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“You’re so cute, Kyo,” Ren cooed, intertwining their fingers together. “You’re like an angry kitten.”
The blue haired first year shoved the alien prince away, causing him to stumble onto the bed, laughing. The prince looked up at the glaring first year, smiling at him with a dazed look in his eyes.
“So cute.”
Watching it all unfolded, Aster wasn’t sure what to say. He could immediately tell that Ren was under the effects of a love potion. He had done his own research on it and could spot the signs a mile away. A part of him wanted to make one himself just to make confessing a lot easier. But he couldn’t risk the rejection that comes once it wears off, so he decided against it.
However, seeing Ren drunk on the love potion singing some sappy love song to a glaring Kyo was funny. Kyo looked very close to punching the third year when he grabbed his hand to kiss it, and Aster had to intervene in case he actually did. Ren was very petulant about it and accused the second year of being too jealous of their love – Aster had to remind himself that the third year was not in his right mind then.
“Aster, we need to talk,” Kyo said, pulling the second year out of the room with him. When he saw Ren getting up to follow, he immediately snapped, “No, Ren, you stay here.”
Before the third year could protest, Kyo quickly shut the door behind them. He was already feeling drained. About an hour ago, both Kyo and Aster went to look for Ren, after they had gotten tired of waiting for the third year to join them for lunch. They found him slumped at his desk, knocked out in one of the classrooms.
When Kyo finally managed to wake him up, the third year had looked up at him dazedly before breaking into a big goofy smile and pulling him in a big hug. Instinctively, Kyo kneed him, hitting his chin causing the third year to reel back in shock. But even then, the alien prince was laughing as if he was just told the funniest joke he’s ever heard.
Getting him to their shared room was a struggle. It was only made easier once Kyo agreed to let Ren hold – and only hold – his hand the whole way up. The third year spent the whole way spouting nonsense of how adorable Kyo was and how sweet he actually is underneath all that tsundere act. How the first year was super talented and how easy it was to fall for him.
Kyo refused to look at any of them the whole time, the tip of his ears had reddened in the process. Aster imagined the first year would combust if they had reached their room a little later.
Aster also wondered if it was this easy for the third year to say such sweet words, how much of it was real and how much of it was just empty words on any other day.
Kyo may be a first-year student, but he grew up with a sister who experimented with potions nearly every day. And she had warned him about the widespread epidemic of love potions within the institute whenever Valentine’s Day comes around. They had to invite a small group of sorcerers to treat anyone hit with the love potion.
But in the meantime, Scarle had warned him to be careful if he received any chocolates where the other person insisted that he eat it immediately. Love potions usually cause the drinker to fall for the first person they see after.
Dazed look in his eyes. Big dumb smile. Flowery words promising sweet nothings. Classic signs of a lovestruck fool.
The fact that it happened out of the blue, meant a potion was involved. It’s not unusual for Ren to annoy Kyo with his endless bound of energy and affections. But it’s rare for the third year to be so grabby with him, especially knowing how uncomfortable Kyo was with being touched by others.
It did not help when the person who should be on the receiving end of those affections hadn’t said a word this whole time. Between trying to dodge Ren’s attempt at throwing an arm around him and his insistence on hand holding, Kyo had thrown pleading glances at Aster, asking for help. But the second year had simply giggled at his unfortunate predicament.
“Aster, you need to do something,” Kyo told him once they were alone. “You need to do something before I actually rip out those horns and feed it to him myself.”
“What am I supposed to do,” Aster said, barely able to hide his amusement.
“Kiss him or something,” Kyo snapped, struggling to hold on to the little patient he had left. “Do whatever it is you do when no one else is around.”
“What we do? We only talk,” Aster said, flushing at the implication. “We don’t…kiss…”
“How are you not bothered by this?”
“Bothered?”
“Yeah, you’re not bothered by the fact that your boyfriend is flirting with someone else,” the first year said, not understanding how Aster could be so calm about this. “Me personally, I would not take that.”
“He’s not my boyfriend though.”
“Not yet.”
“Whaat.”
“Aster, we all know you and Ren have some big date planned today,” Kyo said, exasperatedly. Neither of them was subtle about their feelings for one another. Aster had disappeared after class and came back with chocolates in hand, and Ren hadn’t stopped asking Kyo for his opinion on what a perfect date would be.
To his credit, Aster managed to stay calm despite the flush creeping up his neck, “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Besides, how do you even get rid of the effects of a love potion?”
“Like I said, kiss him or something,” Kyo repeated himself, feeling an oncoming throb in his head. “Remind Ren that he actually likes you. Not me. You.”
“I can’t just kiss him!” Aster exclaimed, growing red in the face.
“But you want to.”
“That’s- I-” the second year spluttered, amusing Kyo.
