Chapter Text
“Just confess!”
That was all Kaveh had heard these past few weeks.
On the internet. From his horribly teasing friends. From the little persistent voice in his own head whenever he looked at his stupidly smart junior.
Go for it!
You’ll feel better once you confess!
He for sure likes you too!
Closure is better than never knowing!
Lies.
All lies.
Because Kaveh had just been rejected.
And it did not feel better at all.
“I like you. Romantically.”
Silence.
The heart-racing, skin-crawling kind that made Kaveh want to bury himself under soil until graduation.
Across from him, Alhaitham only blinked. He stopped drinking from the juice box Kaveh had gotten for him. Sat still on the school rooftop. A slight furrow appearing between his brows.
He stared.
And stared.
And stared.
Kaveh had been clear. No poetic wording—Alhaitham wouldn’t have appreciated that anyway—no room for misunderstandings, no room for miscommunication.
So Alhaitham taking so long to answer was frankly irritating and bundling his nerves into barbed wire.
“Say something!”
“I don’t see you that way,” Alhaitham replied flatly.
Wow. Wow.
So straightforward. So concise. Zero social etiquette.
Kaveh almost reeled at the sheer lack of decorum!
Alhaitham took another sip of his juice and continued, “And a relationship would be an inefficient use of our schedule.”
Kaveh’s jaw dropped. “Oh, you absolute menace—!”
The heartbreak hadn’t even had time to sink in yet. No. Just pure, unadulterated offense because what kind of rejection was that?
It was baffling, too, because Alhaitham certainly didn’t treat him like anyone else. People pointed it out all the time.
Look, that junior’s following you again!
Kaveh, why is that boy outside your class again?
Your shadow told me to tell you he’ll see you at 2pm. Oooh, for what?
Study sessions. Obviously. They were only in high school!
And Alhaitham studied with no one else. He always kept a seat for Kaveh. Always listened to his spiels patiently. Always happily accepted Kaveh’s snacks and drinks and lunches. They even walked home together.
Alhaitham didn’t even spend time with his own classmates!
So of course, inevitably, when the heartbreak did settle in, Kaveh fled the rooftop. Skipped their evening studying. Marched to Tighnari’s house. Made a dent in his couch and complained all about his perplexing, disrespectful junior.
Kaveh cried too.
But Tighnari wouldn’t tell anyone.
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
why is alhaitham on the roof
Tighnari @actual_leader:
what roof?? like about to jump??
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
no he’s lying down flat like a starfish on the cement and just staring at the sky
Star_Airbnb @star_villas:
🔗 StarFish Rooftop Villa, 2Bedroom, 1.5 Bathroom with View. 3 NIGHTS PROMO.
Aether @traveler_02:
Phew. Way to go scaring everyone, Cyno.
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
he has been there for the past hour. the sun is directly above him. i don’t know if this is healthy.
Tighnari @actual_leader:
kaveh says he does that when he needs to think, don’t worry about it.
The normal thing people do after a soul-crushing rejection is to nurse their heart. Eat comfort food. Watch mind-numbing movies. Surround themselves with friends.
And, above all else, they avoid the direct source of their suffering.
Kaveh couldn’t even do that.
Because exactly two days after rejecting him, Alhaitham walked up to his lunch table, as though nothing was wrong at all, and asked if they were still meeting for their study session later.
A study session!
Two days after rejecting him!
Kaveh nearly choked on his plate of rice.
“Well, you skipped yesterday’s session. And yesterday’s lunch,” Alhaitham explained easily, clutching his books against his chest like a diligent little honor student. “I do not wish to wait uselessly.”
Kaveh choosing to have lunch with his classmates instead of the person who’d called his feelings inefficient was entirely appropriate, wasn’t it?
Wouldn’t a normal human being understand the concept of space?!
“Don’t wait then,” Kaveh mumbled, refusing to lift his eyes from his food.
“We need to review the partial derivatives for chapter four.”
“Why is a sophomore learning partial derivatives?” someone two seats down whispered.
Kaveh just wanted to know why the said sophomore was standing beside him like an abandoned cat demanding visitation rights.
“Missing chapter four will only make the transition to five and six unnecessarily harder,” Alhaitham added, confident, as if it were already decided. “I suggest 2pm as usual.”
Kaveh rubbed his face.
