Imitation of Life
By: Lady DeathAngel
Disclaimer: not mine, not profiting, 'nuff said.
Warnings: language, slash and femme-slash.
A/N: Okay, so this thing finally started writing itself. Granted, the next chapter will probably be a little while in coming since this inspiration comes in sporadic spurts. Um, if you've read anything else of mine please note that I am still doing a self-beta job, so be gentle with me please. Oh, this is, of course, a Zack/Freddy story with eventual hints of Katie/Summer, possibly one-sided. Um, it's their senior year just so you know. There will be more backstory next chapter, so don't worry about the past being explained right away. I'll get to it. Um, what else . . . oh if I made any mistakes that are glaring and must be fixed A.S.A.P. please email me or leave me a review to let me know. Or both. You know, I'm not picky. . . Oh, and FTP stands for Fuck the Planet, my future band. I needed a break between scenes and only letters show up, so it's a shameless plug. Anyway, on to my very firstest School of Rock fic ever! Please read, enjoy and review.
Katie was busy sketching in Horace Green Highschool's expensive courtyard. It was gorgeous, she would concede that. That was why she was sitting underneath a large tree drawing the various flowers and couples surrounding her. But the fact was that the headmaster had pulled a few strings that involved stealing money from financial aid to have it built. Summer, after she found out, had been livid. Lawrence, on the other hand, had said it was very atmospheric and provided a nice, quiet place to study. And make out with his girlfriend, Freddy had pointed out.
Katie was torn somewhere in the middle of being angry and appreciative and settled for staying angry yet appreciative. She was always out there sketching something but was seldom bothered. Still, if someone were going to interrupt her it would be Freddy Jones. So when his spiked blonde head appeared out of nowhere in front of hers upside down, she wasn't too shocked.
"You'll get in trouble of Meritz sees you climbing the tree again," she said. "And you're in my way, so move."
"I need your help," he said, swinging down to sit in front of her.
She huffed but set her sketchbook down and lifted an eyebrow.
"What is it this time?" she asked.
He picked up her sketchbook and flipped through it.
"Damn," he said, holding one particular drawing out in front of him and turning it over and over in his hands. "You're really good. But are you sure this is appropriate for school?"
She snatched it away, the sketch in question being a study in anatomy. Female anatomy.
"What do you need help with, Jones?"
"Oh, right." He frowned. "I don't know who to draw."
She didn't have to ask what he was talking about. They were in the same art class and he was always asking her what his subject should be. She couldn't figure out why he'd even picked an art elective, and she was always asking him about it since he seemed to hate it so much. He just shrugged and said that he refused to take another language elective, he hated gym, drama wasn't his thing and he could only have two music electives.
"Besides, I don't suck at it."
Which was true enough. Freddy was actually really good. He had a nice eye for things. Katie hadn't expected it since he was always moving, drumming his fingers on tables and jiggling his foot in a very distracting manner. He just didn't seem like the type to observe things. But he did, somehow. In his own way. And she had to admit she was jealous. He didn't even have to try. He could pull a painting or a still-life sketch out of his ass and it was up on a wall in the art wing for a week.
He always did give her credit, though, since she was always picking his subjects for him.
"Just pick someone, Freddy. It's not that big a deal."
He groaned.
"But it is. Our final is in six weeks and my parents have been riding my back all semester about getting straight A's if I want to choose my own college and this is important."
Katie laughed.
"You'll be fine. You've gotten an A on everything you've turned in."
"But I've bombed every test we've taken." He groaned again. "I hate art theory. What's the point?"
"It helps some people."
"I don't wanna be fucking Monet, though. I wanna be Freddy Jones. Why do I have to know what the hell impressionism is for that?"
"You picked the class," she pointed out.
He made a face.
"Yeah. Why couldn't we have cool electives? I could be fixing a car for my final or making a cake."
She made a face as well.
"Because, we're a college prep school. We're above such menial classes."
"We've been prepping for college since pre-school. I know what menial means. I am so not normal. I want to cook."
He glared at her when she laughed.
"You are so random, Freddy Jones," she said.
