𝗱𝗲𝘃𝗶𝗮𝗻𝘁; johnten

.•five•.

"do you ever get bored staring at words all day?" johnny enquired sleepily as he gazed at the textbook in front of him. they had situated themselves in the impressive library which had technically been locked, though ten demanded the right to have the keys since he spent most of his life in there. the party from the beginning of the week had to have had a library staff member present, or else the door had been neglected.

it was pretty dark around, with only one little lamp spilling artificial, golden light over the old, wooden table. the pair were both exhausted, and it was nearing one in the morning. had johnny stuck with the fine print of the deal wherein they worked from eight 'til nine, perhaps this wouldn't have been difficult.

"i love learning," the younger yawned and leaned against his palm opposite the older. "i never get sick of going to bed knowing i've obtained new information. it's exhilarating for me, since i can keep up with pretty much any conversation and hold a valid opinion of most topics."

"nerd."

"am i supposed to take offence from that?" the short teen chuckled. "regardless of how incredible my brain is, i still consider myself to have a pretty face, so the joke's on you."

wow, he's vain, the brunette thought whilst pursing his lips to refrain from cracking a smile. it was quite cute actually, and the self-esteem was a nice attribute for someone who initially appeared stressed and upset all the time.

"look," ten hummed and pulled the book away from the taller to slide it aside, "we can take a break if you'd like. I'm not surprised that you aren't functioning at this hour."

"how kind," johnny chuckled before holding his index finger up to signal 'one second', then dashing off into the black, library aisles. his figure was all but gone, leaving the thai with a concerning sense of loneliness and perhaps a little fear for the unknown in the shadows.

"johnny?" he called softly. there wasn't a response, though the sound of books falling unceremoniously to the floor did make him skittish. "johnny, are you making a mess?"

still no response.

god, what is he doing? the ravenette wondered, considering getting out of his seat though recalling that hatred for the dark. should i call again?

"here i am," the older suddenly replied as he re-emerged from the pitch-blackness to be bathed in the little lamp's light once again. he dropped a collection of humorous fiction novels onto the desk, and this surprised the younger a great deal.

"um...what are these?"

"the covers should make it obvious...?"

"i see the genre!" ten snapped, grabbing one to flick through it, "but why? i was under the impression that you were 'too cool for reading' or something."

"pres, it isn't uncool to be an intellect, y'know?" the brunette stated wisely before grabbing a comic from the pile himself and taking a look. "i am an ace at maths, and i love physics, and that doesn't drop me any friends. it's the attitude that counts and the desire to hang out with others."

"elaborate?"

"so, i love using numbers right? how does that affect watching a film in the cinema with a group of guys my own age?"

"it doesn't."

"precisely. i've chosen to sacrifice the goodwill of my teachers in order to get along with my peers. the balance sounds nice, but i don't want to be tied down by exams and dull things like studying when life is too short for that."

"you're eighteen, idiot. not seventy. you have time for all the fun stuff and all this work you put in now will secure a job that can pay for all that night stuff, don't you think?"

they ended up staring at each other for a moment, though it felt like much longer. their eyes both held flickering flames of fire which were stubborn and refused to hear out another side of a debate. both wanted to prove a point, yet each other's were irritatingly valid.

"well," johnny yawned and looked down to his comic momentarily before attempting to lighten the mood by holding up a picture of a little cartoon character with a pulse mark by his head. he looked extremely angry, and the older found it amusing. "this is you."

"w-what?"

"this little guy," he motioned around the enraged chibi's box, "he's you. all sassy and annoyed."

"hey, that's so cruel. i can be happy!" ten complained, then snatched the childish text from the other's hands and flicked through it a little to find the said character with blushy cheeks and a cheesy grin. "this is me when i'm not with you."

"ouch."

"mhm, the cold hard truth."

"though i think that's a lie," johnny pressed with a condescending grin that told a lot more than words could. he leaned over his interlocked hands and arched his brow. "i bet you secretly love our sessions and my company, and just hold up a front now. admit it, we're able to have fun together when we want to, right?"

"ew, no. i dread every evening when i have to go searching for you. why can't you just take it easy on me?"

"well, you don't take it easy on me, either! we need to work out a compromise, don't we? like allow me a certain amount of time to party and the rest for study?"

"you're not taking your life seriously, man," the ravenette hissed, "and that's what's concerning, not the grades. we all know you could snatch any grade you want from your ass if you desired to...but you're too lazy. you aren't motivated."

"you've solved the mystery," the brunette clapped. "gold star."

"you're such a pain!"

"a fun pain."

"no, a pain pain," ten reiterated, though he couldn't help but smile lightly as he looked through a few more pages of the comic and found more of the little guy they'd related him to in his various moods. cute, he beamed.

and johnny found that expression he was wearing now even more precious than that.