Work Text:
It shouldn't be much of a surprise to learn Kellin Quinn didn't have many friends once you saw him. He was almost instantaneously labeled a loner and a freak after arriving at Cordell High in Southern California. A scrawny, pale kid hidden in layers of black and gray going up against an 8566-strong student body of tan, fit teenagers showing off their model-worthy bodies through use of a lack of adequate clothing overall. Shorty-short jeans, tank tops, bright colours and sandals-- a stark difference from a small town of under a thousand, nestled in the mountains, away from civilization and cell-towers. A stark difference from Kellin's old home. So it was no surprise that the grumpy, standoff-ish, raven haired boy was instantly shoved out of all social sects, something Kellin really didn't mind all that much. He had the friend he needed.
Sadly, that friend wasn't in his AP Bio class. No, he was stuck here, forced to wait patiently for the teacher to set him up with a lab partner because no one would ask him or be caught dead saying yes if he asked. Really, the pride in high schoolers. Kellin always got straight A's in literally everything, he'd do all the work and still let the other person write their name on the paper; it was what Kellin did for every single project, and was a guaranteed perfect score for whoever he worked with, but obviously someone's social standing was more important. Fucking little assholes.
He didn't even say a real word when he was told that Blaire Cassidy would be his partner. He grunted and glared back when she practically slammed her books down next to him. It wasn't his fault that Blaire's boyfriend was playing hooky today. He fiddled with the bar in his left eyebrow and smirked when she practically sneered at him in disgust. Piercings in this school were fine as long as the girls had them in their ears, belly-buttons, or clits. Guys could have them in their ears, always the lobe, and that's it. So Kellin's eyebrow piercing, tongue-piercing, snake bite, nose piercing, lobe piercing, and three cartilage piercings were a total no-go, and definitely not socially acceptable. Apparently tattoos and piercings were worse than teen-pregnancies, racism, and sexism. Who the fuck knew.
The lab was easy, one Kellin had done a thousand times. Really. He'd dissected a cow eye thousands of times. Back in his old town, his neighbor had been this farming family, and they'd had plenty of cattle, which meant plenty of birth and death. And Kellin had grown up there until he was 17 (and forced to move after a nasty divorce) and had been good friends with the farming family, and they'd noticed Kellin's sort of morbid fascination with bodies, both human and animal, and had indulged in his interests by letting him help diagnose sick animals and cut a few things open to see how they worked. So Kellin had dissected more than thirty cow eyes and other various organs. He could do this in his sleep. Blaire obviously had no intention of even breathing near the glassy, squishy orb, opting to give Kellin the reigns. Huzzah, mother fucker.
Halfway through Kellin’s dissection process, Blaire’s phone began vibrating vehemently and she picked up without a thought.
“Hey, Val,” she chirped, glancing at the teacher, then focusing back on the phone. She shifted it to the other ear and leaned into Kellin’s personal space so it would look like she was doing something with her occupied hand. “No, nothing, just watching this guy dissect an eye. Do you realize how gross this is? Ugh, I can’t believe I need this class just to become a Marine Biologist… Hey, no, I get it! Marine Biologist, AP Biology! Doesn’t mean I have to like it!”
She flipped her auburn hair over her shoulder and seemed to have already forgotten that she was supposed to be faking the science lab. “What was that? You think he’s with someone?”
Kellin couldn’t help but tune in. He preferred knowing what was going on in the school to an extent. Know thy enemy.
“No,” Blaire hissed, and the boy fought not to roll his eyes and shout ‘yes!’ “He can’t be! If he’s taken, I’m going to have to kill myself!”
Kellin flinched at her words but steadied himself a second later and got back to listening to her conversation and cutting into the decaying tissue.
“I can’t believe it! Who? Who the hell could capture the eye of the captain of the track and swim team? He says he’ll never date any girl!”
Kellin fought himself again, this time, not to smirk. Track and swim were the big sports of this school, since it was too humid to be an good at football, and the soccer team just sucked. Plus, he found it infinitely more appealing to watch attractive boys swim in tight little suits and run in tight little outfits. Way more alluring than bulky padding and grunting and shouting. He preferred gasps and heaving chests and wet skin and okay, cool it. You’re dissecting a fucking cow eye, if she sees that you’re turned on, she’s gonna think it’s about the dissection, and that’s just fucking wrong.
Kellin took in a deep breath and went about finding the veins that would connect to the brain as Blaire continued to chat.
“You really don’t know? Does anyone? How do you even know he’s with someone?... Val, hearing something from someone from someone else is totally not a sure fire way to get gossip… He did? A gift? What, did he buy something, it could be for a family member or a friend…”
Kellin’s interest was piqued when Blaire blushed.
“Oh, uhm, wow. Not a family member or friend. Okay then.”
“Ms. Cassidy? Is that your phone?”
Blaire quickly hung up and tried not to look guilty. Kellin rolled his eyes, then called out to the teacher, “It wasn’t, Mr. Barbady. Her hands are too full of cow retina to be holding a phone.”
