Nikolai wondered how he hadn't noticed Kristian. They were neighbours, weren't they? His mom was so anal- the first day they arrived in the apartment, instead of unpacking their stuff like normal people, they walked around the building, stopped at every single door, and introduced themselves. Of course, it was more like his mom did all the talking while he just lifted his hand to indicate hello.

Then again, the last time they checked the door beside them was about a year ago, when an elderly couple lived there instead, brewing tea and watching 'Deal or no Deal' the whole day. In fact, he heard the show every time he returned to his house, since the walls were so thin. It used to bug him so much that he splurged all of his money on headphones to blast in his ears day and night. He never noticed the delivery truck that Kristian no doubt used to move in, or the cardboard crates he used to pack his clothes, or the fact that he didn't hear Deal or no Deal anymore. It was as though Kristian just glided in and… stayed.

Kristian was admittedly pretty for a guy. With his delicate frame, pale skin and wavy silver hair, Kristian was commonly assumed to be female if people saw him from behind. However, when faced with Kristian from the front, his large, dark purple eyes looked bored and completely unimpressed; his lips were permanently pulled into a line; more importantly, his attitude completely turned people off, his vocabulary colourful (re: full of swear words) and carefully masked insults. Nikolai sometimes felt like snapping back at him, but for some reason he never did. If it was anyone else, he would've shot a hurtful comment, but maybe it was because Kristian was younger- Nikolai didn't want to.

"Hey, Nikolai…" Nikolai looked up from the table, his mom gazing at him worriedly.

"Yes, mom?" He said.

"Well… it's been an hour, and this whole time you've just been doodling on your textbook." Nikolai looked down, and sure enough, incomprehensible words were sprawled all over it. Nikolai vaguely recalled that he had a math midterm tomorrow and that if he didn't finish these questions he was dead.

"Oh. Right. Thanks mom." He said, erasing it slowly. His mom stared at him.

"…well. I'm going out, I'll be back in 2 hours." She said, hoisting her bag onto her shoulder. "And if I'm any later, don't worry- I probably met Nancy or something." Nancy was his mom's shopping friend. No doubt they would meet 'by chance' and spend the whole day trying on shoes that were way out of their price range and throwing them back carelessly into the shoe box. Nikolai nodded, not really caring. "There's some milk if you're hungry!" She added in helpfully. "Bye, honey!"

"Bye." He said. When the door was shut, he stopped erasing and sighed. He badly needed something to drink that was preferably not milk. For some odd reason or another, the fridge only contained milk for the past couple of weeks. He snapped his textbook shut and stood up, checked his wallet to see if he had any money, and grabbed his apartment key. Pulling on his long black trench coat, he looped a grey and blue plaid scarf around his neck. The grocery store was close by, and so was the nearby café. He would return to his math problems later. (Probably.)

When he shut the door close, he glanced at his next door neighbour. Should he invite Kristian along as well? He walked over, and as he lifted his hand to knock, he abruptly let it drop. It wasn't as though Kristian had nothing to do all day long- he probably had better things to do than buy groceries with a college student. Nikolai turned on his heel, and walked down the stairs, suddenly feeling cold even though it was spring.

As it turned out, Kristian didn't have anything to do. He spent the morning making pancakes (kudos to Matthew for teaching him) and idly watched Yu-Gi-Oh, as it was playing on the TV. A few hours later it was suddenly 1 pm, and he was alone, on a Saturday, still watching Yu-Gi-Oh.

He suddenly realized how pitiful that sounded.

He slowly crawled out from the blanket fort he made on the couch and slid open his phone. Blearily looking, Kristian noted distastefully that there were no new texts or missed calls. He silently stuck the middle finger at everyone who didn't say hello. He rolled over, accidentally brought the blanket with him, and ended up getting stuck in the covers.

"This sucks." He grumbled to himself, wriggling helplessly in his blanket cocoon. "Fucking… what to do…" He attempted to get out from his blanket but then gave up, as it was too bothersome and used up way too much stamina. (Kristian was a lazy sort of person.) He stared at his phone, the glowing screen seeming to be mocking him.

"Hah! No new texts or missed calls, you loser!" his phone seemed to say. Kristian narrowed his eyes.

"Fuck off." Kristian stuck his middle finger at it.

"LOL UR TALKIN 2 UR PHONE LOSER W/ A CAPITAL L!" The phone screamed at him in text language. Kristian groaned.

"I need to get a life." He burrowed his head underneath his pillow.

