I know it has been FOREVER since I've posted/updated anything. I want to start this off with an apology to all of you who are waiting for updates on different stories. To be completely honest, I've been suffering from a writing slump for the past five or six months. I would be lying if I said this story below wasn't something short of a miracle because I haven't written much. I'm also going through a lot in my personal life and that has unfortunately hurt my creativity as well. My birthday is coming up (Gemini) and I don't even want to celebrate because I've been so down. I really hope this writer's block/stress will go away soon, but until then, I am going to try and see if I can get back on track. I've never done a story based on a prompt before, but I see it done all the time on ArchiveofOurOwn and wanted to give it a try! I got this prompt off OTPprompts on tumblr, and they have a lot of other great ones if you're going through a dry spell like I am!
So, for the ONE (LONG) - SHOT below, I used this prompt..
Imagine Person A being a college janitor and always being around to help Person B with their studies.
And just for context, Daxter and the characters in his class are eighteen.
Enjoy! - GM
/
"More...coffee…" Daxter Redd groaned as he let his head rest on the textbook in front of him. His study buddy, Tess Juliard, giggled and shook her head.
"We've been here an hour and you've already finished your cup and mine. You so owe me by the way," she said with a smirk, reaching across the table to tug lightly on a strand of Daxter's hair.
The two were at their school's library studying for their upcoming science exam. The exam was days away, but Daxter tried to forget that fact as he raised his head to pull away from Tess's hand.
"Well what do you expect me to do? You know I've never been good at science," The redhead replied with a groan.
It wasn't fair that he had to take another stupid science course in order to graduate from high school, especially after having barely passed the two other mandatory ones. This one by far was the worst, as it incorporated lessons from the previous courses with an expectation that students had a pretty good understand of said material. Daxter of course, had easily (deliberately) forgotten that information as the concepts were difficult to grasp and regurgitate when exams came. Now he was stuck in the same situation and no amount of hugs and laughs from Tess were going to make him feel better about it.
"Yeah, but you've been getting better. You even answered a question in Professor Sig's class! He seemed pretty impressed," Tess argued.
"Yeah, 'cause I looked at your notes a millisecond before he called on me," Daxter admitted, glaring at his textbook.
"Oh…" Tess replied, resting her head in her hands.
"Face it, I'm screwed," Daxter groaned, slamming the book shut.
"Don't say that Daxxie!" Tess replied. The combined noise of their conversation earned them a glare from the librarian, forcing them to whisper even though the study room was practically empty.
"You have to give it another try, Daxter. You want to graduate, right?" Tess whispered, placing her hand on top of Daxter's enclosed fist.
Daxter nibbled on his bottom lip, a bad habit he'd acquired during his childhood when faced with anxiety. He had to find a way to pull through, as there were not a lot of options for a kid without a high school diploma. Huffing, he reopened the book and smiled at his best friend.
"Okay, I'll see what I can do," he said with a sigh. Tess smiled back and was about to yell a cheer when she saw the librarian staring at them and thought otherwise. Daxter held back a laugh, Tess really should have joined the cheerleading squad when she'd had the chance. She was a natural enthusiast.
"I have to get going, but I know you can ace this! Don't be so hard on yourself," She said as she packed her things.
"Thanks for the encouragement." Daxter replied, waving as she walked out of the library. Tess returned the wave before sticking out her tongue at the librarian, earning her an incredulous look from the older woman as she walked out.
"She's crazy…" Daxter chuckled, shaking his head as he resumed his attempt at studying.
Twenty minutes later and he needed a reprieve.
He'd pulled out one of the study tests Professor Sig had given the class to prepare in hopes of making some sort of progress. But the tests were difficult and seemed to touch on the same theories he had been struggling with in the first place. He'd anticipated this, but for some reason (it might have been the coffee) he'd thought he would find a way to get through the mock questions.
Giving his surroundings a quick glance, he noticed Ashelin, captain of the cheerleader's squad, and Ximon, the class clown, sitting separately in the study room. Both were knee deep in books, but Daxter knew neither could be of any help to him. For one, Ashelin was a beauty and a genius, she would only stay at the library for an hour or so to look over notes and lecture slides. Plus, Ashelin rarely acknowledged Daxter's existence and her holier-than-thou attitude had always forced him to bite his tongue when the two of them were in close proximity. Ximon on the other hand was basically failing every class Daxter had with him, including science. But Ximon always had the good fortune of finding a way to pass his classes by the time grades arrived. Daxter suspected it was due to the jokester's father teaching the shop class and having a lot of close connections with the other professors. But favouritism aside, Daxter knew Ximon would be just as much help as Ashelin.
