"Leon Kirkland."
The boy glanced up from the book he was reading and scurried to the front. The teacher grinned and handed Leon the test paper.
"Full marks again! Excellent!" Ms. Hedervary grinned and patted the boy's head. From behind, his classmates clapped in recognition of his outstanding performance. The boy smiled inwardly, pondering how gleeful he would make his father with this score.
"Thank you, Miss," the boy nodded politely and strutted back to his seat.
"Can I see?" Emil whispered with a smile.
"Sure." Leon slid the paper across the desk.
"Wow. You're amazing." It was a very curt comment, really, but his eyes glinted with appreciation.
"Do you seriously love studying that much?" Emil asked out of curiosity as they ambled towards their lockers after school.
"Not really. I like playing video games," Leon replied. "Dad gets upset at poor grades, so yea, I like, have to keep the scores up."
The brunette's body tensed up immediately. To be frank, he wasn't really interested in all the subjects he was learning at school. Sometimes, his mind drifted away to…fireworks?!
He loved fireworks. But it was impossible to have them in his yard. So, he played with firecrackers almost as regularly as he went to school. But he could only keep them at home. After he learnt the lesson of pulling a prank on a classmate last time, he didn't dare give it a second attempt. The punishment he received was horrible and he vowed to never disappoint his father again.
"Do you wanna see my firecrackers?" Leon asked with a beam of excitement.
"I thought we are going to study and have tea afterwards," Emil reminded him.
"Oh yea, sorry." Leon nodded and jammed his hands into the pockets with a slight pout. He really wanted to showcase the recent firecrackers he had been so hooked on. They unleashed an assortment of spectacular colours when lit. He had modified and invented the new peculiar shapes by himself, without Arthur's knowing, of course.
"Hey, I can come to your place another day, okay?" Emil nudged the other boy, trying to cheer him up.
"Yea, that'd be nice."
They halted in front of their lockers, speechless. Leon stared at the ghastly paints sputtering all over Emil's locker. The other boy remained unfazed. His eyes twitched slightly at the unsightly scene.
It's not like he wasn't used to these pranks. Sometimes, they could get much worse.
"No!" Leon yelped when Emil reached for his locker. "We should, like, report this to the teacher."
"It's okay," Emil mumbled, taking out some tissues from his pockets. "No need to make a fuss about it."
"This won't do. Those paints need to be scrubbed using detergents."
"Leon, do you think you can help me get some wet towels from the washroom?" Emil asked and tried his best to scrub the door. The paints were fresh and they refused to come off.
Leon nodded and dashed to the washroom. He returned later with some wet towels and detergents. The two boys worked together to rub the paints off. It took them nearly an hour to clean off all the mess on Emil's locker.
The Icelandic boy wept quietly after they finished rinsing the door. He usually didn't care much what others did to him but he felt ashamed having to drag Leon into this. He knew the brunette would only get harassed like him if they continued being friends.
Leon had other ideas though. He didn't really mind the trouble of defending Emil. He was probably the only person he would even bother to have any human interaction with.
Because he was different. Different from others.
And because somehow they were so similar to each other.
Both were forsaken. Taken for granted. Abused.
Both realised the only purpose of their existence was to depend on and confide in each other.
"Let's get going."
Emil eventually wiped off his tears and snot. He took out his bag and started heading towards the exit.
"Wait up." Leon followed suit, casually wrapping his hand around Emil's.
Emil glimpsed the brunette with a faint blush but didn't duck. They sauntered down the road.
They did their revision in an hour. Satisfied with their progress, the two set off to have tea.
They ordered their favourite desserts and chatted. They were discussing a recent video game when Emil suddenly gasped.
"What?" Leon tilted his head before following the Emil's gaze out of the window and towards the couple strolling down the street.
"Is that…your mum, Leon?" Emil stammered.
The brunette stared at the woman across the road in sheer disbelief. It was indisputably his mother, but she was walking with another man- a stalwart man with a head of tousled light blond hair and two amethyst eyes. Their hands were intertwined. His mother's lips wandered on the man's gorgeously translucent skin. The long trench coat and the trademark scarf he wore all the time gave away his identity. It was Ivan Braginski, the man whom his mother used to have a fling with during the college days.
"L-Leon?" Emil stuttered and shook the other boy's hand anxiously.
Leon could never take his eyes off his mother. There was a sound of shattering glass and he found it hard to believe that the broken was, in fact, his own heart.
To believe that one day his mother would return to this household was a complete lie.
He knew it.
He could tell from his father's eyes that nothing would ever be the same again. Ever since the night he laid his hands on him in a drunken state, he had already claimed him as Chun Yan's substitute.
The rare meetings he had with his mother proved just how much she didn't want to return to this home anymore. She had gone back to her ex-lover, just like what his father had told him.
There was no way he could mend this family, however hard he tried to be the best son in the entire world.
From then on, Leon stopped believing in miracles. He ceased having faith in his family. He never shared his ludicrous dream with Emil.
And he hardly smiled again.
All the emotions seemed to have drained the moment he witnessed his mother kissing another man; a man who wasn't his father; a man who could never be his father.
When he got home that day, his father was a drunken mess. Apparently, he had learnt about the relationship between Chun Yan and Ivan. Once he saw Leon, he gripped him by his wrist and hauled him upstairs.
"You're late, son. So damn late. What did I tell you about staying out late after school? Huh?"
Leon didn't have the mind to explain everything to his father. Arthur didn't even bother to inquire about the dried tears on Leon's face. When the boy tried to show him his test result, the blond pinned him down and sealed their lips together.
The lights were switched off.
No more words were spoken that night.
