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ɴᴏᴡ ᴘʟᴀʏɪɴɢ: ＢＵＲＳＴ
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The metal door handles were cool from the morning darkness as I made my way into the hell that is known as Inanimate High School. The harsh fluorescent lights made me squint for a moment, before my eyes adjusted. First day of Sophomore year, I had gotten my schedule and other things on the "welcome back" day, about a week ago. I grabbed the piece of paper to find which locker was mine.

"Number 164.." I muttered to myself, and I looked up, seeing the large crowd of students. I felt a shiver roll down my spine as I weaved through the crowd, getting shady looks and whispers from the students.

"What a freak."

"Remember what he did to everyone?"

"He bullied my friend in middle school.."

...

Why does my past follow me like this...

I showed no emotion as I walked past, and I went into the English wing, finding my locker rather quickly. I muttered the combination to myself as I unlocked it, swinging open the rusty, green door. I set my backpack down, unzipping it and grabbing the two textbooks I had, one for Chemistry and one for History. I put them on the top shelf of the locker, and then shut it.

"Hi!" I hear a voice, looking up. I see a girl with long, brown hair with a golden-yellow streak running down the side.

"You're speaking to me?" I mutter, causing her to raise an eyebrow, and I quickly continue, "H-hello."

"My name is Suitcase, and-uh-I'm new here," she looked down at a piece of paper in her hand, "I-I'm trying to find my seminar class, do you know where room 213 is?"

I look at the schedule, "Oh, you have the same seminar as me."

"Oh really? We can just go together then, I guess." She smiled, "What's your name, by the way?"

"I'm Balloon."

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"So, what's it like here? Are people nice-Well, I-I mean you are of course, b-but what about the rest?" She seemed a little nervous for her first day here, her dark, hazel tinted eyes darting around the hallway as I zipped up my bag and swung it over my shoulder. I would be nervous if it were me. Actually.. I'm nervous anyways.

"Well.." I began to mutter, almost whispering, "if you don't have my history, I suppose it's nice."

"Hm?"

"I-I mean-it's nice here, yeah." I lied.

We arrived at room 213. I had never had this teacher yet, so I didn't exactly know what I was getting into, but Suitcase was hopeful, so I decided to be hopeful as well.. which was a mistake.

As soon as I entered the room, the hope drained from me. I saw the faces of Nickel and Baseball, the two people in this school that despised me the most.

Nickel, short, tan, gray tipped hair and nose and ear piercings. He either wore sweatshirts or tank tops and there was no in between that I had ever seen, other than picture days. I've memorized the location of his favorite climbing tree, and I avoid it entirely. Baseball, large, pale, nearly white-blond hair, and always wearing his red baseball cap. Stitches on the side of his head from an unknown event, which he never speaks of, so it's constantly up for speculation.He is well known for his athleticism.. and size...

I tried to change my behaviors from middle school last year, but barely anyone took me seriously, especially them. I didn't have friends before, but at least I interacted with them.. Now no one even speaks to me. I know they talk about "me," but that's not me.

They see me, and Nickel whispers something to Baseball. I frown, but go and sit down next to Suitcase. She looked at me, then at Nickel and Baseball, then back at me.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nono-I'm fine, it's nothing."

"Alright.." she says.

The door then slams open. A man, white haired, blue eyed, and wearing a bow tie, scurries over to the teachers desk carrying a stack of papers.

"H-hello there, students! Give me just a moment, oh dear-" he says.

Suitcase leans over towards me, and whispers, "is that our teacher?"

"I suppose," I whisper back. The air felt of second hand embarrassment as he stumbled to the front of the room, holding a small note card and adjusting his glasses.

"Hi-no-W-Welcome! Welcome to Inanimate High," he stuttered, "I'm your seminar teacher, Mr. Flush, but just call me Toilet." He turned on the digital board that every classroom had, showing a slideshow that I had seen last year. It was mostly the same, other than some year changes and such. Boring..

The bell then rung. I got up, and turned to Suitcase, who was staring out the window.

"Uh, Suitcase?" I tapped her shoulder.

She jumped a little, and then a red tint of embarrassment lit up her face, "Sh-Oh, sorry, I zoned out," she grabbed her golden-colored backpack, heading towards the door, "I'll see you at lunch, yeah?"

I paused for a moment, taken aback, "S...s-sure!" I smiled, for the first time in a while..

"Alright, later!" She waved, going into the hallway.

Things feel so.. different. I can't pinpoint exactly what.. but..

I think I've made a friend. A real friend...

Hopefully...

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 596+
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The lunch bell rang, and all the students in the class got up quickly, exiting at about the same pace. Thank god, I was starving, as I wasn't able to eat dinner last night and I just had a granola bar from the cabinet this morning. My family, though small, is.. not well off. My mother has to work a lot, and when she's home, well.. I still don't get to eat much..

"Hey Balloon!" I snap out of my thoughts, turning to see Suitcase had appeared next to me in the crowded hallway, "How's it going?"

"I-I'm doing alright," I gave her a small grin, "I'm so hungry right now, though."

"Yeah, same," she laughed a bit. I doubt she was as starved as me, but I wouldn't argue about that. Besides, wearing hoodies hides it well enough, and I don't want to frighten her away, "I was able to make some more friends, by the way!"

"Oh really? With who?"

"Well, the two guys you were staring at in seminar came up to me. Nickel and Baseball."

I felt a coldness waft over me, "They..s-Suitcase, those guys are bad news!"

"They seem fine to me," she retorted, "and they told me that you were bad news, too."

I sighed in defeat, "of course they did.."

"I mean, what even happened between you guys?" She asked.

"They didn't tell you?"

"No. No they didn't."

I blinked. I would've thought they'd have spilled everything from the past years. Now I had a tougher question, though. Do I tell her? N-no, not yet at least. She will find out eventually, I'm sure of it. But for now..

"It doesn't matter, let's just go eat." I said as we entered the cafeteria, which smelled of warm food, but also of garbage. It had a love-hate relationship with the entirety of the school.

"...ok, if you say so.. but," It suddenly felt as if the flow time became thick like honey, moving slower. She grabbed my shoulder and turned me towards her, "if you need to talk about something, just let me know."

I felt an odd jump in my heart, and my throat clenched a little. She then smiled, taking her hand away from me, and turned to go find a place to sit. The world turned back to normal speed, and I remained in the lunch line.

This feels.. different...

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count:415+
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After lunch, Suitcase and I had parted ways to go to our separate classes. It was now the end of the day, the last bell having rung roughly 30 seconds ago. About half of the student collective, including me, travelled along the hallway towards the bus lineup. Upon opening the door, the bright natural sunlight hurt my eyes, and a gust of air whipped at my cheeks. It was warm, but it had a crisp autumn breeze undertone that smelled of wet leaves and mud. It must have rained while we were all inside, as I then noticed the puddles on the sidewalk.

Before I could realize, I was standing in front of the bus I take home. I climb on, sitting near the front and putting my earbuds in, playing Linger Longer by Cosmo Shelldrake. It was a powerfully tranquil song, as I'd describe it, but the artist isn't well known, other than a different song of his being used in a Meeple commercial. I stare out the window as the other students file into their buses, and I see Suitcase chatting with Baseball and Nickel. Bitterness rose in the back of my throat, but I choked it down, seeing her get onto a nearby bus, and the other two walking away to whatever bus they ride.

I sigh, looking down at my phone for another moment until I hear tapping on a window. My gaze catches the eye of Suitcase in the bus next to me at the traffic stop. She waves at me with a bright smile, and I hesitantly wave back as her bus takes a right turn. I look out to it for a moment, and then I catch a glimpse of my reflection in the window. My face is oddly red, and I hadn't stopped smiling until I noticed. I put a hand over my mouth, trailing off in thought..

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count:322+
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Walking on the cracked concrete path, my step a little shaky, as was my breath. Coming home was always something that got my adrenaline pumping. The route to my home was a complicated one, as the apartment building was on the edge of town, and the buses could not get all the way there. A few people also lived in the same apartments as me, but I did not know them well. I walked up the stairs to the second floor, and I approached the door which had the faded gold numbers reading 216. My mother and I lived here ever since my father was arrested for drug use. I'm surprised they never caught my mother for that same crime, but my mother is an expert at hiding things and manipulation. I sort of admire her in that way, but I know better than to allow her to get the better of me. As soon as I enter the house, I look at the shoe tray. Mom is not home. Seeing this, I decide to sit on the couch and check my phone. It's 2:45, and though my stomach grumbles, I don't dare to take anything from the pantry or the fridge.

I tend to play Minecraft a lot, as it's gained popularity again recently, and I enjoy creative things. I go onto a world where I've been building a big western city in a mesa biome. I continue construction of the local bar, and about half an hour in, I see "_GreeneyLeaf_ joined the world." We have been collaborating on this build for about 2 months, playing almost every weekend. She's a good friend of mine, but we go to different schools, and I've only ever met her once in reality. Despite the people who know about us thinking that we are, we aren't dating. We're too good of friends to do that, and besides, our lives aren't connected enough for it to be a logical option. I get onto discord and call her.

"Hey Leafy!"

"Hey Balloon! How's it going?"

"It's going alright, just got out of school. I met this new girl today and she seems uh.. nice-pretty nice"

"Oh yeah? Sounds cool! Wish I could say the same, but everyone still hates me as usual." She said with a bitterness, "By the way, how's the Bar coming along?"

"It's looking like a Wild West movie, man."

"Perfect! Oh, don't forget to get the sheriffs office fixed after that explosion."

"Yeah yeah, I didn't mean to blow it up-"

"What a tragedy!" she said, a dramatic western flair added, "the poor sheriff will never be the same again!"

"Eyyyy shad ap!!" I added a totally out of nowhere mobster accent, as it was a running joke between us. For the next 5 minutes we just said "ey shad ap!" back and forth. It was fun, and when I looked at the clock it was suddenly 6:30. I decided to cook something for dinner, saying goodbye to Leafy.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 503+
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I had made some scrambled eggs, as it seems that was all we had in the house. It was now about 7:06, about 15 minutes until mom gets home. I take my dishes and put them in the sink, washing off whatever was left on them, and I grab my backpack and head down to the basement.

The basement was my room, my hideaway, my "Balloon-Cave," if you will. It looked a little ugly when I first moved down there when I was about 12, as opposed to my old room. I moved out because the roof had collapsed in on that room, and we didn't have a lot of money to fix it. The walls were made of chipped concrete, but I did my best to spice them up with posters, paintings, and notes. I had a dusty old mirror on the back of the wooden door, it worked for what little purpose it served. I don't like looking at myself, my ginger, curly unkempt hair and brown eyes remind me of my father, who also had ginger hair and brown eyes, but my mother gave me the curly hair. I had my own bathroom, which was nice, but the tiles were a little moldy and the mirror in there was broken. I can't remember how exactly it was broken, but I know that I was having a breakdown when it happened. My bed sat in the corner of the room, pale blue sheets and a quilt made of many different colors. The bed frame was old and worn down, it occasionally gave me splinters when I worked at the white desk that sat right next to it. I had a beanbag and a couch on the other side of the room, though they aren't ever used by anyone other than me. I had a TV there as well, but the best word to describe it was dated. A big body shape. It didn't work for anything other than playing a Wii, as well.

I sat on the beanbag with a sigh, dropping my backpack next to me. I felt an unease rising in my gut again, and that's when I heard the door open. I stayed relatively quiet, listening as her footsteps lead to the kitchen, and I heard the cupboard being shut. I assume she's drinking and decide to lock my door and just stay here. I look over to my desk, a little drawing and music wouldn't hurt. My earbuds begin to play music as I get out a piece of paper.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 428+
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I woke up, my head on my desk and one earbud in. I must've fallen asleep. Judging by the clock, it's about four in the morning, two hours until I have to go to school. Raising my head slowly, I rub my forehead, groaning. I look down at the piece of paper, which sported scribbles that I couldn't really make out. I tried to stand up, my vision blacking out for a moment, but I managed to go and brush my teeth and actually get ready to sleep. It was cold in this basement of mine, so I put on a sweatshirt. I walked back over to my bed, looking at the drawing again. It was of a girl wearing a sundress in a forest. It made me smile, though I don't exactly know why, and I flopped down into the bedsheets.

