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Chapter Text

They waited in silence, both eager for Lloyd to emerge with good news. Jay bounced his leg so much it seemed like something had crawled up his pants. Cole nervously bit the tip of his tongue, a habit he had long tried to break. This was their last-ditch effort. 

"I doubt this is gonna work," Cole sighed, finally breaking the silence. 

"Shhh, you must have faith." Jay's brows furrowed while he showed Cole he had his fingers crossed.

The door slowly creaked open, startling the two from their spots on the hallway floor. They jumped up with anticipation, waiting for Lloyd to give them any good news. 

"It's a no-go," Lloyd sighed. Pushing the security room door shut before continuing to talk. After weeks of investigating Cole's secret admirer, Cole finally gave in and asked Lloyd to persuade his uncle to look at the school's cameras. It took some convincing, but Mr. Wu finally gave in and led them to the security room this morning. 

"It looks like the videos get deleted every week, which means we're too late to catch this guy this time," Lloyd exhaled, picking up his backpack from the floor. The others followed suit, listening intently while also packing their things for their next classes.  

"Let's just do my Plan C," Jay blurted out. 

"Plan C?" Cole didn't like the sound of a plan C, nor did he know about a plan C beforehand. Solely because Jay's plans never worked, and he had never stated he had a backup for the backup plan in the first place. 

"Yeah, Plan C. The plan where Lloyd and I go around and ask who has a crush on you." Jay chortled. 

"What! Hell no, don't do that!" Cole yelled, shock running through him at the thought of them doing that. 

"I'd never agree to it anyway." Lloyd chuckled, opening and holding the exit door for the two. 

"We don't want Zane finding out about this, and that would be a one-way ticket to him finding out," Lloyd glared in Jay's direction, rolling his eyes in the process. 

"Oh yeah, I forgot Zane was a variable in this for a moment." Jay chuckled and playfully nudged Cole as if the suggestion wasn't ridiculous. 

"Maybe I'll forget not to punch you," Cole said, glaring at Jay. 

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. A man in love is scary." Jay flinched back, putting his hands up in defense. 

"Maybe this whole investigation is a waste of time." Cole sighed. It had been two months since his anniversary with Zane. Spring break had come and gone, and school was ending soon. Although it had been somewhat painful to be away from Zane, he was happy to see his father again. Being back in his room at home filled him with a sense of nostalgia he never knew he could feel. Cole continued to receive notes from his admirer, but they became less frequent once school started again. It didn't occur to him to check the security cameras until today, remembering that Lloyd had suggested they do so months ago since his parents owned the school. All Lloyd had to do was ask Mr. Wu. 

"I mean, now that we know these recordings get deleted, we'll have to come to the security room the next time you get a note," Lloyd interjected, quickening his pace to be on time for his next class. Checking the cameras right before class that morning was a bit of a stretch, but the team was too excited to finally catch the mystery boy. 

"That's gonna take forever! This guy's a coward. Why can't he confess to you so you can shut him down already." Jay groaned. The group laughed together, making their way into the main school building. 

"Maybe he knows Cole's taken. He's probably just scared." Lloyd stated. 

"He should be! We've already seen how Zane gets when it comes to his boy." Jay jabbed Cole in his side. 

"Cut that out!" Cole let out a painful giggle. He was ticklish on his side. 

"We'll catch him next time with this new plan, and I'll reject him so we can end the school year right," Cole said. He was happy summer was coming so quickly. Although he'd miss his friends once they all returned to their homes, he also missed living with his dad. However, there was still the possibility that their little friend group would go to Lloyd's beach house. 

"Speaking of the end of the school year, Jay, don't forget about that list of things I need you to do," Lloyd practically sang to Jay. 

"Yeah yeah yeah, whatever, asshole." Jay glared at Lloyd. 

"You're still doing favors for him." Cole chuckled. Watching the two bicker was like a cartoon. Jay had lost their group bet months ago, but he was still paying for it, even today. It serves him right for trying to pray on Coles's downfall. 

"I'll never trust a rich man again." Jay sighed. 

"You're the guy that got blindsided by the promise of free video games. Now you have to work off how much I spent on you," Lloyd smiled. It wasn't a friendly smile, to say the least. Lloyd knew he was making Jay suffer and thought it was funny. 

"I'll see you guys later. As usual, I'll keep you two updated." Cole waved from the door of his art classroom.

The two waved before heading to their respective classrooms. Art was Cole's last class of the day, and afterward, he would finally be able to spend time with his boyfriend. Cole hummed as he opened the door. He usually spent most of his time daydreaming and jotting down comic ideas in his sketchbook during class. Cole was more than ready to dive into another peaceful afternoon of creation. Moments after entering the classroom, he saw who was sitting at his table, and his smile fell. 

Trying not to make eye contact with the boy, Cole quickly made his way over to the teacher before facing the boy he hated the most. 

"Mr. Ronin, what is Kai doing at my table?" Cole said in a harsh whisper, struggling to keep his emotions in check in front of the teacher, but he couldn't help it. He felt his face grow hot, and his heart started to race. Truthfully, Cole hadn't seen Kai since their shared science class last marking period. After the fight, they moved Kai to a different classroom. 

"Who, hot-head over there?" Mr. Ronin regretfully looked up from his laptop before glancing at Kai across the room. Kai fidgeted in Cole's spot, running his hand up and down his arm while Cole glared at him from next to the teacher's desk. 

"The school wanted to redirect his anger and stuck him in our already full class." Mr Ronin complained. The art room barely had any students, though; Mr. Ronin hated teaching. 

"Cole, go sit down; he's not gonna bite you," Mr. Ronin said, waving his hand in the air and shooing Cole away from his desk. Cole rolled his eyes as he walked over to his table. Kai avoided his glares, but Cole stared directly at him. 

"That's my chair," Cole said, trying to suppress his annoyance. He couldn't believe he had yet another class with Kai. It was almost the end of the school year, for crying out loud. Art class wasn't an orphanage, so why did they put him in Cole's favorite class? 

"Oh, sorry, I'll move." Kai clamored out. Kai was surprisingly compliant, but who wouldn't be after getting his nose broken? Kai moved to the seat directly across from Cole, ensuring they'd face each other for the rest of the school year. Kai kept stealing glances at Cole until Cole finally felt inclined to look up from his drawing and give Kai attention for some unknown reason. 

"Can I help you?" Cole said, malice evident in his voice. 

"I uhh…just wanted to say I'm sorry. I know it's been months since that whole "thing" happened," Kai muttered.

"But it was really messed up what I did, and I'm sorry," Kai concluded, looking at Cole for a response. 

"Yeah, well, I won't forgive you," Cole stated blandly. 

"You call it a "thing" as if you didn't commit a hate crime against me. Not only did you humiliate me in front of everyone, but you also started a fistfight with my boyfriend." Cole huffed, letting the words spill out like poison. 

"I'm not going to argue with you about it, but I won't be forgiving you anytime soon, so I suggest you pretend I don't exist until the end of the school year," Cole said, looking back down at the blank page in his sketchbook. 

"Well, that's gonna be difficult," Kai murmured, and Cole's head shot back up. 

"And why is that?" Cole stared at him. Kai proceeded to point at the board covered with a list of names under the words group project, and Cole's body nearly shut down when he saw his name next to Kai's. He shot up from his seat, making his way over to Mr. Ronin once again. 

"I want a new partner!" Cole stood in front of the man once again, demanding to fix this obvious accident. Mr. Ronin rolled his eyes and looked up from his laptop before he spoke again. 

"Mr. Brookstone, take your seat." Mr. Ronin grumbled. 

"But-" Cole tried to interject but was shut down again.

"Go away, go to your seat." Mr. Ronin shooed him away once more. Cole couldn't do anything but look at the man in disbelief. 

Cole made his walk of shame back to the table; his brain was moving a million miles a minute. Of all people, it had to be Kai. The universe was actually out to get him.

"Listen up, kids." The room became silent, and Mr. Ronin waited for everyone's attention. 

"You'll be working with your partners to create a joint mini gallery for the end of the school year. I want at least two solo pieces from each partner and one large joint piece. And you're not allowed to switch partners. That's final," Mr. Ronin said, glaring at Cole and leaning back in his seat. The room came alive again as the art students grasped the task. Cole would rather do this project with anyone else in the world. Even Jay, which says a lot. He'd have to suck it up and get through it; it would only last a couple of weeks, and then school would be over. He'd vent to his friends, and it would be over before he knew it. 

"Since I'm stuck with you." Cole sighed, ripping a blank page out of his sketchbook. 

"We have to work together. Don't flake out on me; this is my grade at risk," Cole said, pointing his pencil at Kai. 

"I wouldn't dream of it." Kai put his hand up in defense. 

"Good, now. Even though I'd love to take the lead in this, unfortunately, we have to work together." Cole wrote their names on the paper next to the word project ideas. 

"Do you have any experience in art, or did they just drop you into this class?" Cole chuckled to himself. 

"Only a little, but I'm probably not as good as you. I can't draw people, but I am good at drawing vehicles." Kai looked down at his sketchbook, which had decently drawn cars and planes.

"Of course you are," Cole murmured. He was primarily skilled in cartoonish-style art. Cole always struggled with realism, so he focused on what he was familiar with and comfortable doing. However, Cole recognized that stepping outside his comfort zone would help enhance his art, even if he didn't consider himself the greatest artist in his own eyes. 

"Wait, you've seen my work?" Cole said, surprised that Kai had even taken the time to look at the art displays around the school. 

"I mean, you're insanely good. It's hard not to look." Kai smirked, scribbling in his sketchbook. 

"Uh…thanks, I guess." Cole was taken aback, but he wouldn't let one complement sway his opinions of Kai. 

"I already know what I'll do for my pieces. It's the joint piece that's going to be tough." Cole sighed, doodling on their semi-blank ideas paper. The words cars and dragons sit side by side. Cole stared down at the paper, debating if he could actually make this work. 

"How about an epic battle." Kai suddenly said. 

"With cars and dragons?" Cole looked disinterested. 

"I'm serious. I could work on drawing like car mechs. Mechs are really cool. They're hard to draw, but I can work on a car that transforms into a mech. I've seen your ninja and dragon battles; I think it would be super awesome." Kai finished rubbing the back of his neck. Nerves got the best of Kai when he realized he was rambling.

"You know what?" Cole paused, finishing writing down what Kai had spouted.

"That's not half bad." Cole sighed, looked up, and smiled. 

"We'll have to tweak some things design-wise, but that can wait for later. Overall, it sounds doable for a larger piece." Cole was mainly speaking to himself as he began doodling designs and ideas. Unknown to Cole's knowledge, Kai smiled back at him and returned to work on his drawing.                                      

The bell chimed unexpectedly. Cole often lost track of time during art class or whenever he was drawing. It had always served as an escape for him. After putting away his supplies, he glanced at Kai before leaving the classroom.  

"We need to meet outside of class to work on this, so keep your schedule clear," Cole said as he stood up and slung his backpack over his shoulder. Kai quickly nodded and stood up from his seat, too. Cole felt hesitant, yet he understood it needed to be done eventually.

"We can exchange numbers, I guess," Cole said, handing Kai his phone reluctantly, which he regretted for a moment since Zane was his screensaver. Kai stared at the phone for several seconds, looking over the photo before he realized what he had been asked.  

"Oh, okay," Kai said, not responding much to Cole's gesture. Quietly, he typed his number into the message bar and sent himself a short "hello." 

"Let's meet up tomorrow to flesh out our ideas, okay?" Cole turned his back to Kai, ready to finally rid himself of his presence. 

"Thank you for giving me another chance," Kai said. Cole turned briefly, nodding and rolling his eyes. 

"See ya around," Cole waved. Kai looked at him dumbfounded but nodded and quickly packed away his things. 

"Later, Cole," Kai said, smiling solemnly. 

Cole turned quickly, making his way out of the classroom faster than anyone else, eager to distance himself from the day he had just endured. He had only one thing on his mind: one person, and he was determined to reach his dorm as quickly as possible. Pulling out his phone, he texted the others to head to his dorm for an emergency meeting. Responses came in record time, prompting Cole to quicken his pace.                                                                 

Cole could already hear the chatter in his room. Zane had likely let them in, which was good because he wanted the whole group present for this. As he opened the door, he could hear Jay complaining about something. 

"I feel like you're intentionally making this list long!" Jay whined, gripping a piece of paper in his hand.

"Like, do we actually need twenty different types of soda for a junior prom?" Jay asked. 

Lloyd shrugged his shoulders, flipping through the pages of his school events journal. 

"What can I say? People like to drink." Lloyd chuckled. 

"Yeah, but-."

"Cole!" Zane shouted, putting a pause in the other boy's argument. 

