#hollywood u

Hey, it's buttons-for-bambi / hwu-bambi, aka Bambi (can’t remember if I put my nickname or real name sry), and here’s my gift for leah-khaleesi, aka Leah! It’s an MCxCrash fanfic and playlist, boop.

Lil message: Hi Leah! It was really fun being your PB Secret Santa and sending you messages and working on your gift. You seem like such a positive and awesome person, not to mention your great taste in musicals :) I hope you like the fic (kind of a ‘what-if’ if your MC did the stunt during Clash at Sunset rather than Addison) and playlist. Happy Holidays!

crash boom bang (an mcxcrash playlist)

—–

“rooftop quiet”

The after party for the premiere of Clash at Sunset is full of loud music, loud people, and the loud pounding of Crash’s heart. It fills his ears as he searches the crowd for a particular head of pink hair, chewing his lip in uncharacteristic nervousness. Really, he’s just going to talk to her; why are his legs shaking and his leather jacket suddenly too warm?

He runs a hand through his hair once more, wondering in the back of his mind if he should have brushed it. Looking around now and bumping into so many Hollywood people, Crash is reminded of just how out of place he tends to look at these functions. Not that he’s ever been invited to one (although he has crashed several, literally). It’s never bothered him before, but then he sees the actress he’s looking for and his heart stops because she fits perfectly into the picture.

Katherine laughs at something a director says, and with a drink in hand and the nicest dress that Crash has ever seen, she looks miles above him, like a star come down to grace the worthy of her presence.

He’s not used to seeing her like this; he’s used to his Katherine, chatting and laughing with him, rolling her eyes, and just generally warm and inviting. Now, though, she’s an image of class and sophistication, and he’s feeling underdressed and unprepared.

Just go up to her like you always do, the stuntman thinks to himself, gulping down the last of his nerves from seemingly nowhere as he takes a step forward, usual lopsided and dimpled smile back in place. What’s so different about this time?

But what’s so different is that she’s surrounded by people who look more like the type of people she might want to schmooze, and it’s made clear the second she gets pulled away by another group of actors who want her to come dance with them. I’m a great dancer, no problem, Crash reassures himself, but he can’t bring his feet to move because she’s gone from sight once more, swallowed up by the crowd, the most wanted person tonight.

He frowns, not sure why he’s upset, but there’s no denying the strange feeling bubbling in his chest, so he decides maybe some fresh air will do some good. A path manages to clear up, and he exits the building. The nerves are back and making him jumpy, though, and so he hops onto a ledge jutting out from the building, and his instincts take over as he climbs up to the roof, swinging his leg over and taking a seat, leaning against the brick wall, looking at the empty rooftop.

Why am I so nervous around her? he wonders, switching his gaze to the night sky above him, And why does her being popular bother me?

“Crash?” He looks over to the source of the noise as a door opens, revealing a pink-haired girl looking a little out of breath (the stairs behind her are a reasonable explanation) as she steps out onto the rooftop.

“Katherine?” he chirps, straightening and feeling his heart thudding in his ears once more as he blurts, “What are you doing up here? Shouldn’t you be at the party?”

“I should be asking you the same.” She smirks as she walks towards him, stopping at his side to take off her heels and slide down to join him on the ground, inches away from his side and the warmth that he feels building once more at the sight of her. “After all, you were part of Clash at Sunset, too.” After a pause, she turns to look at the boy, shifting ever closer as she asks with a frown, “Was something wrong?”

Crash shakes his head, swallowing the realization of how close she is along with the lump in his throat. It’s suddenly not so easy to ignore the nerves shaking his hands, and it’s becoming clearer as to why. But Katherine is so… “Amazing.”

“Hm?” she hums, and he realizes that he’s managed to whisper it out loud as he looks into her eyes.

He whips his head away, feeling wonderful pink warmth spreading across his cheeks; the night air is never going to cool him at this rate. “I was just wondering how you knew where to find me,” he responds a little too quickly, stealing a glance back at her, only to realize she’s smiling and it makes everything a little better.

