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Talus, 12, woke up at 7 o'clock A.M. on a Thursday to his dad, Makoa, gently knocking on his bedroom door. It was summer break, about two weeks until Talus entered the seventh grade. "Hey, Tal? I need to drop you off at Io's place, I have some work stuff to do." Talus yawned, and rolled out of bed onto the floor. He picked himself up and got dressed. Opening the door, he walked into the hallway and up the stairs to the kitchen. His room was in the basement where it was cooler than the rest of the house. Makoa wasn't Talus's actual dad, but he was close enough. He got a box of cereal from the pantry, and poured it into a small bowl. The cereal tasted pretty bad, but it was high on sugar, so it helped Talus get energized. He shoveled it into his mouth as fast as he possibly could, in order to be out to the car so he could get to Io's house. It only took about 10 minutes to get there by car. Once they arrived, Talus hopped out of the car, and went to go sit on the doorstep. The first part of the routine. Makoa pulled out of the driveway, and drove off to work. The second part of the routine was initiated. Io's 22 year old sister, Skye, opened the door to head to college. "Oh, hey, Talus. Moji is already here." She squatted down to kiss him on the head before leaving. She and Io were kind of like parents to him, and Talus was somewhat okay with it. The kisses were a bit too much, though. She started doing it after Talus asked her to stop flirting with him at karate, because he was way underage, and didn't need a girlfriend. She said that she understood, and despite her flirty behaviour, she cares about him. At least Makoa didn't know. Skye walked off to class, and Io opened the door to let him in. Io was 18, and was planning for college. She was taking a few years off though, because she was busy with babysitting Talus and Moji, the two infamous twelve year olds notorious for blowing stuff up in chemistry class. Io and Talus were friends, too. Though the three of them mostly played board games and got up to trouble, Talus liked sitting on Io's fridge and eating the snacks that she left up there for him to find. Yup. Another standard, snack eating, board game playing day in the life of Talus. He looked forward to it.

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Talus went through the door, and was immediately bombarded with the smell of lettuce. Now, lettuce doesn't really have a smell, but it has some kind of watery scent to it. Talus knew that smell, because it was there almost every time he was at Io's house. Moji was in the kitchen, making salad. Talus sighed. "How do you manage to switch up your ingredients every time?" Moji turned around and hopped off her stepstool. Though she was 12, she was extremely short. "I bring them here, moron. Have you not noticed the shopping bags until now?" Moji cackled. "Go tell Zhin it's lunchtime. You're the only person who ever has wasabi peas." She strictly tells him. Talus yawned again, and said "It's 7:30 in the morning. Who eats lunch at that time? What are you, nocturnal?" He said sarcastically. "Okay, fine. Breakfast. I haven't eaten yet. Now go." Moji snapped her fingers as she set the table. Talus made a headrest with his arms as he climbed the staircase. He took a small tin of wasabi peas from his messenger bag. He found the dark grey door with a dog flap, and stuck his head through, clonking his stone crown thing on the door as he did it. Zhin was at his desk under the loft bed playing his usual card games. "Breakfast time." Talus said, loudly enough for Zhin to notice with his earbuds in. "Have you got the stuff?" Zhin turned around in his office chair. Talus delicately removed his head from the dog flap, and shoved the wasabi peas through. "Sweet." Zhin opened the door and dashed down the stairs to eat. As Io sat down with Moji and Zhin, she whispered in Talus's ears; "We have three containers of yogurt raisins in the cupboard. Try not to eat them all at once, okay?" Talus got tingles up his spine as he imagined the sweet taste of yogurt raisins slipping down his throat. He scrambled into the kitchen and climbed up the fridge using Moji's stepstool, and wiggled his way on top of it. Once he got up, he hit his head on the ceiling. "Ow!" He opened the cupboard, and pulled out a container of yogurt raisins. He tore the container open, and shoveled the raisins into his mouth. A sigh of relief emanated from his nose as he ate handfull after handfull. Moji raised her bushy eyebrows. "Do you ever eat real food?" She asked him. "Yeah!" Talus said proudly through a mouth full of raisins. He swallowed. "Well, at least once a day. I ate cereal for breakfast, does that count?" Talus inquired. Moji and Io shared a look that said; "That boy is insane." Moji looked up at Talus. "How much sugar is in it?" She judged by Talus's silence that there's a lot. "Look, I take like, five multivitamins every day, and those are good enough. I also work out every day." Talus looked confident that he would win the argument. "Can you at least come sit with us? If you do, Io might give you a little kiss." Moji teased. "Ew, no! No offense, but no. I'm too young, and I bet Io already likes someone. I'm also not interested at all." Moji sighed. For some reason, she thought it would work. Io knew what to do, though. She opened the fridge and got out a bottle of cranberry juice. Talus immediately rolled off the fridge, and went splat on the floor. He got up in an instant and tried to get the cranberry juice from Io's hands with a desperate look in his eyes, but it just resulted in him tripping over his own foot and pulling Io down with him. "Now what's your plan, clumsy boy?" Moji said smugly. "Ha ha, very funny." Talus let go of the juice and scooted along the floor like a caterpillar. He picked a chair, got up, and sat down. Io poured him some juice, and he downed it in a few seconds. "Okay, I'm ready to play now!" He said, with the same energetic tone as usual. "You might not take time to actually make sure you don't choke, but we do, so hold on for a few minutes, okay, bouncy?" Moji had a lot of nicknames for Talus. "Ugh, fine." Talus pouted in his seat, and Moji burst out laughing. "I'm sorry, but the face you're making... It looks so dumb!" Moji cackled. "That's the entire point. I think your laugh sounds pretty." Talus said, not being awkward at all. Moji stopped laughing and buried her face in her hands. "Talus! You can't just say things like that to girls!" She continued cracking up. Talus looked at Io, confused. She looked at him as if he was hopeless. "You sound like you're flirting with her." She told him, blatantly. "I don't get it, what's so weird about saying someone's laugh sounds nice?" Io sighed and smiled. She ruffled his hair. Today was going to be a long, fun, day.

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Talus slid off his bicycle. He chained it to a tree, and went inside. Almost immediately, he bumped into someone. And even worse, it was her. Immediately, she turned around and looked down at Talus as he got up. "What's your deal? Khan, get this peasant out of my sight." Lian Aico. The only person who anyone knew in this town that had a last name. Lian was 15. She was a sophomore in high school due to a grade skip, but since this was a charter school, she was grouped with younger students as well. Khan was her bodyguard. He was fairly muscular, and was about a year older than Lian. He was super nice to people, too. They weren't dating, though they could be. They didn't have a problem with people assuming they were together. Khan bent down towards Talus. "I think it's best you leave. She's scary when she's angry." Khan whispered to him. Talus nodded and scampered away. Talus instantly ran into Moji as soon as he turned the corner. "Woah, slow down, crispy!" She said. "What's up?" She asked, tilting her head. "Oh, Miss Aico." Talus said mockingly. "I bumped into her and fell over." Talus sighed, exasperated. "Yeah, that'll do it." Moji laughed. "Anyhoo, I have to get to art. You have gym, right? Man, you're unlucky. Coach Viktor is pretty mean." Moji said to him. Talus straightened. "I FORGOT I HAD GYM FIRST! At least I have my gym clothes, but I gotta go!" Moji nodded, and Talus ran off to the locker room. He walked through the door to the locker room and was instantly hit by the odor. He covered his nose and mouth with the collar of his shirt. Mal'damba, the cello player in the orchestra, waved him over to his gym locker to get changed. "What are we doing today?" Talus asked. "Dodgeball, duh." Came a voice from behind. The drummer for the band. All people called him was Bomb King. "Prepare to be crushed, puny mortals." Came yet another voice. It was deep and rumbling. Drogoz. The school bully, who was also the dungeon master in Miss Inara's Dungeons and dragons club. Miss Inara was the only one that really understood him. Talus put his shirt on. This was gonna take a while, wasn't it?