"What happened!" Zane got up from his spot on his bed and made his way over to Cole. 

"Yeah, what's the emergency you called us here for?" Jay asked, shoving the list that Lloyd had given him into his backpack. 

"So apparently, the school moved Kai into my art class to help with his anger issues or whatever. And to make things worse, we're partners for a final project." Cole ranted, nearly getting lightheaded from the reminder of how his life was right now. First, this ridiculous secret admirer, and now stupid Kai. 

"What the hell! How is that even possible?" Jay yelped, getting up from his spot on the ground. Zane's expression grew irritated, but he had yet to speak. 

"Did you ask to switch partners?" Lloyd interjected, concern growing on his face. 

"I tried, but you know how Mr Ronin is." Cole sighed, moving to sit on his bed. Zane followed, holding his hand and sitting right beside him. Cole rested his head on Zane's shoulder before speaking again. 

"The weirdest part was that he apologized to me," Cole mumbled. He squeezed Zane's hand in the process for reassurance, but Zane's grip loosened just for a bit before he squeezed his hand back. 

"Apologized?" Jay flinched. 

"Did you forgive him?" Lloyd said, eyes wide.

"No, hell no. He doesn't deserve acceptance from me after what he did. Even if he somehow changed in half a year. He called me a slur to my face." Cole huffed.

"I'll just have to deal with it. It just sucks that I'll have to spend my free time with him to finish this project." Cole sighed. The project also gives them less time to snoop around and figure out who's been sending him love letters. This was going to ruin everything. 

"Should we tell the school?" Zane finally asked, glancing down at Cole. Cole shook his head, letting out a deep sigh before speaking again. 

"I don't think it's that serious yet. Kai was nice to me today and even complimented my artwork." Cole said. He could feel Zane tense for a moment next to him. 

"I just wanted to let you guys know. Just in case something happens. This is Kai; after all, you never know if he is scheming or truly trying to be your friend." Cole huffed out. 

"I could always talk to my father; he's not the principal, but he is the CEO. If it gets to the point where we have to take serious action, I could always get him removed," Lloyd suggested, picking his bag up off the floor. 

"I've gotta go. Student government meeting starts soon." Lloyd patted Cole's shoulder before walking to the door. 

"Thanks, Lloyd." Cole smiled solemnly. 

"Anything for you guys." Lloyd nodded before leaving the room. 

Jay turned towards the two on the bed and sighed, momentarily caught in thought before relaxing his furrowed brows. 

"Just know I'm here for you, Cole. If anything happens, I'll be the first to do something about it." Jay nodded, picking up his bag. 

"I'd love to stick around, but unfortunately, I have to run errands for our dear friend Lloyd. How I got myself into this, I dont know," Jay sighed, walking to the door. 

"Jay, you literally agreed to do this." Cole chuckled, spirits slowly coming back up again. 

"I was blinded by greed, as they say." Jay exhaled. 

"Later, you guys," Jay finally shut the door, leaving Cole and Zane alone with their own devices. They still sat hand in hand on Cole's bed, enjoying each other in silence for a brief moment before speaking again.  

"It's going to be okay," Cole mumbled, turning his head into the nape of Zane's neck. Cole didn't know who needed to hear it more, Zane or himself. 

"I hope so. Just know you're not alone this time." Zane hummed, rubbing Cole's back. 

"C'mere, let me hold you properly," Zane said, moving them so they could lay together on Cole's bed. Then, Zane wrapped his arms around Cole and held him close to his heart. Cole’s eyes began to close as he listened to the thump and rhythm of the boy's heart. 

"I'm still wearing my school clothes," Cole whispered, sleep slowly taking over. 

"It's okay this time, just close your eyes. I'll wake you up in a few minutes; relax for me, okay?" Zane hummed. Cole nodded his head in Zane's chest before closing his eyes again. 

"If we could stay like this forever, I would," Cole mumbled. It was much easier to avoid all his problems, but then where would he be in life? He'd have to take it one day at a time like his father always told him. 

"We'd never get anything done otherwise. But it's always nice to be held for a little while." Cole hummed. 

"I'll be here when you wake up," Zane mumbled. It was the last words Cole heard before he drifted off to sleep. The nap would last only a few moments, but he would feel better when he woke up. 

And he would have Zane by his side to conquer anything. 

Chapter Text

Zane had been looking forward to this joint club meeting for weeks. It was a dream come true that the robotics and computer science clubs could work together, especially since that meant he could work with Jay. It was also a dream come true because Zane didn't have that many friends in his own club; he was just known for his coding skills.

 Unfortunately, yesterday's conversation with Cole was dwelling on his mind, distracting him from the task at hand. 

"You good dude?" Jay nudged Zane with the blunt end of his screwdriver. 

"Yeah, just lost in thought." Zane sighed, closing his laptop briefly. 

"You wanna talk about it?" Jay whispered, giving Zane a sincere look. If there was one thing Jay was great at, it was knowing when something was wrong. 

"I know you're probably worried about Cole. I am, too, you know." Jay sighed, putting his tools down on the table. 

"That boy can't catch a break." Jay huffed out humorously. 

"I'm kinda disappointed in myself, though," Zane said. He avoided eye contact with Jay, thinking about the thoughts that had crossed his mind from yesterday. When Cole talked about how Kai had apologized and even tried to compliment him, it made his stomach twist and grit his teeth. 

"Why's that?" Jay said, his eyebrow corking up with intrigue. 

"I think I might be insecure," Zane said. It was hard for him to believe, but once he said it out loud, it fit like a puzzle piece. That's what it was: insecurities. 

"Because of Kai!?" Jay shouted. 

"Shhh, no, I mean not really." Zane chuckled, rubbing up and down his arm. 

"It's more like, between the secret admirer thing and Kai's complimenting Cole." 

"I don't know. I just feel like I have a lot of competition all of a sudden." Zane finally got out. To tell the truth, he was afraid. He was worried some guy would come and sweep Cole off his feet. Zane didn't think Cole would ever cheat on him, but Cole was objectively handsome. Extraordinarily talented and caring, too. Who wouldn't want to date him? 

"I doubt Kai even likes Cole like that." Jay laughed. 

"Yeah, but what about those love letters? Cole tries to hide some of them from me, but I know he still gets them occasionally." Zane huffed out. 

Cole had been somewhat distant lately, too. Not that Cole had stopped being his loving self towards Zane once they were alone. But he would go out without Zane way more often than usual, which had been going on for months. It stressed him out, to say the least, but Zane felt terrible that it was somewhat getting to him. The thought that someone else wanted to date and pursue his boyfriend drove Zane mad. He tried to believe in Cole and himself, that nothing would break them apart. But what if Zane wasn't good enough for Cole? What if Cole suddenly realized there were better options? 

"Hey, stop doing that." Jay snapped Zane out of his racing thoughts, knowing that Zane was probably overthinking. Which he would be correct. 

"Cole's dating you, isn't he? I've never seen someone try so hard to make the perfect gift for their partner. Cole never shuts up about you and always says how great you are. And if you can't see how head over heels he is over you, you need to get a pair of glasses." Jay sighed. 

"You're right," Zane said, feeling ashamed of himself. 

"Of course I am. I'm always right," Jay said, stroking his ego. "Plus, you're acting like you didn't fight Kai because of Cole." Jay laughed. 

"Yeah, but that doesn't mean what I did was right. Or something I should do again." Zane sighed.

"Trust me, Zane, Cole would never leave you for some mysterious man. You have to have faith that you're worthy, too," Jay chuckled. 

"Plus, you're a hot shot too, you know." Jay shoved Zane's shoulder, and they both began to laugh. 

"If you two ever broke up, love isn't real." Jay laughed, wiping the fake tears away from his eyes. 

"Are you two done with your work?" A teacher had interjected, embarrassing them both. 

"We're almost done!" Jay yelped, getting back to work on his robot. Zane giggled, opening his laptop again and returning to work. 

"Thanks, Jay. I know I can be stupid sometimes," Zane whispered, holding back his giggles. 

"Don't worry, I love to play the love doctor." Jay wiggled his eyebrows, which made Zane huff out a laugh. 

"I'm the best at it, after all." Jay puffed up his chest like he was a hero. 

Even though Zane felt slightly better about his mental situation, he still couldn't help but have that uncomfortable feeling in his gut. It was like something terrible was going to happen any day now. 

He hated the thought of Kai being anywhere near or alone with Cole. And what he hated the most was that Cole didn't want to fight back against the situation. Zane knew Cole had already asked to switch partners, but Cole could've done more to stop it. He could've explained his situation to Mr. Ronin. Why didn't he want to do more? 

But if this were Zane, he'd make the biggest deal about it, even if the teacher disagreed. He'd take the situation straight to the headmaster's office to resolve it. Cole was stronger than Zane by a long shot. 

Why was Cole okay with just sitting back and hanging out with Kai for god knows how long? Probably alone, too, until what? Until Kai did something worth getting angry over? Kai had already done damage to Cole's reputation and self-esteem before. Who's to say he wouldn't do it again?

And on top of that, some man was still lusting over Cole. And Cole acted as if it was nothing and wasn't happening for Zane's sake. And that, for some reason, made Zane feel.. uncomfortable? It wasn't like Cole was trying to figure out who the admirer was. But he couldn't help but feel bitter that someone was trying to flirt with his boyfriend. 

"We'll be having another joint meeting later this week. You all must attend since we'll be voting for new club presidents for next school year." The robotics club president addressed the room full of students. 

"I'm also proud to announce that, after this school year, the computer science club and robotics club will become a permanent joint partnership!" The computer science president cheered. The great news made the room extremely lively.

 Since Zane was a freshman, the CS and robotics clubs have been fighting to become joint partnership clubs. Adding participants from both groups would make getting funds from the school more manageable, and they could also go on trips together. 

"This is great news." Zane had beamed, turning to Jay. 

"You think I'll become president next year?" Jay said, stroking his imaginary beard. 

"I'd vote for you." Zane laughed, knowing that Jay had wanted to be club president for years. He always talked about how he knew more than anyone else in the club. And he'd bring great new ideas that no other club president had ever done. "I know my way around a motherboard." Jay would always say. 

"Damn right." 

"You'd better vote for me. I'd never forgive you if you didn't." Jay eyed Zane, packing up his stuff. Club time was ending, which meant dinner and lights out since it was a weekday. On the weekends, they were allowed to go out past lights out. But on a regular school day, they wanted students to go to their dorm rooms and study, which Zane had no problem doing. 

"And I'll vote for you too, buddy," Jay said, smirking in Zane's direction. 

"You think I'd be a good leader?" Zane said. He knew how much responsibility he would have if he became the president. Zane would be lying if he didn't dream of occasionally becoming club president. But it felt like a goal that was definitely out of his reach at this point. Especially after he got in that fistfight with Kai earlier that school year, he's lucky he's still allowed to be in this club. 

"You're like the best coder at our school. I don't know why you're not president already." Jay beamed, patting Zane's back. 

"I think you'd be better than any president who's ever touched a computer. You've got the brains and the heart, and if we both become president, we could do tremendous work for our clubs." Jay sighed, hope shining in his eyes. 

"I'll work my hardest then." Zane stuck out his hand to Jay. Jay grabbed it, squeezing it with all his might. 

"We'll make it out on top. I promise you that." Jay smiled, grinning ear to ear. 

"Now let's get outta here. I'm starving." Jay shot up out of his chair. Zane followed, forcing his bitter thoughts to leave his mind. 

"So, good news."

"My dad agreed to let us use the beach house after junior prom," Lloyd said, eating the last bit of his pizza. 

"Awesome!" Jay cheered, and bits of food flew out of his mouth in the process. 

"Ugh, Jay!" Cole huffed, wiping his face. 

"Sorry, dude, just excited." Jay shrugged, putting his sandwich down. 

Zane had hoped Lloyd's father would allow them to use their family's beach house. The more Cole talked about a group beach trip, the more he looked forward to it. Zane wasn't the biggest fan of the beach, but Cole bringing up building sand castles and holding hands while getting ice cream at the boardwalk was enough to convince him. 

"His only rules were no parties and no girls." Lloyd chuckled. 

"What!" Jay shouted, placing both his hands firmly on the dining hall table. They were old and squeaky, so it made a loud sound that startled the group. 

"Not a problem for me." Zane chuckled, watching Jay glare at him from across the table. 

"Why are you mad? You were gonna invite your girlfriend?" Cole said, holding back his laugh for Jay's sake. 

"No, it's whatever. I'm not mad." Jay turned his chair away angrily. 

"Not like I wanted to have fun with Nya or anything in the sun." Jay sighed. The group giggled, ignoring Jay's angsty moment. 

