Khan continued to help Fernando study until they were both confident in his ability to pass the exam the next day. When Fernando thanked him for all of his help, it made Khan feel warm on the inside. Something felt so right about helping his friend, but he couldn't identify what. His conversation with Fernando earlier about his romantic struggles also made him feel this way. Fernando seemed to know exactly what to say to calm down Khan. He could rely on Fernando, and Fernando could rely on him. He'd never had a friendship like this before. His train of thought was interrupted when Fernando sat up and spoke.

"So, now that we're done, what do you want to do?"

Khan paused. "I don't know. We still have a bit before practice starts."

Both fell into silence. Suddenly, an idea popped into Khan's head. He stood up.

"This is a bit weird, but I have some cookie dough left over from when I made cookies for a bake sale. We could make some cookies." Fernando raised his eyebrows.

"I didn't see you as the baking type, but alright." He stood up and followed Khan down to the kitchen. Khan smiled to himself. He was glad to finally share his secret hobby with someone. Even Lian didn't know about his love for the culinary arts. He knew she would probably judge him, so he kept it secret. Khan didn't like to tell anyone, especially Lian, about his personal life.

Khan opened the refrigerator and took out a plastic bag of cookie dough. He put it on the counter. He decided he would put Fernando to good use.

"Hey, Fernando, could you go get some stuff from the cabinets for me?" he asked as he pulled out a tray. Fernando, who was leaning on the counter, looked up.

"Sí, claro."

"I need you to get the flour, a rolling pin, and some cookie cutters," Khan said, "It'll be thrown in the drawer at the back of the pantry, and the flour will be on a shelf." Fernando nodded. "Aye aye, captain," Fernando called, disappearing into the pantry on the other side of the kitchen. Khan took out some parchment paper to line the tray and the surface they would use to roll the dough. After a couple of moments, Fernando came back with everything Khan had asked for.

"Here's the stuff." Fernando dropped everything on the counter, then continued, "And this!"

Fernando held a red apron that said "Kiss the cook" in white print. Khan chuckled nervously. He felt his face turn warm as Fernando took off his jacket and donned the apron. That keeps happening to me, he thought to himself. He felt himself blush a lot lately, especially when someone brought up Lian. But this time, he couldn't figure out what caused the phenomenon. Fernando winked at Khan when he finished putting it on, which only made him blush harder. Khan, what the hell is wrong with you?

"How do I look?" he asked, a cheeky grin on his face.

"Great. Now, let's get started," Khan responded, trying to hide his reddening face. Fernando moved to the counter near him.

"We're going to need to preheat the oven to 375°, can you do that for me?" Fernando nodded, then did so.

"Thanks. Since we already have the dough, we just need to roll it out. But first," he paused, then grabbed a pinch of flour with his fingers, "We need to put flour so it doesn't stick." He sprinkled the white powder on top of the parchment paper he put down earlier.

"Do you want to roll it?"

"Yeah, sure," Fernando answered, taking the rolling pin. Khan sprinkled some flour on the dough, then plopped it on the surface. The other man immediately got to work on flattening the dough ball. After a couple of passes, he spoke.

"I think that's good."

"It's too thick. Here, let me do it." Khan took the rolling pin and rolled it to the correct thickness. He glanced at Fernando, who was watching him work. Khan smiled back at him, which caused him to blink and quit watching. Weird.

"That should be good." Khan put away the rolling pin, then got some cookie cutters.

"Time for the fun part," Khan said excitedly as he set down each cookie cutter, noting their shape. A heart, a star, two different sized circles, and a hexagon. Fernando looked, then picked up the heart-shaped mold.

"I'm going to use this one," Fernando decided, grinning at Khan. He pressed it into the dough and took out the heart shape. Khan used a brush to coat the tray with grease. As Fernando continued to make more cookies, Khan took the hearts and put them on the tray. Fernando turned to Khan.

"You want to make any other shapes?"

"Can you make a couple of stars?"