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Drogoz wasn't a bad person. He was lost. When he was 5, his mom went missing. This wasn't exactly common knowledge, but he knew people would find out eventually. Drogoz liked art. He liked to paint, but the real reason he liked art was because Madame Inara was the only mother figure he had. Since he lost his mother, his dad became a total jerk with a cold heart. He trained Drogoz in the art of aggression instead of acceptance. Drogoz was in DnD club. Most clubs were run by Madame Inara. He was the dungeon master, and he was good at it, too. Painting? Not so much. But anyone that made fun of his lack of artistic skill would most likely end up in the nurse's office a few minutes later. He really didn't mean any harm, but he didn't know how to get his anger out in a way that wouldn't harm anybody. Vivian normally had meetings with his dad about his behavior. He would end up at the principal's office at least once a week, but would say nothing while he was barraged by shouting. He hardly paid attention in class, and mostly just stared at people. It had been 8 years since his mom left. He thought about her a lot. He would walk about two miles to school at 4 in the morning, and wait there until it was open. He tried to leave before his dad woke up, so that he wouldn't have to deal with the morning tantrum. He would arrive at school in about an hour and a half, and nod off to sleep on the cold concrete steps. Nobody would bother him as the sun rose, they would just look down at him as they passed. They didn't see what was going on in his head, so they thought that the heartless school bully boy waited for victims on the stairs. He liked to listen to songs by Cavetown, and it helped him feel better. Principal Vivian always suggested counselling to him when he was in her office, and she would give him business cards for them. He never asked his dad about it. He covered the walls of his bedroom in the business cards he was given. He would fall asleep in a sleeping bag after looking for things to help him become nicer. He was bad at being good. So as he pummeled people with soft foam balls in gym class, his face might have looked happy, but he definitely wasn't.

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Skye sat face down against the counter of the row of the lecture hall she was in for her modelling class. Her college friend, Ruckus, sat next to her. He was sketching some kind of Mech suit. He was notorious for disturbing classes and ending up in detention. Skye looked up due to a tap on the shoulder. She turned around. It was Buck, the loud, annoying man child in her class. He was rude, he lived in his parents' basement, etcetera etcetera. "Hey, baby. Wanna come to my place tonight? I have some stuff to show you." He winked suggestively. Skye threw up a little bit in her mouth, but gulped it back down. "No." She went back to watching Ruckus sketch. "Why not? I've got all you need!" He burped loudly. He was also known for drinking. A lot. Skye noticed Koga, the best person on the swim team. He was a quiet junior who was bad with people. She had a crush on him. Maybe she would get close to him someday.

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Talus got to band, and plucked his guitar from the wall. He tuned it, and strummed a love song while he waited for everyone else to arrive. He got so into it that once everyone was there, they just watched. He finished, and almost the entire class started clapping. Talus looked up as his face flushed. "What a dork." Said Bomb king, strutting past towards an open drum set. Monsieur Tiberius, the conductor, tapped his baton against his music stand. "Attention, class! Welcome back! I see Monsieur Talus has been practicing." The band class continued for what seemed like five minutes. Talus met up with Moji at their usual lunch table with Drogoz and Ms. Inara. As soon as they arrived, Drogoz stopped talking. Today they were joined by three others. Lex and Strix, the two boys that spend their time talking at the back of math about the card game they play, and when they were going to hang out with Zhin soon. They played the same game, and they were the only ones Zhin fit with. Mal'Damba was there, too. Talus tore his messenger bag open, and pulled out a box containing a stir-fry he made with his dad the day before. Moji had yet another salad, using cauliflower as the base vegetable this time. Lex and Strix both had sandwiches. Damba had Thai food. Ms. Inara had a gyro. Drogoz nibbled on dry cereal. Moji stole bits of baby corn from Talus in exchange for some of her curry sauce. The rest of the day consisted of art, English, math, history, and astronomy. Taught by Ms. Inara, Sir Corvus, Lady Tyra, Master Torvald, and last but not least, professor Jenos. Talus enjoyed history. M. Torvald taught well. Once the day was over, Talus went to guitar lessons. He had a good time there.

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Drogoz helped Madame Inara clean her classroom until 8 pm, and she went home. He started the long, gruelling 2 kilometer walk home, hoping his dad wasn't home.

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Skye drove home, finding Koga in her driveway talking to Io. "What's he doing here?" She rolled down her window. "Io, uh... Will you be my girlfriend...?" He asked. "Wait, hold the phone, what?!" Io was caught off-guard. She saw Skye. "No, thank you. I really appreciate it, but my sister-" Koga leaned in closer to her, making her uncomfortable. She dashed inside, and he looked down at his feet, defeated. Skye sat there in shock. What just happened?

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It had been about 2 days since the conversation between Io and Koga. Skye wasn't mad. She was depressed that she didn't even get a chance to talk to him. Skye knew those two worked together at a café together, but didn't know their relationship status. Currently, it was 4 P.M. on a Saturday. Skye was sitting with Talus on a hill in one of the parks in their town. She had her head resting on his shoulder. She was pretty tall compared to him, so she had to lean pretty far to do so. She was crying a little bit. She's the dramatic type. They sat there silently for about 30 minutes, and all of a sudden, Lex walked by with Strix. "Dude, Talus has a girlfriend?" Strix asked Lex. "Yeah, and she's totally hot." Lex replied. Skye opened her eyes and giggled as Talus turned red and looked down into his lap. They walked off, and Skye sat up. "You know, if I didn't have a crush, and you were old enough, maybe I could be your girlfriend." She teased. Talus turned even redder. She slid up to him and whispered into his ear; "And I mean that." Talus couldn't take it anymore. "Can you stop please?!" He shouted in desperation. "Fine, whatever you say." She nuzzled her hair back into his neck. "I am twelve!" He whisper-yells. "Quit whining, I'm teasing you." She said. "Yeah, but-" "If you don't shut that mouth of yours I'm gonna kiss it shut for you." Talus stopped talking after that. "That's what I thought, mister play a love song while band starts." Talus's head shot up. "How do you know about that?!" He was shocked. "Lian plays the clarinet, remember? She always arrives early. You do know she and I are friends, right?" Skye sat up and looked at him. "Wait, you're friends with HER?!" Talus couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Why? What's wrong with that?" Skye sounded confused. "I tripped over her shoe the other day and she made Khan pick me up off the floor and called me a peasant." He said, blatantly. "That's a way of showing affection. I told her to look out for you. She's bad with people, so she has Khan be nice for her." Talus rubbed the back of his head. "Yeah, no kidding." He sighed. No kidding indeed.

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Skye sat back in her chair. Ruckus leaned over to her. "Hey, I'm having a party tomorrow. Wanna come? You can bring anyone. I don't want anyone to get drunk, and I'm not gonna allow alchohol." Skye turned her head toward him. "Sounds great. I'll text Io and Zhin during lunch, 'kay?" Ruckus nodded. "Sounds awesome. See you there."

By that afternoon, almost the entire neighborhood knew about the party. Talus biked to the corner store after school for his usual Tuesday bag of gummy bears. He always had at least five dollars on him at school. Kinessa, the nice lady at the corner store, looked down at him as he slapped the bag on the counter. "The usual? Nothing else today, huh?" She said as she scanned them. She was a fairly tall lady with short, black hair, nutmeg skin, and Amber eyes. "Dad. We don't have to buy candy every time my girlfriend comes over." Came a mildly irritated voice from a girl standing nearby. "Io only brings it home because the boy she babysits strives off of sugar." Talus's ears perked up. Io has a girlfriend? An Irish man's voice came from the same aisle. "I know, but if she has a use for it, it's good for me. You have a nice girlfriend, lass." Talus walked around the corner store after picking up his gummy bears. He couldn't find out who said it.

He went outside, and called his dad. "Hey, Tal. What's up?" Makoa's voice came in from the other side of the phone. "I'm gonna be a little late to get home, okay? I gotta go talk to Io real quick. I'll call you when I'm on my way home, okay?" He asked. "Yeah! Sure. Go on ahead, bud." "Thanks dad! Love you." Talus hung up, hopped on his bicycle, and made his way to Io's house. Io was getting ready to leave when he knocked on the door. She was wearing a sweater with cropped shoulders, and tights. "Oh, hey. What do you need?" She sounded like she was in a hurry. Talus couldn't keep it in any longer, and blurted; "You have a girlfriend?!" Io's eyes widened.

"Shhhh, not so loud! Come inside." She opened the door all the way, and let him inside. Zhin and Skye were walking past. Skye was in an open-chested sweater with blue jeans and tennis shoes. Zhin was wearing his usual hoodie and sweatpants. "Lil' foxy is a lesbian? Called it!" Zhin said casually, like it was the most normal thing. Io flinched. "Wait, is that the other reason you turned Koga down the other day? Who's the lucky girl?" Skye sounded excited. Io sighed. "Her name is Ash."