"Speaking of Junior prom. How's the preparations going, Lloyd?" Zane asked. Zane knew the boy was under a lot of stress. Putting together any school-wide event took a lot of time and dedication, which Lloyd was able to do perfectly every time. It didn't mean the boy didn't get tired or overworked, though. Lloyd was almost as bad as Zane when it came to school. 

"We finally found a DJ, thank god." Lloyd sighed, pinching the space between his brows like it would make his headache hurt less. 

"The school hasn't got back to me about catering yet. But we finally picked a theme." Lloyd smiled as if he knew his hard work was paying off. 

"What's it gonna be this year?" Cole sat up straighter in his seat. Intrigue plastered all over his face. Zane hadn't thought about Junior prom much. Obviously, he would love to go with Cole, but Cole had stated before that he hated dancing, something about his childhood dance classes scaring him. So they barely brought it up. But Zane wouldn't mind if Cole wanted to go. He thought Cole would look handsome in a suit, like a prince or something. 

"Old Hollywood." Lloyd winced after saying it. 

"Boring!" Jay groaned, turning his chair back to the group.

"We've been over this. Only you think it's boring." Lloyd huffed, glaring at Jay before turning to the others. 

"I told Jay the theme earlier. He begged me to get them to change it." Lloyd giggled. 

"Only because it's the most overused prom theme ever." Jay wined, immersing himself in the conversation once more. 

"You student council people have zero taste. Why couldn't we do something cool like Carnival or Masquerade." Jay waved his arms around like it would get his point across better. 

"Carnival, really, Jay?" Lloyd said, beginning to argue with Jay once more. 

Zane liked the idea of old Hollywood; it was classic and fancy. It also guaranteed that he would be able to see Cole in a tux if Cole allowed him. Zane felt a nudge from his side, breaking him out of his daydream. 

"You good? You've been quiet for a while," Cole whispered, laying his hand over Zane's. Zane smiled, knowing he had a habit of residing in his head and checking out of conversations.

"Sorry, I was thinking." Zane chuckled, face beginning to dust with pink. Cole giggled but ignored Zane's blushing. 

"Thinking about what?" Cole raised an eyebrow, egging on Zane's embarrassment. 

"Well, all this talk about prom made me think about how handsome you would look in a tux." Zane smiled crookedly with embarrassment. Cole's face began to flush before he smiled. 

"Oh really?" Cole giggled, moving his hands from Zane's to cover his face briefly. 

"I understand dancing isn't really your style, yet I can't help but imagine how handsome you'd look all dressed up." Zane exaggerated, knowing that it would go straight to Cole's head. 

"Zane, you flatter me." Cole hid behind his hands once more. 

"But I've been thinking about it, and maybe we should go to prom," Cole mumbled. 

"Really, you mean it?!" Zane's ears perked up. He didn't expect Cole to be the one proposing that they go to junior prom. Truthfully, Zane didn't really mind not going. It wouldn't make or break his high school experience, but he'd be lying if he said he wasn't somewhat looking forward to it. 

"I mean, we're only juniors once. Next year, we'll be seniors and then college." Cole sighed, finally turning to look at Zane. 

"I think it will be worth it for the memories. Plus, I think you'd look pretty hot in a suit." Cole chuckled, taking Zane's hand in his to squeeze it and setting Zane's face ablaze. 

"Get a room, you two." Jay groaned, beginning to clean up his "dinner." If that's what you want to call it. All Jay had eaten was a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. Zane had told him countless times that it wasn't a well-rounded dinner choice. 

"Welp, I've gotta call Nya, so I'll be leaving. If you'll excuse me." Jay exaggerated, getting up from his chair and humming as he exited the dining hall. 

"What a dweeb." Cole giggled, still holding Zane's hand in his. 

"Try living with him." Lloyd sighed, getting up from the table as well. 

"I'll see you two around." 

"Got some research to do." Lloyd sighed. 

"Work never ends, huh?" Zane jokes, getting up from the table and cleaning up Cole and his dinner plates in the process. 

"Tell me about it later, guys." Lloyd rolled his eyes, leaving the two boys alone at the table. 

"Shall we." Cole held out his hand, waiting for Zane to grasp it. 

"Let's go home." Zane hummed, taking Cole's hand in his as they walked out of the hall side by side.

Zane swayed their arms back and forth as they walked back to their dorm. It was finally staying warm at night, so they didn't have to rush back to the dorms to beat the cold. Zane always loved it when they could take longer walks like these, enjoying each other's company and admiring the school's architecture. Cole probably wasn't doing one of those things, but at least they could be together alone outside of the dorms once in a while. Zane always felt like he didn't get to do that much. They've been on dates, but not as much as he'd like. That thought struck an idea into his head. 

"We should go out," Zane said suddenly. 

"I thought we already were." Cole snickered, looking up at Zane. Zane laughed, realizing how weirdly worded his sudden outburst was. 

"I meant on a date, and we haven't gone on one in a while." Zane smiled, squeezing Cole's hand in his. Cole squeezed Zane's hand back in thought. 

"Let's go out tomorrow then. I should be free all afternoon." 

Unfortunately, Cole grumbled, "I have to meet up with Kai beforehand. But then you'll have me all to yourself afterward."

Zane couldn't help but grit his teeth at the thought of Kai and Cole hanging out alone. Why did the world have to be so cruel? It wasn't like he had the power to do anything about it. When Cole needed him most, he would come running, and that's all that mattered at the end of the day. 

"I'm sorry you have to put up with him." Zane sighed. It was already bad enough that Cole had gotten bullied because of Kai. Having to tolerate his presence was a sick joke. 

"I'll be fine. It's not ideal, but the faster the project gets done, the less time I've got to see his stupid face." Cole chuckled. 

"It'll be alright." Cole was looking up at Zane again, giving him a reassuring smile. Zane just had to have faith in Cole. 

"Then let's go out to eat tomorrow."

"We can go to your favorite spot." Zane hummed, knowing it would get a good reaction from his boyfriend. 

"Chen's Noodle House!" Cole cheered. Chen's Noodle House was a little far from the school's campus to walk, but it was an easy fifteen-minute bus ride. 

"I'll wait there for you after your art project so I can order your favorite." Zane smiled. Cole loved their dumplings. Even though it was a noodle restaurant, Cole was always more drawn to the dumplings. 

"Okay, Mr. Romantic, I see you." Cole giggled, bumping his shoulders with Zane's. 

"Thank you, though; I needed this." Cole sighed. 

"Anything for you, Cole." Zane smiled, his heart pounding suddenly. The word "love" surfaced in Zane's mind in moments like these, although he was too fearful to express it. It felt premature, and Zane didn't want to frighten Cole. Yet, Zane was certain of one thing: he loved the boy wholeheartedly. 

For the time being, he would keep it to himself and bide his time until the moment those three words must be spoken.

Chapter Text

Cole couldn't help but feel giddy. The thought of his impending date with Zane bounced around in his head. It made it hard for him to focus throughout the school day. He couldn't help but be over-excited about their date. He loved Master Chen's Noodle house and would eat as many dumplings as his stomach allowed tonight. 

The day's classes had concluded, but Cole regrettably had to meet with his boneheaded partner to work on their art project. With a groan, Cole pulled out his materials from his backpack, waiting for the hot-headed boy to arrive. Perhaps he’d get lucky, hoping that Kai might skip today. However, he knew he had to finish this project. As he waited, he sketched more ideas on his papers, eager to get a head start on his solo piece before Kai showed up. The sooner this was over, the better. Afterward, Cole could pretend this little episode never occurred and put it behind him for good. Suddenly, the art studio door swung open, revealing an out-of-breath Kai standing in the doorway. 

“Sorry, I'm late. I had to drive…my sister to work.” Kai paused before he gasped out in exhaustion, dropping his bag onto the table. Cole rolled his eyes, reaching to grab his pens and pencils that had rolled across the table with the sudden vibrations. 

“It's whatever; just get your sketches out so we can get to work.” Cole waved him off, organizing his work-in-progress sketches out on the table for Kai to see. 

“This is what I’ve been working on for the joint piece, and this is my sketch for my solo piece,” Cole said, pushing the papers towards Kai. Kai hovered over the table, staring at the art while reaching around absentmindedly for a chair.  

“These look incredible.” Kai held the sketch in hand. Analyzing every point of the drawing before placing it back down on the table. 

“It's nothing. They’re just sketches; the finished piece will be way better.” 

“Plus, you’ve got to add your part right around here.” Cole pointed at his sketch of the joint piece. The blank spot at the bottom of the paper was left for Kai. Cole had loosely drawn dragons flying around in the sky and ninjas on top of them. He thought the piece was missing something besides Kai's contribution—something that would pull it all together. He just didn’t know what yet. 

“I worked on a few car mech drawings. I'm not sure which one you’d like for the final piece, though.” Kai grabbed the loose papers out of his bag to hand them to Cole. Letting out a sigh while he watched Kai rummage through his backpack like a raccoon. 

“Here, they’re not as good as your stuff, but I tried my best.” Kai fidgeted with his pencil in hand. The mechs Kai had drawn were jaw-droppingly good. It took Cole a moment to realize that Kai himself had drawn them. The Mechs stood tall in the sketches, holding giant shining blades in their hands. Kai had even drawn some cars mid-transformation into Mech which was extremely impressive.   

“I call them Titan Mechs since they’re pretty tall. When I get around to coloring them, I want this one to be red and the other mech to be black.” Kai rambled, nerves showing all over his face. The Mechs Kai had pointed to had been drawn next to each other, standing tall and stoic. 

“These are pretty impressive. I didn’t expect something like this to come from you.” Cole huffed out, handing the papers back to Kai. 

“Something like what?” Kai was staring at Cole, now confused. 

“These sketches are incredibly dynamic and fleshed out. For someone who I thought had no previous interest in art. A sketch like this is beyond a beginner's work.” Cole said, fighting the frown that wanted to grow on his face. He wasn’t here to pick a fight or become jealous. It just bothered him a little that someone he didn’t get along with was just as good at art as him. 

“No one’s ever said that to me before.” Kai was still staring at Cole causing him to fidget in his seat. 

“Yeah, well, dont let it get to your head.” Cole groaned, getting a clean sheet of paper out of his folder. 

“Thank you.” Kai smiled, finally looking away from Cole to sketch his part of the joint piece in the space Cole had left for him. 

They sketched in silence for what felt like forever only interrupting the silence every once in a while to ask one another their thoughts and ideas on each other's drawings. It bothered Cole to admit it, but he didn’t mind Kai's company. It was nice to talk to someone who liked art as much as he did. It was surprising how much Kai knew and understood about drawing techniques. 

Kai would chime in from time to time when Cole talked about artists he took inspiration from, while Kai would randomly show Cole the animes that had inspired his love for drawing automobiles. 

“And I feel like I should go to College for art, but what if it’s a waste of my time.” Cole sighed. 

He wasn't sure how their conversation turned personal, but Kai had always been easy to talk to, even during their time as science partners. His charm was undeniable, which is why Cole had let his guard down months earlier. 

“I don’t want to be too far from Zane either; I doubt we’d ever go to the same college, though,” Cole mumbled the last part, realizing who he was talking to. 

“I think you should do what's best for you, not that my opinion matters,” Kai said, rolling his rubber eraser around in his hands. 

“It's one of those things I feel like if you dont do it. You’ll always wonder what could've been, ya know?”

“Like my Dad’s a blacksmith, and someday he wants me to be a blacksmith. Passing on the family business kind of thing. But I feel like before I decide to just go down that route, I should try out what's out there for me instead.” 

“I dont know what it is yet, but I want to at least give myself a chance.” Kai rambled, looking up at Cole. Cole’s mind was racing, listening to Kai’s “advice” if that was what you wanted to call it. He didn’t think something so profound could come from Kai. But Kai was full of surprises today, apparently. Maybe those months of detention and his suspension had changed him. Or maybe Kai wasn’t as one-dimensional as Cole had thought. 

“Plus, you’re the greatest artist at this school. It would be a waste of your talent if you didn’t go to art school,” Kai hummed, continuing to color in his sketches. 

“Greatest is an overstatement.” Cole huffed. 

“You’re right, more like extraordinary.” Kai smiled. 

Silence hung for a beat between the two before Cole's phone alarm started to chime. Causing him to jump out of his skin for a moment before going to turn off his alarm. 

“Oh shit, that's the time?” Cole got up abruptly from his seat. Realizing that if he didn’t start getting ready to leave now he’d be late for his date with Zane. Between the walk and the wait at the bus stop, it would take him a hot minute to get to the restaurant. And Zane had told him earlier in the day that he’d be waiting for him there. Cole stuffed his stuff in his backpack, quickly making his way to the door without a second thought. 

“What's wrong?” Kai said, getting up from his chair as well. 

“I'm sorry. I had plans right after this. We can meet again later this week.”