“If you’re not going to kiss him, what else can we do,” Kyo sighed, trying to remember if Scarle ever mentioned anything about how to cure anyone who drank a love potion. Maybe they should bring the third year to see the sorceress.
“You can kiss me, Kyo,” a voice said, startling the two. They turned to see the alien prince peeking at them, through the door gap.
“Ren,” Aster squawked in surprise.
Ren just laughed in response, opening the door wide enough for him to lean against the doorway. He turned to Kyo, giving him a flirtatious grin, “You know, Kyo, you can kiss me, and we can see if the love potion wears off after.”
“Hell no,” Kyo snapped, glaring at the third year. “If you’re looking to kiss someone, you can kiss your boyfriend, Aster.”
“Aster’s not my boyfriend,” Ren said, laughing. He suddenly leaned in close to the first year. “But you could be, Kyo. You could be my Valentine.”
Kyo shoved the third year away. But Ren caught his hand, and circled an arm around the younger’s waist, pulling him in closer. Kyo leaned back and pressed a hand against his chest, trying to maintain some kind of distance between them.
“Come on, Kyo, everyone’s rooting for us,” Ren said, his voice taking on a sweet tone Kyo was not used to having directed to him. “Even Aster is rooting for us.”
Kyo glanced towards the purple haired second year, whose smile was growing tighter by the second. He turned back to the third year who was now leaning in a little too close and kneed him in the groin. Immediately, Ren reeled back from the pain and ended up crouching on the ground.
“Touch me again, and your horns won’t be the only thing I’ll cut off,” Kyo threatened, before turning to Aster who was now looking wide eyed at what just happened. “Aster, I’m going to go look for Scarle. Make sure he stays here, will you?”
The blue haired male ran off before the third year could do anything more to him. Aster crouched down to the groaning prince, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” Ren said, breathing through the pain. He stood up slowly, stretching a bit. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’m going to go after him.”
“Or we could stay,” Aster suggested. “Kyo will come back soon enough. We could just wait for him in the room.”
“No, no,” Ren said, shaking his head. “He’s going to keep thinking that this is just some love potion effect. I need to show him that I do like him, and this is all real, you know. I just have to let him know.”
“That you really like him?” Aster asked, giggling. “I’m pretty sure he knows that already. You couldn’t stop telling him earlier.”
“Yeah, but now, I have to remind him again,” the third year said, brightly. He turned to go to where his adorable kitten went, when someone grabbed his arm. “Um, Aster?”
“Kyo asked us to stay here,” the second year said, tugging him back into the shared bedroom. “You don’t want to upset him even more, do you?”
Ren glanced back at the way Kyo left yearningly, but realised the second year might be right and followed him in. Their room was divided in three sections, with each student given a bed separated by a bedside table in between. At the other side of the room were their closet for clothes and a study table with shelves nailed above it. He flopped down on the first year’s bed and breathed in deeply the scent of the one currently haunting him.
“Did you just sniff his pillow?” Aster asked, with a half-smile. “Isn’t that weird?”
“No,” the third year said, his voice muffled by the pillow he had his nose in. “It’s not weird.”
“It’s kind of weird,” Aster reiterated. “Are you always this weird when you like someone?”
Ren rolled over to see those mismatched eyes peering down at him, with amusement, “Maybe.”
He can’t stop the fondness blooming through him, seeing the second year watching him with such amused curiosity in his eyes. He was so pretty, sitting there cross legged on his bed. “Hey Aster.”
“Hey Ren.”
“When do you think Kyo’s coming back?” Ren asked, turning his attention to the spinning fan up above. His mind once again filled with the blue haired male who always stood up for him, whenever the other students made fun of his horns. “I kind of miss him.”
“He’ll be back soon.”
Ren smiled to himself, remembering all those times he and Kyo would just sit in this very room talking to one another. Aster would have gone off to see IPN, and they would just talk about why this bothered Ren even more than the times he was hanging out with Finana. Kyo had been there to talk to him whenever he was confused or upset.
It feels like he’s come full circle now that he finally realised his feelings for Kyo. Everything made sense. Everything felt lighter the moment he accepted his feelings.
“Hey Ren.”
“Hmm?”
“Did someone give you chocolates earlier?”
“I think so,” Ren said, thinking back to this morning. His head was still a little fuzzy. “Our class were exchanging obligatory chocolates, so I did get some.”
The third year sat up and went to get his bag. He rummaged through and found the small packs of chocolates he got from his classmates. He took it all out and offered it to the second year.
“Here, you can have them. I told myself I would only eat the chocolates I get from one person this year,” he told the purple haired male.
Aster browsed through the chocolates, trying to figure out which one might have been doused with the love potion. However, none of the chocolates seemed to be opened. All of them were still in their original packaging. The chocolate with the love potion must have been dropped somewhere – or the perpetrator might have taken it with them.
