Chapter 9

"You signed us up to what!?"

Cleo turns the phone away from her ear for the reason that Gold's voice is loud from the other line.

"I signed us up in Ms. Manoban's—"

"Shut the fuck up!" Gold growls.

"Hey!" The girl best friend frowns, finally refusing to be treated like shit just because she signed up Gold's name in Ms. Manoban's candidates for the upcoming dance presentation. To be honest, the golden boy should just be happy. Cleo signed up his name as her partner. Besides, they don't even have to worry about their grades. The chosen pair will automatically get a perfect score for their practical exam in this ballroom dance.

Ms. Manoban rarely does something like this, but this performance is a big deal. The accreditation agency will visit Morello University so every department is required to showcase their students' talents.

The dance instructors decide to only choose a pair. Synchronization is the most common problem in group performances. Moreover, many students will probably turn this opportunity down because they will rather choose to focus on their major class. Again, Ms. Manoban's teaching a general subject.

"Don't hey! me, Cleo Anderson! Did you fucking forget that I have a big performance in a few weeks!?" Gold growls again. His best friend is clearly not thinking. How can she sign him up when he's aware that Gold has other commitments? For instance, he is the center in the contemporary group performance that is instructed by Mr. Song. Contemporary! Gold's fucking major! The one that will be aired in the National television!

Gold can't half-ass either of the performances!

"Well then, you can't quit. I already told your mom that we signed up for this."

Cleo giggles when profanities leave Gold's mouth. At times like this, she's thankful at herself for deciding to tell her best friend about this on the phone.

Gold can't see that Cleo is not really paying attention to him, that instead of listening to his rants, she's just painting her nails.

"You're so fucking inconsiderate!" The golden boy is shaking. He certainly can't quit now. Jasmine will surely expect him to be chosen by Ms. Manoban. Damn it.

"How many pairs signed up?" Gold sighs, finally accepting his sad fate.

"Uh..." Cleo pretends to think. "Only us."

Upon hearing this, Gold sighs in frustration and relief. He hates this, but he will hate himself more if he isn't chosen. His mother will definitely freak out.

Cleo and Gold talk more. The girl best friend says that Ms. Manoban just sent her an email, confirming that they are now the department of dance's representative. The instructor then said that they should meet her tomorrow, right after their last subjects. Luckily, both of the students' schedules end at 5pm.

"See you tomorrow, boyfriend!" Cleo jokes before ending the call.

Gold only scoffs. He still despises his best friend for kissing him last week—making their classmates believe that they have feelings for each other and that they're dating now.

They're not. Cleo has a boyfriend who is also a student in another branch of Morello school for Scholars. As far as Gold knows, Cleo’s lover is older than her and is currently studying something related to public relations. Besides, even if she's single, she would never dare to date the golden boy. He's a pain in the ass. Cleo is just calling him boyfriend for fun.

This joke isn't funny for Kolya because in the first place, he isn't aware that it's all a joke. He's one of those people who think that Gold and Cleo are dating.

The thought keeps him awake at night.

"Someone's in love~" and his hyung knows it.

Out of curiosity, Kolya turns to face Noah who's lying beside him. They share a room, but the older brother rarely sleeps here because Kolya is always studying. Noah didn't want to disturb his dongsaeng.

"How'd you know when you're in love?" He asks, making Noah hum.

"When your space is limited..."

Kolya doesn't speak, a clear sign that he has no idea what his brother just said.

Noah smiles, looking up at the ceiling.

"You're a boy in love when you are so into someone that you don't see anything else. You're only looking at a certain and small space—the place where the one you like is at. It's different when you're a boy with love. When this is the case, your space is everywhere and it's big. You see everything. You smile at the stranger, you notice the gap of someone's teeth, you appreciate the chirps of the bird. In short, you are connected with everything in this world, unlike when you're in love. You only want to see one person's smile."

"Thanks, hyung." the student smiles, embracing his brother. What the older said is interesting. Kolya just needs more time to think about this.

Nikolai is not that different from Gold, though. Like the former, the latter is also a boy in love. However, the golden boy is definitely in love with dancing and not with a person.

"Why do I always feel like I'm the only one working hard?" Gold complains.

It has been many days since he and Cleo started practicing as a pair. Ms. Manoban guides them, but they still practice from 7pm to 9pm every day without the supervision of their instructor.

