I'm dedicating this chapter to one of my good friends Livvy, she's been so supportive of my story and just a supportive loving person in general. Her birthday was recently and I really wanted to give her something, so this is the best I got. I hope she is happy, healthy, and enjoy's this chapter.

*****

Fern's breathing came in quick bursts, he had to tip his head back and take deep gulps of air before his chest stopped feeling like it'd crack. He tipped his head back and looked at the rest of the boys. They were all sweaty and tired, gel long gone from their hair, and half of them had their shirts off.

Dillian came into his line of view, the peppy smile on his face only irritated Fern.

"Here drink some water you look like you need it." Dillian extended his arm a bottle of water in his hand. Fern licked his chapped lips and put his hand up to decline.

"No....thanks." He panted between each word. He bent over to his bag getting a two liter bottle of water. Somewhere on the label said filled with electrolytes, with a hint of lemon flavor. He wanted to tell Dillian in as few words as possible that he forgot to bring a water, and had to text Anakin on the way to school. Who in turn grabbed the bottle for him on his way out of his house. "Anakin." He said instead and shook the bottle in front of his face.

"Ah." Dillian nodded knowingly and opened his simple bottle of water. He tipped his head back and took chugs of the water, dribbles dripping down the side of his face.

"What did we say about slow sips newbie?" An amused voice said from behind Fern. Fern tilted his head slightly to the left to catch Quinn's face come up from behind him. Dillian choked a bit on the water and brought the bottle away from him nearly throwing it up. Fern rolled his own eyes and opened up his bottle of water, taking small sips like adviced.

"Something something about stomach cramps?" Dillian said with question in his voice. Quinn smiled and nodded, he brought his water bottle to his mouth and used his his teeth to bring the nub out. Fern watched him for a moment, then turned away.

"Don't worry that advice won't matter if you don't make the team." Carson hummed as he walked past them. He squirted water into his mouth and walked past them. Dillan scowled at his receding form. Quinn chuckled a bit at that and gave Dillan a reassuring smile.

"Don't worry he likes scaring people who've never been on the team before." Fern made room on the bench and sat between the bags.

"He's a soccer bag of dicks," Dillian grumbled and slung his drawstring bag behind his back. Fern resisted mentioning that his face made up for it.

"I'd defend him but seeing as he's ditching clean up with me to go flirt with some girls..." Quinn trailed off his eyes moving to the left. Dillian and Fern followed his eyes, they saw Carson on the other side of the field. He was leaned up against the stairwell that lead up to the stairs talking to a group of girls.

"Told yah" Dillian mumbled taking a more controlled sip of his water bottle.

"We'll find out who made it or not by this afternoon anyway right?" Fern said, his throat was finally not overly dry and his breathing calmer. Quinn put his water bottle on the bench and smiled at the both of them.

"I'm sure that both of you are going to get in. I can't wait to see you crush it on the field." Fern nodded, a part of him was still weary of Quinn's over positivity and encouragement.

"Oh? You're not worried about getting on?" Dillian said punching at his shoulder. Quinn smiled and rubbed his shoulder a bit. In half a second his mood changed and his face became serious.

"You know what? You might be right Dillian. Maybe my soccer skills aren't up to par." He put a hand to his face. "Have my skills fallen so far?" He turned to them dramatically. "If I don't see you two at practise on Monday just know..." He extended his arms to them. "It's been a good time." Fern and Dillan looked at him for five seconds. Dillian rolled his eyes and Fern took another sip of water.
"Fern I'll text you the list, I know you're probably going to be studying after school again," Dillian said turning his head slightly catching Fern's eye. Fern nodded mid sip. He paused his sip and put the bottle back down.

"How do you have my number?" He tried his best but his voice still wasn't as loud as it needed to be.

"No no that was me," Quinn said from next to him, closer then he was before.

"Why'd you do that?" Fern furrowed his eyebrows and took another long sip before capping the bottle and setting it down. Quinn shrugged and nudged the empty netted back of soccer balls next to him.

"He's your friend, emergencies happen."

"Emergencies?"

"Yeah, dude emergencies. Like if he see's a really hot girl at a coffee shop and he needs encouragement to go and talk to her." Fern made a face and glanced away looking at the soccer bag. He nudged it over to keep the soccer balls from spilling out.

