•Does it offend you, yeah?• [one/one]

Luckily for Damien and the others, after the class with the chill teacher, they learned the next class was cancelled due to the teacher calling in sick. So here they were now, heading towards the exit.

Franco caught up with him, grabbing hold of his arm.

"Dude, are you sure you know what you're doing?" he asked, hesitantly. "I mean, sure, i do believe its possible to turn him around, but im telling you, it's not that easy."

"Ya man, he's right." Amanda agreed. "He may not be that big of a threat, but he's in some really dangerous circles. You need to watch out what you're doing."

The boy looked at them both with his soft teal eyes, weighing their words for a moment before nodding.

"I'll try my best to keep safe then" he smiled, exiting the building and arriving where they were supposed to meet up with Kohen. Upon seeing him seated in the grass, Damien rushed towards him, only noticing something was wrong when the other turned to face him.

"Hey, is everything alright?" he asked, getting down on one knee to check his face better. There were faint blood traces near his nose, so it made him a little concerned. "What happened?"

Kohen looked away bitterly. What was he even doing here with these kids anyway? What was this going to do? Nothing. That's what. He glared at Damien when he got close and asked if he was alright. "I'm fine." He said harshly getting up and brushing off the concerned look on Damien's face.
Kohen was torn between being friends with Damien and their group and just returning to his own circle of friends. His friends were way better- close too. They did everything together even if some of it was illegal. He really wanted this normal life but Kohen was anything but 'normal'.
His thoughts spun.
He could feel something wet slide down his nose again and he instinctively wiped it away. He was going to pay Marcus back for that one later.
"Don't worry about it. It's just my friends…we were messing around"
As time dragged on the look on Kohen face softened as well. He really didn't have the right to b mad Damien. This was his fault. He had no idea what had possessed him to go to lunch with him that day. This was getting troublesome.

(sorry for the short reply and the long wait- i finally got kicked out of my house and had to move my stuff 😂 i honestly didn't do too well there for a couple of days)

The boy didnt push the matter further, even though it was clear to him that something had happened between him and his 'friends'. Personally, he wouldnt exactly call them that - friends do not hurt each other, not like this, they should be people who share common interests and feel good together, that help each other when theres need for it.

"All right then…" he tried changing the subject. "Shall we, umm.. go to the theater then?"

Behind him Amanda and Franco were already sharing concerned expressions: who knew what had occured that would affect them in the future?

(ayy man, its fine, i hope ur ok.)

Kohen nodded and quickly walked off before they could interrogate him further. "So did you guys decided what we're gonna watch?" He called out behind him. Kohen was trying to make small talk, something he never did because what the point? But he really wanted to be part of this group for some reason.
Kohen just hoped that his friends didn't return to get him. Not while he was out with Damien and his friends. It would be a disaster. Little did Kohen know that, that was exactly what was about to happen.
He didn't know the real reason why his friends were so set on keeping him apart from others, but he would find that out soon enough.

(yeah im good now lmao, i've just been very lazy not gonna lie, i've ran out of inspiration)

Damien sprung off to catch up to Kohen, not wanting to let any distance between them.

"We haven't decided yet, we're still going with the 'we decide when we get there' plan", he explained once he got closer. Unlike the other, he was just slightly worried about Kohen's state at the moment. Thankfully, they reached the cinema with no further issues, entering the cool hall lit up by various posters with up-coming/current movies. Franco went on to check the list of available movies, leaving the other three in front of the entrance.

"Ok, so right now we have Mulan, Bad boys for life, some new horror movie i cant remember, that Dragon movie we saw trailers for and some Marvel stuff. Which one do u guys wanna pick?" he came back after a few minutes, counting the movies on his fingers.

Damien instantly looked at Kohen then back at Amanda, who was considering the options as well.

"Why dont we go with the dragon one? You liked the trailer, didn't you?" the boy said, gesturing towards Franco. "And i doubt you would last more than 5 minutes at a horror movie"

"Sounds about right honestly, i'm with Damien on this one" Amanda joined in.

