I want to start a petition to remove all forms of group projects from my school.
This story will be a highschool au, with Denton as their English teacher. Spot, Jack, JoJo and Elmer have been adopted by Medda. I'll use a little bit of 1992 and broadway in this fanfic, so don't get confused.
Translations are in between (), but I have all at the bottom of the chapter. (Spot is Spanish, JoJo Italian and Elmer obviously Polish)
I tried to make this focus on everyone's struggles at once and make them come together, but I suck at that and now it's mainly focused around Elmer (who would've thought XD).
Relationships:
Sprace
ElmerxCrutchie (cause they're both small beans and I love them)
Javid
JoJoxButtons
~ F
"Do you know that feeling? Wanting to hit everyone who you work with in the face?" Spot asked while hitting a pillow with his fist.
"First of all: what has that pillow ever done to you? And secondly: what happened?" Race questioned as he hugged his boyfriend from behind, his chin now resting on the shorter boy's shoulder. Spot huffed before responding.
"I'm going to kill Dutchy and Hot Shot is what happened." He turned around in his boyfriend's arms and buried his face in the chest in front of him.
"Now, I don't think Dutchy and Hot Shot need to die so young." Race joked as he tightened his grip on the small, but muscular, boy.
"Yeah, you won't say that after doing a group project with those two. I'll promise you that even Elmer would want to kill them." Spot sighed as he pulled away, his mind quickly going to his adoptive baby brother that was in the room next door. Well, baby brother was a big word since Elmer was only a few months younger, but he was the youngest out off the four of them. Jack being the oldest, then Spot, then JoJo. Jack and Elmer differ a little over a year.
"Speaking of Elmer. I haven't seen him lately." Race looked towards the door absent minded.
"Something's off and he won't tell us." Spot sighed again, burying his face back in his lover's chest. Truth be told? He was worried as hell for the younger boy.
<>
In the room next to Spot's Crutchie and Elmer were laying on the bed. It fit not as well as they wanted, but they took advantage of both not being that tall and curled up next to each other. Elmer was already asleep when Crutchie decided to open his eyes. He looked down at his boyfriend, something was wrong. Something is always wrong when his sun seemed to dim. He got up as careful as he could, trying not to disturb the sleeping boy. While looking around the room he grabbed his crutch that was leaning on the nightstand. As softly as he could, he made his way over to the bureau that was standing in the far corner of the room. Elmer had left his phone there to charge before they went to bed. He picked up the older Samsung and entered the password. It wasn't hard to guess since he knew it was the place they met, but then typed out in numbers.
"Arts." He mumbled to himself as he typed in 2787. It was their first art class that they had met. His phone opened to a picture of the two of them as wallpaper. Said picture had been taken by Jack on the first day they had told the group that they were in a relationship. He looked fondly at the picture of them kissing before his attention switched. The phone in his hand buzzed as a new message arrived. It was in a group chat called 'group project English'. At first Crutchie didn't think much of it, since the two of them didn't share the same English class and it would probably be one of their friends with whom his boyfriend had been partnered up with. But the phone kept buzzing and he accidentally clicked on the notification.
(New messages)
[5.52 pm] Oscar: Fag! How far is the thing???????
[5.52 pm] Morris: U said the thing would be done by now
I wont fail this project just because u didnt do it
[5.56 pm] Oscar: ANSWER US DAMNIT!!!!!!!!
Crutchie looked bewildered at the phone in his hand. He didn't dare to scroll up to read all the other messages, fearing that they're worse.
"Crutch?" a soft voice came from the bed.
"El? Wha-" Crutchie looked back, but stopped as his eyes locked with his boyfriend's.
"What the hell are you doing on my phone?" The Polish boy was on his feet in an instant. He had taken hold of the phone before Crutchie could react.
"El, why-" but again the boy could finish his sentence.
"You got no right to do that! Do you not trust me enough?" Elmer nearly yelled.
"You've been acting weird. I just wanted to know what was wrong." Crutchie tried to defend himself, his voice calm contrary to Elmer's.
