"It's about time!" Alfred said when Kiku told him that he and Arthur were breaking up. "You can totally do better!"

Kiku's cheeks only turned slightly pink, but Alfred knew that any unusual coloring at all was monumental for him. Kiku crossed his arms uncomfortably.

"Alfred, it is not as if Arthur and I had a terrible fight and hate each other now," he said. "We are still friends. We just feel that our relationship is better platonic."

"Yeah, okay," Alfred said. "Friends with the ex - totally awkward, dude! You'll so regret it! I guess you can't really avoid him when you're both on the student council, though."

Inwardly, Alfred flinched at the sudden defensive tone he'd taken, but he kept grinning. It was too soon. Arthur had been Kiku's first and only boyfriend in all the years Alfred had known him, and they'd just broken up. Even though Alfred was a firm believer that the best way to get over an old boyfriend was to get a new one, Kiku wouldn't agree. It would have been sad if it weren't so cute how oblivious he was.

"Hey, if you want, come over and hang out after school!" he said. "We can, like, watch a rom-com and dig into a gallon of ice cream!"

"Why would we do that?" Kiku seemed genuinely confused.

Because you hurt.

"Because you just broke up, dude! That's what you do - you watch crappy-yet-nostalgic flicks and pig out!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, dude, totally! It's the mourning period! So, we'll hang out together!"

"Mourning period...?"

"After school, okay? We'll grab some ice cream on the way home - you pick!"

"I do not know if..."

"Kiku!" Alfred said. "We're doing it, okay? You just broke up with your boyfriend, which means that it's my duty as your best friend in the universe to cheer you up with so-bad-they're-good movies, all the ice cream you can eat, and anything else you want! You name it, it's yours!"

Kiku seemed startled by the outburst; he really had no idea how this whole break-up thing went. Alfred almost expected to be rejected, but Kiku finally uncrossed his arms and smiled.

"Al..." he said. Alfred smiled; he knew that Kiku was caving when he used his nickname. "I am okay, really...but thank you. Okay. We'll get ice cream after school."

This was perfect. They were going to spend the day together, getting ice cream and watching movies. Alfred was going to be totally supportive and caring, and Kiku was going to realize that the best friend in the universe deserved a promotion to best boyfriend in the universe.

Alfred had figured it out a long time ago. He understood, of course. Sometimes, it was hard to see that the right person was standing right in front of you the whole time.

With that thought, something occurred to him.

"Does-" he started.

"Does what?"

"Nothing," Alfred said automatically, knowing that there was no tactful way to say what he was thinking. "Just...does Yao know?"

"Does Yao know...that Arthur and I broke up?" Kiku asked. Alfred nodded. "No, you are the only person I've told. Unless Arthur mentioned it, Yao would not know...and they are not that close, are they?"

"I guess not."

"Why do you ask?"

"No reason!"

Except yes reason. Alfred wasn't the only person who had his heart set on this break-up, after all.

"Hey, are you okay, aru?" Yao Wang asked. Arthur Kirkland turned his head. It was late in the afternoon, and most students had gone home; they were the only two waiting at the bus stop.

"I heard that you and Kiku split up, aru." Yao paused, then crossed and uncrossed his arms, not knowing what the appropriate posture would be for this conversation. Arthur looked away.

"That's right. I'm fine, though - we just decided to go back to being friends, you know? It wasn't much different when we were together."

"Wasn't it?"

Arthur slipped his hands out of his pockets. "Are youokay?" he asked. "You seem a lot more hung up on this than I am."

"I'm fine," Yao said quickly. "Why wouldn't I be, aru?" In all honesty, Yao wasn't sure how he felt. When he'd heard from Alfred over lunch that Kiku and Arthur had split up, he'd been partially sympathetic for Kiku and partially, well, thrilled.

Yao didn't officially meet Arthur until Kiku introduced them at a student government fund-raising event, but, after all the gossip he'd heard, he was shocked when Arthur smiled and thanked him for helping with the volunteer work. Abrasive and self-absorbed as he might have seemed in the hallways, Arthur was devoted to his duties as class president, and Yao couldn't fault him that. He even admired him for it - among other things. Arthur's eyes were very green.