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"Lian, get your swimsuit ready for gym class tomorrow." Came Lian's Mom's voice from outside the bathroom. She was rubbing shampoo through her hair in the shower, humming the song that the annoying boy in band was singing. He may be clumsy, but he does know how to sing. She finished her shower, and wrapped a towel around herself before walking to her bedroom to get ready for the party later. She never went crazy at parties, she just enjoyed staying up late and talking to her friends. She got a small bag ready with her one-piece swimsuit and a beach towel. She got dressed in a flannel shirt and jeans. She preferred to wear dresses or robes when going places, because she thought they were both fashionable and comfortable, but when it came to parties, jeans were safer. She went down the stairs. "Okay mom, I'm heading out!" She opened the door to leave. "I'll be back at around 11, love you!" She closed the door behind her and started the short walk to Skye's friend's house.

"Look, we've been friends for a few years, and she liked me and I liked her, okay? I really have to get going." Io dashed out the door. "Well, Skye and me are going to a party. Wanna come?" Zhin looked down at Talus. "Oh, no, I need to get home." Talus waved and went outside to go home. Once he got there, he helped his dad make dinner, fed his parrot, Albert, ate dinner, and got ready for school the next day. "Well, swimming starts tomorrow. I gotta get ready." Talus got his swim trunks and shirt. He didn't like having his chest exposed. He went to sleep after eating and brushing his teeth.

Lian got to Ruckus's house early. The only people that were there were Skye, Zhin, Ruckus, and his cousin. Everyone called him Lin. Lin had olive skin with neck-length black hair. Koga was there too. Lian spent the night talking to Skye and Khan until Maeve arrived. Lian paid Maeve for information on people. Maeve mostly stayed in the back corners of class, and she could pick locks. Lian gestured toward Maeve to meet her outside. "What's up, Lili?" That was Lian's nickname that was given to her by Maeve. "What do you know about that guitar kid? The one with the crown?"

After a full night of staying up and texting people after going home, Lian only got around three hours of sleep. She arrived at school and got ready for swimming. She went into the locker room. She was greeted by Ying, a peppy girl a year younger than her. Moji waved. Furia nodded at her. Most of the girls showed Lian some respect. She got changed and headed out to the pool deck. Talus was dipping his feet in the water near the deep end where everyone was gathered. The only goal was to swim one length of the pool that day. Lian was waking up a little more now. "What are you doing, you imbecile?" She looked down at Talus as she said it. "Oh, well I don't have much swimming experience, and-" Lian gently bumped him off with her shin on accident. He sunk like a rock, and wasn't coming back up. She fully woke up now. "Oh my stars, I KILLED HIM!" She sounded terrified as she shouted. Everyone else was confused. The substitute for the day who's name was Cap'n Dredge, told her; "Missy, if you caused it, you fix it!" And with that, she kicked off her sandals and dived in headfirst.

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Talus drearily opened his eyes to a blurry figure leaning in to kiss him. His head was laying in someone's lap, his head tilted backwards. He lifted his head forward, and whoever was cradling him leaped backwards in surprise, their face turning noticeably red.

Let's go back a little and explain this situation.

Lian lifted Talus's limp body from the pool. She got out herself and wrapped herself in a towel. "Crap, he needs CPR..." Lian scrunched up her face and started giving him chest compressions. She needed a better place to do it, and carried him bridal style over to the bleachers. He was surprisingly light. She lay him down lengthwise, and did more chest compressions until she reached 30. She positioned him sideways on her lap before taking two deep breaths to calm down before leaning in to give him mouth-to-mouth.

And that brings us to right now.

Talus coughed up some water and rubbed his eyes. He sat up, because whoever it was that moved him said "Ow!" When they fell backwards. He turned around to see HER. Snooty goodie-two-shoes rich girl. She hit her head and was rubbing the top of it. Talus pieced everything together up until he passed out at the bottom of the pool. He decided to be nice and kneeled down to help Lian stand up. He reached out his hand and she took it. Her hands were soft. He lifted her to her feet. "How did I get up here?" He asked himself. Lian muttered something. "Huh?" Talus looked up at her. She turned around, her face flushed. "I may have... carried you." Talus laughed a bit, seeing her so flustered. "What's so funny?!" Lian snapped, panicked. "Are you okay, do you need to go to the nurse?!" She sounded more worried than angry. That's a little strange.

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Moji yawned while she got dressed. She wrapped her jacket around her waist before putting on her shirt. It had been about 2 days since the "incident." She wasn't entirely sure, but she heard a bunch of people teasing Lian because they didn't know she had feelings. Moji shrugged it off. "Morning, dad!" Moji said as she sat down to eat her parfait. Her dad, who everyone called Andro, was talking on the phone with someone about Moji's sister. He gave her a small wave before going back to his conversation. She got her stuff into her backpack, hugged her dad, and left to get on the bus. Little did she know what hell awaited when she arrived.

Most of the day went by until English. She had many of her afternoon classes with Talus. S. Corvus entered the room, and clapped to get everyone's attention. He sounded extremely exasperated as he said; "Pupils, we have a new 'friend' in the class starting from today. She just transferred. Cassie, introduce yourself." He backed off as a girl with red hair entered the room. She had on a green robe-like thing. "Heya! I'm Cassie, but you guys can call me Cass. I like pop music, drawing, and math." Cassie looked up and down the rows of chairs. "Ooh, let's sit next to that cute boy over there." She walked over to sit on Talus's left side. "Hi cutie, what's your name?" Talus looked up, confused. He pointed at himself with a puzzled expression on his face. "Yes, you, silly." Cassie poked him in the chest. "My personal space... :(" Talus said under his breath. "Uh, I'm Tal-" Moji pulled him aside for a second. She raised her hand and said that Talus wasn't feeling well and she would take him to the nurse. She pulled him out the door by his sleeve and closed the door behind her.

"That girl is making me uncomfortable." Talus said, nervous. One thing about him that I haven't mentioned yet, is the fact that he has social anxiety around new people. He took medication for his anxieties, but sometimes it showed itself anyway. "She touched me without my permission, and-" She placed her hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eyes. "Hey. It's okay. I don't like her either. Maybe walking to the nurse together might help." She said. They walked to the nurse, and then walked back to class after a few minutes. This wasn't what she expected to be doing today. She didn't expect her best friend to have a panic attack over a new girl making him uncomfortable.

They got back to class, and sat down.

Inconveniently for Talus, Cassie was in a bunch of his other classes. Talus arrived in history while Moji was in orchestra. History class had big group discussions, so there were large tables for lots of people. Most of the popular kids sat together. Talus usually sat alone, and doodled in his notebook during discussion time. But surprisingly, other people saved him a seat this time.

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The people at the table were whispering about something, and one poked her head out to look at Talus. He sat down, and set his stuff down on the floor next to him. He moved his legs closer together so he didn't take up too much space. He only recognized about a third of the people there, which wasn't saying much, since there were only six others there. There was only enough room for one more person, which made eight people for a table. Talus looked around at the pink, black, and brown-haired girls sitting there. He looked at the massive form of Khan next to him, who seemed to be having trouble with an assignment for his physics class. Talus decided to help him out with it. They were pretty early. Talus helped Khan for about five minutes, until he was tapped on the shoulder. "Heeeey, cutie! Is this seat taken~?" Said Cassie from behind him, pointing at the chair next to him. "Uh-" Talus stuttered. "Yes, actually."

They both whipped around, and Talus hit his elbow on the chair. He flinched, and looked up at who said it. "What makes you so sure, what is he, your boyfriend?" Cassie said, sarcastically. Lian gazed down at Talus for a minute. "What if he was, what's it to you?" She retorted towards Cassie. This sparked an argument between the two that Talus zoned out for most of it, until they both looked at him expectantly. "Huh? What?" Talus snapped back to reality. "Which one of us can sit with you?" They said in sync. "Er... I mean, Lian?" Talus just said what came to mind first. "Thank you." Lian sat down. Talus watched her earrings shake back and forth as she sat down. Lian looked over at him. "What is it?" She asked, sounding self-conscious. "I just like your earrings, that's all." He didn't expect any form of reaction, but "Thanks!" Lian giggled a bit, and then she gossiped with the other girls at the table. He heard his name mentioned a few times. He ignored them, and went back to helping Khan until Master Torvald arrived.

