Viktor was on the rooftop, when he noticed a few people behind him, talking about something he didn't care about-"Hey, theres someone over there..." The first guy mused.

Viktor froze, clenching his jaw. "Hey, you're Jayce's lab partner, right?" Viktor tensed even more.

Now he's talking to me..? Viktor looked away, "Uh.. more or less, yes.." "See, I knew it!" He cheered like it was a major achievement. "Don't talk so loud, you'll freak him out..." The taller one muttered.

"It's fine, it's the festival!" He turned back to Viktor. "You're not around much, but you're pretty close with Talis, right?" Viktor sighed at that. "Well, I've known him for a while-" "Really? In that case," He grinned.

"Are you also a girl?"

...? "...Huh?"

"I told you to stop!" The taller one tried to get him to stop, obviously- "It's just a joke! Haha, sorry about that." He laughed.

Viktor was steeled in place with shock. What... What did he mean by that?

"...What are you talking about? If it's a joke... it's not very funny." "Noo- That's why I'm apologizing. I'm saying if you were a normal guy," "What's that supposed to mean?"

Viktor stared at him in confusion. "Huh?" "By 'if I was a normal guy,'" The guys looked at eachother.

"Could he seriously not know?" One asked the other in a hushed tone, narrowing their eyes. "That's why I told you to knock it off!" The taller one said in a tone that was equally quiet.

"But- He said he's known Jayce for a while, I thought he'dve known- I mean, Talis isn't exactly hiding it!" The one who confused Viktor the most spoke, hurriedly.

"...Eh?..." Viktor was shocked. It's...not a joke? He thought, looking at the ground. Then... He thought about Jayce, the times where his face lit up when he got an idea, how he rambled while Viktor just listened, how his eyebrows scrunched when he didn't understand something, how he... Then... What Jayce wanted to talk about...was... He could feel his heartbeat in his ears, as he swallowed in emotions unbeknownst to even himself.

The door opened.