"Well, in that case i'd say we have like, 10 more minutes before it starts so how about we grab some snacks before we go in?" Franco eventually gave up, lifting his hands in the air and gesturing towards the food shops around the cinema.

(its ok, its ok i feel u - also i was hoping they dont run into the other gang too soon? Like, maybe they get to see the movie and have time to chill?)

Kohen's expression softened when Damien came close and explained everything to him. "Ah, I see, i guess we'll see when we get there then.." He said softly.
As soon as they entered the cinema, Kohen's demeanor completely changed. The anger seemed to be replaced with amazement. He really hadn't ever been into the place and he was surprised as to how many colors there were. It was like a kid's dream come true, and that kid was Kohen.
As with anything that he found interesting, his eyes seemed to sparkle as his mouth curved into a smile. "wow" he breathed. Kohen almost couldn't contain his excitement when he saw the arcade in a different room, but he waited for the rest to decided on a movie. Kohen also had to contain himself for that. He had really wanted to see the dragon movie too and now he would be able to.
Kohen coughed a little to disguise his smile. "um, yeah, getting snacks sounds fun. We could get some popcorn and candy" he said, trying to keep a straight face, but Kohen was secretly eyeing the arcade.
He went over to the counter and looked at the different varieties they had. There was something that caught Kohen's eyes and that was none other than the sour jellybeans. He stared at them for a very long time as if trying to intimidate them. Then he decided he would buy all of the sour jellybean packs. I mean, he wasn't going to get another opportunity like this, better stack up now.
And so that's how Kohen ended up with a bagful of the jellybeans. People probably thought he was crazy, but he just really loved the jellybeans. As soon as he had done the deed he ran over to the arcade, like a little kid without parents. He gasped when he saw the claw machine with the stuffed animals inside. He knew he had to get one now, it was like the machine was challenging him.
It was on.

(no, yeah, that's totally cool! I was thinking the same !)

While waiting for the movie to come up, Amanda and Franco agreed to go grab something to munch on during the movie, leaving Damien to go after Kohen; on one side they wanted to leave Kohen to do whatever he wanted in peace, but on the other, Damien wanted to keep an eye on him, just in case. Seeing the smile on his face and the glee in his eyes made the boy understand how happy the other was.

He marched into the arcade, following Kohen to the claw machine after he saw him basically swipe the jelly beans into his back pack like a kid making supplies. Silently, he trotted over and watched the other try pick up a plushie from the pile with the notoriously slippery claw.

"How's it going so far?" he probed, leaning in forward a few inches

Kohen didn't look at Damien as he tried to scoop up the fluffy stuffed animal, he was in total concentration mode. "Horrible- but this time- this time imma get the little fucker. He's mine." He said as he saw the animal fall. He let out a string of curses as he accidentally kicked the machine.
Then, he dug into his pocket and scooped out a few more quarters. No one really knew this but Kohen had a passion with playing crane games. Every time he saw one he wouldn't hesitate to play it. Sometimes he'd be at it for hours on ends- hence why he always carried loose change everywhere he went.
There was a slight blush on Kohen's face now that Damien was watching- it made him nervous, he never really had anyone watch him before. It made his ears turn slightly pink.
He started up another game and moved the crane forward, then when he knew he had the plushy he pressed the button. The crane successfully picked it up, but started slipping as the arm retreated.
And then right at the end, so close to the hole, it dropped.
Kohen's jaw dropped open. This was absolute horse shit!
Kohen looked around quickly before shaking the machine. He was sure the alarm was gonna go off, but the toy fell and he stopped. A small mischievous grin spread across on his face as he crouched down to get the small stuffed alpaca. When he got back up he faced Damien and held up a finger to his mouth. "shhh" as if telling him not to tell anyone.

The boy respected Kohen's need of silence as he concentrated, just watching the other maneuver the crane as best he could. His gaze flickered in multiple other directions as the string of curses reached his ears - personally, he never swore as he rarely got that angry, and even if he did manage to become pissed off, he'd usually mutter something between his teeth, most of the time a phrase his family used when they tried to abstain from cursing - but hearing blatant english swears tossed in one after another made him cringe a bit.

