A/N: This is my late birthday present for my friend! Happy Birthday! I'm sorry it's so late, and I'm sorry I had to rush the last couple of chapters. I hope you like it anyway!

The sky was a clear, crisp shade of blue, without a single wisp of cloud floating in it. It was only mid-morning and the sun was already beating down harshly on the streets, heating up the roads and the pavements so it would be impossible to walk barefoot on. It looked like it was going to be a good day today, but Mink knew better than to fall for that old trick.

He'd tried to be optimistic, to look on the bright side, but as he forced himself to walk to school under the bright glare of the sun, he hung his head low, weighed down by the negative thoughts swirling around inside of him. It was the first day back to school. He hated school and the first day back was always the worst.

It didn't help that the weather was taunting him badly. It was the kind of day that would be perfect for a picnic on a grassy hill. Spread the red and white tartan blanket out on the ground under a tree. Enjoy a nice packed lunch of fresh bread and homemade jam and stone fruit. Once the afternoon breeze finally rolled in, there would be plenty of interesting clouds to lie down and gaze at dreamily. It was a pretty tempting idea.

But unfortunately he was stuck in this jail. Before he'd even reached the iron gates, the sound of the school bell pierced the air. Mink sighed, picking up his pace. If he hurried, he'd be able to make it to homeroom, and his usual teacher was pretty lenient. Being a few minutes late wouldn't result in a truancy notice. He stared at his own feet as he walked, contemplating more realistic plans for the day.

First he'd sit in homeroom and listen to the announcements. There wouldn't be anything that really interested him. It was pretty much the same thing every term. The drama club wanted to hold more bake sales for fundraising for shows, the cafeteria was looking for more parents to volunteer, the IT staff were advising people not to fall for scam emails, and the school was offering discounted driving lessons. Mink wouldn't be the only uninterested student in the room. In fact, the majority of the students would be slumped on their desks, trying to finish last minute homework or trying to get used to being awake this early in the morning again. Some girls would be sitting in the back corner, gossiping about what they did over the break, and some boys would be sitting in the front row, complaining about being stuck in the front row for another term. The teacher would be sitting in her chair, legs crossed, reading the announcements with a flat tone, having given up trying to increase student participation years ago. She wouldn't really care that no one was listening, as long as no one interrupted her.

After homeroom, Mink would go to first period, which if he remembered correctly was Biology. Last term they'd been studying plant biology, which Mink had passed effortlessly. This semester, they were supposed to be studying human anatomy for the third time in two years. It was getting old. The school needed to update their curriculum. But thanks to the fact that he'd studied it practically a million times before, Mink would be able to effortlessly pass human anatomy as well.

The bell would ring, and his Biology class would leave the room in a neat, quiet, single file. Kids who studied science subjects generally respected the "no running in the halls" rule. Mink would break free from the crowd and go to his second period class, which was Art History. His teacher would show them slides about some famous artist, as he always did, and they would take notes, as they always did. But Mink would only pretend to take notes. He didn't really care about some old lady who painted a demented cat 50 years ago. Instead, he would scribble various types of trees in his book, ranging from gnarled trees with bare branches to tall, swaying palm trees.

The bell would ring again for the start of lunch. Maybe then he would…

Mink's thoughts were interrupted when he walked into his homeroom. His feet had been moving automatically, and for a second he thought they had brought him to the wrong place. He had to double check the number outside the door, but no, he was in the right place after all. The problem was that his usual teacher, the woman named Mrs Cornwell, who always smiled in greeting and had her thin grey hair tied up in a messy bun, had been replaced by a short, balding man whose face was contorted in a mean scowl.

"You're late," the new teacher said accusingly, his tone pointed. He had beady little eyes that reminded Mink of those creepy paintings which supposedly stared at you as you walked around the room. But his face was too round and pudgy and it made his eyes seem out of place.

"Only by a few minutes," Mink protested, keeping his tone low. He didn't want to cause any trouble. He just wanted to get through the first day; that was all. He knew his height and his bulky figure were sometimes intimidating so he had to be careful with the way he acted around others, especially angry new teachers with a chip on their shoulder and the idea that they had something to prove.

The man's eyes narrowed. "Sit down," he barked, jerking his chin towards an empty desk in the third row. It wasn't Mink's usual set, but he figured he wasn't in any position to argue at that point. "This is your only warning," the new teacher explained. "If you're late again, you'll be getting a truancy notice, no excuses. Understood?" Mink nodded silently, praying the bell for first period would ring and he'd be saved. Not that Biology was much of a saviour.