It reminded Aster of the chocolates he had made himself. He had spent the past few days asking Finana to help him. They made so much chocolate that they had enough to give away to practically all their friends. The only one he had left with him was the best one he had created for a certain third year prince.
But looking at the said prince right now, Aster wondered if he could even give the chocolates he made.
He brushed off those thoughts and unwrapped one of the pack of chocolates. He broke off a piece and gave it to the third year, “You should at least eat some. They did make it for you.”
“No, there’s only one person I want chocolates from,” Ren said, pushing his hand away.
“But they spent a lot of time making it for everyone,” Aster insisted, trying to push the chocolate in his hand. “You should at least have some.”
“No,” the third year said, stubbornly. “You eat it, Aster. I don’t need it.”
The second year pouted, taking a bite of the chocolate. Whoever made it was clearly talented, the sweet taste of chocolate practically melted in his mouth. While it was a sad thing Ren couldn’t taste how delicious it was, it was probably better that Aster did.
“Is it good?” Ren year asked, chuckling at the pure look of joy on the younger’s face.
Ren was about to point out the smudge at the corner of the other’s lip, when his pink tongue darted out and caught it. Aster licked his lips, trying to catch any more smudges he might have missed, completely unaware of the third-year short circuiting in front of him.
“Yeah, you sure you don’t want any?” Aster asked again, just in case the other changed his mind. He checked the package to see who it was from, but there was no name written on it. In fact, there was no nothing written on any of the chocolate packs. It wasn’t unusual for people to not leave a note or even a name when giving out obligatory chocolates.
It did, however, make the whole mystery a little more complicated.
“No. You can have them,” Ren shook his head, trying to clear off those distracting thoughts. He laid back down on Kyo’s bed, staring at the ceiling. “Did you make any chocolates, Aster?”
“Um, I helped Finana make some,” the younger answered, reluctant to tell him the whole truth. “She made a lot of chocolates for her class.”
“Oh.”
“Did you?”
“Yeah, I did.”
“You did? You made chocolates for someone?” Aster asked, surprised. He wondered if it could be for him. He did remember Kyo mentioning that he and Ren had plans for today. “Who did you make chocolates for?”
“Kyo.”
“Oh.” Aster never thought a day would come when it would sting to hear that name.
“Yeah, I asked him for help to make them,” Ren said, smiling at his own ingenuity. “But really, I just wanted to know what kind he likes. Then, I made some on my own.”
“You really thought this out,” Aster said, slowly. Did he ingest the love potion earlier, or did it just amplify the feelings Ren already had? “When did you realise you like Kyo?”
“Hmm,” the third year frowned, trying to remember. “I think I’ve always liked Kyo. But I guess since today is Valentine's Day, it just became real. I really like him. I want us to start dating for real.”
“Maybe you should probably stop flirting with other people then,” Aster said, half joking. “If you want him to take you seriously.”
“Yeah, I’m only going to flirt with Kyo from now on,” Ren said. He turned to the second year in time to see a shadow flit across his face. “Are you okay?”
Aster focused his attention back to the chocolate at hand. It was a good thing he had enough chocolates to swallow the feeling in the pit of his stomach. He managed to muster out a smile and said, “I’m fine. When are you planning to give him the chocolates?”
“I’m still not sure. I shouldn’t make a big deal out of it or Kyo would kick me again,” Ren mused aloud, completely oblivious to Aster’s inner turmoil. “I should probably give him as soon as possible. Maybe then he’d believe my feelings are real.”
Aster hummed, focusing on the chocolate. He was moving on to the second pack now. The taste is not as sweet as the first one and the looks aren’t as good either. The heart shape came out all wrong and the edges seemed rocky. It looked like whoever did it tried to shape it by hand. But he could at least appreciate the hard work they poured into it.
“Yes, I should just give it to him now,” Ren said, feeling the rush of determination. He got up and moved to his side of the room and opened his bedside drawer. Two boxes of chocolates sat in there which he had painstakingly packed without letting his roommates know. He grabbed the simple blue box, with a new surge of determination, “I should go find him. He said he was looking for Scarle, right?”
“Wait, Ren,” Aster said, scrambling to get up. Thankfully, he was quick enough to grab the third year by the arm. “Kyo told us to stay here, remember?”
“But I have to give this to him before the day ends,” Ren insisted, trying to pull his arm free. In spite of the other’s eagerness, Aster had a sinking feeling Kyo would not reciprocate the feeling like the third year wanted. More than that, Aster is not sure he can actually save Ren if the first year decides to get physical.
However, knowing how stubborn the prince can be, Aster had to do something more to make sure he couldn’t leave. Clearly, he wasn’t going to give up just because he had Aster hanging off his arm. Seeing Ren get closer to the door, Aster spun them around so the other couldn’t get to it. In his haste, he ended up stumbling back onto his own bed, pulling the alien prince on top of him.
