School after gym class was relatively calm. He occasionally chatted with Khan, but Fernando could feel a strange tension with him. As usual, Fernando returned to the locker room later that day to get ready for football practice. When he arrived, Khan, Buck, and Viktor were there along with some other teammates. Khan approached him to speak when he started to change clothes.

"How are you, Fernando?" he greeted.

"I'm well, and you?"

"I'm doing alright. I-" He suddenly stopped. Fernando, who had broken eye contact to take off his shirt, faced him again.

"What?" Khan's eyes had wandered down, away from Fernando's face. His face turned slightly red, then he cleared his throat.

"Nothing." He faced away from Fernando, and the tension returned.

"Alright then." Khan walked away and Fernando finished changing into his gear. That was weird, Fernando thought to himself. He then looked up to see Buck glued to his phone, already in his practice gear. He walked towards his friend to chat.

"Hey," Buck said, not looking up from the screen.

"Hi. What are you up to?" Fernando responded.

"Nothing much." His phone vibrated, there was a pause, then he let out a chuckle.

"Who are you texting?"

"Nobody," he answered quickly, putting away his phone and looking up to Fernando. The spaniard smirked.

"Nobody, huh? They must be a riot." Buck scoffed.

"Yeah, a real riot." His expression softened.

"Is it a girl?" he asked.

"No," Suddenly, Viktor, who had just finished changing, walked over to the two.

"What's going down?" he asked.

"I'm interrogating him." Viktor gave a playful smile.

"Really now?" he asked, facing Buck.

"Yeah, he was texting someone. A girl, I think." He nodded.

"Buck's got girls? Nice, man!" He patted his friend on the shoulder. Buck rolled his eyes.

"Whatever, let's just go to the field." Fernando nodded. Buck got up from his seat, and they walked out the door to go to practice.

Shortly after they arrived at the field, they started doing drills. Since the game was Thursday, Coach Terminus emphasized the importance of working extra hard. Fernando did not struggle to meet his expectations, since he was certainly one of the best players on the team. He had his physique, but also honed his skills: catching, running, tackling, and throwing were all easy for him. Of course, the best player was Khan, but he was not performing well that night. He seemed distracted and kept making simple mistakes. When Coach Terminus yelled at him to get his head in the game, he nodded silently, which Fernando noted as unusual. When Khan got targeted by Terminus, he usually yelled his response, "Yes Coach!" with zeal and continued to play. Khan was less involved than normal the whole night, even going as far to almost forget to initiate the team's war cry. At the end of practice, everyone headed to the locker room, chatting along the way, while Khan remained silent, even when they got inside. In the locker room, Fernando chatted with Buck as he changed out of his sweaty gear and into the clothes he arrived in earlier.

"So, Buck, you going to go home, or to that girl's house?" he teased.

"No, I'm-" He was interrupted by Viktor, who stumbled into their conversation.

"Buck's gonna get some?" he cut in, loudly. He, like Fernando and Buck, was shirtless and glistening with sweat.

"I'm not. There's no girl-"

"What were those texts then?" Viktor continued. Buck grunted in annoyance.

"Leave me alone!" Buck stood up and walked away from the two. They looked at each other with confusion.

"Why did he get so pissed so quickly?" asked Viktor, warranting a shrug from Fernando.

"I don't know, but we shouldn't prod too much." Viktor nodded, then walked away. Fernando finished changing, noting Khan's distance from the rest of the team. He only stared blankly towards his friends. Soon, everyone else had trickled out of the locker room to head home except for the duo. Fernando decided it would be a good time to approach Khan.

"Hi Khan."

"Hello," he greeted back quietly.

"What's up with you?"

"Nothing." He didn't look at Fernando.

"Is something wrong?" There was a pause.

"No." Fernando nodded slowly.

"Alright. You just seemed a little off at practice, that's all."

"Don't worry about me."

"Whatever you say. I'm going to head out." Khan nodded, still not looking at Fernando. Fernando walked towards the exit, but stopped when he heard Khan speak.

"Wait!" he shouted. Fernando turned around.

"Yes?"

"Goodnight." Fernando gave a half smile.

