“Yeah. Is there a problem with that?” he asked. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1N1s9iUARG
And it was as if immediately, Haven put on her sympathetic face. “No! Of course not!” she cried. Then she smiled at him. “My sisters' roommate is gay.” It took everything inside of me to roll my eyes, so I simply looked down at the ground. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡe9VM8l9T8k
Delcan smiled at her, but his smile clearly showed how annoyed he was with her already. “And?”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡfIobiMEinY
“Are you sure you aren’t straight?” Fawn asked him, rubbing her arm. I stepped back a little bit, and simply leaned on the locker, watching as my thoughts were telling me to snap back at her. Though, ‘I just met Delcan,’ so I have no reason to defend him.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡvpLxRVPMwG
Delcan nodded. “Positive,” he said.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡtKQoxZJHSS
“But you’re really cute,” Fawn said, giving him a flirtatious smile. It grosses me out how dumb girls can be when they see a hot guy around. I mean sure, sometimes I can blush myself, but with the four years of practice that I’ve had, I’m getting better each day at not showing my emotions with things like that. Fawn was no different than my sister, or Haven was around a guy with muscle impacts, though I really do wish she would at least go and flirt with some other guy who’s actually...available. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ18BqkTcYcz
Delcan smiled at her. “I’m aware.”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡXHYJfQE4Ca
And he wasn’t wrong. Delcan knew how good he looked, and he wasn’t afraid of showing it. More than half of his Instagram profile was just him showing off, or doing some effort to at least show his body in some way. That was why when he’d post something new, I would always have to wait until I was out of the way of my parents, which sometimes with bothersome.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡL5UCusBe9t
Maybe it as weird for me to actually be...whatever we’re doing is called, but hey, when I said he was hot, I wasn’t lying.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6bCHBWBOVN
“Fawn, stop it,” Haven said, rolling her eyes. Clearly, she wasn’t a fan. “He’s already made the choice anyway, so you probably can’t tell him different.”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡnSvmBKdfPQ
I had to refrain from rolling my eyes because that was one of the worst things my dad would always say about gay people. “They’ve made the dumbest choice,” Dad would say, shaking his head as a gay couple would walk across the street. The last time he’d said it, we were sitting in the car together, and I looked up and watched as one of the men had kissed the other’s hand. “It’s horrible, Ezra. Just horrible,” he said. I had to refrain from saying anything back, and I nodded as I kept my eyes away from him.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡqBWldqNOEX
He said that stuff all the time...and sometimes it hurt.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡiK8UsJQ3yL
But not as much as it did when he said that towards Delcan.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡQVEmig7wwW
“Woah,” Fawn said, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Did your eyes just change color?” Haven had noticed it, too, and they were watching Delcan with shock - like what basically everyone does - as he turned away from a split second, biting back something. I got myself off the locker and walked back over to Delcan, standing next to him now as both Haven and Fawn stared at him with their mouths open.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡmWxihLI5zn
After a moment of silence, Delcan nodded. “Yeah,” he muttered. “They do that.” I had to hold back the laughter I felt at the moment. Delcan had heard all of that so much by now, I’m sure he had his own script for how to answer it. But even Evvie, who hardly talks about how somebody looks, blinked a few times the first time his eyes went from green to amber around her. It’s pretty cool that his eyes can change color like that, though I’m sure he gets annoyed by it sometimes, or when people ask Callie if she has the same thing.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2R7aMAUDDs
“That’s cool,” Haven said.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡpuo3RHjYdQ
“How did it even happen?” Fawn asked, saying something before Delcan could even respond to him. I could already tell he’d rolled his eyes.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡUAMsS3dB9N
“What colors do they change to?” Haven asked again. Now, she seemed interested in him, more than she had been before. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡYbE6mrGg4k
After a second, they actually gave him some time to answer. “My parents know all the answers to why they change, and they change every color but red,” he said, sounding as if I’d been practiced in the mirror over and over again. And before Fawn or Haven could even ask another question, Delcan continued. “No, I don’t know why. And yes, it’s a genetic thing that happened to me when I was born, and no, I have no clue exactly what its called.” copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡJtO8xFPRD3
“But why don’t you know why they don’t turn red?” Fawn asked, not amused by the whole new situation and everything. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡHyDt1wxf7G
Delcan shrugged. “Is it seriously that-” I bumped his shoulder lightly and he paused for a minute. Rethink your words, I wanted to say to him, which would sound like my mom when she would try to stop Eric and Evelyn from fighting in public. “I’m not sure,” Delcan said. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ25SHce8Tvc