"I'd just tell him not to stare at her ass noticeably, or say something dumb."

"And how are you supposed to tell him that when he doesn't have your number?"

"But he does."

"Exactly, now help me with putting this stuff in the gym storage." Quinn bent down and slung the empty sack over his shoulder.

"I can't I ha--"

"Absolutely nothing. Anakin already told me that you two aren't tutoring today." Fern looked at him for a second, he wondered when he and Anakin would talk, and why?

"How do you know Anakin?" It was Quinn's turn to give Fern an odd look.

"He's been going to school with us since Middle School. Fern we're Juniors how can you not know everyone in our class by now?" Fern scoffed, he was glad he didn't have his water or he would have choked.

"I thought you were a Senior!" Quinn put his hands to his chest in shock.

"Fern seventh grade, model universe project ring a bell?" Fern blinked his eyes moving beneath his lid in thought. He vaguely remembered not talking much to some kid for a dumb science project, but he never remembered a name.

"That was you? But we failed that." Quinn's eyelid dropped and he crossed his arms.

"Yeah because you didn't want to come to my house and work on it jerk." Quinn pouted a bit and kicked the dirt with his feet. "You didn't want to be friends with me even then, such a cold-hearted person." Fern felt his face heat up again, he awkwardly extended a hand and patted Quinn's shoulder. He was taller then Fern making reaching up a little more awkward.

"Um if it makes you feel any better I don't think I really wanted friends in middle school."

"What would really make me feel better is if you answered my texts more often." He led them towards the field, the soccer equipment was left untouched.

"Yeah but you send them around eleven at night!"

"So?" Quinn scoffed and opened up the bag. Fern bent down and picked up the smaller colored cones, putting them in the bag every stack of five. "Anakin says that you two text in the early mornings. You already see him in the afternoon, can't you devote even a little of your time to our blossoming friendship?" Fern was froze for an answer, he really hadn't been put in this situation before. Was this jealousy? Was Quinn actually mad at him? Fern couldn't be sure, and his tired brain wasn't letting him think properly.

"Uh...sorry?" He said in a quiet tone. He put some more distance between them by retrieving the balls. He heard Quinn laugh, he turned back to see him wiping at his eyes.

"Fern I'm messing with you. You don't have to text me, it'd be cool but I see you at practice anyway. I have other people to text but Anakin brags about your lovely conversations, so maybe I'll start to get jealous."

"Please don't," Fern begged, more for his own sake than for Quinns.

"Fine, but promise me we'll go out sometime. Like for pizza or some shit, just to hang."

"Like....as friends?" Fern said slowly, he didn't want to have to let Quinn down. Especially since he had no experience doing something like that before.

"Yeah of course as friends. We can invite Anakin or even Dillian. We could have a good time."

"Don't you have more interesting friends to talk to?" Fern asked, balancing the last two soccer balls into his hand. He let one slip from his arm. He caught it with his foot, using the side of his foot to bounce into the net successfully. He placed the other one in the regular way.

"Eh, aside from Carson it's really just girls, and sex, and drinking, and parties. Not that any of that isn't awesome, even a little drama to mix it up can be fun. But I kinda want to have a domestic friend group too."

"By domestic do you mean boring?" Fern asked, reaching behind Quinn to take the last two large orange cones. Quinn took a step from him to create a comfortable distance. He set the full bag down and tied it tight.

"No I mean people I can just hang with. Just grab a pizza watch tv, enjoy each other's company. Sometimes that can be better than sex, drinking, girls, and parties put together." Fern didn't exactly understand the logic in that, but he hadn't had much experience in anything socially related so he rather just take Quinn's word for it.

"You never really explained why you were talking to Anakin, even if you did know him in passing." Fern said instead of arguing. He brought the two large rubber cones to his chest and followed Quinn away from the field. They grabbed their bags on the way up.

"We're in a couple honors classes together, he's really smart and helps me sometimes."

"But talking about me doesn't sound like honors student work."

"Oh don't blow yourself up, he was just talking about how he sometimes feels like he's tutoring two people. Me and you." Fern frowned a bit, worry fluttering in his chest.