What felt like a second later, my alarm went off. I looked at it confusingly, seeing it was now 6:00. I must've slept more, but it didn't really do anything. I got up once more, putting on a pair of jeans and a sleepy, reddish-brown sweatshirt. I donned my backpack again, and a light winter jacket, although it was still fall. The weather in Michigan is bipolar, honestly. The Great Lakes tend to mess with the climate, lake effect snow and all. You never know what's coming. I climbed up the stairs and went to the kitchen, pulling open the old wood cabinet. The hinges creaked in complaint, and I took a granola bar, shutting the grumpy door. Upon doing so, I heard a sound come from outside. An animal, I figured, nothing I need to worry about. I looked at my phone clock, bright white numbers reading 6:17.

I stumbled over to the door, bags under my eyes, and I opened the much more friendly sounding screen door, stepping out into the cool morning frost. The dawn greeted me, the leaves of the large birch tree outside my home whistling in the light winds. The bus stop was right in front of the apartment complex, thankfully. I decided to take the cold, concrete stairs rather than the elevator. I'm pretty sure that thing would break with me inside, anyways. I walked along the sidewalk, still cracked from yesterday, and the day before that, and the week and month and year before that. I saw the other students waiting, and joined in with the crowd. The bus soon screeched to a halt, and I boarded to travel to every teenagers nightmare; school.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 427+
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A few weeks went by, with the highlights of each day being hanging out with Suitcase, whether it was during lunch, class, or chatting in the halls. Its great having someone there with me, by my side, but something still makes me wary. I'm still cautious about what I say and how I act, it's to the point where I'm getting annoyed with myself over obsessing over these small things. But this is all besides the point, I'm walking into school. It's now October, meaning the school has dawned a spooky appearance. I like Halloween, but it wouldn't be the first time I'd admit that I'm a huge wuss. I get scared pretty easily,when it's the right thing, of course. I'm basically a coward in every sense of the word. Every year since 7th grade, Nickel and Baseball pull a daily prank on me the week before Halloween, and it has me on my nerves the entire week.

Anyways, as I walk to the lunch room, I feel my phone buzz in my pocket, startling me. I fumble for a minute before I finally feel it, and I pull it out of my hoodie. It's a text from Suitcase,

Casey: Hey, I was talking to my friend and they're hosting a Halloween customer party next week Saturday
Casey: Costume* I swear autocorrect was a mistake
Casey: Anyways I was planning on going, do you want to go with me?

My hands shook for a moment, I was on edge because of the annual prank week, so for all I know it could be a trick. But it's Suitcase, I trust her. I typed out my reply.

Me: yeah sure, I'll go
Me: what time?

I arrived at the lunch table before her, as she usually did show up after me.

Casey: 8pm to 2am, it's kinda leave whenever you want I guess lol
Casey: Oh also do you wanna hang out after school? We can work on that history project at my house lol

Me: anything to get out of the house, lmao-

Casey: alright cool
Casey: Hey look up :)

I felt something behind me as she sent that, and I looked up. Something hit me in that moment, something about Suitcase.

When I looked up, I was greeted by her gold-laced eyes and a sweet, playful smile. I realized she looked like autumn and spring at the same time, the tender, loving demeanor of dewdrops on flower petals, but also the crisp, breezy air of fall.

"Hey Balloon!" She patted my head, and then went around the table and sat across from me. I noticed I had been staring, and I looked down at my leg, turning red from embarrassment.

"Hey-"

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 454+
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"How's it going?" She asked me, "you look kind of..red."

"I-I'm fine," I lied, "how are you?"

"Eh, tired," she had a thermos that was filled with, from what I could smell, tea. She would bring tea when she pulled all nighters, which I would tell her not to do, but that would make me a hypocrite. Most highschool students that cared about their grades have pulled an all nighter at some point in their life.

"What were you up studying for?"

"Oh, I wasn't studying, I.." she paused, thinking, "I was on the phone talking to a friend from my old school, and I lost track of time."

"Yeah, I've done that before," I sighed, "Well not the 'old school' part of it. Do you mind me asking where you used to go to school?"

"I went to a school in Yoyle township, before now."

Yoyle township? That's where Leafy lives..

"Oh, neat! I have a friend from there too, her names Leafy, we play Minecraft together."

"I know Leafy, she talks about that minecraft world all the time!" She leaned forward, grinning, which made my face heat up a bit.

"W-were you talking to he-her last night?" I stutter.

"Yeah, she was catching me up on the happenings back there, and I talked about y- m-my time here."

"Are you having a good time here so far?" Part of me sensed that she missed her old hometown, but I hoped she at least was happy here.

"Yeah, I'm glad I've met you," she murmured, her cheeks dusted pink. I stared for a second, before quickly agreeing, and then she said, "We should get to seminar."

"Yeah, we should."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 285+
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The shrill ringing of the final bell had passed about five minutes ago, and I was standing outside near the buses, waiting for Suitcase to emerge from the flowing river of people exiting the school. She said that she would meet me here during lunch, and over text. I stared at my phone, occasionally glancing up. A feeling of anxiety sat on my chest like an elephant, which made my breathing uneven. Why is my face warm?

"Balloon!" I heard that honey-fuzz voice, and I looked up. I was met with a hug, which almost knocked us both over, and she grinned up at me, "How are you?"

"I-I'm alright," I laughed a bit nervously, "do you- do you hug all of your friends like that?"

She stepped back and blinked, looking down, "Well, n-no I guess not.." and she went silent for a moment. Trying to avoid the awkwardness, I piped up;

"S-so uh, which bus is yours?" I asked her, though from me being observant (and asking) I already knew what bus she rode.

"Oh I didn't take the bus today," She mischievously smirked, which made my heart race for some reason.

"H-how are we-"

"I have pegs on my new bike," She pointed over to the bike rack, about half empty, "Come on, lets go!" We walked to a sunshine-yellow bike with wicker basket at the front, and the aforementioned pegs on the back wheel.

She put the lock into the basket and hopped onto the bike, looking back at me, "Hop on."

"O-oh okay," I stuttered, stepping onto the pegs and then I paused, "What.. What am I supposed to hang on to?"

"Me, stupid!" She teased, and I felt myself turn red-faced. I shakily put my hands onto her shoulders, and she started to pedal. I quickly realized that the shoulders were not the best holding option.

"S-Suitcase, this seems- this is a little unstable!-"

She stayed quiet for a moment before answering, "Hold onto my waist then!"

I did as I was told, telling myself to stop overreacting. I was glad that she had tied her hair back, because then the wind would be slapping it in my face. The ride was surprisingly comfortable now, despite my racing heart. It seemed like time passed quicker, because we stopped in front of a small, arts-and-crafts- style house. It was now when my odd knowledge in architecture came into mind. We both got off of the bike, and she wheeled it into the garage.

"Here, we can just go in through this door," She opened up a door from the garage leading into the house.

"Alright," I followed her inside. We entered into the kitchen/livingroom, which was decorated with wooden things, lots of wooden things. It was cute, it suited her.

"My mom is at work right now, she won't be home until around eight, so we have plenty of time to work. Did you bring the textbooks?" I nodded in response.

"Cool, let's go upstairs then!" She walked away, leaving me standing there in thought.

I've never been in a girls room before...

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+Word Count: 530+
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The scent of vanilla seemed to waft out of the room as I opened the door. The room had dandelion-colored walls, with a window on the wall opposite to the door. My bed had a wooden frame, carved with designs, and sunflower-patterned sheets, and there were a few various stuffed animals on it. A white shelf sat above it, with a scented reed diffuser in a short bottle and other memorabilia. There was a brown futon and a beanbag facing a TV on a dresser, which I leaned my backpack against.

"Your room is pr-pretty," Balloons voice appeared from behind me.

I hung up my coat on one of the hooks near the door and I turned around, "Thanks! It's only so neat because of moving here recently, though." He nodded, and he slouched, standing there for a moment. It was obvious he didn't know what to do with himself, "You can sit over there on the futon," he stiffened, "I'll take your coat, if you'd like."

"O-oh, right, thanks," he gave a nervous smile, taking off the black puffer jacket and handing it to me. He was wearing a red striped t-shirt underneath, which suited him in my mind.

I hung his jacket onto a hook, "Do you want anything to eat or drink? Usually I'll eat something and take a break before doing homework, you know?"

"Yeah, I'll just have water, please."

"Alright, I'll be right back." I said with a grin, going out the door and shutting it behind me.

As soon as I heard the door click, I let my heart rate rise and I felt myself uncontrollably smiling, covering my mouth with my hand. I told myself to calm down, and I walked down the stairs to the kitchen. It only took a few minutes to get two cups of water and a bag of popcorn, and I headed back up the stairs to my room.

Opening the door, I set the cups and the bag onto the coffee table, and then I sat next to Balloon "You wanna play a game? I have a switch, its hooked up to the TV."

"Yeah, sure!" He seemed to loosen up, which made me smile, "What games do you have?"

"Mariokart, Snipperclips, Super Smash Bros, those are the good multiplayer ones, at least."

"Lets do Smash Bros, I haven't played that in a while!"

"Alright, I have to warn you I'm pretty good, though," I smirked, turning on the TV and taking the controllers off of the switch. Glancing at the clock, I saw it was about 3:00. 'We can start working at 4, that seems like a good time...'

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 463 +
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

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"Haha! I was waiting to spike you like that!" I grinned victoriously as the screen read 'Pac-man Wins!'

"This is nothing like Brawl, you have a clear advantage!" Balloon laughed, fake-pouting. I playfully punched his shoulder.

"Yeah, Meta Knight isn't OP anymore, so maybe that's why you can't win."

Balloons eyes drifted towards the window, "Uh, what time is it?"

I looked at the clock, which read 6:47. I felt a hole open in my stomach.

"We gotta work on our history project!" I stood up sharply. The thought had completely slipped from my mind due to the video games.

"Alright, well let's get started, right?"

"Yeah, I have the slideshow half done," I pulled out my laptop from my backpack, sitting back down on the couch, "and we can work on the poster together once I finish this, I have the supplies in my closet," I pointed to a door on the wall.

"O-oh, alright then," there was a slight hesitation as he went over to the door. I opened up the slideshow, titled 'The Industrial Revolution,' and I began to work on it.

A moment later, Balloon was on the floor in front of me, working on the poster board. I couldn't help myself, and I peeked behind my computer screen at him. His face was dusted in freckles, but he was surprisingly very clear skinned. He also had his very curly, red hair, which I initially thought was dyed but apparently it is natural. His amber eyes expressed that he was deep in thought, and he stuck out his tongue slightly. I wonder what he's thinking about?...

"..uhm, Suitcase?"

"W-what?.."

"You're staring... a-at me," Balloon's cheeks grew pink.

"I.. S-Sorry, I was zoning out."

"It's ok, how close are you to done with the slideshow?"

"Almost there," I grinned, "I can finish the rest later, let's get this poster done."

"Oh, alright then!" He moved himself to the side a little, and I moved to sit on the floor next to him.

"I went ahead and put the title on, as well as the drawing that's required," he said, gazing over at the rubric. The poster caught my attention, the title had been done in an industrial style, with little screws and metal bits decorating it, and the drawing of the steamboat was amazingly detailed.

"Balloon," I turned to him, and I pointed at the drawing.

"I-is it not good?" I saw a panicked look flow over him, which made my heart crack.

"No! It's so good, I love it! Balloon, you did such a good job! How come you never told me you could draw?"

His worry quickly shifted into a fluster, his face turning red, "O-oh, th... thank you, S-Suitcase.. b-but it's not that good-"

"Balloon, shut up and take a compliment!" I giggled, putting a hand on his shoulder, "I swear people just can't accept that they're good at things sometimes."

Balloon simply nodded, turning back to the poster.

"You better be taking that compliment! I mean it!" I pretended to be mad, stifling a laugh as I spoke. He seemed to get the message, and then... he smirked...

"What if I don't want to?"

I gasped, "Balloon you're going to get in trouble if you don't accept that you're a cool person who's good at stuff."

"What kind of trouble?" His smirk was starting to get my heart racing.

"I'll be sad and I'll hit you," I made it sound really bad, but he wasn't fazed.

"Do it then, not like it's the first time-" I interrupted him by lightly slapping his face and swiftly turning my back on him, crossing my arms.

"That's what you get," I looked over my shoulder at him and traced my finger from my eye to cheek, like a tear drop.

He sighed, "Ok, ok, I accept the compliment."

"What was it again? Say it."

He shook his head, "I'm a cool person that's good at stuff."

"Thank you," I smiled, "alright now we actually have to get work done."

"R-right-"

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 692 +
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The sun began to set outside my window, painting the room in a golden tone. I glanced at the clock, which read 7:56 PM.

"That should be it," Balloon held a paper in his hand, looking down at it, "We've checked off everything from the rubric."

"Nice! Thanks for coming over to help," I grinned. Almost as if on cue, I heard the door open, "oh, that must be my mom."

