One of a Kind, Fixed in Gold

September second had been circled on Noel Gruber's calendar for weeks. It was a bit silly, especially since the event he was looking forward to on that day was so small, but he couldn't help but get excited for it. How could he not? His crush had asked him to come to his house and paint his nails. When Mischa Bachinski first suggested it, Noel really thought it was a joke. He didn't expect someone like Mischa, someone who puts on such a tough exterior, to want to spend time at all with such an outcast, much less have said outcast paint his fingernails so they matched.

When the day finally came, Noel couldn't walk to Mischa's house fast enough. He tried to seem casual about it, he really did, but the pounding of his heart in his chest made it hard to do. Still, though, he even dressed in a much less extravagant way, only throwing on a black sweater and some black jeans. He felt ridiculously underdressed, but he didn't want to seem too eager for this. It was just a hang out session, just like normal, right? So why am I so nervous?

Mischa's house was nothing out of the ordinary. When he knocked on the door, two elderly people greeted him and questioned him on who he was. Noel explained he was Mischa's friend, and, though they gave each other concerned and confused looks, they let him in. They guided him down to the stairs that led towards the basement, but his mom was shaking so hard she didn't want to actually go down there. Noel didn't mind, though, and walked down the steps himself.

The door creaked as it opened. Noel opened it fully, but didn't enter quite yet. He was too busy looking at his crush and trying desperately to calm his nerves. Mischa was sitting on the couch, arms spread across the top of it and legs spreading out on the floor. When he heard the creak, he groaned. "Leave me alone, Dad. I do not want your shitty food," he said.

"That's no way to greet me," Noel replied with a small laugh. Immediately, Mischa turned his head towards him and scrambled off the chair. He was wearing a pair of blue jeans and a white shirt with some complex logo on it. When he saw Noel, he smiled and began making his way to the staircase.

"Noel Gruber! I apologize, that was not nice, but I did not know it was you," he said, escorting his friend from the bottom of the staircase to the beaten up couch at the back of the room. They sat next to each other. "So, do you have the, ah…finger paint?" There was a twinge of confusion in his voice as he said the last two words. Noel laughed and reached into the backpack he brought with him.

"It's nail polish, not finger paint, and yes, I have it," he corrected. After a second of digging, he held up two small containers of nail polish – one black and one red. Mischa lit up as soon as he saw them. Noel knew he would react positively, but he was smiling from ear to ear. He truly didn't expect this from someone with such a tough guy persona.

In an instant, the red nail polish was out of Noel's hand and into Mischa's. He studied the label carefully, then looked back up at the boy sitting next to him. "How does nail polish work? Does it need paintbrush? I can get one from upstairs."

"No, no, that's not necessary, but thank you anyway. It comes with a built-in paintbrush," Noel explained.

"Paintbrush is built in!? This is something out of science fiction movie, man! That is so cool."

Noel laughed heartily. Mischa was very easily amused, he thought very small things were amazing. It made Noel feel warm inside. He was always so focused on the negatives that it was nice to have someone that reminded him of all the positives.

Carefully, Noel unscrewed the cap of the nail polish container. He lifted it, revealing a small brush coated in black paint, a string of it connecting the brush strands to the contents of the bottle. "See? And then you put it on your nail like you would paint something, y'know." He looked at Mischa, who was staring at him with a blank face. He blinked. Noel groaned lightly and stuck out his hand, palm up. "Give me your hand. I'm painting yours first to show you how it's done." Mischa did as he was told.