Leon was restless.

In the end, the foot was not broken, but they had to immobilize it anyways, so he had to walk around on crutches. For someone who was always jumping and running everywhere, it was really the worst. The first-year could feel all the unspent energy building up, just like a dog without a walk.

More than once already, John caught him doing crunches and pushups in their room and had to give a lecture to rest so his body would recover faster. Guaranteed that Leon always did those, he liked exercising and every morning he also ran, the boy found it to be a good getaway for his anxiety, but it was too much pressure for the foot, even just abdominals.

Nevertheless to say that the red head was even grumpier than normal. Taking a bath was a hassle, getting dressed was a hassle, walking to class was a hassle, not being able to dance was a hassle.

His friends did not allow him to even go watch the dance club because they were sure he was not going to stay put. He couldn’t really deny it, because he was not so sure himself. However, after a week of whining about how boring everything was, Mark permitted (was he his freaking mom??) him to go with John under the terms of “Gluing his butt to the floor and not moving”.

So here he was, sitting down on the floor, fidgety, as he observed the dance practice. It was better than nothing, and watching it in person like this was a lot better than seeing it on his cellphone in his bed. The loud music, the vibration of the steps on the floor, the counting of the moves… It all made his mood a lot better, even if he couldn’t participate.

Also, it was a great excuse to just shamelessly stare at Nick.

Leon had known already that he loved his dance style, but it was being confirmed all over again. This week, the two of them didn’t see each other that much, with the first-year not being able to move a lot and the second-year being busy with the club and the classes that were growing more demanding, they really barely talked. So being in the same room as the elder and watching him dance after those days, made him even more excited about it.

“If you stare that much you are going to make people trip” Nick said and startled Leon.

The younger boy was so lost in his thoughts and staring, that he didn’t notice when the other one had come up to him. They were on a five minute break, everyone was either on the floor, dead, or drinking water and chatting. Nick had his water bottle on one hand and was breathing hard from all the effort. Leon caught himself following a sweat drop down the elder’s neck to his shirt, realizing that he hadn’t answered yet.

“Cat got your tongue?” He teased and drank a bit of water.

“I was just thinking that even after a week, your ugly sweaty mess still annoys me”  The redhead said flatly. He refused to give himself away.

That made Nick choke on his water. After a coughing fit that Leon openly laughed at he said “You little shit, just admit you were staring because you like my dancing”.

“Oh please” The first-year waved his hand and giggled mockingly “That duck dance you were doing? You wish” His ears were red because of the lie, but he had his hair down to cover them.

“Duck?!” Nick gapped, infuriated.

“Ah, I’m sorry, I meant to say dog” A lopsided smirk played on his lips.

“You–!!” The older boy was about to burst into curses but stopped himself.  Exhaling deeply and thinking better, he chose to crotch down to be on the same eye level as the other and sneered “How much do you love dogs then? Your favorite picture is of one, isn’t it?”

The guy, of course, was referring to the photo that the first-year has of them both. The redhead had complimented him so much without knowing who it was that it was just silly to try and deny it.

“You cannot use that against me!” Leon was beyond himself with embarrassment now. His instincts made him grab at Nick’s tank top collar.

The black haired boy on the other hand did not feel threatened at all “I can and I will” His expression turned to pure smugness.

The younger one gritted his teeth. He was pondering if he would get detention for punching the stupid smile out of the other’s face when Moonie-senpai called everyone back to continue the training.

Nick reached out to Leon’s wrist, pulling at it to make him let go. The kouhai buffed and looked away, letting his hands drop to his sides. The elder giggled and ruffled his hair, unconsciously thinking the boy was cute.

“Let senpai show you how it is done” He winked and left with an annoyingly confident smile on his face.

Leon fought the urge to pull at his own face with his hands. Of all the things, the second-year just had to find that one out. Really, it was just his luck.