The librarian was sleeping at this point, Daxter didn't even need to look since her snores were ironically louder than the conversation he'd been having with Tess.
That left… the janitor, who was sweeping up some trash on the side of the study room farthest from Daxter. He hadn't been employed as long as the librarian, but Daxter knew as much about him as he did her. The man had short blonde hair and wore a navy blue cleaning suit equipped with a hood that he more than often donned. Unfortunately, Daxter had never seen his face or heard him speak in all his years of high school. Apparently, a student had seen a sleeve of tattoos on his arm one day and then rumours erupted about the "ex-convict" janitor who the school unknowingly hired. He was sort of mystery to the students in Daxter's classes, but he didn't do enough for Daxter to really give him any thought.
He wasn't creepy though, so that was something.
Sighing to himself, Daxter put down his pencil and got up to go to the restroom. He needed a minute to refocus his thoughts and those two cups of coffee had ran through him a lot faster than he'd expected.
/
Returning from the restroom, he cracked his knuckles as he walked towards the study room.
Trying to remember Tess's words of encourage, he re entered the study room. Ximon wasn't there anymore, and Ashelin was trying to wake the sleeping librarian in order to return a book. Daxter focussed on getting back to his own desk. Anymore distractions and the night would be a total waste.
Initially, his eyes avoided the paper in front of him like it carried some sort of virus he could contract by looking at it. But Tess's words reminded him of his resolve, and he turned back to it with a confident smile.
That smile instantly fell when he gave the paper a once over.
Every question had been answered in the space provided by someone with better writing skills than Daxter. At first, the answers seemed as complex as the questions, but when Daxter flipped the page, he saw explanations to all of the answers.
And they made sense.
Daxter's eyes shot up and scanned the room. The only other people in the room were Ashelin and the knocked out librarian. There was no way they could (or would) have helped him. There was the possibility Ximon had done it, but to Daxter, that was as possible as him coming up with the answers himself.
Turning back to the test, Daxter nodded as he looked over the answers. The explanations and steps taken to get the answers helped his understanding greatly and he wanted to try some of the tips the anonymous helper (guardian angel in Daxter's eyes) had left on the bottom of the page.
Unfortunately, he'd left the rest of the tests in his locker and it was too late to go back and get them. Instead, he decided to come back the following night to give the rest of them a try.
Saying a silent thank you to whoever had decided to help him, he stepped out into the dark night and started his long trek home.
/
"No way!" Tess said the next after class when Daxter filled her in on what happened, "Are you sure you didn't subconsciously figure it out on your own? You and caffeine have always had a pretty weird relationship."
Daxter snorted in response.
"I wish that was the case, but the person's handwriting was totally different than mine. It was easy to read while mine is…"
"...Illegible?" Tess finished, earning a glare from her best friend.
"I was going to say challenging," Daxter replied.
Tess laughed and pinched his cheek.
"Well, it looks like my Daxxie has friends in high places. Any idea who they are?"
"I wish. I'd probably ask them to tutor me," Daxter admitted.
"You sure it wasn't Ashelin?" Tess asked slowly, placing a hand on her hip.
Daxter scoffed.
"Oh please, she wouldn't spit on me if I was on fire," He replied as he closed his locker and slung his backpack over his shoulder.
Tess suppressed a laugh and shook her head.
"Then who was it?"
"No idea, but I'll be back tonight to look over everything they suggested. Hopefully their tips can net me a passing grade." Daxter said with a smile. Tess nodded her head in response.
"I'd come with you tonight, but I have family from out of town coming over. My mom wants me to help with dinner," The blonde explained.
"No problem, you know I got this in the bag!" Daxter said with a confident smile, pretending to flex his muscles for extra muscle. In reality, he was sad he wouldn't have Tess to bounce his worries off of, but this was something he'd have to do alone.
/
This time, Daxter only had the librarian and janitor for company in the library's study room. Daxter assumed the other students had already prepared adequately for their exams and didn't have to sit in the stuffy library (like he did) to play catch up.
The librarian was dozing off, and Daxter was sure she would pass out before he finished for the night. The janitor was dusting the tops of the bookshelves this time, so that was something. Daxter shrugged it off, he was there to work. Some part of him wanted his mystery helper to show up and save the day, but the other knew that even with a tutor, he would still need to understand what he was learning.
