Nobody liked Even.
In fact, nobody liked Even so much that even Even didn't like Even, which was a curious thing because Even knew - and often let everybody else know - that he was better than everybody else.
Even supposed that his attempts to claim superiority over others was simply a mask that he held to his face to hide the fact that of all the things he hated, he hated himself the most.
Even was not pretty. Even was lanky and awkward, Even was bespectacled with braces and greasy hair, Even wore ankleswingers and sweatervests. Even was such a nerd he was a cliché. Even his little sister Nami hated him and rejected him like a sort of mistake that she didn't quite know how she had come to burden.
Yeah. Sisters. Gotta love them.
Even Even's friends, Ienzo and Aeleus, preferred other companies to his. He was infuriating in his pedantry and perfectionism, his inability to admit when he was wrong, his terrible temper...
Even Myde, who liked everybody, did his best to avoid Even; when the class was paired up for projects, Even worked alone.

If there was one person who hated Even more than himself, it was Lumaira. The boy - although nobody was ever quite sure whether he really was one or not - delighted in infuriating Even just to see his eyes twitch behind his thick-rimmed glasses and his fists clench as he tried - and more often than not failed - to keep his anger in check. Even hated Lumaira back just as much. He was everything Even loathed and envied; pretty, charismatic, popular, stylish...

The only place where Even had friends was the internet. He frequented chat rooms and MSN, used his natural eloquence in writing to his advantage as he slowly collected the friends he knew he'd never have in person. He wrote journals commenting on all kinds of things and even gathered a little following of people all over the world, commenting and communicating with him from hundreds of miles away. For every person that hated him in real life, Even had a friend in words on a computer screen. Some closer than others.

Even didn't remember when he'd first met AI Mural. She was frequently on late at night, a witty and intelligent girl who had an anecdote for everything and a few nice words to say whenever Even was down. He lost count of the number of times he'd stayed up late to the point of early just talking to her about the most stupid of little things - but somehow he revelled in everything she said, every little smiley emote as she laughed at his idle comments.
She was a writer, mainly; she wrote all sorts of things from poetry to prose - some more amorous than others - and Even, shameful to admit, loved her style and even the characters about which she wrote. He half suspected that two of them - two boys named Marluxia and Vexen who featured frequently in her writings - were based on him and Mural, but he didn't call her up on it. Considering the things that they did with each other, it seemed a little... forward...

With each day that he had to suffer the likes of Lumaira's company, Mural made everything worth it. It wasn't long before he realised that he'd fallen in love. He didn't even know how that was possible but he had, completely, utterly and helplessly. He confessed to her one evening and she'd totally understood - and even returned his affections. Thus began their first tentative steps into flirtation and courting, role playing with words their romantic dates and, eventually, even sexual encounters. Mural had the ability to make Vexen's blood race and his head spin - and he hoped that maybe he had the same effect on her.

They always talked about meeting up but both were somewhat evasive on the subject - Even always feared that his real life body and personality wouldn't be good enough compared to his projected internet persona, and he figured that Mural would have felt the same way. But he still, secretly, wanted to meet her, be closer than just words on a screen, hold her close in his real arms, kiss her real lips...

Summer arrived, and Even found himself spending every waking moment with her. He didn't know how often he'd got himself off in front of the lap top screen, hiding under his bedding in the depths of the night as she did the same, and over and over they confessed their love. She shared his elation as, finally, his braces came off, suggested that he buy straighteners to combat the frizz that plagued his hair, supported his choice to move onto contacts instead of glasses.

One morning, straighteners in hand, Even found himself staring at a stranger in the mirror. He'd never really noticed how clear his skin was, or the brightness his eyes - before always hidden by thick rimmed glasses. As he fitted on a new pastel blue shirt and jeans that fitted his wide hips snugly, he didn't feel ugly. He didn't feel hatred towards the boy always glaring back at him through the reflective glass.
Even didn't hate Even any more.

From that day on, he pressed for a meeting. He already knew that they lived in the same country, and it transpired that they could both reach the nearest city with relative ease. As the end of the summer holidays neared, they set a date, a time, a place.

Mural sent him a picture, a few days before their big meeting. Soft pink hair tumbled around her admittedly boyish - but no less beautiful - face, her blue eyes framed by thick black eyelashes and her lips drawn into a playful pout. The face seemed familiar, but Even couldn't put his finger on it. He didn't feel the need to - she was the most gorgeous girl he had ever seen and he had no qualms in telling her that.

