The Prince

Part 25

"Hey Noah,"

Turning around, Noah wondered who would be calling him so early in the morning, then spotted Tsukasa running toward him. Even when he was running he looked good, Noah thought appreciatively .

"Hi Tsukasa, what are you doing here so early?"

"I had practice this morning," he grimaced. "Before breakfast has never been a good time for practice."

"I can believe that. Do you want to catch some breakfast in the cafeteria?" He asked on a whim.

"Sure, I'd like that," he was excited by the prospect of spending some time together, but also nervous. "But don't you have something to do?"

"Not really, I came early to use the library, but forgot that it was closed today. So, now I'm early with nothing to do." He really should be studying, but if he had the chance of chatting to Tsukasa, then why not? It was only reading the menu, after all, it wasn't like a romantic relationship was possible between the two of them.

Walking together, Noah felt overly aware of Tsukasa who was leaning in slightly as they talked. His heart nearly gave in when they were standing side by side at the breakfast bar, and even though there were layers of material between them, he was still electrified when they bumped into each other.

Tsukasa's sweet smile made his face light up as he talked about the different options. Noah really couldn't care at that moment about what was going on in front of him, but he had to choose some point and grabbed the first thing at hand as he was holding up the line.

"Let me pay," Tsukasa immediately held out his student card to be scanned. "It's my treat for keeping me company," Picking up his tray, they walked to the nearest free table to eat.

"How is school going so far?" Noah didn't know where to start and that seemed like the safest choice.

"So far so good. It's not much different to other schools I've been to, except their rating system is a bit extreme. Do they really kick you out if your grade falls?"

"Sad to say, it's true. It keeps us competitive and prepares us for the real world, they say," he sighed, unwrapping the fist-sized muffin absentmindedly.

Tsukasa looked down at the food in front of him. It didn't look very appetising, but since Noah was vegan, he thought that he could score some brownie points. After a few mouthfuls, he had gave up. It didn't taste that bed, but something was missing and what was on his tray was nowhere near his liking. Hopefully, he could sneak in a proper lunch later, he thought looking at what should have been a great breakfast.

"Wait, what? What is this?" Noah spat the piece of muffin into a napkin, grabbing water to wash down the unfamiliar taste and texture.

"Don't you like it?"

"Vegan what?" He turned the packet around to look at the label. "No wonder it's so gross. You should have stopped me,"

"But, aren't you vegan?" He looked down at his plate again with a frown.

"Lord no. If it doesn't have butter then what's the point, right?"

"Oh, yeah," Tsukasa blushed, looking at the horrific food again. He'd gone and made a fool out of himself again, he thought in a panic.

"Sorry, it's okay if you are though, I won't judge." he joked.

"Em, no, I like trying different food, that's all." He had to get out of this embarrassing situation he thought and quickly mumbled an excuse to go.

Noah watched as he hastily got up and left, dropping his food in the bin on his way out. He thought it was a bit strange, but didn't think too much about it. Getting up, he left for his first class of the day. Since Skye had tutored him, he didn't struggle as much, but there were still other subjects to think about. He couldn't ask Skye to tutor him for the rest of the year, but it was an idea to try out.