"Did he say it in a bad way? Was he annoyed? Or did he seem stressed?" Quinn opened his mouth to say something, then closed it with a smirk.

"Why don't you text me later and find out?" He used his foot to open up one of the double doors leading into the school. Fern groaned audibly, making his discontentment known.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes," Quinn said simply, he dropped the bag and grabbed keys from his pocket.

"Fine, but will you answer another question?"

"Depends on what it is and how petty I'm feeling today," Quinn said truthfully, stuffing the bag of soccer stuff into the closet.

"Are people mean to Anakin at all, you know because of..." He gestured to his face. Quinn turned to him, a serious look on his face for once. Fern wasn't exactly sure where that popped up from in his brain, but a part of him knew it had been pressing on his mind.

"The makeup? Not as much as you'd expect. Mostly no one talks about it, or ignores it. Maybe occasionally some know it all girl tells him that next time he wants to use highlighter that bright he could just borrow her yellow sharpie." Fern felt a flare of anger so hot he could feel it in the pit of his stomach.

"Has someone actually said that to him?" Fern pressed moving unconsciously closer to Quinn.

"Yeah once but he said something smart like it looks like it's working great for her, but he'll pass. It's really only the girls that give him shit more then the guys really." Somehow that didn't make him feel any better, at least he could punch a guy. Was he allowed to start a fight with a girl? Was Anakin technically allowed to? Quinn gave him a sad knowing smile. "It's not very often I promise."

"I'm not in many classes with him..." Fern mumbled he kicked the large cones near Quinn.

"Hey." Quinn stuffed the cones in the closet and locked it. He turned to Fern and put his free hand out. Fern looked up at him confused. "If a dude ever gives Anakin shit in a class where i'm with him, i'll deal with it before or after class. If it's when he's with you, you get to handle it. And if it's a girl, I will personally call his sister to sort it out."

"Why do you have his sister's number?" Quinn smirked, a fond look on his face.

"Maybe if you texted me you'd know." Quinn said with a hum to his voice. "But do we have a deal?" He sounded serious again. Fern nodded and shook hands with Quinn. He felt like a weight that he didn't know he was carrying had been lifted. Maybe he really did just care about his friend too much.

"Thanks." He said looking into Quinn's eyes. Quinn shrugged and let go of his hand.

"Don't think anything of it." He adjusted his backpack and pulled out his phone from his pocket. "You really like Ani huh?" He mumbled texting something on his phone. Fern felt a buzzing from his own pocket, he didn't have to check to know it was his father. Like an untold signal they both began walking towards the door.

"Yeah I guess so, I mean he is my first friend in a while. So he's kinda important to me." He mumbled as they walked closer to the door. Quinn nodded and looked at him smirking.

"Planning on getting that protective with me?"

"Nah, second can fend for himself. Second maybe third." Quinn scoffed and opened the glass door for him.

"And who is the potential third or second?"

"Dillian, but I can't be positive we haven't made it official." Quinn snickered under his breath. After Fern walked through the door he slipped his hands into his pocket.

"You make it sound like friendship is like marriage."

"I mean a relationship is a relationship right?" Fern said stopping in front of his dad's pickup truck. Quinn lingered slowly taking steps backwards.

"Nope not at all. But you know what is sort of like marriage?"

"Marriage?" Fern retorted, he put his hand on the handle of the pickup truck not yet pulling.

"Yes, but also dating people. Maybe you should try it out." Quinn's voice had an odd quip to it. He took a slow step backward.

"Um, I guess so?" Fern said unsurely.

"Well see you Monday, text me tonight loser." He turned around fully and walked to a blue sports car parked in front of them.

"Bye I guess..." Fern stood there thinking for a moment until his father pulled down the window.

"Can you move a little faster son of mine, you have to shower and get dressed. You smell like a teenager." Fern looked at him and rolled his eyes. He threw his backpack on the bed of the truck and climbed inside.

"You know you should be encouraging me for putting myself out there and joining a sport." He buckled himself in and crossed his arms.

"We are encouraging you. We spent 200 dollars at the sports store getting you gear for a sport you might not make it into."