"You don't get to do this!" Elmer's voice boomed again. Something had to be wrong, because Elmer never got angry. He was once robbed by someone and then apologized to Crutchie for losing the bracelet that he had given to him on their month anniversary.
"Elmer." Crutchie sighed as he took a hold of his boyfriend's wrist, but the reaction that he got scared him. The slightly smaller boy flinched away from him and he could see tears start to form in his eyes.
"Go away." Elmer mumbled while taking a few paces back.
"El, I-"
"GO AWAY!" Elmer at this point was nearly pushing Crutchie out of the room. As soon as the blond haired boy had left the room, the door was locked behind him. Crutchie looked around him, there was no one in the hallway. He made his way towards the front door, but stopped as he heard someone calling for him as he passed a room. JoJo was standing in the doorway with Buttons right behind him.
<>
JoJo and Buttons were cuddled up together on the couch in the living room when they heard yelling.
"Should we-?" Buttons questioned while looking up at the boy who actually lived in the house.
"I think they need space. Their first fight probably." JoJo sighed. He didn't like it, but he knew better than to disturb Elmer when having an outburst. The boy had all that built up anger inside of him that he would explode once in a while (and he would apologize later on). But till that day it had always only happened within the family. Most often Jack would be the one to hold him tight after, because he would feel terrible.
"It's quiet." Buttons whispered as he began to stand up, not knowing what was happening. Then there was a loud bang of a door closing and locking. Both of them made their way towards the doorway, JoJo in front, to find out what had happened. Crutchie soon came to the door. Even though the boy had tears in his eyes, he looked determined.
"What is happening? We heard Elmer yell, but we didn't want to intrude." He quickly explained.
"He's hiding something." Crutchie stated with even more determination in his eyes. "Just keep an eye on him." With that he left.
"So, what now?" Buttons asked as he followed JoJo out of the room. The boy didn't respond, lost in his own thoughts for a moment. They made their way towards Jack's bedroom, but found out the oldest wasn't there. Medda wasn't at home either, having left a couple of days ago to help out with a charity project in Washington DC.
"JoJo?" Spot's voice boomed from behind them. "Do you know what happend? We heard yelling." JoJo turned around on his heals to see Spot and Race standing next to each other in the doorway to Spot's room.
"Crutchie said something about Elmer hiding something." JoJo explained quickly. "Where is Jack?"
"At Davey's." Race told him.
"Call him." JoJo commanded his boyfriend who was already holding his phone in his hand. He gave him a quick kiss before grabbing Spot's arm.
"Can you and Buttons wait for Jack to come back downstairs?" Spot asked his boyfriend with pleading eyes. The tall blond nodded and walked away with Buttons who was already holding his phone to his right ear awaiting Jack to answer his call. Spot and JoJo made their way to Elmer's bedroom with anxiety building in their bodies.
"Ellie?" Spot's normal harsh voice now sounded soft.
"Go away." A response came from the other side. The boy was clearly crying.
"What happened?" JoJo questioned as he rested his head on the wooden door.
"Nothing. Go away." Another response came.
"Crutchie said you are hiding something. What is it?" Spot questioned, but was hit by JoJo as soon as the last word had left his mouth. "What?" He hissed quietly at his other brother.
"You really think that is the best thing to ask?" JoJo hissed back. There were tears clearly in the back of the panicked boy's eyes and how much Spot wanted to deny it, there were some in his too.
"I don't know. Jack always deals with this stuff." Spot answered.
"Can you open the door for us?" JoJo asked, but no response came. The other side of the room was quiet. Too quiet.
"Elmer Kasprzak. Open this door." Spot ordered, receiving another hit from his brother.
"Idź stąd." (Go away) Both boys outside the room cursed at the sudden change of language.
"We can't understand what you're saying, El." JoJo stated softly as he locked eyes with Spot again. His eyes asking a question to which Spot shook his head. Spot didn't know what the words meant.