He rolled his eyes.
"So?"
"So what?" she asked. "I've got some sketches to finish so you'd better get out of my way."
"So what? So who am I gonna do for my project?"
"You'll find someone."
"But it's gotta be perfect. I'm gonna use it for my final so it has to be just right. Don't you understand? Katie!"
She snickered.
"You'll find someone," she repeated.
"Who are you doing?" he asked, changing gears and laying on his back so that she could go back to sketching.
"I'm not sure yet. I'm thinking of asking Summer."
His lip curled and he looked over at her.
"Are you serious?"
"Yeah. I've been sketching her for years, but this time it'll be official."
"You're such a dyke," he said with an affectionate pat on her knee. "But I love you anyway."
"I'm still not picking your subject for you," she told him. "Despite your flattery."
"Why not?" he whined.
"Because, this time you're gonna do it all by yourself. Like a big boy would."
"Yeah, yeah."
He stood up, dusting the seat of his pants off.
"Fine, I'll find someone inspiring. You coming to Dewey's later?"
She nodded absently.
"Yeah. I'll be there before practice so don't start without me."
"Whatever. See ya later, Muncher."
She stuck her tongue out at him and turned back to her sketchbook.
FTP
Freddy walked out of the school building paying little attention to where he was going. He was on a mission. He had to find an art subject. If Katie would have just picked someone he wouldn't have this problem. But she'd said no and now he was looking critically at every guy he walked across.
"I must look like such a fuckin' fag," he muttered, averting his gaze quickly when a member of the soccer team caught him staring.
"Since when do you not?" Billy asked, coming up behind him with a wide smirk.
"Go away," he said. "I'm busy."
"Doing what? Because all I've seen is you checking out every guy from the geeks to the jocks and that is just not acceptable."
"Why not?" he asked.
"Because you give gay men everywhere a bad name with your roving eye. So obvious."
He sighed, pulling his backpack further up on his shoulder.
"I don't care about being obvious. I'm looking for an art subject."
"That's a new one," he mused. "I'll have to use that this weekend. 'Looking for an art subject.' Okay, mentally noted."
Freddy gave him a disgusted look.
"It's not a line," he said, rolling his eyes. "Our latest art assignment is a portrait. Only, I'm going to incorporate this into my art final so it's more important than just drawing some random face. My grade is depending on this. I fucking hate art class."
"Ah yes, art class. Not that they truly appreciate anything a true artist has to give," Billy said, finally on the right mental track. Somewhat.
Freddy snorted.
"Covering people in glue and then throwing sequins at 'em isn't exactly art, Fancy Pants."
He rolled his eyes.
"Hello? None of you would look good on stage if it weren't for me. And what about him?"
He glanced over at the guy Billy was suggesting and shook his head.
"Too boring," he announced before looking around again. "Too dumb. Too depressed. Too pale. Too skinny. Too muscular."
"What does that matter?" Billy asked. "I mean, you aren't drawing them topless are you?"
Freddy shrugged.
"I dunno. Whatever pops."
"You are sneaky," he said with a grin. "You make gay men everywhere proud."
FTP
"No one was good enough," Freddy announced as soon as Katie walked into the loft.
She laughed and he glared.
"You'll find someone," she said.
He frowned.
"You've got it good, Katie. Girls are so much easier to pick from than guys. Stupid rule, guys drawing guys and girls drawing girls."
"Can't get pregnant that way," Summer pointed out from where she was doing her calculus homework.
Katie and Freddy rolled their eyes and Billy chuckled.
"Like I'd want to have sex with a guy," she said with a small shudder.
"Cock is way better than pussy," Freddy added.
Summer threw her pen at his head.
"You're so crude!"
"But it's true. Billy agrees with me, don't you Billy?"
"Like you need to ask."
Just then Dewey burst into the loft.
"Sorry I'm late guys, had a bit of business to take care of," he said with his usual excited drawl. "But I'm here now, so let's rock!"
"Can't," Summer said, frowning at a problem she was working on.
"And why the hell not?"
"Zack's not here yet," Lawrence answered for her.
"And why the hell not?"
