It was early in the evening, and the sun was already retreating behind the clouds. Quinn walked around the basketball court alone, bouncing the ball on the clay floor, and catching it when it hit his waiting palms. The rest of the boys couldn't make it today. They had other things to do—namely, cleaning duty because they laughed at a teacher earlier in the day. So, Quinn came by himself, borrowing the ball from Hozier so he could shoot some hoops by himself. The boys had promised to come over if they finished early, but it was already five-thirty in the afternoon and Quinn had to be back home before the clock hit six.

A sigh left Quinn's lips as stood still. He was still in the dark blue trousers and flannel top he had worn to school in the morning. The boys would usually change into something comfortable in the school's bathroom before heading to the court, but there was no use for that today since he was in a one-man game today.

Quinn looked up at the raised basket post in front of him before tossing the ball. It flew through the air, hitting the side of the rusty ring before bouncing off and hitting the ground. The sound of the ball rolling halfway through the court was the only noise that flooded the background. Quinn watched the ball roll, but his head snapped in the direction of the court's exit when he heard the aluminum gates rustle.

"Hello?" Quinn called out when the rustling stopped. He frowned. "Hello, is someone there?" A frown played on his face, and his eyes stayed fixed on the gates.

"If someone is out there just come out. We can share the basketball if you want. You don't have to hide." Quinn wasn't sure why he had said that. If it was who he thought it was the boy wouldn't buy into that. He kept staring at the gates, but nothing happened. With a sigh, he turned away, heading to pick up the basketball before continuing his solo match with himself.

Quinn wondered if someone was there, or if his mind had just been playing games with him. He'd been jumpy for the past week. His mind becoming more and more preoccupied with the small dark-haired boy he'd spot watching him and his mates. He had looked around his school and had even asked a few people outside his grade about the person. His descriptions of him had been messy, so it wasn't a surprise he hadn't gone very far in his search the past week. It was Thursday now. He still had Friday to ask around, and if he didn't get any answers Quinn promised to stop looking.

A sigh left his lips before he groaned. As he was about to credit the sound to his head tricking him the gates rustled again. Quinn turned, waiting to see if someone would walk in, but nobody did. He bit down on his bottom lip, feeling a bit frustrated. "If someone's there, just come out," he said as his heartbeat quickened with excitement. His grip on the battered ball he had in his hands tightened and his gaze stayed fixed on the aluminum gates.

Nothing.

Quinn was beginning to wonder if it was the wind, but it couldn't be. It was early in the summer and the tree leaves and branches barely moved.

"If you're not coming out. I'll come to get you," he said, getting frustrated with his hide and seek game.

At Quinn's words, a boy—the boy who'd always observed them walked from behind the bushes and just stood at the stairs behind the gates with wide eyes. The threat had worked. Quinn could tell the boy was afraid by the way he was shaking. Quinn blinked, feeling his face warm-up at the boy's sight. He said what he had out of frustration. He never thought the boy would show himself because of that.

He stared at the boy's pale skin and big brown eyes. His dark hair was longish and stopped at the nape of his neck where it folded into curls. He wore what he always did. A pair of baggy pants and a logo t-shirt. Like Quinn had guessed he looked a bit younger than himself. He looked maybe sixteen or seventeen. He could be older, and the doe eyes and round face might be why he looked younger. Quinn couldn't tell.

There was pin-drop silence as the two boys observed each other for the next few minutes. Quinn's heart couldn't stop racing. Finally, he'd met the boy.

Quinn let out a breath as his shoulder's sagged. "You're quite the peeping tom—"

"No!" The boy yelled, shocking Quinn. The boy looked just as shocked at his outburst. "I'm sorry. I..." he trailed, looking down at the clay floor before bringing his thumb to his lips to nibble on its nail.

Quinn raised a brow in surprise, wondering what the blushing mess in front of him was about. The boy had an oddly deep voice for his size. You wouldn't pair him with his own voice if you were blindfolded and ask to pick via touch alone in a line-up. He was small and skinny. He was shorter than Quinn, and Quinn wasn't even very tall himself.

