Silver wasn't known for being nice to people.

He wasn't known for anything really, but he'd put away any bitter feelings towards that subject a long time ago. He'd just accepted that he wasn't noticeable, and after a while it became a comfort, something constant he could rely on not to change.

Classes change and lunches change and worst of all people change, but Silver could always rely on solitude. And that was just the way he liked it.

Of course, life doesn't always go "just the way you like it." Life throws obstacles in your way, and jabs at your gut- and you just have to grin and bear it.

Silver's own personal jab at the gut had arrived four days ago, from a huge public school in Goldenrod, where the teachers don't care what you do as long as you're not murdering people.

The new kid, Gold, was Silver's polar opposite, and his begrudging partner in Chemistry.

Gold hadn't taken a liking to Silver's bad attitude and sarcastic sense of humor, and though he had quickly become friends with the other kids in his year, Gold treated Silver like his sworn enemy, and Silver thought it only fair to return the favor.

"Pass the instruction sheet, asshole," Gold hissed angrily at Silver, putting his new nickname for the redhead to the test, low enough that their teacher wouldn't hear.

"Sure thing, dipshit," Silver snarked back, not missing a beat. He all but threw the paper at Gold's head; the boy was lucky he hadn't asked for something heavier, because Silver surely would have taken his head off with it.

Gold was so relieved it was Friday; five class periods with Silver was a pain no one should ever have to endure. Their work that week had been terrible, and the teacher had already warned them that they were failing the class- twice.

"What the hell," Silver muttered, eyes scanning the paper with Gold's data on it. "There's no way this is right."

"Are you saying I somehow messed up following directions off an instruction sheet?" Gold demanded angrily.

"Yes, that's exactly what I'm saying!" Silver exclaimed, narrowing his eyes.

"Prove it then." Gold crossed his arms.

"Right here- on question two, where you were supposed to write your calculation? All you did was draw a graph. And we weren't even supposed to graph anything in the first place!"

Gold rolled his eyes. So he missed a problem. Sue him!

"You put 'pot color' for the dependent variable!" Silver was waving the paper in his face now. "That doesn't even make sense! This is a osmosis lab! We haven't dealt with plants in weeks!"

"I can't believe that you're actually going through my answers and ragging on me for every little thing I did wrong!" Gold's voice was elevating. People were staring.

"Well, someone has to! Would you rather it be the teacher, right before he fails us?" Silver was rapidly losing his temper. "And another thing-"

"Boys!" Gold and Silver stopped fighting and turned to listen to their teacher, who had inconveniently stepped back into the room. "Detention, after school. Both of you better be there."

Silver knew enough to not talk back to their teacher. Gold, evidently, did not.

"I… What… No!" Gold faltered for a moment, before the shock left him and he could fully fight back. "We weren't even really fighting! We were just being a little loud! Besides, it was mostly his fault anyways, if anyone should have detention, it's just him!"

The whole class turned to watch Silver's heavily offended face. "Okay, listen here, you peice of sh-"

"Hallway! Now!" Their teacher shouted, and Silver clenched his fist and stomped out of the room. Gold didn't move until the teacher said, "you too," and he had no choice but to follow Silver out.

In the hallway, Gold and Silver sat on opposite walls and glared at each other like it was a hate-filled staring contest.

"Are we gonna talk about how you just got me detention?" Gold asked after about a minute.

"How I got you detention?!" Silver snarled back instantly, and he had to reign himself in before he physically strangled Gold to death.

Gold seemed to have gotten bored in the few seconds it took Silver to regain his composure, and was now lying with his feet up the wall, staring at the ceiling. Silver had the overwhelming urge to stand up and stomp the black-haired boy's head into the ground.

After suffering through the hell that was the rest of Chemistry class in the hallway with Gold, Silver went to the rest of his classes in a terrible mood. He fairly glowered as he stomped from class to class, and he sustained an actual headache from glaring so much.

When it came time for Silver to attend detention with Gold, he had never been more tempted to skip anything in his life.

When he finally forced himself to walk into the room, he saw that he was actually one of the first ones there, despite being a full 5 minutes late.

I guess you can't expect the worst kids in the school to actually show up early to be punished, he thought.

