Eridan practically jumped out of bed, today was the day, his first day at Alternia high school he was going to look his best, despite the uniforms design. He practically ran into Cronus's room with his uniform and a towel in hand, though tip-toed past the slightly snoring man and into the bathroom. It was a good thing he set his alarm for 6:00 so he had three hours to get to school, that was just enough time for him to get ready.
He was quick in the shower like he always was after moving in with Cronus, though as he dried his wet hair he gazed in the mirror. He frowned at what he saw, he was much paler than he remembered and his freckles seemed to become more noticeable than before and it was going to take a lot more makeup to cover them. So he stood in front of the mirror and changed into his uniform, it was still as gross as it looked in the store and he frowned at it. He missed the feeling of his thick dress shirt over his shoulders, covered by his silky blazer and slick pants.
He sighed as he looked at the uniform, thin shirt, thin pants and a woollen jumper and worst of all green tie that completed the whole set. He had to forget it, this is his life now, this house, this uniform, this school he had to man up and deal with it.
So that's what he did, he did his hair spiking it up, making sure not a single hair was out of place before he began with his make-up. Perfect, he gazed at himself in the mirror adjusting his glasses on the bridge of his nose and gazing about his face looking for any freckles. He grinned as he exited the bathroom being quiet as he passed Cronus once more and nearly skipping into his room. Despite the uniform and the people he had already met maybe someone other than Sollux would take to him and he could make friends.
He stopped as he gazed about his room with a sigh, one that made his insides twist, who was he kidding? Sollux didn't even like him, their friendship was forced, if Mituna didn't care as much as he does they probably wouldn't have even met. Eridan moved to his bed slowly, his good mood had depleted slightly though he tried to convince himself to stay positive.
He checked his phone, 7:36, there was still an hour before school started. He lay down on his bed, being sure not to mess up his hair as he scrolled through the apps on his phone, trying to mask the feeling in his stomach. He scrolled through his entire phone he didn't feel like playing any of them however he froze as he hovered over one of the contacts in his phone. Mituna, he said that he could call whenever he needed and he did feel kind of sick but he didn't want to be a bother.
He couldn't stop himself, he needed assurance so he swallowed the lump in his throat and tapped the contact setting the phone to his ear, the calling tone played in his ear as he gave his lips a quick lick, would he even pick up?
"nrghh Hello?" Oh crap Eridans eyes widened as he gripped the phone tighter, he had woken Mituna up.
"Hey Mituna, it's me." Eridan mumbled as he shuffled awkwardly on his bed, listening to Mituna sit up and clear his throat.
"Oh hey Eridan, what time ith it?." His voice was croaky and Eridan almost didn't understand what he said due to his lisp being stronger than usual.
"It's seven forty, I'm sorry for calling so early but—"
"Oh thit!" Eridan listened as Mituna shuffled about, though he waited as he heard Mitunas footsteps and a knock at a door,
"Hang on a thecond Eridan, Thollux GET UP!" Mituna called, obviously holding the phone away from his mouth so Eridan's ear didn't get attacked.
"Okay tho what'th up?" Mituna questioned as Eridan heard him moving about the house, he must be getting ready.
"Oh it's nothing big, nev-ver mind I shouldn't have called…"
"Eridan did you not lithten to me? I thaid no matter how thmall your problem ith I'm here for you." Mituna stopped shuffling about to prove how serious he was as Eridan rolled over on his bed.
"Okay, w-well It's about school I don't know-w…" Eridan felt weird telling Mituna about his nerves so he stopped.
"your Nervouth? Don't thweat it, it'th natural and you're a good kid I'm thure you will fit right in." Mituna assured him as Eridan nodded slightly but didn't really believe him.
"Look, I'll athk thollux to look out for you, and if anyone pick'th on you I will perthonally come to the thchool and kick their athth, I might even bring Cro." Eridan nodded again, having people looking out for him was re-assuring but he didn't want anyone to get hurt because of him.
"thpeaking of Cro, ith he awake?"
"no, I didn't want to disturb him." Eridan sat up and peered at his door.
"Can you put him on?"
"Okay hang on…" Eridan was quick to exit the room and cautiously entered the older males room and approached the bed, Cronus was hugging a pillow and had kicked off half of his blankets, his hair was a mess but he looked content. Eridan was nervous as he reached out and nudged him though nothing happened so he nudged him harder.