After school, Talus met up with Moji before going home. "What's up? Evie is gonna show up soon, and I'm gonna have to take the demon child home." Moji looked at him. "Girls are so... confusing. During history, that Cassie girl and Lian argued over who should sit with me, and I didn't understand why. I just wanted to help Khan with his physics homework." Talus sounded exhausted. "Tal, girls can have crushes, too, you know." Moji said it like he was helpless. "I know that, but... I only met Cassie today, and I've hardly ever talked to Lian except for apologizing for tripping over her all the time." Talus didn't know what to do. Moji sighed, and looked at him, smiling. "Sometimes, it's just like that with people."

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Talus yawned as the warm morning light washed over him. He slipped out of bed and got ready for school that morning, and went upstairs. Carefully, he filled a teacup with water and put a teabag in it. Then it was put in the microwave. Today was going to be a good day, and he knew it.

Lian woke up to the sound of someone walking up her driveway in the crisp fall air. She gingerly got ready to head to school, and went down to eat breakfast real quick. She made a small batch of scrambled eggs, and scarfed them down. "Bye, Mom! Love you!" She shouted, before closing the door to meet whoever was outside. It was colder than she expected, so she tucked her face into her scarf. Ying waved from in front of the porch. "Hi, snowflake." Ying laughed at how cold Lian was. It was surprisingly chilly for autumn. Lian put her pochette over her shoulder. She mainly just carried tampons and pads in case her period happened when she wasn't at home, but she also kept some other things like her phone and hand sanitizer in there. "So, yesterday. What was that?" Ying asked Lian as they walked down the streets of the early morning town. "What do you mean? Lots of stuff happened yesterday, you're going to have to be specific." Lian seemed confused, but the pinkness slowly creeping up her face said otherwise.

"Well, you made us sit with that boy who always draws a ton. For the record, his art is pretty great." She said the second part quietly. "And, you fought with the new girl just over sitting with him. What, has the princess finally found her prince?" Ying said it jokingly, but then she saw the look on Lian's face. "Wait, seriously?! THE Lian, snooty breaker of hearts, found someone she likes?!" Ying was so amazed, she started talking loudly. "Shh, not so loud! His house is right there..." She pointed to the pink house on their right. "Wow, pink and purple. Nice color choices. Better than brown, anyway." Ying said to herself. Just then, Talus came out onto his porch with a warm cup of chai tea so strong people across the street could smell it. "So that's why he always smells like chai whenever we're around him." Lian muttered. Talus didn't notice them as he sipped from his cup, rocking back and forth in the rocking chair, humming without a care in the world. Lian and Ying continued down the street. They heard this clicking noise coming up from behind them. Talus zoomed by, but today he had rollerblades. He looked like a figure skater, until he fell sideways onto a hill.

He picked himself up, and started to laugh. "Okay, why him? Nobody laughs after falling over." Ying whispered to Lian as they walked by, watching Talus struggle for balance. "Wait a minute. He's laughing, but he looks sad." Lian pointed to his face. "Man, Moji would be mad if she caught me calling myself pathetic right now. Well, she's not here right now, so I can beat myself up as much as I want. But she would probably find out anyway, so I guess maybe I shouldn't..." Lian and Ying exchanged looks while Talus sped off. "Jeez..." Was all they managed to say. That was... unexpected.

School went by slowly. Nothing very interesting happened, except for another Cassie-induced panic attack. After school, Talus sat on the steps, watching clips from Jojo's Bizarre Adventure (Yes, jojo exists here too,) crying, and yelling "Shigechi, no! You were too pure to die." Today was just getting weirder and weirder.

Over the next few days, Lian started seeing Talus more, even when he wasn't really there. Sometimes she would wake up from a bad dream, and she would think he was sitting at the end of her bed. "I'm... going crazy. I can't like him. No way." But the more she thought about him, the more obsessed she got with every little detail she knew about him. Why did this have to happen to her?

Chapter Text

Lian: Hey, wanna come over to my house today?

Skye: Sure, let me finish sewing this shirt together, and I'll be there in 10.

Lian: alright, I'll get coffee ready.

Skye arrived at Lian's house, wearing her usual jeans and open-chested baggy sweater. "Oh, hey! Cream and sugar, right?" Lian asked over her shoulder. "You know how I like it." Skye sat down at the small coffee table, and set out 2 coasters. "So, how's everything with Kogurt?" Skye laughed at Lian's nickname for him. "They're decent. How about you. Got a crush yet?" Lian set the coffee down. "I guess you could say that." She sat down. Skye sipped hers. "Ooh, who is it? Is he cute?" She seemed super enthusiastic. "Yeah, pretty cute. He's about yay high-" Lian used her hands to show how short he was. "Shortie, huh? What else?" "Well, he wears a lot of red. He tends to wear a pink scarf when it's cold, and it's funny because it's almost impossible to see him take it off without the little crown he wears all the time falling off. He wears earrings, and has neck-length brown hair. He has a snaggletooth, and smells like chai tea all the time. Oh! And he cosplays a lot." Lian began rambling. Skye put her finger to Lian's lips. "Is he one of the only boys in gym who wears a long-sleeve shirt? Can he swim?" Lian nodded at the first question, and shook her head on the second one. "Seventh grader? Does he have an obsession with a boy with a spiky head named Shigechi?" Lian nodded. "So. From what I have gathered, that of whom you love goes by the name of Talus. Good choice. Do you know about his mental illnesses yet?" Lian thought for a minute. "Kind of? I know he has severe social anxiety when it comes to people he doesn't know very well. Moji told me he's overcoming depression, too." Lian explained to Skye what she had heard the other day.

Talus was picked up by Moji's dad for his playdate with Moji at 1:30. "Please, don't get up to trouble. I know that you two have a reputation for causing things to combust." Androxus knew that Talus meant well, but was terrible at executing things. He kind of felt like he was a bit of a bad influence on Moji, but not a ton. "Is Evie going to be there this time?" Talus was extremely afraid of Evie. "Thankfully, she's at a slumber party at Willo's today." Willo was Evie's other psychopathic friend from fourth grade. Her dad, nurse Grover, worked as the nurse at school. A bit of background, Androxus and Vivian were married. If she was sick, he would be the stand in principal. She tended to be nice at home, but could also mean trouble for Talus. They got to Moji's house, and Talus hopped out of the car.

Lian told Skye about the "pool incident." Skye couldn't stop laughing at Lian for getting so flustered, when she hardly ever let her feelings slip like that in front of a lot of people. "The problem is, though, that there's this new girl. She's about a year and a half behind me, in 8th grade. She keeps making him uncomfortable, and I want to make her leave him alone, but I can't do that without making him suspicious. Why has this got to be complicated?"

Two to three hours into Moji's playdate, after they fed Po-Li, Moji's iguana, and played with her plushies, they did their closing activity of exploring the attic. Moji's attic was massive, with windows onto the second-floor roof thingy on the front of the house. The reason Moji's house was the second biggest in the neighborhood, is that when Andro wasn't a stand-in for Vivian, he was a lawyer. Vivian tended to go into the attic with them, to see how creeped out Talus could get by the dusty place. "Hey, Talus, what's that on the roof?" She pointed towards an open window. "It's pretty far out there, so you may have to get on to the roof to see it." She said, as Talus climbed out of the window on to the roof. Vivian laughed internally at her little trick, and the voice inside her said "You fool! You've fallen into my tr-" "MoooooooOOOOOM! THE WINDOW!" Moji shouted, just as the window slammed shut. "Crap." Vivian said to herself. Moji tried to get the window to open again, but it was jammed. "Crud."

Chapter Text

Talus curled up in a ball on the roof of Moji's house, trying to avoid falling off. He watched Moji dash down the stairs through the window, with Vivian belting out orders that he couldn't hear. A few moments later, he saw Moji exit the house. "Talus, are you okay?!" She shouted up to him. "Yeah, it's pretty cold though." He yelled back. "Stay there, dad is bringing out a ladder." She dashed back inside to help her dad bring the ladder out, he presumed. They came back a few minutes later, and Talus was extracted from the roof after about 15 minutes.

