Library Secrets

The moment dinner had ended, Roman had disappeared into the crowds and made his way to the quiet stillness of the library. He headed straight for the back after grabbing a sport magazine from the shelf to hide his Mythology book. He didn't want anyone to know that he was studying. It wasn't that he wanted people to think he was dumb, he just was a bit embarrassed that he had to put in extra work to pass such an easy class. The spiky black haired male with white bangs had his nose in the book, sky blue eyes scanning over the pages carefully. It sucked that he really liked the class, but his grades didn't reflect it. He flipped the page, one knee up to his chest, the other was planted on the ground. He only lifted his gaze when he his phone went off every now and again. He would reply to the text then go back to reading. He was determined to pass this class with good marks this semester. Roman looked up when he heard footsteps, but dismissed it without much thought. A lot of people came to the library for this reason or another. He couldn't stop them from coming to the library. He flipped another page and then reached down to his backpack which had been sitting on the ground in front of him. It had spilled most of it's contents as if it'd suddenly come to life and vomited all of his notes onto the ground. He grabbed his notebook and a piece of paper and set it on the arm of the chair. He'd had a pencil sitting on his ear. He retrieved it and started writing notes, the soft scratching of lead against paper was rhythmic. He tapped the pencil against the paper a few times before continuing on with his notes.

Kim swore he had never been through a longer, more drawn-out dinner in his entire existence. It was probably because Ellie had singled him out and made him stand up during her announcement for a club which he was supposed to be running. He really hadn't wanted all the attention, but he supposed that it was the best way to get news about the club spread around. But now that it was over, he could beeline it to the library and see if this guy Ellie had told him about was there. To be honest, he was a bit nervous. What if this guy wasn't actually...well, into guys? What if Ellie's information was bogus and he just ended up making a fool out of himself? Kim took a deep, calming breath as he walked. It was just a question. If the guy said no, then he said no. Everyone in the school knew that Kim was gay, so it wasn't like any rumors could be spread about it. Once he got to the second floor of the library, he started pretending to look over books until he spotted the guy he assumed Ellie had been talking about. It was Roman? Kim had never talked to Roman personally, but he knew that the guy was on Felix's swim team, and he remembered that Roman had seen him playing guitar earlier. Kim swallowed. He was actually pretty cute, too. Oh god, now he was really nervous. Knowing who it was just made it worse. What if Roman was actually straight? Kim took another breath and walked over in front of the table, being careful not to actually run into it. He really couldn't tell how far the damn thing was from him, so he walked until his hand found a chair and leaned against that. "Hi there," Kim said quietly with a light smile. Well...first step was to get the guy's attention. "Whatcha readin?"

Roman stiffened when someone said hello. He'd been so into his book that he'd completely drowned out his surroundings. He looked up, folding the book ever so slightly to avoid exposing what he was really reading. "Oh, hi," he greeted. This was the guy from earlier. The one that had been playing the guitar inn the music room. He was really good. From the looks of him, he wouldn't expect him to be such an exceptional musician, but things weren't always as they seemed when you first looked at them. He blinked when he was asked about his book. He glanced down at it, a real casual look because he didn't know what he'd picked up. He'd just grabbed the first magazine in sight. "Nothing important or too interesting, just an article on football." He didn't even like football, but the cover had football on it, so he was just going with it. He closed the magazine, book and all and laid it to the side. He didn't know what this guy wanted, probably to point out that he'd seen him watching him play. He should probably justify himself before this guy thought he was a creep. "I saw you playing earlier. I wasn't trying to creep or anything," he said with a half smile. "You're really good."

Kim tried not to look flustered when Roman looked up and said hi. He wasn't normally so bad with things like this. He was usually really chill about talking to new people. But this wasn't just 'talking'. He was about to ask a question that could end in embarrassment for both of them. "Football?" Kim blinked. "You don't strike me as the football fan type," he said casually before shrugging. He was trying to be quiet as to not interrupt the others in the library. Or draw their attention. Kim blinked again when Roman said he hadn't been trying to creep, and then blushed when the guy told him that he was really good at guitar. "Uh...eheh...thanks," Kim started with an embarrassed smile. "I didn't think you were trying to creep or anything like that. I'm used to people stopping by the music room now and again when I play." He paused and tried not to blush brighter. "Oh boy, that sounded conceited, um...I really was stopping by to...um...ask you something," Kim said, taking a breath and looking off to the side, rubbing the side of his neck nervously. He wanted to wait for Roman to give the go-ahead before he actually asked. He didn't want to ask if the guy was just going to tell him to leave because he was weirding him out.

