Read I Think I'm in Love with the Villain's Son :: 03. Pinky Swear

What was he doing? Why was he doing this? There was no sane reasoning for any of it. Yet here he was, checking over his shoulder every five minutes to make sure Fionn was still sleeping in the observatory entryway. For nearly an hour, he had been darting around the room, summoning plants from nooks and crannies, coaxing green shoots to emerge from small forgotten potion bottles, and weaving vines through the rusty, broken pieces of old observation equipment. He would clean it up before they left. He needed this distraction to work, because he’d run out of ideas to erase that look from Fionn’s face—the look that had started in the hallway, right after he’d opened his damned mouth about Laurent asking him questions again.

Niko peeked over his shoulder and paused right beneath the massive telescope that stretched toward the sky. He caught some movement and tensed. Fionn hadn’t opened his eyes—just shifted in his sleep, stretching like a stray cat basking in the sun. Damn, he was running out of time; this would have to be enough for now. Niko stepped back from the telescope and approached the wooden bench where Fionn had chosen to sleep. As he walked, he reached up to twist his ponytail into a messy bun. Then, to make room, he nudged Fionn’s feet aside and dropped down onto the bench. “About time you woke up. I thought you were going to sleep through the whole point of skipping lectures,” he said.

Fionn rubbed his eyes, taking a bit longer with the right to maneuver around the double piercing on his eyebrow. Then he shifted to the corners closest to his nose, carefully avoiding the golden piercings attached to the bar running through the bridge of his nose. "No, I just got impatient. The sun wasn't sinking fast enough, so I took a nap," he muttered, yawning through the last few words. Fionn shook his head, slapped his cheeks with a sense of finality, and then smiled. "Did you nap too?" he asked.

"Nah, I was working on something," Niko replied, and nodded toward the lever that would activate the dome's shutter. "You ready, or want another nap?" he asked.

"Don't tease me. I don't play around when it comes to the sky, and you know that," Fionn replied, sticking his tongue out and shoving Niko's face backward playfully as he stood up.

"I'm aware. Do you still have all those enchanted paper stars all over your room?" Niko asked, laughing when he saw Fionn's eyes roll. "I'll take that as a yes," he said, standing and following his friend over to the large central telescope. He looked up as he heard the dome start to activate and saw the telescope begin to turn. Then? He held his breath, muttered a small prayer to the moon, and waited in silence. Please let this work. Please?

"You're exceptionally broody today," Fionn said, narrowing his eyes and peering over to watch Niko with a look of suspicion. He started to say something else, but his words fell flat, and his eyes grew twice their size as they focused on the wash of pale blooms that started to erupt as the moonlight cast its light over them.

Niko opened one of his eyes that he'd anxiously closed, spotted Fionn's attention jerking around them, and released the breath he'd been holding. Thank the Gods, it worked.

"Is this what you were doing?" Fionn asked, words trembling as his attention jumped from a patch of Moonflowers to a group of Night-Blooming Cereus to his left.

"If you like it, yes, and if not, then I have no idea who would dare to assault this observatory in this way, but we'll figure it out, and they'll pay," Niko replied, shoving his hands in his pockets to keep from fidgeting.

Fionn laughed loudly and finally met Niko's gaze. "So you're broody and nostalgic, what happened?" he asked.

"Those rumors have been getting to you, so I figured I'd do what I know you like. Stars and flowers. It worked on our sixteenth birthday when my father broke your telescope, so I figured it might work now, too," Niko replied, shrugged lightly, and focused on his feet. He was nervous. Why was he nervous? How was this any different than when they were sixteen, and he was trying to make up for what a piece of shit his father was? It wasn't. Fionn had been upset then, and had been upset now, and he just ... decided he needed to make it better. Easier, at least.

"Yeah. Yeah, they have a bit," Fionn whispered.

Every hair on his body stood on end. He swore if he'd not known better, he'd think some spellcraft was afoot to turn his blood to ice. Niko's attention lurched upwards. His blue eyes widened, face twisting into a mix of horror and terror because of how Fionn had said those words. Broken, defeated ... like he'd accepted guilt for a crime he never even dreamed of committing. Fionn wasn't looking at him, almost obstinately. Instead, he was watching the sky through the sliver of an opening in the observatory dome. Niko couldn't see Fionn's face, not fully, because he'd stepped forward. In the low light, with the shoulder-length red strands, only his mouth was visible. Trembling, his bottom lip clamped tightly between his teeth as if Fionn was physically restraining himself from crying out.