Confused. Blindsided.
So much so that he nodded and agreed to meet Alhaitham later after school.
“Your junior is kind of scary, Kaveh.”
“Tell me about it.”
stranger @nooneuknow:
are there sophomores taking AP calculus in this school?
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
AP Calculus is an advanced course primarily for seniors in accelerated programs; it is not recommended for underclassmen. The prerequisites are strictly enforced. 🎓
stranger @nooneuknow:
ARE THERE any sophomores taking AP calculus in this school?
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
No.
stranger @nooneuknow:
are you very sure
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
if you’re wondering about a grey-haired freak who acts like he’s better than everybody, he does it for fun because he’s pretentious
Tighnari @actual_leader:
“for fun”, they say
Because Kaveh was a mature, responsible person, he kept his word and showed up at the library.
He found Alhaitham tucked away in their regular spot behind the anthropomorphology shelves, buried cutely under a mountain of advanced reading.
He looked up immediately when Kaveh arrived. Straightened. Then gently pushed a pack of highlighters across the table—the ones Kaveh had whined about being out of stock when they were at the store last week.
“They restocked it when I went there last,” Alhaitham said.
What was this? Rejection gifts?
Kaveh refused the urge to run. “Thanks.”
He took a breath. Set down his textbooks. Tried not to seem on edge. Discussed whatever partial derivative section Alhaitham wanted to. Did not speak any more than required.
He was about to leave after they’d finished the topic, when Alhaitham spoke: “We still have vector fields to cover.”
So Kaveh returned the next day.
And the next.
And the next.
Because, unlike Alhaitham, Kaveh possessed a functioning heart that couldn’t just abandon his junior. He already stopped eating lunch with him. He could at least still provide academic triage for whatever Alhaitham’s monstrous brain was focusing on.
Though if he no longer brought snacks or juice boxes… sue Kaveh for being a little petty.
“Did you not understand this part?” Alhaitham asked when Kaveh solved one equation too quickly. “You got it wrong.”
“No. I did it right.”
“You calculated the wrong section here.” Alhaitham tapped the page with the tip of his pencil. Then tilted his head. “Do you not want to study together anymore?”
Annoyed, embarrassed, and furious that he couldn’t keep his composure in a public library, Kaveh let out a sharp sigh. “It’s just one question. Don’t jump to conclusions.”
“It’s three questions. 4, 9 and 11 were wrong too.”
The air conditioning hummed loudly in the silence.
“I must’ve overlooked,” Kaveh said finally, flashing a fake smile.
“You never overlook.”
“I had a long day.”
“I have a feeling you don’t want to be here.”
That was it.
“Well, of course not!” Kaveh slammed his pencil down. Not too loudly, thankfully, since they were in the library. “You rejected me!”
“So what?”
“So what?! How are you sitting there acting like everything’s fine? Isn’t it awkward?”
Alhaitham frowned, a flicker of irritation slipping through his façade. “We can still study together.”
Kaveh gaped at the dizzying stupidity of his logic. “Yeah. Fine. Okay. We’re studying right now, aren’t we?”
“It’s not the same.”
“Well, what do you want me to do, Alhaitham?”
And then—
Quiet enough that maybe Kaveh was never supposed to hear it.
Or maybe he was, since he didn’t have to strain his ears.
Alhaitham muttered, “I wanted you to never say anything.”
Kaveh froze. Heart stuttering. Eyes widening. He stared at the crown of grey hair, who was quietly looking down at the worksheets.
The audacity of him.
The absolute, selfish audacity—
Kaveh’s chair scraped violently against the library floor.
He shoved papers, books, and belongings haphazardly into his bag.
Then stormed out.
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
Normally the pair hogging the anthropomorphology table bicker nonstop, but it’s been quiet these days. I almost thought they weren’t around. It’s weird.
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
Scratch that, they’re at it again. Peace is restored.
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
Actually, they’re arguing quite badly.
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
The blond one just walked out after saying “sorry my feelings inconvenienced you, you robot!” Quite harsh. I guess peace is not restored.
SHS Anthropomorphology Club @SHS_AnthroClub:
does this mean the anthropomorphology table is finally free? 😳
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
alhaitham is on the roof again. so yes, the table is free.
Kaveh started sitting with his classmates full time.
