Hi! A quick note before we start—I have been really struggling lately to write something. At first, I chalked it up to plain old writer's block, but then it didn't seem like that. I was writing things, but I was deleting them because I didn't feel like they were good enough. So this fic is for me, to prove that I'm good enough, even if I don't get as popular as some other authors. It's also for anyone else who's felt like they weren't good enough. Even if this story may not relate to that, read it and know that it's for you.
As always, I apologize for any grammar mistakes!
–
"This sucks."
At least, that's what I thought at first about this project. Spending my weekends in a cold auditorium making a set for a musical? Yeah, I figured I was being set up for the worst month and a half of my life. The only real reason I was doing it was because the other option was 5 weeks in detention. Look, I hate school, and skipping a couple of days shouldn't have this big of a punishment.
Really, I would've been in detention if it hadn't been for Miss Hedervary. That lady loves me, but she also kind of needed someone to make the set for the musical, because the art and wood shop clubs had skipped out on their promise.
Anyways, none of that stuff is really important. The big thing was who I had to work with. Before this whole ordeal, I didn't even know who that kid was. But we'll get to that part later. For now, we should probably start over.
–
"This sucks," I grumbled, for a whole lot of reasons. One, the auditorium was freezing, because it wasn't hooked up to the school's heating system and it was the middle of October. Two, I was here. Three, I was here until 3 o'clock, and the only snack I brought was a baggie of Goldfish, and I don't even like them that much.
The only things on the stage were a huge piece of dry wall, a couple of planks of wood, and some building supplies. I walked down the slanted aisle towards the front row of seats, where Miss Hedervary sat. She was on her phone, probably talking to the school's music teacher, Mr. Edelstein. He was really, really weird, but apparently she has a thing for weird dudes. One time she told me that she went out with this German guy that persisted to tell her birds had feelings.
"Lovino!" Miss Hedervary exclaimed. She stood up and gave me a hug, which was kind of nice. I gave her an awkward pat on the back. I still felt weirded out by how much she liked me, especially since I was 16 and she was 27, but I try not to over think it too much. She gives me candy.
"Hi, Miss Hedervary," I replied. She smiled warmly as she slipped her phone into her pocket. I tried to smile back, but it came out as this sort of weird grimace. What? I really didn't want to be there, no matter how much food or hugs my English teacher gave me.
She must have noticed my facial expression, because she immediately pulled out a Hershey's chocolate bar and tried to console me. "Hey, I know this sucks, but think of it this way: at least it's not worse!" I wasn't really paying attention to what she was saying, probably because I was too busy ripping open the chocolate and shoving it into my mouth. I have a thing for chocolate. It comforts me.
While I was stuffing my face with the soft, creamy goodness that is Hershey's chocolate, the aud door opened again. "Ah, that must be the person that's helping you!" I choked on the chocolate and swallowed as much as I could to speak.
"Wait, what? I'm getting help for this?" I had thought this was going to be something that I procrastinated on and did at the last minute.
"Of course! Did you really think I was going to make you do this by yourself?" Yeah, I thought, but didn't voice it out loud. "Antonio, we're right down here," she called. I turned around and furiously tried to wipe the bits of chocolate off of my face. My gaze was met with a guy, probably around my age, with green eyes and brown, curly hair that was in desperate need of a trim. "This is Lovino." I did a little wave with my hand but made no other effort to introduce myself. I may be nice around Miss Hedervary, but in reality, I hate people with a passion. They're annoying, frankly, and I do my best to avoid them. I hoped that this guy wasn't some hot-blooded weirdo who like to talk every time there was a moment of silence.
"Hi! I'm Antonio Fernández Carriedo, it's nice to meet you!" Shit. I could see theexclamation points in his speech. I looked down at his extended hand and shook it gingerly. His hand was calloused, which was surprising because the rest of his tan skin looked pretty smooth. Not that I was measuring the smoothness of his skin, or whatever.
"Yeah, you too." Miss Hedervary looked at us both with a strange smile on her face before clapping her hands together.
"Well, now that you two are acquainted, I should probably get going. Lots of papers to grade and such." That was probably bullshit, because I know for a fact that she wouldn't be wearing formal clothes to do paperwork on a weekend. "Everything that you guys need should be here, but if something's missing, let me know! I'll be back at noon to check on you guys." With that, she gave a cheery grin and walked out of the auditorium. I turned to face Antonio, who still had a smile on his face. Who the fuck smiles that much?
