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Percy Butter was tired. Tired from a lack of sleep; from missing Micky - his sickly sweet boyfriend; and most recently, he was tired of Raphael. He loved his friend, he really did, but you can only see Raphael sign but Percy I love him! so many times. Raphael was completely head over heels for someone he only met once in person but since then, all Percy could do is hope Raphael didn’t turn out to be a Romeo, doomed after falling in love at first sight. Of course Percy couldn’t judge. He had fallen for Micky Tompkins years ago.
After Binah had started Operation: Break Into Rosewood Hall Raphael hadn’t stopped swooning over Ollie Moreno, Lottie’s friend - although how the Princess of Maradova knew some kid from Cornwall, Percy would never understand. That mystery didn’t change the fact that after hundreds of texts of… attempted flirting from Raphael over the past few weeks, Ollie only responded with oblivious sarcasm.
Why can we not have our phones here? Raphael signed angrily. I didn’t even get his email before I handed in my phone.
Binah - of course - knew about Raphael’s crush on Ollie, and had given him Ollie’s address to be dramatic; since she and Ollie had been sending letters back and forth all summer. She had promised not to tell Ollie, only to let him know he’d be getting some letters from the others too. For the past hour Raphael had been sitting opposite Percy curled up on Jamie’s bed, covered in blankets and staring at a piece of paper that currently had two words. Dearest Ollie. He had paced up and down for 20 minutes just debating on putting a comma after dearest because goddamn it if Hamilton didn’t teach him one thing, and Percy was worried he’d burn through the floor if he carried on any longer. He found it ironic that Raphael Wilcox: loved by everyone, Shakespeare enthusiast, and drama queen extraordinaire, couldn’t write a single letter to his crush.
Just… start simple Percy signed, trying to hold in a laugh as his friend flailed to reach the pen he dropped out of the blanket burrito he was in.
But this isn’t simple Perce… I can’t just say ‘hi Ollie I like your face and I think we would be the most powerful couple since Benedick and Beatrice’. He could see Raph take a huge sigh before actually writing something down, and smiling shyly as he muttered something.
What does it say? Percy asked as he moved to sit on the bed beside him. Raphael passed the paper to him:
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Dearest Ollie
Hi. it sucks I can’t just text you or call you, but you know the rules here by now I guess.
I hope you don’t mind Binah giving me your address; It’s just… over Summer since operation you-know-what, I don’t know man I just… I felt a vibe with us.
Ollie, you know I’m a lover of the arts. And you sir, are a masterpiece, I’d like pinned on my wall ;)
---
That’s horrendous… Percy signed as he pointed at the line and shook his head. Raphael just waved his hand. Just keep reading.
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(as long as you consent and you’re cool with that and oh god why did I write that?)
What I'm trying to say is (and I’m going to sound like a kid but shhhh) I like-like you Ollie Moreno.
I would love to get to know you more than just Lottie’s friend, or Binah’s friend, or the really cute boy I broke into school with.
Please write back,
Even if you turn me down
Yours if you’ll have me
Raphael Wilcox
P.S Binah showed us all picture of Link and I may be in love with your dog
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Ollie Moreno lost his mind. He was used to getting mail from Rosewood now. Lottie still didn’t write to him very often, too busy playing a perfect princess to protect that emo girl she was so enamoured with. No, Ollie had made some new friends at Rosewood. Binah Fae, for whom he had developed what he learned was a ‘squish’: a friend crush; Percy Butter who Ollie just wanted to hug and make sure he was doing okay, all of the time forever (he had seen the poor boy on the news a year ago, and honestly he didn’t seem to be doing much better); and Raphael Wilcox.
Raphael was the heartthrob of Rosewood Hall and one of the people that made him realise oh hey… pansexuality? That do be a thing. So when he got a letter from the Drama King himself, supposedly confessing his own crush, at first Ollie thought it was a bad joke from Binah, but not even she would use a pick up line that bad and immediately freak out about consent. That was all Raph.
They had been texting almost daily since Operation Break into Rosewood Hall, and Ollie had learned… a lot. Raphael put up a fun jokey front but he was - as he had put it - 'real damn sad, like a whole lot'. Apparently Ollie wasn’t the only one Lottie and her friends had been leaving out of the loop. At least he knew about the portman situation, Raphael didn’t even know one of their friends was Leviathan until she didn’t turn up at school the next year.
Ollie had also realised that Raphael was a horrible flirt, it just hadn’t occurred to him that he was only flirting with him. How could Raphael, who has literal movie stars for parents, ‘like-like’ Ollie Moreno. The love for Link was understandable, but for him? He was just a scruffy boy from Cornwall what grew up with Lottie and- wait. He doesn’t know about Lottie, Ollie thought. What if he asks and I don’t have an answer and he thinks I’m keeping things from him too and that breaks whatever it is we are right now - Ollie grabbed a pen and some paper and started writing.
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“Jamie, where is Percy?” Jamie immediately stood up and saw an exhausted Raphael at his dorm door.
“Raph, what are you doing? Percy is with Micky at Stratus Side doing homework.” with that response, Raphael started pacing up and down and up and down, until Jamie stood in front of him and stopped him in his tracks. “Raphael, you’re being ridiculous what is this all about?”
His tired friend looked dead into his eyes and took a deep breath. “So. You aren’t allowed to be disappointed in me…”
“Why would I-”
“Just… let me finish. No judging!” Raphael outstretched his pinkie finger to Jamie, who sighed and made the promise.
“ImayormaynothavesentalettertoOllieMorenoconfessingmycrushonhimandhewrotebacktomeandI’mscaredtoopenit.”
“Okay… yeah I got none of that Raph try again.” Jamie rolled his eyes and led Raphael to sit down on the bed.
“I sent a letter to Ollie telling him that I like-like him, Jamie. Now he’s-”
“Wait you met Ollie? How did you-?”
“Not right now Jamie, ask Binah, it’s a long story that I don’t know I’m allowed to tell. Anyway, before I was so rudely interrupted; now he’s sent a reply and Percy was there when I wrote it and… wait you aren’t surprised?”
“Raphael... you fall in love with every boy you see, and Ollie is not the worst person you’ve liked. You were jealous of Lottie during the whole Edmund Ashwick situation remember?”
“That’s before I knew he was literally just Prince Hans in disguise! Anyway you’re not listening. If I don’t open this letter I’m going to implode!”
“So open it.” Jamie said. Raphael looked incredulous, but then took the envelope out of his blazer pocket and ripped it open. Jamie watched as he flitted his eyes left to right to left to right. Then he screamed.
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Dearest, Raphael
Hi. it does indeed suck a lot that you can’t call or text. I miss your stupid voice and stupid hair and stupid face (remember how I turn difficult emotions to anger to cope?)
In response to your letter,
It's a letter dude, that's the whole thing. You don’t need ellipses, just be straightforward and to the point
So... uhhh… hey. Look Raph, you made me listen to the entire Hamilton soundtrack and I don’t know if you left out the comma on purpose but I PUT IT IN OKAY
You’re stoopid. I like-like you too dumbass
Anyway I hope everything is going well, over the christmas break maybe we could meet up somewhere? A date? I can show you how to handle a real piece of art ;) (by that I mean the picture of Link Lottie painted for me because have you seen her artwork?
Yours, if you still want me
Ollie Moreno
P.S idk how this works are we dating now or ‘talking’ because that sounds dumb
P.P.S Link loves you too <3