Chapter Text
Ink was ecstatic, and beside himself anticipation. It was the type of anticipation that caused your entire body to tense up. The agitating urge to pace, strangle a stuffed animal, chew a pencil, punch a wall, do anything that wasn't lying still was downright oppressing.
Everyone in the house could tell.
Probably because Ink was doing just that.
Tomorrow would be his first day at his new high school, the one his friends attended, having been expelled from the one he went to during his freshman year. His uncles had finally managed to talk the school into taking him despite his reputation as a walking disaster (and the official records that backed it up).
According to his mother's brother and his husband he was creative, and according to his mother herself he was reckless. In the words of Dream he was an adrenaline junkie. Blue just laughed.
Ink had met Blue on his way to do something Very Dangerous and Stupid. To his surprise, the small boy had wanted assist him, and he was ever baffled by how Blue knew what he was planning. It was not long before he became one of Ink's closest friends and introduced him to Dream.
He hoped their school would be just as interesting as them.
Specifically, the type of interesting everyone seemed dead set on avoiding. If you don't get involved, the chances of getting killed by it decrease considerably. Sure, that women probably did have multiple arms, and yes, that was probably a god. People turned a blind eye to it though, and didn't ask questions for their own safety.
Ink was not people.
The next day, Ink found himself being dragged through a maze-like mess by Blue.
"It's only our first day back," complained Dream. "Can't you introduce them later?"
"No!" exclaimed Blue.
He continued, "E's my oldest (close) friend, from since before I met even you. But every time I've tried to introduce him to Ink before, something always pops up. Error must have been setting stuff up as an excuse to avoid people. But this time he SHALL NOT ESCAPE!"
Blue swerved to avoid running into a group of students.
"He needs more friends, so friends he will- Oh, hi! Hi! Hi. Hi. Hi. H- wow, I haven't talked to you in two years! How you've been, buddy?! Hi. Hi. Hi. Hi, remember me? You were in my first grade class! Did your cat ever get better? The one your dad got for your family a couple years before we met, I think that's what you said? She got sick in February, I think it the third or fourth was when you mentioned it. Let's see... It was definitely the third, because we made the card on the fourth, in the morning. You know, Muffin? Aww... I'm sorry to hear that. Wait! Have a Kisses! Chocolate makes everything better! Hi. Hellooo!"
Ink stifled a laugh at the bewildered expression of a person who very obviously didn't remember his first grade classmate. This was what he adored about Blue, who he was fairly certain was omnipresent, if not omnipotent.
Sighing, Dream broke into a jog to keep up. "Bl-"
"ERROR! Look, there he is! You aren't going to disappear this time, Queen!"
Ink was more or less picked up and carried as his tiny yet surprisingly strong friend bolted in pursuit of a blurry figure that seemed determined to get as far away as possible. Dream gave on following them. The bystanders gawked.
Error was finally cornered.
"Blueberry," he said carefully as he eyed Ink. "What is that ?"
Blue dumped the (just barely) taller boy on the floor unceremoniously as he cheerfully explained to Error, "This is Ink! I told you about him, remember? And tried to introduce you to him... multiple times. All of which you avoided some way or another, or flat out ran away from, literally."
Error nervously glanced down, and jumped back a little at the look Blue's friend was giving him. Sure, he got a lot of stares (stares which he didn't care about) but something about that one absolutely terrified him.
Where had he seen that indescribable look of fascination before? Oh right. When he met Blue. And as dear as his first and closest friend was to him, he only ever needed ONE Blue in his life, thank you very much.
Ink glanced up and-
Oh.
Ink was met was startled, golden eyes.
Which was absolutely AESTHETIC combined with the stranger's dark complexion.
Did the stranger have flecks of blue in his eyes too? In was hard to tell from where Ink was at but-
Blunt though he may be, Ink was still an artist.
He let out a strangled sort of cry.
"Berry, I think I broke him."
His friend responded with, "No, he's just like this sometimes."
"So he was already broken."
"Don't say that, Error."
Error. So...
Ink abruptly jumped to his feet and grabbed Blue, shaking him while desperately screaming in French, "YOU DIDN'T TELL ME -"
"Ink, I can't understand a word you're saying," said Blue calmly as Error leaned a far away as possible.
He just groaned and buried his face in his best friend's shoulder. "Aesthetics."
Blue rolled his eyes. "I see. You're scaring Error, by the way."
Ink immediately pulled away and looked him dead in the eyes. "Are you implying that I , an artist -"
"Um... That was the bell... So I'm just gonna go..."
"Am to show shame when presen-"
Blue cut him off. "Where'd Error go?"
Ink came running into the classroom five minutes late.
"I got lost."
The rest of the day passed uneventfully, but Ink couldn't help but wonder who the boy he had been introduced to was speaking with after school. He was talking to a wall, after all.