Chapter Text
Lovro was late.
He usually was. The bell had already rung by the time he pushed through the school gates with his skateboard tucked under his arm. Even so, he didn't hurry. He kicked the board down onto the pavement and rolled the last few meters to the entrance before hopping off and carrying it inside.
He normally doesn't bring his skateboard to school, but today felt special. The hallway was mostly empty now. A few strangers rushed past him, but Lovro just walked at his usual pace. He didn’t bother knocking when he got to his classroom. He opened the door, stepped in, and slid into his seat. The teacher didn't mention it.
Lovro pulled out his notebook, flipped it open, and pretended to pay attention for exactly three minutes before his eyes drifted toward the window. Outside, the basketball court was empty.
Most of the morning passed like that, with teachers talking and students half-listening and Lovro zoning out, occasionally writing down a word or two when it seemed necessary enough to avoid being called out.
Lovro had never really been a great student. He did enough to get by, but the idea that everyone was suddenly supposed to know what they wanted to do after graduation felt completely ridiculous to him. College applications were already the main topic of conversation for half the people in his class. Everyone talked about majors and cities and plans like they had their whole lives mapped out. Well, Lovro didn’t. He was a senior and still had no idea what he wanted to study, where he wanted to go, or even if he cared that much about going anywhere at all. For now, finishing the year felt like a big enough goal.
By the time lunch came around, the cafeteria buzzed with noise. Lovro scanned the room automatically and spotted Jakov and Mario at their usual table near the windows. He sat down on his usual seat.
“You’re late. Since when?” Jakov said without looking up.
Lovro reached over and stole a fry from Mario’s tray.
“I’m right on time,” he replied. Mario slapped his hand away too late.
“Dude. You’ve been here for like, two seconds,” Mario said. “Get your own food.”
“Relax,” Lovro said. “You weren’t gonna eat all of these.”
“Yes I was.”
Jakov finally looked up from his phone.
“You’ve said that every day for the past three years.”
Mario pointed accusingly at Lovro. “And he’s the reason I never do!”
Jakov laughed, then he set his phone down on the table.
“So,” he said, glancing at Lovro. “How are things going with Ema?”
Lovro paused mid-reach for another fry, expecting Mario to change the subject for him. However, Mario perked up immediately.
“Oh yeah. You two still together?”
“Yeah,” he said vaguely.
Jakov raised an eyebrow. “That sounded... convincing.”
“It is convincing,” Lovro muttered. Mario studied him for a moment.
“You don’t sound very excited.”
“I’m excited,” Lovro said flatly.
“You sound like someone just asked you about your dentist appointment,” Jakov replied.
"Guys, you know what I've just realised?" Mario joined in. "I can barely survive a dentist appointment without gagging. I’d be so doomed if I was gay."
Jakov burst out laughing. “What the hell?” he said, shaking his head. “Where did that even come from?”
Lovro forced out a small laugh along with them, but it came out awkward. Something about the joke made his stomach twist in a way he couldn’t quite explain. It wasn’t even that bad, really, Mario said stupid things all the time. Still, Lovro suddenly felt very aware of the table and of the people around them.
“Anyways, what did you two even do this weekend?” Jakov asked. Thank God he changed the subject, but why did it have to be back to Ema? “Didn’t you say you were hanging out?”
“Yeah. We watched something.”
“Something...” Mario repeated. “Dude, you sound like this girl is holding you hostage.”
Lovro laughed despite himself. He felt incredibly out of place in that second.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“Maybe something that suggests you actually like your girlfriend,” Mario insists. "I've been trying to get Tina's attention for ages and you're over here complaining about having a girlfriend."
Lovro just stared down at the table. He tried keeping his facial expression neutral because he didn't really know what to say anymore.
“Can we talk about literally anything else?” he said eventually.
Lovro glanced at Jakov for a split second, and that was all it took. Jakov knew him well enough to recognize the look, so he nudged Mario under the table with his knee.
“Fine,” Mario said. “Jakov almost failed math again.”
"Bro, why would you bring that up?” Jakov complained.
Lovro smiled faintly, grateful for the change in subject as the conversation moved on from him onto Mario’s academic disasters.