“I gotta go. See you later.” Cole pushed open the door. He didn’t want to wait for Kai to respond; he didn't have time. Plus, he had to get his little gift for Zane out of his locker first. 

Just like the times before, a note had slipped out of those little vents and rested right in front of him on the floor. His heart stopped for a moment, and he doubted whether it was from Zane. However, upon reading the letter, he knew it wasn’t from Zane. Cole clenched the note in his hand before shutting his locker and running toward the security room like he had just a few days ago. 

“Guys, I got another note from “Lover Boy” meet me in front of the room.” Cole had texted the group chat that the three detectives shared. His phone began to buzz with no seconds to spare, but he didn’t care to look. He needed to get to the security room. Zane was just going to have to wait for a little bit. 

Once Cole turned the corner into that long hallway, he saw Lloyd and Jay waiting for him outside the Security room doors. He sighed in relief, praying that they had already been in the room and had retrieved the footage.  

“The doors locked,” Lloyd groaned, texting away on his phone with annoyance. He didn’t bother to look up at Cole, frustration feverishly showing on his face. 

“He’s trying to get his uncle to bring the keys.” Jay snickers, sitting on the floor history textbook in hand. No doubt trying to last-minute study for whatever history quiz Jay had coming up.

“Of course, this asshole had to leave me a note right before my date,” Cole complained, sliding down to sit next to Jay on the floor. 

“Look on the bright side. At least we’ll actually catch him this time.” 

“And I don’t know about you two, but I'm pretty excited to see who it is; this feels like a big game of guess who.” 

“Like we’re the scooby-doo gang or something.” Jay bounced the textbook in his lap, most likely too antsy to properly study. 

“It’s the Mystery Gang.” Cole quickly corrected, which caused Jay to roll his eyes in return. 

“I just wanna get this over with. It's too late in the school year to have stupid secret admirers pestering Cole.” Lloyd moved to sit down with the two. Resting his hands in his lap before laying his head on Cole's shoulder. 

 “My uncle said he’ll get here as fast as he can.” 

“But I can’t guarantee that it will be quick;; my uncle is pretty old,” Lloyd sighed.

“It's fine, Lloyd. I can wait; I want this to be over with more than you two.” Cole huffed, pressing his head back into the brick wall. 

“First Kai and now this I can’t catch a break.” Cole rubbed his temples, trying to ease an invisible headache. 

“Kai harassed you today?” Jay asked, being nosey. 

“No, I just had to spend my whole afternoon with him for this stupid project.” 

“He wasn't being mean or anything, but I was looking forward to my date all day, and it feels like one bad thing always happens after the other.” That's how it was lately. Cole knew that life could be worse, but didn't he deserve a break too? And now he was paying for it by being late to his date with Zane. Zane! Cole had thought. He needed to tell him he was going to be a little late. Or what he could hope would be a little bit of lateness. 

“Zane, I'm gonna be running a little late. Sorry...” Cole texted, cringing at the fact that Zane had set this up for them, and he was the one running late. It wasn’t fair to him, but what Zane didn’t know wouldn't hurt him. Moments later, his phone buzzed in his hand. Zane was timely like that. Never had a missed message and always organized and opened all his emails on time. 

“Don’t worry. I'll be waiting here for you, Zane.” Cole smiled, reading over the message. Knowing that Zane was probably entertaining himself in his own ways. He’d wait there all day for Cole if he had to. Zane probably thought that Cole was still busy with Kai. As long as Mr Wu gets the door open soon, everything will be fine, and he’ll be on his date in no time. 

After nervously glancing at the clock every few seconds, time ticked by. The sound of jingling keys echoed from the hallway. The boys sprang to their feet, excited to unlock the camera room door. 

“You boys seem restless.” Mr. Wu chuckled, opening the door as fast as he could with his old age. Missing the keyhole a few times before finally opening the door. The boys all thanked him before greedily pushing their way through. 

“We’ll be out in a few, Uncle Wu. This won't take too long.”

“Sorry for bothering you again.” Lloyd smiled at his uncle while Jay and Cole fought over the mouse for the computer. 

“It's no problem, Lloyd. Just dont let your father find out.” Mr. Wu grinned before making his way back down the hallway. 

“You gotta be kidding me!” Jay stepped back from the computer, running his hands down his face. Cole clicked around the screen in frustration, rewinding the video over and over. Zooming in as much as he could to see every fiber of the person on screen. 

“He’s got a stupid hoodie on I can't tell who it is.” Cole groaned. 

“It's like he knows someone would check the cameras. He’s hiding his face and everything.” Jay snorted in disbelief. 

“Let me see,” Lloyd said, pushing Cole aside from the computer so he could slow the video down frame by frame and enhance it. The boy on screen could be seen more clearly, but it was still tough to pinpoint who it could be out of all the boys at their school. The only detail that stood out was the gold lion keychain that decorated the boy's backpack. 

“You see that!” Lloyd pointed at the screen for the other to see. 

“What, his backpack? What the hell is a backpack gonna do for us!” Jay complained. 

“Ignore him; keep talking, Lloyd.” Cole grinned. 

“You see his keychain. It's a gold Lion, which means we just need to find someone who has the same one, and we’ve got our guy.” Lloyd gleamed with celebration. 

“Wait, I've seen a keychain like that before.” Jay interrupted. 

“Nya has a similar keychain. She said something about it being a logo for her family’s business or something!” Jay practically wailed in the other direction. 

“So this guy either works for your girlfriend's family or is related to her.” Cole sighed. The new information still didn't narrow it down. If it was a family business, it could practically be her third cousin removed. Or even worse, a part-time worker. 

“Has Nya ever mentioned someone she’s related to attending this school?” Lloyd's brows were practically hugging each other. Lloyd loved a dilemma, especially if he could solve it himself. 

“Not really; she’s never brought up a sibling's name or anyone.” 

“It doesn't hurt to ask, though,” Jay mumbled to himself. Realizing the next steps of finding out who this guy truly was would take some time. But at least this time, they were closer to the truth than ever. 

“Oh shit!” Cole shrieked, looking at the time on his phone.  

“Oh shit, oh shit, Zanes actually gonna kill me.” Cole moved without thinking, picking up his bag from the floor and heading towards the door as fast as his body let him. Time was moving so slowly in that room that Cole hadn't realized that two hours had passed since he last texted Zane. Before Cole could fully get out of the room, he felt an arm grab him. 

“Cole, I think you should tell Zane what’s going on,” Jay said flatly. 

“What, No! I don’t want to give him something to worry about. He does that enough already.” Cole exhaled. Feeling the tension in his face building up already, he felt guilty. Lying to Zane was eating away at him, to say the least. 

“Zanes isn't dumb. If you approach him now, he’ll read you in seconds,” Jay snorted. 

“What's worse, lying to your boyfriend after leaving him at a restaurant across town alone for god knows how long.” 

“Or letting him the truth.” Jay let go of Cole's arm as he finished. Already knowing what Cole was probably going to do next. 

“I'll tell him.” 

They sat across from each other in silence. Cole had made it just in time to stop the waiter from kicking his boyfriend out. Zane had only ordered two glasses of water with extra ice during the two hours he was alone. He had told Cole before that he liked to eat ice when he was anxious; it “took off the edge,” Zane had said. 

Cole was somewhat relieved that Zane wasn’t too angry at him when he showed up late, but he had profusely apologized to Zane. But to say that anxiety wasn’t present within his boyfriend would be a sick joke. Zane could already tell something was wrong. And Cole hated to admit it but Jay was right. He had to tell Zane what was going on. Zane chewed on a few pieces of ice, waiting for Cole to speak again.

“I'm sorry I was late today. Time got away from me, and I didn't realize…” Cole groaned, feeling like he sounded like a broken record. 

“Time got away from you hanging out with Kai?” Zane scrunched up his face slightly before visibly trying to calm himself down.  

“No, hell no! I wasn’t even with Kai all that time.” 

“I was at my locker and then.” Cole huffed out knowing that this conversation was going to turn into an argument quickly. 

“And then what? Would you at least tell me what you were doing?” 

“Tell me the truth, Cole; you know I hate when we’re not open with each other.” Zane practically pleaded to Cole. An internal battle was being fought within Cole's mind. On one hand, if he told the truth, all his guilt about lying to Zane would go away. But to lie to his boyfriend once again when he was pleading for the truth. He just couldn’t do it. Not to Zane.

“I got a love letter in my locker today.” Cole put his hand up to stop Zane from interrupting him. Knowing that his boyfriend was probably going to flip out. 

“I've been getting love letters since after spring break, which you knew. And because of that…”

“Lloyd and Jay have been helping me track down who the guy is. Lloyds uncle had to unlock the security room so we could check the cameras and see who left the note at my locker.” 

“And that's why I was late for our date today.” Cole hung his head low feeling ashamed but relieved not having to keep secrets anymore. 

“So you’ve been lying to me?” Zane said flatly. He was looking at Cole but not truly looking at him. 

“I didn’t want to lie to you. I just didn't want you to worry about it.” Cole murmured. 

“Cole, you lied to me. You’ve been lying to me to me over and over. Right in my face for god knows how long.” 

“Zane, please calm down. Schools almost over what kind of boyfriend I would be if I caused more drama for you than I already have in the last year.” Cole was frustrated now. 

Sure, he lied to Zane about looking for his admirer. But whenever he received a new letter from the admirer, Zane was informed. Cole never kept that from him; he let Zane read the letters, and then Cole would throw them away like they were nothing because the letters meant nothing to Cole; they were just another headache for him to deal with. 

“That's the dumbest excuse I've ever heard. Did you ever once actually think how I would feel about this? My boyfriend sneaks around trying to find the man who’s been sending him confessions for over a month now.” 

“How do you think I feel, Cole?” Zane was on the verge of yelling now. People who were trying to enjoy their meals around them started to turn and whisper. Cole could feel himself shrinking down into his chair. 

“Zane, you know that I would never cheat on you.” 

“I wanted to find out who it was so that I could at least report them or tell them to leave me alone,” Cole said, holding his ground. 

“How does that make it okay!?” Zane retaliated. 

“Because you know me, Zane! You’re the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And for you to think that little notes from a random guy at school would ever make me leave you.” 

“Well, then, I wish you had a little more faith in me,” Cole mumbled. 

“Cole, I-” Zane stuttered, but Cole was already getting up from the table. The hot tears pressing at the backs of his eyes were becoming too much for him to bear. He needed to leave. 

“I'm leaving. I dont want you or me to say something we’d both regret later.” Cole moved swiftly from the table before Zane could get another word in. 

To claim that Zane's words didn’t affect him would be self-deception. After running out of the restaurant, Cole finally allowed the tears he had held back to spill onto the pavement. Clenching his fists, he rushed to the nearest bus stop. He should've called a taxi but Cole feared being near another person while he was crying. He couldn't fathom being so helpless in front of a stranger. Cole pulled out his phone and messaged the only friends who could assist him at that moment. 

“Hey guys, can I stay at your dorm tonight.”

Send. 

Chapter Text

He’d been staring at the door for at least two hours now, to the point where the grain on the door became a comfort. Zane contemplated switching to just staring at the ceiling instead of entertaining himself. But his longing for Cole to walk into the room weighed over his head. Deep down, he knew Cole wasn’t coming back tonight. 

“Because you know me, Zane! You’re the greatest thing that ever happened to me. And for you to think that little notes from a random guy at school would ever make me leave you.” 

“Well, then, I wish you had a little more faith in me,” Cole had said earlier.  

The scene between them had played over in his mind since he arrived at the dorms. Thinking back to the moment Cole stormed out of the building; Like it was on repeat. Zane didn’t move from his spot at the dinner table once Cole had left. 

“I should've followed him.” 

“I should’ve got up and stopped him.” Zane groaned, running his hands down his face.  

Zane couldn't bring himself to follow Cole once everything came crashing down. “I wish you had a little more faith in me.” Cole had said. Zane rolled the sentence around his mouth, tasting how sour it made him feel. Maybe it had bothered him so much because Zane realized there was some truth to Cole's words. Not that he didn’t trust Cole but maybe there was an ugly side to himself. Where he felt somewhat insecure within his relationship. That insecure part within himself boiled up so much to the point where everything that he felt anxious about projected itself onto Cole. Cole had been lying to him but there was no malice intentions behind it, right? Zane could feel himself begin to flush, getting up from his spot on the bed to video call his father at his desk. 

The connecting icon spun around on his screen while he waited for his father to answer. His eyes flickered to the tiny clock at the bottom of his screen with anticipation. It wasn’t too late in the night for his father to pick up. If anything his dad was at work or reading up on the latest news at home. When Zane was still living at home he’d watch animal documentaries before bed while his dad sat next to him on the couch reading the paper. The activity might've sounded odd or boring to others but he enjoyed his Father randomly chiming in with animal facts or asking Zane to pause the TV so he could show him an interesting article. Zane was staring deeply into the screen before realizing that his father had answered his call. 

