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heroescuties2012-01-02 06:45 pm
.livejournal.com) wrote in heroescuties2012-01-02 06:45 pm
[Axis Powers Hetalia, America/England: The Scientific Method of Falling in Love]
Title: The Scientific Method of Falling in Love
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia
Genre: AU/Romance
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: America/England
Word Count: 3,248
Summary: Highschool AU. Alfred has a pretty big crush on Arthur, but he's pretty sure the school's soccer hero isn't going to give him and his dorky science self a second glance. [America/England]
Notes: Written for![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
sillyputtie as part of the ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
usxuk Secret Santa. She asked for I'd like to see Arthur being like the school soccer/football (not the American kind :P) star that everyone admires and Alfred is a science/math nerd who has a major crush. .
Arthur Kirkland transferred to our school, Liberty High, the first of this year from England. No one really noticed him at first, as he was pretty quiet and kept to himself. But when soccer tryouts came around, people noticed and noticed in a big way. My best friend, Kiku, who was the team’s Forward from the previous year, even excitedly told me that Arthur was going to be the team’s new Striker.
By the end of the first game, everyone in the school knew who Arthur was. Girls went on about how sexy his British accent was (even if they’d probably only heard it in the post-game interview) and guys talked as if he was their best buddy for scoring the goals that helped our team cream our local rivals by five points.
I’ll admit, even I was pretty psyched after the game and sorely wished that I’d tried out for the team this year. But hey, Alfred Jones (that’s me!) was the best Science Club president Liberty High had ever had and we needed all the awesome we could get to defend our national science fair title. So I’d sat out on sports this year and now I was kinda regretting it, even if Kiku kept me up to date on it all. It’s not that I thought Arthur was sorta cute, or anything. And I definitely didn’t notice the way he scrunched up his rather noticeable eyebrows in concentration right before he made a run for the ball. I was just a scientist at heart, so I was trying to observe him to try and figure out the hype. It was all for theoretical statistics. Yep, that’s all.
Speaking of science, that’s actually how I first met Arthur Kirkland, in person.
You see, during the Tuesday/Thursday block schedule, our school offers tutoring during Study Hall. Me, being as I’m the awesomest at science, got recruited by the head science teacher to tutor the subject. And so, like most Tuesdays after the big soccer game, I was sitting in the library in a cluster of tables relegated for the other tutors.
I rarely had anyone in, except for a few one-off questions and people panicking right before a test, so I generally just did my homework, doodled out superhero comics in my notebook and read adventure novels. I was doing the last of those (a heroic account of Teddy Roosevelt’s trip to the Amazon!) when I noticed him come into the library. He spoke to the librarian before she glanced up and pointed directly at me.
Arthur nodded and walked over while I tucked a bookmark in my place and flashed a reassuring smile. The corner of his lips twitched as if it was attempting to form a smile but didn’t quite know how.
“Hallo, um…you’re the science tutor, correct?”
“That’s me. What do you need help with?”
He slowly sat down his books, eyes darting around as the whispering started at the other tables. It seemed his new found fame wasn’t exactly something he was going to gloat about.
“Coach is worried that my current grades in science might start affecting my GPA and keep me out of a game, so…”
The way he trailed off seemed to indicate that he really had no more to say on the matter, so I asked, “Which class are you in?”
“Geology,” he wrinkled up his nose as if it was something downright horrid. “It was the only elective open when I transferred.”
I gave his hand a pat (not sure why, except it was there and he seemed like he could use some perking up) and smiled wide.
“Okay then, let’s get rocking!”
Arthur blinked, as if he was honestly torn between throwing his Geology textbook at my head and laughing. He finally managed a very quiet chuckle.
“Well, I suppose someone has to like the bloody subject.”
Trying to be reassuring, I replied, “And hopefully this crazy someone can get you to at least tolerate it. Deal?”
He nodded, the tiniest of smiles showing more in his green eyes than anywhere else. “Deal.”
It wasn’t until the bell rang and he left that I realized we’d never formerly introduced ourselves the whole time. Damn. And he was the first person to even crack a smile at my lame jokes too… Luckily for both of us, he realized the same mistake and introduced himself that Thursday, saving me the embarrassment of bringing it up.