"O-oh, is she fine with me being here?"

"Of course, she trusts me, and it was for school purposes." I stood up, heading towards the door with Balloon in tow. I went down the stairs, seeing my mom setting her bags on the kitchen counter.

"Hi, mom!"

"Hey, Suitcase!" She gazed up to me, and then her eyes drifted to Balloon, "who's this?"

"This is Balloon, he was here helping me finish that project for history I told you about."

"Oh, right. Well, hello, I'm Ms. Packers, any friend of Suitcases is a friend of mine!"

"Alright, alright, well we're going back upstairs," I smiled awkwardly and softly elbowed Balloon up a stair.

"Are you going to be staying for dinner, Balloon?"

"Uh," Balloon hesitated, "Y-you really don't have to, miss."

"Nonsense, you're welcome to stay if you want to. I'll let you think about it, and call your mom, if you need to."

"Thank you, miss." Balloon have her a sympathetic smile, though something seemed to sting inside of him. We both headed back up the stairs, where I felt a buzz in my pocket and I felt a lump of anxiety appear in my throat.

"I-I'm going to the bathroom, you can just sit in my room." I turned to Balloon, who simply nodded and entered my room. I went across the hall and into the small, pale peach bathroom.

I took out my phone, seeing a message from Leafy. I moved to the edge of the bathtub, sitting on it.

Leafy: How's your little hangout goin? ;P

My hands shook as I replied;

Me: He's staying for dinner, thanks to my mom.
Me: I know she's just being nice but that's really fast to be meeting my parents.

I started to bounce my leg.

Me: I'm overthinking it, aren't I?

Leafy: Yeah, I mean, you invited him to your house what were you expecting?

Me: Idk
Me: Do you know anything about his parents?

She took a moment to reply, which worried me;

Leafy: I've talked to him about it. Not allowed to say anything.

Me: Understandable.

Being too nervous, I didn't bother thinking about it. I shoved my phone back into my pocket, taking a few deep breaths to calm myself down, looking myself in the mirror, cleaning myself up a little. I looked as if I wasn't nervous at all, I looked normal. I've always been good at distancing my expressions from how I feel, thank god. I went out into the hallway, and stood in front of my bedroom door, taking one last moment to get my mind clear, and I reached out to the handle.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 523 +
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My mom drove Balloon home a while ago, and I sat in my room, staring at the ceiling from my bed, the sunflower patterned sheets seemed to claw at my body desperately for sleep. My mind, however, was racing like a dog with pent up energy. I had as many questions as there were stars in the night sky, and I had as many answers as dogs. None. 

All this thinking about dogs and Balloon and stars, an odd combination, started to wear me out. My eyelids grew heavy when I saw gray, foggy shapes at the edges of my vision. Turning my head to see them more clearly only caused them to vanish. My medicine must be wearing off, it was getting late after all. I was still in my clothes, however, and I needed to get ready for bed. My body protested as I sat up, blinking a few times. I proceeded to get pajamas on, brush my teeth, wash my face, and turn off my lights before flopping back down onto my bed. I grabbed my phone from the nightstand and opened it, blinded by the harsh light at first. Seeing a message from the group chat, I tap to open it.

Baseball: Hey guys, don't forget that the costume party is this weekend!

Nickel: i dont get why it has to be a costume party but im still showing up

Suitcase: I'll be there! 

With that being said, I put my phone down onto the nightstand and I let the quiet darkness of my room lull me to sleep.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 281 +
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The night breeze whipped aggressively at my cheeks as I walked through the neighborhood, headed to Baseball's house. It was the night of the Halloween costume party, and my chest fluttered more with every inch that I got closer. It's my first time going to a big party like this, after all. I was meeting Balloon there, which made my heart pump even more. The costume I picked out wasn't much, I decided to go as a mounted deer head. I had an antler headband on, face-makeup with white spots, my hair was done to look like ears, and I had a cardboard cut out around my neck that looked like wood. I was proud of it, but not too proud that I didn't want to get it dirty.  Soon enough, I had arrived.

Blaring music blasted from every open window and door. Upon listening closer, it seemed to be pop music from the 2000's era, specifically Poker Face by Lady GaGa (a favorite of mine). A few people were talking outside on the porch, red solo cups in hands. Glancing around the crowd, I couldn't see that familiar red hair, so I decided to step inside.

"Suitcase!" A voice from next to me yelled over the music when I opened the door, "I'm glad you made it!"

I looked over to see Nickel, who seemed happier than usual, and wearing a banker costume. I grinned, "Thanks! You seem in a good mood."

"Ah, yeah I enjoy the party atmosphere," He put an arm behind his neck, "but its probably the booze. You want anything?"

"If theres anything mild, I'll take that. Maybe a hard lemonade?"

"Gotcha, you sit tight, I'll be back in a moment," He gave me a finger gun, and then melted into the crowd. I leaned up next to the door, waiting for a moment before Nickel returned with two solo cups in hand. We decided to move over to the basement, where people were dancing, to meet up with Baseball. We discovered him on a couch at the side, among Knife, Microphone, and a gray-haired girl in a blue hoodie, who I didn't know. They all seemed to be, well, high off their asses. 

"Ay, BB, Suitcase is here, say hello like a gentlemen." Nickel teased, poking him.

He looked up with squinted eyes, but then it turned into a smile, "aaay Suitcase! Good to see ya!"

"Hey, Baseball!"

After that, the three of us sat and chatted for a while, Nickel and I laughing at Baseballs intoxicated rambles about sports and other subjects. The girl next to us introduced herself as Fanny, she is from another school, and is somewhat friends with Baseballs cousin who goes to that school as well. Eventually, I decided to get up and go dance. The speakers blasted Where Them Girls At by David Guetta. Well, to answer that question, I got one right here, and its me.

Time flies when your having fun, thats what they say. But time seemed to slow when I felt a hand on my shoulder. I spun around, still dancing a bit, but I stopped when I saw that it was him. Balloon was here. My heart soared as I gave him a smile. He grinned back, grabbing my hand. We started to walk towards a couch on the other side of the dance floor, when I looked back and saw Nickel glare at us. I felt myself shudder, but I turned back to Balloon.

"Hey," He spoke louder than usual, but that was just due to the music.

"Hi, you made it!" I smiled, sitting on the couch next to him, when I noticed he was wearing his everyday striped shirt, "Wait, whats your costume?"

He pretended to act shocked, "How could you not tell, I'm a sailor!" He pointed to the small white and blue hat he had on his head. 

"I... I guess that works."

"Yeah, do you want to dance?" He asked.

"Of course, dumbass!"

~~~~~

A few hours later, Balloon ended up getting pretty wasted. More than me, I guess. I forced him to sit for a minute while I went over to Nickel, who was chatting with Baseball.

"Hey, Nickel?"

He turned, seemingly surprised, "Oh, hey! What's up?"

"I'm going to go home, Balloons pretty... out of it.. and I was going to take him home."

Nickels expression turned a bit sour for a moment, but he went back to a sickly sweet smile, "Of course, it was nice to have you here!"

"Yeah, thank you guys!" I waved, wading through the crowd back to Balloon. Though he protested, I managed to get him up the stairs and out the door, where he proceeded to fall on the grass.

"Balloon, I swear to god," I muttered, lifting him up.

"I can w-walk fine myself," He slurred his words.

I sighed, "alright then, prove it."

I carefully let him go. He waddled a few crooked steps, before nearly twisting his ankle on a pothole. I grabbed his arm before he fell, "See?"

He pouted like a child for a moment, before muttering, "Fine.."

~~~~~

I opened the door to my room, practically dragging the incapacitated red-head that stumbled beside me like he were a sack of potatoes that somehow grew legs. I let him down onto my bed, before grabbing a pile of folded blankets and heading towards the couch. I pulled the headband off from my head, and threw it onto the floor, along with the cardboard mount.

"S-Suitcase," Balloon slurred his words, "am I sleeping there?"

"Well, if you want the bed, you can have it, but-"

"Ah... nice, ok!.." He interrupted and lifted his arm, giving a weak thumbs up before flopping it back down. Balloon mumbled to himself as I made the couch more comfortable with the blankets. I then turned off the lights, and went over to the bed.

"Hey, do you want the covers?" I whispered.

"Please.." 

I lifted the corners of the comforter up and gently draped it over him, a small smile forming on his freckled face.

"Goodnight, Balloon," I turned to go to the couch, but I heard a mumble from the sheets.

"stay.."

"Hm?" I was still facing away as something wrapped around my wrist and held me back. 

"Stay." His voice was soft but stern as I spun to meet his gaze, his hand holding mine. I felt myself blush as I stood there, uncertain feelings boiling up in my chest. I nodded slightly, and next I knew, I was under the covers with him. Though my chest pounded, I fell asleep rather quickly, whether that was due to the alcohol I drank earlier, or just being so damn tired. Whatever the reason, I was out like a light.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 1156(jesus christ)+
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

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The morning light that streamed through the windows of my room caused me to wake up. I hadn't opened my eyes yet, as I was trying my best to fall back asleep. That was until I felt warm skin brush against my back. I twisted to look over, seeing a bundle of red hair and freckles next to me. 

'What in the world...?' I was too groggy to think clearly, and I just shrugged and tried to fall back asleep. This time, however, it seemed Balloon was awake as well, and he seemed, well... panicked.

"Hrhrhgrhgrh... Good morning," I grumbled into a pillow. 

"Y-you're awake," Balloon stared at me, wide eyed, as I sat up, "uhm... what happened?"

"Hm?.."

"Did we..." he gestured with his hand, but despite him being wide awake, my brain was still crispier than a potato chip from alcohol and less than 5 hours of sleep. I squinted at him for a minute, but then I raised my eyebrows.

"...OOOOHHH, I'm stupid," I shoved a pillow in my face. Balloon smirked, but was still concerned, "No, I don't think we did. You, well, we were drunk, so I brought you here, and you wouldn't let me sleep anywhere else." 

Balloon turned a bright red, shrinking into the covers of the bed, "Ah... I-I'm sorry about that."

"No worries, drinking fucks us all up. Anyways, you want some tea?"

"Uh, no thanks, I don't drink tea."

I rolled my eyes, "alright, you just haven't had the good kind." 

I got out of bed, stretching and causing my joints to crack a bit. I reached over for my phone, reading the time as 9:30 and having tons of missed messages and calls. That's odd. Unlocking it, I soon found that the spammed messages and calls were from none other than Nickel.

Nickel: Balloon is not a good for you
Nickel: He isn't trustworthy, he doesn't care about u
Nickel: Hes going to hurt you, Suitcase
Nickel: Listen to me goddammit
Nickel: Don't fucking sleep with him
Nickel: you're going to get hurt
Nickel: And when u do, I'll be forced to say I told you so
Nickel: pick up the goddamn phone
Nickel: suitcase
Nickel: whatever, have fun while it lasts I guess

I felt my throat clench to trap a fire that rose in my chest as I read the messages. What authority does he have over me? I made a fist.

"Suitcase, you ok?" 

I turned, seeing Balloon had gotten up out of the bed and was now leaning against the couch. I stared him in the eyes. Is Nickel right, though? The question 'what is he thinking?' spun around in my mind. I sighed, setting down the phone, "I'm alright, it's nothing," I'll deal with that later.

"If you say so," he replied, looking at me with those deep amber eyes that shone magnificently in the sunlight, "Just wanted to make sure."

I nodded sheepishly.

"Also, you still have that makeup from yesterday smudged on your face," I whipped around to a mirror, and of course I slept with the makeup on.

"Ah, shit," I murmured, getting a clean wipe to get the spots off. 

"That was a really creative costume, by the way."

I felt myself blush, "Aw, it wasn't really, I just looked it up."

Balloon then got a certain glint in his eye, "Hey remember what you said about taking compliments?"

"Oh geez.."

"You better take that compliment. Don't be a hypocrite." He teased.

"Ugh, come on let's just go downstairs," I headed for the door, but he grabbed my shoulder.

"Take the fucking compliment," He grinned.

"Noooo!"

"Do it!"

"You can't make me," I taunted, and his cheeks grew pink.

"God you're a hypocrite," he sighed, "But you're good at making costumes."

"Thank you, and now I'm going to make tea now since my brain isn't functional yet and you've distracted me quite enough for one morning."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 673+
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The kettle on the stove got warmer as I stood across from Balloon, who sat on a stool and had his head propped up against his hand. He had a sleepy look in his eyes, but a soft smile and a light blush on his cheeks.

"What kind of tea are you making?" He asked.