So with the extra practise tests in hand, he headed to the same desk he'd sat at before. Taking a deep breath, he sat down and organized the papers into a pile.
"I can do this," he told himself.
He got about halfway down the first page before he definitely need a break.
While he'd definitely made progress using the answers and tips from the previous test, he'd hit a roadblock with a question that required a diagram. He just couldn't figure out how to organize the objects correctly. It didn't help that the subsequent questions only added to his confusion.
He got up and stretched, deciding to take a restroom break to clear his mind.
/
Stepping back into the study room after his break only reminded Daxter of the gravity of his situation. He had less than a week to turn this all around or he wouldn't graduate high school. He would have to watch his friends and enemies walk across the stage and accept a slip of paper he'd have to wait another year for. It wasn't fair, but it was high school. At this point, it was the imminent failure pushing him to try again and to keep trying until he got it right.
Massaging his temples as he returned to his seat, he sat down and grabbed his pencil to continue.
But his pencil wasn't in the same place he'd left it - beside his test. It was closer to the edge of the desk, as if someone had been planning to use it but had changed their mind. Slowly turning to the test, he felt his heart skip a beat.
In front of him were the answers to the questions he had struggled with. Even the questions he had completed had check marks and suggestions beside them. There was even a "good job!" written halfway down the page and a "don't give up!" at the bottom.
"What the…" Daxter muttered incredulously.
There was no way this could have happened again. He'd joked about it with Tess, but that was for a laugh.
Scanning the room again, he saw the librarian passed out and the janitor collecting trash bags.
Wait a minute.
The janitor hadn't been present when he'd returned to the study room last night. Only Ashelin and the librarian had remained.
Which meant it had to be...
Who knew the old coot was a science genius? Daxter stared in awe at her sleeping form and shook his head. Was it really her? Was she really pretending to sleep so she could run over and answer his test questions? Why would she go to all that trouble when she could just help him out? Huffing and crossing his arms, Daxter shook his head. His "helper" was just as complicated as the material he was trying to comprehend.
He decided to put his theory to the test.
He flipped to the second test and started working on a couple of questions. After completing a handful of them, he got up and headed for the restroom, faking a yawn for good measure. But before walking down the hallway to the bathroom, he jumped behind a pillar by the door. It gave him a clear view of his seat in the study room without being detected himself.
He only had to wait a minute before footsteps began making their way across the room. Daxter smirked. It would be nice to catch the librarian in the act, especially with all the times she had caught him speaking with his friends. He'd have to do it nicely so he could ask her to tutor him, but he still planned to have some light hearted fun.
So it came as a complete surprise when the janitor entered his point of view and after looking around, grabbed Daxter's pencil and began scribbling on the test paper.
/
Daxter couldn't believe it. The mysterious, unspoken janitor was his secret helper? He felt compelled to say something, but his tongue was numb. He took a step closer to make sure his eyes weren't playing tricks on him. They weren't, as he could clearly make out a diagram he'd seen in class being scribbled in the blank space on his paper. Lifting his gaze, he realized he could make out the man's face under his hood.
The first thing that stood out to him were the man's bright blue eyes. They reminded him of the ocean and they stood as a stark contrast to his rather dull and dark attire. They moved quickly, following the hasty scribbles his hand was making. He was fair in complexion (Daxter doubted he got a lot of sun with that hood on) except for a bit of red that sat atop his cheeks. He had a goatee that changed from blonde to a bright green colour halfway which, while unexpected, was pretty hot in Daxter's opinion. Honestly, the janitor was gorgeous and the look of determination on his face only added to the fact.
But his analysis was cut short when the janitor looked up and right at him. The man's eyes widened and Daxter realized his stepping out to get a closer look made him visible to anyone with decent eyesight in the study room.
"Uh…" Was all Daxter could say as he watched the man get up from his desk. The janitor coughed awkwardly and turned away. But before he could stalk off, Daxter regained control of himself and ran towards him.
"Wait!" He yelled out. The janitor faced him again and put a finger to his lips. Daxter winced and turned towards the librarian. Luckily, the older woman was still asleep at her desk, none the wiser.
"You've been the one helping me out, right?" He'd obviously caught the man red-handed, but he wanted to hear it from him.
To Daxter's surprise, the janitor removed his hood and nodded.
