"Boop." Clyde woke up to the tip of his nose being poked. Archer's grinning face was the first thing he saw. Every single part of his body ached. It felt broken. As if he has no choice but to throw his whole body away and buy a new one. He looked at Archer, all fresh and energized. Jealousy and regret mixed within him. He wanted to punch him.

He should punch him. Archer deserves to be punched. He should be the one well-rested.

" Why did you have to wake me up?" 

" Breakfast's ready. I made one.....as ah thanks." 

Clyde glanced to the dining table. It was rice and fried fish with a side of vegetables. He hadn't had rice for breakfast in so long. Most of the time it was cereal or bread. Archer offered his hand which he grabbed without a second thought to stand up.

He stretched. His bones cracked and his muscles pulled. He then followed him to the dining table. He sat across from him and yawned. 

" Do you have any plans for today?" Archer asked.

" Just the supermarket." He recalled as he took portions of fish and vegetables.

Archer sighed and shook his head. "That's it? That's the weekend plan?"

" I bought a ticket for Star and Luna, but I'm skippin' it. Think I'll just fall asleep." It was part of his lets-make-my-weekends-eventful initiative. He plans to do new things every week or at least something that suites his tastes. 

" I'll come with you."

" To the musical? " He asked confused and surprised. He never saw him as the type to like those things. He never even heard him sing or listen to music. He did hear him hum the jingle from the toothpaste commercial, if that counts.

" No, to the supermarket." Archer poured a mug of coffee for Clyde. Technically, not a full mug, he only filled it halfway through. Despite loving coffee, Clyde never finishes them. He added three teaspoons of sugar and pushed the mug in Clyde's direction.

Clyde watched Archer make his coffee. He moved as if it was a practiced motion. " Why? Ya need something? Tell me and I'll get it for you." He offered. He normally doesn't. Archer can carry his own groceries but today, he's feeling nice.

" I want to help you. It's kinda my fault you're like that." He pointed out. He actually woke up earlier than usual because of his unusual sleeping position. But when he saw he was leaning against Archer, he closed his eyes and ignored the ache on his neck. 

" Don't bother. You'll slow me down." He snarled before drinking his coffee. 

" Come on, what's the harm?" He asked with an aloof smile. 

" Teacher! I did not expect to see you here." Lea greeted with a smile. She was wearing the school uniform which was odd considering it was Saturday.

" Did you not go home yesterday?" He asked.

She paused. Confused for a second. " I did. Styling clothes is a pain. With a uniform, I don't have to think about matching this and that. Ain't I smart, teacher?" She grinned and waited for his approval.

" No, you aren't." He flatly spoke. He leaned on the barely full shopping cart he was pushing around. The only thing on the cart so far were vegetables and fruits.

"You know I'm starting to doubt you. Your boyfriend lets you go out looking like that?"

"Are you insulting me? There's nothing wrong with my outfit." He looked down at his body. He was wearing white worn-out shoes, black cargo pants and a red hoodie to hide his stained shirt.  This is what normal people wear to do mundane activities they couldn't be bothered to do.

Sure, his socks were mismatched, but people would easily think it's a fashion choice. 

" You could've at least fixed your hair."

"I don't even fix my hair at school."

"Exactly." She nodded. Would he be tried by the board if he were to fail Lea based on that? Would he get caught? The kid's barely passing his class anyway.

"Don't you have someone else's time to waste?"

" I already am. I came here with John. He needs help with making cookies for his crush or something. Did you come alone?"

Before he could answer, Clyde has snuck up on him. He was carrying all sorts of canned goods. He drops it on the shopping cart with a loud clang. " If you're going the help, how about don't wander around?"

"So this is he?" She grinned at Archer. She turned her attention to Clyde. " I'm Leandra, His best and brightest student. It's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. ?" She extended out her hand for a handshake. Clyde met it with his hand and shook it.

" Clyde. Just call me Clyde. It's a pleasure to meet you too."

" Are you sure he's the guy, teacher?" She asked.

"What are you implying?" 

"Um... he looks like he's out of your league?" She carefully spoke as her head turned away from him.

Clyde suppressed his laughter. This was the second time he was hearing this. And for him, it was justified. Based on first impressions, he was approachable, nicely dressed and well kept as opposed to Archer.

"I'm fucking failing you." He said in an amused tone.

" No! I'm barely passing as it is even when I cheat off of John's papers" She declared.

" You really should not be telling me that." 

" Half the class is cheating off of him." She informed him.

" I'm gonna have to speak with John."

" No! Don't ruin the classroom ecosystem!" She pleaded with her glossy eyes. In reality, she could not care less. Even if he spoke to John, she'll still be able to copy his answers on homework and seatwork because John's nice. No, not nice. But tired. John's tired, and he does not want anyone to repeatedly bug him. She just does not want to be pinned down as the class snitch.

" I'm kidding. I'm the fun, cool, teacher remember? As long as you guys learn from reading whatever John has, that's cool." He shot fingers guns at her.

