Chapter Text
Ever since Kaveh was little, he’d always had this innate curiosity that nobody around him could ever possibly match. At first, his teachers would be impressed: such a little boy, filled with so much wonder and affection for the world – it was adorable!
However, their impressed faces turned into extremely annoyed ones once he turned 12. It was strange . Kaveh wasn’t used to it – he liked it when he asked people questions and they answered him with a bright smile on their face.
Now, it was all “ How do you not know this, you buffoon?! ” or “ You ask too many questions, Kaveh. ” He didn’t like it. He wanted to inquire about this sudden change – but obviously, no one would answer him.
He even tried his hand at talking to people his age. It didn’t go particularly well, for the most part. Nobody ever really took him seriously. To everyone, he was just some stupid, loud boy who never shut up.
Kaveh often felt hurt that that’s how everyone saw him. He just… wanted to talk to people, understand them. In the end, he tried to tone down this part of him – to simply let the answers come to him . And it worked, for a bit at least.
He made a few friends, if he could even call them that. A girl named Dehya, who always exchanged his awful lunchbox with hers (not that hers was any better, it was almost always just soggy shawarma); Tighnari, who was always very blunt to him about the fact that he didn’t like Kaveh at first but has now developed a certain fondness for him; and Haitham, who never talked to him or looked at him, but always left books at his table. Those books were never really to Kaveh’s liking, but he appreciated them nonetheless.
They all seemed like decent people, and Kaveh was determined to make good friends out of them. Him, and everyone else - they were all growing up, he realised. And growing up meant changing yourself to adapt to your surroundings. He read about it in one of the books Haitham gave him.
He was about to be in high school soon, after all. He needs to get his act together.
–
High school isn’t all that different, he realized, on the first day itself. There were some new teachers, new subjects like Psychology and Economics and Trigonometry . It’s not that he was unfamiliar with them, it’s just that they were presented as new, separate topics for them to study, and Kaveh had already decided to do his best this year – whether it’s socially, or academically. And that was the only difference.
He had even decided to sign up for different clubs and extracurriculars – but that’s not really worth mentioning, because most of them closed down after a week, something about ‘lack of participation’. The only club that stood strong amongst the ones he had joined was one called Art Appreciation that met every Friday, and it had four other members – some girl who fell asleep before she could introduce herself to him, one of his seniors named Faruzan, a dancer named Nilou, and some guy called Cyno.
Kaveh wasn’t as analytical as Tighnari or Haitham when it came to other people, but all of his fellow club members were pretty easy to read. The sleepy girl (whose name is Layla, he learnt much much later) seemed like she was only there for extra credit, Faruzan felt like she knew everything better than everyone else because she was there to understand the ‘mechanics’ of art (to her credit, she was much more knowledgeable than any of the other members), and Nilou was there for the same reason as him - to find like-minded people.
He wasn’t quite sure why Cyno was there, though. He didn’t seem at all interested in the museums and galleries they went to, nor did he talk much. It’s not that he seemed annoyed to be there either, though, so what could he possibly be there for? Time-pass…?
Kaveh observed him for a good two minutes, before deciding to indulge his curiosity and simply ask Cyno why he was here.
“Cyno, right? I’m Kaveh!”
“I know who you are. You’ve been staring at me.”
Kaveh felt embarrassed. He’d noticed that? “Uh, sorry…”
“It’s fine, it’s just what you were doing. Is there something you need?”
“Oh. No, not really – I just wanted to ask why you were here!”
Cyno frowns. “As far as I’m aware, I am allowed to be here.”
“T-that’s not what I meant! Like, why did you join this club? I personally joined because I have a great appreciation for the arts, and wanted to talk to other people who did too!”
“Oh .” Cyno scratched his head as he looked at the ground. “I joined because I was asked to.”
“Asked…? By who?”
“I used to help my classmate with library business. She said that I should join this club instead of helping her, so I did.”
Kaveh looked at him, confused. “What do you mean by ‘library business’?”
“Sometimes, people steal books, or copy old assignments.” Cyno suddenly made direct eye contact with him, sending a chill down Kaveh’s spine. “I used to catch them.”
Catch them…? Like, they’re criminals? Well, that probably explains why his friend asked him to join a club instead of assisting her at the library. It’s kind of scary to imagine Cyno looming over unsuspecting students plagiarising their homework…
Kaveh wanted to ask him more questions about it, but he hesitated - partly because he felt a bit scared, so he instead asked the normal question:
“Well, do you like it here then?”
Cyno nodded. “Yes,” he said, matter-of-factly. “I don’t trust the stairs that lead up to the clubroom, however.”
Kaveh gave him a confused look, to which Cyno responded, “They’re always up to something.”
Kaveh took a second to understand what he means, and then looked at him in disbelief. Cyno took it as Kaveh not understanding what he meant, so he decides to explain himself further. “Because the stairs to the room go up, and suspicious people tend to be ‘up to something’. Do you get it?”
Kaveh bursted out laughing, making Cyno smile a little. The blonde boy hadn’t expected this at all. He’d expected this conversation to go much differently given Cyno’s aloof nature, but…
“You’re laughing.” Cyno noted.
