Zeke and Fredric walked the well-lit pastel halls of the academy, covered head to toe in woven cotton bags filled with vegetables, all of which they got from the gardening club. Everyone looked at the two in shock as they wobbled from side to side, the bags tucked in their arms and slung over their shoulders, hanging below their armpits. Their dirty shoes left a trail of footprints on the sterile flooring as they walked.

"Why is everyone looking at us?" Zeke wondered. "Is it our shoes?"

"I don't think that's the case," Fredric smiled.

The two reached their classroom, setting their bags down near their desks. Immediately, they were surrounded by their classmates, bombarding them with questions.

"Where did you get that?" a boy with a fringe and glasses asked.

"My grandparents have been dreaming about eating fresh vegetables for decades," a girl with two ponytails remarked.

"Are they really that rare?" Zeke wondered.

"You wouldn't know since you've always been content with eating processed scraps. But non-processed food, especially vegetables, is extremely hard to come by," Fredric explained.

"Hey, you two," a slender thug with gray eyes, a buzzcut, and a messily tucked shirt approached. "How about sharing some with me?" he asked, leaning forward aggressively with his hands in his pockets.

"I mind. What about you?" Fredric turned to Zeke.

"Mhm," Zeke nodded.

"See," Fredric replied, "we both mind."

"I don't think you get it," the boy leaned forward, grabbing Fredric by his tie. "You nobodies don't have much of a choice," he growled.

Fredric looked up at the boy, visibly unamused, his expression almost bored.

Suddenly, Keith stormed in, parting the crowd and grabbing the delinquent by the wrist.

"What are you doing, Chive?!" he shouted, pulling the boy towards himself.

"This is none of your business!" Chive replied, visibly furious.

Zeke sighed, resting his hands on his chair, ready to stand up.

"Huh?" Zeke thought as Fredric extended his hand to stop him.

Immediately, Keith grabbed Chive by the neck, slamming him to the ground and pushing down on him with his knee.

"What do you think you're doing?!" Chive growled.

"What I think is right," Keith said with a stern expression.

He looked up at Zeke, appearing strangely sad the moment their eyes met, as if silently saying, "This is something I should have done before."

Zeke looked back at Keith with a strangely cold gaze, his face and mannerisms appearing distant.

"In this world ruled by violence, someone else actually protected me," he thought to himself.

"You're gonna pay for this," Chive continued, growling.

Fredric stood up, walked a couple of steps towards the two, then squatted down in front of Chive's face.

"Aww, is little puppy mad?" he smirked, mocking Chive, making him even angrier. "You can let him go," he said, looking up at Keith.

Keith stood up, getting off Chive's back. The two briefly locked eyes, a great deal of animosity sparking between them.

The professor walked in, announcing that class was about to start, making the surrounding crowd scatter to their seats.

The narrative has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the infringement.

"You're done for!" Chive murmured while walking away.

"Why did you do that?" Zeke asked, locking eyes with Keith, his gaze deep. "Why did you protect us?"

"It's something I should have done ages ago," Keith sighed. "Honestly, I'm not sure why I only did it now." He nervously scratched his head. "I'm sorry I never did anything when I saw you getting harassed before," he sighed.

"Do you…" Zeke paused. "Have anything planned after school?" he asked.

"Not really, why?" Keith wondered, looking confused.

"I'm gonna be cooking up something special tonight," Fredric explained. "He was wondering if you'd like to come over for dinner."

"Really? You're inviting me to have dinner with you guys?" Keith asked, visibly surprised.

"So," Zeke paused, "what do you say?"

"I'd like that," Keith murmured. "I'll come!" he shouted.

The ethics class began, taught by a psychology professor—a bald, slender woman wearing a black turtleneck with sleeves rolled up to her elbows and navy blue jeans. The class mainly focused on presenting life dilemmas to students and making them come up with solutions to these problems.

Both Zeke and Fredric spent the entire class sleeping. Zeke did it because he only found interest in academic and science-based classes, while Fredric couldn't be bothered to be lectured on morals by someone he deemed less experienced than him.

The class ended, and the three gathered together, taking the monorail to Zeke's place.

