the exams” Copper said.

“Pfff, I think I'll pass, I have to study for the exams” said Fuaiz imitating him, “Copper, you are going to get honors like last year, have some fun”.

“Fuaiz I remind you that I aspire to be an engineer and not a footballer, you know that right?”

“If you weren't my friend, I'd be beating you right now” Fuaiz replied.

“Try it” said Copper threateningly.

Fuaiz rolled his eyes.

“Am I going to be the only one in the group who decides to play? I think I should have other friends” said Fuaiz.

“Well...” started to mention Copper but suddenly fell silent.

Copper was about to mention that possibly JJay would sign up knowing how much he likes soccer, but decided to keep quiet. Clearly JJay was avoiding Fuaiz and didn't want to reignite the conflict.

“Yeah?” said Fuaiz.

“Ah, nothing important, I was just thinking out loud” lied Copper.

“Anyway Copper, I think you would be interested in participating, even if it was for non-sporting reasons” said Fuaiz mysteriously as he looked at him with a smile.

“What are those reasons?”

“Well, ever since you told me about Bible, I’ve been keeping an eye on him and let me tell you, Copper, your taste is excellent.”

“And what does Bible have to do with those non-sporting reasons?” Copper asked, expecting the worst.

“Well, I don’t know if you know, but some friends of Bible are addicted to sports and he himself plays a lot of sports,” Fuaiz continued.

“I know, I watch his videos.”

“Well, Bible and some friend of his, have signed up for the try-outs. Think about it, Copper, if you’re on the team, you’ll have a LOT of opportunities to talk to him without it being suspicious.”

Copper began to imagine the situation and Fuaiz took the opportunity to continue.

“Of course that’s not all, football, as you well know, is a contact sport, it wouldn’t be strange if you fell on top of him or if your legs hurt and Bible gave you a massage, or much better, after an exhausting training session, share a nice cold shower where you can see absolutely EVERYTHING. Copper, I've played a lot of soccer and you can't even imagine what can happen in a shower after celebrating a victory" Fuaiz finished.

Copper imagined himself in the shower hugging Bible celebrating the great victory, not long ago he had had a similar fantasy in which Bible and he were in a shower. That something like that actually happened was more than tempting.

"It seems that I'm convincing you" Fuaiz said smiling mischievously.

Copper came back to reality.

"You're posing a scenario that is more than likely not going to happen" Copper reasoned.

"What do you mean? Remember that a week ago I sent you a video where two players discover their love thanks to sports" Fuaiz answered.

"Fuaiz, ​​it was a porn video."

"Stop nitpicking everything, Copper. Anyway, let's imagine that nothing happens with Bible. Who says that you can't meet your longed-for Prince Charming there? Or much better, what if you see an unknown side of someone you used to know and you love? I know you get mad every time we tell you this, but don’t limit your whole world to Bible” Fuaiz finished.

Copper was undecided, Fuaiz had given him valid reasons to sign up. He didn’t dislike football, but he wasn’t too good either. He could try out and then be ruled out of making the team, so no one could blame him for not trying out.

“I’ll think about it” Copper said finally.

“Great, but don’t think about it too much, there are two days left to sign up. Tell those two to go for it. They probably won’t do much, but they don’t lose anything by trying” Fuaiz said.

“What?” Copper asked confused.

“Those two, Mio and Bump. They probably don’t even know the rules of football, but ask them if they want to sign up.”

“You have no idea” Copper thought.

And suddenly he went back years, seeing a younger, smiling Mio as he ran with the ball on his legs.

Copper began to hyperventilate as images from two years ago replayed in his mind.

“Copper” he heard someone calling him from afar.

“COPPER”

Copper snapped out of the trance when he noticed someone holding his shoulders. When he looked up, he found Fuaiz, ​​who was looking at him very worried.

“What’s wrong?” Copper asked, still breathing heavily.

“You tell me, you looked like you were going to faint, you’re pale.”

“Ah, it must be that I’m tired, nothing more,” Copper excused himself.

“Tired? Bullshit. Copper, something’s wrong with you,” Fuaiz said.

“Nothing worth mentioning” Copper said.

“Copper, talk now.”

“NO,” Copper said firmly.

Fuaiz looked at him pleadingly, but Copper didn’t give in. Finally, Fuaiz gave up.

“Okay, I’ll stop now. As for what we were talking about…” Fuaiz continued.

“Fuaiz, ​​I think I won’t finally take the try-outs” Copper said.

“What? Why? I thought I was convincing you” Fuaiz said surprised.

“I think it’s not for me, that’s all” Copper said.

“Copper I feel like I did something wrong, but I don’t know what”

Copper laughed.

“If you had done something wrong, I would be insulting you, you don’t have to worry” Copper answered.

“Okay, still take a flyer in case you finally get the courage” Fuaiz said.

Copper took the flyer without much interest and put it in his folder.

After talking for a few more minutes, Copper and Fuaiz said goodbye, his friend had more classes and Copper decided to go home.

When he got home, he found it deserted. Mio probably had more classes so it would take him a while to get home. Copper thought again about what had happened this morning and wished Mio was there to explain to him what had happened after his escape from the cafeteria.

He left the flyer that Fuaiz had given him in the kitchen and went to his room.

He decided once again to make outlines for the subject: “History of Architecture in Thailand.” It was a real pain in the ass to make the outlines, but he knew that if he only used the teacher’s notes, he would end up failing.

