11 - Short Skirts
Tino liked Berwald and he was sure Berwald liked him back. There was little to do but go through the formality of confirming it with him, yet something held Tino back. He didn't want to call it cold feet, but it definitely was a certain lack of confidence, a small "what if?" tugging at the corners of his brain. He was sure he had gotten over this part of himself, but apparently not; the insecurities flowed back into his mind if he wasn't careful enough.
He's just toying with you, they said.
Tino sighed and looked back down at his class notebook, trying to focus on the lecture at hand. No, he's not.
He's going to eat your heart and spit it out. You're not good enough for him, Tino.
Shut up. Tino squinted at his professor, straining to listen to the causes and effects of the discovery of DNA.
You're stupid to fall for his tricks.
"I said, shut up!"
The class went silent at the sound of the scraping chair and Tino's outburst. Realizing what he had done, Tino looked around, gathered his things, and quietly excused himself from the class. The confused professor let him go, and he was wandering his way off campus and down the street by the time he finally regained control of himself. How embarrassing, he thought, I'm not sure if I can show my face in public ever again... I'm so hungry. Head down, he ducked into a nearby café to order lunch. Thankfully, he was far enough from campus that nobody he knew would notice him. He had ordered his meal and was about to sit down and eat when he heard his name.
"Tino Väinämöinen? Is that you?"
Tino hunched his shoulders, hoping that if he ignored the caller, they would go away. They didn't. Looking up, he saw two men suddenly appear before him. One he recognized as the photographer from the Nerdular shoot a while back: a nervous but good-natured blonde named Eduard Von Bock. The other was another student at Kunze University who he had only seen sparingly and knew him by his mousy chin-length hair and not his name.
"Ah, I knew it was you!" Eduard exclaimed, "what a stroke of luck! You remember me, right?"
Tino nodded. "Eduard Von Bock of Nerdular, right?" he asked, the wariness evident in his voice.
Eduard pulled up a chair for himself and his friend and invited himself to sit down at Tino's table, much to his chagrin. "I wasn't expecting to find you, but seriously, this is amazing! Have you met Toris Laurinaitis? He's a student at Kunze, he was just telling me about how he'd met another Image model in his class!"
Tino was speechless for a second. Eduard was talkative, especially compared to other people he knew, like Ludwig, Berwald, or shy Toris sitting across from him. "Yes, and... Is there anything you want?" he asked tentatively.
"Oh, I just wanted to congratulate you on a job well done," Eduard said excitedly, "subscription sales of Nerdular went up by 20% since we featured you! The readers want more, Tino!" He let out a high-pitched chortle, obviously giddy from the thought. He took a deep breath and fanned himself. "I'm so sorry. I'm just so excited that we ran into you. I was going to go back and talk to Ludwig, but now I can just talk to you directly!"
Tino couldn't help but let out a relieved laugh. "I'm so glad. I thought I botched that shoot!"
"No, you didn't," Eduard reassured him, "which brings me to my next point: are you willing to be featured again in an interview as well? We have people writing in asking about you. It's really exciting!"
Tino was flabbergasted. Me? Being interviewed? He had no clue this would be happening so early in his modeling career. He wanted to pinch himself; it was almost surreal. This kind of stuff didn't happen, not even in dreams.
"Um, do I look like I'm kidding?" Eduard's voice dropped and he let out a short, quiet laugh. "Actually, I'm using this to get to know you better too. Call it an ulterior motive," he winked.
It was almost too exciting for Tino to handle. Whatever insecurity he'd felt earlier had slipped down the drain. He and Eduard continued their conversation, Toris occasionally joining in, and within the next twenty minutes, Tino had exchanged phone numbers with the other two with promises of keeping in touch, both as friends and as partners in business.
Finally, Toris asked the most important question Tino would ever be asked: "How did you become a model?"
Tino thought for a second. The events of that particular night were quite foggy, only snippets of coherence peppered through a forgotten night.
"I... Can't quite remember that particular night clearly," he said quietly, "I was depressed. I went out and got drunk, and I think I passed out somewhere..." He regarded Toris's and Eduard's visages, both the clear picture of horror. "It's not like I do that often," Tino corrected himself, "I was just feeling down that day, and–"
"And then...?" Eduard cut him off in anticipation.
Tino cleared his throat. "Er... Some kind people found me and brought me to a nearby hotel so I could sleep. They even bought me new clothes."