Roman looked a bit sheepish when Kim so forwardly pointed out that he didn't look at all like a football fan. He didn't even bother trying to argue with that statement. He sat back against the chair. If he'd been asked about football statistics or the players he'd have just stared at Kim like he'd grown a second head. "It really wasn't all that interesting," he commented. He looked off to the side, those sky blue eyes with their hints of green had averted themselves to avoid being shamed for being caught in a lie. He looked back to the other male when Kim blushed. He kept his face despite the smile that was tugging at the corners of his mouth. He didn't want to make it weird for the guy. That wasn't the type of person he was. His eyes brightened when Kim started talking about people watching him play and then turned around and swore he wasn't being conceited. He sobered up a bit when Kim told him he wanted to ask a question. He'd stopped by to ask him something. Stopped by? Did that mean he'd come looking for him. If he'd recognized the guy as Kim Babo he'd have assumed it was about Felix, but as it was, he didn't know who Kim was dressed the way he currently was, looking like the perfect pretty boy. "Um, sure, what's up?" He was a bit wary. Who randomly came up to people they didn't know and wanted to ask questions. He mentally shrugged. Maybe the guy just didn't have friends and was looking for someone to hang out with. He didn't really know. He supposed he'd find out in a second.

Oh jeez, he was about to ask this random guy that he didn't even know...to Homecoming. Kim took another small breath. He felt slightly out of it now. He cleared his throat lightly, but kept his voice low. "I was, uh...wondering if maybe...you might, um...consider going to Homecoming with me," he said finally, his face red with blush. Oh god, he'd just asked it. Kim rubbed the side of his neck again, glancing off to the side and glancing at Roman every now and then, but not for too long at one time. "I, uh...if you don't want to it's cool," he added in quickly. "I don't want to make this weird...though I probably already did," he muttered awkwardly.

Roman paled at the question and despite Kim's low voice he looked from left to right to make sure no one was in earshot. See, Roman was bi, but no one knew, except a few people, mostly those on the swim team, like Max and Felix. The thing was, he'd grown up in a home where he couldn't openly admit as much, so he was always wary at school. He'd finally built up the nerve to try and let it be known by going to homecoming, but he'd been having some trouble with who to take. Every possible person he knew had a date. Unfortunately for him, Ellie had overheard him saying as much to a close friend that morning and had butted her nose in their private conversation instead of moving along. It looked as though she couldn't keep her mouth shut though. All the time he'd been thinking about that morning he'd just been staring at Kim. He blinked once, slowly. His heart was racing in his chest. He was going to throw up.... When Kim started talking about not trying to make things weird and how he could turn down the offer he snapped out of it. His mouth felt dry, but he managed to speak. "No. I-I mean yes I'll go and no this isn't awkward...." It really was. They both knew it. Oh God, how many people had Ellie told? He suddenly wanted to go find her and have a very personal one on one talk with her. He rubbed the space between his eyes, taking in a deep breath and letting it out slowly. If he wasn't so worried about his livelyhood being on the line, he'd have been blushing because of this whole thing. "I, um, didn't catch your name," he said after a moment. "I'm Roman." He held out his hand. "Um, look, I don't want to be rude or anything, but...did Ellie tell anyone else," he asked. "I know it was her. Please tell me she didn't mention my name." Yes it was stupid for him to worry about what Ellie said, but if he decided to change his mind about this whole coming out thing, everyone would remain in the dark and things could remain normal.

Oh no. Had Ellie been wrong? Had he just freaked Roman out for no reason? He saw the way Roman's face paled, and the way he looked around from side to side. He didn't want anyone hearing this conversation. It was understandable. He didn't want anyone thinking he was gay. Kim nearly deflated at the thought. Looked like he'd be hanging with Recha for Homecoming after all. And then Roman finally spoke and Kim blinked in surprise, his eyes brightening some. He'd said yes? Relief and excitement crossed his face, though he tried to hide it. But when he noticed that Roman seemed to be panicking, that excitement faded a bit. "I'm Kim," he said with a light smile, shaking Roman's outstretched hand lightly. He finally decided to take a seat, lowering himself slowly into the chair when Roman asked about Ellie. Kim shook his head. "She didn't even want to tell me. I kind of...strongarmed her into it." Kim gave an apologetic smile. "Sorry...she didn't mention you by name. She just let me know where you'd be. Don't be mad at her. She was just trying to help me out," Kim told Roman lightly. "Um...are you okay..? I can uh, heh, tell you're not out yet. I don't want you to feel bad about telling me no if you're not ready for other people to know," he told the other male quietly. "Coming out is scary, I know."