The second Nikolai walked into the grocery store, he couldn't believe his eyes. Standing in the baking aisle, deep in thought while holding a bag of marshmallows, was Ivan Braginski. Ivan fucking Braginski.

"…Ivan?" Nikolai said, trying to hide his shock. Ivan looked up, his lavender eyes looking confused, and then recognition followed.

"Nikolai!" He said joyously, his accent colouring his words slightly. "It's been a while, da?"

"Yes." He said. "And you still have that habit of adding 'da', don't you?" Ivan giggled.

"Obviously." Ivan said, grinning. "How have you been?"

"I've had better days, but it's alright." Nikolai said. Ivan smiled, and Nikolai was somehow happy that Ivan's smile still stretched from ear to ear, looking disturbing and yet quite hypnotizing at the same time. Ivan was part of his hockey team in high school. They weren't exactly close, but they were rather friendly compared to most. However, he had transferred away halfway through the year back to Russia, and they had lost contact ever since.

Ivan looked taller and more built, as though he had been to the gym more than a couple of times a week. He was actually almost a head and a half taller than Nikolai, making him crane his neck upwards in order to see him. Nikolai was certain that if he ran his finger across his stomach, a very obvious six pack would be there. Ivan's light blonde hair was longer, and his features were more prominent and almost dramatic. He had gotten rid of his signature white scarf and was wearing a black long sleeved v-neck, dark washed skinny jeans and a pair of sophisticated Italian loafers. He looked polished and clean-cut, and even just his shirt probably cost more than Nikolai's whole outfit added together.

Whereas Nikolai probably looked like he shrunk in the dryer or something.

"Good, good." Ivan said cheerfully. "I've been visiting around the world."

"Oh… family vacation?" Nikolai said, rather envious. He couldn't remember the last time his whole family had a trip together.

"Oh, no." He said, laughing as though it was absolutely ridiculous to think of. "For work!"

"Work?" Nikolai said, blinking. "Oh. Are you a photographer? Writer?" Nikolai, for the love of God, could not remember what Ivan's interests were, besides hockey.

"I'm a model." He said, throwing the marshmallows back onto the aisle. Nikolai blinked once, and then twice, and then gaped.

"What!" He said. "What… how…?" He questioned. Ivan grinned.

"Well, I went back to Russia, yes?" He said. Nikolai nodded mutely. "And well, I was rather fit since I finished hockey. I was scouted, apparently. So it started in Russia… and I'm quite popular in Asia. I'm trying to spread my name around here." He shrugged. "It's rather nice to be unknown though, however. I am quite sick of seeing fans everywhere."

"So THAT'S why you look so good." Nikolai said, looking at his own shopping cart in disgust. His cart had been piled high with snacks, and he made a minuscule attempt at hiding the chips from Ivan's sight. Ivan blinked, and then giggled.

"Why, thank you." Ivan said. "We should catch up, da? Let's go to where we always go." Nikolai was confused for a second, and then broke into a smile.

"I can't believe you remember that place." Nikolai playfully punched his arm, and then winced. His arms were rock hard. Rubbing his knuckles to relieve the pain, Nikolai made a mental note to go to the gym sometimes for body building, not just for his sport.

"Of course I do." Ivan chuckled. "I mean, I didn't have many friends back then, da? And you were somewhat of an unwilling acquaintance of mine, weren't you?"

Nikolai blinked, and looked at him as though he was crazy. "Are you an idiot?" He finally said. "I actually went around and tried to dispel the stupid rumours around you, forced you to join the hockey team, and it took you MONTHS to even say a mere hello to me. God, you insensitive jerk." Nikolai grumbled and walked a bit faster. Ivan looked surprised, and then touched.

"Aw. Thank you." He said, catching up to him in one long stride. Nikolai regrettably noticed that Ivan took one step when he took two. Nikolai felt his masculinity fade away slightly. Although all was forgotten when he found their destination.

"The ant park!" Nikolai cried out, running towards it in childish delight. The ant park was tiny and old, filled with ruined and discarded artefacts such as a bike wheel, rickety swings and a slide that was burned.

And Nikolai loved it.

He jumped onto the swings and eagerly started to kick. Ivan, on the other hand, sauntered over casually, the sun glinting on his skin as though he were a marble statue. Nikolai reluctantly noted that he looked as though he was walking down the runway and not just some dirty road to an old park.

"I can swing higher than you!" Nikolai called out, pumping his legs up high.

"Obviously." Ivan chuckled, sitting on his swing, legs stretched out and looking totally relaxed. "You were always very competitive, Nikolai."