At the station, they were greeted by Mohawk and Bun, who were meticulously looking around every corner and trash can.

"Hi, boss," the two called out to Zeke.

"Boss?" Keith wondered. "Who are these guys?"

"Neighbors," Zeke replied, turning slightly pale.

"What are you two idiots doing here?" Fredric asked.

"Hey, blondie, watch it!" Mohawk angrily shouted.

"We're looking for discount stamps we could use at the store," Bun explained.

"You're looking for what?!" Fredric laughed mockingly.

"Hey, don't judge. Tomorrow's the last day they're valid," Mohawk explained. "That reminds me," he paused. "Hey, boss, Other Boss told us to tell you to drop by the club when you're free. It's about that thing you did for him," Mohawk said.

"The club? What are they talking about?" Keith asked.

"Nothing," Zeke sighed, walking right past the two.

"Nothing?" Keith wondered.

"Absolutely nothing," Fredric added, following after him.

Eventually, the three reached Zeke's apartment and went inside.

"It's cleaner than I expected," Keith remarked, taking off his shoes. "Are your parents home?" he asked.

"I'm an orphan," Zeke replied, hanging his coat.

"Sorry, I didn't know," Keith said, looking down in shame.

"It's fine," Zeke said, glancing towards the window.

"Alright, ladies, enough chit-chat. Let's start cooking!" Fredric called out, putting on his bright orange apron.

With swift movements, he sliced the meat he had bought at the store the other day, along with onions, paprika, and chili peppers from the gardening club. He covered a pan in olive oil and let it heat up until it was nice and hot before adding the meat, mixing it with salt and homemade spices the girls had given them. In another pan, he stir-fried finely chopped chili peppers until they were slightly charred before adding the paprika and onions. Once everything was done, he mixed it all together and served it with some sweet potatoes he had cooked in the oven.

While Fredric cooked, Zeke set the table.

The three sat down to eat, captivated by the wonderful aroma and taste. With great anticipation, they dug in, almost immediately gulping down all the food.

"That was…" Keith paused to catch his breath. "The best food I've ever had."

"I did a damn good job!" Fredric exclaimed. "What did you think?" he asked Zeke, who appeared somewhat out of it.

"I don't know," Zeke said thoughtfully. "I honestly couldn't tell if it tasted better than what I usually eat, but for some reason, I just couldn't stop wanting more."

"Yeah, that means it was good, dumbass," Fredric laughed.

"Also, it was a little too spicy for my liking," Zeke sighed.

"Spice is an acquired taste," Fredric said, standing up and bringing the cups of herbal tea he had prepared beforehand. The tea was made from herbs grown by the gardening club.

The three took a sip of the tea, immediately feeling a sense of ease and tranquility.

"By the way, why are the two of you living together?" Keith asked.

"You could say we have special circumstances," Zeke replied, briefly closing his eyes.

"I like his place because it's closer to the academy," Fredric added.

"Are you two by chance… you know… together?" Keith asked, visibly uncomfortable.

"Do we look gay to you?" Zeke asked in a slightly angered tone.

"Well, when you put it like that…" Keith lowered his gaze.

"I'm seeing someone," Fredric remarked.

"You are?!" Zeke called out in surprise.

"What's so strange about it?" Fredric asked.

"It's not strange per se, but more… unexpected," Zeke explained.

"So, who's the lucky girl?" Keith paused. "It is a girl, right?"

"It's a girl," Fredric sighed.

"Who is it?" Zeke nudged Fredric slightly.

"Yeah… well… this was a nice conversation and all, but we're promptly going to discontinue it and," Fredric stood up, "never talk about this again," he smiled.

"My turn!" he paused. "Doggy or missionary?" he shouted.

Keith's face instantly turned red, and he sat completely at a loss for words.

"I prefer 69," Zeke responded while sipping his tea.

"You know, talking about things like that is indecent," Keith mumbled, stuttering.

"The words of a true virgin," Fredric laughed.

"Stop!" Keith screamed, the redness spreading to his ears.

"Yeah, the dude's a total virgin," Zeke remarked, sipping his tea.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.