September 19th – 21st
The week following the concert was a rather good one for Yuri. Since he didn't have much free time in his schedule to spendwith Karol, he had started skipping some classes here and there, even though Karol had advised him not to. The younger boy was nevertheless more than pleased to spend his time telling Yuri about everything that had happened at the orphanage since he had left; and Yuri would merely listen to him with an amused face.
"How about you pay us a visit? Everyone was super happy to know that you're here and all!" Karol offered. "They all miss you, you know?"
"I doubt it, given all the troubles I've given them." Yuri replied, laughing.
The two boys were sitting on the grass of one of the school's parks, enjoying the last days of the cool weather. On that Monday morning, Yuri was supposed to be at his project management class but he had decreed that missing a class from time to time wouldn't hurt him too much. Of course there was the possibility that Flynn wouldn't be very pleased, but Karol was more important to Yuri than a stupid class where the lecturers had the knack to bore the students after ten minutes of speech.
"No, seriously! Just drop by someday, we'll prepare a nice party for that!" Karol insisted.
"I'd love to, but I don't have much time between my job and school work." Yuri pronounced the last words with a grimace. School work. The plague of his life.
"Ah... Yeah, I understand." the brunette replied, slightly disappointed. "Anyway, if you manage to find some time, just tell me!"
"I sure will!"
Yuri yawned and then lay down on the grass, closing his eyes. The two of them remained silent for a while, before Karol resumed talking:
"By the way, you remember Rita?"
"Rita Mordio? That girl who'd always hit you whenever she could?"
"You don't need to remind me that... She still hits me, you know." Karol grumbled. "Well, when she heard you were here, she said she was going to apply to this university too."
Yuri opened an eye and glanced at his friend.
"Seriously? But it's too late to register for this period, right?"
"Apparently the orphanage is going to ask the school's administration to make an exception, based on the fact that she's always had excellent grades in high school and all." Karol explained unenthusiastically.
"Why didn't she go to a better university then?"
"Probably because she didn't want to leave the orphanage. She seems to have fun making weird experiences in her lab." Karol replied, shrugging. Yuri sat up, surprise painted on his face.
"Wait, what do you mean by 'her lab'? Don't tell me she hasn't given up on making all those horrible potions of hers?"
"Well, it seems that she had her best grades in chemistry, so as a present the orphanage offered her some chemistry kits and gave her a special room for her to play with her test tubes. I don't know what she does in that room but sometimes you can see green smoke going out the window, and sometimes it smells really terrible too."
"Weirdo." Yuri commented.
"I know right? I bet someday she's gonna blow up the whole building! Everyone calls her a genius, but I call her a crazy witch!" Karol exclaimed, making Yuri laugh.
"Maybe she's a genius crazy witch? Anyway, you said she was coming here, right? Do you know when?"
Karol shook his head.
"No, but I think it'll be somewhere around next week. Gods Yuri! I don't want to see her more than I already do! What if she takes the same courses as me? She's gonna hit me all day long!"
"Relax, boss. I doubt she'll take the same courses as you. She'll probably pick something related to chemistry, which is not your area at all, right?"
"Yeah, you're right." Karol sighed of relief. "And don't call me boss!" he punched Yuri's arm.
"What about 'venerable master' then?" Yuri teased him, laughing as the other boy had started pretending to sulk before laughing as well.
Inwardly, Yuri started thinking that he had greatly missed those times when he could laugh with his friends like that. But it seemed that he was being offered a new chance to laugh again.
Yuri hadn't come to class, Flynn noticed, and neither had he sent him any message to tell him about his absence. They were supposed to meet after lunch to work on the interview and Flynn had no idea if his partner would be coming or not. He hadn't even showed up at the cafeteria, crushing Flynn's secret hope to have another lunch box by him.
