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Miles Luna was the typical high school boy. Kerry Shawcross? Not so much. The two had grown up next to each other since elementary school but the two couldn’t have been more different. Kerry had fallen for anime and manga in his last year of elementary school and was enamoured with it since. He was quiet and shy, preferring to keep his nose in his books rather than try and make friends. Miles on the other hand, was a social butterfly. His bubbly personality and innate friendliness made him one of the most popular kids in their school.
Despite his natural friendliness, the two hadn’t spoken more than a couple words to each other, Kerry was pretty sure Miles didn’t even know he existed. He didn’t blame him, after all Kerry was an introvert and to be honest he preferred to not be friends with someone so talkative. So when he found a note in his desk from Miles, calling him out behind the school after class let out, he was more than concerned. It wasn’t a trap, right? Kerry had his fair share of bullying and beat downs, and to be totally honest this seemed like a set up. But from what he’d seen, Miles never really hung out with that crowd, so maybe not?
Although his brain was yelling at him to just head home, he found himself walking to the back of the school without even meaning to. Miles was waiting there, sitting at the curb and swaying a bit, earbuds in his ears. Kerry still had a chance to leave, but curiosity pushed him forward, and he stood in front of Miles, waiting until the other boy realized. It took just a moment before the buds were pulled out and shoved in a pocket, the lithe brunette standing up and smiling brightly at the chubbier boy.
"H-Hey! Kerry… right? Um, so this is probably gonna seem really weird but, do you wanna go out with me sometime?"
Kerry stared at him for a good minute, doing his best not to laugh right at his face. As though he’d fall for such a ridiculous set up.
"Is that it?"
"What?"
"Is that the only reason you called me out here?"
"Uh, yeah."
Kerry turned around, heading off until Miles grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, looking a bit distressed.
"Wait! You didn’t answer!"
"Are you serious? Do you think I’m a fucking idiot? I gotta say, I don’t know you well but I didn’t think you’d ever try to bully someone."
Miles’ eyes went wide a bit, panic and confusion muddling his face.
"You think I’m lying?"
"Of course I think you’re lying! We haven’t spoken more than a sentence or two to each other since elementary school! Do you even realize we live right next to each other? Because you sure don’t act like it, I think this is the first time we’ve ever locked eyes. And you expect me to believe you, one of the most popular guys in school is into dudes and just happens to be into me, the nerdy chubby dude that one one talks to. Yeah, I don’t think so."
Kerry stormed off, and Miles let him go, watching him leave and trying not to get too upset that his first confession ended so terribly.
—
"You’re really talented!"
Kerry stiffened in his seat, looking up from the manga in his hands to glare at the person who interrupted him. Of course, it had to be Miles Luna. The boy had been trying to get in his good graces for the past week, apparently unwilling to let Kerry’s rejection be the end of it.
"…What?"
"Your story. For the school paper? I thought it was super cool, I wish I could come up with such neat ideas like that!"
"Mm."
As the bell rang, the smaller boy got up, putting his stuff in his bag and hurrying to the door without another word. Miles was red with embarrassment and frustration, finally giving in and running after the other boy. He caught up with him just outside the gym, latching onto a sleeve and tugging Kerry inside so they could talk.
"Friends!"
Miles blurted out, face still flushed and eyes looking a little crazy.
"What?"
"Well uh, if you won’t go out with me, can we at least be friends or something?"
Kerry let out a little huff of annoyance.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
"You fucking know why not. You are friends with almost every single person in the school, why are you so adamant about befriending me? I don’t want to just be added to your group of ‘friends’ when you probably don’t really give a shit about me. I don’t know why you would, after all."
Miles felt a bit pained, Kerry’s face turning from one of annoyance to one of upset as he talked, and it was clear why. He kept talking himself down, as though there was no reason anyone could be friends with him, when it clearly wasn’t the truth.
"You mean something to me Kerry. I mean it. I-I know it seems like I haven’t really given you any notice but I totally have! Like I saw you reading that naruto manga like all last month and I tried it out and it’s freaking awesome! And I know you do really well in Literature but you hate Math, and you bring lunch to school most days except you always get pizza on fridays no matter what. And I think your favorite color is blue because you seem to be wearing it like constantly, not that that’s a bad thing! I mean it looks really good on you so… And-"
"Okay, jeez I get it. You actually seem to be interested in me, for some reason. I guess we could, I dunno, text once in a while or something at the least. Give me your number."
Miles was grinning like someone had told him he just one the lottery, eagerly exchanging numbers with Kerry before finally letting the other boy go. Despite them both going home on the same bus, Miles didn’t say another word to him, letting him have his space. But he made sure as soon as he got home, to text as casual a greeting to Kerry as he could, giggling in excitement the entire time.
—
It was slow, rather than the typical quickly-made friendships Miles usually made, the one with Kerry was gradual, bit by bit. He ate up every second the other boy would allow him, binging on the awkward texts and shy nods from across the classroom. Drowned in the few moments he got Kerry to giggle at something dumb he said, replayed the tones in his head for hours afterwards. He wondered if Kerry ever thought about him like this, maybe his thoughts changed a bit since they’d become friends.
It took two more months of friendship before Miles thought to bring it up again. They were sitting in Kerry’s room, playing Borderlands 2 together. Kerry had slowly grown closer to Miles, no longer embarrassed to say hello during class, or feel guilty having lunch together. This was the third time he’d invited Miles over after school, and the first time he was just excited over it, instead of both excited and incredibly anxious. His view of Miles was much better, though to be fair he hadn’t really thought bad of him to begin with, he just didn’t understand why someone like Miles wanted someone like him.
So when Miles brought back that question from months ago, he was still pretty shocked.
"What?"
"I…uh… do you want to go out sometime? Like a date this time, not just friends…"
"You’re still thinking about that? Miles, what the fuck. You’re- I’m no good- It’s dumb…"
Kerry stumbled over his excuses this time, finding it hard to straight up reject him like last time. Miles had shown that he truly enjoyed Kerry’s company, he wholeheartedly laughed at his jokes and fought hard to not let Kerry win when they played video games. He answered every text Kerry sent instantly and sent him twice as many. Clearly he thought Kerry was worth spending even more time with, even if Kerry didn’t quite feel that way himself. Miles had moved closer while the shorter boy lost himself in thought, scooching closer on the couch until their faces were almost touching.
"Kerry…"
Miles’ voice was barely a whisper, Kerry could feel his face heating up in one quick flash and suddenly every bit of clothing he wore felt like it was smothering him. He pushed half-heartedly at Miles to get him away.
"Miles, no! You can’t mean this. I’m not worth it, I’m not worth yo-"
He didn’t get to finish his sentence, a pair of lips cutting him off as they pressed desperately to his own. It was a bit harsh at the start but immediately Miles got gentle, hands slinking up and cradling Kerry’s cheeks as he kept the kiss going as long as possible. He moved away eventually, both of them letting a reluctant sigh escape. Kerry didn’t talk, staring at Miles like the boy had just performed something unbelievable right in front of his eyes. The taller teen smiled shyly, hands still cupping Kerry’s face.
"There’s no way I could ever kiss you like that if I didn’t mean it."