Katherine winks, leaning back (and now he wishes she was still too close to him) as she explains, “I saw you leave out the front, but I was kind of hoping you didn’t just leave, and this was my best guess.”

He nods, and they sit in silence for a minute, the air heavy with something unfamiliar to Crash. There’s a crackle in the air, as if electricity might spark him at any moment, and he feels a rush travel through him, as though he’s about to do a stunt, when in reality he’s only sitting. But he’s sitting next to Katherine, and she makes all the difference. She looks over at him, concern coating her features but unable to hide the bright twinkle in her eyes that only seems to appear when the stuntman is around.

“Why are you up here, Crash?”

A fidget later and a look into her eyes later and he’s hit with two realizations: he undoubtedly has a crush on the movie star, and he has no idea what to do about it. Give him a fight scene and he can choreograph and rehearse it in minutes; give him a rappel system and the side of the mountain and he’ll be going down in seconds; give him a cute, pink-haired girl sitting close to him alone and all he can do is feel his tongue take up his mouth and his pulse take over his brain.

“I don’t –“ But he cuts himself off, because he doesn’t know where he’s going with any of this, and looking at her only makes him more tongue-tied. He looks back out over the rooftop, keeping his eyes down as he says slowly, “You looked busy. And this isn’t my type of party, usually.”

“That hasn’t stopped you before,” she points out with a smirk, laughing lightly as she remembers, “I mean, we still haven’t figured out how you managed to land a helicopter on the quad for the dinner party.”

“Yeah, that was fun,” he grins, and it only grows when she laughs again. But then he’s back to frowning as he explains, “This time – I don’t know – I feel like I can’t mess things up for you. And you have a lot of important people who want to talk to you.” People who aren’t me.

She catches on to the secret between the lines, eyes lighting up and lips parting as she whispers in near-disbelief, “Crash, are…are you jealous?”

He avoids her eyes, stomach twisting into knots once more. That’s the word for it, then, and he can’t help it; Katherine has a lot of people who want her attention, and he feels like just one of them. He wants to be the first person she spots and the last person she would ever leave, but he can’t say that, not when he feels his mouth go dry.

But he doesn’t need to say a thing as she watches him, before a smile tugs at her lips and she lets her eyes go to the sky and she places a hand over his, reveling in the warmth of his presence. “You really don’t have to be,” she tells him softly, looking over at him and seeing his wide eyes at their intertwined fingers, and she nearly lets out a giggle at his incredulous face. “Not when I like you so much.”

And all he can do is nod and give her a goofy smile and try not to combust as they sit in silence, alone, holding hands. Maybe he can’t work up the nerve to say everything he wants to tonight, but just being here with her is more than he could ever ask for.

To: Flor @thomashuntxmc

From: Leah @leah-khaleesi

“You’re a jerk, Chris!” Luna laughed at whatever her actor friend had whispered in her ear, rolling her eyes and linking her arm with his as they took the customary break in between scenes.

Thomas Hunt realized he hadn’t felt real jealousy until this moment.

Oh, he had played jealous roles, of course. But he was near certain even the finest of actors couldn’t come close to what he was feeling now. This irrational anger and fury that suddenly made him want to punch Chris Winters of all people in the face, never mind that they were still filming, never mind anything, just that he was too close to Luna and that, for some reason, made him furious.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Professor Hunt? And Priya Singh? I still can’t believe it.” Addison shook her head as the three friends chattered away, completely ignorant of Thomas’s eavesdropping.

No, he wasn’t EAVESDROPPING. He just…happened to hear their conversation. That was all. It certainly wasn’t that he had immediately whirled around hearing Luna’s murmur of his name, as Addison and Ethan continued to argue on the point of his romanceability. He felt he should be more offended, but it wasn’t their reactions he was looking for.

“I just can’t see-y’know, Hunt as somebody’s boyfriend.” Addison shrugged. “Even Professor Singh’s.”

