Usernames || A Garmau Fanfic

Three

The next morning is a school day. Mom drives Zane and I to the deathtrap I call a school as Vylad waves from the doorway. His middle school doesn't start for another thirty minutes, so he's always out to wave us off.

We pull into the roundabout of our high school and the car stops. Hesitantly, I step out of the passenger seat to the immediate sounds of loud, grumpy teenagers. Zane has already disappeared into the crowds and is out of sight before I'm even out of the car. I sigh and look back over at mom at the wheel.

"Have a great day sweetheart," she says with a bright smile. I force a smile back.

"Bye, mom. Love you."

"I love you, too, gar gar."

I slam the car door shut and step away as mom drives off. I drop the smile and head into the crowded courtyard, keeping a tight grip on my backpack. Avoiding all eye contact, I make my way near the school building where the least amount of people are.

Dropping my bag off my shoulders and onto the ground, I lean against the brick wall of the school. So many people walk past in their own little cliques, talking to their friends without the constant fear they're going to be noticed by the worst delinquents of this school.

I sigh.

I'm alone again...

"Yo! Where's my favorite Ro'Meave man at?"

Well, almost.

I turn around with a wide grin on my face as a brunette dork comes strolling over to me.

"Hey, Laurance," I greet my best friend as he slings an arm over my shoulders.

Laurance and I have been best friends for what seems like forever now, when in reality we only met last year. It feels like so much longer, though. We know literally everything about each other and he's my only friend at this school.

"So, what's the news on OkO? Did ya get it?" he asks me. I smile and nod.

"Yesterday. Just designed my character and got used to the mechanics. What about you, Laur?"

He sighs and shakes his head: "Hayden had me doing chores which took forever. I'll be able to get it after school, though. Then, we can play together!"

"At least I won't be alone."

He squeezes my shoulder with a grin: "You know I always got your back, Gar."

I smile back: "Yeah, I know."

"Good." He retracts his arm and looks around the courtyard, tongue pressed against his cheek. He's searching for someone, and I know who it is. I look out, too.

"Coast clear?" I ask him.

"Don't see 'em." He looks over at me. "Wanna head to first just to be safe?"

I bite my bottom lip and nod.

"Then, let's get moving. Who knows, you-know-who might be there already~" he teases, nudging me with his elbow and I go bright red. Laurance chuckles and drags me by the wrist to head inside.

Of course, he's talking about Aphmau. He's bugged me about her practically since the day we met. Every time she's within eyesight, he urges me to go talk to her. Do I? Of course not, because what girl that perfect would ever want to be seen with a guy like me?

Don't answer that; I already know.

As we head down the almost empty halls, I keep my eyes peeled for any signs of the juniors who seem to enjoy causing me misery. I know Laurance is, too, since he doesn't particularly have a clean history with them either.

The first time I met Laurance, he had been tripped in the cafeteria by one of the monsters, Zenix. Falling flat on his face, food spilling everywhere, and the entire room laughing at his misfortune; it angered me so much to see no one else even bother to help him up.

So, pushing my fear for the group to the back of my mind, I helped him get cleaned up and let him sit at my table. I even offered him some extra food I had in my bag. Since then, we've been practically inseparable and I cannot imagine surviving this place without him.

"Garroth." He snaps me out of my thoughts. "We've made it to the safe-zone."

I laugh slightly and follow him into the classroom. No surprise that we're the first ones here. Everyone else has friends to hang out with beforehand.

At the front of the class, my favorite teacher, Coach Dale, is writing the daily warm-up on the whiteboard. Once we enter, he looks over and smiles.

"Welcome, Garroth and Laurance. You're both here early. What's the occasion?" he greets us with the bright aura that surrounds him.

"Too loud outside," Laurance answers, pushing a hand through his messy, light brown hair. He never brushes it in the morning. It only looks decent when his sister, Cadenza, gets to him before he's in the car.

"Hm. Understandable, though I half expected you to say you were running from your sister. She can be pretty terrifying when she wants to," he jokes and Laurance laughs.

"She doesn't like to be seen with me at school."

"I wonder why," I mumble, jokingly, and Laurance punches me in the arm with a smile.

"Be quiet. You're stuck with me whether you like it or not, Gar."

"Unfortunately."

Coach Dale chuckles and right as he's about to say something, there's a voice at the door which makes my heart skip a beat.

"Morning, Coach Dale~!" Aphmau chirps as she enters the room, her smile so blinding I think I'm losing my vision, but it's impossible to look away. Laurance snickers from next to me.

"Ah, Aphmau. Good morning. You're awful cheery this morning," Coach Dale says and Aphmau giggles. My heart rate has sped up drastically.

"I'm just in a good mood." She pushes a strand of hair out of her face and her gorgeous amber eyes find Laurance and I. If possible, she gives an even brighter smile that almost makes me forget how to stand.

I can feel Laurance's smirk without even having to look at him.

"Hello! I'm Aphmau!" She beams, catching me off guard.

She's talking to me? I mean, sure, Laurance is here, too, but she's talking to me?

"Laurance." Laurance replies back, giving me a look after and lowering his voice enough so she can't hear.

"Can you do this yourself, or you need me to do it for you?"

I want to say I push all fear and anxiety aside and bravely said something that wasn't complete nonsense. I want to say I start an actual conversation with her without Laurance's assistance. I want to say I say anything to her.

But I don't.

"This guy is my best friend, Garroth." Laurance saves me. "He's...shy around new people."

"Oh! That's okay!" She looks me straight in the eyes and my heart stops. "It's nice to meet you, Garroth."

Still not trusting myself to speak, I just nod and soon after, the bell rings. Laurance drags me to our desks near the front where I promptly slam my face onto it upon sitting down. Laurance sighs and pats the top of my head.

"You were fine, Garroth," Laurance tries (and fails) to reassure me.

"I looked like an idiot," I mumble against the cool surface of the desk.

"No you didn't. She doesn't think that."

"How do you know?"

"I just do. Now, why don't you lift your head up and try to focus on the good things. Like, she knows your name now. That's something, isn't it?"

I appreciate how hard he's trying, so I lift my head up.

"I guess so."

"See? There's the Garroth I know." He grins. "Now smile. Girls like a guy who's got a good smile."

For the millionth time, I wonder how I got lucky enough to have a friend like him.