"Now, for those of you who arrived late," the teacher said, purposefully glaring in Mink's direction, "My name is Mr Arnby. I'm replacing Mrs Cornwell as your new homeroom teacher. I may be a little bit stricter, but you'll have to learn to love me." Mink rolled his eyes. There wasn't much chance of that happening. "Anyway, before you head off to class, which I know you're all eager to get to, let me introduce our new transfer student."

Mink was surprised he hadn't noticed the boy standing in the front corner of the classroom until just now. First Mr Arnby and now this. Mink shook his head slightly. It was too much. His plans for the day were definitely disrupted. There was no way he would be able to comfortably sit through Biology and Art History now. Not with this beautiful boy's face haunting him.

"H-hi, I'm Sei," the boy spoke, his voice very quiet and very soft. Mink almost had to lean forwards just to hear him. His complexion was pale, contrasted by dark silky hair and deep dark eyes. He wore baggy clothes and a shy smile. "I just transferred inter-state. I chose this school because I really like home economics and hospitality, and I heard it has one of the best kitchens and best cooking programs in the area…" He trailed off, troubled by the class's lack of enthusiasm. "Um… Nice to meet you."

The bell rang and everybody rushed to get out of their seats, including Mink. He felt a little shaken by the effect that boy had had on him. He was almost enchanting. It was completely unexpected. Mink merged with the crowd and headed for the door, hoping to get outside and breathe in the fresh air momentarily before heading off to Biology, where he'd be stuck in another stuffy room filled with whiteboards and mismatched desks.

"Just a second!" Mr Arnby called out suddenly, catching onto Mink's shirt sleeve. He yanked him backward and stopped the tall boy mid-pace. "Mink, was it? Since you were late, you get the special responsibility of showing Sei to his classes."

"I've got my own classes to go to," Mink argued, his brow furrowing. Oh no. This is bad. I don't want this. How much more could Mr Arnby and this new kid Sei possibly ruin his day? All he wanted was to relax, but his stomach was restless, tightening in uneasy knots.

Mr Arnby scoffed and hastily tore a page from his notepad, scribbling on it in messy ballpoint pen. "Here, problem solved." He handed the scrap of paper over to Mink. It was a note explaining that Mink would be late to his classes all day because he was volunteering as a guide for a new student. "Off you go, then."

Mink struggled not to roll his eyes again. "Volunteering, my ass," he muttered under his breath as he turned away. He was almost certain Mr Arnby had heard him, but neither said anything. "Come on," Mink said to Sei roughly, gesturing to the door. "Show me your timetable."

Sei looked up and seemed a little startled. He was dwarfed next to Mink and it seemed to make him shrink back inside his shell. "Uh, s-sure," he stuttered, struggling to match Mink's pace. It wasn't as if Mink was walking particularly fast, but he was significantly taller than Sei, so his strides were much longer and more powerful. Sei had to practically jog to keep up with him. The pale boy dug deep into his pockets and produced an already crumpled piece of paper. "H-here you go."

Almost snatching it from his hands, Mink scowled at the paper. "Lucky for you," he mumbled. But not lucky for me. "You're in the same Biology class as me. That's what we've got first. Follow me."

"Really? You take Biology?" Sei questioned, his eyes brightening slightly. Mink quickly noticed that when the fragile boy was talking about things he was interested in or passionate about, his voice sounded much clearer and more confident. It was…kind of nice to see. But Mink didn't want to focus on that.

"Yeah, why? Is that surprising?" Mink asked, cocking an eyebrow. He'd heard it all before, and he already had a fairly good idea of what was coming next, so there was no holding his breath.

"I thought, I mean, at my old school…" Sei stumbled over his words as he tried to explain, trying to pick the best option that wouldn't offend Mink. "There were a lot of big…muscular guys like you, and they mostly picked the sports related subjects, you know?"

Mink shrugged. Pretty much what he'd expected. "Not really into sports," he replied shortly, ready to let the conversation die.

"So…what are you into then?" Sei asked, a small smile curving the edges of his lips. Damn it, kid, just let the conversation die. The more I talk to you, the cuter you are and the more difficult it's going to be to concentrate on anything today.

Hesitating, Mink glanced at Sei out of the corner of his eye, not wanting to be caught looking. The boy was radiating a cheerful aura, and Mink could practically picture him being bathed in ethereal light. Why was he so cheerful at this time and in this setting? Early morning at school, there's nothing to be cheerful about.