---------------------------------
By the time the big tests right before Winter Break hit, I was already crushing pretty badly on Arthur. Like most of the people I tutored, I tried to keep things relaxed by talking about casual stuff and incorporating things from their real life to help them remember. I knew he liked scones (after we talked about the layers in them and compared it to the layers of the Earth) and tea (which we talked about how tea leaves change like metamorphic rocks change due to heat). And the more I talked to him, the more I really grew to like the grumpy soccer hero.
In fact, outside the smirks and smiles I saw him have during his games, Kiku swore the only times he ever noticed Arthur not scowling was when he was with me. I told Kiku he had to be imagining things, but…well, I guess I was pretty charming.
So, figuring I really had nothing to lose, I decided that maybe I’d you know, flirt a little. But it didn’t work out so well. When I asked him what he was doing that weekend, he seemed to just take it as genuine interest or small talk and not any sort of proposition. When I suggested that he remember the color of the mineral Azurite by saying it matched my eyes, I earned a flustered blush and an “I think I can remember it because azure was first used in the English language by Chaucer, so no worries.”
Arthur, who I’d come to learn was just as skilled at English as he was soccer, had a tendency to relate everything to literature. It seemed to help him, to relate the nasty icky science things to the beautiful, wonderful literature things. I teased him about this once and earned a light punch in the arm.
That night, I distinctly washed around where he’d touched me and inwardly classified myself as Idiotus Doomedus- the doomed idiot. Because while he was steadily rising in popularity amongst every guy and girl in the school, I was surely being relegated to “that guy who babbles on about science and makes bad rock puns.”
But there was hope come the last week before break when Arthur discreetly left a small package for me. It was a copy of the book The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and attached was the following note:
This was written by the same fellow as Sherlock Holmes, and while I’m sure some of the science is questionable, I thought you might enjoy it. Thank you for putting up with my abysmal science abilities and helping me pass that last test. We have the end of season coming up in January, so I’ll be back for the sake of my GPA. – Arthur.
Needless to say, I spent my break reading it and trying to come up with some way to ask Arthur out.
--------------------------------------------
My amazing plans took a quick nosedive as Arthur began getting steadily approached by people come mid-January to attend the Sweethearts Dance with them. But after he secured our team’s district win and advancement to State, those requests stopped. Namely because, by some crazy chance of fate, the dance fell on the same weekend as the State championships; which were out of town so none of the soccer team could attend.
As with most things Liberty High, there was an outrage over this (because escorting one of our winning soccer boys to the dance was a definite way to earn status points amongst the cliques of the school), and the actual adults looked at their budget and figured all the finances it would take to reschedule the dance and said “Nope, sorry.”
The only compensation they gave was that they bumped up Prom to mid-April, but that was a small thanks at this point in time.
Being as I was interested in Arthur as more than just a status marker, I figured I’d take a chance come the fated weekend and give him a gift. I thought it over and over and finally settled on something that would appeal to both of us, sort of like his Christmas gift had been for me.
The exchange went pretty, well, awesome. He seemed wary at first when I lugged the large package onto the table in the library and scooted it over towards him.
“Here, it’s a gift for good luck. Not that you’ll probably need it given how you’ve been wrecking every team out there.”
Arthur flushed and as always, tried to avoid the fame. “Oh hush. As Kiku’s friend you should know that those wins were a team effort. I can’t very well score a goal if no one gets the ball to me after all.”
I wanted to say something cool and flattering like, “Yes, but when you get the ball- you can make magic happen.”
But instead, I just feebly nudged the package his way and encouraged him to open it already.
It was a set of geode bookends, the drab gray of the outside rock giving way to the beautiful minerals inside. And while I couldn’t quite get up the nerve to say anything cool, and I sure as hell didn’t get a date or a kiss out of it, just seeing him light up like that made it worth it.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “It’s rare for me to get a gift I actually think I’ll use.”
I realized then that he’d probably received loads of trinkets and good luck charms from all his admiring fans and felt pretty stupid for giving him some lame rock. But he really seemed to like it, and I tried to tell myself I wasn’t imagining the smile.
--------------------------------
After securing State for us, Arthur Kirkland was the talk of the school. Who cared if some guy named Alfred Jones was about to win the science fair nationals and earn a ton of money for our school’s science program. Nope, it was all about Arthur and I’ll admit, it did make me a bit jealous. I mean, the team basically got to revel in the glory of State Championship the rest of the year without any defeats to bring them down.
