Apollo stood a few feet away from the group's table, trying to figure out what was going on with his best friend. "Clay, what's wrong with sitting at the table? What did it do to you?"
"Nothing! I just... feel like sitting somewhere else today."
Apollo held up his bracelet. "You know your lying doesn't work against me."
Clay looked off to the other tables in the cafeteria. "Just somewhere else, okay? Please?" A pleading look resided in his eyes.
"Seriously, Clay. What's wrong with the regular table? We can sit somewhere else, but you better explain yourself."
Clay sighed in relief. In that moment, Apollo noticed the unusual black and white haired visitor joining the morning table for the first time. "You're quite the coward for someone that's planning to be a future astronaut. I haven't seen you avoid someone this badly since the one time you told Ema forensic science wasn't a real science like 5 years ago."
"Hey! It's just-" Clay groaned. "You know why."
Apollo rested both of his hands on Clay's shoulders. "I know it's hard, but just apologize to him. You're going to seem like more of an asshole if you don't."
"But what if he doesn't accept it?"
"You'd still be taking a step in the right direction, Clay," Apollo reassured him. He furrowed his brows. "Why do you care so much about what Daryan thinks about it anyway?"
Clay looked away, closing himself in his jacket as best he could with his shoulders being held. "I just think he's kinda cool..."
"Clay?"
Ema's voice cut into their conversation. "Are you two idiots going to start slow dancing or sit down with us?" People from other nearby tables turned to face them, and Apollo dropped his arms from Clay's shoulders. Clay seemed even more shrunk in on himself than before.
"We'll be there in a sec," Apollo answered.
"I'm going to just go downstairs... I'll talk to Daryan at lunch," Clay said before leaving towards the staircase.
Apollo watched him leave before joining the rest of his friends at the table. Even though he felt bad letting him go alone, he knew Clay needed his space. He just hoped that Clay wouldn't get himself killed while he was off on his own.
Ema threw a snackoo at Apollo's forehead. "Took you long enough. Your foppish boyfriend was beginning to wonder if he was going to have to go to his stupid Latin class alone."
Klavier choked on his water. "He's not my boyfriend."
"How you've talked to me about him suggests otherwise," Daryan teased.
"Ich hasse dich..." He threw his bangs over what Apollo thought might've been a blush on his face.
It wasn't often Apollo saw the other flustered. It wasn't a bad look either. Without having to watch over Clay's shenanigans, maybe, just maybe, he could join in on some himself. He got up and made his way to the other side of the table, offering a hand to Klavier.
Klavier took it and got up. "Danke, Apollo."
Time to put the stupid get payback for the first few days after meeting Klavier plan into action. The actual title needed some work, but it was still better than Clay's titling skills. "You're welcome. Now, let's get to class, babe. Don't want to be late for Latin now, do we?" he asked, leading Klavier away by the hand towards their classroom. Both flushed as Daryan cackled back at the table behind them.
As soon as they were into the hallway, Apollo dropped Klavier's hand and grimaced. "Eugh, that move was so bad."
Klavier chuckled. "Ja, it was."
"How the hell does Clay manage to do shit like this so casually?"
He shrugged. "Even if your attempts at trying to be a sickening boyfriend sucked, at least it got us away from them. I can only imagine how much worse it'd have been if Herr Raumfahrer himself was there as well."
"I'm still less sickening than you."
Klavier scoffed. "How dare you! Insulting me even after all that time we shared?"
"That time we shared with you using me as your motion sickness pillow? Not very romantic if you ask me. You even had your brother third wheeling."
"At least I didn't pass out or puke on you."
"...Wh- Has that happened before?!"
He laughed. "You may want to ask Daryan about that instead of me, ja?"
"So you really are shit at first dates then, huh? Almost makes me scared for our actual 'date' today."
Klavier pouted, looking down the hall to their classroom. "I promise it won't be that bad." A serious expression took over his face, and he began snapping. "Ach, right. My parents will likely ask you to stay until at least dinner so they may actually talk to you. Did you get any time you needed to be back home maybe before dinner?" There was an almost hopeful look in his eyes.
Apollo shook his head. "No, my mom only said to be back before Zak gets home."
For whatever reason that hopeful look dropped. "Ah... Just... be warned Kris and I's parents may get a bit overwhelming and possibly aggressive with their questions for you. They haven't exactly approved of any of my other friends they've met..." He started to trail off.
Apollo grabbed his hand again. "It'll be fine, Klav. Your parents can't really be that bad, right?" He didn't receive a response. Class was to start any minute so all he could really do was try to comfort him as they made their ways to their seats.
By the end of class, Klavier was back to his normal self as he left for his next class. Apollo pulled out his notebook he hadn't used since meeting Kristoph, and wrote down to not mention their parents around either Gavin brother just to be safe. Not as if the coldness that took over Klavier wasn't already a strong enough reminder.
The end of his biology class was rolling around and he still hadn't heard a word from or about Clay since he'd gone off on his own that morning. He'd asked Juniper about it in their shared English class, but she hadn't heard from him either. By now Clay would've at least texted him to let him know he was okay. Even if he left the school, he wouldn't do so without any warning.
That worry remained as he didn't notice his space-driven friend sitting at the lunch table or even anywhere in the cafeteria for that matter. Apollo half-expected Athena to confront him about his worry, but it seemed Juniper had already filled her in on what was going on as they were distracted in their own conversation. Klavier had gone to get food, and Daryan didn't really seem like the person to worry about the friend group's despairs seeing as he was just scrolling through his phone, leaving Apollo on his own.