“I didn’t expect you to make such a silly pun, Cyno!” Kaveh smiled. “You seem nicer than I’d expected. Say, would you like to be friends?”
Cyno looked him in the eye, and promptly nodded. “Sure. But get back to class soon. It is almost 9:30 AM.”
“Oh! Shoot, thank you for letting me know. It was nice talking to you.”
Kaveh waved him goodbye as he ran out of the classroom. Maybe this year would be good, after all. He had friends, subjects he liked, a club he enjoyed, and his teachers didn’t get as annoyed with him anymore.
He liked being this person - someone who only talked when he needed to, someone who let the world answer his questions for him, rather than pestering everyone and everything the second he got a thought in his mind.
Also - he was really, really excited for the next club meeting.
–
Next Friday came by really quickly, and Kaveh practically hopped to the club room. Since it was monsoon, they had decided to schedule any field trips for times when the weather was better. Kaveh appreciated this, because he hated getting his hair wet in the rain.
“Cynooooooooooo! You’re already here!”
The white-haired boy looked up at him, hint of a smile on his face. “Good morning, Kaveh.”
“I’ve been waiting all week for this! Faruzan wanted to discuss baroque art with us today, didn’t she?”
“I believe so. Are you familiar with the topic?”
“Um, kind of? I’ve read about it in books, the techniques and lighting, but I’ve never actually seen a baroque painting.”
Cyno nodded. “I haven’t, either. But I have a feeling that we will both enjoy learning about it.”
Almost ceremoniously, Faruzan walked in with a binder full of papers, and a Kamera. She noted everyone's presence in the room, and began.
“You’re all here, good, good! Layla, try not to fall asleep this time. I’m sure this’ll be in your best interest as well – you’ll thank me later!”
Layla sighed, sleepily. Nilou took a seat next to her, and nodded. “Go on, Madam Faruzan!”
“Madam Faruzan? Hmm, I like it!” She rubbed her hands together. “Well, my dear students. Today, I will teach you about the Baroque style. At its core, it is quite dramatic. Dramatic lighting, dynamic expressions, whatever image the word ‘exaggerate’ conjures up in your brain.”
Faruzan went on to explain its history in art and architecture, and talked about the various artists who contributed to it. Kaveh tried to note some of these names down – Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentlischi, Rembrandt… he’ll read up on them later. She also passed around different versions of the same painting, drawn by different artists.
“This version by Gentilschi is so… grotesque…” Kaveh stated.
“Hmm, But the one by Caravaggio is mild in comparison.” Cyno added. “Both are dramatic, however, like Faruzan said.”
They spent the next twenty minutes analysing the paintings that Faruzan presented to them. Kaveh quickly realised that Cyno is actually a lot like him – curious. Maybe not on the same level, but...
“You are a person, but I think you could be described as Baroque as well.” Cyno said, out of nowhere.
Kaveh sighed. “Is this supposed to be another pun? I am not broke! I… I have money! Lots of it! I’m practically a mill –”
“No, I mean… you are bright and dramatic, and I find it easy to understand you, even if you are complex.”
Kaveh felt a sort of heat rushing to his cheeks. That was… a compliment, right?
“You are also baroque, in the, ah, other sense, I believe.” Cyno smiled. “Do you have anything to eat for lunch?”
“As a matter of fact, I don’t…” Kaveh sighed again. “But don’t worry about it.”
“Since we are friends, I am not impartial to buying you lunch for today. But from next time onwards, manage your finances well.” Cyno almost scolded him, but Kaveh found it funny - because which high-schooler says ‘manage your finances’?
“Thank you, my dear friend.” Kaveh flashed him a grin.
-
Their lunch together ended up being awkward, to say the least. Kaveh was never sure about what to say, and what not to say, and Cyno had a very… piercing gaze. Even when he wasn’t looking at Kaveh, he felt like he was being watched and judged, as if he was being tried in a court of law.
“Are you okay?” Cyno asked him, a little concerned.
Kaveh didn’t want to drive him away, so he nodded his head. It’s not really Cyno’s fault that he felt this way, it’s just… his eyes.
“Cyno, what else do you like doing?”
“That’s… “ He considered the question for a few seconds.”I don’t know.” Cyno answered, honestly.
“Eh? What do you mean you don’t know?”
Cyno averted his eyes - it was his turn to feel awkward now, “I’m still figuring myself out.”
“Ah! I get it. Introspection!” Kaveh smiled. “Let me know if you need any help with that, will you?. I’m very good at asking questions.” He gave Cyno a wink, who responding with a curious glance.
“Why would questioning me be of any help?”
“Well, think of it like looking at yourself from an outside perspective. I can ask you questions you haven’t asked yourself yet!”
Cyno considered the idea for a moment. “I suppose that makes sense. When do you want to interrogate me?”
“Interrogate is too strong of a word. Let’s call it ‘getting to know each other’, okay?”
“Does that mean that I get to question you as well?”
“Yes! And we can do that during lunch break tomorrow!”
Cyno gave him a thumbs up as he got up from his chair. “Works with me. Get to class on time.”
“Yes, sir! Thank you, sir!” Kaveh saluted, as he watched the white-haired boy walk up the stairs to his class. He failed to notice the flustered look on Cyno’s face, however.