And I, knowing that Arthur had no reason now to worry about his GPA, wasn’t exactly thrilled to go back to the boring Study Hall days without a single person to tutor.
Between Spring Break and the state science championships (which I won with my awesome project so easily), it wasn’t until late March that I found myself waiting at the table and not expecting anyone to come. Needless to say, I was pretty damn surprised to hear a familiar voice.
“Congratulations on your win, Alfred. I still don’t get the thing you made, but obviously those who understand science mumbo jumbo appreciate it.”
Trying to keep my excitement from showing, I willed down my blush. “I told you, it’s about using the GPS tracking of volcanism to set up an electronically triggered warning system to warn anyone in the area to evacuate when the volcano swells a certain percentage.”
“Hmm,” he seemed to understand it a bit more this time. Probably because last time I was a little heavier on the so-called science mumbo jumbo…
“Well, it does sound like it’s pretty heroic, saving lives and all.”
If possible, I think my heart swelled ten times at that moment. He knew I was big on heroics- with my choices in reading and all, so to have him, the school’s freaking hero at that moment tell me that I’d done something heroic. Well. He might as well have taken my heart- signed, sealed and delivered. As if I wasn’t already head over sneakers for him, jeez he could cut a poor science dork some slack!
Hoping to show my gratitude and still shift the subject, I brought up the newest piece of gossip I’d heard floating around.
“Thanks. So I hear congrats are in order for you as well- State Champ and nominated for Prom King.”
Obviously, as I soon found out, this was the worst subject I could have brought up.
Arthur put his books down louder than necessary and he sighed heavily. “Not really. The Prom King thing is a load of rubbish, and I would honestly rather be rid of the whole ordeal.”
I’m sure my shock showed on my face, my eyebrows going up into my hairline, but Arthur kept going as if he’d been a volcano waiting to blow.
“Did you know I’ve gotten over ten requests to attend Prom with people? Over ten. It’s just preposterous! Not a single one of them knows bloody anything about me except that I can manage to get a soccer ball into a goal. One girl was brazen enough to imply that I’d be just as great after the dance as I was on the pitch. Then,” he took a deep breath, “Then after I politely turn down all these girls who would never dare give me a second chance under normal circumstances, word gets out that I must be bent! Which right then, so I might, but bloody hell now the boys won’t leave me be.”
I could see the librarian shooting us a glare for the noise level and figuring that Arthur’s tirade really wasn’t the business of anyone else, I gently placed my hand on his arm.
“Arthur, let’s step outside okay?”
He nodded sharply before letting me lead him out the library and down the hall to the front doors. We’d done enough little experiments for the class on the school’s front lawn that I was certain no one would really trouble us if we stepped out. So I lead him around the corner of the building to where the biggest tree on the grounds grew and gestured to him to sit.
Arthur shook his head, crossing his arms the moment I released his wrist.
“Alfred,” he said quietly, “No one in this bloody school has gotten to know me at all. Christ, they wouldn’t give me the time of day if they did! I get along with my teammates right fine and Kiku’s nice enough to offer some small talk now and then, but outside schoolwork and sports I’ve not spoken to anyone here. No one…except you.”
I was honestly floored by this. Were people really that shallow? It pained me to think they were, but yet I wasn’t all that surprised. I’d learned that Arthur was a bit of a lonely guy outside school, but now it seemed he was just as lonely at school. Immediately, I was overcome by the urge to hug him and before my brain could catch up with my body, I’d already done so.
“I’m sorry, Arthur. People are jackasses.”
He didn’t pull away and the tension, if anything, seemed to ease a bit from his shoulders as I held him.
“And now I have to go to the damnable dance because this blasted nomination and Coach expects me to look good for the team.”
“No one at all you can go with?” I asked. Surely one of the offers he’d had wasn’t that horrible.
“I don’t want to go with someone that doesn’t know me.” He looked at me then, his green eyes more piercing than I’d ever seen them.
And somehow, despite all my flawed and failed attempts before now, the words came out perfectly this time.
“Well, I know this guy who’s kinda dorky. He makes bad rock puns and is probably pretty lame compared to the company you keep. But, I can tell you this. This guy? He really likes Arthur Kirkland and he has for awhile. Not because he’s some soccer superstar. Not because he has some really attractive British accent. No, he just likes him because he’s Arthur. He likes the fact his eyebrows scrunch up funny when he’s trying to work out a problem. He likes the way that he’s kind enough to notice him, give him good luck gifts and all. And most of all? This guy would really like to take Arthur Kirkland to Prom, if he’d have him.”
