Freshman year was a time of development for most people. 'Most people' apparently didn't include Leon or Soapy, as they'd barely changed at all. Summer came, and Leon went abroad on some music-related thing Soapy didn't know the details of. They called each other, though there were no video chats for whatever reason. Soapy laughed as Leon's voice began to crack, making their dear friend flustered. Much teasing ensued, but they both knew it was all in good fun. Their contact died out towards the end of summer due to marching band and other circumstances, and Leon didn't show up at school for two weeks.

During those two weeks, Soapy grew closer to their other friends, as well as new ones. They found themself spending a lot of time with Takumi, a freshman who seemed to practice his trumpet rather intensely. Them and Takumi happened to ride the same bus to and from football games, often sitting next to each other with Soapy falling asleep on the way back to school. The day Leon returned to school, he arrived during lunch. Soapy had been sitting with Felicia, Takumi, and a girl named Oboro when they heard someone clear their throat. Felicia gasped.

"Leon!" Soapy perked up at Felicia's exclamation, immediately jumping to their feet. They didn't notice the annoyed expression on Takumi's face.

"Leon?" They turned to face their friend, blinking in surprise.

They'd been looking slightly below their usual line of sight so as to make eye contact with their small friend, but was instead met with a chest. Soapy looked up at Leon's face, seeing that it looked less round, and the dorky glasses they'd grown accustomed to were gone. It gave them a clear view of the brown eyes they'd never paid attention to. Well, it would be if Leon wasn't about eight inches taller than them. Soapy blinked several times, swallowing before laughing a little nervously. Pink dusted their cheeks, and they felt odd about their newfound attraction towards their friend. They stood awkwardly, and Leon smiled in amusement.

"Oh, no hug?" He teased, spreading his arms to emphasize his teasing. Soapy laughed, wrapping their arms around their friend and hiding their face in his chest, feeling embarrassed.

"Shut up, I wasn't expecting you to look so different!"

They both laughed, and after a hug that lasted a little too long, sat down, with Leon between Soapy and Felicia. He was easily the tallest in the group, which Soapy had a hard time accepting, as they were used to being taller than him. Leon caught up with the two he knew from his freshman year, but Takumi interrupted them after a while. He seemed irritated.

"Are you not going to introduce us to your boyfriend?" His arms were crossed, and both Soapy and Leon blushed.

"Oh gods, we're not dating!" Soapy laughed. "This is Leon, he's been one of my closest friends since freshman year!"

"Hello." He greeted. "You're Takumi."

"How do you know that?" Leon raised a brow.

"Our sisters are dating. And our brothers." Takumi looked embarrassed.

"I knew that." Soapy giggled.

"Anyways, yeah, that's Takumi. And she's Oboro. I think they're dating?"

"No." Takumi stated bluntly. Oboro suddenly looked very violent.

"So, Soapy, I haven't seen you since last year. Do you want to come over this weekend?" Leon asked casually. Soapy had been about to say yes when his hand brushed against their thigh, and they tensed up.

"Oh, I-I would love to but umm, I'm already going to be spending the night at Takumi's place." They lied nervously. Takumi looked at them in confusion, but Soapy shook their head. Leon bit his lip, seeming a little disappointed.

"Right." He looked down at his phone. "Er, some other time I suppose." Soapy coughed awkwardly, and Oboro suddenly brought her attention to Soapy's necklace.

"Oh my gods, Soapy, is that your latest project?" She got closer, inspecting it. "I have to make an outfit to go with it!" Soapy giggled.

"That would be great. Your outfits are super cool!"

"Well, anything for my fellow bandmates." She sniffed, sending a dirty look towards Leon. The blond boy stood.

"I'm going to go practice my violin." He stated, meeting Oboro's glare with his own. "It was nice meeting you, and I was glad to see you again, Soapy." He took his bag with him, finding a practice room.

"Aww, Oboro, be nice."

"I hate orchestra."

"What's this about spending the night at my house?" Takumi questioned, and Soapy looked flustered.

"Oh, it's no big deal, I just thought it'd be nice to sleep togeth- over I mean, not together, that would probably make you uncomfortable. And me too probably. Maybe? Umm, sorry, I should shut up." Takumi blinked.

"I mean, I guess I have nothing important to do."

"What!? Takumi, you were going to come to my house and I was going to make you some nice outfits!"

"I really don't want to be a bother… If you have plans then-"

"No, no, it's fine. I wanted to play smash with you anyways." Soapy pouted.

"But I'm bad at smash."

Takumi laughed, and Oboro seethed, crossing her arms and glaring at Soapy. Soapy was completely oblivious to her dirty look. Meanwhile, Leon sat at the piano of the practice room. He had his violin out, but instead had his head propped up on his hand. The arm this hand was attached to had its elbow pressing down on the lower keys of the piano, but the notes had long since faded away. His right hand played a simple melody he payed no attention to as he let his mind wander.

Soapy was avoiding him. There was no point in denying that. They weren't exactly the best liar after all, and Takumi apparently didn't know how to play along. Leon had showed up with the intent of surprising his best friend (and biggest crush), inviting him over so they could make up for lost time, but he'd immediately made an excuse to not do that. It made Leon wonder if he did anything wrong, but he supposed he must have if Soapy of all people was avoiding him. Perhaps it'd be best to just leave him be. If Soapy wanted to be his friend still, he would contact him. Right?

"Well, well, well, look who we have here." A playful voice pulled him out of his thoughts. Leon started, turning around to see another of his friends.

"Oh. Niles."

"You don't sound very excited to see me. Did you not miss your most attractive friend?" Leon rolled his eyes.

"Of course I did." Was that sarcasm? Possibly.

"I'm hurt, really. Not even a text to let us know you're back." He sat on the bench next to Leon, on the left side.

"I was busy." Leon move his left arm from the keys, leaning over to rest his head on Niles's shoulder.

"You're affectionate."

"No, I'm lonely. There's a difference." Niles chuckled.

"Lonely enough to turn gay?" Leon scoffed.

"I've always been gay. Just… don't tell anyone.

"Ooh, raunchy. A secret romance." He smirked, and Leon laughed dryly.

"Shut up."

"Only if you kiss me."

And he did. First kisses are supposed to be special, something with a huge buildup, according to romance novels. In the end, Leon decided they weren't that big of a deal. He doubted the relationship would last much more than a month.

Word Count: 1,241

This is part of my modern AU, so if something doesn't make sense that's probably bc you haven't read other stuff in the same universe.

ALSO!

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Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed!