No Filter x Serial Dating

When Will My Wife Return From War

Meanwhile, just as Gon shut the hallway door, he turned to classmate who he had spent the entire semester working with. Shalnark, his presentation partner who had done, quite literally, all of the work on their final project. Gon had been eternally grateful and also knew full well that he was an asshole for putting that on Shalnark. Spanish wasn't... exactly Gon's strong suit.

In fact, he wasn't really sure why he decided to take a language in the first place. He could speak it and pronounce it but he didn't know a lick of what he was saying.

Shalnark, on the other hand, was fluent, handsome, and (unfortunately) crushing on Gon. He was Gon's chance at passing Spanish, so of course Gon had schmoozed him up a bit, bought him a couple coffees on their study dates, and maybe made out with him in the back of the lecture hall once, but they weren't in view of the security cameras so there was no evidence of that day ever happening.

Gon rubbed a hand over his mouth where Shal had kissed him. That motion was enough to slump Shal's shoulders.

"You know I like you," Gon whispered, quieter now, "and I really appreciate everything. I do. But I told you—I'm seeing someone else right now."

"That hasn't stopped you before—"

"That's because I had a problem before," Gon insisted. "I'm not going to do that to him."

"Him," Shal repeated, like this situation would have been better to cope with had Gon been talking about a girl. Shal looked away with a scoff and said, "Whatever. Hope the grade was worth it, then."

"I don't want us to be on bad terms, Shal," Gon insisted. "Not everything we do has to be a date. I still like you—"

"But not the way I like you," Shal said.

"Is there something wrong with being friends with a guy? Why can't we just be friends?" Gon demanded. He could see now why Killua was so repulsed by the idea of looking at everyone like a potential love interest in a goddamn rom com. Friends were just as meaningful, weren't they? And Gon realized now that he wanted that—he wanted that with every date he went on.

It just took Killua to realize it.

Gon tensed, his heart stuttering in his chest at the disgusted way Shal looked at him. "I can't be friends with you. Even if you can't respect me, respect that. Bye, Gon."

With that, Shal shoved past him and swung open the bedroom door.

Gon stared after Shal before at last putting a hand to his hair and thinking, Yeah, I deserved that. He perched his hands on his hips and sighed. In that same pose, he tipped back and collapsed onto Knuckle's comforter. He stared at the ceiling as the guilt from using Shalnark all semester ate him away into a husk that would surely be filled when Killua finished up at the gym. Their usual ab schedule pushed Killua's arrival time closer to eight, especially if Killua decided to shower afterwards. But, since he wouldn't have Gon as a distraction, perhaps Killua would arrive sooner than expected.

Gon perked up. He pushed up to his elbows and looked around the room for something to do in the meantime.

He started watching Netflix for a while, but thinking about Killua made him too giddy to function. It was a quarter to eight, which meant that Killua was probably leaving the gym now. He checked his phone for any notifications, but when it came up empty, he went ahead and snapped Killua the following message: "Hurry up I miss you :D" and laid it over a photo of his face.

He checked periodically for a reply as the clock ticked past eight and Killua didn't so much as open Gon's snap. Gon paused the show and got up, swinging his legs off of the bed and heading for the door.