“Really?” He was surprised, both at how happy he was that Luna seemed to disagree and how she was disagreeing at all. “I could see it. Hunt dating someone, I mean.”

“Something you want to tell us?” Ethan wisecracked with his signature flash of a smile. “Because you’ve been staring a lot at the good professor lately.”

“He’s our teacher. You’re supposed to stare at him. It’s a sign of paying attention.” Luna gave Ethan a light shove, but he didn’t let up.

“That’s not an ‘I’m learning from you’ stare, that’s a “Damn, you’re hot’ stare if I ever saw one. And I’ve repped enough rom-com actors to know when I’m seeing one.”

Luna opened and closed her mouth at least three times before seeming to settle on “Shut up, Ethan.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“Brian Ratzik is an absolute jerk.” Luna spun around, the floaty material of her dress moving with her as she drunkenly danced to music only she could hear, somehow managing to make it look surprisingly graceful as she went. “But he has good champagne, I gotta admit.”

Thomas couldn’t deny that one. Ratzik was detestable, and he couldn’t remember why he’d been at that damn party in the first place, but here he was, trying to get them out the door before the police showed up at Ratzik’s house for the third time that week.

Luna had, at least, moved on from singing songs from Into the Woods at the top of her lungs.

He was trying very hard to ignore the part of him that found it adorable.

“Y’know, profeeeesssor,” Luna grinned as she linked her arm through his, “You’re kinda cute when you’re not yelling at meeeee.”

He decided not to respond. Getting her to her dorm was already hard enough.

Three Broadway songs, one attempt to get a cat down from a tree, and four terrible pickup lines later, she was at the door of her dorm house, and had seemed to sober up at least slightly.

Only slightly.

“Hey, Professor Hunt?”

He turned around.

“Thanks. For getting me home safe and all.” She grinned, and he was pretty sure that goddamnit, he was BLUSHING. Shit.

He was so caught up in willing his face to turn less of a shade of pink that he almost missed what she said next.

‘You’re a good guy, Thomas. Guess that’ s one of the reasons I think I’m in love with you.”

Then she turned around, and walked back into her dorm, and that was NOT helping the blush and was that the alcohol or did she mean it did she even know what she was doing and it had just now hit him all at once that he loved her too.

He had been to dozens of weddings in his lifetime, but the opening of ‘Here Comes the Bride,’ had never been more beautiful.

He awoke from his reverie to pay attention to Luna, walking down the aisle, and all he could think about was the memories that had brought them here, and all the memories that were to come.

~end~

ahhh sorry this is so short

Wow, I’m really impressed with these gifts! :0

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To: Aro (@arowanathestudent)

Happy holidays to you! :)

______________________________________

“That’s ridiculous!”  With an angry swipe of her right arm Holly threw her laptop away and exhaustedly covered her face with her hands. “This is just plain madness! ‘Write me a nice, little script for a holiday short film,’ she said. ‘It will be fun,’ she said. Newsflash: I hate the holidays and everything that has to do with them!”

Ever since Aro had asked her to come up with an idea for a sweet, sparkly, holiday-friendly story – ‘as a treat for all the hard work my studio had to do this year,’ she had said – Holly was relentlessly trying to figure something out that remotely fit Aro’s description. The problem was: she was neither the girl for sweet, nor sparkly, nor the holidays to begin with. She hated the hustle and bustle, she hated how the already obvious distinction between rich and poor even got more obvious, and above all she hated the fake expressions of love and gratitude that came with giving and receiving gifts.
Consequently, she was having a particularly hard time to even write the first line.

Suddenly, Holly heard someone knocking at her door. She sighed. Great. Probably another student asking for advice concerning her latest assignment. Exactly what she needed right now.

“Come in,” she growled.

Not a second later Tyler Winters stuck his head in the door. “Sorry to bother you, Professor Chang, but-“

“For the hundredth time, Tyler, just call me Holly. I’m no bald-headed, old lecturer who has no sense of humor.”

“O-okay, Holly,” he stammered. “I have a question about your assignment.”