A bit. Yeah, they had been a bit. That was normal. Eight months was a long time for such things to stack up and risk tumbling down on you like stones. Niko's brow furrowed. He froze, eyes locked on his left hand, hovering in the air between them. He'd taken his hands out of his pockets at some point and hadn't even noticed. What was he going to do? Hug Fionn? Squeeze his shoulder? Pat his back? Somehow, those all seemed so trivial and empty when he thought about it. Doing that was more about his feelings than Fionn's. Maybe this whole thing was more about his feelings than Fionn's. About making himself feel like he'd done something or at least tried, despite knowing there was literally nothing he could do.

Niko huffed, frustrated, and stepped forward till he was standing to Fionn's right. He let his hands fall to rest at his sides and focused on the stars swirling above them. He could see them, shooting off like they had no cares in the world. Blissfully unteathered. Not quite part of this world, but close enough, you were forever changed by just how lovely they were. "It's humbling when you think about it," he muttered, attention locked on the sky despite seeing Fionn glance over in his peripheral vision.

"What is?" Fionn asked, tentative.

"How the most seemingly unimportant things are what hold reality together," Niko replied, pupils jumping from one point of light to another. That feeling was in his chest again, like heartburn. This time it was painful, like something caught in his throat. He was certain he'd chewed his food properly. That was one of many rules ingrained in him through repetition: chew well, don't slouch, no large bites, eat slowly, never drink more than one glass of wine, keep a napkin in your lap, dress well for dinner, and most importantly, don't dine with common folk. That was the most annoying one. It spilled into everything. Don't walk with common folk. Don't sit with common folk. Don't befriend common folk. Don't spoil common folk. Don't work with common folk. Don't live with common folk.

Don't stargaze with common folk, Nikolas.

Niko exhaled sharply, feeling his lungs burn. Without looking down, he let his left pinky search for Fionn’s, guided by the sensation of his ring brushing against Fionn’s gold pinky ring. When their pinkies met, he curled his finger around Fionn’s and squeezed lightly. He wasn’t sure if this gesture was meant to reassure Fionn or himself. He felt Fionn’s pinky squeeze back—and, silently, neither of them let go.

"He can't break this telescope, you know. We can use it. I told the Dean I needed it for a project in my Astronomy class," Niko muttered.

"Do you think he's heard the rumors? Your father?" Fionn asked.

"I wouldn't put it past him to be the one who started them," Niko scoffed angrily.

"You think so? You think he would do that?" Fionn asked.

Wait.

Niko swallowed, tried to focus on the sky above them, and failed miserably. His head was vibrating, his hands were shaking, and if he grit his teeth any harder, he'd definitely break one off. He heard static, maybe even his name, but he wasn't sure as his pinky went slack and he started trying to rationalize what he'd just said. Of course. It was true. He really wouldn't put it past his father to start the rumors about Fionn. His father didn't like Fionn, had never liked Fionn, because he didn't like his son associating with a commoner. With an orphan with no money or supposed prospects. Those rumors had been circulating since they arrived at Sagewood. Since Fionn decided to come with him to this fucking elitist shit hole, and had blown even his aptitude ranking out of the fucking water.

Oh, he'd not heard the end of that for months. How shameful it was that a Harding was beaten out by some common magister with no upbringing. It was a mockery and embarrassment to their family name. To his father's name and reputation. Had his father started the rumors? Would he actually do that?

... Yes, yes, his father would.

"Nikolas!" Fionn yelled, snapping wildly in front of Niko's face.

"I need to go," Niko said, his voice trembling with anger as he pulled away from Fionn. "I need to go. I'll see you in the morning at lectures," he repeated, struggling to keep his voice steady as his thoughts raced. He backed away, slipping just out of Fionn’s reach when Fionn tried to grab his hand—and, before he realized it, vanished in a burst of forest green light.