Chapter Text
The first time Mysta’s eyes landed on him, he immediately assumed the kind of student that he was.
Ike Eveland was, at first glance, boring. Mysta noticed him first when they were finally taking their seats in the classroom, after the entrance ceremony. The most distinct feature about him were his thick-rimmed glasses, looking heavy over his golden irises. His hair was like any other student’s dark and dull style. He wore his full uniform with the school vest over his shirt and neatly ironed trousers. He even had the blue uniform jacket on. There was nothing significant about him apart from the fact that he was really, really attractive. But with the way he kept his head low, and kept his face buried in his already open notebook, it really wasn’t noticeable.
Mysta’s eyes only lingered on him for a few seconds before he moved on to observe his other classmates.
He had a full view of the classroom from his seat at the very back so it was easy for him to watch other people interact without grabbing anyone else’s attention. He recognized many faces from middle school but no one he was close with enough to actually greet. He wasn’t one to make friends on the first day anyway and the only person he could actually talk to was in a different class. Lame.
Mysta didn’t exactly look like the most approachable student either. He looked like the messy student stereotype right off the bat, especially with the way the strands of his hair flew in different directions. He forgot his tie at home so he couldn’t wear it and his jacket was unbuttoned. Not to mention, he sat back in his chair until it was swaying on its two back legs. At first glance, he was the untidy student, the complete opposite of Ike Eveland.
He thought that back then, he would never interact with him, not outside of school or during break. Maybe by coincidence at times but never often. Oh, how he was so wrong.
It was after classes that day when he saw that face again.
He didn’t expect anybody to go to the library for leisure, not on the first day, especially when there was a mall near the school and several other fun places to go to. Mysta surely wasn’t there to have a good time but a certain student dragged him in – not physically, he would never do that – to give him a stern talking. He saw him that day during the entrance ceremony too, with his long mullet tied in a ponytail and his amethyst eyes always looking calm, yet at that moment, they looked worried.
“You skipped classes on the first day?” asked the boy in disbelief, head tilted to see Mysta’s distant gaze. Mysta was dismissive and only rolled his eyes at the question.
“No,” he answered, “I didn’t skip classes , I skipped one class and it was the last one anyway. It was probably just introductions to the subject, Shu, nothing serious.” He didn’t bother meeting the other’s eyes, choosing instead to lean back on the bookshelves, more interested in the colors of the books behind Shu than the current conversation. “How did you even find out?” he added in a mutter.
Shu was from a different class, after all. “The teacher told me about it. He asked me about you after classes since he knew we were brothers.” He watched Mysta’s expression, nothing changing in its blankness. “Mysta,” he started, “y’know, I don’t mind covering for you whenever you need it but you have to be careful.”
“Be careful not to get caught, you say?” Mysta kidded, raising an eyebrow and smirking at the way Shu’s eyes grew bigger in surprise. He could only laugh when his brother started stammering, trying to explain that that wasn’t what he meant. “Relax, man, I’m kidding,” Mysta assured him as Shu laughed quietly in response. “But damn, I can’t believe I’m being scolded on the first day.”
“I’m not scolding you,” Shu told him, “I’m just… y’know, worried?” There was a pause as Shu shifted his weight from one foot to another. “I’m sorry if I’m being overbearing,” he finally said.
“You don’t have to look after me,” Mysta said firmly, “we’re not kids anymore, Shu, and I can handle myself. You have the student council to prioritize too, so you should focus on that. I’ll try not to cause too much trouble that’ll hurt you, so just relax.”
“I’m not a member of the student council, Mysta. (“Not yet,” Mysta thought.) And I don’t really think your actions could hurt anyone but yourself…” Shu said thoughtfully, trying on a small smile. “If… If anything, can you promise me one thing?”
Promise. Shu took his promises seriously, ever since they were kids. He would curse you if you ever broke them, and he’d curse himself if he broke any, to be fair. The severity of the curses depended on how heavy the promises were, there was an entire thing about it. The curses were vague though, like having bad luck for a whole week or losing something important the next day. Mysta used to believe in them.
He still did. “What is it?”
“Promise me you’ll make a friend.”
Mysta was stunned by the statement, so much so that he ended up letting out a bark of laughter. “What?” he wheezed out, “a friend? Are you serious?”
“Shh,” Shu hushed him, a reminder that they were still in the library. “A friend from class,” he added, “it’ll be fun! I mean, you’re in high school, y’know?”
“It’s not like I’m completely incapable of making friends,” Mysta told him, huffing. “Fine. Promise.”
