Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Heathcoat Academy was a posh school, Ross knew that much. He had heard stories, at his old school. Tales about students getting dropped off in helicopters and Aston Martins in the parking lot. Back then, he’d listened intently to the gossip, laughing at the ridiculousness of the rich. He’d never thought he’d actually be here. But alas, his old school didn’t have a Sixth Form. Against all odds, he’d lucked out with a place at Heathcoat.

Looking down at his map of the school, Ross sighed. A new school came with a lot of new classrooms and buildings to memorise, brilliant. He tugged his blue and black stripy tie nervously, a habit he had picked up a long time ago. Most Sixth Forms didn’t have a uniform, unfortunately all the posh boys and girls had to look especially smart. Black blazers, stripy ties and white shirts were mandatory.

Standing outside the main gate, he looked back to where his sister was still parked. She gave him an encouraging wave and he pulled a face. Turning back to the gate, he walked over to where the card scanner was. His Sixth Form ID card had come in the post yesterday, every Sixth Form student had them, allowing them to exit and enter the campus when required. The machine bleeped green after scanning his card, and the gate swung open. Following the instructions he had received over the phone yesterday, he headed into the massive old building in front of him.

Out of all of his twelve years of school, he had never met a more stereotypical headmaster. He was a large man, easily over fifty. White tufts of hair were spread over his scalp and a bit of his chin, making him look like a shaven father christmas. His black suit and pointed gaze accompanied the disturbing sense of intimidation that radiated from the room.

After the headmaster had ‘welcomed’ him to the school and explained the basic rules and requirements, Ross had been sent meet his new form tutor where he would collect his paperwork and timetable. Unfortunately, all Ross had been told about his form room was that it was in G13.

At some point during his search, a bell sounded. Suddenly there were students everywhere, creating a sea of black blazers. Every student looked the same, only distinguishable by their ties. Ross’ was blue, meaning he was Sixth Form, but this was a whole school. Students in year seven and eight were Discovery Collage, meaning they had black and grey ties. In year nine, students picked their GCSE’s, meaning they got segregated into different Collages depending on the subjects they chose. Green for Arts. Red for Enterprise. Purple for World. It was all very confusing.

To his left, Ross heard a shout. Turning his head to look, he saw a flash of blonde before something heavy barrelled into him. He hit the ground with a large ‘thump’, wind completely knocked out of him.

“Oh shit man, sorry.”

He looked up to follow the voice, finding a large blonde boy looking down at him, a concerned look on his face. Behind the blonde, he saw two more boys approaching them, a short ginger sporting a curly beard and a taller brunet with tanned skin, their blue ties showed Ross that they were Sixth Form too. Ross blinked up at the blonde, too dazed to respond.

“Here.” The blonde said, offering Ross a hand. He was hauled up by the boy, surprisingly stronger than Ross thought. The boy’s friends arrived as Ross was picking up his rucksack.

“Duncan!” The tall one growled. “What did you do?”

“Accident!” The blonde - Duncan - exclaimed, raising his hands in mock surrender. The brunet shook his head and sighed.

“You alright?” The shorter one asked, looking up at Ross.

“Yeah.” Ross said, dusting dirt off of his black jeans. From the waist down, Sixth Form students were allowed to wear whatever they wanted. Within reason anyway. It looked like most people just went with jeans.

“I shouldn’t have been standing in the middle of the hallway.” Ross shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant about the throbbing pain on the bottom of his spine. Looking around, he noticed most students had gone to their second lesson. Ross bit his lip, he really needed to find his form tutor.

“Shit.” Duncan said, bringing Ross’ concentration back to here and now. The blonde was looking at his watch, his face troubled.

“You’ve got Chem, mate.” The ginger said, stifling a laugh at Duncan’s expression. “I’m in Woodwork, lets go.”

“Sorry again!” Duncan said, before turning away to walk with the ginger. Ross and the brunet boy watched them leave.

“That boy.” The brunet said, shaking his head again.

“I’m Lewis.” He said. Turning to Ross and offering him a hand. “You must be new.”

Ross laughed and shook his hand, appreciating the boy’s friendliness.

“Ross. Is it that easy to tell?”

“Nah, but I got told you were coming in today, and I know most of the face’s of people in Sixth Form.”

Ross gave Lewis a confused look and he smiled.

“I’m head boy, should have mentioned that.”

“Oh!” Ross laughed, that made more sense. “Right.”

“So, you need a hand with anything?”

“Yeah actually.” Ross said, smiling sheepishly. “Could you help me find my form room?”

Lewis was extremely helpful, not only leading Ross to his form room, but also pointing out all the different buildings on his way. It turned out that G13 was a Maths classroom in G Block (surprisingly). Each block was assigned with certain subjects and departments, G being mainly Maths and Computing. They stopped outside Ross’ form, a clear ‘G13’ stuck to the door.

“Thanks man, you were super helpful.” Ross said, he didn’t want to think about how much time he would have wasted wandering around the halls aimlessly before he found this room.

“It’s nothing.” Lewis said, shrugging off the compliment. Spotting Ross’ map sticking out of his blazer pocket, he gestured towards it. “Here, let me have that.”

Ross willingly gave the map up and Lewis pulled a biro out of the back pocket of his jeans. Ross watched as the brunet leant the map against the wall and started labelling it. He covered the map in the names of the buildings, the subjects they contained, where the offices where, something called the ‘pod’ and other little tips. Ross grinned and eagerly took the map back when Lewis was done.

“That should help a little.” Lewis said, smiling at the glee on Ross’ face. “See you later!” He called, walking off before Ross could thank him again. Ross watched him leave before knocking on the door of his form room.

His form tutor was a short blonde woman who blinked at about 40 miles per hour. Her black skirt and creme blouse showed off her youth, as she was clearly in her twenties. She wore quite a bit of make up, not that Ross had a problem with that.

“Ross!” She said, closing the lid of her laptop and beckoning him into the room.

He cautiously walked in. She was teaching a class, GCSE by the looks of their multicoloured ties. Maths was mandatory at their age, poor bastards. She grinned at him from her desk and started handing him bits of paper.

“I’m Miss Gloss.” She said, voice loud amongst the silent class. “I’ll talk to you more later, but I have a class at the minute. Here’s you’re time table, looks like you’ve got a class next.”

Ross nodded, eyeing his timetable as she gave it to him.

“Do you need any help finding anything?”

“Nah.” He said, thankful for his map. “I ran into the head boy and he showed me where most things were.”

“Oh, Brindley.” She nodded. “Nice lad, isn’t he?”

Ross agreed and thanked her for the timetable, going to leave.

“Nice to meet you!” The woman smiled, waving at him from behind her desk. Ross gave her a small ‘you too’ before evacuating into the hallway.

Pausing, he studied his timetable further. Looks like he had Physics second period. As much as Ross hated Maths, he loved Physics. It was a weird relationship. Deciding he might as well turn up for a part of the lesson, he headed towards L26.

It wasn’t long before Ross was, once again, lost. Unfortunately, every L Block room past 22 was unmarked, leaving Ross with a single random unlit classroom at the end of a hallway and a cleaning closet. Taking a chance, he opened the door to the unlit class.

It was a science room, clear by the circular tables sporting gas taps and shelves containing lab equipment lining the walls. He looked around the dark room, before spotting two people. They both turned towards him in surprise.

A small, tanned, purple-haired girl sat atop the shoulders of a ginger boy, trying to reach a particularly high shelf filled with flasks of liquids. The boy was tall, taller than Ross even. They both wore Sixth Form uniform, and their expressions showed that they were probably not supposed to be here. The girl blinked in surprise, before smiling at him.

“Perfect!” She said. “A tall person. Put me down Smith.”

The ginger haired Smith complied, setting the girl down on one of the tables. She hopped off and walked over to Ross.

“Um.” He said, backing towards the door. “I’m looking for L26?”

“No such place mate.” the boy grinned, following the girl over to him. “You must be new.”

“A newbie eh?” The girl smiled, Ross nodded dumbly.

“Alex Smith.” The ginger said, offering a hand and a smirk to Ross. Ross shook his hand numbly, Alex’s cerulean eyes taking over his vision. Shit. This boy was attractive. That floofy auburn hair and pointed jawline. He was fucked.

“Alright Smith, keep your pants on.” The girl joked, Alex elbowed her in the side.

“Just being friendly.” He said, defensively. The girl rolled her eyes and looked towards Ross.

“I’m Kim.” Her tone was kind. “Wanna help us out with something?”

Ross shrugged. He was getting a sort of dodgy vibe from the both of them, but they seemed nice enough.

“Sure.”

“Great.” Kim beamed. “Just hop onto Smith’s shoulders for us.”

“What?”

“Come on.” Alex said, patting his shoulders. “Up you get.”

“Why?”

“We need something from the top shelf.” Kim explained. “We did have a third guy, but apparently he’d rather play with is blonde prefect boyfriend than help us out.”

“And Kim’s a midget.” Alex added. Kim smacked him on the arm. They glared at each other a bit before turning back to Ross, faces expectant. Ross paused before putting down his backpack and cautiously climbing up onto one of the tables, wondering what the hell he was doing as he did so.

“Are you sure you can hold me?” He asked, standing on the edge of the table. Ross was quite tall and not particularly light. Kim dismissed his comment with a wave of her hand and Alex moved to stand in front of him. Slowly, Ross climbed onto Alex’s shoulders, the boy grabbing Ross’ legs to secure him. Precariously, they wobbled over the the shelves, swaying slightly with the new height.

“I’ll watch the door.” Kim said. Ross’ mind raced at that. Why did they need someone to watch the door? And what did they need chemicals for anyway? What the hell had he gotten himself into?

“What am I looking for exactly?” Ross asked, scanning over the phials and flasks.

“Hydrofluoric Acid.” Alex said. Ross blushed slightly as he was reminded of the handsome boy between his thighs. He didn’t even want to ask why they needed such a powerful chemical. Spotting a small phial of the stuff on the left, he grabbed it.

“Got it!” He grinned.

“Good.” Kim said. “Because Hannah’s coming.”

Alex swore loudly from beneath him. The ginger boy let go of Ross’ legs and reached up to grab Ross by the waist. Ross yelped slightly as Alex lifted him from his shoulders while bending, removing Ross from him and setting him down on the ground.

Clutching the phial in his hand, Ross looked from Alex to Kim with a panicked expression. He didn’t know who Hannah was, but from the looks on their faces, she wasn’t good news.

“I’ll throw her off. You two get in the store room.” Kim said. Running over to where she had put her bag, she pulled out a textbook and a pen. Alex and Ross picked up their bags before rushing into a dark supply closet in the left corner of the classroom. Alex closed the door behind them just as they heard the classroom door open.

Ross tried to calm his heartbeat and breathing down as he listened to the sound of muffled voices from outside the small closet. The room was dark and smelt of chemicals. He could vaguely make out the outline of Alex in the gloom, and the quiet brought attention to the fact that he was in a confined space with a stupidly attractive boy. A blush dusted Ross’ cheeks and he thanked the lord for faulty lightbulbs.

They stayed silent for a bit, frozen in place and listening to the sound of conversion between the two girls. Neither boy spoke for fear of revealing their hiding place. Ross could do nothing but look at his shoes and try and ignore the closeness of their chests and the soft sound of Alex’s breathing next to his ear. After what seemed like an eternity, he heard Kim’s voice from outside.

“You can come out of the closet now lads.”

Ross sighed as she opened the door, revelling in the ability to see again.

“God knows how long I’ve waited to make that joke.” Kim grinned at him. Alex laughed.

“Come on Kim.” He grinned. “You know I came out a long time ago.”

Ross’ jaw dropped at the news.

“You’re gay?”

Ross slapped his hand over his mouth, realising how dumb and ignorant that sounded. Alex simply smiled at him and offered him a hand to shake again.

“Alex Smith. Sixteen. Pansexual. Taurus. Nice to meet you.”

“Sorry.” Ross said, sheepishly shaking Alex’s hand. “Uh, Ross Hornby. Sixteen. Homosexual. Virgo. Nice to meet you too.”

“Wait.” Alex said, looking confused. “You’re gay?”

Ross nodded and Kim rolled her eyes at the pair.

“Great!” She said. “You’re both queer, now can we go please? Before Hannah come’s back.”

Alex nodded, his face blank and looking at Ross a little oddly. All three of them shuffled into the hallway. Ross handed Kim the phial of acid, deciding against asking what it was for. There was an odd pause between the three, interrupted by the bell ringing.

“Looks like it’s period three.” Kim said, looking around at the students spilling out of their classrooms. She turned back to Ross.

“If anyone asks, that never happened.” She warned, watching as Ross nodded before walking away. Both boys looked after her, one amused and one slightly terrified.

“She’s nice.” Ross said, Alex laughed.

“Where are you next?” He asked, Ross checked his timetable.

“English Literature with Mr Bennet, in C42.”

“Cool.” Alex said, sticking his hands in his jean pockets and grinning. “I have Music, so I’ll see you later.”

“Okay.” Ross said, blushing slightly and yelling inside about the vagueness of his words.

Alex gave him a mock salute and a smirk, before turning away and melting into the crowd. Ross watched him leave, a small smile playing on his features. After a moment, he snapped out of his daze and got out his map. He glared at the diagram, trying to push the thought of auburn curls out of his mind and focus on finding out where the fuck C Block was.

Chapter Text

Ten minutes late, Ross finally found his way to English Lit. It had turned out that C42 was actually in a sub building of C block that you had to go around the back of E block to get too. He cursed the architectural planning of the school as he knocked on the door of the classroom.

After a shout of permission from within, Ross cautiously opened the door. The class was small, no more than ten or so people. They watched him wearily as he shuffled into the room. The teacher looked at him, a young man with a bald head and scruffy beard.

“You're late.” He said, narrowing his eyes at Ross. He was the type of teacher whose voice was meant for shouting.

“I couldn't find the room.” Ross mumbled, aware of the eyes of the class on him.

“Well, you're here now.” The teacher sighed. “Take a seat.”

Ross quickly scanned the class. It seemed to be a standard English classroom. The walls were old and covered with posters about various books and plays. On the wall by the door hung a whiteboard, covered in notes from the previous lesson. Some of the notes were rubbed out and replaced with the name ‘Mr Bennet’. The desks were arranged in a horseshoe shape around the board, students sat in various spots around it. Ross wandered over to one of the seats and sat down in between a tall blonde boy and a shorter brunette with floppy straight hair.

“Here, Chris. Pass those papers to him” Mr Bennet said, waving a hand in Ross' direction. The boy next to him reached over passed some blue bits of paper to Ross. It was the course syllabus. Two novels, two plays and an anthology of several poems from two poets. Shouldn't be too bad.

They didn't really do anything during the lesson, apart from go over the syllabus in more detail and their exams. Ross had to buy a copy of The Great Gatsby and A Comedy of Errors for this term, The Kite Runner and A Midsummer Nights Dream for next term, the anthology would be provided for them. Simple enough.

Eventually, it was the end of the lesson. Ross stuffed his papers into his backpack and got up to leave.

“Hey.” A voice called from above him. Ross looked up to see the tall blonde he was sitting next to standing over him. His bright green eyes shone with friendliness and Ross smiled, instantly liking the boy.

“Are you new?” He asked. Ross nodded, taking note of his american accent.

“Nice to meet you.” The boy smiled, offering Ross a hand to shake. “My name is Will Strife, I'm a prefect.”

“Ross” He grinned, shaking the boys hand. He was so glad that, contrary to his belief, not everyone here was a posh twat. The boy smiled and looked up.

“Chris!” He called. Ross looked over to where the boy with floppy brown hair was leaving. The boy stopped and turned in their direction. Will beckoned him over.

“This is Ross, show him to lunch will you?”

Chris looked Ross over and shrugged.

“Sure. Parv's waiting for you outside by the way.” Chris drawled. Will nodded and rushed off outside, not even saying goodbye to Ross.

“Those two, I swear.” Chris shook his head, before turning to Ross. “Chris Trott, nice to meet you.”

“Ross.” He smiled up at him, receiving a small one back.

“Well Ross, you'd better not be a dickhead. We've got enough of those floating around.”

“I'll try not to be?”

Chris nodded and turned to walk away. Ross scrambled out of his chair and followed. They passed through crowds of younger students, Ross almost losing the shorter boy along the way. Smiling, he noticed Chris’ backpack was the face of a walrus. Maybe this guy wasn't as cold as he seemed to be.

“So, where do you guys eat?” Ross asked, pushing through a crowd of year nine girls. Chris shrugged.

“That depends. If you wanna stay on campus the pod serves food, it’s cheap and it’s Sixth Form only but there isn't much variety. Then there’s the chippy and the co op just outside the main gates, they're alright. If you're really picky and have the spare time, it’s about a fifteen minute walk into town where there’s a Chinese and a couple of supermarkets.”

“Where are you going?” Ross asked, trying to take a mental note of all that information.

“Pod probably, that’s where my mates usually hang out.” He said, nonchalantly. “There’s sofas and shit so we usually just loiter around there. I'll introduce you.”

Ross nodded, glad Chris wasn't just gonna ditch him at the first opportunity. They traveled across the courtyard outside L block and down to T block.

“Prepare yourself.” Chris said. Ross gave him a confused look before noticing what he was talking about. There were year seven and eights everywhere. A thriving mass of short, loud, students running and screaming and bashing into him.

“They only have lessons in T block.” Chris explained, trying to push through the crowd. “They never leave, they just hang around like a swarm of flies.”

“Jesus Christ.” Ross muttered, trying to avoid getting hit in the head by a flying bottle of water.

“I know.” Chris nodded. “The joys of sharing a school with eleven year olds.”

Ross laughed and followed him through the crowds. Some of the students recognised his blue tie and moved out of the way, and his height seemed to scare off a few of them. Eventually, they made it inside T block where it was much quieter.

“Teachers kick them out at lunch time.” Chris explained, Ross nodded and took note of the staff standing guard at the doors. The teachers watched them with weary eyes and Ross fought the urge to give them each a pat on the back and a cup of tea.

Moving through the bottom floor of T block, they walked through some double doors and out into a smaller courtyard. The rooms changed from T to F and Ross noted that the building seemed a lot older. Ross followed Chris through another door to his left, and into what he assumed to be the Sixth Form area.

The room was quiet and computers stretched around the edges. Students were hunched over their desks writing in textbooks, occasionally muttering whispers to each other about certain questions.

“The study room.” Chris explained. “This is where you sign in when you have a study period, then you can go wherever.”

Ross nodded and followed him through another set of double doors into another quiet room. This one had no desks and a few extra doors to the right.

“This is the other quiet room, sometimes we'll have English lessons in here I think. Sixth Form offices are through those doors.”

“How do you know all of this?” Ross asked. Chris shrugged.

“We had a two week induction before the summer, plus I have an older brother.”

Ross nodded and they moved on through a door to the left. This room was much louder, and almost filled with Sixth Form students. It was set out in an L shape, with tables and chairs spotted around the pace. In the corner of the L there was a little cafe-type counter, selling sandwiches, hot food, beverages and other bits and pieces.

“Close the door behind you.” Chris said to Ross. “Otherwise the emos get pissed off.”

Ross nodded and closed it behind him, smirking as he noticed an angry looking Brendon Urie screenshot from the ‘I Write Sins Not Tragedies’ music video sellotaped to the door.

He followed Chris through the room, noticing certain cliques as he went. They walked around the corner, over to far left part of the room. About six blue sofas surrounded two tables, three of the six taken up by four students eating their lunch. One of them must have brought a mini speaker, as Mumford and Sons was blasting from a white iPhone laying on one of the tables.

“Hey guys.” Chris said, sitting down on the one empty sofa. Ross hovered awkwardly next to him.

“Hey Trott.” One of them smiled, he had a American accent and a weird cap on his head. “Who’s your friend?”

“This is Ross.” Chris said, pulling a sandwich out of his walrus backpack. “Sit down Ross.”

Ross complied and sat down next to Chris, the others watched him, three guys and a girl.

“I’m Sips.” The American one said, talking to Ross. “This is Sjin.” He gestured to a blushing boy next to him.

“Those are interesting names.” Ross said.

“They’re nicknames.” Sjin explained, his voice higher and softer than Ross expected.

“Where are you from? Somewhere in America?” Ross questioned, Sips made a face.

“I’m Canadian.” He said. Ross mumbled an apology.

“Don't worry about him.” The girl said, waving her hand. “He’s just stroppy they don't sell Twinkies over here.”

“It’s an abomination!”

“Twinkies are an abomination.”

Sips gasped and clutched his heart in outrage. Sjin giggled beside him. The girl rolled her eyes and looked back to Ross.

“I’m Hannah, the other one is Turps.” She said, gesturing to the brunet boy on the sofa next to her. He waved at Ross, mouth full of sandwich. Hannah rolled her eyes again.

“I’m head girl.” She explained, and Ross smiled.