"And you weren't?" Nikolai said. He finally stopped swinging and felt the the wind brush his hair back. "Last time I remember, you snapped that guy's rib cage in half when we lost."

"Oh. Well. That was a completely different matter." Ivan said, sounding embarrassed. Although embarrassment wasn't what one would usually feel when reminded about the unfortunate incident. However, Ivan was a weird one. Nikolai remembered the first week Ivan transferred in- so many whispered rumours about him being part of a gang or coming from a mental asylum was spread all over school. Even Nikolai, who didn't participate in school gossip, heard about it. But soon, Nikolai found out that Ivan was just blessed with strength and cursed with an anger management problem. (Then again, no one was perfect, so he and Nikolai became good hockey mates.)

"Anyway, what are you doing here?" Nikolai asked, scraping his foot against the wood chips. "Shouldn't you be at a photo shoot or something?"

"I'm actually modelling for the front cover of Fashion Gazette." Ivan said, sounding pleased. "My manager managed to get me a spot, despite the fact that it was quite difficult. However, the shoot isn't for another 2 hours, so I decided to go and explore."

"In the grocery store?" Nikolai said, raising an eyebrow.

"I remembered the marshmallows we used to burn in summer camp." Ivan admitted. "So I was just looking at them."

"Summer camp? Wow, that felt like a million years ago. I can't believe you still remember it." Nikolai said, smiling inwardly at the memory.

"One of the best moments of my life." Ivan said, grinning his eerie smile. "I'm surprised my mother actually let me go."

"I was too." Nikolai said. "My mom was more than willing for me to go- wanted me to get a social life and all that." He shrugged. Ivan nodded eagerly.

"You sure are lucky. I wish my mom let me do that." Ivan sighed. "I had to work in McDonald's for 6 months before I could afford it."

"Didn't you quit McDonald's when you worked there for a week?" Nikolai asked, confused. Ivan coughed awkwardly.

"Um. I may or may not threatened them to give me six months pay?" Ivan said, smiling. Nikolai sighed.

"Well. The past is the past. Although I really worry about what you said…" Nikolai said, eyeing him carefully. Ivan whistled, looking away.

Kristian had finally managed to wrestle his way out from his little cave. He crawled to the washroom and groaned at his reflection. His hair was sticking everywhere, he had dark circles underneath his eyes, and he looked sickeningly pale. He began to brush his teeth, and then as he leaned in to check if he had a pimple that had grown overnight, he dropped his toothbrush into the toilet. He looked at the toothbrush, thought about fishing it out (but decided against it), and then opened a cabinet to grab his spare. As he began brushing his teeth again, he banged his knee against the sink, making him yelp and drop his toothbrush into the toilet- again. He stared at the toothbrush and spat the toothpaste into the sink, too lazy to get the toothbrushes out. He tried to comb his messy hair with his comb, but halfway through, it got stuck on a knot. He dragged it, tugged it, and it actually snapped in half.

"Oh my god." He said, throwing the comb into the garbage bin. "What the fuck." He slammed the washroom door open and stomped to his room, much like a child who was just denied candy. Opening his closet, he eyed it, hoping to find something that wasn't too crumpled up. He then realized he forgot to go the Laundromat, so now he was forced to wear something that he shoved into the very back of the closet. His sisters had bought it for him, saying that he would look 'amazing' and that he 'better thank them after he banged some chicks!'. They still had the price tag attached. Sighing, he yanked them off and pulled on the ridiculous looking overalls and striped t-shirt that made him resemble a farm boy.

A farm boy with really ugly white hair.

He shoved all of his stuff in his backpack, figuring that he should bring his homework with him as well in case he ended up at a coffee shop or something. He locked the door, and ran down the steps, almost tripping over and landing in a pile of bird shit. He glanced around, made sure no one saw, and jumped down from the seventh step, landing on one bent leg and one stretched out, striking a pose as though he was James Bond.

"Score." He whispered. Then he got up, brushed his overalls down and walked away, acting as though nothing had happened.

Obviously, the world hated him, since Michelle popped out from nowhere, running and blocking him from walking.

"Kristian!" She said, grinning, her camera in hand. "Loving your outfit. It's so cute. Woot!" She slapped his butt, making him jump and recoil.

"I'm going to change." He finally said. As he turned around, Michelle grabbed his shoulder blades and forced him to turn around.