Roman smiled when Kim stated his name, that smile was accompanied by a tilt of his head as he took a moment to reexamine the other male. "Kim? As in Kim Babo?" There was no way. This was insane. "You look, so different. I-I didn't even recognize you. I thought you might be new." He smiled, a shade of red crossing his face. Now he was feeling a bit embarrassed, but it was okay. Now that he knew who this person was, he wasn't feeling as bad about everything. When Kim took a seat, he turned to him just slightly. Kim was attractive no matter how he dressed, and Roman had admittedly looked at him once or twice, but he'd never bothered initiating things because he'd not been ready. What luck he had with the guy approaching him this year. He nodded lightly as Kim stated coming out was scary. "Yes, it is. I wanted to go to homecoming with a guy so it'd be easier to come out all at once. I can't be myself at home, but I spend all year here so...I'm just tired of hiding." He rubbed the back of his neck. "Sorry, you didn't really need to know that." Roman guessed he'd have to thank Ellie later if this all worked out. He wasn't looking to date Kim or anything. Plenty of people took people out to homecoming and nothing ever came of it. Most people just didn't care to go alone. That much was understandable.

Kim gave an embarrassed smile when Roman asked if it was really him. "In the flesh," he chuckled lightly. "It's okay. I don't normally wear myself like this. My brother made me do it," he said with a small snicker. Now he was just blaming Recha for everything, even though it was both of their ideas. He knew it shouldn't, but he didn't want people thinking he was suddenly straight or anything. Kim saw the blush on Roman's face and had to try not to laugh. Poor guy. Looked like girls weren't the only ones they'd been fooling. Kim nodded when Roman said he wanted to go to homecoming with a guy. He understood that. He smiled softly when the guy apologized. "No no, it's fine. I imagine you don't have too many people to talk to about this. But uh, if you ever need advice," he offered lightly. "So...mythology, huh?" he asked, glancing at the magazine covered book. "I'm not too bad at that either, if you need help," Kim teased with a chuckle.

Wow, the guy really had done a complete change around. Sky blue eyes sparkled when Kim said his brother had made him do it. "You're going to be breaking a lot of hearts if you keep that up," he replied with a small nod. He thought Kim could break hearts either way, but he wouldn't be laying it on thick like that. Besides, he was sure Kim already knew as much. "The only people that know are those on the swim team, but Max is the only one that really talks to me about it, and he's straight." He shrugged. "They're like my brothers, so I appreciate their support either way." He gave Kim a grateful look when the guy offered to give him advice if he needed it. "I appreciate it." What he needed was a way to tell his parents, but he just wanted to take this one step at a time. He blinked in surprise when Kim spoke of Mythology. He instinctively glanced to his book, his face turning cherry red, all the way up to his ears. He gave a nervous laugh. "Ellie told you my life story," he joked. "I'm kind of drowning in the course. It's embarrassing really. I just, can't grasp everything, which sucks because I like the class."

Kim smiled when Roman spoke of the swim team being like his family. He hoped Felix didn't find it awkward that he was taking Roman to homecoming then. The teal haired male chuckled. "This is only going to last a week at most. I can't stand looking like this," Kim said with a small laugh. He had to put his hand over his mouth to muffle a louder laugh when Roman turned beet red. "Don't worry about it. It's cool that you're studying. Nothin wrong with it," he told the other male. "I took the class last year though and did pretty well, so if you need some tutoring, I don't mind." He had a lot of things going on this semester, but he could find time to help the guy out. Making new friends was always a plus in his book.

Hearing Kim laugh made him smile. He had a nice laugh and it made him want to laugh in turn. "I know. There's just not a lot of time to do anything with practice and classes, and I just really suck at mythology. If you don't mind, I'll be very grateful for your help." He didn't want to take up too much of Kim's time. He did have to keep his grades up to get hood scholarship though. He had a few people scouting him and academics were just as important as swimming. He sat back in his chair. "And I'll figure some way to pay you back for the help." Whether it was money or helping with some class that Kim was having a hard time in.

"I hear that. There's so much to do and so little time," Kim said with a small smile. "I wouldn't mind at all," he told the other male. "I actually really like Mythology too, so talking about it is kinda fun for me," he admitted with a small chuckle. Kim's eyes lit up a bit when Roman said he'd find some way to pay him back for the help. "You can dance with me for a bit at Homecoming," Kim suggested with an eager smile. He couldn't help that he was a social butterfly. He loved things like dancing, and certainly wouldn't mind sharing a dance or two with Roman when the time came.

