Having gone back to bed, Ivan woke to Chun-Yan smiling proudly at him. "W-What's going on?" he sleepily asked before yawning. He had never seen that expression on her face so early in the morning. What could she be so happy about this early?
"Ivan, you finally slept until morning!" she excitedly said, sitting upright in the bed. "How could I not be proud of you for that? I hope that this can become a new thing!"
He didn't want to tell her that he got up in the middle of night and only slept after talking to his mother. It would be too cruel to burst her bubble in such a way so early in the morning. Instead, he smiled back. "Yeah, here's hoping," he laughed, trying not to make it seem forced. Ivan sat up as well, smiling at her. "I do feel refreshed this morning, though."
Chun-Yan stretched her arms above her head, smiling. "That's great to hear! We should see it as good luck!" She got out of the bed and grabbed her school uniform. "I'm gonna go get ready for school. You should probably get started as well."
"Yeah, sure thing," he replied, waving her from the room. Once she was gone, he flopped back down onto his bed. "Why am I lying to her?" he muttered to himself. Was it because she looked so happy to see that he had slept? His sleeping patterns weren't exactly a secret to her by that point. He felt his heart sink in his chest at the idea of lying to her about something so simple. She didn't deserve that.
.
Chun-Yan smiled at Arthur Kirkland as she walked into his classroom. "Hey, Mr. K! What are we learning today?" She sat down at her desk and placed her bag beside it. "If you have a report planned, can we please save it for another time? I'm not feeling the best."
"You think I'd cancel an assignment for the entire class just to accommodate you?" he joked, ruffling her hair. "That would be quite irresponsible of me, wouldn't it? Are you looking to get me fired, miss?" Arthur walked up to the chalkboard and wrote the assignment on the board, a one thousand word book report on the novel they had been assigned to read for class. He smirked as he turned around and looked her in the eye. "But I can take off five hundred words since you're unwell. One thousand is the lowest I am willing to go, though. Just because you're my star pupil doesn't mean everyone else is. I want to see them work for better grades."
She smiled brightly at him. "Thanks, Mr. K. I really appreciate it!" The girl pulled out her notebook and began to work on the report before the rest of the class arrived.
Her classmates muttered about her as they walked in, pointing out how she was already partly done with the assignment, but she tuned them out. She had grown far too used to the "Overachieving Asian" stereotype that had always loomed around her. It no longer bothered her, yet she wished that her classmates would just stop sometimes. They always came to her for her notes or to ask questions for assignments, yet they never wanted to do the actual work themselves, coaxing answer after answer out of the poor girl.
Gilbert Beilschmidt sat down in the empty desk next to Chun-Yan and smiled at her. "Looks like you were early to class, Chun. Good on you." His crimson pupils took in the beauty of the girl beside him as she worked diligently on her assignment. "Ignore everyone else. They're just jealous because you have a good work ethic while they sit on their asses and talk shit about trivial things." He leaned in a little closer. "There is something I've been curious about that I only wanted to talk to you about. A little birdie told me that you're dating Al Jones. Is that true?"
"Would your little birdie like to meet a taxidermist, Gil?" she calmly asked, focused on her paper. Her hand abruptly stopped moving. "I happen to know one, and would love to arrange a meeting if you wish." Chun-Yan's lips stretched into a menacing smile, a facial expression that Ivan had spent many hours teaching her. "I thought my business was my own. So what if I am? Are you butthurt over it?"
"Easy, tiger, put your claws away," the boy replied. "I just wanted a confirmation is all. I'm not the one out there spreading the rumors. I'm just making sure you're aware of what's being said about you."
"But since when have I cared what people say about me?" she asked, hand resuming writing once again. "I don't give a damn about the opinions of others. Now, if they're saying I did some illegal shit and it gets to the authorities, then I'll care. But if it's just useless gossip like this, why pay attention to it? Who cares about who's dating whom anyway?"
"I can think of a few people. Your cheerleader friends care that Al is off the market, and all of the dudes that have had crushes on you since grade school care too. Especially Ivan."
"Then that's their problem, not mine." Chun-Yan side-eyed Gilbert. "What I think you should care about is your grades. I've heard what they're like."
"So you do listen to the rumors!"
.
Alfred leaned against Chun-Yan's locker at the start of their lunch break, sighing. "How long do you think we need to keep this up? It's so tiring, and it's such a pain. Who cares what people say?"
"Don't you want to be left alone too?" she asked, looking up at him. "This is the best way. Just bear with it for a little bit longer, okay? Just until the gossip dies down. Then you don't have to hang around me at breaks."
Making their dating look more official, he wrapped an arm around her waist and pulled her close. "Look, Chun, it's not like I see it as a chore. It's just that I feel this is cruel to the person you really like. Ivan won't come around as long as I'm right beside you. Are you avoiding him?"
Her eyes widened in shock. "No, of course not! I would never!" She leaned in closer. "Is that really how it seems? Do you think I should go and apologize? God, I'm such a bitch."
"Wait, no! No you're not! Perhaps it only seemed that way to me," he quickly stated, backpedaling the conversation. "I was honestly just curious, you know? Just wanted to make sure nothing bad happened."
"Yeah? Well how's your unrequited love going? Perhaps you should worry about that instead of me," she said with a wink.
"You're a cruel woman, Wang," Alfred sighed. "I can see why Ivan loves you so much."
