Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I was really pleased with your efforts for this assignment, class,” Ms. Jacobson praised, the smile on her face natural, for once, matched by the one in her voice. She navigated her way between rows of desks, handing back papers to her students. “Some of you really exceeded my expectations.” 

Towards the back of the classroom, Zeke twiddled his thumbs, only half-listening. Out of the corner of his eye, he was watching a girl a few rows over and in front of him--or rather, watching the way her black hair brushed against the nape of her neck when she bent her head to read the notes on her homework, some of it falling forward and hiding the way her lips moved slightly as she did. 

Tina Belcher. Zeke had moved around a lot, but he’d never met a girl like her before. Tina was somethin’ else. Prob’ly got an A, he thought with a small smile. He turned his head a little to look at her better, gaze wandering down to where her legs were peeking out from under that blue skirt she always wore and then back up. 

As though she could feel his gaze, Tina turned around as Zeke’s eyes reached face-level, and for a second, they were looking right at each other. Then hers were narrowing slightly and shifting over to his left, where Jimmy Jr. was sitting. She leaned forward a little, picking up her paper off her desk as she did. 

“Hey, Jimmy Jr., what’d you get on your homework? Did Ms. Jacobson like your poem?”

“Yeah, I guess,” J-Ju responded, shrugging with barely a glance in Tina’s direction. He kept drawing, what looked like a stick figure doing a twirly move. Zeke thought it was called a pirouette. “I wrote a musoem, not a poem… I got a B minus.” 

“Oh, you wrote a musoem? That’s nice. What was it about? Maybe how romantic you feel about me?”

Jimmy Jr. scoffed, just loudly enough for Zeke to hear. Louder, he said, “No, it was about dancing.” 

“Oh,” Tina said again, her shoulders slumping. “Well--”

“Well, I got a--” Zeke began, interrupting before Tina could get more disappointed in his best friend’s lack of interest. He stopped, however, when he realized he hadn’t gotten his homework back. “Uh…”

Although Zeke’s hand immediately shot up in the air, he had to wait until Ms. Jacobson was back at the front of the room and facing their desks before she noticed.

“Yes, Zeke?”

“I din’t get my paper back! I know it wasn’t that bad.” Zeke had actually been kind of proud of it. It had been short, but he’d meant it. 

“It wasn’t bad at all, Zeke,” Ms. Jacobson said. “In fact, it was good. So good, I was hoping you’d let me share it with the class.”

“Do what?”

Every other eighth grader in the room was now staring at him. J-Ju’s pencil had finally stilled. Shoulders slumping, Zeke let the motion drag him down until he was slouched low in his seat, his ears feeling hot. 

“Only if you’re okay with it, of course.”

Zeke wanted to say no, but the hopeful look on his teacher’s face stopped his words. So did the fact that, well, he’d never had a teacher want to read something he wrote out loud before. 

“If you really think it’s that good… I guess, go ahead.” He sighed. Ms. Jacobson, however, only smiled wider. 

“Thank you, Zeke. It really is a special poem.” She must have already been holding his assignment, because she raised the paper in her hand up to read, clearing her throat. “‘Unbridled’, by Zeke: ‘I love a wild filly/So while in the field she does roam/I sit/An open stable/When she’s ready for a home./I love a wild filly...’”

Ms. Jacobson kept reading, accompanied by a few giggles, through the second and third stanzas, until she reached the end. 

“'...I wouldn’t dare to tame her/her hoofbeats stir my soul.’” She held Zeke’s paper to her chest, sighing in unison with a few of the girls in the class. “Zeke. I never knew you had such a passionate poet inside of you.”  

“Oh my god, he does,” Jocelyn drawled from the seat just in front of him. She’d turned around to stare, but turned to her left then, to where Tammy was sitting in front of Jimmy Jr. “Who knew Zeke was so romantic?”

“I’ve been saying since I moved here that Zeke would be a great boyfriend, Jocelyn, you know this. You know it.” 

“I do.”

“So who’s it about, Zeke?” For once, Zeke did not appreciate Jimmy Jr.’s eagerness to talk. Against his own judgement, Zeke snuck a look towards the subject of his poem. 

