Love is a game (Love in the air collection)

There's a thin line between secret admirer and stalker

Phayu frowns at the laptop lying in the grass. It looks like it could have fallen out of someone's bag. He picks it up and carries it to a nearby table. He'll turn it in at the office when he gets a chance if necessary but first he wants to open it just in case there is a clue to who it belongs to, maybe he can just return the laptop on his way to class if it belongs to someone he knows. He knows almost all his classmates and juniors in the architectural faculty.

When the lock screen comes up, Phayu can't help but to stare in amazement. There is a picture of him. The picture looks like it had been taken at a distance, Phayu seems to be talking to someone, but the other person has been cropped out of the picture.

Phayu has no shortage of admirers. But he can't imagine someone taking a clandestine picture and setting it as their wallpaper. No way he can turn this into the office now, for two reasons. One he is too curious about who the laptop belongs to, and two it will raise too many questions if he turns in a laptop with his own picture.

Phayu needs to hack into the computer to find out who it belongs to, luckily, he knows just the person to help him.

"You don't know who this belongs to?" Pai asks, looking at the screen.

"No, I just stumbled across it lying in the grass." Phayu says. "Do you think you can hack the password?"

"Probably, most people try to use something simple, so they won't forget it. It would help if I knew the person, but I'll try just a few common ones first." Pai says.

The first thing he tries is PASSWORD1234. Phayu raises an eyebrow at this. "You would be surprised at the number of people who use it." Pai says.

They try a few more but nothing works. Pai says, "I can break into the computer but that will take time." He stares thoughtfully at the picture on the lock screen then taps his forehead with the heel of his hand. "Of course."

He types in PHAYU, and the computer immediately unlocks. The home screen wallpaper is a different picture of Phayu, this one at lunch.

"Someone has a secret admirer," Pai says with a smirk.

Phayu sits down and looks at the computer's information screen. A lot of people name their computer after themselves. Sure, enough the name is a simple Rain's laptop.

Rain, Phayu thinks. There is a freshman named Rain, a real cutie, but Phayu hasn't had a chance to speak to him. He only knows them at all because he is friends with Sky who works with Phayu on the student council.

He opens a folder called "class notes" and he is sure these are freshman notes. Phayu may be a fourth-year student now, but he still retains a lot of the information he learned in his own freshman year.

He closes the fine and notices a file called "handsome phi'' he opens this and sees there are literally hundreds of pictures of him taken all throughout the last year. He recognizes some of the locations and others he doesn't really remember. Not all the pictures are from school either, there are some from his family's garage. Phayu in his work coveralls taking a break in the office with P'Nui and P'Aon. Working in the garage. There are some at the mall where Phayu had gone to a movie with a group of friends. Most baffling of all is one taken outside his own house.

"I take it back," Pai says, "you don't have a secret admirer, you have a stalker."

Rain has his head laid down on the desk, he looks a little like a sulking puppy. "What am I going to do, Sky?" he whines. "Everything was on that laptop, all my notes and assignments."

"Are you sure it's your notes and assignments you are worried about?" Sky asks, "And not the full library of P'Phayu pictures."

Rain lifts his head and gives Sky his best pout, "Sky, It took me almost all year to collect those photos."

"Rain, I once thought you had a crush, but what you have is an unhealthy obsession." Sky says sternly. It's not the first time he has tried to talk to Rain about this.

"I'm hyper fixated, I just admire him, that's all." Rain says.

"Yeah, but most people hyper fixate on a celebrity or hobby." Sky tells him.

"Well, P'Phayu is a celebrity of sorts, he is smart, handsome, and so cool. I'm not the only junior to admire him." Rain says.

"Most people don't bribe his brother to get pictures of him at home or at the mall." Sky reminds him.

"I just talked to my cousin for P'Fah, P'Heam was already interested in going out with him. That was hardly a bribe." Rain says.

Phayu listens outside the classroom doorway. His brother had sold him out? No wonder Rain had photos of him in places he couldn't have been. Phayu wasn't even aware Saifah knew the junior. At least Rain hadn't been wasting time following him around, but that didn't explain why Rain wanted all those photos. Was it a crush like Sky had said or was Rain telling the truth that he just admired him. Phayu hoped it was the former, the boy was really cute after all.

Time to find out.

Phayu enters the classroom and greets Sky. "How are you doing with the student council, Sky. Settling in okay?"

Sky gives him a wide-eyed look, realizing that he had probably overheard them. "Fine, P'Phayu, everything is going much better now, thank you for your help with that."

Rain looks a little like a deer caught in the headlights, "P'Phayu, how did you get here?"

P'Phayu holds up the laptop and Rain goes a little pale at the sight.

"Sky, can I borrow your friend for a minute?" Phayu asks.

Phayu doesn't wait for an answer, he grabs Rain by the arm and pulls him out of the classroom. In a secluded corner of the hall, he motions to the laptop and says, "Care to explain this?"

"That's my laptop," Rain says, "why do you have it?"

"Because I found it where a careless boy dropped it. What I want to know is why is it full of photos of me?" Phayu says.

Rain blushes and drops his head, "You probably don't remember but on my first day you helped me out when I got lost." Rain says hesitantly, "You were just so cool, and nice...."

"And handsome?" Phayu adds making Rain blush all that much harder.

"I knew you would never be interested in someone like me, so I just sort of collected photos of you instead. Are you very angry?" Rain asks.

"I am," Phayu answers, if possible, Rain looks all that much more miserable. "I am very angry that you would assume I wouldn't like you. Why wouldn't I be interested in you?"

Rain looks up at him surprised, "Because you are the campus god of architecture and I'm just an annoying freshman."

"Rain, to be honest, I don't remember giving you directions on the first day, there were a lot of incoming freshmen that day that needed help. That doesn't mean that I haven't noticed such a cute boy since then. I have often thought I might pursue you, but something always seems to get in the way." Phayu tells him.

"Really, and you don't think it's weird I have so many photos of you then?" Rain asks.

"Pretty weird," Phayu says with a laugh, "But I'm glad too, otherwise I might not have known you were interested in me."

"So now what?" Rain asks.

"Hmmm, how about you have dinner with me as a reward for finding your laptop, and we go from there." Phayu asks.

Rain nods happily at this, after all pictures are great but the real deal is even better, he thinks.