"Of course." Fernando used the star cutter to make some cookies for Khan, finishing off the batch. There was still some dough left.

"Want to make more?" Fernando asked.

"I think this is enough," Khan responded, putting the tray in the oven. Fernando dusted off his hands. Then, he felt his face and gasped.

"Ay ay ay, I need to shave!" Fernando exclaimed. Khan laughed. Fernando's facial hair had grown out significantly, rather unkempt compared to his normal stubble. He ran his fingers through his hair, then leaned against the cabinets on the other side of the kitchen. He put his hand on the counter next to him, then looked at Khan. His piercing stare sent a shiver down Khan's spine. What's happening to me?

"What happened in the locker room today, you know, with you and Koga?" the other man asked. Khan felt his heart start to pound. He remembered how he felt when that white-haired hoodlum started flirting with his friend. Khan didn't like it at all. He felt that people like Koga were never up to any good. They were tricksters. Koga liked to mess with people, and he knew he was pulling his tricks on Fernando, trying to take advantage of his unawareness. He was being mean, and I was just standing up for my friend. Right? Fernando looked at Khan expectantly.

"Uh, what do you mean?" he answered.

"How you lashed out at him?" Fernando answered, raising an eyebrow. Khan gulped. Playing dumb wasn't going to work.

"Guys like Koga… they're…" Khan trailed off.

"They're what?"

"Manipulative. He was trying to manipulate you, trick you." Khan realized how crazy he sounded.

"What? We were just chatting, amigo, nothing manipulative about that. Besides, what do you mean, 'guys like him'?"

Khan looked away, unsure of what to say.

"I- he's a thug, Fernando. You never know what he's up to!" Khan could feel himself lose control.

"A thug? Just because he dresses weird and-"

"He used to be friends with Zhin." There was a pause. Zhin, the most shady guy in school. Definitely going to end up dead or in jail in a couple of years. He was known for dabbling in crime. Khan remembered that Koga was one of his friends before there was a falling out between the group. While the other people from his group seemed normal enough, he could never trust Koga. Something about Koga flirting with a rather innocent guy like Fernando felt wrong to Khan.

"Khan, it was a harmless conversation."

He grunted and crossed his arms.

"I was just trying to look out for you. I don't trust him."

"I trust him. He was just playfully-"

"Flirting?"

"Yeah."

"I think he was trying to flatter you. Either way, I think he's trying to mess with your head."

"Relájate, amigo. I'm not as dumb as you think I am. You can rest assured I won't let him play with my emotions."

"Whatever you say. I just-" Khan paused. He felt his face turn hot again.

"I don't want you to get hurt."

Fernando gave a friendly smile. "I appreciate your concern." Khan nodded. His heart was still pounding. He didn't like Koga flirting with Fernando, but he had to let it go. Something was off about the whole thing. He decided it was time to forget about it for now and go relax.

"Let's go sit down. These cookies will take a bit," Khan suggested. Both headed to the living room and sat in silence. While Khan sat straight on a chair, Fernando leaned back into the couch and put his arms up on the cushions. He leaned back slightly, and wiggled his eyebrows at Khan, making him laugh. He's silly, he thought to himself, I'm glad he's my friend. Then, Fernando turned his face away from Khan's, hiding it in his arm. He could see a slight blush on his cheeks. Fernando did this a lot lately, Khan noticed. Usually, he would do something strange and move on. But lately, he was becoming more embarrassed and regretful after acting up. Khan frowned. Fernando and regret were two things that didn't go together in his book. Khan decided to return the quirky gesture shortly after Fernando turned back to facing him. Fernando chuckled, his face still slightly red. Both chatted occasionally about school and sports for about fifteen minutes before the cookies were done. Khan took them out of the oven and let them cool, then they tasted their creations.

"These are really good, Khan. Did you make this dough from scratch?" Fernando asked. Khan blushed.

"Yes, I did. Thank you." He bit into one, trying to hide his reddening face. Why am I flattered so easily?

"Does anyone else know about your talent?"

"N-no."

