Chapter Text
The school bell rang and echoed off the walls as students raced out their classroom doors. Some kids made their way to their friends, others rushing out the school doors to get a head start walking home, and others making their way to their clubs and after school activities.
On days like this, usually Quint would be walking home with Jack, heading to the bus, or walking down to the schools library, but for now he was rummaging through his locker, trying to search for the specific textbook he needed for his homework assignment that night.
He grabbed one book from his locker and rested it on his forearm, then grabbing a composition notebook and resting it on the separate book. Quint looked over at the inside of his locker door in search of any reminders he might’ve stuck there, and noticed an old Butterfinger taped to the wall. From the looks of it, it might’ve been a month or two old, and he probably stole it from Jack’s locker yet forgot about it.
He ripped the candy off the door, twirled it around in his fingers in search of the expiration date, before giving up and shoving it into his pants pocket, he really needed to clean out his locker if he was going to forget about trash such as this.
He finally noticed the book he would need, he reached out to grab it but before he could his vision went black.
...because something was covering his eyes. Well, more like someone.
“Guess who?” The familiar voice spoke
Quint played along, raising a brow “Either it’s my best friend...or a monkey that’s somehow managed to communicate with humanity with very soft hands”
Jack laughed as he pulled his hands away from Quint's eyes. Quint could feel the butterflies in his stomach, trying to force himself to relax as he listened to Jack “What was that?” Jack asked with a light chuckle.
“A hypothesis” Quint smiled as he looked over his shoulder to face his friend “and with that, the latter had at least a 7.45 percent chance of being correct”
Jack’s eyes widened as he shoved his hands into his varsity jacket pockets before raising a brow, intrigued and curious about what Quint meant.
Quint laughed, feeling his cheeks warm up “What?” He asked “You get yourself thrown into so many predicaments all the time, I wouldn’t be surprised if something like that happened and you had a connection to it, friend”
Quint turned back to his locker, glancing over the contents in order to make sure he wouldn’t need anything else, then shutting the metal door and clasping the lock, jiggling with it a little to make sure it was secure. Quint let his bag slide down his shoulder, he unzipped his bag and placed the books inside while talking to Jack.
“I thought you had Newspaper today?” Quint asked, raising a brow as he threw his bag over his shoulder then looking to his friend.
Jack raised a brow, before cracking a smile “You might’ve mixed up your calendar a little, buddy” Jack chuckled lightly
Quint raised a brow as he thought, before it hit him “Oh right-“
“Baseball Practice,” The duo said in unison.
Some people would immediately say Jinx! or something along those lines, but for these two? They had been finishing each other’s sentences after a few weeks of knowing each other. They could look at the other and know exactly what they were thinking. It’s just how they were.
Two Best Friends, Buds till the end of time.
Nothing More, Nothing less
“You gonna watch us practice?” Jack asked as the two began to walk toward the back of the school to head toward the field.
Quint thought for a bit, before shrugging “I don’t exactly have anything else to do, just don’t expect me to watch you gracefully running laps around the field” He said with a cheeky grin.
As per policy, Mr Merkins decided that for every minute a kid was late, they owed him one lap around the field, these usually piled up the more kids decided to goof off and had karma come knocking at their door as a result. Jack...had a late streak. Luckily he was still in the 5 minute break range that their coach allowed kids to use in order to make it to practice. Pushing your luck with that was practically a death wish since their coach had very little patience, especially with coaching and supervising most of the schools sports teams. This combination of stress and lack of patience made Mr Merkins someone you wouldn’t want to mess with or annoy.
Well...everyone except Jack.
Jack rolled his eyes with an amused smile as he wrapped an arm around Quint’s shoulders, putting his other hand in his pocket “I can live with that”
Quint felt his heart flutter when Jack wrapped his arm around him. He tried to resist the small smile tugging at his lips as he felt his face begin to warm up.
Let’s just say Quint had a crush on Jack for a good while now. Maybe a little longer than Jack had a crush on June, but he couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment he realized. All he knew is he could not let Jack know or he’d risk everything. Mostly their friendship. Along with that, he was being plagued by fear and the thought of rejection, but he’s managed to push through this mess of emotions for some time and would focus on his studies and experiments as a distraction.
It was easier to understand anyway.
However, every time he tried to tug his heart away from Jack, Simple actions such as this always roped him back in. And even though he thought he had a chance with his friend, due to him recently coming out as bisexual, Jack liked June. Always had since the beginning of the school year. No way was that changing anytime soon...