Lian and Skye sat in Lian's room, watching a nature documentary because those things are epic, and Skye sprayed water into her cup. Lian jumped. "Dear lord! You gave me a heart attack!" Lian pouted, until Skye showed her the picture Moji sent her. "He was at her house, and he got stuck on the roof, because her mom tricked him." Skye was cackling, and Lian smiled a bit. "He looks cold." She pointed out. Someone knocked on the door, and Lian went to go see who it was. Within seconds, she bolted into her bedroom, grabbed Skye, and hid under the bed. She then shouted; "Here, Skye, go out the back!" Skye rubbed her ears. "Sheesh, what the heck?" Lian looked Skye in the eyes. "It's him. " Skye nodded in understanding. Buck was there.

Talus walked home, since he had pitstops to make. He saw Buck walking up Lian's driveway, and decided to follow him. He hid in a hedge, and cut up his hands while doing so. He heard the doorbell ring, and someone shouting. The alchohol in Buck's breath was so dominant that Talus could smell it from at least two meters away. "Ha, like that's going to work. She's just hiding from me, because she's intimidated." Buck sounded so full of himself. It made Talus feel kind of sick.

Lian crawled out from under the bed after hearing a commotion downstairs. She went to look out the window through the curtains, and saw someone kicking Buck in the shin with extreme precision, and then sending him rolling down the hill. She watched as they brushed their cut and bloody hands together. "You need to learn how to treat a lady. Have some respect." They tugged their black sleeves back down. One arm had the word "Billion" along it in all capital letters, a reference to Okuyasu Nijimura. Then, they began walking down the hill, their tail swishing behind them and their gold earrings glinting in the sunlight.

The door burst open behind him, startling Talus and causing him to stumble. He almost fell, when someone caught him from behind. Their arms wrapped around his stomach, and pulled him back up. He looked down at the thin, neat, polished nails and the delicate hands. "What-" And before he could say anything, there was a burning sensation on his cheek. "Thank you." The person behind him had just kissed him, and then blindfolded him and guided him down the hill. "No peeking, now go home, cinnamon boy." They whispered into his ear, removing their hands from his face. He left, no questions asked.

Once he was out of earshot, Skye started clapping as Lian walked back up the steps with her. "Bravo. That was new, to say the least." Lian buried her face in her hands. "I don't know what I was thinking!" Came her muffled voice from within them. "Well, for a newbie to romance, I can see why you're confused. It's going to be fine." Skye patted her on the back, and made her some tea. They went back upstairs, and continued learning about reefs.

Chapter Text

It was the day after the previous events on a Sunday afternoon, as Talus braided Io's hair for her date later. Yesterday, as he was walking home, a few people from school on the sidewalk looked at him funny. He thought it was because of his jacket or his bloody hands, but when he got home, he found out that neither of those were the reason. He waited for his dad to open the door. "Oh, hey, Tal, I saw what-" Makoa opened the door for him, and his eyes bugged out of his head with his mouth gaping wide open. "Come inside and tell me everything. " Talus came inside, confused. He went to go wash his hands, and put on four layers of soap, because when he looked in the mirror, there was a pink-ish lip print on his face, marked with lip gloss. He told his dad everything.

"Ok, done! Well, I gotta get home before your date starts." Talus put on his pink letterboy jacket over the black tee shirt with a big yellow star in the middle. "Bye!" Talus waved as he went out the door. He looked in his bag to make sure he had all his stuff, and started on his way home.

"That's him. That's the twerp that did it." Three figures were walking behind Talus by now. all of them large and muscular. One of them got close up enough behind him, and snatched him by the collar of his jacket. "Hey, dweeblet. Remember me?" Buck smugly sneered at Talus as he dangled by his collar in Buck's massive hands. "Kind of hard not to. What's the basement looking like? Any new body pillows covered in pizza grease?" Talus kept his cool on the outside, but really, he was terrified. "Again with the cocky attitude." He pulled a small pocket knife from his pocket and tossed it to the shorter of the other two. "Minus, you know what to do." One of the two big guys behind him walked up to Talus and grabbed his left wrist. The other one pried his hand open. The big purple guy flipped the knife open, and sliced across Talus's hand. Talus winced in pain. The other of the two others walked up and grabbed Talus by the neck and slammed him into the ground. Talus gripped at the massive hand that had just now slammed him into a brick wall. "Nice to know that the lunch staff-" Talus coughed up a small drop or 2 of blood like in an anime fight scene. "Care about their students." Despite him being on the verge of getting hospitalized, he still did his best to not show fear. Buck walked up to Talus and got right up in his face. "Get between me and a girl, and you face the consequences." Just then, bubblegum popped behind them.

Terminus, the purple guy, turned around, and then cried out in pain. "You know, I get pissed off when people laugh at my dad for his accent or something. But what pisses me off even more?" Buck turned around. "Is an unfair fight." Talus watched as a work shoe hit Buck in the crotch. Buck keeled over, and fell to his knees. Talus looked at the spiky red hair, the dress pants, and the Hawaiian shirt and tie. "Man, this is why I don't wear clothes made for girls. Either too uncomfortable, or not what we need most." Raum, the taller man holding Talus, dropped him, and ran. "And stay away from my girlfriend's friends, you bastard!" Ash yelled after him. "Hey, kid, you okay? Can you walk?" She then looked at Talus with a sympathetic look on her face. "Nah, I'm fine. Just need to catch my breath and disinfect my hand. Thanks for the help." Talus walked towards his bag and got out his antiseptic spray and though it stung, sprayed the cut on his hand with it. He picked his stuff up, and walked over to Buck, laying face down on the ground. "You're lucky you didn't rip my shirt, you little dipstick." Talus dug the heel of his shoe into Buck's shoulder. "If you want to get a girlfriend, maybe learn to be nice first." Talus thanked Ash again, and went back home. "Not bad. Not bad." Ash left the two guys there on the ground, and got to her date.

Chapter Text

Talus sprung out of bed, ready for the day. He looked over at his clock. 4:30. He wouldn't leave for about an hour or so. He did some stretches, got dressed in a long sleeved green button down shirt, with long green pants. He put on cherry earrings. Today was a Kakyoin day. He went upstairs as quietly as he could, and had breakfast. He spread a thick layer of honey on a slice of sourdough bread, and gulped it down with a cup of milk. With his breakfast eaten, teeth brushed, and satchel organized, he left for school. It was a comfortable temperature outside, so he didn't need a coat. The sun peeked out from behind the trees as he took his usual shortcut to get to school. When he arrived, he saw Drogoz slumbering on the stairs. Talus sat down, put his earbuds in, and put on a spotify playlist he had made.

School started about thirty minutes later. Well, it opened the doors. Class didn't officially start until around seven. Throughout the day, he received a large container of curry sauce from Moji, a few mumbled words from Drogoz, a new guitar pick from Khan, a (reluctantly taken) letter from Cassie, and he noticed that an opal ring mysteriously appeared in his bag sometime earlier. He put it on after getting into more comfy clothes, meaning sweatpants and an oversized tee shirt with a massive picture of a seal on it. He put the curry sauce in the fridge, the guitar pick on a shelf in his room, and the letter in the laundry room, where it would never be seen again.

Talus opened the door, allowing a few people inside. He was having a small sleepover with his close friends, as it was a Friday. Skye, Io, and Moji came inside. "Nice ring! Where'd you get it?" Io looked at his hand as she carried a few things inside. "I... Don't really know, to be honest. It just showed up, and I'm not sure how. Have you guys eaten dinner yet?" He looked up at them with his big eyes. "Nope." Moji said, eyeing Talus's kitchen. "Something smells good, that's for sure." Talus ushered everybody downstairs and let them get set up. He went back upstairs, and finished working on dinner with his dad. Moji came up first, followed by the other two. "Ta-daaaa!" Talus led them to the table, where there were steaming plates of homemade pad thai at five chairs, each with a glass of iced tea next to them. "Wow. I'm impressed." Moji gave him an approving look. "Wow, there's tofu and everything. Even crushed up peanuts over the top." Io sat down, and inhaled the steam. "It smells amazing, too." They ate supper, and Talus and Skye made tea. Makoa pulled a muffin tray out of the oven. The muffins were sprinkled with cinnamon sugar, and they tasted like nutmeg. They were up until midnight, sitting on the basement couch, watching movies together until Talus fell asleep on Skye's foot.

Talus woke up, and creeped among the others so that he could go check the clock in his room. He checked, and it was eight in the morning. Once he reached the kitchen, he looked outside. October fifth. He looked at the muffin tray, and picked one up. He put it in a small container, put a coat on over his pajamas, and walked all the way to Lian's house. He set the container on the doorstep, knocked, and went back home.