"We're here," Mink announced, clearing his throat and completely side-stepping the topic. With perfect timing, they'd just arrived at the science block where all the science classrooms and labs were. "Biology room is all the way down the hall on the left," he told Sei, making vague hand gestures in that direction.

"You're not coming?" Sei asked, a little wide eyed. His pink lips formed a slight pout and a faint blush came out across his prominent cheekbones, very visible against his pallid complexion. Mink noticed he had beautiful long eyelashes…

"I've gotta go to the bathroom first," Mink explained quickly, mentally questioning why he even had to explain himself in the first place. He just had to get away for a moment, take a breather, and wrestle with his own thoughts. "I'll be back," he added, dashing off down the other end of the narrow hall.

Staring at himself in the dirty mirror, Mink gripped either side of the porcelain basin and grimaced. His tanned face and the dark strands of hair at his temples were dripping with water, but even splashing himself hadn't managed to break his train of thought. What's with that kid? How is he so damn pretty?

And why am I so bothered by it?

That was the more important question. Mink had seen attractive people at the school before, looked them up and down, appreciated that they were attractive, and then never given them a second thought. He wasn't really interested in social relationships with people unless he had something to gain from it, and none of the people at this school could offer him anything he didn't already have.

Sei didn't really seem all that different, did he? Well sure, he was incredibly beautiful, the kind of beautiful that catches your eye from across the entire god damn ocean. But he seemed too shy and too frail and it didn't matter anyway because Mink hardly knew him. Mink shook his head violently, trying desperately to clear his mind and think logically.

It's probably just that he's so exotic. He's pale. He's slender. He's delicate and downright beautiful. That's the only reason I'm drawn to him. He's appealing to my eyes because he looks so different from everything I've seen here before. There's nothing more to it.

With one last sharp exhale, Mink forced himself to leave the bathroom and join the class. The queasiness in his stomach had mostly settled and he was thinking much clearer than before. He tried to shove all images of Sei out of his head, but he realised that would be difficult considering he'd probably be sitting across the room from him. If Mink remembered last term's seating plan correctly, he'd been sitting on the left towards the back, and there'd been three free seats on the right down the front. So that meant he'd probably have a decent enough vantage point to be able to look at Sei's face without Sei noticing he was looking…

Wait, why am I thinking about that? That's the opposite of what I wanted to be doing. Mink mentally berated himself. Every time he tried to stop thinking about Sei, he just ended up thinking about Sei again, like some vicious circle. He needed to take control of it. He didn't like not being in complete control of his own mind. This kind of distraction wouldn't do.

"Mink, glad you could join us," the Biology teacher, Mr Henderson, greeted him, his tone a little snippy. Class had started about 10 minutes ago, so Mink supposed he had every right to be. "Do you have a good reason for being late?" he questioned, peering at Mink over the gold rims of his round glasses and waiting expectantly. Interrupting class to pick on late students had always been one of his favourite things to do, so he had a slightly smug expression.

"Yeah, here's my note," Mink responded, handing over the piece of paper Mr Arnby had scribbled on. He saw no reason why it wouldn't be accepted.

"Hmm," Mr Henderson said thoughtfully, tapping his foot under the desk. "That's really interesting, Mink," he commented, dragging his words out slowly. "Especially because the new student got here 10 minutes ago, when class was starting." Oh yeah, there was that. "I'll let this slide, since it's the first day back. But I don't want you being late again, ok? Take your seat."

Breathing a sigh of relief, Mink turned to sit down, but stopped in his tracks. Sitting in his chair, leaning back on only two legs, was a brunette girl with heavy eyeliner. Damn her. Mink opened his mouth to ask her to move, but he was interrupted by Mr Henderson calling out, "Mink, seating arrangements have changed. Time to make new friends. You'll just have to sit somewhere else."

Glancing around the room, Mink's stomach dropped when he realised the only free seat left in the room was next to Sei, on the right down the front. Nothing was going as he'd expected today, and he swore it was going to give him a stress-induced heart attack. All he'd wanted was an uneventful first day back to school. He'd wanted an average start to an average term so he could just float through everything. But his plans had been disrupted.

He begrudgingly took his seat next to Sei, and pulled out his pens and notebook. Mr Henderson was giving a basic introduction to the human anatomy, starting off by explaining the various systems in the human body. Mink had heard it dozens of times before, and even almost had it memorised, so he didn't bother taking notes. Instead, he started to scribble aimlessly in the corner of his margin. While his hand was moving unconsciously, Mink found his eyes wandering to his left, where Sei sat, poised in his seat.