“Does it, like, change color because of the lighting, or your mood?” Haven asked, seeming just as interested as Fawn was. Her eyes didn’t even go over to me once, which was shocking, because she always did that.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡdfF1ndHd4l
Then again, the first time I saw Delcan’s eyes change, it took me a second, too. I didn’t want to say anything at first, either, because that felt wrong. But when they changed a second time, I actually pulled him to the side and asked him about it. He laughed then and told me that it wasn’t a huge deal. After Delcan had explained that it was an eye change that happens with his mood. After I went home that night, my brain kept on bringing back Delcan, even after I’d erased the thought. But after learning about his eyes, and how to understand it, I just became even more oddly attracted to him. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡhLUUeVqMay
Delcan sighed, and I looked over to him before he could talk back. He hit his shoe into the floor, then looked back up, his smile fake. “It changes when my mood does, so if you know me well enough, you’ll be able to know exactly what thoughts I’m having,” he said. Delcan’s parents and Callie were the only people who seemed to know all of the eyes, and even sometimes, I wondered if Delcan knew all of the different shades his eyes can have. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡsdEkUQz2J4
Both Haven and Evvie nodded, watching him with shocked eyes as Evvie began walking over. The person she was supposed to be guiding wasn’t with her anymore, so she wondered if they’d found their classes, or not. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡfWkVYH8GVc
“Hello,” she said. Haven rolled her eyes, and then looked at her. “What’s going on here?”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ1cXV7cRyY2
“They’re talking about my eyes,” Delcan muttered. It was clear that he’d wanted to say something rude, but he was restraining from it at the moment.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6rfKM9Blcl
Evvie rolled her eyes, and then looked at them. “And why is that such a big deal?” she asked Fawn and Haven. Instead of responding, Haven crossed her arms over her chest, and Fawn copied her. “Lots of people have eyes that can change color. Why are Delcan’s so fascinating?” copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡqriKmgsuXn
“Well-” Haven began. When I knew she didn’t have any excuse to give for being interested, she closed her mouth, looking angry. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡGYzEUHQMfP
Delcan didn’t even give thanks to Evvie, but she’d given him one of those nods that clearly meant you’re welcome. Haven seemed to have caught it, and she instantly became interested in it.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡOlg362dHnp
“Sounds like the two of you know each other,” Haven said, moving her eyes between Delcan and Evvie. Again, I rolled my eyes and waited for this entire conversation to be over. “Where from?”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ3OQlydC0Hz
Delcan and Evvie looked at each other at the same time, and then Evvie turned back around to look at Haven and Fawn, a short smile on her face. “Our parents used to know each other in high school, and they kind of stayed friends until a little while after the two of us were born,” she said. It would be a good cover up for Haven to believe, but I couldn’t. First off, Evvie’s dad grew up in Mexico, and Delcan’s dad went to a school somewhere close to Cuba before moving to the U.S. for college. On top of that, Evvie’s parents were around 28-29 when they had her, and Delcan’s dad was 21 when Delcan was born. There would be no way that either one of their dads would’ve known each other, especially with Mr. Hamill in Alaska. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡooyY2sFTeU
But, Haven doesn’t exactly care about other people like that, so she believed it.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡI3gY6m1k4p
“What she said,” Delcan said, giving Evvie a smile. I knew it was fake, but the smile was still charming in some way.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡK7dAsLN4Mv
Haven nodded slowly. “That’s...cool,” she said. “I guess.”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡEaTc8WEOPT
Fawn gave Delcan one last look, then locked arms with Haven. “We need to get to class, Hav,” she said. Then, finally, people noticed I was standing right there. “And all of you should, too,” Fawn said, making eye contact with me. copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡIyWYx3lyop
“Right,” I said, looking over to my girlfriend, who had just now seemed to realize that I was there. “I’ll see you later, Haven.” She smiled at me and then turned around with Fawn. The two of them left the hallway then, going into AP Science.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡX8waJZWw4J
When I knew that both of them were gone, I sighed. “That was horrible,” I muttered.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡ2IUWV3SARI
“You weren’t the one getting interviewed,” Delcan said. “At least nobody stops you randomly in the middle of a conversation and asks why your eyes just changed.” copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡtzhqyOuTmS
Evvie looked over to me, but then her eyes fell on Delcan again. “One more question, though,” she said.copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡjk0PuJPrgU
“Shoot.”copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡbjD5fy8880
“What color are they supposed to be, naturally?” copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡRCA938Xx2k
“Green,” Delcan said. “But they can change hundreds of different colors throughout the day.” copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡqlErb9b0Br
I already knew as much as I’d wanted to about Delcan’s eyes, plus, being late wasn’t my favorite thing in the world. “For one, Fawn is right,” I said. “We should probably get to class.” copyright protection22ＰＥＮＡＮＡVMLyR1709f
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