"Cronus, get up Mitunas on the phone." Cronus's eyes snapped open, they were red and looked sore as they locked with Eridans. Eridan was about to back away but Cronus rolled over and was quick to grab the phone and place it on his ear. He wasn't wearing a shirt and looked cold by the way he curled into a ball around the warm pillow, taking a deep breath before groaning.
"Vwhat" his weird speech pattern was back as Eridan waited by the bed, glancing anywhere but at Cronus.
"Yeah I'm avwake, no I didn't forget, I'm dressed already." Cronus lied as he sat up and rubbed his eyes before giving Eridan a gaze, one that made Eridan look at him. Cronus pointed across the room where some clothes were laid out on a stand, Cronus pointed at them and signalled for Eridan to bring them to him.
"I'm not evwen in my bed! I vwas evwen going to take the kid out for breakfast, so vwhat Mc Donald's nevwer killed no one." He ruffled his hair as Eridan grabbed the heavy clothing and brought it to Cronus's side. Cronus removed the covers to show that he was indeed wearing boxers before he stretched and chuckled, turning away from Eridan and lifting his shoulder up so he could hold the phone to his ear as he grabbed his jeans and slipped them on.
Eridans eyes widened, Cronus's back was messed up, and two large scars in a zigzag pattern laced his back. Followed by many bruises above them and scratches and on either side of his back there were what looked to be burn marks. Eridan tried not to stare as he looked at his feet Cronus chuckled again before quickly slipping on his shirt.
"I'm leavwing now… alright talk to you later…" Cronus glanced back at Eridan for a moment as his voice dropped to a whisper, facing the opposite direction slicking his hair back with his hand.
"lovwe you too doll." Before he removed the phone from his ear and hung up, tossing it toward Eridan gently as he headed for the bathroom.
"Get your shoes on, I'll be there in a second." Cronus mumbled, his voice dropping from his fake awake one to a groan. Eridan was quick to leave practically running out of the room, how the hell did Cronus get those scars. There was no way they were self-inflicted, he shook his head, he had to focus. Grabbing his back-pack with a notebook and his pencil case, which Mituna was nice enough to get for him, he headed for his shoes.
First day at a new school, he had to be ready for anything but Sollux had assured him not to bring any textbooks. He nodded, pocketing his phone before slipping on his shoes as he waited for Cronus, checking the time 7:50.
The wait for Cronus took about ten minutes before the man emerged his hair fixed up and he had a pleasant smell to him. Eridan was quick to get on his feet as he watched Cronus grab his keys, glancing at the mirror by the door and fixing his leather jackets collar before glancing back at Eridan.
"Ready kid?" Eridan nodded in response, Cronus exited the apartment waiting for Eridan to follow him before locking the door. The males did not exchange any words as they made their way down the hall and into the elevator, then down to the garage and into Cronus's slick car, remaining silent as Cronus started up the car and pulled out. Eridan tensed, he was officially on the way to his first day at this school and he was so scared.
Cronus stopped off at McDonald's and got both of them a breakfast meal, in which they ate on the way there. Eridan only nibbled at his food, he felt sick with nerves as his eyes gazed at a street sign that stated the school was coming up on the left. His face practically glued to the window as the school came into his view.
The school was built with orange, red bricks that seemed to be continuous throughout the integrity of the school with concrete paths. Trees were randomly placed around the school in no order or type and left leaves everywhere. The classrooms looked to have no set colour as they ranged from creamy colours to deep blue's making no sense, or pattern. It was completely different to his old school, it looked more dirty and confusing, not to mention it was just plain ugly.
"Well here you go kid, Meet me here after school." Cronus sighed as he kept glancing between Eridan and the school. Eridan fiddled with his bags strap before nodding and glancing at Cronus nervously before opening the door and getting out. As soon as the door clicked closed Cronus drove off and Eridan was once again alone, he gulped as he approached the schools gate which was thick and black and screamed that there was no escape. Students were flooding into the school each in their own little friendship groups, none of them even glancing at Eridan.
He sighed as he entered another set of black gates which revealed a large walking area in which had three thick paths that connected in the middle where a flag pole rested on a circle base, that had ugly images on it that previous students had painted. Students walked past him as he gazed about, some nudging him rudely as he searched for the front office where he was supposed to get his timetable and locker number.