"I would be able to pay for it myself if you didn't put all my money towards college." Fern's father started the car and pulled out from the parking lot. Fern watched the blue sports car speed off. "At this point, I'll probably just give them all the money up front."

"Good! Just means you're more prepared. You'd be even more prepared if you tried a little harder in school."

"You know what, what if I don't go to college?" Sebastian scoffed, he shook his head as he made the turn into the next street.

"Keep speaking like that and your mother will take you to church and exorcise the demon that has decided to possess you."

"Oh don't be dramatic," Fern mumbled using his shirt to wipe the sweat off his face.

"You're absolutely right she wouldn't wait to take you to Church she'd strap you down herself. If you wake up chained down by rosary beads then you know you slipped up." Fern rolled his eyes but actually kept the notion in mind.

When they pulled up to the house it was already getting close to the conference time. Fern quickly said hello to his mom kissing her cheek doing his best avoid getting sweat on her dress. He threw his books on the ground and set his phone to charging as he took a shower.

As he dried up he glanced at himself in the mirror. It was only after school so he really needed no effort. His thoughts drifted slowly to Ani. He tied his towel around his waist and felt his cheeks. He didn't need to shave again yet, should he anyway? He wondered if Ani ever needed to shave, he had to right? Was it possible for him not to be growing hair from every pore like he was?

"What would he be wearing?" Fern mumbled to himself. He imagined Anakin getting out of the shower and deciding what to wear. Two seconds into that thought Fern's face felt like fire. He opened up the water and splashed cold water onto his already damp face. He let himself cool down before looking at himself again. He reached for the body spray, again he wondered if Anakin used body spray or perfume. Maybe a more feminine body spray? He always smelled nice. Would he want to get dolled up for this?

"Of course he would, probably wearing a ball gone and a full face of makeup." He sprayed himself with the body spray and opened up his tub of gel. He styled his hair back, leaving the top wavy and puffed slightly. He snuck into his room the towel tightly against his body. After closing and locking the door he surveyed his outfits. A suit was too formal, graphic t-shirt wasn't formal enough. He decided on a light blue polo and khakis. He felt his face again.

"Maybe I should have shaved." He mumbled again, he looked around at the empty room. After some deliberation he dug through his closet to find his tan and blue boating shoes. When he was finished he looked at himself in the mirror, proud of his efforts. Maybe now he wouldn't look so out of place next to Anakin. He kind of wished Anakin would be there, just so that they could like like an award winning pair. He glanced at his phone and picked it up unhooking it from its charger.

<Me: I have questions; 1. Do u ever have 2 shave? 2. Do u use feminine body spray, mens body spray, perfume or cologne? 3. If u had 2 wear something 2 a parent teacher conference what would it be? 4. Is Spray Deodorant real deodorant because i'm really wary about just using axe spray on deodorant & 5. What are you wearing rn ;)>

He slipped his phone into his pocket and headed downstairs to meet his parents. His father turned to him then turned back around. After a second he did a double take.

"Fern, why do you look so nice, are you trying to seduce a teacher or something?" Fern's mother turned around looking for her son.

"He better not be." She mumbled putting her purse on her shoulder.

"I wouldn't be surprised seems like the type." A tall figure leaning against the doorway said, winking at Fern. The man resembled his mother more, he was wearing boxer shorts, a t-shirt and was holding a tub of ice cream eating it with a spoon.

"Rodo boxers don't count as shorts." Maria said crossing her arms.

"Yeah, they do, right Fern?" Fern looked between his mother and cousin he shrugged in reply. Afterall he had to be in a car with his mother for the next few minutes. "Traitor," Rodo said walking closer.

"Looking spiffy their kiddo, maybe I'll have to borrow that polo I got a hot date tonight."

"You have more than enough nice clothes, don't go pillaging them from my son." Sebastian drawled drifting towards the door.

"Oh, I'm basically like your son." Rodeo insisted.

"No actually my sperm took no part of your creation." Maria gasped and slapped his arm.

"Sebastian not in front of Fernando!" She said quickly, Sebastian held back a laugh.

"I'm seventeen!"

"The kids seventeen." Fern and Rodo both said at the same time. They looked at each other and shook their heads.