Tina’s mouth was a thin line, her eyebrows drawn together. Zeke recognized the look. He groaned to himself, wondering how in the hell he was gonna get out of the mess his poem had gotten him into--

--and the bell, blissfully, rang. It was time for lunch. That time, Zeke’s groan was out loud, and relieved. 

He used the excitement of class being over and the looming relative freedom of the next half an hour to avoid Jimmy Jr.’s question, packing up his stuff. Leaving the classroom without bothering to get his paper from Ms. Jacobson, Zeke walked as quickly as he could towards the cafeteria, wanting to put as much distance as possible between himself and his embarrassment. Jimmy Jr. hollered something about grabbing his lunch from his locker from the other direction, but for once, Zeke ignored him. 

He couldn’t ignore the girl suddenly standing in front of him, however. Tina always made him stop in his tracks--or at least made his heart. 

“‘Sup, T-bird?” Even to his own ears, Zeke had missed his usual boisterous tone by a mile.  

“I liked your poem, Zeke.” 

He blinked, his mouth falling open slightly. Zeke’s ears felt hot all over again. 

“Do what?”

“It was nice. And romantic, like Ms. Jacobson said. I like that you compared the girl to a horse.” 

“It’s about you,” Zeke blurted. “Yer my wild filly.” 

“Oh.” 

At first, Zeke considered bolting. ‘Oh’ wasn’t exactly the reaction a boy wanted to hear, when he told a girl the romantic poem he’d written was for her. He shifted his weight from foot to foot, considering where to go that Tina didn’t know about. His hidey-hole was out of the question. 

Except that it sort of looked like Tina was smiling, when Zeke let himself glance at her face again. He did a double take, and yeah. She was. Just a little, but enough. Zeke’s heart knocked into his ribs, and he raised a hand, scratching at the back of his head. 

“Well, I liked it. So thanks.” 

“Yer…” Zeke paused, cleared his throat. “Yer welcome, girl.” 

“Do you want to walk to lunch with me? I don’t want to miss out on the cheesy mashed potatoes.” 

“Uh, sure.” Zeke took a step closer to Tina, and then another. She didn’t start walking until he was next to her. Every few steps, their arms brushed, sending tingles up Zeke’s and down his spine, and he clutched the straps of his backpack desperately to avoid reaching for her hand. She’d said she liked his poem, not that she like-liked him. 

But, Zeke had to admit, even that felt pretty damn good.

It was a start.

Chapter Text

Lunch with Tina, Gene and Louise was not a new experience for Zeke. The Belcher kids stuck together on one side of the table, him and J-Ju on the other; it didn’t happen every day, but often enough there was a routine to it. Neither of the younger Belchers spared Zeke a glance when he sat down with his tray across from them, Tina sliding into the space left for her at the end of the table and getting all their attention.

“It’s about time, geez. Lunch is already a quarter of the way over.” Louise had the sort of impatience in her voice Zeke had come to know meant there was a scheme going on. He arched an eyebrow, glancing at Tina, whose face confirmed it.

Whatever it was, she didn’t approve. 

“There was a line when Zeke and I got to the cafeteria,” she said.

“And nobody to cut!” The words interjected themselves without Zeke’s permission as he leaned in on an elbow, sliding his body partially between Tina and Louise. “What’s it matter, anyway? Hot date on the playground?” Zeke chuckled to himself. 

“Tomorrow I do,” Gene confirmed, pausing in his inhalation of the cheesy mashed potatoes that had come with his chicken nuggets. “Alex is going to help me with my vision: I found a bush that was destined to be a giraffe in a cowboy hat.” 

“Sounds like a masterpiece waiting to happen,” Zeke said, lifting his hand up for a quick high five. Gene smacked his palm, then went back to lunch, and Zeke’s attention returned to the sisters, who were glaring at each other around him. 

“So? What’s goin’ on?”

“Zeke,” Tina turned to him, “Didn’t you just get done with your Thinkgeeners funishment?”

She’d remembered what he’d called it. Zeke’s heart knocked against his ribs, and he swallowed. 

“I did. Last week.”

“So you’re not trying to get into any more trouble, right?”

