Chapter Text
Pedro sat at his desk chatting with Ken as usual, ignoring the teachers and laughing at someone saying the answer is C from Cristiano Ronaldo. He looks from side to side like someone watching a tennis match, as pieces of cookie, gum, and other food fly past his nose and over his head. He never saw the appeal of wasting food while they could be eating it, but he laughs anyway as he nimbly dodges an open glue stick. It must be funny if everyone is laughing. Meanwhile, the teacher watches dumbfounded, wondering if this was really a 12th-grade class.
Once the bell rings and the teacher is leaving the classroom, sighing in disappointment, Ken gets up to head out into the hallway, but Isaac interrupts him midway. Pedro watches them from his seat, curious. Everyone at school knows Isaac is gay and does not waste his words, so he wonders if he's trying to flirt with Ken. It wouldn't surprise him either; he's the most handsome guy in his class, or even the entire year, he'd dare say. He can't hear what they're talking about from his seat, but he can see a smile on Ken's lips that somehow bothers him.
This situation begins to repeat itself more and more often: Isaac flirting with Ken while Pedro watches uncomfortably from his chair. There’s something about all this that he does not like at all, and he’s not sure if it’s the fact that Isaac is trying to flirt with a straight man or the fact that Ken turns out to be not so straight.
One of these times, he watched for six minutes as they shook hands. They stared into each other's eyes, trying not to laugh, and clenched each other's hands firmly. He could see the tension in Ken's muscular arm. It couldn't be a coincidence. This had to be Isaac's plan to get to see Ken's toned biceps. He hates watching his friend being played with like that, although Ken doesn't seem to mind Isaac’s stare that much. He's never been bothered by the attention, but this is different; he's playing along, almost as if he's flirting back. In the end, it must be true. As time goes by, his suspicions become deeper and deeper. He has no proof but no doubts. He's certain his friend is gay.
It's not that Pedro is homophobic—quite the opposite, in fact—so knowing Ken is on his team relieves him. He has no intention of coming out; he doesn't consider it a possibility, but he finds a certain comfort in knowing his best friend wouldn't judge him if he did.
The days go by, and Pedro feels the bond with his best friend grow stronger as they spend more and more time together. Although this may be forced by his own desire to be with him. Whenever Ken gets up, Pedro follows him closely, trying to be discreet so he doesn't notice how much he demands his attention. Only an idiot would miss the way he follows Ken everywhere like a shadow, but luckily, he is surrounded by idiots, so he still manages to keep Ken from noticing.
He wants to ask him what's going on with Isaac, but he's afraid it's just his brain playing tricks on him, so he lets it go. He ignores it when Ken shows him photos of them together at the beach or their conversations on Instagram. But he's not the only one starting to wonder; the rest of his friends have already been commenting, and Ken claims he's not flirting with Isaac every time.
Pedro hates rumors, especially knowing his classmates the way he does, so when he hears the weirdo group in class saying that Ken and Isaac would make a great couple, his hair stands on end. He knows they're not just saying it to make fun of him, but if the gossip reaches his own friends... that’d be a completely different story. He's been hearing homophobic comments from all of them for years, and the last thing he wants is for Ken to have to suffer because of it. If he can stop this from spreading, he will.
He takes advantage of the hours when a teacher is absent to sit next to him, takes out his cell phone without fear of it being taken away by any teacher passing by in the hallway, and entertains him with videos and games so he doesn't get bored and go and talk to the others. It's not that he wants him all to himself. He swears to himself that he's only doing it for Ken, but deep down that's exactly what he wants.
Ken's big hands tap the screen, which occupies all of his attention, but not Pedro's. He's absorbed in the curious expressions he makes as he plays; they're much funnier than whatever he's doing. Unfortunately, he loses that sight when his friend snatches the phone from his hands and focuses him on it to take some pictures.
"What are you doing?" Pedro quickly turns around to retrieve his phone; he has some things on there he wouldn't want to be revealed.
"Stay still," Ken orders, grabbing his wrist to prevent him from reaching for what’s his.
