(Dex's POV)

Dex observed the flower that was blooming, gardening had been one of his passions for a very long time. He picked up the watering can and just stood in the garden taking in the sights. The path was scattered with purple roses and there were thousands of vibrant and colourful flowers on the right and left side. They looked beautiful and Dex's vision cleared. He always felt his thoughts getting clearer and a lot calmer in the garden. He saw a blonde-haired boy approach him, his ice-blue eyes shone as the sun reflected in his eyes. He had seen him around at school and he had to admit...the boy was pretty cute, Dex was also sure that this boy was the Head Of Art. He shook those thoughts off as the boy neared him.

The boy waved and said, "Is this your garden?" "Yes," said Dex, raising his eyebrows. He met the boy's eyes and the boy said, "Well, it's as pretty as you." Dex let heat creep up to his cheeks. "I have way too much fun messing with people," the boy added, with a cute smirk. Dex forced his heart not to flutter and asked, "What's your name?"

"Keefe. Keefe Sencen," he winked. "I'm Dex Dizznee. I've seen you at school...not in a class, just in the hallways," replied Dex. "Oh, I know! I never go to class, ditching is more of my thing," said Keefe with his mischievous smirk.

Dex nodded, flushing deeply. "You're valedictorian right?" asked Keefe with a small frown. "Yeah," responded Dex, raising his eyebrows. "That's so cool. I should go now though. My dad needs me home...," said Keefe. His face wilted as soon as he said that and he turned away and left. Dex looked at Keefe go confusedly and then turned back to watch the sunflower before him bloom. It reminded him of Keefe for some reason. He couldn't help thinking of Keefe all day now.

(Keefe's POV)

Keefe sighed- he couldn't stop his heart from racing whenever he was with Dex. But he couldn't focus on that when had his dad and his stupid business dinner to face. It had gone as badly as he expected. The clock struck seven and he watched the light sky fade to dark while waiting for his guests to arrive. "Welcome Miss Aliza," he had said to his dad's boss. Aliza was a good woman- too bad she worked with his father. She always assumed the best of him. She would be very disappointed if she knew the truth. She gave him a smile and said, "Thank you, Keefe. Congratulations on finally graduating tomorrow."

Keefe gave her a grim nod. Her bright yellow dress swished everywhere- Keefe rolled his eyes and his annoyance only got worse when he saw who walked in. Alvar. His best friend's older brother- his father's assistant.

He rolled his eyes at him, he used to be good friends with Alvar, they had a brotherly bond but everything had changed when Alvar had betrayed him and bullied him for a while. It strained his friendship with Fitz- his best friend- for a while but now they were closer than ever. His father coughed and Alvar sneered at him. Keefe ignored him and went to the kitchen to carry the plates to the table.

"Hi Keefe, how are you? Still having Daddy issues?" asked Alvar.

Keefe almost dropped the plates he had in his arms. Keefe was outraged, he always tried to respect Alvar but this was taking it a bit too far. "Shut up," he responded with a rare glare in his eyes. Cassius gaped at Keefe, he faked a smile and said, "Keefe, can I speak to you?"

He gave Keefe a dangerous look and Keefe was tempted to say no but followed his father to the empty hallway. Cassius rubbed his hands and replaced his smile with a threatening expression. "What do you think you're doing?" he asked with a deadly serious stare. "What?" asked Keefe angrily.

"Do not disrespect people in front of Aliza! She wouldn't be impressed if she knew how terrible of a son you are! She would accuse me of raising you wrong-" he started, exasperatedly.

"And are you saying you didn't? Because all you have done to me is torment me my whole life! All you and mom do is tell me what I'm doing wrong," said Keefe, cutting off his father. He was being rather courageous, he had never fought his mother of father.

"What you have grown to become is not my fault, you piece of filth," yelled his father. "Stop it," said Keefe, raising his voice as well. Cassius's glare intensified and he raised his hand to slap Keefe. Keefe couldn't escape his blows but...this was the first time he actually hit him. Keefe gulped, almost crying, he went up the stairs and locked his door.

And that was when the tears hit. He wanted to hate everyone but instead, he chose to hate himself. He kicked the edge of his bed and sighed. Sleep was the only option to escape the reality he was in. So while watching his tears fall on to his pillow, he shut his eyes and fell asleep.

He awoke at 4 am to sunlight filling his room. Keefe groaned and covered his head with his pillow and fell asleep again. He woke up again to his alarm ringing furiously. He sighed and checked the time. It was only a half-hour before his graduation ceremony. He scrambled- as Head Of Art he also had to deliver a speech. And he was late.

He quickly grabbed his clothes- a white shirt, blue tie and formal black pants- given to him by his school and got ready. He noticed his father was still sleeping, he swore under his breath. He grabbed the car keys and decided to drive to school himself. It was really pleasant outside but he didn't have time to do anything else. Keefe wasn't the best driver but after a rough drive, he finally reached Oakmen Highschool.

He looked at the building, he had never really attached himself to it before so he had no actual emotion building up inside himself. He saw Dex standing in the corner near the gardens and said, "Back to gardening, Dexy?"

Dex blushed -although it was probably a trick of the light- and said, "No, just trying not to freak out before my speech," he said, twisting his fingers. He nervously gulped and said, "I forgot it at home and can't remember what to say anymore."

Keefe's eyes widened in surprise, he knew Dex a little bit from school and one thing he knew was that Dex was not forgetful and was very focused. "I've just been so distracted," said Dex.