Bright blue eyes looking down at mismatched ones, looking as surprised as he was by what just happened. Ren scrambled to get up, but Aster managed to hook his leg onto the other and rolled them over, so he ended up straddling the prince instead.
“What- Aster!” Ren exclaimed, his hands now at a loss on where they should be. They hovered over the thighs that were locking him in at each side. “Aster, get up.”
“No. Kyo told us to stay here,” Aster reminded him. But this wouldn’t be enough to keep the prince here. So, he reached over to his bedside drawer and very nearly slid off, if it wasn’t for the hand that quickly found his hip, keeping him in place.
Ignoring the flushed feeling, Aster took out the handcuffs he had gotten on one of his online spending sprees and slapped them on to their hands. The sound of the handcuffs snapped shut brought the third year out of his reverie. He raised their connected hands in surprise, “Aster, what. When did you get these?”
“A few weeks back,” Aster answered, pocketing the key as well. It’s always good to keep that close by.
“And you just kept it next to your bed?” Ren asked, confused and a little bit in awe. He did like it when this side of Aster came out. Before this, it was all just talk. This was a development he was excited to see more of.
“They’re just toy cuffs.”
“Have you ever used it on anyone?” the third year asked, curiously tugging on the metal cuffs. They feel quite sturdy for toy cuffs.
“No!” Aster exclaimed, embarrassment now sinking in. He had bought the handcuffs mainly out of curiosity. He had only told Scarle about it, and the older girl squealed in surprised delight. They had joked around about using it on Ren to keep him by Aster’s side at all times.
He never actually expected to do it.
“Really?”
“Yeah, why,” Aster said, narrowing his eyes at the third year. “Why do you care if I use it or not?”
“I don’t,” Ren denied, looking away. He didn’t want to think about who the handcuffs could have been used with. “I was just asking.”
The purple haired leaned back, heaving a sigh. He really hoped Kyo would come back soon with the cure or something. Looking at the time now, he will have to skip most of what he had planned. He will have to go straight to the main event. If only he could gather enough courage to do so – and if the other person would just snap out of his drugged love haze.
But that is growing unlikely by the moment. Aster turned towards Ren who was glancing at the door, probably hoping the door would open to his precious blue kitten.
Suddenly realising their precarious situation, Aster moved to slide off, but the hand on his hip tightened. Ren seemed equally surprised by his own action and immediately let him go in the next second. Refusing to meet his eyes, Aster quietly slid off to the side and made to head back to the pile of chocolates left on the alien’s bed.
But he couldn’t get very far, when the handcuff keeping them together stopped him. Aster glared at the traitorous handcuffs, wondering why he was being punished as well. He still managed to get the chocolates that fell in his haste to get up earlier.
Ren sat up slowly, feeling briefly confused before he remembered how they ended up in this situation in the first place. He pulled at the handcuffs, ignoring Aster’s indignant squawk when he accidentally dropped the chocolate he was holding. The alleged toy handcuffs didn’t seem like they would break so easily.
Ren would have to drag the second year with him, if he wanted to look for Kyo.
Aster was currently crouching down trying to pick up and eat the dropped chocolate with his cuffed hand raised above his head. Ren chuckled lightly and crouched down with him.
“Aster?”
“What?” the second year answered, refusing to look at him. He’s sulking, Ren cooed inwardly. He must have really wanted the chocolates. So, the third year started helping gather all the chocolates, “Aster, let’s get out of here. You can help me find Kyo.”
Aster sighed, not even surprised, “We can’t. Kyo told us to stay here. He’ll come back soon.”
“But wouldn’t it be a nice surprise if we find him first,” Ren said, grinning excitedly. “He would be so happy to see us. I can give him the chocolates and ask him to be my Valentine.”
“No,” Aster said, firmly. He put the pile of chocolates on the bedside table.
Ren pouted, trying to think of something that would convince the younger. He was then reminded of something that might be able to help, “What if I give you your chocolates?”
“My chocolates?”
“Yeah, hold on,” Ren got up, pulling the purple haired male along with him. “We have to- You go here, and I’ll just.”
He maneuvered them both until he could sit on his own bed and leaned over to open the drawer on the other side. He opened the drawer and took out the purple box tucked inside. Originally, he intended to include a note with it, but he decided against the idea – he was never good at writing his feelings down. He made up for it by adding a sticker of the flower the purple haired shared a name with.
“Here, happy valentines,” Ren said, handing it to Aster.
“Thank you?” The purple haired male took it, a little unsure if it was okay to be happy. He brushed his finger over the purple flower sticker on it and his name written in golden cursive writing. He suspected Aia must have helped since he’s pretty sure Ren can’t write in cursive that pretty.
