theatre practice - laravis

Chapter 1

Theatre practice. The most troubling hours of every day. Or at least that was the case for Larry Johnson. He had never really been a creative person when it came to theatre arts. He could paint, he could draw, he could make models. Any artistic task you told the brunette to do, and he would be on it immediately, and he would do an amazing job of it, for sure. But theatre arts was completely different. Three boring hours every day at practice, and for what? In Larry's eyes, it was just some boring club that he went to every day after school for a few hours because his mom frequently began to find it hard to put up with a stoner teenager for a child. Not that he could blame her. Lisa has a lot to deal with herself anyway, and ever since she began talking to Henry, the woman had never had much time for her son. Which could be one of the reasons why he agreed to go to a drama club. Simply for the company he could get. Although, it would be easy to admit that he would rather be at home listening to music and doodling in a sketchbook than going to theatre.

Then there was the other end of the spectrum. Those who adored theatre with all their heart. Those who could do any acting-themed task that they put their minds to. There was one student like this in particular. Travis Phelps. Considering his history of bullying other students, Travis wouldn't be seen as the type of person to enjoy theatre. But it gave him a break from his home life. It gave him something to focus on, something to help him ignore all the bruises, something to help him get rid of the pain. It was something to be passionate about. And the blonde took advantage of the opportunity. Now, he had never been great at making friends, especially with his past. Which could be part of the reason why he went. After all, clubs are meant to be for meeting like-minded people, although he had never really gotten around to talking to anyone, with the constant practice he did whilst in the theatre hall after school every day.

These two were clearly polar opposites. Anyone could see that from a glance. But that didn't mean that they didn't talk. Then again, their version of talking was yelling and arguing with each other like children, so it didn't matter what they did, they had never gotten along, and, unsurprisingly, they probably never would do. The two boys were just confused with their thoughts of each other. Sure, they thought they hated each other, but part of that would be different. Most of that would change sooner than either of them had expected.

It was a normal Friday evening after school. Travis was already hanging around on stage, rehearsing some of his lines for a performance they had coming up in a few weeks. Larry strolled into the theatre hall, clearly not paying much attention to their surroundings. The first thing that happened was Travis noticing him from across the hall.

"Evening, Johnson. You're late. Seriously, it's almost over, in like, 10 minutes, idiot. Whatever. Nice day we're having, right?"

It was clearly just pure bitter sarcasm. This sort of situation had happened a million times, to the point where both boys had been completely used to the sarcastic comments they shared with each other.

"Fuck off, Phelps. Haven't you got anything better to do today, Jesus Boy?"

Travis scoffed at the taller male. Clearly a weak response, but that didn't matter for now. Of course Larry noticed the pathetic and petty response Travis gave, but before he could say anything, Travis made a quick response to Larry's words.

"Whatever. Just get over here, I need to tell ya something."

Travis actually had no clue what he needed to say or was going to say whatsoever. If anything, he just wanted to get a chance, any chance, to speak to Larry. Not that he would ever say something as pathetic as THAT out loud. The only response that the brunette gave was a quick eye roll, before climbing up onto the stage and walking over to the shorter male.

"What is it, dickhead?"

Travis shook his head at the other boy.

"Okay, you can at least try to be polite, idiot." he began, smiling slightly as he had to look up at the other boy due to the not too large height difference. "Right, I just, uh, one sec." he said, before glancing round the hall to check nobody was paying attention before grabbing the other boy by the wrist and dragging him into a spare room.

"Hey, what the hell-"

"Shut up a minute, Johnson."

The blond shut the door behind the two of them, sighing and leaning against it, before letting go of the other's arm. "Okay, I just wanted to say sorry."

"Seriously? That's stupid and cliche." the other boy replied, shaking his head. "You seriously dragged me here to say THAT? Listen, you at least gotta prove you're sorry."

If anything, Travis should have expected that sort of reaction. It was natural for someone like Larry, even with their past. "Dickhead. Listen, we're both just hurt kids. Come on, we can at least make a fresh start, right? I know this is cliche and all that bullshit but I mean it."

Only a couple seconds of thinking and a couple minutes of asking random questions lead to a sharp....

No.

That was Larry's answer. "Fuck no." The boy practically darted across the spare room and picked up a box that was in the corner. It wasn't heavy. It probably had a couple cardboard props inside from previous performances. He threw it at Travis, throwing himself back against the wall.

"Wh- What the fuck?! I tried to apologise, the least you can do is NOT attack me!" was the blonde's reply, before quickly throwing a punch at Larry. This was not the outcome that he had expected of the situation. But here they were now, beating each other up again. Larry wiped some blood from his nose, trying to hit Travis at the same time.

TRIGGER WARNING - MENTION OF ABUSE
Within a couple of seconds, multiple flashbacks filled the blonde's mind. Age 7. His father walking upstairs drunk, and Travis hiding in the corner of his own bedroom in pure fear of what his father would do. Age 12. Being thrown against the door on the way to school. Age 15. Crying in the bathroom, his arms littered in blood and bruises. Age 18.... Two days ago...... just trying to run out the door because if he made contact with his father it could end his life.... This morning. Being hit by his own father. Again. Gaining a fresh black eye.
TRIGGER WARNING OVER

The boy cowered into the corner of the room, tears falling down his cheeks every second of the moment. Larry looked confused. Travis looked scared.

"Please don't hurt me..."

It was odd, almost frightening to see the usually tough bully so upset and scared. Larry slowly walked over and sat in front of the other boy, gently holding one of his hands. "Are... are you okay?" he asked. Travis just shook his head in reply. That was the moment that it became clear. All the abuse. The fear. The bullying. The reason. The brunette pulled the other boy into an embrace, gently holding the other boy close. "I'm here for you, blondie." he whispered, feeling the boy slowly wrap his thin, beaten arms around his torso.

It was then that it happened. It happened quicker than either of them had expected. Travis gently held Larry by the chin and pressed their lips together. The kiss lasted for a couple minutes, but it felt like less. It was pure heaven. It wasn't what they were used to. But it had felt good. Travis was the first to pull away. It happened slowly. Or just in slow motion. He wasn't quite sure. Larry still had his hand cupping the other boy's cheek. Travis just instinctively rested his hand on the other boy's chest, looking into his eyes.

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A/N - The next chapter is honestly probably gonna be smut. Just because I'm really bored. I'll put a warning for that.