He kept making the outlines until he heard the door, looked at the time and realized that it was already lunchtime.

“It’s incredible that I have to spend so much time just to make some outlines” Copper complained to himself.

Moments later he heard a knock on his bedroom door.

“Copper, may I come in?” Mio’s voice came from the door.

“Sure, come in” Copper replied while rubbing his eyes.

Mio went into his room and sat on his bed.

“What a face you have. Making outlines for that horrible subject again?” Mio asked.

“Bingo. I wonder if I’ll survive this year.”

“You said the same thing last year and all I saw were honors” Mio said mockingly.

“And what about your classes? Anything entertaining?” Copper asked.

“Yeah, an A in modern music” Mio said proudly.

“Ooooh, my boy got an A, I’m so proud of him” Copper said pretending to wipe away his tears.

“Asshole” Mio said laughing.

“Anything else besides the fact that you are now the smartest student at the university?”

“There are rumors that another singing contest will be held soon, but nothing has been confirmed. I swear to you Copper that I will win this time, last time Barcode won, but this time the victory will be mine.”

Copper’s smile wavered a little when he heard Barcode’s name, remembering what had happened that morning, a gesture that of course Mio noticed.

“Don’t tell me that you don’t like Barcode.”

“Of course not, he’s been very kind” Copper replied.

“Then why that face?”

“I like him, but he probably doesn’t like me so much.”

“Why do you say that?” Mio asked surprised.

Copper shifted uncomfortably.

“Well, I don’t think I need to tell you what happened this morning, especially since you were there” Copper said.

“Oh, that. Good show to start the week” Mio laughed.

“Please tell me I didn’t ruin the rest of your morning.”

“Relax, it wasn’t that big of a deal, and we were laughing at Ta for a while,” Mio said.

“What? Why?” Copper asked.

“You should have seen the face he made when you left,” Mio continued laughing.

“He probably laughed for a while,” Copper said.

“No, he was banging his head against the table for his mistake,” Mio said, smiling, probably remembering the scene.

“Really?”

“Oh yeah, the poor guy felt terrible that you got so angry, he kept repeating “I screwed up, he’ll never talk to me again.”

“Oh, wow,” Copper said, starting to feel a little guilty.

“Bump and I reassured him that it wasn’t that big of a deal, and that of course you would talk to him again. Because you will talk to him again, right?”

“Yeah, of course I will,” Copper said.

“You probably already know by now, but you're overreacting,” Mio said.

“I know, Fuaiz told me the same thing.”

Mio sighed in relief.

“Thanks, I don't think I could have endured another year of open warfare between you two.”

“I'll talk to him, I hope he's not too angry,” Copper said.

“Relax, once you give him puppy eyes, he'll forget about it,” Mio said.

“I don't give puppy eyes.”

“Yes, but changing the subject. Did you talk to Fuaiz then?”

“Yeah, we talked for a while in the cafeteria.”

“About what?” he asked.

Copper paused to think before telling him the truth. There was no way he would talk about the soccer game.

“Well, you know him, apparently he wanted to try a new drink of his, but I stopped him,” Copper made up.

“Nothing else?” Mio asked and Copper thought he noticed something strange on his face.

“You probably already know that he talks a lot of nonsense” Copper said evasively.

“Didn’t you also talk about sports?” Mio asked.

Before Copper could make up something, Mio pulled out the flyer that Fuaiz had given him and that he had left in the kitchen.

“Shit, I can’t be more of an idiot” Copper cursed himself.

“Oh that, apparently there’s a football match between universities” Copper said casually.

“I know, it’s been the talk of the town for weeks. So, are you going to sign up?” Mio asked.

“Oh no, Fuaiz whined a bit for me to sign up, but no, of course not” Copper said quickly.

“Why not?” Mio asked curiously.

“You know that football isn’t my thing”

Mio stared at him and Copper felt somewhat uncomfortable.

“Copper, please tell me you’re not signing up because of what happened to us two years ago.”

Copper looked away.

“Copper, that was a long time ago. If I’m the reason you’re not signing up, then you and I have a problem,” Mio said seriously.

“Mio…” Copper started to say.

“Actually,” Mio interrupted, “I’m thinking about signing up. No, rather, I’m going to sign up.”

“Mio, I’m not going to let you sign up just for me,” Copper said.

“It’s not because of you, I miss soccer, but I’ll sign up ONLY if you sign up.”

“What are you saying?” Copper said, shocked.

“You heard me,” Mio said, smiling, “so it’s up to you Copper, do we both play soccer or neither of us play?”

“You’re manipulating me,” Copper complained.

“And I’m fucking good at it, now decide.”

“Okay, we’ll sign up. I probably won’t make the team anyway. It’s not like I’m that good,” Copper excused himself.

“Most of the ones who get in will probably be from the sports faculty,” Mio agreed, “I’ve been reading in the flyer that the deadline ends in two days and that, in three, there will be the try-outs, so let’s not waste time.”

“Alright, we’ll go this afternoon,” Copper said.

“Out of curiosity, Copper, what did Fuaiz say to you that made you think about signing up?”

“Oh, nothing, apparently Bible will be there too,” Copper said in passing.

“Oh, you’re such a bitch, Copper,” Mio said.

“SHUT YOUR MOUTH,” Copper shouted and Mio laughed.

Three days later at 4pm, Copper and Mio were at the college football field where the try-outs would take place. It was the ideal place, a large, well-kept field where other games had been held.