He continued his silent game of watching as Kohen tried again, this time nearly getting what he wanted. When the toy dropped, he was about to intervene in an attempt to try and help, but his words remained stuck in his throat as the other boy shook the machine and made the stuffed animal finally drop down the hole.

"You got it!" he cheered once Kohen turned towards him, showcasing his prize. "That was really close." he nodded at the other's gesture, promising to keep his silence.

Looking at his wrist watch, he pulled Kohen's sleeve, signaling him they should probably return to the theater to meet up with the others.

Kohen blinked when Damien tugged on his sleeve, it was a gesture he wasn't familiar with. But nonetheless he understood what the other was getting at. "Yeah, we should get back" He said, subtly pushing the stuffed animal onto Damien as he walked off. It was Kohen's way of saying thank you for letting him tag along, besides, the kid was starting to grow on him.
Kohen wouldn't admit it, but he only gave the stuff he won in claw machines to people he really really liked. That or he would add it to his collection back home.
His father always got pissy about him having stuffed animals because it was "childish" and "girly", but Kohen really loved the soft texture. It was nice and warm when he cuddled up to them and that's all he had been looking for his whole life.

Kohen walked back into the main room of the theater and looked around for the others. He held on tightly to his sour jellybeans as if someone was going to steal them.

Damien had maintained his subtle soft smile as Kohen began walking back towards the cinema hall, though he had not expected to have the stuffed toy pressed onto him as the other walked by him. His hands rose up to instinctually grab the thing before it fell; seeing the stuffed alpaca in his arms he was momentarily stunned, looking back at Kohen with a surprised expression on his face.

"But Kohen, you won this…" he tried arguing back, even though the other had already left the arcade room. Holding the stuffed toy tightly, the boy quickly followed the other, looking after his friends once he caught up to Kohen. Once he noticed them, he waved them over and approached them.

"Right on time," Franco sighed, waving the tickets. "I was about to go look for you guys. Did u actually manage to get something out of the claw machines?" he exclaimed upon seeing the stuffed alpaca in Damien's arms.

"Actually, Kohen managed to get it, i just stood by" the boy replied, giving a small guilty smile

Kohen smiled at that. "I know a thing or two about claw machines. I usually go to the arcade a few blocks down the street with the-" He hesitated. "With the others. It's a lot of fun and we usually place bets on who will be able to get the most- or if any at all" He said, laughing. It was a fond memory of Kohen's.
"I have a lot of stuffed animals at home-" He stopped and a small rosy tint rose up to his cheeks. He couldn't believe he just admitted to having stuffed animals at home. In his room. He forgot for a second who he was talking to, Kohen almost even seemed to be comfortable around this new group of friends. He probably sounded like a dork now.
"So- uhm, I-" Kohen seemed to be stuttering on his words now, which only made his face turn a darker shade of red, he seemed embarrassed. He instinctively held up his backpack closer to his face in hopes to hide it a little.
"I let Damien have it…" He said at last. "Any- anyways ! Let's just go watch the movie!" He said, flustered.

While Kohen started stuttering after mentioning the stuffed toys at home, Damien found himself smiling simpathetically to himself. Personally, he found Kohen to be pretty sweet underneath the bully layer, a nice kid who just hung out with the wrong crowd. If they indeed managed to bring him into their friend group perhaps times like this would become more frequent. The fact that Kohen chose to give him the toy, of all people made his heart tingle, lighting up with the hope of helping Kohen be happy as much as possible.

Franco and Amanda nodded once the other boy suggested they go, not making any comments - they found it to be a soft detail to a dangerous kid, but it was nice to know that said detail was there. He wasnt a monster after all, was he?

