Work Text:
___
Judelow had looked everywhere for his boyfriend, friend, acquaintance, Sharpness. Alright, he wasn't even sure what they were. But It's been a back and forth cycle for them, give him a break.
After countless hours of searching, Still no sign.
Sharp had ballet at this hour. He knows this. He looked at his time table once, out of curiosity of course..
..And not because he wanted to know where Sharpness was, every hour of the day.
No, certainly not. Get it together.
He's not the type to do that. Even if he did, he’d never admit that.
He's getting off track. He still needed to find Sharpness..
Why, you ask?
Because! Parker had asked him to go to Tai’s valentines party this Saturday and Jude had been meaning to ask Sharpness to go with him. It’d crossed his mind that Sharpness would be invited too, considering Sharpness is popular for being absurdly good at anything athletic. To him, It’d be easier to just ask Sharp to go together.
Jude isn’t the type to go to parties, he's only going to this one because he owes Parker. That, and he was a good friend who already agreed prior.
“You can't be a shut-in forever! You gotta get out more dude.” Parker had said, like so many other times before.
“I'm not a shut-in! I just don't understand the need to go to parties.” He bit back, like always. Parker was a good friend for dealing with him.
“C'mon, just this once? This is a good opportunity to get a read on Tai and N00B.”
And Parker was right, with his ongoing rivalry with Tai, this would be a really, really good opportunity. So despite himself, Jude agreed reluctantly.
“Cool! Just bring a plus one, Sharpness is free right? Just bring him!”
Jude cringed at the memory, he should've just declined like always.
Now he was stuck trying to ask Sharpness to go with him to some lame party. If he could find him that was..
——
That's what led Jude here, the dance studio that Sharp always practiced in at 3. Should he be here doing this? It was stupid really. He wasn't, isn't that desperate for Sharpness to be his plus one. He doesn't even know why he'd ask today of all days.
Actually, he does. ‘To get it over with’ at least that's what he'd been telling himself but really, he's been delaying this for a while now.
“Alright.. just open the door, pull him over, and talk. I got this.” He sighed, God he sounded pathetic. It wasn't even that serious. It's just a plus one, it's not like it's an actual date—
Oh.
When Jude opened the dance studio's door, it was only Sharpness there.
Sharpness. Alone. Dancing.
Dancing like he was seemingly in his own world. Practicing a routine with ease, as easy as it was to breathe, it looked like. Unlike Jude whose lungs right now, momentarily stopped cooperating with him for a good minute.
Shit. He looked gorgeous.
Wait what?
Why would he even think of that? This was just supposed to be a friendly, PLATONIC invite that didn’t involve the feelings he’d been harboring for months.
Just as Jude was about to explode at the thought, the blond he'd been so eager to see spoke up. “Yo Jude!”
Oh he was so cooked..
“Hey, Sharpness.” His voice cracked greeting back.
Jude, the best engineering student whose reputation perceived him with his trinkets.. Voice had cracked. Over what? A guy? Albeit, a really attractive one. What the actual fuck was happening to him. He was usually so composed when it came to stuff like this. He was so sure if Tai had witnessed this he'd start laughing at him uncontrollably.
“What are you doing here?” Sharpness seemed genuinely surprised at his presence, I mean obviously. He didn't usually barge in to visit. Sharpness would appreciate it though, he really would.
“Uh..” Wow, he really didn't think this through.
“Nothing, I was just—” He was genuinely having a full blown panic attack inside his mind. What was he supposed to say? ‘Hey Sharpness, be my partner.’ Hell no. That’d be so corny dude. He didn’t get how other people could so effortlessly ask with the amount of charisma he’d die to have right now.
It’s not like he was BAD at charming with his words, he was actually pretty good at speaking, that was true. Everyone had known him to be a great asset in team projects because of his exceptional skill in presentations. That, and him actually using his brain. The fact that he even had to think about what to say right now was embarrassing.
“I just wanted to check if you’d seen Spongs around, yeah. I need his help with something.” What a really nice save Jude! That totally brushed off any type of suspicion he wanted something else to do with Sharpness. Luckily for Jude, Sharpness immediately believed him. He had no idea how, but to be fair, it was Sharpness he was talking to.
