Jasutina ‘Jass’ Hiroshi | F | Bi(HFL) | Ambi/Poly | O+ | Fluff | Sound Gradient | Mentions; Achlys, Cherry(Ind), Open.

“Only you, sweetheart.”

--

Jass grinned, about to speak when Achlys continued. “Well, you and her.”

--

Jass looked over to who Achlys was pointing to and scanned her over. She was on the shorter side, curly auburn hair, confident posture, checkered dress, black tights, black short boots, and definitely a pretty face. And attitude! If the rolling eyes and hair flip before starting to walk off was anything to go by.

--

“She's kinda hot and sassy. Think she'd be interested in me? I like your outfit today, by the way, very cute. Very goth.”

--

Jass looked back over at Achlys, “Thanks, yours is quite eye catching as well, per usual. And honestly? Even straight women love you, my sweet mist. If you wanted her, you could definitely get her.”

--

Jass minded her tone as she spoke, making sure that it was sincere, and of course flirty. Because it was the truth, in her opinion. Her spirit of the mist and goddess of misery could easily win over anyone if she tried. Or if she wanted, trying was probably optional for her.

--

Jass smiled though and started talking again, “Either way! I’m kind of hungry, I only got a monster and protein bar. You think the cafeteria has anything good for once?”

*~*~*~*

Amittai ‘Ami’ Mushi | GNC M | Omni(HML) | Ambi | AB- | Fluff | Matchbreaking | Mentions; Micha, Kage, Open.

“Hey, babe! I'm alright, though I think you gave Micha his second heart attack of the day. How are you? You look great today!”

--

Ami chuckled a bit and released the two, soaking up the compliment while looking at Micha with slight concern edging his features. Too much would ruin his face, after all. Though he certainly was worried if Micha fell due to a heart attack.

--

“No, no, I'm fine. You two are just very good at sneak attacks. I'm well, thanks, Ami. And, I agree, I love that dress! Is it comfortable? I was looking at a similar one yesterday, but it was a little rough material, and the arms were an odd length. I probably could have fixed that, but I didn't want to bother. Sorry! You know fashion's a passion of mine! I just can't help it.”

--

“Trust me, babe, we don't mind. You're cute when you get passionate, and, besides, everyone loves a bit of fashion, am I right?!”

--

Ami nodded and smiled at Micha, “Exactly! Yes. Your fashion knowledge is impeccable, and truly! You’re one of the reasons I’m able to get such good quality clothing as I do. To answer your questions though! The material is a bit more rough than some other ones I have but it’s not terrible, it’s actually rather warm and soft if I'm being honest. It’s only slightly uncomfortable due to the warmth, though once I get to class it shouldn’t be a problem, given how freezing the rooms always seem to be. And my weekend was splendid! I got quite a lot done, actually. Oh! And I made you both cookies!”

--

Ami took out the goodie bags and handed them to his besties. “They’re sugar cookies, and there’s six for both of you. I also made myself a honey kiwi-lychee smoothie. Quite delicious, if I’m being honest.”

*~*~*~*

Animus Cronan | M | Pan | Ambi | A+ | Angst | Link | Mentions; Open.

Animus watched the people in the hallway move, and eventually took out his sketchbook. As he always did, he flipped it to a new page and glanced up at the hallway again before beginning to sketch the scene.

--

People walking along, some chatting and few standing around. Constant motion. He was glad he’d been able to see it all a thousand times, otherwise the sketch would be much harder to do.

--

But, as it was, Animus was able to get the basics of it all down fairly quickly. The linework and cleaning up after was a bit harder to do, since making everything perfect was a daunting task just in general. He was able to get it done eventually though, and then it was just shading and little touches that he had to do. All in all, a fairly easy little project for him.

--

So, he glanced back up at the hallway, and then back down at the unshaded sketch. He could certainly color it in class while he shaded it, that would probably make it better. Though, he’d have to make sure it was realistically done. He hadn’t really experimented with color in his sketches yet, so he could try and start doing that. Though he did enjoy the sketching and art style he had now.

--

Deciding to do color once he got to class, he placed the sketchbook back up and sat back against the wall he’d chosen. He still had some time to get to class, so for now, he would just go back to watching what everyone else was doing. That way he may get more ideas of what to do for his sketch. Not like he was actually going to do any of his work in his classes, after all. So he might as well already have things to doodle instead of just sitting in class doing nothing like he did when he didn’t know what to sketch.

*~*~*~*

Adbrei Kennaway | FtM M | Gray-Ace | Ambi | B- | Angst | Psychic Shield | Mentions; Loreto(Very Ind), Open.

Adbrei found a corner in the library to hide in until the bell for school. It was a small corner, in the back of the library and one that no one ever went to. Which was good. He really didn’t want to interact with anyone.

--

For the moment though, while waiting for the bell, Adbrei looked at the book titles. He has to squint his eyes a lot to be able to read any of them, but he didn’t really have any interest in reading them fully so it didn’t matter much to him. He just wanted to read the titles and make fun of them. Mostly so he didn’t have to make fun of himself instead.

--

Waiting until his first period to start insulting himself and people around him made more sense to him anyways. After all, the book titles were definitely annoying enough to insult. So he found himself reading the titles and letting out short laughs whenever one seemed heavily ridiculous. Which wasn’t too rare, in all honesty.

--

Adbrei was honestly just worried that the person who basically ran the library wasn’t nice enough to leave him alone. Maybe he’d get lucky for once and not have to deal with anyone before class. Maybe everyone would get lucky and not have to deal with him until class. And then there wasn’t much he could do. Which was fine, he didn’t really have much to do either way.

--

Regardless, he didn’t really know who was in charge of the library out of the students. Probably someone popular though, even if that meant there was a higher chance of them being huge jerkwads. But that was fine, Adbrei had dealt with enough idiots to know that it was easiest to just go with it if he was found. If they decided to lay a hand on him though, then it was a bit different. He didn’t have to worry too much about that nowadays though, since school was coming to a close and everyone was hunkering down for the tests they’d have to take.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hikari | AMAB NB | Demi | Ambi | A- | Angst | Inducement | Mentions; Jass & Achlys(Ind), Open.

Gen’ya didn’t really know what to do before the bell. It wasn’t like they could trust themselves to be in the cafeteria and there weren’t any good places that they knew of to go before class. They usually just went straight to their classroom, unless Achlys or Jass dragged them into skipping that is.

--

But that wasn’t happening today, so Gen’ya was stuck just walking to class. The only problem was that it was on the complete opposite side of the school from them and they doubted that they had enough energy to make it there without tripping or stumbling. Which would extract stares.

--

Well, they’d get more than they do already anyways. Even now, they could feel the eyes of others in the same hallway as them while they made their way towards their classroom. Probably staring out of disgust, wondering how anyone could look like them and not be considered horribly obese. Everyone probably thought they were. It was the truth, after all.

--

Either way, they eventually made it to their classroom. They did end up stumbling a few times, almost falling asleep standing up and walking. But it was fine, they were just out of shape and clumsy. They were sure. They just needed to start working out and eating less again, like they’d already started on. At least the part about eating less. They were on almost a two week long fasting and there was no way Gen’ya could possibly turn back now. Besides, it was necessary. They were already terribly out of shape, after all, and they didn’t want it to get even worse.

--

They stepped into the classroom to see that there was only the teacher and a few other students in there so far. Gen’ya hoped that whoever they all were that they didn’t stare, even if they most certainly deserved it.

--

They managed to walk to the back of the classroom and sat down, not really sparing a glance at the people already in the classroom. They didn’t want to subject people to their hideousness unless absolutely necessary, after all. That would simply be rude of them to do.

*~*~*~*

Dendritic Tanzer/Apache Graves | M | Pan/Demi | Ambi | AB+/O- | Fluff/Angst | Graceful Grus/Monochrome Apus | Mentions; Each Other, Open.

Dendritic and Apache sat at the same table as they always did when they got to the cafeteria. And as always, there was soon a small crowd of people talking to Denny. It was an average morning before class.

--

Apache sat quietly next to Tic, listening to the conversations but never participating. He also wasn’t really paying attention to the conversations too much, they didn’t affect him, after all. Besides, even if it did then it’s not like he cared. This was Denny’s domain, conversation, and he was just there for the ride.

--

Dendritic was certainly enjoying himself though, like he usually did. Conversation was easy enough, and even with the multiple different conversations he was having at once, he was easily able to navigate the waters of socialization. He’d honestly just wish that Apache would join in too, though given that he never did in the past- Den doubted it would happen.

--

It was fine, of course. He just wanted Apache to have at least some social skills when they went to the real world, where smooth talking could quite literally save your life if given the circumstances. But, as long as the two were together then Apache didn’t really have to worry. Since Tic had the talking skills and all.

--

The conversations carried on, and Apache was mostly just listening and watching. Eventually, there was almost no one still talking to Denny, except for one or two people that were mostly trying to ask questions that didn’t make any sense to Apache. Though, apparently, they made sense to Den since he was able to answer them. Apache wasn’t sure how Tic could understand them and he couldn’t, but it didn’t really make much of a difference in his mind. After all, why worry about something as trivial as talking? He could talk to one or two people at a time, and he was sure that it was probably enough to get through life. If he even wanted to, which he honestly didn’t.

Cherry Hall/F/Bi/Ambi/A+/Angst/Muted Noise/M: Open

There was silence for a few moments and Cherry bent, reaching in her bag to pull out her book again. At this rate, she'd probably finish it by the end of the day, even as big as it was.