“Oh! I met the head boy earlier.”

“Ah yes.” She laughed. “That would be my boyfriend, Lewis. Who should be turning up at some point now actually.”

“He’s very nice.” Ross smiled. These people were all fairly friendly, actually.

“Were you expecting something different?” Hannah asked, almost reading his mind.

“No!” Ross laughed. “It’s just…”

Hannah tilted her head and Ross bit his lip.

“You hear stories you know? This is a posh school, I was kind of expecting you all to be stuck up twats.”

Turps laughed, coughing into his mouthful of sandwich. Hannah smiled.

“Oh don't worry.” She said. “There are plenty of twats around.”

“Anyone I should look out for?” Ross laughed. Sips looked around and gave him a serious look.

“Ridge and Kirin. Richest families in this part of the UK; they've got links to Westminster. Probably the ones you've heard the stories about.”

“Right pricks.” Turps said, finally swallowing his mouthful. “They're dodgy, best to avoid them in general.”

“I've heard Alex Smith made his way onto their shit list.” Trott added. Something sparked in Ross’ brain as he recognised the name.

“I met him earlier.” He said, the group gave him a look.

“Alex, Kim and Parv are a bit dangerous themselves.” Hannah warned. “But if they're getting into business with the dick twins, that can't be good.”

At that moment, the door opened and Lewis, Duncan and the short ginger boy walked in. They plonked themselves down on various sofas, Lewis taking a seat next to Hannah and giving her a kiss on the cheek.

“Oh look Duncan.” The ginger grinned. “It’s the new kid you took out earlier.”

“It was an accident!” Duncan grimaced. “Sorry again.”

Ross shrugged and smiled.

“I’m Simon.” The ginger said, offering a hand to Ross. “Sorry about my idiot friends.”

“Ross” He smiled, shaking his hand.

“Idiots?” Sjin exclaimed. Sips laughed.

“I’m going to go and get some food.” Duncan said, pulling his wallet out of his bag.

“I’ll come with you.” Ross said, grabbing a tenner from his wallet and stuffing it in his back pocket. They walked over to the food counter together.

“How’s your first day going so far?” Duncan asked as they waited in the queue.

“Alright.” Ross shrugged. “Met some nice people, got lost a few times.”

Duncan laughed and bent down, looking at the sandwiches on the bottom shelf. Ross heard the door open and turned to look behind him. Alex, Kim, Will and a tall, handsome boy with jet black hair (that Ross could only assume was Parv) strode in. Alex and Kim chatted amongst themselves and Parv and Will followed behind, holding hands. Ross looked over to Duncan as the four sat down at one of the round tables, raising his eyebrow as he noticed the blonde staring at the group. Kim in particular.

“Got an eye on someone?” Ross asked, laughing. Duncan snapped out of it, blushing and looking back at him.

“No!”

“That’s not what your eyes are saying.”

“Shut up!”

Ross laughed, picking a bacon sandwich from the array and handing it to the woman behind the counter.

“We're just friends.” Duncan mumbled.

“Whatever you say.” Ross smirked. Duncan grumbled to himself and Ross waited while he chose a sandwich.

“So Lewis and Hannah, you and Kim, Will and Parv, any other couples I should know about?” Ross asked. Duncan shrugged, not even bothering to deny the thing between him and Kim.

“Sips and Sjin have been friends forever so it’s a matter of time before that happens. Simon and Turps don't really want any relationships and Trott’s ace so nothings going on there.”

“Wait.” Ross said, stopping him mid flow. “Chris is what?”

“Ace.” Duncan said plainly. “You know, asexual.”

Ross racked his brains, trying to remember what that meant.

“So like, he’s not into anyone?”

“Yeah.” Duncan said. “Sexually anyway.”

Ross nodded as Duncan finally picked his lunch. They paid for their sandwiches and walked back over to the sofa area. Ross smiled at Alex as they passed, getting a wave in return.

“Looks like someones got their eye on you anyway.” Duncan grinned, elbowing Ross in the ribs.

“What?” Ross asked, slightly winded by the blow. The blond hit stronger than he realised.

“Alex Smith, he’s watching you now.”

Ross blushed and refused to look. Duncan laughed at his reaction.

“They are dodgy, you know.” Duncan said, Ross nodded. “Nice and all, but they get in a fair bit of trouble. Plus their families are rich. Not as much as the dick twins but quite well off, Smith’s especially. I’ve heard his parents are absolutely horrible.”

Ross raised his eyebrow, Alex seemed nice enough to him, attractive too. Still, he had no idea about the boy’s parents. They sat down with the group again, Will had joined them.

“Hey Ross.” He smiled. Ross gave him a wave, already digging into his sandwich.

“Let me see your timetable.” Chris said. Ross pulled it out of his backpack and the brunet examine it thoroughly.

“Cool.” He said, handing it back with a smile. “We have double media next together.”

“We have it too!” Sjin said, gesturing to himself and Sips. From over in the corner Turps gave a shout muffled by sandwich, declaring that he too was in their class.

“Awesome.” Ross said, smiling at them.

The group chatted for the rest of lunch, explaining the school in proper detail to Ross. They laughed about memories together. Hannah explaining in great detail about how a year eight Lewis had written her a love song, Sips laughing and adding in the fact that he played it to her on the trumpet. Ross laughed along with them, glad he had found friends this easily. Maybe a new school wouldn't be too bad.

Chapter Text

Media was a subject Ross had always loved. Film making just appealed to him in a way that no other subject had. From a young age, Ross had wanted to be a builder or an architect. His childhood was lego and building blocks. He had excelled at fine art and maths (no matter how much he hated it). Designing buildings was his dream.

Things changed when he had hit fourteen. That summer he and his family went on holiday to Cuba. He had taken a camera with him and recorded almost every part of the trip, he just thought it was so amazing that he could record memories, save them for later. He enjoyed recording the funny or interesting things that were happening and loved showing them off to others. An architect may have been his dream. But a cameraman was in his heart.

And thus, Ross got into filmmaking. He bought a camera, persuaded his parents to get him final cut pro, made some silly little home videos and put them up on youtube. It was small, but it was a start. Ross was going to film and study until he was a well known name, working for the biggest companies on the blockbuster films. Then he would be happy.

But for now, he was in is first class of A Level Media.

“Who do you think the teacher will be?” Chris asked, leaning his head on his hand.

“Miss Milner, hopefully.” Turps said wistfully. Sips laughed and Chris shook his head.

The group was sitting around a table of four, with an extra chair pulled up for Turps. Ross looked around the room as Sjin teased Turps about his crush on the head of media. The class was very mixed, gender wise, and they were all sixth form. No one looked particularly dickish, but then again, Ross wasn't one to judge on appearance.

Ross listened to the guys banter as the door of the classroom opened. A rather large smiling man carrying a lot of folders entered.

“Hello class!” The guy boomed, his voice easily travelling around the room.

“Nice, Mr Palmer.” Chris said, nodding his head. “He’s pretty cool.”

“Sorry I’m a bit late.” The teacher said. “There was a bet in the staff room about who could eat the most red velvet cupcakes in a minute.”

The class chuckled and Ross smiled, this guy seemed to be alright. Mr Palmer opened his mouth to continue talking but was interrupted by the class door being thrown open and Alex Smith bursting in, panting and red faced. The teacher raised an eyebrow.

“You're ten minutes late Mr Smith.”

“Sorry Sir.” Alex said, sheepishly. “One of my mates nicked my ID card and I had to run over to E Block to get it.”

The teacher shrugged.

“Alright then, take a seat. Anywhere for now is fine. You'll be moving soon anyway.”

There was a cry of outrage from the class and Mr Palmer grinned. Alex sat down at an empty table.

“The coursework for this A Level is done in groups, people! You should know this. I will be grouping you based on who I think will work well together and your previous grades.”

The class groaned and the teacher pulled out a sheet of paper.

“Oh look!” He said. “I have the groups listed here! It’s almost if I'm actually prepared. I’m going to stick this up on the board, come and have a look and find your group.”

Sitting down at his desk, Mr Palmer rummaged around in one of the drawers. After sourcing some blue tack, he grinned and stood again, sticking the sheet to the whiteboard.

“Once you've found your name, tick it and go and sit with your group.”

All the students were up, crowding around the sheet like moths to a bug zapper. Ross and the others got up and hovered near the back of the crowd.

“Do you think we'll all be together?” Sjin asked.

“Doubt it.” Chris said. “I think groups are three people max.”

Sjin frowned and Sips threw an arm around him.

“Don't worry Sjin! We always go together in group work.” He consoled.

The crowd thinned out and Ross peered at the sheet, scanning for his name. There, Group 7. Ross Hornby, Chris Trott and Alex Smith. He grinned. Score! Chris and Alex. His new friend and his new… other friend.

“Oh look.” Chris said, peeking over his shoulder. “We're in the same group, with… Alex Smith. Oho. This should be interesting.”

“What do you mean?” Ross asked, ticking their names off of the sheet. He ticked Alex’s too, might as well.

“Trottski!” A voice called. Ross turned to see Alex wrapping an arm around Chris’ shoulders and smirking at him.

“We've known each other for seven years.” Chris sighed. Alex laughed at Chris’ obvious discomfort.

“Lived next door to each other in primary school, didn’t we mate?” Alex jeered, Chris shook his head.

“Let’s just sit down, shall we.”

Ross smirked as he noticed a small smile playing on the brunette’s lips. As much as he pretended the opposite, Chris did seem to have a soft spot for the ginger boy. The three sat down at the nearest table, Chris and Alex next to each other and Ross across from Chris.

“Your project.” Mr Palmer said, loud voice instantly cutting the chatter. “You have a selection of three briefs. I'll pass out the course material and you guys pick whichever one you want.”

“What do you want to do?” Alex asked, the class dissolving back into chatter.

“Shouldn't we get the brief first?” Ross asked, Alex made a dismissive noise.

“We can manipulate the brief to fit our idea. Easy.”

“I think a comedy is a good idea.” Trott said. “We can use the amateur equipment and editing to our advantage.”

“Good thinking Scrott.”

“Scrott?” Ross laughed, Chris rolled his eyes. Mr Palmer reached their table and gave them a sheet each. There were three options, Ross scanned them quickly and easily picked out the one he wanted to do.

“Number three?” Alex asked. Ross smiled up at him and nodded.

“Exactly what I was thinking.”

“Create an advert for a new E4 drama TV Series, appealing to their young audience.” Alex read off the sheet.

“Sounds good, we can do a comedy drama.” Chris agreed.

“Pre watershed though.” Alex added, Chris frowned.

“What about if everyone swore in a really funny way?” Ross suggested. “Like instead of saying ‘oh shit’, someone would say ‘oh dizzle whompers’.”

“That’s a great idea Ross.” Alex laughed. “Comedic and safe for young ears.”

Ross grinned back at him and blushed a little.

“Comedy drama.” Chris said. Thinking aloud and distracting Ross from the cuteness of Alex’s laugh.

“Zombie apocalypse?” Alex proposed.

“That’s good.” Chris said. “But slightly overplayed.”

“What about a zombie apocalypse where only the men were affected, and the women are left to sort out the mess.” Ross suggested.

“That’s better.” Chris nodded. “And the comedy would come from… their over exaggerated stereotypes?”

Ross wrinkled his nose, he wasn't a big fan of making fun of women or stereotypes.

“How about comedy through unexpected stereotypes?” Alex offered. “Or breaking stereotypes?”

“I like it.” Chris said, flipping the brief sheet over and pulling a biro out of his bag. Writing ‘Brief 3’ at the top he drew a line branching off of it, labelling it ‘Characters’.

“Three characters is good.” Ross said, Chris nodded.

“How about a petite girl who is really shy at first and then turns out to be a huge flirt and has a chainsaw?” Alex suggested. Chris laughed and wrote it down.

“A really butch girl who is an absolute sweetheart and is the medic and cannot kill zombies to save her life.” Ross proposed. Chris added it to the list.

“This is really good.” He grinned. “The leader is an absolute ditz and does heroic and brave things by accident and should really be dead by now.”

“Great.” Alex grinned. Chris read over the sheet.

“This is good, but having weapons and gore might be a bit difficult.”

“How about makeshift weapons?” Ross said, tapping his finger on his chin in thought. “Like, we're in England and the zombie apocalypse has just hit, where are you gonna get a weapon from?”

“So they have the first thing they could grab.” Alex said, laughing. “Like a lamp or some shit.”

“Petite girl has a huge hockey stick that she uses to whack zombies heads in.” Chris said, writing all of this down.

Ross grinned, it felt so natural, brainstorming ideas with them. They flung concepts around for the rest of the lesson, thoughts flowing easily. They finalised their concept, characters and plot all before the end of the lesson. Mr Palmer silenced the class about a minute before the bell was supposed to ring.

“Right class, I assume most of you have decided a brief to do at least.”

The three boys grinned at each other, knowing that they were well ahead of the rest of the class with their concept.

“This project is to be completed in your own time.” Mr Palmer continued. “You are all A Level students, meaning are all expected to do work outside of school. I will not be checking up on your progress, you should all responsible enough to do this without my supervision. I expect the finalised piece, a storyboard, a print media piece, risk assessments and at least four pages of research before the deadline. The rest is up to you.”

The class let him finish before spiking up into chatter again, everyone grabbing their bags and getting ready to leave. The boys spoke amongst themselves, all excited about the project. Even Chris seemed to suddenly be gushing with glee, his cool facade dropped. The bell rung and they exited the classroom.

“So when should we start filming?” Alex asked, eagerness overtaking his features.

“We still need to sort out some things first.” Chris said, slowing the ginger down. “There’s the storyboards, the print media, the risk assessments.”

“Alright Crott, we get it.”

“We should meet up after school.” Ross suggested. “This is a group project after all.”

“Good idea, how about my place once a week?” Alex suggested. Ross nodded eagerly.

“Yeah!”

Alex smiled up at him and Ross he realised that may have been a bit too forward.

“Let's exchange numbers.” Chris suggested, thankfully diverting from the awkward situation. Ross agreed and got his phone out. After the three swapped digits Chris smiled.

“Well I've gotta go to Maths guys.” He said, backing away from them. “See you later!”

Alex and Ross watched as Chris walked away. Ross smiled fondly after him, he was glad to meet someone he clicked with so well on his first day, even if he did like maths. He turned back to Alex, giving him a different sort of smile.

“So, are you in a lesson now?” The ginger asked, Ross pulled out his timetable.

“Looks like I have a free period now, so I guess I would just walk home.”

“I’m free too.” Alex smiled. “Wanna head to the chippy and walk home?”

“Sure.” Ross smiled. “But I don't have any money on me.”

“I'll buy you something.” Alex said, walking in the direction of the school gate, Ross followed.

“Oh you really don't have to.” Ross said, blushing. Alex shrugged nonchalantly, but Ross caught the small smirk on his lips. They walked to the gate together, Alex scanned his card and Ross followed as the ginger led him to the Chip Shop.

They stepped inside and the familiar scent of the English seaside hit him instantly. He sighed at the homely smell of battered fish and looked over the menu.

“What do you want?” Alex asked. Ross frowned, there was so much choice.

“Chip buttie.” He decided finally. Alex nodded and turned to the girl behind the counter.

“Two chip butties with two portions of onion rings please.” He said, the girl nodded and wrote his order down.

“Any drinks?” She asked. Alex glanced Ross’ way with a raised eyebrow.

“Diet Coke please.” Ross smiled at the girl.

“And a Dr Pepper for me.” Alex added. The girl smiled and went off to collect his order.

“Two portions of onion rings?” Ross asked, teasingly.

“One’s for you!” Alex laughed.

“I didn't ask for any onion rings, don't try and pin this on me.”

“No seriously, I got one for you.” Alex smiled at him. “They do great onion rings here, you've gotta try them.”

Ross grinned at the ginger boy. Attractive, funny and kind. Ross was royally screwed.

They got their food and headed back outside into the cool September air. Ross clutched the warm paper bag and looked up at the sky. The vast pale blue seemed to stretch out to eternity in front of the two boys.

“Where abouts do you live then?” Alex asked, digging into the buttie already.

“About halfway down Crescent Lane.”

“Cool.” Alex nodded. “That’s around my way, I'll walk you.”

Ross raised an eyebrow, there was nothing around Crescent Lane. He let it slide, he wasn't about to pass up an opportunity to spend more time with the auburn boy. They walked along the road together eating their food and rambling about video games. Alex was right, the onion rings were great. All too soon, they were outside Ross’ house.

“So this is where you live.” Alex said. They both looked up at the house. It wasn't old, but it definitely wasn’t new either. The house was about medium sized, weatherboarded panels stretching across the front of it. Vines crept up the porch wall, curling around the front door. Ross’ front garden was sweet, very green with flowers growing wildly everywhere.

“It’s cute.” Alex said, smiling.

“It’s home.” Ross agreed. There was a moment of comfortable silence before a car passed, snapping both boys out of it.

“Well.” Alex said. “I’d better get home.”

“Where do you live?” Ross asked. “I didn't think there was any other housing around here.”

“Egh, you know the house on the top of the hill?”

“Lingborn Manor?”

Alex looked sheepish and Ross filled in the blanks.

“You live there?” Ross exclaimed, that house was really posh. Alex gave a vague shrug that Ross assumed to be a yes.

“Anyway.” Alex said, avoiding all awkward questions. “I'll text you later.”


Ross nodded and Alex gave him a small wave before turning to walk away, up the hill. Ross grinned at his retreating form. A cute boy had walked him home! They had similar interests and lived close to each other and Alex had bought him chips and -

He was rich, like super rich, too rich to have Ross as a boyfriend anyway. His parents probably expected him to marry some super rich super pretty girl, with blonde hair and fair skin and all that. Ross sighed and walked up to his front door. Maybe one day. But for now, wistful loneliness it was.

Chapter Text

Sunlight poured into Ross’ bedroom with unwanted friendliness. Groaning, he rolled over, trying to shield his eyes from the rays. Eight in the morning was an ungodly hour, he decided, pushing his face further into the pillows. Ross’ peace was short lived, however, as his phone decided to interrupt his slumber with its high pitched alarm. Rolling back over and stretching his arms above his head, Ross sighed. He was exhausted and it was only Tuesday.

“Get up!” His sister, Gemma, called from downstairs. Ross groaned loudly back at her, but sat up anyway. Dressing in his stupid shirt and stupid blazer and stupid blue striped tie, Ross grumbled incoherently under his breath as he plonked downstairs.

“You’re looking fresh this morning.” Gemma grinned. She was stood at the oven, frying bacon on the hob. Irritatingly, she was a morning person, her chirpy attitude annoyed Ross to no end. At least he got a cooked breakfast though. He sat down at their small oak dinner table.

“I got a letter from Dad this morning.” She said, pulling two plates out of one of the cupboards.

“Oh?”

“Yeah, some bullshit about getting caught up for another few weeks in Hawaii.”

Ross chucked, they both loved to hate their father. Gemma slid the bacon into slices of bread, and put the sandwiches on the plates.

“Anything from Mum?” He asked, grinning as she slid the plate along the table to him. She sighed.

“No.”

There was a silence as they both ate their food, a few appreciative moans from Ross as he marvelled at his sisters cooking. An executive chef for one of the best restaurants in town at only twenty six years old, critics loved her. She was pretty too, her short cut hair was dyed a light lilac colour, and her face was sweet and symmetrical. Her only similarity to her brother was their eyes, both a sharp ice blue that defined their faces and made their jaws stand out.

“Have you done something with your hair?” Gemma frowned, looking at him intensely over her cup of coffee.

“No.” He said, defensively.

“Yes you have.”

“It’s the same as it always is.”

“Why is it extra flicky today? Have you put volumizer in it?”

“It’s the same!”

“Oh my god.” She grinned. “My little brother is trying to impress someone!”

“I’m six foot two!”

“Who is it? Someone from your new school I bet.”

“Shut up!” Ross yelled, burying his face in his hands.

“This is too cute.”

“Go away.”

“It’s alright Ross, you’re too young for a relationship anyway.”

“I’m seventeen this year!”

“You don’t even know what sex is.”

“I’m not talking about this with you.” Ross said, standing up to dump his plate on the counter by the sink.

“Sex is natural!” His sister sang gleefully. “Some people want it and some people don’t, and that’s fine. But by the way you’re blushing -“

“Shut up!”

His sister laughed into her coffee as Ross stormed from the room, cheeks burning. It was half eight by now, and he had to walk to school. Grabbing his bag, Ross paused in front of the mirror in the hall. His hair wasn’t that obvious, was it?

“I can still see you!” Gemma shouted from the kitchen. Ross flicked his middle finger at her and stormed out of the house, cursing his sisters ability to notice almost everything about him.

Ross’ walk to school didn’t take long, fifteen minutes at best. It was a nice route, a long county lane devoid of cars that twisted and turned though a dense wood. There was no pavement, and as such Ross had to jump onto the muddy bank when the occasional vehicle passed, muddying his clean shoes.

