A.N- Here's chapter two! Sorry it took a while, I had problems getting it typed up. In case anyone was wondering, Yao, Ivan and their classmates are in primary four, which is the Scottish version of second grade. Li and Mei are in primary three. I used the Scottish system because it's the one I'm most familiar with. Once again, I own nothing!

The rest of the morning dragged on without too much event. It turned out that Roderich did speak English, and better than anyone expected. However, he still had an accent which sometimes made it difficult to understand what he was saying. Of course, that would probably fade after a while unless he was very stubborn. More than once that morning, Ivan tried to talk to Yao. Often he would ask about the holidays, which Yao wasn't up for discussing with anybody at the moment, least of all Ivan. Sometimes he'd request help with his work, to which the response was always,

"Ask the teacher. I'm too busy to help you," deep down, he knew he was being a bit mean to Ivan. If he was honest, he found the Russian boy a bit intimidating. He'd never admit it, though. It was easier to act like he was annoyed by Ivan than admit he was scared by him. Eventually, the bell for break rang. Yao was just about to get his snack when Ivan spoke up again. What did he want now?

"Would you like to spend break together today?" he sounded friendly enough, but Yao wasn't going to fall for his trick that easily. Besides, even if the taller boy was telling the truth, he wasn't going to spend his first break with Ivan. If that happened, people might end up thinking they were friends. That wasn't going to work at all. If people thought he was friends with Ivan, he might lose all the friends he actually had. With a sigh, he turned to look at Ivan for the first time since he sat down this morning. He needed to put a stop to this now. It felt like they'd had this conversation every day last year. And the year before that, and the year before that. Ivan had to understand that no meant no, sooner rather than later.

"No, Ivan, I don't want to. I'm not going to want to tomorrow, or any day after that, so don't bother asking then either. I'm not your friend, Ivan. You need to leave me alone," with that, he left the room. He didn't look back, not wanting to see Ivan's reaction.

After break, Ivan was silent. He didn't try to talk to Yao once all throughout literacy, even though it was a subject he found difficult. Normally he would've asked for help with something by now. Was everything alright? Normally he wouldn't care, but today he felt guilty, like it was his fault Ivan had gone silent. He turned to face his neighbour, who was staring at his exercise book looking confused. Judging by how much he'd written so far, his English had improved a lot over the summer. Still, he was obviously stuck on something.

"Hey, need a hand?" Ivan frowned at him. Obviously he hadn't been expecting this.

"Why are you talking to me? I thought you said we weren't friends." Yao sighed. He was starting to regret saying what he'd said before break. That was a little bit weird. He wasn't used to regretting things where Ivan was concerned. Unless he counted saying hello to him on the first day of school three years ago. Glancing at Ivan, it was obvious that he was upset and confused, which somehow made Yao feel even worse. Maybe he should apologise.

"Look, I'm sorry about what I said before break. I didn't mean to upset you. I was only trying to establish some boundaries," he paused a moment before continuing. "I still don't really consider you my friend. Mainly because I don't know you very well. However, I don't mind talking to you while we're at this desk. If you need help with schoolwork or something, it's okay to ask."

"Really?" Ivan's usual smile was starting to come back. "Thank you. And I'm sorry about break too. I don't really have any friends, and I'd hoped to get some this year. Maybe I've got the wrong idea."

"Maybe. You might be trying too hard. People may not want to be friends with you if you shove the idea down their throats."

"I see. Thanks for telling me that!" he smiled, then paused, looking back at his work. "Um, Yao?"

"Yeah?"

"What does this word mean?" he pointed to a word in his textbook. They were answering questions based on a text, and Ivan had gotten stuck. Determined not to go back on his word so soon, he decided to help Ivan through it.

They continued to work in a comfortable silence until lunchtime. Yao still refused to talk about the holidays, but it didn't take Ivan long to take the hint and stop asking. That was reassuring, since Yao still wasn't up for being that open with Ivan. He was only being polite by talking to the Russian boy from time to time instead of ignoring him completely. When the bell for lunch went, Yao looked around for Kiku. He was still talking to Heracles. Normally, this wouldn't be an issue. However, the first day of school was one of the few times his siblings all ate lunch together. It was a tradition, and he couldn't let it break now. He made his way towards the back of the room.

"Hey, Kiku, are you coming to have lunch with Li, Mei and I?"

"Yes, I was just coming," turning to Heracles, Kiku smiled and told him that he'd see him after lunch.

Lunch itself was fairly average. They were all in agreement that being back at school was better than being at home all day. They'd also agreed that talking about summer was a bad idea. If people found out their parents had been fighting... that wouldn't be good. After finishing lunch, Yao spent the rest of his lunch break catching up with his friends. It was so nice to be able to talk to them. Things were normal for the first time in weeks. It was just a shame that wouldn't last.