"Best Friends"

Someone New

"Son, you don't have to go to school today if you-"

"I have to dad, I have things I have to do!" Dark called out, interrupting his dad as he ran out the door to catch the bus.

In reality, he only wanted to see Anti despite the plethora of bandages covering his face.

His heart fell when he saw Xilef already there talking to Anti, neither boy noticing his presence as he approached them.

"H-hey Anti." Dark spoke up tentatively.

Both turned to look at him, Anti looking happy to see him while Xilef looked like he wanted to kill Dark.

"I d-didn't know yo-ou rode t-the bus." Dark remarked, trying to seem casual, trying to ignore Xilef 's death glare and act nice

"I live right next to Anti and my dad doesn't have time to take me to school anymore, so I ride the bus." Xilef replied with a shrug.

Before Dark could question him further, the lumbered down the street towards them with its usual low growl before stopping in front of them and opening its doors.

Xilef roughly pushed past Dark and took Anti to his seat, leaving Dark alone as he shuffled to the back of the bus.

Don't be a baby, don't cry, Dark chanted silently to himself as he stared hard out the window, focusing on the dark horizon in a vain attempt to ignore the tears welling up in his eyes.

As soon as the bus slowed to a stop at the school and opened its doors with a loud creak, Dark darted off and ran into the nearest bathroom.

"Dark!" Anti yelled after him, but he kept going much to his dismay.

"He's fine, we should get to class." Xilef assured Anti, walking with him to their class.

Dark curled up in the corner of the bathroom and began softly crying, his head buried between his knees to muffle his sobs.

"Hey, are you okay?"

Dark looked up to see a boy with dark brown hair that was shaved on the sides standing over him with concern shining in his sapphire blue eyes.

"Y-yeah, I'm fi-ine." Dark hiccuped, hastily wiping away his tears with the back of his hand.

"It's okay, you don't have to worry about me telling anyone, I just wanna help." The boy assured Dark, kneeling in front of him with a small smile that reminded him of Anti.

"My name's Sean, but my friends call me Jack. What's yours?" The boy asked politely.

"I-I'm Dark." Dark sniffled.

"It's nice to meet you." Sean replied, sitting next to Dark against the wall.

"So..." Sean started, trailing off as he looked at Dark.

"It's f-friend dr-drama." Dark explained, swallowing hard to fight off more tears that were threatening to spill down his face.

"Let me guess, Anti?" Sean asked with a knowing smile.

"Y-yeah." Dark admitted.

"It's okay, I know you like him." Sean remarked, confusing Dark.

"I l-like him a-as a friend." Dark stated firmly, yet he noticed that he didn't sound sure at all.

"Uh-huh." Sean snorted in amusement as Dark's face instantly heated up a light red hue in embarrassment.

"Don't worry, I can be your wing man!" Sean decided excitedly.

"Wi-ing man?" Dark repeated in confusion.

"Yeah! I already have a girlfriend, I can help you get your crush." Sean announced proudly.

"H-how?" Dark frowned.

"Eat lunch with me and my friends, we'll make him jealous and realize how much he cares about you." Sean instructed as he stood up, offering Dark a hand up.

"Th-thanks." Dark smiled shyly as he accepted his help, glancing in the mirror at his face.

His eyes were rimmed with red and bloodshot from crying, his hair sticking up wildly in various places and his face and nose a bright red.

"I'll talk to the teacher and make sure you aren't counted absent." Sean promised Dark ax he started to walk off.

"Thanks S-Sean."

Sean paused at the doorway and turned around, flashing Dark a friendly smirk.

"Call me Jack."

With that, he went back to class while Dark cleaned himself up before following after his new-found friend.

He couldn't pay attention in class as he listened to Anti and Xilef talk behind him, Dan and Phil talking past him to each other as if he wasn't there.

Jack met with him as soon as they were dismissed to lunch much to his relief, saving him from being alone.

"Hey Dark-"

"Don't worry about him, you can sit at my table." Xilef interrupted Anti, guiding him away from Dark and Jack.

A boy that looked like Xilef, a boy with purple hair dressed in a striped shirt, a boy with a cat mask, a boy in a red jumper with red jeans and a blue mask, a boy dressed as a doctor, and a boy with a light blue shirt and snapback cap.

"H-hey, I-I'm Dark." Dark introduced himself shyly as he sat down.

"I'm Felix, then there's Robbie, Marvin, Henrik, Jackaboy-Man, and Chase." The boy that looked like Felix introduced himself and the others at the table.

They each nodded when their name was said, each of their faces lit up with friendly smiles that made Dark feel more comfortable.

"Robbie like you." The boy in the striped shirt decided, standing up and going around the table and hugging him tightly.

"Our meeting is magical." Marvin chimed in, shuffling a deck of cards in his hands.

"Zhis motherfucker better not be like Anti." Henrik growled in a low threatening tone.

"Don't mind him, he's just had a bad day." Jackaboy-Man cut in, glaring at the German.

"O-okay." Dark replied uncertainly.

They ate their lunches and talked until they had recess, going outside and playing tag with each other while Anti and Xilef played on the swings.

Neither Dark nor Anti noticed the glances they occasionally shot each other when the other wasn't looking.

"Hey A-Anti, do yo-ou think I c-could come over?" Dark asked hopefully as they boarded the bus to go home, Xilef out of earshot since he was already seated.

"Sorry, Xilef's coming over for dinner." Anti states apologetically.

"Oh, o-okay." Dark replies with forced cheer as he took his seat, wishing him and Jack shared a bus.

As soon as Dark got home, he locked himself in his room and cried himself to sleep, wondering if making Anti jealous was a good plan to win him back.