The black haired boy was diligently taking notes, which Mink supposed he should have expected. Sei's hand darted quickly across his page, somehow keeping up with how fast Mr Henderson was talking, as well as copying the brief notes from the whiteboard. His writing was neat, with a lot of curves and circles and loops. It looked very bubbly and cheerful and it seemed to suit him. Damn it, how does even his handwriting manage to look cheerful? Weird.

Mink started to wonder what his own handwriting looked like, especially in comparison to Sei's. He looked down at his own page, intending on writing something, and realised that he'd been absent-mindedly sketching a pair of familiar eyes. Sei's eyes, in fact. They were dark and they peered out at Mink from the page, almost as deep and mysterious as the real thing.

Sei's real eyes, as it happened, were actually looking over at Mink at that exact moment. Mink slammed his notebook shut, praying that Sei hadn't seen what he'd drawn. Possibly pretending to be ignorant, Sei leaned over and whispered, "You're not taking notes?" Interesting that he seemed to be growing more and more comfortable talking to Mink.

"Don't need to," Mink mumbled back, leaning a little further away from Sei. He didn't like people being in his personal space without his permission, no matter how beautiful they were. But in that brief instant where Sei was close to him, Mink caught a whiff of the pale boy's scent. He smelled sweet, like a mixture of vanilla and honey. It was a little intoxicating and caught Mink off guard, but he managed to reign himself in. Ok, he looks and smells good, so what?

Class continued, with Mr Henderson dragging on and Sei playing the role of model student. Mink stared at his closed book, half listening to the lecture, but mostly tuning it out. He was trying his hardest to sway his mind off Sei.

What if he'd skipped school today? He could have gone home, raided the kitchen for food and packed up a really nice picnic lunch. He could have gone upstairs, rummaged around in the linen closet and found the old picnic blanket. He could have laid down on the hill under the tree and waited for the clouds to roll across the sky.

"Mink," suddenly a polite voice broke through his thoughts. "Can you tell me where my next class is?"

Brought back to reality once more, Mink blinked and turned to face Sei, who was still seated beside him. Everyone else in the class was already leaving, lined up at the door quietly, waiting to shuffle outside in a single file, just as usual. "Yeah, sure," Mink agreed, holding out his hand in wait for the crumpled timetable. "Hm. Art History," he read gruffly.

"What's wrong?" Sei asked, tilting his head. "Is that a bad class?"

"Well, I personally find it boring," Mink replied, chuckling to himself. Fuck, is this kid going to be in all the same classes as me? I may as well skip school tomorrow. I need to cool down. Ah, wait, nevermind. He said he's taking home economics and hospitality, right? I don't do those. Thank god.

"You're in Art History too?" Sei asked excitedly, his smile lighting up his entire face. "Wow! I'm really glad to have met you on my first day! Can we go together?"

Glad to have met him..? Well that was something Mink didn't hear every day.

"Yeah, sure," Mink repeated. "Why not?" They got up from their desks and joined the tail end of the group exiting the classroom. Everyone was moving a little slow today, so the hall outside must have been pretty congested.

"You never told me what your interests are," Sei mentioned, bringing up the previous topic. He was standing patiently behind Mink, clutching at his shoulder bag with slender hands. He had a thoughtful expression on his face, as if he was trying to guess what Mink's secret hobbies were.

"Nature," Mink mumbled quietly, almost hoping Sei wouldn't hear. He didn't really have the energy to explain fully that he wasn't really interested in anything. He had basically no motivation to study anything at school, which was why he hated it so much. He had no motivation to have any great hobbies, which was why he hated this conversation subject so much. The only real things he cared about were nature, plants and animals. He had a garden at home and he went hiking often, and it was that simple.

Sometimes Mink felt it wasn't worth explaining because nobody could really understand how such a big guy could love nature so much. They saw him as scary, when he didn't always want to be seen as scary. He acted mean when he needed to, and didn't interact with people very well sometimes, but Mink knew he wasn't the kind of asshole that people thought he was. Sometimes other people just couldn't understand. Regardless, the number one reason he didn't like this subject, aside from it making him feel like an outcast, was that it made him face the fact that he had no real career options in the future, which lead to his intrinsic thoughts telling him he was letting people down.

Doesn't matter. Shut up, he told himself, shaking his head.

