"Shit, shit, shit!" Stuart muttered under his breath as he hurried down the street towards his house. He'd lost track of the time talking to the oddity that was Murdoc. He glanced at his watch reading 5:54. His mother's shift ended almost ten minutes ago. "Shit!" He urged himself to run faster, knowing that she'd be home by 6 o'clock, and if she made it home before he did she would freak out and call the police like last time.

At last, his colossal home came into view. He took the chain housing his keys off with quickness and hurriedly unlocked the door and pushed the door open to a spotless, sweet-smelling home. Glancing at the clock on the wall, he had exactly 3 minutes to get settled and pretend he'd come home earlier before Suzuki walked in. Tramping up the stairs two at a time, the blunette flung his school bag and undressed as he made his way to his room. Once he reached his destination, he pulled a random shirt and pair of pants out of his dresser. He didn't even have time to peer at the sunset on his balcony today like he usually does. He ran back down the stairs to the dining area as he dressed. Once fully dressed, he hopped over the railing. His landing wasn't pleasant, pain shot up from his ankles up his legs.

Clearly he hadn't crouched down low enough when his feet touched the ground…

Wincing, he hobbled his way to the table as fast as he could and dug into his bag to pull out a large textbook for math and set the paper and pencil he kept stored for situations like this out and jot a few numbers down just as his mother walked in.

"Stu, are you home?" her heavily accented voice called.

He cleared his throat before speaking. "Yes mum."

He heard he footsteps draw nearer and nearer. "Hello sweetheart!" She huffed cheerily with a bright smile on her features. "How was your day today?"

"It was good." He answered as he squinted at a math problem.

"So, what time did you get home today?" Suzuki asked, face suddenly growing serious.

"A-at 5:17 like I usually do…"

"You're lying." She said as she snatched Stuart's homework from him. "First off, you have nothing on here. Second, you don't have your music playing like you commonly do."

"I knew I was forgetting something…" Stuart mumbled under his breath.

His mother chuckled. "What's your excuse today?" She questioned as she sat down next to him.

"I was talking to my friend and lost track of the time…"

The elder of the two arched her eyebrows at the younger. "Oh? You actually consider someone a friend instead of a… How do you put it?" She pondered his wording as she tapped her index finger on her chin. "An 'annoying, bloody prick that's a waste of space on this Earth'?"

Stuart chuckled. "Yeah, I guess so."

"When did you meet him or her?"

Stuart stopped trying to attempt to complete his homework to talk to his mother some more. "I met him today."

She was really enraptured now. "You've befriended him this quick?!" She asked, shocked. "He must be really special."

Stuart thought for a second. "Yeah, he is."

She smiled. "It's nice to see you think of someone as a friend."

He smiled and talked about Murdoc some more. Soon, the conversation shifted to other topics.

For Stuart, time seemed to go quickly as the evening blurred into the night. Not to say that he was complaining, though. He was eager to go back to school the next day to see Murdoc. The boy interested him for some peculiar reason. He was so keen for the next day that he retired to bed early.

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The next morning passed by as it does every day. Stuart completed his morning rituals and was out of the door by 7:30. Another beautiful day, he walked to school, whistling the tune to his favorite song. Before long, the whistling turned into humming, which turned into full-fledged singing. He was so occupied singing, he didn't notice the figure in walking in front of him stop to listen as he walked up closer and closer. Stuart almost passed by him, but he got a glimpse of who it was out of the corner of his eye.

"Oh! Hey Murdoc." He greeted with a smile.

The other teen flashed a bit of a smile. "Hello." He didn't want the fact that he was happy to see Stuart to show.

They walked side by side. Stuart looked over at Murdoc. "Do we have any classes together?"

He thought. "I think we might have lunch together…"

"Oh." He quieted for a minute. "Where do you go at lunch?" He blurted out.

"I usually stay to myself." Murdoc admitted. "You know where that tree is behind the school?"

The blunette thought for a second. "Yeah!" he shouted, having recalled the location of it.

"That's where I'm usually at." He told.

"Can we meet at the tree today?" Stuart blurted again.

Murdoc raised an eyebrow and nodded slowly.

All way silent again. "Why do you want to be around me?" The raven haired teen asked. He didn't mind it, but the popular kid trying to be his friend didn't sit right with him completely.

"Because. I like you…" Stuart said, unable to look him in the eye. He then realized how that sounded. "N-not like that!" He clarified, blushing.

Murdoc blinked. "Er, yeah." He was pleased that Stuart wanted to be friends with him.

They neared the entrance of the school. "So, I guess I'll see you at lunchtime then." Murdoc said.

"Yeah, see you then." Stuart walked to his morning class.

Class after class, the teen glanced at the clock every once few seconds, waiting for lunch to come. He wanted to talk to Murdoc some more. He was so ready for his morning classes to end that he didn't even pay attention like he usually does. I'll just make up for it later… he thought to himself.

Finally, the 11:45 bell rang, signaling lunch. He hastily grabbed his belongings and sped out of class. He crammed his textbooks and notebooks into his locker and made his way out onto the courtyard, looking both ways to make sure no one was looking when he dipped around the corner to go to the back by the tree. He saw Murdoc sitting under the shade feverishly scribbling something down onto his notebook.

He looked up and acknowledged the latter. "Hey again."

Stuart nodded and plopped down next to him in the lush, fertile grass. "What are you writing?"

The other teen shifted to show him the words scrawled in black ink.

"I like your lyrics. They're nice." Stuart commented.

"Thanks." Murdoc said as he continued writing.

They talked some more about themselves. The blunette found out that Murdoc plays bass and writes song lyrics. The raven haired teen found out that Stuart sings and plays the keyboard, as well as various other instruments.

Though the other didn't notice it, they both were staring at each other subtly. Murdoc was enjoying the way the sun's rays peaking from in between branches made the latter's eyes sparkle and get a golden hue when they would hit them just right. Stuart noticed the way Murdoc's eyes would get a bit of a shiny, slightly monochromatic color when the lighting was dim.

The bell rung again, this time signaling the end of lunch. Murdoc hoisted himself up from the ground. He offered his hand for the latter, who gladly accepted it. That same feeling returned when they touched, except stronger than before. The feeling sent blood rushing to Stuart's cheeks.

"Uhm, thanks." Stuart said.

"Welcome." Murdoc said as he shoved his hand in his suit jacket pocket, the feeling of the other teen's hand in his lingering.

They turned and walked together inside the school building. They parted ways once more for another four hours of classes before meeting up after school to walk with each other halfway to their houses. On the way, they conversed some more.

"Y'know," Murdoc started. "I've never really considered anyone a friend."

Stuart raised an eyebrow and looked at him. "Really?"

Murdoc shook his head. "You're the first."

The boy smiled. "I guess I'm pretty extraordinary, huh?" He laughed.

"Yeah." Murdoc replied, face serious.

Stuart couldn't help but blush slightly. "Thanks. I feel the same way about you…" He mentally scolded himself for blushing so much.

Murdoc smiled a lopsided smile. "I think this is going to be a wonderful friendship." He put his arm around Stuart in a friendly manor.

The blunette smiled and put his arm around Murdoc as well. "I think so too."

They remained in this position for the rest of the walk, chatting and laughing about any and everything. One minute they'd be telling their life story, the next they'd be laughing at how stupid some students were to them.