"No, you got it right! It's just weird, people always say piggy or some kind of p thing but you said it. That's so cool." He laughed excitedly as he led Chenglei out of the school gates and along the street, knowing exactly where to go. It was close, cheap and no one else would be there - given it was class time and not lunch time. God, he was being so rebellious, this was wild.
"I've never cut class before." He looked uneasy and eyed up the school from afar, too scared to go back but knowing he should. "Do you always do stuff like this?"
"It's not much of an achievement. Kind of the lack of one, really. I can't stand school." He was pretty sure school couldn't stand him either. Anyway, there wasn't much of a point to school, not with what it already said on his report card, might as well be an ex-con. No way could he get into a decent university, no matter what his grades could be, so why bother trying? "It's nothing impressive. But we can go spray-paint a wall later, if it will keep you happy."
"No! I couldn't. I wouldn't want to." Unless Chenglei really wanted to and then maybe, just maybe, he could amend a little. He just wanted to make sure that Chenglei didn't get annoyed at him or lose interest. He really needed him right now, he was so close to having a proper friend. "I don't take risks, they're kind of dangerous and I think my parents would kill me if I ever got into trouble like that. They're pretty strict."
And apparently Chenglei's weren't so much? Weird. He stopped by the stall and gestured at the menu. "Pick what you want."
Chenglei ordered simple noodles with chicken for himself, not actually wanting to exploit the generosity on display here. He waited for his order to be ready and looked at Yihao, considering it all. "Think your parents should have sent you to a better school."
Honestly. He was a sweet boy, of course he'd get picked on. Chenglei shook his head, trying to rid himself of that feeling of attachment that was getting kindled inside him. Damn it. "Thanks for the noodles."
"This is the closest school to us, my parents can't afford the train every day so I can't commute. It's fine, it's only a few more years and then I don't have to worry about it. Then I can get a job and people will leave me alone." He wasn't sure about university - his parents really wanted him to go but he was flunking maths, English and history. Even if he tried to study, he still sucked. He wasn't sure why.
Looking at Chenglei, he smiled at him, eyes wide and full of hope. Hope for a long and fruitful friendship. "You're welcome. Like I said, I owe you."
"You don't." Chenlei lifted his hand and flicked Yihao's forehead. "Don't get any ideas."
Whatever he meant by those ideas, he saw no need to explain. He just rolled his eyes and moved over to get his noodles, once the order was finished, thanking the auntie that made them and flashing a rare smile for that occasion. It worked well enough, she immediately called him back to give him some extra chicken and mention her daughter.
He wasn't about to say no. To the chicken, not to the daughter. He moved to sit by a table, keeping a seat free for Yihao. Whatever. He might as well.
Yihao just got himself tofu noodles and smiled at the nice auntie, bowing to her in thanks before coming over to sit by his friend. His new friend. He had a friend. Woah, he was so going to tell -- his dog. He didn't know who else to tell but hey, maybe his dog would be excited for him? "So... you said you were going to the arcade yesterday. Do you like games? Gaming. That sort of stuff. And manga too, right?"
He just wanted to learn more about him so he could get into the same interests and further their friendship. It was all very vital research. "I read a lot of manga too. Maybe we can trade some volumes."
"I like reading." Ugh. He mentally chastised himself and focused on his noodles for a while. Not the right hobby for his reputation, books. Even manga, he supposed. Whatever. Not as if anyone really talked to Yihao, not as if he really cared what people thought anyway. "Games are okay. I'm good at shooters."
He had good reflexes for stuff like that. Not exactly a valuable skill in real life, but still. "I doubt we read the same kind of manga." The boy seemed like too much of a puppy.
"I like reading too but my parents say I just read junk." It was true, he did. He loved romance novels and mangas. Mostly, he loved the ones where a girl was rescued by a handsome prince or rich boy or whatever - those ones were the best. He always thought the art in them was lovely, especially the girls. They were pretty, no one wonder people wanted to save them. "I like..."
What was a cool manga that he could read that would make this boy like him? His mind raced as he tried to think of a manga he'd read and could talk about that seemed cool. And, for some ungodly reason, the next words came out of his mouth from sheer panic of how long it took to say something. "...F-Fruits basket."
... Oh God, why? Why did he say that? He went bright red with embarrassment and hastily shoved noodles into his mouth to shut himself up. Fruits basket? What an idiot!
