That Is, Of Course, I Love You (Boreo The Goldfinch Oneshots)

Gas Station

This is less of a typical oneshot and more of an AU (alternate universe) in which Boris and Theo don't meet at school but instead at the gas station that Boris works at. I guess they'd be meeting during the summer to account for the lack of school. Third person POV, generally centered on Theo 

June First

Theo walked into the gas station, the harsh lights making him squint his eyes. It was two minutes till midnight, but Theo had no plans for bed anytime soon. He picked out a monster energy drink, original flavour. He needed the energy if he was going to pull an all nighter (which he was).

"Is that all?" said the cashier, with a faint echo of some Eastern European accent. 

"Yeah, thanks," said Theo, digging in his pockets for the money.

"So what are you doing buying an energy drink at this time?" the other boy said good-naturedly. Theo noticed he was about his age, and almost asked him what he was doing working the late shift.

"Trying to study for school. Have fun during the day, study at night." 

The cashier- Theo noticed his name tag said Boris- nodded. "Work hard, play hard. I think you may be forgetting about sleep hard," Boris smiled.

"I'll live," Theo mumbled. He disliked chatty people and was trying to keep that up, but he didn't mind this guy. Maybe we could be friends at school, he thought. 

Theo left with his energy drink and walked home. Well, he just thought of it as his dad's house, not really his, but he knew he needed to get used to the idea. He'd been trying to find a good rhythm, hang out, explore the town during the day, and study hard during the night. During his stay at the Barbour's, his schoolwork suffered, and he knew he needed to brush up on some stuff before school in Las Vegas.

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It was the first day of August, and Theo was back at the gas station for his nightly energy drink. He'd stopped studying so much, but by now his circadian rhythm was all kinds of messed up. Usually he stayed up all night regardless of whether or not he had things to do.

The morning of August first he'd decided that he was going to make a friend, someone to talk to at school. Well, the day of August first steadily slipped away with no success. He hadn't even seen a single kid his age.

That is, of course, until he got to the gas station and saw Boris. He got the feeling that Boris wasn't one of the more popular kids, but it had been a long time since Theo cared about anything like that. All he wanted was someone to talk to; it was lonely with just his dad and Xandra.

"Potter!" Boris had given him the nickname, saying he looked like Harry (Theo didn't exactly agree but made no effort to contradict him). "Hi." 

On some level, Theo knew they were friends, or at the least friendly acquaintances, but they'd never hung out outside of Boris's work. "Hi, Boris." But why shouldn't they? "Y'know, I was thinking, do you ever want to hang out or something?"

Boris smiled like he was waiting for Theo to ask that. "I'd love that." Though he was pretty sure the other boy would say yes, Theo still felt relief at his response.

"Great. Great, when, do you think?" 

Boris was thoughtful; Theo watched him with a detached sort of interest. "Well, I work the night shift here and sleep in till, like, one, so anytime two to nine on any day is okay. I don't know exactly."

Boris and Theo made plans to hang out at Theo's- they also learned they lived in the same in the same neighborhood, something that would prove to be convenient later. It was to happen on August third; the whole day August second, Theo was a nervous wreck, cleaning religiously. He'd warned Boris that his dad was an alcoholic and would probably be drunk when they were there, if he was at the house at all. Boris had brushed it off, but Theo still worried his dad or Xandra would be an embarrassment.