“...really… so annoying…”

The first-year took a moment to identify that what he heard were whispers.

It was not a secret to anyone that Nick’s admirers and members of his fanclub liked to hang around their club practice room to watch the boy dance. They’d stay there for a long time to try and have a conversation with him. They brought him snacks and drinks and showered the second-year with praises.

No one really said anything about it, as long as they didn’t get in the way of the club it didn’t matter much. They’d even help get the room ready or cleaned sometimes, so people happily allowed them to watch from the outside.

Because of the music and Leon’s concentration before, he hadn’t heard anyone say anything, but now that he got distracted he could identify some whispers coming from a window that was close to him.

“...why does Nick dear talk to him?”

“Right? He shouldn’t waste time on people like that”

Ooh, so they were trash talking him? Leon registered absentmindedly as he looked back to see the choreography. It was not unexpected so he could not give two fucks about it. He also thought that “Nick dear” was an awful way to call someone and made a mental note to try and ignore their voices.

“Are you really going to try to confess?”

The boy’s ear perked up at that. He knew it should be quite common for people to try asking Nick out, but knowing about it and hearing it like this somehow hit differently. 

“I think so” Leon could hear excited giggles from like three girls. “I think I have a chance? Hihihi, he even gave me his phone number”

That was like a punch directly into Leon’s gut. Up to this day, he did not have Nick’s number. They always talked in person, and being an introvert like he was, before realizing he liked the guy, he never felt the need to send any message, and after realizing it he got too shy to ask.

“Aah, but…” A fourth voice appeared in the conversation, it was a boy “I heard his ex was going to try and get back together” 

“Eeh?? No way!” The other three said at the same time.

“Which one? The one who dumped him?”

“Yeah, that one! I think she was the last”

“The guts! How dare she, being the one who rejected him and all”

“But, doesn’t that mean that Nick might still like her? Since he was not the one who ended it?”

“Oh, noo” This seemed to be the girl who wanted to confess “They were so lovey dovey last year, if she goes for him I don’t think I stand a chance” She whined.

“She’s so cute too” The boy also cried in defeat.

“I heard they are still friends, do you think it’s true?”

“I think so, I often see they hang around together”

“Oh god, that is just great!” One of them exasperated in pure sarcasm.

Really.

It was just great.

Before Leon could notice it, he had grabbed his crutches and walked out of the room.

—

After crutch-ing aimlessly for some time, the first-year found himself on a bench near the lake where he had fed the ducks before.

He had some pebbles on his hand and was absentmindedly throwing them on the lake to make little waves. He didn’t know how to skip stones, but just making little circles on the water was enough for him.

After a while a little duck found his way to the boy. The duck jumped on the bench and snuggled beside him.

“... Can I pet you?” Leon asked dumbly.

After the animal didn’t (obviously) answer him, the redhead started petting him. The feathers were soft and the duck made some happy noises, leaning towards the caress.

It was a comforting presence as the boy got lost in contemplation.

He didn’t feel as hurt as he thought he would. It was just the shock of the news that made him get up and leave.

First of all, he knew Nick had girlfriends before. There were pictures on the internet that everyone kept posting, either to insult them or to cry about how they were perfect for each other. From what Leon could make out, there were three, one from high school and two from last year, but only one of them seemed to last more than eight months: that was the girl that had dumped him.

There were rumors of all sorts about that. People making up nasty conclusions regarding their relationship. The first-year always thought they were really mean, but Nick never denied or confirmed or said anything about it for anyone.

He also knew that they were friends. The girl’s name was Pearl and she really was cute. She often hung around with Nick and Henry, Leon had greeted her once or twice already and the girl was all smiles to him. The conclusion the boy could get from this was that: it couldn’t have been that bad if they were still friends.

Maybe that’s what shocked him about the gossip. Since they already dated and changed their relationship to friends it didn’t make any sense to the redhead to go back to something that hadn’t worked out already.