Kellin had never lied to the teacher before, so the teacher had no reason to expect he would be now, and Blaire sent him a grateful, almost surprised look. Kellin didn’t acknowledge it and went back to work.
- - -
Bio was an easy A, and then he was off to an elective he would never have selected. Psychology. He really didn't like the class because every time a mental disorder was mentioned, all eyes would turn to him. Especially when the disorders would often be found in murderers. Then there were the team-building exercises, like the Trust Fall. Kellin had been put into a group of kids that really didn't like him during that exercise, and had ended up with a concussion and a doctor's note home. Kellin had never received an apology, but that probably also had to do with the broken noses those same assholes had the next time Kellin saw them. Because someone special was in this class.
Kellin sat quietly in his desk and waited for all the other students to fill in. Most people ambled aimlessly in the halls, laughing with friends and stretching out those precious five minutes of learning-free debauchery as long as they could. Kellin preferred to start class quickly so it could end quickly. Then he’d have lunch.
The minute-bell rang and his fellow student body slowly made themselves known by shoving over each other to get in the classroom in time so as not to receive a tardy, yelling and squabbling and laughing. Someone nearly fell into his lap, but whoever the girl was quickly righted herself and didn’t even bother to apologize. Kellin scowled.
“Wow, you’re grumpy.”
The cloudy expression was wiped from his face when he turned to his left at the sound of his boyfriend’s voice and smiled warmly at the captain of the track and swim team. “Hi, Vic.”
“Hey,” Victor Fuentes smiled back, leaning back comfortably (or as comfortably as he could) in his desk chair. “Rough day?”
Kellin shook his head. “Nope. On the contrary, it’s been pretty good so far. We got to dissect a cow eye in Bio today.”
“And you just lo~ove dissecting yourself some cow, don’t you,” Vic drawled with flashing eyes. The other boy shook his head like he was disappointed, but the smile stayed. And morphed into something more devious.
“So,” he began, practically leering at the Vic. “I was thinking. Of getting another piercing.”
The other’s only visible eyebrow shot up. “Really? What else is there to pierce? I mean, I’m all for it, I loved it when you got your tongue pierced, made for good head. But what else do you have?”
“It’s called a Prince Albert,” Kellin continued, ignoring Vic’s question and lewder comment. Vic frowned, then predictably pulled out his smart phone to find out what exactly a “Prince Albert” was. Vic’s expression slowly began to morph into something unreadable, and Kellin’s grin grew. “What do you think?” he asked in a low, sultry voice, though he was inwardly very nervous. Piercing was a way for Kellin to get through his hardships without cutting himself or anything truly and permanently harmful. It was a controlled stress release and he could always take them out later on in life. He’d be getting the PA one way or another just to keep himself stable, but he’d prefer it if Vic backed him in his decision.
The athlete across from him cleared his throat and couldn’t meet Kellin’s eyes, his face red as a beat. “I-I think it’s… I think it’s very provocative.”
Kellin’s heart began to plummet. “And?”
Vic swallowed, still staring at his phone. “… And, uhm, very…” He sighed and put the phone away, covering his face with his hands. Kellin waited with baited breath, then furrowed his brow whenVic pulled out his phone again and began typing something rapidly. The confusion amplified when Kellin’s own outdated phone gave a little chirp, signaling he’d received a message. Kellin pulled out the phone and read the screen.
i think youre going to fucking kill me one day god dammit that shit is hot
Kellin giggled at the message and grinned cheekily at the obviously-embarrassed, yet interested, Vic. “I’m glad you like it,” he murmured, putting his phone away as the teacher stood in front of the room.
The class itself was a dull roar of information Kellin already knew through common sense. He was more focused on the fact that Vic suddenly didn’t look anything close to comfortable in his desk, and kept sneaking glances to Kellin and his crotch, and then looking just as quickly away, appearing guilty and aroused. That wasn’t exactly what Kellin had been going for when he’d first decided he’d get a PA, and it was definitely better than he’d expected. Then class ended and it was time for lunch.
He walked slowly alongside Vic, not in much of a hurry to get to their designated table. Vic sat with his swim/track team (because anyone signing up for swim signed up for track), and that meant Kellin sat with them. They tolerated him, but they weren’t his friends. They included him in their conversations, laughed at his jokes, shared their lunches, asked about his life, helped him, asked for help if they needed it, but they weren’t…
What the hell, they were totally his friends. Kellin frowned and tried to puzzle out when he had suddenly become friends with basically the most prestigious group of people in the school, but then he looked to Vic walking beside him, and oh yeah, that was when. The two weren’t out, Kellin hadn’t ever suggested it because he’d figured Vic would prefer it to be kept on the down-low, so the swim/track team members weren’t truly obligated to even talk to him. They… they could very well, possibly, genuinely like him.
“Do your friends like me?” he blurted out, still reeling from the notion. Vic looked at him incredulously before laughing.
“Of course they like you! Fuck, Jaime wouldn’t have given you his mom’s famous brownies if they didn’t like you. They’re always asking me why you never come hang out, or come to practices or meets. They’d originally thought you were an awful boyfriend, but then I hinted in on your home life being shit. Nothing specific, I know you trust me, and it was enough. They backed off, cause, you know, some of them don’t have the greatest parents either.”