"Hey! Get the fuck off him!" someone yelled from outside. The line in front of them had barely budged an inch. Mink, taller than everyone else by a large margin, leant over to peer out the doorway and get a look at what was going on. Three boys were struggling in the middle of a circle, one of them trying desperately to separate the other two. A stray elbow hit him in the face, and he fell backwards with blood streaming from his nose, caught by the crowd, who all simultaneously started screaming. The crowded, narrow hallway was suddenly bustling with movement, people jostling each other and yelling, most egging the boys on.

Sei tugged at Mink's sleeve to get his attention. "What's going on?" he asked, a concerned frown set upon his face. "A fight?" Mink nodded in response. So much for science students being able to leave their classrooms in an orderly fashion. "Should we do something?" Sei prodded.

Shrugging, Mink replied, "Probably not. Just let them sort it out amongst themselves." He turned back to the scene just in time to see one of the boys land a solid punch to the other's jaw. The crowd's energy intensified in response. Surprisingly, Sei pushed past Mink and another student so he could see too.

He immediately turned back to Mink. "We have to do something," he declared. "We can't just let them get hurt like this." His arms folded across his chest sternly and he clenched his jaw, but Mink had to suppress his laughter. The dainty boy was trying his hardest to look tough and commanding, but it just didn't work with his fine facial features. If nothing else, it was a cute attempt.

"Why?" Mink questioned curiously. "It's their problem. Like I said, just let them sort it out."

"It's not right," Sei replied. "They shouldn't be fighting. They shouldn't be hurting each other, and these students shouldn't be encouraging it. I don't want anybody else to get hurt. If you're not going to do something, then I will."

Stunned, Mink just stared at him. Well, that took a lot of courage to say. But would Sei actually step in? Mink studied his face for a moment, and found nothing but determination. He concluded the crazy idiot would probably do it. He really meant it. Mink swallowed. He didn't really care about the kids who were fighting, but he couldn't exactly let Sei intervene. With how delicate the boy looked, he'd probably be snapped in half like a twig in seconds.

"Fine, I'll break it up," Mink snapped, storming past Sei. He barged his way through the crowd and emerged in the centre of the circle. "Cut this shit out!" he growled, grabbing one kid around the waist and hurling him in the opposite direction, easily separating the fighting pair.

The crowd stopped dead. The screaming stopped, the jumping and jostling stopped. The two boys in the middle of the circle stopped. The only sound was heavy panting and hard footsteps approaching on the linoleum floor. Everyone was too intimated by Mink's hulking body, his height and his muscles. Nobody wanted to make a move in case Mink turned on them too. He'd never intervened in a fight before, and everyone seemed to be wondering why he had now.

"What's going on here? Break this up, right now!" a sharp voice called out. Everyone turned around and saw Mrs Cornwell, clicking her way down the hallway in her black high heels. Now probably wasn't a time where she'd be lenient, unfortunately. "Who are the offenders? All four of you, to the principal's office."

All four of you? That includes me. Damn it, I don't deserve this! Sulking inwardly, Mink trudged off to the principal's office, the other three boys trailing behind him. The fourth boy, the one with the bloody nose, would probably need to stop by the nurse's office first. Today was straying further and further away from Mink's plan, and as he sat waiting on an uncomfortable wooden chair outside the office, it looked like he wouldn't even make it to Art History. What a shame.

"So, tell me what happened," the principal demanded from his high back chair, interviewing each boy individually. Mink recounted exactly what had happened, how he'd been trying to leave class and a fight had broken out, so he'd tried to stop it. The principal knitted his fingers together thoughtfully. "While that does seem admirable, trying to intervene, you did engage in violence, and according to school policy, I'm going to have to punish you. Normally, I would suspend you, as we're doing with the other boys. But since you were trying to do the right thing, I'm going to let you off easy. Five days of lunch time detention."

When Mink was finally let free, it was too late to join his Art History class. He'd only be there for the last 10 minutes, so he didn't see the point in showing up at all. He briefly wondered whether Sei had managed to make it to the class ok without him, but pushed the thought aside. While he had 10 minutes of free time before his first lunch time detention, Mink decided to lay out on the oval grass.

There were no clouds. It wasn't late enough in the day for that yet. But Mink gazed up dreamily at the clear blue sky nonetheless. His arms were lying flat by his sides, and his chest was rising and falling slowly as he breathed in and out deeply. It was relaxing, even if it wouldn't last long. He closed his eyes and let himself breathe in the fresh air, filling and emptying his lungs over and over like a relaxation ritual.

Without realising it, Mink must have drifted off to sleep at some point. He was roused from his slumber by a gentle hand shaking his shoulder lightly and a soft voice telling him to wake up. Slowly opening his heavy eyes, Mink was only mildly surprised to see Sei crouching over him.