Copper looked around and saw about 50 boys and girls. Copper was surprised that it was a match with mixed players, but he thought it was good that both genders were included in the competitions.

Among the crowd he spotted Bible. He was with his friend Jet, laughing at some joke the latter had made. Copper gulped as Fuiz's words from a couple of days ago came to mind: “It wouldn't be strange if you fell on top of him or if your legs hurt and Bible gave you a massage, or much better, after an exhausting training, share a nice cold shower where you can see absolutely EVERYTHING.”

“Okay, maybe I SHOULD try to get on the team” Copper thought.

Copper saw someone running towards them and was able to identify Fuaiz before he jumped into his arms.

“Copper, I knew you wouldn’t let me down” Fuaiz said hugging him.

“Of course not” Copper replied hugging him

“Hello to you too, Fuaiz” Mio said seeing himself ignored.

“Mio, I’m glad you came. Do you want me to teach you how to play before we try out?” Fuaiz asked sarcastically.

“Sure, I’m sure a professional like you could give me some lessons” Mio said very innocently, “in fact” Mio continued, “I think we should bet on a dinner. If they choose me for the team you’ll pay, if not, I’ll do it. Deal?” Mio said.

“Sure” Fuaiz said confidently as he shook Mio’s hand.

Copper had to hold back his laughter, Fuaiz was such a big mouth.

He noticed someone tapping him on the shoulder and when he turned around, he found himself in front of a stuffed animal. It was a bear, wearing dark sunglasses and a black t-shirt with a skull on it. Of course, Copper knew that stuffed animal, he had won it shooting with a rifle a few weeks ago.

“What?” Copper asked in confusion.

The stuffed animal started “to talk”.

“Hello Copper, I am your friend Copper Jr. I want you to listen to me very carefully” said the stuffed animal in a high-pitched voice.

“Copper Jr.? For real?” thought Copper

Copper's gaze went to the person holding the stuffed animal, who of course was none other than Nakunta.

“What are you doing?” Copper asked in astonishment.

“Sssshh” Nakunta silenced him, “listen to Copper Jr., it seems he has something important to say”.

“I don't know what he's up to, but it doesn't matter. Anyway, I wanted to talk to him” thought Copper.

“Hello Copper Jr. What is that important thing you have to tell me?” Copper asked feeling completely stupid.

“Oh, my stupid, stupid, stupid partner wanted to apologize for being so loud and talking too much” said Copper Jr.

“Oh, so it was because of this” thought Copper.

“Copper Jr. tell your stupid, stupid, stupid partner that he doesn’t have to apologize. In fact, I’m the one who should apologize to him for blowing a minor issue out of proportion” replied Copper.

He noticed how the stuffed animal shivered, a sign that the comment had probably caught Nakunta by surprise.

“Are you sure?” Copper Jr. asked again.

Copper thought he noticed a tone of insecurity in “the stuffed animal”.

“Very sure, now could I talk to your stupid, stupid, stupid partner?”

The stuffed animal disappeared from his sight when Nakunta put it in a backpack he was carrying. Copper noticed that his face was full of regret and Copper’s heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, I’m a real jerk” thought Copper completely regretful.

“Hey,” Nakunta said uncomfortably.

“Hey,” Copper replied in the same way.

“Fanboy, I’m sorry about what happened at the cafeteria. I’m such a big mouth that I often don’t measure my words.”

“I’ve already told our friend Copper Jr. that it’s okay. It was my fault for not knowing how to take a joke and exaggerating everything,” Copper said.

“Even so, I should have stopped when you told me,” Nakunta continued.

“No, no, it’s just a slightly sensitive subject for me, nothing important,” Copper said, evasive.

At that answer, Nakunta became even more serious.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he finally asked.

“Not much, really,” Copper said.

“Copper,” Nakunta said.

Copper was surprised, like every time he called him by his name instead of using his nickname.

“Yes?”

“Don’t take it seriously every time I tell you this nonsense, I’m not serious.”

“Oh, okay,” Copper said somewhat embarrassed.

There was a tense silence until he heard some applause, when Copper turned around, he saw Mio and Fuaiz looking at them in amusement.

“That was beautiful” said Mio.

“Better than “Casablanca” said Fuaiz.

“Shut your mouths” said Copper somewhat embarrassed.

“Ta, what is that stuffed animal you brought?” asked Fuaiz curiously.

“I don't know why, but I think I've seen that stuffed animal before” continued Mio.

“Of course you've seen it, it's the same stuffed animal I won a few weeks ago when we went to the fair.”

“If you won it, why does he have it?” asked Fuaiz.

“I won this stuffed animal and gave it to him and he gave me my Mulan stuffed animal” explained Copper.

“Oh yes, the one you have on top of your bed and that you sleep with every night” said Mio.

Nakunta turned to him surprised.

“Do you sleep with it every night?” he asked.

Copper turned a little red.

“Well yes, I already told you that I loved Mulan” Copper excused himself.

“Wait, wait, let's recap” said Fuaiz, ​​“you had an outing a few weeks ago where you gave each other a stuffed animal, which you clearly always have around.”

“Well, yes” said Copper.

Fuaiz laughed.

“Oh God, I hope we all make the team, it will be so much fun. Except you, Mio, you have to invite me to dinner.”

“We'll see who invites who” said Mio smiling.

After a few minutes of waiting, a man and a boy of about their age, whom they didn't know, addressed everyone present.