“Oh, sorry. I haven’t seen him the whole day.” Sharpness had put his hand behind his neck, an apologetic gesture. Something Jude wanted to do right now for fumbling so badly.
Fuckkkk….
_____
Well, the first attempt wasn't that bad right? right??
WRONG.
He was mortified, couldn’t put it more into words so instead, he started hard swerving the corner of hallways whenever he saw Sharpness. It got so bad Tai had to intervene, yes that Tai.
“Jude. Jude. Jude. Juude.. Juuudee.” Tai had been bothering, poking and prodding at him for answers as to why he’d been avoiding Sharpness like he was carrying a deathly incurable plague.
“It’s none of your business.” Jude pushed him away. He didn't need Tai in his business.
“Dude, did something happen between you and Sharpness or something?” Tai crossed his arms, raising a brow at Jude. Eyeing him down like he knew it was something more. It was creepy how Tai always had an inkling.
“Nothing happened between me and Sharpness, okay? It's complicated.” Jude's brows furrowed, sure he wasn't good at hiding his obvious dismissal of a certain blonde, but he still wouldn't tell Tai shit.
𖦹
Sharpness meanwhile, had not a clue on why Jude had been actively avoiding him. It was actually starting to sour his mood the longer it went on.
..Did he do something wrong?
Sharpness knew he wasn't the brightest, but could he really have missed something when talking to Jude?
Was this about not knowing where Spongs was?
That wasn't his fault.
Jude, his Jude was perfectly fine talking to other people. He'd seen him talking with Parker in the hallway. He was fine then, but the second he saw Sharpness he just disappeared.
Spotting him with Saps more times than he could count this week was the nail to the coffin. Jude was red, blushing hard at something Saps had said. Sharpness couldn't help but feel a twinge of hurt at the fact Jude had so quickly forgotten about him in a span of what? A few days?
He also felt fucking robbed that Saparata had been the one to make him react that way.
Sharpness remembers the way Jude would brush him off with a hint of a smug smile tugging at his lips whenever Sharpness teased him. So there was no fucking way it was that easy to make him crack red.
His lips, the same ones he'd space out and think about when he was in another boring lecture. With other boring people that didn't give him the same feeling Jude had whenever he was around.
He'd missed him, missed sitting next to him, missed talking to him so badly.
He'd taken for granted how Jude boosted his morale up by a landslide during lectures.
He had to figure out what he did wrong, for his sake. Jude couldn't avoid him for long.
———
These past few days, Saparata had actually been helping Jude with ideas on how to ask Sharpness, properly. Just after Jude had told him on accident.. via asking about Sharpness and inevitably spilling the beans himself. But! Jude had high faith on Saparata’s advice, especially since Saparata was in a relationship himself with Jude's roommate, Fluixon.
“It can't be that hard..” Saparata nodded, had listened to him rant about him and Sharpness for a solid minute.
“It is, for some reason my brain malfunctions hard when I'm near him.”
“Is that an exaggeration or..”
“Not at all.”
Saparata had many, many, many failed attempts when trying to ask out Flux in the past. So he knew exactly how Jude felt at the moment, then an idea sparked in the Angels head.
“How about a practice go?”
“A what?”
“You pretend I'm Sharpness! Wait look, look. Hi Jude, it's me, Sharpness.”
Jude couldn't help but laugh at the absurdity of it all.
“Alright, he wouldn't say thaat..”
“Just pretend I'm him for a sec!”
Jude rolled his eyes, “Dude, you're terrible at this.”
“Come on—” Saps grinned, “You miss him don't you?”
Jude's smile faltered as he glanced up to meet Saps knowing eyes. “Maybe.. but just a little.”
This was nice, Jude thought. Actually getting to talk about his feelings instead of hiding it from everyone. He was glad he had someone he could trust, although he kind of wishes that someone wasn't Sharpness' roommate.
Ding!
A notification popped up on his phone.
“Oh, who is it?” Saparata had tilted his head, he was rather expressive with his actions, Jude noted.
“Sharpness.”