But what if Nick still liked her like they said? If he did and she asked to go back to dating, wouldn’t he agree? They always seemed pretty close when chatting, Nick seemed fond of her.

“They are gossips Leon” He whispered to himself.

Honestly, he should know better than anyone that rumors are just rumors. Just because some random people said it and it bothered him didn’t mean shit.

He growled. But if not the ex, what about the girl who wanted to confess? What about the girl he kissed in the bar? What if Nick DID get a girlfriend? Did he even get the right to feel wronged? Leon didn’t even know what they were anymore. Were they friends? Were they enemies? Were they just acquaintances? 

And then what? What if they were friends? He still wouldn’t have the right to be jealous, would he? Nick was straight for god's sake!

Leon’s mind was spinning around with questions and possibilities. He wanted to just shut it down.

“Is that a duck on your head?” A familiar voice sounded close to him.

The first-year didn’t notice that he had closed his eyes to think. Meanwhile, as he was in deep thought the little duck had gotten from the bench to his lap, then to his shoulder and now he was nested comfortably on the boy’s head. After opening his eyes again, the redhead saw Mark with his hands on the waist, looking very done with his life.

“His name is Donald and he’s an anchor of reality” Was the reply.

His friend laughed at that. “Are you overthinking something again?”

Leon just gave him a look, but answered nothing. He sheepishly just threw another rock on the water.

Mark raised a brow that the other did not see. Dragging his feet, he sat down on the bench. He and the duck exchanged a look to see if the bird would beak him or something, but the animal just snuggled more on the other’s head and closed his eyes. The shorter boy grabbed some pebbles and started skipping them on the water as well.

“...Showoff” Leon deadpanned. Mark snorted. 

“I think I told you to behave yourself” The nagging was caring enough to not be a lecture.

“How did you know I snuck out?” The taller boy was speaking quietly, as if he didn’t have the will to talk.

“John texted me.”

“Snitch” Leon frowned. Mark snorted again.

“So?” He tried to make eye contact, but his friend just looked to the lake “What’s wrong?”

“Just a reality check”.

“From Donald?” The shorter boy risked a joke, but received only a side eye. Leon threw another pebble on the water. “C’mon, talk to me” his voice was unusually gentle.

“Just… like… confirmed… remembered Nick’s sexuality” And proceeded to explain what he had heard and also what he was thinking about. Mark listened to it without interrupting, paying attention to every word. “I… For a second I thought…” He kept going at the end of it “I don’t know. For a second I thought I might have a chance?”

Leon threw another pebble on the lake and this time it skipped. A sad laugh escaped his lips.

“Really, I should stop deluding myself” This time he reached out to the duck, taking him out of his head to look at the bird's face “Right, Donald? Deluluing is not good, right?”

Donald the duck quacked as an answer and wiggled his ducktail.

“I don't think you were deluding yourself tho” Mark answered earnestly. “At the very least I think he's also fond of you”

“You think?” Leon asked, still sheepishly, putting the duck on his lap. His friend just nodded “But it could be just as a senpai and kouhai, no? Or even as a friend?”

“I guess…” Mark really, really wanted to confirm to his friend that the guy was interested in him beyond that. But the truth was that he also didn’t know. While it was true Nick acted a bit different towards Leon, he couldn't be sure yet if it was a romantic interest or just plain curiosity and friendly fondness. “I guess so, yeah”.

“... Better than nothing huh?” The taller boy offered a defeated smile.

Mark felt his heart squeeze with concern at that. Whether his friend was overly positive or overly negative, it still worried him nevertheless. So he got up.

“C'mon” He stretched out a hand to his friend “Let the poor water calm down, I'll buy you some ice cream and we can watch some of your horrible series together with John”.

“...alright” Leon huffed out a giggle and placed the duck on the grass. It quacked in protest. “It's a date” He linked their arms and held a single crutch with his other arm, letting Mark carry the second one.