The small group made their way to the red carpeted hallway, Fraco offering the four tickets to the woman standing at the entrance who gave them a positive nod before letting them in. The first two went ahead to find their seats, scanning the row letters then moving to the left in search of their seat numbers. The seats were pretty much in the middle of the room - the best spot according to Amanda. Damien once again found himself sitting between Kohen and the other two, like some sort of barrier between them - his friends were still weary of the other, unlike him. Once the lights went out and the movie started, Damien took off his shoes and curled up in his seat, as he usually did, hugging the plushie.

Kohen sat as well- though almost falling since he didn't quite know how movie theater seats worked. He stole a quick glance from Damien before focusing his attention back on the screen.
As soon as the movie started, Kohen's mind wandered. He pondered on everything he had done and the things that had been done to him. The fact that he never cried when he was hurt, but did cry at the smallest of the things, filled Kohen with bitterness. The boy had a lot of bottled up anger and sadness, but he didn't know how to get it out without exploding.
Before Kohen knew it, the movie was coming to the end- the climax playing out on screen. He then remembered his jellybeans and opened a bag, popping a few in his mouth. He made a face, the sourness spreading on his taste buds, yet he kept eating.
I'm probably gonna get fat if I keep eating these. He thought to himself, but since they were his favorite, he couldn't really stop himself from burning through three bags in one go.

Meanwhile, Damien had no idea of the thoughts going on inside Kohen's head - there was no way for him to know them after all. Instead, his own mind was a whole different situation. It was usually quiet, with calm thoughts laid out neatly, allowing him to focus on what he wanted, but recently some random feelings kept poking at him from various corners, fading in and out of existence, appearing when things were quiet and then vanishing again like a hit and run incident, leaving Damien ponder over them. In a way he wanted to make Kohen his friend, to give him more reasons to smile and live better - he knew the other boy's record both in school and outside, so he had figured that what he was going through must be affecting him deep, probably within his personal life.

But on the other hand, sometimes the feeling of wanting to help Kohen pushed a bit deeper than expected, to the point where he'd want to sometimes give the other a hug as consolation or do things for him that he knew would make him happy. It was a very weird feeling he could not explain, that's why he was so puzzled whenever it he felt it - and that plushie seemed to reinforce it.

His head has slightly slid to the side in Kohen's direction during the movie, not enough to touch him but enough that it was noticeable for anyone looking in their direction.

Kohen himself hadn't noticed Damien's position. He was too focused on the movie as the climax came to an end along with his tension. For some reason Kohen was still seated even when the credits rolled and the lights came on. The dragon in the movie went from being looked upon as a villain to being looked upon as the hero. Kohen knew it was foolish to compare himself to a cartoon, a dragon at that, but in a way he was like the villain- that much was certain….but could he become the hero, or was that going to prove to be too hard for him? He scoffed and rolled his eyes. He was digging too deep into this. He was the bad guy, period. There was no 'hero'. None of that cheesy stuff.
As soon as Kohen went to get up he noticed Damien leaning towards him. Was he asleep? Kohen then moved his head closer to Damien's to see if he was awake. If he wasn't…then what were they going to do?

Because of how his head was tilted, Damien had closed his eyes for a little bit to rest them near the end of the movie, dozing off in doing so, until the credits rolled and the lights turned back on. He was in no hurry to start packing - he'd rather let everyone else leave before he did, there was no point in getting mixed with the crowd. In that position, curled up on the chair hugging the plushie, it was the perfect position for him to fall asleep, regaining some conscience when he felt Kohen get up. He had dozed off at movies before, but this time he was too curious to let sleep take over too soon- it wasnt that he was tired, just that it was easy for him to fall asleep if he was comfortable enough.

One small nudge was enough to wake him up fully. He put his shoes back on and stretched his legs, feeling his joints pop from the prolonged time of sitting still. He rubbed his eyes as he yawned, looking around to the now almost empty theater.

"How long was i asleep?" he questioned, gathering his things slowly

Kohen pondered that. "hmmm….I'd say about twenty minutes? Give or take that is. I actually have no idea when you fell asleep…I was too focus on the movie" He said. "Though, I gotta say, you look a complete dork when you sleep" He snickered. "Well, a very charming one" Kohen said before going to pick up the sour jellybean wrappers off the floor. "Oh by the way, do you always sleep when you watch movies? Cause I think it would be better if you watched movies at home, that way you have a couch or bed to sleep on" He said after he had picked up the rest of the wrappers that littered the floor. Kohen was just trying to make a friendly conversation since everything was mostly silent.