Chun-Yan immediately blushed. "No way, Al. He just thinks of me as a sister. There's no way he'll ever fall in love with me. Ivan doesn't think that way about anyone, and I'm the only person who's there for him. Even if the entire world went ass-backwards, it would be impossible for him to love me in that way."
"Don't be so harsh to yourself," Alfred said, pulling her into a hug. "I believe that one day he'll wake up next to you in his bed and realize that he's crazy about you."
"How did you know I sleep with him in his bed?" she squeaked, blushing a deep crimson. Chun-Yan quickly hid her face in his chest. "Is something like that really that obvious? Ah, shit. What should I do?"
"I was just giving an example, but shit. If you're already sleeping with him in his bed then good on you, girl." The blond laughed and adjusted his glasses. "Honestly, that's pretty impressive."
"We've always shared a bed since our first sleepover back in first grade," she grumbled. "I just feel safe when I'm with him. It's as if having him around will scare away anything or anyone who comes near me. Ivan has never given up on me or yelled at me out of anger. He's never raised a hand to me. Honestly, he's the most gentle person I've met in my life. Who cares what happened a few years ago? His dad sucked. I would always stay over at his house to keep him and his mom safe." She frowned. "If I'm honest, I wanted that man dead, too. He almost killed Mama Anya, and I don't think I could have ever forgiven such a heartless bastard if he had. If protecting the people that you love from a threat makes you evil, then I'd hate to be righteous."
"I'd never heard the truth about that incident, if I'm honest," Alfred admitted. "All I heard was that he killed his dad back in middle school and had to go away for awhile. That's all that was really said about it."
"There's so much more to it than that," Chun-Yan sighed. "I wish people wouldn't spread rumors about him without knowing the full story. As a kid, he always showed up to school with bruises all over his body. We all knew it was his dad because of how skittish his mom was. But since he never said anything, nothing was really done. That's the world we live in. And one night, he came home and discovered his dad beating on his mom, but she was unconscious. It was all over in a matter of moments, but I will honestly say that I don't blame him. He did what needed to be done, and I'll defend him until my last breath."
"I didn't mean to get you so fired up and angry like that," Alfred stated. "Here, let me get you something in the cafeteria. It's my fault anyway. What do you like?"
She quickly perked back up, having made her point clear. "I like ice cream. Will you buy some for me, honey?"
"Anything for you, Panda Bear."
Chun-Yan let his pet name slide, clinging to his arm to make sure he bought the right flavor.
.
After school, Ivan stood next to Chun-Yan's car, waiting patiently for her to arrive. He smiled as he saw her approaching with a vanilla ice cream cone in hand. In his eyes, it was always worth waiting for her because she always had a good time at school compared to home. It made him happy to see the genuine smile on her face as she said goodbye to her friends.
"Want some, Ivey?" she asked, holding the cone out to him. Chun-Yan giggled as he accepted it and unlocked her car for them to get in. "It's your favorite!"
"Don't you like mint ice cream?" he asked, sitting in the passenger's seat and buckling his seat belt.
"I do, but so does Leon. And like hell I'll share my ice cream with my little brother while taking him home from school," she grumbled, buckling up and starting her car. "Cone me."
Ivan held the cone within licking distance of her. "You're so fucking weird sometimes, Chun," he laughed. But that was what he loved most about his best friend. No matter what, she always remained true to herself and kept it real. There was no one else he'd want for a best friend other than her.
Chun-Yan took a lick from it and waved it away as she pulled out of the student parking lot. "Thanks, broski." She turned onto the road to the middle school. "Leon better be waiting for us, because I've got homework out the ass that I want to get done before our show airs tonight." With a sigh, she whisked her bangs out of her eyes. "You know, why do teachers do that to us? It's like they know we're looking forward to something and then just smash it out of existence! Like, what good does that do for anyone?"
Ivan listened to her rantings and ravings as he licked at the ice cream cone. Though she was obviously annoyed, there was nothing he wanted to listen to more. After all, to him, her problems were the only ones that truly mattered.
.
Leon sifted through his music library, trying to find something good to listen to while waiting for his sister. He finally settled on a song and let the rhythm flow through him. This was his zone, his paradise. Nothing else could ever give him such peace. Not unless Emil were there to listen to it with him.
Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Leon quickly turned around, pausing his music. Expecting one of his annoying classmates, he turned and found Emil standing near him with a sheepish expression.
"Uh, hey," Emil offered, blushing. "I know we haven't really talked much, but I heard your music while walking by and I wanted to say that you have really good taste. That's one of my favorite bands and I'm really glad to know that someone other than me listens to them."
"Would you like to listen with me?" the Asian boy asked, taking an earbud out of his ear and offering it to him.
"Ah, no thanks," the other boy replied, pointing toward the carpool lane. "My brother's here to pick me up. Maybe another time? I'd love to discuss their music with you!" He waved, smiling at his companion. "See you tomorrow, Leon!"
"He knows my name," Leon whispered to himself once Emil had ran off to his brother's car. "Holy shit!" He checked the song that he was listening to and smiled. It was his favorite song by the band that he had discovered through Emil's social media posts. He had to admit they made good music and that he wasn't just listening because he was crazy about the boy in his class.
From the carpool lane, he heard honking, complete with his sister waving frantically for him. Leon quickly shoved the earbud back into his ear and his phone in his pocket before stalking off toward her car. How he wished she wouldn't embarrass him like that at school!
At least he was thankful that Emil didn't see it. He'd be done for if that were the case. But for now he supposed he could accept his crazy sister and her antics. Once he was in high school with her, there was no possible way.