She was using that tone she got sometimes, the forceful one, like Tina was trying to talk someone into submission through sheer strength of will. Zeke had been on the receiving end of it more than once, but somehow, this time, he didn’t think it was meant for him. He answered slowly. 

“Not...right now.” 

“So whatever Louise is doing, you don’t want to do it.”

“Tina!” Louise threw her hands up. “Gah, c’mon. He’d be perfect, look at him.” Louise gestured to Zeke, who arched his eyebrows at the both of them. “He’s so strong and sturdy! Gene keeps dropping you!” 

“Wait, am I not supposed to be dropping her?” 

Wait, they wanted him to hold Tina? Zeke’s mind went to a familiar fantasy, just dipping its toes in it: Tina in her wedding dress in his arms as he carried her back down a gardenia-petaled aisle, their friends and families cheering for them. He blinked, cleared his throat. 

“Whatever it is, T-Bird, if you’re doin’ it, it can’t be that bad.” 

Apparently his brief fantasy hadn’t been that brief, because he interrupted squabbling he hadn’t even heard begin. All three Belchers turned to look at him with various expressions of bemusement. 

“If only that were true,” Tina muttered. “Fine, Zeke, but if you get in trouble, remember that you wanted to do this.” 

“Do what?” A fifth voice joined them, which caused all four of them to startle and look up. Jimmy Junior was standing at the end of the table, frowning at them. 

“Hey, that’s my line,” Zeke joked, but it fell flat. J-Ju ignored what he’d said anyway. 

“Why are you sitting over here? I told you I wanted to sit with Nadia Gammelthorpe today.” 

Zeke wanted to wince, wanted to kick his best friend, wanted to risk a look at Tina and see how she’d taken it even though seeing her face would make his heart sting. He didn’t do any of that. Instead he shrugged. 

“Well, I’m already sittin’ here.” Zeke picked up a chicken nugget and tossed it in his mouth, to make his point. 

Jimmy Junior was scowling, but after a moment he huffed and took the seat next to Zeke, slamming his tray down a little on the table as he did. Oddly enough, the Belchers seemed to take that as their cue to stand up and leave, although Louise had to drag Gene and his tray away. Even Tina left, her food barely touched, with only one hesitant glance at J-Ju.

Whatever they were up to, it was big. 

Zeke watched them, go, wondering if he was supposed to follow. He got his answer as soon almost immediately after the doors closed behind them, Louise rushing back in and cupping her hands to her mouth. 

“Zeke, let’s go!”

Without even thinking about it, Zeke stood up. Jimmy Junior stared at him, sandwich halfway to his mouth.

“Uh, Zeke, what are you doing?”

“I gotta go, J-Ju.”

“But I just sat down. You haven’t even eaten your dessert, and you love the black and white bars.”

Zeke did love the black and white bars. He picked it up off of his tray. 

“Clear my tray for me, J-Ju?” he asked, shoved the bar into his mouth.

“Are you serious? Where are you going? Zeke? Zeke!” Jimmy Junior shouted his name until he had the entire cafeteria staring at him, but Zeke didn’t stop. He was just swallowing the black and white bar when he reached the doors, and a hand shot between them, dragging him through and almost into Tina. She let go immediately and stepped back.

“Come on,” she sighed. “Let’s get this over with.” 

“Tina, cheer up. This is gonna be epic.” Louise started walking towards the playground exit, the rest of them falling in behind her. 

“We’ll be lucky if we don’t get suspended. Zeke, are you sure you want to do this?”

Zeke hesitated. Tina was right. Suspended sounded like more trouble than he was looking for. He was still on thin ice at home, and a suspension might get his dad talking about other schools again. 

“What are we doin’, exactly?” he asked, blinking at the shift in light as they stepped outside and into the sun. 

“We’re going to use the old fire escape by the back of the kitchens to get up on the roof. And then, we make it rain.” Louise rubbed her palms together. 

“Do what?” 

“Louise filled a bunch of water balloons with expired ketchup and mustard to get revenge on Chloe Barbash for inviting Regular-Sized Rudy to her birthday party and not her.” Gene explained with casual bluntness, adjusting the straps on his backpack as he did. 