Kohen wasn't quite sure why Damien had leaned his way, he could have easily leaned to his friend's side, but Kohen figured that he was reading into it too much and let it slide. The only thing that was on his mind right now was if they were gonna go home or do something else. Even though Kohen had ate a shitload of jellybeans, he was still quite hungry. The only thing he had ate was the lunch that Damien had brought him. Just thinking about it made his mouth water.

Damien gave a small awkward smile, arranging his clothing that had gotten wrinkly during his short nap. Hearing Kohen call him a "charming dork" made his cheeks gain a very faint trace of pink.

"Yeah, unfortunately i usually fall asleep midway or towards the end of movies, i have no idea why it happens" he replied, picking up his bag and plushie. "I don't think there's a movie i watched until the end in one go and i usually have to replay it to see what i've missed"

It was kinda embarrassing to admit that - it was the one thing he was kinda bummed about, one of the very last things reminding him of his sickly years. Back then a movie was usually the best way to help him fall asleep, given he had trouble sleeping and was tired all the time. Those were times he was kind of glad to be out of - now he was able to go out, have friends and overall enjoy life outside that he had missed while in the hospital bed.

Kohen's 'friendly small talk' made his usually calm mind fluctuate once again with that strange feeling he always got. The fact the got called charming while asleep caused his gay little heart to flutter. Was he… was he starting to feel something for Kohen? Nah, that could not be it, it was too early. But still, what if…?

"Guys?" Franco called out. "Do you wanna go eat something? Like a pizza or i dunno?"
Food? Why not, that way he could occupy his mind for a bit and calm down his emotions.

"Sure, any specific place you guys wanna go?"

Damien's small smiles always made Kohen's heart skip a beat and whenever that happened he made sure to internally cuss himself out, it was almost like a warning on his part. Instead, he arched an eyebrow and smirked, then looked Damien dead in the eyes. "Well, you better watch yourself. I tend to have bad habits and take advantage of cute little things like yourself- I just can't seem to control myself~" He teased, then laughed it off. Kohen hated the fact that he could make that sound like a joke when it wasn't. The gayer side of him was so suppressed that he acted on impulse at times. This lead to panic which would drive him to threaten the people he found attractive.
Kohen picked up the faint sadness behind Damien's silence and immediately shut himself up. "Well, hey, don't worry about it, they're just stupid movies anyways.." He muttered, trying to make the other feel better. Though it did kind of hurt him to say that. Kohen loved movies with a passion- especially Disney kid movies….but he would never admit that to anyone because according to Jake and Marcus he was supposed to be watching shows like SOA and South Park. He was never able to get into them though.

Having gotten caught up in the moment, Kohen was relieved that Franco called them out. "Yeah, definitely, I'm starved," He said, almost too eager to get out the situation he was in. There was no use in catching feelings and even if he did end up falling for another guy he would just have to fake like he was still a normal guy with straight interests.
He immediately caught up with Franco shortly after. Now if he could only convince the others that pineapple pizza wasn't as bad as everyone had it out to be.

"Ah-"
While Kohen's little threat joke attracted some pretty worried/weary looks from the other two, for Damien it stirred a bunch of different emotions. On one side he perceived it as a warning, but also as a joke, leaving him unsure if he should keep some guard up or see Kohen as a close friend. What get to him the most tho, was the fact he got called a "cute little thing", which coming from the other, made him blush a little bit.

"They're not stupid tho-" he continued, trying to calm down on the inside. "A lot of movies are beautiful and worth watching, like this one we just saw! I just need to keep practicing staying awake through them."

He really appreciated Kohen's attempt at cherring him up, which kinda worked in a way, so he offered back a soft smile, stopping himself from his impulse to give Kohen a 'thank you' hug.