After ten minutes of rural tarmac, the road reached the town and became animated again. Usually, he would turn left and walk down the hill to his school. But now he crossed the road and walked down a small path, hedged on both sides. The path came out onto another road, which he followed up to the left and into the main entrance of the school. He smiled as he passed the chip shop, remembering the day before.

“Hey! Ross!” A voice called. Ross looked up to see Chris waving at him from the school gates. Ross smiled and walked over to him.

“Hey man, what’s up?” He asked, Chris shrugged.

“Nothing, just thought we might as well walk in together.”

Ross nodded and they walked through the open gates, into the school.

“I didn’t know you walked to school.” Ross said. “Where do you live?”

“Uh, in the east side of town.”

“Oh really? Me too! Where abouts?”

“Um, you probably don’t know it.” Chris said, scratching the back of his head.

“Okay then.” Ross shrugged, getting the feeling that Chris desperately wanted to avoid the question.

“So where’s your form?” The shorter boy asked, Ross smiled, allowing him the subject.

“G13.”

“You got Miss Gloss? Nice, she’s quite lax.”

“Really? Cool. Where are you?”

“I don’t go to form.” Chris chuckled.

“Why not?” Ross frowned, Chris didn’t seem like the type to skip classes.

“My form tutors an arse.” Chris sighed.

“Really?”

“Yeah, total xenophobe.”

“That sucks.”

“I know.”

“Have you tried reporting him?”

“Her. And yes, but the school wont do anything because she’s the head of catering and one of the only cooking teachers they have.”

Ross frowned, surely there was some policy or something.

“It’s fine.” Chris shrugged. “I just don’t go to form, she doesn’t really care.”

“Who is this woman?”

“Mrs Fletcher, totally old and supports UKIP I bet.”

“Right, avoiding her then.”

“Most people do.” Chris laughed. Ross smiled, glad to see him humorous about such a shitty situation. They walked up to L Block courtyard together, parting ways as Ross turned towards G Block and Chris continued up to the library. Pushing his way through a crowd of students flowing in and out of the open doors, Ross made his way to G13.

Form seemed to be already underway when he entered, students sitting around in small clusters and chatting amongst themselves. Ross paused at the door, realising he didn’t really have anywhere to sit.

“Hey! New kid!” A guy at the back of the class shouted, Ross raised an eyebrow at him, noting his American accent.

“Um, yeah?”

“You can come sit with us if you want.” The guy grinned wolfishly. Ross shrugged, walking over to where him and his friend were sitting and pulling up a chair. The guy was tall and fairly muscly, brown hair styled up with a single loose curl, his whitened teeth and hazel eyes shone at Ross. His friend was thinner, long blonde hair and stubbly sideburns accompanying kind blue eyes.

“We’ve heard you’ve just started.” The first guy said, an odd glint in his eye.

“Um yeah.” Ross said awkwardly. “Just yesterday.”

“I’m Ridge.” The guy said, something sparked in Ross’ brain as he shook the guys hand. “This is Kirin, they’re genderfluid by the way.”

“Nice to meet you.” Ross smiled, instantly feeling bad for misgendering in his head. These were the people that Hannah had labelled ‘the dick twins’, but they seemed nice enough.

“We can show you around if you’d like.” Kirin said, their voice soft, also American.

“It’s okay, the Head Boy showed me most of the school yesterday.”

“Oh!” Ridge grinned. “So you’re with Lewis’ group then?”

“Um, I guess?” Ross shrugged.

“You’ll have met our friend Will.”

“Oh yeah, the prefect.”

“He came over from America with us.” Ridge explained. “Our parents are friends, they decided that we we’re better off going to school here than anywhere in America.”

“So, none of you live with your parents?” Ross asked, Ridge shook his head.

“Nah, just got a bunch of carers and stuff.”

“That sucks.”

“Not really.” Ridge shrugged. “Means me and Kirin can fuck around as much as much as we like, Will’s usually too uptight to join us.”

“Will’s not uptight.” Kirin interjected. Ridge rolled his eyes.

“Kirin’s got a bit of a thing for prefect boy.”

“Shut up!” Kirin said, cheeks burning. Ridge laughed and Ross gave the blonde a sympathetic look. The classroom door opened and Miss Gloss bustled in, carrying a rather large amount of papers and a cup of coffee.

“Hey guys!” She grinned. “Good morning.”

Mutters of greeting rose from the class. Sitting down at her desk, Miss Gloss dumped her paperwork by her feet and smiled at the class.

“How are we all doing today?” She asked, receiving a unanimous shrug from the class. She shook her head at the non-committal teenagers, opening her laptop and starting to take the register.

“Where are you next?” Ridge asked under the sound of people answering their names.

“Um.” Ross pulled his timetable out of his pocket. “Physics, apparently.”

“I’m in that class.” Kirin smiled.

“Cool.” Ross grinned. “You can show me where the hell it is.”

Kirin nodded and gave him a small smile.

“I’m in Business.” Ridge groaned. “Fucking hell.”

“Why did you take it if you hate it so much?”

“I like the subject.” Ridge said, tone aspirated. “Just Mr Sims is a dick.”

“What’s so bad about him?” Kirin asked.

“Let’s just say that if Mr Sims was a font, he would be comic sans.”

Ross huffed a laugh and Kirin rolled their eyes. The bell rang and the three stood up with the rest of the class.

“Have fun in Physics, nerds.” Ridge grinned, turning right as they exited the room.

“See you later.” Kirin said, waving at their friend. They turned to Ross after Ridge had disappeared into the crowd. “Let’s go.”

Ross followed Kirin to their Physics classroom, trusting them to lead the way. He thought about what the guys had said yesterday about the two, about how they were horrible people that should be avoided at all costs. In Ross’ opinion, they seemed fairly nice. Kirin had kind eyes and Ridge came off as friendly. Wanting to judge people on his own terms rather than others, Ross smiled to himself and deciding to give the two a chance at friendship. Why not?

Chapter Text

Though Physics was one of Ross’ favourite subjects, parts of it were outstandingly boring. The basic principles of electromagnetism and electromagnetic induction, for example. Sounds interesting? It wasn’t. One of the easiest things to understand on the course, Ross couldn't figure out why the teacher had gone on for forty five minutes about it.

Still at least he had Kirin to talk to, and it turned out Will was in their class too. The three chatted quietly away under the teachers droning monologue about up and down transformers. Ross smiled as he listened to Will talk about the school and how he had plans for it, watching as Kirin never took their eyes off the blond. It was a shame that Will didn’t seem to like them that way.

After double Physics, Kirin bid them farewell and Ross and Will headed down to the pod for their free period. Along the way, they bumped into Will’s dark haired boyfriend, Parv.

“Was that Kirin?” Parv asked. Taking Will’s hand without a hello. Will rolled his eyes.

“No hello?” The blond said. Ross walked beside the pair, choosing to stay silent in the conversation.

“Hiya.” Parv grinned, kissing the blonde on the cheek. ”Was it them, Strife?”

“Yes. I don't see the problem you have with Kirin.” Will said, sighing.

“They like you!” Parv complained, his voice turning into a whine.

“Ah.” Will smiled. “But what does that matter Parvis? I'm dating you. Not them”

“But!” Parv stuttered, a blush dusting his cheeks. He frowned and pouted at the blond, who chuckled.

“How long have you two been dating?” Ross asked, trying to change the subject from Kirin.

“Two and a half years.” Parv said, swinging his boyfriends hand in his own. Ross raised his eyebrows.

“That’s quite a while.”

“Yeah.” Will smiled. “We're just as surprised as you.”

They shared a look and Ross could tell the pair had been friends for a long time before they started dating.

“Are you new?” Parv asked. Ross remembered that he hadn’t introduced himself.

“Yeah.” He smiled. “I’m Ross.”

“Oh!” Parv said, raising his eyebrow. “That guy Alex was talking about.”

“Um, I guess.” Ross said, blushing slightly. Parv’s grin turned mischievous.

“You know.” He said. “He really would not stop going on about you.”

“Really?” Ross asked. Parv’s grin widened at the sight of delight in the dark haired boy’s eyes. Will elbowed Parv in the stomach as he noticed Alex and Kim hovering in the hallway of L Block. Ross smiled at the sight of the ginger boy.

“Hey guys.” Parv smiled.

“Oh, hey Ross.” Kim grinned, ignoring Parv's pout at being completely ignored. “How’s the new school treating ya?”

“Good.” Ross smiled shyly. “Met some nice people. Found most of my classes. Haven’t got into trouble.”

“Yet.” Alex laughed, Ross grinned at him.

“I’m gonna go find the others.” Will said, giving Parv a quick kiss before heading off. Ross admired the cuteness of the pair. Their personalities really did seem to clash, but they say opposites attract, and the two seemed to fit together perfectly.

“Are we still on for tomorrow?” Alex asked. Ross remembered that it was Thursday tomorrow, their meeting up day. Parv and Kim exchanged knowing glances.

“Oh yeah!” He chuckled. “I kinda forgot, but I'm sure I still can.”

“Awesome.” Alex grinned. “I've got an idea for some research we can do.”

“Oh really?”

“I was thinking Black Ops Zombies?” Alex proposed. Ross laughed and nodded.

“Oh man, I'm gonna absolutely dominate you.” The dark haired man grinned. Alex raised his eyebrows.

“Oh really?” Kim asked, grinning slyly at him. Ross frowned at her expression, confused.

“Yeah.” He said, tilting his head slightly. “Like I’m really good at Call Of Duty.”

“Right.” She said, drawing out the ‘i’. Alex laughed nervously and Ross shot him a confused glance, noticing the ginger was blushing a little.

“Anyway.” Parv said, swiftly changing the subject. “Will’s been hanging around Kirin again.”

“Seriously Parv.” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “Kirin and Will ended before they even came to this country.”

“Wait.” Ross interrupted. “They used to be a thing?”

“Yeah.” Parv pouted. “When they were younger they dated for a year or so.”

“And then what happened?” Alex prompted, giving Parv a sure smile.

“Then Will broke up with Kirin to be with me.” He said shyly, looking at the floor.

“There you go.” Kim said, elbowing him and laughing at his squirming shyness.

“Besides.” Alex continued. “Kirin’s alright on their own, it’s Ridge you've got to look out for.”

“Ridge doesn’t seem to bad.” Ross said innocently. The group looked at him like he'd just kicked a puppy.

“What?” Kim asked, her voice squeaking in shock.

“I sat with them in form” Ross shrugged. “They seemed like nice people.”

“Look mate.” Alex said, his tone surprisingly serious. “You can't trust either of them. Ridge is a total dick and Kirin follows him blindly.”

“But, they were so welcoming!”

“That’s what they do.” Alex said, grabbing Ross’ forearm with an odd urgency. “They get you to trust them and then they fuck you over first change they get.”

Ross frowned at Alex, not used to him being so aggressively serious about something. Ridge and Kirin had seemed perfectly nice to him, what the hell was Alex’s problem?

“Why do you hate them so much?” Ross asked, shaking Alex’s hand off of his arm. “They're nice to me.”

Alex stepped back, blinking out of his state. Parv put a hand on the tall boy’s shoulder.

“Just - Just be on your guard with them, okay?” The ginger asked. Ross shot him a confused look, but nodded. An awkward tension hung in the air for a few moments.

“Okay well, I'm gonna go find the others.” Ross said, desperate to get away from the weird conversation.

“See you later.” Kim said, giving him a reassuring smile. Ross gave the group an awkward wave before turning and walking in the direction of the pod.

The halls were quiet, with most students already being in lesson. It gave Ross space to think about the conversation that just happened. Alex hadn't been his usual self, all forward and serious. The others had mentioned their dislike of Ridge and Kirin, but they hadn't been nearly as angry as Alex had. As he pushed open the door to the pod, Ross remembered Chris saying something about Alex being on their ‘shit list’.

“Hey guys.” He said, giving the group a wave. It wasn't everyone, as Chris, Duncan, Sjin and Hannah had lesson. As such, Turps, Lewis and Sips were lying across several sofas. Ross chucked at the sight of them.

“Shush.” Turps warned him, grinning. “Head boy is having a nap.”

Ross gave a muffled laugh and sat down on the one free sofa, watching the slow rise and fall of Lewis’ chest.

“Where you been Ross?” Sips asked, his chin resting on his hand.

“Had Physics with Kirin and Will.” He said, chuckling as Sips pulled a face at the mention of the subject.

“So you got to experience Kirin fawning over Will then.” Turps said, Ross nodded.

“Yeah, it’s kind of a shame.” He said. “Kirin’s seems sweet.”

“Bet Parv didn't like it.” Sips said, rolling onto his back and stretching his arms out above his head.

“Yeah.” Ross smiled, leaning back on the sofa like the others.

“Hey, guys?” He asked, looking up at the plastered ceiling of the room.

“What?”

“Do any of you know about the business between them and Alex?”

“Alex Smith?” Turps asked.

“Yeah.”

“Can't say I do mate, that sort of thing isn't really talked about.”

“Really?”

“It’s Smiffy’s personal business, Ross.” Sips said. “If he doesn't want to share that with you, then you should respect that.”

“I didn't -“

“I know you didn't mean to intrude.” The Canadian interrupted. “You just need to be careful what you say. That kids got a shitty past.”

“You know him?”

“I used to be family friends with him.” He said vaguely.

“So you know what their business is?”

“Look, it’s not my place to say. I'm sure he'll tell you in his own time.”

Ross nodded, giving into the argument. It was rude of him to pry, but he was worried about the ginger boy. If Ridge and Kirin had done something to wrong him, he wanted to know.

The rest of the day played out normally, but Ross had a constant nagging to ask Alex about his problems, even though he knew the ginger boy wouldn't tell him. He met up with him and Chris in their Media class in last period, and they chatted like nothing had happened. After class, Ross watched as Chris walked off in a completely different direction to the other two.

“I thought he lived in the town too?” Ross asked, Alex shrugged.

“He does, just not the same part we do.” He answered, the two set off walking.

“Where does he live anyway?”

“Erm, somewhere in the West part of town, I think.”

“Didn't you use to live next to each other?”

“Well yeah but…” Alex trailed off, scratching the back of his head awkwardly. “I don't exactly remember where that was.”

“Right.” Ross said, picking up on the sense that Alex wanted to avoid the subject. Instead of pushing the subject he diverted the conversation to the fact that he was going to crush the other boy at video games. Alex gladly went along with the new strain of talking, and laughed happily with Ross as they walked home together.

Ross was determined to find out what was going on with his two new friends but he also respected their privacy. It wasn't his place to ask questions, hopefully they would open up to him in time. That wouldn't stop him from worrying the whole way though.

Chapter Text

After the first few days of introduction, the school year kicked off. Instead of basic round ups of the course and lectures on what to expect, teachers started to actually teach course material, and Ross got an idea of how hard A Levels actually were. People said that the jump from GCSE to A Level was bigger than the jump from A Level to University. Ross could see how that could be true.

It wasn't as if he found any of it hard, most of the concepts were pretty easy to understand. Ross managed to take notes and store most of the information in his head, but his mind kept wandering to the persistent worry about Chris and Alex. The boys clearly had secrets, and it bothered Ross that everyone seemed to know them but him.

At lunch, he and the others lounged in the pod. Sjin had bought in some cool space invader cards, and a furious game of go fish was underway. Ross had chosen not to participate, instead engaging in conversation with Chris.

“I like your backpack.” Ross started, meaning to question the boy on his intense love for the animal.

“Thanks.” Chris replied, his hand moving down to feel the fabric of the worn bag. He took a piece of course material between his finger and thumb and stroked it, smiling. “I've had it for a long time.”

“Guess you like walruses then.” Ross prompted, watching Chris’ face.

“Yeah, when I was a kid I loved them. Mum took me to a special aquarium in London just to see the walrus show.” Chris said, looking down at the backpack. Ross caught a sense of far off longing in his expression.

“I remember that show.” Ross smiled, also looking down at the bag. “My family went to see it too, for my sisters birthday. I remember getting soaked, actually. Don’t know how I remember that though. I must have only been three or so, cause it was my sisters thirteenth birthday.”

“That’s quite an age gap.” Chris commented.

“Yeah.” Ross sighed. “There was supposed to be a middle child, but… didn't make the birth.”

“Sorry man, that sucks.” Chris said, looking up at Ross with a pitiful expression.

“It’s alright. Happened before I was born, so I don't really know what it felt like.” Ross said, looking down at his hands. He frowned at his bitten fingernails, and wondered how they had diverted from Chris’ family life to his own.

“Well, at least they got you in the end.” Chris said. Ross looked up, and chuckled at the brunets sorrowful smile.

“Yeah, I guess. Kept me around for a bit, I suppose.” Ross shrugged, and Chris’ smile dropped.

“Do you not see your parents much?”

“Nah.” Ross smiled. “Once my sister got her own place and finished uni, I moved in with her. Must have been about thirteen at the time, my sister twenty three. Dad stops in sometimes, but his job takes him everywhere. Mum just went off somewhere, travelling the world in search of ‘enlightenment’. She was always into the buddhist stuff; whatever works for her I guess.”

“So it’s just you and your sister?”

“Yeah. Which is alright, actually. She’s amazing at cooking and doesn’t mind me hanging around, so I guess it works out well.” Ross shrugged. Deciding to get back on task he tried to steer the conversation in Chris’ direction. “So do you live with both your parents then?”

“Yeah.” Chris said, Ross frowned at the slight strain in his voice. “My mum and dad both, plus an older brother. Nice little nuclear family we've got.”

“That’s good.” Ross said, smiling politely.

“Yup. Might as well have a white picket fence to go with it.”

Ross raised an eyebrow at Chris’ salty tone, and was about to question him on it before their conversation was interrupted by the arrival of a girl Ross hadn't seen before. The girl was short and cute, with bright ginger hair with dyed tips and an ear to ear smile. Ross would have been irritated with the interruption, but he couldn't possibly be angry with someone so adorable.

“Hey Trott.” She grinned, leaning over the back of his chair to look down on him. Chris laughed and pushed her long hair out of his face. She placed a hand on each of his shoulders and made a face at him.

“Hi.” He said, rolling his eyes with a grin and looking back down at Ross. “This is my mate Ross, he’s new.”

“Hello!” The girl grinned at him, her eyes shining at the prospect of someone she'd never met before. “I’m Trott’s friend Katie.”

“Nice to meet you.” Ross smiled. The two had obviously known each other a long time, and Ross noted the way that Chris didn’t recoil at the touch as he did when Alex wrapped an arm around him. Katie took her hand’s off Chris’ shoulders and sat down on the sofa next to him.

“How are you finding the new school?” She asked kindly.

“Good.” Ross smiled, wondering why everyone wanted to know how he was doing. “Getting on well so far.”

“Yay!” Katie grinned. “I was new last year, so I kind of know what you're feeling.”

“Last year?” Ross asked, raising his eyebrows. “So you two have only known each other for a year?”

“Yup.” Chris shrugged, looking to Katie and then back at Ross. “Just clicked, I guess.”

“I wore him down.” Katie grinned. Ross laughed. They were clearly close friends, especially if they had only known each other for a year.

“So what brings you over to these parts?” Chris asked Katie, giving her a grin. Ross noted Chris’ jokey attitude, a difference to his normal cynical humour.

“Just checking we're still on for today.” She smiled. Chris nodded.

“Yup, Mum’s made a chicken casserole.”

“Awesome.” She grinned. “See you later then.”

They exchanged a quick fist bump before Katie jumped up and jogged back over to her friends. Chris watched her go, a smile on his face. Ross raised an eyebrow as the brunet looked back at him, giving him a questioning expression.

“What?” He asked, his expression turning blank.

“Today?” Ross prompted. “The day we're supposed to meet up for our Media project?”

“Oh shit.” Chris said, realisation dawning on him. “I completely forgot about that.”

“Mate.” Ross droned, rolling his eyes. “You leaving me alone with Alex then?”

“I guess.” Chris shrugged. “Sorry, but I can't back out of this thing.”

“It’s alright. Just try to remember next time.” Ross sighed.

“Yeah, I will.” Chris said, there was a pause and the brunet’s mouth twisted into a smirk. “At least you get some time alone with Smith, though.”

“What do you mean?” Ross said, feigning nonchalance.

“You know exactly what I mean.” Chris grinned, leaning over to elbow the dark haired boy in the ribs. Ross winced, his body disobeying him as his cheeks flushed. Laughing at the blushing boy, Chris grabbed his backpack and stood as the sound of the bell echoed around the room.

“Don’t have too much fun without me.” He smirked, his voice low under the sudden noise of moving students.

“I don't know what you're talking about.” Ross frowned.

Chris simply laughed again, and Ross glared as he turned at walked off to his next lesson. Watching the brunets retreating back, he pouted. Not only had he discovered almost nothing about Chris’ family, he had spilled personal stuff about his own, and let himself get embarrassed about Alex.

