Lovino was honestly trying to stay awake during class. He really, really tried, but after his math teacher droned on about Heaven knew what, he felt as if he was being tried by the man Himself.

Instead, he doodled in the margins of his book, occasionally glancing up in the pretence of attention, thankful the teacher focused her attention on others for a change.

Herakles snoozed next to him, head on his arms, face obscured by curls. The teachers never appeared to notice when Herakles dozed off because somehow he would answer questions just fine, as if he hadn't been unconscious for the better part of class. How, Lovino wasn't sure, but damn if he wasn't jealous.

In one of his bouts of staring blankly at the white board, listening but not really listening to the teacher, his eyes strayed to the window, wondering what he would draw that night. He was still stuck on green, but the trees visible from the window could not even begin to compare to the vividness of Antonio's eyes.

They just didn't feel alive.

He blinked from his stupor at the sound of the bell and the rustling of his classmates packing their bags. He elbowed Herakles, who snorted and sat up slowly, and started shoving his stuff into his bag. Herakles followed suit after regaining a grasp on reality.

"What was class about?" he asked after they had left the classroom.

Lovino gave him a narrow look as they slinked past some excitable sophomores. "Dunno. Triangles or some shit."

Herakles nodded slowly, eyes faraway. Always faraway. If Lovino hadn't met up with him before school started, he might have thought his best friend to be as high as a kite. Except Herakles didn't smoke on school days, so really it was just Herakles being Herakles.

Lovino almost preferred high Herakles over sober Herakles, mostly because the former didn't try to educate you on ancient civilizations and their philosophers all the time.

They stopped at Lovino's locker. Herakles settled against the neighbouring ones, staring at the prom banner, yet probably not even seeing it. Lovino threw his math books inside rather violently, pushing back against the mass of loose papers.

"Are you going to Emma's party?" Herakles asked, seemingly out of nowhere, though Herakles was difficult to read at the best of times. He had turned his head slightly and watched as Lovino dislodged his economy book from the clutter.

Lovino glanced back at Herakles, but his answer was cut off by his locker spewing out part of its contents. He cursed and pushed his economy book in Herakles' hands. As he knelt to retrieve papers and books to haphazardly push them back into his locker to be dealt with another time (i.e. never), he spoke, "Yes, of course. You?"

Herakles thoughtfully played with the edges of Lovino's book. "Probably. I haven't smoked in a while, so it would be nice to bum some off of Daan."

Lovino rolled his eyes, focusing momentarily on closing his locker without everything spilling out again. He snatched his book back from Herakles and turned on his heel. "Is that all you ever think about?"

Herakles followed, almost passing his own locker if Lovino hadn't stopped and kicked him in the shins.

"No," he said as he messed with his lock. Lovino sighed by the fourth time and swatted his hands away, Herakles watching mutely as Lovino did it for him. "I think about lots of things all the time. Lately, I've been thinking a lot about metempsychosis."

"Metem—" Lovino mumbled the term to himself, touching his hand to his forehead briefly and interrupting Herakles where he had begun to explain. "Doesn't matter."

Herakles frowned, but rummaged through his locker for his geography book. Lovino stopped paying attention as Herakles began to clear out some of the notes someone had been consistently sliding into his locker.

After a long pause, Herakles continued his earlier train of thought. "Are you going because your being a good friend to Emma, or because you actually want to go?"

Lovino pursed his lips, not moving after Herakles closed his locker. He waited until Herakles had moved back and forth between the trash bin to ask, "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Exactly what it means?" Herakles scratched his head. "You don't enjoy parties. You dislike being around too many people, especially if they're also people you don't know. Plus, you're an awful drunk whenever wine is involved."

Lovino scoffed. Just because he had had one hell of a time with Tino and Alfred last year didn't mean he made it his usual routine to get blackout drunk. That had been a one time thing due to unusual circumstances.

"Whatever. So I go because Emma sucks at being a flirt. Big deal." He added, muttering, "Besides, someone has to keep an eye on her. You know how jittery she gets when she has a crush on anyone."

