Mew's parents are happy to see him home if a little confused. He doesn't even have to lie when he says he missed them terribly and wanted to stay in home for few days. His mother frets over his health, complaining as usual that he lost weight after missing home-cooked meals and is appearing peaky.

She whips up a couple of his favorite dishes and insists Mew finish them all without leaving any scraps. Dinner is a fun affair, spent trading anecdotes from his uni life with his parents listening attentively and offering their thoughts occasionally. After dessert is cleared up, they retire to the living room's couch. His father soon excuses himself to go over his work in peace. Mew lies on his mother's lap letting her pamper him, thoroughly enjoying the love and attention after the horrible afternoon he had.

"Is there something bothering you, Luk?" His mother asks, brushing the stray hair away from his forehead. "You can tell me anything, you know that right, honey? Your father and I always got your back – no matter what the issue is, we are here to love and support you through anything."

"H-how did yo- I mean," Mew coughs to cover up his mistake. "N-nothing is wrong, Mae. What makes you say that?" He sits up and faces her with a strained expression, hoping his inner freak-out isn't being revealed so plainly.

His mother has a playful smile as she chuckles softly, booping his nose. "You mean, I'm supposed to pretend I cannot see that you're moping? What happened dear – did you have a lovers spat with Bright?" She laughs again when Mew simply takes turns spluttering and to gape at her.

He feels like a fish out of water, struggling to breathe. His face feels hot, flushing an incriminating red in front of his mother's all too knowing gaze. Mew flails his hands in an attempt to dissuade her line of thinking when he couldn't bring himself to string up a decent thread of objections. Even if her harmless teasing sucker punches him in the gut, his bruised heart still smarting from the afternoon's ambush attack, Mew tries his best to refrain his heartache from shining through his unfortunately expressive eyes. He settles on a sullen, "How did you figure it out?" and barely remembers to tack on, " And its not a lovers spat!" when his Mae continues to look amused.

She merely smiles, indulgent and ruffles his hair, cooing at his grumpy demeanor. Mew whines, desperate for answers he didn't realise as important till then. More confirmation of how transparent his feelings are ... and what he could do to hide them better.

"Ah, okay - okay." His wonderful mother gives in. "It wasn't difficult to make the connection, honey. You kept dodging the subject whenever Bright came up in the conversation during dinner. You father probably didn't notice but a mother always knows these things. I wouldn't worry too much if that were the case. Fights between couples are common. Bright is a smart boy and he simply adores you to prolong whatever conflict you guys had. He will be here by morning to give you a ride back to the university and patch things up, I'm sure."

"T-that's er, that's not it, Mae." He hesitates, taking in his mother's furrowed brows before deciding to come clean. Its not like he can lie to his mom for long either. No one denies that Mew is a mama's boy, least of all himself. "You got it wrong, Mae. We uh, we are not a couple. Never even dated. I don't know where you got that impression from. H-he um, he doesn't like me that way."

He doesn't want to face the disappointment or- or upset that he's sure his Mae will display upon hearing the truth. Mew knows his parents are aware of his feelings towards Bright and his mother had more than once subtly indicated that he had their blessings. It is impossible not to like Bright and his Mae basically treats him as son-in-law already, not that Bright's conscious of this fact. This news is bound to hurt her and he hates it. The conversation they're about to have and the fresh wave of pain hurtling his way.

"Hm. Are you sure?" His mother frowns. "Have you confirmed this with Bright, dear?"

Mew rolls his eyes, done with this line of reasoning. Of having hope thrust in his face only to get yanked back by a cruel reality. This happened far too many times for him to retain any positivity or silver linings for his situation. He heard straight from the Wolf's mouth that he means nothing to his Bright, so what's the point in further confrontations? Its plain useless. "Am I sure that I'm not dating Bright? Yes, of course Mae. Generally people know when they're dating or in a relationship with someone. It is not like a sleepwalking habit where you have no idea what you're up to."

"Oh hoy! This dumb kid! And to think, I argued with your father just the other day that you take after me in intelligence. He will never let me live this down if he hears this." Smacking lightly on his shoulder, she harrumphs.