He decided to remove himself from the front of the gates and off to the side slightly, gazing about for a map or anything, having no luck he decided it was best to follow the path he was on. Sadly these merely lead him to a courtyard with classrooms surrounding it and students sitting about in front of them. Glancing up at the new big building with closed over automatic doors he spotted a small sign that read "Library". It looked to be pretty big inside and out and he would have to snoop it out later, once he found the office.
"thup?" a voice whispered in his ear from behind him, Eridans eyes widened as he snapped around on his feet and stared at the figure behind him. Sollux stood in the uniform, well sort of, he had draped a yellow jacket over his shoulders and improved the uniform slightly. He still had those odd glasses on and a cool laptop bag as he smirked at Eridan.
"Thtanding around in here will get you in trouble." Sollux's smirk remained.
"oh, is there rules about standing near the library?" Eridan peered about the building, searching for a list of rules or a notice, though Sollux's chuckle snapped him out of it.
"No, but unleth you want to upthet the year twelve'th or them." Sollux gestured to a group of girls in which were currently glaring at Eridan and Sollux as Eridan perked up.
"I don't w-want to upset anyone, I just w-want to find the office." Eridan complained, locking eyes with Sollux for a moment before Sollux turned.
"Fine then, come with me." Eridan didn't respond instead nodded and followed Sollux back down the path he had come down and then proceeded to follow him down another path. Sollux stopped and Eridan walked into his back slightly before stepping back as Sollux turned.
"Tada the offithe." Eridan gazed past him, another large room that was a deep blue, matching the various other classrooms surrounding it.
'"It fukin blends in!" Eridan complained as Sollux grinned before moving out of the way and allowing Eridan entrance.
"Now go get your thit." Sollux reminded Eridan before taking a seat on the steps out the front of the office and Eridan nodded. He didn't think that Sollux would be so nice to him on his first day, from the way he sounded at the ice-cream parlour Eridan thought he was on his own.
He was quick to get inside and tell the grouchy looking women behind the desk his name and what he needed. She let out a grumble before looking something up on the computer and claiming she was printing it now. Eridan waited for a good five minutes before she had gone to fetch the papers and slip them under the glass case she was in, he felt like he was at a bank. He wished her a good day before exiting the way he had come to find Sollux using his laptop as a platform so he could continue writing down something.
"W-what are you doin'?" Eridan curiously tried to peek at the paper as Sollux gazed up at him.
"Here take thith." He handed the paper to Eridan and stood, packing up the piece of machine in which was the laptop Eridan had seen under his keyboard weeks ago.
"W-what is it?"
"It'th a thpecial map." Eridan looked at the paper with a slight grin, Sollux was terrible at drawing. The map though had his current location, the paths and where they lead, lockers, gym, library but what made it special was the red headings. Eridan read some of them out loud,
"wannbe cool kids, cool kids, danger zone, drugs, shanks and the best people ever?" He grinned as he noticed the little scribble of Sollux's unique glasses under the last heading. It was a basic map to being successful in highschool, where to go and where not to go, this map was the most precious item he now owned.
"It'th tho you don't get yourthelf in thit, well at leatht not on your firtht day." Sollux mumbled as he packed up his pens and computer before brushing himself off.
"Altho thow me your clathth litht." Sollux demanded, Eridan quickly glanced away from the map and grabbed the subject list and let Sollux have it.
"we have home group together, meaning we have englitht together and thcience." Eridan received the subject list back as Sollux adjusted his bag strap before glancing around.
"tho I guethth I will thee you in homegroup." Sollux shrugged as he started off down one of the paths. Eridan quickly glanced up and acted out of impulse as he grabbed Sollux's arm and stopped him,
"W-wait, w-where are you goin?"
"I'm leaving to find Karkat…" Sollux answered as if it was obvious, glancing at the hand on his arm as if it stung and Eridan let him go.
"you're just goin to leav-ve me?" Eridan stared at Sollux as his eyes begged for him to stay, Sollux cleared his throat and glanced away.
"It'th for the betht Eridan, you will probably find out why later, look it'th complicated." Sollux mumbled out the last part before locking eyes with Eridan again from behind his glasses.
"okay, we can walk to home-group together but when I say, go, you keep walking, ith that clear?" Eridan didn't really understand what Sollux meant but nodded. Sollux didn't say anything else as he started down the path to where Eridan guessed lead to their homeroom.