“Good afternoon,” said the oldest, “I'm Pond, I'll be your coach for this month until the match is played. Some of you already know me because I'm a professor at the Faculty of Sports. This is Bas and he'll be the goalkeeper. Maybe some of you have complaints that he's already been chosen as a member without having to try out, but I can assure you one thing, there's no better goalkeeper than him in the entire university and you'll see it in a few moments.”

The boy greeted them somewhat awkwardly and Copper felt a certain pity for the unexpected attention.

“The try-out is easy; we'll use only half the field. I have placed some cones that you will have to slalom to see how you control the ball, at the end you will reach the goal where Bas will be waiting for you, you have to try to score a goal and I emphasize the word try, because I assure you that it is practically impossible. Bas, go to the goal, I will call the rest of you in alphabetical order to begin the try-outs.”

The coach began to call people and Copper began to get nervous.

Some of the boys who were called at the beginning were bad or mediocre, what caught Copper's attention was Bas.  No one had managed to score a goal against him, clearly the coach had not exaggerated when he had said that there was no goalkeeper better than him. His awkward pose when he had greeted had transformed the moment he had positioned himself in the goal, he watched his opponents and the ball like a hawk.

“Is it just me or is that boy a genius?” he asked Mio.

“He is, he can read the opponents movements. Now shut up for a moment Copper, I need to concentrate on his moves.”

Copper smiled when at that sentence, it seemed that Mio was in top form.

After another handful of players, some in Copper’s opinion were quite good, came a name that Copper knew.

“Jetsadakorn Bundit” the coach announced and he watched as Jet walked onto the field while giving the coach a smile.

He knew Jet from having seen him in Bible’s videos and he had also seen Jet once in person, when he had met Bible that Saturday when he went to take photos at the college.

Copper remembered how Jet had been excited about the match so he assumed that he would be a good player.

He was not wrong, Jet controlled the ball very well, but still failed to score the goal, Copper had no idea who they would choose for the team, but he was pretty sure that Jet would be on it.

“My turn soon” Copper said to himself while moving his feet.

“Nervous?” Nakunta asked, apparently having heard him.

“A little, which is disconcerting,” Copper replied.

“Why? You always get nervous before an exam, moving your feet like crazy.”

“Wait a minute, how do you know I move my feet when I get nervous?”

“I’ve noticed you do it before entering exams so I’ve always assumed it’s because of nervousness, am I wrong?”

“Well, no, but I didn’t think you’d notice” Copper said, feeling heat on his face.

“Then why is it strange that you get nervous before the try-outs?” Nakunta asked, changing the subject.

“I don’t think I’ll make the team in the first place, much less after what I’m seeing. Have you seen how well Jet did? And that girl from before? Compared to them, I have two left feet.”

“Fanboy, with that mentality you’re sure not to make it” Nakunta said, rolling his eyes, “remember how you didn’t know how to shoot the shotgun and ended up winning Copper Jr.”

“You don’t have a trick to score a goal against Bas, do you?” Copper replied sarcastically.

Nakunta snorted in amusement.

“I doubt anyone would be able to do that, so focus on ball control, many have failed by trying to go too fast or focusing on scoring a goal. Fanboy, play it safe and make sure you handle the ball well,” Nakunta repeated again.

“Okay, but I make no promises.”

“Phuriwat Chotiratanasak” said the coach.

Copper noticed some stares as he started walking towards the field. Mio who had been absorbed in watching Bas gave him a reassuring smile, Fuaiz gave him a thumbs up and Nakunta nodded encouragingly.

When he reached the midfield, he looked more closely at the cones and the ball he was supposed to move towards the goal. Bas gave him a calculating look.

He remembered what Nakunta had told him a few minutes ago: “Play it safe and make sure you handle the ball well.”

Even Jet and other good players hadn’t managed to score a goal, so the decisive point for made the team was controlling the ball well.

He touched the ball with his right foot to feel its touch. Fortunately, it wasn’t too heavy or too light. He took a deep breath and prepared to give it a try.

“It’s okay, this is just a formality,” he convinced himself.

Copper began to handle the ball as best he could, he remembered Nakunta’s advice about not wanting to rush, he perfectly moved the ball through the first three cones, he was about to lose it on the fourth, but he managed to recover it in time, he crossed the fifth and found himself face to face with Bas.

Bas was watching him as a hawk so he tried something, he pretended to kick to the left, but finally he did it to the right. Unfortunately for him, Bas detected the trick and stopped the ball with ease. He heard the coach's whistle and knew the try-out was over, he relaxed his shoulders and walked over to his teammates.

The try-out hadn't gone all that badly, but in Copper's opinion it would be insufficient to get into the team, he hadn't been the worst but not one of the best either. Jet and some of the boys and girls who had gone before had clearly been superior and there were still several students left to take the test.

"Well, what's done is done" Copper said to himself.

When he arrived, Mio and Fuaiz patted him on the shoulder.

"Relax, everything will be fine" Nakunta said to him at his side.

Copper looked at him gratefully.

"I don't really lose anything; I had come just to try and I knew there would be people much better than me" said Copper.

"Copper, I don't know how you think you've done it, but you haven't been bad at all" said Mio.

"Mio, you've seen as I did that there have been people much better than me."

"I won't deny it, but there have also been people much worse than you. “Don’t get ahead of yourself, brainiac,” Mio said, winking at him.

“And if not, you can always console yourself with Mio. He won’t make the team,” Fuaiz said.

“Don’t worry, Copper, tonight we’ll celebrate that ALL of us have made the team, don’t be shy about asking, Fuaiz will pay,” Mio said.