Emil noticed that Leon didn't reply his text message. He couldn't sleep that night. The door creaked open and he almost shrieked.
"Sh…it's only me."
A familiar voice wafted out of the darkness.
Emil hid his phone in the drawer briskly and turned around. The towering figure drew closer.
"What's-"
"Sh…" Mathias shushed him. "Lukas kicked me out. I don't wanna sleep on the couch. So let me sleep with ya tonight, okay?"
Emil shuddered at the thought. He wanted to resist but didn't. He knew he would just stir up a ruckus if he rejected the blond.
It wasn't the first time Mathias got turned down by his brother. He was always the second target he would prey on.
The Dane climbed into the bed and draped his arm around the smaller body. Emil scowled and snapped away the swaying hand on his chest.
"What? It's warmer that way, silly." Mathias smirked. Emil loathed himself for being so feeble. As the hand travelled downwards, brushing sensually along a certain organ of his, he blurted out a moan. The Dane tightened his grip around the youngster with a sly, luscious smile.
It was a long, long night.
The next day, both boys were late to school. They bumped into each other at the bus stop. Emil tried hard to hide the marks with his scarf and mittens. Leon stood next to him, his face a bit more ashen than normal. His eyes were glued to the ground. Emil didn't even have to ask when Leon hobbled in every step. His face hurt when the wind brushed it. The dryness and the cold. Like a withering rose.
"You didn't answer my text last night," he stated as-a-matter-of-factly. Someone had to initiate the conversation anyway.
"I went to sleep early," Arthur replied. Both knew it was a lie. His bloodshot eyes gave it all away.
"Maybe we should skip class today." Emil glimpsed his watch and suggested. "We're…way too late by the way."
Leon winced at that thought. He couldn't imagine what Arthur would do if he received a call from school that he was playing truant.
"Leon?" Emil gasped. "Leon? Are you alright?"
That was a silly question.
He mentally slapped himself for even daring to inquire about his well-being.
"Yea, whatever," Leon murmured, hands in his pockets.
"Do you wanna go back to school?" Emil tugged on the other's sleeve slightly.
Leon shook his head.
"I want to go home."
"Oh…uh, okay." Emil nodded. "Then maybe I should also-"
"Will you come with me?"
"What? To your home?"
"He's out," Leon said nonchalantly, hardly parting his lips. They stared at each other for a long, awkward moment before Emil nodded his head.
He followed Leon to his three-story house. The garden was big but untended. Pots scattered all over the corners. The existing plants were either withering or had already wilted. Emil had to admit, indeed, the house was far too large for two. Leon claimed several rooms for himself. He showed Emil his study room, his game room, his art room, his mini-library, his personal storage room etc. They eventually settled in his bedroom, which was decorated with sky-blue wallpapers. It had an enormous wardrobe, a small bed with panda-printed sheet and a tiny desk near the window.
"Do you, like, want tea or juice?"
"Um…either is fine actually." Emil smiled and ran his fingers over the stuffed teddy sitting on Leon's bed.
"Okay. I'll, be, like back in a minute."
Emil scanned the room curiously. He didn't know Leon's family was that well-off. But then again, all these material forms did nothing to bring happiness to Leon's life. He had tons of toys, game sets, books and clothes, but he could never have a fulfilling family. When he heard whispers from downstairs, Emil popped his head out of the door. Leon was talking on phone to someone. As the brunette returned with a tray of freshly brewed tea and snacks, Emil was glancing at a photo frame. It was a frayed family photo, adorned by faded tear stains. By the deplorable look of it, Emil believed it had been at least creased twice in Leon's palm.
"That's, like, totally uncool to look at someone else's private stuff." Leon grabbed the picture and crumpled it.
"I'm sorry."
"I'm just kidding." Leon giggled. He creased the picture and tossed it into the bin. Emil stared at the disposed item. His brows furrowed.
"I don't need it anyway."
"But Leon…that's your family photo."
"I know." Leon flopped down on one of the beans bags and drank his tea calmly. "So?"
"Are you still sad about….yesterday?"
"A little maybe. If I say 'no', you probably won't believe me." Leon shrugged, gesturing to the snacks on the tray. "Go on, help yourself, Emil."
"Do you hate your mum then?"
"For what?"
"For…I don't know…for abandoning you? Leaving this home? Going out with another guy…"
"Well, do you hate your parents then, Emil," Leon asked. Emil's face paled. The boy rubbed his thumbs and shook his head.
"Surprisingly…I don't," Emil stuttered with a faint blush. "Even though they left me."
"I guess…" Leon nodded. His eyes fluttered out of the window. "I don't think I hate her. She just wants to be happy. Everyone wants to be happy. It isn't a fault, is it?"
"No…it isn't. But I still think it is selfish of her to go off living a happy life and you're stuck here…with your dad."
"It isn't always that bad…I think. He gives me whatever I want at least..." Leon stammered, not sure of his stance anymore. Did he want to leave this home? He couldn't deny having thought of it but he was never absolutely sure what he wanted. Not anymore. Before he saw his mother with another man, he was so certain there was the slightest chance that he might fix this family. But now that he saw how happy she was away from Arthur's grip, he began to re-think his opportunity. Maybe what he really wanted was for both his parents to be happy.
"Who did you talk to just now?" Emil asked and took a timid bite of the cookie.
"Dad," Leon answered. "I told him I'm not feeling well."
"Did he scold you?"
"No, he thinks it's his fault, so he lets it go." Leon stood up and walked towards the computer. "Do you need to call home?"
"Nah…they're…probably not in anyway."
"Then, shall we play some video games?" Leon smiled.
"Sure." Emil smiled back.
