Chapter Text
harrison high after lunch always felt like someone turned the volume up but forgot to balance the sound. lockers slammed too loud, laughter echoed too sharp, footsteps felt like they were happening inside your skull. john walked through it with that usual casual half-grin he wore like a hoodie—comfortable, familiar, but easy to take off when no one was looking.
today, it was off.
not completely. he still joked with people, still made some sarcastic comment about mr. zuzek’s existential worksheets in maths earlier. but his eyes had that dimmed-down look, like someone turned the brightness slider down a few notches.
abu breaking up with him hadn’t shattered him. just… muted him a bit.
vitou noticed from across the hallway, leaning against his locker pretending to be on his phone. screen off. like usual. he wasn’t as nervous as people thought—just more careful, more quiet, like every word was a glass thing he didn’t want to drop.
john was talking to shion again.
shion looked half-asleep, john looked mildly entertained. they weren’t flirting. at all. their conversation sounded like:
“we still have that hass poster?”
“yeah.”
“wanna do it today?”
“ehh.. not really.”
it was stupid how normal it sounded, but vitou felt something stupid and heavy anyway.
zoe slid next to him. “you’re staring again.”
vitou didn’t look away. “i stare at many things.”
“john is not a thing,” michelle added, appearing on his other side like a jump scare.
vitou sighed. “you guys are so dramatic.”
“and you’re obvious,” zoe said, tapping his shoulder. “very obvious.”
“obvious? of what exactly?” vitou replied, not trying to act like his friends’ suspicion.
michelle chuckled. “obvious and a liar. two in one, lover boy!”
he ignored her and kept watching john. john finally said goodbye to shion—something like “don’t sleep through classes again, dude”—and started walking toward vitou’s direction.
vitou didn’t have enough time to pretend he was doing something else.
“yo.” john stopped in front of him, shifting his bag higher on his shoulder. “you going to health?”
“yeah,” vitou said. one word. easy.
“cool. you wanna walk with me?” john asked, casual, like it didn’t matter either way.
vitou nodded. “sure.”
simple. totally normal. definitely not internally combusting.
they walked down the hallway together, weaving around groups of kids. john kicked a bottle cap again, like he was playing soccer but too lazy to bend down.
vitou waited for one of john’s usual jokes.
none came.
“you good?” vitou said.
john shrugged. “define good.”
“alive?”
“barely,” john said, a dry smile flickering. “breakups are just… annoying. you’d think it’d feel dramatic or something. but it’s just—” he waved his hand, “—weirdly boring.”
vitou snorted. “yeah. heartbreak should at least be entertaining.”
john let out a short laugh. “exactly. like, if i’m gonna be sad, can i at least get a theme song?”
“i can hum,” vitou offered.
john raised an eyebrow. “oh, please don’t.”
vitou shrugged again, trying not to smile. “your loss then.”
john went quiet for a bit. not uncomfortable—just thoughtful. then:
“abu wasn’t bad,” john said. “he just… wasn’t right, i guess.”
vitou nodded. “yeah.”
“and everyone keeps acting like i’m gonna break down in the bathroom or something.” john rolled his eyes. “like, dude, i’m not that fragile.”
“you’re not fragile,” vitou agreed. “just dramatic sometimes.”
john bumped his shoulder gently. “bro you literally say two words a day. i have to be dramatic to fill the silence.”
vitou felt heat crawl up the back of his neck but kept his expression the same. “i say more than two.”
“okay fine. three.”
“four.”
john smirked. “four and a half.”
vitou opened his mouth, closed it, then muttered, “…no.”
john laughed—a real laugh this time, not the tired ones he’d been giving out all day. it hit vitou like an arrow through his… heart? he doesn’t know.
they reached the health room door. everyone else shoved past them, but john stayed standing there, eyes softer than before.
“hey,” john said quietly, not looking directly at him. “thanks. for… talking. or walking. or existing near me. whatever this was.”
vitou’s reply came slow, but steady. “anytime.”
john finally looked at him, and the smile he gave wasn’t forced at all. “cool. don’t disappear on me.”
“i won’t.”
“good.”
john stepped into the classroom. vitou watched him go until someone yelled “MOVE!” behind him and he had to shuffle aside.
he wasn’t sure if he had a chance, he wasn’t sure if he deserved one. but for the first time, he didn’t feel like giving up before trying.
maybe john wasn’t pulling away.
maybe he wasn’t being too obvious.
maybe he was drifting closer without noticing.