" This is why you have a fan club." She smiled, nodding.

"Heard that? it's real." He told Clyde.

"Yes, sadly." Clyde sighed.

" I have to go, see you on Monday, teacher and see you at the festival." She waved her hand and disappeared among the aisles.

" She's a handful," Clyde said. He dreaded the festival. It was absolutely going to be a pain. 

" Now imagine a class full of her but with different levels of energy." 

"You deserve it." He snickered. 

Archer lightly bumped him with the cart. "Is there anything else we need?" He asked.

" Nope, we are good ."

We. The word sounded foreign to both of them. It echoed at the back of their minds. They wondered when they started becoming a We and when will it turn back to a you or I. 

Bitterness painted Clyde's mouth, he needed to protect himself. This will not bode well for him. He shouldn't get used to this, to having someone there. This is all fake. They aren't even anything before this. Sure, he agreed to do this in exchange for deserts but nobody said anything about getting hurt. He did not consent to that.

Something warm curled in Archer's chest. This was wrong. He should stop this feeling from growing. They're just friends at this point and there isn't anything beyond that. This will all end. Their apartment will go back to being the cold, drab place it is. God, he does not want that. He'll huddle in the warmth for as long as he can until it's blown out. After all, when has he been known to make good decisions? 

At the cashier, Clyde removed his backpack and grabbed 2 reusable bags. One had prints of carrots and the other just had the store logo. Archer helped pack the groceries in the bags as Clyde paid for the bill. Archer made a mental note to remember to pay his share of the bill later. 

"Should we take a taxi?" Archer asked. He didn't bring his car. He doesn't fancy driving. It's too stressful, There are too many things to be mindful of and it overwhelms him at times. He only uses it when he's late for work.

" They're expensive." He spoke back.  He will never take a taxi as long as there are other options left. He'd walk home if he can. 

"Come on, I don't want to be carrying groceries in a bus full of crackheads. I also don't want to be squeezed in the train."

" If you really want it that bad, you can ride the taxi, but I'll still ride the train."

"I'll pay for the taxi, cheapskate."

" It's called knowing the value of money. A taxi could cost us $15. With that amount, I could've spent it on ice cream"

"Ice cream, I want ice cream. You didn't buy any. "

" Yeah, I didn't. I don't need anymore for the month." He shivered just remembering the amount he ate yesterday. He needs to work that off.

Archer gasped. "Are you crazy?" He mouthed silently.

" Look, I can't be a smoker and be addicted to sugar. You gotta pick your poison."

"Shut up, prick. You're addicted to coffee jelly."

"This and that are different."

"They probably have ice cream." Archer saw the corner store as they walked. With that, he officially forgot about their whole discourse. He was like a dog distracted by every stick he saw. He ran across the street without as much as a statement.

Clyde watched Archer through the big glass walls of the store. It was like a big television, and he was watching the most uninteresting show on earth. He was taking so long in choosing which to pick,  as if there were plenty of variety to choose from. He rolled his eyes as he watched. Finally, he chose something and casually walked to the cash register.

"Here." Archer handed him a Popsicle stick.

"You didn't need to buy me one." He looked at it and wondered when was the last time he ate a popsicle. It was probably long ago. He always preferred the ones in cones. At least with cones, you get to eat it too. There was no possibility of the ice cream breaking off the stick. He unwrapped it. It was chocolate flavoured.

" It's awkward when I'm the only one eating." Archer bit on his strawberry-flavoured popsicle. It made Clyde's teeth feel like they hurt.

" You're a freak." 

"What? why ?" 

" No one bites it like that."

" Then how do you eat it?" He took another bite which made Clyde wince once more.

" You lick it. When you bite it, it could fall off the stick." He explained and licked the popsicle.

"You bite it, licking takes way too long!" He then started to demonstrate the amount of ice cream one would get through biting and licking. Obviously enough, biting is the way to go if you want to eat it faster.

" That's why there's a sucking method." 

" Now, you're just making this sexual." He grinned.

" You're only sick in the head." He nudged him on the shoulder.

" Says the man who keeps on yapping about licking and sucking on a bright Saturday morning." He took another bite of his popsicle. Suddenly, it broke in half. He tried to catch it, but it slipped through his hands and left stains on his shirt. He looked at it slowly melting away on the ground. He stepped on it and then looked at Clyde who was ready to say in your face.

" What did I say?" He smugly asked.

"Shut up. Do you have any wipes?"

Clyde reached for his bag. He didn't have any wipes, but he did have a handkerchief. "I guess this is goodbye to a perfect handkerchief."

"I'm not contaminated with cooties, you fourth-grader." Archer sneered as he wiped down his mess.

"It's going to stain. I don't do stain."

"Don't act all clean. In case you've forgotten, you're dating me."

"Shoot. I did. I forgot I was dating a pile of stains disguised as a human being. We need to fix that."

"We don't."

"We do."