Be Mine
Chapter 3
Hard to Handle
Claus stumbled on his way to his first period. He couldn't believe it, but he had to.
That bell saved his life.
Because he had to admit it, if the bell never rang, then... He wouldn't have known how far he'd let Ness have his way with him. Claus was frustrated. He didn't even try to fight back! What's up with that? Could it be that Ness was morphing Claus into one of them? The feeling made Claus shudder of disgust.
No, never! Claus thought. I'll never be gay like Ness! I like… girls!
Oh, and, there was something else about Claus. He was a bit homophobic. Although, he doesn't care about gays being around him. He doesn't even mind a few gay friends now and then. He remembered the last time Lucas came out as bi to him, but he happily accepted it with loving arms. Yes, he doesn't mind gays at all. The only time when he'll lose it is if one comes onto him.
Claus ran into his first period English class, startling the many students already inside. He stomped towards his desk that he picked near the back of the classroom. When he sat down, he uncontrollably yelled out something everyone could hear.
"WHY ME?! WHY IS A GAY COMING ONTO ME?!" he screamed at the top of his lungs. Everyone inside the class stared confusingly at the orange haired boy, then started laughing so loud. Even his teacher, Mrs. Johnson, sputtered a bit and tried holding back her laugh. They were nearly hysterical.
"Hahahaahaa! Good one, Claus!" a boy named Alex said, getting up from his chair and patted Claus on the back. Alex was one of his friends.
"Eheheh... Yeah..." Claus laughed nervously, pretending that he had meant to do that. And luckily, the class bought it. That's one of the advantages of Claus being a natural class clown.
A while after, the teacher figured it was time to start the class. "Okay everyone! Settle down, settle down. Take your seats and do the warm up that's shown on the smartboard."
The students groaned, and did as told. Claus did it too, and took out his pencil and binder from his backpack. And... that's basically it.
His periods literally raced by like light. Work, work, and work. And to his teachers' surprise, he did it all without saying anything, or joking around. The teachers found it quite odd of Claus, but accepted it because it actually is less stress for them because they didn't have to deal with Claus' purposely stupid questions that would sidetrack the class by making them laugh. He couldn't help but be quiet though. He spent nearly all of his morning classes thinking about Ness and what he could do about him. What can he do about him? That puzzled Claus and stumped him over and over again.
It wasn't until his lunch period that he snapped out of his thoughts. Because there, he had to meet up with his friends Jeff and Lucas. And it was nearly an adventure to find them. It's because Jeff always picks a different table each time. But Claus knew why.
"I don't always want to sit at the same table," said Jeff.
"Why? It's so fucking hard finding you guys!" Claus replied.
"Because the position of the table is what counts! I don't want to be near those loud people, or too close to those quiet people! I want it to be just right. And I know you do too."
Claus remembered what Jeff said. He groaned loudly. He would sit with other friends, but Jeff and Lucas happened to be closer to him. So he preferred it.
He scoured the overcrowded cafeteria, looking for those two. Occasionally, he was greeted by his other friends, that said "Hi" to him while he was walking past. Soon enough, after a good minute or two, he found the friends he was looking for. It surprised him. That was the fastest he's ever found them. He quickly dashed to that one table.
"Heeeeeyylooooo Claus!" Lucas greeted cheerfully. Jeff waved at him.
"'Sup you guys?" Claus kept his cool. He smiled.
"Nothing much just waiting for you so we can get our lunch." Jeff fixed his glasses momentarily.
"Well, I'm here, wanna go get some now?"
"Nah, not yet."
"Why?"
Lucas pops into the conversation. "We're waiting for our new friend, Ninten!"
"Ninten?" Claus says confusingly. "What the hell is a 'Ninten-"
"Heeeey!" a voice booms over. Claus could hear small footsteps arriving right behind him. As from instinct, he turned around before that voice could get any closer. His eyes widened when he saw the figure.
"I'm the Ninten you guys are talking abo-"
"AAAAHHHHH!" Claus shrieked. "NESS?!"
"Um... no, I'm Nint-"
"GET AWAY FROM ME!" Claus ran around the table to make space from Ninten. "I don't know what gave you the balls to confront me in front of my friends, but I'll have you know that you will never have your way with me!"