"What do you mean, no? I see you looking at me and my friends every other day. Of course, you're a peeping Tom," Quinn said with a light laugh. He stared at the boy, who didn't seem amused at Quinn's teasing. The boy hugged himself and had his eyes fixated on the floor as he stays quiet.

"Why didn't you ever just walk into the court to play with us?" Quinn asked after a while of silence. He watched as the boy shrugged before holding on to the railing of the court's gate. His knuckles were white—not just because his skin was pale, but also because it was dry.

A sigh left Quinn's lips as he rolled the basketball in his hands. "You don't plan to say anything, do you?" he said and watched as the boy nodded in response.

"Suit yourself," Quinn said with a shrug, turning around before returning to his one-man game. If the boy wanted to stare at him forever, he could go ahead.

As Quinn continued to play on the court, he noticed that the dark-haired boy had made to sit on the stairs by the gate again. He wasn't sure how he felt about being watched, so he just continued bouncing the ball on the clay floor and making tosses at the baskets. He wondered what and the rest were doing. Sure, they were serving a punishment, but cleaning around the school compound while you joked with friends wasn't as bad as being alone as he was.

A sigh left Quinn's lips as he paused his game. He held the basketball under one arm before heading to grab his school bag he had put in the corner. Quinn looked out into the court one last time before turning to face the gates again. "Can I at least get your name?" he asked, waiting for the boy to respond.

There was some hesitance before the boy nodded. "Cody," he said, his voice small and shaky.

"Cody," Quinn said, repeating after him. He liked the name, and he felt it suited him. Quinn smiled, nodding to himself. "So, see you around Cody," he said, walking towards the gates. Cody scooted to the side of the stairs so that Quinn could pass. It was the closest they'd been to each other, and Quinn found himself taking a closer look at him from the side of his eyes. He had nice bow lips, but they were dry and cracked. His eyebrows were hidden under his fringe, and his collarbones popped from under his shirt. He looked so fragile, and Quinn found himself frozen on the stairs, not wanting to leave him by himself.

"Your name?" The sound of Cody's voice snapped him out of his staring trance.

"M-my what?" he asked, stuttering in embarrassment and blinking back a few times before fixing his gaze on Cody. He had spaced out and hadn't caught Cody's words.

"What's your name?" Cody asked again. His deep voice had gone soft and light, and Quinn was just able to catch what he said this time.

"Oh, it's Quinn," he said, making Cody frown a bit.

"Queen?" the frail boy asked, watching as Quinn frowned at him before groaning.

"No, it's Quinn." He emphasized the slight difference in pronunciation, making Cody nod.

"Oh, I get it," he said. Quinn didn't say anything in response, but he didn't walk away either. The two stayed by in the gate and were soon plunged into silence.

"Is it short for anything?" Cody asked after a bit, getting a bit uncomfortable with the silence.

"It's Quinn. Just call me Quinn." Quinn knew his voice was too firm, but he wasn't giving anyone his full name, and definitely not to some person he just met. Quinn was short for Quincy, and Quinn hated his full name with a burning passion.

"Okay..." Cody croaked; a bit creeped out by Quinn's little outburst. The silence returned, and it was more uncomfortable than the last spell.

Quinn felt bad, and he wanted to get away from the situation. He starts walking away but stops in his tracks when he gets to the last stair. "You live around here, right?" he asked, turning to face Cody.

"Yeah, I moved in with my mum a while back," Cody muttered under his breath as he played with his fingers.

So, I was right. Quinn thought to himself. He's new here.

"Ah, okay. If you ever need someone to show you around, you know where to find me," Quinn offered, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand.

Cody smiled, shocking Quinn a bit. The skinny boy licked his lips before looking past him. "Thank you," he said, nibbling the nail of his thumb again as he made eye contact with Quinn. The two stared at each other for a bit, and Quinn only looked away when he started to feel his cheeks grow warm.

"I'll get going..." he trailed, looking away from Cody before speed walking towards the main street. His heart was racing from the mundane interaction, and Quinn couldn't understand why.