A/N: Sorry that updates have been kind of slow. I'm into another fandom right now, but I do plan on finishing this. Patience is key. Thanks for understanding.
Even though he considered himself to be an excellent student, Dirk had never realized how… boring his entire school day was without his phone. He had no music to listen to while he sludged through dull, repetitive work. He had no link to his friends, none of whom he shared any classes with. He couldn't play a stupid little mobile app to keep himself entertained when he inevitable finished his work with plenty of class time left to spare.
He put his head down on the desk and stared at the clock until the bell finally (mercifully) rang.
There were only two periods to get through at the end of the day, but they were each an hour and forty minutes long, and Dirk loathed every painful second of it. For a Wednesday, it felt more like he had transcended the normal passage of time straight into another dimension. And it just kept dragging on. He distracted himself by scribbling mindlessly on notebook paper, editing a few different essays, double-checking his homework for other classes, creating sudoku puzzles to solve for himself, and overall just wasting time.
When the bell rang, he was relieved until he remembered that he had to deal with Cronus some more. It wasn't his "favorite" pastime, but Dirk was done caring. He just wanted to get the day over with, so he gathered up his things, and made his way to the back of the school. He usually walked home with Roxy, since Jane's dad picked her up and dropped her off, so he hoped that she would forgive him for being a few minutes late. If talking to Cronus took any longer than that, he might not have enough brain cells remaining to remember the way to his house.
Dirk stepped out of the back of the building, letting the door close behind him as he looked around. There were plenty of unlit and unused cigarettes lining the ground here, so he figured that Cronus must hang out in the area regularly. Looking "cool" was one thing, but apparently, he wasn't edgy enough to risk lung cancer.
How disappointing.
And speaking of Cronus… Dirk sighed. "Can I have my phone back now?" He held his hand out, waiting for Cronus to hand it back. He was leaning against the wall by the back entrance, staring nonchalantly into the distance with an unlit cigarette perched between his lips. Dirk approached him, annoyed. "Seriously, you've had your fun dicking around and getting your asshole quota for the day, but I'm sick of this, and I want to go home. Give it back. Now." There were cameras around the school hallways, but out here, where there wouldn't be any evidence, Dirk had no problem kicking Cronus's ass. It would probably be therapeutic.
Still trying to pretend that he was cool, Cronus didn't reply immediately. He took the unused cigarette from between his lips, and dropped it to the ground, crushing it under his foot. The effect would have been more impactful if he had bothered to light it in the first place.
"Here." Cronus took Dirk's phone from his pocket and tossed it to him carelessly. Dirk scrambled to catch it and turned it over in his hands. It didn't seem to have been reset or broken, and everything was the way he had left it. Was it really going to be that easy? He felt foolish for even bothering to show up.
"Yeah, thanks for nothing, jackass." Dirk scowled and shoved it into his coat pocket. He turned to leave, but only took a few steps before Cronus cleared his throat.
Biting back a groan, Dirk turned back to him. "Uh… ya might not wvanna leavwe just yet, chief." He smirked and pulled his own phone from his pocket. He unlocked it and showed the screen to Dirk. At first, he wasn't sure what he was looking at. It was just… text. He stared for a second, and suddenly, it hit him. Those walls of green and orange text were much too familiar. "Yep." Cronus laughed a little as Dirk's face paled. "Nice o' you to make your phone password so easy. I mean, really, Strider? 0-0-0-0? You couldn't come up wvith a betta passwvord?" He sneered, taunting.
Dirk felt like he was going to be sick. "It… it was supposed to keep my brother out." He muttered, though it sounded like a flimsy excuse. "He always over-complicates everything; he keeps trying numbers that "mean something" to me, so I figured that the simpler it was, the harder it would be for him to figure it out…"
Cronus shrugged dismissively. "Eh, 't's not like it matters. I sawv that you had some notifications from that Blue chump wvhen I got my hands on your phone in the hall earlier. It really wvasn't hard to get screenshots. I took 'em wvith your ovwn phone, and then texted 'em to myself. By the wvay, my number is still in there. Wve're gonna need to be in close contact."
