"Math is the fucking devil."
Ryos looked up from his table at the community center, marking his place in his book with his finger. Thea stood above him, giving him a defeated look. He patted the bench next to him and she flopped down, dropping her arms to the table and sighing dramatically.
"Bad day?" he asked, tucking his book into his backpack. The sounds of other kids playing basketball echoed through the glass behind him.
"AP exams are in like, a week, and I fucking hate trigonometry," Thea grumbled. She pushed her glasses up on her nose and fixed one of the barrettes in her bright blue hair. She was wearing leopard-print leggings under a black miniskirt today, paired with combat boots that came halfway up her calves.
"Can't Nadev help you?" Ryos asked. "You know I'm shit at math." Thea sighed, tugging her blazer closer around her.
"He's got family dinner tonight," she replied. "You know how his Nanni is." Ryos hummed in agreement.
"Well, I'm not much help," he said apologetically.
"You waiting for Gajeel?" Thea asked, turning on the bench to face him. Ryos nodded.
"He started that program today and he's got a meeting with his parole officer after that, so he's picking me up late." Ryos spoke quietly, glancing over his shoulder even though nobody was around. He was already the 'weird kid,' people didn't need to know about his brother's juvie time on top of that.
"Well, wanna come waste time at the skate park?" Thea asked. She had pulled her phone out of her pocket and was rapidly texting someone with one hand. The number of charms hanging from her phone was unreasonable. "Maddy's there. And you can check out your crush." Thea raised an eyebrow at Ryos, who felt his cheeks turn pink.
"He's not my crush," Ryos mumbled half-heartedly, but when Thea stood up and grabbed his hand, Ryos let her pull him to his feet. The skate park was on the other end of the community center, so they made their way through sweaty teens and past the pool. "You know I'm terrible at skateboarding," Ryos protested.
"So's Maddy," Thea said, dodging a group of elementary-school kids. The skate park was a popular spot for most of the local teens and as they approached, Ryos could hear shouting and cheering. "But she tries anyways."
"She broke her arm last month," Ryos reminded her. It had been a spectacular fall that had ended up with Maddy in a cast, and with scrapes and a bruise down the side of her face. She had taken it in stride, though, and was already back at it.
They finally made it through the throng of teens, pushing the door of the skate park open. Ryos wrinkled his nose at the smell of sweat and body spray. A group of familiar kids from another school were there, showing off for a group of bored-looking girls. Ryos' eyes skipped over them, lingering on a boy his age with bleached blonde hair and an eyebrow piercing. He wore a hoodie with the sleeves ripped off, and tight, dark-washed jeans that hugged him in all the right places.
"Checking out Sting?" Maddy teased, elbowing Ryos as she came up to them. He shied away from the contact and she dipped her head apologetically. "You ever gonna talk to him?" Ryos shrugged, feeling his cheeks flush. He'd been watching Sting since school started, but the idea of actually speaking to him made Ryos feel sick. "I still haven't figured out which way he swings," Maddy added. "Dibs if he's bi."
"Oh my god, Maddy," Ryos sighed, exasperated. He glanced at her arm – still in its cast – then at the green-and-blue skateboard that she held in the other hand. "Are you seriously skateboarding with a broken arm?"
"Nope, you're skateboarding today," she said, grinning. Ryos groaned, shrugging off his backpack. He could protest, but Maddy was persuasive and if Ryos was being honest, he didn't mind. At his old school, he hadn't had any friends. Now that he was here at the new school, he was slowly getting used to the idea of letting people into his life. Not too far in, though.
"All right, what am I doing?" he asked with mock resignation, grabbing the skateboard and heading into the park. There was nobody in their corner, which made him feel somewhat better about his imminent falls.
Maddy managed to help Ryos with his posture without touching him – difficult, but she respected his reluctance. It wasn't that he refused to touch people, he just preferred not to. After years of other kids punching and pushing and pinching and threatening, it was difficult to accept any kind of touch from anyone. Maddy was kind, not asking why he pulled away but instead just rolling with it.
"Okay, just... bail if you think you're gonna crash," Maddy said half an hour later, giving Ryos a thumbs-up from the bottom of the rise. They had moved closer to the center of the park, since most of the kids had headed home. Ryos frowned at Maddy hesitantly, and the drop felt a lot higher than it actually was.