“Zane, what's the matter?” His father's face reflected genuine concern. Dr. Julien was sitting in the living room at home, glasses resting on the tip of his nose, just as Zane had anticipated. Zane's cheeks were still flushed bright red, sharply contrasting with his pale skin—a typical response to embarrassment. 

“I don’t know what to do.” Zane choked out. His throat was tight like someone was trying to strangle the words out of him.  

“I fought with Cole earlier today, and I think I hurt him. I didn’t even hear him out I just acted out of anger. And now he’s gone, Dad, and it's my fault.” 

“I hurt him.” Zane snapped his gaze down to his lap unable to focus on the look on his father's face. Zane cared about his father's approval more than anything, he didn’t often disappoint him. Of course, he would update his father on what was happening at school. His father was informed of his previous in-school suspension and his first fistfight. But his father was very understanding at that time, he liked it when Zane talked about Cole. Zane would always talk about Cole but he would never go into detail. Zane couldn't even recall a time he’d ever gotten this emotional in front of his father like this. 

“Did you put your hands on him?” Dr. Julien inquired, his voice tinged with concern rather than anger as he sought to make sense of his distressed son's frantic words. 

“No, God no. We argued in the middle of his favorite restaurant.” 

“And I started it...” Zane paused. 

“Oh gosh, I'm the worst.” He covered his face once more before looking at his father again. 

“Dad I’m so sorry for bothering you with this. You were probably having a peaceful evening.”

“No, no, this is what I'm here for, Zane. I'm just grateful I was the first person you thought of to talk about this with. But Zane I need you to explain what happened clearly to me.” 

“I'm all ears okay. I will always be here to support you dont forget that.”

Before Zane continued he wiped away the tears that had begun to gather at the sides of his eyes. Zane didn’t cry often, and if he wanted his father's help, he needed to be coherent. 

“Do you remember when I told you Cole has been receiving love letters?”

“Yes, I do recall. Has that boy not given up yet?” You could hear the annoyance in Dr. Julien's voice. The letters bothered Zane but he refused to plague Cole with his complaints. So he’d talk to his father about the letters whenever Cole wasn’t around to get it off his chest. 

“He got another letter today. I planned a date for the two of us and Cole showed up late because of another note from his admirer.” 

“Why would a note make him late?” His father was intrigued now. 

“It’s not what you think Dad. Cole and my other friends have been investigating who the guy is for a couple of months apparently.” 

“Cole told me 'cause I know he hates lying but he’s been lying to me this whole time!”

“Sneaking around trying to find this mystery man behind my back and lying to me in my face.” 

“But…” Zane huffed. 

“But what? If Cole has been deceiving you for some time? I believe it's reasonable to feel angry with him," his father said flatly. 

“No, Dad I was in the wrong. Cole wanted to find out who it was to report them or at least to tell the guy to give up. The letters annoyed him too, and I knew that, but I chose to stay in my own head and falsely accuse him.” 

“I blew the whole thing out of proportion.” At that moment it hit him. Zane finally realized he was being a huge jerk this whole time. The fact Jay and Lloyd were even involved proved that Cole wasn’t doing this with ill intent. 

“Ah, so you’ve finally concluded.” His father chuckled.  

“Huh, what do you mean?” 

“Zane, you sometimes overthink things, making the problem seem larger than it is. I'm here to assist you, but I also wanted you to realize how exaggerated your concerns were by yourself."  

“Relationships can be rigorous and so can having full trust in another person. That's a skill you’ll gain as you get older. But it's extremely apparent that you love Cole, right?” 

“Uh yeah, I do.” Zane began to flush again. 

“And you seem to know Cole's behaviors well. Stating that he hates lying and that you knew already that the letters annoyed him, right?” 

“Yes, Dad.” He sighed, realizing where this was going. He felt like a kid again, being lectured for spilling something on the kitchen floor. His father could always spell it out for him. 

“So what do you think you should do next, son?” 

“I need to apologize to him.” 

“Persicly!” His father exclaimed. 

“I love you, Zane, but you’re acting very foolish. And I didn’t raise you to act a fool.” 

“I'm sorry.” Zane sighed, Slightly regretting calling his father now. 

“I love you, too, Dad. Sleep well tonight.” He moved to click his mouse to end the call, but his father interrupted him once again. 

“I trust that you will do the right thing. I like Cole too much for you two to fight over silly things.” 

“Dad!” Zane yelped. 

“Good night, Zane.” His father smiled and waved before hanging up on his end. 

Zane got up from his desk. He grabbed his sneakers and slipped them on effortlessly so he could go for a walk. Zane needed to clear his mind a little and figure out the perfect way he was gonna fix the biggest screw-up of his life. 

Zane decided to walk within the perimeter of the campus since it was a school night. The campus was beautiful enough to want to go on a late-night stroll. It wasn’t too cold out either since summer was approaching faster than he realized; senior year was approaching fast. Usually, he’d have Cole as company on nights like this, but as of right now, that wasn’t going to happen anytime soon. If Zane could run to apologize to Cole right now, he’d do it in a heartbeat. But he knew deep down that Cole probably didn't want to see his face. Zane needed to make it up to Cole somehow. A simple apology, kiss, and hug wouldn't cut it this time. He embarrassed Cole at his favorite restaurant. For crying out loud, they probably won’t be able to eat there for months now. 

Zane kicked at the rock that stood in his path. What if they ended up breaking up over this? Zane didn't want to end their relationship over his idiotic behavior like this. But he had no idea how Cole was thinking at this moment. Zane had flat-out shown Cole that he didn’t have a lot of trust in him which wasn’t true. Zane was just new to this feeling of being insecure. Cole was his first boyfriend ever. Even in middle school, Zane wasn’t someone to date around. Sure, he hadn’t realized he was gay yet at that time, but. He found no interest in the girls or boys around him back then. Zane was very headstrong when it came to school, and he never really cared about his somewhat nerdy appearance/hobbies. He was passionate about academics and science, like his father. That was something he would never be ashamed of. But when it came to Cole, things were different. Zane was by no means possessive of Cole at all. But the idea of someone else trying to pursue Cole made him livid. He had never felt that way about anyone or anything in his life, and it scared him. 

“What are you doing out so late?” 

“I could ask you the same thing.” Zane scoffed. Kai had practically walked straight into him, probably not watching where he was walking just like Zane had been doing. 

“Sorry for bumping into you,” Kai said. 

“It's alright…I apologize as well.” Zane shifted in his stance. Surprised Kai was being so...polite? If that’s what you could call it. He hadn't seen Kai in months so it was pretty shocking to have bumped into him like this. 

“I just came out to get some fresh air.”

“Night walks are good to clear out the mind, you know?” 

“Yeah…sure,” Kai said. 

“Where’s Cole? I'm surprised you two aren’t taking a romantic stroll. You two are always attached at the hip anyway.” Kai said. Zane rolled his eyes, not in the mood for any homophobic torment. 

“I just needed to get some air,” Zane deadpanned. 

“Really? Considering he rushed out of our project meet-up. I assumed he went to see you.” Kai scoffed. 

Zane winced at the remark; Cole was genuinely trying to be on time for him. But all Zane offered in return was a resentful attitude. 

“Yeah, we went on a date,” Zane said flatly, suddenly wanting to get out of this conversation. 

“And he’s not with you now?” 

“Why does that matter so much to you?” Zane stepped back a little looking for an escape from the hell he somehow accidentally stumbled into.

“Let me guess; it's not so sunny in paradise, huh.” Kai pried. 

“Oh, bug off. You don’t know shit about our relationship.” Zane refused to play into Kai's jeering, but he was already failing.  

“Looks like I struck a nerve. You two get into an argument or something.” 

“Should I not have kept him so long? I guess I made him late, huh? Was that what started it?” Kai taunted him.

“Listen, just drop it, okay? I'm not even sure why I'm talking to you, but not a single word that has come out of your mouth has ever been important. So Shut up and get a life.” 

Kai merely snickered at Zane's resistance, but it was sufficient to make the boy pause. Zane focused on calming himself, determined not to let his anger overwhelm him for the second time that day. 

“I'm just tired, okay? Things are fine between him and me. So go find someone else to torture with your nonsense.” Zane moved to turn around to walk in the other direction but Kai stopped him. Zane swatted his hand off his shoulder, turning around with newfound anger.   

“Do you love him?” Kai asked, eyes looking glassy in the midnight light. 

“Huh, what? Why do you care?” It took all of Zane's composure not to blow up in Kai's face at this moment. Who was he to ask such a question? After all that had happened. 

“I said, do you love him?” 

Zane had never admitted that he loved Cole to anyone other than his father. He was too much of a coward to tell Cole. Afraid that it was too early in the relationship to declare such feelings.   

“More than anything in the world.” Zane pushed Kai aside and made his way back to the dorms. Wanting to be anywhere but outside at this point. 

 Turning the corner to his hallway Zane could see Jay standing in front of his dorm room door. 

“There you are.” Jay spat. Of course, he was angry and probably came to chew Zane out. 

“I'm sorry.” Zane opened the door for them. Not wanting to make a scene so late at night in the hallway. 

“I'm mainly here to get some things for Cole, but I'm also here to knock some sense into you.” Jay pushed Zane aside, grabbing Cole's pillow off the bed. 

“Where's his pajamas?” Jay huffed. Zane pointed at the drawer, knowing where they were because Cole could be messy at times. Cole hated folding, and Zane was a neat freak; he didn't mind the extra folding.

“Listen, Jay, I already got my share of scolding from my father.” 

“I need to apologize to him. I want to see him.” Zane hunched over slightly trying to stay out of the way of Jay's rage zone. 

“Good! I'm happy you know how much of a big idiot you are.” 

“I’ll just rub salt in the wound.” Jay jabbed a finger into Zane's shoulder. 

“You really hurt his feelings, man. I’ve never seen him so upset before and the worst part is he thinks it's his fault.” Jay sighed, sitting next to Zane now. Jay dropped the majority of what he picked up on the floor and gave Zane his full attention. 

“You royally fucked up this time, and I hope you know that.” 

“I know, Jay, I know!” 

“I overreacted, and I know that now. It's just that when he told me you guys were sneaking around trying to find out who this guy was, it messed with me.” 

“I don’t understand where all this insecurity is coming from, Jay. I’ve never felt this way, and it terrifies me.” Zane sighed in defeat. 

“Zane, that’s a normal feeling. Hell, I don’t go a day without thinking I'm not good enough for Nya, but she’s still with me. You know why?” 

“Why?” Zane mumbled. 

“Because I'm always upfront about my feelings with her. Good communication is key, and bottling how you feel up is only gonna make you more anxious and insecure than ever.” 

“Now, I don’t dump these things on her. But it’s always good to have open, good-natured conversations about what’s bothered you or made you feel uncomfortable.” 

“Have you tried telling Cole how you felt before this?” 

“I mean, the letters bothered me, but I never let it show because it’s not something he could fix on his own. And I knew they bothered him too, so it's not like…” 

“See, that’s your first mistake.” Jay shook Zane's shoulders. 

“You knew the notes bothered him, too. Not saying you could've stopped the guy from sending them. But I mean shit, if you expressed wanting to find out who it was, maybe Cole would've included you.” Jay giggled. He was being mischievous now.

“Jay, you know very well.” Zane sighed.

“Yeah, yeah, I know Cole wouldn't have. He cares about your feelings too much, mind you the whole time we were investigating he wouldn't shut up about you.”

“Cole is super-mindful about you, man. You just needed to listen to him, listen to him without being clouded by anger.” Jay pocked him once more. 

“When did you become so…” Zane huffed. 

“What wise? Insightful? Brilliant or intellagiant.” Jay smirked, stroking his chin. 

“Dating Nya has taught me a lot. Majority of what I just told you were things she helped me work on.” 

“We build each other up so that we can be truly happy together.” Jay had that goofy look on his face. The one that was always plastered on at the mention of his girlfriend.

“And you call me annoying.” Zane scoffed.

“Hey, hey, hey, I'm here to help you out. You're the one who screwed up.”  

“Okay, but Jay, I don’t know what to do. I want to make it up to him with something more than a regular apology, you know?” 

“I doubt that Cole wants to even see my face anytime soon.” 

“Yeah, he was pretty pissed. But maybe I could warm him up to coming back to your dorm in a couple of days.” 

“No, don’t do that. If he doesn’t want to come back yet, don't make it.”

“I owe you for causing you and Lloyd dorm room trouble again.” Zane sighed, knowing what the future had in store for him. 

