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 Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 5:37 pm
Énna responded to Cassidy’s grin with a small smile of his own, hopelessly amused even if he still felt a bit awkward. Sometimes he wondered what it would take to get over his own unease with people. Énna thought it might be impossible. He was grateful, at least, that there were people willing to be around him despite that.
“I try to be good at school,” he explained. “I don’t want to cause trouble for my dad, so… even when people are assholes, I try to ignore it. If they’d hit me first I think I’d feel less guilty about it, but… most people don’t take it that far. I did punch someone once when I was still at Knightside, but it was off campus after school so no one ever knew. I think the other kid was too embarrassed to go around talking about it. No one wants to lose to the skinny kid who paints his nails.”
Énna set his cup down and dropped his hands beneath the table for a moment like he was trying to hide them, self-conscious about drawing attention to them. He picked at some of the polish, but forced himself to stop and put his hands back onto the table, holding his drink between them.
“Anyway… Going for the eyes isn’t a bad idea. Especially if you were ever against a monster, right? Try to blind it and run.” Énna laughed lightly, awkwardly. It was strange making light of things that were actually very serious, but he thought he was doing an okay job pretending it was all make believe. “But I can teach you sometime if you really want. I don’t know how good I’d be. I know how, but teaching’s different. I’m kind of…”
Nervous. Shy. Better at blending into the background than putting himself front and center in any conversation.
“I mean I’m—” Pathetic. Miserable. Boring company on the best of days; a depressing nuisance on the worst. “But… it never hurts to know how to defend yourself, whether it’s monsters or… people. As long as it doesn’t aggravate your shoulder…”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:21 pm
Cassidy nodded along at first, listening intently to Énna’s secret lore. His eyes lit up when he heard that Énna had punched someone in Knightside. He would never have imagined it! Good for Énna! Who? Why?
Naturally, the story drew attention to his nails, but Cassidy had already snuck a few peeks at his current design. He wanted to soak it in before Énna picked the design away.
“I think you’d be a good teacher, Énna. I can’t imagine the possibility of being aggravated while you’re around, for any part of me. I feel very relaxed around you. Do you have my phone number? Let me give it to you, I promise I won’t text selfies all the time. Probably. We can figure out some time to meet up and you can show me how to punch monsters.”
He held his hands out and laid them on the table, palm side up and looked at Énna expectantly. “Can I see your nails? You pick at them a lot, do I make you nervous? You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to.” It wouldn’t stop him from asking but Énna seemed like he needed the reassurance that he was allowed to have boundaries, even if it was just in Cassidy’s nature to push his luck.
“Do you do them yourself or do you go to the salon?”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:51 pm
With the attention drawn to his nails, Énna felt too conspicuous to pick at any chipped areas of polish, so he bit at his lip instead.
“Um… I do them myself.”
Slowly, Énna released his drink and set his hands on the table, palms sliding against the surface as he brought them closer to Cassidy’s. He stopped an inch or two away, too nervous to touch. His arms were tense, like he might yank them back at the first sign of a negative reaction.
Not that he expected one from Cassidy. Then again, Énna’s more logical thoughts never seemed to be in agreement with his emotions.
“It’s not you,” he said, though the breathless rush of the words probably wasn’t the most reassuring delivery. “I’m always like this. Um… I started painting my nails to stop myself from tearing them apart, but… I still pick at them a lot, so… I have to redo them at least once a week.”
The damage wasn’t too extensive yet. Most of the colors remained intact—bronze on his thumbnails, teal on his index fingers, burgundy on his middle fingers, sparkling gold on his ring fingers, bronze again on his pinky nails. A simple array of fall colors without any extra adornment.
“Sorry, I’m just… like this…” Énna tried for a rueful smile but wasn’t sure he managed it. “I actually—I don’t think I have your number. I’ve always been sort of… you know…” Quiet. Hesitant. Introverted, maybe. “I mean, I don’t mind if you—I’m not the best at, like, texting and stuff. Or talking… But I’d like to.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:54 pm
Where Énna was reserved, Cassidy was not. His hands had been offered so Cassidy readjusted himself once more to get a better look. They weren’t far away but he wanted them closer. “Énna, these are pretty. I mean, yeah, I can see where you’ve been picking at them, but I totally get it. Smart move.”