Ninten blushed confusedly. "Um, what?"
"Calm down Claus!" Jeff rose from his seat. "IT'S NOT NESS!"
Claus stared daggers at Ninten, until he heard Jeff. "Wait... what?"
"It. Is. Ninten... Not. Ness. Do. You. Com-pre-hend?" Jeff spoke slowly.
"He... isn't?" Claus looked back at Ninten. Then he took a moment to examine him more clearly. The boy wore different clothes than Ness today. He wore a red, white, and blue striped shirt, a red scarf, and a red and blue hat. Although, the hat was turned to his left, opposite of how Ness turns his. Claus flushed from the big mistake he has made. There were so many things that could differ himself from Ness. Why didn't he take more time to look at him when they first encountered each other?
"I-I'm sorry! I didn't mean to- er... It was my bad!" Claus laughed nervously. Ninten raised an eyebrow, then took his seat. He smiled and giggled a bit at Claus' mistake.
"Hehe, it's okay! Ness is one of my friends, and I've been confused for him many times, so it's no biggie!" he forgave the other. Claus felt as if a weight has been lifted from his shoulders.
"Yeah well... now that that's solved, what was up with that, huh Claus?" Lucas asked.
The weight returned to Claus' shoulder. "W-What was what?"
"Remember the stuff you said about Ness when you were overreacting?" reminded Lucas. The two other boys nodded.
"That was uh, er..." Claus thought quick. "I'm sorry, you have exceeded the amount of questions you may ask me for today. Please come back tomorrow. Thank you," he purposely sounded like a robot. The other three then broke out into laughter. Immediately, the rest of the boys let that little question pass. Although, Lucas was still suspicious, even more than he was this morning.
Ninten tried his best to stop laughing. "Hahaha! Oh Claus! You're a funny guy!"
"Hehe, I get that a lot." Claus rubbed the back of his head. "Now do you guys wanna get lunch? I'm starving!" he lied. After that little crash with Ninten, his appetite has literally been thrown out the window.
Everyone agreed and got their lunch, then sat back down. Small chits and chatters were made, about school, girls, and stupid things that would come across a free thinking group of boys. This brought comfort to Claus. Something that was hard to get throughout the course of events that have occurred. The boy sighed of relief and smiled warmly at his other friends. Although, he felt a little sting in the pit of his stomach.
He used to remember the good times with Ness like this. They'd tell jokes, laugh, come to each other when they need help. In other words, when no was there for them, they had each other. Claus thought deeply over this.
"You're so dense... I love you, Claus!"
Claus' heart thumped heavily in his chest. A blush rose up to his cheeks. He didn't know how to feel about what Ness said. He's mad, but not so mad about it now that he knew Ness wasn't just screwing around with him. He's not happy either. Everyone always needed that one friend they could believe in, that one friend you'd never get tired of, or would let go of that easily. And that person to Claus happened to be Ness. He just doesn't know what to do now. He couldn't return those feelings to Ness...
Can I try?
That thought flickered through Claus' head like light. But the boy easily caught it like it was nothing. He clenched his fingers.
No, NO I CAN'T! EW! With another dude...?!
Now that Claus thinks about it; there really wouldn't be a problem if Ness was a girl.
Cutting off his train of thoughts, the bell rang for the rest of the class periods to go. Claus and his friends scooted out of their seats, threw away their lunch trays, and said their farewells.
"Bye, you guys!" Ninten yelled, leaving with Jeff.
"See ya!" added Lucas, going on his own way.
"Bye..." Claus said, drained out. He dragged his feet across the school floor. He twisted and turned around groups of other students who were chatting and having fun before 6th period started. Although, as he progressed, he didn't feel as bad as he did while he was thinking just awhile ago. Soon, he was at his 6th period Geometry class.
As he entered, he automatically remembered where he sat, and who he sat with. He looked over near the middle of the room, where two seats were next to each other. One was empty, and the other one was occupied by Ness, who looked over at a poker faced Claus.
Fuck you, fate. Claus cursed in his mind. However, no one could blame him. He never would've guessed that sitting next to his best friend would soon bite him back in the ass again.
He took in a sharp breath and let it out. Without making eye contact at all, he sat down abruptly at his seat, and let his backpack fall to the ground next to it.
The tardy bell rang, and now it was time to start class.
