Chapter Text
If Froggy had known it would end up like this, he would’ve done it way sooner. It wasn’t subtle at all, almost the entire school body knew Froggy was smitten with Grox, and it’s not like he was trying to hide it either.
But somehow, the man himself just couldn’t pick up on the hints.
How? Froggy wished he knew.
And paired with the fact that Froggy was a coward— way too afraid to openly talk to Grox— it just made the situation all the worse. To the point his friends, even his supposed ‘son’, would get frustrated with him.
Look, in Froggy’s defense, he tried his best. Grox wasn’t particularly the easiest guy to approach, nevertheless have a conversation with (it wasn’t a problem! Froggy loved him unconditionally). Excluding the obvious, his popularity, he also had a very…strong personality.
Now, a lot of people would call him biased, and who was he to disagree? Was Grox arrogant? Yeah sure, Froggy was not completely unaware. But did he still love the man? Without a doubt. Actually, he loved Grox even more because of his ego. Just observing his confidence gave Froggy the courage to face his own issues head on; even if Grox could never understand or see Froggy the same way, it wasn’t like he minded…all that much.
The last statement might’ve been a lie, especially with what’s going on at the moment. Froggy kept on grinding his teeth on his thumb, some capillaries definitely burst from the sheer force. It’s not like he enjoyed this— Froggy loved physical pain, not whatever this was.
Grox, standing there with his usual confidence, talking to someone else. Someone Froggy had never seen or heard of before.
“Jealous?” Someone from behind asked, which cut off Froggy’s thought process as he turned to face them.
“Huh..?” Froggy muttered back, recognizing the person as Seawatt. He was one of Grox’s friends, however Froggy had his doubts on that. “I’m not, dude.”
“C’mon Froggy, we know about your little crush on Grox,” he smirked, leaning on the wall Froggy was standing beside. “Don’t have to deny it all the time, bet that gets tiring.”
“Bro, I genuinely don’t need one of his ‘friends’ sticking their nose in my business, can you, I don’t know, fuck off?” Froggy tried glaring at that man, but was answered with a chuckle.
“That’s boring though,” Seawatt looked at him condescendingly, Froggy swore he was going to punch this man one day. He liked Grox’s arrogance, doesn’t mean he’d tolerate someone else’s though.
“How’s that my problem?” He shot back. “Go find something better to do then.”
“But it’s fun messing with you. I mean, do you want Grox to know how downbad you are for him? Like, with how meticulously you observe him, I’d assume you want him to notice you one day. Ain’t that right?” Seawatt said smugly. “Oh and look, one of his friends is right here! Offering to give you tips and tricks on scoring an egotistical man such as Grox.”
“What are you on?” Froggy just stared at Seawatt in disbelief. How bored were these people? ‘Tips and tricks’ like Grox was some object to be obtained; the way they disrespected his beloved had always irked him in indescribable ways…
“Man, I’m trying to help you out here, at least be a little more appreciative,” Seawatt sighed, “I’ve seen you pinning on this man back in middle school, and you still haven’t made any progress. At this point, we’re all gonna graduate and Grox would still barely know your name.”
Froggy pondered for a second. Seawatt did make a point, this was their last year of high school and there wasn’t much time left for him to confess. Maybe it’d be for the better if Froggy never did, but the thought of someone else getting to Grox made his chest ache. He really wanted to avoid that potential future… “And what do you suggest?”
The man immediately shifted his stance, straightening his back and grabbing Froggy’s arm harshly. “I’ll tell you all about it, but let’s head elsewhere.” He said, as they walked down the hallway, “wouldn’t want the man himself to hear all this.”
Seawatt definitely knew his things. Froggy felt like he was getting to know a whole new different Grox, which was great. That’s what he convinced himself at least. The whole time, Froggy kept moving around; twitching his legs, nibbling on his skin, biting the insides of his mouth…
“Grox is actually a big fan of sweets, even if he appears to actively avoid it in school.” and “Man, Grox’s piss scared of horror movies or just anything scary in general. You should’ve seen him when we decided to binge four slasher movies in a row! It was priceless, bro.”
Knowing all this was… nice, he supposed. The knowledge was useful if he wanted to plan the perfect confession. But Froggy couldn't shake the sting underneath it. He'd thought he knew him — watched him at school and kept notes on every little habit — but apparently most of them were fabricated.
“Oh and he's super hard to please, but I think that's a given” Seawatt continued on, “god did you know? Like two years ago, he turned down seven confessions in a month, and all he told us was ‘oh, they gave me some cheap chocolate brand, I ain’t accepting those’. Genuinely, this man has turned down a whole country worth of people, but tell ya what. You’re gonna be different from the rest of them.”