Seeing Kiku growing up and having his first boyfriend had been tough enough on its own, but the fact that it was Arthur magnified every ache. For weeks, Yao had thought to himself, I am a terrible friend. Kiku is like my brother. I am a terrible brother.It was a haunting mantra.

Finding out that Arthur and Kiku were splitting up was the best news Yao had heard in a while - and he instantly hated himself for it. At a time when he should be most sympathetic for Kiku, he was just excited to know that Arthur was single again. Then the worry set in; Arthur and Kiku had seemed so happy as a couple, but they split like it was nothing. What went wrong?

Afraid that his expression was too obvious, he turned away from Arthur. "I just wanted to be sure that you were all right," he said. "Break-ups can be hard, aru."

"Break-ups happen for a reason, though," Arthur said. "Sometimes it just means that something better is going to come along."

Yao could feel his heart pounding. What did Arthur mean by that, exactly? Was he looking to be in another relationship? Was he the one who broke up with Kiku? Maybe he was fickle. Maybe he was unfaithful. Yao sneaked a glance at Arthur beside him and was partly embarrassed and partly excited to see that he was looking back, still smiling crookedly.

"Don't you think?" Arthur asked softly, and, though Yao had forgotten what exactly he was agreeing to, he nodded.

"Isn't it going to be kind of awkward helping to decorate the gym for this dance?" Alfred asked, shoving the ice cream into Kiku's hands to stop him from trying to pay.

"It is part of my job as the secretary of the student council," Kiku said. "Besides, as I told you before, Arthur and I are on very good terms. We just decided that our relationship had not changed from when we were friends."

"Didn't it?" The question was out of Alfred's mouth before he could stop it, and Kiku gave him a curious look. "It...it seemed different."

"How so? Ah, thank you for the ice cream, by the way."

"Huh? Oh, yeah, dude, like I said, I'm here for you." Alfred shoved his hands in his pockets as they left the grocery store and headed back to the dorms. Kiku stayed quiet, looking at him and apparently waiting for him to continue. "You just...seemed very into each other."

"Did we?" Kiku asked, genuinely surprised.

"Well, you were always together," Alfred said, removing his hands from his pockets and taking the grocery bags from Kiku.

"I do not mind-"

"I know you don't." Alfred smiled at Kiku, hoping to reassure him. Kiku put his hands down and faced forward.

"I'm sorry that you felt awkward, Al. I did not mean for that."

Alfred turned to face Kiku quickly, already shaking his head. "You didn't, Kiku, I-! I didn't mean it like that! Okay! Besides, it's not a big deal!" He laughed boisterously. "You know how awesome I am at handling awkward situations! No-o-o problem, dude!"

Kiku laughed softly, and Alfred kept grinning to hide the sigh of relief he wanted to heave.

"Would you mind helping me out again?"

Yao had been at the bus stop with Arthur even though Yao himself lived in the dorms, and they'd been talking. They didn't interact much during classes - as schedules would have it, they only shared one period - but Arthur still knew who he was.

"You helped out with a fundraiser," he'd said. "I remember that. Good thing you were there, too, otherwise it was just the council. Speaking of which..." Arthur's smile had been sheepish. "I know that this is terribly forward of me, but would you mind helping me out again?"

Arthur explained that the student council was throwing a dance in some attempt to raise morale, but he needn't have said a word beyond what he'd already asked. He didn't ask Yao to help their class, or to help the almost-ambiguous "us" that could have meant the student council but really meant Arthur and Kiku. He had asked Yao to help him.

Yao had agreed instantly, and Arthur's lips had quirked upward, but when Yao asked what had inspired the smile, he wouldn't say.

"Just appreciate your help," he'd said. It was a cover-up - there was something more, Yao could see, in the sparkle in Arthur's green eyes - but not a lie.

Yao wondered to himself when he'd become so soft. As the bell rang to signal the end of his history lecture, Yao leaped from his seat and grabbed his books in one fluid motion, racing for the door. His fourth period class, English, was the one he shared with Arthur.

Arthur and Kiku had always sat next to one another in that class, even before they were dating. Arthur said that they had mutually agreed that their relationship had changed little when they decided to date, but surely it would still be awkward for them to sit next to one another in class. The whole school was buzzing with gossip about their split, however amicable. Arthur would know how to handle himself in the face of rumors, though, Yao thought. As class president, it was one of his greatest strengths.

For a fleeting moment, Yao wondered how Kiku was managing.