"Just some green tea, are you sure you don't want to try some?"

I could see him think for a moment, "You know what, sure, why not."

Just as he said that, the kettle began to whistle. I opened the cupboard, grabbing two mugs and two tea bags. Setting the tea bags inside of the mug, I then grabbed the kettle, and poured hot water in, "You'll wanna wait maybe 5 minutes before taking the bag out."

"Alright," He nodded, and I slid a mug over to him.

"When are you planning on going home?"

Balloon seemed to not have thought about that yet, and he took a moment before saying, "probably after I drink this."

"Alright, I can walk with you there if you'd like. I need to go help Baseball clean up from the party, anyways."

He looked up with a bit of concern, "N-no, no, I'll walk there myself. Thank you for offering, though."

'Damn' I thought to myself. I was hoping to get out of going to Baseballs, as Nickel was also going to be there, and, judging by the texts I woke up to, he wasn't very happy with me. I shrugged, taking the tea bag out of the mug, "Ok, no problem."

"Can I drink it now?" He asked timidly. I nodded, and he went to take a sip.

A moment passed before he spoke, "...I don't think I like it. It smells better than it tastes, if I'm being honest."

"Ah, no worries, its just leaf water anyways, no big loss," I smiled.

After a few minutes of me drinking tea and us chatting, we went outside. The air was noticably sharper, and a frost had set across the grass. The sky was a light blue, and there were barely any clouds. I noticed a big pile of leaves on the lawn, my mischevous side taking note. It was a great contrast from inside. Luckily I had grabbed a jacket on my way out. However, Balloon surpressed a shiver about every 3 seconds, and his cheeks and nose grew redder from the cold.

"Balloon, I can go grab you a jacket or sweatshirt, if you want," I offered.

He nodded quickly, a shiver barely visible as he was trying to block it, "p-please." I walked back inside, going up the stairs to find a suitable sweatshirt. Thankfully we're about the same height, he's just a little heavier than me. I grab an orange and yellow tie-dyed one, and I rushed back downstairs to the door. When I opened it I was met with that freckled face.

"Wow, you really needed this, huh?" I teased. He hummed in agreement, putting the sweatshirt on. I felt my face grow warmer as I saw him wearing my sweatshirt.

"Thank you," He smiled, "lets get going, then."

I felt myself start being panicky as I nodded shyly, and we walked out the door. I glanced over at the leaf pile, trying to find a way to make him stay longer. Suddenly, it donned on me. I ran over to the pile, grabbing a fist full of wet leaves and sneaking up behind Balloon.

"Suitcase? Where'd you-"

"HAHA!" I threw the leaves at him and dashed back to the pile for more. He stumbled back a bit, leaves caught in his hair, and he grew a competitive expression. I grabbed another fist full and ran towards him. However, he was able to grab my wrist and throw the leaves back at me. I clenched my eyes, and when I looked up he was hastily grabbing wads of leaves. The rush of adrenaline caused me to run towards him, but my legs did not stop. I tackled him by accident, rolling into the pile of leaves. My back was against the ground, and through our laughter I felt his curly hair brushed up against my chin before he got onto his elbows. I felt warm despite the cool air around us. Suddenly, Balloon stopped laughing, and I felt an odd tension brewing as I opened my eyes. His face was beet red as I realized that we were mere inches away from each other. I could feel my heart rate quicken despite the fact that we were both frozen in place. It felt like years before one of us even moved. Balloon carefully moved himself to lie next to me instead.

"S-sorry," was all he said. I felt every cell of my body tingling with anticipation and nervousness.

"I-It's alr-right," I whispered. My chest was pounding so hard, he could probably hear it. I tried to suppress every urge I had and just lay there, but eventually one slipped through the gaps. I slowly reached over and grabbed his hand. He jumped, as though I shook him from a daze.

"We... We should start walking."

"Y-yeah."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 883+
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

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My mind was left racing as I stood in the shadow of Baseballs house. It was now quiet, in stark contrast to last night, but who knows how long that would last. Balloon and I had parted ways about 5 minutes ago, yet despite how recently I had seen him, part of me missed his warm presence. Despite this, I was more focused on what consequences I would face with Nickel. His texts were enough to set of warning sirens in my brain, but having to face him after that sent shivers down my spine. I hate getting into arguments, but I'm cursed with the inability to keep my mouth shut when I'm frustrated or angry. I just hope that Baseball would be on my side if things did get nasty. I collected myself, walked up to the patio and knocked on the door.

"The doors open!" I heard Baseballs slightly rough voice from inside, and I turned the chilly doorknob.

"Hey, Baseball! It's me, Suitcase."

"H-Hey! You're even here before Nickel," I walk in to find him standing with a stack of assorted party items in his arms, clearly struggling to carry it all. I felt a pang of relief at the fact that my fear was not going to be realized quite yet, but I was here to help Baseball, that's what matters now. I had to crane my neck back slightly to meet his brown-eyed gaze.

"Woah, do you need help carrying that?"

"N-No, no, I can handle it," He smiled with gritted teeth, "Besides, I need to get rid of the evidence by tonight, my parents decided to come home early."

"Oh, well shit, I should get started then." Baseball went over to a black garbage bag, lowering the armful of items in carefully.

He then turned back to me, "Yeah, there's still garbage on the floors and stuff, so if you could help with that, then we can get the vacuum going."

It didn't take too long for the two of us to get the floor cleared of the debris of poor judgements and questionable substances. However, as we were getting the vacuum out of the closet, we heard a knock at the door. My stomach dropped once again and the hair on my neck stood up, as I knew who was on the other side of that door.

"The doors unlocked, Nickel!" Baseball yelled the same as he did to me earlier. The door opened with a cold draft, and in he comes. He had a sour look on his face, more than usual that is. Almost immediately, his icy-blue eyes stared daggers into me, which was intimidating despite his shorter stature. He stood in front of the two of us.

"Well, look who showed up. I thought you would've been under the sheets with him still," His voice was laced with the same sarcastic venom, but it packed more of a punch now than ever before.

I felt my throat clench, and I answered honestly, "I did not sleep with him, Nickel."

"Bull-fucking-shit," He growled.

"Jesus Christ, would you two knock it off-"

"Shut it," Nickel stared at Baseball for a moment, and it seemed like his expression may have lightened for a moment, but he quickly turned back to me, eyes as cold as ever "I've warned you about Balloon thousands of times already, Suitcase, and still you go gallivanting off to who-knows-where to do you-know-what when you've known him for a few months now. You're being a fucking slut!"

"You have never provided any context for those warnings, and even if I did sleep with him, it's MY body and MY choice to do so. You have NO control over me!"

"You need context, huh?"Nickel stepped closer to me, a spark of concern laced his eyes, but he was more furious than anything, "Fine, I'll tell you why no one likes him, why everyone avoids him. Balloon put us through hell, Suitcase. He was a bully, he was an asshole. He would boss everyone around. And then he acts like nothing happened and says he wants to change. Don't tell me you think that isn't suspicious, because it is."

"Well..." I looked down at the floor for a moment, "Well, how am I supposed to know if you're telling the truth?" I stomped forward, Nickel clearly surprised as he flinched, "I wasn't here when that happened, I've only seen the good in him so far!"

Baseball piped in, "He was a bit of a jerk, if I'm being honest."

I stood there, shocked at Baseball. Does he really just listen to whatever Nickel says? I sighed, "You need to let go of the past. Let's stop fighting and just get cleaning."

"...Fine," Nickel suddenly grabbed my arm firmly, staring at me with an expression I couldn't quite read, "but you need to stop hanging out with him. He's just going to hurt you like he hurt me, Baseball, and everyone else."

"Whatever, dad," I smirked, prying my arm from his grip. Baseball gave me a chuckle, but Nickel didn't find it funny.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 850+
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The mid-November air was chill and stale, it was the kind of air that made breathing through your mouth difficult. The trees were turning from vibrant reds and yellows to bare and brown. I had decided to walk to school instead of biking that day, as now I had to walk outside of school daily for my gym class, and log my times and distances. Balloon, who was coming over to my house again today, grinned and said that it wasnt a problem for him to walk. So we did, and in the silent moments of our conversations my mind took me back to all the experiences I had with him before. I remembered a few days ago, in science class when we were doing a group project. We stared at the chemical reaction happening before us, and we both turned to look at each other at the same time, a shy smile creeping onto Balloons face. I remembered last week, when we had the leaf-fight, how he looked despite the bits of brown leaf tangled in his red hair. I snapped back to reality with the thought, 'I have really fallen head over heels for him, haven't I?' We were walking along the sidewalks when Balloon decided to skip up ahead of me.

"Hey, I want to show you this cool spot I found the other day," He tugged the sleeve of his puffy maroon jacket, "if you aren't in a hurry or anything."

"Sure, we can do that!" I nodded, following him into a split in the bushes. 

The trees stood proudly above us, turning the sunlight that broke through into various colors. The leaves that covered the path crunched and crinkled underneath our feet. We continued chatting and walking, but Balloon was becoming more quiet, so I took over for a bit, spewing random thoughts that came into my head. Eventually, he spoke up again.

"This way, were almost there," He grabbed my hand and lightly tugged it towards another path. The contact made me blush a bit, but I nodded and followed him once more. 

The trees gave way for a sky that was newly painted orange. Clouds covered the sky behind us, but we were too focused on the view in front of us. It was a clearing, at the edge of a cliff. Balloon gestured to a log that seemed to serve as a bench. Peeking over the edge of the cliff was the town, which was starting to light up in preparation for evening events. 

"This place is beautiful, Balloon," I stared in awe at the landscape that was laid out before me as I lowered myself onto the fallen tree. 

"Isn't it?" 

I nodded, and he paused.

"I'm surprised the sun is already starting to set, but I suppose it is almost winter, its bound to start getting darker," I noted, before feeling a warmth on my hand.

"Suitcase,"  I turned my head, first looking at him, and then at my hand, intertwined with his. I looked back up, seeing his brown eyes fixated on mine. I felt a lump in my throat, and my chest started to drum a familiar beat. We stared for what felt like an eternity, until I felt a drop of something on my arm. 

"Balloon," I broke my gaze, looking up, "I think it's going to rain, Balloon."

"O-oh," He looked up as well, "We should find some shelter." 

More raindrops began to fall, and he stood up, holding out his hand and adding, "quickly."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 607+
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We began dashing to find some shelter. My heart rate was fast already, the running made it worse. I used my jacket as a temporary umbrella, the cold water soaking into my shirt. Soon, though, we found a small divet created by a fallen trees roots, which made a cave just big enough for the two of us. I crawled in, Balloon behind me.

We sat there, panting among the dirt, rocks, and moss. We were pressed together quite a bit, sharing the moisture that had soaked into our clothes, but it was enough shelter to stay, at least for a moment. I giggled to myself about the situation. The rain pounded around us, louder than our heartbeats. Balloon seemed frustrated, though.

"You look upset," I said, "Whats wrong?"

His expression turned to surprise, and an anxious feeling wafted over him, "I-it wasn't supposed to rain. I-I wanted to... spend time with you, and it just had to rain, didn't it?" He chuckled.

"Well, you're spending time with me now, right? It's just... different."

He repeated me, "different..."

The sound of the rain filled in the silence, and Balloon looked down in thought. He then spoke.

"Suitcase, this isn't how I was planning it would be, but," his hands fidgeted, and it seemed like he tried to speak but the words didn't come out. He put a hand on his forehead, fingers running through his hair, and then looked me in the eyes. They were filled with nervousness, stress, and longing. I could feel the anxiety in him, and it hurt. I tried to smile, to comfort him.

"It's ok, you're safe with me."

He sighed, his hand shakily moved towards my face. I flinched at first, but I let it fall onto my cheek. It felt as though time had frozen, and yet was moving so fast.

"I-I... y-you're different."

He leaned towards me, though it was the smallest amount, it felt like he had just leaped across the moon for me. 

"Y-you make me feel different, like... I can be a good person because of you."

"Balloon, you've always been a good person."

He frowned, "you don't know that, though."

"Yes, but I believe it to be true."

He tensed up, "...thank you."

The storm thundered around us. I leaned towards him, as he cupped my face. The air between us went still. He froze where he was, about 3 inches from me, studying my face with his round, earthy eyes. I couldn't take it anymore. I closed the distance, pressing my lips against his.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 444+
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The air reeked of grease and, faintly, burnt rubber as I skateboarded down the sidewalk. Baseball was behind me, slightly struggling to balance due to him being sort of new to skateboards. He was learning quick, though, and he definitely had potential. We were headed for the abandoned skate park, like we do after his usual practices.