And then, because his hands were so close, Cassidy crossed the distance between them and took Énna’s, lifting them gently. Énna looked like he was ready to recoil, like he was afraid that this was some sort of trap. Cassidy didn’t blame him but he wasn’t deterred by Énna’s nervousness. Maybe it just emboldened him.
His touch was gentle and he didn’t hold Énna’s hands enough that he couldn’t get away–he wasn’t trapped here!–but Cassidy couldn’t help himself.
“Your hands are smooth, you’ll have to tell me what lotion you use. Or is this just your skin? It’s nice. Sorry, your nails. I’m focusing. You know people post videos online of their nails? You could do that, these are so clean and well done. Love the colors.”
So they were a little chipped and picked at, there was something endearing about it. It was so Énna. Not perfect, not pretending to be. Cute, and shy, and creative, and quiet, and getting into fist fights with someone from school.
“Will you paint my nails sometime? No pressure, you won’t hurt my feelings if you say no. I just think your nails look really neat and I can’t ever make mine streakless.” He could, but Énna didn’t know that and he wasn’t going to tell him otherwise.
“It’s okay if you’re not the best at texting or talking, I’ll say enough for the both of us until you find your voice. I’m either a really good influence, or a really bad influence. Depending on who you ask.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:55 pm
Énna struggled not to pull away.
He didn’t mind touch, and he wasn’t always a stranger to camaraderie, even if true, lasting friendships had only come into his life in recent years. People could be kind. The world wasn’t full of bullies, they just happened to be the loudest.
Cassidy had never been that way. He might like to tease, and he could be loud, and, sure, the amount of talking just this one interaction necessitated could be overwhelming, but Cassidy wasn’t cruel. Or he hadn’t been. Not to Énna. Not before he’d left town, and not now that he was back. He’d never given Énna any reason to mistrust him.
So while Énna remained tense, he let Cassidy take his hands without jerking back. Énna’s cheeks grew pink, unused to the attention, or the easy compliments.
“Yeah, I can—If you want,” he said, swallowing down as much of his nerves as he could. “Sometimes I—Or, actually, only recently but… Atticus let me do his nails, so if you want… I have tons of stuff. Lots of colors. Stamps and stickers and little rhinestones. I haven’t really—I mean, I don’t think I could do videos. I wouldn’t know what to say, but it’s fun designing things. This week I went plain because I didn’t have a lot of time. Last week I painted leaves.”
Énna’s smile, as always, was small and tentative.
“I don’t think you’re a bad influence,” he offered shyly. Énna rarely felt confident enough to tease anyone, but he gave it a try anyway. “Except… I think maybe you’re trying to avoid your homework, and the nails and the texting might give you more reasons to do that.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:57 pm
Cassidy froze, like he hadn’t been expecting it from him of all people, and his eyes slowly lifted from Énna’s pretty nails to his pretty eyes.
“Ohhhh,” he said slowly, and the corners of his lips twitched. “Oh, Énna! Don’t be so cruel to me!” he laughed then, and briefly squeezed both of Énna’s hands before releasing them. Poor Énna had seemed like he was trying so hard to stay still, Cassidy was worried his hands might start sweating from the strain if he’d held on for much longer.
“Okay, maybe you’re right. But don’t think I wasn’t being sincere about all that stuff I said! I can’t help it if you and your nails are far more interesting than my homework!” He laughed again and leaned back in his seat. “You’re funny, Énna. We have to hang out more. Atticus is an artist, isn’t he?” he asked, but he already knew the answer.
“If he let you do his nails, he knows you're good, too. So, pretty please, one of these days I’d love if you could do my nails. I hope you’re at least taking pictures of your nails so you can show me! And if you ever decide you want to make a video,” he shrugged. “I love talking, I could be your voice.”