"C'mon, you can do it!" Thea shouted. She waved at Ryos from her spot against the wall and he returned it half-heartedly.
"All right..." Ryos muttered under his breath, setting his feet on the board and leaning forward. As soon as he started moving, he knew he was going to fall. Suddenly there was a shout ahead of him and he looked up quickly, losing his footing entirely. The board went flying and he crashed into something soft and warm.
"Ow, fuck," the something complained, and Ryos sat up immediately, wincing at a sharp pain in his ankle. "What the actual fuck, man, that was..."
Oh shit, it was Sting. Ryos was sitting on Sting's legs, and both of them were propped up against the wall of the skate park. Blood trickled from Sting's nose and his palms were scraped, and his brows were drawn in irritation until he met Ryos' eyes.
"Shit, I'm so sorry, I'm so useless on a skateboard," Ryos rambled, trying to scramble backwards. Sting reached out and grabbed Ryos' wrist, irritation replaced by a small smile. His eyes were so blue, and Ryos couldn't stop staring.
"Hey, it's okay man," Sting said. "I'll live. You okay?" Sting ran his eyes over Ryos, leaving Ryos with a warm flush in his cheeks. "Are you hurt?"
"Oh, I'm, uh... y-yeah, I j-just, um, my ankle, b-but I'm..."
Sting gave him a grin, pushing himself to his feet and reaching down to take Ryos' hand. Ryos stumbled upwards, groaning when he put pressure on his foot.
"You probably sprained it," Sting said, pulling Ryos' arm over his shoulder and helping him to the edge of the park. Ryos' skin tingled and flushed under Sting's touch, but it wasn't unpleasant. He could see Thea and Maddy from the corner of his eye, both of them giving him a thumbs-up and keeping their distance.
"I'm, um… I'm sorry, I'm such a klutz," Ryos said quietly, letting Sting help him up. "I didn't mean—"
"Hey, I said it was okay," Sting replied, waving off one of his friends who was yelling at him from the other side of the park. He wiped the blood from his face with the back of his hand, grinning at Ryos. A small bruise was already forming on his cheekbone. "See? Let's take a look at your foot."
Sting reached down to take Ryos' shoe off and Ryos pulled away out of instinct. Sting raised his eyebrow.
"S-sorry," Ryos said, face flushing red and hot. He didn't need to make Sting think he was weird five minutes after talking to him – he could do this. He swallowed, digging his nails into his palm and stretching out his foot again.
Sting slid his shoe gently off his foot and Ryos winced as pain lanced up his ankle. Gentle hands moved his foot from side to side and Sting glanced up at Ryos, gauging his reaction.
"Well, the good news is that it's not broken," Sting said eventually, settling down next to Ryos on the lip of the park. A few kids were still skateboarding at the other end, but Sting and Ryos were mostly alone. Ryos noted that Thea and Maddy had left as well, and his backpack was propped up in the corner where they had been sitting. "The bad news is that it's sprained and is probably gonna hurt like a bitch for a bit."
"H-how do you know so much about sprained ankles?" Ryos asked, trying to ignore the fact that their hands were only inches apart.
"I play a lot of sports," Sting replied, scratching at his elbow. His arms were muscled and tanned, and dusted with thin, fine hair. "I've been scraped up a lot. You don't need to go to the doctor or anything, just ice it and take some painkillers. You got a ride home?"
"Oh. In a few hours." Ryos scratched the back of his neck. "My, uh, brother is at... work today. He was gonna come in a bit." Sting looked at him contemplatively.
"Would you... I mean, my dad is, uh, picking me up soon. Wanna come over to my place?" Sting looked at the ground and swung his feet over the edge of the park. "I promise I'm not a serial killer, but I do have Advil and ice packs." Ryos snorted. "Maybe your brother can pick you up there?"
Ryos hesitated. He'd spent third block in Miss Palmer's class without his binder on, talking poetry with her. Gajeel had helped him set up his schedule so he could do that most days, especially the ones where he had to walk home. So he didn't need to get his binder off right away, and Sting was so cute with his wild hair and his blue eyes and his pierced ear.