"Well you'll be seventeen and...and...insert an insult i'll get back to you, all you men together is giving me a headache." Fern's mother grumbled under her breath opening the door and stepping out.

"Good luck kiddo, I'll be gone by the time your back. Go slay some ladies for me." Fern smiled at that and moved away before Rodo attempted to touch his hair.

"Yeah whatever, don't scare her away with your charm. We want you out of the house before me you know." He said teasingly and followed his mother out the door not giving his cousin a chance to reply.

Three quarters of a way into the drive to the school Fern wondered what possessed him to dress this way. He father parked the car and Fern actually took the time to look over what he was wearing. Sebastian Oliverez was wearing a t-shirt with jeans, he was gracious enough not to wear his dirt covered work Jeans. His mother was wearing a dress but that was just what her wardrobe primarily consisted of. Maria turned to look at her son giving him an encouraging smile.

"I'm sure everything will go beautifully. We'll get all your grades sorted out, maybe there can be a program or too that we can get you in." Fern's mother said with a try at an encouraging smile. Fern gave her a more shaky smile back, not exactly trusting his mother's optimism.

They climbed out of the car and walked to the school. His father leading the way, he stuck behind his mom his head tilted down. He avoided eye contact with any other parent or student that he passed as they walked by. Fern's father walked with purpose towards the door. Fern's stomach dropped lower and lower as they walked towards the math room. The math door opened and Mr. Teen peeked his head out, he smiled at the three of them.

"Fern, Mr and Mrs. Oliver's lovely to see you three. Mr. and Mrs. Oliverez Please come in." He opened the door wider for them. Fern's mother and father walked in first. Fern could already see most of his other teachers, they had clipboards in their hands. The sight of them made the palms of his hands begin to sweat. Before he entered the room a hand was put on his chest. He looked up to see Mr. Teen giving him an understanding smile. "Sorry Fern this is a parent-teacher only thing."

"Oh," Fern said stupidly he looked back down at the room. A part of him felt relieved his heart rate slowed, and the anxiety of the situation dissipated. "Do I just stand out here?"

"I believe there might be a few kids hanging out in the gymnasium, maybe one other student in the teacher's lounge." Fern already knew where he was going.

"Can you tell my parents I'll be in the teacher's lounge?" He asked, Mr. Teen gave him an odd look but nodded. Fern turned away from the door to leave.

"By the way looking pretty nice, got a hot date after this?" Mr. Teen was smiling encouragingly, Fern stopped and glanced to face him. He struggled for an answer but could only manage to shake his head and continue to the teachers lounge.

He quickened his pace doing his best to avoid any students. The closest inclining of the sound of students and he'd take the next hallway. He only had the vaguest ideas of where the teachers lounge was and his constant detours weren't helping at all.

He peeked around another corner and was relieved to see a male and female teacher sign on the door. He rubbed his hand against his khakis and opened the door. There was a childish bit of excitement that he felt as he opened it up. He had never been inside the lounge before and half expected it to have a candy bar and water slide inside.

His excitement deflated at the site of the room. There were four love seat chairs in the center of the room with one couch. The floor and wall were off beige colors, and there was a small kitchen in the corner.

"Oh." He said under his breath, he certainly felt cheated. There was a shifting sound in front of his and Fern turned his attention to the only other human in the room. The chair was facing away from him, all he could see was a tuft of curly hair. He sighed under his breath he was seriously hoping that no one would be here. He got a buzzing from his phone. He leaned against the wall next to the door and pulled out his phone. The familiar screen name made him smile and he opened the text.

<Mother of my Unborn Child: First of all hello to you too Fern, I only got to see you in French so I hope you missed me.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: 1. Yes, I do shave I just don't have to shave as much. I'm naturally less hairy than most, but I do need the occasional shave. Makes putting on blush a lot easier.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: 2. Depends what I wear, I don't use perfume or cologne for everyday school too strong. And to be clear it's really weird to put a gender on body spray but that's beside the point. My choice of body spray coincides with my outfit most times. But sometimes i'll use 'female' body spray anyway because if I want to smell like cookies and creams i'll freaking smell like cookies and cream.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: 3. I do actually have to wear something to a parent teacher conference and that something is currently sneakers, guy shorts, and a t shirt. I try to make it pretty clear that if i'm being forced back into this place after hours I will not bring my a game.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: 4. Spray on deodorant is basically just body spray targeted to be slightly stronger and last longer so you can center it on your pitts. In reality it is not actually an antiperspirant and just covers the smell. So by all means use it (in small amounts makes you smell really good) but use deodorant first. For my sake at least.>