At the third boy's suggestion, he too nodded in agreement - a pizza did sound nice right now after all - and Damien once again found himself walking by Kohen's side.

Kohen smirked but said nothing at Damien's comment.
As soon as they got to the restaurant, Kohen made sure to pick the seat closest to the window. There was nothing more beautiful than looking at the sky filled with stars on a night like this. He felt genuinely calm and at ease, something he hadn't experienced in a while- and he had Damien and his friends to thank. Even so, Kohen found himself wondering what made this group different than his current one. Sure, there wasn't exactly any violence, but didn't that make things more fun? More interesting? He wondered why they didn't do the things his friends did, were they scared?
Kohen shook his head and tried to enjoy the moment. Then, he dared to speak, something he hadn't done the whole trip- well, at least not being the first one to engage in conversation. "What do you guys think of pineapple pizza ?" He asked, averting his eyes, his cheeks slightly heating up.
He remembered the first time he asked that to Jake and the others. They had made a face and after that kohen hadn't said anything. Even to this day they would tease him about it, course, it was only playful banter.

As usual, Damien was the one to sit next to Kohen - neither of the other two was too eager to be too close of him just yet, most likely still out of fear. Franco picked up the menu to pick something for himself and the girl; hearing Kohen's question, he raised his eyes from the menu to give the other a questioning glance.

"Pineapple pizza? Well, depends entirely on your perspective." he said, slowly sinking back between the pages. "Some say its an abomination, others find it delicious. Personally, im not a big fan of it, but thats mostly because the ones i had so far put the pineapple directly from the can, and its juicy and everything and its just nah."

He leaned in a bit and whispered.
"But if you ask me, theres no greater evil than pea and mayonnaise pizza. That thing is horrifying"

Damien giggled, amused by Franco's grim expression as the other recalled the 'traumatic' experience, and Samantha rolled her eyes with a small smile on her face - boys.

"I havent had any before, i'd be down to try it" he said, genuinely curious.

There was almost a horrified look on Kohen's face. "Mayonnaise and peas?!" He screeched in disbelief. What kind of psychopath would eat that?? Pineapple on pizza was on thing, but that other abomination?? He stuck his tongue out in disgust all the while making a face, though it was more out of habit- something he did when he found something gross.
"You must be awfully brave to try that" Kohen said, not wanting to mention the ingredients anymore, just imagining it made his stomach turn. He was sure that he'd throw up if it was served to him.

After Kohen's brief bonding experience over pizza, he heard Damien speak up. "You should definitely try it! I's delicious- or at least I think it is. Then again, I could always beat you all up if you say you don't like it." He mused, then laughed. "Just kidding~" He said with a cheeky grin on his face. "I would never do that, I'm innocent" He cooed.

"Ah! Wait, maybe we could do like half pineapple on one side and a different one that you like on the other side" He said, turning to Damien. "That way if you don't like it, you still have something to eat" He finished.
Damien didn't know where this was coming from because usually, he didn't care about others, but he was going out of his way to take extra steps in ensuring that his partner- Damien had a good time.
Kohen wasn't much about appearances and acted like a total asshat to anyone and everyone, but this time- maybe he didn't want to be hated. Sure, being nice was much harder than he had anticipated for him, but he felt a nice fuzzy warm feeling inside when he was. That was enough to make him slightly hooked on the feeling- to be friendly for a change.
Though even now, Kohen wasn't sure if they were getting a full pizza for all of them, or two pizzas, one for the pair in front of them and one for Damien and him. No matter the case, he was sure they'd all get what he wanted in the end.

Seeing Kohen make a face at the notorious pizza combination made the other two across the table feel a bit more relaxed; so far he was starting to feel more and more like a normal human being who just hung out with the wrong crowd, nothing more. Still, those little comments about getting beaten up instantly tossed that idea out the window. He could be harmlessly joking about it, but you seriously never know if he truly just has bad joke standards or theres an underlying threat underneath.