“Wait, wait, let me get my phone out to record that.” Jay jumped, fumbling into his pocket to get his phone.   

“Okay, now speak~.” Jay practically sang. 

“I owe you for causing you and Lloyd dorm room trouble…again,” Zane grumbled. 

“Sending that to Lloyd right away. Thank you, now I don’t have a science project to finish this weekend.” Jay snickered. 

“Alright, listen. You know Cole's art showcase is coming up soon, right? Schools practically over at this point.” 

“Why dont you show up with a big apology present, huh huh.” Jay nudged Zane.

“He was gonna invite all of us anyway. I don’t know if you’ll get an invite, but it's not like the lunchroom is some top-secret lair. So show up with something sweet for him without taking attention away from his art, you know?” 

“That’s not a half-bad idea.” 

“I just have to figure out something special to do for him before that time.” Zane cleared his throat, feeling his confidence slowly come back to him. 

“Great, and in the meantime, I'll work on helping Cole feel better. First, you and now Cole, I should start charging people. Because apparently, I own a hotel now.” Jay snickered, getting up from Zane’s bed. 

“I should head out before Cole starts to get suspicious. I dont know why he didn’t just give me his room key. Guess he didn’t want me to rob you guys.” Jay opened the door, wiggling his eyebrows at Zane. 

“Maybe he didn’t want a weirdo in our dorm without me here.” Zane joked back. 

“Rude! Maybe I won't help you after all.” Jay rolled his eyes, closing the door. But he knew that Jay was going to support him. Now, he just needed to figure out what to do for Cole, and it had to be perfect.   

Chapter Text

It was already dark outside when Cole arrived at the other boy's dorm. Jay pulled in Cole for a hug the second he saw his demeanor. Cole's cheeks were stained with tears and he hunched into himself like he was trying to protect his heart from the world. A drawing, the gift he had made for Zane was long crumpled up in his hands. He went to throw it away before sitting on the floor near Lloyd's bed. There was no use keeping it; he wasn’t sure if Zane would even want a drawing from him ever again after today. After calming down, Cole re-told what the last couple of hours had entailed. Causing Jay to get up shouting several times during his explanation. Lloyd brought Cole into a supporting hug while he finished talking. 

“I can't even bring myself to be mad at him, guys.”

“All I wanted was for things to go back to normal, ya know? I'm so tired of one problem after the other. And yet even when I tried to solve it myself, I still fucked up.” Cole pressed his face into his arms like it would help him shield himself from his pain. 

“I never wanted to hurt him. And yet…I ended up hurting both of us.” Cole quivered. 

“Bullshit! If he’d stop to listen to you and get his head outta his a-.” Jay shouted.

“Jay! Not the time.” 

“I don’t think you did anything wrong Cole. But I understand where Zane is coming from.” Lloyd interrupted. 

“What!-” Jay tried to interject, sitting back on the floor so that all the boy's knees practically touched.  

“Somewhat! Understand him.” Lloyd interrupted Jay once more. 

“Look, I dont think how Zane handled it was right. But to be fair we’ve been hogging Cole from him for hours every week to snoop around looking for this guy. All the times we brought Cole to interrogate our classmates and then tried to match the handwriting to other classmates or even the multiple security room attempts. That was taking time away from him and Cole.” Lloyd stated. 

“Lloyd they live together. So what Coles hanging with us more? That doesn't excuse the way he spoke to Cole.” Jay frowned his brows.    

“What I'm trying to get at is, if you let me finish.” Lloyd rolled his eyes at Jay 

“This whole time Zane thought we were having regular hangouts without him since he was busy. So for Cole to tell him that we’ve been looking for the mystery boy this whole time probably provoked him to yell like he did.” Lloyd finished. 

“Listen, Cole, I dont think you did the wrong thing. I know you hate keeping secrets.” Lloyd gestured to Cole. 

“But you should probably talk it out with Zane eventually.” Lloyd finished. 

“Does that mean I could stay here for a couple of days? I dont think I have the mental strength to face him right now.” Cole sighed, pressing his back firmly into the bed behind him. 

“Sure, dude, we don’t mind, right Lloyd? We never get to have sleepovers, even though this is a weird situation to have one.” Jay giggled getting up from the floor once more. 

"What if I head to your room and grab some of your things? Does that sound good?” Jay suggested, already moving towards the door. 

“Thanks for the offer Jay just… dont scare Zane, okay.” Cole weakly smiled.  

“I'll do more than scare him, alright. Now give me your room key,” Jay grumbled. 

“You dont need it. Just knock on the door.” Cole rolled his eyes. 

“I may be fighting with Zane, but I don’t need a murder charge on my hands,” Cole joked weakly. It was hard for him to understand what was happening. One moment, he was waking up next to his boyfriend, and now he was going to sleep on the floor of his friend's dorm room. Cole hadn’t looked at himself since he got off the bus; he probably looked like a pathetic mess. 

“Clever, quite clever. I'll return~” Jay's voice trembled as he closed the door, leaving Cole alone with Lloyd in the room. 

“I'm sorry for inconveniencing you guys again. I owe you one.” Cole leaned on Lloyd feeling his exhaustion begin to catch up to him once all his adrenaline left his body. 

“I won't hold you to it; you’ve been through enough.” 

“Plus, it’s what friends are for. Besides, I know you’d do the same for any of us if we were going through something.” Lloyd snickered. 

“Everything's going to be okay, Cole. As my dad says, you just have to take things one step at a time.” Lloyd patted Cole's back before getting up from the floor. 

“I have some homework to do, so make yourself comfortable.” Lloyd giggled, jumping onto his bed and opening his laptop. 

“I’ll go wash my face real quick. I probably look like shit.” Cole sighed. 

“I have clean face towels in the drawer next to my desk if you need to borrow one.” Lloyd offered but was already typing away on his laptop. Working on whatever paper or assignment he had for one of his ridiculously hard honors classes. 

“Thanks, dude, I won't be long.” Cole grabbed the plush green face towels before making it swiftly out of the door. For some reason, the bathrooms in his friends' dorm were somewhat cleaner than theirs. Cole often liked to think it was because Lloyd lived there, but to be fair, the building was newer than all the others on campus, which is probably why Lloyd got housed there in the first place. The bathroom was empty when he arrived. He wasnt surprised since it was half an hour to midnight at this point. They had been up talking for so long Cole didn’t realize how much time had passed, he was exhausted. Cole leaned over the sink, taking a moment to stare at himself before splashing his face with water. His eyes were puffy from all the crying, and his cheeks still held a hint of rose from rubbing them so much. He hated the way he looked it made him feel weak. He splashed water on his face a few more times before someone else opened the door. He quickly whipped his face off before turning to the intruder. 

“Kai?” 

“Well, goodnight to you, too.” 

“I didn’t know you lived in this building.” Kai chuckled, walking over to the sink to brush his teeth.

“I dont…just sleeping over at a friend's.” 

“Oh, Lloyd Garmadons room? I think Jay lives with him, right?” Kai smiled. 

“Uh yeah, we wanted to catch up on some work as a group. Ya, know academic stuff.” Cole tried to joke. But he hated the idea of being in the bathroom alone with Kai. Having not gained full trust with Kai yet. 

“Oh and sorry for running out like that earlier I had something to take care of,” Cole mumbled the last part but the point had gotten across to Kai, who was now nodding.

“It's all good, man; we can meet up later this week to finish the project. Since we dont have much time left.” Kai fidgeted with the toothbrush in his hand, having yet to attempt to do what he came to the bathroom to do. 

“How about tomorrow then, if you're not busy?” Cole asked. 

“That sounds good, but I think we’ll be able to finish the piece by next week if we meet more frequently.” 

“I don’t want you to spend any more time with me than you have to.” Kai offered awkwardly. As much as the thought of meeting up almost every day displeased Cole, he couldn't help but feel bad. Kai was going out of his way to get it over with for Cole's sake. 

“That doesn't sound too bad, I guess.”

“We could even turn it in early! I need to figure out what's missing from the big piece before we turn it in.” Cole smiled wearily. The sketch was already perfect to a teacher's standard, but Cole felt something more could be done to tie it together. 

“Okay good, I let you go then.”

“Goodnight, Cole.” Kai waved, once again turning on the faucet to wet his toothbrush. 

“Night.” Cole briskly made his way out of the bathroom. Jay was probably back at the dorm now. All he wanted was to change into his pajamas and forget about all his problems with sleep. Cole just hoped everything turned out right in the next few weeks.

The next couple of days flew by like it was nothing. Cole and Kai met up almost every day that week to work on their project it was practically done at this point. But Cole insisted it was missing something so he kept the piece to brainstorm final ideas. And honestly, the more they hung out, the less aggravating it was to be around Kai. He was by no means wanting to become friends with the boy or anything. But he could see that something had changed in Kai; he wasn’t sure what.

Cole still hadn’t confronted Zane and spent his nights on Jay's blue bean bag. They only talked when Cole needed to get something from his dorm and had to send a warning text to Zane. Zane was never there when he arrived, though. Their actions were stupid on both ends, and Cole knew it.

Something deep down in Cole told him not to apologize first. Even though he felt like this whole thing was his fault still. Zane had shown him that he didn’t fully trust Cole, undermining everything they had built up till now. What had Cole done in the past couple of months of their relationship for Zane to lose faith in him so easily? Those thoughts had been bouncing around in Cole's mind throughout the week. It took a toll on him since he pretended that he was alright for his friends and everyone else. And that everything was fine, but it wasn’t. Cole missed Zane and hated himself for longing for him after what was said and done. He just wanted to have his boy in his arms again and not have this dread in his gut. 

After another exhausting day of meaningless lessons, Cole leaned against his locker. He didn’t dislike school, but the past few weeks had taken their toll, making it difficult for him to engage in his studies. Now, he eagerly awaited the arrival of summer break. He pressed his forehead against the cool metal of the locker for a moment, hoping to soothe his throbbing head. 

“You good Cole?” 

It was Jay. Club hours had probably just ended for the day. Clubs were starting to wrap up for the end of the school year, which meant voting for a new club president. Being the robotics club president was Jay's biggest dream, and he wouldn't shut up about it.

“Yeah, I just needed a moment.” Cole sighed, lifting his head to give Jay his attention. 

“How’s your campaign doing?” 

“I'm in the lead so far since no one else wanted to run. So I'll probably get the position by default.” Jay giggled with delight, handing Cole a flyer. 

“This is for Junior prom. I got one for all of us. So make sure to fill it out before next week, or else you’ll be eating air for dinner.” Jay joked, shoving the rest of the flyers back into this backpack. Cole had completely forgotten about Junior prom. He didn’t know if he still wanted to go with his current situation with Zane. All his friends would be there, and it would be a shame to miss out. Cole would have to talk with Zane if he still wanted to go together. This whole thing was so difficult. 

“Oh yeah, I came to tell you I won't be at dinner tonight! Gotta date with Nya.” 

“So just pass it on to Lloyd for me.” Jay wiggled his eyebrows, which made Cole roll his eyes. 

“You could’ve just texted us both.” 

“But it won't be as sweet as rubbing into your faces.” Jay snickers, adjusting his backpack to prepare for his walk back to the dorm. 

“Plus, you know how long student gov meetings go on for. Lloyd is probably busy bossing some poor sap around.” Jay giggled. They say their goodbyes, and Cole finally gains the energy to open his locker. For what felt like the millionth time now, a note had been left to lay alone in his locker. The source of his current situation sits right before him again. Cole clutched the paper in his fists and tried to calm himself down to open it with a clear head. Fearing that he would shred the paper into pieces for being the root cause of his current problems. 

Cole, please meet me in the courtyard. 

I'll be waiting for you there until 6:00 p.m. If you don’t show up, I'll know how you feel. 

~Admirer 

“You gotta be shitting me.” Cole shoved the note into his pocket. Cole fumbled around in his backpack to get his phone out to check the time. It was 5:30, which meant he had two choices to make right now. One, pretend he didn’t get this note and return to the dorm like nothing happened. Or Two, risk calling and waiting for Lloyd before meeting this guy. Cole didn’t want to miss this chance; Lloyd was probably on the other side of the campus. There was no doubt Lloyd wouldn’t make it in time to see who it was. So it was settled: Cole would confront the boy alone. Of course, he would be careful before approaching the guy. Since there was still a possibility of this being a prank, Cole valued his safety over everything else. 

The courtyard was in the middle of the school. It had a few tables and benches, but students barely hung out there. Everyone preferred to hang out on the various courts on campus or the lounges that each dorm had. So, even though the courtyard was very open, it had little traffic, especially at that time of day. 

