Chapter Text
Fluixon glared across the classroom, his eyes practically drilling holes into the back of Saparata's head.
He didn't even notice—or worse, he noticed and had the audacity to simply smile and wave, his expression warm and friendly like this was all just some sick game to him.
Flux's pencil nearly snapped in half in his hands when Saparata easily answered another question just before him—again. His arm was in the air only a fraction of a second faster than his own, yet it cost Flux everything.
On a different day, Saps had come into class early for some extra help, supposedly. Flux could see right through his evil scheme. That day, he had slipped into Flux's usual dedicated spot in the front row right by the window like his main character energy born right. Flux spent the rest of the class fuming in the seat right behind Saps, feeling his blood boil beneath his skin and resisting every urge to kick Saps right off his chair.
Every week, those precious non-existent points seemed to only grow in Saps' favour, always the smallest decimal ahead of Flux. He swore he wasn't keeping track, but every instance of Saps' minor victories would hang over Flux's head like a guillotine waiting to drop.
To Saparata, it probably was just a silly and friendly little competition. But to Flux? This was no cordial contest, this was a matter between life and death.
Of course, it hadn't always been like this… Flux did not hate without motive. Hate might not be the correct words to describe it as Flux didn't really hate Saparata, but the rage that burned inside him every time Saps would one-up him had not always been, well, this drastic.
Back then, in middle school, he had recently been taken in by Elanuelo, alongside his siblings Cynikka and Ender, something he had never thought to be possible back then. You can be thrown from household to household only so many times before you start to lower your expectations closer and closer to the ground.
Elanuelo was a good dad, always has been nothing but a good dad. He was a far cry from the previous parents he had, who were… bad, for lack of a better word. Anyway, Elanuelo, like every good dad, had to give his kids a proper education, which came in the form of having to re-enroll them into a new, different school. He wasn't fond of the idea either, none of them were, but the school they used to go to at the time was simply not an option anymore, for reasons he can't quite remember.
Back then, he was the new kid at school, who came in the middle of the year with his left arm in a cast and a father that did not look like him, underfed and completely unwilling to speak up– or speak at all. Safe to say, lonely was an understatement.
Silence was an habit he had picked up quickly, when he was a child scared out of his mind and he realised that quietness kept him safe. It had kids stray away from him, leave him alone, and adults– his former houses, mostly– not pay too much attention to him. For better or worse, he was still unsure.
Elanuelo had tried every trick in the book to get him to talk. He'd sometime sit Flux down on the kitchen table, put on some poor impression of what he thought a Michelin star chef to be and act like, and ask in a high and mighty tone "What shall I serve you, sire?". Most of the time, Flux would just scratch at the back of his hand, chew at his sleeve, or simply stare blankly up at him. Elanuelo's smile would falter, then, trying to hide his pity, he'd ask "Same as last time, kid?" and that'd be the end of it. A nod, and the man would turn around to make Mac and Cheese, or butter some toast.
Ender and Cynikka gave it some good tries too. They made it a competition, if he remembered correctly. Ender would try to make him laugh with some pun books they got at the local library, Cynikka would make him watch movies and comment over all the scenes, trying to gauge any comment or retort out of him. Nothing ever worked.
Ender, since the two were close in age, had tried to introduce him to some of his friends as well, practically dragging them to Fluixon. After ten minutes, they'd simply get up and walk away.
So, those first few weeks of middle school had been really bad.
Then Saparata came along.
He remembered it perfectly. It was recess and he was alone as per usual, legs crossed and sat with his back pressed against a tree in the backyard as he lightly scratched around his cast. Idly, he wondered when the cast would come off (and if his arm would still be salvageable).
Then suddenly a shadow was cast over him.
He looked back up, and there he was: Saparata, golden boy with a head of white hair that almost looked like an halo against the sunlight and a grin plastered across his face.
"Hi!" He said, just as Flux looked back down, resting both of his hands on his lap. "Y'mind if I sit with you?"
Silence.
"…Okay, well– I'll sit here and you tell me if you want me to go! Or– like, push me away or something! I won't mind!!" Saparata kept going, plopping himself right there, next to him, legs spread out in front of him yet still keeping his distance.