"Okay everyone! Take out last night's homework. We're going over them," demanded a voice from the stocky male teacher, Mr. Goldstein. Everyone groaned and mumbled while taking it out.
For once, Claus followed orders right on cue and whipped out his binder from his backpack. From there, he opened it up and took out a blank worksheet he was supposed to do. His teacher never checked for homework, so he could just not do it and copy the answers the next day.
Looking from Claus to his blank sheet of paper, Ness chuckled. "Really, Claus?" He had out his homework, already filled and probably contains accurate answers.
"Yes, really!" Claus looked over at Ness, and chuckled along too. But midway, he noticed he was talking to Ness, so he shut up and looked back to his desk disappointingly. Claus was still impacted by his friend, but after all they've been through, it's now an instinct and impulse to laugh together. He couldn't help but reply back naturally; though it was a bit awkward this time.
Ness noticed this. He looked from Claus, then somewhere else as he slouched in his seat. He sighs. "Claus... it's not like anything's changed."
The orange haired one winced. He had a hard time trying to find the right words, but he did. "Things did change! You told me you... l-loved me and—how can nothing change?!" He tried keeping his voice down.
"Because..." Ness looked over at Claus and locked eyes with him. "You love me too, you've always did."
A blush rose to Claus' cheeks. He felt attacked. "Wait, WHAT?! WHERE THE- HOW- WHAT? NO I DON'T, YOU DUMBASS!"
"CLAUS!" the teacher yelled. Claus jerked his head in attention. "Quiet down! If you want to get credit for your blank homework worksheet, then you better pay attention," he snapped, earning 'ooh's from the class. That really got Claus' blood boiling, but not as much as Ness'.
Ness scoffed and rolled his eyes at the teacher. "Well, his worksheet isn't as blank as your sex life," he retorts. The raven-haired boy bullshitted the comeback even though he knew nothing about his geometry teacher's sex activities. Regardless, that really got the class going, which was what the boy was aiming for.
Angry, the teacher yelled, "NESS! CLAUS! Different seats, NOW." The male pointed at one seat for Claus to sit, and at another for Ness to sit, both located on opposite sides of the room. The two boys groaned out loud and went off, taking their backpacks and things with them.
At this point on, Ness thought things would've been better off if he had kept his mouth shut. However, he couldn't help but tell off anyone who mocks Claus like that and make him look stupid. Ness knows Claus isn't stupid; he's way more than that.
Continuing on, the class quieted and resumed their lesson.
It was only a few minutes later when a girl sitting behind Ness, poked the back of his shoulder.
Surprised and at the same time, curious, Ness turned around and looked at the girl. The girl held out a folded note.
"For you." The girl discreetly slid the note onto Ness' desk. The boy thanked her quietly.
Confused, the hatted one picked up the note and read it.
Lol. That was awesome Ness! Worth the seat change! Thanks.
-Claus
With that, Ness looked across the room, over to Claus. Right when he did, the orange haired one was already staring. He had a small smile plastered on his face, which made Ness form one of his own. The two laughed quietly to themselves.
After class, Ness suspected the two to have made up and forget the whole thing that happened in the morning and the day before that. However, by the time the two were released from their last class for the day (they had different classes) Ness didn't see Claus at all; they would usually talk a little bit before Claus would have to take the school bus with Lucas. Claus would be the one to wait for the raven-haired boy, but this time, he walked right past their meeting point and got on the bus early. The orange haired boy didn't want to see Ness.
Claus felt a little bad because he knew that Ness would wait for him. Regardless, he went home anyway.
Even though their interaction in Geometry class felt natural and like nothing has changed, Claus felt pressured by Ness with his assumptions.
'You love me, too.' Claus repeated what Ness blatantly said to his face; which brought a subtle frown to his face.
Maybe not in the way you want me to, Ness… The orange haired twin shook his head disappointingly. He felt like crying a little bit, but he didn't let himself just in case the kids on the bus would notice; or worse, that his brother would see.
So when all the kids that needed to take the school bus were all aboard, Lucas and Claus took it home.
Another day over with. Hopefully this year goes by fast so I can get out of this damn place, thought Claus.
However, it was only September, a month since they've started their new high school year. It was going to be long and Claus knew it, too.