The dance steps are already recorded, anyway. The pair just needs to follow it. What they're going to perform is a social dance that originated in a country in the Caribbean: Dominican Republic. It's called bachata sensual. 

The dance steps are crazy hard because it requires a lot of body waves and circular movements. Gold feels like he's going crazy. Today's Friday and they will be performing it this coming Monday.

"You're wrong." Cleo answers Gold’s offending question. "You're just extra. You get out of your way to do even the simplest thing to the point that you're failing to see the efforts of others." She pauses for a second just to stare hard at him. "You should stop that. You're not the only one trying here."

This goes back to Gold being a boy in love. The interpretation of Noah about love is also similar to what the golden boy believes. When you are a boy in love, you see and act either selfishly or in haste. You only focus on what you want to achieve because as stated, you are so 'into' it. You are way too lost that you don't even care even though you're already hurting others.

Some people call it love, a passion. And yes, maybe it's love, but it's the weakest form of love. A shallow and selfish act.

The point is, it's better to be a boy with love. This is what Cleo is implying when she told Gold to stop being selfish, to stop thinking that he's the best, that he's the only one working hard here. This is the strongest form of love. You do everything with love. 

You're already careful with the words and actions that you do and say.  You don't just focus on one subject anymore because you already know how to appreciate even the little detail. It's because you see things with love. You try to see the good things in everything.

Gold lacks understanding. Sure, Cleo is partly at fault here because she was the one who signed their names up, but it still doesn't give the golden boy the right to belittle Cleo just because the girl decided to take a short break.

They've been practicing for almost four hours already. They haven't even eaten a proper dinner yet.

Gold facepalms when Cleo storms out of the studio. He tries to stop her, but the girl best friend is too tired and annoyed to care.

She really left.

"Damn it!" Gold plops down on the ground, closing his eyes. He needs to calm down first. To be honest, he's irritated at himself and not with Cleo. His partner is actually pretty good; it's him who's having a hard time executing the steps well.

Gold is bad at multitasking. He's confusing the steps in this performance with the moves in Mr. Song's class.

"Cleo, I'm sorry..." Gold instantly stands up when he hears someone enters the studio. He looks back, but instead of seeing her strawberry blonde hair, what he sees is Kolya's pretty face.

"Hi," Nikolai smiles sheepishly. He's holding a paper bag and even though Gold is still feet away from him, he can already tell that there's food inside the bag. It smells amazing.

Kolya already knows that the golden boy is going to ask why he's here, so he beats him into it.

"I was thinking of a believable excuse as to why I'm still here at..." Kolya glances at his wrist watch. "8:35pm, but my mind isn't working."

He walks toward Gold, a soft blush is staining his cheeks.

"The truth is, I'm just here to bring you guys some dinner." Noah is trying to make different dishes these days. All the ingredients he uses are from their farm.

"Oh, thank fuck. I'm really hungry..." Gold snatches the paper bag from Kolya. He plops down on the floor again while inhaling the food.

"It's sweet potato black bean burger."

"I'm eating all of this. Fuck Cleo." Gold takes a bite on his vegan burger.

Kolya is still bothered that Cleo and Gold are dating, but he still chooses to befriend the girl. Cleo is sweet and funny. He stills sits beside her during Ms. Manoban's class. Cleo kicked Gold away.

Actually, the real reason why Kolya decides to bring food for them is because Cleo told him that they don't have enough time to eat. They're way too busy with the practice.

Good friends don't let their crush starve, right?

Yes. Kolya is finally admitting the truth to himself. He likes the golden boy.

"Where's she, by the way?" Kolya asks, looking around to see if Cleo is around.

"She walked out because she's pissed at me." Gold rolls his eyes; his mouth is full of food. "I don't blame her, but come on! We're running out of time!"

Gold continues to rant just because he's comfortable around Kolya. They talk to each other during breaks. Sometimes, the both of them even go to the bathroom just so they can 'talk.'

They know it's stupid to pretend like they're not friends when they are with their classmates, but it is the way that it is. It's like they're bound to live with what the students believe: that they're rivals.

"You should've followed her." Kolya opens the lid of the soft drink. He hands it to Gold. "People say things they don't mean when they're mad. She might break up with you."

The golden boy creases his forehead as he accepts the drink.

"Good. I don't want to be her best friend anymore."

"B-Best friend?" Kolya's mouth goes dry. Did he hear Gold, right?

"Right." The golden boy angrily takes a bite on his burger. "We're not dating. She has boyfriend."