"You too, mi alma," he answered softly. When he realized his mistake, his face turned hot and he rushed out of the door. Hijo de la chingada, I'm so stupid, he thought to himself. He tried not to succumb to panic as he walked outside, headed home, walked up the stairs to his apartment and opened the door. He greeted his parents, who were watching television, then went to go shower. He washed himself quickly, then changed into his pajamas and brushed his teeth. Fernando crawled into bed, his mind racing and his heart pounding from the close call that was his mistake. He prayed that Khan didn't understand or hear him. After taking slow breaths, he managed to calm himself down and started to fall asleep. It's a miracle I haven't been caught yet.

/

Wednesdays were always somewhat mundane for Fernando, since there was no practice and more homework. He only half paid attention to his classes that day, his mind wandering off to other topics. Fernando built courage in the classes leading up to art by rehearsing what he would say to Khan. At the start of the class, the two only briefly greeted each other, then went to work on their art projects. He decided he felt safe sitting at his normal lunch table. The bell rang, and he, Khan, and Lian walked to the lunchroom in silence. When he saw Vivian sitting at their table waiting, he relaxed a little bit. He didn't particularly like her, but she was another person to buffer the awkwardness.

"Hola, Vivian," he greeted as he and Khan sat down across from her and Lian.

"Hi Fernando. Long time no see."

"What have you been up to?"
"Nothing much, you?"

"Just a bit stressed about this art assignment."

"What is it? I'm not in art." Fernando remembered that she was part of a group of students who opted for taking only academic classes. The boring people, he liked to call them.

"We have to draw an adventurer of some sort. I drew a knight, but I messed it up a bit." She chuckled.

"I'm sure you'll figure it out. You seem to be good at fixing mistakes. Makes sense for someone who messes up everything." Fernando rolled his eyes at the jab. He was used to it, but it still annoyed him when her and Lian would make fun of him like that. He turned to Khan, hoping that there would be no more tension between them.

"Hey Khan," he greeted.

"Oh, hi."

"How are you?"

"I'm doing alright, and you?"

"I'm good."

"So, that History test is tomorrow, how do you think you'll do?" Khan asked. Of course he brings up school. Clearly, he didn't know what else to talk about, but Fernando went along with it.

"I just need to review. I'll be fine."

"Yeah, I need to study for it. I'm not too confident." Fernando scoffed.

"Dude, you'd ace it if you were high and drunk," he joked. He admired Khan's dedication to his academics almost to the point of jealousy. Fernando didn't like expressing his feelings, but he couldn't resist trying to cheer up his friend.

"Not necessarily. If I don't study, I won't perform well."
"I don't buy it." Khan turned away to talk to Lian, who had been watching him expectantly. Fernando sat quietly, feeling trapped by the people around him. All of his attempts to speak with Khan were deflected by Lian, who quickly moved the focus away from Fernando every time he tried to join. While the couple chatted, she occasionally glanced towards Fernando and gave him a faint knowing smile, which frustrated him greatly. Chatting with Vivian only resulted in Fernando becoming more annoyed at her pretentious nature. She always talked down to everyone, especially Fernando. He decided it was the best socialization he was going to get, and continued to chat with her.

Fernando was relieved to go to gym class after dealing with Vivian and Lian for the entirety of lunch. He and Khan arrived after what seemed like an eternal walk to class due to the awkward silence between them. Koga and Buck were there chatting, along with some other students who had started to change clothes. Fernando took off his outfit, got his gym clothes, then headed over to the mirror by his friends to join in on their conversation.

"Hola, amigos," Fernando greeted. Koga, who prodded at his face in the mirror, turned around.

"Oh, hi Fernando." He moved out of the way to give Fernando some room to inspect himself.

"What's going on over here?" Fernando asked as he ran his fingers through his hair. He could see Khan changing by his locker in the reflection of his mirror, but ignored it.

"Nothing much. Buck hung out with Jenos last night." Fernando turned to Buck.

"So that was the girl you were texting last night?" Buck rolled his eyes.

"Yes, and?" Fernando let out a laugh.

"You could have just told us, you know, you didn't need to get so defensive," he continued.

"Yeah, whatever." Koga moved away from the mirror and faced a now shirtless Buck.
"Jenos is your girl, huh?" he teased.

"No," Buck replied, annoyed.

"Well, he sure does look like one," Koga continued. Buck's face turned pink.

"He does not!"

"He totally does, you know it. That's why you hang around him so much. He's like your girlfriend." Buck scoffed and swung a fist at Koga. The white-haired boy dodged and grabbed Buck's arm.