Apollo and Klavier got right back to talking like they were earlier that day once he'd returned. Neither of them noticed anything different until Daryan looked somewhere behind them and sneered, "The fuck happened to you?"
Standing behind them was a very pissed off looking Clay with a bloody lip, covering his nose with his hand. Luckily, no blood was dripping from under his hand. "What do you think?!" he snapped back.
He muttered something about a "tall ass, piece of shit" before throwing himself onto a seat next to Daryan.
"Why are you leeching your bad vibes off to me?! I don't want them!"
"Shush," Clay grumbled, flopping on the table.
Apollo watched him, concerned. "Are you okay, Clay? Your lip is bleeding."
Clay dropped his hand from his face. A large, healed scar took up the part of his nose his bandage would usually be. "Does that seem like the only thing wrong?!" He paused, his anger turning into panic as he covered the scar back up again.
"Herr Terran?" Clay didn't answer. Apollo tried reaching for him, but he just flinched away. The girlfriends attempted to calm him down with reassurance. That didn't work either.
Daryan got up. "It's none of my business, but I can and will go find the prick that took your shit and rip him a new one. I don't like you, but nobody just brings out people's scars like that."
"No need, I think I at least broke the fucker's arm after he punched me," Clay whispered, chuckling under his visor.
"You did what?!" Apollo yelled.
Clay's chuckling got a bit louder, and he sat up fully again. "Just broke his arm as you do."
Apollo's concern changed subjects to be worried about. "Nobody just does that!"
Daryan joined in on the laughter while Clay continued, "He messed with an astronaut in training. Not my fault he underestimated me just because he was taller. It's like if I stole your cat and didn't prepare myself to possibly get the shit kicked out of me. Not that I'd lose that fight, but you get the point."
Apollo glared at him. "You're an idiot."
"But I'm your idiot!" Clay grinned, leaning over onto him.
He was immediately shoved off. "Not anymore. I'm not claiming you. Daryan, you take him."
"What am I supposed to do with him?!"
"Kill him?" Athena sort of suggested. Juniper nudged her in the side, Apollo looked at her as if she was crazy, Klavier was very confused, and Daryan seemed like he was contemplating it.
"I don't wanna die yet! I still have yet to fuck the moon!"
Disappointment took over Apollo's face, erasing his previous expression. "Kill him."
"Nooooooooooooooo." Clay looked up to Daryan for help, leaning backwards onto him. "Don't kill me, I have a wife and kids!" he pleaded.
"You're an asexual, gay teenager, Clay! You don't have either of those!" Klavier watched the best friends bicker in amusement.
"How would you know, 'Pollo?! What if I do and just never told you?"
"Then you're a shit best friend."
Clay leaned back onto the table apparently defeated. "I don't wanna be a shit best friend... how am I going to tell my wife and kids?"
"Clay."
He shrugged. "Guess I'm divorcing the sun."
"What the fuck?!" voice called from behind.
Clay turned towards them, and waved. "Hi, Ema!" He turned back to Apollo. "I guess they've been cheating on me for a while now too." Apollo nodded along.
"Are you seeing this shit?!" she asked Klavier.
"They've been going on like this for a while. You missed the murder plot."
"Damn... Daryan's involved in this too?"
The aforementioned teen grumbled, glad to finally be free of the original, brain dead conversation. "I wish I wasn't but Space Case decided to use me as a backrest."
"Maybe you'll be his go-to after the court proceedings for the divorce."
"Fuck that. No." He peered off into the distance and groaned. "Is that Mixeur?"
Apollo gave up on trying to reason with a complete lunatic, and tried to see where Daryan was looking. "I didn't think he was here today. He wasn't in class earlier. You know him?"
"Wish I didn't."
"He seems like he's leaving for an injury or something so I think it's okay," Klavier said.
"I'm pretty sure I broke his arm."
"That's lovely, Clay..." Apollo mumbled.
Ema looked to the girlfriends. "You two. I need answers. Lesbian explanation time. Now." She dragged Juniper and Athena off somewhere, likely for answers.
Clay turned to Daryan. "Sorry about the whole just calling you 'dick hair' thing for two months. Your hair's not that bad. I know it doesn't make up for it, but just text me if you'd ever like a full tour of the space center, free of charge." He scribbled on a piece of paper he casually stole from Apollo's stuff and handed it to him. "I'm going to go see if the nurse has any good bandages to replace my old one." And with that he was off.
Daryan looked at the paper confused. "What the fuck just happened?"
"I think you just got a guy's number."
"Wow, he actually did get around to apologizing. Knowing him, you definitely just got Clay's number or at least his work number," Apollo said as he watched his best friend walk into the gym instead of the nurse's office. "And Clay himself is definitely lost." He didn't see the GYAXA employee return to the cafeteria.
Apollo sighed, turning to Klavier. "I guess I'll see you later after school, Klav. See ya."
"Auf Wiedersehen, Liebling..."
(A/N: Klavier is finally free from the accidentally became background character basement. Nothing like bringing him back into the chaos land. Also side plots! This was a very fun chapter to write. Hope to see you amazing nerds again soon whether it's here or perhaps the new roleswap fic!)