“By the way, now that you’re talking about everyone, where’s JJay? I’ve seen him play sometimes and he seems to be good at it,” Nakunta asked.

“I have no idea. Do you know anything Copper?” Mio replied.

“No,” Copper lied.

Copper had some suspicions about why, or rather who, JJay had decided not to try out, but he preferred not to say anything.

“Probably because I’m here,” Fuaiz said pitifully.

Nakunta looked at Fuaiz without understanding while Mio and Copper did so with pity.

“Is there any way to fix everything?” Mio asked.

“I doubt it,” Fuaiz said, “and I deserve it anyway.”

“Fuaiz…” Copper said.

“I don’t want to talk about it Copper, much less now that I’m about to take the try-out,” Fuaiz said.

Copper looked at his face, the emotion he had had a few moments ago thinking about football had vanished to give way to a sadness that he had rarely seen in him.

Several students Copper didn't know continued to try out and to his surprise, just like Mio had said, they weren't that much better than him.

Finally, a name came up that he knew quite well and that had been occupying his thoughts lately.

“Nannakun Pakapatpornpob” said the coach.

“Well, my turn. Hold my backpack, it has Copper Jr. inside” said Nakunta.

“Good luck, Ta” said Mio smiling.

“You'll do well” said Fuaiz.

Copper looked at him silently.

“No words of encouragement, fanboy?” asked Nakunta.

“No” said Copper.

Nakunta snorted and Copper smiled.

“Because you don't need it, you jerk, you're probably as good at soccer as you are at singing and with the shotgun, you're so horribly perfect” said Copper with smile pretending indignation.

Nakunta smiled widely as he looked Copper in the eyes.

“I'll dedicate my try-out to you, fanboy.”

Nakunta walked with a determined step towards the field.

Copper noticed two pairs of eyes watching him and watched as Fuaiz and Mio looked at him with a mischievous smile.

“You are so horribly perfect” Fuaiz imitated.

“When is the wedding?” Mio said sardonically.

“Shut your big mouths, I was just encouraging him. He has encouraged me too” Copper said.

He heard giggles but Copper ignored them and looked at Nakunta, who was already in the starting position.

“I hope he does well” Copper thought.

Nakunta started running with the ball and Copper liked his confident way of moving. He went through the cones without any problem and got in front of Bas and shot the ball with force…

“Aaaah” Copper exclaimed.

Nakunta didn't score the goal but he had been close, the goalkeeper had had a hard time stopping it and had to move a lot more than on previous occasions...

Copper found himself applauding and some others followed suit, Nakunta had been great.

“Did you like it?” Fuaiz asked him.

“A lot, did you see how fast he went through the cones and how he shot? I thought he was going to score, it was so close.” Copper said excitedly.

Fuaiz burst out laughing.

“What?” Copper asked.

“Copper, do you remember what we talked about a couple of days ago?”

“Remind me, you say so much nonsense that sometimes it's hard to extract useful information” Copper said mockingly.

Fuaiz ignored him.

“We talked about how maybe in the team you saw an unknown side of someone that maybe made you love them, do you remember now, you idiot?”

“Yes, of course I remember.”

“Well, think about it, Nakunta came to apologize to you when he didn't even have to.”

“And?”

“And not only that, he didn't apologize in a conventional way, he used the stuffed animal that YOU gave him on your date. Stuffed toy which, by the way, has named after you.”

“It wasn't a date” said Copper somewhat upset.

“While you were doing the try-out, he couldn't take his eyes off you” continued Fuaiz, ​​“he seemed just as excited as you were watching his.”

“Where do you want to go Fuaiz?”

“Copper, I'm just saying that I'm looking forward to you both joining the team and continuing to learn about facets of Ta that you don't know. I bet you'll love it” finished Fuaiz satisfied.

Ta turned to them with a smile.

“Well done.” said Mio.

“Great” said Fuaiz.

“I thought you were going to score the goal; it was so close.” said Copper.

“I already told you that it's probably impossible to do it.”

“Still great, congratulations, jerk” Copper said, patting him on the shoulder.

Nakunta smiled at him again.

“Congratulations, jerk” Fuaiz imitated him again.

Copper gave him a glare and Fuaiz shut his mouth.

“Thanawat Shinawatra” said the coach.

“Ah, it’s finally my turn” said Fuaiz.

“Make sure you go in or I’ll be laughing at you for the next 5 years” said Mio.

“Don’t worry Mio, unlike you, I can kick the ball” replied Fuaiz.

“Good luck Fuaiz” said Nakunta.

“Go for it, Fuaiz” said Copper

“Thanks to all my dear fans, and you, Copper, think about what I told you” said Fuaiz winking at him.

Fuaiz walked confidently towards the field and Mio, Nakunta and Copper

“What did he say to you?” asked Nakunta.

“Nothing important, he's been bothering me all day. In fact, I think I should start calling him jerk and finally free you from the nickname” Copper mused.

“No, you can't. I already told you that the nickname was only mine” Nakunta refused.

“You're so weird” Copper told him.

Fuaiz got into position and started to do the try-outs, Copper liked to watch Fuaiz play football because it was obvious that he enjoyed it.

His result was similar to Nakunta's, he controlled the ball very well but couldn't score the goal.

Fuaiz came towards them a little annoyed.

“Bah, is that guy invincible or what?” Fuaiz asked wearily.

