â•”â•â•ã€Š”Oh, you kissed me, just to》â•â•â•—
kiss me, not to take me home.”
    “Care to explain to me what went down yesterday?” Aksel asked. He was currently driving, eyes fixated on the road.
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Váli mumbled, sinking further and further into the car seat. In the front, Váli heard his brother’s heavy sigh.
    “I just–I just never know what’s going on with you anymore!” Aksel huffed in frustration.
    “Nothings going on,” Váli responded weakly.
    “Come on!” Aksel yelled, slamming his hands against the steering wheel. In doing so, the car swerved into the middle of the road. The street was empty, but Váli still jolted nonetheless.
    “Calm down Axe!” he yelled back, leaning over to the front seat.
    “Don’t tell me to calm down! I am calm!” he badgered. Váli didn’t say anything, deciding it was best not to provoke his brother any more. Akel’s grip on the wheel was tight, his usually pink knuckles turning white.
    “Just please, drop it. Nothings wrong,” Váli squeaked.
    “You’re lying.”
    “No I’m not! Stop, you’re scaring me.” His grip loosened.
    “Fine! I’ll drop it and pretend like nothing happened. I’ll pretend like I didn’t find you passed out weak on the bathroom floor. I’ll pretend like mom wasn’t glaring at you all day yesterday.”
    Váli was silent.
    “Is that what you want? Is that what’s gonna make you happy?” Aksel boomed. “Because I’m fine pretending. Are you?” Váli didn’t respond. He didn’t have time. Before he could gather a thought to share, the front seat door was swung open.
    The cold air wafted into the truck, and Aksel immediately started fussing to Luc to hurry and close the door. “What’s got you crying over spilled milk?” Luc humored, noticing the furrow in Aksel’s eyebrow.
    “Been a long morning,” Aksel sighed, resting his head back against the seat.
    “Whatever you say man,” Luc eyed him suspiciously. “You gotta help me study for this math test. Please,” Lucien begged with a whine in his voice.
    “Dude, I’m not even in your math class,” Aksel huffed.
    “Oh yeah! I forgot you’re in ‘smart people math’,” Lucien complained. Turning his head, he looked in the back seat. Váli’s gaze was locked on to the scenery out his window.
    Luc watched. Váli didn’t blink once, zoned out. “Vál?” Luc breathed. The gentle voice woke him out of the trance. Slowly turning his head, Váli looked over at his brother’s best friend. Cocking his head to the side, he made a face as if to say what?
    “Help me with math. Pretty please…” he pleaded. “If I get one more low test grade Mr. Cooley’s going to assign me a tutor. I’m desperate.” The face Luc made was almost funny. Váli couldn’t resist the tug at his lips. The smile was small, and Luc wondered how much of it was genuine.
    “Well when you say it like that, I have no choice, do I?” Váli joked, knowing he would have agreed regardless.
    “Yes! You’re the best!” Luc cheered, grinning big. Suddenly, In a clean movement, Aksel backed his large truck in between two white lines in the Junior parking lot.
    “We have, like, twenty minutes till first period. I only need help with one unit,” Luc explained, not bothering to hear a reply before climbing in the back seat to accompany Váli .
    Without saying goodbye, Aksel slammed his car door while leaving, grumbling into the school. “No seriously, what’s up with him?” Luc asked curiously.
    “We just argued a bit,” Váli whispered.
    “You two argue?”
    “It wasn’t really an argument. He was just mad at me,” Váli tiredly intoned.
    “And why was he mad?”
    “Because he found me passed o-” Váli rambled, stopping too late.
    “He found you passed out?” Lucien replied calmly, not raising his voice. His body hovered next to Váli’s, their arms inches apart. Váli was being confronted, like Aksel had done earlier. This time however, he didn’t feel fear or panic.
    “It’s no big deal, I was just tired,” Váli explained with a huff. He shifted, trying to distract his hands.
    “I see… He can be a handful,” Lucien trailed off, “So, I don’t understand unit five,” he continued. Surprised, Váli stared at the brunette.