“You don’t say,” she remarked and leaned back in her chair. “What is it?”

Clearly nervous, Tyler took a deep breath and mumbled, “You know, you told us to write about a person who overcomes their biggest inner struggle.”

Holly nodded impatiently. Of course she remembered the task she had given her class – since that had happened not even half a day ago.

“And now I wanted to ask you if it’s okay if I write about a person who overcomes their hatred of the holidays,” Tyler continued.

“For God’s sake! Why is everyone just so addicted to the holidays?!” she yelped.

Tyler winced and immediately looked apologetic. “I’m so sorry, Professor Chang, I mean Holly. If you don’t like the idea, of course I won’t do it. It was just a stupid, little-“

“Stop it, Tyler,” she sighed. There was something about this boy, maybe his resemblance to a puppy, that led to the unfortunate fact that she couldn’t stay mad at him. “I am sorry. I shouldn’t have reacted so harshly. Tell me, how did you come up with that idea and why on earth do you even ask permission?”

A tiny smile began to form on Tyler’s lips. “My brothers and I have this tradition, you know. No matter where we live, the weekend before Christmas we all get together and watch ‘A Christmas Carol’. The 1938-version in black and white. It’s just the three of us with a lot of cookies and hot chocolate watching this crazy-old movie, talking about everything and nothing, and telling each other stories from when we were little.”

Tyler paused .There was a dreamy look in his eyes and it seemed as if he was light years away, before he went on.  “And I like it a lot as it is our personal calm before the storm. I don’t see my brothers very often, sometimes we don’t even celebrate Christmas together. But when we do, our house is usually so full of other family members – you won’t believe how big our family is – that we can’t really enjoy it. So this one afternoon is the only time of year that we just get to spend with each other. And I have our mutual love for the 1938-version of ‘A Christmas Carol’ to thank for that. So it holds a very special place in my heart and I think it deserves a modern approach. Not in the movie-remake kind of way, there are definitely already too many remakes of this story. No, I mean a true modernization that deals with the conflicts of our generation in relation to the holidays.”

Holly looked baffled. “That was oddly specific, but at least I can see now where you’re coming from.  Still – why do you even ask for my permission?”

Tyler awkwardly cleared his throat. “Because I realized that you hate the holidays,” he admitted.

At first Holly gave him an astounded look, but shortly after she started to grin. “You seem to be the only person who has noticed,” was her dry answer.

“Excuse me?” Tyler said bewildered.

“You’re right,” she stated. “I hate the holidays. I hate how impersonal they have become; I hate this fake talk about love and hope, while people are dying everywhere because of war, violence and starvation. And most of all I hate that it’s not even about giving any more, it’s all about taking. ‘I want a new smartphone, I want the biggest dinner possible, I want the most glittering decorations in the whole city.’ People are just so hypocritical and ungrateful!”

“You really think so?” Tyler asked carefully.

“Absolutely. My friends, for instance, are a wonderful example for that,” Holly started her rant, not even knowing why she opened herself up to Tyler of all people. “For weeks now Ethan has been complaining about this new Armani suit that he wants but probably won’t get, because his parents spent all their money on his big brother’s wedding. Lisa constantly grumbles about having to spend the holidays with her mother at her new husband’s gigantic beach house, and as if I didn’t have enough to do already, Aro wants me to write this holiday short film on super short notice and without anything in return.”

Tyler nodded sympathetically. “Well, you’re right. That sucks. But I don’t think your friends do that on purpose. And I am sure that they will come to their senses eventually.”

“Whatever.” Holly shrugged. “But now back to your question: I don’t mind if you want to write about someone’s attitude towards the holidays. As long as the script is good, I’m good.”

“Thank you, Profe-, I mean Holly. I will give my best.” With these words Tyler turned around and walked towards the door, but suddenly stopped in his tracks.
“You know, not everything is bad about the holidays” he said and turned to look at her again. “What you said about them being impersonal or about the fake talk of love and hope – it doesn’t always have to be this way.”