Barely able to fight back a grimace, Dirk groaned. "What do you want?" He sighed. "A bribe? An apology? Do you just want me to drop out of the damn play? Because I already tried that, and Meulin was adamant about not letting me." He told Cronus, a note of bitterness in his voice.
Surprisingly, none of these things seemed to affect Cronus much. "Yeah," he sighed, "I figured that that one wvouldn't'vwe wvorked, anyvway. Besides, evwen if you did drop out, 'm not your understudy. I'vwe… accepted that you got the part." Dirk wasn't sure how true that was, because Cronus still looked ready for murder, but he continued anyway. "No, I wvant your… help." He admitted. "Meenah likes you. I can tell. Help me wvin her ovwer, or I'll post these pictures of your faggot therapy sessions all ovwer the school wvebsite wvith your name and evwerything." He smirked. "I mean, you'vwe seen hovw they all talk about Blue. If they knewv wvho you wvere, you wvould nevwer surwvivwe high school."
It took Dirk a moment to process what he was being told. "So, you're going to blackmail me into helping you fuck a girl that isn't interested?"
The accusation caused Cronus to flare up. He glared at Dirk and rolled his eyes. "Blackmail is such a strong vword." He sighed. "Besides, it's not about fuckin' her. I dunno if you noticed, fag, but there's more than one girl in this damn school." He knocked on the brick wall behind him for emphasis. "If I wvanted sex, I could havwe it. Wvhat I vwant is Meenah." The lovey-dovey emphasis that he put on her name made Dirk grimace. "And she'll wvant me, too. I just need your help to showv her hovw great I am." He explained.
Dirk merely raised an eyebrow. "And… you think that blackmailing me is a good start?" He groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose. "You realize the counter-productivity of this plan, don't you?"
Cronus shrugged. "Ey, wvhat Meenah doesn't knowv vwon't hurt her. Because you're not gonna tell her, are ya?" He held up his phone again, a smirk on his face. "You can destroy my phone if it'll make ya feel better, but I already emailed backups to myself. I can get to 'em as long as I'vwe got internet. So, if ya knowv wvhat's good for wvhat little remains of your social life, you'll listen to wvhat I tell ya to do. Got it?" He stepped closer, curling his free hand into a fist. As if Dirk needed any more incentive to do what he wanted.
He wanted to be strong enough to say no to Cronus, but worst-case scenarios ran through his head. If word got out that he was gay… Granted, he hadn't told Blue that he was gay, only questioning, but it was the same thing to the people at this school. Guilty by association. The things that people sent to Blue were awful enough, and some of the threats that they made… Would they actually go through with them, if they didn't have the anonymity of the internet to protect them? Dirk didn't want to risk it.
He took a deep breath. "...alright, Cronus." He muttered. "Drop the stupid fucking tough guy act. You've got me cornered, so good job. I guess you can do something without using your daddy's money." He realized that taunting the person threatening to ruin his entire life wasn't helping anything, but nothing short of complete death could keep Dirk from being a jackass. He started speaking again, cutting off whatever Cronus was going to say back. "Okay, whatever. I'll get you a date with her or something, and you can ruin the relationship yourself once my work is done. Deal?" Dirk stuck out his hand for Cronus to shake, only for him to ignore it.
"Ya knowv…" Cronus frowned, seeming lost in thought, "you may havwe a point." Dirk was… not expecting that. "I don't wvanna rush into this… I gotta take it slowv. Subtle." His eyebrows creased in concentration, and he closed his eyes. "Y'knowv… ya might wvanna just go home. I've got your number, so I'll just text ya once I come up wvith somethin'." He waved Dirk off dismissively.
"Well, since I have your permission." Dirk rolled his eyes, giving a sarcastic bow. Cronus either didn't notice, or he didn't care, because not a word was uttered as Dirk turned on his heel and walked back around the school.
The back door was one-way, so it locked automatically once you let it close. Dirk didn't mind. It was still early into the school year, so the weather was fairly nice. It wasn't like it got to freezing temperatures in the winter since he lived in the armpit of North America and all, but Dirk still liked autumn weather the best. The perfect temperature, coupled with just a slight breeze. Beautiful.