They all looked at each other and then shrugged.
"His dad had something important to tell him I think," Summer said. "At least, that's what he told me at school. Dammit! Why didn't any of you take this class? I need help."
"That is exactly why," Alicia said from where she and Tomika were braiding Marta's hair. "You can't even do it. Like shit we'd be able to."
Summer just grumbled, erasing at the paper furiously and grabbing her calculator from her bag. She punched in the numbers harder than she needed to, but she always did that when she did her calculus homework. Freddy thought it was amusing but had learned long ago not to laugh at her. She was bitchy enough when she was calm. Pissed off she scared even him.
"Sorry I'm late," Zack said, walking into the loft and shrugging off his messenger bag.
"Thank God," Summer moaned, standing up and straightening her skirt. "Everything all right?"
He shrugged.
"Yeah, it's fine. Wrote a new song though, if you guys wanna hear it."
"Let me see that," Dewey said, grabbing the slip of paper Zack was holding up.
He looked it over while the guitarist got comfortable. He stripped off the school's uniform jacket, tossing it on top of his bag. Walking over to his guitar he loosened his tie and rolled up his sleeves.
"Is it all right?" he asked, slinging the strap over his shoulder and doing a few warm-up cords and scales.
"All right? Of course it's all right. You're a genius, Mooneyham," He handed the song back. "Okay kiddies, battle stations. Posh Spice, stop sketching. Alicia, Marta, Tomika does this look like the set of Barbershop to you? Spazzy McGee, you can stop drumming on your legs and get your ass over to the real thing. Lawrence, carry on."
They all moved to their instruments and microphones, except for Lawrence who had been ready to play since he'd walked into the loft thirty minutes before. Dewey walked over to Summer.
"Miss Manager, got a situation you'll need to help me with. The rest of you, keep up the good work."
They watched Summer make her way over to Dewey and they started talking over official band stuff. Which meant Summer would either come back happy and tell them they were the future of the rock and roll industry or she'd come back and tell them they sucked like whores and not to come back the next day. With that happy thought, they all turned back to what they were supposed to be doing.
"So?" Alicia said, one eyebrow raised at Zack.
"So . . . what?" he asked hesitantly.
Everyone was staring at him and he colored slightly.
"So, play us our new song," she answered with a smirk.
"Oh. Right. Okay."
As he prepped to play, Freddy mused that he never seemed that willing to share his work. Well, he was okay playing it around other people but the minute it was going to be taken seriously he got shy. Which was endearing in a way, and just another side to Zack Mooneyham who was one of the most unique guys he'd ever met. So shy sometimes, but definitely witty. He could trade words with the best of them. And he was a rock-god in his own right. Whatever shit was going on elsewhere just ceased to exist the minute he started playing. He was just Zack and he loved what he was doing and he was good at what he was doing and he knew he was good and he wanted you to know he was good.
"You can't put it off all day," Marta told him. "So just play it already."
He rolled his eyes at her.
"Patience is a virtue," he shot back. "Okay, here goes."
The opening strains were fast paced and led into a verse that was all hard notes. There was a bridge into the chorus that slowed to an almost grating pace and the chorus itself was a combination of it all, fast and hard before slowing at the last four count before diving right back into the opening strains in straight into another verse. The whole time, Zack was in full concentration mode.
It always entailed him playing as if no one was watching, eyes closed, lips slightly parted. He was in his own world and, Freddy realized, he was beautiful. Not conventionally so. Not like some blonde dickhead being payed more money than they knew what to do with to indulge women everywhere in some cheap fantasy. Not that Freddy didn't appreciate said blonde dickheads; they could be very appealing. Zack was also not a dime-a-dozen model in a GAP add with his pants unbuttoned and half naked and done up in some black-and-white picture looking fabulous and aroused in sub-zero temperatures. Again, appreciated, but not real. Not even close.
Zack was real, but there was more to it then just that. He couldn't put his finger on it, and before he could even start to put it into words Zack was done and everyone was applauding. He blushed and rolled his eyes again.