“Don't complain, you've done much better than me, which isn't very difficult” Copper said “plus you've controlled the ball very well”.

“Haven't you noticed how Bas watches you from the moment you touch the ball for the first time? I think he can guess how you're going to throw by looking at the way you move around the obstacles," Mio said.

"Is that possible?" Nakunta asked, impressed.

“It’s just a theory” Mio said smiling.

“Wichapas Sumettikul”

Copper gulped as he watched Bible greet the people with a soft smile, many people greeted him as well.

“I’m sure he does it perfectly” Copper thought as he stared at his hero in absorption.

“Copper, hide it a little. You’re drooling” he heard Mio say.

“Ah, shut up” Copper said without paying attention.

Bible tied his hair and pushed it away from his forehead as he stood in front of the ball.

“He has beautiful dark hair, perfect hands” Copper thought as his heart raced.

Bible ran with the ball and did the obstacles perfectly, when he was in front of Bas they stared at each other, Bas gave him a smile that Bible responded to. Bible kicked, but Bas was able to stop it. Bible made a gesture of annoyance and Bas made a mocking face at him. When they finished, they both shook hands, which told Copper that Bas and Bible must have been on good terms to trust each other so much.

Copper clapped like crazy when he finished.

“Copper, you’ve been super pathetic,” Fuaiz said, laughing out loud.

“Shut your mouth, your loud laughter is attracting people’s attention,” Copper said, blushing.

And sure enough, there were people who turned to look at them when they heard the scandal.

“I’m sure you weren’t this excited when the rest of us were doing the try-outs,” Nakunta said in a tone he couldn’t identify.

Fuaiz laughed even harder, and Nakunta shot him a withering look.

“Just so you know, he was really excited watching your try-out. His hands were shaking like they do now,” Fuaiz said.

“Really?” Nakunta asked.

“No,” Copper said.

“Oh yeah, the thing is that either he didn’t realize it or he’s lying” Fuaiz said

“I’m not lying” Copper said blushing.

“Oh god, I hope we make the team, I’m going to have to buy popcorn to watch your dramas” Fuaiz said with shining eyes.

Bible went back to his friend Jet and they hugged.

Before he could continue the conversation, the coach spoke again.

“Athens Werapatanakul”

Copper noticed how his body tensed up.

“I promise we won’t laugh at you too much, Mio” Fuaiz said.

“Don’t pay attention to him, Mio” Nakunta said.

“Time to get back to the field” Mio said starting to walk.

Copper grabbed his hand, cursing himself when he noticed that he was shaking.

“Copper?” Mio asked him.

“Mio, will you be okay?” Copper asked doubtfully.

Mio smiled at him.

“Of course I will, and you know that better than anyone.”

Copper lowered his head.

“Hey, Copper, it’s just a try-out, calm down,” Mio said, holding his hand tightly, “I’ll be here soon.”

Mio let go of his hand and walked with a determined step to the field.

“I’ll tell Bump about this,” Fuaiz said.

Copper simply ignored him.

“Hey, fanboy, are you okay?” Nakunta asked him, “you’re shaking.”

Copper smiled weakly.

“I’m nervous,” he lied.

He saw Mio stand at the starting line and Copper noticed how he was shaking even more.

“Mio is right, it’s just a try-out. Nothing will change,” he tried to convince himself.

The coach indicated the start of the try-out and Copper went back two years.

He saw how Mio practically flew around the field; he had a speed and dexterity in his legs that he had rarely seen before. He controlled the ball first with his right leg, he went around an obstacle and changed his leg, it was something impressive.

Mio stood in front of Bas and threw the ball with force…

PAM

Copper felt the sound of the ball crashing into the goal reach everywhere.

He heard exclamations of astonishment around him. He had scored a goal, the only candidate in the try-outs who had managed to do so. Bas seemed surprised, the coach had also been paralyzed and Mio smiled like he had not seen in a long time.

Copper noticed how his eyes were slightly moistened.

Fuaiz, ​​who had his mouth open, turned to him.

“Copper. What was that?”

“You saw him as I did, the best candidate of all” Copper said simply.

“Why didn’t you tell me anything? How is it possible that he plays so well?” he continued bombarding him with questions.

“I didn’t tell you anything because you didn’t ask and as for why he plays so well, he has always been that good. He was the best player in our school, there was even talk of him playing in the professional leagues” Copper explained.

“And why didn’t he play?” Fuaiz asked, still impressed.

That question was like Copper’s heart was squeezed with a fist.

“Because of me” he said simply and with that phrase he noticed how his eyes shone even more.

Fuaiz looked at Copper in surprise, but he didn’t say anything.

“Fanboy, I have to go to the bathroom, come with me. Fuaiz, ​​tell Mio that we’ll be back soon” said Nakunta.

Without saying anything else, Nakunta grabbed Copper by the arm and dragged him off the field.

After a few minutes, they entered a nearby bathroom.

“We have to go back; the results will be announced soon” Copper complained.

“Nonsense, there are still some boys left” Nakunta replied.

“I'm going to pee, wait for me here” Nakunta said and went into one of the stalls.

Copper stood in front of one of the mirrors and looked at his face.

He hadn't realized, but his eyes were definitely too bright, he thanked Nakunta for getting him out of there. He didn't need Mio to see him in that state and ruin his moment of triumph.

He hated himself for being so sentimental, he should have been happy to see Mio touching a ball again and instead he had been about to cry for something that happened a long time ago. Stupid weakness and stupid feelings.