It wasn’t that Ema was ugly, quite the opposite. She was beautiful and easily one of the prettiest girls Lovro had ever met. If he was being honest, she was probably one of the most interesting girls he’d ever dated too. She was funny, sharp, always had something to say. On paper, she was exactly the kind of girl he was supposed to like. But for some reason, he just wasn’t feeling it.
After school, Lovro and Jakov headed to the skating park. They spent an hour just messing around, racing each other down the ramps. Jakov fell more times than Lovro. Eventually he headed home, the late afternoon light stretching long shadows across the streets. When he got inside, the place was quiet, which meant his mom wasn’t home yet. That was a relief.
He dropped his backpack and went straight to his room. He didn’t turn on any lights, he just leaned against his desk and stared at the wall, letting his thoughts drift. His phone buzzed once in his pocket. He didn't have to check because he already knew it was a notification from Ema. He didn’t even look at it because he really didn’t feel like talking to her right now.
Lovro hopped into bed and propped himself against the pillows. He pulled up the Play Store after a little while to download some mindless game to empty his head after today, but then an ad caught his eye. A dating app.
It had been a while since he’d even thought about those things. And yes, technically, he had a girlfriend, a beautiful and kind one, but boredom gnawed at him like a persistent itch. You could call him an asshole if you wanted, but that didn’t stop him from pressing “Download.” The app icon popped up on his screen. He tapped it, fully aware that he was sneaking into territory he probably shouldn’t. This wasn't right and he still had time to stop. But he had an idea.
Maybe Ema just wasn’t his type, so he decided he’d just… test this out. Look at some girls, not talk to them. He would just scroll and see what was out there. He tapped “Create Account” and filled in a burner email, a fake date of birth, all the standard nonsense and then came the hardest part: the name.
He stared at the screen. What’s hot in a man? he thought, and immediately smacked himself. No, that wasn’t the question. What do girls find hot in a man? That made more sense.
Foreign guys. That was always a safe bet. He wasn’t going to pretend to be a different race or anything, that was just weird, so he stayed with Europe. He guessed he could agree tall men were hot. Not that he spent time thinking about tall guys, obviously. It was just… a thing girls liked. They were always going on about height. And he was tall, so technically it wouldn’t even be a lie. Scandinavia could work. People always talked about Scandinavian guys like they were some kind of supermodels. Yeah. That would do.
So he typed in... Isak.
He stared at the name for a moment, then shrugged and pressed continue.
Immediately, the screen filled with faces. The first girl, her name was Ana, had glossy black hair and perfectly shaped eyebrows, posing in a bathroom mirror with her phone half covering her face. Her bio said something about loving sunsets and good vibes. Lovro stared at it for a second, then swiped. Too boring.
Next was a blonde girl at the beach, with tan skin and bright smile and sunglasses pushed up on her head. Her entire profile was pictures from vacations: boats, cocktails, a selfie in front of some waterfall. He swiped again. He never even left the country.
Then a girl sitting in the passenger seat of a car, taking a selfie with her tongue slightly out. "Looking for a fun time daddy ;)". Lovro made a disgusted face. Instant swipe.
He kept going, one after another, their faces blurring together. Despite the different hair, different outfits and different poses, they all felt kind of the same. Lovro rested his head back against the pillow. He wasn’t even sure what exactly he was looking for.
What he was about to do was something he definitely wasn’t proud of. Lovro stared at the screen for a moment. His thumb hovered over the settings. God, he hated this already and he didn't even do anything yet. It was just curiosity, maybe even have a laugh. His stomach felt weirdly tight as he opened the preference settings and switched it.
Women → Men
For a second, the screen went blank, then new profiles started appearing. The first guy had messy blond hair and a gym selfie. His phone was being held low to show off his abs. Lovro immediately rolled his eyes and swiped. It reminded him too much of some asshole from school named Filip.
The next one looked like he could be his dad. Absolutely not.
Then a guy with a skateboard in one of his photos, standing in front of a graffiti wall. Lovro paused for half a second before swiping again.
Lovro kept swiping. Another guy who was probably married. A blurry group photo where he couldn’t even tell which one the profile belonged to. Then another profile loaded.
