Conceal || ItsFunneh AU

11 | revealed

I rush to the washroom early the next morning, looking at myself in the mirror before doing anything else.

I promise I'm not as conceited as I sound; this has become my routine ever since that strand of teal hair emerged. Other strands have joined it over the following weeks, and now, the bottom layer of my hair is all teal.

My family has already noticed my teal hair—which, of course they have—and I'd lied and said I fell asleep in the art room in a tub of teal paint. Draco and Gold gave me appraising looks, but my siblings seem to have accepted it.

Flipping my hair to the other side, I squint at the tips of my ears. They're almost as chiseled as a statue, the tips slowly arching out like an eagle's wings.

My panicked eyes reflect back, and I take a small relief in knowing that at least my eyes are still dark brown. I spray some hairspray and ruffle my hair, puffing it out as much as I can so that the two pointy ears are covered.

A knock comes and I open it to find a yawning Funneh.

"Hey, you're up early." I comment, glancing at the clock on the wall. 6:45 am.

"I couldn't sleep," Funneh rubs her eyes, and I see the dark circles under them.

"Did you sleep at all?"

"I tried."

I frown. "Is something wrong?"

Funneh sighs. "Physics. There's a unit test today, and I'm not ready. Rainbow's gonna kill me if I flunk this one," she says with a groan.

My sister may act like she doesn't care about her grades, but I know, deep down, that she does. And she wants to make Rainbow proud.

I give her a sympathetic pat on the shoulder. "She knows you're trying your best, it's okay."

"But that's the problem; I know I can do better. But..." she heaves a sigh, "I just can't make myself study. The textbook is so boring, and the words all blur together after a while."

"Maybe get yourself a study buddy. Cal—I know a friend who does that. And it seems to work." I decide to omit the part where the grades stay the same.

Funneh raises her eyebrows. "That's... not a bad idea, actually."

"Maybe you can ask Alec," I nudge her with my elbow. "I heard he's good at physics."

Funneh snorts, but she's smiling. "Okay, okay, enough of your advice. What's for breakfast?"

I walk ahead of Funneh on our way to art class, throwing frequent glances over my shoulder to make sure Funneh hasn't walked into anything. Her head is buried in a thick physics textbook, and she's muttering to herself, trying to remember the formulas.

"Omph!" I wasn't looking ahead of me and bumped into something—or rather, someone. A hand grabs my elbow before I can fall on the ground, and I look up to see an all-too-familiar face.

"Are you normally this clumsy?" Calix asks, one side of his mouth lifting up in a smirk. His eyes leave my face to look at something to the side of it, and one brow raises. "Did you dye your hair?"

Oh, crap.

I snatch my elbow back and lift the hood of my sweatshirt, big enough to cover my entire head. "Um, yeah. It was a fail, and now my hair looks like that."

Something sharp knocks into my spine, sending me falling forward, right into Calix's chest. Against my better judgement, I take a breath. His scent reminds me of a sunny afternoon, warm and comforting.

I jerk back. Turning around, I see Funneh's surprised face, the textbook still in her hands. "Sorry!" She exclaims, giving me a guilty smile. Then, to Calix, she says. "You're early!"