The HermitCraft Literature Club!

Cute Guys

I follow Mumbo across the school, dragging my feet dejectedly. His club was upstairs— a section of the school that I rarely visit, due to it being mostly used for third year classes. Mumbo, practically bursting with energy, flings open the door.

"Guys! Our new member is here!"

"Don't call me a new member," I mutter. Of course, he ignores me.

I take this opportunity to glance around the room. Eh?

"Welcome to the Literature Club, it's a pleasure meeting you. Mumbo always says nice things about you." The voice belongs to a somewhat short guy a strange American accent. His glasses are perched crookedly on his nose, and his uniform is only halfway buttoned. His messy brown hair makes him look like he just rolled out of bed.

He holds out his hand with a shy smile. I shake it.

"Seriously? Another fourth year? Way to kill the atmosphere..." Another guy yells from the back of the room. From first glance, his small figure marks him out to be a first year. A pale scar above the eye covers a portion of his face, and you can barely see his light brown hair under his huge cowboy hat. Despite the fact that his uniform is slightly too big for him, he wears it neatly.

"Ah, Grian! What a nice surprise!", exclaims a third guy, as he suddenly pops up next to the first, an enthusiastic smile on his face. He has closely cropped brown, almost black hair, and his uniform is in perfect condition. A helmet with a purple visor is tucked under his arm. His startlingly violet eyes bore into mine.

All words escape me in this situation. This club... is full of incredibly cute guys!

The first year makes his way across the room to the rest of us. He gets close to my face and stares up at me, the fire evident in his hazel eyes.

"What are you looking at? If you wanna say something, say it!"

"S-Sorry..."

"Scar...", says the guy with the glasses, taking on a disappointed tone.

The guy with the sour attitude, whose name is apparently Scar, turns away from me with a loud "Hmph." He's also the one who made cookies, according to Mumbo.

Mumbo has been standing next to me the entire time. "You can just ignore him when he gets moody—", he whispers in my ear, then turns back to the others.

"Anyway! This is GoodTimesWithScar, always the energetic one."

I nod in his direction, and Mumbo and I turn to the guy with the glasses.

"And this is Joe Hills, the smartest in the club. He's from Tennessee."

Joe visibly blushes at the first part.

"D-Don't say things like that..."

Joe, who appears more mature and formal than the others must have a hard time keeping up with people like Scar and Mumbo.

"Oh... well it's nice to meet both of you!", I say, breaking the silence.

Mumbo smiles at me encouragingly. "And it sounds like you already know Xisuma, right?"

"That's right! It's great to see you again, Grian." Xisuma towers over me without even trying, and I have to crane my neck to look at him. He smiles sweetly.

He and I do know each other- I mean, we rarely talked, but we had the same math teacher last year. Xisuma was the most popular guy in my class- smart, handsome, athletic, creative. Basically, completely out of my league. So having him smile at me so genuinely makes me feel...

"Y-you too, Xisuma."

Mumbo suddenly interrupts. "Come sit down, Grian! We made room for you at our table, so you can sit next to either me or X. I'll get the cookies!" He starts toward the tray.

"Ey, I made them, I'll get them! Shove off!" Scar pushes Mumbo out of the way and storms toward the tray himself.

Joe watches the commotion with a mildly interested look on his face.

"And how about I make some tea as well?"

~~~~~

The guys have moved a few desks and chairs around in order to make a table. As Mumbo mentioned, it has been widened, forming new spots near Mumbo and near Xisuma.

Scar and Joe walk over to the corner of the room, where Scar gets a foil-covered tray and Joe digs around in the closet.

Feeling a bit awkward, I take a seat next to Mumbo.

Scar marches up to the table.

"Everyone ready?"

Without waiting for a response, he rips the foil off of the top of the tray, revealing the goods.

"...Ta-daa!"

"Oh my goodness!", squeals Mumbo, "Sooooo cute!!"

The sugar cookies are decorated to look like little cats. The whiskers are drawn on with icing, and the eyes are chocolate chips. More pieces of chocolate are used to make the ears.

"I didn't know you were this good at baking, Scar!", says Xisuma in awe.

Scar seems pleased with himself. He takes off his hat and does an exaggerated bow. "Ehehe. Well, you know... Just hurry, take one!"

Mumbo takes a cookie first, then Xisuma. I follow.

"This is delicious!"

"These are amazing."

I turn the cookie around, looking for the best angle to eat it from. Scar stays silent, but I notice him sneaking glances in my direction. Is he waiting for me to take a bite?

I finally bite the cookie. The icing is sweet and full of flavor. I wonder if he made it himself.

"This is really good. Thank you, Scar."

Scar turns red and looks at the ground, shuffling his feet. "W-why are you thanking me? I-it's not like made them for you anything..."

"Uh... you technically did, though. Mumbo said—"

I'm cut off by an even more flustered Scar. "W-well, maybe! But not for, y-you know, you! Idiot..."

"Geez, okay..." I give up on our strange conversation. Just on time, as Joe returns, carrying the tea set. He gives each of us a cup, and sets down the kettle next to the cookie tray.

"You keep an entire tea set in the classroom?", I ask, impressed.

"Yeah, but don't worry, the teachers gave us permission," reassures Joe in his quiet voice. "Plus, a hot cup of tea always helps me enjoy a good story."

"Eh... I guess." I'm still reluctant to admit that I'm not an avid reader.

Xisuma sidles up next to me.

"Hey Grian, don't get too intimidated by Joe. He's just trying to impress you."

"Wha— T-that's not—!" He looks away, insulted.

"Hey, Joe, it's fine!", I quickly say. "Plus, I... I believe you. Tea and reading might not be a pastime for me, but I like tea!"

Joe gives me a faint smile.

"I'm glad."

X raises an eyebrow and smirks. He then asks the question that I've been dreading this whole time.

"So Grian, what made you consider the Literature Club?"