The school was filling up, students pouring in through the gates and taking up the walkways and chatting about their holidays, it was a refreshing change of atmosphere from the smokey depths of Cronus's apartment. However Sollux didn't seem to think so, he hid in his hoodie with his head down and walked about pretty quick, ducking and dodging though the crowds. Eridan however stood proud and took everything in, the crowded atmosphere, the shitty graffiti on all the benches, the lack of teachers the cold concrete floors, it was so weird.
However as they entered a long hallway lined with lockers and flooded with students they managed to squeeze through the crowd of puberty and get to Sollux's locker.
"w-wow I thought this place w-was gonna be ten times more w-worse off." Eridan admitted watching Sollux open up his locker quickly.
"That'th good I gueth." Sollux sighed out as he grabbed a few note books and his blue and red pencil case and shoved them into his bag.
The students that flooded the halls began to shuffle about and Eridan was nudged closer to the lockers on the wall as he gave a glance at the people around him. They were making room for something at the expense of his personal space; he was nudged again before the students moved away.
He nodded to himself as he gained back his room and gave Sollux a glance however another person stood in front of Sollux, the crowd had spat them out of nowhere. Eridan quickly noticed the other students standing behind the blonde in the front, most of the crowd was watching them and Eridan guessed they were important.
"Captor" The blonde at the front grinned; he was taller than Sollux and had himself a set of dark aviators over his eyes. He wore the school shirt but wore a dark red hoodie over it with a set of black jeans instead of the school pants and red converse, his get up was pretty cool.
Eridan glanced over the others behind the blonde, a short black haired man with glasses and spikey hair stood nervously rubbing his arm and biting his lip. However he was in complete uniform unlike the blonde and looked as if he didn't want to be there as he glanced about at the staring crowd.
Another really tall boy stood next to him, he had his arms crossed and lacked the school jumper despite the chilly weather. Eridan could tell that the man was ripped though he looked to be almost sweating, it was kinda gross. As for his face he had long hair that was tied back and a set of square shades that looked as if they had been scratched badly, he had firm features and eyebrows that were strong enough by themselves to pound a man.
Lastly there was someone who Eridan knew, long slightly curled hair, blue lipstick and a smirk wider then a slice of watermelon, Vriska. His eyes lowered as he squinted into a glare, she had covered his favourite jeans in mud, not to mention his dad scarf.
"Did you want… anything?" Sollux mumbled, Eridan could hear that he was purposely avoiding words with "s" in them as the blonde scoffed.
"I just came to congratulate you bro, for putting that kid in hospital, oh wait a second that wasn't you." The blonde smirked as Sollux stood his ground despite how close the boy was.
"who was it again who got there face beat so bad that they speak with a lisp?" Sollux didn't react just kept his eyes locked and his back straight, Eridan was impressed. The blonde reached up and grabbed onto Sollux's laptop bag and yanked it from his shoulder, Sollux didn't even react he looked as if he had just shut himself down.
"I see you fixed this piece of shit again?" The boy chuckled as he carelessly raided Sollux's school bag as if it were his own, Sollux nodded.
"Whoops" the laptop slipped out of his hand, clearly on purpose as it hit the ground with a clang and another small chip of plastic clipped off and slid on the floor, only then did Sollux's face drop to the floor to inspect the damage.
"theriouthly Dave? Again?" Sollux sounded bored as Dave glanced up at him with a smirk before grabbing Sollux's collar and leading him back into the lockers harshly.
"Don't worry this is just the beginning Captor." Dave grinned, Sollux just let him push him around with a bored and almost tired expression as Dave pushed him violently, causing Sollux to hit his head on the lockers. Eridan gripped his backpack tightly before slipping it off and glaring at this "Dave" guy, he didn't care if this guy was in charge of the school, Sollux needed help.
"Hey w-why don't you back off!" Eridan growled as his bag hit the side of the locker, and he stomped over to Dave, soon realising that Dave was much more intimidating up close. There was no time to waste as Eridan grabbed Dave's hands on Sollux's collar and ripped them off and slid himself between the two. The entire crowd gasped and a few of them started mumbling words that Eridan couldn't care about as he glared at the other male.
"Who the fuck is this?" Dave questioned as he glared between his hands and Eridan as if he had infected him with some kind of disease.
"I'm Eridan Ampora, and I'm not going to let you mess w-with Sollux!" Eridan growled, the crowds stared up again and Dave scoffed and took a step back as Vriska peered over at Eridan.