"Ow! Maaae! What's that for?"

"I understood the part where you said you guys weren't dating just fine, Mewie. Although I think it's only a matter of time before you do. What I meant is have you confirmed with Bright that he doesn't like you in a romantic sense as you seem to believe? Because I'm pretty sure you're mistaken about this. I have seen the way that boy looks at you with stars in his eyes, as if you hung the moon. Anybody with eyes can tell how much Bright cares for you. Let me tell you something Mew; the last time I came across a guy who behaved like Bright does around you – well, I ended up marrying him. Best decision of my life really."

"Alai wa? Mae!"

Mew chokes again, blushing in embarrassment this time. His foolish, foolish heart lurches at her encouraging words. The confident manner in which his Mae speaks of Bright's supposed affections gives him a pause. Its hard to shake away the delusions of his love being requited, but just recalling the way he spent his afternoon crying into his pillow is enough to propel him back to earth over a fantasy dimension. How is he supposed to move on from Bright when his own mother speaks in this manner and giving him false hopes? If only Mew hadn't heard from Bright's own words (directly), he would have no trouble believing in these lies now. Too late though, his bubble already burst.

Dropping his head in his palms, Mew groans heavily. "I- No. You're wrong about this. Trust me Mae, I know how you might have jumped to that conclusion – I did too – but its ultimately wrong in the end. It's why I came home suddenly today. Bright- he doesn't really uh, see me like that. I know it for sure."

>*<

Bitterly, he narrates the events of the day, regarding how Mew accidentally overheard Bright's conversation with his friends and what it meant for his feelings. The proverbial dam breaks and somehow despite crying himself dry the entire evening, Mew still manages to shed some more tears. He hugs his mother, finding solace in her arms and soft hands patting his back.

"I'm such a fool, Ma. I mistook Bright's friendship and generosity for something else. Sure, I'm aware there's a huge possibility he might not like me back as I want him to. But I don't know why I'm so surprised to have it proved beyond doubt in the end. By all rights, I should've been prepared for this moment. Why does it hurt so much Mae, even knowing that I was chasing after a lost cause?"

He breaks down, hiding behind his hands and heaving sobs as a fresh wave of grief assaults him all over again.

"Shhh, baby. Don't cry, Na. I'm so sorry you're hurting. Sorry you had to go through something like this." She rocks a crying Mew and consoles him the best she could. Her voice wavers as though she still has doubts regarding this situation with Bright. However, her first priority right now is comforting her heartbroken child over anything else. And seeing her only son break apart in her embrace, so vulnerable, breaks her heart too.

"Its gonna be alright, sweetheart." She lovingly pats his back and softly murmurs reassurances to him. "Bright is the unlucky one if he cannot see how special you are. I'm so sorry that you had to suffer through this ... but it will get better baby, I promise. Eventually this pain will fade and you will be fine. You kids may not realise this yet, but people do fall in love more than once in their lives. For most people, first love isn't always successful. Yes, first loves are impossibly hard to forget sometimes, but that doesn't mean it is the end of the world. You will survive this, Mewie. You just need to hang on and take every day as it comes. Until one day, it is no longer a struggle to think about this. You will get through this, honey. You will, I promise."

Mew hiccups as he listens to his Mae's wise words, cradled in her arms and slowly starts to feel better. At least the huge weight trampling his chest somewhat subsides.

She tells him to take his time to mourn and heal. That Mew can stay home as long as he wants and enquires when he plans to move back to his shared condo. Gently explains how there are plenty of other great and deserving guys out there in their city and that Mew should try to move on whenever he feels ready. "Falling for your best friend is a double edged sword, dear and if it succeeds, fantastic. But then again, life doesn't always work out like that. You're sure to find someone better if you actually care to look past Bright and check your surroundings. Who knows, maybe somebody already is looking at you and waiting for you to notice them?"

Mew continues to sniffle, clutching her back and seemingly lost in his torment. His Mae keeps insisting him to think things through carefully when his mind is clear and not to rush into any rash decisions. She keeps up the steady flow of her advice and motivation, rubbing his back soothingly and blinking back her own tears till Mew slips into a tired nap.