He heard Nakunta flush the toilet and join him.

“Done, don't you want to go?” “You should take advantage of the fact that we are here,” Nakunta said.

“I’m fine,” Copper replied.

“No, you’re not. Do you need to talk?” Nakunta asked, getting straight to the point.

“It’s nonsense, nothing important,” Copper excused himself.

“Blaming yourself for something that happened to your best friend doesn’t seem nonsense to me.”

Copper remained silent.

“You know it’s not your fault, right?” Nakunta asked.

Copper snorted.

“You have no idea what happened,” Copper said.

“I don’t need to know, I know you and I know Mio, and first, I know that you wouldn’t do anything wrong consciously and second, if Mio blamed you for whatever happened, he wouldn’t be your best friend.”

“Mio is a good person, that’s all,” Copper said.

“I don’t deny it, but not even the best person in the world would be the best friend of someone who had ruined their life. You are a person who moves by logic, Copper, you know I’m right.”

“You don’t know that,” Copper said stubbornly.

“Tell me one thing Copper, were you the one who told Mio to come try out for the team?”

“No, I wasn’t even going to mention it, he saw a flyer I had at home and told me he would only join if I joined.”

Nakunta’s face lit up.

“Well, there you have it, no one would want to be on the same team as the person who screwed up their life, would they?” Nakunta said triumphantly.

“I know he doesn’t blame me for anything, but I do,” Copper finally said.

“In that case, I think it’s time to stop Copper. You’re not Jesus Christ, nor do you have to bear all the sins of the world,” Nakunta said.

Mio had told him something similar a while ago, but Copper’s guilt still hadn’t diminished.

“Did you notice that you called me Copper for quite a while?” Copper said, changing the subject.

“See what you make me do, fanboy? Stop the drama, you make me lose my good manners”

Copper laughed.

“Come on now, wash your face and let’s go back.”

Copper washed his face as Nakunta had instructed and looked at himself in the mirror. Much better, his face now looked normal.

“This is the second time we ended up alone in a bathroom. First because of your vomiting and now because of your dramas. I can’t wait for us to make the team. With a bit of luck, the next time we’re alone, it’ll be in the shower” said Nakunta.

“You idiot jerk” said Copper.

To Copper’s relief, when they returned to the field, there were still people doing the try-outs. He saw Fuaiz and Mio, and smiled. He didn’t want to admit it, but his talk with Nakunta had calmed him down.

“Did we miss a lot?” Copper asked.

“I’d have to ask that myself” said Mio indignantly, “Did you miss my great try-out?”

“Of course not,” Copper reassured him, “you should have seen his face,” he said pointing at Fuaiz.

“Copper traitor, you should have told me how good he was,” Fuaiz said spitefully.

“I wanted it to be a surprise,” Copper said smiling.

“How did you manage to score a goal? I thought it was impossible,” Nakunta said.

“It’s just as I suspected, he looks at our feet when we’re in the obstacles and then guesses how we’re going to shoot. It doesn’t always work, but you’ve already seen that it’s quite effective. What I did was change legs a few times to confuse him. I’m looking forward to talking to him, he’s a great goalkeeper.”

Copper was glad that Mio knew someone with the same interests as him, he had briefly observed Bas and got along well with Bible, so he had to be a good guy. He hoped that he and Mio would get along.

“Well, you can do that when you get on the team,” Copper said.

Three pairs of eyes looked at him.

“What do you mean?” Fuaiz asked.

“I think it’s pretty clear. When you join the team, you’ll meet the goalkeeper and the rest of the members.”

“I think what Fuaiz means is why you’re not included, fanboy” Nakunta said.

“Isn’t it obvious? I’ve done the worst out of the four, and that, combined with the fact that there have been some amazing candidates, makes it pretty clear to me that I won’t be making the team” Copper said.

“You don’t know, fanboy.”

“Copper, despite what you think, you haven’t done badly” Mio said.

Copper laughed.

“There is no need for you to try to encourage me, I really don’t care about not getting in. I have already told you several times that I came just to try my luck without expecting anything at all.”

“We are not encouraging you, we are telling you the truth, you have not done badly” said Nakunta wearily.

After several more candidates, the try-out finally ended.

“Very well, all the candidates come closer. Thank you very much for participating. Now I will say the names of those who have made the team. Do not forget that it is possible that not all of you will play in the match because there will be substitutes. In any case, having done better or worse today does not imply that you are in the starting line-up, I will decide that as I see your performance these weeks” said the coach.

Copper was not surprised by the first name that the coach mentioned.

“Athens Werapatanakul” he said.

Copper clapped loudly full of joy and saw that several people did the same. Mio smiled and stood next to the coach and Bas, who shook his hand.

The coach called out more names of boys and girls that Copper didn't know until he finally got to another one that he did.

“Thanawat Shinawatra”

Fuaiz let out a whoop of joy as Copper and Nakunta patted him on the shoulder. He joined Mio and the rest of the candidates.

“It's just you and me left, fanboy” Nakunta told him.

“I have no doubt that you will get in. Remember me when you're at the top, jerk” Copper said.

And sure enough, after a couple of names the one he was waiting for came in.

“Nannakun Pakapatpornpob”

Copper clapped and Nakunta looked at him apologetically, to which Copper winked at him.

Nakunta hugged Mio and Fuaiz and greeted the other candidates.

When Copper saw the three of them fully encouraged, he felt something warm in his chest and thanked Fuaiz and Mio in his mind for encouraging him to sign up.

