Don't forget to mess around

This was a mistake. All of it. But they’d agreed upon one hour max. After that hour he’d leave immediately.  He wouldn’t stay for even a minute longer. Míngzé simply assumed they’d go somewhere for a drink. He could do this.

With his arms crossed he stood next to the other, his whole body language screaming he did not want to be there. While he knew his way around the city, he had no idea where they were anymore. A door opened up, revealing that they were indeed at some bar or something. The ambient lightning was very pleasant to the eyes. It was calming and easy compared to the harsh lights in a classroom. Míngzé really liked the look of it, but it presented one big obstacle; besides the lights he saw nothing, only flames in a sea of darkness. If he’d Qiān with him, that would’ve been no problem, but he never brought him to school so he was not here either.

The remark made him roll his eyes, but he did not move. He did not trust this man in the slightest, but right now he had no other option. “You’ll have to go first and lead me,” he said very matter of fact, clearly not liking the idea. Míngzé even held out his hand with a pained expression. He did not even try to look at the other.

Of course the other had something to say about it. It made him regret even asking him in the first place.“Shut it,” Míngzé muttered while lightly taking hold of the other’s hand. There was a bandage which made him raise an eyebrow for a second, but he gave it no other thought. It was unimportant anyway. What did it matter what the other did and didn’t do? Exactly, it didn’t.

“It is nice,” Míngzé confessed. “Not what I expected.” Some wild bar with a lot of loud music and screaming. That was more what he’d expected. Not this. It was actually cozy, somewhere he would want to go to himself. “Where are we exactly?” He decided to ask. Who knows, he might want to come back in the future with better company.

While the other guided him towards a free spot, Míngzé used his free hand to make sure he didn’t bump into any tables or chairs. It wasn't too bad. The lights helped him a little bit. He was all too happy when the other finally let go of his hand. With one hand he followed the edge of the table and his other found the seat.

Across from him something happened, but he had no idea what and only lifted an eyebrow at the short commotion. They clearly knew one another. Míngzé simply hoped to stay out of it, but of course not. “Just some— friend, although I wouldn’t even call it that,” he said uncomfortably, gritting his teeth. They were only hanging out, nothing more. They were not even friends. For now the other felt more like a parasite that did not want to leave him alone.

Before speaking again, he cleared his throat. “I’ll have an ice tea green, thank you,” he said in an attempt to dismiss this chief.That was why they were here, to drink and leave. The menu remained untouched. He could not read it and even if he could, he didn’t drink.

Míngzé knew this was a place he would enjoy when he was in better company. Now all he wanted to do was check his phone every minute, hoping an hour had passed already. Sadly enough this was an exclusive place. He hummed shortly after hearing that piece of information. Probably not so exclusive if they let people like this guy enter. “And still they let you in,” he muttered.

The other was not lying, this chief person knew the other and from what he could gather, they knew each other rather well. Again Míngzé rolled his eyes after he was called shy. He was no such thing but he’d learned that arguing was pointless.

Even his favorite drink got dismissed but before he had a chance to argue, this Chief was already gone. It left a sour taste in his mouth which got reflected back on his face. Great. He was already having a lot of fun.

A-Sang.

In a place like this where everything was dimly lit, it was harder to focus on trying to make eye contact. His eyes always wanted to wander off to one of the pleasant lights, but Míngzé did look at the other. A-Sang. After all this time he finally knew part of the other’s name.

But he quickly gave up on that and shook his head while looking away. “It’s because you say I don’t have to worry that I do, in fact, worry,” he sighed. Nothing too bad. As long as he also drank. Again he really did his best to look at the other. “Don’t worry, I’m sure I can handle it,” he said with a hint of irritation. It was a lie. He would not be able to handle it, at all. But at this point Míngzé no longer wanted to admit any of that.

“You come here often?” ‘Sang’ knowing about this place might be the only thing he found a bit interesting right now, and sitting at that table with him in silence would only make time go even slower.

Was there still a way out of this?

Míngzé let his eyes wander around for a moment. Maybe there was the green light of an exit board. But nothing. He knew where the door was, but he would not be able to get there on his own. Moral of the story was that he was stuck here.

His elbow leaned on the table, that way he could cup his cheek as he waited. To his surprise he got a normal answer form ‘Sang’. “What surprises me most is that you learned something.” After the class they just had, where the other did nothing that was even remotely related to the subject, it was a surprise. "In that case it makes sense why they let you in." Still did not explain how he ended up here.