"Sorry about that," the man began, his voice gruff and hoarse as if he didn't use it much. "I hope you don't mind the markings and…"
"Are you crazy?" Daxter hissed. "You're a lifesaver!"
This seemed to surprise the man, as he began to frown and furrow his brows, which Daxter thought was hotter than it should have been.
"What do you…" He started, but Daxter cut him off.
"If it wasn't for you, I'd be losing my mind over my exam. Even though I still don't get the major concepts, your notes and answers have been really helpful," Daxter explained. "Thank you so much."
He watched the realization spread across the janitor's face and a bright smile broke out of his frown.
"You're welcome, I-I'm glad I could help," he replied, a blush beginning to dust his cheeks.
Daxter walked up to the man and took a deep breath. It was hard not to smile nervously at the handsome and seemingly bashful man in front of him.
"Do you think you could help me with the rest? I really need a tutor and I'm really short on time and money." He muttered, praying to the precursors the janitor took pity on him and his situation.
"Hmm, well…" The janitor started, raising a hand to his colourful goatee. He seemed to be giving it some thought, looking back and forth between Daxter and his stack of practise tests.
"Sure, I'll help," He finally said with a teasing smile. Daxter let out a breath he'd been holding when he realizing the man had been pulling his tail. That was also when he realized he definitely liked this guy.
The man pulled up a chair beside Daxter's and sat down, with Daxter following suit.
"I'm Jak, by the way." The man said, extending a hand for Daxter to shake.
"Daxter," the redhead replied, shaking the man's hand. Jak responded with a smirk.
"Oh, so that's what that chicken scratch said at the top of your notes," the blonde man teased.
"Chicken scratch? I resent that!" Daxter answered in mock indignation. The two shared a muffled laugh before Daxter started looking over the test Jak had been working on. Yet again, the man's answers made sense and the concepts were slowly starting to click for Daxter.
"How do you get this stuff? It seems so effortless when you do it ." He asked, turning back to a bashful Jak that was rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.
"T-thanks. I took a lot of science courses when I was your age. I was dead set on getting into engineering." Jak explained.
"So why are you working here?" Daxter asked before he could stop himself. Jak sighed and look away, leaving Daxter to feel like he'd really put his foot in his mouth.
"S-sorry." He stuttered, looking down at his test again.
"No, it's okay. It was just life really." Jak replied, turning back to give the redhead a small smile.
"But hey, if I can help you out, it won't have gone to waste, right?" He continued, grabbing one of the extra pencils Daxter had brought with him and flipping over a blank piece of paper.
Daxter smiled and nodded. The precursors had really come through this time.
"Okay, so this is how this diagram works…"
/
The next couple of nights found Daxter meeting with Jak in the library to work through his practise tests. There were more of them than he'd expected and they varied in difficulty. Lucky for him, Jak made a great teacher. He was patient, which helped when Daxter got frustrated and wanted to rip the papers in micro sized pieces. And he was complimentary, which helped Daxter's understanding and self-confidence substantially. He was also easy on the eyes, but that was more of a bonus than anything.
Daxter learned a lot about Jak in those study sessions. The man was twenty two and had graduated from Daxter's high school the year before the redhead enrolled. He was a bit of a loner, but he had a few friends from school that he kept in touch with. He was also good friends with the principal, Samos Hagai, who helped him get the janitorial position. While Jak seemed content with his current position, Daxter could sense it wasn't where the blonde man's heart lay. But he didn't push it, as Jak had the tendency to zone out when the topic was brought up.
Overall, he was enjoying the sessions and felt a lot more confident about the impending exam.
The night before the exam found Jak testing Daxter with made up questions that were on par with the practise tests. To the redhead's surprise, he nailed every question sans a multiple choice one he later realized Jak had staged as a trick.
"Great job, Dax!" Jak said after scanning the redhead's answers.
"Well, I had a great teacher," Daxter replied, blushing at the praise. Jak turned to him and put a hand on his shoulder.
"I knew you could do it but you seriously surprised me. You're gonna do well tomorrow."
"I hope so, I really need this grade."
"You'll be fine," Jak replied, his hand still hovering over the redhead's shoulder.
"Thanks Jak, if it wasn't for you…" Daxter started. He hated to get mushy, but it had been a seriously close call. What would he have done if Jak hadn't stumbled across his tests? He didn't even want to think about it.
Before he could stop himself, he'd thrown himself into the janitor's arms.
