The sky was still dark when Khan woke up. Lian was sleeping peacefully in his arms. He didn't know what time it was, but he remembered he had a paper to finish. Khan moved his arms off of Lian and got out of the bed, careful not to wake the sleeping girl. He scanned the room for a pad of paper and a pen after his put his shirt back on. When he found it, he wrote a quick note to Lian to let her know he had to leave. Then, he left the house quietly. Her parents didn't know they were together, but he was sure out of all the guys she could have chosen, they approved of him the most, since they watched him grow up with their daughter. As Khan arrived back at his home, he thought about how weird it felt to date his best friend since childhood. He sighed as he sat down at his desk and got to work.

When he finished his paper, he checked the time. 6:30 A.M. Geez, I must have woken up early. He stretched and walked downstairs to get some breakfast. The sun had started to peak over the horizon, casting light pink rays across the dawn sky. His mother was still asleep, so he resorted to a simple meal of toast and two fried eggs. As he ate, he scrolled through his phone. When he checked his friend group's chat, he was met with a picture of Buck and Jenos from the other night, stunned by the ambush. He was hit with a sudden pang of guilt. Khan regretted being part of that. Buck was one of his best friends, and he might not come back to them after that. He didn't understand why Lian cared so much about who her friends spent time with. As soon as they got into high school, she had started playing mind games with people. It got even worse after her breakup with Viktor. She wouldn't let anyone who stood up for him hang out with them anymore. Lian liked to destroy the reputation of anyone who she felt went against her will, usually by spreading rumors and humiliating them. She gave this treatment to Viktor, and made sure all of her friends knew how terrible of a person he was. It was almost scary, how much power she had over the school.

Khan headed upstairs to get ready for school. He put on a grey long-sleeved shirt and dark jeans. Khan brushed his teeth and put gel in his hair. When he looked into the mirror, he suddenly remembered Fernando. More specifically, his confidence. His energy gave him motivation for the day. He roughed up his hairstyle ever so slightly, then grabbed his backpack and left to walk to school.

/

The bell rang out its shrill screech, signalling the next class. Everyone started to pack up. Khan said goodbye to his deskmate as he walked into the hallway with his bag. Then, he headed towards his locker to put away his science textbook. When he arrived, his friends were waiting for him. They all had art together, which was fortunate, because that class was boring as hell. But first, he had to go to the bathroom. He put away the book and headed to the bathroom, letting his friends know he would be with them in class. They nodded and continued without him.

On the way back to the classroom, he bumped into Buck. The two chatted as they headed to class together.

"So, you excited to do absolutely nothing?" Buck started.

"Well, there is that art project," Khan added.

"Oh, right. I have no idea what I'm going to do; I got winter."

"Yikes. I got autumn, mine is easy."

"Lucky."

The conversation ended as they walked into the classroom. Khan sat down at his desk, which was pushed against three others. Lian and Skye sat in the others. But Fernando was nowhere to be seen.

"Hey, where's Fernando?" he asked.

"I don't know. I haven't seen him today," Skye said.

"Weird, he must be absent," Khan added. The bell rang, marking the start of class. The chatting died down as Inara waited expectantly at the front of the classroom. She called role, which allowed Khan time to ponder. Why's Fernando gone? He's never absent. That breakup must have been really crappy…

"Okay class, if you could please quiet down, that would be great," Inara started after she finished taking role. Conversations ceased as all students turned to the tall woman. She smiled.

"Today, I've brought supplies to help your group start sketching concepts for the project. You will have all of class today to plan, but part of tomorrow will be a painting lesson. The project is due on Friday, so if you don't use your class time wisely, you will need to work on it at home," she instructed. Khan realized it was already Wednesday. God, time flies these days, he thought to himself.

Inara dismissed the class to work, and Khan decided to be productive. While Skye and Lian chatted, he got a couple of pieces of paper to draw his concept. Usually, he would just talk with Fernando, but he was absent. As he sketched, he thought about his friend. Khan hoped Fernando wasn't too hurt over Cassie. He thought that they had a solid friendship and a stable relationship, which is why the split seemed so sudden. They had been together since the middle of freshman year, why did they split now? Khan didn't know. He looked at what he had drawn. A tree with orange leaves falling off. Pretty basic, he thought to himself, as he started to add the background.

