Chapter Text
"Man, my man!"
The silence is interrupted when a group of teens enter the locker room, shouting and cheering about their victory.
Ivan grunted after a teammate shook his shoulder while entering the room, exclaiming, "Good job on scoring us those points back there!"
"He's called Golden Boy for a reason," Dante was another teammate of his, the vice captain of the football high school team.
Although Ivan may have been the new recruit during his junior year, he already made himself known throughout the building due to his remarkable skills. He was classified as the "Golden Boy" who won the majority of the matches. To top it all off, Ivan's appearance had everyone weak on their knees.
Those who lay eyes on him would think he's some sort of male pulled out of a romance novel– handsome, skilled, etiquette, money and fame. He had it all and everyone adored him for that.
However, Ivan was heartless. He was never in tune with his emotions. The teen could never truly express himself with words or actions without it feeling fake. Maybe it was because his parents were never present or the fact he was home-schooled the majority of his life until last year.
Either way, Ivan puts a mask on to fit in with the crowd. He made friends that intrigued his life, but his sister wasn't too fond of them. Ivan shrugged it off because it wasn't his sister's concern to get involved in his life.
"It's been a while since we've been to the semi-rounds. Let's give it our all, yeah?"
"That's such a huge accomplishment. We should celebrate," Ivan could hear Travis (who he found quite annoying) encouraging the others to the idea, already hinting that alcohol would obviously be included. It didn't take long for everyone to agree.
"Ivan?" Everyone looked at him. "You coming?"
A fake smile formed on him and he nodded. "Obviously."
The team crashed one of their teammates home because they claimed their parents were out on traveling. Cans of drinks were pulled out and each person grabbed their own individual alcoholic drink. Ivan could never figure out how they could obtain these without getting caught.
Ivan talked in the conversation once in a while, even laughing along with some of the comments his teammate made. He didn't realize how fast time went by until his sister spammed his phone with messages and calls.
It was almost midnight.
Ivan did want to go home already. He was tired and dozed off from the liquor, so he was about to excuse himself until one of his teammates made an interesting comment.
"Ivan, you must have it so easy."
"What do you mean?"
His teammate sighed, leaning onto one side. "It's easy for you to get any bitches. I never once saw you fail in dating."
That was true. Ivan was in previous relationships before with students from school, but none of them made it past two months. It never affected him as much because he wasn't interested in any of them.
Ivan never felt a spark connection.
He remained silent as the teammate continued: "I mean, all these girls are coming after you like flies! I bet you could take on anyone with those looks, don't you think?"
Anyone, as in both girls and boys? Ivan pauses to think about the thought. He never even thought of looking at a boy from a romantic perspective– is it any different from a female?
"I bet I could," Ivan could already tell what was coming. It was a natural occurrence between the team, making bets that were both humorous like wearing a silly costume during a match or testing their abilities.
Sometimes, it could be a bit damaging. Ivan recalls this one time where his teammate took on a bet into making a girl fall in love with him and breaking her heart when she confessed. It was successful, giving a good laugh to the whole team, but discarding the emotional toll that girl endured.
"Anyone? Like in both genders?"
"A boy? No offense, but I don't think boys will swoon for Ivan."
"Really? I think he totally can! He has the looks-"
"No, I think I agree too. Ivan only even spoken to girls, so it might not work–"
"I bet I can," Ivan cuts them off. He sees some of the boy's unsure expressions. "You think I can't?"
"We should make a bet then," The same teammate from before swung his arm around Ivan. "I bet you can't make a boy fall in love with you. Oh, and also date the man."
It shouldn't be too different from a girl, right? Ivan could do this challenge with his eyes closed. A man is no different from a woman, Ivan will make sure that person is under his thumb.
"Let's spice it up a bit!" Not to Ivan's surprise, Travis decides to intervene in the bet by enforcing his own little twist. "We can't let Ivan pick and choose an easy opponent, right?"
Everyone praised Travis like he made some historical discovery, immediately agreeing and coming up with options they could choose from.
"Not him. He's too easy!"
"That person is too much of a crybaby."
"He'll know it's a prank within seconds."
They continued to bicker amongst each other until Travis clapped his hands to grab the team's attention. "There's this student who recently transferred. He's in the Music and Arts Department," He snickered. "I heard he's a lil weirdo."
"Oh, I know who you're talking about! He's the emo kid in my class. He doesn't really speak to anybody–"
"That's exactly who I'm talking about! He thinks he's some hot shit or whatever," Travis scoffed, recalling the time the student cursed him out on campus. "Which is why I think it's a great challenge!"
"Alright then, it's a deal."
Ivan was a man of his words and immediately went to go find the emo student in the Music and Arts Buildings the following day. He was given a description of the male, but was told: "You'll know him when you see him. He really stands out."
They weren't lying.
He caught a glimpse of him right away when students began piling out of the classroom. The student really stood out in the crowd with his oversized clothing, black nails, excessive jewelries and smudged eyeliner.
"Hey."
The student stops right in front of him, taking off an earbud. He appeared pissed that Ivan stopped him, spitting back a nasty "What?"
Alright, Ivan pats himself in the back for grabbing his attention. "You're new around here, right? Let me show you around–"
"Fuck off."
The student passed by him without shoving his shoulder against his. Ivan clenched his fist and looked back at the male disappeared into the crowd.
'This is going to be fun.'