8D There! Another chapter! Cuz I got inspired and on a roll! Thanks, Nameless!
Webs & Curls
Chapter 2: New Feelings
You okay?
Gray stared at his phone. He'd been sitting in the office for the last hour. It was getting ridiculous. He really thought just a couple signatures and a meeting with the counselor. He'd been through it before. The struggles with adapting to a new school and if he needed help, the door was always open. Blah, blah, blah. Same old shit, different shitty school. Gray had planned to smile and nod and thank the faceless counselor he'd never see again if he could help it. But the process was taking much longer.
Had his mom not signed him up for classes? Had she even called the school? He thought maybe she had at least done a little research when he learned about it. A quote 'nerd school.' He figured she was trying to get him back to his old self by sticking him in an advanced academia high school. But now it seemed like she just picked the closest school.
She'd been in the office behind a closed door for going on... Gray's eyes flicked to the corner of his phone, checking the time. It was actually closer to two hours. He sighed and typed a reply to his brother. Mom forgot to call the school.
Go easy on her. Zach texted back. She's dealing with a lot.
Gray narrowed his eyes, glaring at the text on his phone. Zach was siding with their mom. That really pissed him off. A lot. He knew they had their problems over the years. What brothers didn't? But Zach had always said he'd be there for him. That they always had each other. And now... he was siding with her! Zach was safe on his island with his perfect boyfriend and new job and awesome life that didn't include Gray. He clearly could care less about the misery that was Gray's life.
His fingers hovered over the letters for a moment. Fuck off. He typed quickly before he could regret it. He hit the send button and turned off his phone. He shoved the stupid thing in his pocket and leaned his head back. He slouched down in the chair and bumped his head against the wall. Fuck all of this!
He zoned in and out for a while, his mind on his strange hero from that morning. He remembered the way Peter's hand felt. He remembered Peter pulling him across the hall. He remembered the goofy smile and the chocolate eyes and the oddly calm way he felt standing so close to the other kid.
Gray had never really considered what he was before. Gay or straight or something in-between. He never really felt the need to label himself like his brother. Zach had come out that he was gay right after he graduated high school. And then ten minutes later announced he was moving to Jurassic World and dating the much older raptor trainer. Gray didn't really care. Zach was still his older brother, still the same person he'd always been.
But Gray? Gray had never been attracted to anyone, boy or girl. It never really occurred to him before. It never bothered him. He just wasn't anything. Until Peter touched him.
The door to the office opened and his mom and the principle walked out. Gray let out a sigh and stood up. He plastered a fake smile on and started nodding. He shook the man's hand, played up the good student role. His mom watched him, an odd look on her face. But whatever. He just wanted out of there. Just let him go to whatever class he was supposed to go to. Let him walk the halls and search for Peter. Or sneak off and find an abandoned corner of the school and see if he could hack into school's mainframe and find out more about his hero. He'd hacked into his last school, changed a few of his grades.
When he was finally released, it was lunch time. He was given a class schedule, a map of the school, and a locker number. And pointed towards the cafeteria. His mom had tried to hug him. And he turned and ran. He didn't care. What could she do? Ground him? That had no effect on him anymore. Ground him to his room? Fine. Whatever. Ground him from TV? Fine. Whatever. Ground him from the computer? Take away his phone? Whatever. He didn't care. He had Zach's old laptop she didn't know about. And a tablet grandma had given him for his birthday a couple years ago. He was pretty sure she didn't know where he hid all his electronic gadgets. And if she went as far as to change the Wi-Fi password? He was the one who set it up anyways. He'd just hack it. She wasn't smart enough to really ground him.
He dropped his backpack in his newly acquired locker. He folded up the schedule and map and shoved them in his pocket. Then with a sigh, headed down the hall towards the cafeteria. He could hear the voices before he even got close. Happy, joyous kids, hanging out with friends and laughing. He shoved his hands in his pockets and wished he could just disappear. He didn't really want to be there. He let out a sigh as he stopped just inside the door.
"Grace!"
Gray looked up, his eyes scanning the crowded room. A few kids looked his way. But just as quickly, they looked away. All except one. Who was waving wildly. Gray couldn't help but smile. Just as goofy as the waving kid had done this morning, he was sure. Gray looked at the floor for a moment cleared his throat. He wiped the smile from his face and headed across the room, fighting the urge not to run. It was weird, these new feelings.