Kellin paused, letting all of that sink in before he moved onto his next question. “… They know we’re dating?”
Vic laughed again. “Of course they do! God, they knew I liked you before you even knew! Tony and Jack were actually the ones to give me the pep talk I needed to ask you out. So you can thank them for our budding, gay, teen romance.”
“… Oh.” He hadn’t known that.
- - -
Lunch was coming to an end, and Kellin was dreading parting ways with his boyfriend. After the revelation that the people sitting at the table were more than just people who tolerated him, and that they knew and liked Kellin, he’d been more attentive to conversations and chiding in whenever appropriate. They all seemed to notice, too. Kellin hadn’t talked much before, even when the athletes had begged, so every time Kellin actually spoke out of his own accord there had been huge smiles across the table and an air of camaraderie and acceptance Kellin had never noticed before, but had also noticed had been there all along. And it made him very happy.
Still, they definitely weren’t out to the school, and that meant there was no holding hands or kissing or any PDA of the sort. Kellin sighed and started bagging up his trash. He’d had only an apple for himself for lunch because that was all he could get from his house, but all the guys at the table had insisted on him eating more, and had donated chips and cookies and pizza slices, and just everything until Kellin had begged them to stop, because he really didn’t eat much in the first place. He tossed the paper bag holding the trash into the nearby trashcan and made to stand, but was stopped by Vic’s hand on his upper arm.
“Hold up?”Vic asked him, to which Kellin nodded with some confusion. Vic didn’t offer him any aid, though, and instead took in a shaky breath and glanced around at his friends. There was an array of supportive gestures, such as a firm nod or a thumbs up, and Kellin was left even more bewildered.
Then, Vic stood up on the fucking table and cupped his hands around his mouth.
“Attention! Can I have everyone’s attention please!”
The lunch grounds quieted down in a slow trickle. Vic waited till there was almost silence (which was nearly impossible to come by during a high school lunch period) and made to continue.
“I would like to introduce all of you to someone very special!”
Kellin’s heart started thumping in his chest rapidly, and oh god, he was so not doing this.
“This,” Vic said, pulling something from his pocket. He held it up for everyone to see. “This is my school ring! And here, in Cordell High, I’m sure you’re all aware of how sacred your school ring is and what it means when you give it to someone because we're all a bunch of traditionalist bastards who love a good heirloom and custom!”
Kellin heard someone gasp from a ways away and looked to see Blaire clutching the arm of her best friend, Val, both girls staring up at Vic in shock. That explained the phone conversation.
“I,Victor Vincent Fuentes,” the boy continued. “Would like to give this ring to the most important person of my life.” He looked down at Kellin and smiled so softly, so intimately, like no one else was around, and he blushed underneath Vic’s eyes.
“I would like to give this ring to Kellin Quinn Bostwick, my boyfriend.”
A hush went over the crowd, and it was more silent than silence. It was shock. Complete and utter shock. Vic didn’t seem fazed.
“You want it?” he asked, quieter, directing his question at Kellin alone. He held out the ring with a shaking hand, and that’s when Kellin realized Vic was really afraid that Kellin wouldn’t take it. Afraid that Kellin didn’t accept him. But how could he not?
How could he not accept the boy that had sat down in front of his desk and asked him if he was any good at bowling, having never talked to him before. The boy that had climbed to his roof and taken him on a joyride to a vacant beach in the middle of the night, the boy that had held him when he cried and bandaged his broken ribs. The boy that had looked past the black layers and pale skin to the kid who was fascinated with the body and the veins and the organs and the brain, past all the scowls and dark looks to a kid that was scared of his own mother and hated himself for being unable to prevent his sister’s suicide. How could Kellin not accept the first person to ever accept him?
Kellin took Vic’s hand and turned it over, kissing the back and taking the ring from underneath. Then he smiled at Vic, and Vic only, while slipping the ring on his finger and pulling himself up to stand with Vic on top of the table. He wrapped his arms around the other’s waist and buried his face in the other’s neck and just breathed.
The clapping and cheers that erupted were muted and far away, but then it all came rushing back that they were in front of at least 4000 teenagers and they were clapping. Amidst the teen-pregnancies, racism, and sexism, there was this acceptance, this lack of homophobia that made Kellin proud of the people in this school. They had a lot to work on, but at least they excelled in this one area. And maybe, all that social outcast bullshit was just that-- bullshit. Maybe it was all in Kellin's head.
“That was pretty romantic,” Kellin whispered in Vic’s ear.
“Figured I had to go big or go home when it came to you,” Vic whispered back, craning his neck to kiss the top of his head. “You’re pretty fucking special. This had to be pretty fucking special too.”
Kellin laughed. “Well, it was pretty fucking special.”
Vic hummed his agreement. “Wanna know the best part?”
Kellin pulled back. “What?”
“I can do this now.”
Then Vic leaned forward to kiss Kellin, in front of everyone, grinning like a fool and Kellin kissed him back.