Saps has always been like that, able to read Fluixon in a way few were able to.
"I don't have that many friends." Said the boy. "So I know what it's like to be alone most of the time. And I know it sucks. So… I'm just gonna sit here. So neither of us are alone." A pause. "But if you don't want me here just say so!"
Fluixon stayed quiet, which Saparata just took as his "go-ahead". And he started talking.
"We're in the same class, right? I think I saw you somewhere, sometime… Oh yeah, I definitely did, I's recognise your hair everywhere! Your hair is very pretty– has anyone ever told you that? 'Cause they should! It is!"
And talking.
"Then Ms. Jackson just told me to 'shut up'! But I didn't do anything! And the bozo right next to me didn't even have any sort of punishment! Wanna guess who did? Me! I did! Me?? Why me, what did I do??"
And talking.
"But really, she cannot be talking! She's always on all this– Queen Bee bullshit– I mean- crap. Bullcrap. Don't– You won't tell on me to the teachers right? Oh wait."
And then the bell finally rang. Fluixon didn't know if he should be concerned or impressed by the amount of words Saparata had managed to squeeze into the short 30 minutes of recess they had. Soon, he settled on impressed.
Just as Saparata skipped– yes, skipped away– Ender approached him, lightly tapping him on his shoulder as to get his attention. He had a frown on his face as he threw an odd look to Saps' direction. "He wasn't bothering you, was he?" He muttered, voice low yet threatening. Fluixon didn't say anything, as per usual, but found that this time he didn't even have anything he could've said.
Saparata was… calling him a bother felt too mean. He didn't do anything wrong, not even annoying. He didn't mind him as much as he thought he would've.
The days that followed, Saps became a sort of constant in Fluixon's routine, like the piece of a puzzle he didn't know was missing. He'd wake up, have breakfast with his family, get driven to school by his dad, then Saps would be there.
And Saps was nice. Not like how the other kids were nice, with their carefully thought out words and pitied looks they'd throw at his newly acquired prosthetic arm (turns out the arm wasn't salvageable after all.). Saps was nice with his genuine care, with how he just threw one look to his arm and uttered a quick "cool!" before moving to better, more important things.
"What'cha think of it?" Saps asked one day, months after they had first spoken back at the playground. Fluixon can't even remember what it was about, maybe some sketch he did or some presentation he was preparing for the following week.
"Looks cool." Fluixon muttered back, hand in front of his face and eyes trained on what Saps was pointing at.
And silence befell them. For once, it was not coming from Flux.
"…Wait– You're not mute?"
"No," Flux replied, easily.
"Ah… Cool!" Saps shrugged, easily.
And stuff has been easy ever since then. More and more people joined them eventually, then here they were: attached to the hip, like a big, dysfunctional, chaotic family. "Get along like an house on fire" they say.
So, safe to say, there is absolutely no genuine bad blood between Flux and Saps. Initially, this "rivalry" was meant to be some sort of… symbolic thing? Kind of?
Competition keeps motivation and performance up, is all.
They just did not take into account how passionate Flux got about stuff like this.
"And you'll never guess what he did next…"
"What?"
"He brought out colour-coded cue cards in debate club!"
"No."
"Yes!" Flux slammed his palms onto the little round table, rattling their cups. "Can you believe this guy, Thomas?"
Thomas stirred his drink noncommittally with his straw, his gaze remaining on Flux. His voice spilled on and on, the edges barely softened by the quiet hum of the music playing around them. Thomas wasn't catching every word, but he didn't really need to. Just hearing Flux talk was enough.
"Not at all," Thomas murmured, a faint smile tugging at his mouth.
The two were tucked away in the back corner of a café on the edge of the city, trying to be avoidant of prying eyes—though Flux's rants were all too passionate and loud to be considered secret.
"EXACTLY!" Flux threw himself back into his chair, exasperated. "Who does he think he is?"
"A member of the debate team?" Thomas offered.
Flux huffed like the world's greatest injustice had just occurred.
"Are you…" Flux gasped, grasping his chest, "taking his side?"
