"We have to talk about a lot of things."
Katya was smiling brightly, trying to focus on the road, stopping by to show him a new park.
Ivan smiled at the sight.
It was strange how a simple ride through the small city filled him with joy, visiting old places that had changed so much over the years, he opened the window to get a better look of the new surroundings, the breeze caressing his face while the sweet voice of Katya accompanied him, it was surely an experience he enjoyed.
An experience filled with a peacefulness he didn't have in the big city, where he'd be stuck in traffic for hours, and the stress from work would chase him.
Ivan's joyfulness dropped dramatically when they stopped in front of his old high school. Katya turned to him smiling. "I have to retrieve some exams, you can come if you want"
Ivan nodded, even though he had planned on coming here, the abruptness of this encounter displeased him.
Sometimes, Ivan thought that his cat could read his mind, because as soon as he stepped outside the car, Boris started to protest loudly.
Looking at the tall and grey building made him feel nervous. After all these years, it looked the same. He could see himself walking down the corridors, chatting with Alfred. The polished floor still made that screech noise as people stepped on it.
Katya ushered him to take a look inside, they were received by a woman called Elizabeth, Ivan suspected that the woman mistook him, because she kept on addressing Katya while giving her a thumbs up and winking at him, she didn't ask too many questions after Yekaterina told her they were siblings.
In the main corridor he saw a trophy holder alongside the teams' pictures.
There was a picture of the mathemathletes, and there were the reasons Ivan had made up for fearing closeness, Lien, Yao, Carlos, and himself, they all were smiling cheerfully in the picture.
He could say that he had fallen apart with all of them. Losing Carlos' number, not seeing Lien for her birthday as he was busy working, and Yao, well, they'd stopped talking after a dreadful attempt at asking the chinese out.
He averted his gaze, recognizing himself in another picture, posing with Alfred and Matthew by his side.
He recognized Mr. Kirkland's debate club, as well as the literates, among them was Alfred.
There were a lot of pictures, some he had seen before, others were new. He couldn't help but notice that Yao still appeared in some of them, with other students Ivan didn't know.
Of course he would, time didn't wait for anyone and Yao would probably keep on going with his life. Just as his sister, Yao had become a teacher.
It was almost insulting to discover such things because of Alfred's or Katya's words instead of knowing it from his once closest friend. To say that it didn't bother him would be a lie, Ivan had tried to move forward. It's not like he was obsessed with the oriental man,
He had made new friends, or at least, one new friend, but some nights he found himself wondering, if he even had a chance to befriend Yao again, what would have happened if he had reached out to him as Alfred suggested? If he hadn't been so stupid as to avoid him? Did Yao still remember him? Did he cross the man's mind?
His sister's cheerful voice took him out of his thoughts. "Ivan, come here, take a look at the garden!"
Ivan frowned, he didn't remember any garden, he did remember the poorly done attempt at preserving one they had made, forgetting about it after the year was finished, but even then, they could only manage to plant a few flowers that died quickly.
As he peered into what used to be a storage room, a wall painted with soft blue greeted him, a checklist of activities regarding gardening was written on a chalkboard.
Several rows of hand painted flower pots were arranged neatly in line, he could see some red tulips blooming. He could tell it was made by children as there were messy handprints and stickers alongside names in each of them.
Ivan stepped inside as his sister smiled. The small room gave a heartwarming sight, He saw an empty flower pot, painted with boats and a small sailor, standing by the window.
He reached to touch it, noticing that it wasn't empty, the plant on it was small.
Approaching footsteps were audible, his sister was chatting amiably while Ivan inspected the small plant.
"Oh, Yao, Do you remember my brother? you used to tutor him on math-" His sister's words stopped, the flower pot had slipped from his hands and shattered as it reached the floor.
Ivan glanced around with dread, the sharp noise was loud enough for them to notice, right?
Small chuckles came from the door, he saw Yao and Yekaterina trying not to laugh at him as he stuttered a string of apologies.
The brunette crossed his arms as he approached, examining the mess Ivan had made. Ivan remembered Alfred's conspiracies, and was tempted to believe them, Yao looked as if he had been frozen on time, his face still held the same kind but prideful air. The chinaman shook his head and sighed. "Peter is going to be dissapointed."
As he saw the man smiling, Ivan wanted to disappear, even after all these years he still managed to make a fool of himself. Feeling his face burning, he stepped closer to the door, "I'm sorry, let me clean this up- "
The asian chuckled. "I'll make sure that Alfred bugs you about this, or was it his idea?"
The russian fidgeted with his hands, he was sure that Alfred would make fun of him for this, how clumsy could he be? "I'm sorry-"
Yao entered and retrieved an empty flower pot. "Should I leave him alone, Katya? your brother is flustered."
Yekaterina snickered. "I'll get a broom."
Ivan watched her leave with dread, his heart sped up as he realized he was alone with him. What should he say? Should he bring up their last conversation? Should he apologize for his foolishness back then?
The incident had gained sense as the time passed, of course Yao would reject him, he was two years older than him and about to graduate when his stupid teenaged self declared to love him in front of his friends. The chinese had only stared at him dumbfounded, and he had skipped away from the classroom, avoiding Yao until he graduated.
Ivan sighed, there was no use in brooding about the past, he looked down at the plant. "It is not dead, is it?"
Yao reached for the broken pieces of the pot, putting them away, gently taking the small sprout. "I don't think so, Peter won't notice because you'll paint another one, am I right?"
Ivan nodded. What else could he do? tell a kid that he messed his project?
The brunette smiled, pointing at a cabinet. "Ivan, why don't you get another pot, they are over there."
The russian nodded, promptly doing as he was told. Yao instructed him into planting a rose stem while he observed over his shoulder.
His nervousness decreased as he acknowledged the familiar tone the asian was using. "Peter's plant has not bloomed because Arthur killed it after watering it too much." he explained, "We had to replace it."
Seeing Yao interact with him like that, made Ivan realize just how disconnected he had been from this place, he no longer knew where the grocery store was, and he was clueless as how to conversate with him. Somehow, he managed to improvise an awkward small talk about gardening and Arthur's bad luck.
When the task was finished and the dirt cleaned up, Katya waited by the door, watching him with a smile. "It is so nice seeing you two talk. It reminds me of my school days."
Once they reached the car, Boris was meowing loudly. Sniffing his hand as Ivan reached to pet him.
Katya chuckled, pointing at the flower pot in his lap. "I can't believe you managed to exit school with homework."
Ivan laughed with her, at least now he had something to do besides tagging along in her errands, but a small part of him knew that he had an excuse to talk with Yao again.