"Ah." Herakles glanced around the deserted hallways, lowering his voice accordingly still. "Should we talk to Héderváry at some point?"

"And say what?"

"I don't know." Herakles shuffled his feet. "She's going to graduate this year. It would suck if it just quit at that, wouldn't it?"

"Since when are you such a romantic?" Lovino shook his head. "It's really none of our business. If Emma wants our help, she'll ask, but otherwise." He shrugged. "She'll have to figure out this shit herself."

"I guess." Herakles nodded slowly. "What about you?"

"What about me?"

"Don't you want to have fun?"

"Are you saying that watching Emma make a fool of herself isn't entertaining? Or is this you asking me to join your drug club downstairs?"

Herakles thought it over. "Yes?"

Lovino snorted and began to walk toward the canteen, Herakles meandering behind him.

It was bustling, as it always was, but the found their little corner deserted and settled on the ground. Lovino had brought lunch for the both of them because his grandmother had asked him to and Lovino had no qualms with feeding his childhood friend, even if he was a bit of an idiot sometimes. He handed Herakles a fork and balanced the container on his leg.

"I have no interest in getting high," Lovino said, stabbing at the pasta. "I have Mass the next morning and, while I can get away with a hangover, grandpa will have my balls for smoking."

Herakles hummed. "Remember to set your alarm before you pass out like you did last time. And try not to trip over me either."

"Don't fall asleep in front of the bathroom then." Lovino jabbed him with his elbow.

There was a lull as they ate quietly, Herakles praising Lovino's cooking softly.

"Seriously, though," Herakles began again after some time. "If you feel like having a breather, either come join me downstairs or drag me outside with you or whatever. I know you don't like being alone."

Lovino smiled. "Yeah, sure. Thanks. If you need someone to escort you to the bathroom, don't ask Jones."

Herakles laughed. "Oh, God, please intervene to prevent that from happening again. I really thought Emma was going to kill us."

"Promise." Lovino hooked his pinky with Herakles' shortly, grinning as Herakles actually deflated in relief at the certainty.

They startled as Emma dropped her bag on the floor in front of them, herself following with a heavy sigh. Lovino didn't even flinch when she manoeuvred the fork from his fingers and stole the container of his leg, shoving it inside with a viciousness that would have been worrying had they not known her for years already.

Still, Lovino couldn't help but tease. "So charming, Emma."

"I'll sweep all the girls of their feet," Emma agreed through a mouthful. "Oh, this is heavenly, Lovi. Please marry me."

Lovino winked. "You tell me when and where. I'll likely show up."

"Likely!" She threw her head back as she laughed. "As likely as you'll show up to my party?"

"Obviously."

Emma grinned, holding out the container of pasta to Herakles. "What about you, Hera?"

"Marry you or the party?"

"I mean…"

"No and yes."

"Aw! You don't want to marry me?" Emma pouted, ignoring Lovino's attempt to reclaim his fork.

"Because I know it's just an elaborate plan to steal the kittens from me in the divorce," Herakles grouched. "I see through your tricks, Em."

Emma gasped. "Oh, no! My devious master plan!"

Lovino snorted, tuning out of their cat chatter. As cute as Herakles' kittens were, they weren't quite what Lovino wanted to think about then, especially as his mind wandered back toward something else cute.

He really needed to get that colour right, that vivid green, but he doubted he would just run into Antonio again. He wasn't sure whether he could even handle that. He could still hear the question that must have been on the tip of the other's tongue: were you drawing me? God, he must have seemed such a creep.

Between Herakles and Emma, he supposed Emma's came closest, though they appeared to miss that particular spark that had captured Lovino then.

He blinked when Emma said his name, amusement clear in her tone.

"You're staring, Lovi," she said, grinning. "Don't tell me you want to make true on marrying me?"

Lovino scoffed, brushing his hair aside to give her a look. "Oh, absolutely. Though I must first know if you've realized your undying love for me otherwise this simply cannot stand."