Holly simply raised her eyebrow, but didn’t answer, so Tyler went on. “A few years ago after filming in India my brother Chris started a foundation that supports kids from poor Indian families. Since then he has organized at least three fundraisers per year, and every year around Christmas he flies back there to visit a dozen cities and to give the kids money and presents. Yes, I know he won’t be able to stop starvation, but at least it’s a start – and a very good one as a matter of fact.”

“That sounds truly heart-rending, nevertheless-,“ Holly began, but Tyler didn’t let her finish.

“And in addition to that I’ve heard that your ‘ungrateful’ friends plan to do a Hollywood-style bake-sale this evening for the benefit of homeless people in Los Angeles. It’s going to be a really big event with Lisa and Masika performing many of their songs and Crash showing off some of his best stunt tricks. They will definitely raise a lot of money and even better – awareness. So maybe not all hope is lost.”

Holly sighed. “And this is supposed to change my view on the holidays in what way?”

All at once Tyler’s puppy-like demeanor changed, as he put his hands on his hips and glared at her.
“Holly, don’t be so stubborn! You’re an awesome teacher and an even better screenwriter. And do you know why?  Because you’ve taught us that nothing is black or white. Every story has two sides and every character has more than one motivation that drives them. So why should it be different in the real world? Not everything is bad about the holidays. Give the people at least some credit for even trying to be nice and compassionate. Don’t you think that’s a start?”

With these words he rushed out of the room and left Holly dumbfounded.
A few moments later there was another knock on the door and Holly rolled her eyes.

“What do you want now?” she asked.

But as the door opened, it wasn’t Tyler who entered the room but Aro.

“Hey Holly,” she said. “I hope I’m not interrupting something. I just wanted to give you this.” Aro put a big cookie jar in front of her with tons of cookies in many different shapes and colors in it. “Addi and I are preparing for the bake sale and thought that you might want to have some.” Aro flashed her a smile. “And you should definitely accompany us this evening. It will probably be the best bake sale you have ever seen and Lisa is going to perform her new single.”

“Thanks,” Holly answered and took a big bite of one of the cookies. “I guess I will.”

“Oh, and before I forget about it – I have another gift for you,” Aro said and pulled a big cup of coffee with a ‘thank you’-note pinned to it from behind her back. “Thank you for writing this holiday script for me, I’m really grateful for that.” She handed Holly the cup with a ceremonial gesture and smiled widely at her. “I know it was short notice, but you’re a lifesaver for doing it. I really owe you.”

A smile danced across Holly’s lips and she responded sincerely, “You’re welcome.”

“So,” Aro continued after a few seconds. “Would you like to come with me to get some fresh air and take a break from writing?”

“Thanks,” Holly replied with a grin. “But I think I’ll pass. After all I have a holiday story to finish!”

And having said this, she pulled her laptop closer to her and started typing.

From: Ashley (ashleyhwu)
To: Pippa (pixelberry-pippa)

I saw that you really love PriyaxHunt and I decided to write you something with them. I hope you like it! :)

-

It had been a long day at the University and Priya felt like she couldn’t feel her feet anymore. When she came through the door to her apartment, she kicked her shoes off and put her briefcase down by the door. 

 I swear can they get any worse? 

 She made her way to her sofa and raised her feet to lay on top of the coffee table in front of her. She laid her head back and started rubbing her temples slowly.

 I can finally relax now…

 And then there was a knock at the door.

 "You’ve got to be kidding me…“ She muttered under her breath. 

 Priya got up to answer the door and ready to go off on whoever was bothering her at her home.

 But then, she was met with his smile. That dazzling yet sweet smile. 

 "Hello, lovely.” Thomas was smiling at her while holding a bottle of white wine. She couldn’t help but melt right in the spot.

 "Hey, Thomas.“ She said shyly.

 Why am I being shy? It’s not like we just started going out. Snap out of it Priya. 

 "What are you doing here?“ 

 "Well, you left the university today without even said goodbye. That’s not typical Priya behavior.” He smiled once again at her. 

