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Ike was sitting on his bed, taking time to reflect on the last year before he had to head to school. He could still remember that day, the 3rd of December, when he realized he was falling in love with Vox Akuma. They were walking together through the park,he looked over at Vox, the moon was shining down, highlighting his face. Vox looked down at Ike, who looked away, fearing Vox would realized he had been staring at him. Taking off his jacket, Vox said "Here Ike, you must be cold," he stopped and gently placed the jacket over Ike's shoulders. Ike was noticeably red and Vox let out a soft chuckle, "It looks better on you than me,". If only he knew how much Ike liked him.
".. ke? Ike, you're going to be late!" he snapped out of his thoughts, checking his watch, and realising his mother was right. "Oh, no, I better be off then, see you later!" he grabbed his bag and rushed out, hoping his wandering mind wasn't going to make him late. As he ran, he could feel the cold air on his face, his cheeks and the tip of his nose going red from the cold. Even though it was cold, there was something nice about the feel of the wind blowing his hair out of his face, he wished he could stay feeling like that forever.
He managed to make it to school in time for the first bell, the bell signaling he had 10 minutes to grab his books and get to his first class. He moved quickly to make sure he would make it on time to his class, checking his schedule as he walked, first was English.
After his first two periods, English and Science, two very fun subjects, in his opinion, he headed back to put away his books. "Heyyy, Ikey!" Vox called, Ike turned around, "Hey, Vox", "How are you? I haven't seen you in a while," Vox asked, but ask Ike started to reply, Mysta walked past, he was wearing his fox hat as usual, and Voxs' attention drifted to Mysta, Ike watched his eyes as they lit up, and he smiled at him as he walked past, Mysta smiling back. What a sight for sore eyes, Ike thought, he's brighter than the blue sky, and he has Vox mesmerised, as Ike died inside, just a little, he was losing hope that Vox would like him back.
Once Mysta had left the hall, Vox turned his attention back to Ike, "I- I'm going to go eat now, see you," and Ike got out of there. He didn't feel like eating with people so he walked around to the side of the music room, where people rarely went, and let out a sigh. "Why would you ever kiss me..?" he asked himself, voicing his thoughts, "I'm not even half as good-looking" and he realized Mysta was wearing Vox's sweater, 'it's just polyester..' he thought, but maybe he liked Mysta better.
'I wish I were Mysta' he thought, he couldn't keep himself from tearing up, and he couldn't stop himself so he decided to just hug his legs, hide his face, and let himself cry. He stayed that way for the for the entirety of Interval, and was relieved when he heard the bell ring. He stood slowly, wiping the tears from his own eyes, and looking down as he headed for his next class.
There were many days that went the same way, he ate alone a lot, pretending he was perfectly content with sitting alone. This went on until one day, he tried talking with Vox, he didn't want to be alone anymore, he hated being alone. As he walked around the corner, he immediately saw Vox and was about to walk over when he saw something that stopped him in his tracks; Mysta and Vox were holding hands, all Ike could do was stare and they laughed at some incoherent joke one of them had made, and Vox slipped his arm around his shoulder. Ike felt as if he was getting colder, it was as if Ike had lost, it was never a competition, love was something he had only recently experienced for the first time, and it felt as if his first love, the one keeping warm, and making him happy, was being pulled away from him, almost forcibly.
Somehow, despite everything Ike was feeling, he could never hate Mysta, they had been friends for so long, and he was such an angel, he was definitely not seiso, but he was sweet in his own way. Then again, as he saw him walk by, hand in hand with Vox, he kind of wished he was dead., he couldn't help but notice, every single time, how Mysta was a sight for sore eyes, or how brightly he shined, especially when he smiled, or laughed, every thing he did seemed perfect.
