Love Potion

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A pair of red eyes peered intently at the bookshelves. They were in search of an art book. References were an essential part of an artist's life, after all. And Kaveh was studying hard to be one, so he had to make good use of such tools.

The library was emptier than usual, and that was due to one detail: It was Valentine's Day. A fact that he had downplayed because he was focused on his class assignments. Well. Not entirely. He had prepared something for his partner, Alhaitham.

It had no romantic connotations, far from it. It was a friendship gift. After all, this was the first time they were spending the holiday as friends. Kaveh could not leave him empty-handed.

That it had no such connotations, however, did not mean the senior had no feelings for him.

Kaveh had already overthought those feelings, more than enough. Chewed, swallowed, and digested. That he liked Alhaitham was a fact. One that he had a hard time facing out of self-pride, but had reluctantly accepted.

How he had ended up developing them was a mystery. Out of nowhere. Perhaps it was a crush at first sight until their differences became more prominent than their mutual understanding. Still, Kaveh had not yet detached himself from these.

The other difficult fact to deal with was uncertainty about his feelings. Alhaitham gave not the slightest hint of reciprocating them. Good. For he believed a love relationship between them would not go well.

That's why they were chewed. Swallowed. Digested.

And the future architect had no intention of spitting them out and putting them on the table. That would mean ruining their friendship. One to which he saw himself becoming more and more dependent. Besides, what if, to top it all off, Alhaitham distanced himself from him because of it? The mere thought of finding himself in that situation was especially dreadful to him.

Kaveh returned his focus to the artistic books amidst so many Alhaithams hovering in his mind. He slid his hand over the spines and heard two girls on the same shelf as him, only from behind. They had just arrived and... He admitted it, he was a gossip. He paid extra attention as he pretended to be interested in the titles.

"So is it true, the love potion is real?" Whispered a high-pitched voice questioned. Fine, he would stay to hear it.

"It seems so. They've poured it in the coffee grounds." Replied a deeper one in the same tone. That word made him sharpen his hearing even more. It would not be the grounds of the...

"Phew, it's a good thing I didn't go to the cafeteria today. I heard everyone who drank it ended up going crazy over other students and proposing to each other. It was an embarrassment. They suspect Dastur's students."

"Of course. Though hey, I wouldn't have minded... If there are cute guys... Ouch!" Now that had sounded like a whine from a nudge.

Kaveh stopped listening, as all his alerts went off immediately. There was a good chance that Alhaitham had been a victim of such an occurrence. His back straightened and his eyes widened. The mere thought of imagining him in that situation made him feel a knot in his stomach. He could also distinguish a pronounced one in his throat.