 "I also heard some of the students saying you were harsher than usual today.“ He gave her a smirk mixed with a chuckle. “I figured you had a bad day so here I am." 

Priya couldn’t help the blush that crept up her cheeks and the smile that was forming on her lips. She couldn’t believe her luck.

“Well, that’s very generous of you, Thomas. Thank you.” She took the bottle of white wine from his hands and gave him a peek on the lips. When she was pulling away, Thomas grabbed her by the waist and pulled her in, deepening the kiss.

They both smiled mid kiss and finally pulled away, “Well, you’re in a good mood today mister.”

“I’m just glad to see you. And… are you going to let me in by the way?” He raised an eyebrow at her and she laughed, “Yes, of course. Sorry about that.”

She stepped inside while allowing him to come in, she closed the door once both of them were inside her apartment. Thomas sat down on her couch in the living room while she went to the kitchen to put the bottle of wine on a bucket of ice.

When she came back to the living room, Thomas pulled her into is lap and kissed her once again. This time it was slowly and tender. Letting her know that he was there for her no matter what. Once they pulled away, she was breathless and he had a small smile on his laps. She was the first one to speak,

“What was that for?”

“I just wanted to remind you that I’m always here for you. Now, want to tell me what happened today?”

She sighed and moved to the other side of the couch, resting her legs on his lap. He began caressing them slowly.

“It wasn’t anything that bad. I woke up with a headache and not in the mood to teach a bunch of bratty kids.” She rolled her eyes and he laughed.

“I don’t think we’re ever in the mood to teach them. They think they’re entitled to anything they want.”

“See, Thomas. This is why I keep you around.” She smirked at him and he raised an eyebrow at her.

“Really? That’s why? I think that’s why I keep you around. Students fear you way more than me.” He was teasing her and she loved it. This how they worked, they could be love and kissed one minute and teasing each other the next. But it was fun. It kept their relationship alive.

“Well, that’s not something to be proud of, right? I mean, I’m the woman and they’re more afraid of me than you. Pretty sad, isn’t it?” She fired back, and she fired back hard.

“Oh, Priya… Yeah, I’m pretty scary but I’m not ugly to look at. That’s why you’re scarier.”

He had a smug smirk on his face and she couldn’t help but laugh out loud.

“It’s my mean face, isn’t it? I should maybe laugh or smile a little bit more.”

Thomas leaned in to brush a strand of hair that fell on her face and he smiled at her, “No, don’t. Then they’ll fall in love with you like I did.”

———

A page out of Hunt’s journal…

Hunt wrote down his thoughts and feelings about Priya and the night he just had with her…

Priya… What a woman. She can harsh, really harsh. But with me… She’s amazing.

I love the fact that I get to see both sides of her. I love that with me she’s so relaxed, so cheeky. But I also love seeing her in ‘professor’ mode. It’s amusing. Especially knowing her like I do.

Tonight was so simple yet it meant so much to me. We can relax, tease each other but yet… It can still be so good.

The best part is that she gets me and I get her. We know how hard our jobs can be and how bratty the students can be.

What a woman.

What a woman and I’m the one that gets to be with her.

Name and Username: krsit, frostedge

recipient’s Name and Username: aidan, skeleton-with-standards

message: hello aidan and happy holidays! as your secret santa i apologize for not messaging often due to school and the like, but i appreciate and adore your answers to my questions for you on anon! you seem like a really cool person and i hope to get to know you more in the future

i hope you enjoy this gift! 

special thanks to @dudethatsmyghostking for helping me edit! you rock man

Title: among beanies, curry, and motorcycles

Author:frostedge

Summary: the three times nishan watches koh and mia together and the one time nishan gets it. koh/mia.

Genre: Fluff

Word Count: 1,657

Rating: G

1.

today, the sky decides to settle into a blue hue stippled by a few wisps of clouds, and the sun beams over nishan’s high school, granting a warm welcome to the students going back to school from the weekend.

