Chapter Text
“Phainon.”
At the call of his name, Phainon jumps, just the slightest bit. “Yeah? What’s up, Mydei?”
Mydei did not miss the strain as Phainon’s face switched to that practised ease. The sheet of homework he’s meant to be working on sits forgotten on the table before him, almost completely blank.
“...You’re bothered,” Mydei states, looking for a reaction rather than an immediate answer. He doesn’t elaborate.
After a while, Phainon shifts in his chair. “No, no worries, it’s nothing. I just… can’t figure out the answer. That’s it!”
Mydei narrows his eyes, studying the man before him a while longer, before slamming his hand down on the homework sheet. The dimmed smile on Phainon’s face now completely falls away.
“So which question were you working on, again?” Mydei asks, hand blocking the numbers on the sheet. Phainon scratches behind his head sheepishly, and Mydei sighs. At least he doesn’t look so bothered anymore.
“If I say sixteen, will you laugh at me?” Phainon smiles, gaze moving back to Mydei’s, before falling on the sheet of homework again.
“Yes,” Mydei scoffs, “because you’re on the first page.”
“Hey! Who knows, maybe there’s more than sixteen questions on—”
Phainon is cut off by Mydei’s eyes narrowing again as he lifts his hand.
“Four questions here. Clearly, you were thinking about something else.”
The white-haired boy laughs, just slightly. “Sorry. It’s really nothing though, I was just…” He shrugs.
Mydei raises an eyebrow. He mentally notes this down for later; he won’t press the issue for now. He’ll figure it out in time.
For now, Mydei only scoffs, “Whatever. Just get that done, then we can work on our project.”
Phainon groans. “Still more work to do, huh…” He sighs, picking up his pencil once more. Mydei stares for a little longer before reaching across the table for his laptop.
The atmosphere is decently quiet. Not in a bad way, as Mydei finds he quite enjoys it. Phainon sits in a chair diagonal to him at the table, still looking like he belongs despite contrasting the warmer colours of Mydei’s house.
All in all, everything feels right. Peaceful. Though Phainon will eventually leave, and they’ll see each other at school tomorrow, Mydei feels content with this.
He pauses on that. He gets a feeling.
Whatever’s bothering Phainon will either be inconsequential or steal these moments of peace.
Mydei has a nagging feeling that it’ll be the latter.
He shakes his head, opening his classwork for now. As long as Phainon can rely on him, it can’t be too bad.
—
Phainon walks into his third class of the day, already exhausted. While school itself is already quite tiring, it’s not nearly as bad as who’s in it.
At first, the guy was fine. Lygus. He was just another classmate, someone he might talk to if he needed help on a question or something.
But now, Phainon feels strange around him. Just enough to make him think, not enough to take action. And besides, he hasn’t really… done anything.
At least, that’s what Phainon tells himself. He’s just overthinking it.
He sits down, with a few minutes until the bell rings, and begins to take out his textbook before class starts.
Shortly after, Lygus comes in, taking his seat next to Phainon. For what isn’t the first time, Phainon curses whatever luck gave him the misfortune to be assigned to a seat next to him. Lygus greets him, and something in those eyes puts him off. There’s a sort of… longing, in them, and Phainon averts his eyes as he politely greets him back. Just a little strange, Phainon thinks to himself. Nothing to worry about.
Though apparently, the guy can’t stand the silence between the two of them. “Did you do the homework from yesterday?”
Phainon nods, “Yeah. It’s due today, right?” Yes it is, he thinks to himself. But he still tries to be polite. Even to this guy.
“Yeah.”
The conversation stops. Lygus’ staring doesn’t.
“Oh yeah, didn’t you study this with that one guy?”
Phainon feels a pang of shock ripple throughout his body.
“Which guy?” He asks. They both know it’s Mydei.
“Mydeimos, right?” Lygus responds, feigning uncertainty.
Phainon nods, slowly. “And, uh… how did you know that? I’m just curious.”
He’s not ‘just curious’. He’s worried.
Lygus shrugs. Phainon knows that whatever he’s about to say isn’t going to be fully truthful. “I just heard you walked out of school with him, I kinda guessed you two went to study.”