"Huh." Didn't even surprise him, honestly. This boy was so soft, of course he was a target. he had a cute face and apparently cute tastes as well. He didn't think he deserved it, but he did understand why it would happen to him. "I've watched some of that anime."
He hadn't gotten the manga, because, no, that wasn't his usual taste, but whatever. He could run with it. "Which boy do you like best?" He assumed that was the point for anyone who liked that franchise.
He'd watched some of it too? Okay. Okay, cool, he could salvage this. He didn't think about the question as a 'what boy do you want to date' and more of a 'who is the coolest' so that he could keep some badassness. He considered it for a moment before settling on the best possible answer for coolness points. "Kyo." He nodded with determination and then looked at Chenglei, waiting for some form of validation to his answer.
"Especially when he's a scary big cat monster." Well, close enough to being badass, right? He was just going to try and own it as a cool boy thing.
"Huh. That's what I'd have thought." Cute. Of course he liked the main love interest, because he knew enough about the show to know that much. "I think the girl is cute. I like cute."
Kind of why he found himself liking Yihao a lot more than he wanted to, but it wasn't as if he had to admit to that. "I guess you are a bit like her."
All right, maybe he could tease him just a little bit. "You like taking care of people. Or just me."
"I am...?" He was like Tohru? Huh. He didn't realise. And he was cute, apparently. By that logic. Huh. Weird. What did he do? Why was his heart so weird right now? He just kept on shovelling noodles into his mouth, eager to stop himself from asking something dumb or being too weird and scaring him off. He didn't want to look like a needy faggot. Then he'd lose a beautiful potential friendship.
Gulping down his food, he shook his head stubbornly.
"I don't know if I'm much like her. I think I'm more ... boyish. Promise. I'm not a girl." Yihao clarified, just to avoid any confusion. "Despite what people say, I'm very manly." And then he tried his best to look manly... it was rather odd.
"...you look like you're going to be sick." Definitely more nauseous than manly, not that he was entirely certain how a manly expression could really be achieved, at least with Yihao's features. Honestly, he still looked cute more than anything. "Being cute doesn't make you a girl. That's about biology and stuff."
Complicated, but not that complicated. "If you are a boy, you are a boy. Even if you like cute things. You should ignore those idiots, don't bother changing who you are."
"I can't change, I tried." Yihao lamented sadly as he stabbed at his noodles with his chopsticks, not wanting to lose Chenglei but hoping that he was just a bit nicer than the other boys he knew. Maybe he'd be more open to dealing with him? Even if he was a bit girly and weird. "I'm not good at being manly. Sports are exhausting, cars are boring and I tried to lift weights but I nearly died!"
And that basically excluded him from hanging out with most boys when he was in middle school. "... Can't game much either." And that isolated him from the nerdier boys. "But I can try again and learn. If you're into that stuff. I won't be boring, honest."
"I don't do any of that. I just waste time, really. You don't want to hang out with me, I'm a loser." Was that not clear enough? He was a failure in the making, Chenglei had thought that was fairly obvious. He finished his noodles and leaned back, shaking his head. "You are fine. People are just idiots. You'll meet better people one day. I'm no good."
Obviously. "Come on. I skip school all the time, I care about nothing and I-- My hair's bleached." So, clearly? Bad news. "Think about your strict parents."
"They're never around anyway." Yihao shrugged, not sure if they'd ever know as long as he never told them. They worked a lot and only cared when they had to scold him. Or at least that was how it felt to him. He looked at Chenglei and tried to see what he was talking about but he just didn't get it. "You're not a loser, Chenglei, you're the coolest. You kicked those guys asses, you skip school and you do what you want. That's what all the cool kids do!"
He was very epitome of the trope. "I like your hair, by the way." ... Wait, no, that sounded flirty. "No homo!" Saved.
"I'm wasting my life, you dumb boy." Seemed as if he might as well have talked to a wall. Chenglei rolled his eyes, then snorted at the no homo, even though he still put his head down on his arms, kind of frustrated with how this was going. Yihao seemed determined for them to be friends, he supposed he could see why. Really not what he needed, but he wasn't sure how to undo it now. "You should see my tattoos."