"Well, you should be proud, amigo, you have a gift!" He socked him on the arm lightly.

"Alright, Fernando, enough." Khan chuckled and looked away, smiling.

"You don't have to hide," the shorter man said quietly. Khan looked back at him. Those friendly dark brown eyes. His smile. It was all so inviting. He felt safer around Fernando, like he could open up.

"I know, bud." He reached out his hand and ruffled the shorter man's neatly combed hair.
"Hey! Do you know how much time I spend on my looks?" Fernando snapped back, face red. He frantically adjusted his hairdo. Khan laughed. He liked to see Fernando squirm like that.

"Alright, well, you fix yourself, I'm going to get my stuff for practice, then we can leave, alright?" Fernando nodded and took off the apron, replacing it with his jacket. Khan went upstairs to his room to gather his water bottle and other sports equipment he kept at home, including his practice clothes. Then, he walked back downstairs, joining Fernando at the door. They started walking towards the school.

They took a turn on a street a couple of blocks away from Khan's to stop at Fernando's place. Khan didn't know this part of town too well, so he just followed his friend. He noted the cracked sidewalk and depressing, old buildings. The trees were shrunken and frail, with barely any leaves. There was trash on the sides of the road, and the lawns of the complexes were mostly dirt with sparse, faded grasses. It wasn't the nicest part of their town.

Then, after a short while of walking down that depressing street, they turned and walked up the driveway of a small yellow apartment building. Fernando stopped. "You can come in if you want, but it's a mess." He was clearly nervous, probably insecure about his home compared to Khan's in the nicer neighborhood. "I'll come in." Fernando nodded, then went up the stairs, Khan following behind. He took out a key and unlocked the door.

When they walked in, Khan noted that Fernando was correct. The place was a mess. There was clutter on every surface, boxes of trinkets on the floor, as well as towels and other linens on a table. In the kitchen, dishes filled the sink, tupperware containers dotted the counters, and cabinet doors lay slightly open, revealing the mess of foods inside. Fernando kept walking past that scene into a hallway. He turned and opened the door to his bedroom, then walked in, Khan following closely behind. Khan tried not to react to the mess that was confined in his bedroom. His bed was unmade, there were used tissues everywhere, an empty container of ice cream and a spoon, and garments scattered on the floor. He noted that the room had a rather calming scent, despite the mess. It smelled like Fernando. Probably that cologne he uses.

"Geez, what happened here?" Khan joked.

"Depression." Fernando searched his dresser for practice clothes.

"I can tell. Cassie got you down?"

There was a pause.

"Yeah," Fernando responded flatly, turning away to pick up some sports equipment

"Well, that really sucks, man. What happened, anyways?"

Another pause.

"Just not interested in me anymore." Khan winced.

"Oh, Fernando, I'm so sorry," he said, moving closer to his friend.

"Let's go to practice," Fernando said, avoiding the subject. Khan noted his lack of emotion.

"Alright." The two walked out of his room, out of his apartment, and to school. When they got onto the campus, they headed to the locker room to change. A couple of other players were in there horsing around when they arrived.

"It's Fernando and Khan! What's up, you guys?" Buck greeted.

"Nothing, just finished hanging out for a bit," Khan said. Fernando walked to his locker, then took off his school clothes and put them in.

"Oh, what did you guys do?" Fernando looked at Khan.

"Just got lunch and studied at my place, that's all," Khan responded, nervously. Fernando frowned, then turned away.

"Hey, Fernando, I heard you and Cassie split, what's that all about?" Buck inquired. Fernando sighed, then turned around to face his friend.

"She just isn't interested in me anymore."

"Aw, that sucks. Hope you feel better."

"I will."

"You'll find another girl," Viktor cut in.

"Yeah, hopefully," Fernando responded, sadness in his tone. Khan took off his clothes and started to change when the conversation shifted to him.

"So, Khan, you're with Lian, right?" Viktor asked, awkwardly. Fernando turned away. Khan remembered what had happened at lunch, and was flooded with embarrassment. His cheeks turned red.