Arthur’s eyes went wide and for a moment. I was about to go crawl under the nearest bit of rock (igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary, I wasn’t picky) in shame. Then he let out a breath and the smallest of smiles quirked at his lips.
“You are bloody mental,” he groused, but his smile was growing. “Why the hell would you want to go with me?”
He seemed in disbelief, and I honestly tried to think of some way to explain to him that this wasn’t just some pity date or something. I really, honestly, liked the guy. A lot.
“Did you ever wonder why I gave you those bookends?” I began. Oh jeez, I was rambling and couldn’t stop myself. “It was a geode. Pretty plain and totally unnoticeable on the outside. No one would give those rocks the time of day, but if you work hard enough, crack through that shell, there’s always something beautiful inside.”
Arthur looked like he might laugh or cry, I wasn’t sure.
“Did you just compare me to a rock?”
I laughed nervously. “Yeah. But you know me, I love rocks.”
By the time I processed how I’d inadvertently admitted my feelings for Arthur, his lips had already crushed against mine. He’d grabbed me by the front collar and yanked me down so quickly I didn’t have to register much except “Oh my god, he’s kissing me. Arthur Kirkland is kissing me” and “If I wake up and this was all a dream, I’m going to be so pissed off.”
His lips were dry and chapped, but firm against mine and I was certain I could hear my heart drumming out a very loud beat. Or maybe that was his heart. Oh screw it; Arthur Kirkland was kissing me- who cares about anything else?
As he pulled away, he was flushed with embarrassment and quickly muttered an “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what came over me.”
Me, being as my brain was still elsewhere, spouted out some scientific mumbo jumbo as always. “Spontaneity is like that. We can consider whether or not a process will occur, but we have no idea at which rate it will occur.” I paused and my brain caught up with me. “Sorry. I mean, no I’m not. That was awesome. You, I mean. Not my random science drivel.”
“Oh. Well, your science drivel is pretty um…attractive.”
I blinked. “Really?”
He nodded.
“Wow.”
We both stood there in each other’s arms for a moment smiling like dorks and not really giving a care about much of anything. Finally, Arthur shyly reached down and took my hand.
“Can you tell that Alfred Jones bloke that I think I’d very much like to go with him to Prom?”
I grinned and gave his hand a squeeze. “Yeah. I will.”
Fandom: Axis Powers Hetalia
Genre: AU/Romance
Rating: PG
Characters/Pairing: America/England
Word Count: 3,248
Summary: Highschool AU. Alfred has a pretty big crush on Arthur, but he's pretty sure the school's soccer hero isn't going to give him and his dorky science self a second glance. [America/England]
Notes: Written for
sillyputtie as part of the usxuk Secret Santa. She asked for I'd like to see Arthur being like the school soccer/football (not the American kind :P) star that everyone admires and Alfred is a science/math nerd who has a major crush. . Arthur Kirkland transferred to our school, Liberty High, the first of this year from England. No one really noticed him at first, as he was pretty quiet and kept to himself. But when soccer tryouts came around, people noticed and noticed in a big way. My best friend, Kiku, who was the team’s Forward from the previous year, even excitedly told me that Arthur was going to be the team’s new Striker.
By the end of the first game, everyone in the school knew who Arthur was. Girls went on about how sexy his British accent was (even if they’d probably only heard it in the post-game interview) and guys talked as if he was their best buddy for scoring the goals that helped our team cream our local rivals by five points.
I’ll admit, even I was pretty psyched after the game and sorely wished that I’d tried out for the team this year. But hey, Alfred Jones (that’s me!) was the best Science Club president Liberty High had ever had and we needed all the awesome we could get to defend our national science fair title. So I’d sat out on sports this year and now I was kinda regretting it, even if Kiku kept me up to date on it all. It’s not that I thought Arthur was sorta cute, or anything. And I definitely didn’t notice the way he scrunched up his rather noticeable eyebrows in concentration right before he made a run for the ball. I was just a scientist at heart, so I was trying to observe him to try and figure out the hype. It was all for theoretical statistics. Yep, that’s all.
