Work Text:
Washington DC
She had studied the place in her free time. Washington DC is on the other side of the country, the east coast. She lives on the west coast. She had been interested in visiting the place, but she never expected she would move there.
However, here she is, listening to her parents as they tell her to start packing and that they are moving to the east coast, to live in Washington DC.
“We know this is a big change, Sel, but your dad got a new job in the city. We are going to move over there. We will be closer to your grandparents when we move to DC” Her mom says, in a gentle voice. Almost like the voice she would use when explaining something to one of the preschoolers that she works with. In a way Selya almost feels offended that her mom is treating her like a preschooler.
“But why couldn't dad find a new job near here? If we move all the way to Washington DC then I can’t talk to any of my friends. It’s not like you let me have my own phone. And stop treating me like a four year old, I’m almost fifteen mom.” She replies, upset with her parents for making her move. She knows the main reason that her dad found a job in Washington DC was so that they could be closer to her grandparents.
“You know why your dad got a new job. We found a house that is only a bit smaller than this one, so it won’t be too big of a change. And since we are moving, we decided to get you a gift. We understand you will want to stay in contact with your current friends, and hopefully you can make new friends in your new school” Her mom says with a small, gentle smile, but in a slightly less gentle explaining voice. Her mom pulls out a small box which is wrapped in paper. It almost looks like a birthday gift, only her birthday is in a few weeks still. She grabs the box when her mom hands it to her.
Carefully, she unwraps the box and opens it, finding a brand new phone. She looks up towards her parents, confused.
“It already has a screen protector and we made sure it’s charged, but now you can set it up. We got it so you could stay in contact with your friends after the move, and so you don’t get bored during the trip, but we expect you to be responsible with it, Selya” Her mother says. She realizes her confusion must have shown because of what her mom said.
“Thank you, I will be responsible with my new phone” she replies with a smile. It seems that maybe this move won’t be as bad as she thought.
Scratch that, she hated her parents for making her uproot her life and move from her home. She knew her parents didn’t have much of a choice. But she still hated them for this. She would have to move from her nice house, with a big yard, and all her friends, to a place in a city on the opposite side of the country. She only had a few more days to pack up her room, her whole life. A few more days before the car ride across the country.
Sighing she continues to pack up her books and notebooks into a box labeled ‘Books’ in her small, neat handwriting. She grabs her most recent notebook and puts it in her up front bag, so she can write on the drive, when she isn't using her phone. She also grabs a case of pencils, a sketch book, a coloring book, and a drawing set to put in her up front bag.
She starts packing the rest of her art supplies, coloring books and sketchbooks in a box labeled ‘art’. She has most of her stuff packed at this point. The only things not packed are trinkets and room decorations. Sighing, she starts wrapping anything fragile in bubble wrap and putting it neatly in a new box, watching as she slowly empties her room into boxes.
When she finishes packing all her stuff, she brings the boxes downstairs, to be packed in the moving van and the car. As she walks downstairs, she notices how much emptier the house is. In a way the emptiness of the house makes this whole thing feel more real.
The last few days all go by about the same, cleaning, packing and hanging out with her friends. At least the drive is interesting. She got to learn a lot about different states and she got to see many cool places on her drive to Washington DC.
When they arrive at their new house, the moving van has already arrived. She helps her parents unpack some before choosing her room. Her room is about the same size as her old room, if not slightly larger, so she has plenty of space for her stuff. Finding the boxes of her stuff, she carries those up to her room.
Stacking all the boxes neatly in one of the corners of her room, she pulls out her sketchbook from her bag, and starts planning out her room design, opting for a whole new design and setup then her old room, since it is a new house, obviously she needs a new room setup.
The rest of the weeks before she starts her new school is mostly filled with unpacking, shopping and organizing. Due to the fact that she moved just a week or two before the new school year starts. She is starting school later than everyone else by a week or two. She isn't glad about this, but it's not the worst possible option. It's better than her having to panic and prepare for school right after they arrived at Washington DC.
On her first day of school she was nervous. After all, new school, new people, new everything. Eating her breakfast, she checks that she has everything she might need in her bag before hopping into her mom's car so she can drive her to school. She is a sophomore this year, so she can't drive herself to school yet.
