9.2 Feelings

He didn't have the heart to tell him that he didn't have a sweet tooth. The sight of the boy salivating at the thought of gorging himself on pastries was already satiating him. He shook his head as he realised what bullshit he was thinking. He had to pull himself together! Rau only saw him as a friend, he mustn't make him feel uncomfortable or he could say goodbye to their friendship!

-Is that why you asked me for help? So that you could have someone to accompany you for your cakes orgy?" he laughed, trying to force himself to think of something else.

-How did you know?" replied Rau with a knowing smile.

Yomo pushed him playfully as if protesting at Rau's crude manipulation. Rau laughed as he tried to escape the physical protests of his comrade of feist. They finally arrived at the café where they were greeted by a waitress who seated them at a table of two, giving them intrigued looks that Yomo did not overlook.

It had to be said that the two boys looked a bit out of place in the middle of this lounge full of couples or girls hanging out. They attracted a lot of curious looks, especially since Yomo was a natural attractor of such eyes. Wondering how Rau would react to the commotion around them, he glanced at him, worried that he would feel uncomfortable. He was surprised to see that the young man didn't care at all!

With his head immersed in the menu of the various desserts on offer, he was too busy choosing the ten or so cakes he was going to taste to realise the looks they were getting. Yomo smiled as he watched. Rau had his own world that protected him from the cruelty of the real world. He envied him, in a way.

Feeling watched by his friend's two green eyes, Rau finally raised his head and gave his friend a questioning look, who looked away, a little embarrassed to have been caught in the act. "A friend, just a friend," he repeated as if to convince himself.

-Have you decided what you want to take?" the first year asked.

Yomo nodded. Rau called out to a waitress and ordered at least five different cakes. The tall, dark-haired man only ordered a cup of coffee.

-You don't take cakes?" Rau asked.

-I prefer salty food," he replied with a soft smile. "Coffee is fine for me!"

Rau looked at him with a slightly embarrassed expression. He had forced him into his favourite café without even asking his opinion, even though he was supposed to invite him in to thank him. Seeing the young man's sorry look, Yomo reassured him with a smile.

-I'm not very hungry anyway. I don't think I could have swallowed anything."

Which was half true, since his stomach had been in a bit of a knot since this morning at the thought of his date with Rau in the afternoon. He wasn't hungry at all. Rau nodded, slightly reassured. The waitress returned with their order. Rau was salivating with anticipation and didn't waste a second in gulping down the delicious pastries in front of him. Yomo watched him with an amused expression as he sipped his coffee.

-Mmmh! This is so good!" Rau licked his fingers.

-Do you come here a lot?" asked Yomo who couldn't help but hide his amusement at the young man who was having such a good time.

-Whenever I have a hard time," the student replied between two bites of raspberry pie.

He met the gaze of his interlocutor who was inspecting him with intrigue, his cup of coffee in his hands to warm up.

-I need to take my mind off things," he admitted. "Law school's first year is a lot harder than I thought it would be. You've just got time to get the hang of it and then you've got to do the midterms and move on! It's a hell of a time, you're underwater non-stop, and you never have time to breathe. Frankly, you have to be really into it to survive, and those who weren't ready for this must really struggle."

Yomo put his cup down on the table and crossed his arms, leaning against the wooden table.

-And you, how are you doing?"

Rau thought for a moment.

-I like it, so I'm doing well. But there's a crazy amount of work. I didn't expect this much work."

Yomo smiled. Rau gave the impression of someone who didn't give much importance to the things in life, but if you dug a little deeper, you could quickly notice that he was invested in what he was doing and that he was a hard worker. The third year was pleased to see that he had not been mistaken about him. After all, he had an innate talent for analysing people. The day that talent failed him, he'd have something to worry about!

-But I don't know how people like you handle their life," Rau said, who had no idea of the intense thinking that was going on in his classmate's mind. "To be major of the prom and have a life on the side, frankly that's quite an achievement!"

Yomo smiled at his remark. He heard it often.

-And I have a part-time job on top of that!"

This time, Rau's eyes widened so much that they almost popped out of their sockets. He quickly swallowed his brownie that he had started eating while talking and quickly wiped his mouth. He then took a quick sip of water before putting his glass down on the table and finally letting the words out that were just waiting to be released from the carnal grip that was holding them back.

-Do you have a part-time job?"

-I only work on Sundays and occasionally during the week," clarified the third year.

-No, but even so! Yomo, you're the major of your prom and you have a part-time job on Sundays, that's crazy! You're a monster, man!"

Yomo gave him a sad smile while lowering his gaze to focus on his cup of coffee. He knew he was giving people that impression, but deep down he'd also like to show how hard it was for him. He knew that he was putting this pressure on himself voluntarily and that he could choose to rely on his aunt. But he felt so uncomfortable with the idea that he found it hard to let himself go back to being a carefree student without doing everything he could to be independent as soon as possible.