(well, it’s a warm welcome for nishan; he fails to notice the group of students beside him, groggily dragging their feet towards the building).

it’s still 30 minutes before the bell rings so nishan chooses to go to the lunch table where he eats with his friends; hopefully, he can find someone to kill time with before first period starts. he manages to spot davina sitting on their usual table. they smile as they continuously tap at their phone screen.

davina looks up to see nishan. they scoot over and pat the space beside them, allowing nishan to sit down. “hey, nishan,” they smile and show nishan their phone screen. nishan’s gaze meets a picture of two rats, one lying on top of the other. “check this out: bonobo is sleeping on top of yip. isn’t it cute?” davina’s grin is wide as they zoom in on the picture.

before nishan could respond with a fact about rats (“did you know that rats can go longer than a camel without water?”), he is interrupted by a loud thump of a bag knocking against the top of the table. nishan looks up and accidentally meets eyes with koh. his breath hitches, and koh just laughs. the fact that koh is early for once surprises nishan alone, but it’s mia’s presence as she stands right behind koh that also happens to be a shock. mia sets her bag down next to koh’s and sits down in front of davina.

it’s davina who speaks up first. “whoa,” davina’s eyes widen before they flash koh a smirk. “is that a beanie i see?”

nishan becomes confused for a few seconds before he realizes that a beanie is, in fact, adorned on koh’s head: it’s red, definitely made out of wool, and nishan admits the beanie fits xem well.  koh’s long, dark mane is now tucked inside xyr beanie, tufts of xyr hair messily sticking out from all sides; some of xyr piercings now more exposed and less subtle than before.  

“it was my idea,” mia speaks up. she smiles proudly before her face contorts into one of annoyance. “except i have nothing to do with how messy it looks.”

“please,” koh rolls xyr eyes before xe gives mia a smile, “it looks just fine.“

mia huffs a ‘no’ before she stands up, faces koh, pulls koh’s beanie downwards, and pushes xyr strands of hair underneath xyr beanie. meanwhile, koh stands silently, brows furrowed and lips formed into a straight line as mia fixes xyr hair, obviously disgruntled.

when mia is done, she crosses her arms and smiles in triumph. “there you go.” she then grabs her bag and waves at davina and nishan. “i’ll be going to my locker now. see you guys.” mia nods at koh before she grabs her bag from the table and walks away.

koh shrugs before xe fiddles with xyr beanie, making it look like what it was before mia had fixed it up. xe winks at davina and nishan before xe jogs up to catch up to mia.

nishan can’t get the feeling that something’s a bit different, but he shakes it off and continues to listen to davina tell a story about their pet rats.

2.

lunch comes around, and nishan sits with his friends at their usual lunch table, a peanut butter jelly sandwich and a grape juice box in hand. sakura throws him a pack of gummy bears out of sympathy.

usually at lunch time, nishan would usually geek out with sakura over the latest game releases (sakura has been pushing him to play a game - if he can correctly recall - with skeletons, something about souls, and microsoft fonts?), reread some chapters of his chemistry textbook, or simply listen to the others talk about their own interests. however, it’s today when he decides not to listen to julian’s confusing if invigorated tirades of football, but instead to fixate his attention towards koh and mia.

koh’s got chicken curry and rice with a can of soda while mia has a small grilled cheese sandwich and a bottle of water. koh eats xyr chicken with vigor and tops it off with a huge swig of soda, fingers crushing the aluminum can. xe slams it down against the table before xe continues to devour xyr lunch. mia takes small bites of her lunch before the small sandwich is gone, her eyes are downcast and head hung.

koh eventually notices mia’s behavior and how fast she finished her lunch, and stops before xe finishes eating xyr dish. koh scoops a spoonful of chicken curry but instead of stuffing it into xyr mouth, xe brings it close to mia.

“here,” koh whispers, “your body needs more energy to get through the day.”

mia eyes the spoonful of curry before she reluctantly takes a bite. she gulps before she opens and drinks her bottle of water. “…thank you.”

koh grins before xe brings another spoonful against mia’s lips. mia hesitates before each bite, but she brightens up every time.

nishan is quite surprised how soft koh’s smile could be.

