As soon as he walked through the cafeteria doors, Dae started scanning the lunchroom for Evan, trying his hardest to ignore Anthony beckoning him to a table. After another quick look around the lunchroom, Dae noticed someone he'd seen Evan speaking to on a few occasions, sitting alone at a table. He approached them without a second thought, but the look in their eyes, peering over their glasses, as he got closer was enough to make him start to sweat. Granted the two didn't run in the same social circles--not that Dae felt like any clique would claim him with his sordid past--however, they were a part of a group that was the least likely to be his friend.
Ro Addams was a member of the student council and pretty open about identifying as nonbinary. They themselves stated in campaign speeches that if the student council positions were actually voted on, they probably wouldn't hold one. And with the toxic environment that he'd already seen, Dae was inclined to agree.
Suddenly, Ro cleared their throat and Dae was brought out of his thoughts; he could feel the heat in his cheeks as the realization set in that he'd approached them and just stood there, hovering over their table. He tried to ignore the whispers that starting to circulate around the cafeteria, and sunk into a seat across from them. "Hey Ro."
"Dae Basilio...To what do I owe this pleasure?" Ro asked, pushing up their wide-framed glasses with one hand and briefly looking away from the mass of paperwork spread across their table.
"That obvious I need something, huh?" Dae looked away a little embarrassed.
"Well, we aren't exactly best friends...So I'd say yes. It's pretty apparent." They glanced back down at a sheet of paper, laser-focused on a small detail, before making an amendment with their red pen. After they stared at it for a second longer, Ro put the pen-cap in their mouth and nodded to themself. Then they glanced back up at him, fixing him with a razor-sharp stare, "I'd appreciate it if you got to the point, however. I have much to do in one period."
"Uh, yeah. I can respect that...Sorry." Dae glanced away from the intense eye contact before looking back to meet their gaze, "I was just looking for Evan. Wondering if you've seen him?"
Dae could physically feel the air change, as Ro slowly lowers the pen from their mouth and placed it fully on the table. They closed their eyes and took a deep breath before they leveled him with an indecipherable look. The silence that followed made him feel like he'd just done something terribly wrong. Dae could practically hear himself gulp before Ro spoke again. "Sinclaire?"
Dae wasn't sure; he'd never asked Evan his last name. So he just shrugged, "I guess...The new kid? The cute redhead who looked like he was driving you crazy on Tuesday?"
Ro nods to themself, "That's Sinclaire. I'm inclined to ask what exactly you want him for."
Ro seemed to challenge Dae with an intensity that--when mixed with their choice of inflection--made him blush more furiously than he'd cared to. Dae cleared his throat and with an awkward laugh replied, "Just wanted to talk..."
"I'm going to need more detail than that, Dae. I've seen what happens when you talk to people." Ro pushed up their glasses once more, never taking their eyes off of him.
Dae couldn't help but feel affected by Ro's comment; it wasn't anger but something more akin to hurt. Most people were aware that when he was 'talking' to someone, they were almost always fucking around. He rubbed the back of his neck with one hand, "I know I have a spotty track record, Ro. But I promise you. I just want to talk to him; make sure he's doing okay."
Ro scanned Dae's eyes for a moment before deflating, "This about those assholes from earlier?"
"You know?" Dae felt another pang of hurt--but this time for Evan. He was all too familiar with how quickly word traveled around here.
"Who doesn't..?" Ro shook their head before grabbing their pen once more and deliberately taking their time to mark something on the paper. "Strangely enough...I believe you...Last I heard Sinclaire was headed to the roof."
Dae felt himself let out a sigh of relief. "Thanks, Ro. I really appreciate it."
He shot to his feet and swung one leg over the bench before Ro spoke again, "Amadeus."
A small chill was sent through his body at the usage of his father's favorite weapon. But Dae took a breath and turned to see Ro staring daggers at him. "Hurt Sinclaire and I'll skin you alive."
Dae couldn't help but laugh, oddly at ease despite being threatened. "Wouldn't have it any other way, Ro. Appreciate you."
As Dae turned to leave he thought he saw the rare sight of Ro's lips quirking up into a smile but he knew better than to mention it. And then he headed out the door and towards the roof.
Taking the steps three at a time, Dae was out of breath when he exited the stairway onto the roof. He took a minute to breathe, allowing his eyes to scan the rooftop for Evan, and it didn't take long for him to spot the redhead standing stationary on the ledge of the roof with a lit cigarette in his hand.
Fear took over him and Dae slowly began to approach, trying his best not to startle Evan. He started speaking gently as he continued to approach, "I know things were kinda shitty back there, Evan, but you know you can always talk to people right? I don't know what's going on in that pretty little head of yours but--"
"Pretty, huh?" Evan spoke, and Dae flushed at how clearly he could hear the small smile in the redhead's voice. Before he could respond, Evan pivoted to face him and brings the cigarette to his lips before looking at Dae with a sad softness, "It's incredibly sweet of you to try to talk me down, Dae. If I had been thinking of jumping--which I was not--I'm sure you're kindness would've changed my mind. Of course, not to distract from how serious a topic that is, why is that where your mind went first?"
Evan stepped down from the ledge and closed the remaining distance between them, as Dae let out a breath he didn't realize he'd been holding. "I don't really know...I just didn't want to take a chance of not saying anything..."
"You continue to surprise me, Dae." Evan looked away with a slight blush before he tried to clear his throat. "But that misunderstanding aside...what brings you to my little getaway...? And with such a grave face..."
Dae's heart hammered in his chest as Evan softly laid a hand on his cheek. Despite wanting to stay in the redhead's touch, Dae stepped away, his face flushing like crazy. Evan managed a small laugh as Dae tried to compose himself, "I wanted to check in on you...After this morning."
Evan tensed just slightly, and Dae wondered if the redhead had hoped he didn't notice. Evan looked away for a moment before speaking in almost a whisper, "I'll manage...Just hope someone else becomes the talk of the town so people can forget me again..."
Sadness flickered through him at the thought of asking Evan to relive the torment from earlier, but Dae had to know the answer to the question that had been on his mind all day. "And what...What was that they said about the video?"
Suddenly, Evan's entire body went rigid and he took an involuntary step backward. Dae noticed it almost seemed like the redhead was shielding himself from this particular conversation. "Please, Dae...I can't..."
"C'mon, Evan. Maybe I can hel-"
"No!" Dae is startled by the volume of Evan's voice as the redhead takes a few steps to be directly in his face. Despite not having as much height as Dae did, Evan's unwavering anger was enough to stop Dae in his tracks. "We're not doing this. So stop trying! Just forget about that fucking video!"
Evan stepped around a still stunned Dae who was unable to do anything other than watch the redhead storm away. A second later Dae went to the edge of the roof to catch his breath.
After a few failed breathing exercises, Dae looked over to the sound of a metallic exit door being slammed against the brick wall. A patch of fiery red curls, rushed out the door and down the street just as the bell rang sounding the end of lunch. And apparently the end of their conversation.