SOTUS Drabbles and One-Shots

6. Goldfish and Horror

Characters in this one-shot are from the MyBB Mini-Series episode Singto and Krist were in. Hopefully I spelt Singto's character's name right. :)

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He's not sure how the goldfish has come to represent him, despite Platong being, well, Platong, but one day, Tod found himself staring at the fish, swimming around in its bowl, knowing only its glass walls, and he realized that he feels like the goldfish, trapped and isolated from society.

These thoughts only intensify when Platong leans closer, and Tod is hit with the spicy-sweet scent of his cologne, something sharp and warm, making his stomach flip and heart flutter. He's so struck by the scent that he doesn't even realize Platong is talking to him until he looks up and meets the other's eyes. He has to stop himself from flinching back at their closeness.

"Ai'Tod," his friend is saying, "are you okay?"

Tod blinks a couple times before nodding. "Am I—am I okay? Yeah. I'm fine. Why?"

"You zoned out for a second," Platong replies. "I just wanted to make sure you're all right."

Tod looks away and hopes that despite his pale skin, the blush rising in his cheeks doesn't show. When he hears Platong shift, Tod licks his lips and turns back to his friend. "So?" he asks, looking at the other's work. "Need any help?"

Platong glances over at him before looking back down at his work and shaking his head. "I have it for now."

"Oh," is all the other can think to say.

Platong gives him another concerned look. "Ai'Tod," he begins softly, "are you sure you're okay?"

Tod makes a face at his friend before moving away, feeling his heart thump heavy in his chest. "I said I'm fine."

He feels Platong's eyes on him for another couple of seconds before the other lets out a breath and gets back to work. When the air in the room starts to grow thin, Tod sucks in a breath before tapping the other on the shoulder. When Tod looks at him, he gives a quick smile. "Bathroom." Platong nods, and Tod is quick to get up and rush to the bathroom where he immediately turns on the water to splash it in his face.

"Come on, Tod," he says to himself. "Act normal."

He splashes more water on his face before shaking himself out and stepping out of the bathroom.

This is their third study session of the week that Tod has found himself doing this.

He shakes himself one last time before making his way back over to the living room, where Platong has now taken to talking to the goldfish.

He lets out a laugh as soon as he's behind the couch. "Just because you share a name doesn't mean you can talk to him. Or did you just miss me that much?" he tacks on teasingly.

Platong jumps (though Tod knows that he'd deny doing as such if asked) before rolling his eyes and scooting over to make room for the other. "I think we got it all," he says as soon as Tod sits down. "What do you want to do now?"

Tod thinks for a moment before shrugging. "Do you have anything you want to do?"

The other makes a face at him. "Don't play that game with me."

"Alai wa?" Tod asks, feigning innocence. "What game?"

Platong gives him a flat look, and Tod concedes. "We can watch TV. I think I have a few series recorded. What do you want?"

There's a pause as Platong thinks before a smile takes over his face, and he motions for Tod to sit on the couch. As soon as Tod is seated, Platong is moving to grab the remote and turn on the TV.

"What're you going to choose?" Tod asks, worry he wants to keep hidden rising in his throat when he sees the sinister grin begin to spread across his friend's lips. "Ai'Platong," he begins carefully, "what show are you going to choose?"

He keeps asking, as if in doing so, Platong will change his mind about the show he wants to watch.

Too bad when Platong sets his mind on something, he goes all out to achieve it.

Platong opens the menu and clicks on a supernatural series, one Tod has heard about in school, every kid saying they were terrified of it, before taking a seat on the couch next to Tod, who watches his profile with a racing heart.

Said heart only speeds up when he realizes Platong chose one of the scariest episodes, the one his classmates talked about for days, one of them even saying they couldn't sleep for a week after. "This one?" he asks the other. "You know I hate this show!"

Platong only gives him a sly glance in response.

It's weird watching a show without knowing much context yet getting scared all the same, and Tod is a bit miffed by that fact because maybe the show would be less scary if he actually knew what was going on. Furthermore, he had been wanting to use the show and its jumpscares as a reason to get closer to the other, but as time progresses, he thinks it's kind of super lame to be all freaked out only a quarter of the way into a forty-five minute episode.

When half of the episode has passed, Tod decides it's safe to be a bit more dramatic, in hopes that he can crowd up by Platong, but none of the scares feel right, and by the end of the episode, he's still on his side of the couch, just majorly shaken up. He risks a glance at Platong...

... who looks entirely unaffected by the show. Of course.

Tod makes a face as Platong allows the screen goes black then takes them back to the menu.

"Are you going to watch the rest of the show I picked now?" the other asks with a faux sweetness laced in their voice, the facade marred by the teasing grin on his lips.

Tod gives a strained smile anyway. "Totally!" (Sarcasm is a very good friend. Better than Platong, at least.) He's still feeling a bit like strangling his friend, scenes from the show still painted on the backs of his eyelids.

But then Platong laughs, and Tod's smile switches from strained to warm quicker than the weather.

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a/n a drabble with an actual title,,,,,,who woulda guessed also look that little episode thing totally made me want to write a mutual pining high school au RIP also "cuando nos volvamos a encontrar" totally reminds me of kongpob and arthit lmao

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