I glared at the two men sitting at the table at the very front of the cafe.

  Wasn't it too early to be so lovey-dovey? Did they have to gaze so lovingly into each other’s eyes? Didn't they have school?

  All these thoughts raced through my head as I glared holes into Tyrone Nial's head. He just didn't have any decency, huh? Playing footsies under the table, caressing Tadashi's hand with his thumb..

  Makes me feel like throwing up.

  Something warm touched my neck and I screamed, "Ah!" Covering my mouth, I look beside me and see it's Aunt Cass. She's smiling, slightly surprised by my reaction, with her hand on my shoulder. "Aunt Cass, what's up?" I try to shrug off the fact that she scared me for a second.

  "Oh, nothing," She says, moving her hand and leaning over the counter with her arms crossed. "Just checking up on you. Is everything ok?"

  I turn to her with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah, why do you ask?"

  She seemed to hesitate for a bit. Now I'm worried.

  With furrowed eyebrows, she moves her body to face me with a gentle but concerned kind of look.

  "You know you can tell me anything, right?"

  "Aunt Cass?" Where is this going?

  "It's just..I know you've been stressed and all about getting into school," Ahh..that's what this is about.."And.. I want you to know that whatever happens, I'm here for you. Not to say you won't get in!" She raised her hands in defense. "You definitely will, I know you will! You're a very special kid, you know?" I smiled as her voice softened and she ruffled my hair. "And I know you are going to do something extraordinary."

  "Thanks Aunt Cass, but I'm fine. Really." I give her my most convincing grin but she doesn't look any happier.

  "Are you sure?" She glanced to her right. "I can tell you think that this whole thing was kinda unexpected."

  I looked over to where she had obviously been alluding to.

  Him.

  I could feel my face begin to burn and I suddenly don't feel like talking anymore.

  "Hey, look," Aunt Cass's voice seemed a bit more stern, and when I focused my attention on her again, I could see a sign of disapproval in her eyes. "I don't want you to think that there's anything negative going on here. I know it was a big surprise, but there is nothing wrong with Tadashi or Mn. Tadashi is still your brother and he seems really happy. That's all that should matter."

  "It's not that I don't like." I peered at the older man smiling at Tadashi. "I don't care about that at all."

  I couldn't look at her anymore, so I ended the conversation with one last statement. "Just forget about it. I'm fine."

  Fifteen minutes later, the whole crew piled up around the joyous couple. They were all laughing so hard that at some point I just joined them. Seriously, how do they have all this free time?

  "Are you serious? Snabe is definitely a bad guy!" Gogo said.

  "He was in LOVE!" Fred refuted.

  "He was a psychopath!" Gogo argued back, arms crossed..

  "Love hurts." Wasabi mumbled.

  "Not really." Tyrone Nial said coolly, leaning back in his chair with a emotionless face and crossed arms.

  "Ok, but-" Fred raised his finger, trying to think of more points he could make, but he only stood frozen for a couple of seconds before dropping his raised arm onto his stomach and laying back in his chair in defeat. "Man, whatever."

  "Honey, you don't have anything to put in?" Tyrone Nial turned to her. She sat opposite from him, next to Fred.

  "I've never watched the Henrik Vase movies or read the book." She shrugged.

  Even my eyebrows shot up at that.

  "What?!" The group exclaimed in shock.

  "Yeah, I know, I know," Honey Lemon started but didn't get the chance to finish with all the voices bombarding her with questions.

  "How? How could you have not-" Tyrone Nial.

  "You're joking, right? That's a joke-" Gogo.

  "That's literally impossible-" Wasabi.  

  "It's like the one mainstream fantasy movie I haven't watched." She said.

  "You're coming to my house tonight and we are gonna binge the h- the heck out of Henrik Vase." Tyrone Nial ordered with complete seriousness in his deep rumble of a voice, his thin eyebrows arched over his round almond eyes. I scowled, not missing the obvious censorship over himself. I'm not a kid. It's not like I haven't heard curse words before.

  "Oh, Mn, I don't even know if I have time for that tonight-"

  "Then tomorrow." He's relentless. "You're not getting out of this."

  "No way!" Fred interrupted. "She has to read the book first. If she doesn't know the importance of Meeves to the plot then I'm gonna shave all my hair off."

