Two Birds On A Wire

ch 08

"Please don't tell me you're the reason why this part of the wall is free of any moss" Ivan muttered, looking at the only part of that dirty wall, which seemed to be as long as the Great Wall of China itself, where there were no creepers running up or not even a speck of moss on it.

Julian just grinned cheekily.

"How long have you been doing this, Jules?!"

"Long enough" Julian said and did a little run towards the wall. He did a little jump and kicking the wall, he forced himself to the top. He struggled to push himself on the edge of the wall and when he finally was on top of it, looked down at Ivan with the widest grin plastered on his face.

Ivan had watched Julian with utter surprise. He wondered how on Earth he was going to get over that God damn wall like Julian did.

"What are you, frigging Spiderman!?"

Julian let out a chuckle. "Need a hand?"

Ivan scowled. "From that high?"

"Yeah, right. I forgot, sorry"

Ivan, with much struggle, managed to climb up the wall and the both of them finally reached the other side.

"Phew! Off we go" Julian started walking ahead, stretching his arms.

"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Ivan couldn't help but worry about someone finding out about him, no, them ditching classes.

"Because you ought to?"

"Not helping, Julian" Ivan scowled.

The boys walked down the road to one of the busiest places in the area-- Joe's coffee shop. Apparently, the rush wasn't much at this time of the day.

Julian pushed open the door to the coffee shop and the bells that hung on the door jingled, announcing the arrival of customers.

Soon as he stepped in, the nostalgic smell of fresh coffee filled Ivan's nostrils and he felt a strange sense of homeliness. He immediately took a liking for the whole environment.

"Hey Julian, it's you!" The man at the counter greeted and nodded towards Ivan when he saw him approaching behind Julian.

"Missed me, Matt?" Julian grinned as he propped his elbows up on the counter.

"Like hell, I do"

"What rude words, you spill" Julian clicked his tongue and turned around to wink at Ivan, who just stood there, clueless.

"Who might this unfortunate companion of yours be?" The man, Matt, asked.

"Shut up, Matt" Julian rolled his eyes. "He is a friend"

"Hello, I'm Ivan" Ivan passed a pursed smile.

"Matt Gilberts. It's nice to meet you, mate" Matt nodded. "Julian used to work here for a few months. Got kicked out because he kept sleeping in between shifts" he chuckled as Ivan looked at Julian with an amused gaze.

"Oh shut up, bring me my coffee already" Julian desparately turned Ivan around by the shoulders, walking him to the tables.

"The usual?" Matt called out from the counter.

"Yeah. Two of them" Julian looked back to face Ivan. "Anything for a dessert?"

"No, I'll pass"

"Fine, then. That's it"

Julian pulled out a chair for Ivan, earning a rather confused glare from him. Ivan took the seat anyway.

"I'm a gentleman, you see"

"Yeah, I figured" Ivan rolled his eyes.

Julian took a deep breathe as he plopped down on his chair. "I kinda miss this place, actually"

"Maybe you should have kept your eyes open then"

"No, no. I don't think you understand" Julian pulled his chair further towards the table and leaned forward. "Coming in here occassionally for a coffee is pure bliss. But working here, that's torture. You get the smell of coffee drilling into your nose every second, but you can't have it. That's absolutely terrifying"

Ivan gave it a thought. Julian was right. That would be a terrible experience.

Soon, their coffee arrived and the both of them shrinked into their own personal worlds.

Ten minutes of absolute silence and Julian finally decided to break it. "At first, I thought you were a boring nerd. Like, I had a feeling that the only reason why you are alive is Johann. But you actually are kinda fun to hang around" he said, taking a sip of his coffee.

Ivan raised an eyebrow. "Well,... Do I really look like a nerd?"

"You bet" Julian scoffed. "I mean, look at you. You always sit by yourself, enjoying your own company. One wouldn't even notice your existence until they stumble over you. Like I did" he laughed.

"Well, when you're always walking around with someone as loud as Barry, you ought to keep your sanity or people might mistaken you for a bunch of hooligans" Ivan shrugged.

Julian just hummed.

"Aren't you planning to go back to school today at all?"

Julian's head jolted up at Ivan. "What are you, Crazy!?"

Ivan blinked at the sudden change in Julian's tone.

"You really expect no one to notice us when we casually walk through that gate in the middle of the day? If we sneak out, we ought to stay out of school all day"

"Oh" Ivan vaguely wondered to himself if he really was that dumb.

"Are you an only child? Because you seem like one" Julian raised an eyebrow, sipping his coffee.

"I have a little sister"

Julian almost spilled his coffee. "You have a little sister!?"

"What, can I not?"

"I just can't imagine how dumb you would have been if you were the youngest one" Julian shook his head.

"Not all younger siblings are dumb" Ivan shrugged. "Look at Barry. He got a big brother and yet he is the most crooked being in the universe"

"To you, that is" Julian smirked.

"I wonder what he might do to you if he knew you called him dumb" Ivan said with the same smirk Julian gave him.

Julian pursed his lips. He opened his mouth to snap back, but was interrupted when Ivan's phone vibrated and he held up an arm, excusing himself.

Julian nodded and took a sip from his coffee, feeling a bit irritated for having their conversation interrupted.