“Hey Buddy? Buddy? QUINT!” Jack shouted
Quints eyes widened as he flinched, he finally snapped out of his own thoughts “My apologies-“ He started “Could you please repeat what you said? I had zoned out...” He chuckled nervously
Jack chuckled softly “No Kidding” He joked “I was asking if you wanted to go to Joe’s Pizza after I finish practice.” Jack smiled
“Oh, yeah! Sure!” He grinned “I’ll ask June and Dirk if-“ Quint was cut off by Jack
“No I mean, just the two of us. Yknow, like old times!” Jack grinned squeezing Quint gently.
It was there own little version of a side hug, and every time Jack did that Quint felt like his heart was going a million miles an hour. He could feel his face go red as he began to process Jack’s statement.
Quint was convinced he had stopped breathing. He started to wonder if Jack could mean this as a date. Luckily for Quint, reality had seemed to mentally sock him in the face, the feeling hitting him like a truck, getting the idea out of his head fairly quickly.
“Yeah! Sounds Great! I mean- spectacular! I mean-“ Quint stumbled on his words, feeling his face continuing to grow red from the embarrassment, turning away for a moment in order to regain his composure with a quick sigh before turning back to his crush.
“That sounds fantastic, friend” Quint smiled, his blush dwindling to a lighter shade of pink, although not very noticeable due to the darker hue of his skin.
Jacks eyes lit up with a grin “Great! We’re gonna need to celebrate after practice!!”
Quint raised a brow, looking quizzically at his friend “What do you mean?” He asked “I mean- it would explain why you’re more “Jack” than usual-“
Jack cut his buddy off with a laugh “What does that mean?” He asked
“Well, you just seem more excited and more-” Quint raised both his arms, in a pose similar to a superhero once they had claimed victory against their fiend. He spoke deeper in order to impersonate his friend “I can take on the world!” than usual” Quint chuckled
Jack laughed. He sometimes forgot how well Quint could read him. His friend was right though, he was a little more excited- well- happier than usual. He was beaming with confidence, he might as well explain why.
“Yeah! I’m...” Jack grinned, eyes sparkling with excitement. This only got Quint even more curious, if anything he also felt a little antsy, wondering what could get his friend this chipper!
Jack lowered his voice to a whisper “I’m gonna ask June to wear my jacket at the game tomorrow, I’m- I’m going to ask her out!” Jack grinned, barely able to contain his excitement.
Oh.
Right, That should’ve been obvious.
Quint's eyes widened. His grip tightening on his backpack strap as his heart sank to his stomach.
Jack’s Varsity was given to him a couple of weeks after he joined his school's baseball team. He sometimes referred to it as his “JACK-et”. After receiving it, he started decorating it with his own sense of flair in order to stand out. Sadly, Mr. Merkins chewed him out for it on multiple occasions, claiming it was against dress code, but Jack could’ve cared less.
What Jack did care about is that he slowly noticed the guys and girls on his team started giving their varsity’s to their girlfriends, boyfriends, and partners to wear at practice, and also at games. So one idea led to another, and he decided to ask June to wear his jacket at his game. Sure, they weren’t exactly dating...but this was the perfect way to break the ice!!
Quint had to give himself another mental sock in the face in order to actually reply to Jack “Really?” He managed to whisper with a small smile
Jack was beaming, pulling his arm away from Quints shoulder “Yeah! I started talking to her more, hanging out one on one, putting more work into the newspaper and I think...I think she actually might like me..!” He grinned
Quint noticed Jacks face started to go a little red. He really did love her. Although it was heart-wrenching to face the fact that Jack would only see him as a best friend and never anything more, it still made him smile to see how...happy Jack looked at that moment.
Jack didn’t have a lot. No family, let alone a decent foster family. He didn’t do incredibly well school, and he didn’t have the greatest mental health either.
But what he did have were friends, and he did have someone he really wanted to be more than friends with. Quint sure as hell wasn't going to take something like that away from him.
It would be selfish and cruel, and he already was being both of those things just by crushing on the only person that wanted to be friends with him before anyone else.
“I’m happy for you friend, June’s going to be really lucky to have you” Quint smiled looking up at Jack
Jack smiled in return, shoving his hands in his pockets “Thanks Bu- wait. Isn’t this usually the part where you go all facts and figures on me about why this is a bad idea?” Jack asked, raising a brow
“Well...” Quint started, looking to the side “I only made those points in the beginning because you hadn’t had a single conversation with her.”
Jack opened his mouth to make a remark, raising a finger, before quickly closing his mouth and putting his hand back in his pocket “Yeah you’re right that was a little stupid”
Quint laughed “It wasn’t stupid. It was Cute.” He smiled, then his eyes widened, his thoughts catching up with his mouth and freezing up, fully processing what he had said. He glanced to look at his friend, worried to see his friends reaction.