"You did good out on the field today, man."

"Thanks, Nickel, but you say that every practice," his smoother voice spoke behind me.

"Well, am I wrong?"

He shrugged, "I don't suppose so."

"Exactly, I'm never wrong," I said with a smirk, as we arrived in front of the chain-link fence. The hole in it got bigger each time we went in and out.

"I've seen you in history class, Nickel, you get shit wrong all the time," Baseball crawls through the whole in the fence.

"History sucks, ok?" I follow behind him, "It's all 'war-this' and 'war-that', where's the non-war history?"

"Sure, whatever."

Baseball set his backpack down onto the cracked pavement, setting his skateboard gently beneath him and putting one foot on it. He was quite the gentle giant, believe it or not.

"I'm gonna sit out today, my backs been killing me ever since Tuesday's hard-flip attempt."

"Alright, no biggie," Baseball responded, adjusting his pale hair from under his red-brimmed hat. He began riding around, before attempting a 180 no comply. He ended up missing stepping back on the board, and it rolled away in front of him.

He chuckled, "yeah, I'm not really feeling it today either."

"That's fine, do you wanna just look at memes or something?"

"Sure, do you have any weed?"

This was a somewhat unusual request. Yes, I did have some on me, but he usually only asks for it when somethings up. A tingle of concern bubbled inside of me, one of the few things that I only feel around him... and now Suitcase I suppose.

"Yeah, I do. You wanna talk?

"Maybe," he responded bluntly, sitting next to me on the edge of the ramp. I unzipped my bag, grabbing my vape pen. The cartridge had some juice left, so I didn't bother getting a new one. I took a hit, and then passed it to him.

"Thanks," a few white wisps escaped from his nose.

"Was it something with your parents again?"

He nodded, taking another hit.

"Jesus Christ your parents suck."

"Well you don't have to say it twice, that's for sure," he gave a small laugh, "but it's also my cousin."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, he came to me and told me that he started dating a trans girl, and I'm worried."

"Oh really? I hope she's a nice catch for good ol' TB, but why are you worried?"

Baseball seemed taken aback, "I.. I'm not sure, mostly about my parents reaction if they found out I suppose."

"Yeah, that makes sense," I sat for a moment, thinking. Would now be the best time to tell him, since we're on the subject? I shook the thought away, no, not yet. However, I did decide to ask him about it.

"Have you every questioned your sexuality, Baseball?" I decided to ask, taking another hit.

He fiddled with his hands, "no, have you?"

"A few times, but not recently," I shrugged, tossing a pebble away, "you wanna go get some food or something?"

"Sure, I'm a bit hungry anyways."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 584+
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Returning home was the same as usual, I had my earbuds in, listening to assorted hip-hop, classic rock and rap music. My house isn't the nicest, it's small and run down, but it's home. I hop off of my skateboard, and I open the picket gate to the backyard. The family dog runs up to me, as usual.

"Hey, hey, easy  Bandit," I pay him on the head, before walking up the back steps and into the house.

"Hey dad, I'm home," I kick my shoes off at the door and lean my board against the wall

"Hey son, how was school?" His voice comes from the living room.

"The usual" I quickly say. I don't like to talk to my family much, they're good folk, and I don't want to bother them. I head towards the door to my bedroom, and flop down onto the ice blue sheets of my unmade bed. What point is it to make your bed look nice if no ones gonna see it and you're gonna mess it up while you sleep anyways?

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I struggle for a second to get it out, but it's a text from Baseball, an image of his cat, Striker. I grin, thinking to myself 'a few minutes late today, BB.' I send back a picture of Bandit from the other day, and then start scrolling through posts from people at school. 

'Huh, Suitcase posted...'

A picture of the brown haired girl I had only recently met. She was standing in the forest at golden hour, in a beautiful outfit. She looked amazing, I admit it, sun like that looks great on her. It filled me with a comfortable warmth, so I 'liked' the post and scrolled past. Microphone... Fanny... Knife... TB... I paused on that one. Tennis Ball and the girl, I recognized her, that's Golf Ball, at an ice skating rink. Hey, at least she passes well, I don't think she'll encounter too much hardship in that sense. I went to look at her profile. Her little bio section had a trans flag emoji, so I guess she's 'out'. A pit grew in my stomach. 

I put a hand on my forehead, sighing. I've been over this with myself a million times now. I like girls, they're gorgeous and amazing, but on very special occassions I like boys the way I like girls, too. It took a long time to get over the self hatred, though some might still linger. Maybe that's why I feel this way...

Envy. God, how much longer can I keep this hidden? Especially from Baseball?

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 446+
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The frost of November mornings had finally begun to set in, replacing the dew on the grass. The warmth made me surprisingly relieved to walk into school. A rare occasion. That relief quickly sours into annoyance, though.

The football team was being swamped by students, who were discussing the highly anticipated rivals game tomorrow night. It was Inanimate High vs. Island High, everyone cared about it. Well, except for me, I suppose, other than selling the tickets at higher prices to stupid suckers who fall for it. Though, through glancing at the crowd, I saw familiar platinum-blond hair, Baseball. I sigh, weaving through the teenagers before reaching him and tapping his shoulder. 

He spun around, doing a double take before glancing down at me, "Oh, hey Nickel! Are you going to the football game?"

"I suppose, if you're going," I shrugged, having to speak louder over the other voices, "We should get out of here, though-"

"I was just about to!" Baseball grabs my arm to lead me out of the crowd, which is very helpful, with him being much taller than me. But I'd be lying if I said it didn't send a shiver up my spine.

Finally we popped out of the wall of people, and regained our breath. We meandered through the halls for a bit, heading to our classes.

"Should we bring Suitcase along, too? It would be her first football game at this school, I believe."

"Ugh, I guess," I sigh. We walk in silence for a second.

"...but?"

"Gah, I just... I feel like she's still mad at me, but is just holding it back and being polite..."

"I'm sure she's fine, Nickel," Baseball lays a hand on my shoulder "you were super tense that day, though. I don't think I've ever seen you that stressed over someone."

Something was bubbling in my chest. I let my hand cover my mouth, "I'm just worried about her, and Balloon, you know how he can be. If not destructive of others, then destructive to himself..." It was 

"Yeah, I feel you," Baseball nods, "but, I mean... he does seem... better?"

I stay silent. 

"I'm starting to think that Suitcase is bringing out a better side of him," He sighs, "I feel like this whole song and dance about hating Balloon is getting old-"

"Yeah, well I'm not over it." I interrupt him, balling my hands into fists, "I need to protect her, she doesn't know any better, and I swear if I see Balloon go near her again..." The pit in my stomach grew. 

Baseball goes quiet, and then just nods.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 438+
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"God, school spirit gear never looks good on me..." 

I stand in front of my mirror, wearing the schools signature cyan and orange jersey with the sleeves ripped off, and a pair of black jeans and a studded belt. I place a pair of dark tinted sunglasses on my face, and adjust my nose piercing. I've never been a fan of bright garish colors, and they especially do not help me keep up my image... but I've done my best to make it work. I swing my gray backpack over my shoulder, it's filled with snacks so that I wouldn't have to pay the outrageous concessions prices. Before I can exit my room, however, the glimmer of the sunlight against a plastic object catches my attention. An idea strikes me. It's a ballsy move, but it might just make this outfit work. 

I scoop up the little black pencil that I had bought from a drugstore not long ago, and though I've never done makeup before, a little eyeliner wouldn't be too hard, right? Carefully, I sit on the floor and stare at my reflection, leaning in close and lifting a shaky hand to my eyelid, pulling it down before making the first mark...

This is going to take forever...

--------------------

After about 15 minutes and 7 black stained tissues I've got one eye done. Just before I start work on the second eye, my phone starts ringing. I drop the pencil and frantically scoop my phone up as if someone had walked in on my poor attempts at trying not to look like an emo middle schooler. I see its from Baseball.

"H-hello?"

"Nickel, when are you coming over? You said you'd be here by now?"

"Oh, fuck!-" I shoot up from my spot on the floor, "I'm so sorry, dude, I..." I was able to come up with a lie pretty quickly, "my... my dad made me eat dinner with him today, like a family, for no reason. I just got done though and I'm getting my things together!" 

"Alright, well hurry up! The game starts soon! I'm glad we decided to buy tickets beforehand, at least we will be guarenteed to get in-" 

"I'm going as fast as I can, Stitches, calm down." I call him by an old nickname.

"...whatever, Jefferson, I'll see you soon." He says softly before hanging up. The hair on my arms stands on end as I sit back down and glance back into the mirror. 

Hastily, I try my best to get the second eye to look presentable. Fuck it, good enough. 

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 440+
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

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The roaring of students in the bleachers was deafening, pouring out of the stadium and into the line where Baseball and I stood. After finally finishing my eyeliner, we took Baseballs car to the game, saves on gas and parking! He was wearing the schools jersey, and a regular pair of jeans. He was underdressed for my standards, but it was the usual for him. Just then a group of freshmen started chanting in the line behind us. Jesus, they could not be any louder, and the game hasn't even started yet.

"Hey," I nudge Baseball's side, "when we get let in, we should make a beeline for the concession stand, I've got a feeling they'll sell out of airheads pretty quickly."

He blinked down at me, "hm? Oh, yeah, sounds like a plan. Then we can hang out on the hill, we're supposed to be meeting Suitcase there."

Even the mention of her name made me feel strange, as if there were hot coals in my throat and ice on my limbs. Its something I've never felt before, and I wish it could just go away sometimes. Usually being around Baseball will replace that feeling, a general warmth takes over instead, like when you eat something with just the right amount of spice. Both of them being around at the same time, though, that was a whole different experience.

"If she even decides to show up..." I mutter.

"Nickel! She'll be there," Baseball frowned, "don't be so sour."

"Sorry, Base-Face, I can't help it," I winked beneath the eyeliner I wore. He quickly turned away, seeming to cover a cough, before stepping forward to the ticket check in. The older woman running the show held a scanner, quickly checking both of our tickets before ushering us in to attend to the next group of teenagers.

"Let's go," I move to be in front of Baseball, leading the way to the concession stand through the crowds, mostly seems like the marching band kids who've not been told where they need to be yet. Baseball has no trouble moving through the people, briefly waving to say hello to Cheesy and Apple, holding their trumpet and bass drum respectively. I gag at the thought of having to deal with Cheesy with a Trumpet, who was stupid enough let this happen? I shake the thoughts from my head, though, dragging Baseball away from the two and towards my long awaited airheads. Luckily the line was still short.

"God, more and more lines and crowds..." Baseball murmured.

"If you don't want to wait, maybe you can go see if Suitcase is here yet?"

Baseball turned his gaze over to the hill where most of the students would watch the game, "you sure? Did you bring the cash to buy em, or am I paying for them again?"

"Oh, please, you think I'd make you pay for me more than once a week? What kind of monster do you think I am?" I teased, "Yes, I can pay for them, just go get comfy! I'll grab you something too, if you want."

Baseball nodded after a moment, "just a Dr.Pepper, thanks," and swiftly left just as I reached the front of the line. Ordering, paying, and grabbing the snacks and shoving them in my pockets, I turn around and start to follow him.

Rounding the corner from the front side of the bleachers, I spot Baseball sitting on a small blanket with Suitcase, chatting and laughing. I sigh, trying to shake off the uncomfortable feeling on my skin, and approach them.

"Hey, Suitcase! Glad you could make it!" I smirk.

"Oh, hey, Nickel!" She grins, popping a skittle into her mouth.

Baseball holds out his hand, "drink, please," which I oblige quickly, passing off the cold can to his pale fingers. I take a moment to seat myself between the two on the blanket before opening one of the airheads from my pocket.

"Not even a thank you?"

I made the mistake of paying too much attention as Baseball removes the can from his lips, smiling sheepishly, "oh, yeah, thanks man."

"Anyways, Suitcase, this is your first football game, right?" I ask in an attempt to distract myself from these weird feelings, despite already knowing the answer.

"Yeah, I've never been to one of these, though I have been to a soccer game before but it wasn't this crowded," her voice wavered slightly as she spoke, "and it was also during the day, it's quite dark out already..."

"Yeah, it makes it more fun though, that's for sure!" Baseball piped up, and I chewed on the candy.

"But you like the crowds, I just think they're annoying than anything."

"Same here," Suitcase followed up, leaning back to lay on the blanket, her stomach slightly showing as the bottom of her sweater rose. I turn my gaze to the football field as soon as I notice this, "I don't mind the night time though, the breeze feels great and I don't have to worry about getting sunburnt!"

