Cliché

Chapter Nineteen: Rejection?

Author's Notes:

Why is it always the bicker I wonder.

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"No way in hell" Leon affirmed.

"Get out of your blanket cave and accept your destiny" Mark teased, trying to yank the fabric away.

Leon was rolled up on his bed, with three blankets over him. He looked like a giant fur ball, cuddled up against the wall on the bed's side. Mark and John had spent the last five minutes trying to roll him out of there to no avail.

The reason for this was the album's selling success at the Whatever Fair.

It was so popular that a fashion magazine contacted the photography club, requesting a full photoshoot to promote some new clothing lines in partnership with their university. I think it's not necessary to say that they were overjoyed about it.

But the fashion magazine did have an unusual request: they wanted the two people from the best selling albums to be the models.

I'll give you a second to guess who those people were.

"C'mon, man" John cooed "You'll even get to keep the clothes"

"I don't even have space for new clothes in here!" Leon's voice sounded muffled under all the fabrics over him.

"Give away some of your trashy – I mean, some of you older clothes" Mark pushed him around, making the giant ball swing from side to side

"You're so consumerist"

"Leon, pleeeease" John pulled at his face "It will be great marketing for our clubs! It will even be on your curriculum"

"Don't use the 'curriculum' excuse on me!" The giant ball cried out.

"Alright, that's it!" Mark pulled hard at the Leon ball, until he dropped him on the floor. The boy fell on his head, a painful exclamation escaping his lips as Mark went on "You still owe us one for disappearing for a whole night, I was this close to calling the cops" Mark showed his thumb and pointer finger pressed together.

"But!" Leon whined, pressing down where his head hit the floor.

"No "but"!" Mark flicked his forehead and Leon yelped "It will be good for the university, it will be good for the clubs, it will be good for both your wardrobe and your curriculum and it will also be good for your goddamned love life"

"I fail to see how this will be of any help after what happened at the Fair" The redhead pouted.

"You mean after you openly rejected Nick, once again, in front of everyone?" The shorter boy gave him a fake smile, rubbing salt in on the wound. The fake smile could not hide his anger at all, Mark really wanted to throw his idiotic friend out the window.

On that day, Mark, John and Henry were thrown off by the rejection so badly that they had no reaction for a while.

None of them were expecting that unfolding of events. They thought both boys would be embarrassed and maybe annoyed, but they were sure they would be up to it. The three of them had noticed some development between the two of them after the day Leon got sick, so when the first-year walked away without explanation, it was quite a shock.

"What do you mean by 'again'?" Leon pouted even harder, his voice sounding softer by the word.

"You rejected him on our trip, don't you remember?" John asked this while he crouched down to look at the bump on his friend's head.

"But I k-kissed him after that... and some more ... after that as well" By the end of the sentence, Leon's ears were deeply red and his voice was nothing more than a whisper. "It's not like it's a big deal. Nick probably doesn't give a damn"