"Yea, Franco has a morbid curiosity for questionable foods, he was bound to try something like that sooner or later" Samantha smiled, giving the other a nudge.
Her smile wasnt exactly as genuine and relaxed as Damien's, as she still wanted to maintain some level of guard in case Kohen did decide to pull an unexpected 180 on them. Innocent, right…

Damien pondered at the idea of a half half pizza, mostly because he had not expected Kohen to make him such an offer - he'd been very nice to him all day, and that only contributed to the growing feeling of butterflies in his stomach. It felt warm and pleasant, and he kinda liked that feeling.

"Sure! Half half sounds great! Right guys?" he said, turning towards the other two. "We'll take two pizzas, both half n half?"
The others nodded and Damien looked down on the menu to see what options were available.

"Uh, Kohen?" he looked up a bit shyly. "What are your feelings on fish pizza?"

Franco peeked at him over the menu, with a questioning gaze. Apparently Damien too had some questionable taste when it came to pizza choices - but the boy always found it to be quite pleasurable, with its slight sour taste and sweet onion rings. Just a personal quirk perhaps.

"If you dont like it, i can order it on the other plate, its fine"

_{(rlly smol question, but in the future, who's like, seme and who's uke? Who's the wife? :"))) )
(also, would it be fine if i added some twists later on? :"D)}

Kohen laughed at that. His laugh wasn't exactly expected. Everyone, for some reason, thought that Kohen's laugh would hold malice and dangerous undertones, but surprisingly it was light-hearted. The sound was something warm and that of a kid- because he was just that, a kid. Then Kohen finally, and properly took a good look at the people who he had spent the night with. They didn't seem so bad and taking in their image only solidified the relationship he wanted to have with the group. This wasn't so bad- in fact, this was everything he had ever wanted.
"It's okay, sometimes we also get the hots for something considered weird to others" He smiled proudly.

Kohen peeked over to Damien when he spoke again, alternating from having a conversation with his friends to speaking with him. Then, as soon as Damien mentioned fish pizza, the blood drained from Kohen's face and the smile froze on his face. He laughed uncomfortably, then with more spirit. Tears pooled at his waterline as he laughed. He had never met such a weird group, but he felt like he fit right in.
"That's okay, I don't mind it. I'd actually like to try the fish pizza. Warning though- if I end up throwing up later that's gonna be your fault" He teased Damien, nudging at him lightly. He had seen the female do it to the other male and figured it was what friends did. He was charmed by it. It was always roughhousing with Jake and the others, and if you did something out of line, things could really get serious, there was never any of this type of bonding.

_{(ooooo uhh, let's see, i wanna say that Kohen is the seme, but i really want to spice things up and make them more interesting, so why not have him be an uke?)}

_{(and hell yeah ! totally! go for it dude ! also, quick question- do you wanna have jake's group come in after they eat?)}

Franco was somewhat starting to relax after seeing Kohen laugh - it wasn't at all the laugh he thought he'd have, and it kinda took him by surprise - and even Samantha's tense smile softened somewhat. For Damien, it sounded lovely, and it made his heart flutter again with that special feeling - he liked hearing him laugh; it made him look less like a notorious school bully and more like a kid whom he'd love to hang out with. If only he could give Kohen more reasons to laugh more often.

Franco poked his nose out from above the menu.
"That's exactly what i was saying!" he piped up a bit, with small traces of excitement in his eyes, somewhat happy someone understood his philosophy about questionable foods.

Meanwhile, Damien expected a pretty negative response from Kohen when he mentioned the fish pizza, given he had noticed how the blood had basically drained from his face - yea, it was a very weird mix, and an even weirder subject to talk about. He was about to apologize for bringing it up when the other's reply came, which made him look back again, this time with a small happy shimmer in his teal eyes.

"Really?" he smiled, looking hopeful. "I promise you it's not as bad as it sounds, its just not the kind of food one would order if they went out on a date, but other than that i find it pretty ok"

He giggled a bit after being nudged, really happy to know Kohen was fine with the food proposal. All that being said, they called a waitress over and gave their orders, then settled down waiting for their food to arrive, getting some soda bottles to sip from every now and then.