When she arrives at the school with her mom, she and her mom enter the building. She gets her schedule and a map and is sent off to find her first class, an art class. When she finally finds the classroom, class has already started and the door is closed, so she knocks on the door.
The door is opened by a kid who is just taller than she is, with a bob the color of sweet milk chocolate with a rose colored highlight and eyes almost as dark as the void. The student in question waves and lets her enter the classroom. The teacher looks over at her, prompting her to walk over to his desk.
“Um, hello sir, I’m new, and my schedule said this is my first class?” She says once she gets to the teachers desk.
“Alright, nice to meet you, I’m Mr.Johnan and I will be your Art teacher for the rest of this semester. Please take a seat next to Freya. Freya please raise your hand” The teacher, Mr. Johnan, says to her, before looking towards her new classmates. The student who answered the door and let her into the classroom raised their hand. She heads over to where the student, Freya, is sitting and sits down in the empty seat next to Freya.
As soon as Mr.Johnan starts teaching the class, Freya turns around to face Selya.
“Hi! It’s nice to meet you. My name is Freya, She/Her and Sae/Saer pronouns. How do you like the school so far?” Freya says, only just barely louder than a whisper. Sae obviously knows not to talk too loudly while the teacher is teaching.
“Uhm, Selya, She/Her and He/Him pronouns, though just using She/Her is fine…” She starts, in a quiet whisper before she speaks again. “Oh, and the school is nice… just very big and hard to navigate” He says in response to saer question.
“Yeah, the school can be hard to navigate. What grade are you in? Also let's be friends, we share at least one class so we can hang out and I can help you navigate and adjust to the school!” Freya says, overly excited, but still talking quietly. Mr. Johnan has started explaining the assignment for today, just free sketch something and explain why you drew that. Seems easy enough that she can do it after he finished the conversation with Freya.
“Oh, I’m a sophomore, what about you? And yeah, let's be friends, since we share a class, and may share more." She replies, as the rest of the class starts to have conversations between each other. Mr.Johnan left the class to do the assignment for the rest of class.
"Yay! Another sophomore! I'm also a sophomore! Can I see your schedule?" Freya asks, no longer whispering as Mr.Johnan is no longer teaching or explaining anything.
"Oh, yeah, here" She says before grabbing her schedule and handing it to Freya. After all, sae did ask to see his schedule. Freya looks over his schedule for a moment before handing it back to him.
"We share 3 other classes! H English 9, Creative writing and H Algebra 2. The creative writing teacher is so fun! You will enjoy that class. Oh, you also share ASL with one of my friends. I'm sure you two will get along well. I will introduce you during A block." Freya says excitedly.
“Oh, cool. Should we do the assignment now?” Selya asks as he realizes that the class may be almost over.
“Oh, yeah, it’s just a free sketch assignment so it will be pretty easy, but yeah, we should do the assignment.” Freya says before pulling out a piece of paper and a pencil so she can start the assignment. Selya does the same and also starts the assignment.
By the time class is over they have both finished the assignment and handed it in to Mr.Johnan. When the bell rings, Selya jumps up, startled, not expecting it to be as loud as it was. He barely has time to get his stuff before Freya is dragging him out of the classroom to who knows where.
“Come on, come on! I told my friend we would meet them in the piano lab. It’s a quiet space so it won’t be too loud.” Freya says excitedly as she drags him through the hallway. Selya just sighs, but does try to keep up with Freya so she stops dragging her.
Upon making it to the piano lab, Freya drags her to where a kid with hair the color of lavender is sitting. The kid in question stands up to reveal that they are shorter than she is.
“Hi” The kid says, sounding a bit rude, but they may just be bored.
“Iko, be nice, Selya, meet Iko, she/they. Iko, meet Selya, She/Her and He/Him” Freya says, playfully shoving Iko. Iko just half glares at her, before half glaring at Selya.
“Uhm… nice to meet you?” Selya says, sticking her hand out to maybe shake hands with Iko. Iko just ignores her and glares at Freya.
“Why did you have to go and find another one? It was just fine when our friend group was just us” Iko says, obviously they don’t like her being dragged into the friend group.
“Iko, don't be rude. Selya just moved here, I think you will like her, she is fun, and quiet, and in ASL with you” Freya says, just for Iko to roll her eyes. Selya backs away some.