"Hi, Mink," Sei greeted him, beaming. "I figured I would find you here when you didn't show up to class. I had a bit of trouble getting to Art History. I, uh, asked a few people for help but they weren't very helpful, so I ended up getting lost and getting to class a bit late. Anyway, it's lunch time now. So…would you like to eat lunch with me?"

Sitting up with a soft groan and patting the grass from his clothes, Mink replied, "I can't. I've got lunch time detention all week for getting involved in that fight."

Sei frowned deeply. "That's not right. You didn't do anything wrong," he protested, his hands balling into fists. "I'm really sorry about this, Mink. It's my fault for asking you to stop them."

"Don't worry about it. I'm off," Mink responded, avoiding eye contact as he left. Sei's right. It technically is his fault… Maybe he's some kind of siren? Beautiful but leads me into crappy situations. Who am I kidding? That's stupid. I guess I don't really blame him for this.

Mink headed towards the building where detention was held, and knocked on the wooden door of the wide room. There were dozens of rows of old desks and chairs, designed to accommodate at least 50 students at once. Mink had been there only once before, punished because he'd been late to class one too many times. He wasn't the kind of guy who liked to stick his neck out or draw attention to himself.

He silently took his seat, at the back by the window. He didn't mind having to sit in detention, as long as he could stare at the oval and the trees outside the entire time. Not even half the desks were filled today. It was the first day back, so maybe the teachers were just as tired as the students and didn't care. The room was dead silent except for the sound of one student tapping their pen against their desk. The wideness of the room meant that even such a small sound carried an irritating echo. The supervising teacher had her nose buried in a newspaper and didn't really seem bothered by it, however, Mink was.

Mink's eyes glided around the room, looking for the source of the sound. Three rows directly in front, there was the blonde girl tapping her pen on the edge of her desk, resting her chin in her palm with her elbow propping herself up. Very slowly so as to make as little noise as possible, Mink reached into his bag and pulled out his notebook. If the teacher's attention was caught, he'd just make it look like he was using the time to study. She couldn't argue with that. He opened the notebook to the middle, where the staples were, and removed a page without having to tear it. Quiet, quiet now. He scrunched the page into a tight ball and aimed it at the girl's head.

The small paper ball sailed through the air in a perfect arc and hit its mark. The girl jumped in surprise, her chair scratching the floor slightly. She whirled around, and made eye contact with Mink, who remained silent and simply glared at her, sending a warning message with his menacing expression. She looked a little frightened, and immediately faced forward again, thankfully ceasing her tapping. The teacher down the front didn't bat an eyelid, barely even noticing the exchange.

After an entire hour had passed, the school bell rang out, signalling the end of lunch, and freedom for those in detention. Mink was more than happy to leave that room, and he swiftly made his way down the hall and out of the building, headed towards his next class, which was French. He didn't particularly enjoy French, but like everything he was studying, he was luckily able to pass with minimal effort.

Mink knew home economics class ran at the same time as French, so there was absolutely no chance of him seeing Sei in this class. He breathed a sigh of relief as he took his seat. This class would be easy to sit through and it would give him a chance to finally relax. Only French and then Modern History, and then the day was over. Mink stared blankly at the blackboard, daydreaming about what he would do when he finally got out of school in the afternoon.

The clouds would finally have arrived. As he walked home, he would watch the sky move, watching the clouds slowly drift around without a care. He would unlock his front door, walk inside and pour himself a nice cold drink. He would relax in front of the fan for a little while, pushing all thoughts of homework from his mind. Then he would go for a long walk through the park, maybe even go to the nature reserve at the other side of town. He needed to unwind.

Mink hadn't really learned a single new thing so far today. He hadn't been paying much attention in any of his classes, and he'd even missed one of them altogether. He wasn't proud of it, but at the same time, he didn't really care enough to do anything about it. He didn't have the motivation to change anything, no interest to listen. He would still pass with average grades regardless of the amount of effort he put in, so it wasn't a big deal.

When it came time to trudge off to Modern History, Mink walked there as quickly as possible. Not because he was excited for the class, but instead he wanted the class to finish as quickly as possible so he could escape sooner. He took his seat and started doing what he usually did. Not paying attention, staring mindlessly out windows and at walls, scribbling in his notebook and pretending he was taking notes. Modern History was one of his least favourite classes. He didn't care to learn about all the death in the history of his country. He also didn't care much for the massive amount of homework and textbook readings they were usually given at the end of every lesson.