He took his phone out of his pocket and selected to view the texts he had from Roxy. At least 30 unread, all from the two class periods he had gone without a phone for. More recently, though, she had sent only a few.
ROXY: eeyyy where are u?
ROXY: i gotta get home
ROXY: i cant beleive youre gonna let a fragile young woman like me walk home alone
ROXY: for shame dirk strider
ROXY: for shame
ROXY: (i went home without u btw, srry babe)
Dirk sighed. Well, he was going to be walking home alone, but at least Roxy hadn't gotten hung up on waiting for him. He couldn't fault her for being impatient — it wasn't like he had had the opportunity to explain to her what was happening.
It was amazing, how fast the school emptied after the bell rang. It had only been a few minutes, and the population of the school building had already been halved. There were a few benches on the side of the school, for lunch when the weather was nice enough, and that was where Dirk sat down. He felt mentally and emotionally exhausted from the past few days. He hadn't even thought about being gay just a week ago, and now it seemed like his entire life looped around that one thing. It felt ridiculous. Why did he even care? Why did anyone care?
He groaned and held his head in his hands. Distantly, he could hear the chatter of other students hanging around the front of the building, and it became white noise to mix with his thoughts. How had all of this happened? His life had been completely flipped, in only a few short days. He was in a play, he was (probably) gay, and he was being blackmailed. What had he done to deserve so much unnecessary drama?
"Um," Dirk stiffened as someone spoke up next to him, "I couldn't help but notice that you seem a little down, chum. Is everything alright?"
He lifted his head to look at who spoke. The guy was familiar. Kind of. Dirk frowned, trying to place where he had seen this student before. He looked like he was around Dirk's age, maybe a year older. He was taller than Dirk and very tan. Obviously, he made the most of the Texas sun. His hair was a very dark brown, to the point that it probably looked black in the right light. He had eyes so green that Dirk wondered for a moment if he was wearing contacts — they made the grass look gray in comparison. Usually, Dirk would think that a guy like this was, as Roxy would say, "prime babe material," but this guy wasn't a complete hunk. The glasses that he wore were obviously old, with an out-of-date plastic frame. He had a bit of an overbite, with his two front teeth sticking out over his bottom lip just enough to be noticeable. It made for an awkward mix. Dirk got the feeling that he would probably be much more "babe worthy" if he got contacts, wore braces for a few years, and worked out more. He had the start of muscles, and it would be so easy to develop them if he put in a little effort.
Dirk then realized that he had been blatantly checking this guy out for almost an entire minute.
His face went red, and he abruptly looked away. "What? Oh, yeah, dude, I'm fine. Totally fine." He tried to laugh, but instead, it just came out as a mix between a cough and a wheeze.
The guy didn't look like he believed Dirk, but he smiled anyway. "You came from back there." He pointed at the back of the school. "You look too nice to hang out back there though, mate, are you sure there's nothing wrong?"
'Too nice'? Dirk almost wanted to laugh. Did this guy realize how adorable he was being? He had a British accent, so maybe that had something to do with it. He had probably moved here recently and didn't yet understand that kids in Texas didn't check up on each other for no reason.
It was nice, though. It was really nice.
"Uh, yeah, everything's pretty okay." Dirk looked up at him and moved over so that he could sit down next to Dirk if he wanted to. "It's just, uh… just some stuff I had to deal with. It's nothing. I've got it completely handled."
The student didn't hesitate to sit down next to him. "That's good!" He said cheerily. "M' name's Jake. You, uh, probably didn't know that, since we don't have any classes together." He held out his hand for Dirk to shake.
Being polite, Dirk did so, and he couldn't help but notice how strong his hands felt. They were covered with calluses, and by comparison, Dirk's palms felt completely soft. What did this guy do in his spare time, to have calluses like that? "Jake?" He felt the name click something into place. "Oh, wait. Didn't you go out with my friend for a while? Jane Crocker?"