It was the safe, normal thing to do. He was a graduating senior, after all. And it was all too easy for them to feel guilt after learning that he’d been rejected after all their support.
They spoke of future plans. Universities. Entrance exams.
Not the inconsiderate boy who apparently wanted Kaveh to choke on his feelings forever just so he didn’t have to change his precious routine.
But pretending Alhaitham did not exist was harder than he thought it would be.
It required a lot of active, exhausting effort.
Sometimes, Alhaitham would wait outside Kaveh’s classroom after lessons. Either to have lunch together, or to walk back together, or to go to the library together.
Kaveh always knew when he was there, catching the mop of grey hair through the windows.
Usually, he’d be the first one out of the class, draping himself over the younger boy and asking him what he wanted to eat.
This time, he only packed his bag and walked out through the opposite door.
At other times, when Kaveh went to the cafeteria, he had to physically lock his neck in place to keep from watching Alhaitham buy his lunch.
He didn’t even get the juice boxes Kaveh always bought for him!
Maybe he never liked them after all and only drank them to be polite.
SHS Anthropomorphology Club @SHS_AnthroClub:
whoever said the anthropomorphology table is free is a lie!
Tighnari @actual_leader:
he literally said that a week ago?
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
Yeah, the table’s taken today. Only grey-hair though. He’s making weird faces after drinking his juice.
SHS Anthropomorphology Club @SHS_AnthroClub:
this is outrageous! it’s a 10-seater table! we’re tired of being casted aside!
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
Scratch that. It’s free now. Grey-hair gave a sad sigh and left.
Tighnari @actual_leader:
someone check the freaking roof
Your calculus textbook is with me, said the note slipped into Kaveh’s locker.
Written in Alhaitham’s neat, immaculate handwriting.
Kaveh only sniffed, crumpled it up, and threw it away.
He could borrow someone else’s textbook.
“Where are my highlighters?”
“Dunno. Maybe Layla borrowed them?”
“Not me. Try Jazari.”
“Oh, yeah, sorry! I just needed the blue one for—”
Kaveh snatched the highlighter back from Jazari with so much unnecessary force that the plastic snap echoed across the classroom.
Jazari blinked. Then raised his hands nervously.
“…Right. Sorry. I won’t touch them again.”
So what if Kaveh’s eyes still scanned the crowd sometimes to see if Alhaitham was eating fine? So what if he still asked Tighnari and Cyno whether they had hung out with Alhaitham? So what if he accidentally bought too many snacks and juice boxes out of pure habit sometimes?
His classmates were more than happy to finish them off.
Kaveh was doing fine.
He was moving on.
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
where do I go to report grey haired idiots loitering on rooftops? @SumeruHighOfficial
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
You can report suspicious behavior to the school administration! 🏢
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
Friendly reminder that disliking someone does not constitute grounds for reporting them.
Sumeru didn’t rain much, but when it did, it was a relentless downpour.
Right now was one of those downpours.
Kaveh stood at the crowded exit after the final bell, surrounded by students pulling out umbrellas and the chatter of who was hitching a ride with whom.
But it was like he had a built-in Alhaitham-radar.
Even through the dense crowd, Kaveh’s eyes instantly found him.
Alhaitham was casually adjusting his schoolbag over his shoulder. Looking fully prepared to walk home in the rain like a stubborn idiot with the self-preservation instincts of a rock.
Kaveh sighed so deep it probably took years off his life.
He walked over. Shoved his umbrella into Alhaitham’s hands.
“Keep a spare in your locker next time,” Kaveh barked.
Alhaitham blinked. Then, without a word, he opened the umbrella over both of them.
They were literally still under the school roof.
“We can walk together,” Alhaitham said quickly, shifting the umbrella so it covered more of Kaveh than himself. “Like always. It would be more efficient.”
A wrecking ball smacked into Kaveh’s heart. Always about efficiency.
“It’s okay. I’m sharing a ride with someone,” Kaveh lied, stepping away. “Keep it.”
“Kaveh—”
He didn’t listen. Just turned and ran toward a classmate’s car. Prayed someone would take pity on him and at least abandon him at a bus stop.
When his classmate’s vehicle pulled out of the school lot, Kaveh looked back at his junior.
Still inside.
Still unmoving beneath the too-bright umbrella.
Tighnari @actual_leader:
hi school, is there any chance you could check the cctvs and confirm there is NOT a grey blob on the roof in this storming weather?