"Zostaw mnie w spokoju. Nie chcę cię tutaj. Nie możesz nic zrobić dla mnie, a ja nie mogę zrobić nic dobrego dla nikogo." (Leave me alone. I don't want you here. You can't do anything for me, and I can't do anything good for anyone.) Elmer's rasping voice sounded from the other side again.
"To nieprawda." (That's not true.) A sudden voice from behind JoJo and Spot sounded, making both of them jump. They turned around and locked eyes with Jack. There was a key in his hand and he was eyeing the door, wanting to reach it. "Get downstairs to the kitchen. Davey is there with Buttons and Race." Both boys wanted to object, but one stern look from the eldest made them leave. They made their way down the stairs slowly, Spot giving JoJo a small side hug as he noticed the boy seeming to shrink in on himself.
"He's going to be alright, you know. Jack is here now." Spot tried to reassure.
"I just want to be able to help him. What happens if Jack can't come one day. What if jack just isn't here anymore one day." JoJo rambled as they came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs.
"Jack will always be here for us. And, yes, that boy is reckless, but he will never do anything so that he can't come back to us. Otherwise I'll bring him back from the dead and kill him again myself." This got a quiet laugh out of his little brother before they resumed their way to the kitchen.
"How is he?" Race asked, worried about his friend.
"Jack's with him now. He'll be fine." Spot sighed as he melted into the arms that were wrapped around him by Race.
"You alright?" Buttons asked JoJo as he too wrapped him in a hug and placed a soft kiss in the boy's hair.
"Fine." Was all that came out of the boy's mouth.
"Alright." Davey broke the silence after a few seconds. "Let's make dinner."
<>
Jack sighed as he watched two of his baby brothers leave. The key in his hand had been trusted upon him by Medda. It was the only key in the house that could open every room. With a sigh he placed the key in the lock and turned it, successfully opening the door.
"Odejdź, Jack." (Go away, Jack.) Elmer was sitting with his legs pulled up to his chest in the corner of his bed, the walls nearly consuming him.
"Co jest nie tak?" (What's wrong?) Jack asked. Most people who didn't really know Jack would assume he wasn't that smart, but nothing was less true. Jack had taken it upon himself, at a very young age, to learn a little from every language that his brother's spoke. Spanish for Spot, Italian for JoJo and Polish for Elmer.
"Nie wiedziałbyś. Nie jesteś tym, który jest przydzielony do pracy z dwoma łobuzami ze szkoły i musisz zrobić wszystko, co mówią, w przeciwnym razie skrzywdzą ciebie i twojego chłopaka." (You wouldn't know. You are not the one who is assigned to work with two bullies from school and you have to do everything they say or they will hurt you and your boyfriend.) Elmer rambled angrily. Although Jack understood some words, this was too high of a level and too fast for him to understand properly.
"Could you explain it in English?" He asked.
"Go. Away." Was all that came out of Elmer's mouth. Now, that was something Jack was not going to do. Instead he took a few paces towards the bed and sat on it beside the boy, pulling him into a hug, even though the boy struggled against it.
"Was it Crutchie?" Jack asked. He hoped it was not. Crutchie was his best friend and to have to chose between them wouldn't end up good. Elmer shook his head and Jack let out a sigh. Having your brother and your best friend date can be really nice, but not in moments like these. "Then what is wrong?"
"Nothing." Elmer denied. Jack let out another sigh as they stayed in a comfortable silence for a while. After minutes of silence the smell of food came flowing into the room.
"Are you up for some food?" Jack asked, knowing that the boy probably hadn't eaten anything. He never did when having stress building up. The boy nodded and climbed over Jack, not saying a word. He just stalked out of the room, Jack quickly behind him as they made their way towards the kitchen.
"Hey, Elmer!" Davey greeted enthusiastically, but his smile fell as he didn't get a response. A frown formed on his face as he looked at his boyfriend. Jack gave a sad smile and a shake of his head.