"Why don't you dress like this more often? Girls would be swooning at your feet instead of just idly glancing over." She complained. Really, Kristian mulled over, Michelle was a very nice person, and pretty as well, if she didn't take photos constantly. An aspiring photographer, Michelle documented most of her life (and Kristian's) using her trusty huge camera that had different lenses depending on her mood. Her coffee coloured skin shone healthily, and her thick, wavy hair made a lot of girls jealous. Her eyes were bright and wide, rimmed with thick, dark lashes, and she looked great in almost everything. Today, her hair was tied back into a ponytail, little wisps hanging in front of her face, her skinny jeans hugging her barely-there curves and cropped leather jacket showing off her thin waist. She could possibly have anyone she wanted… except her personality usually turned away potential boyfriends.

"Because of you." Kristian retorted. "And can I ask why you're hanging around my house? No wait," He said, looking away dramatically, "I don't even want to know."

Michelle puffed out her cheeks, and then blew her bangs out of her face. "I'm actually meeting my friend around here. I saw you striking a James Bond pose, so I snapped a quick picture." Kristian's mouth dropped.

"Okay, first- you have a FRIEND? And, second- ow, ow, ow!" Kristian winced as Michelle slapped his arm with her camera. "I take that back! Second, secooooonnnnd, delete that picture, okay?" Kristian said. Michelle pretended to think it over.

"Hmm, let me think- NO." She said, turning away. "I'll see you around." Before Kristian could say anything else, she leaped into a bush, and rustled away. Kristian blinked, and then sighed.

"Oh my god…" He said, grumbling. "Why am I even friends with her?" He walked away towards the direction of the nearby park. After about 10 minutes, he reached there and looked around. The mermaid water fountain was pouring out water from a golden vase and contained quite a lot of coins. It was a gorgeous park that was unfortunately crawling with couples EVERYWHERE. While Kristian was standing there, unsure of how to look Less Single, a man stumbled around by himself, looking around worriedly and shoving his glasses up from time to time. His dark blonde hair was cut rather plainly, and his green eyes looked annoyed. He adjusted his professional looking suit, and tapped his watch. He looked at his iPhone every now and then, and then made a noise of disapproval when nothing showed up. Kristian, feeling gutsy for once, walked up to him and tapped his shoulder.

"Looking for something?" He asked. The man turned around and his eyes widened in surprise.

"Well, no, not exactly, um, yes." He then laughed nervously. "I'm looking for someone, that's all."

"Mind if I help?" He said. The man looked even more surprised.

"Well, I guess more is more, after all." He laughed good-naturedly. "Thank you, we do need some extra help. I'm Eduard von Bock, by the way." He reached into his pocket and handed him a business card. Kristian looked at it.

"Part of Fashion Co.'s work team?" He said, wrinkling his nose. "You're part of the fashion industry?"

"Modelling, actually." He then registered the look of scepticism in Kristian's eyes. "Okay, not me. I'm the manager."

"Oh! Well. Of course." Kristian said. Realizing how rude that sounded, he corrected himself. "Oh, I didn't mean it like that-"

"It's alright." He raised his hand, as if to silence him. "If I picked a career, I wouldn't even consider modelling. It's quite the pain." He shrugged. "I'm looking for my model, actually. He won't pick up the phone. I mean, I know it's probably quite nostalgic to be in one's hometown, but seriously! The photo shoot is in an hour and half, he needs to get his makeup done!" Eduard began to ramble on. Kristian pretended to be interested by nodding.

"Yeah, okay, mhmm… what does he look like?" Before Eduard could reply, a voice cut him off.

"Mr. Eduard!" A tall, young man, the age of 24, walked over. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, and his shoulder-length chestnut hair was tied back with a ribbon. "Did you find him yet?"

"Not yet." Eduard sighed. "I'm sorry Toris, we're going to have to postpone the photo shoot just a little longer."

"I can't stay for long, I have to take photos for a splash page on the Chanel perfume." Toris sighed, mussing up his hair.

"Please, just a little longer, I'll get in contact with him." Eduard pleaded, his expression serious. Toris thought for a second, and then smiled.

"Fine. Another twenty minutes. If he doesn't come today, we have to reschedule it for next week." Toris warned. "I'll get the crew to set up for it. By the way, who's he?" Toris said, motioning towards Kristian.

"Oh. This is…" Eduard looked at him, embarrassed. "Sorry, I didn't catch your name."

"I didn't even say it." Kristian rolled his eyes. "I'm Kristian."

"Kristian." Toris looked at him up and down. "He'd be pretty good photo material, actually. I like your overalls."

"Really?" Kristian said, surprised that his rather rural attire drew so much attention today. "No, it's okay. Modelling really isn't at the top of my favourite careers."

"Your loss." Toris shrugged. "I'm quite certain that Feliks would enjoy it a lot, though."