Cole briskly made his way there, hoping that whoever it was hadn't left yet. He peeked threw the little window on the door that led to the courtyard. A boy was sitting on the bench; he couldn't make him out well, but he was sitting by himself with his head down. Cole looked around the surrounding hallways first before going to the door. No other students had been there, so maybe it wasn’t an ambush. Feeling safer to open the door, Cole pushed it open. The sun was beaming down on the courtyard, and the trees planted in the area provided shade to where the boy was sitting. Cole still couldn't make him out from over here, but he slowly began to make his way over, hoping to end whatever this was once and for all. Cole made it behind the bench feeling horror struck him at the pit of his stomach once he was close enough to realize who it was. He shoved the boy's shoulder for him to turn around. 

“Kai?!” 

“Was this some kind of fucked up joke to you, huh?!” Cole began to shout. All the anger he had bottled up in him from the past couple of days was coming out all at once. 

“Do you understand how much hardship your little love letter prank has been causing me?! I have a fucken boyfriend, Kai. Do you understand what this kind of joke does to a relationship?” Cole groaned, holding himself back from putting his hands on Kai. If he could, he would've slapped him right there and then. Cole couldn't risk the detention that would've been packaged with the act. 

“What did I do to you to deserve this, huh? Why can't you leave me the fuck alone!” 

“It wasnt a prank,” Kai mumbled, head still hanging low while he spoke. 

“Huh, what?” Cole stopped.

“It wasnt a prank, Cole.” Kai finally looked up at him, face flushed crimson red. 

“It wasnt a prank or a joke or some sick kind of revenge.” 

“I- have a crush on you. I mean, I've always had a crush on you.” Kai covered his face, probably realizing how stupid he sounded.

“So what was all that homophobic bullshit about!” Cole spouted. 

“I was jealous. I was jealous of how open you could be about it 'cause I can't.”

“I can’t be Gay…Cole, I can't.” Kai's mouth wavered as he spoke. Cole realized what was going on and realized at the same time how much of a jerk he was being. Cole decided to sit next to Kai, waiting for him to finish explaining himself. 

“I was jealous of how easy it was for you to just exist as yourself. If my dad or friends ever found out, then…my dad would kill me.”

“When I told my friends about you being gay, it honestly had slipped at the time, and the rumors began to float around, and I didn't want to seem suspicious, so… I'm so sorry, Cole.” Kai rambled.

“It's okay, kinda. I mean, what you did was really messed up, but. I get it, though, so dont beat yourself up about it anymore.” 

“But why do you have a crush on me? We barely even talked in that science class. Other than when we were partners for a bit.” 

“ I can’t help it. Cole, you’re like the sun, you know? Like how plants need the sun, that's kinda how I feel around you. You’re too bright, and it hurts sometimes, but I'm still attracted to you.” Kai rambled, causing Cole to blush for a moment.

“Kai, I have a boyfriend,” Cole grumbled. 

“I know; I think I just needed to get this off my chest somehow, though. Seeing you two together makes me sick in an envious way.”

“I was still trying to figure myself out around that time. Going to an all-boys school doesn’t help when you want to suppress how you feel. And you were the only gay person I’ve ever talked to so.” 

“But I understand that I messed up, and you dont know how grateful I am to even be able to talk to you like this.” 

“You could’ve walked away by now,” Kai said dryly. 

“I mean, I understand how you feel. I used to be that way when I was younger, but having a dad who’s super into self-expression and being one hundred percent you helped a lot.” 

“So that internal homophobia phase didn't last long for me, but I get it, Kai.”

“Listen, if you ever wanna talk about, you know, this kind of stuff. You can talk to me.”

“And I guess we can try being friends.” Cole smiled weary giving Kai his hand so they could get off the bench. 

“So wait, why did you start sending me love letters?” Cole pointed at the boy, wanting to get all his questions out before they left the courtyard. 

“Oh, I just wanted your attention, I guess.” 

“I get that it was weird, but it was a way to get those thoughts about you outta my head, and I thought I would somehow have a chance. To be your friend or something more down the line.” Kai chuckled awkwardly. 

“ugh, that's gross, no offense.” Cole scrunched up his face at the thought; he couldn't imagine himself being with anyone other than Zane. 

“None taken, I get it. You and Zane are meant for each other, like soulmates kinda.” Kai huffed. 

“Yeah, I guess we are.” Cole smiled to himself. Even though he hadn't talked to Zane face to face in about a week, he was missing his other half. 

“Why dont we go work on our project together? I finally figured out what it was missing.” 

“That's good. Honestly, I thought you were just stalling.” Kai giggled. 

“No, this is just how an artist works. What are your thoughts on Ninjas with elemental powers?” Cole smirked, knowing that the idea would intrigue his project partner.

“The master is at work, I see. I gotta see these sketches.” Kai rushed to get to the door so that they could begin working once again. 

“Oh, and Cole?” Kai stopped, hand resting on the doorknob.

“Yeah?”

“Please don’t tell anyone about this. I don’t think I'm ready to step out into the light yet. If you know what I mean.” 

“Your secrets are safe with me.” Cole smiled once more, gesturing for Kai to open the door. 

“Thank you.” 

“Anything for a friend.” 

Chapter Text

Zane got up earlier than usual today. Not wanting to waste any time since today was finally the Art show. It was officially almost two weeks since his argument with Cole. Zane hadn't talked to him since, face to face at least. He feared that he’d end up making things worse than they already were. Yet somehow the in-person silent treatment was a greater punishment than death. They would text from time to time but it was consistently brief and short-witted. Cole only texted when he needed something from the dorm, but never showed up when Zane was there. Though he knew Cole was there since the room always felt different after his ninja-like visits. Zane would sense Cole’s perseverance in keeping up the silent treatment. So much so that even when they passed each other in the hallway or the cafeteria. Cole would walk past him like he was a wall or someone's locker. It stung, to say the least, but he deserved it. 

But, Zane had grown tired of staying away, he couldn’t take it anymore. To feel Cole’s solid figure in his arms again or to even wake up to Cole humming to himself in the middle of the night. He wanted to, no, needed to! Feel Cole’s presence within his life again. The dorm grew sterile and cold without the boy and it was driving him mad. Zane poured one of the water bottles he kept under his bed into his clothing iron. He needed his suit to look as crisp as possible today. He hadn't worn the thing in a while so it was kinda wrinkled. Smoothing out the suit on the ironing board Zane waited in anticipation for the iron to heat up. He couldn't remember the last time he’d worn the suit. Probably for a fancy dinner with his father and his colleagues or maybe for his freshman inauguration day. When he last wore it didn’t matter at the moment. In fact, It was a special day a very important day. Because he wanted to make sure Cole knew he was taking this seriously. And that he meant the whole world to him. 

“Oh god, this is gonna be a disaster,” Zane mumbled to himself. Smoothing out any wrinkle in the way of his iron till his suits pants and button-up where completely flat. He swayed his hand over the outfit before lifting it off the board to hang up in his closet once again. It was too early in the day to put it on. 

“Okay, let's get to work.” 

Cole opened up the foldable table in the school's cafeteria. The art show was going to be held there later in the day but Mr. Ronin had written everyone passes to leave their respective classes to come down and help set up. Help was an overstatement since Mr. Ronin sat on a chair in the middle of the room and bossed everyone around. It would've been going a lot smoother if he actually got up and showed them where he wanted everything to go. But, that would be too hard, wouldn't it? 

“I wish he’d get off his phone and help.” Kai groaned and held the table in the middle allowing Cole to reach under to open each table leg individually. 

“You could say that twice.” Cole chuckled getting up from under the table. 

“We’ve got like six or seven more of these to do before we can go back to get the actual artwork.” 

“I don’t know why we couldn't have just brought it all together.” Cole groaned walking over to the next foldable table the two had to open. 

“You know how Ronin is. Always doing things the inconvenient way.” Kai quipped. 

“Keep that kinda talking up and I’ll lower both your grades!” Mr Ronin yelled from across the room. 

Cole rolled his eyes and mimicked Mr. Ronin's face towards Kai. The two giggled before continuing their job. Cole never thought they could get along like this. You’d think after someone bullied you and then confessed to you you’d never want to see them again. But it felt nice to have another gay friend that wasn’t Zane. Though they never talked about it much since Kai was still touchy on the subject, the comradery was still there. 

“Did you invite your family to the show?” 

“My dad can’t really make it since he's touring right now. Other wise he’d show.” His dad had apologized profusely for not being able to attend but Cole had reassured him that it was no big deal. Cameras existed and it wasn’t like there wouldn't be many art shows to come. 

“Yeah, my Mom and sister are gonna show. My dad's not big on art so he’s staying at the shop.” Kai sighed, checking to make sure the table they just opened was locked and secured. 

“I didn’t know you had a sister.” Cole always imagined Kai as an only child, especially cause of the way he acted. Like a hot head. 

“She’s a little younger than me but we’re attached at the hip. When we were younger I took care of her while my dad and mom worked at the shop.”

“We’re still super close now which is great. It's like having a built-in best friend.” Kai smiled, helping Cole pick up the next table. 

“Wow, you’re lucky. It was always just me and my Dad growing up.” Cole stopped there realizing that his conversation opened up the opportunity to ask about Cole’s Mom. But Kai made no move to ask about her and nodded his head to Cole's statement. 

“I wasn’t the luckiest, I've always wanted a dog but my parents keep telling me no.” Kai groaned. 

“Me too! My Dad isn't home often though so it wouldn't be right for the dog.” Cole sighed, picking up the last table that they had to open.  

“They told me I wasnt responsible enough. Not ready for a dog but ready to run the shop by myself.” Kai rolled his eyes, clicking the final table into place and facing Cole. 

“That should do it for the project area. The others can deal with ceramic and wood shop tables.” Cole snickered, ushering Kai to follow him out of the room. 

“Let's get our masterpiece.” 

“Uh hello, I'm here to pick up my order.” Zane had waited in line longer than he had expected. He didn't have class for another hour and a half but he wanted to be able to get everything he needed before this afternoon. He thought about coming to the flower shop yesterday but fresh flowers were always more lively and beautiful than one-day-old flowers. 

“And your name is?” the cashier asked already turning to the shelf to see which set of flowers it could probably be. Zane had never been here before, hell, he’d never bought flowers for another either. Sure he’d picked a few flowers for Cole a couple of times but this was entirely different. 

“Zane Julien, sorry I made the order so late.” 

“I've never done this before.” Zane smiled wearily at the lady behind the counter. 

“It's alright kid, you’re the one who ordered the lilys right?” The women walked over to the boutique. Examining it one more time before finally handing it to Zane over the counter. 

“Who's the lucky lady?” She smiled, punching his total into the cash register. 

“Oh, it's my boyfriend actually.” Zane cringed at the way the words had come out his mouth but the lady only chuckled. 

“Your totals on the screen. I hope your boyfriend loves them then, we dont get a lot of orders for lilys around here.” She handed him the receipt after he handed her the cash.  

“Yeah, they’re his favorite, reminds him of his mother.” Zane smiled gently placing the bouquet into a brown bag. 

“Well isn't that sweet. Best of luck to both of ya dear.” Zane waved at the cashier one last time before heading out the door. He had one more place to visit before he could go back on campus. 

“Two down one more to go.” 

“And then he let Jay use his credit card anyway. Even though he lost the bet already.” Cole giggled. 

“Lloyds nicer than me I would've told him to get over it,” Kai smirked, holding the door to the art room open for Cole.   

“Oh don’t underestimate Lloyd, he can be a little scary sometimes. He’s been working Jay to death since then. Mainly with Junior prom preparations, but it's been torture.” 

They walked over to the art closet that held everyone's projects. Mr. Ronin had forced everyone to pin their work onto those boards you use for science fair projects. It hurt Cole to puncture little holes into his works but he’d get over it eventually. 

“Speaking of Junior prom, are you going?” Cole turned to Kai. Handing the boy the information board for the project while Cole held the actual works himself. 

“Nah, not my kinda party. I'm gonna leave campus early this year. Gotta get that early beach action.” 

“Gotta get that sweet, sweet golden tan, bro~,” Kai said the last part in his best surfer dude accent. Which somehow ended up sounding like a cowboy surfer. 

“Oh really, surfer dude?” Cole giggled, heading out of the classroom to make their way back to the cafeteria before Ronin blew his top. 

“My family has a little beach house we go to for the summer. My sister’s really good at surfing. I couldn’t surf to save my life, but I can make a mean sand castle.” 

“She’s bringing a friend this year, though, so I'll have to be king of the castle by myself.” Kai dramatically sighed. 

“I’ll probably be on campus till the last day. Gotta wait for my dad to come get me and his in-state tour doesn’t end anytime soon.” Cole groaned. They made it back to the cafeteria where it already looked like the art show area was coming together. 

“That's not a bad thing though. That just means extra time with Zane before the big summer break, no?” 