“It’s great to see my friends doing well” he thought with a smile.

He immediately froze when he realized that he had called a certain guy “friend”.

“Well, whatever, he didn’t hear me” Copper thought.

Copper hadn’t missed the fact that Nakunta had pushed him out of everyone’s sight when he was most vulnerable and he was grateful for it. He wouldn’t have forgiven himself for ruining Mio’s moment of triumph with his stupid whining.

“Phuriwat Chotiratanasak” the coach announced.

“Huh?”

He heard the applause of Mio, Fuaiz, ​​Nakunta and some of the other boys, and knew that it hadn’t been an illusion of his mind.

Confused, he walked towards the rest of the chosen ones. He shook hands with some boys and girls he didn't know and joined Fuaiz, ​​Mio and Nakunta.

"Is this real?" Copper asked, still stunned.

"Yes Copper, you have been chosen, just like I've told you the last hundred times," Mio said.

"I told you, you would be on the team, fanboy."

The coach named a couple more boys and finally finished the selection.

"These are the ones chosen for the team. The rest, I'm very sorry, you can try again next time, if there are any absences in the team you can be called up. For those of you who have been chosen, training starts tomorrow, at the same time the try-out started. I don't want you to be late. Good afternoon and see you tomorrow."

And without giving them time to reply, the coach left, leaving them all amazed.

"He is certainly a man who knows what it means to get to the point," Copper said.

“The rest of us better get going too,” Mio said. “Copper, I won’t be home for a while, Fuaiz and I are going out to dinner, he owes me an invitation for making a fool of himself,” Mio said, pleased.

“Yeah, yeah, come on. You better not choose an expensive place, my income is limited,” Fuaiz complained.

“Bullshit, you have money to spare, just bring your credit card and there won’t be any problem.”

They then went off arguing, leaving Nakunta and Copper in the middle of the field.

“Fanboy, is there something you have to tell me?” Nakunta said.

Copper was surprised that he threw what happened before in his face, but he had to be fair.

“Thank you, jerk.”

Nakunta froze.

“What do you mean, thank you?”

“Isn’t that what you wanted to hear about earlier?” Copper asked.

“I meant that I was right about you making the team,” Nakunta said, perplexed.

“Oops” Copper thought.

“Why did you thank me then?”

“Oh, nothing” Copper said trying to get out of it.

“Oh no, now tell me.”

“I meant about taking me off the field before I started making a scene in front of everyone, especially in front of Mio, when he hadn't played for two years” Copper replied.

“Oh, that. You think too much fanboy, I just had to pee and wanted you to keep me company, that's all” Nakunta replied.

“Sure, sure. Then, thank you very much for letting me accompany you to pee” Copper said sarcastically.

Nakunta let out a chuckle.

“Fanboy now that we're teammates shouldn't we make a promise?”

“What are you talking about?”

“You know, something like we'll make it to the finals together, bring glory to the school, and be happy forever.”

Copper laughed.

“There's no final, it's just a friendly match, you jerk. Everyone will probably forget about it in a week, and as for the happily ever after… I don't even know if I'll be happy this week.”

“Poor fanboy, you'll never be truly happy if you only focus on the little details.”

Copper smiled wryly at him.

“Come on, play along and let's make that promise,” Nakunta said again.

“It's bullshit,” Copper said stubbornly.

“Never mind, let's do it.”

“Okay, you’re a pain,” Copper gave in.

“Great” Nakunta said victoriously.

“Do you want to go to a temple to make some offering to formalize the promise?” Copper said, dripping with sarcasm.

“Of course not. We'll do something much more sacred” Nakunta replied

He then raised his pinky finger and Copper burst out laughing.

“Are you kidding me?”

“A pinky promise is like swearing before all the gods. Come on, now raise your pinky” said Nakunta.

Copper raised his pinky and Nakunta pressed it against his.

“I'll start, fanboy. I promise that we'll make it to the finals…”

Copper giggled and Nakunta glared at him.

“Sorry, sorry” Copper apologized.

“I promise that we'll make it to the finals, we'll bring glory to the university and above all, we'll be happy forever. It's your turn, fanboy.”

Copper felt ridiculous doing such a stupid thing, he prayed that there was no one around watching them.

“I promise that we'll make it to the finals and we'll bring glory to the university” said Copper.

“You missed the most important thing, fanboy. That you and I will be happy forever.”

“What do you mean, you and me? I thought you were saying that because we would be happy separately,” Copper said, scandalized.

“Why would we make a promise if it was separately?” Nakunta asked as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“Just what I need, I have to put up with you enough at university, to do it forever.”

“Ah, fanboy. I didn't want to tell you, but you need someone like me around to give you that spark of joy that you lack.”

“EXCUSE ME? Jerk, you need someone like me to straighten you out, you're a mess.”

Nakunta smiled widely.

“So, you agree that we need each other? Perfect, it's your turn to make that promise.”

“Don't manipulate my words.”

“Shut up and do it. Anyway, you have nothing to fear, as you say, it's nonsense that won't come true, right?” Nakunta said defiantly.

“Very well, I will. I promise that we will reach the finals together, we will bring glory to the university and we will be happy forever. Happy?”

“Very much. You'll see, fanboy, it's going to be great to be on the team” said Nakunta with a look of hope.

When he saw his partner smile like that with his bright eyes and his beautiful smile, Copper wished for a moment that the promise they had just made would come true.

A pity that Copper would not be able to keep that promise.