“Uhm… I can leave if you want…” Selya says as he backs away some more.
“No no, don’t leave. Iko just doesn’t like new people” Freya says as she elbows Iko, very aggressively. Iko just sighs and stops half glaring at Selya.
"Nice to meet you Selya" Iko says, dully and almost aggressive sounding, before she hesitantly sticks out her hand to shake his hand. Selya shakes their hand, in a mutual agreement to not like each other.
"Yay! You are friends now! Oh, Selya, wanna come to the fair with me and Iko on Saturday? If you aren't busy of course." Freya says. Selya just nods after a moment.
"Sure, I will see if I have plans that day. We could exchange phone numbers so we can chat outside of school if you want." Selya says, hesitating for a moment before she speaks.
"Oh! That's a great idea! My phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx. Add me to your phone and then I can add you and Iko to a group chat together!" Freya says, obviously not noticing the slight tense aura between the two others. Selya adds Freya's phone number and sends her a text saying 'hello it's Sel'. Freya jumps happily and quickly makes a group chat with the three of them. Selya adds Iko to her phone, only so she has their number and knows who is talking.
The rest of her classes go by quickly. The rest of the week she spent time hanging out with Freya and Iko. Sure, he and Iko only tolerate each other to make Freya happy.
When Saturday finally comes, Selya dresses up in a nice outfit, one that makes him look more masculine than feminine but can be interpreted as both, depending on who you are. He heads to where he is meeting up with Iko and Freya.
When he arrived, he saw that Iko was already there, dressed in a short, casual, rose gold dress that accentuates their gentle blue eyes, and gorgeous lilac earrings shaped as small crystals that glisten in the sun. He is almost stunned by their outfit, but quickly shakes it off and instead waits for Freya to arrive.
When Freya finally arrives, she is in a basic brownish gray tunic with a pale blue undershirt and a small butterfly clip in her hair.
"Sorry I'm late guys, I hope I didn't keep you waiting too long" Freya says, between breaths, after sae had run up to them.
"It's fine, we didn't wait too long," Iko says, startling Selya with how relaxed they sound, yet also how demanding and convincing they sound.
"Y-yeah, not too long, let's go?" Selya replies, wincing at the fact he stuttered. Iko isn't their friend, and they are nothing more than acquaintances. Nothing more, nothing less.
"YEAH! Let's go! Let's have fun today guys! Are you ready?" Freya says, much louder and more excited sounding than either of them expected, but they both nod, ready to hangout. Freya leads them into the fair, and drags them around much like an excited child would.
From time to time, in the corner of his eye, he spots Iko looking him up and down, studying his outfit. When he looks over however, Iko looks away, and instead looks around at other people and the places along the path Freya is dragging them on. Freya never seems to notice Iko studying him, that or sae doesn't seem to care.
Eventually the three stop for food, opting on potatoes, chicken wings, and steamed broccoli. All three of them are slow eaters, so they end up spending an hour eating their meals and conversing with each other. The last few hours of them hanging out are spent by exploring and doing different activities.
After the hangout at the fair, Freya plans hangouts every weekend at a different place. Sometimes they are shopping, or watching a movie, hanging out at a park, or playing games, doing puzzles, or eating out, or any other activity you can think of. With these weekly hangouts, Iko and Selya grow closer together. Sometimes Selya finds Iko staring at her for minutes at a time, and sometimes she finds herself doing the same thing. Occasionally they meet each other's eyes before they each look away quickly. At school, they mostly ignore each other unless they are hanging out with Freya, who keeps being annoying with questions on whether either of them have a crush.
It's the Monday after the group hung out at sky zone. At this point he had known Iko and Freya for a couple of months now. When Selya walked into ASL, and noticed something on his desk. Upon closer inspection, he finds a letter made with a gentle light pink paper, closed by a rainbow heart sticker.
Investing the letter, He sees that it is written by Iko. The handwriting matches theirs almost perfectly, only it seems a bit shakier. He looks around and finds the classroom almost empty, Iko nowhere in the classroom. He sits down and flips the letter over in his hands. The letter is light, no more than one or two sheets of paper. Checking the time, he sees that he still has a good 20` minutes before ASL starts.