"Do you get sunburnt easily too?" Baseball gawks, chuckling to himself, "I used to get teased over being as red as a tomato during middle school sports season."

"Oh that's awful!"

"It really wasn't that bad-" he laughed more openly, turning and leaning backward to look at Suitcase, his arm touching mine. A shiver ran down my spine.

"Still, it's not nice to tease someone like that," She frowned, "I've got friends who've been treated badly and it always starts with teasing like that..."

Thankfully the marching band started playing, giving me a chance to end this torment, "oh, the bands playing! They're kinda terrible, honestly, I'm going to go use the bathroom."

"Oh, alright!" "'Kay, don't fall in."

———————

Ducking through a gap in the fence that blocked people from hiding behind the bleachers, my heart was pounding. 'This is fucking horrible.' I splash cool water from a flask I brought onto my cheeks, making sure not to smudge my eyeliner. I slid down onto the ground, surrounded by the wrappers of consumed snacks that fell through the cracks. Staring at myself in the reflections of the beams of the bleachers, my usual tan skin had been replaced with a pinkish hue. 'This is not ok,' I place a hand on my forehead. 'Why all of a sudden is my mind betraying me like this?'

I hear some chain clanking and giggling coming from somewhere else. Figure it must be some lovey-dovey couple hiding away so they can make out, or whatever. Not like I care, but if they go any further than kissing I'll have to leave my moping spot... I open my phone, the harsh blue light illuminating my face, before I get a text from Baseball.

Baseball: Hey, Suitcase said she was going to see another friend for a moment, if you plan on coming back.
Nickel: oh ok.

I bite my lip in thought.

Nickel: ya wanna meet me by the other side of the bleachers? I'm omw back rn.
Baseball: sure, one sec.
Nickel: cool

I shove the phone back into my pocket, standing back up and dusting dirt and grass off the back of my legs. I attempt to avert my gaze from the two people that I pass on my way out, but I recognize that head of red curls anywhere... I do a double take.

God. Fucking. Dammit.

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 1245+
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

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"Suitcase, what the fuck?"

Clearly the two sense my presence, Suitcase stiffens, pushing Balloon away from herself and covering her mouth, staring like a deer in headlights with those big, hazel eyes, muttering, "you weren't supposed to-"

"Supposed to what? Catch you doing the one thing I told you not to do?" Rage clouds my better sense as I walk towards her, shoving Balloon further away and swiftly grabbing Suitcases wrist, "God, I knew it, I knew you were... that he... fuck, you're so difficult." 

"Nickel, this is none of your business!" Suitcase prys her wrist from my grasp, "What is your problem?!" 

"My problem is that HE," I shove a pointed finger in Balloons direction, he puts his hands close to his chest, clearly unprepared for this fight, "is nothing but a dirty bastard, and he is going to hurt you!" 

Balloon chimes in quietly, "why can't you see I've changed?"

"Balloon has done nothing but be kind to me this entire time!" She steps in front of Balloon, who puts his hand in hers, "meanwhile YOU have been bossing me around nonstop!" 

"He's just taking advantage of you, Suitcase, I want whats best for you!"

"Who the hell are you to decide whats best for me? You've known me less than a year!" 

The chain link fence rustles loudly, catching my attention, "Nickel?" 

"Baseball, help me out here!" Suitcase pleads, "tell him to leave us alone!" 

Baseball stares at the scene wide eyed, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion and uncomfortability. His mouth forms a tight line, he stays silent.

"See? He agrees with me, we need to stay together," I take her hands into mine with force, my gaze catching in hers, "we need to keep what we had before!"

"What we had before?" She raises an eyebrow.

"You know! You, me, and Baseball against the world, were a team!" 

 "Again, you've known me less than a year, we don't even talk outside of class and sending pics of our pets in that one stupid group chat!" She rips her hands out of mine and stomps towards me, "Why am I so fucking important to you?"

A silence falls between us. She ignites the hot coals in my throat and freezes my skin as she glares with fire and ice I had never seen before. I swallow, averting my gaze. Her eyes soften slightly.

"No..." She takes a step back, "you don't..."

"Nickel, what's going on?" Baseball approaches to comfort me, placing his hand on my arm.

 "Are you jealous?" My mind freezes, I'm stuck staring at my shoes with my heartbeat pounding, "have you just been a stupid jealous boy this whole time, are you fucking kidding me!?" 

"You were trying to take her for yourself?" Balloon's gaze hardened, "I'm not fighting you over a girl, what kind of stupid movie plot do you think this is?" 

"No, you liked me and decided this is how you treat me? What would make you think I'd like you back if you treated me like this? What the fuck?!" 

Like prying myself from a bad dream, I manage to stumble towards the fence. Baseball grabs me, but I shove him away and slink away through the fence and out into the stadium. I hear Baseball call after me, but the ringing in my ears drives me all the way to the parking lot before it decides to die down. I find Baseballs Ford Escape, pulling at the door hinge to no avail, and slump down next to the passenger side door. I fucked up, I fucked up bad. I pull out my vape, puffing the vapor into the cement between my legs. 

"Nickel?" Baseball's round face pops out from the back of his car, "There you are, you scared me there." 

"Mmm... sorry..."

"So," He sits next to me, "what the hell was that all about?"

I pull my knees up and bury my face into my arms, "I don't know."

"...Clearly you do know," Baseball puts his arm around me, taking the vape from my hand, "talk to me."

"What?"

"Talk to me, it's what we do," he takes a hit from the vape, blowing it into the sky.

"...I fucked up?" I shrug, "I thought I was keeping us together."

"Nickel," He passed the vape back to me, "did you like her like that?"

I shoot up and stare him in the eyes, "N-no! Baseball, you know the kind of girls I like, Suitcase is nothing like that!"

"Dude, she is totally your type."

"Is not!" My face flushed. 

"That's half the reason you approached her this year in the first place!" 

"SHUT UP!" 

Baseball laughs, the corners of his eyes crinkling, "Well, even if she is, that ship has sailed, and clearly you are not taking it well." 

"God, no it was never just about her, it was about all of us together, I..."

"But she was right, you never really included her with us," he interrupts, "You text me almost every day, but you've tended to push her away even when I suggest inviting her to something."

"Well-" my mouth clamps shut, thinking, "she wouldn't want to hang out with just us anyways."

"You never asked her, how do you know?"

"...Sometimes I just want to hang out with only you, ok? I can't handle being with both of you at the same time all the time."

"What do you mean by that?" Baseball leans over and stares at me. I feel a lump form in my throat and a warmth washes over me, before I shake my head and look away.

"It's nothing, can you just drive me home?"

Baseball frowns, standing up and offering me a hand which I take, and he pulls me to my feet effortlessly, "fine, but you're explaining yourself later."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 959+
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 The road is unbearably bumpy as I sit in the passenger seat, my leg bouncing up and down and looking out the window at the dusky, scraggly fields, tinted purple and blue by the darkening sunset sky. Baseball's pale hands turn pink from gripping the steering wheel too hard. The awkward silence is broken by a buzzing in the cupholder. I hesitantly pick up my phone, my face draining of color when I see Suitcase is calling me. Shrinking into my seat, I cancel the call, returning my phone to the cup holder. The screen lights up yellow again, Suitcase's icon popping up again and again, incessantly buzzing. I swipe down, turning on Do Not Disturb, and shove the phone into my pocket.

"She's being quite persistent..." Baseball mutters when his own phone rings, reaching for his phone sitting on a holder attached to the air vent and turning it off.

"Yeah, I'd really rather not talk about it right now," Baseball's gaze flickers from the road for a moment, his eyebrows furrowed in concern.

"Nickel, I know this just happened, but you can't just ignore her forever."

"Uh, I think I can and I will," I reached for my almost-dead vape for the 3rd time in 10 minutes, coughing when the burnt taste finally got the best of me. I hack out, "augh, fuck— c-can we stop at the gas station or something?"

"I guess, I have to fill up anyways," Baseball turns the car towards the glowing sign. Pulling up to one of the pumps, he takes the key out of the ignition delicately, like he was trying to not awaken a sleeping bear. I unbuckle the seatbelt and my hand lingers on the door handle, looking over to Baseball who simply stares into his lap. He glances quickly at me, as if waiting for something. I open the car door.

"Do... Do you want anything?"

"A Gatorade would be nice."

"Alright, I'll be back in a second," I head across the parking lot and pull open the glass door. A peeling sound erupts from the sticky floor contacting my shoes, I frown, heading to the fridges. Dark blue, light blue, white, green, I scan the bottles and grab the green Gatorade, Baseball's favorite, I thought it was gross though, why would they make a cucumber flavored Gatorade? I take a red one for myself, heading up to the counter as calmly as possible.

The attendant notices me, and puts on a customer service smile, "Hello, did you find everything ok?"

"Yeah, no problem," I say, "could I also get a refill for my vape?"

"I'm gonna need to see an ID for that," I sighed, though I had expected to hear that, reaching into my wallet and grabbing my fake ID. I hand it off to the clerk, who studies it for a moment, and looks up at me, "What's your date of birth?"

"Uh, March 31st, 1997."

"Ok... What's your address?"

"... 401 Dusky Grouse Drive."

"... look, kid, you clearly just came from a highschool event," He gestures to my clothes, I mentally facepalm, "you don't look old enough to be a parent, and this ID looks fake, you gave me the wrong address. I'll let you buy your drinks, and I'll give this back to you," he hands me the fake, "but just don't try to buy it here again, I can't get fired."

"Come on man, I just need one, no one would ever know."

"There are literally cameras all around, my boss is really strict with selling to underage folks. I'm technically putting myself at risk giving you that ID back," he crosses his arms.

"Ugh, whatever, " I say, sliding over the money for the two drinks and storming towards the door. A fly buzzes by my ear as I exit, and I kick an empty bottle by accident, rolling loudly against the cement. I see Baseball leaning against his car, spotlighted by the fluorescent lights that shine from the station's overhang. The purple and blue sky in the backdrop makes his face illuminated, a nice glow like a halo. He slouches against his car, one foot propping up his body and the other leg bent, with just the tip of his roughed up red shoe hitting the concrete. His hands tucked into his pockets, he stares out into the field across from the gas station, the grass swaying and the crickets chirping. The irritation I had before melts away instantly, replaced by that familiar warmth and I approach. Baseball looks in my direction, and the drinks suddenly feel like ice in my palms.

"Woah, they had the green one!" Baseball grins, eagerly taking the bottle from my hand, it looks so much smaller in his hand than in mine. I sip on the drink, the chill liquid trickling down my throat.

"Yeah, I think that flavor is gross," I lean against the car next to him, "but, I know what you like, Stitches."

"You say its gross, I think I just have a refined palette, Jefferson," he takes a drink, "You'd understand if you didn't ingest so much red 40—"

"Hey!"

"—I think they've proven it rots your brain!" He chuckles.

"You asshole!" I bump his elbow with mine, and the gas pump stops. I sigh, him still giggling, "If my brain rots, you gotta make sure to keep yours in good shape, one of us needs to be functional."

"Yeah, but it'd be better if both of us were functional," he takes the gas nozzle out and puts it back into the pump, "Y'know, we might not always have each other."

"Pfft— You're a genius if you think I'm leaving you," I say, heading towards the passenger door.

"...What?"

"Hm?" I tilt my head, peering through the car window. Baseball is frozen, lips in a tight line, looking like a deer in headlights straight at me. My palms feel sweaty again.

Baseball shakes his head, "You're... you're insufferable, just get in the fucking car."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 1003 +
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The engine comes to a halt, the jingling of my keychain stopping as it comes in contact with the fabric of my pocket. I adjust the brim of my hat as I step out of my car, walking up to the large door. The lights are on inside, my parents are home. I turn the doorknob, seeing them sitting at the dining room table doing something on their laptops. 

My dad doesn’t bother to turn to look at me, clearly invested in whatever he’s typing, but he acknowledges me, “Welcome back, sport! How was the football game?” 

“It was… eventful to say the least.” 

“Did our team win?” My mom asks.

“Uh, no I don’t think so, I left early to… go to the Gellertons Steakhouse with some friends.” 