Peter was smiling as Gray walked over. He was sitting next to another kid, the two of them by themselves at the end of a longer table. The other kid was leaning towards Peter, speaking in hushed tones. Peter glanced over at him and frowned, shaking his head. "No, Ned!" He hissed.
Ned frowned and let out a whine. "But I wanted to talk about that fight last night..." The larger kid said. "You didn't tell me how it ended! I saw it on the news this morning..."
"No!" Peter hissed under his breath and looked back at Gray, smiling again. "Sit with us?"
Gray glanced at the other kid. And wondered just exactly who this other kid was, so close to his hero. And that was another weird feeling, a jealous curiosity.
"This is Ned." Peter explained. "My best friend." He added quickly, as if he somehow knew Gray needed to hear that. "He's cool. Well he thinks he's cool."
Ned smiled and leaned back in his seat. "I'm the coolest."
Gray pulled out a seat and sat down across from them. "That's why you're sitting by yourselves." He mumbled. "Too cool for everyone."
Peter let out a laugh, nodding his head. "Yeah, that's totally us. Too cool for all the cool kids. So we sit all alone."
"Excuse me..." Ned said, turning to Peter. "But what did you call him?" He asked, pointing at Gray.
"Grace." Peter said. "That's his name. We met this morning."
"Grace." Ned repeated.
Gray let out a sigh. He leaned back and crossed his arms. His name wasn't Grace. But it might as well be. It would be just as stupid as his real name. But... he had sort of liked when Peter said it.
Ned shook his head quickly and held up his hands. "No offense, dude." He said quickly. "Just wanted confirmation."
Gray shrugged and looked down at the table. "You can call me Grace." He said softly. "Better than my actual name."
Peter leaned forward on the table, a curious look on his face. "What's your real name?" He asked softly.
Gray glanced up to meet Peter's gaze. He got the feeling that the other kid really did want to know. And not for future teasing reasons. He swallowed and looked down at the tabletop again. "Gray." He mumbled softly.
"Wow." Peter leaned back, smiling again. "You must really hate it. You keep mumbling it. No wonder I misheard."
Gray dropped his arms to the table and shrugged.
"Okay." Peter said, nodding. "Grace it is."
Gray looked up at him, a smile tugging on his lips.
"Grace." Ned tilted his head a bit.
"Yes!" Peter snapped, turning to his friend. "That's what he told me his name was this morning. Grace. Right after he tripped over his feet."
"Oh." Ned smiled and nodded. "Graceful. I get it."
"Nothing to get." Peter said. "It's his name."
"Whatever, dude." Ned continued on, smiling. "It works. So new then? First day?"
Gray watched the two of them bicker oddly back and forth. He was the topic and usually he hated when people talked about him like he wasn't there. He hated when his parents did it. But something about the odd friendly banter, he found he actually liked. When they both turned to look at him, Gray nodded quickly. "Yeah. We... just moved here." He said softly. "My mom... forgot, I guess, to call the school."
"What's your schedule?" Peter asked. Gray leaned back enough to pull the folded paper from his pocket. Peter leaned across the table and grabbed it from him, their fingers touching again. They seemed to linger for a moment longer than necessary before Peter was back in his seat. He unfolded the paper and Ned leaned over his shoulder to see. Peter pulled out a pencil and started scribbling on the paper, without asking or pausing.
Ned pointed at something on the paper. "That one, too."
Peter shook his head. "I'm not in that class."
Ned leaned back a bit and threw up his arms. "I am! What? I don't matter."
Peter wrinkled his nose and shook his head quickly. "No. You don't."
Gray leaned back in his seat, watching the friends bicker once again. They moved from the importance of Ned's Peter-less class to the teachers. Which ones were jerks and which ones were pushovers. Then to the classes and where they were. Gray pulled out the folded map and Ned grabbed that and Peter's pencil and started his own scribbling. Gray didn't get a word in edgewise the rest of the lunch break. He didn't really care. He actually felt comfortable about them. For the first time in years, it felt nice to be around kids his own age.
