[Thursday]
"Bighead!"
Johnny turned around and saw his animated best friend moving towards him.
After their long handshake, Ten flopped in the lounge chair next to his.
Johnny and Ten always met during break period right before lunch. Neo Culture's break room was a lounge area on the basement floor. Many students spent this time napping after their extensive morning blocks.
After hanging flyers, planning the upcoming events and meeting the new transfer students yesterday, Johnny had some free time to relax.
"I am seriously tired," Ten exclaimed. "Guess what." He said pausing to wait for Johnny to say what.
Johnny threw some candy into his mouth instead.
"I stayed up so late yesterday." Ten continued.
"Why?"Johnny inquired sharply.
Ten ignored him while distracted in thought. "When is the last day for transfers?"
"Tomorrow..." Johnny said slowly.
Ten pressed his lips together in distress. "Does that mean our last transfers come tomorrow?"
"No, just the last day they can enroll for Spring semester. Why? Are you...looking for someone? Johnny knew exactly who he was looking for.
He also knew that his brother would be starting Monday but this conversation was dreadful for him to have. He wished he had more flyers to hang up.
"Are you joining volleyball?" He asked out of curiosity.
Ten regained his focus. "Yeah...I signed up. When does it start again?"
"Next week." Johnny said scrolling through his phone's notepad. Even while on break he was still studying Spanish notes.
The bell rang for Lunch period and both boys began walking to the cafeteria. Ten stole some candy from Johnny's briefcase while behind him.
"Dude, don't leave the zipper undone." Johnny nagged, attempting to fix it back.
***
Ten rarely ate at the cafeteria. After break he would head to the music room to hang out with his older uncle Mr.Kun who was the music teacher. He made students call him Master Kun. He was a great musician and producer after all. Ten and his family moved here because of his uncle's recommendation.
He spent almost every lunch period with his uncle because he would purchase Thai dishes for him to eat since his parents focused more on fusion meals while at home. Even though he loved his split cultures, he enjoyed being spoiled by his uncle even more.
***
"What's up?" Johnny asked after realizing that Ten was eating lunch with him today. Regardless of the upcoming conversation, he would always be there for his best friend when he was worried.
"I don't know what's wrong with me." Ten sipped slowly on the coffee drink he purchased from the vending machine.
"You know how I haven't liked anyone since..." Ten began hinting with his eyes for Johnny to understand.
"Mhmm." Johnny muttered while eating.
Ten stroked his chin and announced loudly, "Turns out, I'm not asexual!"
Johnny spit pieces of his burrito into the air.
Ten laughed while holding his stomach. "I'm interested in someone. A transfer student."
Johnny attempted to hold it together and leaned into Ten. "So you still like boys?"
Ten plucked Johnny on the forehead, rolling his eyes before continuing.
"His name is Kunhang. He was our model yesterday...." His words trailed off while thinking about Hendery. He remembered outlining his large moonlit eyes with his pencil as he sat on the chair just feet away from him.
Ten was staring into space when he realized Johnny had not said a word. He glared at him as he cut his burrito with a butter knife. "Why are you slicing that thing?" He asked rather annoyed. Ten always teased Johnny when he ate elegantly as if he was not hungry.
Johnny looked up at the desperate boy. "What do you plan to do?"
The behind-the-scene problem solving for Ten and Hendery was nerve wrecking.
Ten shrugged. "I'm nervous.. I haven't felt connected to anyone in a long time. He might be special."
Johnny felt extremely guilty. He grew nauseous and hopeless watching Ten become so emotionally vulnerable. He quickly changed the subject.
"Oh yeah, the bonfire is coming up soon! And Mark agreed to perform this year."
"Bonfire...bonfire..." Ten eyes wandered in space. "That's the perfect thing to do our project on!"
"With your partner [y/n]?" Johnny questioned, absorbed into the topic.
Ten nodded his head slowly, a suspicious grin followed. "Yeah... How was class yesterday?"
"Good." Johnny replied rather nonchalant.
Ten sat up in his chair. "You like her and it's obvious." He teased, whirling around his finger.
Johnny laughed dramatically. "Who says?"
Ten shook his head in disappointment. "Every girl here wants you but only she caught your eye, so she must be special."
Johnny stuffed the last remains of the burrito into his mouth. "I dunno."
"Aha!" Ten yelped. "There's a lot of love birds flying around in Neo Culture."
"Woah now, let's not jump to any conclusions." Johnny barked.
Ten put his hands up. "Okay. I can make you look good, I will tell her all about your strong qualities."
Johnny paused and beamed at his friend. "Ten."
"Johnny." Ten was completely unbothered by the annoyed stare coming from his friend. After some silence a loud and defeated sigh exhaled from Johnny's mouth.
"Listen, I'll just ask [y/n] what she thinks of y-"
"Don't." Johnny interrupted.
"Why noooot?" Ten cried.
"I may just like her as a friend." He tried to sound convincing.
"Just let me sort out my feelings...also, you are not playing matchmaker, absolutely not." He said crossing his arms.
Ten was offended. "What? I'm a great matchmaker."
"Says an asexual!" Johnny snickered while leaving the table with his finished tray.
"Hey!" Ten yelled, chasing Johnny towards the exit.
➱