The bell that signalled the end of the school day rang loudly. All the students excitedly filled out of their classroom, eager to get started on their afternoon activities. Some went to the small pastry shop just next to their high school building to get some sugary treats that can help energize them after a long and tiring day of school. That also included Quill Cipher, one of the smartest and most hardworking students in the school. He was often praised by the teachers for scoring the highest marks in every single subject, and his classmates or even students from other classes would beg him to tutor them. Of course, there were also students who feel jealous and could not stand his guts, and would find any excuses to put him down or even chastise him. Quill, however, knew that entertaining them would be a waste of his precious time and energy, and so, he paid them no mind.

He followed a group of students into the pastry shop and quickly joined the long queue. He planned to buy his favourite dessert, which was a small piece of cake with the coffee flavour. Minutes passed by but the long line didn't seem to have even moved a single bit at all. Quill sighed, trying to keep his patience. This was what he got for hanging out in the school's library for too long, as always.

Little did he know that a certain purple haired guy was at the front of the queue, collecting his pastries and making his way to the back of the line full of students.
"Quill!" The green haired boy heard someone shout out his name
Quill turned towards the loud yet very gentle voice and he can feel his heart thumped loudly in his chest when he realized who had just called him
It was Tad Strange, one of the popular students in school, was carrying two plates of pastries and walking towards Quill with a smile on his face

"I saw you coming in here and knew what you wanted to buy, so I decided to help so you wouldn't have to wait for too long." he handed Quill a plate of the coffee flavoured cake.

"Oh, T-thanks, Tad... you really didn't have to do this..."
Quill could feel both of his cheeks heating up, just like they always did every single time he laid his eyes on Tad. He just couldn't help it, Tad was magnificent, not to mention he was one of the top students in their school as well... He was the type of guy Quill would ever hope for, and he was such a nice guy as well, how can anyone hate such a perfectly handsome boy?
Tad himself was often being chased by other girls in school, but he had rejected every single one of them, saying that they were not his type. Quill wasn't sure if that meant he didn't like girls, but he wasn't about to give it a shot.

Tad is actually 1 age older than Quill so obviously they went to different classes. They both met in an annual Science competition that the city hold once every year and each school has their own team with a mix of their best students. Tad and Quill were in a team that represented their school that year, and they won the 1st prize. From then on, both of them start to get along like best friends.
And well, Quill has a huge crush on Tad Strange. He doesn't remember when, he just knew that it was pathetic, but he couldn't help himself either. Every time he tried to make up his courage to ask Tad out, his mind kept coming up with the usual "what if's". What if he got rejected? What if Tad didn't feel the same way? What if he never wanted to be best friends with Quill again? or worse, what if Tad didn't want to see him again after knowing that Quill was gay? Quill quickly snapped back to attention, noticing the look of concern Tad was giving him

"Are you ok, Quill?" Tad asked, "You seem a little pale..."

Quill shook his head, "I-I'm fine, Tad... just fallen a bit into my thoughts." he took the plate with the coffee cake Tad had taken for him earlier with a silly smile on his face.
"Oh, is it about some projects in your Chemistry class again?" Tad joked with a short laugh. 

"Oh, y-yeah is definitely it! You know me, always having science in my mind like a nerd." Quill laughed awkwardly. 

Tad smiled in response "Typical Quill, we both know that's not what's in your mind", he took Quill's hand and pulled him towards a table by the corner "C'mon, we better find a good place to sit before it gets stolen by others!"

* * *

"So today Bill was being a total asshole in class, as usual," Tad rolls his eyes with a smile, "Our teacher had to send him out of the class so he wouldn't cause any more trouble to disrupt the lesson!" He was recounting one of the events that happened during school earlier that day while walking Quill back to his house, and the stories about Bill messing around in the middle of the lesson or Kill was sleeping through every class and had been sent down to the principal's office for hundreds of time were some of the highlights, despite the fact that both Tad and Quill are too familiar with those kinds, but Tad always enjoy seeing those 2 idiots being in trouble.
Quill had tried to reject the offer of letting Tad walk him home politely, saying he had already done so much for him that day, but Tad had insisted, saying that he would have nothing better to do at home anyway.
"Well, you know Bill, always the type to cause trouble in school no matter what." Quill laughed. He had finally gotten rid of his thoughts and decided to save his confession for another day. A day when he would be brave enough. For now, he would just stick to being best friends with Tad.

"Be careful... it might last forever if you don't make your move sooner."
Quill shook out his thoughts. He was not about to get himself all worked up like this again.

"Oh, we're finally here." Tad stopped in front of a tall light green building and sighed "Man, I wish the road was longer, I really enjoy walking you home with a good chat." He smiled at Quill
The green haired boy smiled back and blushed "You and me both..."

"Well, I'll see you tomorrow then." Tad gave his friend a quick hug.
"Of course! see you at school." Quill waved as Tad walked away. He then sighed, unlocked the house door and came in.

The inside of Quill's home had a mix of a bit of contemporary design and ancient design. The living room was filled with many antiques, including decorations and furniture. The dining room is spacious enough to seat at least to guests. Quill's father was an antique collector and his mother has a great interest in gardening, so they also have beautiful and charming garden in the backyard.

Quinn Cipher, Quill's twin sister, who's sitting in the living room with a book in her lap, noticed Quill walking in, she looked up from her reading with a smile at the presence of her brother.
"Good afternoon to you, Quill. How was your day at school?"

"It was... good, as usual I mean-"
Quill couldn't help but think about the events that had happened at the pastry shop. To think that Tad would be kind enough to buy Quill his favorite dessert! Quill couldn't help the scarlet blush on his face whenever he thought about it.
Quinn noticed the sheepish look on her brother's face and smirked "What's the matter? Found your crush today?"

"What? N-no!" Quill's blush deepen further as he looked away from his sister "It's not like that-"

Then an all knowing look appeared on her face and she keeps teasing her elder brother "Oh really? Lemme  guess, it's the guy from the Science competition that year? The one you love to talk about everyday?"

"Whatever you're saying, I'm not listening." Quill was too embarrassed to come up with a good come back to his sister, so he chose to ignore instead. "Not in the mood for joking right now, Quinn."
Fortunately for him, Quinn was willing to give him a break that day "Alright alright, 'Mr. Sensitive', sheesh!" She rolled her eyes with a giggle at the nickname she gave him. They used to enjoy teasing each other in the older days, but as Quill got older, Quinn just feel like he's losing his sense of humor.

Quill runs upstairs into his room, he slammed the door behind him and dropped his backpack to the floor, he jumps to his bed with his face buried into his soft purple pillow. He forced his heart to slow down and his face to stop burning up.
"Dammit, Quinn..." he muttered into the pillow. Now he had to clear his mind from all those thoughts all over again.
If only he was brave enough to confess his feelings to Tad. If only he didn't doubt himself too much. If only he knew whether Tad liked him back...
"Ugh, I'm so pathetic..." Quill grumbled and closed his eyes.