The train journey there on the day was a long one. Even's heart refused to beat slowly as he stepped onto the platform and made his way to the nearest park. They'd booked a hotel room in the area to give them both more time together, and Even was almost bursting with anticipation as he picked out a pink haired individual sitting a little way away on a bench. she was wearing a gorgeous little jacket the same shade as her hair, and a skirt over jeans. Her head was bowed, writing.
Even hurried over.
"Mural?"
She looked up, and, seeing him, horror filled her made up features.
Not her features. His.
It was Lumaira. In girls' clothes.
"Even?" He choked out.
"Lu-Lumaira?"
Lumaira shook his head.
"No. You are not him. You are not that gorgeous guy that I fell in love with. Not you. I won't allow it."
"You are not AI Mural," Even replied, words equally barbed.
Lumaira rolled his eyes, snapping the notepad shut with an irritated huff.
"Anagram the name, you idiot."
Even clenched his fists, turning away. He couldn't believe it. Mural didn't even exist; she was just some sick fantasy that Lumaira had conjured up.
"I'm going home."
"Wait," Lumaira said quietly. Even spun back.
"What?!"
"You.. You won't tell anyone, right? That I'm.. you know. A transvestite."
"You practically are at school anyway," Even snapped.
"I mean it," Lumaira pressed, painted fingernails digging into his knees. "I'd die if anyone found out."
"Good," Even hissed angrily, preparing to stalk off. He was stopped by a short sob.
"I'm being serious. Damn it, I thought I'd finally found somebody who loved me for who I really was. Or rather who I wanted to be."
Even froze, slowly turning one-eighty to face the crying boy again.
"Yeah. Me too."
Lumaira laughed bitterly.
"I can't believe it's you."
"I can't believe that I really thought that you were a girl," Even retorted.
Lumaira glanced up briefly; his mascara had run down his cheeks where he'd been crying.
"You don't half look gorgeous like that," He murmured reproachfully, then looked back at his book. "I won't tell anybody at school if you don't."
Against his better judgement, Even came over and sat next to Lumaira.
"If it's any consolation I think that the pink hair suits you. Inspired by Marluxia, right?"
Lumaira chuckled.
"Yeah. And he was always so obsessed with you- with Vexen."
"And he never had the displeasure of finding out that Vexen was actually the bratty nerd at school,"
Lumaira sighed apologetically, tentatively leaning his head against Even's shoulder.
"Did you really mean all those things you said? About me being a really sweet girl, and liking all my work?"
"Of course I did," Even replied. "What about you?"
"I thought you were the most amazing person I'd ever met."
They were both silent for a few minutes, lost in the horrifying realisation that they'd both inadvertently fallen in love with the one person that they truthfully hated the most.
"So," Lumaira said after a while. "Do you wanna try anyway?"
Even glared at him incredulously, and Lumaira hung his head again.
"That was a stupid question, wasn't it."
"I'm not even gay," Even pointed out.
"You quite liked all my gay writing," Lumaira replied petulantly.
"That was different."
"Can't you... I dunno, just pretend that I have boobs, or something? You said yourself that I was practically a girl. On several occasions, I might add."
"What, so you can make out with, and I quote, "a lanky, ugly, bug eyed geek who doesn't know the meaning of personal hygiene"?"
Lumaira grit his teeth.
"You've changed," He muttered quietly. "Look, I didn't know it was you. I'm sorry, okay? You look really pretty without those horrible glasses and your hair all nice like that,"
Just to prove his point, he reached up and let a lock of Even's hair slide through his fingers. Even couldn't help himself and, unused to such upfront compliments - and never from a boy - coloured slightly.
"You make a good girl," He replied bashfully. Lumaira, also apparently surprised, looked up. Of course, those deep blue eyes should have been unmistakable.
"Thanks."
And he sighed a little, fiddling with his hair.
Even sighed too, casting a glance at Lumaira. He really was beautiful, if a little alien in his feminine clothes and make up. And he was still AI Mural, even if she had turned out to be a boy.
"So do you want to try anyway?"
Lumaira looked up again, eyes in an intense glare.
"I never thought I would be saying this to you of all people," He said slowly. "But you have no idea how hard I want you to fuck me."
"What, me?"
"Yes, you, you adorable moron. Come on,"

When their mouths crashed together, and their bodies, and their clothes were lost somewhere in the hotel room, it didn't even make a difference that Lumaira wasn't female, and when they snuck around each other's houses in the middle of the night just to do dirty things to each other, when they played at hatred in school just to keep the rumours at bay, it made no difference at all.
Nobody liked Even.

Except Lumaira.