“Ah, that's too bad, maybe next year, then.” She says, and I hum an agreement before heading upstairs to my room. Sports posters line my walls, hung loosely with sticky tack so as to not damage the paint. I kick off my shoes into the closet and plop down on my bed, being absorbed by the comforter. I take my phone out of my pocket, finally turning the notifications back on. Well, that was a mistake. My phone begins dinging with way too many text messages. It seems like I was added to some new group chat? I sigh, this is going to be interesting…

[Suitcase (Seminar & English) changed the Group Chat Name to HELP]

[Suitcase (Seminar & English) added You, Knife (Gym & Bio), Unknown Number, and Balloon (Seminar & Bio)]

Suitcase (Seminar & English): GUYS MY FRIEND GROUP IS FALLING APART HELP

Unknown Number: Oh shit it finally happened? I had a feeling in all honesty

Unknown Number: Sorry that was rude lol (^_^;)

Balloon (Seminar & Bio): Geez Leafy have some sympathy

Balloon (Seminar & Bio): But yeah uhhh… 

Balloon (Seminar & Bio): A thing happened. 

Unknown Number: What happened? o.O

Balloon (Seminar & Bio): Nickel may have found out that Suitcase and I are dating and freaked out and basically it came out that he had a thing for her this whole time too??

Unknown Number: STOP WHAT?!?!!?!1

Suitcase (Seminar & English): I’M SO DUCKING CONFESSED

Suitcase (Seminar & English): CONFUSED*

Knife (Gym & Bio): Correcting the “confessed” but not correcting the “ducking” lol

Knife (Gym & Bio): also why am I in this chat

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Because you're my friend and you know the people here too? 

Suitcase (Seminar & English): You might have some insight??? 

Suitcase (Seminar & English): To help me???

Knife (Gym & Bio): Friend is a strong word but whatever

Knife (Gym & Bio): Wait this is interesting…

Unknown Number: Did you lead Nickel on or something?

Suitcase (Seminar & English): God I hope not, I would really hate to do that to someone :(

Suitcase (Seminar & English): If I did it was completely accidental

Knife (Gym & Bio): Damn, from what I could see he didn’t really like you all that much and especially doesn’t like Balloon, but that was happening way before you moved to this school. Did you ever have a thing for him then? 

Suitcase (Seminar & English): I mean no, I don’t like him like that if he’s going to treat Balloon and I that horribly! Which he was!

Unknown Number: He must be heartbroken then. In some over possessive way.

I groan, this clearly is turning into a “Nickel hating party.” I debated leaving the group chat, but that would definitely send the message that I was 100% on Nickels' side in all of this. It’s more important to keep the peace and explain myself, I suppose. I quickly changed the Unknown number to the person's name, Leafy. I’ve never met them, but Suitcase had mentioned her before. 

Me: Hey guys, sorry for ignoring your calls, I was making sure Nickel was ok and got home safe.

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Thanks for taking care of him but LET ME KNOW NEXT TIME BEFORE I THINK YALL DIED OR SOMETHING!

Me: Right, sorry! We’re not dead! 

Me: Nickel seems to be doing as well as he can be in a situation like this, I dropped him off at his place a few minutes ago.

Leafy: Who are you?

Me: I’m Baseball, I’m seemingly directly involved in this situation, lol. Also lets not go calling Nickel “possessive” or anything, I’m sure he means the best.

Leafy: Yeah I’m mostly just watching this all go down like it’s a reality show, so I don’t have any real hate behind it ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Me: Anyways, I think I could explain some of Nickel’s side in all of this, if you want that, Suitcase?

Suitcase (Seminar & English): If you think he’d be comfortable with that, I suppose. 

Suitcase (Seminar & English): We should probably do that privately though.

Me: Agreed.

Leafy: Aw man I wanna know the dramaaaaaaa (~_~)

Balloon (Seminar & Bio): I’m sure you'll learn it once they're done talking!

I get another notification, switching over to the new message.

Suitcase (Seminar & English): So what’s up with Nickel?

Me: So as far as I’m aware he was definitely into you, you're like exactly his type of girl lmao

Me: but he said that he excluded you from things because “he can’t handle being around both of us all of the time”

Me: I have no clue what that means

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Uh. Well I might have an idea now.

Me: yeah? 

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Do you know that Nickel is bi?

Me: What?

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Do you know he’s bisexual?

I stare at the screen blankly, my mouth goes dry and my hands start to shake. I’ve had my suspicions, but he’s never said anything to me about it. More pressingly, I know I’ve got my own secrets. Awful, horrible secrets. My parents can’t know anything about this or they would… god, they’d do anything to fix me. I try to fix myself but it always crawls back. 

Me: I mean I’ve thought about it.

Me: But he’s never told me if he is. And we tell each other everything. I don’t think he would hide that from me.

Me: He would definitely hide that from my parents though, you know how they are.

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Yeah, I remember. Maybe he hid that from you because of your parents though?

Me: Maybe…

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Baseball, when he said that did he explain it at all?

Me: No he completely avoided when I questioned

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Baseball… you sweet summer child...

Me: What does that mean

Suitcase (Seminar & English): It’s nothing, I’ll explain it later.

Me: oh ok. Keep your secrets then >:(

Me: I should probably go to bed, it's getting late.

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Oh, yeah ok! Sleep well, Baseball!

Me: Goodnight, Suitcase

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 1114 +
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

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It's December now, the snow flurries fall outside of my frosty window, building up on the sill. The weekend brings an excuse to not leave the house, but I've never been too afraid of the cold. I swap out my usual baseball cap for a beanie, and layer my varsity jacket over a red knit sweater my grandma made for me. My last name is embroidered in shiny white thread on the back of the jacket, reflecting back at me, Ruthsfield. I open my bedroom door, bat in hand and backpack sitting firmly on my shoulders. My shoes thump against the stairs and I head to the front door.

"Don't go catching a cold, son!" I hear my mother call out from the living room.

"I won't, ma'!"

"And be back by dinner!"

I turn the doorknob, a gust of cold air hitting my face, "Ok!"

My shoes grip to the freshly shoveled concrete. I open my car door, a fleeting jealousy of people who have remote start washes over me as I sink into the seat, the inside being as cold as the outside. Turning the key in the ignition, the engine sputters to a start, taking a bit longer than usual due to the cold. I decide to idle for a bit, letting the car warm up. I pull my phone out, my hands shaking momentarily with thought before hitting the send button;

Me: Hey, Nickel!

Me: I hope you're doing better, I'm driving out to the field to practice my pitching if you want to come with?

He had been sulking ever since that football game last week, only ever responding in short messages and not leaving his home as much. That, in combination with what Suitcase told me, with the thought that he was hiding a part of himself from me, made me concerned. Honestly, I'm more worried than I'd like to admit.

Me: Let me know in 5 minutes or so, we could get lunch while we're out?

I wait, staring at the screen, bouncing my leg up and down impatiently. Finally, after a few minutes, he texts back

Nickel: it's so fucking cold out

Nickel: you're crazy

Me: Well you can't stay inside all day for a week straight, man. It's not good for your brain.

Me: You should come with me :)

Nickel: i'll ride with you but i'm not getting out of the car.

Me: Good enough! Be there in 5!

Nickel: idk if i can bundle up in 5 but we'll see

I sigh in amusement at that, shifting the car into reverse and backing out of my driveway. The ride there is a bit hectic with the snowy roads, I notice a car, I think it might be Pickle's old Prius, that's wedged into a mound of snow. I slow down to catch a glimpse and, sure enough, there he is shoveling away at it with a sour look on his face, along with Bomb, while Cheesy is on the phone in the backseat, occasionally leaning out to take a picture of the other two, seems like he's cracking jokes about the situation. The spectacle had me idling nearby, before I heard a car honk behind me, and I quickly started driving again. After a few more minutes of driving, the road changes to gravel and I pull to the curb closest to Nickel's house.

Me: I'm here!

Nickel: couple more mins

Me: Ok no worries!

I pull the sun visor down and look at the mirror, lifting up the edge of my beanie and adjusting my hair away from my eyes. After a while, I see a gray-coated shape out of the corner of my eye. Nickel closes the front door to his house behind him, wearing an open silver puffer jacket with a dusty blue hoodie underneath, the hood covering his hair. Heavy boots grip the snowy driveway as he approaches.

He opens the door, leaning down to make eye contact, "This fucking zipper keeps getting stuck."

"That's what was taking so long, huh?"

"I gave up," he laughed, sliding into the passenger seat. Things felt normal so far. Good.

"Well the car is warm so you should be fine until we get there," I turn the steering wheel to the right lane, "You can play some music if you want."

"Totally wasn't itching to put something on," he grinned for a moment, plugging the cord into his phone and scrolling for a moment before a familiar, wintery tune crackled out of the sound system.

"...You're playing holiday music?"

"What, do you not feel festive?" Nickel joked, and I turned my gaze for a moment to look at him, but underneath the grin there was a hint of anxiety that I wouldn't have noticed just a few weeks ago. His mouth crinkled up in an awkward way, and his eyes darted from mine to his legs.

I flick my eyes back to the road, "No, no, you just never... never seemed like the 'jolly' type before, y'know?"

"Oh, yeah," he sighed, letting the chorus go by, and I quietly hum along, but just a little off-key. He continues, "I'm usually not but... I don't know, this one song is different somehow."

"I get it, I like this one too, it reminds me of those school holiday parties in 3rd grade or so."

"Duuuude, those were so great," he laughed, "cheap pizza, premade cookies, and puppy chow!"

"Nickel I hate to say it but... they are called muddy buddies," I tease, "the recipe on the Chex box calls them muddy buddies," and he lets out a groan.

"Shut up, it's puppy chow, don't be a corporate shill."

"Fine, whatever you say Jeffs," I turn the car into the parking lot of the school's combination soccer-football-baseball field, "We're here!"

I reach for the ignition, but Nickel stops me, "Hey you read my text, I am not getting out of this car, it's freezing out."

"Well maybe if you zipped your coat up the whole way, you'd be fine?" I gesture to his clothes.

"It's not zipping up the whole way dude, I told you!"

"Here, let me see," I unbuckle my seatbelt and lean over the center armrest, grabbing the two ends of his jacket. I hear Nickel suck in a breath, slowly moving his hands out of the way as I fiddle with the zipper, finding the piece of fabric that it got caught on, and moving it out of the way. Zipping the jacket up to his neck, I lean back in satisfaction, "There, fixed it!"

When I look up at Nickel, though, he stares at me with wide, frosty blue eyes, and his mouth in a tight line. I pause, remembering my conversations with Suitcase a few days ago, unsure if I should mention that I now know this part of him that he hid from me, that he's safe with me. But, do I truly know this missing piece if he never tells me on his own? Is he... does he feel safe with me? I swallow, wondering if I crossed a boundary when he glances down a bit past my nose, then meeting my eyes again before turning away and choking out a quick cough, "yeah, thanks."

"Hey, are you ok?" I tilt my head to try to look at his face more.

"I'm fine," he says, crossing his arms.

"...will you come out to the field with me now?" I say, and he turns his gaze back to me with his eyebrows furrowed.

I give him a goofy smile, and he sighs, "Ugh, fine. You're unbelievable."

"Hell yeah!" 

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 1240 +
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

Chapter Text

【ＬｏａｄｉｎｇＣｈａｐｔｅｒ．．．】
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I open the car door, reaching to the backseat and grabbing my baseball bat and backpack, and I feel the cold air brush past my cheeks. Trekking out into the field, the snow seems to have fallen in a less thick layer here, making it easy to get to the far edge. I glance at Nickel, who follows a little behind, stepping in the footprints I left behind to keep his shoes as snow-free as possible, “you said you were practicing pitching?”

“Yeah, but I brought the bat in case I wanted to do some ball hitting. ”

“Heh, ball hitting, classic.”

I dust the snow off of a section of the bleachers with my glove, enough for my backpack and for Nickel to sit if he wanted, though I imagine it would be ice cold. I set my bat and the bag down, opening it and grabbing a few balls and my catching glove. 

“Well I guess it might've been stupid of me to wear gloves, I have to take one off to wear the catching glove anyways.”

“I’ll hold it for you if you want,” Nickel chimed in, “my hands are freezing anyways, better to have one warm and one cold than both cold, I guess.”

“Thanks,” I smile, handing it over. He pulls the glove onto his own hand, “we match now!”

Nickel shrugs, looking down at his feet, “I guess we do, Stitches.”

I feel a small warmth grow over me, and I turn to head to the pitcher's plate, stretching out my throwing arm. Nickel slid his shoe in the snow for a moment, a devious idea popping into his head, “Hey, Baseball, check this out!”

“Hm?” I gaze back at him, as he shuffles his feet to make a circle in the snow, and then draws another circle connected to the first. He starts shuffling in a long straight line, and my pattern recognition kicks in, “Oh my god, Nickel, you’re so immature…”

“Nuh-uh this is my masterpiece!” he smirks sarcastically, rounding the final turn, “You wouldn’t know art if it hit you in the face!” 

