What now? Why did his mood suddenly change from happy to angry? I followed his example and glared beside me. When i saw somebody next to me, i jerked by surprise. I looked up and recognized the person. It was Fee! This guy has the talent to appear out of nowhere and scare people. I was so into Earn that i didn’t realize that Fee stood that close to me.

The excitement i felt earlier left my body. My heart beated slowlier, I breathed calmier.

  „Fee“, i called him and gave him a bright smile. „What’re you doing here?“, i gritted my teeth. This bastard broke the romantic atmosphere between Earn and me. Later i’ll take my revenge for that. „You wait and see what i‘ll do later to you for ruining the mood between Earn and me“, i thought but put an innocent look on my face so that he won’t notice my devious plot against him.    

  „My growling stomach brought me here.“

Fee’s three friends passed beside us and took the available seats. Phun was amoung them. Earn freed me from his grip then backed away. His face turned dark. He didn’t even bother to look at his rival, Phun, who stole his love, Noh, from him.

They’re two persons Earn hates most in his life and doesn’t want anything to do with them. The first is Phun, whom i gave the nickname „his first enemy“. The second enemy is obviously Fee.

Fee put his hand on my shoulder. „Enjoy your food“, he said to me but looked at Earn with a provocative smile. „I’ll see you later“. He joined his friends.

Earn sighed irritated. He tried to hide his anger but i saw it shining in his eyes. To not anger him any further as he was, i didn’t dare to say anything about Phun, whom he continued to ignore as if he doesn’t exist. An awkward silence filled the air. We sat there quietly and watched how the time flew by.

The waiter brought our food and placed them on the table. Earn started to gulp down his pommes without having a break to catch his breaths. I stared at him, questioning myself why he was acting that strange. I know he hates Fee but he shouldn’t act like that whenever i talk with him. Fee is after all not a bad guy. After i spent some time with him, i realized that he wasn’t that stiff as many stutend discribed him. He actually has a bright personality, is caring and tried to be funny. I’m sure Fee and Earn could be friends if they forget about the past and speak gently with eatch other. But i can’t say that to Earn becauce he’ll take my advice the wrong way. He’ll think i’m defending Fee and his anger’ll grow bigger.

The curry rice looked tasty but i don’t have any appetit. Still, i tried a few bites of it. After the third bites, i was full and left the fork on the table. I watched at Earn plate. He was eating slowlier. This is unusual. Why was he eating that slowly? Was everything okay with him? This guy was making me worry about him again.

As i looked up to him, i noticed him observing me. I startled when our eyes made contact.  

  „Don’t you like the pommes?“, i asked him.

  „It’s not like that. I’m enjoying it“, he smiled.

He lied. I know Earn since our childhood and can recicite all of his eating habits. He’s a big eater and likes to enjoy his foods but doesn’t want to waste too much time on eating. If he sees something delicious on the plate, he would gulp them down within few minutes. But now he had one of his favorite foods and he was eating slowly without joy or any excitement. They’re two reasons why he was acting out of character. He was either feeling down and doesn’t have appetit or he was not hungry because he already ate.

  „You ate already, right?“, i spoke to him.

He scratched at the back of his head. Whenever he’s lying, he always scratchs the back of his head and now he’s doing it right before me. That meant he did lie to me. „No, no. My mom cooked something but i didn’t eat it. You can trust me, i told you the truth.“

  „You’re lying again.“

He sighed then tried to avoid my face. „Okay, i did already eat at home“, he admited. „But i’ll explain…“

  „You know i hate liars“, i cut him off so i won’t hear any of his excuses. As he didn’t try to apologize, i talked further, „Why did you lie to me?“. The excitement i felt five minutes ago changed into anger. It was boiling like crazy in my blood. I raised my voice, „Do i look like a toy you can mess with every time you feel bored?“, i panted furious.

My loud voice attracted the attention of everybody but Fee’s in the restaurent. They turned to us and gazed curiously at us. Fee seemed to be not interested on our conversation.  

  „It’s a misunderstanding, Pete. In the past few days, i noticed that you’re eating less than usual. I’m worried you’ll end up collapsing that’s why i invited you for dinner so you can eat something.“

When he said that, the anger i felt a moment ago faded away. To be honest, i thought he brought me here because he was bored and wanted a company.  Now that i know the reason for this invitation, i was mad at myself for raising my voice at him. I was such an idiot. He only wanted to be there for me and i was treating him badly as if he was an . He didn‘t deserve this kind of treatment.

  „You didn’t have to do this“, i muttered quietly.

  „Of course i have to do this! You was there for me whenever i was depressed. It’s now my turn to care for you“, he gently said to me.

Please stop. Please don’t talk anymore, you’re giving me hope by saying this kind of things, Earn. He cares for me and something like this should be good for me cause that’s what i wished for. I want him to give me his full attention like he does to Noh. I should be happy to have his attention but somehow i can’t feel any happiness because of one thought: He won’t never love me like i do. He won’t see me as his loved one but as someone he knows since childhood and have to take care of. So please don’t raise my hope.

  „I’m your family and have to be there for you if you’re in trouble“, he added. His face saddened, „I can’t bear to watch you in such misery. You’re a bright guy and i want you to be your old self again.“

  „And who’s fault is this? Do you want to know what problem i have and why i’m suffering like a lone wolf?“, i wanted to ask him this but i don’t have the courage to say those words. I’m afraid of the aftermath if i bursted everything out. I’m scared, i’ll lose him.

  „Why’re you doing this for me?“, i whispered.

He did hear my whisper and put a grin on his face, „Like i told you, i’m your best friend. It’s my duty to care for you.“

  „Yeah… I shouldn’t forget that you’re only my best friend“, i repeated, voice shaking from the sharp pain in my heart. My heart ached so much, i want to let everything out so i can be at peace but i’m not brave enough to do that. I tried to keep my voice stable. „Thank you for reminding me of this fact.“

His mobilphone rang in his pocket. He took it out, saw first on the screen and shot me a resistent look. Although i wanted to stay calm, i couldn’t hide the curiosity that reflected in my eyes. He waited until the ringtone stopped. The phone rang again a few moments after. He hesitated again. When the mobilphone was ringing nonstop, he finally took the call.

  „Hello Noh!“, he spoke first.

What did i just hear? Did he just say Noh?