Not only that, but Chris wasn't going today, meaning he was going to be on his own with Alex. Oh God. What was he going to do? Or say? Ross wasn't a conversationalist, he wasn't witty or funny or good at filling dead air. He was usually the quiet one. What if it was awkward? What if they had nothing in common or nothing to talk about? What if Alex found him incredibly boring?

Biting his lip, Ross looked over to where Will was waiting for him to come to Physics. Ross picked up his bag and mentally scathed himself. It was okay. He had two more lessons today, that meant two more hours of thinking up funny and clever conversational topics.

“Are you okay?” Will asked, raising an eyebrow at the dark haired boy’s distressed expression.

“Yeah yeah.” Ross said, trying not to show the fact that a million different embarrassing situations were running through his head. What if he broke something? What if he said something rude in front of Alex’s parents? What if he suddenly contracted a rare form of bird flu from a passing seagull and had to be rushed to hospital?

“Okay.” Will said, sounding unconvinced. Ross sighed and went back to trying to think of a response to a scenario where he accidentally threw letters from Alex’s long lost lover into the lit fireplace.

Chapter Text

As the end of the day drew closer, Ross became more and more nervous. It wasn't supposed to be anything big, just two friends hanging out after school. It wasn't even that, for Christ sakes. It was two people doing a group project together meeting up to discuss that project.

So why was Ross’ mind racing when his phone buzzed with a text from Alex telling him to meet him by the gate? Excited and terrified at the same time, Ross hummed to himself in thought. He knew what people said about Alex’s family. He'd spent years looking up at that house on the hill and wondering what it would be like to have that life. Butlers, maids, chefs and other staff waiting on you 24/7. Must be nice.

Ross shook his head as he walked up towards the front gate, trying to rid himself of his nervous thoughts. Sighing at his own ability to overthink everything, he looked up and spotted the auburn haired boy.

“Hey.” He smiled, Ross could only give a nervous grin in return. “I heard Trott couldn't make it.”

“Yeah, he’s with his friend Katie.”

“Ah, right.” Alex said, nodding. They continued out of the gate together, falling into easy chatter . Ross relaxed himself a bit. This conversation came so quickly to them, hopefully that meant things wouldn't be so awkward. Even when the talk lulled into silence, Ross felt fine just walking with him. There was this weird aura about Alex that Ross felt unusually comfortable in, it was nice.

They walked together, and the time seemed to pass quickly. Before Ross knew it, they were standing at the bottom of the hill outside Ross’ house. Exchanging a quick glance, they said nothing, and continued up the hill.

“You walk this every day?” Ross asked, huffing in his unfitness.

“Yeah.” Alex laughed, shaking his head. “Keeps me fit, I guess.”

The huge brass gate stood over Ross in it’s menacing glory. Shining metal bars tipped with gold painted spikes, glinting in the late summer sun. Ross’ wide eyes roamed over the gate and the tall brick walls connected to it on either side. He almost gasped at the architecture as Alex punched in a pin to a little machine to the left of the gate.

“Open sesame.” Alex grinned, standing back as the little machine bleeped and the gate creaked open.

Ross could only bumble along numbly as he followed Alex up the main path to the house. It was a gravel road lined with trees, a huge green space surrounding it. Ross swore he saw a deer bounding away over the trimmed grass. The road was neat and clean, and looked either unused or ridiculously maintained.

The house itself loomed in it’s white-bricked glory. It was clear that the house was an old structure, the child architect in Ross gasped in wonder at the large windows and the sloping roof. The gravel road looped around a large water feature in front of the house, a fountain with three back to back cherubs spurting water from the centre.

“This is amazing.” Ross mumbled, following Alex up to the huge wooden door. The auburn haired boy simply shrugged and pushed the door open with a mighty shove. It creaked under it’s own weight as it swung.

“Want something to eat?” Alex asked, stepping into the foyer of the house. Ross nodded absentmindedly, too busy looking around the huge room to give a more complex answer.

White interior and big windows allowed a gracious amount light to enter the room, illuminating almost every corner of it’s large space. The room was huge, and lined with paintings and windows. A grand staircase stood proud in the centre, burgundy carpet with a gold trim lining the stairs. Wooden panelled floors creaked in their age under their feet, and Ross took in every painting as Alex led him off to a hallway on the left.

“How old is this house?” Ross asked, eyeing the several rooms they passed in curiosity.

“I don’t know.” Alex shrugged. “Very.”

Ross resisted the urge to feel the burgundy satin curtains as they stopped in front of a smaller wooden door at the end of the hall. Alex pushed open the door, and Ross followed him into what seemed to be the kitchen.

While the rest of the house seemed barren, the kitchen was bustling with noise and people. There was only about five or six people in there, but the noise and heat they were creating seemed enough for about twenty. The heat and smell hit Ross instantly, and his mouth watered at the scent of some sort of roast meat and fresh vegetables.

“Hello Master Alex.” One of the women in the room chirped. Her cockney London accent made Ross smile, she sounded jovial. She was leant over one of the many steel counters in the room, rolling out some dough. It was clear she was staff, with her formal shirt, waistcoat and black trouser combination. She matched the rest of the people in the room, indicating her place.

“Heya Marie.” Alex said, reaching over to grab an apple from a nearby bowl of fruit.

“Who’s your friend?” Marie asked, slapping Alex’s hand away from the bowl. Alex pouted and retrieved his hand.

“I’m Ross.” The dark haired boy said. “Hi.”

“Nice to meet you honey!” She smiled, her sweet tone contrasted by her furiously kneading the dough. “Offer him something to eat Master Alex.”

“Yeah yeah.” Alex said, rolling his eyes. “What do you want Ross?”

“Whatever you're having.” Ross said, shrugging nervously at Alex’s expectant expression.

“Right. Hey Marcy!” Alex called over the room. A short Latina looked over at him, raising an eyebrow. “Can we get some pringles or something?”

“Manners?” She asked, folding her arms over her large chest.

“Sorry, please?” Alex asked, his voice whining a little. Ross suppressed a laugh as the dark skinned woman rolled her eyes at him.

“In the pantry.”

“Thank you!” Alex sung, beckoning Ross to follow him through the kitchen into a colder room. Dark and stacked high with shelves, Ross marvelled at the many various foods the pantry contained. Almost skipping over to it, Alex reached to one of the shelves in the back on the room.

“What flavour?” He asked. Ross followed him over to the shelf and took in the variety, some flavours he had never heard of.

“Original is fine.” Ross said, taking one of the unfamiliar tubes in his hand and grinning in amusement at the foreign lettering.

“Exciting.” Alex grinned, grabbing the familiar red can from the shelf, Ross laughed and put the tube back in it’s place.

Heading back through the kitchen and hallway, Ross followed the tall boy back into the foyer and up the staircase. The second floor of the house seemed even more extravagant than the first. Long halls and ebony door adorned with floral wallpaper and brass knobs. Ross knew little to nothing about interior design, but this was probably enough to made an old lady swoon.

Trying not to scuff the expensive-looking carpet as he walked, Ross followed Alex down another hallway to the left. Soon enough, Alex stopped in front of one of the doors. Distracted by the ornate gold patterns on the ceiling, Ross almost knocked into the back of the taller boy.

“Here we are.” Alex said, his grin laced with a nervous twinge. Ross smiled encouragingly and they pushed open the door, and stepped into the room.

Ross didn't know what he was expecting, and he wasn't sure why he was surprised. It was just a teenage boy’s bedroom. A large double bed in the centre, a desk topped with an apple laptop in the corner, a TV hooked up to an Xbox in the other corner, a big wardrobe, shelves with various books and objects lining the walls, a lonely pot plant residing by a large window framed with thick blue curtains. The only difference to this room and Ross’ was that Alex’s tech was a bit more expensive, Ross’ room wasn't quite as big and Alex’s room was an absolute tip.

Ross let out a laugh at the absurd normality to the room in comparison to the rest of the house.

“What?” Alex asked, his face pulling a slight frown in confusion.

“Nothing.” Ross said, shaking his head. “It’s just so normal.”

Alex smiled, glad that Ross didn’t hate his personal space. Kicking off his shoes, Alex chucked his bag on his bed and nudged a piece of clothing on the floor with his foot. Ross chuckled and followed suit, removing his bag and shoes and taking a seat on Alex’s bed.

“Sorry about the mess.” Alex said, blushing slightly. “I'm super lazy.”

“It’s fine mate.” Ross smiled, leaning back on his hands and stretching out his legs in front of him.

“What do you want to do?” Alex asked, flopping down on the bed next to the shorter boy. “COD?”

“Sure.” Ross grinned, excited to be able to show off his FPS skill. Alex bounced himself off of the bed and ambled over to the Xbox, kicking clothes over to the edges of the room as he went, attempting to clear floor space. Ross pulled himself up to sit cross-legged on the bed and took the opportunity to have a better look around the room.

Yes, it was definitely a teenage boy’s room, but it also had aspects to it that seemed distinctly Alex. The duvet cover, for example, was not just a simple black and blue pattern, but a map of the night sky with labelled constellations and star signs. Over on the desk sat a plasma ball, crackling silently with a soft glow. Several posters adorned the walls, ranging from bands Ross had never heard of to the periodic table. A dark ebony metal-stringed guitar sat in the corner, ends of the strings uncut and a capo attached to the third fret.

“Do you play?” Ross asked, admiring the instrument. Alex followed his gaze and smiled as he saw what Ross was mentioning to.

“Yeah, almost ten years now. Started in primary school.”

“Wow.” Ross said, raising his eyebrows. “So you're quite good then.”

Alex shrugged and shuffled across the floor to the guitar. He picked it up and lay it in his lap, strumming it gently.

“Want me to play for you?” The ginger grinned, playing a soft A minor.

“Don’t you need a pic? That’s a metal-stringed guitar.” Ross pointed out. He had dabbled in many instruments when he was younger, guitar being one of them. Beginners used hair strings, his teacher had told him, because metal strings will make your fingers bleed if you're not used to them.

“Almost ten years mate.” Alex smiled, taking his hand away from the guitar to wave his finger tips at the dark haired boy. “You get used to it.”

“Wow.” Ross said, Alex grinned at the boy’s amusement. “Are you in a band?”

“I fill in for Parv sometimes for his band.” Alex shrugged, fingers absentmindedly playing with the guitar strings in a familiar rhythm. “But they play quite heavy stuff, I'm more of a country fan.”

“Country?” Ross grinned. “What, like Taylor Swift?”

“No!” Alex protested, blushing a little as Ross laughed. “More like bluegrass than country pop.”

“Go on then, show us some.” Ross prompted, rearranging himself so he was lying on his front, head propped up by his elbows. Grinning sheepishly, Alex started strumming the guitar with a fast upbeat pace, fingers switching rapidly between chords. The tune sounded vaguely familiar, and Ross couldn't help tapping his index and middle fingers against his cheek in rhythm.

The song was fast paced and jovial, Ross could tell it was a sort of chanting country song, and he grinned in anticipation when Alex opened his mouth to sing.

“Shady Grove, my little love
Shady Grove I say
Shady Grove, my little love
I'm bound to go away”

God, Ross was fucked. The boy could sing, Jesus Christ could he sing. Ross could practically feel the sweetness of the ginger’s voice turning his teeth yellow. A soft high-pitched tone, Alex’s voice echoed around the room accompanied by the fast paced guitar. Helplessly gazing in wonder at the boy, Ross watched intently until the song finished.

“You're amazing.” Ross muttered, still in an odd sort of awe as Alex put the guitar to one side.

“Just a lot of practice.” Alex shrugged, standing up and moving over to the console. “Now chuck me a couple of pillows mate.”

Ross grinned, bouncing off the bed and lobbing the pillows in Alex’s direction with unnecessary force. Alex laughed and dodged the pillows, grabbing them and throwing them down in front of the TV to sit on.

“I’m serious mate.” Ross said, plonking himself down on one of the cushions and grabbing a controller, Alex following suit. “You're really good at singing.”

“Nah.” Alex shrugged, though Ross could see the faint blush creeping on his cheeks. Laughing, the dark haired boy elbowed the other in the ribs and grinned.

“You should think of joining a band or something.”

“Maybe.” Alex said, distracted by modifying his gun in game. “I mean, there isn't really very many teenage bluegrass bands around.”

“Start one!” Ross suggested, prompting a laugh from Alex.

“Yup, just me, all on my own.”

“Nah, I can play the trumpet for you.”

“You can play the trumpet?”

“I said I'd play, not that I'd play well.”

“So we've got you in the back sounding like a distressed elephant, we can get Trott on the triangle or something.”

“He would probably steal the show with his fucking triangle, let's be honest.”

“Neither of us can compare to his opera voice either.”

Ross took a second from choosing a gun attachment to look at Alex in disbelief.

“I’m sorry, what?”

Alex raised his eyebrows at Ross’ confused expression and let out a loud laugh.

“You haven't heard Trott do opera, I forgot.”

“Please tell me you're not serious.”

“Trust me, that motherfucker has range.”

Ross laughed as he waited for the game to start, the idea of Trott in a dress and a viking hat belting out ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ invading his mind. They started playing, Ross deciding to go easy on Alex for the first few rounds. After he had warmed up a bit, Ross kicked it up a notch, owning all the npcs and Alex almost every round.

Light chatter spotted with back-and-forth quips filled the air between them. Ross relaxed a lot more, and began joking mercilessly with Alex, enjoying their stupid banter. After a while of getting horrifically beaten, Alex groaned and chucked his controller to the side.

“Ross, this isn't fair.” He said, scooting back to lean against the side of the bed. “You're too good!”

“Just naturally skilled mate.” Ross grinned, putting down his own controller and stretching out his palms. Sighing in content, the dark haired boy pulled out his phone to check the time.

“Shit.” He said, biting his lip. “It’s 5:30, I eat dinner at about 6.”

“Really?” Alex asked, running a hand through his hair. “That’s early.”

“My sister cooks for me just before she goes to work.”

“Fair enough.” Alex said, standing up. “I would offer you eat here, but that would mean meeting my parents.”

Ross raised an eyebrow, recalling how the others had said that the ginger’s parents were absolutely horrible.

“Not nice?” Ross prompted.

“Not at all. They're very… traditional.” Alex said, his expression pointing towards an implied meaning.

“I see.” Ross said, nodding. “So are you not out to them yet?”

“No.” Alex said, shaking his head. “As far as they're concerned, bisexuality isn't even a thing, imagine me coming out as pan.”

“That sucks man.” Ross said, placing a hand on the taller boy’s shoulder. He was completely out to his family, and luckily they were all massively supportive and open-minded. Unfortunately not everyone was like that. Alex shot Ross a thankful look, and a moment passed between them. Then all of a sudden Ross became very aware of the temperature of the room and the fact that he still had his hand on Alex’s shoulder. Taking his hand away, he chuckled awkwardly and moved over to the bed to pick up his bag.

Ross slipped his shoes back on and threw his bag over his shoulder and let Alex lead him out of the room and back through the house. Ross took another look around the huge open space of the foyer, and smiled to himself.

“You're parents must have really great parties here.” He grinned, Alex laughed.

“Yeah well, they do have quite a few dinner parties. I’m having a Halloween party this year so you'll probably see it in action.”

“Oh really?” Ross grinned, he had never been to a party before. “Your parents would just let you do that?”

“We have an agreement.” Alex said vaguely. “But it’s happening, so you'll probably be there.”

“Sounds awesome.” Ross grinned, and they found themselves once again by the front door.

“Do you want me to walk you to the front gate?” Alex asked. Ross glanced down to the tall boys shoeless feet and shook his head.

“It’s fine.” He smiled. “I’m sure I can make it.”

“Well, when you get there the pin is 99437.” Alex said. Ross nodded, trying to retain the information.

“I guess I'll see you tomorrow.” He grinned, opening the front door. Alex smiled lazily and leaned against the doorframe.

“Same time next week?” He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ross laughed.

“Sure. But next time we should probably do some actual project work.”

“Yeah yeah.” Alex said, accompanied by a dismissive wave of his hand. Ross moved out of the doorway, blushing as he brushed shoulders with the taller boy. Looking back over his shoulder, he smiled.

“See ya!” He called, grinning as he got a two fingered salute and a smirk from Alex. Turning back around and heading down the gravel pathway out of the estate, Ross had to restrain from skipping.

Looking over to his left, he spotted two deer gazing on the fresh green grass. He grinned, and watched as one playfully head-butted the other. The september sun passed through the cool air and beat down on his shoulder blades. It’s gentle sunset called to the horizon, beckoning the moon from it’s daily slumber with greater ease due to the lateness of the year.

Ross sighed into the cooling breeze, and smiled. Thoughts of auburn curls and a musical laugh crossed his mind, and the smile split into a grin. Everything seemed to be going his way.

Chapter Text

Cooler air and browning leaves replaced the lingering summer, as autumn returned to England with a cold shove. Crop tops were replaced with jumpers, sunglasses with woollen hats, red sunsets with grey overhead clouds. Sales in umbrellas spiked as the british public recognised the end of those fateful few months of sun.

Ross decided he liked his new school a lot. He had nice friends, good classes, he liked his teachers and his subjects. It had been a long time since he could say 'I enjoy going to school', and it was nice not waking up with a pooling feeling of regret in his stomach every day. It was fun, and Ross couldn't believe the time had passed so quickly, half term had snuck up on him.

Life seemed to fall into a neat schedule after his first week, spotted with odd social events and extra curriculars. Everything was going smoothly, there was no incidents, no news, no arguments between friends. His friendships grew healthily, with Chris and Alex especially. He got to know the group a bit more, especially enjoying Sips’ foreign humour and Turps’ loudness in normal conversation. Sometimes he hung out with Alex’s group of friends, getting to know their dangerous and outrageously sexual banter. He was even introduced to Parv’s band, Area 11.

He progressed with school too, finding things difficult, but manageable. Though the topics may have been a lot harder, the format of A Level was a lot like GCSE, which Ross appreciated. He knew how to learn and revise properly, and quickly got the hang of writing essays and researching content.

The second-to-last week of school was test week, and it was the first chance Ross got to put his new knowledge to the test. The tests were standard for Physics and Media, written answers to long questions that used all of Ross’ literary skill. For English he had to hand in a 1500 word essay, something that wasn't as easy, but he managed it.

And then it was the last week of school. He got his grades back, and they were good. Not the best, but it was their first testing in A Level and he had passed. The others did fairly well too. Trott excelled in English, Alex got masses of praise from his Music teacher, even the guys who didn't seem to do as well agreed to sign up for after school classes.

Teachers became a lot more lenient in the last few days. They watched Zombieland in their Media lessons, the boys eagerly taking notes for their practical research. In English, instead of just reading the text, they performed it. Mr Bennet allocated them parts, and actually performing A Comedy of Errors made it a lot easier to understand. Even in Physics, their teacher was kind, allowing them to fuck around with springs instead of actual lesson.

Life was relaxed, easy and fun for the last few days.

And then Chris didn't come to English.

—————

Ross instantly knew something was wrong when he didn’t see the familiar mop of brown hair waiting for him in his English Literature class first period on a Friday. He sat with Will in worried silence, thinking about his absent friend. Not seeing Chris waiting for him at the school gate was unusual enough, but the boy never missed a class. Ross even had to send him home once, the boy mumbling disagreement at his desk, slipping in and out of a sickness-induced daze.

He was free period two, and that allowed him to discuss the whereabouts of his short friends with the others.

“Have any of you seen Chris today?” He asked, dumping his bag and taking a seat on one of the sofas. The group turned lazily to face him, collectively frowning in confusion. Most of the gang were there, all except Simon and Duncan.

“Haven’t actually, wasn't he in English with you?” Sips asked, stretching his legs out to rest on Turps’ lap.

“No.” Ross frowned, rolling his eyes at the Canadians terrible posture. “I haven't seen him all day.”

“Weird.” Lewis said, leaning his head in the palm of his hand.

“Trott’s always in though.” Turps pointed out, in the middle of eating a cheese panini.

“Yes Turps.” Lewis said. “That’s why it’s weird.”

“Ask Katie?” Sjin suggested, ignoring Turps’ pout.

“I would, but I don't know where she is.” Ross explained. The group looked amongst each other, unable to think of any other way to help. There was a unanimous shrug, Ross sighed and leant back in his seat. The conversation willed itself back into normality, and Ross let his mind wander to his missing friend.

Snapping out of his daze, Ross noticed Alex stalking past their group, moving quickly and with purpose.

“Smith!” Ross called, using the nickname he had picked up from the others. The tall boy faltered in his step at the sound of his name, and turned. Conversation between the group stopped, interested in the boys conversation.

“What?” He asked, Ross found himself taken aback by the helplessness in the boy’s eyes.

“Uh, have you seen Trott?” Ross asked. Alex seemed torn at this, his expression twisting into a frown. He seemed to be debating something, before making up his mind and shaking his head.