He wasn’t taking it very seriously, but he wiggled his fingers and looked at his bare nails and then groaned and dipped his head until his forehead touched the table briefly. When he sat up again, he looked at Énna pleadingly. “I really do not want to do this homework, Énna,” he fake cried, but dropped it just a second later. “Have I kept you too long? Please don’t leave me. No, I don’t mean that. I bet you’re too nice to say no, aren’t you? And then you’d sit here the whole time, worrying about coming up with a polite excuse to head out? You don’t have to do that with me, you can just say you have to go home and it won’t hurt my feelings. As long as you promise we’ll hang out again sometime.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 6:59 pm
The temptation to take the kindly offered excuse to make his escape was strong, but Énna stayed right where he was.
His palms were a little sweaty. His heartbeat had doubled. He felt fidgety from nerves, like he had too much energy coursing through him and no real outlet for it. He constantly worried about doing the wrong thing or saying something stupid. Was he too enthusiastic? Was he not enthusiastic enough? Should he ask more questions? Should he express more concern? Was Cassidy indulging him or did he mean the things he said? Énna had no reason to assume anything but the latter, but that didn’t stop the doubts from trying to creep in at any available opportunity.
But the smile—still small, still timid—hadn’t left his face.
“What if we both do some homework?” Énna said. “I can help with your math. If you need any help, I mean. If you don’t, I can just… Um… I have some of my own in my bag. I was gonna put it off until I got home, but—I mean, I can do it here, and once we’re done—as, like, a reward or something—I’ll give you my number.”
A bright flush filled Énna’s cheeks again. “Not that my number’s that much of a reward. And… I’d probably just give it to you anyway. But… I still have some time before I need to be home, so… if you still want company…”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 7:04 pm
“I do want company,” Cassidy declared unabashedly. “And I want your number, what do you mean that’s not much of a reward? Don’t sell yourself so shortly. And don’t tell me you’d have given it to me anyway, let me use it as motivation. I’m going to pretend you’ve said I’ll only get it if I complete all of my work before you have to go. So I will be a very good boy,” he assured, wiggling back into his seat and sitting upright as if doing so would somehow make him a more studious young man.
It did not. He was already itching to get up or to gossip or to find any other topic than math.
But, Énna had math. They could do it together.
Cassidy wasn’t so hopeless that he needed much help, but some of the problems at the bottom of the page looked like they’d have been easier with a second set of eyes doing the work for him.
He smiled sweetly at Énna.
“Let’s do it together.”
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Posted: Tue Sep 16, 2025 7:07 pm
Still a bit pink in the cheeks, Énna returned Cassidy’s smile.
“Right. Okay. I can keep you on task,” he said.
He wasn’t entirely confident about his ability to do so, if only because his nerves tended to get the better of him, but Cassidy wasn’t mean or judgmental and he hadn’t done anything to make Énna think he wanted him to leave. The opposite, in fact. Énna found himself wanting to stay in spite of his nerves. Even if he second guessed everything he said or did. Even if insecurity threatened to send his heart into his throat to cut off his voice. Énna swallowed it down and shifted in his chair, reaching into his bag for the binder with his math work in it.
He would stay, and they could finish their work together. If they happened to get a little side tracked by conversation every once in a while, that was okay. Énna liked hearing Cassidy talk. He even liked responding, because it meant Cassidy would talk more and Énna had the chance to feel like he belonged somewhere, like his company was wanted even if he wasn’t always so sure of himself.
Then he would give Cassidy his number. As a reward, sure, if that was what Cassidy wanted. But also because Énna wanted to give it. Because it might be nice to get rambling texts. It might be nice to send pictures of his nails when he redid them. It might be nice to share links to silly stories and random conspiracy videos about the things that happened around the city and pretend as if he had no idea whether or not any of it was true. It might be nice to arrange to meet here again—to chat or try a new drink or keep each other from being bored while they did their homework.
Even if he knew he’d feel awkward sometimes, Énna still liked the thought of it.
Maybe, with plenty of practice, he wouldn’t feel as awkward anymore.
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