Chapter Text
Gus sat cross-legged on an old, dirty bench at the park in front of a newly reformed Memorial Hospital, his loyal guitar safely in his long, lean arms, he has been feeling a little lonely nowadays but now he could always count on the guitar his parents gifted him on his last Birthday.
It was early in the evening, the streetlights just starting to light up, he has no real hurry to go back home, nobody important is waiting for him there, his parents never really notice when he's gone.
The nerdy, brunet teen hummed a couple different melodies as he tried them on his guitar, struggling to find the perfect one that suits his feelings best.
He still loves filmmaking, directing amateur movies and music videos, it's what he'd like to go to College for but some time ago…. he realized this passion for singing and songwriting.
A perfect way to vent his feelings out to the world.
Kaz, Oliver and Connie now seem to be gone more often than not, Alan went back to being homeschooled and anyone else Gus may have been considering a friend seems to be avoiding him at all costs these days, there goes Jordan.
Gus was starting to have the vague impression that nobody really wants him around, family and acquaintances alike so he's been finding solace in music.
It's what's been working for him best.
The awkward teen with thick-framed glasses and beautiful bottle green eyes finally found a rhythm he was happy with, gleefully bumping his head to it.
Today at school he wrote a new song.
About the person he least expected.
Or everyone else would least expect.
Gus himself? Deep down, he saw it coming ever since the day he first met…him at The Domain a couple years ago, he had just been in denial about it up until it felt absolutely impossible to ignore.
A song about Alan Diaz.
Mentally unstable, annoying, ill-tempered, loud, stuck up, obnoxious, unpleasant, borderline evil Alan Diaz.
It's what everybody else told Gus.
…..He's awfully cute though.
And that's all Gus' teenaged mind has been able to focus on ever since the boy left.
Once I met a cute, dorky boy who wears a sweater vest
More often than not he puts everyone's patience to the test
But whenever he's close by I forget the rest
His name is Alan….
Gus stood up from his bench, skipping around and going up the large steps leading inside the Memorial Hospital.
It's still under construction, empty after all the people currently working on the site left for the day, the singing brunet dodged all the yellow tape that was meant to keep him away, contrary to what he believed, he wasn't alone, somebody else wasn't that far away.
I miss the days when I would see him everyday at school
I wanted so bad for him to think I was cool
While trying to fit in, he would always ask me what to do
I bit my tongue as not to say 'I like you just as you'
I liked to think he needed me but now I don't have a clue
I'm talking about Alan….
Alan dropped the medical device he was curiously inspecting when he heard a sound in the distance, a pleasant, deep voice and a guitar playing a relatively upbeat, mid-tempo ballad.
Followed by something that sounded vaguely like his own name.
This song is about Alan…..
Alan found himself…missing Mighty Med these days, ever since it's been demolished, they're taking forever to put it back together and he's feeling incredibly impatient, he misses being a doctor, being useful, doing something productive that will make Horace proud…..and ordering people around all the time while he was at it was neat too.
He was looking for something, anything that could help him with that, he was so bored at home.
The boy in the sweater vest slowly walked towards the music, it brought him to the door leading into the 'Normo' Hospital, he swears that voice seems so familiar….
Every other day I still go to The Domain
The very place where we first met
Reading comic books and playing video games until all I feel is regret
I was just hoping it could help me numb the pain
Of liking Alan…
Gus hopped on the dusty front desk, dreamy smile on his face as he swayed his feet in the air, he reached it with no effort whatsoever since his last growth spurt made him taller than even Kaz….and Alan.
Falling for Alan….
Alan's dark eyes grew impossibly wide as he progressively paid attention to the lyrics of the song and tried to process what it meant.
He opened the doors to the 'regular' hospital slightly, just to confirm his suspicions of who it might be.
His suspicions were right, it was Gus, the weird, geeky boy with light brown hair he first met at The Domain, then went to the same school as him the next year, they indeed had become very good friends overtime, Alan just so happened to think the younger boy's company wasn't all that unpleasant and obnoxious as Kaz and Oliver had warned him.
But ever since Alan realized it turns out he wasn't a Normo in any way at all, there was no longer a need to go to Logan High School, not to mention, Gus had come way too close to finding out about Alan's powers about a dozen times during his daily tantrums and Horace kept reminding him that none of the normos could ever know about the Superhero World or it would put them in danger.
Alan genuinely liked to have Gus around and couldn't handle hiding who he really was any longer, it was driving him insane, he saw himself with no choice but to leave school and drift away, cutting contact almost entirely with any friends he made there.
Admittedly, that hurt Alan more than he thought it would, he had liked Gus enough back then to the point where he was completely willing to be honest with him and let the kid with the thick-framed glasses know about his powers.