"No, no, of course not." Thomas leaned on his hand, smirking. "You're being perfectly reasonable, declaring war over stationery."
Thomas smiled fondly as Flux jumped into retaliation, crossing his arms and spluttering a whole load of defenses. His hands would puncture every word with emphasis, eyes bright in a way that Thomas had never seen with anyone else.
Thomas sighed, tilting his head and watching Flux with intent. He enjoyed these mornings spent with Flux. Don't get him wrong, he loved their friend group of conspirators, but he absolutely cherished the little moments he could get with Fluixon.
Flux's attention would be solely on him, rants reserved only for Thomas's ears to hear. The others did not get that same luxury he did and warmth flooded Thomas's being every time he would get a text from Flux asking to meet up on a random weekend, and him alone.
There was no exact day he could place when it began—maybe when his palms began to sweat when the first time Flux leaned over to help him with his homework, or when his heart stuttered at the brush of their fingertips. He simply noticed that he had begun to find Flux in all the places he was not present, from fields of lavender to the blaze of a fireplace, his mind would always wonder back to Fluixon.
He'd smother it if he could. Lock it away, buried beneath layers of purely platonic friendship, anything to stop the way his chest tightened when Flux would offer him the simplest of smiles. It would be more convenient that way.
But alas, how could Thomas resist? The way Flux carried himself with unshaken conviction, as if doubt itself couldn't touch him. Regardless of every blunder, every wound that would leave anyone else irreparable, Flux would walk out the fire only forged fiercer. How could Thomas look away from that?
Flux leaned forward, resting against his elbows on the table, blissfully unaware of the storm he'd caused.
"I just want to figure out a way to defeat Saps for good, you know?" He sighed. "Something that would really show him up."
And despite being the one Flux would spend most his time with, it was Saparata's name that always seemed to fall so easily from Flux's lips.
Of course, Thomas was used to this. He had since learned to swallow the burning lump in his throat and ignore the bitter taste in his mouth. It shouldn't matter to him whoever Flux was speaking of as long as he was speaking to him. But, the feeling always lingered longer than he would like.
Thomas thought about what he had said for a moment, observing Flux carefully as the warm rays seeping through the café windows cast light shadows over the edges of his face Thomas had long ago since memorised.
"Hm," Thomas hummed, "you know, I heard he has an important presentation coming up soon."
Flux perked up, raising an eyebrow, a light smile forming on his face.
"Are you implying what I think you are?"
Thomas grinned. "It would be a shame if something went slightly wrong during it."
Flux snickered, and Thomas wished he didn't enjoy the sound so much.
"We don't have to do anything too drastic," he continued, fiddling with the tip of his straw. "Just embarrass him a little, if that's what you want."
"Oh, yes," Flux beamed and immediately began rambling. "We could swap his note cards, replace title slide with something stupid, maybe even swap all his images for—"
"I think we stick with the slideshow for now," Thomas nodded, cutting in lightly. "Just mess it up a little."
Flux chuckled and downed the rest of his drink.
"And this is why you're my favourite, Thomas," he said fondly, raising his empty glass as if to toast.
Thomas only offered him a light laugh in response, desperately trying to not let those words mean too much. He may or may not have spent the rest of his night replaying that minor comment in his head.
The cafeteria buzzed with noise from the loud chatter and the clanging of forks and knives against plates. Their friend group was sat in the far edges of the cafeteria, a table they had long ago claimed and since never left. Nobody dared to try to challenge them anyway, partially out of fear and partially out of respect.
The group wasn't necessarily popular by any usual standards, nor were they infamous through typical definitions. They were simply well-known for being something akin to 'delinquents' of the school, with their heists, vandalism, and all.
Despite all the mischief they caused, they had earned their respect through the services they provided with the answers for those willing to pay the price. No one was brave enough to call them out for it, and those who did could never find enough substantial evidence to get them caught for good.
People left them alone, so they did as well. It was a mutual deal.
Flux set his tray down at the head of the table, his dedicated spot since freshman year. The chair was practically molded for him at this point. The rest of the group was spread out along the sides in front of him, Thomas on his left and Snowbird on his right, also just as usual.