"Okay, I'm going to be honest with you right off the bat," I began. "I have no fucking idea what we need to do. Honestly, the only thing I know how to do is paint, and I'm not even that good at that." He laughed and rubbed the back of his neck.
"That's okay! I'm really good with building stuff, so I think we should be good. Um, not to be a smooch or anything," he said nervously, "but did you bring lunch? I woke up late and forgot to pack something." I pulled the bag of Goldfish out of my pocket. "Oh, nevermind then. I think I'll be fine then."
"Whatever you say." I walked over to the front of the stage and climbed up. I looked at all the supplies that we had and looked back at him. "So you can handle this, right?" He nodded enthusiastically and jumped up onto the stage. It felt like he was bouncing with excitement at the notion of building something.
"So I think she gave us an already-cut piece of wall, which is great, because that means we won't have to measure anything or cut it to fit in the back of the stage. What is a problem, though, is building the supports, which is probably what the planks of wood are for. If only we had more people, then we could..." Does he ever stop talking? He's saying something, I know he is, I'm just seeing his mouth move and nothing else. By the time I tuned in again, he reached a decision about something that I could probably care less about. "Is that okay with you?" Fuck. Now he's expecting a response. Say something smart so it sounds like you were listening.
"What?" I hate myself.
"I said, we'll build the supports today, maybe start painting a little, and then tomorrow we can ask Miss Hedervary for some more help to lift up the board so we can nail in the supports. Does that sound okay?" I nodded a made a little gesture with my hands.
"Sounds like a solid plan." Antonio smiled and did a thumbs up with both of his hands before turning to the supplies. "Just, uh, let me know if I can help, or whatever." I was really hoping that he'd be able to do this all by himself and I could just sit by and play Tetris on my phone.
"You could tell me about yourself!" I stifled a groan and sat down on the stage. "Here, we can play a questions game that I like to play with people that I've just met so we can be better friends!" Internally, I wanted to smack him and tell him to please stop talking, but I didn't have the guts to, so I just shrugged. "Cool! I'll ask a question about you, and then you can ask a question about me. They can't be the same question, though." This was going to be a long day. "Alright, um, what's your favorite color?"
"I have two, red and green." Antonio starts to measure the planks of wood and makes several marks on it with a pencil before placing the writing utensil behind his ear. It looked weird, but also kind of...cute? Son of a bitch, I did not just think that.
"Me too! I love red because it's the color of a tomato, which is also my favorite snack. I like green, too, but not as much as red." He starts to saw the piece of wood, and I can't help but watch how he does it so effortlessly. The last time I did physical labor like that was when I took wood shop in 7th grade and tried to make a bird house. I ended up burning it afterwords because it looked horrendous. He catches me watching him and holds up the saw. "Would you like to try?"
"Uh, sure." To be honest, I didn't even know how to saw. We had those electric things in 7th grade so we never had to do it manually. I think they got rid of those, though, since some kid accidentally cut his pinkie off.
I took the saw from him and held it in my right hand. I was either about to wow Antonio with my knowledge of sawing or I was going to embarrass myself. I figured it would be the latter, but I gave it my best shot anyways.
I started to try and cut the wood, but Antonio's laughter stopped me before I could get very far. I felt the tips of my ears turn red from embarrassment. This is why you don't try new things, I told myself internally. Because you fuck up everything you touch.
"Here," he said as he tried to stifle his laughter. "Take your hands like this and stand directly in front of the saw." Antonio grabbed my left hand with his own and placed it on the handle of the saw. My breath caught in my throat, because I had just met this guy and he was already holding my hand. Not that I minded or anything.
Wait, what the fuck?
"Don't touch me." He took his hands off mine and my heart rate turned somewhat normal, although he was still a little too close for comfort.
"Now move your arms back and forth." I did what he told me, and surprisingly, it was a lot easier. "That's it!" He gave me a genuine smile, and I swear to God, if I had had any illnesses, they would've vanished. I continued to saw for a little bit before giving it back to him, because it was obvious that it would get done much faster if it wasn't me sawing. "Alright, it's your turn to ask me something."
"Uh...fuck, I don't know...what's your favorite subject?"
"Math." I looked at him incredulously and he quickly explained. "I really like numbers. It's easy for me to get distracted by something else, but since there's so much that you can do with math, I can do so many things at the same time in my head."
