Eclipsed Shadows

Nathan sat in a classroom, his gaze fixed on the window. The teacher's voice was a distant murmur as his thoughts were consumed by the weekend he had spent with Johnathan. The intimate moments they shared, the laughter, the new chapters, and the connection they had forged under the starlit sky. His heart raced as he wondered how things would be between them in school.

They would see each other again at the writing class at the end of the day, just like how they met a week ago. It would be nice to talk to him again and work on the project, though he hesitated to show the teacher what they had created. Especially the scene under the stars with Soleil and Lunaria would be somewhat awkward, so she would be the only one besides Johnathan and himself to see it.

Most of the time, Nathan was zoning out, the lecturers talking as the rest of the students furiously typed on their laptops, wanting to catch every word. However, his day went from break to break. He might've skipped the day if he didn't have the writing class. His day was a blur while he hid in his hoodie, trying to avoid Johnathan during the day as his major shared the same building on Tuesdays. Nathan, however, failed at this, meeting eyes with the blonde a few times in the halls. Seeing him flustered and trying not to smile like a complete idiot was adorable but, at the same time, so dangerous.

The class ended, and the students were let out to eat lunch. The building had a large canteen where the different majors ended up eating. Nathan sighed as he went there to grab some food, deciding to stuff himself with chocolate muffins. It was time to eat his anxiety away.

With a deep sigh, Nathan sat at an empty table in the corner of the canteen. He dumped his Macbook, food, and cola bottle on the table. He took the hair tie out, letting his messy brown hair free. He bit his lip and pulled his hood back over his head, his AirPods in with noise canceling. He was drowning out the sounds of others with his randomized playlist—music ranging from eurobeat and metal to J-pop and Future funk.

As he bit the inside of his cheek, his hands raced over his keyboard, opening the doc with the writing assignment. Instead of his last class, a lecture you didn't have to attend, he would spend the next four hours writing. The more they could present to the teacher, the better it would probably be. Even if it was a lie, Nathan told himself to feel better about skipping the lecture.

He started a new chapter with a bite of his soft muffin, which apparently had a lava filling. He completely zoned out, his eyes only focusing on the blinking cursor after the chapter title. Soleil and Lunaria continued their journey, returning to the quest they were supposed to complete as they still had a few intense conversations at the campfire. Lunaria pushed and teased Soleil while trying to trust him more, if even a little.

Suddenly he saw the small round pink symbol in the top right corner of the document. A cursor quickly jumped to his document section as words appeared on his screen. Johnathan had somehow noticed that he had started writing. Even if he was usually happy to talk to him, now was not the time. He was not mentally ready.

"What are you doing there in the corner? No classmates to eat with? Those muffins look pretty good. Can't lie."

Nathan hesitated for a moment, taking another bite of said muffin. Before he typed his reply, he looked up, trying to scan the room to find Johnathan casually.

"I'm with my friends—the other side of the canteen. Why don't you join us?" the words came after only thirty seconds of looking around.

With the hint from Johnathan, he found him quickly. He was on his laptop, eating lunch with his friends. A few athletic men and a few girls were laughing along with him. Unlike Nathan, who already felt his heart sink at the idea, the blonde completely fit in with this group. People who were so bright and enthusiastic did not sit well with him; even being with Johnathan completely drained him.

"I'm going to be working on the story for a bit. Have some fun with your friends. I have this muffin to keep me company."

"I would've liked to see the moon next to me instead of at a distance."

Nathan took a deep breath, a soft smirk on his face. With a gentle shake of his head, he replied to Johnathan.

"Well, sometimes the moon wishes to be alone in the sky, not surrounded by stars, even if he would have to be separate from the sun."

When Nathan looked up, he saw a strange mix of emotions on Johnathan's face. His face was bright red while also trying to hide a hint of disappointment. One of the girls tried to look at his screen, but Johnathan quickly snapped it shut.

A sudden but luckily soft snort escaped Nathan as he quickly erased the conversation from the document. He watched Johnathan try to laugh everything off, a bright smile while he struggled to hide the blush that had reached his ears again.

"Cute."

A soft blush crept onto his face as he tried focusing on the story again. Time for Lunaria and Soleil to continue their journey together, at least until the writing class later in the afternoon. But for now, he would drown himself in the words. Together in their separate world, the story of the sun and the moon build for just the two of them.

Time flowed quickly as his fingers danced over the keys. The words came as if he was possessed, Lunaria taking over, his emotions and feelings becoming one on his own. And so four hours passed and the time for the class had arrived for the moon to meet the sun. To bask in its radiance and warmth while staying distant and cold.