"¿Lo que le sucedió?" (What happened?) Spot eyed Jack as he switched to his native language, knowing that that was the only way they could talk in private.
"No lo sé. Dijo algo en polaco, pero fue demasiado rápido para entender." (I do not know. He said something in Polish, but it was too quick to understand.) Jack answered, switching easily between languages.
"¿Ya hablaste con Crutchie?" (Have you talked with Crutchie yet?) Spot asked. At this Jack shook his head.
"Sta bene?" (Is he alright?) JoJo's voice got his attention next.
"Non lo so, ragazzo. Non sta parlando. Dovremmo semplicemente lasciarlo stare." (I don't know, kid. He's not talking. We should just let him be.)
"Let's eat." Davey's voice broke trough the conversation. He gave Jack a quick kiss before they all took a seat at the neatly set table. All of the boys minus Elmer looked at the delicious food that was standing in front of them.
"This looks sorprendente." (amazing) JoJo nearly fell from his chair, momentarily forgetting his worries as he looked at the food. There were home made pizza's, salads, fries and a lot more.
As all of them ate, well all except Elmer, there was some small talk exchanged, some laughed, but all of them seemed to continually take glances at Elmer as if he might break.
"Powinieneś coś zjeść." (You should eat something.) Jack whispered in his ear. Elmer just sighed and put down his fork with which he had been picking at his fries for the entire time.
"Nie głodny." (Not hungry.) The boy said after a while. "I'm going to bed." He told the group of boys before standing up and making his way up to his room. Jack, Spot and JoJo were about to follow when Jack's phone rang. He answered it without looking at the name.
"Jack speaking." He greeted the unknown caller. A look of surprise crossed is face before going to furious. It lasted for almost a minute. "Thanks. Bye." He ended the conversation pretty quickly.
"Who was that?" Buttons asked curiously.
"Crutchie." Jack answered, calculating possible scenarios in his head.
"What did he say?" Davey asked while taking hold of Jack's slightly shaking hand.
"Enough." Jack scoffed as he tried to turn away, but the voice of one of his brothers stopped him.
"¿Qué sucedió?" (What happened?) It was Spot who asked him.
"Delanceys." Was all Jack got out. In an instant Spot's face ran a booming red color while JoJo's turned white. The other three just shared a look and agreed to leave the brother's be for a moment. Spot, JoJo and Jack didn't even noticed when they retreated to te living room.
"I'm going to kill people." Spot was already reaching for the knife that was placed next to the plate where the pizza had previously been on. JoJo was quick to react, placing his hand over Spot's, so the boy wouldn't take the knife.
"What are we going to do?" JoJo questioned. Spot opened his mouth, but JoJo was first. "Except for killing them." There was a slight hint of disappointment on Spot's face.
"Let's go talk to Elmer, then we'll see about what we can do about it." Jack had his mind made up about it. They couldn't do anything right now, but maybe, just maybe they could help Elmer later.
"Do you really think he'll talk to us?" JoJo asked with slight hesitation in his voice.
"Probably not, but as long as he knows we're there." Spot, who had calmed down a little, placed a hand on JoJo's shoulder, massaging it gently, trying to get at least a little tension out of the muscles.
"Hey, Jack?" A 'new' voice joined their conversation. It was Davey who had returned and was leaning against the door. "I'm bringing the boys back home. Text me later." Jack nodded, a serious look on his face. They watched the three boys leave, neither of them really feeling like giving them a proper goodbye.
They moved out of the kitchen without saying a word, all three of them stuck inside the madness of their own mind.
"El?" Jack asked into the tense air that was surrounding them as he slowly opened the door to the youngest's room. Spot and JoJo were close behind him. There came no answer, but the unevenly rising and falling from the bump on the bed let them know that Elmer wasn't asleep yet. The three of them made their way in to the room, sitting down on the bed, pulling Elmer up so he was sitting up, leaning against Spot.
"You want to tell us?" Spot asked while rubbing circles on Elmer's back. The boys stayed silent, but a shake off his head gave them the answer.
