Fernando sat down at his desk a couple of moments after the bell rang for his second class. Mondays were hard for everyone, especially Fernando. He could barely stay awake through science. But his next class, history, was much more interesting, therefore it was easier to survive. It was his favorite class behind art. If he ever got bored of the material, which was rare, Fernando could talk to the friends he had in the class. The teacher, Torvald, was older, but healthy and seemingly wise. It was pretty easy to get him distracted by leading him onto a tangent. While other students dismissed him as a glitchy old man, Fernando appreciated his knowledge and paid attention. At that moment, the voices of his friends behind him took Fernando out of his thoughts and prompted him to turn around.

"Shut up! I don't want too many people knowing about it," Viktor snapped.

"It's not that big of a deal," a dark-skinned boy with platinum blonde hair commented. "Everyone's smashed her at this point." Fernando recognized him as Lex, a boy used to talk to him, Lian, and Khan.

"I know, but if it gets around, it'll get back to you-know-who, and she'll go apeshit," Viktor responded. Fernando raised an eyebrow.

"You're still scared of that bitch?"

"Yeah, you should be too, she's crazy."

"You two talking about Lian?" Fernando butted in. Viktor and Lex gave each other a surprised look.

"How did you know?" asked Lex.

"Lucky guess," said Fernando, slowly. Lex gave a quizzical look.

"Sure." Viktor glared at Lex, which Fernando interpreted as a signal for him to shut up. Then, the brunette spoke.

"We're just talking about a rumor that's spreading around," he clarified. Fernando didn't buy it. He opened his mouth to question him, but was interrupted by Torvald.

"Alright, enough chatting, everyone. It's time to start today's lesson." Fernando gave the two a suspicious look, then turned back around to face the front of the classroom, taking out a notebook and tuning into Torvald's lesson. Fernando paid close attention and took detailed notes. His classmates behind him continued to chat, but Fernando ignored it, class was more important to him at that moment. About halfway through class, Torvald got on a tangent about knights in the Middle Ages. While other students tuned out, Fernando continued to pay attention. Like his teacher, he was fascinated with the Middle Ages and the culture of knighthood. Sometimes, he thought that he was a knight in a past life. A great knight in shining armor, on a noble steed, ready to save the day.

Before he knew it, class was over. Fernando packed his bags and said goodbye to Lex and Viktor, then headed into the hall. He was stuck in a different world, one with knights, squires, castles, and royals. The knight always protected the royals from danger. He was the knight. But who was his royal, his prince or princess? Fernando remained in a hazy state as he put away his history book and went to art class. The bubble of fantasy around him popped as soon as Khan sat down at their table. He realized he was not a knight, but a mere high school student with a hopeless crush. If he had a prince, it wasn't Khan.

"Hey Fernando," Khan greeted cheerfully. Fernando remained silent, staring blankly back at his friend.

"You alive?" Khan waved his hand around.

"Yeah," Fernando mumbled.

"Alright. Just making sure." The whole table sat in an eerie silence. Skye, the one who would usually chat the most, was absent, so there was no conversation whatsoever at their table. Lian, who Fernando had just noticed was present, seemed cold as well, not even looking at the two men at her table.

"Okay class, today is a practice day. We're going to focus on drawing people," Inara announced, catching the attention of only a couple of students. "Pencils and sheets are on the table next to my desk. Please use this time wisely; there will be a drawing assignment soon," she added. Fernando nodded, then went to get some supplies. He sat back down and ignored the couple chatting next to him, choosing to draw instead. A few minutes later, he noticed Khan was trying to look over his shoulder.

"What are you drawing, Fernando?" he asked, curiosity in his tone.

"A knight," Fernando responded, not looking at his friend. The drawing was sloppy, but detailed. He made sure to incorporate all of the features and etchings on the armor. The knight held his lance out and stood in an intimidating stance with his face covered by his helmet.

"Cool idea," Khan commented. Fernando mumbled his thanks, and continued working. Khan chatted with Lian, occasionally adding to a quick sketch of a man running.

Eventually, the bell rang for lunch. Fernando silently waited for Khan, who walked with him to their table. Oddly, Lian didn't walk with them, instead, she headed towards the front of the school. The two shrugged it off, got their cafeteria lunch, and sat down at their table. After a couple of moments of awkward silence, Khan spoke up.

"Where do Lian and Skye keep going, anyways?" he asked.

"Skye is probably being tutored. And Lian? I don't know. You're the one who's dating her." There was a pause.

"She doesn't tell me much."

"Have you asked her about it?"

"She doesn't answer my questions." Fernando fell silent, then picked at his subpar meal, trying to distract himself from the sensitive subject. He was still bitter that Khan ditched him and his friends on Saturday. If he was going to ditch his friends for a girl, she should at least treat him right, he thought to himself. Suddenly, Khan spoke up again.

"So, do you want to go visit another group?" he suggested.

