Chapter Text
When you turn 18, you're assigned a guardian angel. Of course, you don't know it's your guardian unless they tell you. You're meant to spent the rest of your life with them once you find them. They're your best friend and are there for anything you need. After all, it is what they are trained to do. They're trained to know everything (actually, they’re assigned to certain talents and specialties) and get out of every situation the right way. Well, they know everything besides having their own feelings.
They don't focus on themselves. They have no need to when they've got someone to protect. Feelings would get in the way.
They day your assigned person turns 18, you're awoken from your slumber.
March 21st.
A loud bell rung across the field lined with cabins separated with dates. The bell was only heard by those meant to wake up that specific day.
David Jacobs' eyes blinked open slowly. He was bothered by the unfamiliar noise and looked around to see him fellow angels waking up. It was his day! Finally, he'd be allowed out to experience the human world. It was the most exciting day a guardian angel would ever experience.
He'd been watching his boy for seventeen years in his sleep. But now it was finally time to meet him. He knew everything about him and had seen every up and down of his life. He was a fun guy from what David could tell, so he was excited to become his best friend.
He had no experience being a teenager since he never had a life before becoming an angel. So, he was around the same age as his boy. He was one of the younger people in the place, most in their hundreds to thousands and had been assigned to tons of people. Angels never die. When their person dies, they're sent back to the cabins and put to sleep until it's their time again.
This was David's first time. It was exhilarating but also very nerve wracking. If he were to mess up, god knows what'll happen....
"Cabin 32120, please make your way down the hallway and into the grand area. You'll be taken from there," an elder came in and announced.
David followed his peers, mesmerized by the sight. Golden walls that were polished to show someone's reflection. That was the first time he had ever seen himself. Wavey, dark brown hair. A white gown that matched everyone else's. Brown eyes, small lips... He shrugged at himself, he looked pretty normal.
Large brown doors opened to reveal a man standing over a gigantic bowl that gave out a sort of glowing blue colour. The man started calling names and one by one, everyone stepped into the bowl and disappeared for good.
David's anxiety was rushing too his head. This was his destiny. He was really going to meet him, Jack Kelly. His best friend. The person that'll mean everything to him for years on top of years. It was a commitment he was willing to take.
"David Micheal Jacobs," the man called. David steppes up to the bowl. "From here on, you'll be dutied to always protect Jack Kelly. You'll become his best friend. You'll become his future until the day he passes. Do you pledge to always watch over him?"
"I do. I promise."
"Go on," he opened his hands up to reveal the bowl. Inside he could see kids walking into a highschool. That's where he'd be taken to.
The moment he stepped in, he was outside the school. He stumbled back a bit, overwhelmed with what just happened.
His first day of highschool. And senior year. In the middle of the year... he took a deep breath and walked into the school. What was being a teenager like? Did he have to walk with confidence? Or be shy and timid?
He earned strange looks as he walked down the halls, some Turing to their friends and whispering.
"Why is he dressed like that?" "Does he think he's special or something just because he's new?" "What a nerd."
Teenagers really do not care, huh? David shrugged it off. He didn't have to worry about them, just Jack.
Then he came to the realization that he had no idea where he was going.
"Hi!" A short blonde approached him with a bright, welcoming smile. David untensed a bit at this friendly person. At least someone might like him. "I'm Charlie. My friend's call me crutchie." He leaned on his crutch and stuck a hand out to be shaken. David shook it fondly.
"Nice to meet you, crutchie. I'm David," he grinned politely back at him.
"Oh, yeah. I know. I was assigned to show you where to go!" He explained. Davey nodded slowly. So...was that was the whole student council thing was? Just showing new kids around?
David could already tell his stay at high school would be hell.
"Lovely. Thank you so much, I appreciate it," David fumbled with the inside of his backpack, "...and here is my schedule. I don't know where I'm going."
Crutchie took it from him and studied it for a second. "You've got two classes with me! That's so cool! Okay, so your first class is advanced chem, so it'll be down the science hallway. I'll take you there."
David followed him down the hall, spinnng in circles as he studied the place. It was filthy. Nothing like the cabins. Dead cockroaches and filled trash cans... lockers were vandalized everywhere he looked and nothing looked cleaned. The hallways were small so he was constantly bumping against people—who then shot him nasty looks.
Guess he didn't get to choose who he was in highschool. The universe decided to make him the shy timid kid. The pushover. Awesome.
