Cashmere felt her heart skip a beat upon hearing Grey's name. 

"But it's Thursdays? They usually don't come during weekends, right?" she asked her brother, a bit confused.

"I guess today is an exception," her brother casually said. 

"What time are they coming?" Cashmere asked in her most casual voice,

Blue took out his phone from his pocket. “Indigo just texted me. They're already at the gate of the subdivision."

Cashmere's eyes widened. 

“Is there a problem, Cash?” Blue looked at her, his forehead creased. "You looked bothered."

Cashmere shook her head. “Huh? Ah, nothing.”

Cashmere started to clean her mess in the kitchen after her brother left her. She should be able to get in her room before Grey gets here. This time, she was adamant about avoiding him. 

But luck wasn't on her side. Before Cashmere could finish, Grey already appeared in the kitchen. 

“Cash,” Grey greeted her with a smile. 

Cashmere stopped herself from examining his look. Instead, she just gave him a small smile. 

“Hi, Grey...” She greeted him back before he resumed her work at the kitchen counter. 

Do not look at him again, Cash! Avoid eye contact!

But even though Cashmere isn't looking at Grey, she could feel his eyes were on her. She knew he was coming near since she could smell his cologne. 

“Wow, blueberry cupcakes,” Grey muttered. “You baked this?”

She was forced to look at Grey who was now examining the cupcakes she made.

Step number 3: Compare him to the weirdest animal in the zoo. 

Cashmere closed her eyes for a moment and tried to imagine Grey as a gorilla. Big flat nose, massive amount of hair on his body… scary face. 

Ahhh! It's hard to imagine him as an animal. I can't do it! Cashmere screamed in her head.

Cashmere disappointedly shook her head.
"Cashmere?"

Cashmere cleared her throat and gave Grey a small smile. "Yeah. That's blueberry cupcakes."

“Can I have one?” Grey smiled.

Cashmere bit her lower lip. “I'm sorry, Grey. I baked that for my classmate...”

“Whose classmate is it?” Grey asked, his brows furrowed at her. “Irani?”

“No. Not Irani. It's for one of my classmates in a minor subject.”

His brows furrowed more. “What's the name?”

“Nico.”

“Nico,” he repeated, as his forehead creased deeper. "He's the one who gave you a basket of strawberries, right? The one Irani said who likes you?" 

Cashmere pursed her lips. "Uh, yeah. That's Nico."

"Why are you giving him cupcakes, Cashmere?" 

“Uh?” Cashmere didn't expect Grey's sudden questions. She didn't get why he looked like he was interested in Nico. "I just want to thank him, Grey. He helped me earlier."

"Help you with what, Cashmere?" 

Cashmere bit her lower lip. "At the library. He tutored me earlier at Algebra."

“Sorry, I can't give you one... My brother already ate the extra cupcakes I made."

Cashmere carefully examined Grey's reaction. He was still frowning while looking at the cupcakes in front. Was he upset? 

“Grey...” Cashmere cleared her throat. Damn. She couldn't bear seeing him upset over a cupcake. “Uh, are you mad?”

“No,” Grey immediately answered. He looked at her, and then his expression slowly softened. "Why would I be mad at you, Cashmere?”

Cashmere slightly looked away. “Well...uh, because I didn't give you a cupcake?”

"Well, you bake this for someone else so I shouldn't have asked for one."

"So, you're not mad?" Cashmere probed.

“I will never get mad at you, Cash. Never.” 

Cashmere's eyes went back to Grey. He was looking at her with such tenderness in her eyes. Her heart skipped a beat.

“Oh, Cashmere.” It was Manang Prising. 

Cashmere wanted to thank the old lady for entering the kitchen. 

She looked at Grey and smiled a little. "Uh… I'll go ahead to my room, Grey." 

“Wow, to whom are you going to give that?"

Irani asked her after age noticed her paper bag with a box of cupcakes in it. Her best friend took a curious glance at it.

Her best friend's eyes slanted at her. "Don't tell me you're gonna give that to Grey?" 

Cashmere's lips pursed. "No. Irani. This is for Nico. I told you he helped me yesterday, right?"

Irani nodded her head as if satisfied with Cashmere's answer. "Oh, well. That's good. Nico could be your Step number four."

“Huh?” Cashmere's brows furrowed at her best friend. "What do you mean?" 

“Remember, Step number 4: In order to forget the old one, you must find a new one. Find another crush...” Irani grinned at her. “See! You should spend time with Nico!”

“And what do you mean by that? That should use Nico to forget my feelings for Grey?” Cashmere shook her head. “I don't want that, Irani. Nico is a nice guy. He doesn't deserve that."

“Come on, Cashmere. I didn't say you're going to use him… well, sort of." Irani pursed her lips. "You said it yourself. He's a nice guy and a good one. What if by getting closer to him, you finally develop feelings for him for real? Maybe whatever feelings you have for Grey would transfer to Nico?" 

“What if it never happened? Then I was just giving Nico false hopes."

“At least, you gave him a chance, Cashmere. It was Nico who said that he's still hoping for a chance until now, right?" Irani said. "See? You won't be using the guy, Cash. This would be both beneficial to you. You're going to forget about your feelings for Grey… then at the same time, you'll be able to give Nico the chance he wants. You're hitting two birds with one stone!”

Cashmere sighed. “I don't know, Irani...”

“You should think about it, Cash,” Irani said. 

When break time came, Cashmere decided to go to the Business Administration Building to look for Nico. Irani couldn't come with her since she had a commitment to the drama guild. 

But Cashmere's eyes automatically stopped taking steps when she reached the Engineering building. 

"Grey..."