Before I knew it, the weekend had come to and end and it was time for school again. I swear, time tends to fly by faster when you're not in school - and I'm not here for it.

Ethan and I had arrived to school at the same time, so we were both taking a stroll around the hallway before our classes started. He had been keeping me entertained by ranting about an anime he had watched, Tokyo Ghoul I believe it was called.

"And the tentacles just came out of Kaneki's ass and he destroyed that motherfucker," he rambled with an overly excited expression on his face. "Damn. I know I'm aromantic and shit, but I'd totally turn gay for Kaneki, just saying."

I let out a small chuckle and opened my mouth to say something, but was interrupted by a familiar voice.

"Kairo, Ethan! Hey!" Barbara greeted, rushing over to us.

"Hey, Barbie. You're early today, what a surprise," Ethan remarked to which Barbara simply snorted in response.

"Anyway, Kairo. I gave Alexandria the letters," she began with a wide grin on her face. "And she said that she'll talk to you later whenever she's free! She seemed really happy about it."

"Oooh," Ethan cooed. "Look at that, my boy's getting lucky."

"Wait, no way. You're not lying, are you?" I said in disbelief. "Does that mean she likes me back?"

"I think it does," Barbara nodded, the smile never leaving her face. "Who would have thought?"

"I know right, I can't believe this spargeltarzan here is finally getting lucky with the chicks," Ethan commented with a sly grin.

"What's a spargeltarzan?" Barbara questioned with her head tilted.

"You're German, you're supposed to know," Ethan scoffed, but when he remembered that Barbara lacked any sort of communication skills in the language, he proceeded. "I read that it literally translated to 'asparagus Tarzan' or something. It's used to describe a skinny dude."

"I'm a skinny legend," I corrected. "Although not skinny at all, but I appreciate the compliment."

"It wasn't meant to be a compliment, you absolute doofus," he snorted in response. I was about to respond when I spotted a familiar figure in the distance. Quickly, I nudged Ethan with my elbow, "I'm going to go talk to someone. You guys have fun, alright?"

Ethan raised his brow at me in confusion and when I pointed to said someone, he gave me a knowing glance and nodded his head at me, "Alright. Don't forget to keep it in your pants."

"I'm not gay," I protested with a huff before hurrying over to the figure in the distance, standing in front of the lockers.

"Hey," I greeted, tapping Alexander on the shoulder. He quickly turned around with an alarmed expression and when he realized that it was just me, he let out a heavy breath, "Don't sneak up on me like that. What do you want?"

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," I apologized with a sheepish expression. "I wanted to ask you something."

"Is it about trigonometry? I can help you out during recess," he began, but I cut him off by shaking my head at him.

"No, it's not about trigonometry. I mean, yes, it kind of is," I stammered. "Can I have your phone number?"

He paused for a moment before tilting his head at me and leaning against his locker, "I see what's going on here. You've evolved from writing love letters to sending love e-mails instead, hm? I must say, you're quite the flirt, Kairo."

I opened my mouth in disbelief, but he let out a quiet chuckle and continued before I could protest, "I'm just playing around. You can have my number, give me your phone."

I obliged and handed it to him and stared down at my feet as he proceeded to enter his number into my phone. After a mere second, he handed it back to me and began walking away, "Alright. Text me if you need anything."

"Wait!" I called out, rushing after him. "I have another favour to ask. I mean, I don't know if it's considered a favour but-"

"What is it, Kairo?" he said, clicking the tip of his tongue against the roof of his mouth in slight frustration. "Just tell me, I'm not going to eat you up."

"Can I sit with you during class today?" I questioned before I could stop myself.

I prepared myself to face ultimate rejection as I awaited his response, clenching my jaw in anticipation all the while. He simply stared at me for a brief moment with a raised brow, as if he hadn't been expecting me to ask something so bold - and in all honesty, I hadn't been expecting it either. What was I thinking?

Hold on, why was I even overthinking all this in the first place? It wouldn't matter if he rejected my offer, right? Then why was I stressing out over something so trivial?

He let out a soft sigh before nodding, "Fine."

I perked up at that and gave him an excited grin, "Really? Gosh, thank you so much!"

"I'll save you a seat. Don't be late," he said before turning around and striding away.

"I won't, thanks!" I called out after him before smiling to myself and making my way back to my own locker so I could gather my textbooks for the day.

Mission 'befriend Alexander': accomplished, kind-of. Well, we're getting there.