"Room 706! My brother's in this class. You'll love him, he's great." Crutchie stopped and presented the very badly painted beige door.
"Uhuh... And where can I find you after class so you can show me my next?" David asked after a moment of looking at the door in disgust.
"My class is in the next hallway and I'll be allowed to leave early. Usually am anyway. So I'll meet you here after!" He cheered.
"Awesome..."
The bell rung, beginning passing period and the start of the day. David jumped. The bell was incredibly different and ten times more annoying than the one he woke up to.
"Well, i gotta go! See ya!" Crutchie waves before walking off.
Well, he already made a friend. Maybe highschool wasn't so bad after all.
He walked into the class and the teacher greeted him. "Well, well, well," he laughed, "you must be the new kid! Come here!" He signalés David to come to the front desk.
"Goodmorning, sir," David started.
"When everyone gets in we'll get you seated okay? I'm Mr. Givler." The upbeat teacher held his hand out. These humans love shaking hands... Still, David shook it.
The bell rung again and the class was filled with students now. He clutched onto his bag, looking around at everyone—who seemed to have their eyes trained on him. Except one person. He had a blue button up on and was focused on a piece of paper. Possibly writing something down.
"Alright kids! What's a better way to start the day than to have a new student!" He did fancy jazz hands towards David. In return he waved awkwardly. "This is David. Be nice to him, it's his first day. Okay, you're gonna sit right over there next to him." He pointed right at the kid he was just studying. Coincidence that the seat next to him was empty.
David walked down the aisle quietly, squeezing past everyone. Someone tried pushing their chair into him but missed.
He sat down and set his bag on the ground. "Um, hi."
The boy looked up and gave him a crooked smile.
It was no one other than Jack Kelly himself. He found him already! That was easier than he originally thought...
"I'm David...well, you probably heard or whatever..Your name?" David tried keeping a conversation. He knew his name by heart, but just telling him that would probably make him uncomfortable.
"Nice to meet you, Davey. Jack," he stated without even looking up. Did he mishear him? His name was David, not Davey. But, he'd rather not correct him.
Was he having a bad day? He seemed awfully moody. It was his birthday! How could he be so upset?
The rest of the class went smoothly. Davey shot subtle glances at him every now and then, but his head was buried in a notebook.
Maybe making friend would be difficult. He certainly seemed more stubborn than Davey thought.
"Why are you all dressed up?" He finally asked when they had some free time before the bell rang.
"I'm not." Thats when Davey realized he had absolutely no idea what he was wearing. He looked down at himself. A white dress shirt overlayed with a brown sweater vest and a tie neatly tucked in. Dress pants and some fancy leather shoes. What a way to make a first impression with a bunch of teenagers...
"You got a tie and everything," he pointed.
"Just wanted to make a good impression! Show that I cared about the school...?" Davey lied. Lying was pretty easy.
He'd probably have to lie a lot.
"Uhuh...okay weirdo," he chuckled. Davey laughed a bit with him too.
He already got the guy to open up. He's doing his job well...!
The bell rang and the kids dashed out the door. Crutchie was standing outside.
"What're you doing here, bud?" Jack wrapped an arm around him and gave him a side hug.
"I'm showing David around school!" He grinned playfully. Jack cocked an eyebrow at the new kid.
"Yeah! His next class is calculus." Crutchie showed him Davey's schedule.
"Wow. We have almost the same schedule besides the elective...looks like I'm going to be stuck with you..." Davey couldn't tell if he was joking or not. Did Jack hâte him already? Was it because of the tie?
"Oh! That's awesome!!! I wish I had the same schedule as Jack. Guess he can take you a from here!" Crutchie offered.
"Uh, yeah. I guess." He wearily looked between the two.
"Let's go or we'll be late. I'll see you at lunch, crutch!" Jack hollared as he started walking backward down the hall. Davey followed quietly.
"Kinda strange how we have the same schedule...our electives are right next to each other too. Are you stalking me or something?" Jack joked, taking a sip from his tumbler.
"Uh...just a coincidence I guess," Davey shrugged. Technically he had been stalking him, but he had to!
But all his perceptions of him were wrong. He certainly had a personality, but nothing Davey expected. He had a certain glint in his eye that spoke passion but the rest of him said sleep deprived and waiting for excitement... He had a sort of spunk Davey never knew he had.
"For sure," Jack opened the door and let him walk in first.