“Don't worry about it.” He said simply, turning away.

“Wait!” Ross said, jumping out of his chair in his desperation. “Tell me what’s going on.” He demanded. Alex gave him a pained expression.

“Look.” The taller boy said, taking a step towards Ross and lowering his voice. “Just don’t worry about it. Chris wants to keep this to himself, that’s all.”

“What is it?” Ross asked, utterly confused by the whole situation.

“You don't need to know, Ross.” Alex said, giving the boy a stern look.

“But he’s my best friend.” Ross argued, the worry in his eyes causing Alex to flinch. The auburn haired boy bit his lip, before shaking his head.

“Trott’s gonna hate me for this.” He said to himself, before looking Ross directly in the eye and saying, “follow me.”

Ross had to almost run to keep up with the taller boy as they stalked down corridors together. He followed Alex blindly, letting him and his stony expression lead the way. Ross bit his lip as he noticed the boy’s clenched fists, the action causing worry to twist in Ross’ stomach.

They stopped in front of a classroom in L Block, Alex turing to Ross before they entered. They shared a quick look, one filled with worry and the other with doubt.

“He will be angry I brought you here.” Smith said, sighing to himself. “But maybe you can comfort him in some way.”

Ross nodded, not sure what to say to the boy. Alex shook his head once more, and pushed the classroom door open.

It was empty, spare for Katie and Trott. They were both sitting on a table, the girl leaning on the boys shoulder, affectionately patting his leg. Chris’ head was bowed, and his face was partially covered by his hair. Katie looked up when she heard the door open, face pulling into a frown directed at Smith as she noticed Ross.

“Chris?” Ross called, taken aback by the boy’s closed off body language. He watched as Chris flinched at the sound of his voice.

“Why did you bring him here?” Trott asked, keeping his head down. Ross blanched at the boy’s angry tone.

“What’s wrong Chris?” Ross asked, stepping closer to the brunet. Chris clenched his fists, and Katie put a hand on his shoulder. At the touch of the girl, Chris slumped his shoulders, and looked up at Ross. The dark haired boy’s jaw dropped.

Most of the left side of Chris’ face was covered in a blue and purple blotched bruise. It surrounded his eye and stretched out along his cheekbone, curling around the bottom of his jaw with a tight grip. His left eye looked bloodshot and horribly swollen, making Ross want to reach out and touch him. A small cut sliced the left corner of his mouth, dried blood washed away to allow the cut to heal.

“Chris.” Ross said, voice dropping in tone as he stepped towards the boy. “What happened?”

“I told you not to bring him here.” Chris growled, electing to ignore Ross and glare at Alex instead. He pushed himself off of the table to stalk over to the cowering taller boy. “I didn't want him to see this.”

“I know!” Alex said, raising his hands in innocence. “But he was really worried and I thought he should know.”

“You thought he should know?” Chris questioned, his voice growing louder in his anger. “Do you not realise that it is not your place to say? God Smith, you infuriate me!”

“He can help you!” Alex shouted back, becoming angry with Chris’ accusations. “You have to tell more people about this!”

“Shut up!” Chris cried, gritting his teeth in anger. “You know I can’t!”

“I know you won't.” Alex said, crossing his arms. “You can’t let them treat you like this Trott.”

“You don’t ever just fucking stop and think for a second Smith.” Chris glared, pointing a finger at the taller boy. “Don’t you think I would stop them if I could? I have to stay, you know that.”

“You don’t!” Alex shouted, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Come stay with me, for fucks sake! Stay with Katie if you have to! Fuck, even Ross will probably take you in! Just get away from them.”

The shorter boy bared his teeth at this, almost disgusted by the idea. He opened his mouth to reply, but was interrupted by a soft voice.

“Chris.” Katie said, stepping forward to place a hand on his shoulder. His angry expression faded somewhat at the calm tone of her voice, an anchor for him in the midst of the argument.

“What?” He asked, the harshness of his speech clearly vanishing.

“Your lip.” She pointed out. Pulling a confused face, he reached up to touch the left corner of his mouth. Taking his hand away, he frowned at the sight of the fresh crimson, and realised his lip must have split open from shouting.

He stared at the blood on the tip of his finger for a moment, captured in it’s innocent red.

“Trott please.” Smith said, drawing the attention of the shorter boy once more. “You can’t let this happen any longer.”

“Shut the hell up Smith.” Trott snarled, turning away from the man and casting his gaze downwards. “You're scaring Ross.”

That broke the taller boy's steel. His angry expression dropped as he looked over to Ross, seeing fear and confusion in the boy’s ice blue eyes. Shaking his head, Ross looked away from Alex, and stepped towards Chris. He ignored the boy’s clenched fists and gritted teeth and placed a hand on his shaking shoulder.

“Please.” Ross said, the helpless confusion in his tone making Trott meet his gaze. “Please tell me what’s going on.”

They held each others gaze for a moment, a conversation of trust and doubt passed with blinks and pupil contractions. Ross watched Chris think, watched the wheels turn in his friends complicated mind. Until eventually, Chris’ face fell blank, and he got an answer.

“You don't need to know, Ross.”

Ross’ face fell as Chris turned away from him, once again looking down at the floor.

“I only came to school to grab some assignments from Katie.” Chris explained. “Please don't talk about this again.”

“Oh.” Ross said, feeling like he had just been punched in the stomach. Chris sighed, and moved away from Ross to face Smith.

“It is not your place to decide who knows what about me.” He said blankly, face void of any emotions. “Never do this again.”

Alex had no response other than a shocked expression, surprised at the boy’s suddenly blank demeanour. After a few seconds of silence, Smith shook his head and snapped back into reality. He opened his mouth to object, but Chris raised a finger to silence him.

“Never.” He emphasised, giving Alex a fierce stare. Reigning himself in enough to close his mouth, Smith said nothing and settled on a frown instead. Clearly objecting to the command, but obeying for his friend’s sake.

Letting out a short breath of relief, Chris relaxed his shoulders and turned back to Katie.

“Let’s go.” He said, giving her a small smile filled with the trust that Ross and Alex were left without. Together, they left the room, Chris keeping his head down just in case there were other students around.

And then Ross and Alex were alone, left in the empty room with nothing but dead air and worry. After a few moments of trying to comprehend what had happened, Ross turned to the taller boy with a confused expression.

“What - ”

“Don't ask.” Alex interrupted, shaking his head and tracing their friend’s footsteps towards the exit. He paused in the doorway, looking back towards the dark haired boy with a pained expression.

“You don't need to know, Ross.”

Chapter Text

Ross spent half term in tense uncertainty, with radio silence from both Alex and Chris. His days were wasted pacing around his room in worry, occasionally getting questioning glances from his sister. He was desperately nervous about the state of his friendship with Chris, praying that he hadn’t completely ruined it.

Being the new kid, Ross hadn’t expected to find friends so quickly. Especially not close friends like Trott and Smith, friends he could lounge around and joke with in a manner that suggested he had known them for years. He just felt so comfortable with them, and the thought of loosing that made him want to rip his hair out.

“Ross.” Gemma demanded, slamming her newspaper against the kitchen table one morning in frustration. “What is the problem?”

“What?” Ross asked, feigning innocence as he looked up from his cornflakes.

“This.” She said, gesturing to the boy in front of her.

“What do you mean?” He asked again, looking back down at his cereal. The little flakes had gone mushy in the milk. Ross frowned.

“This whole mopey teenager thing.” She said, waving the newspaper at him. “Ever since the end of term you’ve been acting like this.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ross mumbled, standing up and taking his bowl over to the sink. He emptied the wasted food into the recycling bin and washed up the bowl and spoon.

“Fine.” His sister said, going back to reading the paper with a passive aggressive frown. “Don’t tell me, but sharing will only make you feel better.”

“Nothing to share.” Ross said, clenching his teeth as he did so. He was right, there was nothing to share. He didn’t know anything about what was wrong with Chris, that was the problem. Trying not to groan in his own frustration, he put his bowl and spoon on the drying rack and headed upstairs.

With nothing to do, Ross ended up scrolling though his contact list, occasionally pausing on names to debate calling them to see if they could hang out. No one popped into mind, as he had only formed close connections with the two boys he currently wasn’t speaking to.

With Alex, the conversation quickly turned stale, both dancing around the subject of Chris with terrified caution. The brunet himself was completely ignoring both of them, supposedly as punishment for invading his privacy. Ross could respect that, as he had been nosy and Smith had crossed a line. But the desire to comfort Chris still burned inside of him, desperately wanting to reach out to the boy.

In the end, Ross did nothing. Electing to respect their wishes Ross threw his phone to the side of his room, choosing to roll onto his back and sigh loudly instead. He groaned and rubbed his face in frustration. There was literally nothing he could do to help the situation, and that left him to wallow in a pit of worry alone.

“Ross!” Gemma shouted from downstairs. Ross sat up and sighed, not wanting another interrogation from his sister.

“What?” He yelled back, running a hand through his hair in an attempt to get it to do something. Looking into the long mirror propped up on the wall across from his bed, he frowned at his sticking up hair.

“There’s someone here to see you.” Gemma called, causing Ross to raise an eyebrow. Someone here to see him? There was no way it was Chris. Alex perhaps? It was unlikely, given the tense silence between the two.

“Coming!” Ross said, pulling himself off of his bed and down the stairs. His mind raced in confusion. Hovering at the front door, his sister smiled at his puzzled expression, and moved aside to reveal a small figure with bright ginger hair.

“Katie?” Ross asked, frowning at the girl standing in the doorway. She put both hands on each of her hips and glared at him.

“Come with me.” She demanded, grabbing him by the wrist and yanking him out of the house. Ross gave a small yelp as she dragged him along the garden path to the front gate, glancing over his shoulder to see his sister smirking and closing the front door.

“Katie?” Ross questioned, stumbling over his own feet to keep up with the girl. Though she was considerably shorter than him, she could speed walk like a mother fucker, and he had to break into a sort of jog-walk to keep his arm from being ripped off. They bumbled along into town together, Ross giving up asking where they were going after being consistently ignored by the shorter girl.

Eventually, they found themselves in the Northern part of town, an evidently shabbier area than were Ross lived in the East, and completely untouched by the riches of the South. It was council estates mostly, old corner shops and convenience stores dotted around the place. Younger kids on bikes cycled up and down the streets, weaving through back alley with skill that spoke of practice, nothing better to do.

They stopped in front of one of the houses, Ross nearly slamming into Katie’s back at the sudden halt. He blinked and looked down at the girl in confusion, her expression was stone as she stared at the house in front of them. Ross followed her gaze. The house wasn’t big, grey walls like tarmac linked to the houses either side, one continuing roof stretched across the row. It was a blot of slightly darker grey mixed in with the grey of the street, only the dark green door distinguishing it from the rest of the neighbourhood.

“Follow.” Katie commanded simply, letting go of Ross’ arm and moving towards the house. Ross stumbled after her, utterly confused in their location and the reason for being there.

“Where are we?” Ross asked, inspecting the ivy that was slowly curling around the doorframe. The whole place was rather overgrown, the small front garden in much need of a trim. Weeds and dandelions infecting the ankle high grass in a spotted mismatched pattern. In a different context, it might have felt quaint. But with Katie’s somber expression and the cool air, it just felt lonely.

“This is Chris’ house.” Katie explained, snapping Ross out of his daze. He wasn’t really expecting an answer, after being ignored the whole way over. This was Trott’s place? He didn’t know what to think.

“Put on a smile.” Katie said bitterly, reaching up to press a doorbell. Ross listened to a chime echo inside the house, and watched as Katie seemed to force herself into a sweet grin. Heart beat increasing in panic of the unknown, Ross followed suit.

With a weary creak the door slowly swung open, revealing a middle aged woman behind it. She was a litter shorter than Katie, and was rather round, wearing an apron over a summer dress and a surprised look on her sweet face. Hazel eyes crinkling in confusion at the two teenagers before her, she held their gazes for a second.

“Katie?” Her soft voice asked, eyes darting between the pair. Clapping her large hands in excitement at the girl’s presence, she let out a lovely laugh that Ross couldn’t help but smile at.

“Hey Mrs Trott.” Katie grinned, bending down to give the woman a hug. “Just came over to see Chris.”

“Oh good to see you honey.” Mrs Trott smiled, her short brown curls bobbing slightly in glee. “Who’s this?”

“Ross.” The dark haired boy said, choosing to introduce himself. He gave out a hand to shake, but was pulled into hug instead. She smelled of bitter fruit.

“A friend of Chris’?” The woman asked, releasing him from his bone crushing hug.

“School friend.” Katie explained, causing the woman to break out into an even bigger smile.

“Of course.” She said, nodding as if it all made sense now and stepping out of the doorway. “Come on in then, Chris is in his room with Alex.”

Ross followed Katie onto the premises, eyebrows raised at the mention of the ginger boy. The interior of the house gave off an odd vibe. Nice cream walls met wooden flooring in cute synchronisation, matching the flowering curtains and the oak furniture. A small cabinet stood opposite a coat rack in the hallway, a home phone sitting on top of it. One lonely pot plant stood by the start of the stairs to the next floor, looking incredibly healthy and well kept. Other than that, the hall was bare.

Sticking on Katie’s tail, he waved goodbye to Mrs Trott and headed upstairs.

“She seemed nice.” He commented, thinking out loud. Katie paused on the stairs, and gave him a look over her shoulder. Ross’ grin dropped and she continued.

Much like the first, the second floor was clean and empty. Yes, there was furniture. Cupboards and rooms and windows and all that. But there was just something off about the house, something not quite right. Following Katie down the second hallway to one of the rooms, Ross frowned and tried to put his finger on it. They stopped as Katie knocked on the door, and Ross looked around again, trying to spot the missing piece.

“Come in!” A voice called from inside, sounding unmistakably like Chris. Katie opened the door and stepped in, Ross following.

Looking at Chris’ room, Ross could see what was wrong with the house. The room was exceptionally clean, hoovered and tidied to an extent that put Ross’ messy house to shame. Matching oak shelving and cupboards were filled with books and clothing. A small wooden desk was pushed up against the wall by the window, penholders and a laptop atop it, several writing pads underneath.

Though, like the rest of the house, the room was tidy and well-kept, it was the wall space above the desk next to the window that pointed out the problem. In a blur of unkept creativity, the entire wall was plastered in taped up photos and bits of paper. Diagrams of the solar system and how to draw dragons and different variations of the word ‘said’ peppered the space above the desk, creating a whirl of facts and guides and helpful tips. Where the rest of the house was neat and tidy and bare, this wall was a clutter of inspiration and creativity.

He would have gone over and inspected the wall further, but the two boys sitting on the bed captured his attention. Reflecting that day in the science classroom, Trott was hunched over, his hair covering his face. Smith was sitting next to him, one arm around the boys waist and his head on his shoulder. When Trott looked up, here was no vacant expression like before, simply fear and a look of such helplessness that stirred something maternal in Ross.

“Chris?”

The shorter boy stood, and stepped forward, something put a hesitation in his step and made Ross open his arms in a welcoming gesture. Chris let out a grateful sob, and stepped into Ross’ grasp with an easy step. Still confused about what was happening, Ross pushed his questions out of his head and hugged the smaller boy tightly. Chris started to cry and Ross shot Alex a worried look over his shoulder, Alex simply bit his lip.

“Chris.” Ross mumbled, reaching up to stroke the boy’s hair and trying to step them further into the room so Katie could close the door. “It’s okay, I've got you.”

It took a while, but Chris eventually calmed down enough for Ross to sit him down on the bed next to Alex. He didn’t let go though, keeping one arm around the smaller boy and rubbing his back softly. Katie leant down in front of the boy, and placed a hand on his cheek.

“Are you okay?” She asked, Chris looked up at her and nodded, tear tracks stained his cheeks. She sighed, and sat down on the floor in front of them, looking expectantly at Ross.

“Chris.” Ross pushed, ignoring the girls stare. “What is going on?”

“I asked Katie to bring you here.” He mumbled, looking up at Ross. The taller boy sucked in a breath as he noticed the now-fading bruise around Chris’ eye.

“Your face.” Ross prompted, wanting to reach up and touch him. Chris sighed and looked down at Katie, she gave him an encouraging smile.

“I wanted to explain to you Ross, what’s happening.” Chris said, looking away from Katie to stare at a random spot on the wall instead. “Sorry about the crying, I guess I just opened the floodgates.”

“It’s fine.” Ross smiled. “It’s better than feeling nothing.”

“I know.” Chris mumbled, reaching up to wipe his eyes with the sleeve of his hoodie. Alex gave a sympathetic little noise and leant his head on Chris’ shoulder, the shorter boy let out a chuckle and reached out to pat him on the head.

“Anyway.” Chris said, looking up at Ross again. “I knew you must have been tearing yourself up about what was going on, so I decided to tell you.”

“Okay.” Ross nodding in encouragement.

“Um, where should I start?” Chris said softly, laughing a bit at his own unpreparedness.

“With this.” Ross said, vaguely gesturing to Chris’ cheek, avoiding accidentally touching it. Chris nodded and sighed.

“My brother.” Chris said. “He got annoyed at me, and lashed out. It was my fault really, I pushed him too far this time.”

“Trott.” Alex growled from the boy’s shoulder, placing a hand on Chris’ wrist.

“I know.” Chris said, interrupting the boy before he could protest.

“This was your brother?” Ross asked, eyes filled with worry. “And this has happened before?”

“Never this bad.” Chris said, almost sounding like he was defending his brothers actions. “But yes.”

“Chris.” Ross muttered. “You let him do this to you? What about your parents?”

“They're terrified of him.” Trott said, sighing and leaning against Alex’s strong frame.

“And you can't leave?” Ross asked, remembering the fight Chris and Alex had had on the last day of term.

“No.” Chris said, Ross noticed Alex frown on his shoulder and grip Chris’ wrist a little tighter.

“Why?”

Chris sighed and leaned back to fall on his bed. Alex followed, and curled into Chris side with the likeness of a small puppy, hoping to cure it’s owner of his sadness. Katie moved over to sit cross legged on the bed next to Alex, and Ross mirrored her on Chris’ side.

Bringing up his hands to rub his face and wincing at the contact with his eye, Chris allowed Alex to slip an arm around his waist and scooch further into the smaller boy's side. Alex closed his eyes and leaned his chin on Chris’ shoulder, humming peace into his ear. From an outsider's perspective it may have looked suggestive, but this was Alex and Chris, Smith and Trott, they were brothers.

Ross noticed Katie watching them with a fond expression, and wondered how long the trio had known each other.

“It’s my dad.” Trott said, breaking the moment. “He’s sick.”

Chapter Text

Motor Neurone Disease, otherwise known as ALS in America, is a disease that targets and destroys the nerves in the body. Usually this is the motor neurones, the nerves that control voluntary muscle activity such as walking, talking, eating and breathing. As time passes, people afflicted with Motor Neurone Disease often become incredibly paralysed, to the point where they can’t eat or breathe, and they die. There is no known cause or cure for Motor Neurone Disease, and males above 40 are particularly at risk.

—————

“He was diagnosed six years ago.” Chris mumbled, staring up at the ceiling. “I can't leave him.”

At some point during the explanation, Ross had taken Chris’ hand, and was gently rubbing his thumb over the boy’s knuckle.

“It’s bad Ross.” Chris said, looking up at the boy with tears in his eyes. “It’s real bad. They say that he'll - he'll be gone soon. I want to stay with him, until - until the end.”

Ross took in a breath at the helpless boy before him, and squeezed his hand tighter. Moving down so he was laying next to Chris, Ross pulled him into his arms. There was nothing he could say to make it better. It wasn’t going to be okay. Chris knew that, Ross knew that, they all knew that, and there was no way Ross was going to lie to the crying boy.

Without words to ease the pain, Ross instead lent a shoulder to cry on.

“I'll go and get us some snacks.” Katie declared, leaving the room with one final glance at the trio on the bed. Chris gave her a nod and a thankful smile.

They were alone in the room, silence encompassing them like a warm blanket. Ross didn't mind it, there was nothing to say anyway. It was nice, just lying together, and it gave Ross time to think about how he had become such good friends with these two so fast. He had only known them for a few months, but it felt like years. It scared him a little, how committed he felt to their friendship.
Alex groaned, and unwound himself from Chris to lie on his back.

“We need to cheer you up.” He said, reaching over to pat Chris on the arm. The shorter boy groaned and playfully slapped at his arm.

“We could watch a movie?” Ross suggested, sitting up and looking down at the brunet, he looked like he was about to sleep. A grumpy frown crossed Chris’ face as both his heat sources left him.

“Sleep.” Chris groaned, rolling onto his face. Ross suppressed a laugh and shook Chris a little.

“Come on mate.” He grinned, rolling the boy onto his back. “Let’s watch a shitty film in bed.”

“Are you suggesting a sleepover?” Chris asked, glaring at him. Ross shrugged and sent him a smile, knowing Chris would comply.