"Oh I know hiiiiiiiim." Her smile was feral as she approached,
"Me and the gurls totally pushed him in the muuuuuuud, and Sollux was looking for him, haha!" Eridan hated her voice as Daves smiled grew, Eridan didn't care he stood tall, well smaller in case of height but he didn't care.
"Got yourself a boyfriend Cap—"
"Hith not my boyfriend!" Sollux growl defensively, Eridan could hear that he was embarrassed as his voice shifted.
"Look I don't have time for this, Equius, teach this dweeb a lesson." Dave mumbled as he turned around, Eridan had to admit he did look slick as he did it, though the sound of Vriska's chuckle snapped him back to reality.
The muscly man approached with the same stern frown on his lips as he cracked his knuckles and neck, Eridan gulped and he could hear Sollux's breathing stop behind him.
"I'm sorry but you should know I take no pleasure in this, it is simply a method of learning your place at this school." Eridan's eyes widened as he stood tall, the strong boy grabbing his collar and lifting him from the floor slightly. Eridan struggled as he gripped and clawed at the hands on his neck, he could feel himself being moved as he squinted at Equius.
Then he was tossed, backwards into the locker, his entire back colliding with the cool metal and the padding of the cheap jumper barley masking the pain that stuck his back. His head hit the locker and his glasses slipped off his face, however before he could fall the boy returned. The boy put his hands on his shoulders bringing him down just enough so his other knee collided with Eridans stomach, forcing him to realease a breath he didn't remember holding. Eridans stomach twisting as the strength on his shoulders left as he fell to the ground, falling onto his hands and knees.
His hands felt the cool floor as he panted and stared at the ground, not moving as the footsteps walked away and the casual chatting started up again, though Eridan simply panted. His body was burning and his stomach was doing flips with every breath, he honestly didn't think that they would seriously hit him. His hand curled into fists as he stared at the ground, he held his tears at bay but his body shook against his will and he felt like he was going to be sick.
Then he felt a soft hand on his shoulder that slipped under his body and practically lifted him up, he could tell they were struggling but he was astonished. He slipped his eyes closed as he gripped to the other figures arm, panting. When his eyes opened again he was pushed against something hard that was just higher than his hip and his eyes snapped open.
He had a slightly dizzy spell as he looked about in a squint, due to his missing glasses but he could tell Sollux was in front of him and the room they were in was mostly white. Sollux reached up and placed his glasses on the bridge of his nose as Eridan blinked and glanced about, holding his stomach. They were in the male bathroom and he was leaning against the sink, which was a good thing too because he felt sick.
"What were you thinking?!" Sollux grumbled, Eridan could barely concentrate on Sollux his head was now spinning, like his stomach was before as he reached up to grab his head. Those slick hands slipped under his arms again and lifted him up beside the sink, Eridan didn't complain if anything it made him feel better.
"thit thtill." Sollux mumbled as he reached down and lifted Eridans shirt where he had been hit and inspected it, Eridan was quick to reach up and hide his stomach.
"How am I thuppothe to make thure you're okay if you won't let me look?" Sollux mumbled as he moved away and examined Eridan. Eridan rubbed the back of his head, he was a little out of breath and his stomach felt as if something was lodged in there, he sighed before bringing his hands forward to hide his face in it.
"I cant believ-ve he hit me!" Eridan whined he felt like he was in shock as he heard Sollux sigh,
"I tried to warn you, thith ith why I didn't want you to come with me."
"because you get bullied?" Eridan grumbled out giving his eyes a rub.
"I don't get bullied, people jutht don't exactly get along with me…" Sollux admitted before he turned and shuffled through his bag and retrieved a water bottle.
"here tho you don't throw up." Sollux handed him the bottle popping the top open for Eridan, as if he knew that Eridan felt sick. They stayed like this for a while as Eridan took sips of the bottle as the pain in his stomach started to cease, and before too long a bag was handed back to Eridan.
"Thanks for dragging me in here…" Eridan frowned as he slipped on the backpack before glancing at Sollux who was examining the broken part of the computer.
"Sorry about your computer." Eridan mumbled breaking the silence between the two of them as Sollux shrugged and put it away.
"I only bring it for them to thmathh." He placed the laptop in his bag and glanced at his phone and nodded.
