Before I start, I want to clarify that it is my first fanfic. do not be very hard, and also, that English is not my mother tongue, which I forgive if i have mistakes
Prologue: On this AU Enea and Diggia go to the same high school, Diggia is constantly suffering bullying from his classmates, and Enea is always defending him
Diggia was calmly sitting on the bench during recess, watching some motorcycle videos on his phone.
But, as had been the case for the past two years, he couldn't have a moment of peace, as those boys, a year older than him, quickly showed up.
Without giving Diggia a chance to react, he was shoved off the bench to the ground, causing his phone's screen to shatter against the floor.
‐My phone!— Diggia said in a little yell
But one of the boys quickly picked it up, laughing at him and at the situation.
"Is this piece of shit seriously your phone? Because I don’t think it is anymore" he said, throwing it back to the ground.
"Come on, you know why we’re here," said the tallest of the boys.
They always stole his food, the homework and everything they could, but when he resisted to this it was way worse, recess was the worst hour for Diggia
—I don’t have anything today... —
He didn't have time to explain further; the tallest boy grabbed him by the collar of his shirt. Just as we has about to push him off the ground, another boy appeared, catching Diggia to stop him from falling
‐You again? He is so weak that he can't stand up from himself?— the taller said with a smirk that quickly became a laugh
"So, you must be the king with your little gang," said the shortest one, Enea, with a smile.
The tall boy got angry and tried to hit Enea, but Enea blocked him, pulling his arm and making him fall to the ground.
"Stop trying, will you?" Enea said seriously, picking up the phone they had thrown to the ground earlier and walking away with Diggia by the arm.
He took him to a seculded place, just the two of them
"Diggia, you should start standing up for yourself. I can’t always be there for you, especially since we’re not in the same class..." he said, looking at the broken phone.
"I’ll try to get you a new one."
When he turned to look at Diggia, he saw his teary, glassy eyes, on the verge of crying, that broke his heart.
"Hey... Diggi, I didn’t mean to make you cry. I can keep helping you... and about the phone... we’ll get another one... I promise"
–Is not that... but why me?... Enea... i'm really that weird? There is something wrong with me...? It's been a year... a whole year... they just don’t stop... i-i don’t know what to do anymore, w-what did i did wrong... —He said crying to the point of sobbing
"Hey, Diggia, of course not! How can you say that, idiot? Come on, don’t think like that. They’re just a bunch of idiots who go after the smartest or gang up to get what they want. They’re trying to break you, but you’re not going to let them, are you?" Enea said with a somewhat serious expression.
Before he could say anything else, the bell rang.
‐Hey Diggia i can go with you if you want-
"No! I can... go alone... thanks for everything, Enea..." he said with a somewhat empty expression, giving Enea a hug before heading to his class, leaving Enea standing there for a few seconds.
Why did it hurt so much to see his friend like that? It was a question that kept spinning in Enea's mind. He couldn’t understand how he could care so much about someone. They’d been friends since childhood, but nothing more than that. Yet seeing his tears, seeing his state, made him wish he could take down those jerks one by one.
But Diggia had asked him a while ago not to fight them, saying it would "make things worse." That only made Enea curse Diggia silently in his head because he forced himself to listen to him.
On class, Enea couldn't stop thinking on Diggia and his well being, if he was safe in class, if those assholes where gonna go for him again.
But a snap of fingers brought him back to reality—the teacher, who had asked him to solve an exercise. Enea, lost in his thoughts, hadn’t been paying attention.
"Mr. Bastianini, could you solve the equation on the board?" the teacher asked, already exasperated.
"Uh... seven?" he answered randomly, not really in the mood to think.
‐Mr Bastianini... i hope you are well aware that if you keep this, you are gonna fail..—
"Yes, you’ve told me several times already. You can go ahead and ask someone else," he said, showing no interest.
Enea was already aware he was going to fail. He didn’t care much, though he knew his parents wouldn’t like it. He figured he could retake the year and pass it the second time around. He had always scraped by with the bare minimum, but this time, it wouldn’t work. Even so, in his mind, he thought, "This way, I can take better care of Diggia."
At the end of the school day, Diggia walked through the halls with his head down. He knew that as soon as they saw him, they’d demand his lunch again or trip him, as usual. But just as he reached the exit, a hand rested on his shoulder—it was Enea.
‐Come on, i'll go with you, i need to keep you safe from those assholes, and we can go from some crepes, que what you think?— The shorter said while smiling
Diggia didn’t think it was a bad idea, so he decided to nod.
"But I’m paying for the crepes," he said.
"No way, I’m paying, got it?" Enea replied, giving him a gentle shove.
"I have another phone at home; I’ll give it to you later, okay?"
"Enea, it’s really not necessary..." Diggia said, scratching his head.
‐I said i got another phone, and it's gonna be yours—
Diggia sighed and, laughing quietly, simply nodded.
After eating and chatting for a while, Enea accompanied Diggia home, still talking on the way until they reached his house.
"Well, end of the journey, we’re at your place, Sunflower," Enea said, laughing, only to get tripped by Diggia.
Enea called Diggia a Sunflower since they were little, acording to Enea he had the shine and attitude of one
"Don't be an idiot, Enea," Diggia said, embarrassed.
"Tomorrow, if you want, I can come pick you up with the phone. That way, we can chat for a bit, what do you think?" Enea said, smiling.
"Fine... I know that even if I tell you not to, you'll do it anyway," Diggia said, laughing quietly.
‐Then you know, tomorrow i'll be here at 6 am, you won't get rid off..—
He couldn’t finish the sentence as he was interrupted by the tall one’s hug, surprising Enea.
"Thank you so much, Enea... I don’t know how I’ll ever repay you," Diggia said with a smile.
"I have to go now, see you tomorrow!" he said before quickly entering through the door.
"Oh, come on, it’s not necessary, idiot," Enea said, scratching his head as he waved goodbye to his friend.
On his way home, Enea was still feeling nervous. That hug, the first one Diggia had ever given him, had confused him a little. It made him nervous and sped up his heart, something that had never happened with anyone else. But Enea still didn’t know that this nervousness and confusion would soon have a much deeper meaning...