>*<

Every mother only wants what's best for her child. For Khun Mrs. Jongcheveevat, currently that involves her son to get some much needed space away from his best friend and crush. Realistically, she understands some wires must have crossed somewhere, and false assumptions that lead to this troublesome predicament. However, she cannot really begrudge Bright, if that boy is keen on pursuing someone else other than her son since feelings cannot be forced or dictated to suit one's wishes. Still, she believes Bright is exceptionally fond of Mew. Perhaps not enough to consider a relationship if Mew's eavesdropping were to be taken seriously, but it doesn't in any way dismiss the depth of his sincerity so far.

Having personally witnessed Mew's friendship with Bright grow over the past four years when the other boy frequently stayed over at their house for sleepovers and Sunday dinners, she cannot say it came as a surprise that her son fell for the charismatic Bright. Neither did she doubt the other boy has genuine affection for her son in return either.

Mew has always been a little shy, a social recluse, preferring to stay indoors and buried beneath books over going outside to play with other boys. Bright is the first friend he made – a polar opposite to Mew's personality – music is the only common interest tying these two teens initially. Afterwards, seeing how Bright managed to bring her highly introverted Mew out of his quiet shell, encouraged him to try new activities and genuinely been a good friend to him, her worries abated. Neither she nor her husband had any qualms about Bright dating their son. They were in fact waiting for them to announce this happy news any day now – already accustomed to the thought of Bright as their future son-in law.

This latest turn is however very unfortunate indeed. She has trouble believing that Bright doesn't harbor similar feelings for Mew but knows better than to bring it up when he's already down and broken over it.

Her poor baby must be so devastated. The way he wept, uncontrollable as though every tear, snivel and whimper is wretched directly from of his heart- She has to take deep breathes herself to stop from tearing up. She needs to be strong for her baby and if that means going along with what he wants, then so be it. Watching her son so distraught, its maddening as a mother unable to do nothing about it. If she could - she will gladly have that chit-chat with Bright and get to the bottom of what she's sure is a misunderstanding of sorts. Yet at the same time, a part of her isn't feeling so great about Bright at the moment. He was supposed to always keep Mew happy. Instead he's currently responsible of his pain. She simply cannot let her son go back to their condo, as though today didn't happen and staying by Bright's side to pretend everything is normal as usual. Mew is nowhere near ready to deal with that kind of constant heartburn. As a mother, she cannot handle the news of her baby hurting this badly and certainly not in a constant sort of way with Bright always by Mew's side and oblivious to his pain.

Try as se might, she cannot shake off the notion she isn't wrong about Bright. Perhaps he's in denial? In any case, she stands by her advice to Mew ... about stepping back and exploring other possibilities once he's ready to see past the hold Bright has on him. There's bound to be others who noticed and appreciates the amazing person Mew truly is.

Yes, it is essential for the boys to take a break from each other. Mew is a sensitive child and he must have suffered a great deal in silence all this time, only to get stabbed in the back with this out of blue confirmation. He is nowhere near ready to see Bright dating someone else either. It would benefit Mew to take a step back from the stifling source of his heartbreak and recuperate in the safety of their home. Absence can make the heart grow fonder, so who knows maybe Bright will come to realise his real feelings for her son? She can only hope for this outcome for the sake of her son's happiness ... and Bright's too.

Until Mew's back on his feet, as his mother and his biggest supporter, she is ready to do anything to keep her son's well-being in good hands. Even if that means going along with his lies to keep Bright away from their house for the time being. Looking over her sleeping son and the dried tear tracks on his pale and tired face, she knows it's the right choice to make. After all, a mother knows best about what's good for their child.

>>*<<

A/N: A short chapter compared to all my previous works. Will be back with another long chapter and some smut soon! 😉💥

Until then, stay safe folks. Also, do feel free to vote and leave some feedback of your thoughts. They help in motivating me to write whenever I struggle with writer's block and laziness, lol. xoxo 💚❤