The bell rang. "Kelly, right on time..." the grouchy looking teacher looked up from her desk.
"Only for you," Jack pursed his lips and took a seat.
She put on her glasses and stood up from her desk, "now who's this...?"
"I'm David, the new kid.." He held his hand out to her.
"Don't just stand there, take a seat then..." she rejected the hand shake and walked to the front.
He took the desk that was next to Jack.
"She's kinda mean...," Davey whispered.
"She hates her job," he whispered back with a mischievous grin. He put his legs up on the desk and got comfortable. Davey looked at him with confusion.
"Kelly, how many times do I have to tell you how disrespectful it is to put your dirty feet on school property!" She snarled.
"Then how am I gonna walk?" Jack snickered. Davey finally got it—Jack makes her job miserable.
"Can it or I'll send you to the office again," she hissed.
"So it's your fault she hates it here," Davey whispered.
"Definitely," he laughed not ashamed of the fact. Spending his days with this kid were definitely going to be wild...
Things continued to go smoothly. Davey was scared of literally everything and everyone while Jack was rowdy and ready to make something exciting happen.
On their way to lunch, a kid storming down the hall almost knocked Davey off his feet.
"Jesus...are they always like this!" Davey shook his shoulder off and fixed himself up.
"You act like you've never been around teenagers. What are you, some time traveler?" He laughed, opening the doors to the overly crowded and loud cafeteria.
"No, I haven't actually. Homeschool," he made up naturally.
Jack directed him to the lunch line and they stood by each other's side. "Okay, Mr. Uptight. This is a cafeteria. Or some like to call it hell within hell. Fights break out in here constantly. It's pretty funny."
"Oh wow...that doesn't sound fun at all," Davey grabbed his backpack strap uncomfortably.
"Are you kidding? It's the best part of the day!" Jack nudged him.
Jack grabbed two trays, one for himself and the other for Davey. He loaded up the wrapped up food onto both plates and paid for both.
"This looks...awful," Davey scrunched his nose in disgust.
"Usually it is. Today's chicken sandwich, which is really the only good thing they know how to serve!" Jack led them to an almost full table.
"Jack! David!" Crutchie greeted, tearing himself from a previous conversation.
"Hey bud," Jack half waved, more focused into tearing into his food.
"Finch, Elmer, Race, Romeo, this is David. He's new," Crutchie introduced.
Davey smiled at them, "hi. Nice to meet you."
"Oh cool! We don't usually keep the new folks crutchie guide around here but someone seems a little attached to you," race chuckled.
"No, I just think we scare them off," Romeo corrected. "Don't worry about Race, he says thi bf s but never means it."
"Unless it's 'I love you' to his not boyfriend, Albert. They're in love," Elmer added.
Race went bright red, "they're literally my friend am I not allowed to say I love you to my friend?"
"You don't tell us that you love us," Finch deadeyed him.
"If you don't ask them out soon, then I will," Elmer teased.
"They have a girlfriend!" Race tried to get them off his ass—it wasn't working too well.
"No they do not!" Finch wasn't buying it. From what Davey could tell, he was laid back but was passionate about what he believed. He had a sort of resting bitch face that would typically scare everyone away. He seemed like he'd beat someone up for even looking at him. "Katherine is one of their best friends, Race. you're overthinking. You haven't seen the way they look at you...for the last ten years!"
"Have you seen how you've looked at you know who?" Romeo leaned over to see Finch and smirked at him. Finch glared at him and pushed his face away.
"Hypocrite," Race scoffed.
"You know my situations different!" Finch defended.
"Is not!"
"Is too!"
"You act like they don't feel the same," Elmer joined into the bickering.
"Because they don't," Finch almost stabbed his fork in to his burger.
"Who doesn't?" Crutchie tuned in. Finch went bright red and shook his head.
Davey looked at Jack with a concerned expression that spoke for itself. It was almost like pointing at Finch and Crutchie. Jack nodded and Davey slowly gave him a nod back.
Not even an hour in and he knew all the secrets of the small group.
"Dave, I'm not like these guys. I actually have a boyfriend. They asked me first but still!" Romeo leaned over to him.
"He made us sit in the bushes and made sure his date with them went okay. Their third date. They didn't think it was a date until Specs asked if they could be boyfriends," Elmer explained.
"You literally kissed my best friend when 'hanging out'," Race put in air quotes.
"You can talk to me when you ask out Albert," Elmer huffed.
