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“Why did I see you at the engineering building today?” Tutor asked, arms crossed and back rested against his brother’s bedroom door.
Pete, who had been hunched over his desk and scribbling in his journal, sat up, shoulders rigid. Without looking at Tutor, he said, “No reason. I was just looking for you, but I couldn’t find you before my next class started.”
“Pete,” Tutor said, tone sharp. “We both know what a horrible liar you are. Now, are you going to tell me about the boy you were sitting with, or am I going to have to steal your diary and read about him in there?”
Clutching said diary to his chest, Pete finally turned around. He didn’t meet Tutor’s eyes when he said, “His name is Ae. We met a few days ago. We…ran into each other.”
“Uh huh,” Tutor said with a click of his tongue. “So you ran into this Ae boy, and now you’re coming all the way over from the international campus to talk to him? Seems a bit excessive, doesn’t it?”
“Ae is my friend,” Pete said, face going soft and eyes getting dreamy. “He helped me come out to mom, and he stopped P’Trump from bothering me. He’s so kind and gentle, and he listens to me–”
“Stop.” Tutor pushed himself from the door and came to stand in front of Pete’s desk chair. “Stop it, right now. Because you sound smitten, and I don’t like it.”
Pete pouted. “And so what if I do? I can’t have a crush?”
“No, no you can’t. Look what happened last time you had one of your little ‘crushes.’ Not only did you get your heart broken, you got blackmailed. Do you want to go through that all over again?”
“Ae isn’t like P’Trump,” Pete defended, fingers curling into the pages of his journal as though he was protecting them. “He’s sweet to me, and he doesn’t make me feel bad for being myself.” Quieter, he murmured, “I don’t think Ae would ever do anything to hurt me.”
“Please,” Tutor said, rolling his eyes. “He’s a guy.”
“You’re a guy.”
“I’m your brother. It’s different. I have your best interests at heart.” Sighing, Tutor ran a hand through his hair to calm himself down. “I told you that if anyone is bothering you, you can call me. Or Ai’Saifah or Ai’Day. You can come to us for help.”
“But I don’t want to have to call your friends for help. It’s kind of nice having someone who cares about me because I’m me, not because I’m Tutor’s twin brother.” Pete broke into a bright smile. “And that’s who Ae is.”
“But,” Tutor worried his lip between his teeth. “He’s an engineering boy. Those guys are rough and tough and horribly brainless.”
“You’re an engineering boy, and you’re not like that. Neither are your friends.” Smile widening just slightly, Pete asked, “Are you sure this is about Ae and not about P’Fighter?”
“What?” Tutor sputtered, looking away. “Don’t be ridiculous. I’m only worried about you.”
“Mhm,” Pete hummed with a nod. “Of course. Rough and tough and brainless wouldn’t begin to describe P’Fighter, would it? You’d have to add frustrating and stubborn and hot enough to cook an egg on.”
“This isn’t about P’Fighter!” Tutor insisted despite his cheeks going red. “This is about you having a crush on a boy you barely know.”
“Just like you,” Pete pointed out with a giggle. “You’re a bit of a hypocrite, don’t you think?”
Groaning, Tutor threw his hands up and turned on his heel. “Fine! Keep coming to the engineering building to send heart eyes at your Ae! Just keep it to a minimum, so I don’t lose my lunch.”
“Do the same with your arguments with P’Fighter then, will you? The sexual tension is thicker than oil.” He waved his journal in the air with a grin. “Perhaps you should start your own diary. You have enough pent up emotions to write a novel.”
Tutor slammed the door before he could say anything else.