“Fine.” Chris said, rolling his eyes. There was no hiding his small smile.

“Great.” Alex grinned. “We can nip down to Tesco and get some food.”

“We?” Ross asked, eyeing the boy sceptically, he didn't sign up for this. Alex sent him an undeniable grin and Ross sighed.

“We'll go get some food.” Ross said to Chris. “You get your PJ’s on and find a film on the internet, a comedy or something.”

“Sure.” Chris said, rolling his eyes at the pair.

Ross followed Alex out of the room, throwing Chris a worried glance over his shoulder. The boy smiled reassuringly back at him, and Ross sighed. It felt wrong, leaving him alone for even a minute. He didn't know what it was with Chris, maybe his small frame or easy smile, but something about him made Ross’ protective side show. Not the same sort of protective he got when anything about Alex and the Dick Twins was brought up, that was more… affectionate. The protective feeling he got over Chris felt paternal, almost brotherly.

“He'll be alright.” Alex said once they were safely out in the street. Ross glanced at him sceptically, and Alex gave him a look that said he had seen this before.

He could tell Alex felt the protectiveness too, but he was more angry than worrying. While Ross pulled Chris into a hug, Alex was looking around for someone to punch. Ross didn't know what made him this way, and sometimes it scared him how quickly his fist clenched and how eager his brow was to furrow.

“How long has he known about his dad?” Ross asked. They walked along the pavement together, hands stuck in pockets and feet occasionally kicking at bits of gravel. The sky was bleak.

“A while.” Alex shrugged. “Early diagnosis.”

“Sucks.” Ross said, pitifully. “Like so hard.”

“I know, mate.” Alex muttered. He had come to terms with the situation a long time ago.

“Why didn't he want to tell me?”

“Trott is…” Alex trailed, thinking of the right words to say. “Trott is cautious. He doesn't like telling people his problems.”


“But, you feel so much better afterwards.” Ross protested. He couldn't think of how pent up he would be if he didn't vent to his sister once in a while.

“Trust me, I know.” Alex said, offering him a soft smile that twisted with guilt. “You have no idea how many years I spent rambling his ears off about my shitty life, not even noticing how he never responded.”

Kids rode by on bikes, one after the other on the left side of the road. The one in front was laughing, and the one behind frowned and pedalled faster, determined to catch up. Alex sighed as he watched them go past.

“It’s how he was raised.” Alex continued. “Trott’s parents weren't exactly approachable.”

“Really?” Ross asked, pity in his voice, Alex nodded.

“They were nice, but totally useless. They only really talked to his brother, that piece shit, Alby. He was always their favourite” Alex growled, anger taking him for a second. He cleared his mind and continued. “But yeah. Trott’s brother was an arse, and they spent all their time trying to ‘fix him’, instead of paying attention to Trott like they should’ve.”

“Shit.” Ross sighed.

“Yeah, it sucked. Then Trott’s dad got diagnosed when we were ten, and things only got worse. His brother started lashing out. I guess he didn't know how to deal with it, or maybe he’s just a dick. Anyway, Trott’s mum started guilt tripping him to hell and back. Shit like, ‘I won't be able to support your dad on my own, I need you to stay,’ or, ‘don’t tell the police, Alby was just angry, you shouldn't have wound him up like that.’”

“God.” Ross mumbled. They had reached the shop now, and Ross grabbed a basket once they were inside. It was a small village version of Tescos, but it would have what they came for.

“Yeah. It wasn't too bad at first, but asking for help just became emotional manipulation. I don't think she even realised she was doing it, but pretty soon Trott couldn't even come round any more.” Alex said, eyes scanning the shelves. “Galaxy or Milky Way?”

“Milky Way, mate.” Ross said, grabbing the chocolate off the shelves. “Always.”

“Of course.” Alex smiled, but his expression turned somber as he remembered their conversation.

“So anyway.” He continued. “Trott starts skipping school, refusing to come over on weekends, shit like that. I knew something was up straight away, and obviously I asked him about it.”

“Did he tell you?” Ross asked, putting some fruit pastilles in the basket.

“Not a word.” Alex said, shaking his head. “Poor kid already had a metric shit ton of weight on his shoulders from his mum, and it would have killed him to pass that onto me. In the end, Katie told me.”

“Was he pissed?”

“Totally. Pretty similar reaction to when I told you. Anger, denial, ignored me for a couple of days and then caved, turned up crying on my doorstep, apologising like a madman.”

Ross bit his lip. Chris apologised? For what? There was no way any of this was his fault. His mum must have seriously messed him up for him to think so.

“I took him in, naturally.” Alex continued, they had moved into the drinks isle. “Wrapped him up in my duvet and demanded he tell me everything. He felt terrible about it afterwards, guess he didn't want to pass his baggage onto me, it felt like I literally had to take it from him.”

“Wow.” Ross said, it was unbelievable to think about someone so guilty about something they had no control over.

“Yeah, he was pretty bad for a few days after. Eventually I convinced him that I didn't mind carrying the load, and he got a little better.”

“That’s good.” Ross smiled, picking out several bags of popcorn.

“It was going alright, and then shit hit the fan.” Alex said, giving him a solemn look. “His dad stopped breathing one night, something about the muscles of his lungs failing. Trott’s mum rushed him to hospital, leaving Trott and his brother alone in the house. Alby freaked, started shouting and punching and throwing shit, Trott barely escaped. He turned up on my doorstep.”

“Holy shit.” Ross breathed.

“It was scary as hell.” Alex said quietly. “I had moved away a couple of years beforehand, and hearing someone by the name of ‘Chris’ was waiting for me, I knew straight away something was wrong.”

“What happened?”

“He was bad, Ross.” Alex said softly, a tone of such helplessness invading his voice that something hard tugged on Ross’ heartstrings. Their gazes met, and Ross felt the protective surge again.

“He was so, so bad.” Alex continued, speaking slow and quiet. His gaze drifting to a spot on the floor. “And I - I couldn’t do anything about it. I couldn't do anything to help him.”

“Alex.” Ross said softly, catching the boys arm with his hand. “You were there for him, that was enough.”

Alex looked at him with disbelief, but nodded, continuing with his story.

“He stayed at my place for a few days, healing up. My parents were out of town, so there was no one to ask any difficult questions. I wanted him to stay forever, drop his manipulative mum and deadbeat brother, but he couldn’t. Stupid boy, to goddamn kind for his own good. His dad was alright, the doctors said, just a minor slip up, but it was the first real sign of the disease taking hold. Trott had to go back, for his Dad.”

Alex laughed, and it was a hollow sound.

“And who was I to stop him? I can't do shit all, can I? Fuck him, I thought, if he wants to do this to himself, then fine. He’s the one choosing to live that life.”

“What changed your mind?”

“Katie did, of course. Had a massive go at me, about being a shit friend. And she was right, Katie’s always right, you see. That’s her trick. Of course Chris didn't choose that life, he was just too guilt stricken to let go. I was such a dick about it. I apologised, Chris apologised for no reason, and things started to get better.”

“They did?” Ross asked, hoping for a happy ending. They were at the checkout now, and Ross forked £20 over to the man behind the counter.

“Yeah.” Alex said, smiling softly. “We started Sixth Form, you showed up, Trott took to you quickly and we added a fourth to our trio.”

“Me?” Ross blanched, taking one of the bags in his hand, Alex took the other.

“Yes, you. It surprised me, how quickly you fit in. Katie seemed to like you, Trott was good with it, and I… I thought you were cool too.” Alex stuttered, a blush rocketed to Ross’ cheeks.

“Anyway.” Alex continued, brushing it off. “Something must have happened at home, because Trott came to school with a black eye, and you noticed.”

“Yeah well.” Ross mumbled. “It was pretty obvious. I was worried.”

“I could tell.” Alex smiled. “And you know the story from there.”

“Yeah.” Ross said. “Poor Trott.”

“I know.” Alex nodded. “It’s really hard not to waltz into his brother’s room and punch him in his stupid face sometimes.”

“Sounds like you should be his brother instead.” Ross chuckled. Alex met his eye, and Ross silenced as he saw a sharp pain in the boy. He must have touched on some personal part of Alex’s life, but the boy covered his pained expression with a laugh.

“Yeah.” He mumbled, and Ross failed to miss the way his shoulders slumped a little. That seemed to be a different story, one that Ross would touch on later. Right now, Chris was the priority.

“Let’s get back.” Ross said. “Wouldn’t want Trott getting pissy at us for keeping him awake for no reason.”

Alex smiled and nodded, a silent thank you for ignoring his clear emotional slip up.

When they got back to Chris’ room, him and Katie were in bed wearing onesies.

“What’s this?” Alex asked, lowering the shopping bag to the floor. “You having a onesie party without us?”

“They're warm.” Chris grumbled, raising up the beak of his penguin onesie to glare at the boy. Ross grinned and hopped into bed with them, sliding in next to Chris.

“What are you watching?” He asked, snuggling down into the fabric. They had propped up Chris’ laptop on several pillows at the foot of the bed, making it easy to see the film.

“Scott Pilgrim.” Chris shrugged. “Katie’s choice.”

“Nice.” Alex grinned, opening two bags of sweets and sliding in next to Ross. The dark haired boy ignored the new heat pressing at his side but couldn't help the flush that sprung to his neck. Damn this bed, it was way too small for a girl and three teenage boys, two of which were already pushing 6ft.

“Pass the chocolate.” Katie demanded, looking too adorable to be fierce in her polar bear suit.

“Bossy.” Ross mumbled as he passed them to her, earning a snigger from Alex.

“Shut up Ross.” Katie grumbled, stuffing the bar into her mouth. “You useless homosexual.”

“Oi!” He exclaimed, ignoring Chris’ laugh. It was good to hear that again, it meant recovery.

They spent the rest of the day together, snuggled in bed watching films. It was mostly comedy, and Ross even got them to watch Love Actually, provided the trade of letting Alex put a film of his choice on. The film turned out to be the original Alien, and Ross spent most of the time under the covered. Partly out of fear, partly out of the fact that he was still scared of a movie made in the 90’s. Needless to say, horror wasn’t his thing.

Ross was sad to leave, the time seeming to pass so quickly. But it reached 8 o’clock and Ross knew that his sister would want to see him, even if he had texted her multiple times that he was at a friends house and not dead in a ditch.

He walked home with Alex in a comfortable silence, enjoying the peace and quiet after the emotional rollercoaster of the past few days. He considered asking him about the pain he had seen in the boys eyes at the mention of being Chris’ brother, but decided against it. His nosiness had caused enough trouble already, he needed to learn to not ask questions and just let people tell him when they were ready.

Still, that didn’t stop him from thinking about it that night. He may have found out what was going on with Chris, but figuring out what was going on in the ginger boy’s head still plagued him. He would just have to persist, and waited till the day Alex would share that personal part of his life with him.

Ross smiled at the thought of Alex trusting him that much, of them being that close.

Yep. He could wait.

Chapter Text

The rest of half term passed quickly from Ross’ perspective. His sister came home in the dark now, the headlights of her car illuminating the living room and notifying Ross of her return. She would sigh and slump her shoulders, sprawled out on the sofa and lamenting about another long day at work. A new bird had moved into their roof, waking Ross at the wee hours of the morning with its piercing call, irritatingly sharp. Nights stretched and froze over as the air cooled, nipping at bare skin and turning leaves a crisp auburn. Autumn was well underway.

Ross wasn't at home a lot during that two week break. Him, Trott and Smith went to town most days, saw a movie, got a coffee, went to the park and had a kick about. Sometimes others would join the three, and sometimes it would just be two of them. Ross saw other people too, of course, but either Trott or Smith were always with him. It was interesting, observing the difference in dynamics of Smith’s friends and Trott’s friends. Ross enjoyed watching their friendly banter, the way they played off each other, it was entertaining.

It was a Thursday afternoon, sitting on a slope watching Parv try to skate over a series of small dirt ramps dubbed the ‘mud jumps’ in the woods near the town, that Kim brought up the subject of Smith’s Halloween party.

“Is it alright if I stay over your place this Saturday, Smith?” She asked, brushing a strand of dark purple hair behind her ear and snickering as Parv was launched from his board.

“Sure.” Smith shrugged, leaning back on his hands. “You can sleep on my floor or something, the bath if you prefer.”

Kim laughed at this, sending him a playful glare. Ross frowned, obviously missing an inside joke. He was about to ask, but was rudely interrupted by a startled yelp as Parv’s feet left his board mid-jump and he was rocketed into the trunk of a nearby tree.

“You alright Parvy?” Smith called, laughing at the boy’s misfortune. Parv stood, wobbled a little, and shot Smith a proud thumbs up. Ross laughed at his slightly pained grin.

“Did you see that mate?” Parv yelled back, jogging over to grab is board. “Fucking nutty.”

“Try to stay within the laws of physics this time.” Kim grinned, head propped up in her hand. Parv flipped the bird at her and set his skateboard down, preparing for another attempt.

“What are you doing Saturday?” Ross asked, turning his attention away from Parv. Kim gave him a bemused smile and Smith looked at him incredulously.

“It’s Halloween.” Smith said, like it was obvious. “I’m having a party, remember?”

“Oh yeah.” Ross laughed, recalling the brief mention of it when he saw Smith’s house for the first time. “Who’s going?”

“Like, everyone.” Smith grinned. “Gonna be nuts.”

“Hopefully.” Kim nodded. ‘“You ever been to a party, Ross?”

The dark haired boy shook his head. Yeah, his old friends had had parties and stuff before, but he had never been able to go, or he just wasn't invited.

“Really?” Smith asked. “Well don't worry mate, your first experience is gonna be a special one.”

Ross grinned at him, glad at the lack of shame.

“Does this mean you don't have a costume yet?” Kim asked, a sly grin crossing her face.

“Costume?”

“Of course!” Kim laughed. “It’s a Halloween party! Costumes are essential.”

“And it’s on Saturday?” Ross asked, dread filling his stomach. There’s no way he would find an outfit in two days.

“Don't worry mate.” Kim said, reaching over to slap him on the back. “Come with me into town tomorrow and we'll get you something.”

“Okay.” Ross nodded, looking at her doubtfully.

“Don’t let her choose anything too raunchy mate.” Smith grinned, raising an eyebrow at Ross.

“Shut up.” Ross blushed, focusing his eyes back to Parv and ignoring Kim’s chuckles. She would help him out, sure, he trusted her.

They spent another thirty minutes watching Parv jump the ramps. It was at the second bleeding elbow that he decided to call it a day, grabbing his skateboard and strolling over to the others. The raven haired boy cricked his neck and rolled his shoulder, pulling a pair of black sunglasses out of his jean pocket and putting them on.

“It’s autumn, you know.” Kim grinned at him, scooting over to allow him room to sit. He simply threw her a sly smile back, and lay down on his back.

“Parvy does what he wants.” Parv said, speaking about himself in third person. “And Parvy want to look good.”

“You nutter.” Kim laughed, shaking her head at him. Parv simply grinned, she hadn't denied it. Sighing and laying his head on this hands, Parv looked towards Smith.

“Got any Rizla on you mate?” He asked, pulling a small tin and a lighter out of his back pocket.

“Yeah.” Smith mumbled, pulling a small red packet out of his coat. Parv smiled and took a sheet of rolling paper from him, opening a tin and placing the browning tobacco on the paper.

“Filthy habit.” Kim commented, watching intently as he rolled the cigarette. Ross raised an eyebrow at Smith, who simply shrugged and shook his head.

“Filthy habits for filthy people.” Parv responded, lighting the fag and taking a long draw. Positioning himself so he was downwind of the other three, he blew out heavy smoke.

“Want one?” He asked, turning to Smith.

“Nah.” Smith said, shaking his head at the offer.

“You smoke?” Ross asked, his voice spiking slightly in shock. He blushed, not meaning to sound so innocent.

“Only socially.” Smith shrugged, smiling at the boy’s embarrassment. Ross nodded, avoiding the others gaze.

“Good thing you don’t.” Kim said, diverting the attention from Ross. “Don’t think I could put up with two smokers.”

“No need to nag.” Parv mumbled, waving off the comment. “I get it enough from Will already.”

“Good.” Kim said sharply, frowning at the way Parv rolled his eyes. Ross got the impression that this topic put a bit of a strain on the two’s friendship.

“Well.” Smith said, swiftly changing the subject. “It’s almost 5, I’ve gotta get to work.”

“Oh shit.” Kim sighed. “I gotta go meet Duncan in 20 minutes.”

“Date?” Parv asked, propping himself up on his elbows to shoot her a cheeky grin, the previous dispute brushed off by both of them.

“Fuck off.” Kim smiled, a small blush dusting her cheeks. “We're just going to study together.”

“So it’s a study date.” Smith prodded, enjoying the girl’s red face. “How romantic.”

“Not a date.” Kim said in a sing-song voice, standing up and brushing the mud and leaves off her jeans.

“Well whatever.” Parv said, following her suit. “I’m going over to Will’s anyway.”

“Then I guess I'm heading home too.” Ross mumbled, also getting up.

“I’ll walk you.” Smith said, waving his hand up at Ross. “Help me up mate.”

“Lazy.” Ross smiled, grabbing his hand and hoisting him up. Smith simply flashed him a grin and laughed.

“Come on you two.” Kim said. “Let’s get back to town.”

It took the four of them about ten minutes to get back to the main town, strolling down the twisting lanes of the country. It wasn't long before the dirt path turned to concrete and trees turned to streetlights. The four parted ways with Kim at the main road, Ross waving goodbye as Smith and Parv threw obscenities her way. Ross laughed as Kim flipped them off, disappearing inside a nearby cafe.

Parv, Smith and Ross continued to the East. They walked for a while, before Parv flaked off to the South East, following a winding road to one of the richer estates. Smith and Ross walked the rest of the way together, talking and laughing. Their conversation had changed since they first met, and Ross felt free to act more like his true self. Vulgar language and innuendos flew freely between them, a much more friendly back and forth. Ross went to sleep that night grinning.

The next day came quickly, and Ross awoke to a text from Kim about what time to meet her. He dressed, grabbed a quick breakfast, and said goodbye to his sister, telling her that he would be out for the day with a friend. Feeling lazy due to the early start, he decided to catch the bus into town, meeting Kim outside one of the cafes on the high street.

“So.” Ross started, stirring milk into his coffee. “What’s the plan for today?”

“Well, I was thinking we could start with the high street.” Kim said, taking small sips of her tea. “If we can't find something then we check the shopping centre, we could grab some lunch there too. And if we don’t find anything there then I know some shops down the backroads that sell costumes.”

“Wow.” Ross said, staring at her over his coffee in awe.

“It’s always better to be prepared.” Kim said, flicking her hair out of her face smugly. “I don't like being caught off guard.”

“Well I'm glad you're on my side.” Ross grinned. Kim laughed, a sly smile crossing her face at the acknowledgement of her abilities.

They finished their drinks and stepped out onto the street, the grey skies overhead threatening rain. They strolled along the high street together, walking slow and enjoying the smell of fresh rain from the previous night. The street was lined with shops of all wares, and Kim lead him directly to the tailors.

“Am I getting a suit?” Ross asked, shifting through a rack of blazers on the wall. The shop was jam packed with suit components, with low lighting and dull red wall paper creating a feel of vintage class.

“Sort of.” Kim said, chuckling slightly. “You've gotta look smart.”

“I thought this was a costume party.” Ross mumbled, pulling a nice black blazer out from the rack and examining it.

“It is.” Kim smiled, taking the blazer from his hands and putting it back on the rail. “This is your costume.”

“My costume is smart?” Ross asked, raising an eyebrow at the smirking girl.

“No.” Kim laughed, grabbing a black waistcoat from the wall. “Your costume, is businessman.”

“Businessman?”

“Businessman.”

“Haven't heard of that one before.” Ross laughed, letting Kim hold the waistcoat up against him.

“It’s going to be great.” Kim grinned. “You're going to be the sexy, charismatic, kind-hearted boss that no employee can resist.”

“Sexy?” Ross squeaked, cheeks flushing.

“Oh, absolutely.” Kim smirked, beckoning over the tailor.

It took a while for the tailor to fit him with a suit, but in the end he stood in front of the tall mirror fully fledged. Grey suit trousers fitted nicely around his fairly muscular legs; a black shirt buttoned up to the neck and laced with a deep purple striped tie; a black blazer sporting golden cuff links and a pair of glossy black shoes.

Kim tapped her finger on her chin, circling Ross and looking him up and down. Ross blushed under her scrutinising stare, adjusting his tie nervously.

“No.” Kim decided finally. “Take it off.”

“What?” Ross asked. “I like it.”

“No no no.” Kim tutted, picking at his blazer. “I think we should go for a waistcoat rather than a blazer, and a white shirt rather than black.”

“Really?” Ross asked, turning to face her.

“Trust me.” Kim smiled. “This is nice, but we can do better.”