_{(ooh, so a power bottom boio, okay :D i too had the feeling he was gonna be seme, but thats fine too, cuz it seems to fit with his need for love ^^ interesting :>)}

_{(yah sure, dont see a problem there ^^ Also, for the twists, you know damien has a medical issues record - if kohen's gonna abuse the shit out of him, some issues might come back ^^)}

Kohen beamed at Franco's excitement. It's like he finally found someone to match his energy and not in a bad way this time. Kohen then nodded at Damien. "I'm sure it'll taste good regardless of how it looks" He said, a faint blush on his face. Truth be told, Kohen was already fantasizing about the future. A future with Damien's friends and it made him feel warm and fuzzy inside. He seemed to space out as he hummed a small lullaby, letting his imagination run wild. Only a small smile rested on his face as they waited for the pizza to arrive. Nothing, and I mean nothing, could ruin this night for him. Or so he thought.
Poor Kohen didn't know what he had coming and neither did Damien's friends.

_{(gahh ! sorry this one is so short, i ran out of stuff to say. im just waiting for them to leave the restaurant, but there's no rush ! )}

_{(ahaha yeah, Kohen be a needy clingy boi- and sure ! absolutely ! we can make that happen, i can't wait to see what happens XD)}

Franco was half way into his soda bottle when the food finally arrived. Just the smell alone was enough to make his mouth water; he pulled the plate close to him and Samantha as soon as it had left the waitress' hand, leaving space for the second plate that belonged to Damien and Kohen. Ironically, their two pizza halves matched aesthetically, given they were a bit similar in color.
Damien pulled the plate between himself and Kohen, placing it in such a way both of them had access to their respective half.

"Thank you!" he said, as he waved to the leaving waitress, giving her a smile before finally redirecting his attention to the food in front of him. "I gotta admit, it doesnt look that bad" he gestured towards the pineapple pizza.

"It's all fine and dandy until the pineapple taste is too strong, that's what ruins it" Franco said, munching on a slice. "Otherwise, its perfectly fine."

Damien had already reached his hand halfway to pick up a slice when he remembered Kohen. He turned his head towards the other boy, slightly biting his lip.
"Can i…?" he pointed at the food, still wanting to be polite even though the other had already suggested they try each other's food. Receiving confirmation, he picked out the smallest slice, so Kohen still had plenty left and carefully took a bite, taking a few moments to analyze the taste.

"It's actually pretty good! Not too juicy, just right!" he smiled, happily munching down on the rest.

_{(Its okay! dont worry ^^ i just dont wanna rush it too badly, stuff's gonna go from 0 to 100 real quick after this, and i wanna enjoy it while it lasts :">)}

Kohen stared at the food, almost in a daze. Though, he wouldn't admit that that was going to be his first meal of the day- well, other than the jellybeans and the sandwich Damien had given him. He thought the kid was nice enough, but wasn't sure if he should keep on taking the small "gifts" from him. It didn't feel right when Kohen was giving nothing in return.
He soon directed his attention to the lady who brought them their food, then to Damien who called dibs first, reaching out to take a slice.
At this point Kohen only smiled, amused that his partner asked for permission for everything. Had it been him, he would of just shoved one into his mouth without another word.
"Please- go ahead. We did buy it to share it, didn't we?" He said, eyes bright as he went for a slice himself. "But yeah, I do have to agree on that- I also hate when the pizza gets soggy. Sometimes there will be pineapple juice and it's just really gross." He said, sticking his tongue out a little again, recalling the one specific memory as a kid.
After Kohen was done with a pineapple slice he slowly reached his arm out to get a slice out of Damien's side. Kohen's eyes were on Damien as he slowly closed in on slice- almost as if doing it for comedic effect. It was hard to keep a straight face, but he did it. Then bringing the fish pizza to his lips and taking a bite.
He froze. Then beamed as he melted into the flavor. Who would have known that Kohen would like such an obscure bizzare food?

_{(nono i totally get'cha !! ^^)}