“I thought you only made chocolates for Kyo,” Aster said, carefully opening the box and taking out the bar of chocolate inside. He could immediately tell it was homemade by the grainy texture.
“Of course, I’d make one for you too,” Ren said, as if it was the most obvious thing. “Do you like it?”
The chocolate didn’t have the glossy look like most of the earlier ones, and Aster had a hard time biting a piece off of it. But seeing the eager look on Ren’s face, waiting for his response, the purple haired male nearly laughed despite the bittersweet taste attacking his taste buds. Ren looked almost as nervous as he was before one of his performances.
“I love it,” Aster told him, honestly. He would have loved anything Ren gave him. “Thank you.”
“Yeah?” Ren asked, his eyes brightened. “I hope Kyo loves his chocolates too.”
“Mhm,” the second year nodded, taking another bite and letting the bitterness fill him.
“Come on, let’s go look for him,” Ren said, pulling the second year along with him before the other could protest. He grabbed the blue box on the way, refusing to stop lest the second year decided to stop him again. “He said he was looking for Scarle. They’re both probably at the Chemistry Lab.”
“Scarle?”
The Chemistry Lab was usually a place for the students to study potion making as well as earthly chemical compounds and how they react to other elements not from this Earth. Ren still struggled to differentiate between the two, but for someone like Scarle, this place was practically her home with how much time she spent down here.
She’s also cooked up some ‘cursed’ food in here, that Ren has still yet to try.
But once they reached the place, the lab was empty. There was a boiling pot on one of the stoves, so the sorceress couldn’t have gone very far. They went to the back of the small room, where there was a shelf filled with various ingredients and equipment they usually use for class. There was also a two-seater sofa in there that he suspected was mainly used by their teachers whenever they needed a break.
“Kyo is not here,” Aster said. “Maybe he went back to our room to look for us.”
Just then, the lab door opened and in came the dark hair sorceress. She immediately noticed the handcuffs between them and smirked, “Ooh, you boys getting busy?”
“Scar-”
“Scarle!” Ren exclaimed, cutting in. “Have you seen Kyo?”
“Kyo? He stopped by earlier to tell me about your situation. But I don’t have some of the things I need to make the cure, so he went out looking for Shu-senpai,” she told them. “Kyo said someone gave you chocolates with love potion in it, Ren.”
“No one gave me love potion,” Ren said, exasperatedly. He didn’t understand why people kept saying that today. “I do like Kyo. How do I make him understand?”
Scarle glanced at Aster who looked like he had given up.
“You believe me, right Aster?” the alien prince asked, turning to the younger for support. Aster had been with him this whole time, there was no way he still believed that this was just because of some love potion.
With both third years now looking at him, Aster decided to choose his words carefully. “You did talk about Kyo a lot the whole way here.”
“Well, that’s how a love potion works,” Scarle explained, gently. “It makes you obsess over one person and makes you think you’re in love. You don’t actually like Kyo, Ren.”
“Yes, I do!” Ren snapped, startling them both. “Why wouldn’t anyone believe me? I know how I actually feel.”
“It’s just that before this, you were all over Aster,” Scarle said, shrinking back when she noticed the tip of Ren’s horns started to glow. It rarely happens, but bad things happen when the alien prince gets upset.
“Ren,” Aster reached for his arm, but the third-year prince moved to avoid it. He let his hand drop, ignoring the stinging feeling. “We’re just-”
“I’m sorry, Aster,” Ren said, with a firm tone he rarely used. “I like Kyo now.”
It took some time to calm the alien prince down, and he was now sulking with his back turned away from the other two. His handcuffed hand ended up being twisted a bit in this position, but he stubbornly refused to turn around. Scarle looked helpless, as she wondered what she could do to make things better. But Aster shook his head, knowing Ren needed his time to cool down.
They were sitting together at one of the long tables in the lab with Scarle sitting across the cuffed pair. The sorceress had prepared them some tea in the meantime. Ren hadn't touched his cup, but Aster was slowly sipping the warm drink. It was sweet enough to eat with the chocolate Ren gave him earlier. It helped lessen the bitter aftertaste of the chocolate.
Scarle eyed the purple box curiously and glanced at Ren before turning back to Aster questioningly. He nodded in response, pursing his lips to hold back from smiling when Scarle let out a muffled squeal. They both stared at Ren, wondering if he heard it. But the prince didn’t move a muscle leading to both friends exchanging relieved looks and Scarle mimicking her zipping her lips.
Aster bit into the chocolate, quietly wondering if Kyo’s tasted as bitter as his did. Scarle patted his arm comfortingly and leaned into whisper, “I’m sorry you couldn’t have your big date.”
Aster shrugged, not wanting to say more on the matter. It’s too late to cry over it now. At this hour, there was nothing he could do. Looking at the alien prince now, maybe it was a good thing. He’s not sure what he had planned would have gone the way he wanted it to.