Ivan, 18 - Zagreb
Lovro slowed down a little. The first photo was a selfie, clearly taken at a slightly awkward angle from below. Ivan had dark hair and his expression was relaxed, almost amused, like he didn’t take the picture too seriously. His eyes were brown and bright, and there was something open about his face that made him seem… friendly.
Lovro frowned slightly and swiped to the next one. Another selfie. This time he was posing next to a fire extinguisher and the angle was still kind of strange, like this guy had no idea how to properly hold a phone for a flattering picture. But somehow it worked anyway. He found himself staring at the previous longer than he meant to.
Lovro scrolled to the last photo, and his eyes widened almost without thinking. It was Ivan again, standing in front of a mirror, wearing a plain white shirt. Both of his arms were flexed and his biceps looked tight, like he’d caught himself mid‑pose just for the camera. Lovro’s fingers froze on the screen. He changed his position on the bed, leaning back against the pillows, crossed one leg over the other and tugged at the hem of his hoodie almost unconsciously. He let out a small breath he didn't even realize he was holding.
Lovro rubbed the back of his neck and glanced away from the screen for a second, just to make sure he wasn’t, well, staring. Then his eyes flicked back to the photo anyway, the subtle shifts in his posture betraying the fact that, yeah, he found it… interesting.
Ivan. Zagreb. Lovro didn’t know him. He wasn’t from his school and he’d never seen him before in his life. He was trying to rationalize it. Maybe this guy was just some jackass who would reply with something stupid, like he wanted to screw older men or something ridiculous. Why else would an 18 year old who looked as straight as possible be on a dating app looking for men, if not as a joke? Still, curiosity got the better of him. Lovro swipped right.
Ivan, 18 - Zagreb
He didn’t really know what he was expecting. Maybe a match immediately, maybe a message, maybe nothing at all. Well, nothing happened. Lovro felt a small pang of disappointment, even though he tried not to. Shrugging, he set his phone aside, letting it fall face down on the bed. He pulled the blanket over himself and drifted into a nap.
An hour later, a sharp buzz pulled him awake. He blinked at the screen, rubbing his eyes, and froze.
Lovro rolled his eyes.
He rolled his eyes at the screen again, but his thumb hovered over the keyboard a little longer than usual.
He stared at the screen for a moment. Well, Lovro wasn't, but that didn’t mean Isak couldn’t be. Still, he didn't want to lie to this guy or give him false hopes.
Lovro didn't expect that. Somehow, in his mind, guys into other guys didn’t look like Ivan, who seemed masculine and confident and maybe even tall. He wasn’t sure why it surprised him so much, but it did.
That felt like a relief.
Lovro smiled a little at the screen. He sinked deeper into the pillow before picking up his phone again. Ivan was nice to talk to. A bit direct, maybe even a little cocky, but not in a bad way. And he kind of texted like a dad. This didn’t have to mean anything anyway, it wasn’t like this was real life. He didn’t even know this guy and it’s not like he’d have to talk to him again after tonight if he didn’t want to.
Maybe he was being the bad texter. Who cares though? It's not like Lovro was gonna think of this again in the morning. Or before he goes to bed tonight. He won't be thinking of Ivan's face or his photos or how he's just some guy from Zagreb interested in guys and the implications of–
Another notification popped up.
He wasn't sure if he should lie or just give a real answer. Honestly he didn't think he'd be capable of making up a whole other persona for some dating app, so his options were clear. He wasn’t about to give this guy his life story, but still.
Lovro rolled onto his side now. Messing with Ivan was fun but he still felt like he owed him some sort of answer.
Lovro stared at the message. He didn't really know how to counter attack.
Lovro rolled his eyes, but the grin on his face gave him away even if no one could see it.
For some reason, his confidence didn’t come off as annoying. If anything, it just made Lovro more curious.
Lovro shook his head, laughing under his breath. Who just decides something like that after five minutes of texting a complete stranger on a dating app? It's not exactly where you go to make friends.
Lovro blinked at the screen and his smile dropped instantly. What the hell? He glanced around his room for a second like an idiot, then ran a hand through his hair, suddenly very aware of the fact that he had been smiling.