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm so sorry."

"Viktor! That's not very nice," Buck cut in. The short, dark-haired man ignored Buck and faced Khan.

"I, of all people, know Lian. At least romantically," he started.

"Yeah, and?" Khan asked.

"She's… a handful."

"I know. I've been friends with her since I was a kid." Viktor winced.

"That's kind of weird," he commented, "How did you two start, anyways?" Khan gulped. He didn't feel comfortable sharing that information. Lian just walked up to him one day and asked him to date her. He did it, no questions asked. He always did what she wanted. He never questioned why. Maybe I should?

"Uh, well, we just kinda… started." Viktor nodded slowly.

"Well, good luck. Hopefully you don't do as badly as I did." Buck socked him. Khan finished changing, and so did Fernando. They headed to the field, ready for a productive practice to prepare for the game the next day.

After practice, Khan changed back into his normal clothes in the locker room and bid his friends farewell. On the way back to his house, he couldn't stop thinking about Fernando. He seemed sad after he brought up Cassie. Khan hoped it wasn't his fault his sadness came back. When he got back to his house, he walked up the stairs and opened the door to his room. He was going to just put his stuff away and take a shower, but an unexpected guest stopped this.

"Hey Khan," Lian greeted. She was lying on his bed, wearing that pink robe she adored so much.

"What are you doing in my room?" he asked, frustration in his voice. He really didn't feel like dealing with her right now. Or ever.

"I just wanted to surprise you," she said, in an innocent tone.

"I- I need to take a shower. You need to leave."

"Why can't I stay?"
"Because I'm going to sleep after I shower." There was a pause.

"I can sleep with you." Khan was about to accept the offer, but stopped himself. He remembered what Fernando told him earlier.

"No."

"Why not?"

"I don't want to."

"But I'm your girlfriend now."

"I don't care. I don't want to sleep with you." She pouted, then got up from the bed. She slowly took off her robe to reveal herself. She was only wearing her underwear underneath.

"Come on, Khan, you know you want this," she teased. Khan's face turned red, and he frowned.

"Lian, stop it. Leave, before I make you."

"God, you're no fun at all." She angrily put her robe back on, then stormed out of his room. He heard the front door slam after some hard footsteps down the stairs. He sighed, then took his pajamas and headed to the bathroom to shower. Why is she like this?

When he finished showering, he changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. Then, he returned to his room, turned off his light, and slipped under his covers. However, he couldn't fall asleep right away. His mind was full. He didn't understand his relationship with Lian anymore. He not only rejected her to stand up to her demanding nature, but also because he didn't feel sexual attraction to his friend. He never did. Sure, she was pretty, but Khan wasn't attracted to her that way. He didn't know why they were dating. To him, she wasn't anything more than his best friend, and judging by her behavior, she felt the same. Khan felt used, like he was just a pet to Lian. Someone who really loved him would listen to him and understand his feelings. Someone who really loved him wouldn't treat him like a pet, or demand that he follow whatever they say. Someone who really loved him wouldn't randomly ask to start dating for no reason.

Khan sighed, then turned over in bed. He thought of Fernando's warm eyes, his strong, yet pleasant, scent, his stupid smile, and his smooth voice, that accent soothing to Khan during rough times. He hoped Fernando would be proud of him for listening to his advice and standing up to Lian. His confidence helped Khan break boundaries, and he could not thank him enough for it. He was a warm person, both figuratively and literally. When he hugged Fernando today, he felt the warmth in his heart dispersed throughout his entire body. Then, he remembered the conversation about Koga. He still couldn't quite figure out why Koga flirting with Fernando felt so wrong. He didn't want Fernando to get tricked, sure, but there was something else burning inside of him. Something that Fernando had, that he wanted. That charisma, his smooth-talking, he wanted it. He wanted that tone from Fernando. Sure, he was confident, but he never acted like he did with Koga around Khan. He hoped his secret wish would come true, and he drifted off to sleep.