Scarle looked like she wanted to say something more but decided against it. But then, her phone buzzed, and she frowned when she read the text.
“They wouldn’t let Shu-senpai in. I’m going to go check on what happened,” Scarle told them. Seeing the look Aster was sending her, she felt bad and promised him, “I’ll be back soon.”
The silence that followed was suffocating more so for Ren. Now that he’s calmed down enough, the guilt was setting in. He knew Scarle had good intentions and he snapped at her. Whether or not a love potion was involved, was not her fault. And the hurt expression on Aster’s face after what Ren said to him made his heart sink. Every fibre in his being wanted to hug the young star and apologize on the spot.
Then, while Ren was calming himself down, he heard what Scarle whispered. He was going over the day they had in mind. He had been so busy planning a date for him and Kyo, he never considered Aster would have one of his own. He glanced at the purple haired male now gazing at the tea, lost in his thoughts.
Ren turned in his seat to face the table, inwardly cringing when the handcuff between them started swaying with his every movement. He gave Aster an awkward smile, but the other wasn’t even looking his way. He just sat there, drinking his tea.
Ren decided to focus on his own drink. The tea wasn’t warm anymore making it easier for the alien prince to drink it. He silently wondered if Kyo was with Shu and Scarle right now. But even the thought of seeing the blue haired first year couldn’t get rid of the nagging at the back of his mind.
“Aster, you had a date?” Ren asked, curiosity now getting the better part of him. He distinctly remembered Aster being a little busier this past week, but he had assumed it was more to do with him hanging out with Finana or IPN rather than planning an actual date.
Though, it could have been a series of dates. IPN had on numerous occasions indicated his interest in Aster. Somehow, Ren didn’t like that trail of thought very much.
But they’ve been together the whole day, and Aster never showed any signs of wanting to leave. Ren was more than happy to have him around, but he also didn’t want to be the selfish guy that got in the way of his friend’s big date – even if he didn’t like whoever this date was.
Aster heaved a heavy sigh, before drinking the rest of his tea in one go. He wondered if he was to do as he planned, how would the other react. “I had plans. But I had to cancel it.”
“Oh, why?”
“With everything going on, I didn’t really have the time to do anything. It’s for the best. It’s probably not going to work out anyway,” Aster shrugged, trying to maintain an air of nonchalance. Saying it out loud, however, made it all the more real. It made the lump in his throat more real.
“Aww, I mean, there’s still a chance,” Ren said, trying to comfort the other. A part of him felt guilty that he ruined the other’s plans. A part of him was secretly happy that Aster stayed with him. Another part of him felt guilty for being happy. “Your date doesn’t have to be today. You could try another day.”
“Actually, I was planning to confess. I was going to take them to that space themed café that just opened up. They have an event today where they project the constellations onto the ceiling, and I was going to confess under a starlit sky,” Aster told him, smiling ruefully at the third year’s wide eyes. “But I found out the other person kind of liked someone else.”
“Oh, I’m sorry,” Ren said, so sincerely that it made Aster want to laugh at the irony. “We can go together after this. If you want.”
“Yeah?” Aster asked, in such a small voice that it made the prince want to scoop him up in a hug. Whoever the other person was, was missing out on the sweet star that is Aster Arcadia. Ren would have done anything to be on that date.
“Yeah, all three of us could go,” the third year brightened. “Kyo would less likely hurt me if you’re around.”
“Kyo,” Aster said, quietly.
But Ren didn’t notice as his mind wandered back to the blue haired first year, “Yeah, me and Kyo could share a milkshake or fries. We could do it like the Lady and the Tramp and share spaghetti together.”
“Yeah,” Aster swallowed, unable to be in the room any longer. He was relieved when he heard Scarle returned with someone who must be the Shu-senpai she mentioned earlier. He reached into his pocket and found the key to unlock the handcuffs between him and Ren.
“You’re letting me go?”
“Yeah, I mean Shu-senpai is already here, so,” Aster said, hiding his feelings behind a smile. “And IPN just texted me to hang out.”
“But I thought you wanted to go to the café together?”
“No, but you should still go with Kyo, if you want,” Aster told him. “Wouldn’t want to be the third wheel.”
“You would never be the third wheel,” Ren said earnestly. He grabbed Aster’s hand, wanting the other to stay. “Come on, let’s go to the café together. We’ll have so much fun. And we can go to the arcade after or the shooting range or we could just talk while we walk around.”
Aster drew in a shaky breath, trying to hold his emotions back from spilling right there and then. He mustered up a smile, as he pulled his hand back, “That sounds like a date. And you should be on a date with the one you like.”
Before Ren could come up with a response, Aster quickly left, unable to be in the room anymore. Ren was thinking of following him, when Kyo entered with Shu and Scarle in tow. Scarle was busy explaining to Shu about the whole situation and Kyo was giving him a questioning look.