As he suspected, the other was from Fènghuáng. This was the part where Míngzé could reveal a part of himself, or keep quiet. It was clear ‘Sang’ liked this chief guy very much. Softly he hummed, processing all this information. “So you do know how to be kind afterall.” That was probably the nicest thing he’d heard the other say all day. “He sounds like a good man.”

He leaned back in his seat, crossing his arms again.  “My parents are also from Fènghuang,” Míngzé decided to say, although his accent was slightly off. While he knew the language, he did not speak it very often. His parents always encouraged him to speak English.

Even a job as a bartender was better than wherever the hell he was doing. There were days he felt more like a slave than an employee. Depending on who was working. But the other told him he worked at a highly esteemed lounge. “Sure you do,” Míngzé immediately answered, not believing a word from what he said. Maybe he should, after all he’d told him he did not lie. Which Míngzé also highly doubted.

Míngzé raised an eyebrow as he used one finger to point at ‘Sang’. “You?” But of course. He sighed quietly. Naturally he was the mean one and the other was an angel. Saying nothing wrong, doing nothing wrong. “Give me one example of you being the nice one and me the mean one.” This should be good. Was he not the one who was worried when they first met?

Because his own Fènghuáng was not that good, he barely ever spoke it in public. Only with his family was he more comfortable. The thought of pretending he couldn’t, passed his mind, but he decided against it. “Duì,” he gave as a short reply while there was a hint of a smile on his lips. How often would this man use this knowledge against someone he wondered. “However, I’m not very fluent in Fènghuáng.” He shrugged softly.

But then the question everyone was waiting for finally fell. Their names. Now that they were no longer constantly bickering, Míngzé considered it. “Why not, my name Míngzé.” There it was, after a few hours of speaking to one another. “Your turn,” he said with a small nod toward the other.

Míngzé would personally kill him if he decided not to give him his name in return.

If Míngzé got money for every time he rolled his eyes, he would be rich in no time. This man was— something else, that’s for sure. “I’ll just have to take your word for it.” He could be wearing a suit right now and he wouldn’t know. Or care, really. For a moment a thought crossed his mind, but Míngzé pushed it away. The other couldn’t possibly be that stupid.

“Ah yes, stupid me, of course you’ve been the nice one after bothering me for a few hours and— you’re absolutely right,” he said, his words dripping with sarcasm. For a second there was even a fake smile to be seen. Maybe he’ll need that drink after all, if he were to put up with this. Not that it would make it better in the slightest.

It was a good thing he knew the language, who knows what the other would say behind his back otherwise. “I don’t think I will.” Let him forget that he could understand him just fine. Míngzé would remind him only when it was already too late.

Was he older? Judging by the other’s behavior he would say yes. “Sounds about right,” Míngzé said with a small nod. No, there was no way this man was older than he was. “But you can drop the gēgē,” he said a bit uncomfortably. It was not even the flirtatious tone. That was very easy to ignore.

To his surprise the other introduced himself, but of course he had to say so much more. Míngzé leaned even deeper in his seat and rubbed his eyes. The deep sigh that rolled over his lips was obviously one of disappointment. This could not be real? No one could actually be like this? Right? It was going to be a long one hour. “Let’s keep it at Sāng.” There was no way he would ever— no, he did not even want to think about it.

There was no point in arguing. One way or another, Sāng would turn and twist his words until he was proven right. It was clear the other was happy he’d won, or whatever this was.

At the implication that he wanted to know what was going on in Sāng’s head, he made a face of pure disgust. “Oh, no, not at all. You keep all of that to yourself, I’m good.” Although, there was probably not a lot going on in that head of his.

“What do you mean by that?” he asked, confused and with a deep frown. No matter what was happening, he did not trust this person one bit. Which was probably very smart of him.

Yet, the other kept surprising him. If he ignored some of the things being said, they were having a normal civil conversation. It was different from their interaction during class and for now he was not totally regretting his decisions. He hummed in confirmation. “They did, yes. He was a— They thought it might help me, and he does.” Without him his life would be a real struggle. At least with Qiān at his side he didn’t have to rely on others for help.  

