"So..." Hiro starts, fidgeting in his plastic seat. One of the legs is shorter than the rest, and he rocks back and forth uncertainly. "Why Honey Lemon?"
It's the last day of their week-long after school detention spree, and the teacher had just left the room for a toilet break mere seconds ago. Hiro's already finished all of his extra work and 'repentance letters' as the delinquents call it, and he's bored out of his mind.
Gabriella grins at Hiro from her seat diagonal from him. She's done her extra work too. "It's an old nickname," she says in a stage whisper. "Freddie gave it to me; says I'm sweet like the honey lemon tea. The name kinda stuck," she giggles.
Hiro hums at the brief explanation and wonders if this 'Freddie' guy went around giving nicknames to every person he befriended. A loud, delighted squeal cuts off his absent-minded wondering, and Hiro shoots a bewildered look at his usual lab partner.
"We should totally make a nickname for you, Hiro! It would be so cute!"
The genius hides his grimace behind an awkward smile. He wasn't really aiming for cute. He has enough trouble getting along as an eleventh grader it is. If he had any more reasons for people to ridicule him, he might as well start digging himself a hole to crawl into and never come back out of.
Apparently, that doesn't register in Honey's mind, because as soon as detention is over and they're allowed to go home, she's dragging him off in the direction of his little niche at the back of the school in between the sports shed near the football field and cross and field track.
Suddenly, Hiro has a sinking feeling he has an idea of who exactly this 'Freddie' guy is. Sure enough, as they reach Hiro's hiding place, Fred's there - hunched over a comic book and waiting for Hiro to arrive so they could walk part of the way home together.
"I knew I would find you here!" Honey cheers, bouncing up to the other with the muted click-clack of her heels.
Fred looks up at the sound of Honey's voice, sleepy smile back on his face. "Hey Honey," he greets, hand raising lazily to give a loose wave. Hiro trails behind and Fred turns his smile to him. "Hey little dude, I see you've met Honey Lemon. Bestest of the best at chemical reactions and baking." Fred seems to contemplate something before tacking onto the end of his sentence, "-But not at the same time." The comic enthusiast turns a light shade of green. "Chemical reactions and baking at the same time is not the bestest of the best."
Hiro doesn't even want to know. What he does end up asking is, "You two know each other?"
Fred chuckles and rolls his eyes. "Haha, yeah. Honey and I go waaay back. Like, waaaaaayyy," he says, voice going all echo-y and fingers doing that strange wiggly thing they did when Fred was trying to act mysterious.
Honey Lemon giggles at his side. "We're childhood friends. My dad knew his dad. They got together a lot."
Hiro feels a little out of the loop again. "I see..." is all he manages to say.
Honey Lemon turns her excitability towards Fred, and dread pools low in Hiro's stomach. "Freddie! Don't you think it would be great if Hiro had a nickname?"
Fred cups his chin in a hand, the other crossing over his ribs. "Hmm, I see your point. Then how about... Kid Genius!"
Although he can't see it right now, Hiro is pretty sure his face looks horrified.
"That's a no, huh?" Fred mumbles, closing his eyes and frowning as he tries to think of another name. His eyes pop open. "Ooh! What about... Boy Wonder! Whiz kid? The Hiro-nator! Human Calculator!"
Each new nickname is worse than the last and Hiro simply gives Fred a deadpan look and a very serious, "No way in Hell am I taking any of those nicknames."
Their group of three continues like that the rest of the way home, with Fred spouting ridiculous titles and Honey occasionally giving a few suggestions that don't sound too bad, but are ultimately too cutesy for his liking.
By the time Hiro splits off from them, he realizes he still doesn't have a nickname, but what he does have, are two new friends.