With the English lab being only down the hall from his previous class, Yao was the first to arrive. Other students trickled in from the noisy hallway. Kiku walked in and sat in his usual spot at the table in front of Yao. Arthur would be along any minute to sit next to him, and Yao would end up next to Alfred, who was always late to class.

Arthur walked into the room, and, though the pre-class chatting by no means stopped, it quieted. Yao turned in his seat to notice students looking curiously at the former couple at the front. He looked back to Arthur, who kept his shoulders squared and walked up to Kiku's desk as if nothing had changed. Standing opposite Kiku, he smiled.

"Morning, Kiku," he said, tone relaxed. Kiku looked up and smiled back.

"Good morning, Arthur."

They really were on amicable terms. The classroom chatter regained some of its volume. Just as Arthur was about to round the table to take his usual seat, though, Alfred burst through the door, cut him off, and slid into the seat beside Kiku.

"Whew! Made it! Ha!" Alfred laughed, pumping his fist. Arthur reeled backwards. Kiku also seemed startled, though he was smiling. "Told you I could be on time to class, huh, Kiku? You owe me a Coke, dude!"

"I suppose I do," Kiku chuckled, reaching into his bag for a pen. Alfred laughed again and stretched his arms out over the table as Yao had seen him do a thousand times before. This time, though, Yao's attention was elsewhere.

Arthur's calm expression had faltered for only a second. Most students had turned away, disinterested, upon realizing that there would be no dramatic encounter, but Yao hadn't missed that spark of hurt in his eyes as Kiku welcomed someone else sitting beside him.

The whispers died down; Arthur and Kiku had attracted the other students' attention once again. Sensing this, Arthur kept his smile and walked past Alfred, stopping at the open seat right behind it - the one beside Yao. Without a speck of hesitation, Arthur sat and began pulling his books out of his bag.

In front of them, Alfred was speaking animatedly to Kiku, but Yao couldn't be distracted from the boy beside him. Arthur pushed back his blond bangs as he rooted through his bag and pulled out a pen. The classroom chatter began to pick up again to fill the void left by the lack of gossip fodder. When the talking had risen to a normal level, Arthur put his books on top of the table and scooted his chair closer to Yao's.

Leaning over, he smiled at Yao and whispered, "I hope you don't mind that I just sat down without asking."

"I don't mind," Yao said, with a calmness that impressed himself. Arthur's eyes flickered to the table, scanning Yao's books.

"Advanced Calculus?" he asked suddenly, leaning even closer to look at the textbook on top of Yao's pile.

"Yes," Yao said, figuring that a response was expected. Arthur looked up at him.

"You must be really good at math," he said. Normally, Yao was the type to deny all praise, even insisting the opposite and insulting himself, but he had Arthur's attention and could maybe even glean admiration from it.

"I'm great at math, aru," he said, raising his eyebrows. Arthur's little smile stretched out across his face slowly, and Yao felt his heartbeat quicken. "I just like numbers, to be honest, aru. They make sense to me. Other classes - English, for example - well, there are lots of right answers, there are lots of different methods for making a point, aru. It's confusing. I much prefer when there is one correct answer that I can get to by following a formula, aru."

"You like things straightforward, then," Arthur said, leaning back in his seat a little bit.

"I suppose I do, aru," Yao said. Arthur nodded absently, and Yao wondered if he considered this to be a good quality. To keep the conversation going, he asked, "You must be pretty good at math, too, though, right? You arethe class president, after all."

"I'm not too shabby," Arthur said, a glimmer in his eye. "English is my best class, though."

"I really think it's a great movie, dude!" Alfred said, weaving his way through the busy hallway, making sure not to get too far ahead of Kiku, who tended to get swept away in the crowd. "You know, the girl's all dating the wrong guy, and then they break up and she realizes that her best friend was the right one the whole time! It's awesome!"

"I agree that it is a lovely movie, Alfred, and I am glad that we watched it last night, but..." Kiku sped up to stay behind his friend. "Why did you sit next to me in class today?"

"What're you talking about, dude? You said that you didn't think I could get to class on time, and I totally did, and it was awesome! Now you owe me a Coke!"

"Yes, but why did you sit next to me?" Kiku pressed as they made their way to the cafeteria for lunch. "You usually sit beside Yao."