“You’ll have way more fun at Junior prom than I ever would. My friends think dancing is stupid and it's not like I have a partner so…” Kai rambled on, setting down the information board to help Cole set up the project board. 

“If anything laugh-worthy happens I'll shoot you a text.” Cole offered, stepping back to look at their work in full glory. It had come out just like he’d imagined it would. The ninjas were using their elemental powers to bounce around lively on the piece. And the chaos of the dragons fighting the mech titans had really pulled it all together nicely. 

“You went all out Cole.” 

“We, went all out Kai. We did.” Cole chuckled shoving Kai's shoulders. 

“It's a masterpiece, probably one of the best pieces I've worked on in a while. And I wouldn't have been able to do it without your mech expertise.” Cole smirked, turning to Kai to see that his face began to flush red from the compliment.

“You’re better than me Cole dont flatter me.” Kai teased trying to gain back his composure. 

“Fine, your art is subpar.” Cole mimicked Mr. Ronin once more gaining a chuckle out of Kai again. 

“Welp, I guess that means we’re done. See you at the show later.” Cole turned to look at the project one last time before heading out of the room to get back to class. Kai waved and moved to pick up his bags. Going to do the same Cole presumed. Some of their chat from earlier had still somewhat plagued Cole's mind though. Junior prom was next week and he hadn’t talked to Zane in days. Every time he passed him throughout the school he wanted nothing more than to run up to his boyfriend and forgive him. At this rate, he didn’t know if he still wanted to go to junior prom. It wouldn't be the same without Zane, a lot wasnt the same. 

“I'm gonna confront him.” 

The bakery surprisingly didn't have as long a line as the flower shop which was a relief. The plus side was that Zane didn’t have to put in an order for Cole's favorite cake since they always had it presliced by the time the store was open. Zane picked up the slice of chocolate ganache and made his way to wait behind the man who was ordering at the counter. Zane had never known anyone to love cake as much as Cole. Especially when it came to Cole’s all-time favorite which was chocolate ganache. Zane didn’t understand why regular chocolate cake wouldn't suffice. But Cole had stated multiple times that it was a mouth-feel thing and that Zane wasnt cultured enough to understand. Zane made it to the counter and paid for the slice as quickly as he could. Not wanting to waste any time that he needed to get back to class. 

Zane had texted Jay the night before about his plan, which Jay had over excitedly supported. He needed Jay to be aware of what he was doing so that everything was perfect when the time came to talk to Cole. Zane could only wish and hope that all of this would help get across to Cole how big of an idiot he was for treating him the way he did. Being apart from Cole like this solidified for him that he didn’t want things to end like this. Zane wanted to hold Cole in his arms again. He wanted to feel his lips on Coles again. He wanted to hear Cole's voice again and to look into his eyes again. 

As Jay had said, he wanted them to be able to build each other up and make each other better people. If he was going to be stronger for Cole and himself, then he needed to face the facts, open up to his boyfriend, and pour his whole heart out until he was no longer breathing. Because Zane loved Cole, he loved him too much to see him go this way. 

Cole stood by his project table while students and family members filed in and out of the rows of artwork. He would answer any questions he could when people would stop to take a moment and actually look at Kai and his work. Kai was somewhere in the event showing his Mom and sister around. They agreed to which off who was standing by the table so that they would both get equal time to explore and get into their art critique personas. Cole enjoyed the attention he was getting for them after all they had gone through to get to what he was standing before them today. Cole just couldn't help but hope that Zane was somewhere walking around as well. 

“Cole, this looks insane!” Cole could hear a familiar whinny voice and match it straight to the owner. Jay and Lloyd made their way over. Holding little art prints and stickers that some students were giving out. 

“You truly outdid yourself, Cole.” Lloyd eyed the piece up and down before speaking again. 

“I like this little green guy; he’s got style.” he complimented, handing Cole one of the stickers he got from another student's booth. It wasn’t anything special, just a regular cat sticker. 

“You can have it. Jay made me take it against my will.” Lloyd groaned, moving his gaze to look at Kai's solo work. 

“This blue ninja is way cooler than the green one, he’s got lighting powers.” Jay teased, lightly leaning on Cole in the process in an attempt to escape Lloyd's glare. 

“Thanks for coming guys, it means a lot that you showed up.” Now he just hoped that Zane would be here too. 

“It's no big deal, they got free stuff here!” Jay cheered showing Cole his collection of stickers. 

 “I'm gonna give some of them to Nya when I visit her at work tomorrow.” Jay gushed causing the other two to roll their eyes in unison. 

“Give what to me?” 

The group turned upon hearing an unfamiliar voice thrown in their direction. It was a girl with a loose ponytail and bronze tan skin who bore a resemblance to Kai actually. 

“Nya! What are you doing here? This is an all-boys school.” Jay rushed to her side showing her the stickers he had collected. 

“My brothers in the art show, that's his piece right there.” Nya pointed to where Cole was standing which caused his mouth to slightly gape open. 

“Kai’s your brother!” They all said in unison. Causing the man of the hour to show up with his Mother at the table. 

“Nya you know Jay?” Kai asked, confusion clear on his face. It seemed that he was just at a loss as the others. 

“Yeah he's my boyfriend, we’ve been together for a while now actually.”

“Didn’t think we’d bump into him today though.” Nya smiled wearily, it being apparent that she never stated she was dating anyone to her family. 

“Boyfriend!?” Kai shouted in disbelief.  

“It's nice to meet you, Jay.” Ms Smith had said. 

“Uh why don’t we leave you three alone, it was nice meeting you too Ms Smith. I'll see you tomorrow Nya.” Jay whispered the second part and grabbed both Cole and Lloyd's hands dragging them in the opposite direction. They stopped in the corner of the cafeteria where not a lot of people were walking by and talking. 

“Do you guys know what this means?!” Jay exclaimed. 

“You’ve got a brother-in-law.” Lloyd joked, gaining a chuckle out of Cole.

“No, Kai was the secret admirer! Remember the lion key chains; that's their family symbol for their store.” Jay's eyes grew big as he spoke it into existence.  

“You’re smarter than I thought,” Lloyd said, turning his attention from Jay to Cole. 

"I’m curious—why aren’t you flipping out about this?” Lloyd pointed at Cole, realizing he was in a tight spot and needed to be honest. Sorry, Kai! 

“Oh, uh, he sorta kinda confessed to me like a week ago. But I turned him down, and he told me his Dad's super homophobic and stuff. But now we’re like kinda friends, and I'm like sorta kinda helping him be more comfortable as himself kinda.” Cole blurted out, throwing up his hands in caution. 

“What!?” Jay had shouted once more. 

“Sounds like something you would do.” Lloyd began to giggle, helping Jay close his disbelief mouth. 

“Cole, he bullied you! You’re gonna forgive him like nothing happened.” Jay grumbled, anger making its appearance on his face with a reddish shade.

“Listen, guys, I've been in his shoes before. Internal homophobia is hard to unlearn. He just needs someone he can relate to. And unfortunately, that's me. But I can tell he’s changed so nothing will go wrong, promise.” Cole grinned, trying to gain back Jay's support.

“Okay, whatever, only cause he's also Nyas's brother.” Jay sighed, settling down. 

“Just promise me you won’t tell anyone, though. He’s not ready to come outta the closet just yet.” Cole already felt like he said too much. But his friends were bound to find out at some point. They were an extremely nosy pair. 

“I’ve got no one to tell anyway.” Lloyd shrugged his shoulders. 

“I think what you’re doing is really respectable, Cole.” 

“I think he’s an idiot, but I'm not one to talk.” Jay quipped, turning back in the direction of the art show tables. 

“Okay, enough chit-chat. chat let's go take a walk around and then head back to your table, Cole.” Jay leads the way once again. Keeping his hands to himself this time around though. Cole enjoyed seeing what everyone had been working on during the school year. Art was his passion; after all, he could only wonder what Zane was doing at that moment. 

 Zane was getting eyed from outside the cafeteria doors. He was overdressed, after all, but that didn’t matter to him. Jay sent him a picture earlier of what the art show layout looked like and where Cole's table would be so he could execute his plan. Zane walked through the cafeteria doors, a white lily bouquet in one hand and the box with the cake in the other. He tried to shake off his nerves while he made his way over to where he thought Cole would be. Once he turned the corner, he saw him standing with the others. As beautiful as ever but with a hint of tiredness in his eyes. As Zane got closer, Cole turned once he was in his line of sight. Eyes grew wide at what Zane was holding in his hands and what he was wearing.  

“These are for you," Zane said with a faint smile, his nerves evident. He offered the flowers to Cole, who accepted them with awe, still gazing at him in a daze. Zane glanced at Cole's project for a moment; it was truly incredible. 

 “Your piece is amazing,” Zane said in awe giving full attention back to Cole. 

“Thank you.” Cole smiled weakly, clutching onto the flowers for dear life.

“If you don’t mind would you come with me to the courtyard, please?” Zane felt the need to plead to Cole to get him to follow him. But Cole nodded, saying his goodbyes to Lloyd and Jay before following. Jay winked at Zane before he left, causing him to huff out a laugh under his breath. They walked in silence to the courtyard which gave Zane time to go over all that he wanted to say to Cole. He was going to make this right for the both of them. 

Cole clutched onto the bouquet in his hands for support. The flowers were beautiful, the same kind his Dad would buy his Mom for her birthday. Cole couldn’t believe that Zane had shown up in a suit; it made the whole thing a lot more dramatic than it needed to be. It felt like he was about to get married. Walking through the courtyard doors, Zane led them to a table that already had some stuff on it. Zane turned around to stop Cole from looking at what was on the table too much. Cole watched Zane place down the box he had in his hand on the table, and then he turned to Cole once more. 

“I know this is long overdue. But I wanted to do something special for you. The way I acted towards you was inexcusable, Cole. And I need you to know the full truth. For the first time in my life, I felt insecure. It isn't your fault, and it'll never be your fault, but. For a moment, I thought that I wasn’t enough for you. I didn’t lose trust in you, Cole; I lost faith in myself. I thought that if you kept secrets, it must mean… I wasn’t enough.” Zane let out a shaky breath before he continued. 

“I want us to be able to build each other up. To make each other better people. And I dont wanna lose you, Cole, not like this. I want to hold you in his arms again. And I want to be able to kiss your perfect lips again. I wanna hear you talk to yourself when you think no one is listening again. And to look into your eyes before we go to sleep again. I want us to be together again.” 

“So please, Cole. I'm so sorry for the way this turned out, and I hope that we can be together again.” Zane finished, dabbing his eyes with the backs of his hands. Cole stood and stared, hearing such beautiful words come from Zane made him want to break down right there and then. Cole slowly closed the space between them, putting his hands on Zane's shaking shoulders. 

“I never want you to stop looking at me the way you are now.” Cole leaned in, wrapping his arms tight around Zane's back so that he could never let go. For a moment, they held their faces close, basking in the contact they had missed so much. Until neither could take it anymore, they connected at last. Two halves were finally whole again. 

Cole pulled back for a moment to gaze into Zane's eyes. Oh, how he had missed him. 

“You know, Zane, I messed up too. I should've been honest with you from the start; I just wanted to protect you from stressing over something so silly. I'm sorry for ignoring you. I just couldn't bring myself to face you yet." 

"But all that time away from you has made me yearn for this more than anything else in the world. You’re the only person I want. No stupid letters or secret admirers could ever change that. So I'm sorry too. Please forgive me.” Cole smiled weakly, still looking into Zane's fixated eyes.

"I trust you, and I want to be better for you. Just…please promise me we won’t keep secrets anymore." Zane says, voice nearly above a whisper. Cole smiles and nods, drawing Zane near him again.  

“Kiss me,” Zane said under his breath. And they were together again. And again and again. 

They sat next to each other on the bench once the emotions had calmed down. Cole rested his head on Zane's shoulder while he happily munched away at his cake. Every once in a while, he reaches to give Zane a bite from his fork. 

“I can’t believe you wore a suit for this.” Cole snickered, eating another fork full. 

“I'm serious about you, so I have to look the part too.”

“Well, you look very handsome,” Cole said. Zane smiled down at him, running his free hand through Coles's dark locks. 

“I have one more surprise for you, actually,” Zane said, moving his shoulder lightly so Cole would pick his head up. 

“Oh really now?” Cole sat up, giving his full attention to Zane. Something he had missed doing in the past weeks. 

“Close your eyes for me until I say to open them, Okay?” Zane chuckled. Knowing that this was very amusing for his lover. 

“Okay, okay, I'll cover them.” Cole held his hands over his eyes, waiting for Zane to give him the signal to see again.

“Okay, now look.” Cole uncovered his eye’s scanning over the sign that Zane had held in his hand. 

“Will you go to prom with me?”