Chapter Text
Even couldn’t find it in himself to be nervous. Sure, starting his last year of school somewhere new was difficult, but at least he knew a few guys from Nissen that were cool. Sonja had reassured him over the phone last night that it would be okay and that if he needed to, he could text her throughout the day. And though Even was grateful for her support, she was grating on his nerves lately, wanting to know everything he did all the time.
Even wasn’t so sure he would need to talk to her anyway, he was strangely calm about the entire thing, which, compared to the last year, was an odd feeling for him. School he was good at. As long as his meds were finally balanced and he didn’t lose himself again, he would have no issues finishing this year. It had been a struggle to find the right balance, but there had been very few ups and downs in the last few months and both he and his doctor were comfortable with how he was doing.
Stepping off his bus, Even took a deep breath before moving towards Nissen. His first stop had to be the administrator’s office to finish registering and then to his first class. Luckily the school had accepted some requirements from Bakka, so he wouldn’t be forced to retake those courses. The secretary only had a few papers for him to sign and she let him go with directions to his locker and first class.
The locker wasn’t difficult and Even found his classroom easily, finding that Elias was in the class as well. The two had met through mutual friends and seen each other at some parties, Even was thankful that Elias had been so friendly. They had time to discuss schedules and made plans to meet up at lunch in the courtyard before the teacher called for attention.
His next two classes, he found, were covering similar subjects to what he had been learning at Bakka and even his science class sounded more interesting than last year. Lunch time rolled around and Even headed towards the courtyard. He had packed his lunch today just in case he didn’t like what the school was serving, so he scanned the grounds for Elias before spotting him with a couple of other boys.
Even sauntered over to the group and Elias introduced him to Adrian and Tobias who greeted Even in return. Elias asked how his first day was going and they all talked about classes and teachers before the three boys moved onto gossip.
Even started looking around while Adrian was telling a story about some girls Even didn’t know. He didn’t really see anyone he knew, which was a good thing. Rumors about Even’s episodes last year always followed him around Bakka when he was well enough to attend school. Hopefully those rumors would stay there instead of coming to Nissen.
Suddenly a laugh echoed through the courtyard, drawing only Even’s attention. A couple of boys were crossing through the area, one with curly brown hair and eyebrows so thick Even could clearly see them from where he was, the other wore a snapback and had blonde hair poking out from all sides.
Even could see that the brown-haired boy was gesticulating wildly as if telling a crazy story. He could clearly hear the laugh coming from the blonde boy who was listening to his friend with a giant smile on his face.
Suddenly Even’s stomach swooped and fluttered. He hadn’t been nervous all day, but hearing the blonde’s laugh had brought that butterfly feeling forward. The blonde was gorgeous, especially with that smile.
Even’s gaze was fixated on the boy until they walked out of sight.
Noise abruptly came rushing into Even’s ears as he focused back into the conversation around him. Tobias was now relating his own gossip, but Even had no idea what they were talking about.
He had to find out who the boy was.
He had to know the boy.
He had to.