    Instead of pushing the matter, Lucien identified Váli’s discomfort, and shifted the conversation in reaction. The small action warmed Váli’s heart. I can see why he’s so well liked.
    “Um, let’s see,” Váli glanced down at the opened packet. Instead of work and notes, doodles and scribbles covered the page. Looking at Luc with a face of disbelief, Váli scoffed. “No wonder you’re confused. You don’t even have any notes written down, idiot.”
    “It’s not my fault the teacher’s so boring,” Lucien moaned, throwing his head back in despair. “I always end up asleep in that class. No matter how hard I concentrate.”
    “I noticed, yeah,” Váli giggled, covering his mouth.
    “Really? That’s so embarrassing,” Luc complained, covering his eyes with his hands. Â
    “Haven’t you already moved seats because of it?” Váli questioned.
    “Yeah…” Luc muttered in embarrassment. “To be fair,” he huffed, “I still sleep in my new seat anyway. So it isn’t where I’m located that’s making me sleep, it’s his teaching!” he defended.
    “I’m not sure, Lucien,” Váli responded, “I quite like his teaching.”
    “You’re crazy. Please help me. I’m totally fucked,” Lucien whined, looking back down at the paper in his hand.
    “Okay fine, let’s get started,” Váli smiled. For the next ten minutes, Vál attempted to cram an entire chapter’s worth of information in Luc’s small brain. Surprisingly, Lucien was a quick learner. He didn’t need to be taught everything from scratch. In the back of his mind, he had learned the knowledge–Váli simply helped him remember it.
    “We have five minutes till class starts. Let’s head in now,” Luc motioned to the school. Swiftly, both boys shimmied out of the large truck and walked to the entrance of their school.
    “You’ll be fine. Good luck,” Váli chirped once they were outside their classroom.
    “Thanks! You too,” Luc responded. Silenced by the warning bell, both boys shuffled into the bustling classroom. Eventually, Váli walked away to his seat, leaving Lucien in the front row. Immediately, Luc unpacked a pencil, eraser, and his graphing calculator.
    Closing his eyes, he took a deep breath in and out. It wasn’t long before the tests had been passed out, and Luc’s attention was locked onto the paper. As the seconds ticked by, the only sounds echoing in the spacious classroom were that of turning paper and etching of pencils.
…
    “How’d it go?” Lucien called out, jogging to catch up to Váli. Váli glanced at Luc, confused. He’s talking to me? In school? Dazed, Váli didn’t respond.
    “Hello?” Luc waved his hand in front of Váli’s eyes.
    “Oh! Sorry,” Váli hushed.
    “You zone out a lot, don’t ya?” Lucien smiled. Only now did Váli realize that he and Luc were standing still in the middle of a busy hallway.
    Using his head, he nodded in the direction of his next class. Lucien took the hint, beginning to walk that way next to Vál.
    “The test was good, by the way,” Váli addressed.
    “That’s good to hear!” Lucien complimented.
    “How about you?” Vál queried, looking at Luc with a curious expression.
    “Um, it was alright,” he confessed. “There were definitely some questions I didn’t quite understand. But for the most part I feel confident!” Lucien smiled big, his white teeth shining bright. Each tooth was slightly rounded at the tip. Váli couldn’t help but feel fascinated by the small detail. It was uncommon, but boy did it suit Lucien.
    “Yay! I’m glad it went semi-good,” Váli commented. At this point, the two had walked across the whole building, and their passing period was coming to an end. “Where’s your next class?” Váli asked, curious.
    “107, just up here,” Lucien pointed ahead to a door.
    “Oh, I see. Mine’s 106,” Váli hummed, pointing to the door next to Lucien’s.
    “Woah, that’s a cool coincidence,” Lucien laughed. “Want me to walk you to class every day?” he smirked. His sweaty hands shoved into his hoodie pockets.
    Váli didn’t notice his slightly flushed face, his eyes locked on the floor. “Sure! If that’s what you want,” Váli trailed off.