For some reason, the question made Jake blush. "Y-Yes, I did." He let go of Dirk's hand and glanced away. "I… I know that she was terribly torn up about the breakup, and I feel awful about not checking on her, but I didn't think that she would want to see me." He sighed. "How is she, anyway?"
Dirk shook his head. "She's fine, man. Don't worry. Jane is… stronger than she looks." They sat in silence for a moment, and then Dirk put a hand on Jake's shoulder. The look he got in return was almost laughable. Jake's eyes went big with surprise, made even bigger by his thick glasses. Dirk had to fight back a smile. "Anyway, we've both been pretty shit friends to her. She was obsessed with you when you were going out, you know. And I stopped talking to her, and she stopped talking to me, and… it was just a load of unnecessarily complicated bullshit when we really should have just talked to her. And, for the record, I bet she'd like to hear from you. Jane is really forgiving." He said, a touch of fondness in his voice.
Jake smiled and nodded, though it looked a little forced. "Yeah…" He muttered, uncomfortable. "Jane was— is sweet, and a great gal, but she just wasn't the person for me."
The words make Dirk think of Roxy, and he sighed, before nodding. "I know how you feel." He smiled. "I know a girl like that, too."
This time, the silence between them wasn't so awkward. They sat next to each other, not touching or speaking, and watched the sky. Cloud gazing wasn't as "romantic" as star gazing, but Dirk had always had a certain fondness for it. And besides, it wasn't supposed to be romantic, because Jake was Jane's ex, and more importantly, he seemed pretty straight. Even if he wasn't, though, Dirk was still questioning himself. He struck him as a bad idea to start hitting on a friend's ex while still completely uncertain about his own interests.
Jake was pretty cute, though.
He chose that moment to get to his feet, stretching his arms above his head with a faint groan. When Jake was done, he turned to Dirk, shooting a smile that made the blush over the blond's face burn even hotter. "Well, I'd hate to run off now, mate, but I've gotta get home." He said. "I'm planning on rewatching one of my favorite movies."
Dirk sat up a little straighter, interested. "Really? What movie is it?" Hopefully, Jake had good taste in movies. It wouldn't be a complete deal breaker, but it would definitely subtract points from his "hunkiness" if he had shit taste.
Jake's expression lit up, as though he had been waiting his entire life for someone to ask him that. "Avatar!" He said proudly. "The, uh, one based off of the airbending fellow, not the one with the blue people. Although," he sighed fondly, "that one is forever going to be special to me."
It was a struggle to bite back his remarks. Dirk wanted nothing more than to completely lay out the entire movie for Jake, and explain why Avatar: The Last Airbender was a complete failure of a movie from start to finish.
Instead, he forced a smile. "Sounds… great. I hope it goes well." He didn't want to be rude during his first time talking to Jake. If they got to be close friends, he would take the next opportunity to instill Jake with some semblance of taste. They had to start somewhere, and "something" was better than liking Avatar.
"Thank you!" Jake beamed. "I know it will be." That should have been the end of the conversation, but instead of walking away, Jake paused. He looked like he was considering something, but then his face went red, and he shook his head. "Well, I'll be seeing you some other time, Dirk." He waved, and turned away, walking back towards the front of the school.
Dirk stared after him, a funny feeling curling in his gut. Wow. That was… wow. He frowned suddenly. Wait, had he even told Jake his name? He couldn't decide if it was cute, or creepy that Jake knew his name.
His phone buzzed in his pocket and Dirk pulled it out, checking his texts. This one was a notification from Blue. He clicked it eagerly.
BLUE: Alright i have thrown down the gauntlet mr kamina
BLUE: I am going to watch avatar when i get home to prove to you that it is good
BLUE: Or at least not as awful as you say :B
Dirk paused, hesitating as he started to type out a reply. So, Blue was going to be watching Avatar, too? He tried to find Jake in the crowd of students in the distance, but by now, he was already gone. It was an odd coincidence. The two British boys in his life were going to be watching the same movie? He frowned. Blue had said that he had dated girls before like Jake, too…
But that would just be ridiculous. There was no way that Jake and Blue could be the same person.
Right?
