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My anxiety grew and I looked at him play more anxiously as before, my heart racing as he kept playing furiously. And when there were only three seconds left in the game, just when I thought he wouldn't be able to make his 20th shot, Kongpob threw the ball and managed to succeed in a three-point shot. Scoring exactly 33 points in the game...

The crowd went wild, my ears went deaf, and I couldn't focus on anyone else but Kongpob.

As his teammates toppled him to the ground, cheering and hugging him with absolute excitement, I watched as if in slow-motion as Kongpob turned towards me, his tanned skin glistening with sweat, wiping away a droplet from his forehead until his dark eyes found me and that handsomely mischievous and oh so smug smile was back on his face.

I knew exactly what that devil was thinking.

"I won, Arthit."

...

Oh damnit...

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When the buzzer signaling the end of the game went off, everyone stood up from his seat and rushed towards the court to show their admiration to Kongpob who not only managed to score 33 points in the whole game, but also brought the team to becoming the champion once again.

But as everyone did, I wanted to do otherwise. "I'm leaving!" I shouted to Nam as she grabbed my left arm with a questioning expression on her face right before I could run away.

"But why? Everyone's celebrating. Why would you want to leave?" she asked me with a confused tone.

Seriously, I did want to stay and at least congratulate Michael for the team's victory. But I had to go because I didn't want to keep my end of the bargain. I was nervous and I didn't want to go on a real date with Kongpob. Or worse... Only God know what he could force me to do...

"I just remembered I have to do something so I have to go. I'll call you later to explain, okay?" I replied hurriedly as I freed myself from Nam's grip and rushed out of the gym.

As soon as I was able to reach my locker, I couldn't help but feel relieved. I was able to escape without Kongpob knowing. And he couldn't possibly say I was breaking his rules because in the first place, I was the one who had suggested the idea. Besides, I bet he couldn't get away from the crowd since he was the star player of the game.

Although...

...he did play very well today...

I wonder if it was because of our bet that he tried harder than usual...

No, he must've been lucky.

Just that...

I took out the books I needed from my locker and started walking towards the school gates, humming cheerfully as I did. However, when I reached the gates, there was Kongpob leaning against the gate as if he had been waiting for quite a while already. He wasn't even wearing his jersey anymore, but instead, his school uniform. There was no hint of him just having played a full basketball game, no sweat, no tiredness, nothing. How he showered and changed so fast, I had no idea. Maybe I had lingered around my locker longer than I thought...

"Where are you going?" he asked me with a sly smirk as I neared him wearily.

Seeing how I couldn't go on with my plan of escaping him, I gave him a sheepish grin. "Hi! I was about to send you a message saying I'll meet you here but I guess you figured it out before I could." I remarked in my most innocent voice. "Did you wait long?"

He didn't answer that. Instead, he started walking. "Let's go then." He said, looking back to gesture me to walk beside him.

I walked over to his side. "But where are we going?" I asked, noticing how he was the one leading the way when it was I who told him we'd go somewhere if he managed to shoot 20 shots.

He turned to me with a knowing smile. "You think you can fool me? You were going to ditch me, weren't you?" he said, then he grabbed my hand and intertwined our fingers. "This is your punishment."

0_0

My eyes widened as I tried to take his grip off of me. "Yah! Why should I be punished? Did I break any rules? You didn't order me to go out with you so I don't need to. You're lucky I even decided to come with you though I don't have to." I complained to him, wriggling against his iron grip.

"Why, am I breaking a rule? You just said no hugging or kissing. Am I doing any of that?" he responded mischievously.

I glared at him but said nothing. He had a point after all and if I argued more with him, I was sure he'd try doing something worse.

We walked in silence, his hand still not letting go of mine. And it really annoyed me, especially the fact that he was still smirking as he did and his damn hand felt so warm and comforting in mine, I didn't even feel like letting go.

I lowered my head to the ground and tried to force the deep red blush off my face...with no luck. As my heart beat faster with every second our hands were intertwined, I felt more annoyed by my conflicting feelings towards him.

Grrrr...

Finally, he let go of my hand once we stopped in front of a coffee shop. Then he looked at me. "You said I don't have the right to say anything about this date because you're the one who decided it, didn't you?" he asked me with a raised brow.