He sat in the very back corner of the room, and the fact that he actually got the seat he'd wanted lightened his mood considerably.

Silver had just put his earbuds in and pulled out his homework, when none other than the asshole who'd got him in this mess strolled into the room, and sat directly in front of him.

"What's up, you redheaded fuck," Gold grinned, sliding off his sunglasses and leaning his skateboard and pool cue against the wall.

Silver growled. "Redhea- listen, you're the one who did this to us, you goddamn miserable, son-of-a-!"

In the front of the room, the teacher assigned to detention duty coughed and raised an eyebrow. Silver decided to let it go, just this once.

"Don't talk to me," he said, turning back to his work.

"Okay," Gold said, grinning and turning around. Then under his breath, he whispered, plenty loud enough for Silver to hear, "You bossy piece of shit."

In that moment, Silver wondered just how many days more of detention he'd get if he drove his pen through the other boy's skull.

45 minutes later, detention was drawing to a close.

The handful of students in the detention room were getting restless and starting to stir and whisper as loudly as possible without Mr. Oak shushing them.

Gold was no exception, and as soon as the other kids started talking, he was right back on Silver's case.

"Whatcha doin', homework? On time?" Gold asked. Then he huffed. "Teacher's pet."

When Silver didn't even look up, Gold took it as an invitation to keep going.

"I don't do homework, myself," Gold continued nonchalantly. Silver bristled. "Or classwork, usually. Seems like a big waste of my time, especially when I could be doing something way more fun, like skateboarding. Or gambling. Or telling annoying redheads how much I hate them…"

Gold paused then, looking up to see Silver's reaction. There wasn't one. Gold's eyebrows furrowed.

"This is the part where you thank me," he said, and at last, Silver looked, up confusedly. "I could do my homework, if I wanted. And on time, no less. I'm just too smart for that, so I intentionally fail to make people like you look less pathetic. You're welcome."

Gold knew that was a load of crap, but he couldn't help himself. He'd needed to get a rise out of Silver, and if he had to bring it to battle of wits, so be it.

Gold sat back in his chair, waiting for Silver's reply, and certain the redhead would just go back to ignoring him. Unfortunately, Gold forgot that Silver was incapable of holding back snark.

"You know, Gold, I'd love to see things like that from your point of view, but I can't seem to get my head that far up my-"

Silver would have finished his remark, but it was at that moment that Gold saw an opportunity for a fight and lunged at Silver over the chair, knocking them both to the ground. Before either of them could do much besides get a couple punches in, Mr. Oak was crossing the room and pulling them apart by their collars.

However, both would have bruises for days, the cost of said bruises would be more detention, and a renewed urge to slit each other's throats.

"I'm just saying, you didn't have to hit him back," Blue commented drily. "We both know you can take a hit. If you had let Mr. Oak handle it, he'd be the only one in trouble."

"Whatever," Silver huffed, rolling his eyes. The day he sat there and let Gold punch him would be the day he gave up Pro-Team Omega for good.

"Why do you hate Gold so much?" Yellow chirped suddenly, and Silver thought about it for a minute without coming up with anything except 'He's an asshole.'

When he iterated this to Yellow, a sly smile came over Blue's face.

"So you don't even have a reason for hating him?" She asked leaning forward, and Silver found himself leaning backwards, with a suspicious look on his face.

"You know, before Green and I started dating, we fought all the time," Blue said, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively. "Could it be possible you don't hate Gold quite as much as you say you do?"

Silver's face burned red at the thought. "Of.. of course I hate him!"

"Yeah, you keep saying that, but you couldn't even name one thing he does that you hate!" Blue laughed. "Face it! You've got it bad."

"I bet you think about him all the time, too," Yellow jumped in unhelpfully, and Silver cringed because he realized she was right.

"But that doesn't mean anything! We're lab partners! I see him everyday, of course I'd think about him sometimes!"

Silver sounded more like he was trying to convince himself than Yellow and Blue. The two girls dropped the subject, but Silver couldn't turn his mind for the rest of the night.

Gold was confused.