“I hope? Bro, obviously I don’t want to end up like them,” he scoffed. “Though, all this isn’t really helping my confidence in confessing to him. I’m still not sure what I’m supposed to do — it seems like gifting is out of the picture.”
“No no, you’ve got to buy him a gift. Gah— alright bro, don’t stress out too much, just trust me on this,” Seawatt reassured, and Froggy found himself nodding back. At this point, it was probably better to listen to Seawatt than to wing it. “Every stone-cold man has a soft spot, and after years of being friends with his bum, I can tell you what makes him tick.”
“So?”
“So you’re gonna get him his favorites. You’ve got to show your interest, only then will he notice your existence. I’ll even buy the chocolates and other things for you, just make sure to pay me back later, aight? And then, you’re going to ask him out, like anyone else would.”
“How’s that—?”
“Shh, look. You’re gonna be persistent about it. Grox likes his ego getting stroked by people around him, especially if you want his acknowledgement. If he says no the first time, don’t just ditch, alright? You’ve gotta go on! He likes it like that, bro.”
“Yeah man, gotcha,” Froggy muttered, still trying to comprehend everything that was thrown at him. With all this set up, it almost felt like Seawatt wanted him to confess immediately. Which wasn’t ideal, but he also had a point: Froggy really didn’t have much time left before they graduate. “Thanks by the way. Nice pep talk? Advice, I guess, before I try.”
“Of course dude,” Seawatt said, “you can ask me anything, I know everything…when it comes to Grox’s preferences anyway.” He suddenly stood up, checking his phone, “time to head to class, see you around Froggy, and good luck!”
Froggy watched the man leave hurriedly, before realizing he should've asked for Seawatt’s contact; would've come in handy for later. Whatever, he could probably find Seawatt just by looking for Grox. For now, he just needed to figure out how exactly he was going to do it.
Froggy realized confessing was way easier said than done. He stood near the school gate, hiding amongst the other students, as he eavesdropped on Grox. Froggy wasn’t trying to be a creep or anything! It’s just, whenever Grox got confessed to, he'd be scared that Grox would actually say yes to one of them; Froggy’s heart couldn’t handle that reality. But the conversation with Seawatt, it helped set aside his paranoia. He’s got this! Seawatt didn’t say Grox hated the idea of finding someone, in fact quite the opposite, so that meant he had a chance.
“Nah, what the hell is this?” He could hear Grox remark with judgment, “some cutout from a kid’s coloring book?”
Froggy could see the outline of the love letter and he knew he could do better. Grox shouldn’t be wasting his time on this.
“I spent a lot of time drawing that..” the person murmured. “I poured my heart into it! Please, at least consi-”
“Nah bro,” Grox held the letter like it was something filthy, which wasn’t far from the truth in his book, before throwing it back at the person. “Get this away from me.”
The person quickly took their letter back, looking down at it with eyes Froggy could only describe as pathetic. Well, that might’ve been a bit harsh (there was a chance that’d be him if his plan fails), however he could tell Grox only appreciated the finest of the finest, like what Seawatt had described. Froggy made a mental note to spend at least a week or two just on preparation; he needed it to be flawless.
Froggy headed home right afterwards, feeling a new wave of confidence paired with relief in his chest. With a smooth push, he swung open the door to his apartment. “I’m back,” he announced, as he hung his coat and took off his shoes.
“Froggy!” a voice answered back with pure euphoria. From the corner of Froggy’s eyes, he could see a small figure running at him, before giving him a big embrace. “You’re back!”
“Hello Mob, I’ve missed you too,” Froggy patted his head, before walking in.
“Froggy, Froggy! I read on my own today,” Mob chirped, quickly grabbing the fairytale story before flipping to his favorite page. “This! The third piggy is so smart, I want to be like him!”
“You wanna be a pig, Mob?” Froggy teased, pulling on his cheeks. “C’mon now, where’s Verity?”
Mob pointed at the sofa, where the dog was curled up into a ball, with a blanket over him. “We were taking a nap, but when you came back, I woke up!” He explained, “I fed Verity too.”
Froggy’s smile softened, ruffling Mob’s hair before going to the kitchen. He never had a lot of food. During better days, there’d be a proper meal, though usually he just survived on rationing his portions. It wasn’t like he minded, after all he was already pretty tall and strong (thanks genetics), so he didn’t mind giving Mob more food. After all, the kid still needed to grow, and a healthy diet was important. He grabbed an egg sandwich to microwave before starting to plan.