"Cherry, darling, would you mind helping me with something really quick, it won't take too long." Cherry jumped slightly when her teacher spoke and she looked over quickly.

"Of course, ma'am, what do you need?" She questioned, setting her book on her desk.

"I just need some help organizing. My files have been all messed up for a while and I haven't had the time to fix them." The teacher replied, gesturing towards a black filing cabinet in the corner of the room. "You're one of the few students I trust not to mess with things. If Micha comes in soon, he can help you too. It's really the two of you that I actually believe won't mess things up more." Her tone was light, but Cherry knew very well that there was sincerity behind her words. Most high-school students weren't necessarily tame.

"Of course, ma'am. How do you want them organized?"

"Alphabetical order, if you don't mind, dear."

"Sure." Cherry walked over and opened the first drawer. It was, indeed, a mess. Sighing to herself, the auburn-haired started to organize, allowing her mind to wander as she did so. Naturally, it went back to her brothers and her own home.

In all honesty, Cherry couldn't remember much from her old home. The only reason she held a detailed description of Roman and Leroy still in her mind was that she had pictures. The few things she did remember were mingled together. She remembered playing soccer, how Leroy showed up to every game and congratulated her and Meadow whether they won or lost, it made no difference to him. She remembered shouting downstairs while Leroy sat on the edge of her bed, reading stories and comforting her, Meadow, and Roman until they all drifted to sleep. She remembered Leroy rushing past her one day, blood streaming down his face from a long cut after a fight with their father, and how, even as he must be suffering, he made Cherry and her siblings his first priority. And then she remembered the worst night, the one that changed everything. A mixture of sirens, screaming, crying, and a lot of blood. And, of course, Roman's body.

Their aunt and uncle had taken her and Meadow away that night, and she'd never seen Leroy again. Or Roman. They hadn't even gone to his funeral... if he'd had one.

The thought made Cherry's stomach turn, and she bit her cheek, taking a steadying breath and trying to get herself together again so she could organize properly. It was fine. Everything was fine.

Ash Cadman/B+/Non-Binary/Demi Panromantic/Ambi-Mono/Angst/Boomerang/M: Atlas, Open

Ash's ear was still ringing, which was very unfortunate considering how soon class started. Hissing, Ash dug their nails hard into their neck and ear, freezing when they felt something warm start to flow down their neck. Slightly panicked, Ash forced themselves to look up into to mirror. Blood was flooding down their neck steadily.

'Shit.'

Ash quickly pulled their hands away from their ear and grabbed a whole bundle of paper towels, pressing it hard bleeding wound. God they hoped no one came in. What would they say? Not the truth. That was for sure. August would be mad then.

'August.'

The panic rose. They should have called August this morning. They were supposed to. They should call them now.

With the paper towels still pressed hard to their neck, still bleeding, ear still ringing obnoxiously and painfully, Ash knelt and dug, one-handed, through their bag, pulling out their phone. August was at the top of their contacts, so with a simple click, the phone was ringing.

"Ashy! I was wondering when you'd call!" Ash swallowed hard as August's voice came through the phone, happy and loud. "Did you forget again this morning? Silly, I told you not to do that!"

"S-sorry." Ash managed, their voice shaky and weak. "I-I know."

"Mind your stuttering, baby." August scolded. "I'm not mad."

Ash took a deep breath and focused extremely hard on getting the words out properly. "Sorry."

"There we are! Easy enough, right?" It wasn't. "Now, Ashy, I'm going to pick you up after school today, alright? I talked to your father and he said you could stay at my place tonight."

Another pause as Ash forced their words to form completely. "Okay."

"Bye! Love you, Ashy!"

Another pause. "Love you."

There was a soft click as the call ended. Ash stared at the phone for a moment before stuffing it in their pocket. They weren't sure how to feel. Sometimes August's place was better than home, other times it was worse. There was an actual bed there that Ash and August shared when Ash stayed over (not necessarily by Ash's choice), and they were at least guaranteed a meal. They also didn't have to deal with their parents.

At the same time, however, August was unpredictable. Sometimes he was genuinely loving and kind, though he still pressured Ash into talking more than they'd like, and other times he was extremely abusive... in more ways than one. And, of course, he was always manipulative. And yet, Ash held onto him because he was a sign of familiarity in a place where Ash felt lost.

"Sorry, are you okay?"

Ash jumped, looking up when a soft, timid voice spoke to them. There was a boy standing a few steps away, staring at Ash with wide eyes. Ash became aware, once again, that they were bleeding. And they were kneeling on the floor. Not a good look.

At least the ringing had died down.

"I-I-I'm f-fine." Ash managed, then silently cursed themselves for the stuttering. No one wanted to hear that.

The boy shook his head silently and knelt in front of Ash. "Can I?" He asked softly, gesturing towards Ash's ear.

Ash nodded, flinching a little when the guy gently pulled his hand away. To Ash's surprise, he didn't flinch away from the blood or the scar, just nodded quietly to himself and turned, still holding Ash's wrist, pulling a mini first aid kit out of his bag and opening it with one hand. Without a word, the boy cleaned and bandaged the wound and then stood and offered a hand up. "It's not too deep, it should be pretty okay by lunch as long as you don't bother it too much."

Ash, very shakily, took the boy's hand and stood. It caught his attention that the boy also wasn't making eye contact, and he seemed relatively anxious as well, shifting slightly from one foot to the other even as he spoke.

"T-thank y-you," Ash murmured, the other boy nodded.

"No problem. See you around I guess." And then he left, evidently not needing to use the restroom anymore... if that was why he'd come in in the first place.

Ash reached up and touched their bandages. They were tight, but too much so and it was pretty obvious that the boy had experience. Taking a deep breath, Ash grabbed their stuff and headed to class. They didn't have any pain medicine, which was unfortunate because their head felt like it was splitting open. Ash simply gritted their teeth and kept going. They'd get through the day.

Loreto Avian/M/AB+/Pansexual/Fluff/Mimic/M: Adbrei, Atlas(Ind.), Open

After Atlas had left, Loreto sat back in the library chair and sighed, looking around the library. The only person that was there anymore, other than Loreto himself, was Adbrei. Ret hesitated, unsure if Adbrei actually wanted to be talked to.

Probably not, he was sitting in the corner, out of sight unless you knew where to look, and he'd never spoken to Loreto before, despite coming into the library most days. That probably meant he didn't want to be bothered... Of course, Atlas had been the same way at first.

After a long moment of thought, Loreto shrugged. Why not try?

He walked over quietly slid down the wall next to Adbrei, making sure he didn't intrude on the other's personal space too much and trying to think of what to say that wouldn't be totally intrusive. It was too late to turn back now, so he decided on simple but friendly. Hopefully, this didn't go too bad.

"Hey, Adbrei, right? Sorry if I'm intruding, I don't mean to. I just wanted to see if you wanted any company? I see you in here a lot, but I don't think I've ever talked to you. So sorry about that, I get distracted by others a lot. Um, I'm Loreto, a student tutor here. It's nice to meet you!" He extended a hand and smiled, hoping for at least some response.

Atlas Blackwell/B-/M/Ace Panromantic/Ambi-Poly/Angst/Memory Freezeframe/M: Ash, Open

Atlas's class was relatively close to where he was currently, but, being who he was, Atlas certainly didn't want to get to the classroom first. Instead, he headed towards the second place that was usually empty and relatively quiet. The bathroom.

He froze, however, as soon as he reached the entrance. There was someone already there, kneeling on the ground with a wad of paper towels pressed hard over their neck and ear, blood staining their neck.

For a moment, Atlas panicked. This was certainly wasn't what he had expected. He wasn't sure what to do, the guy looked distraught, and their phone was in their hand, they'd obviously just finished a call. As Atlas watched, they shoved the phone back in their pocket and stared at the ground, their breathing slightly unsteady.

Atlas forced himself to take a deep breath and step forward. This person obviously needed help.

"Sorry, are you okay?"

Atlas questioned, causing the other to jump. Atlas himself had to resist a flinch. The other person's eyes were pained and extremely anxious, somehow looking even more anxious than Atlas felt. That was very impressive, considering how anxious Atlas was all the time.

"I-I-I'm f-fine." The stuttering was painful, not because it sounded bad, but because Atlas understood well the feeling of speaking inability.

Taking another breath, Atlas hesitated and stepped forward. "Can I?" He questioned, and gestured towards the other person's wound. Flinching again, they nodded. Atlas knelt and gently pulled their hand away from their neck and ear and rummaged through his bag until he could grab hold of his mini first aid kit. With practiced ease, Atlas wrapped up the wounds of the other and pulled away carefully. Where he came from, you needed to know how to take care of wounds or you or your loved ones would die. Simple as that. It had happened plenty of times to Atlas already. "It's not too deep, it should be pretty okay by lunch as long as you don't bother it too much." He stated, standing, taking his stuff, and taking a step back, making sure the other person was alright with him leaving now. They probably were. Who wouldn't be?

"T-thank y-you."

Atlas nodded and backed out.

"No problem. See you around I guess."

As soon as he stepped out of the bathroom, Atlas let out a deep sigh of relief, the stench of blood finally leaving his nose.

Achlys Skylar/O+/F/Lesbian/Ambi/Angst/Gravity Alter/M: Cherry(Ind.), Jass, Open

“Thanks, yours is quite eye-catching as well, per usual. And honestly? Even straight women love you, my sweet mist. If you wanted her, you could definitely get her.”