The blonde boy was now standing by the library's entrance, his back against the wall and arms crossed, waiting for Yuri to show up. Since he was five minutes early, he decided to wait patiently while wondering mentally what Yuri was doing. Maybe he was sick? But in that case, he'd have informed him of that. Maybe he had overslept? Flynn still didn't have any clear idea of how demanding Yuri's job was, so it could be a possibility.
"Yo, Flynn!" a familiar voice was heard.
Flynn turned his head and saw Yuri waving at him. By his side was Karol who also greeted him cheerfully.
"Hi, Yuri. Where were you this morning?" Flynn asked immediately.
"Is that concern I hear in your voice?" Yuri asked back teasingly. "Don't worry, I was in good company." he replied as he patted Karol's head, to the latter's utmost annoyance.
"Try to avoid skipping classes as much as possible, Yuri." Flynn replied with a sigh.
"Well, excuse me for choosing to spend some time with my long-lost friend instead of attending a soporific class." Yuri declared, slightly annoyed. "Anyway, let's get to work and finish this quickly. Karol, I'll see you later, OK?"
"Sure thing! Have fun, you two!" Karol waved at both of them and ran off while the two other boys headed inside.
The afternoon passed by rather quickly, much to Yuri's surprise. Naturally, Flynn had done most of the job, but somehow, spending four hours straight in his company had been less unpleasant as what Yuri had expected. Flynn hadn't made any further comment about his skipping classes, which was actually pretty pleasant.
At some point, as Flynn was explaining a few points on a paper, Yuri, sitting next to him with an elbow on the table and his head resting nonchalantly on his hand, found himself examining – once again – his profile. And after two minutes of thorough examination, only one conclusion came to him: Flynn was flawless.
From each lock of his golden blonde hair to those sapphire eyes that didn't even deign look at him, from that pale yet smooth skin to those pink lips uttering words which Yuri wasn't even paying attention to; there was not a single detail which tainted that elegant face of his.
"... and we should end with a short analysis on the relevance of the data we collected. Is that fine with you, Yuri?" Flynn concluded as he turned to Yuri, only to be faced with a pair of onyx eyes staring at him, as if unaware that Flynn was now gazing at them. Unconsciously, Flynn tensed up and his cheeks flushed very slightly; then after a few seconds, he averted the gaze, but not in the right direction. His eyes landed on Yuri's open collar and loose tie, and for a fraction of a second, something stirred inside of him at the sight of the exposed skin.
"Y-Yuri, did you even listen to what I said?" Flynn asked reproachfully as he quickly turned his head back to his papers.
"Hm? Oh, yeah I did. I'm OK with whatever you said." Yuri replied, finally snapping out of his contemplation. Of course he didn't miss the signs of discomfort Flynn had showed, and that made him smirk mentally. So Flynn was used to girls looking at him with over-loving eyes, and yet when it was a boy who was simply watching him, he actually felt uneasy? How interesting, Yuri thought.
Flynn let out a small sigh and gathered his papers.
"I think we should call it a day. You don't seem able to focus on our work any longer." he said. "The interview is on Friday, so we still have time to finish the literature review before preparing the interview; but please, try to have your part done by Wednesday."
"Yeah, I will." Yuri replied, still amused by Flynn's earlier reaction.
As both of them left the library and headed back home, Yuri started thinking that this new 'friend' of his was somehow an interesting subject.
On Tuesday, Yuri made an effort and didn't skip any classes, and as a result he wasn't able to see Karol even though both of them had been texting each other all day to kill time. In the afternoon, he saw Flynn a bit farther away, his violin case in one hand, and was about to call him out when he was interrupted by a soft voice:
"Good afternoon, Yuri."
"Oh, hi Estelle. What's up?" Yuri turned to the pink-haired girl with a smile.
"I was about to go to the choir. What about you?"
"You sing? I'd like to hear that someday! Well, I was just about to go home and collapse on my bed before finishing some assignment. Flynn will give me a speech if I'm not done by tomorrow."
Estellise chuckled at the comment then nodded.