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
Yes. He is lying down in a steadily growing puddle!
Tighnari @actual_leader:
god damn it
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
i told you.
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
Worry not - he has an umbrella covering his face! ☂️
Then one day—
Kaveh was wrapping up his lunch, debating various university faculties with his classmates, waving to Tighnari, who’d just started his recess block, when someone nudged his shoulder.
“Hey, Kaveh. Your shadow’s coming.”
Kaveh looked up. Immediately wished he hadn’t.
Alhaitham was marching toward them. Posture rigid. Brows furrowed. Bag held tight. Face absurdly determined. Looking wholly like a tax auditor sent by destiny.
Kaveh looked away, stomach flipping unpleasantly.
“Kaveh,” came Alhaitham’s voice from the edge of the table.
“Hi, Alhaitham,” Kaveh said, keeping his tone as light and dismissive as possible. “Sorry, I’m kind of busy right now.”
“I need to speak to you—”
“Come on, kid,” one of Kaveh’s classmates interrupted. “The junior block is that way. Go play there.”
Kaveh’s eyes snapped to one of the classmates who had encouraged him to confess. Regardless of any shared guilt, his words were uncalled for. Kaveh threw him a harsh, warning glare to stop.
The guy only shrugged, continuing to block Alhaitham by waving his hands in the air like he was a blocker on a volleyball team.
Alhaitham didn’t even argue. Just stood there shamelessly.
“I’d like to speak with Kaveh,” he reiterated.
“And I’d like to speak with the president,” the classmate scoffed, “but we don’t always get what we want, right?”
“Speaking to the president is statistically more unlikely than speaking to Kaveh.”
“Actually, they’re identical. Zero. Because Kaveh doesn’t want to speak to you, so bye.”
“Kaveh can tell me that himself.”
“Man, you deaf or something? Don’t know the meaning of N-O?”
“Hey, back off!” Kaveh shouted to the guy, jabbing a finger into his shoulder, chest flaring with defensive anger at anyone actually being mean to Alhaitham. “Just let me handle it.”
The classmate rolled his eyes and grabbed Kaveh’s wrists to make him stop. Yet before he could even open his mouth again—
He was shoved off the bench.
Like absolutely Newton-approved brute-force physics pushed off the bench!
The guy hit the linoleum floor with a massive, echoing THUD.
Silence instantly blanketed the area.
Alhaitham stood over the fallen senior. Hands half extended. Frowning. Not looking at all surprised or remorseful by what he’d done in the very public cafeteria.
Kaveh gasped. “Alhaitham—”
“You little piece of shit!”
His classmate scrambled up and launched himself at the younger boy.
And everything immediately became terrible.
Not cool terrible.
Awkward teenage terrible.
Without a doubt, the least cinematic fight in the history of Sumeru High School.
Wild swinging. Terrible footwork. Uncoordinated flailing.
Kaveh was trying to grab Alhaitham’s blazer to pull him out of the fray.
Tighnari was already recording the disaster.
Scaramouche was clapping like he paid admission. “Ooh, right hook!”
The rest of the cafeteria was cheering FIGHT! FIGHT! FIGHT! like this was a C-tier high school movie.
Was anyone fetching a teacher? No one knew.
Tighnari @actual_leader:
breaking news! alhaithams first fist fight! in his LIFE probably! weirdly proud.
🎥 [0:16 seconds of two teenagers brawling pathetically]
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
this is bigger news than kaveh's graduation.
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
worst fight ever 2/10
📷 [Attached: A blurry screenshot of two blobs wrestling on the floor]
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
zero aura
📷 [Attached: A blurry screenshot of a grey-hair blob getting clipped in the face]
Tighnari @actual_leader:
[This post was removed]
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
what happened to the video, it was almost at 1k views??
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
not blondie thinking he can scare us into deleting our tweets because its evidence. Like I’m scared of that guy.
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
Scara’s room is C-4-19.
Tighnari @actual_leader:
kaveh says thanks!
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
THE HELL YOU DOXXING ME FOR
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
[This post was removed]
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
[This post was removed]
The school infirmary was too quiet.
Just the rustle of cloth.
The damp crinkle of a bag of frozen peas.
The occasional hiss of pain.
And, unfortunately for Alhaitham, an unstoppable lecture.