<Mother of my Unborn Child: 5. When I started typing this nothing. I just got out of the shower and i'm not sure if towels count as clothing. This particular message is sent with me wearing, shorts, sneakers, and a t-shirt.>

Fern sped read through the replies his hand tightening around his phone at the answer for number three. He checked the timestamp for the first four messages and concluded he must have replied sometime during the car ride. If Anakin had gotten ready for the parent teacher conference around the same time that he had, that meant he should already be there.

The person in the chair began humming a song. Fern frowned it was painfully familiar, his eyes widened and he stood up straight. He walked to the chair peeking over to the side. Sure enough Anakin was sitting a phone to his face singing the first part of City of Stars. Anakin looked up at him, he looked shocked for a moment then smiled.

"Ah Fern I see you've found me. Did you get my text?" He asked turning off his phone. Fern nodded and looked over him, sure enough he had a graphic t-shirt of a dog, shorts, and sneakers. Fern could feel Anakin's eyes graze over him, he tensed at the anticipated question. "You look really nice, I wish I dressed up a bit." Anakin said instead, Fern relaxed and shrugged.

"I thought you would, that's why I dressed like this."

"Oh? You knew I was coming?" Anakin asked soliciting silence from Fern. He struggled for a reasonable answer that wasn't that he was thinking about him after taking a shower.

"Um...I guessed?" Anakin looked back at him, his face said enough about what he thought.

"Well...why don't you sit down, to and stay awhile." Anakin gestured to the empty loveseat next to him. Fern shrugged and remained standing earning a look for Anakin.

"Why are you here?" Fern asked finally after another bout of silence. "I mean your grades have to be good with how smart at that, you're sociable and nice. And your relatively attractive to either sex, so what's the issue?" Anakin looked taken aback by the compliments and it took him another minute to answer.

"I cry in the middle of classes sometimes." He said with a finality well enough to end an eight book series. "So my teachers want to talk to my parents about switching me out of certain honors classes"

"Wouldn't that make you more upset?" Fern asked him trying to Anakin taking regular classes like him. Fern tried to look catch Anakin's eye, but Anakin made it a point to look slightly away from him.

"Um, I don't really care. I mean I guess i'd feel like a failure, but when do I not feel that way?" Anakin chuckled after he said it, but Fern could hear a tightness in his voice.

"You're not a failure." He said softly, Fern's body leaned closer to Anakin. He felt that like he was being pulled into an orbit closer to Anakin. Anakin half smiled and shrugged. Fern tried to figure something else to say, he had never had to comfort anyone other than himself. Even then he was pretty bad at it.

"Hey, let's out of here," Anakin said suddenly. Fern looked at him his face confused.

"What?" Anakin smiled at his confusion and stood up. He slipped his hands into his pocket. He jerked his head towards the door, his wavy hair bouncing.

"Let's leave. We can go anywhere, my house, your house, to the park, to the zoo. Out for dinner anywhere." Anakin freed a hand from his pocket to gesture around.

"You make it sound like a date." Fern tried to chuckle the nerves forming in the pit of his stomach out. He stood from his chair, he was close to Anakin.

"Hey don't put words into my mouth here. All I'm saying is that we don't have to stay here, and be miserable. So let's go." He stepped to the side and walked past Fern. Fern turned and watched Anakin walked to the door. His hand hovered just above it and he raised his eyebrow. "So will you join me?" Fern only had to think for a moment, he leaned over the lounge chair and jumped over it. His tired legs hated him deeply for it but he felt a familiar burst of energy throughout his body at the thought of an adventure. Anakin gave him the widest smile that Fern had possible ever seen him wear. He swung open the door and walked through. Fern dutifully followed.