This was too unserious for Lovro.
Lovro instinctively glanced over his shoulder toward the door, then immediately rolled his eyes at himself.
Lovro was terrible at dating apps and dating and at making friends, it seems.
Lovro hesitated for half a second before replying.
His mind immediately betrayed him by replaying that last photo on Ivan’s profile, the mirror selfie. The number made the image make a little too much sense. His ears felt warm. He shifted on the bed, rubbing the back of his neck like that would somehow help. That wasn’t right, it was just a picture. Just a guy flexing in a mirror like an idiot, plenty of guys did that and it didn’t mean anything. Still, he could feel heat creeping up his cheeks and he scowled slightly at his phone, like the screen itself had betrayed him.
Lovro chuckled.
Right. He mentioned that earlier. Lovro felt like he's been a bit too dismissive of this guy tonight but he didn't really know what to say or how to talk to him. The circumstances made this way weirder than it should be.
Lovro shook his head at the screen. This guy.
Lovro didn't know what to say. He wasn't planning on talking to him again. But maybe a part of him felt bad for his situation and that he probably didn't have many friends anyway. If he did, he wouldn't be trying to make friends through dating apps.
Lovro watched the chat for a second after the typing bubble disappeared, then he locked his phone, but the smile stayed on his face a little longer than he expected.
He was glad he hadn’t replied to Ema. Instead, he’d done whatever that was. Twenty minutes, that's all it was, twenty minutes of texting some random guy he’d never seen before today, some guy from another school, with stupid selfies and an even stupider sense of humor. And yet – he let out a quiet breath –, he enjoyed talking to Ivan more than any kiss with Ema. The realization hit him a second later.
Okay. No.
That didn’t mean anything. That just meant the conversation was funny and that Ivan was easy to talk to. Anyone would enjoy that. It wasn’t like Lovro had even tried, if anything, he’d been holding back. He hadn’t flirted, he made sure of it by keeping his answers short, a little dry, never crossing that line. Because that would be weird and he didn’t do that. Not with guys.
He turned onto his other side, reaching for his phone again but not unlocking it, just holding it loosely in his hand. Ema's messages were still there, waiting unopened. He could already imagine what they said, maybe a “what are you doing” or a “why did you leave me on read earlier.” Maybe something sweet that would normally make him smile. He didn’t feel like opening them though. It could wait until tomorrow.
The next morning, Lovro didn’t have the luxury of taking his time because his mom was already up. He could hear her moving around the apartment, opening cabinets too loudly, and that alone was enough to tell him everything he needed to know. She was in one of those moods. He got dressed quickly, grabbed his bag, mumbled something that could pass as a “bye,” and got out before she could start anything.
By the time he got to school, the yard was already filling up and, like always, Jakov and Mario were exactly where they were supposed to be, sitting on their usual bench.
"Hi," Lovro said.
Mario leaned forward, squinting at Lovro. “You look weird.”
Lovro frowned. “What does that mean?”
“I don’t know,” Mario shrugged. “Like you slept, but not in a good way.”
He scoffed. "You're exaggerating."
“Okay,” Mario said. “Then what did you do last night?”
Lovro hesitated for half a second too long and that made Jakov’s eyes narrow instantly.
“Oh my god.”
“What?” Lovro snapped.
“You did something,” Jakov said, pointing at him with a grin on his face.
“I didn’t—”
“You’re smiling,” Mario cut in.
Lovro immediately wiped the expression off his face. “I’m literally not.”
“You were,” Mario insisted.
“Yeah,” Jakov added. “Creepy smile too.”
Before either of them could push it further, the low buzz of a motor drifted through the yard. Lovro turned his head along with Jakov and Mario, more out of instinct than curiosity at first.
A red Tomos rolled through the school gates, the morning light catching faintly on its worn paint as it moved across the yard. A few people were already watching. The guy riding it came to a stop and killed the engine, then he swung one leg off the Tomos with an ease that made it look practiced. He reached up, pulling the helmet off in one smooth motion, and his hair fell slightly out of place, dark and a little messy from the ride. Broad shoulders, long frame, tall, not just kind of tall. Lovro’s stomach tightened as the number slipped into his head without permission. 190.