"Ah." She sighed dramatically. "I must disappoint you. I'm still very much a lesbian."

Herakles snorted as Lovino rolled his eyes.

"But really, Lovino," she continued. "What's up?"

"Nothing? I was just thinking."

"About what?"

Lovino let out a long breath of air. He had no idea how to even word his thoughts. How could he possibly explain what had happened that day with Antonio because nothing had happened. Not really. It had been some freak incident, and now Lovino had a sketch of a cute boy in his sketchbook, brain constantly circling back to green like he was Gatsby on the shore.

"Um," he began, then had no clue how to continue.

Emma and Herakles watched with barely contained interest. Emma was the first to catch on to the blush slowly creeping from Lovino's cheeks to his ears and neck, swallowing him slowly in embarrassment.

"Lovi," she sang, creeping forward. "You like someone."

Lovino sputtered. "I!"

"You!" Emma scooted closer still. "Who?"

"You don't know him." He sincerely hoped.

"But you do?"

"Not really."

Emma patted his knee comfortingly. "That's okay, sweetie. What's he look like?"

"That's none of your fucking business." Lovino wasn't about to indulge Emma in this. It was bad enough he was caught up on it.

"I bet it has to do with green," Herakles said thoughtfully.

Emma watched as Lovino turned impossibly red. She echoed, "Green? Why?"

Herakles shrugged. "I just noticed he was staring a lot at green stuff. Trees, the grass, Mrs. Nots' green sweater, our eyes just now. Doodled all over mine and his own notebooks with a green marker too."

Emma made a thoughtful noise. "Weird." She glanced at where Lovino was hiding his face in his hands. "It's kinda cute."

"Please shut up," Lovino whined. "I don't want to talk about this."

"Ah, but Lovino, I do!"

Lovino kicked her. It didn't quite work from this angle and Emma laughed.

"Don't you want to know, Herakles?" Emma continued. "Should I start singing about 'Summer Nights'?" She leaned on her hands, batting her lashes as she sang, "Tell me more, tell me more. Was it love at first sight?"

Lovino lunged for her, though Emma was much quicker, shooting up and away from him. He felt as if there couldn't possibly be any more blood in his face at this point.

Emma wafted herself in mock swooning. "My, Herakles, our little Lovi might have finally found his Romeo."

"That is so gross, Emma," Lovino hissed.

Herakles swallowed the last bit of pasta and added, "His Odysseus. Come all the way back for his Penelope."

"Like Hades fell for Persephone."

"Oh my God." Lovino didn't know at whom he despaired more. "You two are the worst."

Emma grinned, and Lovino knew that she undoubtedly deserved all his wrath when she said, "His Edward."

Lovino jumped to his feet as Emma had already made it halfway across the canteen toward the doors. He skidded around the corner in the hallway as Emma ran for her life. He was going to throttle her as slowly and painfully as possible when he got his hands on her.

Herakles caught up to them just as the first warning bell rang, pressing Lovino's bag into his hands as Lovino promised a gruesome death to Emma the next time he saw her. She answered it by blowing him a kiss, then looped her arm through Herakles' as they shared geography together.

Just before they turned the corner, she paused and called back, "Right. I forgot you were Team Jacob, sweetheart."

She was so very lucky Lovino had been caught by the current of students moving toward their classes. He lifted his bag to his shoulder, bristling all the way to economy where Matthew could raise his eyebrows at Lovino's violent treatment of his belongings as he thrust them onto their shared table.

"I swear," Lovino grumbled, "Emma is going to be the death of me."

Matthew laughed. "Of us all."

"If I don't get to her first."

"Ominous." Matthew eyed the teacher quickly. "Me and Al will be going to the batting range this afternoon. Want to come?"

"Fucking yes."

Lovino might be an awkward noodle but that doesn't make him friendless.

So many outdated references in this,,,,, I just couldn't help myself.

I hope you guys are still around for this! It's slow progress, but I am still writing for this!