"Then w-why did she kiss you?" It's not like he needs to know. He wants to, yes, but he won't force Gold to spill the beans.

"She just likes to tease me." Gold swallows his food. "Let's not talk about her! She's getting on my nerves."

Kolya drops the subject. He didn't like the silence so he just puts the school's laptop in his lap. This is the same gadget the pair uses to watch the recorded steps of their performance.

"Ugh," the golden boy whines the moment he hears the music. He's reminded of Cleo again. "Why did she decide to walk away now?"

Gold badly needs Cleo right now. He can't practice his part without her.

"Hey, if you want I can help you practice..."

"Oh, yeah?" Gold smirks at Kolya's offer. "What? Are you gonna take over Cleo's part?"

"Yeah!"

Gold chokes on his drink when Kolya agrees enthusiastically.

"B-But you don't even know the steps..." He argues even though this is his least concern.

"I can study it while you eat. Come on! Give me a chance..."

Gold looks away, swallowing hard. It's weird if he refuses, right? Moreover, he truly needs help.

"Fine. We start at exactly 9pm."

The university is open 24/7 because there are students who live inside campus dorm. Many of them stay at the library to study at Midnight. Actually, Kolya's supposed to live at one of the dorm rooms at Morello. It didn't happen since he demanded to live in an apartment.

Gold finishes his food while the lead dancer carefully watches the dance moves. One of Kolya's strengths is his ability to quickly memorize steps. He can perfectly perform it without a single sweat as well. The golden boy realizes this when they start practicing.

 ♪  And another one bites the dust ♪

The first song starts. Gold and Cleo will perform the bachata sensual using Connor Maynard's remix of the songs: Elastic Heart and Love Me Like You Do.

Kolya encircles both of his hands around Gold's nape. His partner then slides his hands in Nikolai's back.

Their faces are literally just several inches away from each other. Gold can feel Kolya's hot breath and beating heart.

The transferee waves his flexible body back and forth. It looks like Gold is controlling Kolya's body, but he's not. He's just swaying to be in line with Kolya's movement.

The golden boy parts his feet, allowing Kolya to wrap both of his legs in the former's left leg.

 ♪ But why can I not conquer love? ♪

Kolya waves his body side to side while his partner cups his face. This won't be called bachata sensual if the moves aren't this smooth. Gold leans his face closer; his lips are slightly brushing against Kolya's cheek.

They sway left, right, back, and forth twice. Nikolai's stare isn't tantalizing. He's actually sporting that intense stare.

Gold spins his partner as he sings the lyrics in his head.

♪ I'm like a rubber band until you pull too hard ♪

He then guides Kolya's body to wave back and forth again. This time, he's actually the one controlling the movement, it's like he's restricting Nikolai to wave his body closer to floor and back to his face.

This is the part Gold finds so hard to execute because Cleo hates her movements to be controlled by others. When she's dancing, she controls her weight and other steps, but Kolya is different. His waist is moving so swiftly. It's not hard to dance with him since his body waves lightly, as if it's made of paper.

The other song already started. Their moves are quicker this time. It's Gold's turn to spin. He raises his hands while Kolya runs his hands in his partner’s chest.

Gold is enjoying himself so much that before he even knows it, the song already ended. Kolya is just waiting for him to let go. Truthfully, the lead dancer doesn't know how to tell the golden boy that the performance is over since his eyes are tightly shut while his hands are still cupping Kolya's chiseled jaw.

Gold only realizes this when the only sound he can hear is his heart beating so fast.

"Oh." He blinks, backing away from Kolya like he's some fire that can burn him.

Let's not forget that with scorching fire, gold melts.

"You're amazing!" Kolya beams at his partner. His smile is hiding the fact that he's freaking out inside.

The thing he felt while dancing with Gold is foreign to him. It's confusing. Yes, he is aware that he likes the golden boy, but...this is different. He can't even explain it.

"You too." Gold returns the smile. He was in so deep that it felt as though his body has its own life. He didn't even commit a mistake!

"Good luck on Monday." Kolya taps his partner's shoulder. "I will cheer for you!"

Gold chuckles.

"I'll look forward to it..."

They stare into each other's eyes for a moment and after that, they blink at the same time—as if nothing happened.

As if both of their hearts aren't going wild.

"Bye, Gold!"

"Bye, Nikolai..." The golden boy says Nikolai's name for the first time.

The car speeds off. Glold smiles. He can't wait for Monday.