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The class was dimly lit, and everybody was sitting around the room either playing games or watching the movie on the projector.
Slingshot sighed, sitting on the carpet floor as he pulled out his laptop. He was playing minesweeper, something he played often when he was bored in class.
He quickly looked over at a table, definitely not expecting Coil to be there.
...That was a lie. Slingshot had been stealing glances every few seconds at Coil because he had developed feelings for him.
Coil was talking with Skateboard, a mutual friend of theirs. Slingshot figured Coil had feelings for Skateboard from the way he treated them. Coil always sat with Skateboard. Talked to Skateboard over him.
Slingshot didn't mean to, but he got jealous. Jealous of how much time Coil was spending with others instead of him. He mainly suppressed those thoughts because he thought it was obsessive.
The blue–horned inphernal tried hard not to crush on Coil. He tried hard, because he knew his chances of becoming his boyfriend were close to zero. First of all, Coil hadn't shown any signs of liking boys.
...Atleast, not that Slingshot knew of. Second of all, Coil already knew Slingshot liked him. Slingshot had told someone and they told three other people, leading to the secret spreading like wildfire.
And last but not least... Coil most definitely liked Skateboard. It was more than obvious. Slingshot teared up a little and tried to focus on her game of minesweeper.
That's your photo? Doesn't look that bad, if I'm being honest.
You got a pencil I can borrow?
No, you're good! You're good.
God, having a crush is so STUPID, Slingshot thought to himself, looking back at Coil again. Even the most normal phrases drove him insane. Coil drove him insane. The thought of Coil drove him insane.
Everytime Coil would talk to Slingshot, he would get so happy inside. Coil was so handsome, so adorable, so funny, so nice, and it just drove Slingshot insane. Slingshot wishes he would talk to him again.
Everytime they made eye contact, Slingshot felt his stomach churn and his mind race. One time Coil looked Slingshot's way first, and Slingshot looked at him, then looked away, flustered. It made his heart melt.
Coil looked his way. Slingshot looked back at minesweeper again, half–pretending to look focused on the game. Then he heard a chair slide across the floor. Slingshot looked back up at where Coil was originally sitting, and he was walking Slingshot's way.
Holy shit. Holy fucking shit. Slingshot quickly looked back down at his computer screen, and he fucked up his game in a panic. No, no, no... Slingshot thought to himself. How do I... fuck, focus, Sling...!
Then he sat beside him. Coil sat right next to where Slingshot was sitting. If Slingshot's heart wasn't beating fast already, it was racing. Slingshot looked to his right, and Coil was looking straight forward.
"Skate left to use the bathroom for a bit. Thought I'd come say hi." Coil spoke, his voice softer than usual. Slingshot swallowed the lump in his throat and replied.
"Oh—h–hi, man..." Slingshot replied, feeling way more giddy than usual. "You wanna... try this game?" He asked, turning his laptop screen towards Coil. Coil raised a brow, smirking.
"Sure, watch this..." Coil chuckled, reaching for the laptop. Slingshot handed the laptop to him, letting him attempt to play minesweeper.
He clicked on a square, revealing tons of other mines that were obvious to Slingshot, at the very least. And when Coil hovered his mouse over one...
"Wait, Coil—"
"Huh?"
"Don't click that one, that's a mine." Slingshot spoke. Coil looked over at the blue–horned inphernal, a confused look on his face. Slingshot felt his cheeks heat up as the two made eye contact.
"Really? How can you tell?" Coil asked, looking back at the screen.
"Okay, so—every number has eight spaces around it. The number corresponds to how many mines are in the eight spaces. For example—that's a mine with only one unrevealed square, right?"
"Uh huh..."
"And since the number in the middle square is the number one, that means that unrevealed square is the mine. Here, this is how you flag it." Slingshot put his hand on Coil's sub–conciously, right-clicking on the touchpad, flagging the mine but having his fingers fall in between Coil's. "See? You just right-click. You're playing on a laptop, so you have to—..."
Coil was silent. Slingshot was silent. Their fingers were still interlocked. Slingshot took a moment to process what just happened. He quickly yelped and pulled away his hand in a daze.
"Sorry!—Sorry!..." Slingshot stammered, looking down at the floor, flustered. Coil blushed, looking over at Slingshot nervously. "I didn't m–mean to do that, man, I'm sorry."
"Uh—you're good, Sling. You're good, okay?" Coil replied, his voice soft. "Seriously, don't worry about it."