Shu smiled, satisfied by his answer. He raised his pinky finger, waiting for Mysta to link his own with it. It felt silly to Mysta and it seemed easy to lie about it too but he raised his finger anyway and sealed the deal. Now, all he had to do was the bare minimum, which was to talk to someone in class.
“Don’t stay out too late,” Shu told him as he gave him a pat on the back. He then turned on his heel to leave and Mysta, having nothing else to do in such a place, followed right behind him.
Coming out of the aisle of shelves they stood in, they came across the reading area, which was mostly desolate save for the presence of one other person. The student seemed to bury his head further in his book once the other two appeared. Mysta recalled the boy’s name in his head but Shu was the one who called out to him out loud. “Hey, Ike!”
At the sound of Shu’s voice, the boy looked up to peer through his thick glasses. “Oh, hello~” he greeted. It was Mysta’s first time hearing his voice. Even if he spoke during class, Mysta was probably not paying attention, and he was just noticing how light and distinct his voice was.
“How was the Literature Club?” Shu asked, cheerily making his way towards Ike Eveland. “Have you decided on joining it?”
“It was great, Shu, everyone’s so nice,” replied Ike, a small smile on his face. “Thank you so much for guiding me there. I already have the application form but I think I’ll wait for a while before joining.” Mysta watched Ike pause, a subtle warm tint on his face as he carefully asked, “Will you… be there next time I visit? In the student council room, I mean.”
“I might be,” Shu replied with uncertainty. “I mean, I’m not an official member of the student council, y’know? But I’ve been helping out so there’s a huge chance that I’ll be there.” Ike laughed softly, as if Shu said something ridiculous. Mysta was sure they were thinking the same thing. “When you do come around though, and I’m not there, then someone else surely would be.”
Ike’s face turned a shade warmer. “I would… prefer…”
“Hm?”
Mysta watched Ike turn away and utter a quick “Nevermind!” Unsure of what else to do, Mysta turned around, raising his hand for a small wave of goodbye and leaving without caring whether either Shu or Ike saw it or not.
It was still pretty early when he stepped out of school grounds so Mysta couldn’t help but loiter on his way home.
He passed by a manga store he hadn’t seen before and several titles displayed in the window caught his eye. He lingered for a moment in front of the store, eyeing the volumes of manga and peeking through the display to check how many people were inside. Seeing as it wasn’t too crowded, he slipped inside to browse, and only to browse, considering he didn’t have the money to purchase anything. The store had a comfortable atmosphere so he felt right at home.
Then, there was a chime that signaled someone else entering the store. He didn’t pay attention to it at first, considering he was sure whoever it was wouldn’t be someone he knew. After a few minutes, however, that person spoke, asking, “Do you have the third volume of this manga?”
Right away, he knew it couldn’t belong to anyone else. He only heard it for the first time that day but he knew exactly who it belonged to. He peered from beside the aisle he was standing from and silently cheered himself for guessing correctly. Once again, he saw Ike Eveland. Though, Mysta was actually surprised to see him in such a place, considering that he didn’t see the boy as the type to visit manga stores. Someone like Ike looked like a “study first before anything” type of guy.
“Mysta…?”
He jumped a little, unsure of how Ike realized he was there. Did he see Mysta staring? Mysta forced on a sheepish smile, scratching the back of his head as he approached. “Ike!” he greeted, “I didn’t take you for the manga reader type!” It was an honest statement, the best one he can think of. He could only hope it wasn’t offensive.
Ike laughed lightly, which relieved Mysta a little. “What gave you that impression?”
Mysta’s shoulders were tense. He wasn’t prepared to be talking to a classmate today, definitely not on the way home. “You… seemed more like a bookworm,” he tried to explain. “You were at the library earlier today too, and no one goes to the library on the first day of school unless, y’know…”
“Unless they’re a nerd?” Ike finished, a knowing smile on his face. His smile was warm, despite the awkwardness of the atmosphere. “Yes, I wanted to check out what books they had there. I guess I read all kinds of things.”
Mysta hummed, unsure of what to say back. “Well, I’m heading home now,” he said, hoping to end the conversation quickly. Ike looked like he understood, nodding to Mysta, who did the same out of instinct.
“Alright, it was nice to meet you,” Ike replied. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
Suppressing a sigh of relief, Mysta headed outside first as Ike resumed his conversation with the cashier. He slumped his shoulders once he was outside, pulling his hands out of his pockets. He never even noticed when he slipped them in but they were sweaty and balled into fists once he took them out so maybe that was for the better. Wiping his palms on the fabric of his pants, he could hear the jingle of the store’s bells behind him, signaling the door opening. Curious, he stole a glance over his shoulder and found Ike exiting the store. Mysta received that smile again from him.