“What are you thinking, Froggy?” Mob asked, making Froggy snap back to reality. “You look sad…”
“Nothing important kiddo, don’t worry about it.”
“Is it about Grox again?” He gave him a deadpan stare, to which Froggy couldn’t help but to chuckle.
“You’re too smart for your own good, Mob,” Froggy huffed, taking his egg sandwich out, “but yeah, I am.”
“When will I see Grox, Froggy? You always think about him, I want to know too!” Mob pouted in annoyance, trying but failing to appear angry.
“He’s a person I really, really love, Mob,” Froggy tried to explain, “you wouldn’t understand it, so there’s no point in me yapping.”
“Hmph! Like I don’t understand what liking someone means” Mob crossed his arms in retaliation. Froggy could only sigh, before deterring Mob away by pointing to Verity and telling him to go play with the dog.
Froggy took the chance and shuffled into his room, the egg sandwich long gone and his stomach feeling funky from the nervousness. He plopped down onto his bed, phone in one hand, the other absentmindedly picking at the hem of his sleeve.
Okay. Time, place, speech. That's all he needed to figure out, right? Easy. Not like his entire future happiness hinged on it or anything.
He started with time, because that felt like the least terrifying variable. Morning was out — Grox was never a morning person, and Froggy wasn't about to gamble his one shot on a groggy, irritable man. His second option was after lunch, but he quickly cast aside that thought. There were way too many people (especially ones like Seawatt). That left after school, which sure, was a bit stale. But it was a popular pick for a reason.
The place was a lot trickier though. He mentally combed through every spot in the school, sorting through his options. The rooftop? Too cliché, and also technically locked most days (he'd tried). The gym? Absolutely not, why did he even think of that to begin with? The front gate? Nah. Grox might want to uphold his public image and reject him just because of how many people there were at that time..
And then it clicked: the back of the school. It was quiet, mostly empty after hours, and it just so happened to be the exact spot where he and Grox had actually talked, properly talked, for the first time. Froggy allowed himself a small, stupid smile at the memory. Grox, of all people, fumbling with a new bike lock, muttering curses under his breath. Froggy, walking by, took the chance to get closer to Grox — that would've been the smart thing to do. So he stopped, said something dumb like "need help?", and spent the next ten minutes crouched next to Grox's bike while the guy hovered over him complaining about cheap combination locks and how "this stupid thing better have been worth the money."
It wasn't romantic. It wasn't even particularly nice, if he was being honest — Grox hadn't even said thank you, just a grunted "finally" once the lock clicked open. But it was the first time Grox had looked at him like he existed.
And he couldn’t help but to linger on that memory for a little longer, especially when he was feeling down.
Froggy grabbed a scrap piece of paper from his desk, trying to write a speech of some sorts (his third attempt tonight, the first two crumpled into sad little balls somewhere on the floor) and started writing, crossing out, writing again. Should he lead with how long he'd liked him? Too much, probably, might come off as unhinged (even if it was, extremely accurate). It was hard to come up with something that would suit Grox’s taste specifically. How he wished he could consult Seawatt on this…
He scribbled a rough draft, read it back to himself in a whisper, immediately hated it, and started over.
By the time his eyes started drooping, the paper on his desk was a graveyard of half-finished sentences and aggressively crossed-out lines, and Froggy still didn't have anything he'd call good. But his eyelids were heavy, and the pen slipped from his fingers as his head tipped forward, then sideways, until he was slumped over his desk. Just a little nap….wouldn’t hurt.
“You want to do what?” Seawatt looked at him with confusion, like he’d just heard the hottest take of the century.
“The back of the school, y’know..?” Froggy repeated hesitantly, a cold sweat dripped from the side of his face. They were sitting outside, while most sane people would be eating in doors since it was cold, these two decided that privacy was more important than being warm.
“Bro, what are you thinking?” Seawatt sighed, clasping his hands together, “Grox hates it sentimental, you’ve gotta impress him, not make him feel oh-so nostalgic. Plus, that place looks hideous!”
“Well- I DON’T KNOW THEN?” He yelled out, “what? Am I supposed to build him a gazebo and plant flowers everywhere??”
“Not exactly, but close enough!” Seawatt shouted back, “that’s the idea at least, you need to be meticulous about where to confess to him; it would heavily influence his mood!”
