ever since like... ninth grade ianus had anticipated this moment; when he would land in an entirely different country all alone to spend nine months there for the exchange programm of his school. here it was summer, incredibly warm weather and long days, his guest family's house was close to the sea; the teenage dream

at first he had been a bundle of nerves, not speaking the language well enough to get by and not having met his guest family before made his stomach churn just a bit, but then he had seen you and your parents and two brothers standing outside the airport, waiting to pick him up. wide and friendly smiles on your faces indicated that you wouldn't eat him alive the second he fell asleep

neither your family or you ate him, of course, and he got along exceptionally well with you and your siblings; but even more so with you. conveniently enough you were just in the same year as him, securing him a person to talk to in the hallways or breaks, at least

when he had gotten onto the plane here, he had promised to not fall in love - though it would add terribly aesthetic tragedy to his exchange year-lore amd would make a great story for his grandkids - because it would likely break the boy's heart

and he had failed, miserably

"where are you going," he inquired as casually as possible, his head raising up from his iPad where he had been scribbling messy notes down, disturbed by the fact that you were leaving, looking all pretty. not that you didn't always look stunning, but he could tell that you had put some extra effort in the way your hair was styled, "meeting someone?"

that sounded like he was incredibly jealous, and he could not let you know that, especially not when you weren't even aware of the fact that he liked you, somehow. maybe you just didn't want to know, that's what ianus told himself to try and move on and not spend his entire nine months here sulking over a failed romance

"are you going on a date," he blurted out, though it sounded fortunately casual and teasing