"Oh. I've always really hated math. I mean, not because I don't get it or whatever, I just think it's fucking stupid so I don't pay attention." Antonio nodded in understanding as he replaced the plank to continue sawing. He finished and then turned to me to ask another question.
"Do you always curse like that?"
"You got a fucking problem with it?" He laughs heartily at my response. "Why are you laughing?"
"Because," he says in between his laughter, "you're just so cute." My eyes widened and I felt the tops of my cheeks heat up. Cute? He thinks I'm cute? We just met, like, 30 minutes ago.
"I'm not cute," I stammered. "I'm manly as hell."
"If you say so." Antonio started to saw again. "It's your turn," he said over the loud noise.
We continued like that for a while, asking each other questions, and soon enough it was noon, and Miss Hedervary walked through one of the aud doors. "How are you boys doing? Did you get a lot done?"
Antonio slung an arm around my shoulder. "We got a lot done!" I shrugged his arm off, but he didn't seem very fazed by it.
"Well, that's good. I knew I could count on you two!" She gave us both a pat on the shoulder and pulled out two Tupperware containers from the bag that was on her arm. "I made you both lunch, because I figured at least one of you would've forgotten." I took the container gratefully and sat in one of the front seats. Antonio followed suit, and we were both digging in.
"This is amazing," Antonio complimented. "You really are a nice teacher, Miss Hedervary!" She smiled, and I even caught the tiniest of blushes on her face.
"Kiss-up," I whispered, and he just smiled. We finished our food quickly, and she took the containers back and put them back in her bag.
"Well, since you guys did accomplish a lot today, I don't see the problem in letting you guys go early." I sighed in relief. Antonio, however, frowned a little, and his shoulders drooped a little. Miss Hedervary didn't seem to notice, though, and started to walk out. "I'll be locking the doors, so don't forget anything!"
I began to walk out, too, but stopped and turned around. "Do you need a ride home?" Antonio looked up at me, and I swear, he had the face of a kicked puppy.
"Um, I'm not sure. I think I'll just walk."
"Oh, do you not live that far from here?"
"No, I live about three miles away. I just.. don't really want to be home right now." He tried to muster up a happy expression, but still looked sad as hell. I sighed.
"Jesus Christ, come on. We can hang out for a little or whatever. Just tell your parents you have a ride home." Antonio's demeanor brightened immediately and he sprung up to follow me.
"Although," he said as we walked out, "you don't have to call me 'Jesus Christ'. Antonio works just fine." He smiled goofily and I laughed for the first time in...a week? Maybe more? His expression turned surprised.
"What?"
"You...you laughed."
"So? I laugh sometimes." We reached my car in a matter of minutes and I open the driver's door to get in. Antonio gets in the passenger's seat and closes the door softly. "So where do you want to go?"
"You don't really have to hang out with me, y'know. You can just drop me off at the library, there's one right by-"
"No. We can hang out," I interrupted. Even if I didn't like Antonio, I wasn't going to make him walk or take him straight home. Something was obviously going on in his home life, and I knew what that was like. "Where do you want to go?"
"Well...there's this cafe that I hang out at on Main Street. It's by Olive Garden."
"That doesn't really help me any."
"Why?"
"Because I make it a point to not know where Olive Garden is. They may claim they make authentic Italian food but they're really fake as fuck." I shift into reverse and pull out of my parking spot.
"I'm guessing you're Italian?" I snorted and drove forward.
"What gave it away, the accent?" We pull up to the stop sign that leads into the main road that the school's on. "Alright, I know how to get to Main Street, but after that, you'll have to tell me where to go."
"Okay!"
–
The drive was short, and unfortunately, I had to learn where the city's Olive Garden was. Antonio's mood perked up along the drive, and by the time we got out of my car, he was about ready to bounce into the sky.
"You're really going to like the cafe, at least I hope you do. It's really nice. I like to go there with my friend, and he actually should be there today, which is..." I daydreamed while he rambled, looking up at the building the cafe—The Yellow Bird—was in. It was a strange name, but it looked safe enough. I hoped Antonio wasn't leading me into some drug fight or something.
The door jingled as we walked in, and the interior of the cafe was actually really nice. It was nice and airy, and definitely looked bigger on the inside. The only weird part about it was the birds.