"Y-yeah," Ryos said after a moment, giving Sting a half-smile. "Thank you. I'm Ryos, by the way."
"I, um, I know," Sting said, cheeks flushing pink. Ryos looked at him, surprised. "I kinda asked Maddy about you."
"Oh." Ryos blinked, feeling his stomach twisting in a way that wasn't entirely unpleasant. "Why?"
"Seriously?" Sting turned to face Ryos, tilting his head to the side with puzzlement written all over his face. "Have you, I dunno, looked in a mirror?" Ryos blinked. "Oh my god you're fucking gorgeous and you don't even... you're ridiculous." Ryos felt like he couldn't breathe.
"That's... not normally how people describe me," he said quietly, mentally smacking himself for not just saying, thanks you're super hot too. He reached up to touch his braid self-consciously. It was usually the first thing that people picked on him for, and several people had suggested cutting it to look "more normal." But it reminded Ryos of his mom – he could remember her braiding it for him, singing to him softly in a language he'd long forgotten.
"I like your hair," Sting said shyly. "And people are idiots."
"Mhmm," Ryos agreed, trying to keep his internal freak-out from showing on his face. "I, um, I need my bag."
"I've got it," Sting assured him, hopping up and running over. Thea had left Ryos' phone balanced on top of it, and Sting handed it to Ryos as he returned. "Just so you know, my dad is kinda... a lot. He's big and loud and asks a lot of questions." Sting glanced up as an enormous white SUV pulled up outside. "You ready? I'll help you, okay?"
Ryos nodded, letting Sting take his hand and pull him to his feet. Sting picked up Ryos' backpack, then wrapped Ryos' arm around his neck. Ryos swallowed – Sting smelled like deodorant and dirt and sweat, and his hand was warm around Ryos' waist.
Sting helped Ryos take a step forward, and Ryos hissed in pain when he put pressure on his foot.
"I'm never skateboarding again," he grumbled, glancing up at Sting's cheek. "That's gonna bruise for a while." Sting laughed, shaking his head as he nudged Ryos forward. Ryos tensed a little, but exhaled softly as they started limping out the skate park and towards the SUV.
"It'll make for a good story one day," Sting said as the driver's door to the SUV opened. Then he tensed and turned to Ryos. "Oh gods, I forgot, my real name is—"
"Eugene! What happened here?" A tall, broad-shouldered man with a thick shock of white hair stepped out of the car, brow furrowed in concern. "Were you mugged? Did someone attack you? Should we call the police?"
"Dad, chill," Sting muttered. Ryos could practically feel Sting rolling his eyes. "This is my friend, Ryos. He crashed into me on his skateboard, we're fine, he just sprained his ankle."
"How many times have I told you this park isn't safe," Sting's dad tutted. He gave Ryos a wide, friendly smile and reached out his hand. "Nice to meet you Ryos, I'm Wes. Are you all right?"
Ryos shook Wes' hand timidly, trying to keep a firm grip, but Wes' hand was enormous. Wes opened the back door of the car and Ryos let Sting help him hop up into the back seat.
"Nice to m-meet you too, sir," Ryos said. "I'm fine, it's just my ankle, it's really, it's nothing."
"No need for sirs," Wes said kindly, closing the door and sliding back into the front seat. Sting ran around the other side and jumped into the back with Ryos. "Just Wes is fine. We'll get you some ice when we get home, hopefully get that swelling down. Eugene, you might need an ice pack on your face as well. Gotta look good for those team photos, right?"
"Mhmm," Sting replied distractedly, mouthing sorry to Ryos, who shrugged. This didn't seem so bad. His dad had never been so... present.
"Is it okay if Ryos stays for supper, dad?" Sting asked. Wes pulled away from the curb and headed north of the school, towards Willowglen. Ryos swallowed. That was where the rich people lived.
"Of course!" Wes said, glancing at them in the rear-view mirror. "Ryos, do you parents mind?"
"Um, I have to text my brother, he's at work," Ryos said, neatly dodging the subject of his parents. "But he'll be able to pick me up later." Sting gave Ryos a strange look and Ryos ignored it, reaching into his pocket for his phone.