Achlys smiled softly at the compliment, she didn't believe it for a second, but she wouldn't say so. As she opened her mouth to respond, Jass spoke again.

“Either way! I’m kind of hungry, I only got a monster and protein bar. You think the cafeteria has anything good for once?”

Achlys let out a short laugh, amused by the question. "Sorry, my stormcloud, I know you didn't just suggest that school food could be good." She stated, a bit sassily. "But, if you're hungry enough to eat rubbish, sure, let's head that way. Oh, by the way, are you free to go out after school? Or during? Doesn't make a difference to me. Just don't really wanna go home. We can go anywhere!"

Kage Virgo/Micha Abbott/M/A-/AB-/Fluff/Gay/Shadow Manipulation/Truth Finder/M: Each other, Ami

“Exactly! Yes. Your fashion knowledge is impeccable, and truly! You’re one of the reasons I’m able to get such good quality clothing as I do. To answer your questions though! The material is a bit more rough than some other ones I have but it’s not terrible, it’s actually rather warm and soft if I'm being honest. It’s only slightly uncomfortable due to the warmth, though once I get to class it shouldn’t be a problem, given how freezing the rooms always seem to be. And my weekend was splendid! I got quite a lot done, actually. Oh! And I made you both cookies!”

"Awww! Thank you, Ami! You're the best!" Micha stated, taking the cookies and smiling brightly.

Kage took his as well, beaming. "Thanks, babe, you're awesome!" He agreed.

“They’re sugar cookies, and there’s six for both of you. I also made myself a honey kiwi-lychee smoothie. Quite delicious, if I’m being honest.”

"Ooo, I love Kiwi," Micha stated. "Yum."

Kage nodded in agreement, already digging into his bag of cookies and earning an amused look from Micha.

"What?" Kage protested. "They're good!"

"I never doubted that," Micha replied, shaking his head. "Oh, before I forget!" He added excitedly, almost bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I've been making myself an outfit for myself for the big test day, it's nearly done, but I wanted to ask you guys if you wanted custom ones too? You could come over after school for a bit to hang out and get measurements, choose a material, etcetera. Niki had been dying to see you two again, and I think it'd just be fun!"

"Hmmm," Kage said, pretending to think really hard and just looking simply goofy with crumbs littering his cheeks. "A dress, or no? Not what I usually go for. Sure though, willing to give it a try. I'm down!"

"I never said it had to be a dress," Micha corrected, smirking. "But, I think you'd definitely look cute in one! We can just meet up and walk to my place after school, it's not too far, as you already know."

"Oh hell yeah, anything to look cute! Especially for you two." He stated flirtatiously, grinning. Micha shook his head and looked towards Ami again.

"What about you, Ami?"

Jasutina ‘Jass’ Hiroshi | F | Bi(HFL) | Ambi/Poly | O+ | Fluff | Sound Gradient | Mentions; Achlys, Open.

“Sorry, my stormcloud, I know you didn't just suggest that school food could be good. But, if you're hungry enough to eat rubbish, sure, let's head that way. Oh, by the way, are you free to go out after school? Or during? Doesn't make a difference to me. Just don't really wanna go home. We can go anywhere!”

--

Jass grinned and shrugged, “You know my parents, they’re cool with anything. If you wanna dip then we can just head to my house and get something to eat there instead of terrible cafeteria food. And, speaking of! I know you don’t believe me, but I swear on my life, once they had actually made a decent breakfast of packaged mini waffles. Mini waffles! Those things are delicious, no matter who makes them!”

--

Sure, it was the only time the entire school year but Jass was allowed to hope. Maybe since it was the last week the lunch ladies would actually step up their game for once and make something edible. She doubted it, but still. Was it so wrong to hope? Even if that hope was immediately smushed by everyone, including the lunch ladies themselves?

--

Jass hummed to herself, finally processing that Achlys had said she didn’t want to go home. “You know you can always stay at my place if you want. Or need. My parents don’t mind. All honesty, I think they like you more than they like me sometimes. My mom has told me that she wished I was dating you so that she had even more of an excuse to invite you over.”

--

She snickered lightly at the memory of it. A true event. Jass had actually been pretty flustered for once afterward, which her mom still teases her over! The nerve! But still, the point stood. Her and her family may not be completely aware of Achyls’s home life, but if someone didn’t like being or going home then it couldn’t be good. Besides that, her family would’ve been fine with anyone that wanted to stay with them.

*~*~*~*

Amittai ‘Ami’ Mushi | GNC M | Omni(HML) | Ambi | AB- | Fluff | Matchbreaking | Mentions; Micha, Kage, Open.

“Ooo, I love Kiwi. Yum.”

--

Ami nodded and took a sip of his smoothie. Something he immediately regretted at watching Kage shovel the cookies into his mouth. He held back a laugh so he wouldn’t choke and grinned.

--

“What? They're good!”

--

“I never doubted that. Oh, before I forget! I've been making myself an outfit for myself for the big test day, it's nearly done, but I wanted to ask you guys if you wanted custom ones too? You could come over after school for a bit to hang out and get measurements, choose a material, etcetera. Niki had been dying to see you two again, and I think it'd just be fun!”

--

Ami hummed in thought, his dad hadn’t really been a fan when he had gone over last. Mostly because Ami hadn’t gotten home before him that time. Though, as long as he made sure to get home first this time then it’d probably be fine… What his dad didn’t know wouldn’t hurt anyone, after all.

--

“Hmmm. A dress, or no? Not what I usually go for. Sure though, willing to give it a try. I'm down!”

--

“I never said it had to be a dress. But, I think you'd definitely look cute in one! We can just meet up and walk to my place after school, it's not too far, as you already know.”

--

“Oh hell yeah, anything to look cute! Especially for you two.”

--

Ami chuckled lightly, nodding to himself as he took a sip of his smoothie. Then Micha was looking at him and he smiled lightly, finishing the sip he was taking.

--

“What about you, Ami?”

--

Ami shrugged with a beam on his face, “You already know that I’m always in for going over to either of your houses. It means I can raid your pantry and fridge to make sure you’ve got all the necessary items for a delicious and healthy meal for any time of day! Plus, I love fashion, so… Complete win! I’ll have a curfew like usual though, so I’m probably leaving first out of Kage and I.”

*~*~*~*

Animus Cronan | M | Pan | Ambi | A+ | Angst | Link | Mentions; Open.

After a bit more sketching of different scenes in the hallway that Animus was sitting in, he decided he should probably go ahead and get to class before he was late and his teachers hated him even more than they already did.

–

So, he closed his sketchbook and stood up, starting on his way to his classroom. Within minutes he was there and took his average seat. He certainly wasn’t the first one there, though luckily he wasn’t the last either. There were still multiple chairs empty, after all.

--

As soon as he was sitting down in his usual chair, he took out his sketchbook and put it on his desk. He’d gotten new colors recently, a late birthday present from his parents since they’d been saving up to be able to get it. Though, Animus didn’t really count it as late, since it was still earlier than some of the ones he’d gotten over the years.

--

Either way, he took them out and set them on his desk, turning to the first sketch he’d made that day. He could start with this one and then decide whether or not he wanted to practice and perfect the coloring on the other ones or some of his older ones.

–

He sorted them out into the groups that he’d be using them for. Skin, clothing, the school lights, the wall, the floor, the ceiling, the hair, and whatever else he decided needed its own group. Which was luckily not much. After they were sorted, he started the actual coloring.

*~*~*~*

Adbrei Kennaway | FtM M | Gray-Ace | Ambi | B- | Angst | Psychic Shield | Mentions; Loreto, Open.

Adbrei heard footsteps, and as he always did when he heard footsteps- He sat with his back to a corner and narrowed his eyes towards where the footsteps were coming from. Partly because he wanted to maybe get whoever it was to leave by looking unfriendly, and partly so that he’d actually be able to see who it was.

--

The boy that came over didn’t seem to have any self-preservation though, because he ended up sitting close to Adbrei. Too close, in his own opinion. So he scowled at him and scouched away a bit. The stranger wasn’t doing anything yet, unless the tactic was to just invade his personal space before making any moves.

--

“Hey, Adbrei, right? Sorry if I'm intruding, I don't mean to. I just wanted to see if you wanted any company? I see you in here a lot, but I don't think I've ever talked to you. So sorry about that, I get distracted by others a lot. Um, I'm Loreto, a student tutor here. It's nice to meet you!”

--

And immediately, Adbrei was confused. That wasn’t how anyone ever messed with him. Unless they were trying to act friendly just to lure him into security. Though, to be fair, the boy did have his hand outstretched for a handshake. So, he probably did know exactly what he was doing. Trying to come off innocent while secretly plotting against him. So Adbrei refused to acknowledge the hand, scoffing and rolling his eyes, mumbling. “W-Whatever.”

--

In all honesty, he hated his voice, it was too high-pitched and too scratchy. But whatever, it held a biting edge and mumbled a grimace within it. So it worked.

--

Adbrei scooted a bit farther, keeping his eyes on the outstretched hand. At least he had a name for the person running the library now though. Loreto. Ha, and people said he had a weird name. Of course, then they usually deadnamed him. But still! Loreto was the truly ridiculous name, not Adbrei! Adbrei was perfectly normal, especially compared to his brothers! Galian and Freond! Imagine those names! He huffed lightly to himself before glancing up at Loreto. He hoped the dude would leave soon, give up like everyone did with him.