Speaking of science, that’s actually how I first met Arthur Kirkland, in person.
You see, during the Tuesday/Thursday block schedule, our school offers tutoring during Study Hall. Me, being as I’m the awesomest at science, got recruited by the head science teacher to tutor the subject. And so, like most Tuesdays after the big soccer game, I was sitting in the library in a cluster of tables relegated for the other tutors.
I rarely had anyone in, except for a few one-off questions and people panicking right before a test, so I generally just did my homework, doodled out superhero comics in my notebook and read adventure novels. I was doing the last of those (a heroic account of Teddy Roosevelt’s trip to the Amazon!) when I noticed him come into the library. He spoke to the librarian before she glanced up and pointed directly at me.
Arthur nodded and walked over while I tucked a bookmark in my place and flashed a reassuring smile. The corner of his lips twitched as if it was attempting to form a smile but didn’t quite know how.
“Hallo, um…you’re the science tutor, correct?”
“That’s me. What do you need help with?”
He slowly sat down his books, eyes darting around as the whispering started at the other tables. It seemed his new found fame wasn’t exactly something he was going to gloat about.
“Coach is worried that my current grades in science might start affecting my GPA and keep me out of a game, so…”
The way he trailed off seemed to indicate that he really had no more to say on the matter, so I asked, “Which class are you in?”
“Geology,” he wrinkled up his nose as if it was something downright horrid. “It was the only elective open when I transferred.”
I gave his hand a pat (not sure why, except it was there and he seemed like he could use some perking up) and smiled wide.
“Okay then, let’s get rocking!”
Arthur blinked, as if he was honestly torn between throwing his Geology textbook at my head and laughing. He finally managed a very quiet chuckle.
“Well, I suppose someone has to like the bloody subject.”
Trying to be reassuring, I replied, “And hopefully this crazy someone can get you to at least tolerate it. Deal?”
He nodded, the tiniest of smiles showing more in his green eyes than anywhere else. “Deal.”
It wasn’t until the bell rang and he left that I realized we’d never formerly introduced ourselves the whole time. Damn. And he was the first person to even crack a smile at my lame jokes too… Luckily for both of us, he realized the same mistake and introduced himself that Thursday, saving me the embarrassment of bringing it up.
---------------------------------
By the time the big tests right before Winter Break hit, I was already crushing pretty badly on Arthur. Like most of the people I tutored, I tried to keep things relaxed by talking about casual stuff and incorporating things from their real life to help them remember. I knew he liked scones (after we talked about the layers in them and compared it to the layers of the Earth) and tea (which we talked about how tea leaves change like metamorphic rocks change due to heat). And the more I talked to him, the more I really grew to like the grumpy soccer hero.
In fact, outside the smirks and smiles I saw him have during his games, Kiku swore the only times he ever noticed Arthur not scowling was when he was with me. I told Kiku he had to be imagining things, but…well, I guess I was pretty charming.
So, figuring I really had nothing to lose, I decided that maybe I’d you know, flirt a little. But it didn’t work out so well. When I asked him what he was doing that weekend, he seemed to just take it as genuine interest or small talk and not any sort of proposition. When I suggested that he remember the color of the mineral Azurite by saying it matched my eyes, I earned a flustered blush and an “I think I can remember it because azure was first used in the English language by Chaucer, so no worries.”
Arthur, who I’d come to learn was just as skilled at English as he was soccer, had a tendency to relate everything to literature. It seemed to help him, to relate the nasty icky science things to the beautiful, wonderful literature things. I teased him about this once and earned a light punch in the arm.
That night, I distinctly washed around where he’d touched me and inwardly classified myself as Idiotus Doomedus- the doomed idiot. Because while he was steadily rising in popularity amongst every guy and girl in the school, I was surely being relegated to “that guy who babbles on about science and makes bad rock puns.”
But there was hope come the last week before break when Arthur discreetly left a small package for me. It was a copy of the book The Lost World by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and attached was the following note:
This was written by the same fellow as Sherlock Holmes, and while I’m sure some of the science is questionable, I thought you might enjoy it. Thank you for putting up with my abysmal science abilities and helping me pass that last test. We have the end of season coming up in January, so I’ll be back for the sake of my GPA. – Arthur.
Needless to say, I spent my break reading it and trying to come up with some way to ask Arthur out.