Hesitantly, he decides to open the letter. He makes sure not to rip anything as he carefully opens the handmade envelope. He carefully unfolds the papers. It's two sheets of fancy printed paper with lilacs and moons on two of the corners, both pages are stapled together. He assumes the top page is the page he should read first. He starts reading the letter.
Dear Sel,
Hi Selya. I'm sure you are wondering what this letter is about. I'm sure you have already figured it out, or atleast made a guess. I'm also sure you are probably wondering where I am, since I am probably not in the ASL classroom.
To answer the last question, I don't think I will be able to stand watching you read this letter, so I am either hiding in the bathroom or wandering the halls aimlessly. I will get to the reasoning behind this letter, and answer what this letter is about later.
First let me tell you about myself, since I never truly introduced myself to you. My name is Iko Layoka, I use She/Her and They/Them pronouns, with a preference for They/Them, and I am a junior. I am the 4th kid of 6, meaning I have three older siblings, most of whom are in college or working right now, and I have two younger siblings, both of whom are in middle school.
I am part of the newsletter group and write articles for the school newspaper. If you check the newspaper then I am sure you have seen a few of my articles. I have one or two in the newsletter each week.
I have been friends with Freya since 5th grade, when I had moved in next to Her. We have been friends ever since. Even though I had trouble making friends until high school.
I was originally born in Canada, but moved here in 5th grade, when I was ten. I speak 2 languages fluently and along with ASL, I am also learning Spanish.
In my free time I enjoy writing, drawing and taking walks in my neighborhood. I didn't start with the newsletter until my sophomore year, but even then, I was always in many clubs.
I am often awake at all hours of the night, due to having trouble with sleeping, but not being able to sleep gives me more time to work on school projects and personal projects.
Selya flips over to the second page, wondering why Iko chose to introduce themself to him in a letter.
You may be wondering why I just told you all about myself. I will get to that. But first, I need to tell you something. If you don't support me after this, then you can just scrap this letter, and we can go back to hating each other. Selya, I'm Omnisexual. Omnisexual is when you are attracted to all genders, but unlike Pansexual, you have a preference on who you like.
Until now, I never knew what love felt like. Until the day at the fair. You showed up in an outfit, and you looked so handsome. At first I thought it was all just because of your outfit, you just looked really good in that outfit. I wasn't in love.
Only it wasn't just that outfit. No matter what you wore, when we were out of school, you always looked so handsome or gorgeous. I didn't realize it was love until I took time for myself one night, and found myself thinking about you.
I didn't know how to tell you that I was in love with you even though we hated each other. I know you may not feel the same way, but I wanted to tell you.
You are always so handsome and beautiful. Even if you don't think you are. You are so smart and brave. I want to be like you. But I will settle for asking you out.
So, Sel, will you be my partner? If so, I would love to learn more about you, like I shared with you.
Sincerely,
Iko Layoka
He can feel the blush creeping up his face as he realizes that Iko feels the same way he does. He would have never imagined that someone would love him. Yet here is Iko. Selya doesn't really know how to feel, she knows that she wants to be closer with Iko. But she also knows that she has never wanted to pursue a sexual relationship with anyone. What if Iko doesn't want him after learning this?
He shakes his head, shaking away both the blush, and the thoughts. He will never know what they think unless he asks them. Sighing, he folds the letter back up with a small smile and checks the time. There are ten minutes left before class starts. That's enough time to find Iko and talk with her.
Pocketing the letter, she stands up, and exits the classroom and starts wandering. First she checks the bathroom, but Iko isn't in there so she exits and continues wandering. After about 5 minutes of walking, she finds Iko, sitting on the giant stairs in the main area of the school. She walks up to them, to find them zoned out, staring through, or past, the wall. She tries to get their attention by waving his hand in front of their face. When that doesn't get their attention, he taps their shoulder.
Upon being tapped, Iko startles and almost screams before they see it's just Selya.
"Oh… Hi Selya, you startled me." She says hesitantly, slowly, their unspoken question hanging heavily in the air.
"Hi Iko, sorry for startling you…" he says, nervous at first, before he pauses, sensing the unspoken question, he starts talking again. "I uhm, I saw your letter, and read it…" he continued, trailing off and looking away, embarrassed.
"... what, what did you think?" Iko asks, barely loud enough for her to hear, but even so, she hears the question, and is silent for a moment.