--

He looked back at the book titles, deciding that looking at someone was a bit much for him at the moment. Besides, not like much could actually be done. Adbrei could keep scooting into the corner, but that wouldn’t really stop Loreto from doing anything. Which sucked. His shoulders curled inwards and he hunched, staring at the book titles as if they were the most interesting thing he’d ever seen.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hikari | AMAB NB | Demi | Ambi | A- | Angst | Inducement | Mentions; Micha(Ind), Open.

Sitting in the back of the classroom had its perks, like not being paranoid about people staring at them. It also had its cons though, like being able to see when people were staring at them. Which people were, as more came in and began to take their seats.

--

Gen’ya tried to stay sitting up as straight as they usually were. Which though wasn’t much, it was still better than hunching over and curling their shoulders in. But the states were definitely starting to get to them. They’d known they were nowhere near decent in appearance, but they hadn’t realized it was this bad. And just by their face alone! They were wearing an outfit that showed as little skin as possible for this exact reason!

--

Their shoulders hunched slightly more and they forced their eyes to the desk. Gen’ya could still feel the staring. They deserved it. But they hadn’t thought they looked bad enough for this much staring. Only their face too… Just how bad was it? Their hand slowly moved up to their cheek, pinching whatever fat was there.

--

Their hand immediately feel back down, their shoulders curling in and forcing their eyes to stay on their desk. Too much fat, definitely. No wonder everyone was staring. Gen’ya swore they heard snickering, they tried to convince themself that it wasn’t because of how disgusting they were.

--

It probably was. Not like they didn’t deserve it. They were disgusting. Absolutely pathetically so. Why hadn’t it gone down though? Two weeks- And for what? Losing a singular millimeter of fat? They’d have to go longer. What else could they do? It’s not like anything else worked, either else just added to an already far too big number.

--

Longer meant avoiding Micha again this week though. They couldn’t have anyone trying to trick them into breaking, after all. But it was such a thing to try and avoid him. Besides, given how they looked? They doubted Micha would try, maybe he’d even encourage them and make sure they didn’t break. Though, it wasn’t exactly something Gen’ya wanted to bet on.

--

Either way, they could still feel the stares of the people that were already there for the first period of the day. The stares they deserved. Everyone wasn’t even in yet- How many people would be staring by the time class started? The whole room? They hunched further on themself, trying to make themself as small as possible- A feat that they were sure was hard to accomplish, given how little they’d lost.

--

Gen’ya could feel their stomach churn, and they felt sick. Sick at how little process had been made, sick at themself, sick at the staring they knew they deserved. But if they stood to go and throw up now then it would only attract even more attention- Or worse, cause people to start whispering about how disgusting they were. So they were stuck, at least for the moment. As soon as possible though, and they’d be in the nearest bathroom. Definitely.

*~*~*~*

Dendritic Tanzer/Apache Graves | M | Pan/Demi | Ambi | AB+/O- | Fluff/Angst | Graceful Grus/Monochrome Apus | Mentions; Each Other, Open.

When everyone seemed to finally be done talking with Dendritic, the man grinned and leaned back in his chair, looking towards Apache with the stupidest smile he’d ever seen the other wear.

--

He rolled his eyes and shrugged, giving his own little smirk to his friend. Denny spoke after about two beats of silence, “So… You’re driving down to a family member or something, and then your phone goes off to say you just won a cruise. You have to go to a docks that just happens to be right near the person you’re visiting by that day. You aren’t there yet, but you know that you won’t have time to stop by the person’s place to tell them and have to choose. Your choice?”

--

Apache hummed in thought, nodding. “Alright, what’s my relationship with the person I’m visiting. Is it good?”

--

Den didn’t miss a beat, “You two get along perfectly. You’re great buds and you’ve been looking forward to this trip.”

–

Apache grinned, “Ah darn, I guess I’ll just have to go on the cruise and hope they understand. Though, I’m sure that since we’re great buds they won’t mind too much. Besides, why not just call and tell them as you drive?”

--

Tic shrugged and spoke, “Well, I mean, that could work too. But let’s say you do that and they seem really sad about you deciding to just leave them behind.”

--

Apache shrugged, “Oh well, I guess I’ll just have to tell them the address to the dock so they can sneak onto the cruise with me.”

--

Dendritic laughed and nodded in agreement, “I suppose that is what you would do. Totally sounds like an Apache idea. Alright, well, what if they say they can’t?”

--

Apache raised an eyebrow, “Well… They better get ready for the visit to be canceled. There’s no way I’m missing a free cruise, Denny. It’s a free cruise, and no friendship is worth that.”

Jasutina ‘Jass’ Hiroshi | F | Bi(HFL) | Ambi/Poly | O+ | Fluff | Sound Gradient | Mentions; Achlys, Cherry, Open.

“Well, I wouldn't mind that either.”

--

Jass blushed lightly and went to cough it off when Achlys began speaking again. At least she didn’t seem to notice then. “And, genuinely, thank you. I'll probably take you up on that offer soon. Your parents are fucking awesome! As for skipping, that's fine with me... though, I did make myself a very loose promise to come to the whole last week so I can fuck with people, ya know, the best time to do so, right? Most classes aren't doing shit at this point anyway. However, if you wanna run to your house real quick to grab food, I'll totally come along.”

--

Jass shrugged and checked her phone for the time, “Well, class is going to start soon, so if you’re wanting to annoy people by actually being in class- Being there and not being late would probably be best. And honestly? Lunch isn’t too far from now and annoying people by being present sounds a lot more fun. Actually, I think that sassy hot girl is in my first period class. I could scout her out, see if she’s into women so we know how much of a chance we have.”

--

With that being said, Jass gave Achlys the finger guns and started walking. “See you soon, my Paramore Cliche.”

--

An old nickname that Jass had given her when she first found out that her name basically meant misery. It reminded her of a lot of Paramore songs, especially ‘Misery Business’. It was literally in the title! Plus, misery was a common theme. So it seemed fitting. Jass blew a kiss and winked, turning so she was walking where she was looking instead of walking backwards.

--

When she got to her first period, she spotted an open seat next to the hot and sassy girl, who was currently reading a book. She walked over and sat down, there weren’t too many empty seats left so obviously whoever sat in the chair usually didn’t really mind losing the seat. Or maybe it was actually supposed to be hers. But still, either way, she put down her bag and glanced at the girl.

--

What could she ask that would start a conversation? The front of the book looked at least slightly entertaining so… “What’s the book about? The cover looks cool.” Jass looked at her and let a small grin stay on her face, she rested her chin on the back of her hand, one leg over the other. She at least knew how to fake interest, though she didn’t have to do so too much. The cover did seem a bit cool, after all.

*~*~*~*

Amittai ‘Ami’ Mushi | GNC M | Omni(HML) | Ambi | AB- | Fluff | Matchbreaking | Mentions; Micha, Kage, Ash, Animus(Ind), Open.

“That's totally fine! This'll be awesome! Do you want to meet up here after school then? We may as well walk, my house isn't far and it's nice out, anyway.”

--

Ami gave a thumbs up to the idea, taking another sip of his smoothie.

--

“Sure, babe! Oh, and, Ami, darlin', don't go too hard on the healthy food stuff, 'kay? I gotta do my typical gummy raid.”

--

Ami gave a short snicker in memory of the event. It had honestly been hilarious when Micha had finally noticed and spoke of it as if it had truly stumped him that Kage had been able to do it. And the bragging Kage did! Truly great. Yeah, healthy was just him making sure that the house had stuff for actual meals along with the less healthy stuff.

--

“We have a whole stash just for you, Kage. Take all you want.”

--

“Hell yeah! Gummies are the best!”

--

Ami chuckled and took a sip of his smoothie, his friends were truly the best. He honestly had no idea how they weren’t more popular- Other than that Micha wasn’t always social and that not everyone enjoyed the flirting Kage did. But come on! Flirting meant that there were things that you could be complimented on! Why take it as an insult just because the person flirting with you isn’t your type? Just be glad that you aren’t completely terrible!

--

“Oh! We better get to class before we're late! Meet up here after school, okay? Love you guys!”

--

Ami hugged the two back as Micha pulled them into one, lightly smiling at Kage’s antics.

--

“Sure. Love ya too.”

--

“Have a good day, beautiful!” Ami called after Micha, giving a slight wave and then looking at Kage as he patted his shoulder.

--

“I guess he's right, we should get to class. See ya after school, babe! Oh, and thanks for the cookies! They're delicious!”

--

Ami grinned and waved him goodbye. “See you at lunch, Kage!”

--

He rolled his eyes and began walking to class, occasionally taking sips of his smoothie. When he got into his classroom, he immediately noticed the person in the back that had a bandage around their head. That definitely wasn’t good. A quick scan and his memory told him that it was someone named Ash and that it seemed to be an injury at the ear. So not too high of risk of a concussion, but may still have a mild one. Plus it could end up inhibiting their hearing. He knew he had no other classes than this one with them. He could ask if they’re okay now and then see if he sees them at all in the hallways after school before meeting up with Micha… Just to check on them again…

--

Then again, his seat wasn’t near their seat, since he sat near the front. Regardless, stuff like that had never stopped him before. So he dropped his bag and smoothie off at his chair and desk. Then he walked over to them, noticing out of the corner of his eye that the student sitting next to them, Animus if Ami’s memory served to be correct, was finally adding color to his honestly, rather amazing sketches.