--------------------------------------------
My amazing plans took a quick nosedive as Arthur began getting steadily approached by people come mid-January to attend the Sweethearts Dance with them. But after he secured our team’s district win and advancement to State, those requests stopped. Namely because, by some crazy chance of fate, the dance fell on the same weekend as the State championships; which were out of town so none of the soccer team could attend.
As with most things Liberty High, there was an outrage over this (because escorting one of our winning soccer boys to the dance was a definite way to earn status points amongst the cliques of the school), and the actual adults looked at their budget and figured all the finances it would take to reschedule the dance and said “Nope, sorry.”
The only compensation they gave was that they bumped up Prom to mid-April, but that was a small thanks at this point in time.
Being as I was interested in Arthur as more than just a status marker, I figured I’d take a chance come the fated weekend and give him a gift. I thought it over and over and finally settled on something that would appeal to both of us, sort of like his Christmas gift had been for me.
The exchange went pretty, well, awesome. He seemed wary at first when I lugged the large package onto the table in the library and scooted it over towards him.
“Here, it’s a gift for good luck. Not that you’ll probably need it given how you’ve been wrecking every team out there.”
Arthur flushed and as always, tried to avoid the fame. “Oh hush. As Kiku’s friend you should know that those wins were a team effort. I can’t very well score a goal if no one gets the ball to me after all.”
I wanted to say something cool and flattering like, “Yes, but when you get the ball- you can make magic happen.”
But instead, I just feebly nudged the package his way and encouraged him to open it already.
It was a set of geode bookends, the drab gray of the outside rock giving way to the beautiful minerals inside. And while I couldn’t quite get up the nerve to say anything cool, and I sure as hell didn’t get a date or a kiss out of it, just seeing him light up like that made it worth it.
“Thank you,” he said quietly. “It’s rare for me to get a gift I actually think I’ll use.”
I realized then that he’d probably received loads of trinkets and good luck charms from all his admiring fans and felt pretty stupid for giving him some lame rock. But he really seemed to like it, and I tried to tell myself I wasn’t imagining the smile.
--------------------------------
After securing State for us, Arthur Kirkland was the talk of the school. Who cared if some guy named Alfred Jones was about to win the science fair nationals and earn a ton of money for our school’s science program. Nope, it was all about Arthur and I’ll admit, it did make me a bit jealous. I mean, the team basically got to revel in the glory of State Championship the rest of the year without any defeats to bring them down.
And I, knowing that Arthur had no reason now to worry about his GPA, wasn’t exactly thrilled to go back to the boring Study Hall days without a single person to tutor.
Between Spring Break and the state science championships (which I won with my awesome project so easily), it wasn’t until late March that I found myself waiting at the table and not expecting anyone to come. Needless to say, I was pretty damn surprised to hear a familiar voice.
“Congratulations on your win, Alfred. I still don’t get the thing you made, but obviously those who understand science mumbo jumbo appreciate it.”
Trying to keep my excitement from showing, I willed down my blush. “I told you, it’s about using the GPS tracking of volcanism to set up an electronically triggered warning system to warn anyone in the area to evacuate when the volcano swells a certain percentage.”
“Hmm,” he seemed to understand it a bit more this time. Probably because last time I was a little heavier on the so-called science mumbo jumbo…
“Well, it does sound like it’s pretty heroic, saving lives and all.”
If possible, I think my heart swelled ten times at that moment. He knew I was big on heroics- with my choices in reading and all, so to have him, the school’s freaking hero at that moment tell me that I’d done something heroic. Well. He might as well have taken my heart- signed, sealed and delivered. As if I wasn’t already head over sneakers for him, jeez he could cut a poor science dork some slack!
Hoping to show my gratitude and still shift the subject, I brought up the newest piece of gossip I’d heard floating around.
“Thanks. So I hear congrats are in order for you as well- State Champ and nominated for Prom King.”
Obviously, as I soon found out, this was the worst subject I could have brought up.
Arthur put his books down louder than necessary and he sighed heavily. “Not really. The Prom King thing is a load of rubbish, and I would honestly rather be rid of the whole ordeal.”
I’m sure my shock showed on my face, my eyebrows going up into my hairline, but Arthur kept going as if he’d been a volcano waiting to blow.