"It'd be fun for me if I could grasps all the gods and goddesses. There's just so many," he said with a small laugh. He was beginning to think that he could come to like Kim, like really like him on a personal level. The guy was really nice and made him smile. You didn't meet many people who were just so openly kind, most people wanted something in exchange for such kindness and here was Kim just asking for a dance. "I thought that was implied," he said with a soft smile. Roman hadn't thought this evening would turn out so well. He was eager to tell Max and Kelsey. Max was his best friend on the swim team, and Kelsey was the one he'd been talking to when Ellie had poked her nose where it didn't belong. It had turned out in his favor though, so that was fine. "But of course I'll dance with you."

Kim chuckled. "Well break out that book. We can start right now. I don't have anything to do for a while," he told Roman. When the other male said that he thought it was implied, Kim blushed a bit. "Heh, well...some people don't like dancing, so I just wanted to make sure I could get one or two out of you," he said with an embarrassed smile, his brown eyes glowing warmly. His embarrassed smile turned into one of pure joy when Roman said of course he'd dance with him. "Awesome," he chuckled happily. Maybe homecoming wouldn't be so bad after all.

Roman didn't want to start right now. He wanted to sit here and stare at Kim all night long. He wanted to have small talk that would become stories of each others lives. "What's the point of going to homecoming if not to dance with the person you've been crushing on?" He didn't mean to imply he'd been crushing on Kim, because he hadn't. He'd been to preoccupied with swimming. He was beginning to wonder if any of them had alife outside of the swim team. He really just wanted to have a relationship with a person that understood. Studying really was a drag and swim was becoming a drag too. Studying could wait, he had opportunity here. Or it could have in a different lifetime. He grabbed the book and set it between them. "We're going over Greek Mythology right now, specifically the relationship each God and Goddess has with Zeus. I keep thinking they're all related and it's just throwing me off, like did he marry his sister?" He sighed.

Kim gave a small grin. "Are you trying to imply that you think I'm crushing on you?" It wouldn't be entirely untrue, though Kim wouldn't have put it like that. He'd never really thought much of Roman before now. Hell, he'd never even had a real conversation with the guy before today. Sure Roman was a cutie, but that didn't really count as Kim 'crushing' on him, right? "Ohh, Greek mythology was my favorite section," Kim told him excitedly, listening to Roman's question. "Two of his sisters, actually. Hera and Demeter were both his sisters and wives," Kim told Roman. "Yeah, most of the gods and goddesses of Greece were related in some way. You gotta remember though, family wasn't viewed the same back then as it is now. So actually most of the more minor Greek gods are the result of inbreeding," he told the other male with a small chuckle.

Roman's eyes widened and he shook his head. "No. No, that's not what I meant at all. I just...um...oh man this is weird," he said with a nervous laugh. He looked at the ground then glanced at Kim. "What I mean is, that came out horribly wrong. In general that's what people want to do, but regardless, it wouldn't be much of a homecoming if you didn't dance with your date." He shook his head, placing his face in his hand. "Ignore me." God he was so embarrassed. At this rate Kim would end up calling this thing off. Roman wasn't usually like this. Usually he was up and goofing off with Max, but right now he was nervous. He looked at the book as Kim started into the Greek Gods. "This is why I can't pass this class with better grades. I can't wrap my head around someone marrying their sister or brother, let alone having kids with them." He sighed heavily. "Then there's so many of them. It'll be my luck we'll have to write an essay on all the demi-gods next," he groaned. Regardless he'd taken a moment to write down the information Kim had given him. He was going to make some colorful diagram later. He was a visual learning.

Kim smiled when Roman started stuttering and getting embarrassed. Cute. "It's okay, I was just messing around," Kim told the other male, his voice apologetic. The teal haired male shrugged. "I dunno, I'm sure there's people that go that don't dance. Probably," he added uncertainly. Kim's smile widened when Roman told him to ignore him and he gave what could've been considered a small giggle. Oh god this guy was funny. "Hehe, and here I was thinking that I was supposed to be the awkward one," he said, covering his mouth and trying not to laugh aloud. This guy made him feel better about being nervous. It was easier for him to calm down when Roman was just as nervous as he was. "But...um, anyways. Yeah. Back then the relationship between brother and sister wasn't as "sacred" as it is now," Kim said, making air quotes around the word sacred. "Also, the running joke in Greek mythology is that Zeus pretty much slept with everyone, so a lot of the gods come from him in one way or another. Unless you include Hades' kids," Kim mused.

