Chapter Text
"Come on, Che. This art class is gonna be so.. lame and slow. I could just ditch it and avoid it!" The jock, Octavio Silva, groaned and shook his head, "Don't give me that look. I just.. I don't wanna go in there. What if the team finds out I'm in some stupid art class?"
Ajay laughed, shaking her head as she twiddled with her drumsticks, bouncing her head slightly to an imaginary beat, "You'll be fine, Silva. Just think of this as a way for you for chill out. Slow down, ya hear?"
"Me? Slow down? Pfft!" The jock laughed, shaking his head again as he sighed, "Look. If I don't like this class, or if one of the boys find out, I'm dropping it. Capeesh?"
"Whatever you say. But something tells me you'll enjoy it," she waved him off, walking away with a hum as she left Octavio alone. He watched her go before glancing into the art room of the university, sighing as he took his steps into the room.
It was brightly colored, paint splattered onto the white walls. Different colored handprints from the first classes scattered the wall, too. It almost made the jock grin. It looked fun in here. And the art teacher looked fun, too. Colorful outfit, a paint covered apron. Maybe this class wouldn't be so bad. Assigned seats didn't exactly exist, so that wasn't something he needed to worry about. With that in mind, he moved to take his seat next to a young man with black hair and glasses. He looked quiet, but Octavio could change that. At least he thought so.
"Hey. You're an artist, too?" Octavio glanced to the one who he sat next two, his eyes watching as the Korean continued sketching in his sketchbook, "..Obviamente, this is an art class. What I meant to say was-"
"You're loud," the black haired student spoke, his voice quiet yet slightly rough, "You're a first year here. I can tell. Just.. be quiet. I don't want to hear stupid questions."
"Stupid questions?! I was just-!"
"See, like that," the other looked up from his book just as the bell rang and the two met eyes. The Korean couldn't help but laugh just a bit as the other pouted and crossed his arms, grabbing his bag and putting it on the table afterwards, "You should probably put that on the back of the chair. It tends to get.. messy in this class. A jock like you might actually enjoy it." He went back to sketching as Octavio raised a brow and set his stuff back on his chair after pulling out his own sketchbook. Though, unlike the "art nerd" he sat next to, his was full of blueprints. Blueprints for jump pads and gadets and maybe a few self sketches of him in cool outfits here and there. But still.
The first assignment was a partner assignment. Each partner is to pick one thing they're good at artistically and combine the two together. Octavio glanced to the Korean, the two meeting eyes again and the black haired man giving a weary nod. They had a week. Octavio figured that this project would determine if he stays in the class or not. There weren't any limitations, so graffiti was on the table. That idea only made him smile.
"Do.. you already have an idea? I'm assuming you just want to take the reigns, so-"
"I have an idea for my part. It's a group project, nerd. You're gonna help too," he laughed a bit before turning to a blank page and starting to doodle, "I saw that symbol thing in your book. We should incorporate that shit. Shit looked cool."
"You.. think it looked cool?" The other's cheeks flushed red as he glanced away, looking back into the sketchbook and looking at the symbol he drew. He called it "Crypto."
"Hells yeah! It's badass," he giggled before sketching up the name "Octane" in a graffiti font with a half assed replica of the other's symbol, "We need to find somewhere to spray paint. And we can leave room for whatever else you want to add to it."
The Korean frowned a bit, moving a hand behind his head as he sighed, "You're sure graffiti is a good idea? What if.. what if we get in trouble?"
"Pfft. Trouble. That's, like, my middle name. As long as we do it on something we can't get 'in trouble' for, we'll be fine. So concerned," Octavio laughed a bit, shaking his head as he continued on with the sketch, glancing to the page every so often to get a more accurate representation of the Korean's drawing of his "Crypto." While doing so, he began to talk again, "I never got a name from you. Mine's Octavio. But my friends call me Tavi. Or Silva. That's my last name."
"Silva.. Like Silva Pharmaceuticals?" The Korean watched the other nod. He nodded in return before sighing and glancing to the sketch that Tavi did, "My name's Tae Joon. Tae works, too." He brought his pencil from his sketchbook to the others and began to sketch on some flowers around "Octane," having them droop down and look like it was injected with some sort of green substance, "You.. don't act like your father. He's stuck up. He's.. a prick. You're not. Why?"
"Huh?" Octavio turned to look at him, tilting his head as he continued on, "My padre is a horrible man. I have sworn up and down never to be like him."
Before Tae could open his mouth to speak, the teacher spoke. It was almost time to go. Such a short class. It, in reality, was almost two hours long. But the two had been so absorbed in their conversation that time went by quickly. Octavio looked at the other as Tae sighed and went to pack his sketchbook away, "Well, it was nice to meet you. Sit with me next time?"
"Of course! You're pretty cool. Plus, you're my partner now. We still gotta figure out what you're bringing to the table," Tae went to open his mouth again but the bell rang and Octavio was quicky shoving things away, "Gotta go, practice starts early today. But," he pulled his phone out, holding it out to Tae and smiling, "give me your number so we can talk more. This project is gonna take a lot of dedication, especially if this is only a once a week class. We'll have to meet up when class isn't in session."
"Oh.. right," he gave a bashful smile before putting his number into the phone and giving it back to Octavio before he ran off. Tae stayed in place, smiling softly as he grabbed his bag and glanced to the teacher. They were close, this teacher knew that this was a good idea. There was a reason why the assignment was a partner assignment.
~~~~~
Out of breath, Octavio rushed to Ajay's car and got into the passenger seat, letting out a huff as he shook his head, "I so wish we could use stims. That would help so much with getting here faster."
"But that could damage ya, that wouldn't be any good," she laughed, starting to drive to the apartment the two shared. Thanks to both their parents having money, they didn't have to live in a dorm. They also didn't get much of a choice in the matter, "Sooo.. that art class."
"It'll go well, I think. My partner for this art project is lindo como la mierda. I'm kinda glad you forced me to go today," he smiled, glancing out the window before going into the glovebox to grab deodorant and apply it, "We'll likely be meeting up a bunch over this week, since I gotta do this project outside of class."
"Well, what's the project?"
"Graffiti. We've decided."
Ajay wasn't happy with that answer and was more so upset that Octavio was willing to risk not only himself getting in trouble, but some total stranger, too. Though, Octavio assured several times that things would be fine. But the rest of the ride was silent. It was a short ride, which was nice, but it was still so awkward. When they got to the apartment, it was still quiet. Still. They both did their own thing. Of course, that was until Octavio spoke up again, "His name is Tae Joon, if you were wondering."
"Tae Joon.. he sounds cute. Congrats. Now, I gotta study. I have my first exam within the week. I hate this damn professor, Silva. I shoulda taken that art class, too. I don't even need this class, it was just one I thought was cool," she sighed before going into her room, shutting the door and leaving Octavio alone in the kitchen.
"..Night, Che."