Chapter Text
The rest of the week, though it held two more survival classes (plus P.E.), was not as bad as that first day. His other classes were free of Bickslow, though they were filled with loudmouths and wannabe class clowns. People barely listened to the teachers, who handed out detentions like sweets on Halloween to regain some semblance of control. It was a hell middleschool hadn't prepared him for.
But the weekend eventually arrived, and Rogue was thankful. Maybe his dad would take him to Felbright Park if he asked. Fresh liked the ice-cream there (they liked all ice-cream, but Rogue was under the impression that they liked that one a little bit more).
"Hey, Rogue? The boss called, there's been a massive fuckup. Not naming names, but someone who is definitely Jeff gave out confidential information and the boss needs all hands on deck.", Skiadram said, letting himself into Rogue's room. Rogue looked up from his computer, which was still fighting for its life trying to open Bing.
"Again? I though Jeff got fired.", he asked. Fresh ribbited in agreement. Jeff was incompetent.
"I hoped he would be, but turns out, he's the owner's son, so we're stuck with him.", Skiadram admitted.
"How long will you be gone?" Skiadram had returned from work not an hour ago.
"All weekend, probably. I'm getting Monday off though."
"You can't say no?", Rogue asked pleadingly, pulling Fresh into his arms.
"I'm sorry, kiddo. We need this job.", Skiadram said. "There's lasagna in the fridge and you can order takeout."
"Okay dad. Thanks.", Rogue said, giving his father a hug.
"Good job surviving the first week, by the way. I can't believe you grew up so fast.", Skiadram said, squeezing him tightly. Then he left.
Now alone with Fresh, Rogue went back to his computer. He had intended to look up what flavours would be available at the ice-cream stand, but now there was no point. He was about to close the tab, then looked back down at Fresh. "What do you say we lock in and figure out where you came from?"
He knew Fresh was likely something known as a 'cat', though Skiadram doubted it. Rogue was certain, Fresh looked a lot like the cats from the dragon books, or at least how he imagined them. But the library hadn't yielded anything factual, and his computer took so long to open any site that he hadn't bothered. But now that he had two days and two nights, he would be able to look into where his best friend had come from.
He typed the four letters into the searchbar and clicked the search button, then got up to put the lasagna in the microwave. Maybe the results would load by the time he got back. "Fresh, lasagna time!"
"Yay!", they chirped, waving their arms. "Lasagna~"
"Lasagna~, dear lasagna. Save us from this madness! Give us life, give us love, give us hope.", Rogue sang to the tune of the chorus of Fiore's national anthem. It was an easy tune, enough so for Fresh to easily sing along. "Dear lasagna, save our souls. Lasagna, give me strength. Give me strength for what's ahead!"
His History of Heroes teacher would execute him on the spot for his irreverancy, but she wasn't here. So take that!
The lasagna spun around the microwave, the yellow light spilling into the dark room. Maybe Rogue should have turned on the lights, but it wasn't 100% necessary. Anyway, cats could see in the dark, so Fresh would warn him if there was a problem. Hopefully.
"The la-sa-gna goes round and round! Round and round! Round and round! The la-sa-gna goes round and round!", Fresh sang loudly. Thankfully, that only lasted five minutes. Then the lasagna is done.
"You need to learn more songs.", Rogue decided. Fresh cheered, following him upstairs to eat.
Rogue set the lasagna down and returned to his computer, pleased to find that the results had loaded. He scrolled down, reading the titles. Wikidravia seemed like a good place to start. Once it finished loading.
Until then, lasagna time. It tasted good. Warm and meaty. Made with fresh tomatoes. At least that's what the packaging said. What kind of fool didn't trust the packaging?
"Fresh is done! Rogue can teach Fresh a song now!", Fresh said happily. Rogue put down his fork with a smile, trying to think about the song that would be least annoying to hear on loop for the next month.
"Okay, here's one.", Rogue decided, taking Fresh into his arms. "Then you have to go to bed."
"Okie dokie!", Fresh chirped.
"Here goes!", Rogue said, beginning to rock them.
"Underneath the cold November sky, I'll wait for you." It was only September, but it was cold. Rogue made his way to the window to look up at the sky. It was hard to tell because of the streetlights, but he was sure the sky was still cloudy.
"As the pages of my life roll by, I'll wait for you." He was already 17. He'd known Fresh for six years already. In three years, he would graduate. He would go to uni. It couldn't be just three years from now. So quickly.
"I'm so desperate just to see your face, meet me in this broken place." Rogue restrained himself from looking at the house next door, not wanting to risk seeing the face that came to his mind every time he listened to the song. He should have picked another song. Nothing good would come of digging up the pathetic kid abandoned by his best friend. Fresh was his best friend now. Unfortunately, they were staring up at him with wide eyes, enraptured by the song. He was in it for the long haul.
"Hold me now. I need to feel you." Fresh wrapped their little arms around his upper arm, prompting a smile from him.
"Show me how to make it new again." He carefully shifted Fresh to one arm, closing the curtains firmly.
"There's no one I can run to and nothing I could ever do. I'm nowhere if I'm here without you." How often had he sung along to the chorus, curled up crying in his bed? Sometimes, it had been about Skiadram. Sometimes, it had been his former friend Sting, who he barely recognised anymore. Sometimes it was something less tangible, but the hole it left in his chest was no smaller.
"Even if you take it all away, I'll wait for you." Did anyone, would anyone, ever feel that way about him?
"Even when the light begins to fade, I'll wait for you." Not much else he could do. He would finish his studies and make a difference, and he would do it even with the hole in his heart.
His voice was getting hoarse, but luckily Fresh had fallen asleep so he could stop singing. He tucked them into bed and sat back down at the computer to read through the entire Wikidravia article. It had pictures of cats, though most were blurry and unfocused. He was certain that they were the same thing as Fresh though. Once he reached the bottom of the article, he combed through the links for the most promising source. 'Felis Extalis - Ishgar's most mysterious species' seemed like as good a bet as any, so Rogue clicked the link. It didn't open. He waited for a while. Opening too many tabs would crash the laptop.
After five minutes, he clicked it again. Still no reaction. The link wasn't even lighting up. His freaking laptop crashed again!
With a sigh, he jotted down the name of the book and went downstairs to watch Dragon Sama: Love is War.