Jack’s had the same look of shock on his face. However a bit of awe was mixed in, yet Quint was too embarrassed to pick up on the fact.
“Now THAT can be deemed as stupid” Quint tried to joke, desperately trying to lighten the mood as his face flushed from embarrassment, avoiding eye contact, hoping the conversation would be over soon.
Now it was Jack’s turn to trip up on his thoughts. For those few moments, words had failed him, and his mind was racing. Mainly with questions on why it felt like his heart had stopped but was going a million miles an hour at the exact same time.
Quint had given him compliments before, why was this time any different? Well his face felt hot and like it was going to be pinker than a sunburn and his throat felt dry, he didn’t get this way from compliments before so what could it be...?
Eh, probably just an adrenaline rush. Or a stroke, but most likely a adrenaline rush. He was about to confess to his crush and it absolutely didn’t have anything to do with the fact Quint said he was cute.
...right?
“Nah, it wasn’t.” Jack gave Quint a light punch in the arm, trying to lighten the mood and calm his nerves, he put his hands back in his pockets. The two sat in a semi-awkward silence, avoiding eye contact until Jack spoke up again.
“It was sweet.” Jack complimented in return, giving his partner in crime a warm closed smile in return. The warm feeling in his face started to go down, yet still dwindled.
Quints eyes widened for a moment, then gave a soft yet slightly forced smile in return, he glanced down at his sneakers before taking a deep breath and sighing.
He was just gonna get his hopes up then crushed all over again. It’s happened before, the difference was Jack wasn’t aware of it. Quint had to shut it down before he got wrapped up in his...inconvenient feelings once again.
”I just realized I left my headphones in my locker. I'll join you in a few minutes, however Mr. Merkins is probably waiting to scold you for being late.” Quint commented, glancing at his watch, noting Jack was close to being 5 minutes late
Jacks raised a brow before his eyes widened ”oh shiitake muSHROOMS-”
Jack immediately began to sprint down the hall to the school doors. Before he reached the door he turned back toward Quint, sliding on the tile. He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted to his friend.
“Joe’s Pizza after practice!! Don’t forget!” Jack grinned
Quint laughed as he covered his closed smile with his hand, the grin peaking out of the corners. Although Jack was being absolutely precious and causing the butterflies in his stomach to go haywire, at the exact same time he prayed nobody was staring. His face flushed lightly.
“I’m gonna be the one reminding you!!” Quint called back, cupping a hand over his mouth followed by a laugh.
Jack looked back at Quint with a soft smile before rushing out the doors. As Jack left Quints stare lingered on the door with a smile, before proceeding to sigh as his shoulders sunk. He’d take the long way to the field.
He dug around in his pockets until he pulled out his headphones he had lied to Jack about, and his cellphone.
Luckily a month or two prior he was able to convince his parents to get him a cellphone for school purposes, it took a lot of convincing, graphs, and pleading, but ensuring Quints safety was his parents top priority. So after mentioning the fact they could check in on him at any time was what sold it to them.
He still had to use the walkie for Jack though, since he wouldn’t exactly be getting a phone anytime soon.
He plugged in his headphones and started up his music, of course, it didn’t help that the headphones he was using were a gift from June, But they were his only pair, so what else could he do?
He shoved his phone in his pocket as the music played, he started to wander the school’s hallways, processing the situation at hand. Jack was going to confess to June. After nearly a year of pining Jack finally decided he was going to tell June exactly how he felt about her since Day 1.
Everything hit Quint like a Truck. He began to tear up and he couldn’t understand why. He’d gone through this before, multiple times! So why did it hurt so badly this time?
It felt like his stomach was being turned inside out as he choked on a sob, trying to fight his tears.
He tried to think of something, anything! that would cheer him up, but he kept getting reminded of how Jack might not have much time anymore. He could already imagine Jack’s excuses for not hanging out
“Sorry I Had Movie Night with June”
“Haha Sorry Buddy I Fell Asleep, June and I Went to the Park and Stayed Longer than We Thought We Would”
“Sorry Quint, I’m taking June to the Carnival, I can’t sleepover this weekend”
He knew it was selfish, but the overwhelming feelings that he’d been repressing were all pouring out and he couldn’t stop it. A good cry was in order, luckily no one was in the hallways.
Quint didn’t know how long he had been walking for, he could barely see due to his crocodile tears. He knew he was getting further away from the field but he didn’t notice. Soon his vision started to clear.
But before he could glance up, Quint crashed into something.
Or better yet...someone!