“Are you completely insane?! You have a pristine academic record!”
Alhaitham rolled his eyes. Then immediately winced when Kaveh pressed the peas harder against his cheek.
“Don’t give me that look,” Kaveh scoffed. “What were you even thinking? Why would you start fighting someone unprovoked?! That’s so stupid!”
Alhaitham sat stiffly on the infirmary cot. Then, muffled through the frozen vegetables, came a low, stubborn murmur:
“You wouldn’t speak to me.”
Kaveh stared at Alhaitham, who was looking everywhere except at him. His junior was practically sulking—dark brows knitted together, mouth pursed into a tight line, looking like an annoyed, battered cat.
Then Kaveh laughed. Helpless. Unthinking.
Because what else was he to do with that answer?
It was simultaneously the dumbest and most devastating thing he’d ever heard.
“You’re ridiculous,” Kaveh said, tone softening as he pulled the ice pack away to inspect the damage. “You didn’t have to start a fight to get my attention.”
“I did, actually.”
Kaveh snorted. Tilted Alhaitham’s chin up gently. Carefully scanned his jaw, chin, lips for any split skin or bleeding.
“You’re going to swell. It’s going to hurt.”
“I noticed.”
“At least you’re not bleeding.”
“You should see the other guy,” Alhaitham muttered.
Kaveh gave another laugh. Bright. Genuine. He caught the tiny upward curl at the corner of Alhaitham’s uninjured lips, and his heart did a dangerous little thud.
Silence settled again, comfortable and warm.
“I’m sorry,” Kaveh murmured then. “I was pretty unfair to you, huh?”
Alhaitham’s eyebrow quirked up in question.
“I didn’t mean to ice you out. I was just… embarrassed. And hurt. And I took it out on you.” Kaveh sighed, using his thumb to gently brush a few droplets of icy condensation off Alhaitham’s cheek. “Now your face is all bruised.”
Alhaitham stared at him, gaze unreadable. He shook his head lightly, shifting his weight on the cot.
“Kaveh, about what you said that day…”
“Oh, don’t worry about it!” Kaveh interrupted quickly, waving a hand in the air. “I’m over it.”
“…Over it?”
“Mhm. Guess time really is all you need to move on,” he said, smiling a practiced smile, leaning back on the cot. “Let’s go back to friends, hm? That is, if you can forgive me for being dramatic and ignoring you these past weeks.”
Alhaitham didn’t answer.
There was a slight furrow in his brows. Barely there. Like he’d found a piece of information that contradicted him.
But after a long pause, he gave a slow nod.
Kaveh beamed in relief and grabbed Alhaitham’s hands. “Great! You haven’t had lunch, right? You want to go now? Your senior will treat you to a proper meal.”
“It’s class time.”
“Oh, please. You already punched someone today. What’s skipping one class?”
“That logic is flawed.”
Kaveh still dragged Alhaitham to the cafeteria, then fussed over how Alhaitham would chew with his injury. Alhaitham, in a display of stubborn toxic masculinity, ate ice cubes to prove a point. Then immediately winced.
Kaveh called him an idiot.
Alhaitham conceded the title without complaint.
And as they walked side-by-side later, Alhaitham sipping on the juice he forced Kaveh to buy for him, everything felt like it had finally fallen back to how it usually was.
Almost everything.
Cyno @tcg_pharaoh:
why is alhaitham starfishing on the roof again
Sethos @sometimes_an_arrow:
I thought he and the blond made up. They shared a sandwich in the library today. The anthromorphology kids were also crying over their table.
Scaramouche @yes_thats_my_name:
maybe the punch to his face broke him
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
Friendly reminder that rooftop access is only from 6AM – 6PM! 🚨
OfficialSumeruHighSchool @SumeruHighOfficial:
And eating in the library is not permitted! 🚨
Tighnari @actual_leader:
we literally have a school PA system for these reminders?? the person you’re targeting doesn’t even have social media.
Star_Airbnb @star_villas:
🔗 Looking for a peaceful rooftop? Stargazing friendly ☂️ StarFish Rooftop Villa, 2Bedroom, 1.5 Bathroom with View. 3 NIGHTS PROMO.
Aether @traveler_02:
Can someone please check on Alhaitham. If they lock the doors, he’ll be stuck out there.