Lian woke up to a knock on her front door. Her parents were on a trip, so she was the only one there. She looked at her window at the little shape going down her long driveway and through the gate. "Weird." She slipped out of bed, put on a bathrobe and a pair of slippers, and went downstairs to see what was going on. She opened the door, and looked down to see the small box with the muffin in it. She looked for the person who must have brought it there, but they were gone. She warmed it up, and sniffed it. Her nose was hit with a wave of cinnamon and nutmeg. She took a little bite out of it. It tasted amazing, the flavors combining to give it a campfire feeling. She checked her phone. "Why would someone show up this early to give me a muffin?" She asked herself. She texted Skye: Hey, I got a muffin on my doorstep this morning. How are you today? She looked down when her phone buzzed. Am at Tal's house, we had sleepover 4 his birthday. Don't know where he went though, isn't in his room or upstairs. Lian shrugged, and went back to the muffin. A few minutes later, her phone buzzed again. He's back now, wearing coat and still in pajamas. Said he had an errand he had to run. Muffin is missing from tray, though. You figure the rest out.

Chapter Text

Three weeks later, another Saturday. The day before Halloween, and Skye was hosting a party at her house. Everyone who was invited was going to dress up, and they would all watch horror films and people could stay overnight if they wanted to. Makoa drove Talus to Skye and Io's house early so they could help set stuff up. He was already in his oni costume, and had been in it since midday. Once he was dropped off with his sleeping bag and other supplies, he helped get to work. He put up decorations, made food, and by then it was already eight in the evening and getting dark. Io and Skye got changed. Io came out and Talus was blown away by the vibrant purple emanating off of her. "That's a really good Cheshire cat. Impressive." Talus wondered what Skye had dressed as, but he soon wished he hadn't. She had dressed as a succubus, and waited with Io for people to arrive as Talus finished setting up.

Ash was the first guest to show up, wearing the attire of the mad hatter. Io and Ash had collaborated on their costumes, so they both decided to be characters from Alice in Wonderland. Moji was the next to arrive, covered in patchwork quilt with a sock puppet. "What are you supposed to be?" Talus asked her. "Uh, duh, I'm a plushie." She rolled her eyes, then they both cracked up, laughing. Zhin yawned and came down the stairs wearing a cat onesie and slippers. He grabbed some food, and went back up. This was going to be a fun evening.

Talus watched as the house soon filled up with people he knew. There were a few adults there, including Ms. Inara, who dressed as Gandalf. Talus got his earbuds out of his drawstring bag and plugged them into his phone until it was time to go watch movies downstairs. However, he decided to go to the bathroom to try and calm down, since there being so many people had been stressing him out. He made his way along the sidelines, past Khan, who had dressed up as Kronk, Drogoz, who was Ridley from the Metroid series, and Ying, who was dressed as Princess Jasmine. He wasn't watching where he was going, so he bumped into someone. He turned around and came face to face with a light blue body suit and jet boots*. They almost fell over, since Talus was moving pretty quickly and they were in heels. He grabbed their hand as they fell, and pulled them back up. "Hmph. I didn't need your help, you know." Talus looked up at the silver hair and detailed face of Lian. "Well, yeah, but it's nice to be nice. Plus, if you fell, someone could have stood on your hands and that wouldn't have been fun." Talus said, with a know-it-all tone. He continued on his way to the bathroom, and finally made it there. He went in, locked the door, and sat down on the edge of the bathtub. He sighed, and sat there for a few minutes, taking deep breaths.

*Lian is dressed as Zero Suit Samus

Moji yawned as she waited for everyone else to come downstairs. She was sitting on the floor, since she was short. She wondered where Talus was. Looking around, she made her way over to Lian, due to the fact she was nearest to her and wasn't trying to sit down on the floor or sofa. "Hey, Lian? Have you seen Talus anywhere?" Lian jumped, and looked down at Moji. "I think he's still upstairs...? He bumped into me up there, so-" "Okay, thanks. I'm gonna go check on him." Moji dashed up the stairs and looked around the living room. Only a few people were still up there, including Koga (Dressed up as Kakashi from Naruto,) Skye, and Ash and Io were heading downstairs, holding hands. Moji spotted light coming from under the bathroom door, and walked over to it and knocked. "Hey, Talus, you coming?" She asked, through the door. "Uh, yeah, just- Um... Just a minute, okay?" Came a shaky voice from the other side. "Of course he locked the door, anxious idiot that he is." She whispered to herself. "Open the door, we can talk." A slight clicking noise could be heard, and the door peeped open. Talus's head poked out, and looked around to make sure nobody else was around. "Okay, come in."

Lian came up the stairs to get a drink as the last few people went down to get started on movie watching. She could hear voices coming from the stairs to the second floor, and went to go check it out. "Hey. If a stubborn little guy like you can make it through the day if you get to have a therapy talk, I'll gladly help out." "You're shorter than me!" Moji sighed. "Despite having a panic attack, I can see nothing's changed. I'm gonna head downstairs, okay? Hang up here if you want for a bit, but come down when you're ready. If we're watching scary films, I'm probably gonna have to hold your hand, you being the wuss that you are." Moji stood up, brushed herself off, and headed down to the basement so that she could see what was going on in the first film so far. Talus got up, put on a jacket, and went outside to get some air. Lian came out after him, and sat next to him on the doorstep. "What are you doing here? Did you have a panic attack too?" He looked over at her, but her eyes were fixed on the moon. "Guess not. Do you need something?" She turned her head to look him up and down. "No, not really. I just heard your talk with Moji. I guess you have to deal with a lot, don't you?" "Well, I suppose, but-" Before he could say any more, she was hugging him. His face embedded in her soft hair, he hugged back, confused. Tonight was just weird, wasn't it?

Chapter Text

Lian slid out of her warm bed, and was immediately cold. She put on her poofy bathrobe so that she was warm before she got dressed, then went downstairs to eat breakfast. After checking her phone and getting dressed in thick leggings and a comfy shirt, she put on a sweater and did her hair so that she would look impressionable. It was Wednesday, so she had to go to school before the other important events that day.

The earrings clipped into place as he was getting ready for later. It was right after school, so he wouldn't have time to change. His dad knew he had some sort of event later, because DnD happens on Mondays and Fridays. Talus wore a pine green long sleeved turtleneck and cotton trousers. He tied his shoes, put his wallet in his pocket, and made his way to school, careful to keep his clothes tidy. Moji was waiting down near the end of the street for him. "Wow, fancy. Special occasion?" Moji sipped from a thermos. "Yeah, I have a date today. I've never really been on one, so I don't really-" Liquid sprayed from Moji's mouth onto the snow beneath them. It was mid November, and it started snowing early this year. "Slow down, egghead! You?! On a date?! Surely this isn't Talus I'm talking to, because last I checked, which was yesterday, Talus didn't have a girlfriend." "Well, she called it a date. I'm trying to help her out with being a better person and just overall nicer to people. But we're getting coffee, and it might be a bit romantic, so... Maybe?" Talus looked confused. Moji sprayed another sip of her tea from her mouth. "No! No way is it who I think it is. No. Way." "You're going to stain your scarf." Talus pointed at the scarf around Moji's neck. "Out of all the girls you could have picked, why did you choose her?" Moji said, as they kept walking. "I mean, she kind of chose me. She's not terrible if you really get to know her." Moji looked at Talus as if he were from another planet. "Are we talking about the same Cassie here?" Talus looked back at Moji with a surprised expression glued on. "Ew! No! She's insane. I'm talking about Lian." "She's not much better!" Moji started to cackle. "Couldn't you have chosen, like, Ying, or something?" She kept laughing as they walked, poking fun at Talus the whole time.