3.

after a last period of riveting grammar conventions and sentence structures, the day ends and nishan is packing up his things when he remembers to talk to mia about the social studies project they are supposed to be working together on. he stuffs his books and his folder brimming with worksheets and assignments into his backpack before he runs out of the building and towards the parking lot of the campus.

when he catches the sight of long, curly, blonde hair with tips dipped in light pink flowing along with the light breeze that blew over the town, he breathes a sigh of relief. it’s the figure of koh walking next to mia that nishan’s relief was gone as it quickly as it came, fear now settling in his chest.

“mia!” nishan calls out anyway. mia and koh halt to a stop and turn towards nishan’s direction as he approaches the two.

“i was wondering if you want to work on the social studies project now?” nishan sheepishly asks as he rubs the back of his head, “i mean, i know it’s due in a month, but we can go to the library and start researching if you want to.”

“sorry, nerd, no can do,” koh shakes xyr head. nishan takes notice of the grasp koh has on mia’s wrist. “we’ve got plans.”

mia gives an apologetic frown, “we can work on it, um, maybe the day after tomorrow? maybe next week?”

nishan is about to cut off the conversation with an ‘oh, it’s alright!’ and run away, but koh beats him to it first.

“mia, if we stay here longer, the longer we have to wait for those chicken wings.”

mia laughs and nods. “you’re right. we still have to pick up the basket and blanket, don’t we?”

it’s koh’s turn to burst into laughter before xe furrows xyr eyebrows in annoyance. “also our spot might be taken. we need to stay away from…” koh shivers, “… bugs as far away as possible.”

mia takes koh’s hand and places her hand on top of xyrs. she gives xem a soft, yet reassuring smile. “of course. let’s go then?” the two then start walking away, nishan left long forgotten in the fray. he realizes he’s free and he’s about to go turn and head back to the building when he makes the mistake of looking back and he backtracks.

it’s the first time nishan has ever seen mia strap on a motorcycle helmet and take a seat on koh’s motorcycle. it’s also the first time nishan has ever watched mia wrap her arms around koh’s waist as koh revs up the engine and zooms off away from school.

4.

it finally hits nishan the next day during lunch when mia and koh excuse themselves to go to the bathroom together. as the two continue their walk to the bathroom nishan notices them going closer and closer to each other until their hands brush, fingers close to interlocking. it’s that moment when nishan stops midway from eating his sandwich and slams his hands against the table, startling the rest of his friends.

“oh my god,” nishan murmurs, “they’re dating.”

“huh?” ezra archs an eyebrow.

“they’re dating!” nishan exclaims louder, hands flailing about in the air, “mia and koh — the motorcycle — beanies and feeding each other at lunch, and-and now holding hands!” nishan puts his head on his hands. “they have to be together!”

“… did you just notice?” wes blinks at nishan.

“h-huh?”

davina bursts into raucous laughter, fists repeatedly slamming the table. “oh my god —” they stop to catch a breath. “nishan, it was so obvious.”

nishan stares blankly at his other friends. “what.”

“nish, they’ve been dating for like,” payton puts a hand on her chin, “three months?”

“what?!”

davina giggles, “i can’t believe you.”

nishan starts looking about frantically in disbelief, “what? when? why? how? where?’

“does it matter?” autumn shrugs, “as long as they’re happy together.”

“i am happy for them and everything b-but,” nishan stutters, “how could i have not noticed? for 3 months?”

“3 months,” payton shakes her head.

“3 months,” nishan repeats. he then crosses his arms, suspiciously eyeing the rest of them. “are any of you dating each other? speak up.”

laughter rings in the air before it’s soon broken by mia and koh’s return. “what’s happening?” mia asks, puzzled.

“3 months,” wes starts snickering. nishan glares at him.

“huh?”

laughter echoes through the air once again. it’s moments like these in which nishan fails to recognize payton and davina giggling in the sidelines, davina’s hand on top of payton’s.