"Shut up." Buck pulled himself out of Koga's grip. Fernando didn't like where this was going. He knew that Koga loved to start fights.

"You two better cut it out," Fernando cut in, shoving the two away from each other. "I can beat both of your asses if you keep it up." Koga and Buck exchanged a surprised look at that remark. Koga nodded, and Buck stepped away. Then, he faced Fernando and smirked.

"You can?" Koga's face was warped with playful aggression. Fernando felt his nerves fire up. He didn't want to fight Koga. He wasn't sure he could win.

"Y-yes," he stuttered. He glanced away out of anxiety only to see Khan watching the interaction. The pressure on Fernando increased. Mierda.

"Let's go, pretty boy."

"Koga, wait-" Suddenly, Koga jumped onto Fernando and tackled him to the ground. He locked his legs around Fernando's wide chest and held his fist above the other's face, ready to act. Fernando quickly got up and shoved Koga off of him. Then, he stood up and shoved Koga back when he tried to strike again. The boy was short, yet muscular, so it was hard to push back against him. Eventually, Fernando won the struggle and shoved him by his shoulders against the wall next to the mirror. One of Fernando's hands pushed against his collarbone, while the other pinned his shoulder.

"Looks like I was correct," Fernando boasted, smirking. Koga's silver eyes glared daggers into him, and his muscles glistened with sweat. Fernando's gaze wandered over to the mirror next to them, where he saw Khan staring towards the two in shock.
"Really now?"

Koga moved his arms up to fight back. Fernando snapped away from his distraction and quickly reacted, grabbing Koga's arms with one hand and pinning them above his head. Koga tried to kick himself out, but Fernando moved closer, his knees pinning Koga's thighs down. Koga stopped resisting and smirked.

"I could have beat you, but I hesitated." Fernando rolled his eyes.

"Sure, amigo. I won fair and square."

"Can you let me go?" Koga asked, looking away from the other's face.

"Not until you admit defeat."

"Okay, you win. Please get off of me, this hurts," he admitted. Fernando chuckled, then backed off and let Koga out of his grip.

"No more bickering." Koga nodded.

"Yeah, yeah." There was a pause. Most of the other students, including Buck, had ignored their quarrel and headed to class. Strangely, Khan was still there. Koga and Fernando both started to put on their gym clothes and continued to converse.

"You get distracted easily, you know," Koga started. Fernando's face turned red.
"W-what?" Koga finished putting on his shorts, then spoke.

"I saw you." Fernando paused.

"You're the one who keeps trying to wrestle shirtless men," Fernando joked as he slipped into his own shorts. Koga chuckled.

"Don't act like you didn't enjoy it." Fernando laughed to hide his paranoia. Is he onto me?

"It's just… you're very skilled." Koga smirked.

"Sure, that's why you keep letting me fight you," he teased. Fernando put on his shirt to try to hide his reddening face.
"That's enough from you," Fernando grunted, trying to hide his embarrassment behind annoyance. Koga started to walk to the exit of the locker room.

"Rematch tomorrow?" he asked.

"No thank you," Fernando answered, still hovering around the mirror.

"Alright, catch you later." The silver-haired boy slipped out of the gym, leaving Fernando alone with Khan, who was facing his locker. The two lingered in silence, then Khan spoke.

"What was that all about?" he asked, not looking at Fernando.

"The fight?"
"Yeah."
"We were just playing around." He could see Khan's shoulders slump down.

"Is something wrong?" Fernando asked.

"It's nothing."
"You can tell me, I don't care."

"It's just- I don't like when you guys do stuff like that. It scares me a bit. I-" There was a pause.

"I don't want him to hurt you." Fernando's face softened.
"He'd never do something like that, it's-"

"How do you know that?" Khan suddenly faced Fernando. His cheeks were red, and his eyes were intense.

"Koga's my friend."
"I wouldn't trust him." Fernando was hesitant to argue, but decided to defend his friend.

"Well, I do, he's a nice guy." Khan squinted at Fernando, then turned away quickly.

"I don't think you understand." Khan stormed out of the locker room and Fernando stood still, shocked by his sudden outburst. He rarely saw Khan act this way, and he'd never been so cold to him before. He sighed, tried not to think about it too much, then walked out of the exit of the locker room and to the gym.