“Did you know I’ve gotten over ten requests to attend Prom with people? Over ten. It’s just preposterous! Not a single one of them knows bloody anything about me except that I can manage to get a soccer ball into a goal. One girl was brazen enough to imply that I’d be just as great after the dance as I was on the pitch. Then,” he took a deep breath, “Then after I politely turn down all these girls who would never dare give me a second chance under normal circumstances, word gets out that I must be bent! Which right then, so I might, but bloody hell now the boys won’t leave me be.”
I could see the librarian shooting us a glare for the noise level and figuring that Arthur’s tirade really wasn’t the business of anyone else, I gently placed my hand on his arm.
“Arthur, let’s step outside okay?”
He nodded sharply before letting me lead him out the library and down the hall to the front doors. We’d done enough little experiments for the class on the school’s front lawn that I was certain no one would really trouble us if we stepped out. So I lead him around the corner of the building to where the biggest tree on the grounds grew and gestured to him to sit.
Arthur shook his head, crossing his arms the moment I released his wrist.
“Alfred,” he said quietly, “No one in this bloody school has gotten to know me at all. Christ, they wouldn’t give me the time of day if they did! I get along with my teammates right fine and Kiku’s nice enough to offer some small talk now and then, but outside schoolwork and sports I’ve not spoken to anyone here. No one…except you.”
I was honestly floored by this. Were people really that shallow? It pained me to think they were, but yet I wasn’t all that surprised. I’d learned that Arthur was a bit of a lonely guy outside school, but now it seemed he was just as lonely at school. Immediately, I was overcome by the urge to hug him and before my brain could catch up with my body, I’d already done so.
“I’m sorry, Arthur. People are jackasses.”
He didn’t pull away and the tension, if anything, seemed to ease a bit from his shoulders as I held him.
“And now I have to go to the damnable dance because this blasted nomination and Coach expects me to look good for the team.”
“No one at all you can go with?” I asked. Surely one of the offers he’d had wasn’t that horrible.
“I don’t want to go with someone that doesn’t know me.” He looked at me then, his green eyes more piercing than I’d ever seen them.
And somehow, despite all my flawed and failed attempts before now, the words came out perfectly this time.
“Well, I know this guy who’s kinda dorky. He makes bad rock puns and is probably pretty lame compared to the company you keep. But, I can tell you this. This guy? He really likes Arthur Kirkland and he has for awhile. Not because he’s some soccer superstar. Not because he has some really attractive British accent. No, he just likes him because he’s Arthur. He likes the fact his eyebrows scrunch up funny when he’s trying to work out a problem. He likes the way that he’s kind enough to notice him, give him good luck gifts and all. And most of all? This guy would really like to take Arthur Kirkland to Prom, if he’d have him.”
Arthur’s eyes went wide and for a moment. I was about to go crawl under the nearest bit of rock (igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary, I wasn’t picky) in shame. Then he let out a breath and the smallest of smiles quirked at his lips.
“You are bloody mental,” he groused, but his smile was growing. “Why the hell would you want to go with me?”
He seemed in disbelief, and I honestly tried to think of some way to explain to him that this wasn’t just some pity date or something. I really, honestly, liked the guy. A lot.
“Did you ever wonder why I gave you those bookends?” I began. Oh jeez, I was rambling and couldn’t stop myself. “It was a geode. Pretty plain and totally unnoticeable on the outside. No one would give those rocks the time of day, but if you work hard enough, crack through that shell, there’s always something beautiful inside.”
Arthur looked like he might laugh or cry, I wasn’t sure.
“Did you just compare me to a rock?”
I laughed nervously. “Yeah. But you know me, I love rocks.”
By the time I processed how I’d inadvertently admitted my feelings for Arthur, his lips had already crushed against mine. He’d grabbed me by the front collar and yanked me down so quickly I didn’t have to register much except “Oh my god, he’s kissing me. Arthur Kirkland is kissing me” and “If I wake up and this was all a dream, I’m going to be so pissed off.”
His lips were dry and chapped, but firm against mine and I was certain I could hear my heart drumming out a very loud beat. Or maybe that was his heart. Oh screw it; Arthur Kirkland was kissing me- who cares about anything else?
As he pulled away, he was flushed with embarrassment and quickly muttered an “I’m sorry. I’m not sure what came over me.”