School went by quickly, and suspense piled up in Talus's brain. He started getting more and more worried about the "date" later, but he didn't want to show her up. Once he finished school and went outside, he checked his phone and made his way to the small cafe in the center of town. It was a short walk, so he got there early. He saw Lian walking up the sidewalk, her light grey sweater and pendant made Talus suddenly feel less fancy. He had dress clothes, but he only wore them for band concerts. They made eye contact, and he felt the sudden urge to look down at his misshapen hands. Once they started fidgeting, he shoved them into his armpits and crossed his arms. "Oh, jeez, what am I going to order? She's gonna think I'm so simple if I just order us both caramel mochas with a shot of hazlenut, which I usually get, uh- Oh, no, she's within a reasonable distance to the point where we should go in! Oh no, oh no, what do I do?!" "Um, hello, M'lady." He bowed. "What the heck was that?! You could have just said hi! Now she thinks you're weird. Good going, idiot." Lian did a small curtsy. "My knight." "Oh, dear lord, Lian, why him? Who just starts off a meeting with 'M'lady?!' And why are you going along with it?!" Talus opened the door and let her inside. His eyes bulged when he saw Io working at the cash register and helping out a new employee with making coffee. The boy with blue tinted skin was someone Talus had seen around school a couple of times, but he hadn't talked to him. Although, "tint" was an understatement. The boy was blue from head to toe, and had a snaggletooth and horns coming from the front of his head. "Io, do I need to use the darker beans for French roast or the lighter ones?" Talus leaned over the counter. "The dark ones. French roast has toasted beans, which are the dark ones." Io raised her eyebrows. "How do you know this much about coffee? I thought you were a tea person." "I drink coffee, but I mainly drink tea." Io was tuned out for most of what he was ordering. She looked Lian up and down. "You're Skye's friend, right?" She said, out of the blue. "Hm? Oh, yeah." Io nodded. "Well, Talus, what do you want to order?" "Two peppermint mochas and a cinnamon roll, please." Lian's face had a slightly red tint to it. "How does he know I like sweet things?! A peppermint Mocha? Rare I ever get one of those. They're good, but I normally get a chai tea latte. Look at that cute smile of his. He better share that cinnamon roll." Talus pulled out his wallet. He paid for both drinks and the cinnamon roll, and then carried the coffees to a small table near the window as Lian sat down. He got the cinnamon roll from the counter, and carried it over as well. "Such a gentleman. And here I was thinking that most boys were impolite and had no standards. Khan is fine, but most others aren't. Most that I've met, anyway. That drummer guy from band asked me out once. He wasn't the greatest guy, so I said no. And here I am, asking a boy three years and 4 feet shorter than me out for coffee."

Chapter Text

The date ended with Lian taking Talus home, holding his hand while rambling to him about the advice he gave her. The main focus of the session was seeing others as equals, and not lesser people. Though Lian would try, she would still see herself a little over others, but her prince would sit on a throne alongside her. Once they reached Talus's house, Makoa was sitting on the porch, reading a book. He looked up, and the book fell out of his hands. "Hi, dad!" Talus waved, without a care in the world.

Io knew something was wrong the moment she saw the moving truck across the street. Between Maeve and Ruckus was a small flat that had been sold a few days ago. She saw someone with olive skin getting out of the small blood red car to help carry things inside, and she caught a glimpse of black eyes with yellow spheres hidden in the center. A strange crown sat upon her head. Without a doubt, this was the girl she abandoned to go be with her girlfriend. She watched her slowly crumble, until she moved away. The long, dark braid sat upon her back and her orange vest. Red sleeves came out at the arms, the real coat, Io presumed. She went inside, carrying some of her furniture in with her.

Io never meant to leave Vora behind. She was distracted, and Vora began to fade out of her life. They were friends since 8th grade throughout most of highschool, until sophomore year. Even though she was at a fairly mature age, Vora followed Io wherever she went. They wore matching clothes, liked the same things, and were happy together. Until Io's heart was stolen by a student she saw on a trip to Pillow Falls they had planned together to tour the university there. Vora slowly faded out of Io's life, and her heart became dark and torn. Vora quickly realized that she was her own person, and started working on recovering from heartbreak. She found things she felt comfortable with. She started playing the drums, and rebuilding her life. She still held hope in her heart that one day Io might return, and embrace her like an old friend. That hope began to die out. Vora's attraction to Io faded, and she worked on her gender orientation. She started wearing chest binders, and felt better that way. After being rejected by her family for coming out as lesbian and nonbinary, she moved to Pillow Falls. The town was beautiful, and had extremely good coffee. She thought of her trip, and remembered watching a small boy with horns and a crown too big for his head watch frogs in the rain, and she was fascinated. He seemed so careless and naïve, like she once was. She felt the need to protect that. She didn't want him to go through what she suffered from so painfully. She wanted to find him and help him survive in such a cruel world.

Over the next few days Talus visited her, Io was more and more on edge. Mumbling something along the lines of "She's here" over and over again. Once he would leave, he would see a girl looking at him through her blinds. Not the way Lian looked at him, but the way his dad looked at him. She looked kind and welcoming, and he remembered her from somewhere. But he couldn't put his finger on why.

Chapter Text

On the day this chapter was published, the person who I wrote this fanfiction for blocked all communication with me with no warning. I don't know what I did, and she didn't let me know before leaving me behind. She wouldn't answer me when I asked on a place where I wasn't blocked, and she would turn around and block me again. Of course, I'm continuing the fic. It means a lot to me, and I'm not just going to leave it behind because my friend of at least two months abandoned me for who knows why. Tovi, if you're reading this, please. Just tell me why? What did I do wrong? I specifically told you to let me know if I was doing something wrong. I'm filled with rage and sadness about losing a friend. I truly don't understand what's wrong, but you could have at least had the decency to let me know.

Signed,

Semphyst, November 26th, 11:30 A.M.

Chapter Text

Talus kicked at stones on the curb as he went on his walk. He watched them roll across the sidewalk, until falling into a sewer drain. It was grey today, and there wasn't much to do now that winter break had started. He heard a cheeping sound, and looked around. A bird was laying in the snow, its wing damaged. "Oh, no! Don't worry Mister Birdie, I'll help you." Talus always carried a box of latex gloves around, in case he needed them for something. He yanked a pair from the box, and put them on his freezing cold hands. He gently picked the bird up off the ground, doing all he could to not hurt it more. His experience with Albert had helped him figure out how birds act and feel. It looked like some kind of finch, although they were rare in the winter. He carefully stroked its head with the tip of his finger until it calmed down, and breathed on it to warm it up. It shuddered, and stopped moving. "Hey, you alright?" He gently touched the bird's beak, but it didn't move. It was limp. "There's nothing you could do about it." Came an accented voice from above him. He turned around. "We can bury it, if you want." The tall girl in front of him looked to be around 18. She held out an olive hand. "Come on, pipsqueak. I don't have all day." She sounded nice, but irritable at the same time. "I have shovels in my garage." She said to him, and she walked in to get them. She tossed him one, and he caught it. "It's a shame, really. But at least it's not suffering anymore."

Io sipped from a mug of cocoa in a bathrobe. She noticed movement outside, and looked more closely. He was... Talking to her? They were digging a hole in Vora's yard. Talus handed her something, and she gently set it in the hole. They covered it back up again, and Talus's eyes glinted a bit. He looked out of breath. Vora said something, and laughed at him. He looked her dead in the eyes, face looking exasperated. They exchanged conversation for a while, until Talus eventually left. Io saw Vora's eyes flick toward her, and quickly closed the blinds. She sighed, and back to her room she went.

Chapter Text

"So, like this?" Talus twirled around on the tip of his foot, and fell over. Vora pressed on her sinuses. "You're hopeless, aren't you?" She cackled, helping him stand up. "Try and spread out the pressure you're applying." Vora squatted down next to him, and poked his socks. "Plus, it doesn't help that you don't have slippers yet." She pointed out. "I can't find a place that has my size." He retorted, a light blush on his face. "Funny, because last I checked, your feet were the size of paper clips." Talus groaned. "I can't order them online." Vora sighed, and sat down on her sofa with her laptop. The plastic felt strange against her tights, which she used for ballet since they didn't get in the way of anything. She held out her hand. "Money." Talus slapped a wad of cash into her hand. She looked down at it. "Gross. Go wash your hands." Talus scrubbed his hands in her bathroom sink, and came back. Vora slid the money in her wallet, and went to wash her hands. Once she came back, she sat back down. "What's your shoe size?" She asked. Talus crouched down on the landing to look at his shoe. "Men's six and a half." Vora nodded, and typed something in. "Favorite color?" "Yellow." She typed in another thing. "Be here tomorrow, 4:30 P.M. Lesson is over for today. Shoo." Vora made a shooing motion with her hand, and Talus slid his shoes on and went out the door.