He was starting to look sweeter than Mysta thought. Still, he resumed walking, assuming they would part ways soon enough. But he could feel Ike’s presence behind him all the way down the street, until the shops started decreasing in the area. He reached a crosswalk he needed to cross to reach the station he needed to go to, so he stopped to wait until the traffic lights turned green and, coincidentally, Ike stopped too.
Clearing his throat, Mysta thought it was necessary that he spoke up. The atmosphere was too awkward and he felt like he needed to clear the air. “You’re headed this way too?” he asked, eyes unable to look towards Ike’s direction.
“Yeah… and so are you, it seems.” Ike kept his eyes on the traffic lights overhead as well. “Are you going to take the train?”
Mysta nodded, thumbing the strap of his bag. “Mm, yeah. How about you?”
“Mhm,” Ike answered. “It looks like we’re really taking the same path by coincidence. What about Shu?”
Mysta tilted his head, now curious enough to look at Ike’s face. “Shu? What about him?”
“We left the school together,” Ike explained, “and he headed in a different direction. But… I heard you two talking in the library and one of you – Shu, he said you were brothers? But it doesn’t look like you live together.”
“We’re just half-brothers,” Mysta answered easily. “I mean, it’s not really complicated and we get along just fine. We just live in different households. We’ve been going to the same school since we were kids, but otherwise, I see him as more of a friend.”
“And I guess, someone to rely on whenever I get in trouble,” he added in a murmur, hoping it was inaudible enough that Ike didn’t hear.
“I see.” Ike hummed pleasantly, right after the lights turned green and the vehicles stopped to let them cross. He let Mysta go first and he walked beside him.
“Are you two friends?” Mysta asked once they reached the other side. He was constantly leading while Ike followed closely next to him, and a part of him quietly wondered why. “You and Shu,” he clarified.
With a shake of his head, Ike answered: “No, we only met earlier today. I visited the student council room during lunch and he was the only one there. He helped me find the literature club room.”
“Literature again, do you do anything other than read?” Mysta poked, his tone in a mildly teasing manner. Ike watched him walk backwards, facing him like he didn’t need eyes for the road.
Ike only gave a shrug. “Reading’s fun,” he said, like it was the most obvious and true thing in the world. Mysta couldn’t exactly agree and he showed it with his expression, with the way he raised an eyebrow at him. Ike held eye contact though, as if challenging Mysta to counter him.
“Not for me,” was Mysta's answer as he turned his back to Ike, only hearing another hum from the other student. “Where do you get off?” he asked, eyeing the train station as they approached. “Like, where are you from?”
For a moment, Mysta thought Ike was going to answer with the name of the street Mysta lived on. It would have been another coincidence but he didn't. He lived in the next town over, which meant he would get off the train before Mysta.
“To be completely honest, I only moved in with my family last month,” Ike admitted as they boarded the train. “I’m not too familiar with the place so I’m glad you’re taking the same path as me.”
“What, you're not even sure if this is the right way?” asked Mysta, baffled.
“No, I knew but I was hesitant.” A nervous chuckle escaped his lips. “I guess I was afraid I'd take the wrong path at some point, but I do know…! If it's fine with you, could we walk home together again tomorrow? I want to get used to it.”
“You'll get used to me walking with you,” Mysta told him, “and I'm not really the best person to hang out with.” They sat down next to each other on the train, spaces apart but still close enough to make quiet conversation.
“I disagree,” Ike responded quickly, “you’ve been fairly wonderful to talk to so far and I… think we might have a few common interests too.” His eyes flitted towards his school bag, which he held in front of him. “Besides, don’t you think a bit of company is nice?”
“I don’t know,” Mysta answered honestly, “I don’t really walk home with anyone.”
“Then, it’s a first for the two of us,” Ike said, clearly happy with their situation. “Before moving, I didn’t usually walk home, my parents picked me and my sister up from school and drove us there in the morning too. That’s why I want to get used to it. I want to make friends too.”
“You really wanna make friends with me? The student who skipped class on the first day?” Mysta asked, expecting hesitance as an answer but Ike didn’t look fazed.
“That honestly slipped my mind,” he said with a laugh, “but I don’t think it’s too bad, right? Nothing much happens on the first day, after all.” Mysta felt astounded. “Truth be told…” Ike’s voice dropped to a whisper, “I was asleep at that time. I didn’t even know you skipped and that you were my classmate. Shu had to tell me.”
Mysta’s jaw dropped.