"Who was that guy?"
    "Who?"
    "That guy you were with. Is he... your friend?"
    "Him? Oh, no. He's just some dude that bumped into me."
    "Alright, then."
    Joji looked down, feet tracing along the pavement, heels dragging to create scuffs in his shoes. He smiled a bit, thinking about the mystery boy. Who was he? Joji has never seen him before; not at a game or in any of his classes - not even in the hallway. He was... God, he wouldn't admit it to anyone, but he was cute. This was a strange feeling for him. He hadn't ever really thought anyone was truly attractive. Sure, he'd seen a few people that weren't bad looking, but no one ever struck him like mystery boy did.
    "Joji. Joji? Joji!"
    "Huh, yeah? What's up?"
    "You just stopped walking. Are you feeling alright? You don't have to come to practice if you don't want to. I can make up an excuse for you." He looked around. He didn't even realize he had stopped.
    "Oh, sorry! I was just thinking. I'm fine, don't worry about me," he laughed nervously, tugging at his shirt collar, avoiding eye contact at all costs.
    "If you're sure."
    Joji entered the football field, looking around at the athletes practicing on the field. He shifted his gaze towards the bleachers, which contained people scattered across, watching practice. It was mostly girls swooning over the athletes, which was usually the case. As Joji scanned the field, he noticed someone toward the back of the bleachers, looking down at him. He looked up at whoever it was, only for them to look away quickly. He shrugged it off and ran up to his teammates, talking and joking.
    Half an hour of practice passed and he still couldn't get that boy out of his head. This wasn't like him. As he ran the field, he looked up at the bleachers again, thinking that maybe the person in the back could've been the mystery boy.
    Joji looked up, Ian looked up, and their eyes collided. They were locked in a stare. They felt as though they could see every detail of each other, every curvature and crack and mark in each other's bodies, even if they were far apart.
    Ian made a sudden waving motion, which left Joji in confusion. He made a questioning expression and stared at him longer, causing him to faceplant directly into the padded wall at the end of the field.
    "Joji! Are you alright?" A thick Australian accent erupted from behind Joji. He turned around to see Max, one of his oldest friends.
    "Yeah, I'm fine, I just... got distracted."
    "I can tell. You had your eyes locked on the cunt in the back row. Who is that?"
    "I... don't know. He bumped into me on my way here and spilled his drink on me. I guess he's here now."
    "Did he fuckin' do it on purpose?" Max asked, anger resonating in his voice. It gave Joji a sense of tension and fear.
    "No, it was an accident," he half-laughed, looking back up at Ian.
    "If you say so."
~ ~ ~
    Joji approached Ian, hands gripped tightly to his pockets, eyes swerving, avoiding the boy before him. There was a slight tone of aggression in his voice, which resonated his need for answers. "Alright. What's your name?"
    "It's Ian, I... I'm sorry, did I upset you?"
    "No, you didn't. I just... fuck, dude." Ian cocked his head a bit, unsure of what to say. He looked confused and also... scared. Joji lowered his voice and calmed down a bit. "It's nothing. I just didn't expect to see you at practice, that's all. I got distracted." Joji closed his eyes and pointed his head toward the sky. He took deep breaths, letting the polluted air fill his lungs. It seemed almost like fresh air to him, no matter how infected his lungs were. That feeling seemed to increase when he was around Ian. He brought his head down and looked back towards him, tracing his figure with his eyes, studying every curvature and crevice.
    "Fuck, you're attractive," Joji sighed.
    "What?!" Ian's eyes widened and a tint of red crept onto his face.
    "Shit, did I say that out loud? I was thinking about someone else, I'm not-"
    "Listen, Joji. I know what you're doing. You're trying to get to me. I know there's been rumors floating around that I'm gay, and I just know you're trying to do this so you and your athlete friends can get a laugh from me. It's not gonna fucking work, okay? Just give it a rest, cunt." He paused. "And even if you did think I was attractive, you're not my type."
    Joji was left speechless. He had no idea that was the impression that he left on Ian. He looked toward him and opened his mouth as to speak, but all that came out was a single breath. Ian stormed off, making sure to leave a negative aura in the air.
    Joji's lungs felt polluted, now. The fresh air feeling was gone, and all that remained was a thick, musky fog.