Phainon feels crazy. Nobody guesses things like that, right?
Well. It’s not like he can accuse Lygus of anything, not without solid evidence. Right?
In any case, Phainon hums and drops the topic.
Slowly, the time passes, before the teacher walks in and begins speaking.
Not that Phainon catches a word of what she says, as Lygus leans over and begins staring at his homework. Disregarding the fact his personal boundaries are close to being broken, he continues trying to pay attention. It’s nothing, Phainon tells himself again. Lygus isn’t doing it intentionally.
Phainon feels a little better when Lygus moves back again. Absently, he wishes anybody else he knows could be in this class. Even the new students he met, the twins and Dan Heng, being here would be better than Lygus being the only other person he knows in this class.
Still, the class passes. Slowly. At least, other than his lunch period, that’s the only class he has with Lygus.
That doesn’t stop the guy from walking with Phainon to his next class. Their classes aren’t even that close together, he sighs internally. He doesn’t push the guy off, instead just entertaining him with small talk.
When he does get to his next class, and Lygus leaves to head to his own class, Phainon lets out a heavy sigh.
At least this next class isn’t that bad, as more people he knows are in it.
This past month or so with Lygus has been strange, he thinks, as he unpacks his things again. He doesn’t feel like paying attention in class; it’s just a review from yesterday, it seems. Great, more time to worry about Lygus. Is it egotistical to assume you’re being stalked? Maybe he’ll have to google that one later.
Phainon can’t help but wonder if his discomfort is justified. Is Lygus just like that? Is it going to be rude to push him away because of his personality?
Lygus isn’t fully awful either. Just sometimes. Most of the time? He’s someone to talk to, occasionally. They both like some of the same stories and media, with them both liking something none of his other friends enjoy, so that’s a plus. He can help with homework and assignments too, since nobody else is in that class. Phainon fails to find much else.
He sighs, putting the thought away as he’s handed a lengthy paper that’s due tomorrow. It’s not like he can do anything without feeling rude.
—
As Phainon walks down the hallway towards his last class of the day, he catches a whisper. “Wait, that’s the guy that Lygus mentioned!”
Phainon, whether he wants to hear the next part or not, he slows his pace to hear the next part. Wonderful, Lygus talking about him.
“Oh, Phainon! That makes sense, I think he's a great guy too. Even greater, if he’s talking to that guy… at least somebody is talking to him, right, especially aft—”
Phainon mentally curses as the bell rings over the sound of that student’s voice.
He’s not particularly one for drama (though he won’t ignore whatever Cipher decides to tell him, on the rare occasion they talk), but he feels that whatever he was about to hear could help with his view on Lygus. As of right now, he’ll just continue with a surface level acquaintanceship.
Phainon enters the classroom, immediately shooting Mydei and Castorice a smile when he spots them, and moves to sit down near them.
The two give each other a glance before smiling and engaging in conversation with Phainon.
Well. At least that class period passes easily.
…
When Phainon is done with the debate club meeting later that day, the club in the room near them— some sort of romantic literature and mythology club?— finishes at the same time.
To his misfortune, Lygus happens to be in that club, and comes over to help the debate team finish cleaning their room.
“Hey, Phainon,” Lygus greets, picking up a stack of papers to arrange into a neater pile.
Phainon gives him the smallest polite smile he can manage in turn. “Hey. Your meeting’s done too?”
Lygus shrugs, “Yeah. I thought I would help out here.”
“Well, thanks for the help, Lygus. I think we're good now, though.” Phainon smiles, nodding.
“Oh, uh, speaking of help. I heard you were struggling on that history partner assignment. Do you want help? I'm pretty good with history.”
Phainon, for a solid few seconds, stands there and acts like he isn't completely shaken to the core.
“I'm… okay, thanks,” he mumbles, alternating between looking at the ground and looking at Lygus.
Lygus nods. “If you change your mind, I'll be here.”
Phainon nods awkwardly, muttering a quick goodbye before rushing off.
Lygus isn't in his history class. And really, only Mydei should know of his struggle on that project.
So that leaves the question: What on earth happened?
Phainon doesn't want to assume anything. Not yet.
For now, he breathes out and heads home.