Hey, I'm going to a friend's house for supper, he typed out. Can you pick me up there instead of the community center? Willowglen. I'll text you the address.
"Not a problem," Wes said, turning the radio station to something poppy and generic. "Lilian always makes more than enough and I'm happy to see Eugene making friends. He can be such a difficult boy to get along with."
"Daaaaad," Sting groaned, flopping back in his seat and turning to Ryos. "I wish they had those taxi dividers in here so we could just close him off." Ryos smiled a little at that, shoving his phone back into his pocket.
The rest of the drive was uneventful – Wes asking Sting about his day, Sting giving one-word answers. It almost made Ryos miss his dad. Almost.
When they reached Sting's house, Ryos had to work hard to keep his jaw from dropping. It was enormous – bigger than the entire apartment block where Gajeel and Ryos lived. Sting didn't even blink as he helped Ryos out of the car, up the insanely long driveway, and in the front door.
"Mom, I'm home!" Sting yelled. He dropped their backpacks on the floor, kicking his shoes off and then turning to Ryos. Ryos' face burned as Sting knelt in front of him, tugging his shoes off and adding them to the pile. "You doin' okay?"
"Y-yeah," Ryos said, letting Sting wrap an arm around his waist again. Gods, this was the most anyone had touched him in years. What the hell was going on? Normally he hated this.
"Liar," Sting replied, leading Ryos past the staircase and into a living room. He settled Ryos onto the couch, turning him sideways and shoving a cushion under his throbbing ankle. "I'm gonna grab some ice and some painkillers. I'll be right back, okay?"
Ryos felt a thrum of panic run through him as Sting left the room, but he took the time to look around. It wasn't as fancy as he'd been expecting – no frills or intricate embroidery, just dark wood furniture and a glass-topped coffee table.
A buzzing from Ryos' pocket made him jump, and he opened it to see a text from Gajeel.
yeah but im gona be late like 8:30 somethin came up.
Ryos groaned, dropping his phone on his chest and covering his eyes. When he heard Sting's footsteps in the hall, he shoved his phone back into his pocket.
"Here." Sting made his way back into the room with an ice pack wrapped in a tea towel. He sat down on the couch and lifted up Ryos' ankle, wrapping the ice around it and settling it back neatly on his lap. Ryos swallowed, feeling a hot flush run up his chest. Sting handed him a glass of water and a couple of Advil, and Ryos swallowed them gratefully.
"Thanks," he said. Sting took the glass back and placed it on the coffee table, then glanced at the kitchen and hurriedly grabbed a coaster for it.
"My mom's a little crazy about the house being clean," he explained, grinning at Ryos. His smile made Ryos glad he was sitting down. "Anyway, so... yeah. This is my house." Sting looked shy, suddenly. "My, um... my real name is Eugene but I hate it, like, who's named Eugene? So I go by Sting." Ryos made a sympathetic face, thinking of his years of being someone else.
"I get it," he said quietly. He was still processing all the information from the afternoon. After months of watching Sting from a distance, Sting had not only spoken to Ryos, but called him gorgeous and invited him to his house. Everything felt sort of... surreal.
"So, um, you're in theatre club?" Sting asked, shifting awkwardly. His hand was still resting on Ryos' ankle, keeping the ice pack from falling off.
"Oh. Yeah." Ryos felt his cheeks flush. "D-did Maddy tell you that?" Sting didn't answer, just gave a short nod without making eye contact. "Yeah, it's... probably my favorite part of school. We're doing 'Footloose' this year. Do you like plays?"
"Not really," Sting admitted, and Ryos felt his heart sink a bit with disappointment. "But I'd, um... I'd watch one if you were in it."
Oh Jesus, the things that did to Ryos' heart. Was Sting flirting with him? Was he gay? He seemed pretty popular at his school, and from Ryos' experience, the gay kids weren't usually the popular ones. Was this just Sting's idea of being friendly?
"I, uh..." Ryos stammered, grabbing one of the couch cushions and pulling it to his chest. "Th-thank you?" Sting gave him a shy smile. "Do you... what. Do." God fucking damnit. "For fun, I mean."
