Woah would you look at this
Alright.... so I should probably clarify? After I uploaded the last chapter, I decided to just completely freehand the rest of the book. I like the way it's going now, because it seems like there's an objective.
MMmmmMMMMMM sorry here you go
~
Pulling his bag flush with himself, Seto let out a huff. His morning so far had been subpar, and he grimaces at the thought of it.
The sound of rain hitting the building and the ground heavily rung softly in his ears, muffled by the roof and the walls. He ached to go outside and just stand in it, away from the crowds and the sting of the fluorescent lights. It would do him some good, really, to just get away from it all.
Teens mill about, flooding the hallways in cliques and groups; chatting loudly. Seto wonders briefly what's going on, before he hears someone call his name. He turns to see Tyler leaned up against a wall, Jason to his left. Jason was grinning, and had his foot up on the wall with his back to it, supporting him. It took Seto a moment to notice their hands, which were clasped within one another.
When he manages to make his way to them, Tyler just bounces a little.
"What's going on?" The words are out of Seto's mouth before he even realizes it, and the two other boys seem to startle out of their own thoughts.
"Oh!" Jason had managed to speak first, effectively silencing Tyler before he had a chance to speak. He smiles sheepishly. "We have a pep rally today, everyone's been on about it all week! You didn't know?"
Seto shakes his head slowly, and is met with quiet laughter from the others.
"Right, sorry," Tyler shrugs: "It lasts like an hour, and it's super loud; so be prepared."
Seto scoffs a bit, trying to hide his smile. He had to admit, the cheer was infectious; and he could feel himself start to become a bit giddy when Jason said he had to go and meet up with his teams in the auditorium, leaving just Tyler and Seto. They exhange awkward smiles.
It felt like forever until the crowd started moving, being shuffled along into the auditorium at a painstaking speed. When Seto finally made it past the doors, he felt a bit breathless at how much smaller it seemed with the bleachers pulled out, but it was still rather large. He startles a bit when he takes his seat in a row closer to the middle, only to see that Tyler somehow drifted off. His eyes scan the crowd, until they come to land on blond hair, drifting down until his gaze locked with the other boy's.
Seto prays he hasn't noticed, but it's far too late to hope. Heat rises to his face as his head snaps down, averting his eyes. He curses silently when he feels the bleachers creak under added weight, and then there's a scraping noise. Their knees knock.
"Hi there."
Brice's voice is muffled by the commotion around them, but Seto can still hear what he's saying clearly. How couldn't he, anyways? Brice is practically shoulder to shoulder with him.
"Fancy seeing you here," Brice grins when he says this, tone slightly teasing. "I would've thought you'd be down there, with the Greek language club."
Seto snorts. "Says the guy who went to every magic the gathering tournament he could."
Brice blushes softly, laughing at the humiliating memories.
"You still gonna hold that to me? I was thirteen."
Seto rolls his eyes, looking down at himself. He suddenly felt insecure with what he looked like, and opened his mouth to say something.
"Students!"
The principal held the microphone close to his mouth, turning in a circle to catch a good look at the crowd. The teenagers whispered amongst themselves for a moment longer, before coming to a hush when the man repeated the word.
"Good morning! For those of you who don't know, my name is principal McCullin."
McCullin was a tall man in his late thirties, with short styled black hair and eyes that seemed to gleam amber, adding to the fact he seemed cat-like. He was thin, and wore a black button up with gray dress pants, matching his monochromatic wardrobe with a white tie. Five o'clock shadow stuck out against his pale skin, and he looked far from well-rested.
"I don't have much to say, so let's just get into it!"
McCullin aimed a point at the band, which was settled off to the side. A woman with dark brown skin and natural hair stood up, and then flashed a paper at the teens. A burst of drum echoed throughout the air, and then the rest kicked off. Teens in the bleachers began stomping to the beat, and it soon settled in to Seto that this was the school's fight song. The woman held up another paper as the song came to its' final notes, and cheering erupted from the crowd as the next song began to play.
Funny enough, it seemed to also be considered a spirit song.
The upbeat tune of "Hollaback Girl" soon rang through the auditorium, and a large amount of students sung along. The happiness in the air was spread around; and soon Seto found himself trying to hide a smile of his own as sports teams were introduced, each shouting as they came out onto the floor. They'd huddle, and then begin spinning around as they yelled out "fight!" over and over again, before breaking apart and running wild. Some of the teams even managed to lift McCullin off the ground and hoist him into the air, and McCullin would grin and struggle uselessly as the crowd went absolutely insane.
Clubs were introduced, each having a shopping cart decorated as a float to represent their club. Seto hears Brice snort beside him as one falls apart out on the floor.
Halfway through the clubs, a group of upperclassmen begin chanting "anime", only for McCullin to announce that the anime club didn't have a float and wouldn't be attending; much to the dismay of the teens, who let out a chorus of boos and began to stomp at the bleachers.
Seto felt tired when it finally came to a close, standing and gathering his stuff. He was nearly out the door when he's grabbed by the backpack, coming to a halt as Brice catches up to him.
"Hey so, I was wondering..." Brice is looking opposite of Seto's direction, and he seems flustered. Seto quirked his brow, waiting for him to continue.
"Would you like to hang out on Friday?" Brice finally turns to meet Seto's eye, before his face suddenly flares a shade of red. "Oh, fuck, sorry that was really sudden! I meant um, shit-"
"It's cool." The calm in Seto's voice shocks even himself, and Brice stops dead in the middle of his sentence. They look at one another, just studying the others' face as they walk; and Seto's the one to break the silence.
"I'm free Friday. Would the park be cool?"
He watches as Brice nods, obviously trying to seem less excited than he actually was. It wasn't working very well, but Seto wouldn't say that aloud.
"After school is good." Brice clarifies, sticking his hand up and waving to Seto as he begins to walk in a different direction. "See you then!" He calls, smiling.
Seto inhales loudly, vowing to himself that he was going to slam his head into a brick wall later. Why did he just agree to that? He feels exhausted now, and thinking about meeting Brice in the park in two days only makes it worse.
The fact that Tyler and Jason practically interrogated him at lunch didn't help his exhaustion much either, but he couldn't help but get swept up in the excitement the two boys seemed to share as he retold what had happened a couple times. Tyler assured him that it was just so he could catch every single detail, and then Jason cut him off by joking that he was going to write a play about it. The table broke into laughter soon after, and it hit Seto all at once that for the first time in a long time; he felt like he belonged somewhere.
He swore to himself to never let that feeling go, before tuning back into the conversation just as Tyler began to talk animatedly about the musical the theater kids were rehearsing for. Seto remarked that he didn't know Tyler could sing, only for the other boy to just smile shyly.
Just for a moment, Seto seemed to forget about why he was so exhausted to begin with.
~
Kinda a filler chapter?? Whoops
AnywAYS
That entire pep rally scene is based off of my actual schools pep rally. Yes, the anime club thing actually happened. As did the Hollaback Girl thing.
The only thing made up were the teachers and the principal (since I honest to god don't even know my principals name,,,)
In case ya'll haven't noticed apparently me updating this story at 5 am is a trend now