"Just thanks...seriously," he muttered into his shoulder. He tried to ignore the butterflies in his stomach that started to flutter when he felt two arms reach around his back and pull him closer.
"Y-you're welcome," Jak stuttered as they broke away, a smile still lifting his cheeks.
Before things could get awkward, the librarian awoke from her slumber and slapped her desk bell.
"We're closing up," she said through a yawn, waving them off.
Daxter rolled his eyes as he began to pack.
"All the best tomorrow," Jak said as he got from his seat.
"Thanks, Jak," Daxter replied, as he threw on his jacket and headed out.
He'd never felt so confident in his abilities, and it was all because of this elusive (and intrusive) janitor that he'd only noticed a handful of times.
Yeah, the precursors were definitely working in his favour.
/
"Wow, you seem ready to go," Tess remarked as they entered Mr. Sig's class the next day.
"I just want to get it over with, you know?" Daxter shrugged. Half of him was excited for the test while the other was having a minor panic attack. The less he had to think about the exam before actually doing it, the better.
"I'm sure you'll do fine, Daxxie! Hang in there." Tess reassured, taking the seat beside him before giving him a light shove.
/
The exam was difficult, he'd expected that. What he hadn't expected was how fast he whizzed through the questions, even the ones which called on concepts he couldn't remember off the top of his head. As he turned the pages, his confidence only increased. There were a couple trick questions towards the end, but they only took an extra minute or two to answer.
An hour in and he was done.
That made him realize not only how much Jak's tips had actually helped in the past few days but how smart he actually was. He made a silent vow as he handed his exam to a surprised Mr. Sig that he would try harder in his future classes, not just because he could, but because he was doing himself a disservice by not doing so.
He was about to leave the class when he remembered something he'd heard his teacher bring up a few weeks prior.
"Um, Mr. Sig?" He asked as he walked back to the burly man's desk.
"Yes, my speedy student?" Mr. Sig teased.
"Do you have anymore of those scholarship forms? You know the ones for students who can get into college with a certain grade point average?" He asked slowly. He could feel the stares of some of his classmates, but he didn't care. This was important.
"Uh, yes well…" His teacher started.
"It's not for me," Daxter interrupted, "it's for someone who goes here though, they could really use it."
Mr. Sig must have seen the determination in his eyes because a scholarship form landed his hands a second later. Daxter was about to thank the man when he felt the paper shift in his hand.
He'd been give two.
"Uh...Mr…"
"Put your name in Daxter, I got a chance to look over some of your test. I'm impressed, to say the least," His teacher whispered.
It took everything in him not to jump for joy and cry as he left the classroom.
/
The redhead raced out of the school, knowing the person he was looking for would probably be throwing out the trash.
"Jak!" He called out when he saw a familiar hood moving around the back entrance.
The hood dropped and a sweaty but smiling face emerged.
"Hey Dax, how did the exam go?" He asked, wiping the sweat off his brow with the back of his hand.
"It was fine, but nevermind that," Daxter replied, pulling out the scholarship form.
"I want you to have this," he said as he pushed it into the janitor's hands.
"What is…" Jak started as he scanned the paper. His eyes began to widen in realization and he turned to Daxter with a surprised expression on his face.
"Dax…"
"It's a science scholarship for students, even part-time or adult ones! You have to apply!" Daxter explained, struggling to contain his excitement.
Jak looked back at the paper and his eyebrows furrowed.
"I don't know," he replied slowly. But Daxter shook his head and stepped forward.
"You believed in me when no one else did. Now it's my turn," he said with a smile. Jak's stared at him for what felt like a minute before he pulled Daxter close and kissed him on the lips.
Daxter, while initially shocked, found himself melting into the kiss before long and only pulled back when he needed to breathe.
"I-I'm sorry." Jak stammered, his face turning red as he pulled away from the younger man. Daxter stifled a giggle as he grabbed Jak's torso and pulled him back in.
There was no way he was about to let this one go. Who'd have thought a crummy science exam could have made him this happy?
"I don't think I understood that right. You're gonna have to do it again so I know what I'm doing," he said slyly. Jak's eyes widened as he allowed himself to be pulled in. When the realization washed over his face, he smiled and hugged the young man.
"We can go over it as many times as you like." He whispered, his breath causing a shiver to run through the redhead as it dusted his ear.
And with that being said, Daxter had to believe the precursors were working overtime. There really was no other explanation.
/