His pulse kicked up. There was no way. This was stupid, this was just some guy, it didn’t mean anything. It couldn’t—
But his brain wouldn’t let it go. It kept lining things up, matching them whether he wanted it to or not, the height, the build, the face, which looked maybe better in person.
“Who’s that?” Jakov asked.
Mario shrugged. “New guy, probably.”
As he started walking toward the entrance, his stride was easy, unbothered. Lovro didn't really know what to do with himself. Now it wasn’t just a picture or a screen he could turn off, it was real and walking into his school.
“Bro,” Mario snorted beside him, elbowing Jakov lightly, “did he time travel or what?”
Jakov let out a laugh. “No, seriously. A Tomos?"
“Pizza boy,” Mario added immediately.
“Respect, though,” Jakov said.
They were both laughing now, completely unfazed. Lovro stayed quiet. His eyes were still locked on Ivan, tracking him without meaning to as he got closer to the entrance.
He kept thinking about the app and the messages all day. About the fact that the guy from last night, the one who typed like he already knew him, who somehow made him smile at his phone like an idiot, was now walking the same halls. He checked his phone more than usual but there were no new messages for most of the day.
By the time lunch came around, Lovro told himself he didn’t care and that whatever that conversation was, it didn’t need to turn into anything more. By the final bell, he still felt strangely restless. He stepped out into the yard with Jakov and Mario.
“Wanna go skate?” Jakov asked, slinging his backpack over one shoulder.
Lovro shook his head. “Not today.”
Mario raised an eyebrow. “Ema waiting for you or something?”
Lovro let out a quiet breath. “I’ll text her.”
“That’s a yes,” Jakov said, smirking.
Lovro didn’t argue. He just shrugged it off, watching as the two of them started heading off, still talking. The yard emptied out quickly after that. He leaned back slightly against the fence, pulling his phone out without thinking too much about it. His thumb hovered over the app for a second before he opened it.
Lovro scanned his surroundings but Ivan was nowhere to be seen, so he decided to reply now instead of waiting to get home.
So that meant he saw Lovro and his friends.
His phone buzzed again almost instantly, but this time, it wasn’t the app. It was Ema.
Lovro pushed himself off the fence. He really didn’t feel like doing this, not when his head was already somewhere else entirely. He completely forgot to reply to her texts, of course he did.
“Trying to get away from someone?” a voice said.
Lovro’s eyes flickered up without meaning to and there he was, near the gate again. By the Tomos. Up close, it was worse, the height, the presence, the way he looked at him.
“Uh—” he said, trying to act casual. “No. I just—yeah.”
Great sentence, Lovro.
Ivan glanced briefly at Lovro’s phone, then back at him. “You look like you need an exit.”
“You have no idea.”
“Try me.”
If Ema really was nearby, it was only a matter of time until she showed up. Lovro dreaded the idea of having to spend a whole afternoon with her after everything that happened to him today. Ivan studied him for half a second then nodded towards him.
“Alright,” he said simply. “Come on.”
“What?”
Ivan looked amused. “You’ve gotten yourself a ride.”
Even sitting on that beat-up Tomos, he somehow made it look less ridiculous just by being on it. The screen hadn’t done Ivan justice. It hadn’t captured the way he moved or the way his voice sounded or the way his presence filled the space. Lovro probably had a very strange facial expression right now.
“Thanks,” Lovro said.
It's not like he had much of a choice. Ivan grabbed the spare helmet and handed it to him without a word. When Lovro took it, his fingers brushed against Ivan's for a moment.
“Hold on properly,” Ivan added as he swung his leg over the Tomos.
Lovro hovered for a second, unsure what to do with his hands. Then, awkwardly, he reached forward and placed them around Ivan’s sides, like he wasn’t entirely sure he was allowed to touch him like that. His grip was light at first, then he tightened it just enough so he wouldn’t fall off. His brain, unhelpfully, chose that exact moment to remind him that’s him.
The same guy from last night, driving an ancient bike out of a school yard while Lovro held onto him, escaping a girlfriend he didn’t even want to see. This had to be the weirdest day of his life.
"I'm Lovro, by the way"
"Ivan, nice to meet you."