Chapter Text
BRING !!
The bell to move on to the next class rang out through the school, and Ezra Fell began packing his books into his bag. As much as he loved AP Lit, it took a lot out of him sometimes. He was just incredibly grateful he had a free period right after. His brain was still in reading mode, and it was the perfect time to pick up a book, and read it, completely undisturbed for an hour and a half, in the library. He placed the strap of his bag around his shoulders, gave his teacher a quick farewell, and headed out of the classroom, towards the library. He could take as long as he wanted on his walk across the building. The hallways began to empty of students, as everyone rushed to their next class, and Ezra calmly made his way down the first flight of stairs. His AP Lit class was on the third floor of the school, and the library was on the first. He didn’t mind, of course. He enjoyed the walk through the building when there was nobody else in the hallways. It was very peaceful, and it was a nice break from having to push through a crowd of people to get to his classes on time.
The walk took him some 10 minutes, mostly because he felt like taking his time. The library across from the back of the school, and there were a few floor to ceiling windows in front, that gave you a nice view to the sports fields out back. Eden High wasn’t much of a sports school, mostly known for its arts and academics. But they still offered a variety of sports for everyone to try out. That didn’t stop their football team from being terrible, but nobody talked about that. When Ezra finally turned the corner to the library, something out of the window caught his eye. There was a student standing outside, alone. Ezra was usually not a curious person, by nature, but he couldn’t help but wonder what they were doing there. Classes had only started around 13 minutes ago, if his watch was accurate, and the student didn’t seem to be with any class. His curiosity finally got the better of him, and he pushed open the door next to the windows, stepping outside.
As he got closer, he noted that the student appeared to be male, though he didn’t want to make any assumptions. They also had their bag with them, so perhaps they also had a free period? And they were wearing all black clothing, including a black leather jacket, which Ezra hoped wasn’t too hot for them, seeing as it wasn’t even October yet, and the weather was still a bit too warm to be wearing leather jackets outside. As he got closer, he realized the student had very red hair, pulled up into a messy bun. It did look familiar, but again, he didn’t want to assume anything. Finally stepping up next to the student, he realized he recognized him. And yes, he knew now that the student was a him. It was that boy he had history class with. They’d never spoken before, but Ezra found him interesting. He never seemed to do much work in the class. He kept to himself, rarely saying a word, and he always wore sunglasses, even inside. The teacher never said anything about that though, so Ezra assumed he had special permission.
“That went down like a lead balloon” the boy said, and Ezra jumped in surprise. He hadn’t been expecting him to say anything.
“Sorry, what?” Ezra asked, and the boy turned to face him, a soft smirk resting comfortably on his face, like that was an expression he used daily.
“I said, that went down like a lead balloon” the boy repeated, and Ezra felt as though he had just been told a joke, but only the punchline, and was very confused.
“What did?” he asked, a little embarrassed. The boy’s smirk widened into a smile. It suited his face well, Ezra decided.
“Today’s attempts to correct my constantly wrong English teacher. This time, she tried to claim that in describing a door as red, Shakespeare was talking about his pent up anger. I told her ‘sometimes a red door is just a fucking red door. Not every author hides a hidden meaning in every bloody sentence they've ever written’. Only took me 10 minutes to get kicked out of class today. New record” the boy said, still smiling, as though it amused him. It did.
“Yes, that is a problem with English teachers, isn’t it. The constant grasping at double meaning straws” Ezra said, and the boy laughed.
“It’s almost ineffable, isn’t it? For English teachers to over analyze everything” the boy replied, and Ezra found himself smiling. He quite liked this boy.
“Yes, I quite agree…” he trailed off, hoping the boy would introduce himself.
“A-Crowley” the boy, Crowley said, and Ezra smiled.
“Crowley” he repeated, and Crowley grinned at him. Around them, storm clouds began gathering, and a cool breeze blew. Ezra realized Crowley’s leather jacket might come in handy after all.
“Don’t we have a class together?” Crowley asked, looking at him curiously, or at least, Ezra assumed it was curiosity. He couldn’t quite tell. Crowley’s eyes were blocked behind his dark glasses.
“We do. History, fourth period” Ezra answered, and Crowley nodded.
“Right. That teacher seems hell bent on getting us to work on projects together” Crowley said with a laugh, and Ezra smiled again.
“Do you think I did the wrong thing, by correcting my teacher?” Crowley asked, his voice turning softer. Ezra began to think Crowley might regret his decision.
“Perhaps you should not have disrespected your teacher like that, but making constant assumptions, and believing them to be fact was just as wrong” Ezra replied, after a little bit of thought.
“So we both got it wrong. Bit funny, if you ask me” Crowley said, his smirk returning.
“Yes, it is a bit funny” Ezra replied. The first drops of rain began falling from the clouds overhead, and Ezra reached into his bag, pulling out his umbrella. Crowley had begun to work his jacket over his head, when Ezra opened his umbrella, and held it over both their heads. Crowley looked up at it, and almost winced at the tartan design that Ezra had found charming, but he stepped closer all the same, both boys standing under the umbrella.
“Didn’t catch your name” Crowley said, after a while. Ezra smiled softly.
“Ezra Fell” he said, and Crowley nodded, a soft smile on his face.
“Ezra Fell” he repeated softly, as they stood together under the shared umbrella. That day, Ezra never made it to the library for his free period.