He decided to think of what he liked most about fall: football season. The football stadium appeared in the distance, with people packed in the bleachers and players running on the field. The band played their loud tunes, and the cheerleaders cheered. Banners of the horse, the school mascot, were everywhere, and everyone wore the school colors. The crisp air flowed through his hair as he ran. They chased him, he had the ball. He had the ball. The next thing he knew, everyone was cheering. He scored. There was no time left on the clock. They had won, because of him. His team surrounded him as the crowd went wild. It was a close game; the teams were tied for most of the game. Everyone hugged him as the band started to play the fight song. Khan looked around and realized there was next to nothing he loved more than playing with his team. He looked at each of their faces, all of them important to his eventual rise to the position of team captain. But there was one face that stood out. Those black eyes, almost like coals, dark brown hair, awkward high school stubble, and a cheeky grin. One of his best friends. Fernando. The warmth he provided completed his experience. Victory, excitement, loss, depression, pain, all feelings were overshadowed with friendship. And it smelled of shitty cologne. The whole experience helped Khan form the image of autumn on his paper.

"Khan? Is that your sketch?" The soft voice behind him startled him out of his thoughts. Inara glanced at the paper on the table.

"Uh, yeah," he answered.

"I really like it!" she commented, smiling.

"Thanks," Khan said, weakly.

"How about the rest of your group?" she asked.

Suddenly, Lian and Skye looked up from their phones, a stunned look on their faces. Inara looked at both, waiting for an answer.

"Oh, we're working on it," Lian responded.

"Doesn't look like you've gotten much done. Just because the most artistic person in your group isn't here doesn't mean you can slack off," she said coldly as she walked away from their table. There was a pause, and then Lian spoke.

"Lemme see your concept, it probably isn't even that good," she stated, as she grabbed the paper off of Khan's desk. Her face turned from disinterested to mildly shocked when she looked at it. Skye glanced at it, then chuckled.

"Yeah, it's totally shit, Lian," she joked.

"Shut up! You haven't even started!" she spat.

"Neither have you."

"Do you even know what season you have?"

"Spring?"

"No, I'm Spring, bitch."

"No you're not. I could have sworn I got Spring."

"Calm down! It's not that big of a deal," Khan cut in, "Skye is right, Lian, you got Winter, she got Spring" Skye gave a triumphant smirk and Lian pouted.

"I'll just draw something about Christmas," she said.

"But it needs to match the group," Skye started.

"Whatever."

Skye rolled her eyes as she grabbed one of the extra sheets Khan brought to the table. Lian gave back Khan's paper. Khan sighed and rested his chin on his hand. Today is going to be a long day...

/

Khan sighed as he sat down at the lunch table. He didn't feel like dealing with his friends today, but he had to. Buck had left, and Fernando was absent. He almost envied them. Not Fernando though. While Skye and Lian chatted, he thought about his friend, hoping he was feeling better. Then, he glanced over at Buck. Buck was smiling and laughing with his new friend group. They looked like they enjoyed each other's company. Cassie looked oddly carefree. She probably dumped him, Khan thought to himself. He turned back to his table, and Lian's eyes met his.

"Whatcha looking at?" she asked.

"Nothing, Lian," he answered.

"Did you hear about Cassie and Fernando?"

"Yes."

"Wait, what happened?" Skye cut in.

"How have you not heard? They broke up, dumbass," Lian answered.

"Wait, really?"

"Yes!"

"Oh shit. Well, she was out of his league anyways."

"Skye!"

"What?"

"Actually, you're kinda right," Lian said, letting out a chuckle. Khan frowned. How could they be so disrespectful? Their conversation continued.

"He's a weird guy. I wouldn't even date him," Skye added.

"That's saying a lot coming from you."

"He's like Khan, but more loud and annoying," Skye said, causing Khan to perk up.

"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked.

"Well, I mean, he's also hotter than him," Lian stated, ignoring him.

"Is he hotter than Viktor?" Skye teased.

Lian blushed, then looked at Khan. "Yes, he is," Lian smiled. She put her hand on Khan's, which was significantly larger. Skye's mouth was agape. "W-wait, you and Khan are…" she struggled, "Dating?" Lian nodded. Khan could feel himself blush out of embarrassment as she interlocked their fingers. Skye's face turned red.

"How did you get a boyfriend and I didn't?" she questioned, angrily. Lian smirked.

"Maybe if you cared about something besides sex and money, more guys would like you."
"Lian! God, you're such a bitch sometimes."

"You wanna go? Let's go," Lian proposed. She quickly got up from her seat.

"Alright, bring it on, whore!" Skye yelled, getting up from her seat.

