Yuno watched as Leo dragged off Asta, the ash-blond haired guy who was unable to speak. He hoped that Leo was wrong and that he didn't come off as rude to Asta. Asta seemed like a genuinely nice person. It wasn't that Yuno knew much about Asta, except what Leo told him and the rumor mill of their high school, as Leo was friendly with Asta, being project partners often.

Yuno felt bad that Asta seemed nervous when he said something about the closed practice. Asta had dug through his backpack with a nervous "please-don't-be-annoyed-with-me" smile on his face. While it was true that Yuno wasn't the most personable person in the world, even Yuno knew when not to be an asshole. It seemed as though Asta got less nervous since Yuno hadn't said anything more or asked him to hurry with an explanation. He wondered if Asta wanted to communicate with Yuno while he waited for Leo. Asta was kind of cute.

Now that he was thinking of it, he hoped that Asta was gonna be okay dealing with Leo for the big project. It was a very big assignment with a presentation section. And Leo can be a bit much.

In his own literature class with Mr. Nozel Silva, he and Mimosa were paired up. Thankfully, both he and Mimosa were big readers and they already decided on the book they were using for the project. He and Mimosa had been best friends since they had met in elementary school. She was Leo's cousin and the Captain of the Basketball Team Kirsch Vermillion's little sister. Mimosa introduced him to both Noelle Silva, another friend, and Leo. Klaus came along in high school, even if he was a year older.

"Yuno! I'll be done in fifteen minutes," called out Coach William Vangeance, Yuno's adoptive dad. William was also a history teacher at the school.

"Yeah," responded Yuno. He put his book in his bag. He glared at the cast on his wrist. It had been an accident the week before school started. Dorothy Unsworth, William's wife and Yuno's adopted mother, had been rearranging her fanciful hat collection and Yuno had been worried about her falling off the ladder. Instead, Yuno was the dumbass who fell while helping Dorothy put her hat boxes away. He headed out of the gym and went to the teacher's office building.

He missed playing basketball with everyone.

Dorothy was waiting already, sitting on the ledge of a brick wall, playing with her phone. She was also a history teacher, which is probably why she and William had gotten along in the first place. They had been taking care of him since he was seven. They officially adopted him when he was ten. They were good, supportive parents, who loved Yuno, even when Yuno was difficult.

He loved them too, in his own way.

"Yuno! William just texted me," said Dorothy, cheerfully. She had purple-dyed hair, much to the chagrin of the Headmaster. She looked young for her age, sometimes getting mistaken as a teenager. "So, what do you want for dinner?"

"Don't care," said Yuno. He leaned against the brick wall, as they waited for William to join them. After all, the teacher's parking lot was right there. And William drove them to school every day, meaning that Yuno was extra early for school all the time.

"You say that every day," teased Dorothy. "C'mon, help your old mom out and make a decision."

Yuno sighed, "Then, I want lemon chicken with mashed tatoes."

"I'm here," said William, approaching them. "Ready to go home?" Dorothy hopped down from the ledge, which caused both Yuno and William to tense just in case she fell. She was a bit of a klutz, since she didn't pay attention to her surroundings.

"Good work today," said Dorothy, taking hold of William's hand.

Yuno rolled his eyes. The only downside of them being his parents was their lovey-dovey and flirty behavior, as if they were still newlyweds. They were happily in love and it was gross. "C'mon. I'm hungry."

"Yes, yes," said Dorothy. Together, the family of three headed to the car and began their journey home. They piled into the car and they were off.

"So, that was Asta, right? The boy on the bleachers," asked William.

"Yeah," said Yuno. He hated sitting in the backseat but Dorothy called "infinite shotgun" when he was eight and Yuno didn't have the energy to argue, then or now.

"Oh, I love that kid. He's so sweet," said Dorothy, gushing. All teachers had favorite students. "He's in my class again this year. He's very clever. I hope you were nice to him."

"I wasn't rude," said Yuno, reminded of Leo's earlier teasing.

"You can be prickly sometimes, dear," said Dorothy, mildly. "But you're a good boy. Oh! Have you and Mimosa picked out your book? Nozel told me that he partnered you guys up."

Yuno sighed. Dorothy had the tendency to go from topic to topic. At first he had a hard time keeping up but he got used to it. "We're reading Dogeaters by Jessica Hagedorn."

"Great choice. There's a lot to unpack there and it's not too long to read," said William, approving. "So, do we need to stop at the store before we get home?"

"Nope! And I even got Yuno to tell me what he wants for dinner, but it's his favorite so we have the ingredients," replied Dorothy, cheerfully.

"Oh, that's wonderful."

Yuno sighed, as they teased him a bit. Then, he smiled, but looked out the car window so they wouldn't see. He had a reputation as a stoic person, after all.

~to be continued