《human》- hardzello

six

joe laid in bed that night staring blankly at the ceiling, although he could see nothing but darkness. the dead night silence was something he was still adjusting to; at home he always had the radio on softly in the background to help him sleep. sure, he could've brought one to uni, but he didn't fancy getting picked on more than he already expected to (his expectations had been met, however, by josh). he had summoned a somewhat plan surrounding the boy he saw in class the other day, and awaited the next day to arrive anxiously.

at roughly 5pm, lucy was greeted by an apprehensive looking joe. they shared an awkward greeting, and the blonde let him inside.

"so" lucy started, perching herself on her bed, tapping beside her as an indication for joe to join her. "what did you want to talk about?"

joe explained the situation, fully aware of how incredibly dumb it sounded. "it sounds really stupid, i know, but i genuinely cannot stop thinking about him and it m-"

"joe! it's ok" she smiled and cut him off. "i totally understand. once you meet someone, even if only for a second, they immediately get stuck in your brain. they're constantly there, distracting you from every day tasks. you can't help but think about their smile, or the way they say your name. um, anyway, this is about you. not me."
joe studied the girl, picking up the hint that she's clearly in the same boat. he'd have to pester her about that some other time though.

"alright, so. i think i have a plan".

lucy had discovered that the teacher the blonde boy was originally looking for, mrs. remundo, happened to teach one of her friends. she simply suggested that she asks that friend which people share his class by the description of the boy that joe gave. joe wasn't very fond of this at first.

"wait no wait what if he asks why? please don't mention me. please. what are you gonna say if he asks?"

lucy managed to calm him down and convince him that she'll use some sort of cover story should that situation unfold. the reassurance actually made joe excited for this plan - knowing the boy's name will take him one step further, at least.

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joe, lucy, rami and gwilym all sat at lunch together on one of the benches outside. he had become quite close to this group of people in the past week or so, and he felt comfortable. he felt like he finally fit in.

the gang were having a rather heated debate on whether water is sweet or savoury. rami brought it up casually, but they've all learned by now that queries like this are never taken lightly.

"of course it's not savoury. it doesn't have like, seasoning, does it?" lucy proposed.

"well it's not fucking sweet either is it!" joe clapped back.

"you're all idiots, it doesn't even taste of anything" gwilym added. joe was about to shout something back, when somebody familiar walked just behind lucy, who sat opposite him. it took him a couple of seconds for his brain to register them, before he realised it was the guy who's been playing on his mind since last monday. his colour must've drained from his face, as a concerned rami asked if he had upset him. the ginger boy laughed and shook his head. lucy glanced over at joe, looked behind her, and realised, sending a wink to the friend infront of her. joe didn't find this very funny.

"uh hey, i think i need to go talk to a teacher, and lucy needs to come with me" he announced to the group.

"i do?" she asked.

"you do." joe replied.

"she does?" rami echoed.

"yes" joe pressed, already stood up with his bag slung over his shoulder and grabbing at the blonde girl's arms. "let's go".

the two snuck into an empty classroom, lucy looking bewildered the whole way there. joe shut the door behind them, sat himself on a desk and ordered, "spill".

the girl sighed. "do we really have to do this right now? this literally couldn't have waited 3 more hours?"

"absolutely not. i have to know. did you talk to your friend?"

"yes."

"and? what did he say?"

"nothing."

"what?"

"i'm kidding!" lucy giggled. "sorry. ok. so. here's the tea, sis." joe visibly cringed at that phrase.