“Whoa, whoa, whoa. That is not why we’re doing this. I don’t even care about stupid Chloe and her stupid birthday party. It doesn’t even matter to me that she wrote what present he should get her on the invitation, or that he’s actually going to do it because the idiot thinks it’ll make her like him.” 

“Right,” Zeke muttered, glancing at Tina. “And you’re goin’ along with it?” It sounded like the sort of thing Tina would be hellbent on talking Louise out of.

“Sort of,” Tina sighed. “I kind of hoped that the fact that we can’t reach the roof from the top of the fire escape without Gene lifting me would make her give up.”

“‘Cause he keeps dropping you?”

“Yeah.”

“But that’s what you’re for, buddy!” Louise said, smacking Zeke a little too hard on the arm. “If anyone can hold Tina, it’s you.”

“Louise,” Tina groaned. 

“You know,” Zeke said, careful, thinking as he spoke, “Dropping expired ketchup and mustard on the girl isn’t gonna make Rudy stop likin’ her, or… whatever. It’ll make him feel sorry for her, and prob’ly mad at you.” 

Louise steps slowed, then stopped, and she turned to look at Zeke, her eyes narrowed. 

“Go on.”

“Rudy’s a good dude. He’ll appreciate you not prankin’ Chloe more than he would you doin’ it. I understand wantin’ to be mean to the person yer...friend... likes,” he continued, avoiding looking at Tina. “‘Specially when it seems like they don’t appreciate ‘em. There are all sorts of wrong things you wanna do when that happens. Drives ya crazy. But the best thing to do, really, is show your friend that you appreciate them. Make ‘em happy when you can.”

It felt like he’d been talking for too long. Louise was still staring at him with narrowed eyes. Gene’s were wider, gawking. He was afraid to look at Tina, so he focused on them.

“So you’re saying I should...not...throw water balloons full of expired condiments at Chloe. If I don’t want Rudy to like her.”

“And if you don’t want Rudy mad at ya.”

Louise looked away, her hands reaching up to tug at her bunny ears. 

“Ugh!” She grumbled, but finally released them, dropping her hands and then throwing them up again. “Fine! Fine! You make a good point! Maybe we shouldn’t throw these at Chloe.” 

“What are we supposed to do with all these water balloons full of ketchup and mustard, then?” Gene asked. “My backpack’s really heavy, and I’ve been getting in trouble all day for not having anything I need for class.”

Zeke looked around and spotted the dumpsters outside the kitchen door. “We could just throw ‘em away.” He pointed.

“Such a waste,” Louise mumbled, but then she sighed again and nodded. “Alright. Let’s get rid of ‘em.” 

Zeke watched, standing next to Tina, as Louise and Gene emptied what must have been two dozen water balloons into the dumpster, Louise on Gene’s shoulders to do it. Tina putting her hand on his own shoulder startled him, and he turned to look at her. Her face was a lot closer than he was expecting, and it made Zeke’s feel hot. 

“Thanks,” she said. “I really didn’t want to do that.”

“Then why’d you agree to it?”

Tina shrugged, dropping her hand and looking back towards her siblings. 

“She’s my sister. My mom always says, you do anything for your family. Besides, I understand going crazy over a boy.”

Zeke knew she was talking about Jimmy Junior, so her next words surprised him.

“I like knowing you like me, Zeke. It makes me feel… Safe. You’re a good guy.” Soft, slightly damp lips pressed against his cheek, and Zeke stiffened, something sharp and bright zipping up his spine. “Thanks for keeping the stable open.”

“T-Bird, I…” Zeke had no idea what to say. His heart felt so big it might explode. 

“Oh, sick, did you just kiss Zeke’s cheek?” 

Saved by Louise, shouting at them from over by the dumpster.

“Is that a thing we’re doing down? Cheek kisses? How come you’ve never given me one? Louise, cheek kiss me!”

“Gross. Get away from me!”

“Cheek kiss me!”

“Ahhhhh I should have kept a balloon!” 

Feeling Tina shake with silent laughter next to him as they watched Gene chase Louise around, Zeke thought maybe he didn’t need to say anything at all.