Chapter 3

Cautiously, Albion knocked on the red door in front of him, nervously hoping that he had the right house. He’d promised Fenner that he’d tutor him this weekend and they’d decided to meet at Fenner’s house instead of Albion’s, just because.

Soon after, the door swung open leisurely to reveal a woman with the same mousey brown hair as Fenner; she smiled brightly, exclaiming “hi sweetie! You must be Fen’s friend, Albie was it?”

Before Albion could reply however, the woman had pulled him in for a tight bear hug. Albion loved hugs, so he hugged the woman back happily, breathing in the scent of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies which trickled from the kitchen.

When the woman released Albion, he was pulled into the house and quickly led into the kitchen, where he was provided with a mug of tea and a warm cookie.

“It’s so nice that Fenny has a friend like you, he never brings anyone home, it makes me so sad. Oh, he told me that you’ll be tutoring him!” She said brightly, smiling at Albion kindly when he thanked her gratefully, sipping at his tea and nibbling on the cookie, the fragrant steam rising from his mug helping to relax Albion’s nerves.

“He’s a silly boy; Fenner has plenty of brains, he just never puts them to use!” The lady exclaimed with a shake of her head, gulping down her own mug of tea. Albion just slowly sipped at his tea; he had yet to get a word in other than ‘thank you’, and even saying just those two words had been a struggle when the lady was so brightly talkative. But still, Albion didn’t mind, and already liked the woman.

Fenner, in contrast, was the polar opposite of his bubbly mother. 

“Stop telling him unnecessary things,” the person himself said as he entered the kitchen. Albion placed his drained mug on the table, smiling at the other boy before thanking the lady again and leaving with Fenner. 

“Your mum is so lovely. Very different from you though,” Albion admitted as they entered Fenner’s surprisingly tidy room; he didn’t strike Albion as the particularly tidy type, but it was never a good idea to judge someone based on appearances.

“She talks a lot. Dad and I barely say anything, she talks enough for us all.”

Albion’s sunny laughter flowed from him, “I feel like that explains a lot about your personality,” he said with a delighted smile.

Fenner just frowned slightly. “What is my personality then?” He asked, sitting down at his desk whilst pulling out a maths textbook. 

“Hm,” Albion began, tapping his chin. “Quiet, moody. You always look disinterested too. Your mum said that you’re capable in the brains department, so I guess you just find things boring, rather than actually struggling to do them.”

Fenner stared at Albion before tearing his gaze away to stare at his empty notes on quadratics instead. “I guess that’s how I come across, huh.”

Albion slowly went over to sit next to him, peering over at Fenner. “If that’s just how you come across, then what’s your true personality?”

Fenner slid his gaze up to Albion’s, their eyes meeting for what felt like an eternity to Fenner, although the ticking of his clock suggested a mere 5 seconds. 

He flicked Albion on the forehead. 

“Doesn’t matter, just teach me the maths please.”

Albion pouted at the flick, rubbing his forehead before smirking. “Wow, did you just say please?! I thought you were the rude, moody type but I guess even you know how to be polite too.”

Fenner clicked his tongue at the boy, elbowing him in the ribs. “Shut up, I’ll never say thank you or please again if you’re gonna be an ass about it every time.”

Albion giggled, pushing Fenner’s elbow away from him, “ok ok, I promise not to do it again.”

—————

Albion sat quietly as Fenner finished up his last question. “I think I get it now,” Fenner informed Albion, turning to look at the boy. Excitement flashed across Albion’s features and he, being a naturally huggy person, threw his arms around Fenner, happy that his teaching methods had yielded results and helped the other boy.

“Really?! That’s great! Well done!” He praised Fenner, before the boy instantly tensed up at the hug, not expecting it. However, Albion didn’t let go, and Fenner’s face slowly turned pink as he hugged him back, thinking this is fine, right? 

Albion on the other hand had hugged Fenner without thinking about the action and now that he had time to think about it…he was blushing, but Albion was feeling happy and excited as Fenner hugged him back.

A knock on the door had Fenner instantly pushing Albion away as he sprung up from his seat in record time, hurrying to the door to pull it open for his mother. 

He really hoped that his face wasn’t still red.

“Hi sweetie, I just wanted to let you know that I’ll be going out now; you dad will be back in just a little bit. Are you two alright until then?”

Fenner nodded quickly, letting his mother kiss his cheek quickly before going again. Albion was hiding his face in his hands, his back turned to Fenner. I’m going to look so weird if my face is all red from a hug, he thought embarrassedly, not realising that Fenner was in the same predicament.

Fenner slowly sat back down so that by the time he turned to look at Albion, his usual blank expression had re-accustomed itself on his face. 

“Thanks for the help. Are you still good to help me tomorrow too?” Fenner asked, slightly surprised to see that Albion’s ears were still tinged pink.

It was rather adorable, actually.

Albion nodded quickly before his face suddenly fell. “I’m really sorry, I completely forgot but I’m busy tomorrow morning. I should be ok to come in the afternoon though?”

Fenner breathed a sigh of relief, nodding. “Sure, that’s fine. Gives me time to study beforehand.”

Albion smiled, resting his cheek on his palm. “Oki doki, I should be free by like 3pm, if that works for you.”

“Yeah that’s fine,” Fenner said as he walked Albion to the front door. 

“Perfect! I’ll see you soon then,” the whiskey-golden haired boy said with a warm smile as he waved goodbye to Fenner. The door closed and Fenner rested his head against it, groaning.

“Fuck me, I swear to God if I cry because of this dumbass,” he counted on his fingers the approximate number of weeks it had been since he last went invisible.

Three weeks.

Which meant that it could happen again anywhere I the next two weeks.

And once again, Fenner would be all alone.