/

Khan's thoughts ran astray as he sat in math class. He had been making progress on the worksheet Barik handed out, but the stuffiness of the classroom made it hard for him to focus. A certain presence, his dark-haired friend next to him, had a similar effect. He gazed towards Fernando and recalled the fight he witnessed, the source of his wandering mind. Something about the entire interaction made Khan feel off. When he talked with Fernando, he tried to hide his discomfort behind concern. Fernando and Koga socializing always rubbed Khan the wrong way, but he didn't know why, and it perturbed him.

"Uh, Khan? You alright?" Fernando questioned. Khan realized that he had been staring blankly at his friend, and snapped out of it.

"Yeah, I'm fine," he replied in a quiet voice. Fernando nodded slowly, and Khan turned back to his paper, cheeks warm with embarrassment. He struggled to get back into the swing of solving problems, especially with chatting students around him, but he managed to finish his work right before class ended.

When the bell rang, he packed his bag and headed out of the classroom, making sure to thank Barik. In the hallway, Fernando approached his side to walk together like they normally did. Khan prepared himself to speak, but an unexpected figure cut him off.

"Hello, Khan," the silver-haired girl greeted. She leaned against a locker right outside of the classroom door. He faced her, turning away from his friend.
"Hey Lian," he replied slowly.

"You're coming with me today, right?" She tilted her head in an endearing manner.

"Yeah, why?"

"Okay, let's go!" She moved away from the locker and towards Khan, ignoring Fernando's presence entirely. Khan peered back at Fernando, who wore a surprised expression. He took the hint, nodded to Khan, and headed towards the exit. Khan turned back to Lian. She gave him a wide smile and interlocked their fingers, then pulled him along down the hallway towards the rest of the campus.

"Where are we going?" he asked.

"I just have to do something really quickly."

"Alright." She walked with him to the library, where a couple of particularly brainy students lingered. They approached a table where the slim boy Jenos, a petite black-haired girl, Cassie, and Koga sat. Koga gave Khan a strange look, and Lian unlinked her finger's from his to cross her arms at the dark-haired girl.

"Can I help you?" she asked expectantly, dread in her tone.

"I have some stuff for you to do," Lian stated, taking out her binder.

"What stuff?"

"A math sheet, a pre-lab for science, and an english packet." Lian listed the homework as she took it out. Khan gave her a suspicious look, which she ignored. The girl inspected the papers.

"I don't know if I can finish all of it." Lian slammed her hands on the table.

"If you don't, I'll fail." Cassie, who had silently watched until then, spoke up.
"Why should she care if you fail?" she commented.

"Shut up, Cassie, this isn't about you," Lian snapped back. Cassie rolled her eyes, then resumed working on her homework with Jenos. What the hell?

"How much will you pay?" the black-haired girl continued.

"I'll pay you fifteen dollars." Koga, who was also following the conversation, chuckled.

"For all that work? I thought you were filthy rich," he quipped.

"Your friends are awful chatty, Ying," Lian commented. Khan noted her fidgeting form, her seemingly impatient demeanor.

"He's right, fifteen is not enough. Twenty-five is the least I'll do it for," Ying answered. Lian rolled her eyes. Khan knew Koga was correct that she could afford the price. But why was she even paying anyone in the first place?

"Alright, I'll pay you tomorrow." Koga smirked at Ying, who smiled back. Lian picked up her binder and walked away, flipping her hair in the process. Khan started to follow her, but stopped when he turned around to see Koga glaring at him. He ignored it and followed Lian out of the library. They headed towards the front of the school and into the neighborhood as they talked.

"What was that all about?" Khan asked.

"It's called being resourceful," she answered, not looking at him.

"So you're just paying a girl to do your work so you barely pass your classes?"

"Well, yes. I have more important things to do than homework, and I have the money. Why not?"

"What's more important than homework?" She scoffed.

"None of your business, okay?"

"Seriously," Khan continued.

"I'm a very busy woman. I need to go shopping, go to the spa, hang out, get my beauty rest, do all that stuff, you know?" Khan wanted to argue with her, but felt it was too much trouble. She had been spoiled rotten and lazy ever since they were children. He always disliked that about her.

The two walked in silence back to Lian's house, where she insisted they stay for the afternoon. Khan reluctantly complied, still mentally jostled because of the behavior he had witnessed from both Lian and Fernando. He really wanted to go home to relax, but he couldn't. He had to spend time with Lian. This is what good boyfriends do, he thought to himself as he walked into the grand entrance of his friend's house.