"Spot and Elmer have been in love since third grade," Finch said through a mouthful of food. "It's kinda gross. Something about soulmates or whatever."
Elmer slowly turned his head to him and gave him a very sarcastic look. "Uhuh."
"I feel left out!" Crutchie pouted.
"Okay! Crutchie. Finch is trying to say—" Race was cut off when Finch covered his mouth. He licked it and Finch helped in disgust.
"I hate you, Higgins," he glared. Crutchie started giggling.
Sure, Davey would never have his own feelings. But he understood them all. He knew what happiness and sadness looked like. He knew what love looked like. He knew anger and excitement... He just never really genuinely felt them. He was built like a robot. It didn't bother him, though. It was his job.
"You're going to scare him off!" Jack laughed, taking a sip of his apple juice.
"You guys are the most fun people that I've encountered all day," Davey cleared. Everyone else had given him dirty looks and shoved him around like some sort of doormat. So, it was refreshing to feel welcomed into a group.
"Did my entire speech about how cowboys were a turning point in society in English mean nothing you you?" Jack pretended to be hurt.
"Yeah...don't get over your head there, cowboy," Davey joked.
"He fits right in!" Race cheered!
Sixth period. The realization of reality struck Davey right in the heart. There would be times where he had no idea what Jack was doing. He wouldn't be there for him. He wouldn't be able to guide him down the right path and get him out of trouble.
Through his entire music theory class, his attention drifted everywhere that wasn't the teacher or his assignment. Though Jack was in the class right next to him, he still felt a million miles away. It was the first time since first period that he wasn't seeing him. And he wouldn't see him after school....or until the first bell rang the next morning...or the weekends. It drove Davey up the walls with anxiety. There was no way he'd survive this.
"David," the teacher looked up from his desk. Davey jumped at the sudden break of silence. He just nodded and looked down at his paper.
He knew all this already. Yeah, he was asleep for eighteen years, but he was born with all the knowledge of a few things and was a bit dumber in other categories. In this case, he was good at music, history, english, and science. Math, foreign language, and sports were not his thing.
As soon as the bell rang he packed his bag and dashed out the door. He'd have to get used to being separated from Jack....
"Dave! First class apart, hope it didn't tear you up," Jack laughed, shoving him in a playful way.
"Oh, what, yeah of course it was fine...! Why wouldn't it be? Not like I'm attached to being next to you. I barely know you," Davey chuckled in response, all his worries drifting into the air. Jack seemed happier than ever. Art must've been his favorite class.
Davey had watched his art skills develop over the years. Jack had been paining since he was a child. Now he drew beautiful, realistic landscapes that looked like photographs. It was amazing.
"Okay, okay. I know we just met, but I have to get used to you somehow. We're going to be stuck together for the next three months of school, I have to get used to you somehow. I'm having a little birthday party after school. My ma is forcing me to have it. On a Wednesday too of all days! You wanna come?" He asked.
"Oh, sure. I'd love to. I've got nothing better to do anyway," he smiled warmly.
Jack fist pumped the air, "awesome! I'll get you a ride there. It's gonna be all of the boys you met at the table earlier plus a few others."
"Fun! I've never been to any sort of party." His first day and he was already going to a sort of party. One of many more he assumed. The high school experience.
"You're gonna love my ma, she's a sweetheart. Oh, and she's the theatre teacher. Cool right?" Jack opened the door to their history class.
"There's theatre here?" Davey asked, looking over his shoulder as he carried the conversation.
"Yup! And I do a lot of the set painting." He threw his bag on a desk and sat down. Davey sat down in an empty seat next to him.
"Oh, that's fun."
"Yeah, and the music department does the music for the musicals," he dug through his bag and pulled out his messy binder. It was about broken and had papers sticking out every which way. "You do music theory huh? You play any instruments?"
"A few, yeah. The piano, violin, and flute." He was extremely skilled in those three instruments. They were the most pleasing to his ears, so it's what he chose to play.
"I have a keyboard at home. Maybe you could teach me one day," Jack mentioned. The bell rang and the class went silent as the teacher talked.
So, maybe the job wasn't so bad. He had already become pretty close to his person. He had a group of friends and was invited to a party. The other angels sure made high school sound like the worst place ever. But, it actually wasn't so bad.
Yeah, Davey hadn't really solved any problems in Jack's life yet. But when it would come, it should definitely be a breeze.