From behind, both Seawatt and Froggy could hear footsteps plodding towards them. Slowly turning their heads in sync, they spotted the man himself. Dressed in a black, V-neck, sweater vest layered over a white button-down paired with black dress pants. His hair was combed nicely, per usual, with a grin. “Aighttt bet, what are you two talking about in this weather?”
Froggy could feel his heart skip a beat or two…dang, was it just him or did the air suddenly get denser? He gawked at Grox up and down as he talked to Seawatt. What were they talking about? Froggy couldn’t tell you. Their conversation dulled out in his ears as he just….stared.
It was until a shake from Seawatt did he finally break out of his fantasies. “I was just getting to know this man,” the man explained, “I mean, he’s been in school with us for so long, yet we’ve never even properly talked to him.”
“Mmm… true,” Grox hummed, before canting his head to face Froggy. “Who are you?”
“I- Right, I’m Froggy…it’s nice to meet you Grox,” he said, and thank the gods he managed to hold in his nervousness.
There were a few seconds of pure silence. Which was more than enough to make Froggy wonder if he had fucked up big time.
“I feel like I’ve seen you around quite a few times,” Grox pondered with his hand under his chin.
Did he know about Froggy’s tendencies?
“Uhm I—”
“Froggy, over here, is a big fan of yours!” Seawatt immediately cut in, which made Froggy shoot a glare at that man. Why the hell was he ratting him out?! He did not want Grox to know how he would monitor him like a hawk.
“Oh really?” The smugness in his voice was as clear as the sky.
“Yes, he was telling me how well-dressed you are everyday, which was inspiring him to take better care of his appearance as well! Of course, I beg to differ, but Froggy appreciates the effort you put in.”
Froggy sucked in a deep breath, his mind already raced through all possible scenarios: none of them looked good. He mentally cursed Seawatt for saying all of that, was it necessary? Genuinely, he sometimes felt like he was getting sabotaged instead of receiving help.
“Didn’t know someone liked me that much,” Grox remarked with amusement, plopping down beside him. He put both his hands under his chin, and leaned forward in order to see Froggy’s now red face. “Hey Frog man, you could’ve told me that yourself, no?”
“Bro….” Froggy sniffled, god, he didn’t want to imagine the expression he was making right now. It would just make him even more ashamed. But… It was Grox who was talking to him after all. “Isn’t it weirder if I approached you daily and told you that you looked good?”
Froggy could hear the man chuckle, which made him replay what he'd just said — and yeah, nothing wrong with that, right?
“You basically just admitted to thinking I look good everyday on your own!” He laughed, “Seawatt was right.”
“No shit Grox,” Seawatt deadpanned. “Why else would I have said that?”
“Ayoo chill bro, it’s not that serious,” Grox put his hands up, “I was just saying.”
“Your intelligence makes me doubt that we’re the same species, y’know?” Seawatt retorted, to which he received a tsk from Grox. Froggy really wondered if they were genuine friends, he never really had any proper ones — they all came and went — but he had his doubts on insulting being the way..
“Don’t talk to Grox like that, Seawatt,” Froggy cut in. It was a bit cringe, he must admit. Being so head over heels, he had to step in to protect Grox’s honor (even if it was unnecessary), but he just couldn’t stop himself.
“Jeez, okay” Seawatt let out a chuckle, leaning back in his chair. “My bad bro.”
Grox only spared Froggy a glance, without saying anything at all, he stood up. “Aight, it’s way too cold for me. Seawatt, you coming?”
“Yeah, yeah, see you around Froggy.”
Ah. Damnit. It seemed like Grox did not give a flying fuck about him whatsoever. He replayed the scene in his head over and over again, his seat growing gradually colder as he thought. He couldn’t tell whether Grox found him disgusting, or if he was just entertained. His voice sounded the same no matter what line he delivered, it’s hard to determine what he truly meant.
Froggy sighed, seeing every single one of his breaths as he contemplated. Should he just go for it? Even if Grox doesn’t seem at all interested. Froggy bit his thumb tensely, waves of doubt and uncertainty washed over him. If he did, would he end up making Grox hate him…argh! It was so annoying to think about all possible outcomes, he knew he should just wish for the best. Froggy’s not nothing but his own faith.
Froggy realized hanging around Seawatt meant he had a plethora of chances to actually talk to Grox… whether he used those chances or not was a different story. Look! He didn’t feel ready, okay? Whenever he returned home and rewrote his whole plan, he thought that would be the one, but Seawatt would inevitably shoot it down. After days, it just chipped away his confidence, until now, where whenever he’d see the man in the corner of his eyes, his heart would immediately start banging on his ribs. It was truly a stressful time to be alive.