Vora started teaching Talus ballet a week after the bird meeting, in late December. They ran into eachother a lot when Talus left Io's, so she gave him her phone number. After talking for a few days, she mentioned how she did ballet. This sparked Talus's interest in dance. He asked her to teach him, and she reluctantly agreed. She had fun teaching him, but he was insanely energetic. She guessed that made it more worthwhile.

Talus was practically vibrating when Vora opened the door the next day. "Someone's excited." She looked down at him, a small smile on her face. "Your shoes are here. Go get changed." She tossed him a box, which he caught. He dropped his stuff, and got changed into his dance clothes in her bathroom. He slid the slippers on, and they fit really well. He burst out of the room. "So I can do twirls now, right?" He asked, his hyperactive brain all over the place. Vora sighed. "Not yet, Tal. Not yet."

Chapter Text

Talus clicked the door shut as he left the house, guitar case in hand, wallet in pocket, and pajamas in bag, as well as his medication, and clothes for tomorrow. He put the guitar case strap over his shoulder, and carried his guitar on his back. The plan was to go to the pier for the new year celebration on the beach, since the pier wasn't very crowded, and then go back to Lian's house and do more relaxed things, sleep, make breakfast, watch a movie or two, say goodbye, and go home. He got there in about five minutes, and knocked on the door, making sure to look presentable. The door opened, and he stepped inside. Setting his things down, he looked around the vast room. "Hey, Talus. Handsome, as usual." Talus looked up to see Skye. "Stop flirting with my boyfriend!" Lian gracefully came down the stairs, shooting a look at Skye, who returned a sickly sweet smile. Skye's dress was black and purple to match her hair, and it went down to her ankles. Lian's was red and gold, only going down to mid-thigh level, with a belt around her waist. "How do I look?" She did a small twirl. "U-Um..." Talus had to think. "I think beautiful is an understatement. The way your silver hair goes with the colors of your dress, it looks... You look great." Talus turned pink after stumbling over his words so much. "Thank you." Lian gave him a peck on the forehead. "You look nice, too." Skye sighed. "If only I had someone to share a kiss with on new year's eve." She said, dramatically. "Don't worry, she's only going to be here until we come back from the pier." Lian whispered into his ear, and he nodded. Skye scoffed. "What, no compliments? I designed this dress myself, and it's quite comfortable, too." Lian rolled her eyes, making Talus laugh. "He's not obliged to compliment everyone." She said, a smug look appearing on her face, since she was the only one who received his praise. Long, slender fingers intertwined with short, stubby ones as they started their walk to the beach.

Vendors all offered different things for the countdown. They had around five minutes until it started, so Talus bought a tulip with the money he brought, and tucked it into Lian's hair with much difficulty, due to the height difference. Skye waved them over to the pier after embracing each other, and they walked over right before the one minute countdown mark. Talus leaned forwards on the railing, looking down at the ocean in front of him. He tuned out the noise as Lian stood with him, looking out across the endless blue and black horizon. Only when the chanting started did he come back to reality to join in. After thirty minutes of Talus geeking out over fireworks, Skye yawned and went home. Talus and Lian walked back to Lian's house together, occasionally stopping to look at the clear sky to see the stars. Lian had her bare arms wrapped around Talus's left arm, because she hadn't brought a coat. Eventually, Talus took off his blazer and gave it to her so she could warm up. Once they got to her house, she unlocked the door and gave Talus his blazer back. He folded it up neatly and put it in his bag, and went to the bathroom to get changed. Lian went to the bathroom upstairs, and got into her pajamas. A shirtdress and a pair of silk pajama short shorts. After slipping on some turqoise kneesocks, she went downstairs. Talus was standing in the living room, gaping at the massive amount of space in his comfy sweatpants and seal shirt. "Come with me." She told him. He grabbed his guitar case, just in case, and went up to her room with her.

A few minutes later, Talus found himself cross-legged on Lian's humongous bed, strumming chords while singing "Lemon boy," which was one of the only Cavetown songs with his voice pitch. His tired eyes sparkled as he sang song after song, until eventually stopping because of how tired he was. Lian looked at the clock. He had been serenading her for an hour straight, with no breaks in concentration. She clapped gently after he finished his final song, "1,000 light years away," (from slime rancher.) He had the biggest smile on his face as she did this. "So, for band you play electric, right?" She asked him, while they brushed their teeth. "Well," Talus spat into the bathroom sink, and rinsed it and his toothbrush out. "I mainly play acoustic. I just prefer the softer sound." He explained, with her nodding her head. After a few minutes of making sure he was comfortable on the air mattress with a comforter and one of her very poofy pillows, she crawled into her bed, exhausted.

Talus got up to get a drink, to see Lian shivering on her bed, since she had given him the comforter, she only had some light blankets. He quietly stood up, and rested the comforter comfortably up to her shoulders. She made a sleepy noise of happiness, and burrowed into her nest of blankets. Talus got his water, and came back to go back to sleep. But instead of going straight back to sleep, he sat down on Lian's bed, and made sure she was sleeping okay. He was going to get up, but she rolled over and grabbed his hand in her sleep. He decided not to move, and just fell asleep, sitting down.

Lian woke up to an exhausted Talus sitting at the edge of her bed, asleep. She felt the comforter around her, and blushed. She gently scooted him over to be next to her, and carefully leaned him backwards so he was laying on his back. She covered him with the blanket, draped her arm over his stomach, cozied up to him, and fell back to sleep.

Waking up to an arm across his torso was not a feeling Talus was used to. He remembered tucking her in, and then blacking out from there. "This must be how my plushies feel," he thought. "Lucky them. This is a nice feeling. Although, her being only inches away from me isn't really necessary. I guess she was colder than I thought." He stayed there until Lian woke up, and was extremely flustered because she thought she would wake up first. Talus pointed out that she technically did, and she told him to be quiet, knowing that he was right. Talus made breakfast, and the rest of the day until noon was spent sitting next to each other in Lian's bed, watching documentaries on her laptop. Luckily for her, Talus also seemed to like marine biology. When he had to go, she kissed him on the cheek. "Next date is at my house, okay? I wanna show you my plush collection." Lian promised that that would be the case, and waved to him as he walked his way down her driveway. She went back to her room, and found his blazer on her bed with a note.

Chapter Text

"Hey! Give back my dice, toothpick!" Drogoz snarled at Moji, who had grabbed his D20 and rolled it on the table. "Use someone else's, these are reserved for DnD." His deep voice grumbled. "Shut up, will ya? I'm trying to write down my stats for Gorple." Drogoz raised an eyebrow. "Gorple. Seriously? That name is stupid." Moji rolled her eyes. "Listen up, chuckleschmuck. I'm only making a character sheet so Talus stops bothering me." Talus leaned across the table to look at the character Moji had made. He wheezed. "Sad." He gave a one word answer, still laughing at her. "Well, there are tons of campaigns and I never seem to see you play one where I asked for your opinion." Moji replied, not missing a beat. "Wow. That was a nice comeback. I hate to say it, but I'm impressed." Drogoz said, grumpily. "Thanks." Moji looked at him, a massive grin spreading across her face. "I didn't think you were capable of feeling emotion. Maybe those horns aren't stabbing into your brain after all." Miss Inara looked up. "Thinking of joining the club? We always have our door open, you know." Moji looked back at her. "I'll consider it." "What." Drogoz said, dryly. "What, do you object?" Moji's eyes flicked towards Drogoz as she scribbled down stats. "No. Why would my horns be stuck in my brain? What kind of theory is that?!" He growled, his voice slowly rising in volume, his body tense. "Hey, don't look at me. Talus speculated that." Drogoz's eyes were filled with fire as he looked at Talus. Talus took a bite of his quiche. "Well, I'm gonna go sit with Lian now. Bye." He scurried away in fear. "He better run away, my horns wouldn't get stuck in my brain. That's such a dumb thing to say. If he really insists, they could be inside his-" Drogoz was fuming. "Calm down, man. Now, you want your dice back or not?" Moji nudged the steaming boy with her elbow. "Yes." She dropped the dice into his open palm. He stuffed it back into his dice box. "Thanks for letting me use it." She chewed on a chunk of tofu. "You took them." Moji swallowed. "I gave them back, problem solved." She replied, dryly. Drogoz squinted at her. A deep rumbling sound started at the back of his throat, slowly bubbling up to be a raspy chuckle. "I guess you aren't awful." He told her, a small curl at the edge of his mouth. "The feeling is mutual." She deadpanned. The bell rang, they shook hands, and went their separate ways.