--

But Ami didn’t spare it another glance, except for maybe one more for moral support. He hoped Animus pursued art, he’d do great in it. He looked at Ash though, making a small gesture to the bandages on their head and speaking kindly, “I won’t ask how but… If you don’t mind me asking, are you alright? That… Might be redundant, actually. Should you go to the nurse? I can take you, if you do. Mr. Irwin usually doesn’t mind letting me do stuff like that.” He gave a light smile and a shrug, he knew how to act casual with things like this. Courtesy of how many fights he’d gotten into and his father. Hopefully the fact that he had scars didn’t make Ash uncomfortable, though he didn’t think it would. Given that Ash seemed like the type of person to at least have one hidden scar somewhere.

*~*~*~*

Animus Cronan | M | Pan | Ambi | A+ | Angst | Link | Mentions; Ash(Ind), Ami(Ind) Open.

Animus noticed when the person who sat next to them, Ash, came in and sat down with a bandage around their head. Of course, he didn’t say anything to them about it. He didn’t even spare them a glance after they sat down. It’d just be weird to do that.

--

So Animus didn’t, he just continued to color in the first sketch he’d made that day. So far, it looked alright. He was having slight trouble with figuring out the blending but he was getting there. The first time probably wouldn’t be perfect anyways. That would just be unrealistic to expect. Especially with him. Though, it certainly didn’t look terrible so far either. So silver linings, he supposed…

--

He also noticed when Ami walked over, glancing at his sketches only twice before speaking to Ash. “I won’t ask how but… If you don’t mind me asking, are you alright?” And after the first sentence, Animus tuned them out so he could focus on his art.

--

Not like the conversation was his to listen to anyways. So, he looked at his sketch and continued, deciding to be a bit more careful and exact with his strokes of color. He should’ve been going slower anyways, but he’d gotten distracted by the fact that it was his first time. Stuff like this took practice to remember techniques that worked. Already he could tell that coloring would be the longest part of his sketches if he started doing it more often. Maybe it’d be fun though. At least now he’d have something to do while sitting alone at lunch.

--

So without missing a beat, stroked the colored pencils softly and slowly, as expertly as he did his regular sketching ones. For now, he’d use the same techniques he used when sketching. Eventually, he’d get used to it enough to develop better ones for coloring, but for right now? It definitely would work to use the ones he had from sketching. After all, he already knew how to shade from sketching. The silver linings of art. At least his art teacher didn’t hate him, she was actually rather nice to him. Except for the one time that he’d gotten in trouble because of something some other students told him to do. But even then she was mostly just disappointed with him. He usually ate lunch in her room now, since she didn’t mind and all, as long as he cleaned up after himself.

*~*~*~*

Adbrei Kennaway | FtM M | Gray-Ace | Ambi | B- | Angst | Psychic Shield | Mentions; Loreto, Open.

Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw Loreto drop the outstretched hand. Luckily, it wasn’t on his bad side, so he was fairly certain he hadn’t just imagined it or saw wrong. He glanced over to see that, yeah, the taller boy had dropped the hand. Well, at least that was good. Though it could just be another trap to get Adbrei comfortable and think he was safe so that out of nowhere Loreto could grab him and beat him into a pulp. It’d happened before with someone else. Once, but still. The only reason it didn’t now was because Adbrei didn’t let it. He didn’t get comfortable.

--

Though, not like he could really stop it here. In a library that no one else was in and that Adbrei had backed into a corner of. So why would Loreto even want to pretend at all? The dude was taller, probably stronger, and probably smarter than him. Plus, there wasn’t anyone around to stop it, though Adbrei doubted anyone would.

--

“Wellll. Random facts about me! I'm dyslexic, I'm a student tutor, my favorite color is probably light blue, I'm pansexual, my pronouns are he/him, though I'm alright with pretty much anything, and I really love nature! You don't have to remember any of that if you don't want, but you've heard it now! Sorry if I'm bugging you, I just like to get to know everyone around here, or, at least everyone that likes the library. It's my favorite place in the school. Kind of ironic, I guess, with the dyslexia thing.”

--

Adbrei tried keeping his eyes on the book titles, but as Loreto rambled… Adbrei could feel his nerves starting to build and it was as if the world was suddenly brighter and louder than it should be. So, with gritted teeth, he eventually looked at Loreto with a scowl. The dude needed to learn to shut up! Really! Had he ever heard of peace and quiet!? Apparently, Loreto didn’t see the scowl because he continued talking.

--

“I guess I just like the feel of it, I mean, books smell great, first off, and there aren't ever too many people in here. They come and go, a few stay, but it always ends up quiet, and then you're left surrounded by fantasy and science, real-life and manga characters, all in one spot. I can't read well, but I love stories. I really like to mix everything into one, make it my own. You know? I guess it feels good to create something, and then to control it and spin it so that everything ends happily in the last few chapters, and then you just create another!”

--

Adbrei gritted his teeth more, about to interrupt and speak, to tell him to shut up. But Loreto beat him to it.

--

“Sorry! I didn't mean to rant! I don't talk to a lot of people about that, it's usually just about work, not sure where all that came from. Anyway, if you do ever need help with anything or just wanna hang out, I'm almost always here! In the library, I mean. Sorry! Um, I'm always happy to help or hang out, so... Yeah!”
--

And immediately, the scowl dropped. Replaced with confusion before Adbrei could even try to hide it. Loreto seriously apologized? To him? He stared at Loreto with suspicious confusion for a moment, before forcing his eyes back to the books, mumbling. “U-uh… R-Right…”

--

He should probably go. Before this got even weirder than it had already been. Should he say anything to Loreto? If only to make sure he didn’t get mad…? He pushed himself up and off the ground. “W-Well, uh… B-Bye and… Th-Thanks…?”

--

He hadn’t meant for it to sound like a question, but even he heard it as one. Either way, he grabbed his bag and slung it over onto his shoulders. With that, he made his way out of the library without waiting for an answer and started on his way to class.

--

When he arrived at the classroom, he took his usual seat and made sure to give everyone already in the room a glare as he sat down. Immediately, he laid his head on the desk as usual. Who cared if anyone was sick and tired of his behavior, of him? He was tired of him too.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hikari | AMAB NB | Demi | Ambi | A- | Angst | Inducement | Mentions; Micha(Ind), Open.

Gen’ya heard someone sit down in the seat next to them, Atlas based off of the name substitutes use. They hoped he didn’t stare, though they doubted it. They should grab a book from their bag. Try to distract themself from all of the staring. Hide their face enough to get people to stop staring.

-

But they hadn’t brought a book. And why hadn’t they thought to bring a book? Completely beyond them. It meant that they’d have to wait for the teacher to start class for at least some of the people staring to stop.

-

Gen’ya breathed heavily, trying to make sure that they didn’t start hyperventilating too. That definitely wouldn’t help them. So, instead of anything else, they hunched in on themself and leaned their forehead against the back of their hand. It’d hide at least some of their disgusting face. Though, who knew how much, given how fat it was. How fat they were in general.

-

They swallowed back some bile rising in their throat and bit their inner lip lightly. They just had to wait a few more minutes, then they could get to the bathroom. Gen’ya stared at the surface of the desk, not allowing their eyes to travel up.

-

Maybe they should’ve stayed home. They could’ve said they were sick and not gone to school, they probably looked like it. They bit their lip harder, not hard enough to draw blood though- Even that would be too much for them. They were sure of that.

*~*~*~*

Dendritic Tanzer/Apache Graves | M | Pan/Demi | Ambi | AB+/O- | Fluff/Angst | Graceful Grus/Monochrome Apus | Mentions; Each Other, Loreto(Ind), Open.

Denny glanced at the clock when his laughter had stopped enough to do so, and then he looked at Apache with a grin. “We should probably go ahead and get to class, we’ve got to keep up our streak of beating Loreto there.”

--

Apache rolled his eyes and stood, “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. Let’s get going then. Don’t want you to miss your social buddy.”

--

Den smirked as he stood, “It’s purely social competition between us, I assure you.”

--

“Yeah, you're both trying to convince one another that you're the superior social loser. News flash, no one actually cares?”

--

Dendritic laughed at that, rolling his eyes. “That’s a lie and you know it, App.”
--

Apache shrugged, a small smirk playing at his lips. “Sure it is, Tic. How’s about we just get to class though?”

--

“Whatever, yeah.”

--

The two walked through the hallways, Apache sparing no one a glance while Denny kept a keen eye on anyone that waved towards him. At least long enough to acknowledge them and give a small wave back.

--

When the two got to their shared first period, they took a seat in their regular chairs. Smack dab in the middle, right beside one another. There were still a few empty seats, most notably Loreto’s. The two shared a grin, they’d beaten him to class. Again. It’d honestly been a little game of theirs for a while now, since Den had met Loreto really. It was just seeing how many times in a school year Deny could beat Loreto to class without the boy figuring out the game. So far so good. As far as Apache could tell.

Jasutina ‘Jass’ Hiroshi | F | Bi(HFL) | Ambi/Poly | O+ | Fluff | Sound Gradient | Mentions; Cherry, Gen’ya(Ind), Open.

“Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. It's a classic, I'm surprised you haven't heard of it. It's decent, but certainly not the most entertaining thing I've ever read.”

--

As soon as Jass heard the title, she remembered hearing about something similar Gen’ya had read at some point. They seemed to have enjoyed it. Then again, that was Gen’ya, who regularly read the weirdest of stuff. She remembered saying the lady on the front was hot once though.

