Roman and Jasper

"It's not..." he sighed. "...I can try. But...I can't...promise anything, ok?" he mumbled.

"So what exactly do you want me to do, in exchange for no more beatings?" He lifted his head and adjusted his glasses; though he didn't want to admit it, he was intrigued.

"Just..." he awkwardly slicked back his hair. "Uhm...can we like...hang out or something like after school?" Roman wondered if he sounded as desperate as he was.

"...Sure?" He raised an eyebrow. "This isn't gonna be some elaborate thing where I'm going to end up naked in a locker all night, is it?"

"No! I promise!" he insisted awkwardly. "I...I really, really, swear. It's genuine."

"Then of course I believe you," he replied, unable to hold back sarcasm. "Whatever. Can I please go now? I have to catch that bus."

"W...when can we hang out?" he asked, feeling his throat dry up.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed incredulously. "I don't really care, either? I guess you can pick a place and a time, but I really have to leave now."

-x-

Jasper packed his books into his new, cheap bookbag and left the classroom, speed-walking. He had been doing this all week and hadn't run into Roman once; hopefully it would keep working.

He couldn't stop thinking back to that creepy conversation they had had the week before. Surely Roman had been joking, trying to mock him in some way. Either way, he didn't want to meet him to find out.

Unfortunately for Jasper, his luck had run out. Roman waited by a bathroom door until he spotted Jasper. He grabbed him and shoved him into the bathroom, hurriedly shutting the door behind them.

"Today," Roman said. "We're going to hang out today."

"In the bathroom?!" he exclaimed, struggling to worm out of Roman's grasp.

"No!" he let go of Jasper, fixing his hair. "I mean, at your house. I can drive you there, we just have to wait for everyone to leave. Do you have a garage where I can hide my car?"

He nodded slowly. "Yeah, we have a garage--where else would my parents park their van?

"Wait, actually, what the hell are you talking about?" He shoved Roman's chest ineffectively. "Why are you inviting yourself to my house?"

Roman looked like a kicked puppy.

"...I didn't bully you for a week and you said we could hang out," he explained, frowning.

"I thought you were joking!" He stared at Roman, his shoulders shaking slightly. What the hell was wrong with this guy?

"Is this all some kind of elaborate prank to get my lunch money? I bring my lunch from home, dude!"

"It's not!" he exclaimed. "I was serious! I...I am serious, still!"

He hesitated. Roman thought about just forgetting about it. It had been a stupid, stupid last-ditch effort at making a real friend, anyway. He swallowed and clenched his fists, fighting back the anxiety that leapt to his throat. If he was going to cry like a bitch, it wasn't going to be in front of Jasper.

He stared warily at Roman's fists.

"...You're not gonna beat me up again, are you?" he asked quietly.

Roman realized his mistake and unclenched his fists.

"...no." he said softly.

"Then what do you even want?" he sighed, glancing at the door, then his watch. Any second now, he'd miss his bus. "If you don't want money and you don't want to beat me up, what do you want from me?"

Roman looked up at him and then looked away.

"...never mind."

He glanced at his watch, and sighed; too late for the bus.

"...So you wanted to go to my house?"