"Sí," Fernando responded, still not looking directly at Khan. The two got out of their seats and moved to the middle of the lunchroom. Fernando didn't show it, but he was glad to visit another group. He couldn't stand the tension of being alone with the friend he had a hopeless crush on any longer.

/

Fernando could hardly pay attention in math class. Nothing about numbers was appealing, and he couldn't stop thinking about Khan. Fernando realized he was staring at him again, then looked away, trying to hide it. He fidgeted with his pencil and faced the empty page in his notebook, growing increasingly bored. He glanced at Khan out of the corner of his eye. Of course, he was jotting down notes at a million miles per hour and listening to the teacher intently. Fernando forced himself to look down at his own paper. If he was going to slack off, he at least should be careful. He'd slipped up again during gym; Khan caught Fernando staring at his body through the mirror, which made both boys embarrassed. Koga, of course, poked fun at the situation later, but Fernando didn't mind. Even though Koga came off vulgar and insensitive to others, Fernando didn't mind talking to the boy. He was unique, not at all like other friends Fernando had.

"Alright, so that's the end of the lesson," Barik declared, causing Fernando to perk up. He realized he had not taken any notes, then sighed and leaned back in his desk, tuning out Barik's instructions for the class. His head was throbbing, and the noises around him blended into an unintelligible dissonance as he squeezed his eyes shut. He let out a soft grunt as he moved himself up and put a hand on his head. Suddenly, he felt a tap on his shoulder, so he turned towards it, squinting with curiosity. Khan had moved closer to him and wore a worried look.

"Fernando? Are you alright?" he asked quietly. Fernando remained silent. His mind was blank.

"Fernando!"

"I'm fine, Khan. Just a headache."

"Are you sure?" Khan continued.

"Don't worry about it," he grunted, frustrated. Fernando was tired of Khan's overly concerned nature. It felt wrong that someone who had it all was worried about him. Khan always seemed to be looking out for everyone else, even when he didn't need to. It was just too perfect, too much like him.

"Okay," Khan answered weakly. A pang of guilt hit Fernando as soon as he turned away from his friend. He could feel those saddened golden eyes staring at him, but did not return their gaze. He would lose all control if he did. Even just sitting there next to him made him feel a range of negative emotions. The guilt, shame, jealousy, frustration; it was reaching a boiling point. He couldn't stand it anymore, so he asked to go to the bathroom. Barik gave him a suspicious look, but let him go. Fernando walked out of the classroom, and outside into a courtyard of the school tucked behind the science building. He moved behind a column next to the wall, and let out a heavy sigh as he leaned against the stone pillar.

"Hijo de la chingada, why did I do that?" he cursed, the brick wall in front of him bouncing back the sound of his voice. He felt as if he had lost control of himself. "Ay, ay, ay, I can't take this anymore," the Spaniard continued, "I keep messing it all up!" He moved towards the wall, pressed his forehead against it, and dragged one hand down the bricks, the other balled into a fist against said wall. The last thing he wanted was to create a rift between him and Khan with his own anger. Suddenly, the pain in his head surged. His moved both his hands to his throbbing head. Another presence behind him startled him, and prompted him to turn around.

"What the hell are y-" Fernando started, but then stopped, realizing who had approached him.

"Dude, you good?" The familiar flat voice of a short white-haired boy relieved him. He let out a deep sigh, then spoke.

"Not really." The other boy nodded and leaned against the column, facing Fernando.

"What's on your mind?" Koga continued.

"A lot of things, really," Fernando replied, chuckling nervously. Koga raised an eyebrow.

"Like what?" he questioned slowly.

"Honestly?"

"Yeah, I won't tell. I'm here for you, man." Fernando gave a weak smile at that. He realized he could trust Koga, even if they were new friends.

"Romantic troubles." Koga gave a surprised look.

"You? Having problems with girls? Like I'd believe that!" Koga joked. There was an awkward pause.

"Oh, you weren't kidding," the shorter boy realized, embarrassed.

"It's alright. I know I'm a hunk. I shouldn't be having this issue." Koga laughed, then spoke.

"So you're still sad about Cassie, huh?" Fernando's face started to turn red. Only one other person besides himself knew the true source of his sorrow. Could he really risk telling someone like Koga such a secret? Maybe if he opened up to someone besides Cassie, he could get some help dealing with his feelings.

"She meant a lot to me. I'm having trouble moving on." Fernando realized he had missed an opportunity to truly settle his qualms. He tried to convince himself that the risk was too great.

"Hey, you'll probably find another girl by next week, relax."

"It's not about that. It's just-" He paused. What should he say? That he didn't want any girls? He decided it was too incriminating, and went with a safer option.

"She was a really good friend, too," Fernando continued.

"It's not like you can't ever talk to her again."

"I know, but things are different now." Fernando hoped that wouldn't backfire, that he wouldn't be caught in a casual conversation with Cassie.