That Saturday, Ike was sitting in his room, studying, he was trying to take his mind of the situation, when he received a text from Vox. [Meet me at xxxx Park] It said, and Ike could only state helplessly at the screen, sort of like a deer caught in headlights. He spent a solid 10 minutes contemplating the decision of if he wanted to go or not. In the end, he decided he may as well go and at least find out what Vox wanted. Ike got up and nervously fumbled around with the clothes in his closet, trying to find something to wear. He settled on a pair of black sweatpants, a loose white t-shirt, and an over-sized and baggy hoodie. As he put his glasses back on, he took a look in th emirror and ecided he looked decent enough and went to put on a pair of black sneakers.
"Where are you off to, Ikey?" His mother asked, poking her head out of her office, "It's so late," Ike turned around, "I'm off to meet a friend, I'll be back soon, no doubt," he gave her a sweet, slightly tired looking, smile. "Be safe" she called, as he closed the door and let out a sigh, 'I sure have been sighing a lot recently' he frowned at the thought but essentially forgot about it as he got absorbed in the sky. There were so many stars, it looked exquisite. As he neared the park, which wasn't far from his house, he spotted Vox, he was sitting on a swing, looking down at the ground. "The stars are up there, why are you staring at the ground?," Ike asked as he approached.
Looking up, Vox chuckled, "They really are beautiful, aren't they, that's why I thought this was the perfect place," he looked Ike in the eyes, "Are you okay, you have been eating alone recently, rather than myself and Mysta, we've been worried". Ike wasn't sure quirlte how to reply, instead just sitting on the swing next to him, "I.. I'm sorry for worrying you, I've just been going through some things" he gave a nervous chuckle and Vox turned to him, concerned, "What kind of stuff?" he asked. "Uhm, I, I think I'm in love with someone, but he's been really close to someone else, I don't think he likes me back," Ike responded, he was sort of shocked, he didn't expect himself to be quite so honest with Vox.
"Could that person, the one you like, perhaps be me?" he asked, and all Ike could do was give a slight nod as he stared at the ground. "I see" he said, looking up at the sky, "You know, I happen to like you back" he stared up into space. "Why would you ever kiss me, Vox? I'm not even half as good-looking as Mysta" he sighed, "you gave him your sweater, it was just polyester, I thought you liked him better" he started tearing up, he couldn't help it, lately he had just been so.. Emotional.
Vox turned to face him, "I've never liked him better, Ike, you're the one I love" he stood and held a hand out to Ike, and Ike took it, he put a hand on Ike's face, "You're amazing, Ike, you're brighter than Mysta, how could I love anyone more than I love you". Vox pulled Ike in and hugged him, Ike hugged him back, "Ike, you're freezing, how about we go across the street and grab some hot chocolate?", Ike nodded and let go of him, Vox held his hand and they walked to the little cafe across the street. In the cafe, it was so warm, in contrast to icy cold outside, "Ike, take a seat, I'll go order" Vox said and he went to go order. Ike decided to take a seat at a little table in the corner.
When Vox came back with the drinks, Ike was staring out the window, up at the stars, "The stars aren't quite as pretty when you're looking through a window," he sighed, and thanked Vox, taking his cup and having a nice long sip. Vox noticed how Ike's face lit up upon taking a sip and he was glad he was enjoying it. The two boys had a quiet conversation about everything that had been happening over the past little while, from Ike eating alone to him watching Vox and Mysta, and Vox was able to clear up the misunderstanding, Vox and Mysta were never dating, they had just been very close, Mysta was just going through a breakup and he tended to be clingy during those.
After clearing everything up, they each finished their drinks and got up to leave. "Would it be okay if I walked you home?" Vox asked as they left, "I would love it if you would", and with that, they started walking. As they were walking, Vox took Ike's hand and Ike intertwined their fingers. They felt so right, so comfortable, to be walking together, to be holding hands, they had both waited so long for this moment and they would both agree, it was worth it. Arriving back at Ike's home, Vox was about to say goodbye, when Ike turned, and kissed Vox on the cheek, "Good night, Vox, I love you" he smiled and Vox could feel his face heating up. "I love you, too, Ike, have a good night"
That night, Ike got a good night's rest, he knew that he would never have to wish he was 'him' ever again, because now he knew, he loved Vox, and Vox loved him.