"Oh! Well, I play soccer," Sting said, settling comfortably into the couch. "And baseball, and lacrosse. Lots of sports, I guess."
"Yeah, you look like you play sports," Ryos said without thinking before nearly groaning in embarrassment. Sting didn't seem to notice, though – he had stopped talking entirely and was gazing at the floor. Ryos frowned. "Hey, you okay?" Sting didn't respond; his eyes were dull and unfocused. "Sting?" Ryos reached out to touch Sting's shoulder and Sting startled, sitting up and glancing around in confusion.
"S-sorry," he said uncertainly, hand tightening over the ice pack. "Must have zoned out. Busy day." Ryos nodded, and an awkward silence fell over them.
"My, um... my brother said he's going to be late," Ryos said after a moment. He felt the tips of his ears burn at the admission, fearful of a barrage of questions from Sting. Instead Sting shrugged, then tilted his head as a voice came down the hall announcing that dinner was ready.
"That's cool," he said, helping Ryos stand. "We can play videogames or something." Then he draped Ryos' arm around his shoulders once more and grinned. "Now, how hungry are you?"
"What the fuck, Gajeel?" Ryos glared at his brother, who had the decency to look ashamed. The cut on the bridge of his nose wasn't deep, but the bruising under his eyes let Ryos know that it had been broken, and Gajeel had reset it himself. It wasn't the first time. "You were supposed to be at a program that stops you from doing shit like this!"
"I wasn—"
"I can't believe you were late because you got in a fight." Ryos sighed, throwing his backpack on the couch and running his hands over his face. "It's like you're the child here. In case you forgot, I'm fifteen."
"I know that," Gajeel growled, stalking into the kitchen and tugging open the fridge door. He stared at its contents for a moment – Ryos knew from this morning that it contained an apple, half a jug of milk and some likely expired yogurt – then slammed it shut and turned back to Ryos. "I'm sorry, okay?"
"Who punched you?" Ryos demanded, crossing his arms over his chest. "Was it drugs again?" Gajeel winced. "I fucking knew it, what the hell? You're gonna end up back in juvie and I'm gonna end up back in a group home!"
"I'm not gonna end up back in juvie," Gajeel grumbled, picking at his nails nervously. Ryos frowned when he realized that Gajeel had no marks on his own hands.
"You didn't hit back?" That was unlike him.
"It was that French kid," Gajeel said finally, leaning against the counter and sighing. "Lyon's brother."
"Gray?" Ryos asked in surprise. Gajeel nodded. Ryos had only vague memories of Gray. He'd always been cold and unfriendly, and had been the one who'd gotten Gajeel and his own brother, Lyon, arrested for selling drugs. "So he's in the program too?"
"Mmm. Sherry told me Lyon shot him. Nearly killed him too, and now he's in for twenty-five."
"Shit. That's messed up," Ryos said. He slumped down on the couch, wincing at the pain in his ankle. "I thought you hated him. Why didn't you hit him back?"
"Cause despite what you think, I'm not a complete moron," Gajeel said. "Look, another kid there... he had some stuff I could have sold. I shook him down for it and Gray stood up for him. I didn't wanna get into it, so I bailed, okay?"
"But why?" Ryos asked, exasperated. "Drugs is what got you in trouble in the first place. I don't wanna go back to a group home. I can't. They'd..." He trailed off, feeling his throat close up. He'd only been in the home for two months while Gajeel served his sentence, but it had been awful.
"We can't afford your meds this month," Gajeel said, voice nearly a whisper. Ryos stopped breathing. The testosterone? But... "I got barely enough for food and rent, and you've got that field trip comin' up—"
"Fuck the field trip," Ryos interrupted, waving his hands in the air. "That's... so not important. What happened to the money from the garage?" Gajeel had been helping out a friend and getting paid under the table, since nobody wanted to hire him with his criminal record.
"Jack decided to get back into meth," Gajeel said roughly. "I'm... fuck, I'm sorry. You deserve better than this."
Ryos felt like he'd been punched in the chest as he watched his twenty-one-year-old, tough-as-nails brother break down and start to cry. Gajeel covered his face with his hands, clearly embarrassed as his breath caught and his shoulders shook.