"Only 'cause the seat next to you is always taken!" Alfred laughed, hoping that he didn't sound too uneasy. "You snooze, you lose, right?"

Kiku was quiet for a while after that, and Alfred had to look behind himself to make sure that his friend was still there. Looking up at him, Kiku gave him a little smile. "You do not have to worry about me so much, Al. I would have been fine sitting next to Arthur."

Alfred hesitated, then grabbed two trays at the back of the cafeteria and handed one to Kiku, getting into line.

"I just thought that you might feel awkward, dude. I don't want people saying things about you behind your back!"

"They are doing that anyway," Kiku said matter-of-factly. Alfred's fingers slipped on the container of french fries he was reaching for. "Ah...frankly, Alfred, I am not sure that you helped the situation."

"Wh-What do you mean?"

Kiku indicated a few girls passing by who were giving Kiku and Alfred an amused look. The girls skirted off, giggling, and Kiku turned back to his friend.

"I think some people may think that I am using you to get back at Arthur."

"Whaaaat? Totally re-donk-ulous, man!" Alfred crowed, though his heart sank at Kiku's troubled expression. Sobering, he added, "I'm...just trying to be a good friend. Stop making it so difficult."

Kiku started. "I apologize," he said. "I know that you are trying to be a good friend, Al. You area good friend. I just...do not want to cause Arthur any more trouble than I already have."

Alfred couldn't think of a thing to say to that.

"Thanks for your help. Again," Arthur said with a grunt, leaning back to look up at his handiwork.

"I don't mind, aru." Yao ripped off another piece of tape and put up his poster across the hall from where Arthur had put his.

"I'm going to kill Francis. Lazy ass doesn't do anything, and he's on the council!" Arthur raked a hand through his hair, and Yao laughed. When Arthur turned around, he had a little smile on his face, but his expression quickly changed when he saw Yao's poster. "Hey, that's amazing!" he said.

"You think?" Yao turned his back to Arthur to admire his own artwork. During lunch, Arthur had run up to him asking for help with posters and fliers for the dance. In his hurry to help, Yao hadn't done his best work on the art for the posters, but Arthur was impressed. "I like yours, too, aru."

"Tch," Arthur said, crossing his arms and giving Yao a sideways look. "I'm a pretty good artist, sure, but don't placate me." Yao felt his face burn at the rebuke.

"I won't, then," he answered sharply, and Arthur's expression flickered with uncertainty.

"...I wasn't trying to..." Halfway through his apology, Arthur faltered and turned away. Yao wondered at the abrupt shift from annoyed to apologetic. He had no idea that Arthur was so indecisive.

At that moment, a few girls from Yao's history class walked out of the bathroom, presumably on their way to the cafeteria. Glancing at Arthur, they shared smiles, but it wasn't until they'd reached the end of the hallway and turned to the stairwell that Yao heard their hushed voices and giggles.

"Yao? You're...you're Kiku's roommate, aren't you?" Arthur asked, his back turned to Yao. It was a pointless question; Arthur had come to their dorm room many times after school to discuss the council with Kiku or to do homework. Yao felt his face flush; was this the reason Arthur had wanted him specifically to help?

"Yes, aru."

"Is it..." Arthur ran a hand through his hair awkwardly. "I-I mean - I know that hallway rumors are almost always baseless, and they're really quite stupid, but s-sometimes there's a grain of truth to them. Right?" Yao blinked, keeping up with Arthur's quickening speech as best he could. "I- I heard that Kiku was with Alfred. Dating him, that is."

Arthur's voice was so small. Yao could feel a hurt building in his chest at how much the idea of Kiku being with someone else bothered Arthur; their split wasn't so final after all, then.

"No," Yao said slowly. "As far as I know, that isn't true. Wouldn't Alfred be telling everyone he knew if it were, aru?"

When Arthur turned back to face him, he was smiling. "You're probably right. Thanks, Yao." Yao nodded, not feeling particularly happy about being able to help. "By the way, I've been meaning to ask - you end your sentences with 'aru' a lot..."

Yao felt his face burning. "Do I, aru?" he asked, feeling even stupider when the verbal tic slipped out. Arthur chuckled and turned back to the posters they'd left on the hallway's floors.

"Cute," he mumbled, and Yao felt his heart begin to pound once again.