Me, being as my brain was still elsewhere, spouted out some scientific mumbo jumbo as always. “Spontaneity is like that. We can consider whether or not a process will occur, but we have no idea at which rate it will occur.” I paused and my brain caught up with me. “Sorry. I mean, no I’m not. That was awesome. You, I mean. Not my random science drivel.”
“Oh. Well, your science drivel is pretty um…attractive.”
I blinked. “Really?”
He nodded.
“Wow.”
We both stood there in each other’s arms for a moment smiling like dorks and not really giving a care about much of anything. Finally, Arthur shyly reached down and took my hand.
“Can you tell that Alfred Jones bloke that I think I’d very much like to go with him to Prom?”
I grinned and gave his hand a squeeze. “Yeah. I will.”
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And it's nice to see Arthur being humble and not a jock even when he's the star of the soccer team and very popular.
Amazing execution for an amazing prompt <3 *goes to re-read with glee*
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I couldn't stop giggling while reading it
"Did you just compare me to a rock?"
-EPIC XD
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I think the magic is partly explained by the setting, because it's kinda unique among all the "Alfred is a popular football player, Arthur the grumpy, lonely student council president" fics, and even though I'm kinda addicted to settings like those, this was really something new, something we haven't seen much before. But of course the major props go to your writing and characterization skills, because with this setting the fic could've turned out to be rather horrid too. I mean, Arthur could've been this really self-confident, dominating bastard type (y'know, the "he was the freakin' British Empire once, he cannot be stuttering/ easily blushing/ uncertain of himself!!"), but you actually kept him in character and fksjdlfk I CANNOT EXPRESS HOW INCREDIBLY HAPPY IT MAKES ME. Arthur in this fic is adorable! He always is, but here... he's this popular soccer player, everyone knows his name and everyone wants to date him and go with him to the Prom, but Arthur can see through this so easily and even with all the hype about him he is essentially really lonely and has insecurities-- he basically is himself. It breaks my heart when he tells Alfred that "No one in this bloody school has gotten to know me at all."
Except for Alfred, WHO IS, BY THE WAY, TOO SKFDJSLKFJ ADORABLE FOR WORDS. Science geek Alfred is amazing beyond words, his science drivel is adorkable and so him, and his attitude in this fic even though people don't really appreciate his skills and his victories at science competitions and, basically, him, at all, his attitude is still so amazing 'cause he's his jovial, cheerful and charming self, even despite everything. IT'S SO ALFRED. I honestly cannot describe in words how much I love your characterization in this. It's just... pure awesome. And I love them both so much in this fic, so so much!
I LOVE THIS SO MUUUUCH! I love it how Alfred is gradually falling more and more for Arthur, and how Arthur seems to go through the same feelings, falling for Alfred. I love Alfred's jokes and puns ("Okay then, let's get rocking!"), Arthur's love for literature and his blushing and getting all flustered when Alfred says or does something that makes him embarrassed. Arthur's rant near the end of the fic breaks my heart because he's clearly so lonely after everything, but then Alfred hugs him and comforts him and compares him to a rock AND THEN THEY KISS AND ;;;u;;;.
This was an awesome fic, you did brilliant job with it and even though I know you're busy with so many other fics you need to write at the moment (and fksjdlf I can't wait to read those too!), I would really love to see more from this AU too :'D. It's your choice in the end, naturally, but this was really awesome <3! FANTASTIC JOB!!
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So yeah, I loved loved loved that fic! Thank you very much for pasting a huge smile on my face, abarero!
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They're so cute, I want to glomp them again and again!!!! >w<
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I love Alfred as the nerd, and I love his POV (like "I was about to go crawl under the nearest bit of rock (igneous, metamorphic or sedimentary, I wasn’t picky) in shame", that made me laugh). All the thing that he makes some nerd jokes it's so cute!
And Arthur: he's so popular and yet you managed to make him lonely.
I loved it!
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I love, love, love, love, LOVE Alfred depicted as a nerd or geek! Especially science. And Arthur being the more socially well known student is a twist I'm fond of as well. Just ahhhhhh. <33
/incoherent babble
tl;dr awesome fic and I'm looking forward to read more of your stuff
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It's also a nice change that Arthur is the sport hero of the school and not Alfred.^^
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Really well done. I enjoyed reading it very much. :)
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I've wanted a fic like this for so long and this one is wonderful! It's everything I hoped for!
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Head over sneaker, indeed.