"Okay tho we have miththed home-group and right now you have math and I have IT." Eridan's eyes widened as he realised he had already missed a class as he began to freak out.
"OH god this is bad I have nev-ver ev-ver missed a class, w-what w-will the teachers think!" He hurried through the bathroom door leaving Sollux standing there slightly confused. That was until Eridan peered through the door seconds later with a grin.
"So do you know where Classroom C2 is?" Eridan questioned as Sollux rolled his eyes and sighed, signalling for Eridan to follow him as he left the bathroom.
They made it to Eridans math class without any disruptions due to the rest of the kids being in class, though Eridan looked almost distraught about entering the classroom.
"It'th just math clathth." Sollux pointed out as Eridan peered at the door from behind Sollux for the third time.
"W-what if I screw up, w-what if I sit in the w-wrong chair? W-what if dav-ve is—"
"Daveth not in thith clathth hith in my math clathth, jutht thit at the front okay?" Eridan could hear the annoyance rising in Sollux's words and sighed.
"Okay, but can w-we meet up at recess?" Eridan knew he was pushing Sollux's boundaries but he had to try. Sollux seemed to stare at the boy, he looked as if he didn't understand why Eridan would want to hang out with him and shook his head.
"Fine jutht text me after clathth." Sollux walked off after that and Eridan grinned widely and watched as Sollux walked around the corner. Though once Sollux was gone he frowned immediately realising that he had to go to math class and he was already late.
He was quick to approach the door and turn the handle, letting out a breath he didn't know he was holding as he stepped in and his eyes widened. It was not what a normal math class looked like, it was loud. Most of the students weren't even in their chairs and instead crowded around spare tables in little groups. Others sat with their computers and phones in groups of twos and mumbled loudly into the noise of the room. Eridan was quick to sit behind one of the rectangle desks and set his bag beside him.
No one even flinched the teacher was busy on his computer typing away and looked to have headphones in. Eridan frowned as he got his notebook out of his bag with a pen before glancing back at the teacher. He did not react it was as if he already knew that the first class of the year would merely be a catch up class. It was too bad that Eridan had nothing to catch up with, so instead he began to sketch.
He knew that his drawings weren't perfect but he believed he was getting really good at sketching objects, like desks and pens. He didn't really see himself becoming an artist in the future, but then again since he had moved in with Cronus he hadn't had any time to think about his future. He sighed to himself as he sketched one of his fellow pencils, perhaps something to do with science? He was good at science.
A grin took over his lips as he flipped the page he had been doodling on; he had science with Sollux that was another thing he could look forward to. It seemed that Sollux was one of the only people that hadn't picked on Eridan and wanted to have any kind of friendship with him. Though his thoughts drifted to this morning and the pit in his stomach ached slightly, why did Dave and his crew pick on Sollux anyway?
Eridan glanced at his paper in thought, Sollux was one of the nicest people he knew but then again perhaps that had something to do with the relations between their relatives. It was hard for Eridan to read Sollux's personality for it seemed to change depending on the situation. He was different and nicer when he was at home, willing to spend time playing and laughing. Though at school he shuts down like a zombie, spare the moments they were alone and Sollux let his façade drop.
Eridan snapped back to reality as his head was forced forward due to an object hitting his head hard, causing his glasses to slip off and him to let go of his pen. He immediately snapped his head around and placed his glasses back on as a boy was boy walking towards him. The boy bent down to pick up a soccer ball before glancing up at Eridan. Eridan however stared at the ball in confusion, who in their right mind brought a soccer ball to math class?
"What are you looking at?" Eridan snapped his head back to his book, the boy just shrugged before returning back to the back of the classroom. Eridan mentally cursed himself, he had just screwed up another potential friendship, but then again the kid did hit him with a soccer ball. Eridan sighed as he picked up his pen and returned it to the paper before staring at his sketch.
He had drawn a familiar set of glasses, a round oval base with different shaded lens and thin frames to support the fragile design. An un-familiar grin rose onto Eridans face as he shaded the darker lens, and the more he thought the less his stomach hurt. He let his pen hit the paper again as he continued to shade the glasses that hid those miss-matched eyes. He hoped that nothing else disrupted him in this class; he just wanted to get lost in his thoughts.