I nodded. "Yes. You can't tell me what to do or what not to do." I agreed.

His smirk turned into a wide smile. "Don't forget you said that, okay?" he said, grabbing my hand again and pulling me inside the coffee shop, before leading me towards a table for two. When we settled on our seats, he looked at the menu with delight. "Let's order?"

Actually, I couldn't figure out what he was up to now. I thought that he was finally giving in to what I wanted, like he did way back when we were stranded inside the classroom and the only way to get out was by passing through the dark creepy hallways. And so, I happily cooperated. "Okay." I said, browsing at the menu.

I had never been to a date my life, but I did know that Kongpob had dragged me here, so he would pay. Hehehehe...And that was why I tried to find the most expensive coffee drink I could find, so Kongpob would be broke after this. "I want a cappuccino frappe."

"Sounds good." he said in agreement. He called the waiter and told him to get us both a cappuccino frappe. When they arrived, he immediately took a sip and let out a satisfied exclaim. "Mmm! This tastes as good as it costs. Luckily, I'm not paying."

I raised a brow at him. "What do you mean? Why aren't you going to pay? Do you have a coupon or something?" I asked confusedly, still not realizing his plan.

And there it was, his annoying smile. "No, I don't have a coupon. But you said earlier that you're the one who decided to have this date. Therefore, it's YOU who asked me out. And because of that, YOU're supposed to pay for everything." He answered with a smug smile, chuckling to himself.

"Yah, who are you kidding?" I replied, starting to get angry. I didn't know which was it that was triggering my anger was it the fact that he was asking me to waste my money or was it the fact that he just ruined my first date? "I won't pay for this."

He then frowned. "But you have to or we'll end up washing the dishes to pay for these. I didn't bring any money with me." He remarked innocently as he looked at me like I was doing something wrong. "If I had known you're not willing to pay I would've brought my wallet."

I wasn't going to fall for his silly tricks. I knew that he was just trying to get on my nerves. "I know you're lying. I'm not going to pay." I repeated, crossing my arms to my chest with an angry pout on my lips. As I did, I tried to remember whether the money I had brought with me was at least enough to pay for my own drink so I could just leave and make him pay for his own. But I didn't think anything like this would happen, so I hadn't brought enough money.

"I'm not lying. I left my wallet in my locker at school." He answered me, once again smiling but this time, it was an innocent one.

I shook my head in disbelief. He was really getting on my nerves. I was really angry now. "This isn't funny, Kongpob." I exclaimed angrily.

Suddenly, a guy at the counter who looked like a manager called the waitress and asked her to bring us the bill as if he had heard our argument. And so, she stood before us, laying the bill in front of me. "I know your wallet's inside your pocket. Hurry and pay!"

Upon seeing me beyond annoyed, Kongpob stopped smiling. "I'm really not joking. I don't have money with me right now. But...wait, I'll try to do something." He said in a whisper as he turned to the waitress with a sweet smile. He gestured for her to come closer to him. The girl, with blushing cheeks having been looking at Kongpob since she arrived with the bill, moved closer to him. "Hi, my name's Kongpob." He suddenly introduced himself to her.

What was he doing? Was that what he meant by doing something, hitting on another person right in front of me? This had gone from a bad date to the worst date! "Yah!" I started to exclaim when he gave me a glare and placed a finger in front of his lips, telling me to be quiet.

"I'm Jane." The girl responded softly, despite my loud exclamation. She seemed to be flattered to be having a conversation with a tall handsome guy like Kongpob. "Is there a problem? Do you want me to call the manager and deal with him for not paying?" She looked at me accusingly.

What the...? --_--

Believe me, when I heard that, I was so so close to shouting at the both of them. But because I was too nice and I just wanted to leave, I decided to keep my mouth shut and let Kongpob deal with it. After all, he did say he was going to do something about it.

Kongpob shook his head as he grinned at the girl. "No, it's not that. Actually, it's me who can't pay right now. See, I promised my friend here I'd treat him coffee because..." he hesitated, then gestured for her to move even closer, close enough to whisper. "He just broke up with his girlfriend, and his mood has been like that ever since. That's why I wanted to make him feel a bit better, so he wouldn't look so angry all the time and scare off people. But unfortunately, I left my wallet at our school." He ended his words with the most adorable puppy eyes and pout.

