Ahhhhh! It's been way too long! I'm so sorry for such a long week, but honestly, I'm so excited to be posting this right now! It's been a rough week. Well, a rough couple of weeks and your guys' reviews always make me smile. And I'm so excited for this chapter of the next part of the boys' first day of high school.
bexlynne: I know! After all these kids go through, they deserve a vacation. Too bad all I know how to write is angst /. I'm so glad you like the way I write Les! Not gonna lie, he's a harder one for me to write. All I think about is writing the youngest, innocent boy in the group. And I can't wait for you to see what happens with Katherine next. I'm kinda proud of it. Thank you so much for reviewing!
FuriedNight: Thank you so much! I love that you love Katherine and I can't wait for you to see how big apart of this story she will become. Also, I hope to write a one shot for another request that you gave me. I'm really excited! I think it'll be the next thing I post. ;) thanks again for those. If you have any more, feel free to send them on over!
unofficialfansie: Aww thank you so much! No one's ever fangirled over me before! It means so much! I'm so happy you love this story and I think yours are fantastic. Keep writing!
BroadwayIsMyPurposeInLife: You're welcome! Thanks so much for the review!
TurtleWithoutAName: You're good. And thank you so much! I'm sorry that I'm breaking your heart but also, that might be the point ;). Thank you so much for your review! I appreciate you!
Teeloganroryflan: Thank you so much!
livelearnlovesing: Oh! I like that idea! I did want to bring the other boys into it more. Thank you so much!
sidenotes-from-satan: You're right. I have a few ideas of how that's gonna happen but I'm not solid on anything yet, so if you have a request, feel free to tell me ;). Thank you so much!
queenlmno: I know. Terrifying Race is like my favorite thing to do. ;) I'm so happy you like this story! Thanks so much for the review!
Guests: I don't know if you're all the same person but I'm so sorry for the long wait! Honestly it makes me so happy that you guys love this enough to demand more so thank you so much!
Alright. Here we are. I really had so much fun writing this chapter. Enjoy!
The halls were a mess. People were running every which way with books and papers flying everywhere. There were the girls who were throwing themselves at every boy that walked by and the guys that would unsuccessfully say meaningless words to a beautiful blond and then get a smack to the face. There were those who looked like robots with blank faces and earbuds plugged into their ears, silencing the world around them. There were kids with their noses down in books, ramming into the people they had hoped to tune out and those who were too loud for the boy to handle. There were so many people and all Race could do was go back to the place that Davey told him to go between classes to see his brothers.
He saw the only three boys in the school he knew and ran up to them, dodging everyone else in his way. Jack looked to just be walking up to Crutchie, who was glancing at his schedule and switching some books in and out of his locker, placing them in his backpack. He could see the boy's hands shaking at all the shouting going on around them. And Race wished he could make it all go away.
"Race!" Jack greeted with a smile and a sparkle in those forest green eyes and before he could get another word out, Race crashed into him. He was still trembling, too, from the encounter he'd just had with a strange man he'd never met. "Whoa, kid, what's the matta'?"
Jack glanced over to Davey who just shrugged as he wrapped his little brother up in his arms. "Racer, you're shakin'... what happened?" He cupped the back of the boys neck and wrapped an arm around his back.
Crutchie shut his locker after putting his books in his back and turned to his brothers, not at all surprised to see how upset Race was. He knew his brother. He knew what class Race had just come from. He knew one thing about the teacher that would make the older boy extremely uncomfortable. He was a man. Davey gave him a confused look but Crutchie just shook his head, telling him to not do anything.
"Race, it couldn'ta been that bad," Jack tried. He rubbed the boy's back, though. He ignored the stares from the other kids that didn't get it. They didn't understand why the new kid was shaking, holding back tears. Jack did. But he wanted to hear what had happened that had pushed Race so far.
"He knows, Jack..." That was all the boy could manage.
Crutchie could hear the tightness of his brother's throat and he realized how badly he wanted to breakdown too. But he held it together right then. For his big brother who had no idea that he wanted to protect him too.
Jack sighed. "Who knows what?"
Race never got to answer as a voice rang out through the hallway. And all he could do was pull away from his brother as two boys strut down the school, annoying, cocky smirks on their faces. "Step aside!"
Davey groaned. He knew who was coming down the hall. And he didn't think these poor boys would be prepared for their abuses quite yet. But they didn't necessarily have a choice.
