Titel: Into better days
Rating: rated M because of the content of later chapters
Disclaimer: The real people I'm referring to belong to themselves of course. Their characters and gimmicks belong to the WWE.
Pairing(s): eventually Mason/Evan
Summary: High school can be hell. But what happens if some of the 'outsiders' decide to stand together, facing all the injustice each of them had to suffer in their past? A loose alliance soon transformed into friendship... and more...
Warnings: Violence, strong language, sexual content
II. - That we feel as one
The weeks went by and Cody's vague idea assumed shape. He met up with Phil, Daniel, Wade and Mason twice a week in the school's library to help them with their maths-skills. Soon the first improvements manifested. Daniel didn't have his first exam yet but Wade, Mason and Phil, who all attended the same maths-course, managed to improve their grades contrary to the preceding year. The seven men spent their breaks together, either sitting inside the cafeteria building or underneath 'their' oak tree. Rumours about their arrangement spread among the other students and most of the time the bullies didn't dare even to look at Cody or Evan in a wrong way. Occasionally Wade and Mason had to remind them of their obvious and massive presence.
Phil's little apartment, that actually was the Brooks' garage, was their regular meeting point in the late afternoons or evenings and on the weekends. Phil, who lived together with his father at the edge of town, lost himself in his new role as host and the boys enjoyed hanging out in his little realm. The place was quiet and a bit secluded from the other houses in their street. Since Phil's dad was working as a freelance photographer he spent half of his time out in the fields and the other half inside his workroom. He loved his son and granted him almost every wish. It has been quite natural to him to clear the garage for his offspring when he demanded a big room for himself and his band.
One Sunday Daniel and Sheamus were sitting on Phil's sofa. The smaller, bearded boy was scribbling on a piece of paper with occasional pauses in which he tend to chew on his pencil while staring at the blank wall. Phil was busy emptying the washing machine that was also standing in his room-slash-garage-slash-rehearsal-room. He threw a big load of clothes into a basket, went over to the door that connected the former garage with the rest of the Brooks' house and kicked it open. "Dad! Your laundry's done!", he yelled, placing the basket on the other side of the door and closing it again.
"Oh this is awful, just awful!", Daniel cried out. He crumbled up the piece of paper he was writing on and dashed it against Wade's drum set that formed the centre of the room. With a hollow thud it landed on one of the rack toms. "It's shit!", he exclaimed and facing Sheamus he added: "Rubbish!"
"What's your problem?", Phil asked while kneeling in front of his small refrigerator.
"A new song?", Sheamus asked, looking at the younger man who buried his face in his hands and nodded.
"I have this one song stuck in my head for weeks but every time I try to formulate it THIS happens!" He vaguely gestured in the direction he had thrown the paper. "It's like a curse."
"But what's the actual problem?", Phil asked again, picking up the paper and unfolding it.
"Actually I have everything sorted out", Daniel went on elaborating. "The guitar and bass parts are done and I even have an idea about the drums but... something is missing. I need a second lead guitar."
"No can do", Phil said, throwing Daniels paper into a bin. "I can play bass and guitar but I can't play both at the same time. Either you have to stick with what we have or just forget about that song."
"Nooooo", Daniel howled, sinking deeper into the cushions his arms sticking out towards the ceiling. "That's unacceptable!" He continued with his theatrical gesturing. Phil rolled his eyes and shook his head. His friend tend to overreact when it came to their band and especially their songs. The small blonde boy lived for their project and put all his lifeblood in it. The cancellation of a gig or Wade's pigheadedness with regard to stage attire always left him in a state of mind that could best be described as pure panic. Sometimes Phil feared that his younger peer would die of a heart attack one time. One time soon...
"I can play the bass."
Daniel sat upright staring at Sheamus with bright eyes. "You do?", he asked and let out an excited scream when Sheamus nodded. He jumped up from the sofa ready to hug his pale friend and potential lifesaver.
"Just because one song's not working out you're willing to invite that Irish pillock into our band? Over my dead body!" Wade was leaning against the door frame and smirked. As a member of the band he was used to come and go as he wanted to. Daniel and he even got keys for the side door of the garage.
"Póg mo thóin!", Sheamus snapped, throwing an empty Pepsi can at Wade. The two of them loved teasing and insulting each other with words and expressions the other boys had never heard of before. Their ancestry had welded them together since the very beginning of Cody's alliance.