"It is important to do all the assignments the teachers ask from us. That's the only way to get a good education and have a good degree." she said, almost in a motherly way. Yuri scratched his head.
"Let's say I just need something that'll help me earn money. I don't see how doing assignments all the time can help us achieve anything."
"Well... it's the education system which requires you to work and have good grades." Estellise replied, slightly confused by Yuri's point of view. "You can't get any degree if you don't work, and without a degree you can't find a decent job."
"Yeah, probably. Anyway, it's not that I don't enjoy your company but I should be leaving now. See you soon!"
"Goodbye, Yuri!" Estellise gave him a warm smile.
On Wednesday morning, as Yuri was heading for his lecture hall for a project management class, he heard someone running behind him and not long after, his name was called:
"Yuri!"
The boy stopped and turned round, perplexed as he saw Flynn running to him.
"Hey, what's the matter? You're usually never so enthusiastic to be with me." Yuri said jokingly, but sadly enough, he got no reaction from Flynn on that comment. Instead, the other just ignored it and went on:
"Good morning, Yuri. We have a slight problem. The manager whom we're supposed to interview on Friday just sent me a message this morning to tell me that he actually won't be available on that day. He said his only availability is tomorrow morning."
"Oh. And we were supposed to prepare the interview tomorrow afternoon, right? That's indeed a problem. Then I guess we have to find some time today."
"I have classes all day so it can only be done this afternoon after 5 pm. I'll skip the orchestra activities today."
The thought of having to stay at school after 5 pm to work didn't rejoice Yuri at all and he was very tempted to reply that he had a work shift on that day, but Flynn's next sentence aroused his curiosity:
"The library closes at 5 so we can't stay there to work. I suggest we go to my place instead. I don't live far from here; would that be fine with you?"
Yuri blinked twice at the suggestion before amusement painted on his face. Mr Perfect was inviting his humble self to his place? What a great honour.
"I guess we don't have much choice, do we?" he replied with a dramatic sigh.
"Indeed. Then let's meet at the school's gates at 5."
"OK. Wait, you're not going to class now?"
"I have another class at the same time as this one." Flynn explained. "And I should hurry because it's on the opposite side of the school. I just came here to tell you about the change of plans."
"I don't know if I should feel heartbroken that you're choosing another class instead of this one, or if I should feel flattered that you bothered finding me all the way here." Yuri replied sarcastically. "Anyway, see you this afternoon." he added before stepping into his lecture hall.
Flynn remained standing there for a second, not really understanding Yuri's last comment; then he merely shook his head, deciding that it was merely part of Yuri's character. As he made his way to his own lecture hall, he couldn't help but feel quite surprised at himself. Never before had he invited anyone to his place; and even though this time it was more or less an emergency, it still felt rather strange for him to have a guest.
Especially when that guest was Yuri Lowell, his complete antithesis.
At the end of the day, they met at the school's gates as agreed.
"Glad to see you haven't deserted, Yuri." Flynn said as they got ready to leave.
"Was that an attempt at making a joke?" Yuri inquired, raising an eyebrow.
"Take it however you want." the other boy replied, actually smiling.
Fortunately enough, the trip to Flynn's place was indeed short, for an awkward silence had filled the atmosphere all along as none of them had any idea on what to say. At some point Flynn did ask a question or two about school, but that was about all. Yuri had never been to that quarter which could be considered the fashionable districts of the city, in a way.
It wasn't a district for wealthy people only, but the buildings were much more modern and fancy than in Yuri's neighbourhood. The two students soon arrived to a tall and off-white block of flats with brown and dark green balconies and large windows at each floor. A minute later, Flynn and Yuri were inside an elevator to the 7th floor and another minute after, Yuri stepped for the first time inside Flynn's flat.
He was left speechless for a moment. It wasn't anything fancy, but it was incredibly large. In the main room front of him were the living room and the kitchen, both lit up thanks to huge bay windows. The furniture looked plainly modern and the whole room was in a state of neatness and cleanness Yuri would have never imagined. His own room wasn't particularly messy, but at least it was obvious that someone lived in there. Here, there wasn't a single object which was out of place. Even the paintings on the walls looked like they had been hanged there with a mathematical precision.