"Are you okay wi-... uhm, I- '' He starts, before trailing off, and hesitating, stumbling over his words. Iko just waits calmly, letting him find a way to voice their thoughts. They dont push him to reply, which he is thankful for, even if they don't know. After a moment he continues his sentence. "Uhm, I'm Asexual, but, I still want to be closer to you, perhaps partners, I think… If you are fine with this then uhm… I would love to be your partner-" he says, twisting away to face the opposite direction of Iko, but not before seeing them smile slightly.
"I love you for your personality and how amazing you always look, you being Asexual does not change how I feel. I love you for who you are, Selya, not because of how you identify." Iko says with a smile, before standing up, and hugging Selya, who just smiles at how adorable Iko is being.
"Thanks Iko. Well, we should head to class, come on" Selya says, before pulling Iko off of her, and dragging them to class. They arrive at class just before the bell rings.
Selya goes and sits in his seat, and Iko sits down in their seat. Other than the sound of occasional shifting and the teacher talking, the class is completely silent. When they get to the part of class where they can practice talking in ASL, Selya would head over to where Iko was. She smiles at them, before they sign something to him.
'Your voice has always been like a beach, gentle and strong, did you know that?' Iko signs slowly, making sure she has all the signs right. Selya just smiles, calmer now that the hurricane of love and fear has calmed to gentle waves. Iko smiles back. At the end of class. They both go back to the stairs from earlier. Deciding that the stairs are the best place to hangout.
When they get there, Selya leans over onto Ikos shoulder and just listens as Iko hums softly. Recognizing the song, she joins in humming, only much softer and a bit less in tune. At the end of the song, Iko stops humming and looks over at her.
"So, we are dating now, aren't we?" They ask, like they don't already know the answer. They wait for a response from Selya. After a moment, she hums slightly, and nods. They are dating now. She wonders what that has to do with anything.
"We should set ground rules then, so that we don't make the other uncomfortable" Iko says, just to get another nod from Selya. They laugh a bit, before continuing. "So, do we want to tell Freya today or later?" They ask, knowing that they will have to tell Freya eventually.
"Hmm, today is fine, maybe next block, she is our friend after all" Selya says, before leaning her head further into their shoulder.
"Alright darling, we can tell Freya today." Iko says, before looking down towards Selya, and adding a bit more to what she was saying. "You look so adorable, all tired and cuddly. I love you Selya" they finish, smiling slightly at Selya, who mumbles an incoherent reply.
Eventually the block ends, so Iko has to push Selya off their shoulder, despite the complaints made by the younger of the two.
"Come on darling, you have to get up or you will be late to class" Iko says when Selya leans back onto them.
“Mmmh, fine, see you next block Iko” Selya replies before forcing herself to stand up, and heading in the opposite direction of Ikos next class.
“Bye Selya” Iko calls as they head to their next class. On his way to math, Selya runs into Freya, who is just as chipper as ever. Selya just goes straight to his seat, and Freya sits down right next to him.
“Hey Sel, how are you doing?” Freya asks as the other yawns.
“I’m doing well, just a bit tired. Oh, can you meet me on the big steps next free block?” Selya replies. He decided on asking Freya to meet up now so he doesn't forget later.
“Oh, yeah, sure, why?” Freya asks
“Secret, now pay attention, class is starting” Selya replies before paying attention to the teacher, as to learn math.
By the time math class finishes, she is more than prepared to hangout more with Iko, so Selya quickly exits to meet with Iko by the stairs as they go to their next class.
Selya and Iko wave at each other as they pass by each other in the hallways on the way to their next class. After their next class, they both arrive at the staircase and hug each other until Freya arrives.
“So, why did you want me to come?” Freya asks as she climbs up to where the other two are standing.
“We have good news Freya” Iko says with a smile before looking over at Selya, who glares back for a moment before looking towards Freya again.
“Me and Iko are now dating, so you can stop pestering us about crushes,” Selya says with a small smile. She reaches out her hand to grab Ikos. Iko grabs his hand and holds it tightly as Freya cheers
“Yay! Congratulations, it took you long enough” Freya says, before sitting down. The rest of the day, the three hang out and talk more about the relationship. Finally they start plans for the next weekend hangout, after all, they can’t not have a weekend hangout plan.