Race sniffled and watched as a familiar boy walked through the hall. Everyone moved out of his way. And another, bigger boy who looked just like him traveled behind him. And they spotted him. He saw his big brother step slightly in front of him, not liking the smirk on the younger boy's face as he came stomping towards the young gambler.
"This is him, Morris," the kid form class explained. "Almost gave me a black eye." Race scowled at him but kept his mouth shut, fearing that if his mouth started running, he wouldn't be able to stop it.
Before anything else was said, Crutchie limped over to his brothers, putting a hand on Race's shoulder. "The hell are ya talkin' about?"
"Woulda been more than a black eye..." Race muttered, making Jack put up his hand in an attempt to tell him to shut up.
The older of the two, Morris, stomped up to Jack, their eyes locked on each other and a fierce look took over both of their faces. "Step aside, newbie. That kid was pickin' on my brother. Ain't no one gets away with that."
Jack scoffed. This boy was about the same size as him. And he thought he could win in a fight against him? That was a laugh. "Just so happens we have somethin' in common," Jack crossed his arms over his chest. "No one messes with my kid brothas. So keep movin'." Their faces were inches apart, threatening each other with only the looks in their eyes.
Davey didn't know what to do. So he was reduced to standing, tensely, and watching the scene unfold. He thought about running to get the principal or maybe even a nearby teacher, but he didn't want Jack to get into trouble. He didn't know what kind of effect that would have on the small family that he'd quickly become friends with.
"What a lousy little bastard," the younger bully spat out, his dark eyes filled with an evil kind of laughter. "Can't even fight for himself," he laughed when Crutchie grew furious at his words but Race held him back when he made a move to do something about it. "Not that I'm surprised. The idiot can't even read." The boy only laughed at the horrified expression on the blond boy's face.
Jack growled and made a move to pounce on the boy that smirked at the kid behind him. But Davey stood in between them. "Oscar, stop it!" he demanded. "Let 'em have one day ta settle in," he asked, his hands up in defense as the boys glared at him.
Race felt Crutchie grip his arm as both his brothers now understood why he was so upset. He scowled at the other boy who was glaring at him with a smirk. "Ya won't always have big brother around to protect ya, Higgins." And with that final threat, they backed off, walking down the hallway and making themselves known throughout the school.
David sighed. He shook his head as they walked away, furious they hadn't been able to beat up on the new kids and get away with it, just like always. He turned back to his three friends. Race had a stone cold look on his face as Crutchie tried to talk to him, to get him to open up to them and Jack wrapped an arm around his brother's shoulder.
"Race... are you okay?" The older boy didn't respond to his baby brother's question. He just sniffled and leaned up against his locker, pulling out of Jack's embrace, not wanting to look up at Davey who had just been exposed to his deepest secret.
Crutchie looked over at Jack. The oldest of them could see the fear in his eyes. That was just like the boy too. He wouldn't tell Jack if he had a bad day either. He knew that. And all he wanted was to hold his brothers, take them to Medda, tell them it was all gonna be alright. It had to be alright. But he couldn't. He was stuck in that damn building.
Race glanced over at his oldest brother with such a look of helplessness and embarrassment. "I can't do this, Jack..."
Crutchie saw Jack open his mouth, but he had something to say first. "Yes you can, Race." Race's eyes shot over to him in attempt to protest. But Crutchie shook his head. "Race, you are one a' the strongest guys I know," he assured, flashing his optimistic smile, however small it may have been at the moment, right at the older boy who was trying to remember to breathe. "You can do anythin'. Even this."
Race glanced up at his brother with so much doubt in his eyes. He was terrified. He was embarrassed. And then Jack put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a small squeeze. "He's right, kid. You can do it. Just get through taday."
"Jack..." Race choked out and then stopped himself. He took a breath. He didn't like the way his own voice sounded. So he cleared his throat. "What'll happen if the Spida find out?" He spat out the word, getting across to all the boys how much he hated that man.
Jack sighed. He slung an arm around the boy's shoulders again. "He ain't gonna find out," he swore. Davey looked over at him, confused. But Jack waved him off.
"Race, we can still teach ya-" Crutchie tried. He just wanted his brother to calm down. When his brothers weren't calm, he felt like he couldn't breathe. If the two people in the whole world that he looked up to for protection and comfort were in a panic, Crutchie was at a loss. But Race wasn't hearing it.
