Conceal || ItsFunneh AU

03 | Calix

The first thing I notice are his dark brown eyes, which are most definitely not fake.

The second thing is that he's wearing a Comic Con t-shirt.

He smiles, revealing dimples. "Hi, I'm Calix." He says, reaching a hand out.

I can only stare down at his hand.

"And you are...?" The boy—Calix—prompts.

"Wenny." I say quietly, watching his hand drop.

"Fun party, eh?" Calix leans against the balcony railing, resting his elbows on the top. The breeze ruffles the fronts of his messy dark hair, causing some parts to fall in his eyes.

I say nothing.

Calix doesn't seem to mind though, as he continues, "I have to admit, this party is one of the calmest I've ever seen. I mean, have you ever been to a party that doesn't have booming music playing in the background? Although I guess they're not really in the background, if they're that loud."

I inch my way over to the balcony door, feeling pathetically similar to a cat trapped in a cage.

"Wait– you don't have to leave. I can stop talking, if you want."

I pause, my hand inches away from the door handle.

"I know you don't want to go back inside."

Very true. But I also don't want to sit outside with a stranger. Who could throw me off the balcony. And pretend it was suicide.

Damn, Rainbow's really getting to me. And she doesn't even live with us anymore

"Fine." I let my hand fall down and move back to my corner, taking my sketchbook out again.

"You draw? Do you draw comics? I'm a huge fan!"

I glare up at him, once again shocked by how pretty his eyes are.

"Right, no talking. Sorry." Calix says, sounding sheepish. He walks over and plops down beside me, looking up at the sky in silence.

Even though he isn't looking at me, I can still feel my hand start to shake. From stress, that is. Because I've never sketched beside a stranger before.

I try to continue my sketch of the view, but my mind can't seem to focus. Not wanting to ruin a perfectly good sketch, I decide to remove my volatile hands.

"I lied earlier. Well, it wasn't a lie, since Wenny is my name, but most people call me Lunar." Putting my sketchbook back in my bag, I turn and see Calix staring at me in what I can only describe as a giddy way.

"Okay, Lunar," He grins. "What's your favourite way to draw?"

I don't even have to think about this question. "Digitally. It's so much easier to access everything, and you can easily undo your mistakes. Though, I do appreciate a good paper sketch."

"Ask me a question." He says, after waiting a few beats.

"What? Why?"

He heaves a dramatic sigh. "That's how you communicate, Lunar, and make friends."

"I know that, I have friends, you know." I snap, then hurry on as a look of disbelief crosses his face. "What's your favourite food?"

"Barbeque chicken wings," he says dreamily, closing his eyes for a brief second as if he can imagine them. "What about you?"

"Pizza."

"That's so basic!"

"Are chicken wings not?"

He looks quite offended, so I relent. "Dim sums."

"Least favourite colour?"

"Neon yellow. They're so hard to work with, and they burn my retinas."

"Mine is black."

"Black is not a-" I protest, but he cuts me off.

"I know, I know, but I love all colours. Black is just so... unfriendly, you know?"

"One of the most basic components of art is black." I retort back.

"Okay, okay, let's move on." He says quickly, raising his hands up in surrender. "What's your biggest fear?"

Having my true form revealed.

I swallow and go with, "Being myself." Simple, straight-forward, enigmatic.

"You can be yourself with me," Calix reassures.

Such a simple yet powerful sentence.

And my first time hearing it came from a stranger.

"My answer was originally going to be my fear of the dark, but that seems very childish compared to yours." He continues, unaware of my unease.

I laugh, to my surprise. Apparently to Calix's too, because his eyebrows raise happily.

Wanting to pretend that didn't happen, I quickly shoot out, "What was your favourite fairytale growing up?"

He pauses, brows furrowing, apparently taking this question very seriously. "I'll have to go with 'Puss in Boots'–yes, it's a fairytale," He adds, seeing my skeptical face.

"Whatever you say," I say with a shrug. "Mine is 'Beauty and the Beast'. I love her braveness, and how she doesn't let what other people think stop her."

"Hey, do I look like the Beast?" He asks, pointing to his disheveled dark hair, "To your Belle?"

Is he... flirting with me?

"Are you... flirting with me?" I ask, my head snapping back.

"I- No! That was a joke! Geez, woman, you suck at friend-making." He says defensively, scooting backwards so there's space between us.

I raise an eyebrow at him, like I don't believe him. But the truth is, I do. I'm not one to believe in "love at first sight", especially not with a stranger.

"What comics do you like?" I ask, indicating to his t-shirt.

"I love the action and humorous ones."

I almost snort, but manage to keep it in. "Isn't that... basically what all comics are?"

Calix furrows his brows. "I suppose so. But I do love a lot of comics. Do you like comics?"

"Yeah, they're okay."

Okay is a major understatement. I mean, I even entered–and won–a comics contest!

"Lunar! Where are y-" The sliding door squeals open, revealing Gold on the other side. "Oh! Hi! Am I interrupting something? I can leave-"

I scramble up, caught off-guard. "Yes! I mean, no, you're not interrupting, but I would prefer if you left."

Calix, still sitting on the ground, looks up at Gold with his friendly smile. "Hi, I'm Calix." He says, spinning up and shaking her hand.

Gold wiggles her eyebrows at me, and I resist the temptation to smack them off her face.

"If you continue gawking at him like that, Kyran will get jealous." Her smug expression turns into a glare. "Anway, what do you want?" I ask, turning her attention somewhere else.

"Oh, right. Rainbow's here. And she doesn't sound very happy."