"... You have tattoos?" How the hell did he managed to get tattoos? He was underage and why didn't his parents kill him for it? His would have him murdered for such a thing. He looked at Chenglei in horror but also awe and fascination. Clearly, he was into bad boys, whether or not he wanted to be. Looking away, he hastily finished his noodles and got up to bin his carton, looking down at the sulking Chenglei.
"We could hang out sometimes. I mean, if you think what you do is a waste, I could pick something to do. Then you have to feel less bad." He just wasn't sure what to pick.
"I'm not cute, come on." He was trying to do his manly face again but now it just looked like he needed to pee. Especially since he bounced a little during. With a sigh, he nodded his head firmly and then nervously eyed up the path back to school. Maybe he could just go home and tell his parents he was sick. It seemed like a safer idea.
"I like hanging out with you." So hopefully they could keep doing it. "Tomorrow after school, I'll be there!"
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"I've never cut class before." He looked uneasy and eyed up the school from afar, too scared to go back but knowing he should. "Do you always do stuff like this?"
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And apparently Chenglei's weren't so much? Weird. He stopped by the stall and gestured at the menu. "Pick what you want."
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Honestly. He was a sweet boy, of course he'd get picked on. Chenglei shook his head, trying to rid himself of that feeling of attachment that was getting kindled inside him. Damn it. "Thanks for the noodles."
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Looking at Chenglei, he smiled at him, eyes wide and full of hope. Hope for a long and fruitful friendship. "You're welcome. Like I said, I owe you."
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Whatever he meant by those ideas, he saw no need to explain. He just rolled his eyes and moved over to get his noodles, once the order was finished, thanking the auntie that made them and flashing a rare smile for that occasion. It worked well enough, she immediately called him back to give him some extra chicken and mention her daughter.
He wasn't about to say no. To the chicken, not to the daughter. He moved to sit by a table, keeping a seat free for Yihao. Whatever. He might as well.
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He just wanted to learn more about him so he could get into the same interests and further their friendship. It was all very vital research. "I read a lot of manga too. Maybe we can trade some volumes."
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He had good reflexes for stuff like that. Not exactly a valuable skill in real life, but still. "I doubt we read the same kind of manga." The boy seemed like too much of a puppy.
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What was a cool manga that he could read that would make this boy like him? His mind raced as he tried to think of a manga he'd read and could talk about that seemed cool. And, for some ungodly reason, the next words came out of his mouth from sheer panic of how long it took to say something. "...F-Fruits basket."
... Oh God, why? Why did he say that? He went bright red with embarrassment and hastily shoved noodles into his mouth to shut himself up. Fruits basket? What an idiot!
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He hadn't gotten the manga, because, no, that wasn't his usual taste, but whatever. He could run with it. "Which boy do you like best?" He assumed that was the point for anyone who liked that franchise.
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"Especially when he's a scary big cat monster." Well, close enough to being badass, right? He was just going to try and own it as a cool boy thing.
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Kind of why he found himself liking Yihao a lot more than he wanted to, but it wasn't as if he had to admit to that. "I guess you are a bit like her."
All right, maybe he could tease him just a little bit. "You like taking care of people. Or just me."
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Gulping down his food, he shook his head stubbornly.
"I don't know if I'm much like her. I think I'm more ... boyish. Promise. I'm not a girl." Yihao clarified, just to avoid any confusion. "Despite what people say, I'm very manly." And then he tried his best to look manly... it was rather odd.
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Complicated, but not that complicated. "If you are a boy, you are a boy. Even if you like cute things. You should ignore those idiots, don't bother changing who you are."
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And that basically excluded him from hanging out with most boys when he was in middle school. "... Can't game much either." And that isolated him from the nerdier boys. "But I can try again and learn. If you're into that stuff. I won't be boring, honest."
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Obviously. "Come on. I skip school all the time, I care about nothing and I-- My hair's bleached." So, clearly? Bad news. "Think about your strict parents."
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He was very epitome of the trope. "I like your hair, by the way." ... Wait, no, that sounded flirty. "No homo!" Saved.
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He looked up and winked at him. Whatever.
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"We could hang out sometimes. I mean, if you think what you do is a waste, I could pick something to do. Then you have to feel less bad." He just wasn't sure what to pick.
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Might as well. "I don't mind cute." So why not have that boy's company?
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"I like hanging out with you." So hopefully they could keep doing it. "Tomorrow after school, I'll be there!"