When the redheaded freak and he had partnered up in chemistry earlier, he'd done everything himself. He didn't say a single word to Gold the entire time, and filled out both of their paperworks at the same time. Gold had never had such an easy day in that class, but he still wanted to know what was up.

And just now, Silver had walked into the detention room without so much as a look in Gold's direction, just straight to his seat, no scathing remark to be heard.

Gold turned to the front and let his mind wonder. Had something happened?

Do I even care?

Gold told himself that he didn't. That he shouldn't, had no reason to.

But, he decided, as he put in his earbuds, I do care, and I'm gonna figure this out.

Gold didn't like Silver, but he had to admit, he enjoyed their little spats. They kept his life interesting. Today had been the easiest class period ever, yes, but it was also the most boring, and Gold would rather fail Chemistry than suffer another hour of boredom everyday.

Blue: Just pull him aside after detention and say it! The worst he can do is say no! (Or tell everyone and embarrass you but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Yellow: Silver, you can't ignore him forever 3

Silver felt like he might throw up.

"May I use the restroom?"

Silver's voice shot through the silence of the near-empty detention room, making Gold jump. He had just gotten to sleep, too, dammit… The redhead always had it out for him.

Mr. Oak looked conflicted up at the front of the room. They had both been good for the past couple of days, just showing up, serving their time, and leaving without a word… Besides, it was obvious to anyone that the dark-haired boy was the problem.

"You may. Be back in 5 minutes," Oak allowed.

Gold's eyebrows furrowed as he watched Silver leave. He'd never seen the redhead look so uncomfortable and distressed; either he had severe diarrhea, or something was up.

Up at the front of the room, Oak was on his laptop, typing away. Gold gauged whether or not he was paying attention and decided that even if he was, what he was about to do wouldn't matter. Besides, what was Oak gonna do, throw him in detention?

Slowly, Gold leaned backwards and plucked Silver's phone off his desk. Perfect.

Gold couldn't do much without Silver's passcode, but he could flip down the notifications bar and read his latest texts.

From Blue: Just pull him aside after detention and say it! The worst he can do is say no! (Or tell everyone and embarrass you but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )

Yellow: Silver, you can't ignore him forever

The fact that they were still able to be read told Gold that Silver hadn't replied. Was this what had him all shaken up? Having a crush on a guy?

Pathetic, Gold sneered as he reached to put the phone back. If you have a crush on someone, just tell them! What kind of pansy can't admit their feelings?

Gold didn't care that Silver was gay. If Gold had been straight himself,he probably would have made fun of him, but having come to terms with his own pansexuality a long time ago made Gold a little more understanding of other's feelings. But not too much.

The moment Gold was about to put the phone down, it buzzed. So naturally, he checked it.

Blue: If you don't tell Gold today, I'll tell him myself! 3

Gold dropped the phone.

Gold had been lucky to get the phone back in time; no sooner had he set it back where Silver had had it and turned right ways round when Silver stormed into the classroom, looking ready to murder someone.

Once again, he didn't look at Gold, but this time, it didn't infuriate him, because now he knew why: Silver had a crush on him.

After detention, Gold grabbed his skateboard and pool cue and sprinted out of the room, and didn't stop until he was a block away from the school. Then, he sat in an alley and considered the facts.

Silver had a crush on him. Which was flattering, but just… no.

Even as Gold thought no, he felt a smaller voice in his head whisper, why not?

Because he's evil, Gold thought in reply. What better reason do I need?

Is he evil, though? Or did I just piss him off?

Thinking back, Gold couldn't recall a time where Silver started an argument with him. It was always Gold starting the arguments, Gold starting the fights. It was always Gold provoking Silver. No wonder the guy was always on edge when Gold was around. He never knew when Gold might start something.

This new development left Gold feeling pleased with himself; he liked the idea of having that kind of power over someone, all in the name if good fun, of course.

But even as he had this thought, Gold was left wondering how Silver could be scared of him and have a crush on him at the same time.

Gold's brow furrowed. Is it possible that Silver's not scared of me? That he's trying to push me away because he likes me?

Gold knew that this was the reason the moment he thought it. He'd liked the idea of seeming threatening, but he knew it just wasn't realistic. Not much about Gold screamed "dangerous," as much as it pained him to admit it.