--

“Now, is there something you really wanted to ask me or were you simply feigning interest in classical literature to gain my attention and approval?”

--

Oh wow, that voice was cold. And totally hot. She shrugged with ease though and smiled lightly, “Eh. I wasn’t completely feigning interest, the cover does look at least a bit cool. I was kind of wanting to ask for your name though, so that I don’t only have a face to remember. But ‘Pride and Prejudice’? Isn’t that the book with the quote about how men are nothing compared to mountains and stuff? If so, I doubt it’s a terrible read.”

--

She couldn’t really remember much of the quotes Gen’ya had ever used to reference it, but she did remember at least one of them hating men. Which was always a great way to start a conversation.

--

In all honesty, the girl’s posture was slightly unwelcoming. But Jass had a record of ignoring things like that and pushing through regardless of whether or not people thought she could. A trait she’d inherited from her father, apparently. And wow, did it seem likely! Her father was definitely a lot like her, or she was a lot like him. It was honestly funny at times, how similar of a thought process they could have.

--

Jass shrugged, “Oh well, I’m not really sure. It’s just a guess since one of my friends reads stuff like that all the time. Music’s more of my thing, if I’m being honest. What about you though? Do you actually like classical literature or are you just trying to earn respect from everyone?” Her voice was more playful, warm, not a hint of mocking within it.

*~*~*~*

Amittai ‘Ami’ Mushi | GNC M | Omni(HML) | Ambi | AB- | Fluff | Matchbreaking | Mentions; Ash, Animus(Ind), Open.

A few seconds went by without an answer, while Ash seemed to debate things in their mind. Ami waited patiently, he was willing to let them think first.

--

“S-sorry! S-sorry! F-f-fine! Don't n-need to go to t-the nurse! S-sorry! S-sorry.”

--

Ami watched as their head dipped, as they seemed to emotionally hunch over. But he gave a soft smile, “It’s all good, if you’re sure you don’t have to go to the nurse to get it checked on then you don’t have to. I just got worried because people only usually wear bandages if there’s something going on and I wasn’t sure if you needed any help since it’s a head injury…”

--

He trailed off, thinking for a moment before speaking again. It was never too late for an introduction! Plus, if he managed to become friends with them then he could bring them food! It definitely looked like they needed it… “It’s Ash, right? I’m Amittai but you can call me Ami, I don’t really care.”

--

Ami smiled brightly, oozing friendliness, pride, and warmth. He didn’t even have to try to do so, he just had an automatically warm aura about him. Certainly not something he’d gotten from either of his parents. But here he was, with one anyway. And there was no way he would ever stop wearing it with pride. Kindness wasn’t as common now, after all. So if he could be one of the few, then he would be.

*~*~*~*

Adbrei Kennaway | FtM M | Gray-Ace | Ambi | B- | Angst | Psychic Shield | Mentions; Kage, Loreto(Ind), Open.

Adbrei sat with his head on his desk, thinking. Had he been rude? To just up and leave immediately? To be fair, Adbrei usually tried to be rude. Plus, the time said class was going to start soon. And what’s more was that Loreto was definitely just waiting for the right time to try something anyways… Adbrei would still probably go to the library tomorrow morning though, it was just about the only safe place for him. Though maybe after that it wouldn’t be.

--

“Hey there! How are ya doin'? Was your name Adbrei or am I a complete idiot? Well, I know I'm an idiot, but sorry if I got your name wrong! I'm Kage, your lovely classroom failure! Nice to meet you!”

--

What the hell? Adbrei looked up at whoever the fuck was talking, someone apparently named Kage. He glared at the boy, everyone knew that Adbrei was the classroom failure. Then again, he definitely wasn’t the lovely one.

--

Other than that though… Adbrei was kind of surprised that Kage had actually called him Adbrei. Most students still just called him Brooklyn, despite the fact that his mom had made Adbrei his legal name over a year ago. And thus, the glare slowly melted into a suspicious, confused look. The only reason anyone called him by his name was if they’d wanted something. Which just seemed to always be something bad.

--

Should he even answer this Kage dude? He huffed and stared at the wall behind them. Might as well, right? Better than having to think about whether or not he did the right thing with Loreto. “I-I’m com-completely p-peachy. Why, h-how are y-you?”

--

Sarcasm matted his voice, and honestly- He sounded a lot meaner than he had meant to sound. Then again, maybe that would get this Kage dude to leave him to berate himself in peace. He had enough people doing it for him too anyways, he didn’t need another.

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hikari | AMAB NB | Demi | Ambi | A- | Angst | Inducement | Mentions; Atlas, Open.

A piece of paper slipped into their view, and Gen’ya withheld a flinch. Were the notes starting up again? They’d thought everyone had stopped doing that months ago. Then again, they were probably worse than they had been when everyone had stopped.

--

It still wasn’t going to stop them from looking at the note. After all, they deserved whatever words someone gave them.

--

‘If you see something, you can let me know. I'll help you.’

--

That… Was nothing like what Gen’ya was expecting. They glanced at the person sitting next to them from the direction the note had come from. Atlas, if their memory served them right. A quiet boy, truly intelligent though. They often wondered what burdens rested upon his shoulders, if it was anything like the Atlas from Greek legend. When Gen’ya happened to notice him, that is.

--

They looked back at the note. How were they supposed to respond? Better question- How could Atlas have bared to look at them long enough to even come up with the note?

--

With the hand that wasn’t hiding their face, Gen’ya took a pencil and began writing. At least their penmanship was good, if nothing else was about them. Though even it most certainly wasn’t as good as some writers and even some students around.

--

‘I sincerely apologize for the concern I’ve caused you, for I see nothing out of the ordinary. May you let me know if anyone is staring perhaps, if it isn’t of any trouble to you?’

--

With it written, they passed it back to Atlas, keeping their eyes downcast. The feeling of stares was still present, but if Atlas had passed the note before then it may just be their imagination.

*~*~*~*

Dendritic Tanzer/Apache Graves | M | Pan/Demi | Ambi | AB+/O- | Fluff/Angst | Graceful Grus/Monochrome Apus | Mentions; Each Other, Loreto, Open.

“Wassup guys? How're you doing? Long morning? I can't believe I was almost late!”

-

Denny grinned and shrugged, noticing almost immediately that Loreto was going to start talking again. Apache didn’t really respond at all, and definitely not in time to answer anything.

-

“Sorry! Scatterbrained this morning, I swear, some probably think I have ADHD. Anyway, back to you. How are you two? Pretty sure I just kinda asked and then spoke over you. My bad!”

-

Dendritic smiled and in a casual tone began speaking, “It’s all good, Ret, no apology needed. The weekend was actually pretty boring this time, the neighbors all seemed to realize that the upcoming test, whatever it is… Is going to be important enough to warrant some sleep and good behavior. How about you? How’s your dog, Lucky? He’s too fluffy to not ask about.”

-

Apache just shrugged in agreement with Tic, leaning his head against the palm of his hand. He could handle talking to Loreto and Denny a lot more than he could handle talking to tons of people, but he still preferred to just listen more. After all, Den could handle the conversation better than him.

Cherry Hall/F/Bi/Ambi/A+/Angst/Muted Noise/M: Jass, Open

“Eh. I wasn’t completely feigning interest, the cover does look at least a bit cool. I was kind of wanting to ask for your name though, so that I don’t only have a face to remember. But ‘Pride and Prejudice’? Isn’t that the book with the quote about how men are nothing compared to mountains and stuff? If so, I doubt it’s a terrible read.”

Cherry's defensive wall broke for half a second, her surprise that Jass ignored her cold persona shining through. She covered it up quickly, however, and her face returned to its normal stony expression, this happened so fast it was almost as though that surprise was never actually there.

"Right..." So, not exactly correct, but not necessarily wrong either.

“Oh well, I’m not really sure. It’s just a guess since one of my friends reads stuff like that all the time. Music’s more of my thing, if I’m being honest. What about you though? Do you actually like classical literature or are you just trying to earn respect from everyone?”

Cherry eyed the other for a moment before answering. The wall didn't come down, but she shifted slightly so she was actually facing Jass now, accepting that it was a real conversation.

"I don't dislike classical literature, though it's certainly not my favorite. I have a tendency to prefer science fiction and other forms of fantasy. Certain classical literature is more enjoyable, I enjoy 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott for example. Others I mostly read to improve my vocabulary and gain a better understanding of language in general, old English can be surprisingly helpful if you use it right, especially in titles such as 'The Scarlet Letter by Nathanial Hawthorne with more complicated language use. As for respect, I don't care what others think of me. As long as they don't get in my way or bother me, they can think whatever they want. It won't change me."

Ash Cadman/B+/Non-Binary/Demi Panromantic/Ambi-Mono/Angst/Boomerang/M: Ami, Open

“It’s all good, if you’re sure you don’t have to go to the nurse to get it checked on then you don’t have to. I just got worried because people only usually wear bandages if there’s something going on and I wasn’t sure if you needed any help since it’s a head injury… It’s Ash, right? I’m Amittai but you can call me Ami, I don’t really care.”

Ash's eyes widened in surprise and he looked up slightly, still nervous. That wasn't the reaction they'd been expecting at all... No shouting or angry tone? Or maybe Ami was being overly nice on purpose? For manipulation of some sort? The latter would make more sense.

Ash hesitated to answer, feeling pressure rising in their throat. They'd already talked more than they probably should have today, and it was starting to hurt. Physical pain from an emotional response.