His first impression after an overview of the place could be summarized in one word: cold. Not about the actual temperature, but about the general atmosphere, as if that flat hadn't been designed as a place to live, but as a mere necessary formality to have a roof above one's head. Yuri wouldn't have stood living in that place for long.
The flat definitely didn't look like any normal student's dwelling. Yuri could have stood there staring much longer if Flynn hadn't interrupted him:
"You can put your stuff on the sofa. I'm going to make some coffee before we start. Do you want some?"
"No thanks. Just water for me." Yuri replied as he dropped his bag at the sofa's feet. Seriously, just how rich could Flynn be? Or rather, Flynn's parents? Yuri now felt more and more curious. He didn't manage to resist asking the question:
"Say, were you the one who paid for this flat?"
There was a second of silence before Flynn replied:
"In a way. I took a loan."
What student was crazy enough to take a loan to buy a flat? And which bank was crazy enough to accept such a loan? Well, it wasn't really Yuri's business, but looking at the place where he had stepped foot, he felt in a completely different world. He sat on the sofa, wondering if Flynn didn't have some relationships with the mafia or anything similar.
Flynn soon came back with a cup of coffee in one hand and a glass of water in the other, handing the latter to Yuri before grabbing some paper on a shelf and a pencil in a drawer. He then sat on the sofa next to Yuri and put his stuff on the low table in front of them.
"Let's start then. The interview will last an hour, so I think we can prepare around ten to fifteen questions..."
During the next hour, Flynn kept scribbling, crossing out some questions and then rewriting some others while Yuri tried his best to participate. For once, he wasn't actually bored by the work they were doing and soon enough, everything was wrapped up.
Yuri stretched his arms, satisfied that it was over and started packing his stuff while Flynn was putting their notes into order.
"Thanks for your time, Yuri." he said. "I hope this kind of unexpected events won't happen again."
"Oh, don't worry about that. You did most of the job, anyway." Yuri replied lightly. "Anyway, time for me to go home and make dinner! By the way, what do you have for dinner since you can't cook? You have a maid coming over to cook for you? Or don't tell me you eat canned food?"
"No, I usually have something delivered." Flynn replied.
"Hey, what about this? Since I didn't work that much, I can make dinner for both of us. If you're OK to let me use your kitchen, of course." Yuri offered. He had no idea what had prompted him to offer to cook – once again – for Flynn, and simply assumed it was merely because he enjoyed cooking a lot.
"Oh... hm, no, don't bother about that. I don't want to keep you here any longer. I guess you'd rather go back and rest, wouldn't you?" Flynn replied, quite surprised by Yuri's proposition.
"Come on, don't give me that. You're dying to taste my cooking again." Yuri smirked as he stood up. "Last chance before I leave for real: want me to make dinner tonight or not?"
"I-But there's nothing here for you to cook."
"Huh? What do you mean? You don't have any knife or pan or anything?"
"No, I have all of those. But there's no ingredients." Flynn replied, slightly embarrassed. "Since I don't cook myself, I only keep fruit, drinks and similar stuff."
"Seriously?" Yuri opened round eyes. "Flynn, what kind of life do you have here?" Then he shook his head and grabbed his bag. "OK. Come with me, we're going to resupply. I saw a supermarket near your place."
"It's fine, really! You don't have to-"
"Just come already." Yuri cut him in by grabbing Flynn's wrist and dragging him along.
With a sigh, Flynn gave up and a couple of minutes later, both boys were at the supermarket, Flynn merely following Yuri while the latter was picking all the ingredients he needed. When arriving at the cashier, Flynn offered to pay, naturally; but in return Yuri merely threatened to poison his food if he were to come up with more ridiculous suggestions.