    “Is that what you want?”
    “Y–er… yes. Don’t you have, like, friends you can walk with instead?” He questioned hesitantly.
    “What does it look like I’m doing right now, idiot,” Lucien professed. Now it was Váli’s turn to blush, the tips of his ears turning a light shade of peach.
    “Right.”
    “See you after school,” Lucien ended, walking into his classroom with a small wave goodbye. Váli didn’t respond, standing still in the hallway. His brain was a pandemonium of thoughts, his hands trembling slightly. Despite the anxious ache in his chest, the encounter with Luc left a sweet after-taste in his mind. Clutching his backpack straps for support, he lumbered into his own classroom.
…
    “I got an 82!” Lucien cheered, running up to Váli. It was now the end of the day, and Váli was failing to put in his locker combination. Skidding to a stop in front of him, Lucien grinned widely and laughed. He was out of breath, having sprinted across the school once the bell rang.
    Lucien supposed that he could’ve texted Váli his results, but the thought hadn’t crossed his mind.
    “Oh my god, congratulations!” Váli beamed, joyful for Lucien.
    “How did you do, be honest,” Lucien inquired. Silence followed. “Come on! You won’t hurt my feelings. Don’t worry.” Silence. “Please?”
    “98…” Váli murmured.
    “Holy shit… That’s gotta be like, only one wrong answer. Right?”
    “Yeah, around that…”
    “Dude! That’s so good. You should be proud.” Nodding thanks in reply, Váli turned his attention back to his locker, which remained unopened. “Need help there?”
    “I think it’s just jammed. It happens sometimes,” Váli spat out. Without saying another word, Lucien moved forward, causing Váli to step back too. Gripping the locker handle, Lucien tugged hard. In a loud bang, the door swung open rapidly. “Thanks,” Vál laughed. “I’m not strong enough to just open a locker by force.”
    “Nah, don’t underestimate yourself. I’ve seen you skate, dude. You need to be strong to do that,” Lucien rebutted.
    “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m the weaker brother. That’s just common knowledge,” he quipped with a tight lipped smile.
    “Huh? Is that what people say?” Turning to look at his locker, Vál didn’t answer. “You’re not being picked on. Right? If you were Aksel’s gonna be pissed.”
    “I–I’m not! Please drop it,” Váli panicked.
    “Who says that?” Lucien demanded, his tone harsh. The action caused Váli to stumble backward. Mother, bullies, myself. But instead of answering, he slammed his locker shut and stayed quiet.
    “Let’s hurry… We don’t want to leave Aksel hanging. Especially when he’s not in a good mood.”
    “Alright,” Lucien replied, instantly backing up. His tone had changed from demanding to delicate in a split second. Váli paused, blinking for a few seconds.
    He’s good at reading emotions. Váli acknowledged. His mother is the same way. They’re totally different. Váli reminded himself. People like Aksel were bad at reading emotions. The only reason Váli is able to be close-ish with his brother is due to this fact.
    If Aksel had been any better, Váli would’ve been found out by now. His web of lies and secrets would be untangled like pulling a thread that unwinds an entire ball of yarn. Aksel could never know. If he did, Váli’s life would end, he was certain of this.
    He knew letting Lucien into his life, even if just by an inch, was risky. It was dangerous, and uncontrollable. What if he calls me out on a lie? What happens then? He shuddered. Váli is meticulous. Everything in his life is planned to a tee in his head. This way, he has some control over his life.
    If even one of his lies slipped out, his life would fall over like a game of Jenga stacked too high. His foundation was wobbly, and each bad situation was another piece removed. Bit by bit, he was breaking apart. His falling was inevitable, and yet, Váli had convinced himself he could lie his way through it…
Question of the chapter: What’s your favorite school subject?
â•šâ•â•ã€ŠWord Count- 2,057》â•â•â•
â•â•https://open.spotify.com/track/4Do3s3aivnqbUAvUEDEsAGâ•â•
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