Meanwhile, in the hallways…
Keiji walked up to his locker, and soon found himself being approached by a few of his classmates. “Eh?” he looked over to see Rumble and Button Mash in particular. “Whaddya want?”
Rumble started speaking first. “Just wanted to ask you something--”
But Button Mash was right there to interrupt. “You’re dating Diamond Tiara?! How--?!”
Immediately, Keiji’s expression turned sour as he grimaced at them with his sharp fangs on full display. “Who the frick starts off a conversation like that? And for your information, I’m not dating anyone. It was part of a job.”
Rumble cleared his throat and stepped between them. “...Ignore him. Sorry about that. He’s still trying to get over Sweetie Belle breaking up with him.”
“...Is that the white one? I’ve lost count,” Keiji replied as he shut his eyes and scratched the side of his head.
“Don’t go telling my business!” Button shouted at his friend and sulked, turning away from them.
“...Yikes,” Rumble muttered, “Still bitter…anyway…” he turned back to Keiji and continued. “I just wanna know how you managed.”
Keiji’s face scrunched up ever so slightly--his eyes remained shut. “Managed what?”
“To become friends with Diamond Tiara,” Rumble said as he looked down the hall at the girl in question who was busy chatting with her best friend Silver Spoon as usual. “I thought she only made friends with the popular kids or other rich kids. But you--”
At last, Keiji opened his eyes, only to shoot Rumble a cold, lazy stare. “Are you serious right now, my guy? Just--just tell me. Are you?”
“Oh, s-sorry!” Rumble stumbled over his words and chuckled nervously. “I didn’t mean to say that you aren’t cool. It’s just…hard to imagine.”
“I do what I do for a reason,” the green boy said as he pulled a bottle of red liquid from his locker and took a large sip from it. Once he was done, he put it back and licked the excess from his fangs. “That’s all there is to it. Nothing more, nothing less. If you wanna be real with somebody, be real with somebody. Don’t pussyfoot around like some teen-show protagonist.” With that, he slung his backpack over his shoulder and started walking.
“...He’s a mysterious one, that’s for sure…” Rumble commented as he walked off to his locker. “Wonder why he’s not trying to talk to anybody…”
Meanwhile, at gym class…
Keiji had arrived at the school’s gym wearing his mandated white tee and shorts like the other boys.
Meanwhile, the girls had more flexible options though. In particular, the seniors could wear yoga pants and sports bras if they so desired. Which is exactly what Sunset Shimmer and Applejack chose to wear. They were both stretching, and from the corner of their eyes, they could see Keiji enter the gymnasium.
“Speak’uh the scarecrows,” Applejack whispered to her friend, “There he is. Now how are we gonna get him’ta listen to us?” She was wearing a green pair of yoga pants with apples patterned all over and her sports bra had a matching color scheme.
“That’s him. Yup,” Sunset replied. She was wearing her usual purple yoga pants and a matching sports bra as well. “We need to approach him calmly and carefully. Plus, I looked ahead at gym class’s schedule. Just you watch…”
Applejack didn’t bother to question her words. She simply waited to see how this would play out…
Soon enough, the gym teacher would enter the room: Ms. Cheerilee in a yellow and pink-striped tracksuit. “Okay, everyone. Join up into groups of three so we can get started with our routine.”
“Ah…” Applejack muttered, “I getcha now.”
As soon as he heard the fact that he had to team up with others, the vamp-boy hissed to himself. “Blech…seriously? I’d rather run laps than--”
But before he could finish putting his complaint into words, Sunset Shimmer had already walked up beside him. “Hey uh…Keiji, right? Wanna team up?”
“N--”
Applejack flanked him from the other side, effectively trapping him between two much stronger girls. “A feller like yerself would benefit from learnin’ from experience. We can help ya.”
Keiji looked at them both and grit his teeth. His eyes couldn’t help but wander to their toned abdomens which made his knees shiver ever so slightly. “God…god dammit. Why am I stuck with these two and their…muscular bodies…” But since he was in no position to refuse, he accepted. “...Fine. Just don’t slow me down. I can’t carry you through this and I got Christmas crap to plan.”
“Oh ya do, do ya?” Applejack asked as she stretched one of her arms, “Tell me about it as we start.” She lied on the ground, and prepared to start her sit-ups. “Hold mah shoes, wouldja? Sunset, you keep track.”
“Got it,” Sunset replied as she pulled out a stopwatch.
Keiji avoided eye contact as he got down on his knees and held Applejack’s feet in place. “Hmph…” “I see what they’re doing. They’re trying to butter me up. Well it won’t work.”
As Applejack performed her sit-ups, she continued making idle conversation with him. “So. Whatcha plannin’ for Christmas, partner?”
“...I was going to do something for the school and bring food,” he replied as he kept his focus on her apple-patterned sneakers. “Or something like that.”
“That’s nice of you,” Sunset commented, “I didn’t peg you for the type to care about the holiday that much. You’ve always seemed so…isolated from everyone else.”
Keiji’s cheeks turned rosy as a result of his blood flowing uncontrollably. “...Yeah, well maybe there’s a reason for that. Ever thought of that?”
Applejack turned her head in Sunset’s direction and shot her a flat, judgemental look.
“N-no, what I mean is…” Sunset tried to rephrase her words, “...If you have any problems, you can trust us. We wanna help you just like everyone else.”
“Help me, huh…?” Keiji scoffed. “Hmph. You don’t even know me yet you’re extending your hand so readily for some reason…” he glared at her with narrowed eyes. “What’s your angle?”
“Nothing at all,” Sunset insisted, “And…you never know. There could be people here that relate to you more than you realize. People who feel and understand your pain.”
“Yeah right,” Keiji broke eye contact, turning his head away, “Who could possibly comprehend what I’ve been through?”
Sunset decided to come out and say it. “...I know you’re from Equestria. Just like me.”
“...”
Keiji paused, got up, and started walking away…