Khan blocked out the sounds of the girls screeching at each other. They clawed at each other violently. Khan realized at that moment how much he missed Fernando. He was always there to stop this from happening, always the mediator of the group. After a couple of moments, the fight got worse, so he stood up. He got in between the girls and shoved them apart, his brute strength overpowering their bodies. "Cut it out, you two, or you're going to get in trouble," he said, louder than intended. The whole lunchroom was staring at them. God, this is so embarrassing, he thought to himself. The three returned to their seats in silence. Khan decided to pull out his phone and ignore everything. He had enough of his friends' shenanigans. He didn't understand why Skye kept poking fun at Lian about Viktor. She was sensitive about him, and didn't like when people brought it up. On the other hand, he was angry at Lian for exposing their relationship so early. Or was he just embarrassed to be dating her in the first place?

Khan checked his texts, and there was nothing. When he scrolled down far enough, he reached his conversation with Fernando. They didn't text much. But that picture of him next to the chat tempted Khan. He wanted to check on his friend. He hadn't seen him since the night before, and was worried. So he shot a simple text.

"Hello," he wrote. Khan picked at his lunch. This shit sucks, he thought to himself, as he poked at the rubbery peas and dry rice. Suddenly, his phone vibrated, surprising him. Khan excitedly checked his phone, only to see a text from his father. He sighed as he started typing back. They had a short conversation, and then Khan put his phone back on the table. He was really hoping Fernando would text him back. Gym and math would be really boring without him. Yesterday, though, he noticed, after gym class, he was acting a bit strange. He didn't do any work, and didn't pay attention to Barik's lecture. Khan realized the next test was on Friday. Maybe I could help him study if we hang out? He decided he would ask about it when Fernando texted back. But, for now, he had to bear through the last two classes of the day alone. The bell rang, signalling the end of lunch. Lian gave him a quick hug, and then he left to get ready for gym class.

When he got to the locker room, he had a short conversation with Buck.

"Hey Buck," he greeted.

"Oh, hi Khan," the other responded as he started to change out of his clothes.

"How's your day going?"

"It's been alright. I'm going to go hang out with Jenos afterschool."

"Oh, that's nice. What are you two gonna do?"

"Probably just chill at his house."

"Nice."

"You?"
"I don't know, probably hang out with Lian or something."

"You two are practically attached at the hip," Buck joked, as they both finished changing. Then, they walked to the gym.

"What were her and Skye arguing about, anyways?" he asked.

"Just girl stuff. Skye was making fun of Lian and then Skye got jealous of her," Khan said quickly. He really didn't want to talk about it.

"Jealous? Why?"

"Because she's single and Lian isn't"

"Oh, really, who is she with?" Buck asked innocently. Khan took a deep breath, then exhaled.

"Me…"

Buck gasped. "No way! Congratulations!" he said weakly, "She's a catch." That made them both laugh. "Good one, Buck," Khan said, rolling his eyes. Khan tried his best to keep the new relationship private, but failed. He felt embarrassed, like he didn't belong.

As he walked out of math class, Khan pulled out his phone. Lian was calling him. He picked up.

"Let's go to Magistrate Malts" she demanded. Khan didn't like that place, but obliged.

"Alright, I'll meet you in front of the school," he answered. He hung up. Why is she so controlling? He continued to walk until he reached the end of the hallway. He opened the door and walked to the benches right by the entrance. Right after he sat down, his phone vibrated. When he pulled it out and read the name, his heart skipped a beat. Fernando.

"Hola," the text read.

"How's your day gone?" Khan asked.

"It went fine." Khan frowned. Fernando always acted like everything was alright, even when it clearly wasn't.

"I heard about you and Cassie, are you okay?" There was a pause, then he sent another text.

"Why weren't you here?"

"Just not feeling well," Fernando responded. Khan knew it was a lie.

"Sad?"

"Yes."

"About Cassie?"

"Más o menos."

"Well, I hope you feel better soon."

"Gracias, amigo."

"We should totally hang out tomorrow."

"Yeah. That would be great."

"We could work on the art project."
"Alright, your place or mine?" Fernando asked. Khan winced. Did he really want Fernando to come to his house? Then again, Fernando had a cramped apartment that he shared with his family.

"Mine." Khan answered.

"Alright, amigo, see you then," Fernando typed back, adding a smiley face. Khan chuckled. Fernando really liked to use emojis.

"Bye bye now," Khan responded, putting a waving hand at the end. He put away his phone and looked up, only to meet Lian staring back at him.

"Who are you texting?" she asked coldly.

"Fernando."

"Okay, whatever. Let's go."

Khan got up and walked with Lian away from the school, towards downtown. He looked at the trees that lined the streets around the school as Lian complained about her grades. He tuned out her rambling and thought about Fernando. Khan was excited to see him tomorrow. Hopefully I can help him feel better...