s y z y g y ★ o r i g i n a l

c h a p t e r o n e ⭑ m i n o r u

published: 22:33 december 11, 2019

word count: 1405

author's note: finally, ray. you posted the first chapter. enjoy! please leave constructive criticism, since this story is taking a slightly different direction than I had originally planned :p

credit for image in external link

october 16, 2019

His essay fluttered off the desk when a stray breeze caught the corners of the pages. The open window to the right of him was insistent on further scrambling the stack of haphazard papers, but Minoru simply couldn't close the shutter on such a beautiful night. After hastily putting his assignments in a folder, he slipped on a cardigan and grabbed the backpack laying open on the unmade bed. On a second thought, he also picked up a novel he was halfway through and shoved it into an open pouch.

"Okaa-san, I'm going for a walk." With a smile, she told him to stay safe as she handed him a flask of oolong to put in the bottle holder of his bag. She had a tendency to brew a little extra when she knew her son was going to go out after finishing all his homework, even if Minoru never told her outright.

He kissed her cheek and told his mother he'd be back in an hour or so before shutting the screen door gently behind him. A lone robin sang in the distance.

His mother probably had fabricated a story to explain why Minoru went out nearly every night. If he had to make a guess, it would be along the lines of visiting a secret lover he wasn't ready to introduce to his family yet. Maybe Minoru was dating a soft-spoken girl content with them merely sitting in silence and holding hands, or a bookish boy who he might have met in the school library where he ate lunch in instead of the crowded cafeteria.

Oh, how he wished either of those things were true if it had the chance of making his mother realize he was actually happy being alone. If he had to hear her sigh one more time about how he didn't have a proper social life or do anything a regular teenager would do, Minoru might just lose it.

The walk to the dock morphed slowly into a jog as he burned off all the tension from the day. All the pressure of making deadlines and studying could just fall away until Minoru's mind was clear and empty for once. His only intent was watching the ground in front of him until it opened up to a clearing by the lake. A small, wooden dock stretched from the grassy shore to a couple feet above the lake's surface, and he could finally smile.

Minoru stopped at the edge of the dock, staring into the reflection of the water below him as he set down his bag and folded his legs. He unzipped the bag to take out the novel he grabbed at the last minute, opening it to the place he had dog-eared where he left off. Minoru opened the flask of oolong and poured some into the cap, then lifted it up to his lips while focusing on the page in front of him.

He had only gotten a few pages further when a branch cracked behind the gravel that blended into the forest. Minoru snapped his eyes toward the sound, praying it was just a deer. He set down his book and turned further to see whatever was coming in his direction. A mass of shaggy fur clambered out into the light of the clearing, his snout pressed deep into the ground below. Suddenly, the head jerked up to stare straight into Minoru's eyes for one painstakingly long second before charging through the grass in the direction of the dock.

"Sirius! Your dumbfucking ass better get back here or so help me-" An intruder crashed through the woods, making enough sound to catch the attention of the dog who had now perked up to see his supposed owner. Sirius' human stumbled into the luminance of the moon's reflected rays. He looked familiar, and probably was one of Minoru's classmates. In a small enough town like Ludington, almost everyone knew each other - that is, if they cared enough to remember names.

Minoru was one of the people who did not care enough, though he wished he could've given a little bit of attention to this cute as shit boy he somehow never noticed.

His skin was tinted rose by the cold, and umber tangles more unruly than the dog's fur masked a portion of his face. The stranger brushed a stubborn wisp away as he rushed to get a grasp on the dog's collar. "Oh, hey there."

"Hey," He replied quietly.

"What was that?"

"I said hey," Minoru's tone was a lot more sarcastic this time.

"Oh, well the name's Lior," He grinned happily like he didn't even notice how apprehensive Minoru was while petting the dog that had returned to his side. "I'm new here, but I think we go to the same school since the town's so fucking small." He walked over with the dog bounding ahead, each footstep echoing on the wood below. "I think I've seen you before, do we have any morning classes together?" Minoru finally connected the dots on why Lior looked so familiar.

"We have first hour Lit together. You're the only one who isn't half asleep when Mrs. Payne takes attendance."

"That I am. I don't believe in being a morning or night person," Lior smiled. "I'd like to believe I'm this charming 24/7. So, can I put a name to this beautiful stranger?"

The boy rolled his eyes. "It's Minoru." Sirius matched the steps of Lior walking down the talk, coming closer to the spot he was sitting in. He couldn't help but ruffle the dog's furry head when Sirius stopped to the right side of him while Lior sat down on the left.

"What are you doing out here all by yourself?" He seemed hellbent on disturbing the silence more than he already had.

Minoru decided to humor him further. After all, it wouldn't hurt to see if he could decipher more aspects of Lior's character and see if there was more to him than the fuckboy aura he seemed to radiate.

"Getting away from people."

"Wow, harsh." Lior unlaced his dirty converse and rolled up his worn jeans, then swung his legs off the edge into the water that must be freezing this time of year. He finally seemed to understand that he needed to be quiet for a while, so Minoru finally picked up where he left off on his book and simply continued while Lior disturbed the water's surface by moving his feet.

They sat like that for sometime, in silence except for Sirius sometimes insisting to be pet. Unsurprisingly, Lior was the one who broke the quiet with another question.

"What's so bad about people that you want to get away from them?" He seemed genuinely curious, and even turned to face Minoru across the dog who had laid his head in his lap.

"Why the hell would I tell you?"

Lior looked hurt as he quietly lifted his legs out of the water after what seemed like hours - no, it could have only been a few minutes - later. He pat down his feet with a towel he had in his hoodie before sliding the mismatched socks Lior had stuffed into his shoes on. Minoru almost felt bad for snapping at someone he just met, but Lior was back to himself in a few seconds.

"I'll figure out the answer to that eventually, mark my words Minoru. So, will we meet again here or will I have to settle for catching you outside of Mrs. Payne's classroom?" Lior quickly laced his shoelaces and stood up abruptly. The other boy sighed and continued to observe the heavens above.

"I'm here whenever I can, I guess," Minoru answered without thinking, but Lior flushed and was still smiling until suddenly he started to dig through his pockets.

"Give me a sec, alright?" Lior muttered and pulled out a short receipt and a dull pencil. He crouched down and etched something into the paper as hard as he could, then handed the paper to Minoru. "Please send me the homework, I completely forgot to copy it down."