So, with his questions answered, Gold was left with only one decision: How to act around Silver now.

From that text he got from Blue, Gold gauged that he didn't have much time before he was formally dragged into this, either by the redhead himself or by his hot, crazy older sister. Blue was exactly the kind of person to carry out her threats; if Silver didn't fess up soon, Gold had no doubts that he'd be getting an anonymous text very soon.

If Silver does tell me directly, what'll I say? Gold thought, suddenly much more worried. Imagine how awkward it'll be! How will we work together after I turn him down?

Gold groaned and rose up from where he was sitting on the pavement, and walked in the direction of Cherrygrove Park. It was for little kids, sure, but contemplating life choices on a swing was a helluva lot more comfortable than doing so on the ground.

As Gold made his way down the sidewalk he dragged his feet, scuffing his tennis shoes on the pavement. For a second, Gold was terrified that it was Silver- that was exactly the kind of thing the universe would do to him- but was relieved to see that it was only Straw-Hat Girl and her Pikachu.

"Hey, Gold!" Straw-Hat Girl seemed bubbly as always, and, surprisingly, genuinely happy to see Gold.

He gave her a strained smile. "What's up, shortstack?"

She huffed at the nickname, but fell in step with him anyways. "Not much. I'm just worried."

"About what?" Gold questioned, tilting his head.

"About Silver," she replied, and Gold groaned inwardly. Was Silver taking over every aspect of his life?

"What about him? Last time I checked, he's the same old dick he's always been," Gold said nonchalantly, slowly coasting on his board.

"Sure, but he's been really quiet lately," Straw-Hat Girl was obviously trying to hint at something, but if Gold hadn't read Silver's texts, he never would have know what it was. "I think he might have a crush on someone."

Gold tried to look surprised. "That emotionless fuck? I seriously doubt it."

He sped up, creating distance between himself and Straw-Hat Girl. He could hear her break into a run to try and catch up with him, but all he did was offer a goodbye over his shoulder as he turned the corner.

The weekend passes quickly for Gold, and by the time he goes back to school that next Monday, Gold feels like a brand new person.

Until Chemistry.

Most of the class passes, no problem. But eventually, Gold gets bored because Silver is still doing all the work, so he tries to start a conversation.

"So, Yellow told me you have a crush on someone."

Silver almost drops his beaker.

"That's ridiculous."

Silver jumps straight into denial.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

"Tell me who it is!" Gold is having fun now, teasing Silver. Taunting people is much more fun when you hold all the cards.

"No."

"So you admit there is someone?" Gold grins.

"Shit," Silver cusses, mentally beating himself up.

"Who is it?" Gold questions once more, taking a step closer to Silver.

"No one!" He insists, lab forgotten, as he takes a step back.

"Come on. If you tell me, I promise I won't tell them." SIlver looks conflicted. Gold loves to make him squirm.

The bell rings for the last class of the day, and Silver turns in their unfinished lab quickly before speed-walking out the door.

Gold hangs around, mulling his feelings over in the hallway on the way to his last class.

I don't really hate Silver, Gold thinks, coming to terms with the fact. So what am I gonna do about it?

He gets an idea, and grins. It's so ridiculous it just might work.

After school, Gold rushes to his locker and sprints out the door so he can get in position before Silver passes by.

It doesn't take long, and soon, Silver finds himself suddenly pulled behind a dumpster by a dismembered arm.

"What the actual fu-"

"Silver, just tell me how you feel. Be honest." Under any other circumstances, Gold would have stopped there. But his need for answers overshadowed his need to be as impolite as possible, so he finished with a soft but convicting, "Please."

"I wasn't born with enough middle fingers for that."

"..."

"Whatever. Fine. You're not as bad as I thought you were," Silver said, and Gold was blown away by the intensity in his eyes. "And I wouldn't mind if we were… friends."

"Friends?" Gold asked.

Silver muttered something under his breath.

"What was that?" Gold asked, grinning and leaning in towards Silver to hear him better.

"I said 'more than friends,' alright, asshole?"

Gold grinned and took Silver's hand. "I'd like that, too."

He paused.

"You peice of shit."