“Froggy, dude, at this point I think you should just go for it,” Seawatt sighed. This was their seventh time meeting up to discuss it. This time, they’d decided that going outside was way too much of a hassle; Grox seemed to have some kind of sixth sense of knowing where they were, so it wasn’t like there was a difference between talking in the hallways and somewhere private. “It’s not working out.”
“I’m trying to—”
“Are you? Every time Grox comes around, you begin talking like Courage, and I have to cover for you. Like, you’re really not getting closer to Grox with this behavior,” Seawatt argued, biting his bottom lip in annoyance. “I’m not saying you should quit, but maybe it’s just better to do it. If Grox likes you the way you are, then hip hip hooray. If not, too bad, there’s way better people out there than that brat.”
“I- argh…” Froggy buried his head in his arms, ruffling his hair in an attempt to clear his mind.
“Froggy..”
“Fine, fine! I’ll just do it, I guess,” he finally answered, albeit not willingly. He really didn’t want to be just another one of them, but with how Seawatt was phrasing his situation, he felt like his hands were tied.
“Great! And I’ve got you the chocolate,” Seawatt handed him a small, nicely wrapped bag of chocolate — a small note attached with ‘Grox<3’ was written on it. “Payment?”
Froggy pulled out his wallet and handed the exact amount to Seawatt. Whatever, maybe he was trying after all. He took the bag and turned it over in his hands, the little heart on the note staring up at him. It looked so like something Grox would like, he thought. Then again, he wouldn't know. He'd never gotten to see what Grox liked, only what Seawatt said he did.
To say Froggy was proud would be an overstatement. He was just glad Mob hadn't seen the chocolate, and that he'd managed to keep it from melting. He'd nearly had to re-temper it after how warm his hands were during the walk to school, which would've been a nightmare (mainly because he was broke), and he couldn't afford to buy another batch if anything happened to them.
“Today’s the big day, huh?” Seawatt slung an arm over his shoulder, looking toward where Grox was standing. He was talking to some rando that Seawatt identified as Bernard, but that wasn’t Froggy’s concern. He did want to know why Grox looked so invested in the conversation.
“I can legit feel your sweat, chill out already.”
“How am I supposed to chill out?! This is Grox we’re talking about.”
“He’s genuinely pathetic when you get to know him,” Seawatt hummed, “you’ll see one day… oh look, Bernard’s leaving. It’s your chance.” And with a small push, Froggy tripped over a step before rushing towards Grox.
The thud caught the man’s attention, his red eyes darted towards where Froggy awkwardly stood. “Look, if it isn’t the Frog man,” Grox greeted with his usual grin. “You wanna talk to me in private now?”
He swallowed his nerves down as his last bit of preparation, “Maybe?” Ok, horrible start, come on Froggy. “Well, yes I do.”
“I’m listening.”
The world narrowed to a pinprick. Grox's face, the sound of his own pulse, someone laughing far off — Seawatt, maybe. Froggy couldn't have told you.
“Grox, I might've had a crush on you since middle school, and I really want to go out with you,” he said, and the second those words rolled out of his mouth, he knew he fumbled terribly. Everything he planned on not doing ended up being exactly what he did. Fuckkkk…
“Is that so,” Grox laughed, “you know how many times I’ve heard that line?”
“Probably more than a handful,” Froggy murmured..god he was so done.
“Close enough,” Grox shrugged, “so, you know what that means?”
“That you feel nothing about it? Yeah, I get it,” Froggy exhaled. He could still do it, Grox was still here after all. “Look, the others probably just said it for the sake of saying it, I actually mean it.” Froggy fumbled around, before pulling out the chocolate Seawatt had given him.
“Ou,” was all he said, but Froggy was going to take every win he got, because Grox actually accepted them. He watched as the man inspected the bag (he seemed unfazed by the little note, however it was Grox, that was not a big surprise), before untying the ribbon and popping one into his mouth (thank you Seawatt). “Those are pretty good, I’ll give you that. You’ve got good taste, Frog man.”
“Uhm..?” Was that a good sign? Was that bad? Gosh, why was Grox so ambiguous all the time; it always raised Froggy’s blood pressure to an unhealthy degree.
“Hm, tell you what. If you truly love me that much, I’d expect you to accept my proposal.”
“Absolutely,” Froggy found himself immediately agreeing, “anything.”
Grox let out a chuckle at his eagerness. God, it was cute — Froggy could feel all his stress leave him that instant
“If you confess your love to me for the next 100 days, I’ll accept your proposal. How does that sound?”