Phase5

[Phase 0: Chapter 5]

[Andre]

"Yeah. The filter's busted." Andre's voice came from the cabinet beneath the aquarium. He crawled backward out of the hole, a hand reaching out to pull him to his feet. "Thanks." He said. 

"Busted... as in fixable busted... or..." The boy standing beside him asked, trailing off at the end he'd rather not think about. Andre didn't respond. Instead, he could feel himself staring at the boy's flashy outfit, distracted by the immense detail in the sea nettle-inspired outfit. It was unique, to say the least, from the light-purple puffy multi-layered shorts to the sheer collar that reminded him of the top of a jellyfish, coming down to only his upper chest. The collar was the closest thing to a shirt he wore; the rest of his upper body was exposed except for his upper arms, which had ruffled purple sleeves on. What caught Andre's attention was the large thin pieces of fabric hanging off the collar and sleeves, resembling the tentacles of a jellyfish, much like the sheer purple bow that held the boy's black hair back into a short little spiky ponytail, which fell halfway down his back.

Andre wasn't the type to be interested in fashion or whatever clothes people were wearing; hell, it was apparent through his outfit. It was only a simple crimson-colored suit with a matching jacket, which was the minimum at this school, yet, something about the boy, whether it was the uniqueness of his outfit. or the confident aura the guy radiated when wearing something as daring as that. Regardless, he felt his gaze drawn in by him, even if he was unsure why. 

"Uh... Guessing it can't be good..." The boy said with a sigh. 

"Ah, sorry!" Andre quickly snapped out of his strange trance, avoiding awkward eye contact from the boy by looking at a nearby aquarium, where colorful fish swam in and out of a giant plant-covered pile of rocks. 

"Distracted?" The boy asked, with a slight devilish smirk on his face.

"B-Bro...? What?" Andre sputtered out, completely caught off guard by the sudden unprofessional comment the boy asked. 

"They're pretty, right?" The boy asked, glancing over his shoulder at a large tank behind him.

"The fish! R-Right..." Andre followed up, feeling a slight flush of embarrassment. For a second, he almost thought the boy was making a weird joke. Or, maybe he was doing it on purpose...? 

 He cleared his throat as he quickly returned to the topic. "Anyway, the filter..." He paused for a second. "It's completely busted."

"Darn." The boy sighed in disappointment. "Thought so." He frowned. "Those filters aren't cheap... The school will be pissed if I order another one... Ugh.." He complained while crossing his arms. Andre watched as the tassels from his outfit bounced at the movement. 

"I mean... I can try to fix it." Andre proposed.

"Wait... I thought you said it was busted." The boy interjected. 

"So?" Andre looked at him with a slight grin on his face.

"Fair enough." The boy responded. 

"I'll be back later to fix it. What time works best for you?" Andre asked, slipping his fingers inside a hidden pocket on the inside of his crimson trench coat. He slipped out a small notepad and a black ballpoint pen. 

"What is this... a date?" The boy asked, which Andre assumed to be jokingly. 

"Uh..." Andre looked at him with a raised eyebrow, completely caught off guard by yet another seemingly inappropriate comment. He was more confused than flattered by how unexpected it was.

"Sorry." The boy quickly responded, realizing his joke didn't land. The two fell into an awkward silence for a few painfully long moments before the boy decided to speak up. "Five work for you?" He quickly asked without making eye contact.