"We can talk with mister Denton for you, if you'd like. Get you new partners." JoJo tried to solve the problem.
"The deadline is tomorrow." Elmer's soft voice sounded as he shook his head again.
"What project is it?" Jack asked, his hand resting on Elmer's leg.
"Article about climate change. I'm only half way done." Elmer sighed, closing his eyes tightly shut and wrapping the blanket tighter around himself.
"The two thousand words, last of the year, essay?" Spot questioned with a raised eyebrow. Elmer nodded in response, slightly wondering how his brother knew. Even though their ages weren't that much apart, they were in different years. Which meant that both Spot and Jack already did that year, and project, and it was now JoJo's and Elmer's turn.
"We did that project together, right?" Jack asked Spot, who nodded in return. "You can have ours." He looked back down at Elmer who was looking between the two.
"But- He can see that it's yours right?"
"You can copy half of theirs and place it right under the part you already finished." JoJo answered for them. Elmer tried to stand up, but a pair of arms wrapped around his hips and pulled him down, so he was now sitting in Jack's lap, wrapped in a tight hug.
"I'll finish it for you." Spot told Elmer as he stood up and walked over to the bureau.
"Thanks." Elmer smiled softly at him, a yawn escaping his mouth.
"Jo?" Jack asked the other boy while moving so he could be leaning with his back against the wall and taking Elmer with him. "Could you get some snacks?" The boy nodded and headed out of the room.
"What now?" The youngest asked, his head resting on Jack's shoulder and his eyes were closed.
"Now, you relax." Spot's voice sounded from the other side of the room. The arms that were wrapped around him tightened slightly, but never tight enough to hurt. He pulled the blanket up high enough so it covered both him and his oldest brother before he began to relax, focussing on Jack's soft humming 'Just the way you are'.
When JoJo re-entered the room it was quiet. Only the clicking of keys was heard in the background. As he set his first step back in the room Spot turned around, making him look in that direction. He watched as the older boy motioned for him to be silent, eyeing the two boys on the bed. Both boys were asleep with small smiles across their faces. JoJo smiled, placing the snacks he had brought on the floor next to the end of the bed. He then pulled up a chair next to Spot and rested his head on the boy's shoulder. Spot stopped for a second, his left hand finding it's way around JoJo's waist and his lips placing a soft kiss in the boy's hair, before turning back to improving the essay, now only using his right hand.
Translations (according to Google Translate):
Polish
Idź stąd = Go away
Zostaw mnie w spokoju. Nie chcę cię tutaj. Nie możesz nic zrobić dla mnie, a ja nie mogę zrobić nic dobrego dla nikogo. = Leave me alone. I don't want you here. You can't do anything for me, and I can't do anything good for anyone.
To nieprawda. = That's not true.
Odejdź, Jack. = Go away, Jack. (yes, two versions of 'go away'. Don't ask me. Ask translate)
Co jest nie tak? = What's wrong?
Nie wiedziałbyś. Nie jesteś tym, który jest przydzielony do pracy z dwoma łobuzami ze szkoły i musisz zrobić wszystko, co mówią, w przeciwnym razie skrzywdzą ciebie i twojego chłopaka. = You wouldn't know. You are not the one who is assigned to work with two bullies from school and you have to do everything they say or they will hurt you and your boyfriend.
Powinieneś coś zjeść. = You should eat something.
Nie głodny. = Not hungry
Spanish
¿Lo que le sucedió? = What happened?
No lo sé. Dijo algo en polaco, pero fue demasiado rápido para entender. = I do not know. He said something in Polish, but it was too quick to understand.
¿Ya hablaste con Crutchie? = Have you talked with Crutchie yet?
¿Qué sucedió? = What happened?
Italian
Sta bene? = Is he alright?
Non lo so, ragazzo. Non sta parlando. Dovremmo semplicemente lasciarlo stare. = I don't know, kid. He's not talking. We should just let him be.
sorprendente = amazing