“A mawile is an interesting companion,” Míngzé said in an attempt to get the attention away from him. “Not very cuddly.” Was that not why most people had pokémon these days? Because they wanted a fun companion. With that gigantic mouth of theirs, he’d rather keep them far away.

Meanwhile, he grabbed his phone out of his pocket and placed it on the table. With a simple touch, the device spoke up and gave him the time. He’d promised an hour of his time, not a second more and he intended to keep that promise.

Míngzé gave it some thought and eventually ended up nodding in agreement. Yes, tomorrow would indeed be better, but only because he did not have the same class as today. Which meant they did not have to see each other.

Sāng didn’t seem to understand how the pokémon could help him. Maybe it was strange too, as a pokémon was actively working for him instead of being just a pokémon. It was not very common. “He does all sorts of things. Mostly basic daily life stuff, nothing too special.” It was not that Qiān could cook for him, but he helped him with that too.

Maybe the Mawile was a simple companion after all. “It all depends on how we treat them,” he said. They were far too intelligent and understood so much. The most important thing was that the two of them were a good match. Initially he didn’t want to go for an Inteleon himself, but in the end they were a perfect match for each other.

As soon as he tapped his phone, he could hear footsteps from someone approaching. Their drinks had finally arrived. From the sound of it and the time it took, this was more than a simple drink. Not wanting to accidentally hit anything, Míngzé kept his hands on his lap. The sudden hand against his shoulder made him visibly jump and he couldn’t help moving away from it. This chief guy did not stay long and left soon after, leaving the two of them alone.

“What is all this?” he asked as he scanned the table to no avail. What little light the candle on the table gave, was far from enough to help him. He placed a hand on the table, carefully moving it until the tips of his fingers brushed against a cold glass. That must be his drink, whatever it was. Míngzé pulled it closer and lifted it, that way he could smell it first. As expected, there was alcohol in it, and a lot too. It made his nose almost tingle.

Míngzé could smell there was food and his stomach responded accordingly, making a loud rumbling sound. It had been a few hours since he’d last eaten something and this did not help. He really wanted to try some of it, but didn’t want to accidentally dip his finger in the sauce, so he patiently waited. Surely the other was not stupid and his thought from earlier was false.

Was this another joke of his? Surely it must be. Míngzé shot him a look of pure irritation. Why would he need help? Because he was incapable of doing certain things alone. But saying that out loud has always been a struggle. “Forget it,” he said dismissively, hoping the other would let it rest.

“They don’t get hurt during those tasks,” he said and raised his shoulders. To be fair, he did not care if people wanted to participate in pokémon battles. They were free to do whatever they wanted to do. As long as pokémon did not die during one of those battles, it was fine if you’d ask him.

With all the food in front of them, he wanted to try everything, but all he could do was sit there awkwardly. It would be more awkward if he tried to reach for anything and then make a big mess of everything. Míngzé sat still, waiting for more information that never came. Was this guy serious? He opened his mouth to say something, but Sāng was faster and asked him if he had never eaten out. “Of course I ha—” but he cut himself off.

Míngzé stared at the other in surprise while the other was saying something. “You really don't know, do you?” he asked with slightly narrowed eyes. At this point he’d almost think Sāng was the blind one here. He leaned back in his seat, thinking this through. “Don’t you think anything is off?” he decided to ask while gesturing to his own eyes. It was not uncommon for people to not immediately notice his bad eyesight, but this— they’ve spent a whole lesson sitting next to each other.

A soft chuckle sounded. Qiān had become a bit unruly recently, but nothing too bad. He still did his job. “You can always try it, she might like it.” Probably not. But that was not his problem.

Míngzé thought for sure that Sāng would get it now. No matter how hard he tried to hide it, there were always signs pointing towards his blindness. There was never a reason to say it out loud, to explain it. Most people often realized it themselves. Especially after talking to him. Clearly Sāng wasn’t most people.

You’re… autistic?

Did he just— his jaw dropped as he was utterly lost for words. There was no sign in the tone of his voice that showed he was joking. No, he was very serious. “What?” he asked as soon as he found his voice again. This guy was the biggest idiot he’d ever met. It had to be. “Do you really think I asked you to help me to this table because I’m autistic?” he spoke slowly, making sure the other heard him. Even now he still expected Sāng to say this was all one big joke and make fun of him. “How does that make sense?” It made zero sense.