And lost he got, nearly the integrity of his page was covered in small doodles and characters as he blankly sketched. He barley heard any of the noise coming from the other students until a loud bell chimed in his ears three times. He sat up and began to pack up as all the other students legged it out of there in seconds and the teacher was also packed and standing. Eridan took his time though, fixing his drooping hair and zipping up his bag before getting out his phone. His face lit up as a message from Sollux appeared on his screen and he opened it.
"II'm betting that Cronu2 gave you money for lunch 2o meet me at the canteen" Eridan smirked; Cronus had indeed given him money for food. So without another word he swung his bag on his back and exited the classroom, pulling out his map and following the guide.
After managing to make it through the swarms of students he arrived at the canteen, nothing classy just long benches with food behind glass and various workers behind it. It did smell nice and the line was fast paced, not many students had arrived yet.
"Jutht get in and out meet me back here." Eridan jumped as once again Sollux appeared behind him before backing back to lean against a wall. Eridan gave him a nod as he approached the glass cases there was a large variety, pastas, wraps, sandwiches, nuggets, potato gems, fish and roast beef were some of the meals available. Eridan was quick to point to the tasty looking mushroom and chicken ravioli in white sauce, he was served and change was given in a matter of seconds.
He smiled at the smell and grabbed one of the available forks before returning to where Sollux leant against the wall with his headphones. He didn't even speak to Eridan as he turned down the hall and paced quickly, as if people were following him. Eridan didn't struggle to keep up as Sollux took various turns until they reached a door labelled "Alarmed door exit." But before Eridan could say anything Sollux pushed it open and the outside world was revealed.
The light from outside made Eridan squint though he found himself in a corner where a chair just out of the sun sat. There was no graffiti it smelt like outside and due to it being a corner no one else was looking at them, it was very secluded.
"Welcome to paradithe" Sollux mumbled and took his headphones off before tossing his bag next to the bench and taking a seat with a sigh. Eridan continued to gaze about before gently sitting on the other end of the bench being sure to take a bite of the pasta warming his hands.
"So how-w w-was your morning?" Eridan questioned as Sollux gave him a glance before leaning down to his bag to get his lunch.
"It wath okay, I guethth?" Sollux questioned him as if no one ever really asked him about his day as he pulled out a rounded box. Eridan couldn't help but stare at the box curiously watching Sollux open it up, a rice ball in with dark strips making it look like a bee surrounded by lettuce and carrots and small pre-cooked sausages around that. It looked really fresh as if someone had taken the time to make it perfect. However Sollux just grabbed his fork and stabbed the cute rice before proceeding to munch away at the stick rice. Sollux noticed Eridan watching and smirked as he silently chewed his food before leaning it towards Eridan for him to see.
"It'th a Bento box, my mum maketh them." Sollux pointed out before returning it to his lap and eating another scoop, that was extremely nice.
"That's so cool, does she make them ev-veryday?" Eridan questioned as he scooted closer to have a peek at the box.
"yeah she get'th home late tho she maketh them and leaveth it on the bench everyday." He smiled down at his food for a second before frowning quickly to mask it. Eridan nodded before taking another bite of his pasta that looked so plain in comparison to Sollux's bento box. The two ate however Sollux stopped halfway through and began to play on his phone whilst Eridan finished his food.
"So you sit here by yourself?" Sollux didn't look up from his phone,
"Not alwayth thometimeth KK hangth out with me." Sollux didn't seem too bothered at this fact but Eridan frowned.
"Sounds pretty lonely…"
"I have my Laptop."
"Am I annoying you?" Sollux froze for a moment before slowly continuing to play on his phone, as if he was in deep thought.
"Look Eridan, There ith a reathon I thit alone all the time, and I'm thure that you will find out why, and like everyone elthe you will ditch me anyway." Sollux's tone was unreadable though it hurt Eridan slightly.
"So you don't trust me, you think I'm like ev-veryone else?" Eridan tried to mask the anger in his voice but Sollux froze and glanced over at him, questioning. Eridan didn't say another word as he glanced away, looking like an upset puppy as he pouted. The two stayed like this for a while before he heard Sollux's bag shuffle before Sollux stood.
"W-where are you goi—"
"Clathth thartth in five." Sollux began to walk out and around the corner, Eridan sat still for a second, unsure whether he should follow Sollux. However Sollux appeared at the corner again with a bored expression.
"You coming?" Eridans face lit up as he slipped on his bag quickly, catching up with Sollux and walking beside the cool kid,
well the cool kid in his eyes.