While the teacher droned on and on about some war, Mink thought again about what he would do after school. Maybe instead of walking to the nature reserve, he would walk to the beach. It was a hot enough day. Swimming in the ocean would be a nice way to cool down.

Finally, the home time bell rang. You would have expected Mink to have stood up faster than any of the other students in his class, but he took his time, conserving his energy. He followed the crowd out of the classroom and into the packed hallway. Everyone was shoulder to shoulder, making their way slowly to the school gates. Mink glanced out the window and grimaced.

This has to be some kind of joke.

The clouds had rolled in with the afternoon breeze. But instead of the fluffy, white clouds Mink had expected, they were dark grey and ominous, looming on the horizon and threatening to burst with rain. Mink sighed heavily at the drastic weather change. Nothing was going according to plan today, it seemed. Well, he'd just have to walk home, hope he didn't get caught in the rain, and sit inside the house all afternoon.

As he exited the school grounds, a voice called out to him. "Hey, wait up!" He was surprised. Nobody ever called out to him. He turned around and suddenly it made sense. It was Sei. "Hey, Mink!" the boy greeted, jogging to catch up to him. He was a little out of breath, and his cheeks were red. He hadn't even run very far. Mink looked amused.

"Following me home too?" he asked, smirking.

"Is that…an invitation?" Sei asked. It wasn't exactly clear if he was being serious, or teasing. There was something in his eyes that shined, but Mink couldn't identify what it was.

"No," Mink replied quickly. "It's not an invitation. I have my own plans." He had to quickly diffuse the situation, not wanting to give Sei the wrong impression.

"Oh…ok," Sei said, sounding a little disappointed. "Well, I have to catch a bus, so I'll see you tomorrow in homeroom!"

"Yeah, sure," Mink said, waving a hand in dismissal. That's if I even feel like coming to school tomorrow.

Sei darted off, weaving through the crowd to get to the pickup point for his bus. Mink had no idea where he was going, but found himself watching Sei go, his eyes lingering on the back of the boy's head. He was too friendly. It was a little unnerving, especially for Mink who had never really had anyone act friendly towards him before. He supposed it was a nice change, but he wasn't really sure how to react to it. Sei, a beautiful, friendly new student, seemed to want to be friends with him? It was a strange concept.

That was a problem for tomorrow. Now, Mink had the entire afternoon to himself to do (almost) anything he wanted, with the weather permitting. He started walking home, keeping an eye on the depressing clouds which were growing closer and closer by the minute. The air around him had taken on a vague chill and he could smell the oncoming rain. Going home, his pace was much faster than it had been when he was walking to school. He was very wary about being caught in the downpour.

It started to drizzle when Mink was about halfway home. Small raindrops spattered against his cheeks, the skin of his arms and the fabric at his shoulders. They were like tiny, icy bullets that didn't do a whole lot to improve his mood. He couldn't rush home much faster unless he actually broke out into a run. He picked up his pace enough that he began to jog lightly, feeling his backpack batter against his back in time with every step. He made it under the cover of the awning of his front door just in time to witness the rain grow heavier. Puddles began to form on the concrete of his driveway and he leant against the front door for a moment, catching his breath. His hair was sticking together in clumps, tangled by the rain.

Unlocking the front door, Mink entered the house and flicked all the light switches on. The fluorescent light in the kitchen had been flickering for days but no one had been bothered to do anything about it. Under the constant blinking, Mink rummaged about in the fridge and cupboards, looking for a refreshing drink and a light snack. He briefly wondered whether Sei got caught in the rain on his way home too, but just like with his homework, he forced himself to push those thoughts from his mind.

The rain was growing heavier still, and Mink turned on the TV to watch the news and cranked the volume up so it was audible over the sounds of the rain on the roof. Plunking his butt down on the low sofa and setting his glass of lemonade down on a coaster on the wooden coffee table, he idly watched the reports about a few minor robberies in the town over, a new online scam to be wary of, and some big charity event being held next month. According to the final weather report, the rain looked like it was going to settle in for the next few days, so it was ill timing for a picnic. Mink cursed his luck. He should have just skipped school this morning and enjoyed a picnic while the weather was still good. Maybe he could have even avoided detention too.

But then he wouldn't have met Sei…

Damn it, why can't I keep him out of my head for long? Grumbling, Mink stabbed a finger at the TV remote, turning it off and dropping the remote back down on the sofa pillows. He drained the last of the lemonade in his glass and slammed the glass back down on the coaster in frustration. He had no idea what to do to lift his own spirits. No idea how to improve the rest of his evening.

