Euro High: A Eurovision High School AU

Chapter 2: Just As Friends

Quick note: Congrats to Duncan Laurence! 1st place was well deserved.

Matthias crept along the hallway quietly- or at least as quietly as he could with his leather combat boots; Klemens soon following him.
"Were the binoculars really necessary?" Matti whispered to him. Klemens pulled them away from his eyes.
"Of course!" He replied, peering into them again. "They're sneaky and sophisticated."
"Whatever man. Stick to the target!" He sneered. They watched closely as a student left the library, clutching an old, lengthy book in his arms.
"Right, I'm going in." Klemens uttered, beginning to step forward in his tall, red platforms. Matthias held him back by his studded collar.
"You promised it was my turn!"
"Fine! But be quick..."

"Nikita! Wait up, I'll walk you to class. We have History next right?" Nikita looked up cautiously. "I've lost Klemens and Einar somewhere and I just happened to see you! Hey, what book did you get?" He could see Niki was onto him. He'd definitely realised his strangely friendly behaviour.
"Uh..." he muttered almost silently. "Dracula, I just like those kinds of old, gothic-type books."
"Um... that's very interesting! Speaking of interesting..." Matti tried to gather a smooth transition into the topic of the Formal- it clearly wasn't working for him so he decided to cut straight to the chase.
"Isn't that Formal coming up so exciting?"

Nikita looked up slowly, blinking frequently under the bright ceiling lights.
"Not so much for me" He responded, "It would be a little more exciting if I had someone to go with, but hey, you can't have it all." Matti smiled at him, he was glad that he'd brought up dates himself- now he could get the information he needed.
"Aww really?" Matti sighed as sympathetically as he could manage.
"Yeah, but it's really alright." He grinned, "I have to look on the bright side, maybe I could ask someone to go with me as friends." Something seemed to light up in Matti's head as he said that. Friends. That's exactly how he could ease him into taking Kostya to the Formal.

"So, why not take Kostyantyn?" He nonchalantly mentioned.
"As... friends?" He innocently asked.
"Yeah yeah!" He answered. "Unless you'd want to take him as an ACTUAL date..." Niki stayed silent for a few moments before giggling in response.
"You're so funny." He laughed. "Yeah, of course just as friends- me and Kostya are like peas in a pod." They entered the classroom, seperating as they took their assigned seats. He rested his hand on his own cheek- he'd gotten info, but not the kind he was looking for.

After 2nd period, The Five Guys caught up with each other by the bike rack.
"So!" Benji announced excitedly, "I texted Felix last night..." The boys were suddenly very intrigued.
"Aaaaand...." he kept the suspence at its peak until:
"He said he'd be my date!" He squealed, overjoyed. The guys cheered, Ari giving him a hug. "Just wait 'til you meet him, he's so dreamy." He sighed, dazed by his admiration.
"That means we only have two more single boys to sort out. " Mikolas grinned, looking at Kostya and Nikita.

"Actually!" Kostya began, " I'm looking for a date right now. "
"Yeah!" Niki said. " I'm gonna find a friend to go with! " The group's eyes all turned to him.
"You're going to... go with a friend?" Ari questioned, making sure he'd heard correctly.
"Yep. Since I'm not exactly interested in anyone, I though I might get someone to go as friends with me." Eyes glanced away from Niki and onto Kostya.
"You guys are pretty close. " Mikolas hinted.
"Yeah," Kostya began confidently. "But isn't the formal all about the romance?"  Niki bit his lip. "I mean, the formal wear, bringing roses to their door, kissing them under the moonlight at the end of the night? That's real romance. Real love. "

"You're so cheesy Kostya, I swear to god!" Miki critiqued, trying not to laugh at his little speech.
"I kinda get what you mean. Or at least I think I do?" Benji commented, slightly confused at Kostya's entire idea.
"Whatever!" Kostya groaned, resting his elbow on a nearby bench."But hey. If going as friends is something you'd really like to do, then I'm all for it." His sudden change of mood made Niki's heart skip a beat.
"Oh really? Would you!?" He said ecstatically
"Sure thing, Nik. Anything for a..." Kostya sighed a little, his voice restraining for a second while he forced himself to utter a word that didn't seem to fit well in his eyes. Not to Nikita. " ...friend.

Despite his likeness towards his friend Niki, Kostya was still fixated on romance. How he longed for that sweet, sweet love. A date he couldn't take his eyes off of, a date that the room couldn't take their eyes off of. He wished to wisk them off their feet and to slow dance and steal a kiss as they entered their own world; a dimension of affection. How he wished that date was Nikita. No! That wasn't right, Niki only saw him as a friend. Yeah, just friends. Why else would he want to take him to the Formal that way? He didn't have any crushes, so he obviously thought of the second best thing. Yeah, that's exactly how-

"Mr Bocharov?" Kostya suddenly sat up, embarassed. "Can you repeat what I just said? " Ms Jamaladinova stared at him.
"Uh no sorry." He casually muttered, playing with his pen.
"Are you going to TRY to pay attention or do you think you can daydream your way through Freshman year History?"
"Yes ma'am... Or no ma'am, whatever answer was supposed to be the right one." The teacher simply tutted but have him a small smile- she was becoming quite fond of Kostya, despite his tendencies to not be so interested in the Treaty Of Versailles. She turned back to the board and continued talking to the class.

As he came out of school that day, a thought kept passing through his mind. An idea. What if he expressed how he felt anonymously? It didn't sound too good of a plan at first, but the more that he thought about it, it made him feel happy. Notes in his locker. Letters. Love letters. That's exactly what he would do- he'd alter his handwriting slightly incase any suspicion arised. He couldn't help but to grin all the way home as the plan blossomed in his brain. When he got home, he ran straight up into his bedroom and gathered some lines paper and a fountain pen. He wrote and wrote: the inspiration flowing into the deep black ink.

Autumn leaves and spring to summer vibes
I can't help getting lost in those soft hazel eyes
How that heartening voice caresses my soul
How I wish you were the one I hold
Though my feeling won't be exchanged
My love for you sets my heart in flames
You are my everything, all that I ever wish to see
But could you ever see love in a mere friend like me?