I nearly flipped the table right there and then.

The waitress nodded as if she understood every word Kongpob said. "Coffee really does soothe grumpy people." She remarked in agreement.

"Anyway, I was wondering if you can pay the bill for me now and I'll just pay you back tomorrow." He said, unleashing his infamous smile. The girl's forehead furrowed and she looked like she wasn't sure she should agree. "If you don't trust me, I'll leave my number with you and you can call me when you think I'll run off."

Any girl or guy (besides me, of course) would not pass up a chance to get Kongpob's number. And she wasn't any different. "Okay then." She replied excitedly, returning Kongpob's smile with a grin. Then she took out her cell phone and gave it to him so he could save his number in it. Once it was done, she took the bill from the table. "Don't worry about this then. Just don't forget to pay up, okay?"

She turned and started walking away. As soon as she did, I stood up from my seat and rushed out of there, not even bothering to see whether Kongpob was following me. Once I was out though, he caught up with me as I continued to walk.

"I told you I can solve the problem." He spoke braggingly with a grin.

I glanced at him. "Who started it in the first place?! Who would be stupid enough not to bring a wallet when going on a date?" I let out angrily.

"Why are you so angry? I managed to solve it without you having to pay, didn't I?" he replied. "Is it because I gave my number to a girl while I'm with you? I'm sorry for that, but it did save us both. And besides, you know how it is to have such an amazingly handsome boyfriend. It's a burden!" He exclaimed with a smug and nudged me with his elbow.

I stopped walking and faced him. "Look, I don't care whether you give your number to all the waitresses in there. I'm not even a bit jealous. You want to know why I'm angry? It's because you ruined the very first date I've ever had in my life!" I shouted at him coldly.

Having said that, I turned and started towards my house, half-running. And it was a good thing he wasn't in the mood for being even more annoying or else he would have continued to follow me and say things like what he said earlier. But instead, he just left me alone.

That night, I didn't call him. Who cared if he was going to punish me for it? Didn't he already punish me by humiliating me earlier today? Could any of his next punishments be worse than that? But I needed someone to vent out on, so I called Nam, who I was sure was really anticipating my call anyway. She probably figured out that Kongpob and I were together since we were both missing in action.

"Nam, how could you have managed to have such a jerk as your boyfriend?" I asked sarcastically as soon as she picked up the phone.

"Okay Arthit, stop exaggerating. Kongpob isn't a jerk." Nam replied. "What exactly happened?"

She actually thought I was exaggerating? I was even understating. "Kongpob isn't a jerk? Yah, Nam, what do you think of a guy who takes you out to an expensive coffee shop and when he does so, he asks you to pay for it. When you tell him you're not going to pay because he took you there in the first place, he says he has no money and flirts with the waitress right in front of you and introduces you as a grumpy friend who just got over a breakup in order to escape from paying the bill?" I narrated at the speed of lightning, careful not to miss a single detail of my worst date ever.

Upon hearing me, I expected her to say something to make me feel better, like 'oh my god, that was so awful'. But instead she laughed at me. "You're not serious, are you?" she remarked in disbelief, totally not believing my story.

"Do you think I'd be this hyped up if it's not that bad?" I answered her with a pout.

She stopped laughing and tried to be serious. "But Arthit, it's just not possible. Because Kongpob never took me out on a date and asked me to pay for it. And our first date was really memorable. He took me to an amusement park and even won a huge stuffed toy for me."

Great. Just amazing...

"But he really did it to me... He must really hate me then." I said quietly, seeing how it was only with me that he acted like a complete jerk. Maybe we were really just made to hate each other.

Forever.

"Well, I told you before, didn't I? He doesn't like you anymore, so that's why he's treating you badly." She pointed out.

"But he never did treat me nicely, even when you claimed that he liked me, so I don't think it's the real reason." I said, not agreeing to her theory.

"...Arthit, you don't think," she stopped for a moment before continuing. "Kongpob knows about our plan?"

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