Of course, they didn't want to stutter again. No one wanted to hear that, and they definitely had to speak in full sentences this time. The question was, how little could they say while still properly responding to Ami's question and concerns? And how could they phrase it all in a way that would ensure that the other wouldn't get mad?

In their mind, Ash swiped through several different responses, getting more and more frustrated and anxious the longer they did so. Nothing seemed to fit well. Finally, mostly because of their concern about Ami getting angry at their long span of silence and lack of response, Ash settled on a short answer that hopefully didn't anger Ami too much.

"Thank you... for your... concern." They managed one sentence without stuttering (though there was a considerable amount of space between each word), and they were already exhausted. How on earth did people do this all day?! "I... am fine... really... Yes, it's... Ash... um... nice to... meet you, Ami."

At this point, Ash was nearly gasping for breath, completely stressed out about the whole situation. Not to mention, they'd just barely managed to avoid stuttering over Ami's name, the worst possible thing to mess up. They dropped their hands to their lap, hiding the fact that they were starting to shake, and continued to avoid eye contact with the boy in front of him, only to flinch inwardly as a voice shouted in his head.

"Look at me when I talk to you, bastard! If you want me to leave just say so instead of ignoring me. You make me feel bad, Ashy."

So Ash lifted their head, and they could almost feel the hand grabbing their chin as they did so. They forced their eyes to meet Ami's and hoped against hope that the other couldn't see the pain, panic, and overall brokenness that they were sure was reflecting in their dark eyes. The direct eye contact, of course, was the most terrifying part. Even though Ami's eyes seemed warm and concerned, Ash didn't truly believe they were, and it took all of their willpower at that moment not to rip their eyes away, run out of the room, and curl up alone somewhere to shut out the rest of the world.

Just follow the rules, Ash. Just follow the rules.

Loreto Avian/M/AB+/Pansexual/Fluff/Mimic/M: Adbrei(Ind.), Apache, Dendritic, Open

“It’s all good, Ret, no apology needed. The weekend was actually pretty boring this time, the neighbors all seemed to realize that the upcoming test, whatever it is… Is going to be important enough to warrant some sleep and good behavior. How about you? How’s your dog, Lucky? He’s too fluffy to not ask about.”

Loreto bobbed his head. "Well that's too bad, sorry it was boring! Mine was alright, pretty standard, for the most part, slept in and helped out in the shop and around the house, nothing too big. Oh, Lucky? He's doing fantastic! Adorable as ever, too. He did dig a pretty big hole in the yard though, dad got mad about it." Ret grinned and rubbed the back of his neck again, a kind of nervous habit. "Ohhh, and he had to take about a dozen baths too, he managed to get himself sprayed by a skunk. The house still stinks. It was terrible. He's better now, though, and I doubt he'll ever chase one of those again."

Loreto kept the smile up and glanced around the room again, taking everything in. He was trying to remember if he had any more classes with Adbrei or not. He figured he should apologize again. He'd come off pretty strong, and he really didn't want the other guy to feel like he wasn't welcome in the library anymore or something, especially not when it was supposed to be a safe space.

"Hey, Tic, you know a guy named Adbrei? You too, Apache?" Okay, so maybe getting someone else involved wasn't the best idea, but Loreto just wanted as much information as possible at this point. If there was a way he could help someone, he wanted to figure it out. He'd done this with Atlas too. He was sure to never ask anyone to like, go up to them, or anything, making them uncomfortable was the opposite of what he wanted, but if he could hear others' perspectives of the people then he could get a better understanding of them... possibly. "I mean, do you have any classes with him or anything? Just curious."

Atlas Blackwell/B-/M/Ace Panromantic/Ambi-Poly/Angst/Memory Freezeframe/M: Gen'ya, Open

Atlas looked down in mild surprise when the paper was passed back, he honestly hadn't thought that Gen'ya would even acknowledge it.

‘I sincerely apologize for the concern I’ve caused you, for I see nothing out of the ordinary. May you let me know if anyone is staring perhaps, if it isn’t of any trouble to you?’

Atlas bit the inside of his cheek. Ah, staring. That's what they were concerned about. Understandable. The sandy-haired boy shot another look around the room, missing no details. Not a single person was looking towards Gen'ya and Atlas. The teacher's eyes rested on them for a moment to take role, but nothing more.

'It's no problem at all, really, and no reason to apologize, I just wanted to help. As for staring, no one is looking our way, most are on their phones, a few are talking. The teacher looked over for a little to take role, but no one is consistently watching you. I completely understand the concern, however, and I can agree that people are often not the nicest. If something does happen, I will let you know. Are you feeling okay, though?'

He hesitated a moment, looking over the note. Was he overstepping? Getting too personal? Atlas knew better than anyone that interfering too much in someone's life could be just as bad as neglecting it. There had to be a perfect balance of caring and distance. Especially with someone you first met.

Holding in a sigh, Atlas nodded slightly and passed the paper back again, resting it lightly on Gen'ya's desk without drawing attention. Hopefully, he'd found the balance, if not, things could go wrong quickly.

Achlys Skylar/O+/F/Lesbian/Ambi/Angst/Gravity Alter/M: Cherry(Ind.), Kage(Ind.), Adbrei(Ind.), Jass

Achlys rolled her eyes when she heard Adbrei's sarcastic response. It was obvious that he just wanted to be left alone, and yet, Kage kept talking... Of course he did.

Sighing, the smaller girl pulled out her phone and started scrolling through her socials, ignoring the talking around her. There really wan't anyone she could annoy properly in here, Kage was doing all the work for her, which meant she was just left bord.

After a minute, Achlys flipped to her messages, clicking on Jass's number. There was one person that Achlys could always 'annoy' without having to worry about any future conflict or really anything at all. Jass was probably the best person Achlys had ever met, and she'd helped out a lot... probably without even knowing it.

They flirted a lot, but Achlys often found herself wondering if Jass actually meant the thing she said, it would be nice, honestly, if she did. That would mean she felt the same.

The smaller girl found herself blushing slightly at the thoughts that filled her mind and scolded herself. This was no time to be daydreaming about romance... well, not like that. If she was going to be a blushy mess, she wasn't going to be the only blushy mess. Besides, Achlys really was curious about the auburn-haired girl.

'Hey, Emo Nightmare, any luck with the hot girl? She into girls?'

Achlys grinned softly to herself and sent the text, flipping back to her Instagram page as she waited for a reply.

Kage Virgo/M/A-/Fluff/Gay/Shadow Manipulation/M: Adbrei

“I-I’m com-completely p-peachy. Why, h-how are y-you?”

Kage either didn't understand sarcasm, or he completely ignored it (Yeah, no, he definitely just completely ignored it. He did that a lot.) and grinned brightly, happy that he'd gotten any response at all. He did know enough to push 'babe' to the back of his mind, though, he'd add that in later when he understood more.

"I'm great! Good to hear! Oh, hey! Do you want a cookie? My friend Ami made some for me and my friend Micha this morning, and I've already eaten like three. They'll probably be gone by lunch, and I don't think Ami would be too happy with me if I ate them all by myself when there were so many and I only got them this morning." The impish boy slung his backpack over his shoulder again and dug out the bag of cookies that he'd just placed there less than two minutes ago. "I'm pretty sure it'll be acceptable if I share though. If you don't want it, that's fine though! I'll probably end up eating it myself." He chuckled softly and extended a cookie to Adbrei, bright green eyes gleaming with that constant amusement and playful warmth. "I do recommend though, Ami's cooking is the best. Seriously, I don't get it. I'd burn the kitchen down! I mean, it's almost as impressive as Micha's sewing, and my man can sew up a whole fucking closet! It's insane! You should see his dresses! Oh, I know! What lunch do ya have? I bet Ami would like to meet you. If you want to, of course. Your choice!"

As per usual, Kage was just talking in a rapid-fire manner. All his words were genuine, with a hint of teasing, though not enough for it to sound mean. Everything about him was easy-going, go with the flow, and completely open and warm. Of course, he could easily be overwhelming to someone, especially someone who wasn't used to talking too much, jumping from topic to topic and almost bouncing off the walls with endless energy. It easy to get annoyed by him. However, it was hard to actually dislike him.

Jasutina ‘Jass’ Hiroshi | F | Bi(HFL) | Ambi/Poly | O+ | Fluff | Sound Gradient | Mentions; Cherry, Gen’ya(Ind), Achlys(Ind), Open.

“I don't dislike classical literature, though it's certainly not my favorite. I have a tendency to prefer science fiction and other forms of fantasy. Certain classical literature is more enjoyable, I enjoy 'Little Women' by Louisa May Alcott for example. Others I mostly read to improve my vocabulary and gain a better understanding of language in general. Old English can be surprisingly helpful if you use it right, especially in titles such as 'The Scarlet Letter' by Nathanial Hawthorne with more complicated language use. As for respect, I don't care what others think of me. As long as they don't get in my way or bother me, they can think whatever they want. It won't change me.”

--

Jass nodded along, she definitely hadn’t read either of those but the second one seemed like something Gen’ya would’ve read at some point. Based on the title alone, in all honesty.

--

“Yeah, none of those sound familiar to me.” She chuckled lightly to herself, “I do like fantasy though. Especially the ones with gay love stories. I especially loved ‘Girls of Paper and Fire’ by Natasha Ngan or ‘Huntress’ by Malinda Lo. But hey, good to know you don’t let other people put you down. I love meeting people like that… Sometimes it just seems like the whole world is just ready to conform and listen to what everybody else wants. So meeting people that think differently, especially when it’s someone that has a fiery attitude and looks to match. Are you, by any chance, a fan of romance stories between women? The straight ones almost never work- Either they’re too much about the woman having to conform or too much about how the woman is totally more than the man but then still has the man save her. Like, what? Is this the twentieth century?”