"Seriously guys, I think this would work", Phil interrupted their playful quarrel. He went over to the wall, grabbed his bass and handed it to Sheamus. "Proof that you're worthy", he added with a foxish smirk. Sheamus sat upright, running his hand over the strings of the bass guitar. Daniel's eyes widened and his smile grew bigger. "That's it!", he screamed after Sheamus played a random sequence of matching chords.
A knock on the door interrupted Daniel's exuberant celebration. Thankful, Wade, who was still standing next to it, opened the door and the three missing members of their group entered. "We heard a scream", Evan said after they greeted each other.
"Sheamus joined our band", Phil explained and went over to his fridge to provide a can of Pepsi for everyone. "Do you ever drink anything else?" Cody wrinkled his nose when Phil handed him one. "My dad did an advert-shooting for them once. We have like a lifelong inventory of this stuff now", Phil said and, reviling an already quite faded Pepsi emblem tattooed on his left upper arm, he added: "Besides, I really like that stuff."
"Part of the band, eh?", Evan asked, throwing himself on the sofa next to his Irish friend. "A soulless ginger? Never ever!", Wade decided and sat down at Evan's other side. Ignoring the small boy sitting between them Sheamus tried to slap Wade. The continued teasing each other and Evan fled the ever so British battlefield.
"Oh, by the way, thanks for your records", Mason said, pulling a bunch of paper out of his bag and handing them to Cody. "I got a C!", he added proudly and gave the much smaller boy one of his rare but warm smiles. "Congratulations", Cody answered still twisting the untouched can in his hands. "I'm glad everything's working out just fine!"
"You're not being bothered anymore?", Phil asked and took the can out of Cody's hands. "Oh, people talk", the younger man replied. "But they keep out of my way in fear of Mason jumping out of a nearby locker or something like that. I'm fine... I guess."
Suddenly the otherwise quite tough nerd blushed and looked away. Phil eyed him with suspicion. "What is it?", he asked but received no answer.
"He has some problems with the ladies", Sheamus explained, ending his little brawl with Wade.
"No way!" All at once the assembled crew fell silent, watching Cody as he turned even more red, his cheeks burning with slight embarrassment.
"He's fed up with all the gals treating him as if he's not there at all", Sheamus continued to update his friends. "Last Friday we were standing at the lockers and this group of blonde chicks passed us by. I think our little fella tried to make eye contact but they were ignoring him."
Cody's reaction spoke for itself. He shove his glasses back up and looked at Phil with such a helpless look in his eyes that made the band leader flinch. "You gotta help me!", he said. "I want to look as cool as you guys!"
Nobody dared to laugh since they all sensed that Cody was dead serious with his request. Even Daniel relinquished to make a sassy remark. Phil looked at him for a long time, his gaze wandering up and down the slender body of his peer. He stepped closer holding a hand above his head, gauging the younger ones hight by moving his hand over the other ones head. "We're 'bout the same height. I could borrow you some clothes to begin with", he suggested and walked over to his wardrobe. "Take off your glasses", Evan demanded while Phil was busy browsing through the mess inside his drawers.
Cody did as he was told and Evan uttered a quick whistle. "Handsome", he declared. "You should think about wearing contact lenses", he proposed.
Handing the nearly blind boy some shirts and jeans Phil announced: "Wear this and we'll see how the girls will react tomorrow."
Later that evening Mason and Evan were walking home together. Neither of them had a car and out of consideration for Mason Evan was wheeling his bike. They remained silent but neither of them was uncomfortable with it. Mason had helped Evan several times since their agreement on the football field and the much smaller boy was very grateful for that. He actually enjoyed the company of the big yet quiet man and despite his chatty nature he didn't felt the urge to fill the silence with some small talk. He simply felt safe within Mason's presence.
"Well, you know", Mason broke through their silent togetherness with his dusky voice, "I'm really looking forward to going to school since I got to know you guys." He smiled at Evan who returned the gesture. "I spent almost my entire schooldays alone and needless to say that I was relieved when Cody suggested this get-together. I'd have never thought that I would find some friends among you guys. Heck, especially with Phil and Wade being such strong personalities."
Evan chuckled lightly. He felt the same and normally he never grew tired of telling his new friends, but as he watched Mason's endearing silhouette become blurred in the fading light he just didn't feel the urge to talk.
At a junction they had to say good-bye and both men headed in opposite directions. Riding his bike the rest of the way home Evan enjoyed the still fairly warm airstream. He hadn't felt that cheerful in months and even his parents seemed to noticed it. At first they were sceptical realising that their only son was hanging out with a bunch of punks and rascals but as his grades didn't suffer and since he seemed so much more lively they fully accepted it.