Keefe noticed Dex's eyes flicker toward him. He pretended not to notice and said, " Don't worry. Speak from your heart, you'll do great."

He involuntarily held Dex's hand and it was as if time had stopped. Dex said, "I- yeah, thanks." Neither of them pulled away and just walked to a deserted hallway. Dex said, "Wait, what is that on your arm?" "Nothing!" scrambled Keefe, trying to cover his bruise.

"Who did that?" said Dex, slowly. "My...father," sighed Keefe. He hadn't told anyone except his closest friends what his dad did to him. But with Dex, it was different. There was a connection.

Dex clapped his hand to his mouth and Keefe said, "Um, it's not a big deal." But a tear streamed down his cheek. "Your tears don't seem to think so," said Dex, wiping it away. Keefe felt a sense of comfort so poured his heart out to Dex by telling him everything about his father. Dex was shocked but somehow knew exactly what to do. He wrapped his arms around Keefe and said, "It'll be okay."

Keefe looked at Dex and once their eyes met, it was clear what was gonna happen next. Dex leaned in first and pressed his lips onto Keefe(I'm horrible at writing ~kiss scenes~, so either this will be TMI or just...bad writing). Thousands of sparks arose in Keefe's body and excitement and love flared in his body. He pulled away first and gave Dex a small guilty smile.

They both didn't say a word after that and just headed to the auditorium. Keefe scanned the hall for any sight of his dad. Nope. He looked over at Dex who flashed his adorable smile and that gave him hope. He took a deep breath and waited for his name to be called.

"Next we have the Head Of Art, Mr Keefe Sencen," said the announcer. Keefe then went on to the stage.

"Hi everyone! It's the cutest, best boy in the school. Now, I'm gonna make this really really short because I don't wanna make you bored. I'm leaving, finally leaving this prison, can you believe it? But it's been more than prison because this is where I met people special to me, it's a place that showed me that anything is possible as long as I'm hardworking enough. And oh man, did I work hard on all the pranks. I'm not saying that this isn't prison because with all the classes and rules it might as well be. But I want everyone to treasure the memories you make here. I also want no one to lose hope. I know that pain can feel endless sometimes. But all you have to do is search for the silver lining, one person who you love can change everything. And I want you to make that one person who you love worth it. Find that one person who can make you feel seen in a room of a million people. Find that person who won't make you feel alone. Find that person who loves you for who you are. Now for the last time, the best, cutest, smartest, coolest Head Of Art...signing off for the last time," finished Keefe, he smiled and was almost teary-eyed at the end.

Keefe stepped down from the stage and whispered to himself, "I found the silver lining."

(Dex's POV)

"Now let's welcome our valedictorian Dex Dizznee."

Dex nervously looked away but as soon as he saw Keefe cheering in the crowd, his panic vanished. He stepped on to the stage and adjusted his mic.

"Hello everyone. It is an honour to be valedictorian this year, and like Keefe, I'm not going to make this very long. I just want to talk about what drives us human species. Love. I think why all of us are so upset about leaving is because we love the school and most importantly the people here. Love has many meanings. It can mean being affectionate towards a person, and the affection reciprocated. Love is a set of emotions that we experience. Love could also mean beliefs or behaviours that show your affection towards someone. Love is a feeling that everybody yearns. It makes them feel happy and crucial. Sometimes we need to lose people to love ourselves," said Dex looking directly at Keefe, "And sometimes we need to love others to love ourselves. Try to make the right choice. Thank you. Signing off for the last time, Dex Dizznee."

Dex stepped down the stage and the first thing he did was hold Keefe who was sobbing a little now. And he knew he had to hold his broken pieces and mend them back but when Keefe kissed him back, he knew Keefe's healing had already started.

(ONE YEAR TIME SKIP)

"So, what are you up to this Sunday? Wanna go catch a movie? We go to college tomorrow anyway," said Dex, with a heavy voice. He trod carefully on the wet grass in his garden. He and Keefe were surrounded by lovely, vibrant flowers giving them the energy they needed on a Sunday morning.

"I'm so glad you're coming to art school with me," mumbled Keefe. "Me too, Keefe. Even though I'll be in the same school, I'll be doing botany and following my passion," said Dex, rubbing Keefe's arm. He started watering his sunflowers and said, "You know, you remind me a lot of a sunflower. I couldn't figure out why earlier but now I know why."

"Why?" asked Keefe with an amused look on his face. "You wilt when there is no sun with you but you always rely upon the sun to give you what you need and you give it what it needs to. I'm your sun in real life," said Dex with a short chuckle.

"You are," said Keefe with a beautiful smile. He slipped his arm through Dex's arm and gazed into his periwinkle eyes.

"You would be a periwinkle flower. Not just because of your eyes, but I see you as calm, collected and loving. Did anyone ever tell you you have beautiful eyes?" said Keefe, with a smirk. "A lot of people but it feels special coming from you," said Dex, grinning.

"Hm, periwinkles and sunflowers do make the perfect couple huh?" asked Keefe. "The best," responded Dex.

~the end~

AN- I kind of hate this? The writing was super rushed and I was in a not-so-great mood but I spent like thirty minutes on this so...here goes. I would appreciate constructive criticism. I also know I probably messed up the POVs but I don't have the time, energy or emotions to fix that. Um, let me know your thoughts :)