“And you wouldn’t know maturity, Jeffs,” I stance myself to throw one of the baseballs, giving it a solid pat in my hand, before letting it fly, the large chain link fence ringing on impact behind the buried home base, the leafless vines that grew through it rustling. I sigh, it wasn’t my best throw but it's the first of the day, and I’m not super warmed up either. I throw a few more, getting more and more confident. After the 8th throw, I suddenly feel a soft thud on my back, whipping around to see Nickel scooping snow off the ground and trying to form it into a ball, “Oh, you picked the wrong fight!”

“Did I?” He laughs, lobbing another snowball at me, but his aim and stance was off. I gather snow into a ball, and hurl it with precision at him, hitting him square in the chest. The powder sprays up into his face, “Hey! Watch it!”

“Get a better aim!”

“Well shit, maybe I did pick the wrong fight, you literally throw shit for fun!” He laughs, brushing himself off, and an idea pops into my head. He didn’t exactly protest to me inviting him out here, or me fixing his zipper, I wonder if… 

“Let me teach you,” I started walking towards him.

“What?”

“I can teach you a good way to stand, that way you can throw better. If you want?” I feel a clammy-ness in my gut, this feels right, feels normal, but what if someone saw us? Does this seem normal from the outside?

“I mean,” Nickel looks off towards the car for a moment, holding his hands together, one gloved and one bare, “it wouldn’t hurt.”  

I wordlessly approach, dropping the pitcher's glove and the baseballs I had from my hand except one. I cup the back of his gloved right hand and place it into his palm, forming his fingers around it, “Keep a firm grip on this, yeah?” He nodded, staring at me with a curious expression as I took a step back, “Put your hands like this, hold the ball with your right hand and have your left elbow out,” I move my arms to show him, “and then have your feet like this, about shoulder width apart, and with your hips twisted towards your left foot.” I observed him mimicking my body, but his hips didn’t turn enough. I move towards him, gaze locked on his body, glancing up at his eyes for a moment. He blinked, looking down at my hands before I shakily placed them on his waist, thin despite being padded by his coat, turning him a little more, “Like that,” I look back up at his face to make sure I haven’t gone too far, and see that same wide eyed stare from earlier, though the cold has dusted his cheeks and nose with a bright red, “you good?” He nods again, a wavering smile to reassure me. I gently remove my hands, and bring them up to his shoulders, “when you throw, you swing your left elbow back, and thrust the right shoulder forward, whipping your arm like this,” I hold his arm, it's much thinner than mine but I can tell there are underlying muscles, demonstrating the throw, “and you twist your hips, stepping forward with the back right foot to push more power into the ball.” I let go of him, and take a few steps back, “Ok, try it now.”

Nickel stands there for a moment, as if he was frozen. I open my mouth to speak, but he suddenly whips his hand forward, throwing the ball. It goes pretty far, landing just short of the home base. I grin, “Not bad for a first try!” 

“T-thanks,” he shook himself out, “I… I’m cold.” 

“Oh, sorry, we have been here for a bit…” I glance towards the car, fishing through my pocket before lifting out my keys, “Here, you can start the car while I get all my stuff, ok?”

Nickel took the keys with an “mhm,” and I jogged over to the bleachers, picking up my bag and bat, and fishing around in the snow piles for the discarded baseballs before heading over to the car. I opened the back door, taking off the singular glove finding its mate sitting in the back seat as well. I dropped everything else onto the seats, and then hopped into the driver seat.

“Did it warm up quick enough?” I gaze over to Nickel, who's looking out the window and tapping his foot. He doesn’t respond, seemingly lost in thought. I clear my throat, lightly resting my hand on his knee, “Earth to Jefferson?”

He looked at my hand, and then at me. I could see the gears turning behind his steel-colored eyes, before his face screwed up and he looked down at his legs, muttering “What is this…”

“What?”

“Why are you… like… acting different right now?”

“I… What do you mean?” I felt like the car walls were closing in around me.

“I don't know, it's… like,” he paused, thinking carefully, “ever since my big fight with Suitcase you’ve been more… clingy? N-not in a bad way!” he quickly added, “I know I was acting… horribly, and I understand I’ve kind of… shut down after that…”

“Nickel, it's ok, I would’ve closed myself off, too,” I started lifting my hand from his leg.

“Yeah, but you’re still here ,” he placed his hand on mine, pressing it back down onto his knee, “Why?”

I blinked at him, “Because you're my best friend! I… I wouldn’t leave you behind for anything.”

“Then, what changed? You’re acting differently now,” He brought his other hand up to his hair, running his fingers through, “do you not like me now because of how I acted?”

“Of course not!” I say, grasping his hand that was laying on top of mine before, “If I found what you did to be that reprehensible, I would’ve said so!”

“Then why are you acting different?”

“I…” Suitcase's message stuck out in my mind like a bright red grape on a vine.

------------

Me: So are you ever going to explain what you said you would?

Me: about Nickel saying “he can’t handle being around both of us all of the time” and how you then told me he was bi?

Suitcase (Seminar & English): I really think this is something you and him need to talk about…

Suitcase (Seminar & English): I mean hell I’m honestly just going off of a hunch here

Me: Well… I wanna know anyways lol

Suitcase (Seminar & English): uggghhhh I really hate that I’m going to tell you this but I really can’t watch him pine after you like a sick puppy and then act like he's “so cool and smarter than everyone else.”

Me: Rude but go on

Suitcase (Seminar & English): Sorry lol still a bit pissed

Suitcase (Seminar & English): but anyways

Suitcase (Seminar & English): yeah I said he was pining after you uh… he really  likes you. It's pretty obvious to me… 

Me: oh 

Me: like romantically?

Suitcase (Seminar & English): yeah

Me: shit

------------

I close my mouth into a tight line, my gaze dropping to our intertwined fingers, and I gently rub my thumb on his, “I… don’t know if this is really you…”

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)
+Word Count: 1572 +
【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】

Chapter Text

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~WARNING: Homophobia mention, Internalized homophobia~

"What do you mean?" I keep my eyes down, and Nickel's grip on my hand tightens, "Baseball, what do you mean?"

"I'm not sure if you're being completely honest with me."

"...why?"

"Sui... someone told me something that..." my fingers shake in between his own, "something that lets me see you in a new way..."

Nickel sighed, fiddling with his jacket zipper, "oh god..."

"But I wasn't sure if I should believe it... or see you like that yet because you didn't tell me yourself, and..." I finally look up at him again, taking a deep breath, "and the only thing I want is for you to feel safe enough to tell me things like that."

His eyes lock onto mine, with furrowed eyebrows and a slight frown, "I'm assuming this is about me being bi?" I nodded, and he took his free hand off of the jacket zipper, leaving it halfway down, "Yeah, I was... I was going to tell you eventually I just... Do you remember middle school?"

"What about it?"

"You said some things that I thought were funny back then, but looking back now it was definitely a bit homophobic..."

"I mean... what middle schooler back then didn't call things 'gay'?"

"True, and I know I did the same, but with your parents being who they are, you kind of parroted what they said for a bit."

"...right, I remember now, I'm sorry about that..." I rub my thumb against his knuckles, they feel bony and small in my hand.

"You don't need to apologize for that, Baseball, you're better now, I feel like I could tell you that in a vacuum and feel safe."

That reassured me for a moment, but, "then why didn't you tell me?"

"Honestly, one part is your parents, sorry, but also I'm just not a fan of 'coming out,' y'know? And so when I figured this out, around freshman year, I kept it to myself so that I wouldn't be singled out like that..." he laughed, "Turns out a lot more people are gay than we thought, right?"

"Yeah, right. I... I think I might be... gay as well? Or something?" I stutter, trying to put the words together, "I-I think I get it... but... she told me something else, too."

"Well the only 'secret' I've told her was that, so..." he trails off, the gears turning in his mind, coming to a hesitant realization, "wait did she... Did she think there was something between us?" We both stared at each other silently for a moment. Nickel sank down into his chair, almost like he was trying to hide, and complained "Why am I still freezing? It's so warm in here."

"Oh, your jackets unzipped again," I take my free hand and lean closer to reach for the zipper. His fingers loosen around mine as I close the jacket up to his neck. I turn my attention back to his face, a bright red hue contrasting his icy eyes, and I notice his pale, chapped lips are parted slightly. He looks mesmerizing... I delicately place my hand on his cheek, and his stubbled, tan skin melts beautifully against it. His eyelids droop down for a moment, and I instinctively lean in, but something stops me. I shudder, my breathing quickening.

"...what?" Nickel mutters in the smallest voice I've ever heard from him.

"I-I can't..." he looks as though his heart just broke before I continue, "...my parents... I..."

"They wouldn't find out..."

"Nickel they'd kill me..."

"Oh, Stitches," he says softly, and takes the hand that I was holding and moves it up to the one now against his cheek. I feel my throat close up and tears start to well up in my eyes.

"I-I've pushed this down for so long, Nickel! It's not normal, it's not me," I shrink back into my shoulders, hot tears rolling down my face, "They would fucking kill me!"

"Please, no one would find out if we just-"

"Nickel I can't do this," I pull myself backwards more, flinching as my neck brushes against the cold of the car window.

"Baseball, please look at me," I blink through the tears, "nobody needs to know but us. I won't tell a soul if you don't, and we can be how we've always been in public, right?"

I stay silent, my shoulders sagging down with the weight of my jacket, "I don't know..."

"When it's just us," Nickel scoots closer, his side pressing against the center armrest, "we can be anything we like, ok?"

"Nickel I didn't even know that I liked... that I wasn't fully straight until recently," I mutter, "I was told so many awful things about gay people, I haven't fully processed this yet..."

Nickel tilts his head, his eyebrows casting a slight shadow over his eyes and the frown deepening, "Oh, you... you need more time?"

"I... I think so, I-I'm really doing my best to question everything I know but I'm so exhausted by it all that I haven't focused on... on who I am in this..." The realization tumbles out of my mouth and I start scratching absentmindedly at my hangnails, "I-I'm sorry."

"No, Baseball," Nickel leans forward and grabs my hand, "I get it, you need to figure yourself out before jumping into this," he smiles softly, "I mean, if you want my perspective, you've never really been interested in anyone."

"You're right, yeah..."

"Well, I'm not counting the time you fake-crushed on Pepper to get out of a truth-or-dare question," Nickel joked, and I let out a shaky laugh, "That wouldn't count."

"No, of course not," I rub my palm against my face to wipe away the loose tears, "well, how did you do it?"

"Hm?"

"How did you accept yourself for who you are?"

Nickel blinked, squeezing my hand a bit tighter, "I think it helps to remind yourself that you matter, and that you're not alone." He opens his palm, causing mine to open as well, and lines up our fingers. His hand is much smaller and thinner than mine, "Take some time to reassure yourself, and trust yourself."

I give him a small smile, "Ok, I will."

"And maybe you should talk to the GSA, Gay-Straight Alliance," he adds, "I know Paintbrush and OJ co-lead that, and I think Paper and Marshmallow are there, too."

"Yeah," I paused, "I'll think about it."

"But, when you figure it all out," Nickel wraps his fingers around my hand once more, "I would like to... pick up where we left off," he blushes and looks down at the floor, "...I-if you would still want to."

I feel a heat rise into my ears, "Of course," I mutter quickly, noticing Nickel leaning forward once more.

"Good, now," he gently places his index finger under my chin, "You led me on for wayyy too long, you asshole."

I would've laughed, but my eyes were locked onto his lips again, "s-sorry."

"Oh, I'll never forgive you for that," he said sarcastically, before going quiet and looking at me with what I can only describe as admiration. He stared for what felt like an eternity, before whispering lowly, "would it be ok if I?..."

My mind stalls, it feels like the moment I'm staring down the batter on the field. My breath catches in my throat, my hand tightening around his. It takes me prying my thoughts back to the present before I can lean a little closer, and I nod. Using his fingers, Nickel guides my lips to meet his for just a fleeting moment. When he pulls away, my eyes flutter open. That wasn't long enough. I instinctively lean closer to him, moving my hand up to his cheek. Desperation, I shut my eyes and crashed my lips against his, much stronger this time. He sinks into it for a few seconds, before pulling away again, sighing, "w-we should save that for later."

I croak out "Right, right, sorry."

"Don't apologize, it's cute, but..."

"Hm?"

"...we should probably start driving, Stitches, you promised me lunch and it's 3pm."

ᐯOTE ᗩᑎᗪ ᑕOᗰᗰEᑎT :)

+Word Count: 1350+

【Ｓｈｕｔｔｉｎｇ　ｄｏｗｎ．．．】