As they went back to Flynn's flat, Yuri almost felt a wave of depression hitting him once he stepped foot once again in that realm of coldness. Seriously, it was no wonder Flynn was so uptight while living in such a sad place.
"OK, let's get to work." Yuri declared as soon as he was done displaying all the food on the work table of the kitchen. He rolled his sleeves up and started preparing the ingredients. Flynn was in the living room, working on some projects and looking particularly absorbed in them.
Apart from the sound of Yuri cutting vegetables and putting them in a pot, the large room was bathed in a religious silence; which at some point started getting on Yuri's nerves. Usually he always had his earphones on, yet it was because he was usually alone. However, now, even with Flynn in the same room as him, it felt completely empty – and cold.
After a few minutes bearing with that uncomfortable silence, Yuri let out a small sigh of annoyance; and then he got an idea.
"Flynn."
"What is it, Yuri?"
"You don't want to play some violin now, by any chance?"
Flynn didn't expect the question at all. He raised his eyes to Yuri who was still busy preparing the food.
"That wasn't in my plans, but I guess I could if that's what you want." he replied, slightly troubled.
"I didn't have the opportunity to listen to you play except in that concert. And it's always better than this weird silence." Yuri added jokingly.
"All right..." Flynn stood up and disappeared somewhere in another room before coming back with his instrument, a score and a music stand.
Yuri watched him prepare the score and clean the bow before getting ready to play. As soon as the bow touched the violin string and started producing a melody, Yuri felt a shiver running down his spine. For a moment he forgot about dinner and could only watch Flynn play. It didn't take him long to understand why Flynn could stand living in such a cold flat; it was because whenever he played, the whole atmosphere surrounding him would warm up under each note of the melody.
And suddenly the whole place looked less grey, less dull and more... alive. Yuri could barely believe both his eyes and ears, and even less ignore that continuous chill seizing him; yet that chill wasn't due to cold, but to the warm music from Flynn's violin. With a faint smile, he resumed his activities while making the ridiculous wish that the music never stopped.
Flynn was playing, completely unaware of Yuri's captivation for his music; and yet at some point, he glanced just once at the dark-haired boy and caught a glimpse of a faint smile. And even if he was used to having people appreciate his music, that smile still made him happy.
Soon enough, the music was over, and dinner was ready. Yuri didn't fail to make many compliments to Flynn about his music skills, to which Flynn replied that they were no match to Yuri's cooking skills.
As Flynn tasted a first mouthful of the dish, he almost sighed of delight. The flavours, the scent, that hint of spiciness, everything was perfectly balanced to him and his palate could only beg for more. All the ingredients were cooked perfectly; not too much and not too little; each mouthful melted in his mouth to release the most delectable fragrances. Once again, Yuri had proved to him that he was a master in his art.
"What's this dish called?" he finally asked.
"It's a 'boeuf bourguignon'. A French recipe." Yuri replied, always amused to see Flynn's reactions whenever he tasted his cooking.
"It's delicious." Flynn commented uselessly.
'Of course it is! I picked the best parts to cook you that! And now my wallet feels horribly empty.' Yuri thought. And yet, he somehow didn't mind spending if he could get to see that delighted expression on Flynn's face.
When they were done with dinner, it was already late and dark outside. By the time they cleaned up everything, it was past 9 and Yuri let out a long yawn.
"Well, I guess it's really time for me to go." he finally said as he grabbed his bag.
"I'll call a taxi for you." Flynn offered, but Yuri dismissed it.
"Nah, I'd rather walk, but thanks for the offer. I don't live that far from here anyway."
"As you wish. Please don't forget to come to tomorrow's interview." Flynn reminded him with a smile.
"Yeah yeah, I'll try." Yuri grunted as he walked to the door. "See you tomorrow." he added, opening the door and stepping out.
As the door closed behind Yuri, Flynn thought that it hadn't been such a bad evening after all.
xxxx
A/N: The chapter is longer this time, but I hope you like it!