Gods, Slingshot thought to himself, wishing he was dead right then and there. "Are you, uhm—...are you okay? I'm—sorry if I made you uncomfortable, Coil, I—"
"Seriously, dude, you're good, shut up already." Coil snickered, keeping the lighthearted mood alive even though his face was still flushed. Slingshot giggled nervously, clasping his hands together. "Say, uh—I'm really not all that good at minesweeper, anyway—how about you show me how it's done?"
"Oh?" Slingshot tilted his head. "Sure! I can do that!"
"Alright, let's see, then." Coil replied, giving the laptop back to Slingshot and inching closer to him. Slingshot noticed this, and held the laptop in between the two so they both had an equal amount of vision.
Slingshot was fairly skilled at minesweeper, to say the least. He started playing the game at the beginning of the school year, and yet he was still fairly skilled. Coil watched as Slingshot rapidly flagged mines and cleared out the grid.
"Shit, you're actually pretty good at this." Coil teased.
"What, like you thought I'd be bad?!" Slingshot grumbled, continuing to clear out the mines. Coil chuckled, and his laugh sparked the lovey–dovey feelings in Slingshot's mind. His mind went blank and he acidentally clicked on a mine he knew was there. Slingshot snapped back, and he stared at his screen as he took in the fact he lost. "Ah—"
"Woah, what happened?" Coil spoke, Slingshot oblivious to the fact Coil was about to tease him again. "You were doing so good just a second ago..." Coil teased.
"I—..." Slingshot giggled nervously.
Suddenly, the two heard a door open. Skateboard walked in, turning their attention to Coil and Slingshot sitting close together on the floor.
"Heyo." Skateboard mumbled as they walked over to Coil. Slingshot felt his heart sink a bit. He wanted to spend more time with Coil, but he was surely going to go with Skateboard. "You wanna go watch the movie together?" Skateboard asked, hands in their pockets.
"Oh—We can hang out later, alright? I'm hanging with Sling right now." Coil replied. Slingshot's eyes lit up and he felt his mind race.
"Ah—..." Slingshot inhaled sharply. Oh my goodness, Slingshot thought to himself. I'm—I have to be dreaming right now, I seriously... have to be.
"Okay then. See ya later!" Skateboard spoke, walking away to go sit with another group of friends.
"...You really thought I was gonna leave you hanging there, didn't you?" Coil snickered. Slingshot nodded bashfully, turning his head to the side embarrassedly.
"You're making it weirder than it is!... S–Shut up!" Slingshot grumbled annoyedly, crossing his arms. Coil chuckled again, letting the laptop slip into his hands once again.
"Hey, uhm—" Coil began, his voice losing it's playful tone. Slingshot turned his head to face the other boy, listening closely. "Speaking of weird... How awkward would it be if I spilled that I... uh... liked someone in this class?" Coil questioned, turning his head back to the floor.
Slingshot felt his heart pound in his chest. He felt so giddy inside, and he was resisting the urge to let a smile form across his lips. But then he put some thought into who it actually might be.
Right. Skateboard... Coil liked Skateboard, didn't he? Slingshot internally groaned exasperatedly, feeling his heart ache. I should probably play it cool, Slingshot thought to himself.
"Yeah, I figured you'd like them—I, uh... they're pretty admirable, honestly."
"They?" Coil questioned, looking back up at Slingshot. "What do you mean, "they?""
"Ah—It's not Skateboard?" Slingshot spoke quietly, careful not to alert anybody in the class.
"Wha—No!..." Coil stammered. "Skate is admirable, but I don't like them."
Slingshot's heart began to pound in his chest again. This could be it. Holy shit. "S–So... who do you like?..." Slingshot queried, not even trying to hide it anymore. "Guh—you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, I—"
"Gods, you're such an idiot..." Coil teased, jabbing the other boy's shoulder playfully. "It's fine, okay?" Coil chuckled. Then he turned his head over to face the clock, and observed for a bit..
...Then he turned his head back to face Slingshot, moving towards his ear. "...I really like you." Coil whispered, leaving Slingshot shocked and frozen in place.
The bell rung, and Coil got up quickly, heading to gather his things and leave. He had sat the laptop beside Slingshot, who sat frozen in place, seemingly broken.
Slingshot swallowed the lump in his throat, and began to get up, gathering his things. All that he could think about was the events that just happened. Coil was stuck in his head even more than he usually was.
Oh my god...