"Feliks?" Kristian asked, confused.

"The makeup specialist. He also designs clothes." He explained. "I'm sure that he would've liked to measure you and create some new fashions for the next runway."

"Uh." Kristian wondered what he got himself into, before someone whistled appreciatively. Kristian turned around, and almost looked surprised- but held it back. There, walking towards them, was a tall, beautifully chiselled man, talking animatedly with a much shorter but just as attractive Nikolai.

"He's like sex on legs!" A woman furiously whispered to another woman. They both nodded furtively. A couple of hushed whispers spread across, and he could hear glimpses.

"- Fucking"

"OH MY GOD IT'S-"

"Quick, take a picture-"

"Nikolai?" Kristian said. Nikolai looked up, and was startled.

"…Kristian?"

Kristian and Nikolai ended up saying good bye to the modelling crew, waving and promising to meet again. They wandered around the district, far away from the park, mostly because Kristian half-directed, half-dragged Nikolai away. They settled into a deserted picnic table, the mood thick and the tension high.

"So." Nikolai broke the silence.

"So." Kristian echoed.

"Nice pants." Nikolai commented. Kristian almost laughed.

"Liking the view?" He said. At this, Nikolai looked at him strangely.

"Well, they sure beat your usual jeans." Kristian was now unsure of what kind of response to use. So he instead changed the topic.

"So… who's that guy?" Kristian said, pointedly not using Ivan's name.

"An old hockey teammate." Nikolai said uninterestedly. "Lost contact halfway through high school, since he left. Met him in the grocery store."

"Isn't that just fantastic?" Kristian said, amused. "In the grocery store. Imagine that."

"He was looking at marshmallows."

"He looks too fit to eat marshmallows."

"Well… reminiscing about the past."

"About what? How he was before he went on a diet?"

Nikolai looked at him in surprise. Kristian coughed and looked away, rubbing his arms.

"No. Summer camp." Nikolai said. Kristian waited for him to elaborate, but Nikolai seemed to be suddenly very interested in a carved mark of a middle finger.

"Would you like to say some more?" Kristian said.

"Um. I'll save that for another day." Nikolai said. Truthfully, Kristian didn't really want to know it anyway, although he wasn't sure why.

"...alright."

That seemed to be a conversation stopper, since the mood became awkward all over again. Nikolai cleared his throat, making Kristian look up.

"I was actually going to invite you to come grocery shopping with me, but I thought that you were probably busy." Nikolai said. Kristian almost laughed, but held it back. Nikolai had the expression of some grade-schooler pouting over the fact that he couldn't get what he wanted.

"I wasn't busy. I was stuck in my blankets while watching Yu-Gi-Oh." Kristian said. Nikolai looked startled, and then burst out laughing.

"You idiot. How'd you even do that?" Nikolai teased rather affectionately, kicking Kristian's knee.

"It's called skills, which you don't have." Kristian said, feigning a haughty look.

"Correction: Skills I don't WANT." Nikolai said smugly. Kristian puffed out his cheeks in irritation.

"Yeah, well, one day, you'll get stuck in a blanket as well." Nikolai shook his head, smiling slightly.

"Oh, I can't WAIT." Nikolai said sarcastically. "But if I ever do, you won't be there to witness it."

"Pfft... is that a challenge?" Kristian said, half-mockingly, half-serious.

"You bet." Nikolai's eyes glittered. "Twenty bucks says I won't."

"Thirty bucks says you will." Kristian said, upping the bargain.

"Thirty-five that I won't." Nikolai said.

"Thirty-five and a trip to the amusement park says you will." Kristian thought for a second. "Time limit is 6 months."

"6 months?" Nikolai said, surprised. "That's way too long."

"Are you backing out?" Kristian teased. "Then you owe me money."

"Fuck you. Fine, and shake on it!" Nikolai said, raising his hand out. Kristian clasped his hand over it, and was pleasantly surprised that his hand was soft and smooth, not rough.

"Also: you can't do it to me on purpose, it has to happen naturally." Nikolai said. Kristian stuck his tongue out.

"F-i-n-eeeeee." Kristian said, dragging it out, obviously not pleased. Nikolai couldn't resist- he started to pat Kristian's head, ruffling his hair. Kristian blinked, but didn't do anything to stop it.

"You're like this pre-schooler I had to babysit." He said. Kristian's cozy mood immediately vanished.

"And you're like the older brother I never wanted." Kristian shot back. Nikolai sighed in defeat.

"You bratty little kid." Kristian just shrugged.

"Tell me something I don't know."

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