ten doesn't tell maew nor art about his crush for the rest of the day, even with art's constant pestering for an answer. it's as if he forgot to tell them, but in reality, he barely found time to after lunch. he definitely wasn't telling them during lunch time since johnny sits with them. that would be awkward and embarrassing.
he's relieved to be free from art's questioning when he arrives at his dorm, seeing johnny already there with a book open in his lap as he sits on his bed with his legs crossed. he appeared pretty focused, brushing away any of his fringe that fell onto his face. it makes him think how sudden and quick his interest in johnny came. based off their first meeting alone, ten was quick to note how attractive he is. then, ten's given more reasons to like him even more.
"hey, ten," johnny greets him once he looks up. he smiles and ten returns it, his heart fluttering, as usual. no smile ever really gave him that feeling more than once.
"hey," ten basically mumbles.
"i'm just reading through this book about the history of music that my teacher lent me," johnny explains and flips to another page. "it's interesting but the text is so small and wordy."
"hm," ten purses his lips. "sounds fun, i assume."
johnny chuckles lowly. "sure. it's fun. i like to read, but when it's interesting...."
his eyes skim the page before flipping to another one. he does it for the next few. "do you have any ideas for dinner later?" he looks back at ten. "maybe it's too early to ask...."
"no, it's not too early, i'm just not hungry at the moment," ten replies, moving to sit at the dining table. he hooks his bag onto it and pulls out his sketchbook to work on a random drawing just for the sake of it. though, he doesn't know what to draw. he knows his teacher said to practice, to make little sketches and improve little by little over time. it's the best way to make your craft better — constant practice.
but... what does he practice drawing? perhaps fruit like they've been doing in class? which, he would prefer not to draw. why draw fruit when there's so many other things to draw.
he could try drawing animals. he hasn't in awhile.
ten looks around, thinking of which animal to draw, and he ends up sparing johnny a glance. he's looking at his book again, his eyebrows slightly furrowed as he flipped to another page in the book. ten tilts his head to the side as an idea of drawing a cat comes to his mind all of a sudden. hm.
so, with his choice made, ten decides on drawing a cat. the final drawing ends up being a tabby cat pawing at a book curiously. ten leans back to look at it completely and is strongly reminded of johnny, for whatever. to be fair, he got the idea just from looking in his crush's direction.
hmm. the word crush. it feels sort of nice to have a proper word to describe his feelings for johnny. they certainly weren't friendly... but romantic? or is just 'interested in him in a more-than-friends-way' better? or is romantic pretty much the same thing? ten adds another whisker to his cat and fixes his left ear a little. his thoughts really aren't making the most sense at the moment.
"that's a nice drawing," johnny says and ten doesn't know how the heck he snuck up on him like that without ten at least hearing his footsteps. he's as quiet as a cat! wait —
"thanks," ten retorts with a grateful smile. it was a simple compliment he's heard a lot but hearing it from johnny makes it feel nicer. he impressed him. "it's for class."
"figured," johnny grins. "you are an art major."
ten just grins as well. he wants to note how cute johnny's smile is, but then is hit with the question — why is everything about him so perfect? "yeah, i take drawing. it's been just realistic drawings of fruit," he says, adding on a shudder.
"what? not a fan of fruit?"
"yeah," ten nods. he scrunches up his nose.
johnny's smile returns. "well, you think that one restaurant you took me to last time is open?"
ten nods. "even if it was later, aunt hong would still serve us."
"oh, that's sweet," johnny says softly.
"yeah, she really is the best," ten nods, feeling a rush of affection for the woman he calls his aunt. "let me get ready before we leave."
"okay, i can wait." johnny then just moves towards the front door, pulling out his phone from seemingly nowhere to scroll through it.
ten looks at him for a moment before quickly closing his sketchbook. he was feeling giddy, a feeling that wasn't going to leave anytime soon.
****
they end up racing each other to aunt hong's restaurant, instead of from it like before.
ten ran as fast he can, the joy of everything making him feel warm from the tips of his toes to his fingertips. he jokingly stops suddenly with the hope that johnny would run into him, but the taller manages to dodge while crowing, "nice try!"
then, he nearly runs into someone and almost trips when trying to avoid her. she gives him a brief surprised look before continuing on her way. ten rolls his eyes and just jogs to keep up with his roommate. night had already set now, a nice breeze flowing in. for a few moments, ten slows completely into a work, watching johnny still run down the sidewalk, unaware. ten finds himself smiling as he catches his breath. it's when johnny finally notices ten isn't following after him anymore — once he's almost reached aunt hong's place — he pauses and turns around on his heel, spotting his shorter roommate immediately.
"come on!" he calls.
"i am!" ten starts up jogging again. "i am!"
when they reach the end of the block and enter her restaurant, ten is back to a walk again. aunt hong happily waves to the pair when she notices them, stopping her action of sweeping the floor. "looks like i have some last minute customers."
ten grins. "yep."
johnny doesn't say anything but smiles and looks for a table for the both of them. he finds one right beside a huge window and is quick to sit down, ten following suit. their eyes meet briefly before they look away, making ten touch a hand to his cheek. it felt warmer than before.
aunt hong eventually comes back over to take their orders. ten goes first before johnny quickly tells her that he wants the same thing with no hesitation. the look ten gives him isn't questioning, but johnny basically justifies himself with, "hey, i trust your judgement. if you like it, i probably will, too."
a compliment? "oh, okay."
"that's a good thing," johnny mumbles airily. "anyways...."
"yeah, uh — " ten starts but johnny cuts him off. although, not exactly rudely. ten wasn't going to say anything, anyways.
"how's school so far? to you?" johnny says before making a face. "i'm trying hard not to sound like your dad."
ten admittedly lets a giggle slip past. "you're not, so don't worry — " johnny laughs and ten's heart does a little backflip. " — but, it's alright. my classes are fun. but for history of art. that's a downright snooze fest."
johnny grins. "history can be fun most of the time."
"maybe for you," ten remarks. "didn't you complain about — ?"
"the book was boring, not the subject itself," johnny corrects him. "i like history of music. it was kind of interesting, anyways."
"hm," ten's lips going into a thin line for a few moments. "do you like any other of your classes?"
"all of them," johnny says simply. "i like them all. that's my answer. you?"
"everything else but history of art," ten replies. "painting, drawing, and graphic design."
"oh, sounds nice," johnny replies with a hint of genuine interest in his voice. it just spurred ten on to keep talking.
by the time they finished their meals and started back to their dorm, ten had more reasons to like johnny even more.