"So, NewKids, status update on the delivery?" Flux asked, taking his place.
"Oh yeah," he covered his mouth as he chewed and swallowed his food. "Got a real good price for them this time since final grades are coming up. Got everyone's portion right here."
He put down his fork and then dug into his bag briefly, before pulling out a few small stacks of their well-earned cash.
"Holy shit!" Hyvro exclaimed as he almost jumped out of his seat. His eyes gleamed at the load.
"Sick." Seraphim grinned, taking her own stack from NewKids and flicking through each of the bills with her fingers. "This makes the hours of sleep I got that night actually worth it."
"It feels like an addiction at this point." Snowbird sighed but he was smiling as he held up his cash. "The reward is always too good."
They all laughed, some of them accidentally knocking their dishes together in the process.
"Hey, you got my math homework?" NewKids asked Gotoga as he handed him his part.
"Yeah, finally figured out that one question." Gotoga replied, trading in the money for a sheet of paper. "This was only because you were away, just so you know."
"Of course, of course…" NewKids chuckled. "Thanks though."
Flux fanned through the notes, nodding approvingly as he stashed his cut away in his bag.
"Yes, yes, good job everyone," Flux said, gathering their attention. "So, while that's out of the way for now, I have a new side quest we could do. Not a cash job this time, only sweet satisfaction."
"Oh, I'm already down," Snowbird said. "Is it more graffiti?"
"Please no more publicity stunts," Seraphim whined. "Hyvro's just going to go shirtless to distract the cops again…"
Hyvrotation tutted. "You just don't know how to appreciate a good view."
"No, none of that this time," Flux interrupted them before they could continue their petty argument any longer. "I've got a new plan to sabotage Saparata's presentation tomorrow."
NewKids groaned into his hands. "Here we go again with Saps…"
"Wait guys, trust, this time has actual substance," Thomas cut in. "Just listen, dude."
Gotoga snorted. "'Course Thomas is the first to know."
Before they could all ramble on another useless tangent, Flux slammed his palms on table to grab their attention.
"Shut up all of you, listen up," he smirked as their heads all turned over. "First off, roles. As Diplomat, Snowbird will distract the supervising teacher during period 3."
Snowbird saluted with his spoon. "Got it. Seems easy enough."
"I'm almost certain he has maths during then, so his laptop should be mostly unattended to." Flux continued. "However, I will personally distract him since he talks to me the most."
"Maybe because you guys are supposed to be friends?" Hyvro offered, raising an eyebrow.
He rolled his eyes and waved him off. "He's aware of our intense rivalry. NewKids will be in charge of swiping the laptop. Make sure there are no witnesses."
"You know there won't be." He grinned, cracking his knuckles.
Seraphim cut in, huffing. "Why not me?"
"You know what happened last time with Jophiel," Flux crossed his arms. "The opposite of discrete. You'll be lookout this time."
"Whatever," she muttered. "Give me the lamest job I guess…"
Flux ignored her. "Gotoga will be our hacker. Swap out his slideshow for ours. Simple as that."
"Yeah, simple," Gotoga groaned.
"What about Thomas and I?" Hyvro chimed in, curious.
"We only have a small window of time that Snowbird will be able to keep the teacher preoccupied so Hyvro, you'll be our usual backup diversion," Flux responded. "Linger in the halls, wait for our signal just in case. And try to keep your clothes on."
Hyvro flashed his teeth with a bright grin. "No promises."
"As for Thomas," Flux said, eyes flicking to him. "He'll be our safety net. He's gonna be on comms, making sure none of you fools get caught, and if you do, Thomas will clean it up."
"Wow, full faith in his man and none in us," Seraphim said melodramatically, tracing a finger down her cheek as if it were a tear. "I'm hurt, truly."
The others all laughed, all except for Thomas and Flux of course.
"Shut." Flux held his finger up, silencing them. "Plan begins tomorrow. I'll be messaging you all further details later. Be ready."
"Aye, aye, Captain," Snowbird assured with another mock salute.
Tomorrow was going to be a good and successful day, Flux was sure about that.