“Whatever you say.” Ross muttered, shrugging off the blazer.

“We’ll take the trousers though.” Kim said to the tailor, looking Ross over once more. “They make your butt look great.”

Mumbling and blushing, Ross ambled into the dressing room to remove his clothes. He hung the shirt and blazer back up on their hangers, and put the shoes and tie over to the side. The trousers he gave to the tailor, who put them in a bag and took them to the checkout.

“Oh God.” Ross said, seeing the price of the clothes flash up on the screen. “I don't know if I can afford this, Kim.”

“Oh Ross.” Kim laughed musically. “I'm a punk rock rebellious daddy’s girl who’s father will do anything to appease his precious daughter. This one’s on me.”

Grinning, she pulled a golden credit card out of her wallet, and flashed it in front of Ross’ face.

“Kim.” Ross said, shaking his head. “You really don't have to.”

“Don’t even bother worrying.” Kim said. “I could buy the arsenal football team if I wanted, a little suit isn't going to dent this fund.”

“If you insist.” Ross mumbled, letting Kim pay the tailor.

They bought the trousers, and headed over to the shopping centre. It was still fairly early in the day, so they decided to shop before eating lunch. After hitting the three dress shops in the complex, a black pair of brogues and a black waistcoat with a chain link had joined the ensemble of clothes. They just had a shirt and tie to go, and Kim seemed confident that they would find the final pieces in a little vintage shop in the old town.

“This one.” Kim said, holding out another tie to Ross, a slightly different shade of black.

“Kim.” Ross sighed, taking the tie from her. “This is the fourteenth tie, isn't this a lot of effort to go to for a party?”

“Come on Ross.” Kim grinned. “Don't you wanna look good?”

“Well I mean…” Ross tailed off, fiddling with the tie around his neck,

“Exactly.” She laughed, reaching up to tie it for him. “Smith’s gonna lose his shit.”

“Smith?” Ross squeaked.

“Don’t worry about it.” Kim said, shooting him a sly smile. “Auntie Kim’s got you sorted.”

“Okay.” He mumbled, letting her run away with her fantasies. Finishing with the tie, she stepped back, admiring her handiwork.

“Excellent.” Kim muttered, smiling as Ross adjusted his shirt cuffs. “The perfect sexy boss.”

Ross felt himself feeling the same sort of mix of dread and excitement that he had experienced in his first meeting with Kim. The sort of ‘oh God’ that he had gotten that day in the science lab. And he found himself asking that question once more: what had he gotten himself into?

Chapter Text

As Ross had never been to a house party before, Kim helped him out with the general etiquette. Turning up thirty minutes after the party started with a few beers and a bottle of whiskey that Gemma had given him, Ross raised his eyebrows at the thumping music already coming from the house. It was strange that Alex’s parents were okay with this, and lucky that they didn’t have neighbours around.

Stepping onto the premises, Ross was instantly slapped in the face by the smell of alcohol and teenagers. People crowded around from a sides, chatting and laughing with each other, Ross pushed through the groups of teens, nodding and smiling until he saw someone he recognised.

“Hey!” He called, spotting Kim over in the corner talking to two other girls. She was dressed as a cute witch, a purple dress with black lace and a black felt witch’s hat making her outfit. She grinned at him, and he was thrown off for a second by her purple contact lenses.

“What up boss man?” She asked, pulling at the sleeve of his shirt. Ross grinned and rubbed the back of his neck, blushing.

“Just arrived, you look nice.” He mumbled, she grinned.

“Thanks mate. Let me introduce you.” Kim nodded, and gestured to the two smiling girls behind her.

The first looked sweet, dressed in a cute green dress with silvery fairy wings strapped onto her back, her hair pulled up into a bun with a daisy pinned into it. A very lovely Tinkerbell. The other girl seemed to be her Peter Pan counterpart, the green tunic and hair tucked into her green cap signifying her character. The Peter Pan had an arm lazily draped around the other’s shoulders, they were clearly a couple.

“This is Zoey.” Kim smiled, nodding to the Tinkerbell. “And Fiona.”

“Nice to meet you.” Ross nodded to them, Zoey gave him a small smile.

“You new?” Fiona grinned at him, raising an eyebrow. Ross chuckled.

“Yup, I’m the new kid.”

“How’s it been?”

“He’s having the time of his life, obviously.” A voice interrupted. Raising his eyebrows at the intruder, Ross turned to see Smith grinning at him, the glint in his eye suggesting previous alcohol consumption.

“Alright mate?” Ross asked, looking the boy up and down.

He was wearing a sleek forest green shirt rolled up to the elbows accompanied with a grey tight waistcoat and a little black bow tie. Fitted black trousers and a pair of smart brogues set the ‘smart causal’ theme. A fashionable pair of dorky glasses finished off the look. Ross laughed to cover up his blush, the fitted clothes and winning smirk made Alex look amazingly hot.

“What are you supposed to be?” Ross asked quickly, trying to not look like he was checking Smith out, because he was definitely checking Smith out.

“Sexy secretary!” Smith grinned, as if it was obvious. “Kim helped me choose an outfit. What about you?”

“Sexy boss.” Ross mumbled, glaring sideways at Kim as he realised what she had done.

“Ooh!” Zoey squealed excitedly. “Couples costume!”

Ross laughed awkwardly while Smith beamed at him.

“How about we get you a drink, mate?” Kim smiled, slapping Ross on the back. He nodded submissively.

“See you later ladies.” Kim said, nodding in the direction of Zoey and Fiona. Ross managed to throw a quick ‘nice to meet you’ their way before he was dragged away by Kim, Smith in tow. Zoey gave him a small wave and Fiona simply saluted him with two fingers before they were lost in the crowd.

Kim easily found the kitchen, which was covered in bottles and cans of various alcohols. She picked out a can of some cider, and Ross followed suit, grabbing the ‘red cherry’ version of the brand. Not being a massive fan of alcohol meant that he often had to resort to flavoured ‘pisswater’, as his sister called it. She, on the other hand, was a big fan of hard spirits.

“Did you buy all this, Smith?” Ross asked, eyeing the quantity in surprise.

“Most of it.” Smith shrugged, grabbing a can of some beer called ‘Scraggly Joes’. Ross had never heard of it but it sounded strong. “Some of it’s bought by guests but once it gets here it’s pretty much a free for all.”

“Teenagers.” Kim said, rolling her eyes.

Ross chuckled as she lead them towards the living room. For a moment Ross wondered why it was Kim leading them around and not Smith, but he soon forgot the query as he noticed the karaoke rap battle happening in the middle of the living room. Turps and Sips were going at each other with various strewn together lyrics from what they could remember of ‘Rappers Delight’, wobbling around the room and occasionally dropping their Singstar microphones. The rest of the gang lay across the three sofas, either squeezing up to four people on one or just lying across each other. Bottles and cans littered the floor of the room, and Ross raised a questioning eyebrow at Kim.

“They’ve been here since about midday.” Kim shrugged, offering a small smile before squeezing into the space between Duncan and Simon, both greeted her with a cheer. Smith tugged Ross to the other sofa, and sat him in between himself and Hannah, who had a clearly drunk head boy perched on her lap.

“Ross!” Lewis cried, noticing the boys arrival.

“Hey Lewis.” Ross grinned. Hannah shot the dark haired boy a bemused smile and mouthed, somewhat apologetically, ‘sorry’.

“Look at you!” Lewis cried, reminding Ross of one of his great aunts at Christmas.

“And you.” Ross replied, nodding at the boy’s costume. Hannah and Lewis had decided to come as a couple, with Lewis in a sexy Princess Peach outfit and Hannah wearing a Mario one-piece onesie type thing. Ross laughed as he noticed Simon across the room sporting a Luigi outfit.

“You’re so sexy!” Lewis gasped, as if it surprised him. Grabbing the cuff of his blazer, Lewis turned it over in his palm, as if inspecting it.

“Steady.” Ross warned, taking the sloshing drink out of his other hand. This sofa seemed expensive and sober Lewis would be devastated if he spilt beer on it.

“Lewis!” A voice called from the doorway. “Catch!”

Suddenly something large and pink was frisbee’d their way, and it would have smacked Ross in the side of the head if Lewis hadn’t reached out and caught it. With an eerie calm, Lewis placed the huge flying pig hat on his head, and steadily rose. Then, as if summoned by some higher calling, he swiftly glided out of the room, leaving a confused Ross and an amused Hannah behind him.

Before he could even begin to ask, Ross’ thoughts were interrupted by Sips summoning him to the dancefloor to take his place. Holding tightly onto the Singstar mic that was thrown his way, Ross moved to stand next to Turps in front of the TV. Turps was choosing the track, and they were instantly thrown into ‘Highway to Hell’.

The night continued on, and Ross found himself laughing more than he had in years. A particularly fruitful game of Truth or Dare meant he got to watch Trott perform a very risky backflip off the sofa, Kim breakdance, Duncan hula hoop, Simon juggle several teacups, Sjin give Lewis a particularly cheeky strip tease, Parv sing opera, Hannah do a handstand, Will rap the whole of 'Clique', Turps run around the house with only Hannah's Mario moustache on and Sips perform a brilliant rendition of 'Silent Night' on the french horn.

After several hours of singing, drinking, dancing, chatting and occasionally tripping over his own stumbling feet, Ross crashed onto the sofa next to Smith, who was nursing a bottle of vodka.

“Hi.” Ross grinned at him, his teethy smile causing two raised eyebrows from his ginger friend.

“Hello.” Smith carefully replied, watching Ross down his beer with a bemused smile.

“Can I have some of that?” Ross asked, putting his own drink aside pointing to Smith’s.

“I’m not sure that’s such a good idea.” Smith frowned.

“Oh come on!”

“I thought you didn’t like spirits.”

“Please? I want to try it.”

“Sure.” Smith said, rolling his eyes. He passed the clear bottle to Ross, and watched carefully as he took a swig.

“Ahhh” Ross hissed, opening his jaw wide as if he had just burnt his tongue. “It tastes like nail varnish remover!”

Smith laughed at the boy’s disgusted reaction, and took the bottle back. Taking a swig himself, he placed an arm over Ross’ shoulder.

“Gross.” Ross mumbled, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. Smith grinned at his friend as Ross rested his head on the taller boy’s shoulder.

They watched the room in silence for a few moments. It was late at night, about 3am or so, and many of the guests had either gone home or had crashed upstairs. Only a few stragglers and hardcore drinkers remained. The gang was mostly awake, with the exception of Lewis and Hannah. Lewis had passed out at around 1:30, and Hannah had taken him to bed upstairs and called it a day for herself. The rest of the group was dispersed around the house.

Smith moved his arm from Ross’ shoulder down to hold his waist, and shuffled them into a more comfortable position. Ross sighed contently, but was way too distracted by the rather vicious dance battle going on between Trott and Kim in the middle of the room to notice the way Smith cuddled him closer.

“Is Smith here?” A voice asked from another room, raising the attention of the curly haired boy.

“I’m in here!” He called out, interested to see who was looking for him.

With a smirk and a soft smile, Ridge and Kirin stepped into the living room. Noticing the sudden stillness of Smith under him, Ross looked from his friend to the newcomers in confusion. Kim noticed their entrance too, and shot a look at Smith. He sent her a curt nod and she pulled Trott out of the room, closing the door behind her.

“Ridge!” Ross smiled. “And Kirin! Come sit.”

“Hey mate.” Ridge grinned, amused by the boy's slurred words. “Go hard or go home, huh?”

Ross laughed as the two sat either side of him and Smith, Ridge on the far side and Kirin next to him.

“You guys aren’t wearing outfits!” Ross cried, poking at Kirin’s plain jacket.

“Well, we aren’t planning on staying for long.” Ridge smiled.

“What do you want?” Smith asked, grip on Ross’ waist tightening. Ridge chuckled in amusement.

“No need to worry.” He assured. “We just wanna talk.”

“I thought I was done talking to you.” Smith growled.

“Yes yes, you made that pretty clear.” Ridge nodded in understanding. “But you see mate, we’re not done talking to you.”

“You have no business here.” Smith stated. Ridge gave out a laugh that was less than friendly.

“Oh Alex. We have business everywhere.” He grinned, all teeth. “Now come along, we’re going to have a little chat outside.”

“I’m not going anywhere with you.” Smith said through gritted teeth.

“Well.” Ridge smiled politely. “We could talk right here, but that would mean Ross would have to get involved. None of us want that now, do we?”

Ross looked up at Smith in confusion, and was met with a cold stare.

“I mean, you would have to explain the whole situation to him.” Ridge continued. “And though I’m sure Ross is quite an understanding person, that may put a bit of a strain on your relationship, right?”

Smith looked one more time between the grinning Ridge and the boy cuddled into his side, before sighing and letting his hold on Ross’ waist slacken.

“Five minutes.” Smith decided, slowly standing and starting towards the garden.

“Keep Ross company, Kirin.” Ridge commanded, throwing one last glance Kirin’s way before following Smith.

Ross watched them go, frowning in confusion. The warmth against his side was walking away.

“What’s happening?” Ross asked, turning to Kirin for answers.

“Don’t worry about it.” Kirin smiled, handing Ross the bottle of vodka Smith had left behind. “Now drink up. If we’re lucky, you won’t remember any of this.”

“What?” Ross asked, obediently drinking the nail varnish remover.

“Nothing.” Kirin said, sending Ross another smile. Ross politely smiled back, being soothed by Kirin’s kind eyes.

Kirin watched intently as Ross finished his bottle, and sighed heavily. Ross grinned, happy he had completed his task, and sat still next to Kirin. They sat in silence for a bit, listening to the faint music and laughter from the other rooms. The house swayed with the movements from the people upstairs. Yet, despite the warmth from the house and the multiple people in it, Ross could not help but feel a slight chill on the back of his neck. He frowned, suddenly realising something.

“Where did Smith go?”

“He’ll be back in a minute.” Kirin soothed, knowing that he would likely be gone for a while.

“He’ll be back in a minute.”

Chapter Text

Ross’ neck was not in a comfortable position. In fact, it was in a very uncomfortable position. Hanging off the side of the sofa and slightly crooked, Ross sighed and turned to the ceiling. He groaned softly at the bright lights.

“Alright there mate?” A tinkling voice asked, coming from behind his head. Wincing, he shifted himself into an upright position and pushed Alex’s feet out of his face; they had fallen asleep top to tail on the sofa. Ross turned, and raised an eyebrow at Kim. She was grinning, face bright as ever, holding two cups of coffee.

“Godsend.” Ross mumbled, taking the mug gratefully. Kim chuckled, and sad down on the other sofa. Alex snored softly.

“What time is it?” Ross asked, taking small sips of his coffee.

“Almost 8.” Kim said, watching him with an amused expression. Alex mumbled in his sleep.

“Jesus Christ.” Ross said, his eyes wandering around the room, inspecting the state it was in.

Typical teenage party; bottles lined almost every surface. Sofa cushions were strewn about the place, and a blanket was piled in a heap in the corner. The heap stirred, and rolled over. Ross snickered at a passed out Turps, a penis drawn delicately onto his forehead, snuggled deeply into the blankets.

“Quite a first party, huh.” Kim smiled, wandering over to Turps and shaking his shoulder. He grumbled and tried to bat her away, much to her amusement.

“How are you…?” Ross trailed off, vaguely waving a hand in reference to her ‘totally fine’ state.

“Practice.” She grinned. “When you work in a pub, you learn how to handle your liquor.”

Ross nodded, that made sense. He rarely ever drank, and as such was a massive lightweight. He was about to commend her for her self control, but was interrupted by a loud crash from the kitchen. Ross shared a quick glance of confusion with Kim, before pushing Smith’s legs off of him and standing to inspect the noise.

Inside the kitchen, Lewis was sprawled across the floor by the other doorway, groaning and clutching his head. The giant pig hat was wedged in the doorway.

“Lewis?” Kim asked, trying to hold in a laugh.

“Forgot I had the hat on.” Lewis mumbled. “Got stuck in the doorway. Tried to escape. Smacked my head on the door.”

“Jeez.” Ross snickered, ignoring Kim’s laugh and moving to help the head boy up. “The pig hat bested you huh.”

“Bloody pig.” Lewis grumbled, weakly shaking a fist at the wedged hat, a bruise starting to form on his left temple. The pig hat stared onwards, uncaring.

“Alright.” Kim said, clapping a hand on Lewis’ shoulder. “I’m gonna make some breakfast, you go wake everyone up okay? Tell them there’s bacon.”

Lewis nodded, and stumbled out of the room, his sexy Princess Peach costume was a little muddy in the arse region, as if he had been sitting down outside for some reason.

“Go wake your secretary up.” Kim said, starting to get stuff out of the fridge.

Ross nodded, still too half-asleep to care about her teasing. He wandered back into the living room again, and collapsed back down on the sofa, pushing Smith’s feet out of the way. Sitting down, Ross realised how exhausted he really was. Staying up all night dancing and jumping around had, surprisingly, worn him out quite a bit.

He sighed, and slid down the back of the sofa to rest himself on Smith’s shoulder. A quick rest, he told himself, just a little nap. Kim caught sight of the tired boy from the kitchen, and rolled her eyes. She decided to leave the two be, because goddamn, they were cute as fuck.

Ross was shaken awake by Trott sometime later, an amused smile on his friend’s face. Blinking groggily, Ross frowned and snuggled further into the warmth by his face. The warmth by his face chuckled, and Ross sat upright. Oh shit.

“Uhh.” Ross stammered, face flushing as he stared down at the open mouthed grin of, the now very much awake, Smith.

“Kim’s made pancakes and bacon.” Trott said, the smug bastard. Smith patted Ross on the shoulder and mentioned for him to get up, he obliged and they made their way to the kitchen.

By Ross’ count, everybody who had stayed over was now awake, and chatting socially in the kitchen. It was a little cramped, but Ross found it cosy, it made the atmosphere a lot friendlier for sure, especially with them all sharing their memories of previous night together. Hiking himself up onto the countertop, he settled in between Turps and the fridge, Smith sitting on the floor in between his dangling legs, opposite Duncan.

“Liking the look mate.” Ross snickered, mentioning to the black smudge on Turps’ forehead. Turps gave a sarcastic laugh, and glared at him.

“I’m gonna find who did this.” Turps said, pointing to his forehead with an expression Ross assumed was supposed to be menacing but only managed hilarious. “And they’re gonna fucking pay.”

This only made Ross laugh more, and Turps grinned as well, a sort of mad glint in his eye.

“Pancakes?” Kim called from the stove. Ross looked up, and nodded a happy ‘yes please’. Simon and Lewis stood either side of the stove, leaning against the worktops with steaming mugs of tea in their hands. Lewis had the pig hat on again, and Ross wondered how long he had spent trying to pull that damn thing out of the door.

Trott leaned up next to Lewis against the kitchen island, chatting to Duncan who was sitting on the floor by his foot. The blonde was eating a stack of sugar-covered pancakes and laughing at something Trott said, whilst casually having a game of footsie with Smith, who sat opposite him.

Sips and Sjin sat on the other side of the island, both eating pancakes and chatting animatedly with each other. Hannah, Zoey and Fiona occupied the dining table, each sipping tea and occasionally refilling from the large china pot in the centre of the table. Noticing the extra cups next to the pot, Ross hopped down from the counter and quickly grabbed a cuppa.

“Oh, Ross.” Zoey said, noticing him coming over and remembering something. “I’ve got your glasses.”

“Oh they’re not mine.” Ross smiled, taking the glasses from her anyway. “They were part of Smith’s outfit.”

“Really?” Zoey laughed. “I just assumed because you were dancing around with them pretty much all night.”

“Oh God.” Ross blushed. “I don’t remember that.”

“Pretty well ingrained in my memory.” Hannah said, and Ross’ face flushed in embarrassment.

“Didn’t know you were that flexible, Ross.” Fiona added, and the other two laughed together.

“Oh screw you guys.” Ross said, leaving briskly with his tea before he betrayed himself and started laughing with them. An infectious grin spread across his face uncontrollably, and Alex raised an eyebrow as Ross returned his glasses. Ross just continued grinning, and Alex couldn’t help but smile back, shaking his head.

Lewis turned on the radio next to him, and Animal by Neon Trees started up.

It was such a happy atmosphere, Ross was very content to just sit back and take it all in for a while. It felt kind of surreal to him, almost as if the scene was from some kinda movie, as he had never really experienced something like this before. He had been growing apart from his friends at his old school for a while before he came to Heathcoat, they never really hung out or did anything, and it kind of felt like they were only friends because he saw them almost every day.

Quite a strange feeling, being surrounded by people you don’t actually care about. It was quite isolating, and it took Ross a long time to figure out why. At first he thought that there was something wrong with him, but it was actually just the natural progression of things. Ross was never one to settle down, always wanting to keep moving, keep going forward. His relationships with his friends had just kind of burnt themselves out. That didn’t mean he didn’t like them, he just wasn’t invested in them in the way that he used to be. After he had come to Heathcoat, they just kind of… fell apart, with neither party feeling the drive to maintain it.

