Him and Him

01 - Irrefutably Beautiful

01

Irrefutably Beautiful

--

Bella stopped for a while and turned behind to face the two. Her smile was still there, enough for Antonio and Lovino to melt right then and there. She stepped a little closer to the two, probably closer to Antonio, and started to speak.

"The chocolates were delicious, Toni. I love them. If you don't mind, can you make some more? I'll look forward to that!"

Darn her sweet voice. Even though the victor was utterly happy about this, so is the oppressed. All what had been bothering Lovino (the man next to him tops the list) seem to have faded away. Just seeing this girl up close completes his day, and totally forgot about his loss a few days ago. But it was only for a few seconds.

"Did you hear that, Lovi?! She thanked me!" Antonio spurted.

Lovino's frown became visible again, as Bella walks off to meet her friends. He glanced at her for a while, before turning his head to the taller boy.

"Hmph, don't even think that you've already won, bastardo. I'm still here and I haven't given up, so be prepared! And don't call me Lovi!"

The Spaniard doesn't seem to be listening at all. "And she called me Toni! I'm so happy!"

"Can you shut up for a while? I'm speaking here!"

And for the luck of it, the bell rang, signaling the near start of classes. Good thing the principal was considerate enough to set the alarm at least 10 minutes before the designated schedule of the students. As the bell reached his ears, Lovino swung his knapsack on his back. He distanced himself a bit from Antonio, but noticed that the Spaniard isn't making a move at all. He looked back to call out to him.

"Hey, bastard. You aren't coming to class...?"

Lovino's voice became weaker and weaker at every word. Then he was puzzled. It was actually the first time he saw Antonio with a frown. And it isn't just any frown, it was different; filled with loneliness and grief, as if the other man was... missing someone. Of course Antonio would frown from time to time, or rather, pull out a serious face especially when inside the classroom, but this was different.

With his locker open, Antonio was somewhat looking at something with that expression on his face which Lovino finds new. Whatever he was holding that time was unknown to Lovino, since Antonio's hands were stuck inside the locker itself. It was as if Antonio himself doesn't want to show it to anyone. Not even his friends.

"...Antonio?"

Lovino's unusually soft call to Antonio finally got his attention. He closed and locked his locker, walking towards the smaller boy with his bag on hand, lips curving up again.

"Were you waiting for me? That's sweet." Antonio remarked, with a chuckle in between the question and statement.

Lovino's face blushed a bit due to embarrassment. Boy, Lovino gets embarrassed easily, that's for sure. "Shut the fuck up! I wasn't waiting for you! Why would I, stupid?!"

The Italian turned behind, blush still intact on his face, and stormed off. Antonio just followed him as he swiftly made his way upstairs, laughing a bit at that and he himself makes his way to their classroom.

Their classroom. Yes, they are in the same class. Here goes fate again for being playful towards the two.

--

Lovino sat at his seat; third row, last column, near the window. Ever since he started studying, Lovino grew an interest on sitting near the window. He claims that the position clears his mind, especially when he has troubles within the family or concerning himself. The view of the sky, whether it be clear blue or lonely gray, makes him feel relaxed. Antonio however, sits on the front row, right in the middle column. It wasn't to attract himself of the teacher to get high grades or anything of that sort, no, but because he has poor eyesight. At first, Lovino thought that Antonio took that seat to "hit" on the teacher, but when he noticed that Antonio was narrowing his eyes and moving his head forward a bit, that was when he realized that he was wrong. One thing puzzles him though; why won't Antonio get himself some eyeglasses? Surely it's troublesome, since Antonio borrows notes from his seatmates even though he is sitting in the very front. Even Lovino himself can clearly see the board. So if it is such a bother, why not get glasses? Lack of money can be a possible reason.

'Oh..'

Those brown locks can be annoying too. It is unknown whether Antonio never combs them after a shower, or that's natural. The Spaniard's hair appears to be messy, but it suits him. For some odd reason.

'Huh.'

Does he like the beach that much? His tan body radiates whenever the sun rays hit his skin. It didn't look ugly or anything like that. Perhaps it's his natural color. Sure, Lovino's complexion is olive but he finds Antonio's rather... interesting.

'Eh..'

Won't his eyes ever lose brilliance and shine? They always seem to glow even if Antonio's face sometimes doesn't match those forest orbs. They look so alive and as if they are saying that it would take a lot to bring down their light.

'Wait.'

Not to mention those lips. Though Lovino likes women with thin lips, which is one of the reasons why he grew interested on Bella, he can't help but get drawn towards Antonio's lips. Darn, why do they have to look attractive? Especially when the corner of his lips curve up. They look so fucking beautiful.

'Shit.'

The irritated Italian shook his head then wondered his eyesight through the window, to the clear blue sky, his palm resting on his chin.

He wasn't checking out on Antonio just now, nope.

'I-It was only because Bella was sitting on the second row, second column. It's that. Don't get the wrong idea, stupid readers.' Lovino thought to himself.

--

Good thing the teacher came in after a few minutes of continuously rejecting the fact that he was... staring at Antonio, studying his features, wondering why he is so irrefutably beautiful.

But for the hell of it, his mind was being a total douche bag as the class progresses.

'Fuck you, Lovino. Get a damn grip. I'm gonna kick your balls--'

"Mr. Vargas."

"H-Huh?!" Lovino immediately scrambled his feet to stand up, shedding cold sweat at the sides of his face. It wasn't because he was thinking of Antonio just now. It was because the teacher called out to him. Let's just hope he didn't catch the attention of their instructor because his mind was flying off somewhere. Even though that's the exact reason. Heh.

"Stop thinking about your girlfriend or whoever you are wooing at the moment. This lesson will be included in the test. Pay attention." the teacher sternly said.

The first sentence made the students chuckle, some laughing under their breaths, some smiling at Lovino. Antonio was one of the latter ones. As stated before, Lovino gets embarrassed easily, and thus his face turned red again. He glanced over at Bella, who was smiling sweetly at him. This made Lovino smile as well, but he was still embarrassed as hell. "Yes, sir." was all he could reply to his teacher before sitting down.

And curse his eyes. They mindlessly moved to where Antonio was. The Spaniard was smiling brightly. Usually, Lovino would irritate at this, because who likes getting laughed at and mischevious smiles from people after getting embarrassed? No one. But Antonio's smile was different. It looks as if he finds Lovino's flustered state... cute. Nah, can't be. Lovino was successful at stopping himself from assuming, throws a glare at Antonio and concentrates on his notes this time.