Aden is not in love with Neo.

He just has a crush.

The said crush is moon-sized, but still.

His best friend would say otherwise, but then again, Jia just likes teasing him. It's kind of a shame because he can't talk to her about how fluffy he thinks Neo's hair looks, or how he feels like his heart is going to burst out of his chest when Neo drinks his extra-sweet drinks with a twinkle in his eye, or how he has one dimple instead of two that appears on his right cheek when he smiles.

Okay, maybe Aden knows why Jia thinks he's in love with Neo.

But he's not. He just has a crush.

It's weird, though, because Aden and Neo aren't friends. Even if they live in the same neighborhood. And go to the same school. They have for as long as Aden can remember.

But again, not that weird. Considering Aden is really, really shy.

A coward is what you are, is what Jia would say, but that isn't the point. Aden just finds it a little hard to talk to new people. Doesn't everyone? Plus, Aden doesn't understand the need for more than one friend.

Besides, Jia is already a handful.

Another weird thing is that Aden hasn't felt this way for Neo since the beginning. They've been acquaintances for a while, but ever since Aden started working at the local café — which was over two months ago — and found out that Neo was a regular there, things started to change.

Aden can't pinpoint the exact moment when he looked at Neo one day and went, 'ah, shit', but maybe his newfound crush on the boy has something to do with the fact that the Neo he saw in school was always put together. He walked a certain way, he talked a certain way. His hair was perfect, his smile subtle. As if he was aware that there were eyes on him at all times.

The Neo that came to the café, though? He wore hoodies too big for his slender body. His hair was a mess that needed to be pushed out of his baby blue eyes every few minutes, his smile wide enough to put all of his teeth on display, and he always had a pair of round glasses perched on the bridge of his nose.

And he talked to Aden.

It took eight weeks, but Aden has finally decided that he needs to do something about his crush. He can't just stare at Neo creepily from behind the counter all his life, right? Besides, it's a plus that he already knows Neo likes guys.

He's had boyfriends before.

Aden hasn't.

So he sighs.

Fifteen minutes until Neo came to the café and ordered his usual grilled cheese sandwich with a banana milkshake.

He fiddles with his phone, looking at Jia's text for the umpteenth time.

dude . remember
u just have to slip ur number in his sandwich
do it for the gays

jiaaaa i'm nervous. and i have a bad feeling about this,

do u wanna confess f2f

no!! :<

then shut up <3

He can almost imagine her lightly smacking the back of his head before giving him a stern look. So he sighs again, and waits for the familiar tinkle of the bell on the door to alert him of Neo's presence.

Sliding his hand inside his pocket, he clutches the little piece of paper in his hand and reminds himself to stay calm.

There isn't a lot to do. Greet him back when he says hi. Take his order. Slip the paper with my name and number under the bread. Give it to him without stumbling on my legs... or my words.

The chime of the bell echoes inside the place, and Aden swallows back his nervousness when he hears his boss greet the person who just came in.

Foolproof. Foolproof. Foolproof. Aden chants it inside his head like a mantra, the bad feeling he had told Jia about still lingering in his stomach. His palms are a little sweaty, and he knows the exact second he has to remind his heart to start beating again after he hears Neo's voice.

"Hey."

Aden looks up only then, praying that his eyes aren't too wide. "Hi."

Neo's smile is as bright as ever, and how fitting, Aden thinks for the millionth time since he first felt his heart flutter for the boy, his name means 'gift' and I'm surprised every time he smiles.

"The usual?" Aden asks if he hasn't been playing how this scene goes inside his head a million times.

"You know it," Neo replies, pushing his dusty blond hair off his forehead, his hand staying there for a bit as he looks down at the pastry collection. Aden stays there for a second, admiring how cozy Neo looks in his oversized yellow sweater, unable to move his eyes away and wondering if he should just say it instead of relying on a very unconventional means of confessing his crush before the said boy looks up and meets Aden's eyes and reminds him that he's too big of a coward to do so.

"Actually —" he pauses while Aden stares at him like a deer caught in headlights. Neo tilts his head to one side. "Do I have something on my face?"

Crap. "No!" Aden says quickly, voice cracking by the end of the word. "Your uh, hair actually."

Subconsciously reaching for his hair again, Neo asks, "My hair? There's something in my hair?" He ruffles it a bit before leaning forward, and Aden almost squeaks in embarrassment. "What is it? Can you get it, please? Is it a bug?"

Aden is so panicked, he can't even let the possibility that Neo is afraid of bugs settle inside his head. He just takes a step back, eyes wide, and says, "It fell! It was a leaf." He was going to let me touch his hair. I voluntarily let go of an opportunity to touch his hair. What is wrong with me.

"Oh." Neo looks down at the floor, a little frown between his sharp eyebrows.

Aden knows he's looking for the 'leaf' so before he ends up getting exposed for his stupid lie, he says, "You were saying?"

"Huh?" Neo looks up, expression resembling a lost puppy's, and Aden all but melts. Then realization dawns on him and he says, "Oh, yeah, could you add a strawberry milkshake to my usual order, please?"

"Of course."

"Thanks, Aden."

Then he's smiling again, eyes half closing as he does before walking away, blissfully unaware that every time he says Aden's name in his smooth voice, the said boy has to resist the urge to scream into the void.

When Aden is making Neo's sandwich, he asks himself yet again if this is worth it. It's okay. It's okay. It's going to work.

He takes the slip of paper out of his pocket, staring at it and swallowing his nerves back for the hundredth time since Jia came up with this stupid plan. Worst case scenario, he takes it out, crumples it and laughs at me when he realizes.

That possibility makes Aden want to cry, but he reminds himself that it's just his brain being irrational. Neo's not that type of person... right?

Shaking his head, he breathes out before folding the paper and slipping it between the lettuce leaves. He then makes Neo's banana shake, and the strawberry one, and arranges everything on a tray before setting it on the counter and letting the boy know his order is ready.

Aden's heart is in his throat when Neo comes over and takes the tray, flashing him a grateful smile before going back to his seat.

And that's when Aden realizes he's not alone.

Neo is walking back to a girl.

Shit.

He's here with someone.

Shit. Shit. Shit.

This is not the possibility he had prepared himself for. Why didn't he think there could be someone else with him when Neo ordered an extra milkshake?

Stupid, stupid, stupid. He holds back a groan when Neo sits down. You're so stupid.

Fumbling for his phone, he quickly sends Jia a text.

I MESSED UP I'M GOING TO BE SO EMBARRASSED JIA

It's a miracle she sees it immediately. She's typing when Aden hears a cough, head snapping up in surprise and in the direction of the boy behind the cause of his panic.

dude,,,what could possibly go wrong, is the text that flashes on his phone, Aden's eyes going as wide as saucers just as his crush chokes on his sandwich.