Yet he knew he couldn't.
Horace would be so disappointed if Alan told anyone.
One thing that the Normo World and the Superhero World have in common, neither are fair.
So… whenever he stumbles into Gus nowadays, it's at The Domain or occasionally they'll bump into each other on the street, they have some small talk and nothing more.
Both leaving completely unsatisfied and desperately wishing the other could have stayed longer.
Gus has a nice voice, it's deep and enticing, Alan feels a little jealous of it, he's older, how come he doesn't sound like that yet? Still he finds himself strangely drawn, attracted to it.
To the voice singing about being attracted to him.
Jordan can't know this, she'll make fun of me
Kaz and Oliver are alright but everytime they see me they flee
It's fine, I don't expect them to understand
That I want Alan, of all people, to be more than a friend….
Gus stopped playing for a moment, jumping from the desk, his newly long legs allowing his feet to reach the floor much faster than he's used to so he sways for a bit, he hugs the guitar close to his chest and starts spinning around as if he was slow dancing with it, bright green eyes closed shut, keeping him from catching his lone spectator as he soulfully sings.
I want Alan…..
Oh woah I want Alan….
I'm talking about Alan….
Alan's breath caught in his throat, his hands feeling clammy as he anxiously fidgeted with the buttons of his vest, his feet paralyzed in place, his own voice screaming in his mind.
I want you too….
I miss you….
Gus leaned against the far wall, sighing profoundly to himself, looking up at the blinding white lights and back down at his guitar as he went back to playing it, Alan could barely make out what the younger teen was saying.
But as he struggled to understand Gus' hushed voice breaks and off-key notes through thin, trembling fingers, Alan's heart went out to him.
I feel so conflicted because I'd like him to hear this
How I really feel is what I'd like him to know
I'm not even sure if I like boys or if it's just him
Who keeps me awake at night
Thinking about how our wedding would go
Alan raised one dark, thick eyebrow, that's interesting, he himself has not even thought about getting married yet, especially after the utter disaster that was his own Uncle's Wedding about a year ago.
Ever since, Alan hasn't even allowed himself to think about love altogether, it just sounded like too much work.
Work that Alan didn't really deem worth it to go through for anybody…..
……Up until now.
Up until he caught this cute, nerdy, scrawny boy with several freckles, moles and birth marks embellishing his charming, pale features singing about wanting to marry him.
Suddenly everything seemed to fall into place, the entire concept of romantic love normos and heroes alike talk so much about finally makes sense.
Falling for Gus.
Makes sense.
Gus grinned cheekily, thinking of the next lyrics, everything vivid on his mind as if it was happening right in front of him.
He'd yell at the catering staff
And throw silver plates in the air
His uncle didn't get the flowers in the color he wanted
But I don't care
I was too busy paying attention to how good Wallace styled his hair….
His name is Alan....
Gus strolled down the empty hallways, his voice bouncing off the walls, Alan discreetly followed after him, careful not to get caught, subconsciously touching his own rich, thick, dark brown, wavy curls.
Thinking it would be nice if it was Gus' hand instead.
If only one day he would notice me
He wouldn't even need to talk to me
Admiring him from afar would be good enough for me
I really need to stop rhyming stuff with 'Me'
After all, this song isn't about me
Gus spoke-sang fast as he giddily skipped and ran across the halls, Alan getting breathless while trying to keep up.
Why couldn't he fly like his Dad?
So not cool.
You already know who this is about
This song is certainly without a doubt...
Gus stopped abruptly when he reached the main hall of Mighty Med, up until now believing this place only existed in his dreams, the once crowded hospital was but a shell of it's glory days.
His back almost bumped into Alan.
About Alan….
Oooh woooah oooh
Can't stop thinking about Alan…..for better or worse…..
This song is about Alan.
Gus walked towards a gurney nearby, sitting on it with his legs crossed like he had done back at the park outside, his voice strained with emotion as he strummed the last notes, failing to notice the very object of his affection standing inches away from him.
Alan stood eerily behind him, mischievous smirk gracing his gorgeous, round features, staring ahead into the back of the other's hair, quiet as not to make a sound.
I once met a cute, dorky boy who wears a sweater vest…….
"WHAT???"
Alan's signature shriek could be heard even outside in the windy, humid summer night, Gus however, heard it right in his ear, making him instantly jump hastily in the air and drop his guitar.
"Who are you calling 'dorky'?????"
Gus gulped nervously, going paler than a ghost as he picked his guitar back up with shaking fingers, not daring to look behind him just yet, he thought he had found the perfect hideout.
He was wrong.