Pedro then understands what is happening, calms down, and simply obeys. After getting one with a genuine smile, he switches to the front camera and starts taking selfies, filling up his gallery with photos of himself. At least this way, Pedro can review it when he gets home and see all the funny faces he's managed to capture.
While he's doing this, Alfredo, another friend from the group, arrives, snatches Ken's phone, and runs to the other side of the classroom. This triggers a long chase. At some point, Pedro forgets that the phone they're fighting over is his. He entertains himself watching them run around the classroom, sitting calmly on Ken's desk.
Alfredo runs away clumsily, tripping over chairs, tables, and colleagues in his path, while Ken pushes them out of the way before colliding with them. And not only that, Pedro admires how he can knock a table and chair down onto the floor with a single push as if it were so easy. He's always amazed at his ability to build muscle. Ken seems to be surprised too, because he stops for a moment to see the result of his strength before continuing the chase.
As expected, Ken catches up to Alfredo and retrieves his best friend's phone after a brief struggle. By the time he gets around to returning it, the bell has already rung.
“What subject do we have now?” Pedro asks, putting his phone back in his pocket.
“English.”
“Damn, man, we have to do that poet’s project. Should we meet this afternoon and get it over with?”
“Can we meet at your house? But we'll have to ask Alfredo.”
“Okay. Hey! Alfredo! We have to do this English shit. Can you do it this afternoon?”
Alfredo approaches as Pedro speaks and stands in front of them. “Nah, man, I can't make it this afternoon. I have a date with Noemí. Tell me what I have to do, and I'll send you the info tonight.”
Ken looks at Pedro and back at Alfredo before answering. “It’s fine, I think we can manage.”
“Sick! Text me whatever you need, and I’ll see it once I get home.” He walks away and joins the rest of the boys in the class to keep joking around with a laugh that makes his prominent front teeth very noticeable.
“You and me then…” Ken watches as Alfredo walks away. “I don't know how he always gets away with it.”
Pedro clears his throat. “Yeah, right…”
Ken looks him up and down. Pedro's ears turn pink with the sudden attention. "What?"
"You're sitting on my desk. Where am I gonna put my tablet if your ass is over there?"
"Damn, man, I don’t wanna move. I'm really comfortable here, ya’know?" Pedro isn't one to respond with barbs and sarcasm; only Ken has the privilege of seeing that ironic side of him, and he really enjoys forcing it out.
"You're not going to sit down in your chair willingly, are you?"
"What are you going to do? Are you going to take me away by force?"
Pedro spoke between laughs, but he fell completely silent when he saw the look in his friend's eyes. He has a mischievous smile and was looking him straight in the eye.
Something in Pedro's chest feels strange. From his experience, he'd say it's an anxiety attack, but there's something different about it: his face is burning. He tries to maintain his sarcastic smile as he reaches for his shirt to press it against his chest, pretending to adjust his clothes. All discretion disappears when he feels one of Ken's strong arms lifting him below the knees and the other around the small of his back until he's completely under his control.
He's a thin person, and he's aware of it, but he can't help but be amazed when Ken lifts him up as if he weighs nothing. He can feel his muscles flexing to support him, he can feel the warmth of his chest against his arm, and he can sense how far he is from the ground. It's the first time someone other than his mother has held him, and it's been many years since that happened. His breathing quickens, but it's not from the adrenaline. He should be afraid of falling to the ground, but he feels strangely safe in his arms; he could get used to it even with the growing ache inside his chest. The amount of unexpected emotions becomes overwhelming in the best way possible, but it's all over faster than he'd have wanted.
His best friend gently placed him on the floor and sat down in his spot. Pedro pauses for a second, processing what just happened, what he just felt. It's imperceptible to others, but for his brain, which has just been flooded with dopamine, oxytocin, endorphins, and norepinephrine, it's more than enough time to understand that he's falling in love with his best friend.
When the teacher walks through the door, he's already getting up to sit in his spot. He's a little stumped for the rest of the morning, but it's nothing unusual on him.