--

Jass was grinning as she spoke, her tone open and friendly, though a bit annoyed at the end. She really did hate whenever straight books did stuff like that. And it was everywhere too! She felt her phone vibrate, and immediately guessed that it was Achyls. Who else would be texting her, after all? Probably asking about how it was going with Cherry. She’d answer soon, that was for sure.

*~*~*~*

Amittai ‘Ami’ Mushi | GNC M | Omni(HML) | Ambi | AB- | Fluff | Matchbreaking | Mentions; Ash, Animus(Ind), Open.

Ami waited patiently for a response, no need to rush anything. Making sure that someone was okay took time, sometimes. And that was fine! Besides, better to try and have to wait than to not try and someone ends up getting hurt more.

--

“Thank you... for your... concern.” Okay, well, that was a considerable amount of silence between words… Ash probably just didn’t like talking though, which was fine. At least he’d gotten a response at all. “I... am fine... really... Yes, it's... Ash... um... nice to... meet you, Ami.”

--

Ash definitely didn’t seem to be fine, practically gasping for air and shaking and avoiding eye contact with him… But Ami couldn’t really push if Ash didn’t want to talk, so he was about to speak when they flinched. Flinched. Ami knew about flinching. Knew what it meant, knew what it could imply. And Ash had just flinched.

--

Ash’s head lifted and he found himself getting direct eye contact. The look in their eyes definitely didn’t tell him that they were fine. Flinching, the rather severe anxiety Ash seemed to have, and the look in those eyes? Something was wrong. Ami knew that. But his eyes didn’t reveal that he did, his smile stayed just the same- If not simply a little bit more concerned, a little more soft.

--

He couldn’t really bring it up, not right now in front of everyone. That wouldn’t help, after all. “Well, it’s nice to meet you too, Ash! If you change your mind about seeing the nurse, you’re free to tell me. Or, if you just want someone to hang with, I’m down for that too. Just don’t feel pressured to do anything you don’t wanna, alright? Well anyways, I’m going to get to my chair before class starts. I hope you have a good day, Ash!”

--

Good. That was good. Offer support, no pressure, and a chance to change their mind if they do choose. Wish them a good day. Things like that could change someone’s day completely, after all. Ami offered a small wave and smile before going to his seat. He could always make it a daily thing, to check on them first period. Maybe even bring them food tomorrow, they definitely seemed to be on the thinner side, after all. Malnutritioned? Probably. Underweight? Perhaps. It seemed likely though. Ami could fix that though! That’s for sure!

*~*~*~*

Adbrei Kennaway | FtM M | Gray-Ace | Ambi | B- | Angst | Psychic Shield | Mentions; Kage, Loreto(Ind), Open.

“I'm great! Good to hear!” Was this Kage dude an idiot or was he just mocking him? Maybe oblivious? Probably just mocking. But still! Really? The sarcasm wasn’t enough?

--

“Oh, hey! Do you want a cookie? My friend Ami made some for me and my friend Micha this morning, and I've already eaten like three. They'll probably be gone by lunch, and I don't think Ami would be too happy with me if I ate them all by myself when there were so many and I only got them this morning. I'm pretty sure it'll be acceptable if I share though. If you don't want it, that's fine though! I'll probably end up eating it myself.”

--

Adbrei eyed the boy as he took out a bag, presumably of cookies. Was this a trap? Most definitely. No way was he taking cookies from a random dude, after all- What if their fingers brushed? Adbrei could already feel the tension rising at the concept. A hand was extended to him, a cookie held in it. Adbrei glared at the palm, at the fingers. No way. Absolutely not.

--

He glanced up at Kage’s face, briefly making eye contact with him to give him a glare. Though Adbrei doubted that there was any real anger in it, probably more fear and annoyance if he had to guess. He saw amusement in Kage’s gaze, and immediately dropped his glare back to just the hand. Definitely a trap then. Kage was probably expecting him to reach for it, and then he’d grab him or something.

--

“I do recommend though, Ami's cooking is the best. Seriously, I don't get it. I'd burn the kitchen down! I mean, it's almost as impressive as Micha's sewing, and my man can sew up a whole fucking closet! It's insane! You should see his dresses! Oh, I know! What lunch do ya have? I bet Ami would like to meet you. If you want to, of course. Your choice!”

--

Invitation to lunch now? Who was this guy? He was super invested in this! Adbrei grumbled to himself, glaring at the outstretched hand still. No way. Kage was just trying to trick him. Part of Adbrei wanted to believe that as long as the teacher was in the room that Kage wouldn’t do anything, that if he took the cookie that it wouldn’t end up being a trap. But he also knew that it never really stopped anyone else before. If the teacher did stop it, it’d be after something had already happened. And that was if the teacher did anything! So yeah, there was no way Adbrei was risking it.

--

He shifted in his chair, uncomfortable under Kage’s gaze. It wasn’t really harsh, it wasn’t mean or unkind. But Adbrei could feel the pity that must be there if nothing ‘negative’ was. “I-I’ll p-pass… I-I ha-have th-the f-first lun-lunch.”

*~*~*~*

Gen’ya Hikari | AMAB NB | Demi | Ambi | A- | Angst | Inducement | Mentions; Atlas, Open.

Waiting for a reply was the worst, Gen’ya decided. Especially when they couldn’t look over to see if they were even going to get one. The boy had no obligation to give them one, after all. In fact, they wouldn’t be all that surprised if Atlas had decided not to, one note to the most disgusting creature in a room was enough. Right?

--

They felt the bile rising in their throat, the sick feeling in their stomach, the way their clothes clung to their body. They tried to suck in their cheeks and gut as much as possible, though Gen’ya doubted it made a dent. People were definitely staring, they were just lucky no one was laughing.

--

A note came into view after a few seconds of holding in everything, in which they hadn’t really breathed. Breathing would mean letting go of what they’d been sucking in, after all. And that was worse. Far worse. But trying to look at the note that had been sent back proved difficult while holding everything in. So, reluctantly, Gen’ya let just enough slip to be able to read the note without getting a dizzy spell.

--

‘It's no problem at all, really, and no reason to apologize, I just wanted to help. As for staring, no one is looking our way, most are on their phones, a few are talking. The teacher looked over for a little to take role, but no one is consistently watching you. I completely understand the concern, however, and I can agree that people are often not the nicest. If something does happen, I will let you know. Are you feeling okay, though?’

--

Gen’ya… Wasn’t being stared at. Maybe someone had already taken a picture and was sharing it though? If so, there wasn’t really anything they could do. Except hope that it was shown around to the whole school to see… And besides that… Atlas was concerned? About them? Probably because they were so disgusting and pathetic. Probably because they were so overweight.

--

Well, that wouldn’t do. No one should be concerned about Gen’ya. They’d tell him that they were aware of their appearance and were working on it, they’d apologize for it and the concern. It was the right thing to do. So, they wrote back.

--

‘Thank you for the information, and I deeply apologize. I do not aim to bring you any concern, though I do understand where it is coming from. I assure you, I am well aware of my physical state and am working on making it less vile. I apologize in the meantime for any inconvenience or negative feelings that my appearance brings you.’

--

That should work. Gen’ya could always apologize more if needed. It wouldn’t be hard, it would be rather easy. Given how much they had that they could apologize for and how much they knew about delivering apologies. So, they passed the note back to Atlas.

*~*~*~*

Dendritic Tanzer/Apache Graves | M | Pan/Demi | Ambi | AB+/O- | Fluff/Angst | Graceful Grus/Monochrome Apus | Mentions; Each Other, Loreto, Adbrei(Ind), Open.

“Well that's too bad, sorry it was boring! Mine was alright, pretty standard, for the most part, slept in and helped out in the shop and around the house, nothing too big. Oh, Lucky? He's doing fantastic! Adorable as ever, too. He did dig a pretty big hole in the yard though, dad got mad about it. Ohhh, and he had to take about a dozen baths too, he managed to get himself sprayed by a skunk. The house still stinks. It was terrible. He's better now, though, and I doubt he'll ever chase one of those again.”

--

Denny grinned, “Yeah, chasing skunks is never a good idea. A few of the smaller kids in the area learned that lesson the hard way a few weeks ago, actually. Man, I heard that they were still stinking the place up. Ya’know, more than it already is and all.”

--

Apache snickered lightly to himself after a few seconds. So, maybe it had been his idea to tell the boys to chase the skunks. Not like it had done any actual harm. It was rather funny, really. How they’d looked after the skunk had sprayed them.

--

“Hey, Tic, you know a guy named Adbrei? You too, Apache? I mean, do you have any classes with him or anything? Just curious.”

--

Den raised an eyebrow, “Didn’t you already ask us? No, wait- That was with a different boy… Atlas! Yeah. Why’s it always the A names dude? But yeah, I have a class with him, sixth period. He’s super anxious, easily overstimulated I think. And super sarcastic, rude, defensive, and huge aversion to touch. At least from what I’ve seen and heard. How come?”

--

Apache shrugged at Loreto in answer, he didn’t really pay attention to his classes enough to tell who all was in them. He probably didn’t have any classes with whoever the fuck Adbrei was anyways.