They walked down the halls as confidently as possible. They both understood acting suspicious would only bring suspicions towards them. Fern felt a nervous type of excitement, his palms were sweaty and he knew he must have glanced at Anakin one too many times. He couldn't help the urge, Anakin looked amazing in any outfit that was a fact. But there was something about the cool air that he carried himself with when he was in regular male clothing that made him feel warm and approachable. It was completely separate warm and approachable vibe that he got when he thought that Anakin was a girl.

"Why do you keep looking at me? Do I have something in my teeth?" Anakin asked not turning to look at him. Fern's face heated up as he realized that he had once again been staring. He turned away quickly coming up with something.

"Just wondering where we're going." Anakin waited a bit before answering. They successfully walked passed the last hallway leading to the main area.

"I was thinking the zoo then maybe dinner." Fern chuckled a bit, there was something about the way that he said it. So professional, like he had done this several times before.

"Really now?" Fern raised both eyebrows at him.

"Yes, really." Anakin looked at him once before turning away again. He opened the glass door up for him and Fern walked through Anakin following after. "I'll have to change of course, I can't just let you upfront me."

"Upfront you?" Fern looked down at his attire, he was still wearing relatively nice clothing. He hadn't even gotten them dirty yet. "You mean impractical?"

"Impractical, fancy, the same but different. We would look like a very odd couple walking into the zoo." Anakin glanced at Fern before adding on. "Couple of guys that is, me in this, you in that." Fern nodded like he understood.

"Well, how are we going to get to your house?" Anakin shrugged and picked up his pace for a brisk walk down the hill that led away from their school. Fern followed keeping pace easily.

"Well I guess we'll have to walk then huh?" Fern groaned loudly and dramatically his whole body hunching over. "Oh suck it up buttercup."

"I just came back from practice!" Fern protested.

"Oh practise was hours ago you'll be fine, worse comes to worse I'll carry you."

"Shouldn't I be saying that to you?" Fern asked eye gazing over Anakin's frame.

"What's that supposed to mean toothpick?" Anakin demanded cheeks tinting red.

"Hey don't call the toothpick thin when you're a string bean." Anakin frowned more, somehow confusion and annoyance were readable on his face. "I'm saying you're pretty thin. Not just thin, dainty." That warranted a hard shove on Fern's shoulder, nearly pushing him off the sidewalk and into traffic.

"I'm not dainty just not into the whole sports scene." Anakin said and crossed his arms tighter to his chest. He glanced away from Fern's general direction. Fern laughed a bit and rubbed his arm.

"Okay I'm sorry, I was only teasing. Besides you obviously couldn't be dainty with your line of work." Anakin look towards him with his eyebrow raised. Fern resisted blushing they never referenced that night during the day before. "Or should I call you Dr. Poundcake now? Or do you go by Catherine during the day?" Anakin blushed slightly and bit at his lip. He for once looked like he was searching for a decent response.

"If you're paying for dinner, you can call me whatever you want." His voice picked up confidence as it went on. Fern reached into his back pocket and took out his wallet. He opened it up, the first thing he saw was the small wallet sized photo of Anakin. He flipped passed that and counted the amount of money he had inside.

"Well, I'll take you on that deal." Anakin looked a bit surprised but recovered and extended his hand.

"So what will be my name today?" Fern took it and surprised himself by pecking the top.

"Ani will have to do for tonight." Anakin blushed to the point of actually looking embarrassed. Fern knew from the amount of heat coming from his face that he wasn't in any better shape.

"A handshake would have been fine..." Anakin trailed off then smiled again, saving both of them from an awkward situation. "But you sure do know how to treat a guy like a lady." Fern decided he needed to just run with it to save himself greif. He made a tea handle with his arm.

"Well, if you will i'll get you home safe." Anakin carefully and slowly looped his arm with Fern holding onto the forearm. Fern loosed his arm a bit so it was more relaxed.

"Well if you don't mind i'll lead the way." Fern nodded and let Anakin turn them into the next street. He felt a squeeze on his arm, he looked towards Anakin. He looked up at him with a small smile.

"Not a complete toothpick." Fern resisted mumbling something awkward, he nodded instead.

"Coming from a prostitute that means a lot." There was a silence followed by a bubble of laughter. Anakin bumped him in return with his hip but didn't bother to reprimand him.