Ren pulled Kyo into a hug and the first year would have pushed him away if it wasn’t for the fact that his shoulders were sagging, and he looked like someone just told him his dog died.
The shooting range wasn’t on the institute's grounds. In fact, Aster wasn’t sure if a student was even allowed to enter the shooting range. But during his earlier days on Earth, Aster would accidentally release small bouts of sparks on random occasions that weren't very safe for the average human. The institute taught him how to suppress it, but it didn’t stop the star from giving out sparks whenever he got too emotional.
Then, Alban took him to a shooting range, where he and Sonny taught Aster how to channel his energy into shooting a gun. It seemed trivial on the surface, but Aster learned to enjoy the activity and found himself at the shooting range whenever he couldn’t figure out how to deal with things. It became a sort of comfort place for him whenever he felt overwhelmed.
Just put a gun in his hand and let him shoot the negative feelings away.
At this point, Aster was no longer sure if he could blame everything on the love potion. Maybe he had just deluded himself into thinking Ren liked him back. Just because they flirted a few times doesn’t mean there were any serious feelings between them. Maybe he was blinded to something he should have seen from the beginning.
Ren and Kyo always, always, hung out together and in spite of the first year’s insistent denials, Ren was one of the few that Kyo had let in. Kyo, in turn, was always there to listen to Ren. Aster had once walked in on them talking and they had immediately quiet down when they saw him. Aster tried asking about it but neither would tell him a word. Ren started making some stupid joke and Kyo had shot him a look that let him know it was stupid.
The second year had brushed off the incident back then, knowing that he shouldn’t push if it was a private matter. He figured they would tell him, when they were ready. They never did, and Aster learned to accept that.
Both Finana and IPN showed up not long after and were surprised to see Aster there as well. Both of them were well aware of the plans Aster had and did not expect to see the purple haired male at all that day. But once they heard what happened, they both gave him pitying looks and did their best to comfort him.
“Just as well,” IPN said, helping him set up a new paper target. “He wasn’t worth your time. You can never expect a guy who flirts around to be loyal to you.”
“He’s not,” Aster began, heaving a sigh. “Ren is just friendly. He’s actually really sweet. Whenever I need to talk to someone, he’s always there to listen. If I get upset, he makes stupid jokes to cheer me up. He stayed up with me the last time I was upset about losing the tournament a month ago. Ren can be flirty, but he would never actually lead anyone on.”
Aster swallowed the lump in his throat and forced himself to focus on the target. He shot at the target repeatedly, creating scattered holes on the paper.
“You really like him,” Finana said, carefully. She knew of Aster’s feelings for the alien prince. But she had always thought it was just a crush. She didn’t expect it to extend beyond that.
The purple haired male didn’t say anything as he reloaded the gun. He ignored his two friends exchanging looks and turned his focus on the new paper target that was pulled up.
He was a stupid, stupid star boy who thought the alien prince would be interested in him, when there was a guy literally blessed by the moon for him.
This time, the bullet holes were grouped together at the target centre. But the feeling of accomplishment didn’t feel as satisfying as it usually did. Aster breathed in deeply, refusing to think of anything else and pressed the button to pull up the next paper target.
But no new target paper came up. Either the machine was stuck, or no one added new paper targets at the back. Aster waited for IPN to shoot his shots, before going to check. IPN managed to hit the centre of the target with consecutive shots in one go.
Aster went around the back. As he suspected, there were no more paper targets. He tried the room where they kept all the extra stock and found it to be locked. Aster sighed in defeat and headed back up front. He was about to enter the shooting area, when he heard a new voice had joined them. A voice he didn’t really want to hear right now.
“Hey, is Aster here?”
Aster’s heart raced at the mere mention of his name. He ducked out of sight in case the others could see him. He heard Finana tell the third-year prince, “No, we haven’t seen him today.”
“If you see him, can you tell him I’m looking for him?”
“Sure man,” Aster heard IPN reply.
He then heard footsteps leaving followed by a door gently closing. He took a peek and was glad to see that Ren really left. Aster stayed there for a few more seconds, calming down and steeling himself, before joining Finana and IPN.
“Hey, Ren was looking for you,” Finana said, the moment she saw him. “I think the love potion has worn off.”
“Yeah,” Aster simply said. With Scarle and Shu working together, they would have been able to get rid of the love potion effects. Ren should be back to normal by now. He would no longer be smitten with Kyo. Aster should be happy about this.
With no more targets to be used, the three friends cleaned up after themselves. Aster finds himself being the last one to finish. He was about to tell them to just go ahead, when Finana beat him to it and said, “Hey, Aster, we’re going to leave first. Come on, IPN, we can get ice cream on the way back.”
Before IPN could say anything, the mint haired girl was dragging him along with her. Aster was confused at what just happened. But he shrugged it off, his friends would tell him when they wanted to.
