Cruel Words, Broken Hearts

Chapter 4

"Don't run away just yet
I swore I'd never forget
You make my heart shake
It's going to break
If you don't say the truth
To make up for our youth."

"Vaughn..?" Nobis queried hesitantly, sipping his burnt coffee. It was no surprise that the blonde came early, but he never came this early. There was at least 40 minutes until class started. 'He probably has something planned,' he thought abruptly, but didn't follow that track of thought.

"I need your phone number," Vaughn demanded, placing both his hands on his professor's desk. "It's really important." His lips were pressed in a hard line and there was an air of seriousness infusing the air around him.

Nobis gave him an incredulous look, wondering why on earth his student would need his phone number. "You need it," he echoed, giving the blonde a look of wonder. "Can you tell me why?"

Vaughn grinned at him, feigning innocence. "Just give me the number," he fished out his – well, his father's, but his professor didn't need to know that – cell phone from his pocket and handed his perplexed professor the device, open at the contacts list. It had already been filled with his name, so all he had to do was give the number.

Nobis closed his eyes and gave an exasperated sigh. "No," he countered, but not letting go of the cell phone. He couldn't give his number to a student, no matter how much he trusted them – but this was Vaughn; there must be a good reason for this.

"It's a matter of life and death for me!" Vaughn exaggerated as he gesticulated wildly around the room. He pouted at his professor, making doe-like eyes at him, hoping he would give in. "I promise you won't regret it."

Nobis let silence lapse in-between them for moment before breaking it with a muttered answer. "Fine." He typed in his number in the cell phone thinking, 'What's the worst that could happen?'. The worst that could happen is that Vaughn would give his number to other students and he'd get a lot of prank calls and stalkers – which is unlikely by itself.

Vaughn took his cell phone back and grinned triumphantly, punching the air in an exaggerated celebratory fashion. He promptly ran out of the classroom, leaving his books on his desk and not bothering to pick his bag up from the floor. "Thank you professor," he stopped his jerky movements for a second and then resumed running out of the door to go to his father. He didn't expect it to go so well.

~NA~NA~NA~NA~

"Father!" Vaughn called out to the older male waiting at the entrance, wrapped in a cream coloured coat, complete with velvet gloves and scarf. "I got it!" he gushed excitedly, giving his father back his cell phone.

Alexander smiled at his son's excitement and took the cell phone, putting it into his pocket. "Calm down. I'm going to do this. Later," he promised, running a hand down his son's arm. "Thank you."

Vaughn grinned widely at his father and ran back to into the school building, glancing back to see his father walk away from the entrance with a thumbs up. His plan was going through smoothly – in fact, he was surprised at how well it was going. It was going to work.

~NA~NA~NA~NA~

That night, as he took his son home and finished dinner, he stared at the number on his cell phone. Should he? He huffed and threw it on the couch seat next to him in a fit of rage, crossing his arms in a defensive expression. What's he to lose? They were civil to each other before, could they be friends?

Or maybe more than friends.

He shook the thought away hastily, rubbing his forehead in an honest attempt to ward off a headache. With new determination, he took the cell phone back into his hands and opened up messages.

Nobis Daum.

The name almost intimidated him as he typed in a greeting that should give Nobis a good guess on who this was.

Four eyes.

He waited patiently for a response, looking at the dim screen in agitation, biting his lip.

~NA~NA~NA~NA~

Nobis heard his phone go off and stared at the unknown number that sent a message. Was this Vaughn? He immediately diminished the thought as he opened his phone and looked at the message in disbelief. Alexander? He typed back the only way he knew to address the offending message.

Prat.

~NA~NA~NA~NA~

Alexander grinned at the response and stifled a laugh as melancholy flooded him, but he quickly typed back the reason for texting the brunet. He lapsed into excitement – there was adrenaline in his veins and he could feel that long lost sated feeling flood him.

~NA~NA~NA~NA~

Alexander: I wanted to apologize.

Nobis: One hell of a way to start off an apology, Alexander.

Alexander: Are you expecting me to be ordinary, Nobis?

Nobis: I was expecting you to have grown up.

Alexander: ....Right. Sorry.

Nobis: Now what do you want? I'm beginning to feel like I can't be bothered to talk to you.

Alexander: Don't go yet...just wait a moment. I've never apologized before.

Nobis: Well you're absolutely horrid at it. Just so you know.

Alexander: I'm sorry for being such a prat to you. It was pathetic, okay?

Nobis: What's bringing all of this on, Alexander?

Alexander: I thought since you are my son's teacher, I should make amends with you for all the things I've done to you. I want us to be friends.

Nobis: I can't help but feel like you may have an ulterior motive. Forgive me for not thinking that your intentions are purely innocent.

Alexander: They are.

Nobis: How did you even find my number?

Alexander: I have my sources.

Nobis: That's not creepy at all, Alexander.

Alexander: ..... My son said you don't hate me. Is this true?

Nobis: I don't hate you. Do you?

Alexander: I don't.

Nobis: ...Damn it, Alexander. Fine, we'll call a truce and give this friendship thing a try.

Nobis: So how did you convince Vaughn to give you my phone number? And what made you think that I would actually answer?

Alexander: Vaughn is my son. And I didn't think you would answer. I thought you'd ignore me.

Nobis: Had it not caught me off guard I probably wouldn't have.

Alexander: 'Ignore Alexander, the insufferable prat' would probably be your reasoning, to be honest, right? For what it's worth, I'm glad you did.

Nobis: Yeah, it would have been, I'm not going to lie.

Alexander: But I have changed, you know.

Nobis: Meet me for dinner or drinks and let me judge for myself.

Alexander: Are you being serious right now? You're not doing this as an awful prank to humiliate me?

Nobis: No?

Alexander: Then when? And where?

Nobis: You pick. I'm free whenever.

Alexander: How about tomorrow night at 7 o'clock? At that restaurant in the middle of the city that everyone seems to go to?

Nobis: I'll see you tomorrow.