  "Hahaha....that's a joke, right?" Wasabi hesitated to ask. Fred's secretive smile was all he needed for a reply. "Oh, geez."

  "You make some real wild promises, dude." I said, finally joining in on the conversation.

  "Yeah, you cutting your hair all the way off is as possible as Gogo being satisfied with her bike." Tyrone Nial joked.

  "What's that, baby face?" She rose an eyebrow at him and smirked with amusement. The guys hooted at the nickname.   "Excuse you? Do you not see this?" He pointed to his chin. "Can a baby grow such a beautiful and remarkable piece of hair on their chin? I think not!"

The group leaned in, aside from Tadashi, to peer at his chin.

  "There's nothing there..." Wasabi stated.

  "That single millimeter of a hair? I have more noticeable leg hair." Gogo stood up straight and smirked again.

  "I think what he means is- he's definitely a baby face." Assured Fred.

  As the group laughed, Tyrone Nial smiled and nodded. "Thanks man, you're the bestest friend a guy can have."

  "I know," he replied, smirking lazily with his arms spread out behind Honey and Wasabi's chairs. "I pride myself on being super supportive."

  "Speaking of being supportive," Aunt Cass walks up to the newly-dubbed "Baby Face". "Tyrone, I could use some help?" She pointed to a group of teens walking in. The grey-eyed man glanced at them and nodded back at her, standing up and forcing Tadashi to move his legs off of his lap.

  My eye twitched.

  Tyrone Nial had started to help out Aunt Cass at the shop yesterday morning after he slept over. As repulsive as it was to wake up to the sight of my worst enemy and my brother cuddling on top of the latter's bed, the fact that he decided to help Aunt Cass with the busy morning rush gained him some points.

  Still don't like him though.

  He thinks he can just crash into people's lives and everyone will love him? Not in my household! I mean, who comes into someone else's home and calls the owner, who happens to be his boyfriend's aunt, "Mama Cass"? It's disrespectful and frankly embarrassing. We don't even call Aunt Cass "Mom", so why should he? He's not even related to us!

  Something scratched at my brain. "Wait, just Tyrone?" I furrowed my eyebrows. "I thought he went by Tyrone-Nial, his full name?"

  "It's just Tyrone." Gogo popped some gum I hadn't even noticed she'd been chewing.

  "Huh?"

  "Middle name."

  "What..?"

  "Nial is his middle name," Honey said, "It's not a part of his first name."

  What?

  "Haha! Mind-" Fred imitated an explosion around his head-"blown."

  So it's just been Tyrone...this entire time?

  "You seriously thought it was all one name?" I looked up at Tadashi, legs propped up in the empty seat beside him that used to belong to...Tyrone.

  Before I could answer, a loud rhythmic slapping sound coming from beside me grabbed my attention, along with  everyone else's.

  "Happy birthday to you!" Cass and Tyrone chanted, looking passed me. I turned around and the whole group except Gogo followed along. They were singing to her.

  Tyrone came up to the table with a large slice of strawberry and vanilla swirl cake and sat it in front of a grinning Gogo as they got to the end of the song. Hastily, yet still baffled, I joined in for the last two lines and clapped along with them to the awkward-looking young woman.

  I had no idea it was Gogo's birthday. Guess I should add that to the list of why Tadashi's friends are strictly Tadashi's friends.

 "Really, guys? That was so unnecessary." She rolled her eyes but was smiling as she sat down in the chair Tyrone pulled up for her.

  "You didn't think we forgot, did you?" Tyrone grinned, moving to stand next to the sitting Tadashi. Cass stood next to me.

  "I know it's really early in the morning to eat cake but school is gonna take up the rest of your day so might as well eat it now!" Cass moved her hands from behind her back to her front, revealing a large plastic bag. She passed it on to Tyrone who thanked her and turned to the group.

  "I got gifts!"

  "What?"

  "No way!" Fred hopped up excitedly in his chair, rubbing his hands together with a eager look.

 "Yup," he reached his hand into the mysterious white bag and searched for something. "First, the birthday girl." He pulled out a pack of...gum? Really?

  "Is this a joke?" Gogo asks, but she's out of her seat in seconds. "Mn, if you're playing with me right now-" She practically snatches it out of his hand and with one look at it, she embraces him.

  Am I missing something?