He wandered upstairs to his bedroom and plucked a book from the bookcase. It was a book about herb gardens that he'd bought last month but hadn't had the chance to read yet. While standing, he flicked through the first few pages, but he just didn't feel that into it. He placed the book back in its designated spot on the shelf, and wandered back downstairs. While I think of it, I may as well check on my own garden, I suppose.

Heaving the stubborn latch on the back door, Mink strolled outside to check in on his garden. Some of his plants were in pots under the shelter of the veranda, but others were planted in garden boxes. The ones in pots were doing just fine; a couple of the rose bushes even had small buds on them. They weren't being rained on at all, so they weren't at any risk of drowning. And the ones in the garden boxes were hardy and weren't bothered by the rain. Mink walked over to the metal shelving bracketed to the wall and picked up his metal watering can, taking it over to the rain and filling it halfway. He broke open a small sachet of sugar-based plant hormones and dissolved it in the water. He usually didn't like using chemicals but one of his trees didn't seem to be growing fast enough, so he watered it a little around the base.

Wiping his forehead with the back of his hand and brushing his hair out of his eyes, Mink emptied the remains of the watering can into the grate-covered drain by the gutter pipe. The humidity outside was making his hair disobedient. He replaced the now empty watering can back on the shelf and stared at the garden for another long moment. There was nothing else to do out here. He was just looking for a way to waste more time.

Walking back inside, Mink checked the time on the microwave. It was close enough to dinner time, so he figured he may as well start working on something. He pulled out various vegetables from the fridge including onions, potatoes, carrots, leek, and squash amongst other things. It had been a few days since he'd had a nice vegetable soup, and the thought of it made his stomach rumble already. Opening the kitchen cupboard, he located the vegetable stock and the cans of lentils and chick peas. He put a pot on the stove and began chopping and cleaning everything in preparation, taking his time to cut everything into exactly even sized cubes. It wasn't necessary, but it was time consuming and that was what he wanted. He heard the front door open at some point, but he gave it no mind. If his parents wanted to steal some of his vegetable soup, they'd have to wait until later.

Time passed really slowly while Mink waited for his soup to cook. For a while, he stood in the centre of the kitchen with his arms crossed over his chest, staring intently at the soup pot and watching the bubbling mixture as if it was the most fascinating thing in the world. But he didn't want the stand there for an hour, or however long it would take to soften everything. He decided to go back to the living room and watch something mindless on the TV.

When he sat down on the couch again, someone had left the TV on. It was on the music video channel, but the sound was muted. Everything looked really bizarre without the sound. Mink waited a few moments to see whether or not the person who had been watching (either his mother or father, he wasn't entirely sure) would return, but no one came back so he unmated the sound, quickly turned it down so it wouldn't blow the speakers, and changed the channel, just surfing until he found something else interesting. He ended up leaving it on the documentary channel, which was showing something about coral bleaching.

Eventually, dinner finished cooking. Mink served himself a bowl, and ate it slowly while watching another documentary about leopards. Now would probably be a good time to do his homework, but Mink usually didn't do his homework, so he didn't care either way. Once he finished his soup, he washed the dishes, packed the leftovers away into the fridge, and headed upstairs for a quick shower to wash off the day's grime.

Tilting his head so the warm water flowed over his whole body, Mink sighed. Today had been a really long, really boring day. He wasn't exactly tired, but he was planning on going to bed after this. The warm water encased him and relaxed his muscles, dripping in tendrils down his muscular body. He massaged shampoo into his long hair, taking care not to miss any spots so his whole head would be thoroughly clean. Once he rinsed it out, he turned the taps off and the flow of water ceased. He stepped out of the shower, surrounded by a cloud of billowing steam, and patted himself dry with a fluffy purple towel while standing in front of the foggy mirror. He stared hard at his own body and face.

Maybe the other kids were right. He was pretty scary, he supposed. Too tall, too broad shouldered, too muscular. His features were too harshly angled, his jaw line was too hard and his cheek bones were too prominent. Nothing about his appearance was soft or subtle. Nothing about his appearance gave off a friendly impression.

Drying off the last of the water from his hair, Mink dumped his towel in the laundry basket and sighed again, probably for the hundredth time that day. It wasn't worth glaring at himself in the mirror. In the end, it didn't really matter what people thought of him, as long as he knew what they thought was wrong. Mink exited the bathroom, flicked all the lights off, and shut his bedroom door behind him. He was going to try reading that herb garden book one more time before having an early night.