"No ya can't!" It came out as a whine. He let his head fall back and hit the lockers behind him. "We tried that! But-" Race cut himself off with an irritated grumble. He stomped his foot like a small child. He was angry, frustrated with himself for not being able to learn. "It don't look like nothin'. Sometimes it's all... jumbled up and I's can't see the words you guys see..."
Davey worked hard to keep his mouth from falling open in understanding. He watched as Jack placed his hands on both sides of the trembling boy's face. "It'll be okay. We'll figure it out," he assured but Race desperately tried blink away the tears in his eyes. He looked about ready to hit something in frustration.
"What kinda fifteen year old kid can't read?"
The words made Crutchie's heart break. The desperation in his big brother's voice made it almost impossible not to tear up.
Davey joined their circle, making his presence still known to the three boys that were all on the verge of something, weather it be tears, a breakdown or a lash out. Davey realized right then and there how stressful this situation must have been for them. For three boys who hadn't gone an hour without each other for years. Three boys who were terrified of making the smallest mistake. Three boys who didn't even know how teenagers let loose or had fun. Three boys that just wanted to protect each other from danger. And he put an arm around Crutchie's shoulders, comforting him and not missing the way Jack's eyes grew and them relaxed all in one moment.
A few seconds after that, the bell rang out through the hall and Davey could see the sheer look of desperation in Jack's eyes when Race's entire body slumped against the lockers. He felt Crutchie tense under his touch and he didn't know if it was because of a loud noise of the fear of being noticed by another nosy teacher.
Jack glanced at Race, ready to take the boy into his arms and tell him it was all gonna be alright. Tell him they'd make it through. But he knew showing affection in public couldn't be a regular thing in high school. He'd seen the looks of judgment and confusion the other kids gave him. He didn't like it. And he knew that they didn't like things they didn't understand. So he settled for a simple squeeze of the shoulder before his eyes wondered to his littlest brother.
Crutchie was shaking. His eyes were trained on the ground. He leaned heavily on his crutch and looked too focused on taking deep breaths. So Jack lightly pushed Race over towards Davey. "You two get goin'. We'll catch up."
Race glanced back at his brothers with a desperate expression. He didn't want to be alone with someone else, without Jack. But he saw how his older brother looked at their younger. So he sighed and walked as Davey started leading him to his next class. He decided, if Jack trusted Davey, so did he. So he went, knowing Crutchie wouldn't open up with him around. At least not after Crutchie knew he was scared too. So as he walked he took one final look back at the boy he would always protect and then let Davey lead him away.
Jack clipped his baby brother's chin, forcing him to look up at him. "Are you okay?"
Crutchie felt himself losing it. He felt his whole body shaking and he tightened his grip on his crutch. He leaned on it heavily before he took a shaky breath and answered. "N-no..." he voice broke, quietly as he tried to keep his volume where no one could hear it.
Jack felt his heart shattering. "Cmon, kid... you can do this..." he wiped away one stray tear that fell from the gimp boy's eye.
"It's so loud, Jack... and it sounds like-" Crutchie cut himself off. He let out a soft sob and couldn't have been more grateful to feel Jack's arms surround him. "And I can't see you or Race... and Race is scared and he can't be around the teachers and you's ain't there..." Crutchie rambled into his big brother's shoulder. "And I'm scared, Jack..."
Jack glanced around. The halls were basically empty now. They were new. They could be late and be given a break. And if they weren't, Jack was prepared to argue with them. He pressed a kiss to the boy's head, holding him close and allowing him to breathe in the quiet for a moment before he pulled away. "Hey... we will figure this out. I swear. Just get through taday, kid." He held his brother at arms length.
Crutchie sniffled and wiped at his face with the sleeve of his sweatshirt. He gave a short nod and looked around. "We's gonna be late..." he sighed out, annoyed.
Jack let out a breath. He pulled his brother to him one last time before they walked off, attempting to get to class before anyone called their guardian.
Someone was lecturing. Jack didn't even seem to care. The lights were off and the room was lit by the faint glow of the projector at the front of the room. His face was down in the thing in his hand that he absolutely treasured. He was sketching away, not even fully realizing what he was drawing. He was worried. Scared, even.
What if Snyder found out about Race? It couldn't end well for anyone. The poor kid was already embarrassed enough. He hated it more than anything in the world. And Crutchie, God, the kid was petrified. The lockers slamming, the bells screeching, the teachers yelling, it was too much. And they weren't together. How on earth was it supposed to be okay? How could they do this for the rest of the year if they could barely make it through the first day?