"I have faith you can be friends with her. She's a really nice girl. Hell, she let me, the shabbiest guy in school, into her group." Fernando chuckled.

"Don't give yourself too much credit, you're only the third shabbiest at best." Koga moved closer and socked the taller boy on the arm lightly. Both laughed.

"Alright, well, I was just out for a smoke, I'm going to head back to class," Koga explained. "Are you going to be good?" Fernando nodded.

"Yeah. Gracias."

"Anytime, man." With that, the shorter boy dashed away and left Fernando alone with his feelings once again. He crossed his arms, gazed at the foliage in the courtyard, and contemplated. Would he and Khan ever be more than just friends? Will Lian ever change? Will anyone besides Cassie ever know the truth? He did not know. The questions seemed to loom over him. It all felt so unfair, a guy like Khan with a girl like Lian. Honest and considerate against manipulative and uncaring. Fernando couldn't stand not having him, but he was even more frustrated that his friend was stuck with such a terrible girl. He continued to think silently, not caring if he was missing valuable class time. His complete unawareness caused his surprise when another familiar figure appeared at his side and spoke to him.

"Hey," Khan greeted. Fernando turned to the other man.

"Hola."

"You've been out here for a while."

"I know."

"Is something wrong?"

"Aren't you supposed to be in class?" Fernando replied, trying to avoid the question.
"I could say the same to you. Besides, we've only got a couple of minutes left. Barik let me out because I finished the homework."

"Of course you did," Fernando answered, rolling his eyes. Khan laughed nervously.

"Did you get anything done before you left?" Fernando chuckled at Khan's naivety.

"Christ, no," he answered casually, changing the tone of the conversation.

"Did you pay attention to the lecture?"

"No."

"Fernando," scolded Khan, slight frustration in his tone.

"What?" There was a pause.

"Nothing."

"No, say it."

"Fine. You should pay attention and use your class time efficiently. It'll help raise your grade," Khan said with an air of authority, standing ever so slightly taller.
"I'm sorry, I've been a bad student," Fernando teased in an almost provocative manner. He saw Khan's face turn dark. The other boy cleared his throat.

"Well, I'll forgive you if you head back to class, where you're supposed to be." Fernando smirked.

"And what if I don't?" Khan thought for a moment, then spoke.

"I'll forget to ask you if you want to hang out this afternoon." Fernando blinked.

"Wait, what?"

"I was thinking we could spend some time together."

"Of course," Fernando answered, his misery from before being temporarily replaced by excitement.

"Alright, sounds good. My place?"

"Yeah."

"We should really get back to class," Khan suggested. Fernando rolled his eyes.

"Barik will chew me out. I'm already close to failing."

"Better late than never. Come on," Khan commanded, ignoring his excuses and walking back to the building. Fernando sighed and followed. When they arrived back at class, Barik asked to speak to Fernando privately. After the bell rang for the end of class and everyone had left, the teacher scolded Fernando about his irresponsible nature, as expected. Fernando sat through the lecture, then apologized to Barik and left class. Khan was outside of the classroom waiting for him.

"Hey. You ready to go?" Khan asked, getting off the wall he was leaning on.

"Yeah." Fernando started to walk towards the end of the hall, Khan by his side.

"What did he say?" he asked.

"The usual. I'm not applying myself." Khan nodded.

"He's right about that. You aren't."

"I know." The two continued to the front of the school in silence. As they were about the cross the street to head into the neighborhood, they were stopped by Fernando's favorite woman in the world.

"Khan? Where are you going?" Lian asked, her arms crossed and eyes cold.

"I'm hanging out with Fernando today, why?" Khan replied nervously. Fernando noted both of their attitudes.

"You were supposed to come with me," she continued, glaring at him.

"You didn't say anything about it," Khan argued.

"I don't care. You're supposed to want to spend time with me, I'm your girlfriend." A pang of sadness hit Fernando at that reminder. Khan quickly glanced at him, then back at the woman.

"I'm sorry. But I already told him we're hanging out. We can hang out on Wednesday."

"Whatever, jerk." She turned away, flipping her long silver hair in the process. She walked away with her head held high.

"Sorry about that," Khan apologized.

"It's alright, it wasn't your fault. Let's get going." Khan gave a weak smile and nodded. The two crossed the street, then navigated through the neighborhood to Khan's house. The feeling of dread returned in Fernando. He couldn't believe Khan let Lian treat him like that. He maintained a gloomy disposition as they walked into the house and up the stairs to Khan's room. The two walked in and Khan closed the door behind them. Fernando could feel the tension in the room as he put his bag down on the floor. He looked up, and Khan was right there, practically looming over him.

"Khan, what are y-" Fernando started. Khan shushed him then moved forward, backing him against the wall. Fernando felt his heart pound and his face turn warm as he stared into Khan's somber face. He was so serious, it was almost as if someone had died.

"Tell me what's wrong. Stop lying to me," demanded Khan. Fernando exhaled. Mierda.