-
Sharp(rincess) 🗡️
Jude
did I do something:(
You haven't talked to me in forever
Jude
Jude
Jude
Jude
Ok fuck u
Asshole
Oh my fucking god.
Jude was gonna die right here, he swears it. Saparata had disappeared by the time he looked up from his phone, probably wandered off to meet his boyfriend somewhere. That was the least of his worries now, all he could do was man up and reply.
Jude 🪤
Dude
Sharp(rincess) 🗡️
JUDE what did I do for you to ignore me?
Are you mad at me?
Jude 🪤
What? No
Nothing
You did nothing
Just meet me near the dorm entrance
I'll explain it to u
Sharp(rincess) 🗡️
Why r u hanging out with Sapa?
I'm better than him
Jude 🪤
Drop it
I'm better than both of u
Sharp(rincess) 🗡️
When?
Why should I
Jude 🪤
6 pm
It's important
Sharp(rincess) 🗡️
K
———
6pm, Dormitory Entrance
Jude had been holding his breath for this moment, walking up to the Entrance he saw Sharpness waiting, his eyes searching the ground as if he was deep in thought. Would he still be the same Sharpness? Would Sharp resent him for ignoring him? Of course he was, it was still Sharpness. Jude might be mildly overreacting because of what he was about to do.
As Sharpness’ green, almost emerald eyes met his, he felt his heart stop again. This was it, where he’d ask. He was hoping Saparata's advice was enough to prepare him for this but, in reality he didn’t think he’d ever be prepared, even if he had years to do this the outcome would be the same. Jude would still feel like he was floating, scrambling to get his thoughts together.
“Hey,” Jude finally approached him, calmer than he was feeling.
“You’re late.”
“Yeah, by one minute. Since when have you cared about time?”
“Since when were you ever late?”
He got him there. He forgot how well Sharpness knew him, and how well he knew Sharpness and his little quirks. He’d missed the way Sharpness would furrow his brows and pout just slightly whenever he was upset.
“You said it was important.” Sharpness crossed his arms over his chest, leaning on a nearby wall.
“It is,”
“Spit it out then.”
“Sorry for ignoring you.”
“Is that It?”
“No.”
“What more?”
“You’re so petty.” Jude rolled his eyes,
“Me? petty?” Sharpness kept his voice steady, like he was holding back, careful with his words. “You’re the one ghosting me.”
“I wasn't ghosting you—” He raised his hands slightly, refusing to meet his eyes.
“Then what was that Jude?”
“I'm.. look Sharp I'm sorry I just didn't know what to say to you.”
“What? What do you mean?”
“I was gonna ask you to be my partner for Tai's party.” He slowly put his hands down, eventually settling to fidget with his own sleeves.
Sharpness’ looked absolutely dumbfounded with the reasoning behind Jude's blatant avoidance of him.
“What?” A blush crept up to his neck.
“I didn't wanna make it weird.” Jude looked away.
“You avoided me cause you wanted to ask me out? How does that make sense?” His voice was sharp, though the blush blooming on his cheeks betrayed him.
“You made me think I did something wrong.” Sharp sighed, failing miserably to sound the least bit serious as his features softened looking at Jude.
“I don't know! I'm not good at this— thing..” Jude mumbled. “And not out, out! Like, as friends. Or something.” He added quickly, wincing.
“Right.” He nodded along with the faintest smile, staring as Jude hyper explained his reasonings.
“Do you want to? Go as friends.” Sharpness stopped his rambling, looking directly at him.
“No. I mean, yeah! If you want just, not as friends.” Jude looked up. “Oh my god,” He groaned, burying his face into his sleeves. “This is so embarrassing.”
The blond chuckled, “I'll go with you, as your date.”
“You will?” Jude turned painfully red, straightening up and pulling up his scarf to cover his face. “You'll come?”
“I'll come.” He hummed, pulling Jude closer leaning into him.
“Okay stop, you're making it weird.” Jude pushed Sharpness' face away.
“Judddeee..” He whined, voice being muffled by Jude's hand. “Please, after this I need your attention.”
Jude rolled his eyes playfully with a smug smile, fine. He'll indulge his princess.