He let his pencil dance around the paper that had been blank only a few minutes before. For the first time, his eyes made out what he had been drawing during the class he should have been paying attention to. And his lips tugged upwards into the tiniest smile as he saw her. Her perfectly shaped eyes, the way her hair dangled around her soft face, the way her lips subtly hinted that she wanted so desperately to light up the world with her kind smile. She reminded him of someone. Someone he missed dearly. Running his hand over the page, he looked up.
She was sitting up in the front of the room, turned so he could see her. She looked up at him and gave him a small smirk before lightly waving a hand at him. He waved back, just a little, but his heart was dancing inside. How could he already be falling for a girl he'd only just met?
When he heard a gruff clearing of someone's throat, he looked up to the front of the room to find the teacher staring at him. He looked back down at his sketchbook. The teacher continued. And Jack continued to worry, happy he had gotten that one tiny moment of relief before he thought about the weight of the world on his shoulders again.
Jack watched the girl in the front of the room grab her things when the bell rang, at the same time, placing his own things in his bag, save for his sketchbook that he held to his chest with one arm, not showing anyone what he'd been drawing. She placed her notebook neatly in her bag so it rested up against her binder. Then she placed the straps of her backpack over both her shoulders before standing up and walking away from her desk. She looked to be in a hurry, as were most of the kids in there. And Jack knew why. That class was utterly boring. He wanted to run too. But he had to do something first.
The girl gasped as the new kid stood up fast and blocked her exit. "Hello again," he greeted with his charming smile that must have made all the girls swoon. He lightly leaned on the desk he'd been sitting on. She nodded to him and tried to walk around him, but he just jumped back in her way.
"Please go away, I'm trying to get to my next class." Her voice sent an odd feeling down in his chest and he felt butterflies in his stomach. He still didn't move.
"Twice in one day..." he remembered, thinking he'd never forget about the first time he'd seen this girl, knowing every time she came into view it would be like seeing her for the first time all over again. "Ya think it's fate?"
The girl rolled her eyes but her smile gave her away. She found him as charming as she expected every girl to. And he extended out his hand to her. "Jack. Jack Kelly."
"Is that what it says on your rap sheet?" The girl surprised herself with her words.
Jack laughed at the words, his eyebrows shooting up in shock before he spoke again. "You got a name?"
The girl looked up at him in surprise. Most might have taken that insult and left. But not this boy. He was intriguing. His kind green eyes and charming smile were only the beginning, she knew it. So she extended her arm and shook his outstretched hand. "Katherine Plumber," she stated, giving him a curious look, as if no one had ever cared enough to actually ask her name before.
Jack's grin widened and he held his sketchbook tightly to his chest with one arm. He'd never felt like this before. A sensation rose in him that he couldn't place and he found his mouth forming words without his consent. "Has anyone ever told you that you're beautiful?"
The blush that rose to Katherine's cheeks was priceless. The way she looked down to the ground to try to hide it was even better. But his favorite part was the smile that stayed on her face. It was the best view Jack had ever seen. And he realized he wanted to keep seeing it, though he figured he should let her past now. "Where is a smart, independent," he stressed, remembering her earlier words of not wanting to be helped, "lady, such as yourself, going next?"
She smiled up at him again. And now, Jack thought it might now be so bad in high school. "History. And you?"
He shoved his hand down in his pocket and pulled out his schedule, looking for wherever he was supposed to go next. "Room 632," he responded, realizing he really didn't know where he was going.
When she laughed, Jack's world light up and, for a single moment, his troubles were gone and everything was so much brighter. "Come with me, it's on the way." And they were off with a new hope in both of their eyes.
That was so much fun. I hope you all liked it!
I have a lot of requests but if you've got some more, it may be a little bit but I'd love to hear them. I promise I will write them eventually. It's always interesting to hear what you guys want to read and I love writing them.
Please make sure to go read and review all my other stories! I would really appreciate feedback on all my oneshots! It would mean a lot.
It makes me so super happy when I find someone took the time out of their day to sit down and write a review. So to all who have in the past, and who might for this chapter, thank you so much!! I love you guys so much! And if your nervous about leaving a review, I don't bite, I promise. You don't even have to have a name. It could be totally anonymous. I love hearing your guys' thoughts and ideas.
As always, thanks for reading! Make sure to tell me what you liked, what you didn't, what you'd change or what you'd improve by leaving me a review! Love ya babes! :)