Oh, no, Alfred was hot.

Arthur scowled at the boy, hoping, praying that he wasn't coming to sit by him. He was. Alfred sat down, lunch tray piled with everything and anything unhealthy. And he grinned, and his mouth was still full of metal.

Arthur latched on to that.

"Snaggletooth," Arthur greeted.

"I see you're still a douche," Alfred smiled, opening a pudding cup. "Miss me over the summer? I missed you. I had this punching bag, right, and every time I smacked it in the face, I thought about you!" Alfred licked the lid of the pudding cup.

How had one boy grown so much? He was only a sophomore, for Pete's sake. But there he was, wearing an "I Want to Believe" shirt underneath the leather jacket, teeth covered in metal, face clear of acne. God, his muscles.

Arthur's hand tightened on his water bottle.

"Do you happen to live down by Waterson Street? I think I stumbled onto one of your family reunions—perhaps you've heard of Underland's pig farm?"

Alfred's lip curled, but he winked good-naturedly. The wink made Arthur want to thrash around for no reason.

"I see you've been taking steroids," Arthur snapped later during gym. He had tried to get fit over the summer, but the appeal of just not was so much greater. "Inject in the arm or the arse?"

Alfred guffawed, finishing his ten push-ups. "Arthur, are you jealous? I've been working on these babies all fucking summer, it's okay. Revel."

Arthur laughed, snorting through his nose. He kicked Alfred's arm, the younger boy still lying down on the floor. Alfred rolled over onto his back, cursing happily at Arthur. Arthur continued to kick him until the teacher called them away into teams.

Arthur skipped the showers; he didn't think he could quite handle Alfred in the nude, yet. He changed, pulling off his t-shirt and then regretting it when he felt a looming presence behind him. Antonio slapped him on the back, smile easy and detached.

"Arthur!" He greeted, "I see your mother still hasn't bought you a training bra. That's okay."

Antonio attempted to slap Arthur's back again, but the boy elbowed him away. Arthur glared and crossed his arms, sneering. "Are you upset your little terrier came to me for his fix? That's okay, I'm sure you'll still give him free blowjobs."

Antonio gave him another smile that didn't reach his eyes. "Do you want to die?"

Arthur's eyebrow twitched upwards.

Just then, Alfred chose to wander onto the scene. He walked up to Arthur, hair dripping wet and glasses foggy, completely ignoring Antonio's clenched fists. "Wait, were you saying that my family are all pigs earlier?"

The fire in Antonio's eyes died, and he switched his attention to Alfred. "Hola. Are you new? You should try out for the football team."

Alfred grinned. "Oh! Ho-lah! Mi-amo est Al-fred."

Honestly, Arthur should have known Antonio's punch was coming. Alfred rolled with the punch, smashing into Arthur and using him for support. Antonio shook his hand, the smile back as he observed the two of them react.

"Try out for football, yeah, amigo?"

Alfred's nose was bleeding.

Arthur fucking hated the football games. He hated the cold, the yelling, the cheerleaders. But Alfred wore those fucking tight pants and it was almost worth it to see those fucked up teeth encased in metal.

"Arthur," Alfred bellowed, waving, "Did you get me the new issue of 'Young—'" He was promptly tackled by the opposing team.

Arthur snorted and shoved another handful of popcorn into his mouth. Their team was losing—they were always losing—but it was good fun watching Alfred get tackled up and down the field.

After the game, Alfred jogged up to Arthur. He was disgusting, sweaty, covered in grass and, uh, blood. He held out his hands, eyes lit up like the Fourth of July.

"Gimme, gimme."

Arthur tossed him a paper bag, smirking at Alfred eagerness. The boy pulled out the latest issue of 'Young Avengers' and let out a whoop. He sat down in the middle of the field, flipping through the pages and ignoring the crowd of players and spectators around him.

"How's Billy?" Alfred asked, ripping his eyes away for a precious moment.

"Gay."

Alfred nodded. "Like you."

"Fuck off," Arthur grumbled, sitting down next to Alfred. "You're gay."

Alfred grunted. Arthur snorted and watched him read, flipping off whoever complained around them. It was cold, and Arthur wondered if the fall made Alfred's braces hurt more than normal. Alfred stole his Coke and chugged it.


From anonymous Tumblr prompt: Nerd!alfred and punk!athur I adore it but never see it enough. Alfred with a lisp and braces and Arthur secretly finding adorable. I need this in my life or my heart will shrivel and die