"Thanks," he said, folding up the piece of paper and tucking it into his pocket. "I haven't written any lyrics yet so it's not completely finished."
"Well it's awesome," Alicia assured him. "But the three of us are bored and want to sing to something, so let's get to it."
"What do you guys wanna play?" he asked, turning to Freddy, Lawrence and Katie.
They all shrugged. Well, Lawrence and Katie shrugged. Freddy was still a bit out of it and so his non-answer was as good as a shrug.
"I want to hear 'Red Ceiling'," Billy said from where he was flipping through a fashion magazine.
"I didn't know we were taking requests," Lawrence said.
Freddy smirked at Billy's reaction. The brunette looked at Lawrence for a moment, not sure if he was serious or being sarcastic and by the time he'd thought up a proper reply, Katie was playing the song's intro.
For the first verse and chorus Freddy had nothing to do but sit and watch. Usually he watched Katie because if he stared long enough she'd feel his eyes on her and glare at him or smile. Today he kept his eyes on Zack. The guitarist, who had taken over the job of vocalist when Dewey had officially turned the band over to them, closed his eyes when he sang the opening line. Freddy never noticed it before, but thinking back quickly, Zack always did that. When they were doing a set and that song started he'd close his eyes for that first line and open them up when it was finished and he did that like religion. It was the same with how he always played a song for the first time in full-concentration mode.
Freddy was suddenly fascinated and even when the girls joined on the chorus and he prepped to enter the song, he stared at Zack. There was something gorgeous about him that had as much to do with his sex appeal as it did with that intangible Zackness that had him so captivated out of fuckin' nowhere. And he knew, as the practice progressed, that this was what he wanted to capture on paper. This was what he wanted to spend hours sketching and painting, poring over the littlest details because he was perfect and this had to be perfect.
When practice ended, Summer was on her newest cellphone and sounded like she was haggling. No one dared to bother her when she was haggling, though she didn't mind it as much if Katie or Zack did it. Still, they were going back and forth like crazy so everyone came to a silent and unanimous decision to leave her be. They asked Dewey what it was all about since he was sure to know, but he was keeping whatever it was under wraps.
"We're taking care of it," was all he told them.
So they all filed out with nothing else to talk about and homework to get to. Zack was one of the first out, calling goodbye to everyone and rolling his eyes at the compliments of his new song. Lawrence and Marta followed him out, Tomika and Alicia on their heels. Billy showed Dewey some ideas for new outfits and then left in a huff about how utterly unappreciated he was. Summer waved off Katie who was going to stay behind to talk to her, mouthing 'call me' and then saying something to the person on the other line about being stubborn. Freddy waited for Katie to pack up her sketchbook and pencils and then they left together.
"You know," she said conversationally. "You are the most obvious person I've ever met."
He frowned.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
She snorted.
"Please! You practically burned a hole through Zack's clothes with your eyes during practice."
"Did not!"
"Did so!" She shook her head. "Understandable. I'd do him. You know, if circumstances were different."
He smirked.
"You mean, if you weren't a lesbian?"
She stuck her tongue out at him.
"Anyway, I'll admit that it was definitely new. You've never stared at him like that before."
Which sent Freddy into a dissertation on how perfect he was for the art project.
"I've got the idea in my head. I can see it and all I need is him. He'll make it work. He'll make it perfect."
She shrugged.
"So ask him. He probably won't mind."
Freddy sighed.
"Yeah . . . I will. I just . . . you think he'll think I'm weird?"
She gasped and placed a hand over her heart.
"Freddy Jones? Weird? Perish the thought!"
He glared at her and they got into a small spat about how weird he was, which inevitably ended with his concession. Because, really, she had a point.
He left her at her door, teasing her about something or another and promising to be online so she could recount every single 'um' and 'uh' during her phone conversation with Summer. He got home, noticed his parents weren't around which was a shock, and made his way up to his room. He toyed with the idea of doing homework while he logged online. But really, what kind of teenage guy would he be if he went home and started his homework right away? Instead he grabbed his sketchpad and a mechanical pencil and twenty minutes later found Zack Mooneyham's face staring back at him.
Perfect, he thought.