He pulled up on the driveway, leaned his bike against the garage and entered the house. He found his mother in the kitchen where she was preparing dinner. "You're home early, darling", she said as Evan kissed her on the cheek. "Some of the guys have tests tomorrow so Phil kicked us out and since I have practice tomorrow too I thought I'd hurry home to see what delicious delicacies my beloved mother prepared to coddle her men with." He snitched one piece of cut sausage from a plate and his mother laughed brightly. Her son meant so much to her and her husband and even though they established strict rules for their household Evan appreciated the love and liberties they gave him. His mother was a very caring type of mother and his father was the best father he could wish for.
The next day, the band including their newest member met up at Daniels locker which was located close to the entrance. Soon their friends joined them - except for Cody. They were busy chatting when a noisy buzz attracted their attention. Turning their heads toward the entrance they saw Cody entering the building, followed by the stares of almost every person present.
He wasn't wearing his usual outfit but a black Jeans, one of Phil's t-shirts with a big front print and a black jacket. He wasn't wearing his glasses either. His friends smiled at him as he approached them. "You're making quite an impact!", Evan stated. "I bet they're wondering who you might be", Daniel added, patting Cody's back.
The excited murmurs and gazes continued in their lunch break. Due to the weather, it had start to rain during the night, they were sitting inside the big and awfully crowded cafeteria. Cody and Mason just arrived at the table and Mason shove his tray on to the table next to Evan. Cody took place across the table.
"Do you really plan to eat that?", Evan asked in a disgusted tone, eyeing the food on Mason's tray as if it could come to live any minute. "We didn't have anything at home I could bring with me", the older boy explained and started to fork his hopefully dead meal. "I wouldn't risk it", Wade contributed from the far end of the table where he was sharing some scrambled eggs with beacon Sheamus brought along. Since the kind-hearted Irish mother acknowledged that her son was friends with another boy from "the isles" she was eager to prepare lunch for both of them.
Any other comments were interrupted by a group of girls converging their table. They giggled and the boys exchanged annoyed glances. As they came closer one of the girls was pushed forward by her friends. She shook her blonde hair and smiled at Cody. "Hi", she said while the boy just stared at her. Daniel, who was sitting next to him, gave him a kick underneath the table. "Um, hey", Cody stuttered.
"We haven't seen you around", the girl said in her high voice. "And we just wondered... what's your name?"
It seemed rather obvious that Cody gathered all his strength to answer her and to not turn as red as a fire truck here and now. "I'm Cody", he finally managed to say whereupon the other girls started to giggle again. "Nice to meet you, Cody", the blonde girl smiled. "I'll see you around then." They walked away, huddling together, giggling.
"A real ladykiller", Phil sneered. "Just throw away the glasses and the stuff you dared to call clothes and you turn into a chick magnet right away."
Cody sat upright, straightening his back. A big wolfish grin appeared on his face as he ran his fingers through his short and slightly curled brown hair.
"Congratulations!", Daniel cheered, tapping the shoulder of the taller boy. "Finally your looks reflect your character rather than your intelligence. You already started to attract the chicks."
Cody rose his head, rather proud that the female students started to recognize him at last; after all the years of being invisible to them. He thanked god for Phil's help and the little container of contact lenses that has been lying in his bathroom cabinet, unopened since the day his mother decided that he might need them one day.
"He'll be surrounded by hot girls in no time, one in every arm. Hopefully you won't forget your study buddies over all the female attention you will be getting", Phil ragged him and they all laughed as Cody assured that nothing would ever become between him and his studies, not even girls, no matter how sexy they might be. "Normally it's 'bros before hoes' but once a nerd always a nerd", the inked band leader laughed.
From across the hall two piercing eyes watched the cheerful scene. The young man rose his eyebrow and snorted in disgust. He hated that he was in the same year as most of them, especially with the two biggest trouble makers he had ever known: Wade Barrett and Phil Brooks. He despised them and their simple lives. He knew that he was born to something great, eminent, and those little slobs were bothering him even though he had never actually talked to them. Their sheer presence was sufficient for him to hate them with his whole heart. And now they even had the balls to enlarge their annoying group which turned them into the talk of the school. He was pissed to no limit and he was convinced that he would put an end to that this year. He didn't want to spent another term with this worthless jerks or, even worse, have to graduate with them!
A/N: Part two of my little fic. Friendship starts to develop but there's always someone who spoils everything, right?
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