  I look around in clear confusion to get some kind of answer from someone and Wasabi leans over. "Korean-Japanese gum that lasts twenty-four hours. Went out of business last year but was really popular for awhile and you can only get it in Frerea. Gogo loves it."

  Ah...

  Tyrone passed out more gifts, but this time it was for the rest of the group. "Fred," he pulled out a long white shirt and threw it over to Fred, who caught it with one hand. He unbunched the shirt to look at the front and his eyes lit up. A deep gasp could be heard throughout the room. He turned it around so that everyone could look at it and I could understand why he was so excited. There was a picture on the shirt of two teams running at each other with the intent of battle, all of them superheroes but from different universes. It was a BC vs Marble shirt.

  Fred fanboyed as Tyrone moved on.

  "Wasabi, for you," he pulled out a toolbox and set it on the table before the man.

  Wasabi opened it, hesitantly, only to gasp in joy. His eyes lit up like Fred's. "Are these..?!" Tyrone nodded, grin having never left his face. Wasabi squealed and I had to plug my left ear.

 Honestly, I didn't see the appeal but to each their own I guess.

  "My liege," Next up was Honey, to whom he placed a medium-sized, pink handbag in front of. "Open it."

  She ped the top and, just like the others, her face seemed to glitter. She pulled out some expensive looking headphones, a pair of heels, and a jar of what I could see was Mexican candy. "Are those liquid elements inside these little pockets?"

  My face began to burn. It seemed he knew how to make everyone happy.

  "Sorry, Tadashi.." Tyrone turned to my brother. "Your gift was suppose to be Friday with the zip-lining trip and-or movies but that didn't work out..." He grinned sheepishly and scratched at his head, looking guilty.

  A pain in my stomach took me by full surprise. It hit me so hard out of nowhere that I needed a place to sit, but looking around the table I saw all the seats were full. I don't know what happened but...I don't know, I really wanna leave.

  Staring at them, my eyes started to burn. I turned around, walked out of the cafe, hoping no one saw me and holding my hand to my stomach, and ran up the stairs to my room. I slammed the door behind me, but it only made my head hurt worse and before I knew it tears were streaming down my face and onto my blankets.

  What's going on with me..?

  The door clicked open, but I couldn't stand to see who it was in the case that they saw me crying.

  "Hiro...? Are you alright?" The voice was soft and deep, and it belonged to the only person I feel ok with seeing right now.

  A sob racked through my body and I heard Tadashi stomp all the way over to my bed.

  "Hey..." His hand touched my shoulder and I stilled as best I could, my head still buried in my covers. The bed creaked and dipped down where Tadashi crawled on. "What happened...?"

  I shrugged. I couldn't trust my voice not to crack. Tadashi's constant cooing and patting eased me up enough to wipe my face as much as I could with my bed sheets and look at him.

  "I...I don't know," I sit up and turn over, incapable of looking him in the eye. His hand hasn't moved. "I just.." I sigh, placing my hand on the left side of my face and staring down at my lap. "...I don't know.."

  I can't get Tyrone's smile out of my mind..

  Once again hot tears stream down my cheeks.

  How his eyes squinted, wrinkling at the sides.

  "Hi..." In the midst of saying my name, he stopped. Instead, he wrapped his arms around me.

  And then he looked at Tadashi-

  A sudden wave of nausea made me double over, and without realizing it I had pushed Tadashi back.

  He smiled at everyone..

  But me.

  Tadashi looked at me in shock, frozen, his arms held out after I pushed him away.

  I cringed. "Sorry, I...Tadashi...what's happening to me..?" My vision blurred and my voice cracked and crumbled. I didn't want him to see me like this, but I’d rather him see it than anyone else.

  I wrapped my arms around my stomach and laid my forehead on his chest, letting myself cry on his shirt. "What's happening to me..?"

  One hand caressed my back while the other landed in my hair.

  "Whenever he's around I-..I feel sick!  and I..I can't think rationally.." The hand on my back stopped moving. "When I see you guys..laughing and- smiling, my head starts to hurt and..." I sniff, screwing up my face. "What's- what's wrong with me?"

  "There is nothing wrong with you, Hiro." Tadashi said sternly. "Don't ever think that." His grip tightened around me.

  Hearing it didn't make it feel any more true, because if it was I wouldn't be feeling like this.

  "You're fine," Tadashi continued. "This is normal.." He patted my head, "You're normal."