Chapter Text
Octavius checked his emails the next day and found one from Smith. It was poorly written, somehow, despite only being two sentences, but it told Octavius that Smith was free that Saturday and he was willing to meet at a nearby coffeeshop. Notably not the library Octavius had suggested. His plan to avoid Smith’s voice failed.
He emailed back saying which parts of the project he’d do. It was a little over half, but he hoped Smith wouldn’t notice that. The more Octavius did, the less likely he was to fail in his eyes.
Octavius managed to convince his parents to let him meet his classmate that weekend. Since it was for a school project, they were easy to persuade.
The rest of the week was spent working on his half of the project. He wasn’t convinced that Smith had done his parts. He supposed he’d deal with that when they met up.
Saturday came around and Octavius wished he had claimed he was busy. He got up, showered, and complained to Gaia as she drove him to the coffeeshop. She was more optimistic than he was. Then again, that had been their dynamic since they were little.
“Oh, come on, Octavius,” Gaia sighed, “you could make a friend! You wouldn’t want to go through life with me as your only friend, right?”
“Actually, that sounds perfect.”
“Octavius…”
“What? You’ve been my best friend for years.”
“I know, and I love you, but you need other friends. It’ll be pretty lonely if you only have me. I mean, what happens when I go to college next year? Are you just going to be alone? And what about when I move out for good? Or when I get married and have kids? I don’t want you to be alone then.”
“Maybe I want to be alone. I’m not very talkative anyway.”
“Octavius,” Gaia sounded disappointed. She reached one hand over and squeezed her brother’s hand, “That doesn't mean you need to be alone.”
Octavius shrugged. He saw her point, but he really didn’t want to acknowledge it. Even if he was alone once Gaia left, at least he wouldn’t be surrounded by people he hated. Except for himself. But that was different.
“I won’t be alone. I’ll have Mom. And I can still call you and Julia.”
Gaia sighed, realizing she wasn’t getting anywhere with this conversation. She had become well acquainted with how stubborn her little brother was. Being the only person he could really push back on, it was pretty often she had to deal with his argumentative tendencies. Ironic, considering she was the only one he ever wanted to listen to. She usually ended up winning their arguments either way.
Finding an empty spot, Gaia parked outside the coffeeshop. The siblings both got out, Gaia saying she’d be nearby and they’d go home in a couple hours. Octavius nodded, hugging her before she left.
Octavius walked into the coffeeshop, looking around for the blond. Not seeing the boy, he sighed and sat at an empty table, dropping his bag at his feet. In all honesty, he had expected Smith to forget. Octavius had increasingly thought of him as a dumb blonde stereotype.
He waited there for several long minutes. He tried to work on his half of the project, but the only parts left required Smith. It was pointless to bother until he arrived. Octavius pulled a book out of his bag, deciding to wait there. At least if Smith never showed up, he’d get a break. One that wasn’t in his own bedroom. He bought himself a coffee and started reading.
About five minutes later there was the sound of a car stopping outside the coffeeshop. Shouts back and forth like that of arguing siblings, a slammed car door, and someone entered the coffeeshop. Footsteps approached Octavius’s table. Finally he looked up and saw Smith.
“Sorry, I’m late.”
“To be expected.”