"D-don't... it's not your fault," Ryos said softly, standing up and limping over to his brother. He reached out a tentative hand, placing it on Gajeel's forearm. Gajeel didn't respond and Ryos sighed, leaning over and hugging him. "It's okay. We'll figure it out."
"I dunno what to do," Gajeel admitted, wrapping an arm around Ryos. "I don't wanna lose you."
"You're not gonna lose me," Ryos insisted. "Let me talk to Miss Gifford again." He groaned internally, picturing the sad, sympathetic eyes and the soft voice and the pity that oozed out of his school counsellor. "She can get emergency funding to cover the meds and..." He swallowed, hating his next words. "They're not a necessity. I can go off. And back on again later."
"No way," Gajeel growled, looking at Ryos intently. "I want you to be happy, and you're happier like this. I'm sorry I fucked up." He let go of Ryos and ran a hand through his wild hair. "Seeing Gray just... made me so mad. An' I know I was wrong, with the drugs an' shit, but he still pisses me off. But the shit with Lyon... I dunno. I could never hurt you like that."
"That's 'cause I could kick your ass," Ryos joked, shifting to keep pressure off his foot.
"So, who's this boy?" Gajeel asked, changing the subject and raising an eyebrow at Ryos, who felt his ears go red. "His house is pretty fancy."
Ryos hobbled to the fridge, taking out the apple and grabbing a paring knife. He sliced it in half and handed part to Gajeel, who took it and sighed.
"His name's Sting," Ryos said, moving back into the living room and settling back down on the couch. They didn't have a kitchen table, just the ratty sofa and a folding card table that they'd found in the back alley one day.
"What kinda name's Sting?" Gajeel scoffed, finishing his apple off in three bites. Ryos rolled his eyes.
"Like you're one to talk," he muttered. "And it's not his real name, but he prefers to go by Sting. Kinda like me." Gajeel looked chagrined and nodded. "Anyway, he goes to the Catholic school down the hill. We just happened to be at the skate park at the same time."
"Uh huh," Gajeel said. "And he just happened to invite you over to his house even though I've never heard of him before? You never go to your friend's houses. What's up?"
"Let it go, you're not my mom," Ryos growled, immediately regretting the words as Gajeel's face fell. "Fuck, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." Gajeel sighed, running a hand over his face.
"It's all right," he said after a moment. "You're right, I'm not. I'm just tryin' to do this right. So I don't fuck it up with my own kid, y'know?" Ryos nodded.
"How's Levy?" he asked hesitantly. He had nothing against Gajeel's girlfriend – she was incredibly sweet and kind-hearted. And also incredibly pregnant with Gajeel's kid, which meant she was moving in at the end of December.
"Good," Gajeel said, face softening. "We heard the baby's heartbeat again yesterday." Ryos smiled – he rarely saw this side of his brother. Gajeel looked up at Ryos, eyes serious. "I know you don't want her to—"
"I really don't want to talk about it," Ryos interrupted, shaking his head. They'd had this discussion a hundred times, in a hundred ways, and he was not getting into it tonight. "Do we have anything else in the cupboards?" Gajeel shook his head.
"Food bank's on Thursday," he said, voice tinged with embarrassment. Ryos shook his head, forcing himself to smile and act like it wasn't important. He was glad for the enormous meal he'd had at Sting's - it would tide him over until lunch tomorrow.
"Wanna watch something?" Ryos asked, gesturing to the laptop on the counter. Gajeel shrugged, picking it up and setting on the card table. "We have to finish that documentary."
Rogue sighed as the film started, sinking back into the couch. Being at Sting's had made it so very clear how little he and Gajeel had – he would be mortified if Sting saw their shitty apartment, their ratty couch, their bare living room, their empty fridge, their tiny bedrooms with the mattresses on the floor. Ryos couldn't fault Gajeel; he was trying as hard as he could, and even this was better than a group home. Being forced to change in front of other kids. Having people know his secret.
"Relax an' watch the damn show," Gajeel grumbled. "I can hear you grinding your teeth from here." Ryos huffed out a laugh, then turned his attention back to the laptop. Maybe if he paid enough attention to it, he could ignore the sinking feeling he had about talking to the counsellor tomorrow.