"Sounds dangerous," Toris commented.
Tino shrugged. "My brain was weird that time. I was scared of the wrong things. Anyway," he continued, "when I woke up, I found a business card for Image and a note. I still remember what it said clearly: There are many paths. Your life isn't over. I didn't find out who wrote it, or who brought me back, though. It has to be someone at Image, I think..." He trailed off, lost in thought. He hadn't dwelled on who it was that brought him to the hotel that night, or who had left him the note that saved his life. He felt that he had been improper somehow, going for so long without regarding his savior (or saviors). After ruminating a bit, he spoke again, a request for Eduard: "Actually, Eduard, can you put that in along with the interview? I want to try to find who left me that note."
Eduard nodded. "Got it. I'll talk to Ludwig too, and we can figure out a good time for your shoot."
Tino smiled. "Thanks."
XxX
Even though it was late fall and the weather was starting to get nippy, it was still a wonderful day for a stroll, which was why Berwald skipped taking the train and decided to walk the twelve city blocks from Kunze University to the Image building. The sky shone blue, framed by stone buildings, and the small trees dropped golden leaves onto the sidewalk. Bundled up in his coat and muffler, Berwald was enjoying his walk with a purpose. He was just going to stop by Image between his noon and evening classes to chat with Ludwig, who said he had a new assignment for him that weekend.
He passed by a café. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught a familiar figure sitting near the window. Slowing down his pace, he realized that it was Tino, sitting across from the Nerdular photographer and Toris from his Sunday night debate class. They seemed to be engrossed in a vivid conversation, Tino laughing and smiling as his companions talked. Sometimes, he would touch the photographer on the arm, and when that happened, it was like a small punch to Berwald's gut. He wished he was able to talk to Tino so relaxedly, eliciting laughter like it was nothing.
There were two options he could have chosen. One was to keep walking, and the other was to pop into the café and say hi to Tino, Eduard, and Toris. They looked like they were having such fun, though, and he didn't want to seem overbearing. So with a twisting feeling in his gut, he continued his walk to Image. Hopefully there would be time to run into Tino later.
By the time he entered the building, the outside cold had taken a toll on him. He couldn't feel his nose or the tips of his fingers, but thankfully the building was heated enough to bring them back to life as he warmed his extremities against one of the heaters in the lobby. Relieved, he turned around to find Francis heading towards him.
"Ah, Berwald, salut!" he greeted casually, "Ludwig told me you were coming today."
Berwald nodded. "Mm. Need t' discuss somethin' with him. Got a new thing t' do this weekend."
"Oh, is that the advertisement for the department store chain?" asked Francis, "We've been so busy this fall, I can't keep track. C'est penible!" he whined, "so much to keep track of... We need to put together the calendars by next week, too!" He took a deep breath in an attempt to calm himself down. "So, how are you?"
"'M doin' okay," he answered, "Nothin' special."
"And how's Tino?"
Berwald almost felt his heart stop for a second. "He's doin'... Fine, too."
Francis clicked his tongue. "I was in the bathroom the other day, after the calendar shoot."
Berwald was sure his heart stopped just now.
"It was kind of annoying, really," Francis complained, "I was stuck in the stall and I couldn't even get out until you two had left."
"'M sorry," muttered Berwald.
Francis's lips curled into a coy smile. "It's quite okay, I found out something very interesting that day. Are you by any chance... In love with Tino?" He clapped a hand on Berwald's shoulder. "Don't say you aren't, I know what I've seen."
Slightly annoyed at his senior's harassment, Berwald brushed off the hand on his shoulder. It wasn't going to do him any good to deny it, so he replied with a terse, "Yes. It doesn't make a diff'rence, though."
Francis nodded. "He's very open with everyone he meets," he thought aloud, "so you have to make him notice you!"
Thinking back to their shared kiss in front of the subway station, Berwald disagreed. "Think he's noticed me 'nough already." He glanced at his watch. "Ludwig's going t' work me over with his crop if I don't meet him soon," he said evasively, "I should go." And with that, he rushed off to Ludwig's office.
As for Tino... Berwald needed to bring all this drama to a close. He would have to tell him. Somehow.
AN: Good afternoon, !
This story's like my baby. I'm currently in the longest labor period ever. Hearing all your feedback makes it totally worth it, though! Thank you~