Sometimes Ross wondered if that should bother him more than it did, but it just felt like the natural progression of friendships. He had these guys now anyway. People he actually wanted to hang out with, who actually wanted to hang out with him. Maybe it was the sudden jump from feeling complete isolation to the now big group of people that was giving him this feeling of surreal euphoria.

Simon called his name, catching his attention and passing him a plate of pancakes. Kim shouted something about them all owing the chef a favour.

Maybe it was that these people seemed to genuinely enjoy having him around, genuinely liked him.

Sips tossed the lemon juice over to him from the kitchen island, but his notoriously bad throwing skills stuck true and the squeezy bottle struck Turps in the shoulder and burst, getting lemon all over his pajama top. Turps cried out in outrage and Sjin burst into laugher, leaning his head on the canadians shoulder.

Maybe he was just enjoying having friends again.

“Let’s migrate to the living room.” Kim suggested. “I wanna catch the news.”

“Of course.” Alex said, rolling his eyes but standing up anyways.

“Oh shut up, Smith.” Kim said, smacking him on the shoulder as she walked past. Smith laughed, but followed suit.

There was a bit of a scrabble for sofa space, so in the end Ross ended up on the floor leaning back on Smith’s legs, but it didn’t really bother him. Trott sat down next to him, slotting into the space between Kim’s legs and jokingly pulling them over his shoulders, Kim reached down to ruffle his hair in response. Duncan rested next to her, with Simon cuddling into him, making ‘anime noises’ as Duncan laughed.

Sjin, Turps Lewis and Hannah sat on the other sofa and Sips dived across them, causing groans and a shout from Lewis and Sips injured his ‘precious man bits’. Laughing and pulling his cap back onto his head, Sips rolled around a bit before positioning his head in Sjin’s lap and his feet in Hannah’s. Fiona and Zoey sat in between the two sofas, Fiona’s arm around her girlfriend’s waist.

“Where did Parv and Will go?” Ross asked, turning to look up at Smith. The ginger shrugged, and turned to Kim.

“Back to Parv’s I think.” Kim said. “His parents are away this week so…”

“Ah.” Ross said, as Smith laughed.

“Chuck me the remote.” Kim shouted at Lewis, who threw it so haphazardly that Ross and Trott had to duck for cover. Kim caught with perfect ease right before it smacked Trott in the ear, and flipped on the news.

BBC Breakfast was still on, even though it was almost 12, and Ross watched as some blonde presenter talked to Mark Ruffalo about something. Elbowing Trott in the knee, Ross turned to him.

“So when are we getting around to this media thing then?”

“Whenever you guys aren’t busy fucking around at Smith’s.” Trott laughed, Ross shooting him a glare.

“Hey man don’t act like you’re not invited to the fucking.” Smith quipped.

“Around.” Ross hastily added.

“Alright lads.” Trott laughed. “You guys free next weekend?”

Ross nodded, and Smith made a ‘ehhh’ kind of noise in form of a maybe.

“Alright, we can go to Costa and plan it out or some shit.”

“Sounds good.” Ross said, pulling out his phone and making a note of it in the calendar on his phone.

They chilled and randomly flicked through the channels for a few hours, laughing at random game shows and old episodes of The IT Crowd. The atmosphere was nice and relaxed, and Ross caught Trott almost falling asleep against him. It hit 3pm, and Ross kinda needed a shower, so he bid his farewell.

Smith, being the good host that he is, showed him to the door. Ross smiled at the gesture.

“See you at school.” Smith grinned, and Ross couldn’t help but blush.

He stepped outside the boundaries of the house, into the cool autumn air. Despite the cold of the season, the sun still shone as brightly as ever, creating a certain crispness of the air that Ross felt in his breath. He really loved this time of year.

“It’s cold.” Ross said, wrapping his jacket around himself tighter.

“Hold on a sec.” Smith said, before disappearing off to the side. He came back a moment later with a thick woolen scarf. Ross laughed as Smith started wrapping it around his neck.

“Listen.” Smith said, holding onto the ends of the scarf to keep Ross in place, as if he was going anywhere. “About yesterday.”

“What about it?” Ross asked, watching Smith’s anxious fingers play with the frilled ends.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Ross questioned. “What for?”

“You know, the thing that happened just before I put you to sleep.”

“Mate.” Ross laughed, trying to diffuse the tension. “I don’t remember anything past midnight, there’s no way I remember going to bed!”

“Oh.” Smith said, his eyes widened a little. “Oh, well, good thing then, you didn’t have to experience my terrible dance moves.”

Ross raised an eyebrow at his suspicious behaviour, but decided not to press it, remembering what Sips had said to him. He didn’t want to get a reputation for being nosy.

“Alright then.” He nodded. “Thanks for the scarf, I’ll give it back to you at school.”

“Keep it.” Smith shrugged, dropping the ends with a smile. “I never wear it anyways, and it suits you.”

Ross wondered how a thick, brown and red stripy scarf could suit him, but he blushed nonetheless. Mumbling a quick thanks and goodbye, Ross turned, and started down the long driveway home. Leaning up against the doorframe, Smith watched him go. He sighed.

Against the falling browning leaves and the golden sunlight. With the cool breeze ruffling his dark hair and pulling lightly against Smith’s scarf around his neck. And the faint tunes of birdsong in the air accompanying the external acoustic guitar playing in the back of Smith’s head. Ross was beautiful.

“You’re going to have to tell him, you know.” It was Kim, watching Ross next to him. “He’ll figure it out eventually.”

“I know.” Smith nodded.

One day. One day he would explain everything. No matter the sacrifice it cost him. He was slowly walking into a world with Ross where the birds sung gospels and chords strummed a harmony of truths. Where lies became clear and fazed into the sun, and he was able to do nothing but bare his soul to the beautiful boy and be eternally honest.

That day was coming. Soon.

Chapter Text

8:30 alarms were one of Ross’ least favourite things, he had decided. It was definitely up there, along with wasps, salt and vinegar crisps, rocks in his shoes and the smell of petrol. But sadly, they all existed and Ross had to the deal with them the same way he was dealing with this alarm. By ignoring the shit out of it.

However, Apple had yet again bested him, as he was woken up 9 minutes later. Just enough time for him to not quite manage a deep sleep. The bastards. The darker mornings of November made it almost impossible to get up, but it was the first day back after the half term, and honestly Ross was kind of happy to get back into the swing of things.

After grabbing a quick cup of tea and a bagel, Ross wrapped Smith’s scarf around his neck and headed out into the brisk cold. It wasn’t quite frosty yet, but the trees were almost bare of their leaves, and the cold nipped at Ross’ fingers and turned his breath into steam.

Pulling his hat down so it covered his ears, Ross rocked back and forth on the balls of his feet as he waited on the edge of the curb. As it had gotten colder, Smith had offered to give Ross a lift to school in the mornings and home in the evenings. Ross really didn’t mind the walk, and it was probably good for him considering the very little exercise he did, but good Lord it was fucking cold, he couldn’t turn the offer down.

“Morning!” Smith beamed, as Ross hopped in the back of the car with him. The boy’s gaze was welcoming, and Ross could feel himself warming up already.

“Hiya.” Ross replied. “Morning Gerard.”

The chauffeur tipped his hat in Ross’ direction and gave him a warm smile from the driver's seat. Obviously Smith’s own parents didn’t drive their son to school, they were far too busy. So busy in fact, that Ross still hadn’t met them, despite being under their roof at least three times a week.

The closest he had gotten was spotting a small speck of a woman atop a silver-grey stallion from Smith’s bedroom window. She sped across the hillside bordering the masses of open greenland that was the Smith estate, blonde hair and white dress billowing behind her in her wake. She didn’t look like Smith’s mother, but the boy himself confirmed that she was after Ross’ questions. She wasn’t what Ross had expected at all, she looked far too pretty, far too free spirited, to be the rigid woman Smith described.

Yet, apparently she was. Smith explained that she bred and rode horses, had been competing and performing since she was a little girl. There was a stable and a school over the hill, he said, where she would spend almost the whole day, riding and tending to the eight horses that lived there. He took Ross to one of the many studies in the house, and showed him all her ribbons, trophies, newspaper cuttings and other memorabilia.

There were several pictures of the woman holding trophies and rosettes in front of her winning horses. Ross noticed that as she got older, her big grin reformed itself into a wiry smile, her eyes grew more tired, her posture more rigid. And as a small ginger boy appeared by her side, her wild blonde hair scraped itself into a neat bun.

“She must love those horses.” Ross mused.

“More than anything.” Smith replied, bitterly.

And now, as they cruised through the tunnel of bare trees surrounding the road, Ross wondered if Smith had ever seen his mother in as she looked in those early pictures. Free.

They pulled up a few streets away from the school, as parking was always hell. The boys jumped out with a quick thank you to Gerard, and started towards their campus.

“So, Ross.” Alex started. “It’s fireworks night this weekend, yeah?”

“Oh yeah, completely forgot.” Ross laughed.

“Are you saying you didn’t remember the fifth of November?” Alex teased.

“If only there was a song to help me.” Ross tsk’ed, Alex laughed in response.

“Well,” the auburn haired boy continued, “the town's fireworks parade is coming up. We all usually go, sit in a field and get a little bit trashed. You up for it?”

“Yeah, sounds fun.” Ross smiled. He had seen it before with his sister, but never with friends.

“Awesome.” Smith grinned. He smiled in that closed-eyes toothy way that made Ross blink a little, as if he had been looking directly into the sun.

They headed into school. The wind picked up a little more, and Ross watched as a girl nearly lost her hat. He just thanked the lord it wasn’t raining. Smooth, soft rain was nice and cosy, accompanied by a big cup of tea and a warm jumper. But hard cold rain and wind battered against windows and demanded to be listened to, in these moments Ross liked to plug loud music in and ignore the world.

School was a breeze, and nothing really exciting happened. Lewis came back very stressed from a meeting, so Sips threw one of Sjin’s shoes out of the window of the Pod in a likely attempt to cheer him up. Sjin spent the next 10 minutes completely disregarding the door and trying to climb in and out of the window to retrieve his precious Nikes.

Ross was glad he had settled in so well. Being the new kid was never easy, but he seemed to have fallen into this little clique with ease. Almost as if they already had a place for him.

It was already dark when Smith picked Ross up from his house. Ross’ sister gave him a very embarrassing kiss on the head as he was leaving, and he brushed it off with a bashful smile. Smith was leaning against the car outside, and for a second Ross glimpsed that posh-boy exterior that the public saw. His polished shoes and fitted trousers gave of the air of money, but it was easily broken when the young boy looked up and smiled.

He was smoking, but quickly threw it away and stubbed it out with the heel of his shoe as Ross approached.

“Thought it was only social.” Ross commented, but Smith merely shrugged.

They clambered into the backseat together, and Gerard started the engine.

“The others are meeting us at Tesco, so Lewis can buy us beer.”

“Sure, cool.” Ross said absentmindedly, very aware of how close Smith’s hand was to his.

“This is gonna be good.”

Ross looked over, and smiled at the sight of Smith looking out of the window, a grin on his face and the streetlights reflecting in his eyes. He looked golden.

When Ross was a kid, young enough that his parents were still together. They used to go to the yearly fireworks display up in London. His mum loved fireworks, the bright colours and the sounds and the wonder in the air. Their dad would treat her and take the family up to watch it from the top floor of his office building. Ross would press up against the glass window and watch the people down below. They were all looking up at the sky, and their faces illuminated in a bright brilliance by the splashes of colour tearing apart the night. Ross could swear he could see the reflections in each of their eyes.

It was shortly after the fireworks show when he was about seven or eight, that his parents sat him down with his sister and told him about their separation. It was completely shocking. In Ross’ eyes his parents were the pinnacle of a relationship, they cared for each other, and never fought. It was truly hard to explain, to a child as young as he was, that they had simply fallen out of love.

The fireworks show had been a closer on their relationship, and they parted ways happy people. It was only after, when Ross’ father became distant and his mother stressed from her constant work, that they started to regard each other bitterly.

Ross had always thought of fireworks as having a strong connection with family. Pulling up in Tesco car park, Ross saw Duncan laughing as Sips pushed Sjin around in a trolley, Sjin gripping on for his life. Family has a lot of different forms, Ross thought.

“Guys!” Smith yelled, jumping out of the car as soon as it stopped. “Stop fucking around, last thing we want is to be banned from bloody Tesco.”

“Smithy!” Sips replied gleefully, giving Sjin a hard shove in Smith’s direction as he did, letting go of the trolley to raise his arms in happiness.

Sjin gave a yelp as he sailed towards Smith, who artfully dodged and allowed the trolley to crash into a nearby lamppost. Crash may have been an exaggeration, it was more of a small bump, but Sjin dramatically fell out all the same.

“Come on guys.” Smith sighed. Ross got out of the car and waved goodbye to Gerard. He turned to see Smith helping Sjin off the ground. The boy was complaining about his ‘sore arse’ and Smith made some tasteless joke that Ross didn’t quite catch, but he saw Sjin’s reaction and laughed at the look of disgust with a touch of blush.

“Is Lewis in there?” Ross asked Duncan.

“Yeah,” he replied, “we should make a move now that you’re here, don’t wanna look suspicious.”

Ross nodded in agreement, and the five started to amble towards the park, it was basically a big field with a small playpark in one of the corners, and a football pitch past it. But it was well maintained and in the centre of town, and as such was named the local park. The far end stretched back away from the street and sloped down to a small river, small enough to not be fenced off, but big enough that you couldn’t jump across. Past that was a small woodland area, right of which was the mudjumps, the place Smith, Kim and Parv liked to hang out. After the woodland, a large hill rose. It was an unused field, as the shape and soil quality meant it was no good for planting or livestock, but it overlooked the park and the river, and as such was their destination for the evening.

The walk to the park was a short one along the highstreet, which was already bustling with life. Families, other teens, young kids, it seemed everyone was out tonight. The town they lived in was fairly large, and was surrounded by lots of small villages. As such, events here brought in a lot of people from the area around, making the town busier than it was ever designed to be.

They knew the park itself would be packed, and Ross observed the surging crowd from the entrance, where they would be meeting Lewis and the rest of the gang. The park was filled with small stalls selling local food. Burgers, chinese, indian, pizza, there was loads of choice and it all smelled delicious. Ross convinced Smith to share a freshly cooked pepperoni with him while they waited, sitting on one of the many benches surrounding the outside of the area. Lights from a carousel that had set up in one of the corners of the park illuminated the area.

It didn’t take long for Lewis to arrive with Simon, carrying a lot of beer and cider with them. Lewis kept it in his backpack so not to arouse suspicion, there was a few of the local police roaming around, making sure no one got too rowdy. There was a beer tent set up near the far side of the park, and from the looks of it they were going to make a big profit tonight.

“Lets vamoose.” Lewis said, ushering the gang towards their spot, if they didn’t hurry, they might miss the show.

They made their way down the backtrack, which was a dirt track that ran down the side of the park, it was mainly used by dog walkers as it peeled off left to an orchard and several more fields. But they made their way through a small gap in the bushes few knew about, and into the woodlands. From there it was a short walk and a panting climb up the hill to their spot, where Kim, Parv and Hannah were waiting. They had spread out a couple of picnic blankets as the grass was damp, and had a small speaker playing something Ross didn’t recognise.

Alex instantly went over to his friends and greeted them, sitting down and lighting a cigarette with Parv. Ross sat with Lewis, who handed him a cider.

“So,” Lewis said, opening a beer, “have you seen the parade before?”

Ross shook his head, “we always went up to London to watch it there, or we didn’t go.”

“Fair.” Lewis nodded. “It’s pretty cool, they parade from the end of town into the park, and then light the bonfire and the fireworks go off.”

Ross knew most of the tradition. He didn’t know if it was an English thing, or it was just this area of the country, but the parade was quite a spectacular thing, peppered with legend and history. The parade usually dressed in all black, in these sort of weird black robes, their faces painted jet black. They wore big black hats, with long pheasant feathers attached to them. They held what could only be described as medieval torches, which were lit at the start of the parade, and thrown on the bonfire at the end. The parade would, stomp, clap, chant and drum their way through town. Each fireworks society from the local area would have their own banner, and the parade would be peppered with dancers and musicians too. Ross had even heard rumour of a giant mechanical dragon float, that moved and breathed fire.

Not everyone liked the tradition, as they made a lot of noise, and fire was always dangerous. The parade would shout and scream at the crowd, and throw poppers and firecrackers on the ground, creating loud explosions. Most people saw it as a bit of rowdy fun, but some thought it distasteful.

In any case, Ross was kind of glad they were watching from a distance, as he wasn't particularly a fan of crowds.

“Here they come.” Lewis nodded, and Ross stood up to get a better view.

He could hear the chanting and drumming from here, and watched as maybe a hundred lit torches paraded into the park. Each member of the convoy went up to the bonfire and lobbed their torch into it, and the gang around Ross whooped and cheered as the blaze sprung to life. The pile of wood was huge, perhaps the size of three cars on top of each other, and as the fire ate and grew, Ross could swear he could feel the heat.

“Pretty fucking cool.” Parv said.

“Shut up you little pyro.” Kim teased, and Parv shoved her lightly.

Ross watched the exchange and Smith caught his eye from next to Parv. The ginger beckoned to him, and Ross smiled and moved to sit next to him.

“Parv’s right,” Smith said. “It’s pretty cool.”

Parv blew a raspberry at Kim, and she shushed him.

“It’s beautiful.” Ross said, bringing his knees up to lean forward and rest his head on them.

“The fireworks haven’t even started yet.” Smith said, observing Ross with a smile. The boy simply shrugged, being completely content.

They kept chatting and drinking. The parade lasted for about an hour and a half, so they killed time. Being teenagers who weren’t yet quite used to casual drinking, they drank quite a lot quite quickly, and by the time the actual fireworks show was about to begin, Ross found himself very happily buzzed.

“Hey.” Smith said, nudging him with his shoulder.

“What?” Ross asked, attempting to raise an eyebrow.

“I need to pee.”

“... And? Can‘t you handle yourself?”

“Come make sure I don’t fall down a ditch and break both legs or something.”

“Shows about to start!”

“Come on, if I get lost on the way back and eaten by wolves it'll be your fault.”

“Alright.” Ross sighed. “Hurry up then.”

“Thanks mate.” Alex grinned, slapping him on the shoulder. Ross rolled his eyes.

Smith lead them over to the corner of the field, which was lined by a fence and a row of woodland. They went over to a bit where the fence had collapsed in, and climbed into the woods. Smith vanished behind a tree to relieve himself, and Ross found an old tree stump to sit on, it was large and must have been from an oak or something bigger.

Playing with a twig he found on the ground, Ross was alerted to the sounds of pops and bangs, and looked up to see splashes of colour across the sky.

“Smith!” He yelled. “We’re missing it!”

It was damn near entrancing, the way the bursts of light snaked their way across the sky, and vanished into tiny specks of dust. Simple moments of light and sound, exploding for a few seconds into vibrant shades of red, blue, green, yellow, purple and brilliant whites. Ross couldn't look away, and he almost missed Smith appearing back next to him.

“I’m not missing anything.” Alex said, sitting down next to Ross.

He didn’t reply, too focused on the show. He didn’t want to miss a moment. It was so beautiful and so fleeting, he felt it was somehow personal. No one else would ever see this sight from here again. Only him and Alex, stuck in this moment in time together. Their moment.

And it was in that exact moment, that Ross felt a warmth over his hand. In that moment that was somehow eternal, yet Ross feared would only last a few seconds, Alex placed his hand over Ross’. Confused, Ross looked down, and saw that he was automatically turning his hand and lacing their fingers together. His heart started pounding, hard and fast as a car engine, revving up to start a race. Ross was frozen, pulse going crazy and heat rushing to his face, he felt Alex squeeze his hand.

With the night sky above them, it’s usual darkness seemed warming, freckled with stars and a bright moon. Ross turned to look at Alex, and they met eyes. The moment almost froze, as Ross saw every colour he had ever had the pleasure of laying eyes on illuminate Alex’s face. The other boy gave a shy smile.

Colours exploded around them, as if the whole world was celebrating. Ross gingerly leant forwards, and closed his eyes in a silent invitation. As their lips met, Ross’ whole body lost all of it’s tension in a sigh of ‘finally’. The kiss lasted a few sweet seconds, when Ross opened his eyes again and saw Alex’s face so close to his, it was like the whole spectrum increased in vibrance, and Ross finally saw colours in their full glory.

He grinned, the stupidest, happiest, widest grin he had ever produced, and Alex chuckled lightly.

They watched the rest of the fireworks together. Ross leaning his head on Alex’s shoulder, Alex’s arm around Ross, pulling him in. There was nothing to break that moment, their moment. And they were both, truly happy.

But the moment had to end.