There were probably about 15 different bird cages, all having about 2 or 3 birds within them. Surprisingly enough, the place didn't smell like bird shit, but there was an underlying tone of Febreeze. I watched as the birds went crazy at the sight of new people. I was a little freaked out, because I've been attacked by a bird before, but Antonio seemed at ease.
A guy with long blond hair was sitting at the cafe's bar, nursing what looked like a cup of tea. Antonio walked right up to him and sat down while I lingered by the door.
"Hey, Francis!" The guy turned to him, and I finally saw his face. You've got to be fucking kidding me.
"Antonio! I thought you were building a set."
"I was, but Miss Hedervary let us out early, and Lovino agreed to drive me here." Antonio turned around and motioned towards me. "Come sit!" I walked forward slowly and sat to Antonio's right. "Francis, this is-"
"Lovino! I didn't realize that you were also helping with the set. It's nice to see you." Antonio looked between the two of us, obviously confused.
"I didn't know that you two knew each other already."
I gritted my teeth and prepared to explain. "Francis is in my foods class, and he's an ass."
"Lovino's just upset that I have a better grade." I almost launched into an angry rant about all the reasons why he was a jackass, but someone stepped out from the back of the cafe and into the bar space. He was wearing an apron with the cafe's logo—you guessed it, a yellow bird—but what really caught my attention was the color of his hair and eyes. I assumed that he was albino, because white hair and pink eyes like that probably weren't manufactured.
"Hey, Antonio, Francis. Who's this guy?" He gestured to me and started making some type of drink behind the counter.
"This is Lovino, he's a friend from school." I probably wouldn't have labeled myself as Antonio's friend, but I figured it would probably be rude to correct him. I waved my hand a little.
"It's, uh...a nice cafe that you have," I said, trying to make myself seem a little more pleasant than usual. You see, around adults, I try to make myself civil, so whenever I get into fights, they usually end up siding with me.
"Thanks! My name's Gilbert Beilschmidt, but if you're a friend of Antonio and Francis, you can call me Gil." My head jerked up in surprise at his name. It sounded really familiar—and then it clicked. German accent, a cafe filled with birds? This was probably the weird dude that Miss Hedervary had dated a little while ago. I turned to look at Antonio, and he seemed to know what I was thinking about, because he nodded slightly. "You want anything to drink?"
"Er, no, I'm fine." I was still really weirded out by the fact that this guy had probably gotten down and dirty with my English teacher.
Gilbert shrugged and gave the drink he was making to Antonio. "Suit yourself." He started to make another drink, presumably for himself.
"So this is where you...hang out?" I asked Antonio.
"Yeah! My older brother went to college with Gilbert, so I knew him already. When he started this cafe, he invited me to come and enjoy it. He's really good at making hot chocolate." Gilbert smiled proudly at his praise. "You should try one!"
"Oh...um-" But before I could protest, he was already whipping one up and handing it to me. I took a small sip tentatively, and then took another really big sip. "This is fucking amazing, holy shit." I try not to curse in front of adults, since they don't really seem to like that, but Gilbert seemed pretty okay, and yeah, that hot chocolate was really good. "How do you make this? Holy shit," I repeated.
"It's awesome, isn't it?" Even if Gilbert wasn't humble, the hot beverage was pretty awesome. I nodded and took a few more gulps. "So, are you and Antonio dating or something?" I choked on the hot chocolate in my throat and felt my face grow hot.
Gilbert and Francis only laughed as I struggled to get a solid breath into my lungs. "You are too easy to embarrass," Gilbert chuckled.
"Fuck off," I spluttered. "I only met him today. You guys are assholes." I glanced over to Antonio, who still had that stupid grin on his face. I slammed my cup down on the counter and took out a five. "Whatever, I'm going home." I put the money down and looked at Antonio. "You still don't need a ride, do you?"
"No, I'm good," he replied, unfazed by what had just gone on. Is he really that oblivious? I shrugged anyways and turned towards the door.
"Whatever." With that, I walked out of the door without any idea what the next 5 weeks had in store.
–
Thank you for reading! If you have the time, please leave a review and tell me what you think! I'm a little nervous about this story, since I usually don't do things like this. The chapter progression will go like this: 1. Saturday, 2. Sunday, and 3. Week. Since this chapter took place on a Saturday, the next one will be a Sunday. Let me know if my interpretation of Lovino is weird; I don't usually do first person, and the way I think of Lovino is misunderstood (when he's probably just an asshole). Expect the next chapter by next Wednesday!