“I’m sorry,” Keb excused himself and let go of Meow’s wrist before he turned to Moon and looked at him worried. “Are you okay?” Moon only nodded. Just like Meow, he was in shock and needed some time to process what had happened. What would have happened if it hadn’t been for Keb.

“Did I do something wrong?” Meow asked in surprise after she had noticed Moon’s terrified look. “I’m sorry, Moon. I didn’t mean to do… what I did wrong.”

“It’s okay,” Moon talked to Keb without reacting to Meow’s apology. “I’m okay. Don’t worry.” Moon showed both of them a smile. He started to smile even though he still felt like running away. He smiled when everything he wanted to do was crying. He wanted to cry, but he smiled for them. He smiled for the world. So no one had to worry about someone like him. Someone who was scared to be touched. Someone who sometimes couldn’t even take the noise of the voices around him. Someone who was as broken as him. Moon didn’t know that Keb didn’t believe his smile. It could have changed everything, but he didn’t see it. No one had ever questioned his smile. But he did. Keb noticed that this smile was just a lie he had been telling for years and years. That dirty and painful secrets were hiding behind this very smile.

“Do you want to sit down?” Meow asked and gestured into the room. They all sat down at a table on the opposite side of the room. Keb still didn’t leave Moon’s side, was sitting right next to him to be ready to save him from any possible kind of pain. Meow took a seat opposite of Moon. She looked only at him, only had eyes for him, and didn’t pay any attention to Keb.

“Did you have a good first day?” Meow asked Moon who nodded in response.

“It was okay.”

“And do you like being here?”

“I don’t know yet.” Moon wasn’t good at small talk. Or he was just not comfortable in this situation. Keb was honestly a little surprised that Moon answered Meow’s questions with only those few words. Keb’s first impression of Moon had reminded him a little of Khem. Moon seemed like someone who likes to smile and talk. Although he now knew that there was a lot more to Moon than just a bright and beautiful smile, he still hadn’t expected him to act like this around her. He hadn’t expected him to give those short and cold answers, hadn’t expected him to ever be this unfriendly to someone he had just met. Or was it because of what had happened earlier? Did Keb fail to prevent him from the pain?

“I…err…” Meow was obviously intimidated by Moon’s previous answers, “I wanted to ask you something.” Meow cleared her throat after not getting any reaction from Moon. “Our theater group is working together with some of the Film and Media majors. There is this contest for universities in Thailand this year. We have to film a short movie and err… we still need someone to lead the stylists because none of them is confident enough to take this much responsibility.”

“So you want me to do that?” Moon concluded, didn’t even need an answer from Meow to know that he was right. “You don’t even know me.”

“But I have eyes and I can see that you were born to do this,” Meow explained herself. “It’s your first day here and I can already tell you are the best-dressed student here. And you are confident with how you look. Besides, you are Khem’s friend so I know I can trust you.”

“If you trust people just because they are friends with Khem, you should look out for yourself,” Moon responded honestly. Keb chuckled. Moon’s words might seem too cold and mean, but they were the truth. “I’m sorry,” Moon continued, “But I can’t manage more work.”

“Don’t you want to think about it first?” Meow asked in a hurry, trying to convince Moon of this offer. “Our chances to win are really high. And you will get paid!”

“I know how this job works. The lead stylist always has to spend their own money because no one believes their work is important and their budget is too short.” Moon stood up again and smiled at Meow, “If you have nothing more, I will go now. Class is starting soon. It was nice to meet you and I hope you will find someone to help you out. Good luck.” With those words, Moon got up again and turned to Keb one last time to not leave without saying goodbye to him, “I will see you around. Have a great day.” And then, he just left.

“You can always change your mind,” Meow yelled after him. “I’m here every break. Just come to me when you decide to do it.” While Meow was still desperately trying to make Moon do this job, Keb turned around and watched Moon leaving. He didn’t say a word to him, didn’t say goodbye. He didn’t even show a reaction to Moon’s goodbye. Keb just watched him. He couldn’t believe how amazed he was by him after not even spending one hour with him. He didn’t know that guy, but he already felt attached to him. Keb wanted to know everything about him. He wanted to know what was hidden behind his smiles and confidence. But most importantly, he wanted to be by Moon’s side for a long, long time.