Roman looked up when Kim giggled. He was sure that it was most definitely a giggle. It made him smile, a genuine, award winning smile. One of those smiles that you only get when someone's caught of guard and it sort of just slips. "Awkward huh? I haven't witnessed anything awkward about you at all. Your body language speaks confidence." Okay, he wasn't trying to be overly observant, he just tended to pick up on those things. It was good that Kim had confidence, it meant he was comfortable in his own skin and that was important. "Don't worry, I'm not going to homecoming without getting at least one dance," he said. He didn't love to dance, but it was fun. This summer everyone on the swim team had gotten together for a big sleepover and the night had ended with dancing before everyone had passed out for the night. He drew one knee up to his chest and listened to Kim explain. He pointed to the textbook. "Hades I can deal with, he's easy. Zeus on the other hand needs...." He trailed off. "Nevermind. So, Aphrodite and Artemis and Apollo are also Zeus' kids too right? Oh and Hermes too." He raised a brow and clicked his tongue. "Zeus was a manwhore...."

When Kim saw Roman's smile at his giggle, he couldn't help but blush. Oh jeez, now that was embarrassing. Brown eyes blinked when the other male said that his body spoke in nothing but confidence. "Eheh...maybe it's the look. I'm normally an awkward mess," Kim admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. Kim's eyes sparkled when Roman said he wasn't leaving homecoming without at least one dance. He hoped that if Roman only had one dance that it was with him. "I wouldn't say 'easy'," Kim snickered. "Hades was a kidnapper. He kidnapped one of Zeus' wives and forced her to stay in the Underworld with him." Okay, maybe Hades was easy to remember because he hadn't slept with everyone. "Zeus on the other hand needs what?" Kim asked curiously, leaning forward against the table. "Yup and yup," Kim said, grinning widely in amusement when Roman asked about Zeus' children and then said the god was a manwhore. "A super jealous angry manwhore," Kim said, covering his mouth and trying not to snicker too loudly.

Jesus Christ, he almost said they could be an awkward mess together. Whatever higher power there was in this world, it had just saved him from total humiliation. He silently thanked that higher being and then managed a smile. "It's okay, we all have our moments. Life's a messy adventure, it's natural to be a bit clumsy here and there," he said with a small wink. Oops, that had slipped. It was completely reflex. He did that with Max more often than not. "Hades still seems like the lesser of the two evils. At least he only had one wife. Monogamy is a thing." He was chuckling lightly. He could help he was stuck on this many wives thing. Hopefully it wasn't annoying Kim. When Kim leaned forward he didn't move. "To be fixed," he murmured, his face changing colors once more. He smirked when Kim snickered. They were going to get kicked out of the library. "Jealous and angry you say? Explain." He held up his pencil to show he was taking notes on everything.

"A messy adventure, hm? I think I'm going to keep that one in my arsenal," Kim said, blushing lightly when Roman winked at him. Kim couldn't tell if that had been intentional or not. But...the guy had just winked at him. For some reason, that was enough to make Kim swoon a bit. Holy crap this guy was cute though. And Kim had damn near said it aloud, too. "Actually, Hades tried to take more wives," the teal haired male told Roman. "But his wife Persephone kinda...well, killed the women he tried to seduce." Kim scratched the side of his neck thoughtfully. "Never thought of a god as needing to be fixed," he mused with a shrug. "Well, maybe not jealous. That was more Hera's thing. But Zeus was known for dishing out extremely harsh punishments to those who wronged or disobeyed him," he told Roman, smiling when the other held up his pen and paper.

Roman gave a sheepish smile. "Well, the thing is, I've never been too great at keeping things organized, so instead of being try to control everything I just embrace the chaos." He shrugged. "It's weird, but it works." He saw Kim blushed and shook his head, waving his arms in front of him. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to wink at you. You're going to think I'm stark raving mad." He rubbed the back of his neck. "It was completely out of habit. I wink all the time at Max, and it just happened. It won't happen again," he said taking a small breath after explaining himself. "Let's just focus on mythology." That was the safest route. Roman wrote down the notes, falling silent as Kim spoke. "I don't see why anyone would want to disobey him. He's a God and it'd be fruitless to go against him." He paused. "Did anyone manage to go against him and not suffer a horrible death?"