little things :: zeroyalchaos au

A lover's quarrel

This chapter is a little more focused on Smarty because I love him tbh.
(also guess who shows up next chapter??)
--
Everything was perfect, it seemed.

Last night had been a little awkward, yes, but Steven wouldn't have had it any other way. He had a wonderful time, if anything their little "date" had been magical, if anything. After Anthony dropped him off, Steven had gone up to his room smiling like the lovestruck idiot he (probably) was. He fell onto his bed, curled up, and drifted off into nothing but sweet dreams.

The next day, Steven woke up feeling absolutely amazing. Everything seemed a little brighter, a little happier than before, and Steven loved it.  He walked into math with a big smile on his face, giving a wave at Adam.

Adam had laughed, shaking his head slightly. "Somebody's happy today, huh? Did Chilled finally seduce you?"

"Kinda. We went out last night."

Adam's grinning now, like he's suddenly transformed into the creepiest Cheshire cat in existence.

"Ooh. Like a date? Or was it one of those 'it's a date but I won't call it that because I'm Chilled and I'm stupid' dates?"

Steven blushes, smacking Adam's shoulder playfully. "Shut up."

"It's okay. I'll get Minx to make you spill all the details." Adam giggles, then turns to do his work.

Anthony wasn't here today. That was more than enough to bring Steven down from cloud nine.

Why isn't he here? Last night he was fine, did something happen? I hope he's okay...

"Ze, why do you keep ignoring me? Is it because Chilled's not here?" Bryce pouts, looking down at Steven with a pleading look on his face.

Steven wasn't sure how to respond, so he didn't. Better to just stay quiet rather than fuck up, right?

Bryce sensed the sudden change of mood, and nodded his head quietly. He fell silent for a few moments, before attempting to change the mood.

"Halloween's coming up, right? You gonna dress up? We could go trick-or-treating together."

"Bryce. It's the middle of September. Halloween is a month and a half away. "

Bryce shrugs, giving a laugh as he continues coloring in their poster. "Well, it's never too early to get ready. Every day is Halloween if you try hard enough." He grins and wiggles his eyebrows, making Steven laugh and punch his arm playfully.

"Yeah, yeah. Because it's completely normal to show up at someone's house at nine-thirty p.m. demanding candy while wearing a sheet over your head."

Bryce and Steven both laugh, and for a while, Anthony and his random disappearance completely left Steven's mind.

.-.

When Anthony opened up his eyes, he felt like he could've been dreaming all over again. Yesterday's events had Anthony smiling and humming to himself, happily getting ready and beginning to make the short little walk to school.

He had been happy, walking along, when he just so happened to run into Smarty.

Smarty usually gave some kind of dorky greeting, maybe tried to crack a joke or two, something that only Smarty could do.

Nothing of the sort happened, however. No greetings, no smiles, Anthony wasn't even sure if John noticed he was here in the first place. He was out of it, yeah, but... why?

What the hell happened to him to make him like this? This isn't very Smarty-like...

"Hey, Smarty? You alright, bud?"

The smaller one jumps, staring at Anthony with wide, panicked eyes before he relaxes and gives Anthony a fake glare. "Dude, don't sneak up on me like that! Scared the shit out of me, I swear." 

"And to answer your question... I'm fine. Just lost in thought, I suppose."

Anthony wasn't sure if he should bring up how bad of a liar Smarty was. Instead, he reached over, patting his friend's back as he gave a reassuring smile.

"Alright, then. We better get going before we end up late, because I'm sure Mrs. Lopez will have our heads if we're late again."

._.

Lunch was pretty good, today was pizza day. Nothing much can go wrong with pizza, right?

Apparently Smarty can make any day go wrong. Oh well, that's just Smarty for you.

Said person was sitting in between Tom and Galm, nervously picking at his food. Tom and Galm, on the other hand, obviously had some kind of tension going on. They were giving each other nasty looks, muttering things under their breaths and having some kind of unspoken argument.

Anthony could feel the tension in the air, and the whole school could probably feel Smarty's discomfort if they tried. Doing the only thing he could think to do, he stood up, looking straight at John.

"Hey, Smarty. You said we had to go to the library for some book, right? For our history project?"

Without any hesitation, Smarty nods and stands up, grabbing his stuff. "You can have it, Galm. I know you're hungry."

Anthony gestured for Smarty to follow, the two heading towards the library. It's always nice and quiet in there, a perfect place to hide from.... whatever the hell that was.

"So, you wanna talk? You were kinda upset yesterday, too... Was that why?"

Smarty sighs, resting his chin on the table they were currently sitting at. "I... I don't know, man. Tom's been acting weird lately."

"What, a lover's quarrel or something? " Anthony wasn't too sure if he knew what was going on.

"Kinda. Except we're not actually dating yet. Galm... Galm said he liked me, and I guess Tom found out? I'm pretty confused myself. God, I just realized that I have both of them next class."  There was a soft thunk as Smarty let his head fully fall onto the desk, face down as he groaned.

"Well... Why don't we just skip? Or better yet, we just forget this shithole and go home? I don't mind, there wasn't much happening today anyways."

Anthony felt his chest tighten as he spoke.
That was a complete lie. Steven was happening today, my Ze's gonna be so, so upset if I don't show up to art, but...

If it's for a friend, do you think he'll mind?

"Chilled, you know you don't have to do this just for me, right? I know how much you like Steven. Go to class, it'll make the both of you happy. I'll be alright."

Anthony shook his head, grabbing both of their things.

"Smarty, you know that's a lie. As important as my future husband is to me, you're more important right now." Anthony smiles warmly at his friend, holding the door open for him.

Smarty smiles back, and despite the obvious anxiety that shines through, it's enough to calm Anthony's nerves as he and Smarty begin the walk home.

;)

(hint: it's Ohm)