After gathering his things, he locked the door from the inside before pulling it shut. He tested the doorknob, making sure it was locked before turning to leave.
“Aster.”
He froze at the mention of his name. He wished a hole would open up right there and swallow him whole. Aster turned to see Ren standing not too far from him, waiting.
“Ren.”
Aster had half a mind to run back in the shooting range before he remembered the door was locked. He cleared his throat and mustered up a small smile. Ren gave one of his own, that seemed to be getting bigger with every step Aster got closer to him.
“You look better,” Aster said. “No more love potion?”
“No, no,” Ren told him, laughing lightly. “Scarle and Shu made me another drink that was so bitter that flushed it out. I had to stay in the toilet for nearly an hour.”
“Guess you’re not in love with Kyo, anymore,” Aster said, inwardly cringing at how awkward that came out.
“No, Kyo’s great but no, I’m not in love with him,” Ren told him. The feeling of relief that followed was undeniable. But there was still something lingering in the back of Aster’s mind that stopped him from hoping too much.
“That’s good,” Aster said, nodding. They started walking back to the institute together. “Did you figure out who gave you the love potion?”
“She was a fan. I saw her at some of my shows,” Ren told him. “She cornered me after class to give me the chocolates. She was telling me how she worked on them all night and I didn’t want to make her feel bad by not eating it. You know what happens after.”
“You should probably stop accepting food from people you don’t know,” the second year said.
“Yeah, no more chocolates for me,” Ren said, glancing up at the sky. “Scarle said, the fact that I was an alien probably delayed the reaction time and why I was initially knocked out. It took a lot longer for the love potion to take effect on me than on a human.”
“At least there was no real harm.”
“Yeah. I mean, Kyo did kick me. Twice,” Ren said, laughing. It felt like a dream now. He glanced at the second year, feeling a sense of regret over what happened. “But the worst thing that happened was I had to miss out on our date.”
Aster tensed next to him, but he still managed to say in a deceptively calm tone, “Our date?”
“Yeah, I had everything planned,” the alien prince told him, smiling softly. “We were supposed to sneak up to the roof for lunch where I had planned a little picnic. I was going to serenade you like you always wanted, and we can watch the sunset after. Then, I was going to take you on my spaceship and go wherever you wanted to.”
“Wow,” Aster said, already imagining it in his head. “That actually sounds amazing. It’s better than my space cafe idea.”
“We could do both.” Ren stopped and when Aster turned to see why, he added. “We can still do both.”
Aster looked away and sighed, “Valentine’s nearly over. I don’t think there’s time to do both.”
“Aster-”
“We can’t. It’s too late. I had a whole date planned for us. I was going to,” Aster stopped, unable to hide his frustration any longer. “I can’t do it, not after hearing how you go on and on about Kyo.”
“But-”
“It’s not your fault,” Aster said, cutting him off. “I know that. But you talked so much about Kyo, and I know you’re both close and I shouldn’t be jealous. It’s just hard to think about going on a date with you when all I can think of is just hours ago, you’d enjoy it even more if Kyo was here.”
Aster knew how unreasonable and petty he sounded. But right then, he didn’t care. He was upset, frustrated, jealous and so insecure that he would have to spend the whole day at the shooting range just to stop himself from bursting.
“Aster,” Ren said, wanting to hug the younger but unsure if he was actually allowed to. He settled for taking his hand. “Aster, I like Kyo but he’s more like a brother to me. I would never want to go on a date with him.”
Aster took in a shaky breath and looked up at the alien prince. Ren gave him a gentle smile that never failed to make his heart race.
“I would like to go on a date with you,” Ren told him, feeling a little bashful. He could tell Aster how pretty and cute he was whenever and however the star wanted him to. This, however, feels different.
But Aster was still uncertain, “I don’t know…”
“We can just walk around,” Ren suggested, carefully. “It’s not really a date but I do owe you something for missing ours.”
Aster smiled, suddenly feeling shy himself. A part of him was still very much unsure about this. But there was another part that wanted to give this a shot.
“Okay.”
“Yeah?” Ren’s eyes lit up and he was grinning excitedly.
“Just walking,” Aster told him. He wasn’t ready to take this to the next level just yet.
“Yeah, yeah, we can walk wherever you want,” Ren said, refusing to let go of the other’s hand even as they started walking.
“I don’t really have any place I want to go to, though,” Aster said, not really minding it. Seeing how they were handcuffed together earlier, hand holding didn’t really feel that different.
“That’s fine, we can just walk around,” Ren told him. “And if we end up on the school roof, that’s fine too.”
“Ren,” Aster said, in a warning tone. But the smile on his face was telling the prince a different story.
“What? I have a whole picnic waiting up there. Shouldn’t we at least eat it?”