Chapter Text
Thunder.
Tank woke up with a start, jerking so fast that their back slammed into the desk behind them. They looked around frantically, eyes wide as golf balls.
David Shaw stood in front of them, entirely unimpressed. "Good to see you were paying attention," he grumbled coldly. Tank looked down at the pile of books David had slammed on their desk.
"Oh, don't be too mean," Asher Tibolt swung an arm over David's shoulder, leaning into his side, "not everyone is as studious and driven as you. Besides, they needed their beauty sleep - how else are they gonna pull that look off?" Asher sent them a wink that sent heat crawling up their face.
They glared back, eyes dark and narrowed. David didn't budge at the seething look. "You better pull your weight or I'm taking all the credit."
Asher laughed, putting a hand on David's chest like he was the sole thing keeping them separated. Fair enough - Tank had a habit of sizing people up. "Come on, David. Give them a break. They probably don't even know what you're talking about." They could take David in a fight. Probably.
David's eyes flashed to Asher briefly before he took a deep breath, and his shoulders finally relaxed. His gaze was softer when he looked back at Tank. "We got paired up to work on a project together."
They leaned back against the desk behind them, crossing their arms. "Sounds to me like you'd rather have someone else."
"You weren't my first pick," David snapped back. He looked back at the lively speech teacher in the front and watched her happily chat with a student. Tank got the feeling he'd already asked. David sighed in frustration and defeat. "Either way, we're stuck with each other. Where do you want to meet?"
Tank blinked. "Meet?"
"We're not getting class time to do it." Tank was silent, squaring their jaw. David rolled his eyes. "Fine, my place." Their eyes widened, and they opened their mouth to argue. "I'll pick you up on Wednesday after school; only time I don't have practice."
Tank didn't like being interrupted, but the bell rang before they could protest, and David and Asher were already gathering their bags and heading for the door. All Tank had left to give them a scolding glare as they went.
Then a familiar sophomore squeezed past the two seniors, looking around wildly for Tank (even though they always sat in the same spot), and gave them a stupid grin. Benny weaved through the desks to get to them with ease. "You look like crap. What's up?"
The two took a second to complete an overly complicated handshake before Tank stood up, swinging their bag over their shoulder. They began walking down the hall, Benny falling in step beside them. "David Shaw wants me to come to his house." They shot a glare at his back.
Benny followed their line of sight. "Golden boy David?" Benny motioned his hand above both their heads to gesture David's height. "Resting bitch face and bad attitude?"
"Yeah. His stupid boyfriend was there too." Tank blushed at the wink Asher had given them.
Benny laughed. "Remember that time he went an entire day with his shoes on the wrong feet and didn't notice?"
"It's all he would talk about for the next week." They rolled their eyes at the memory.
"So are you actually thinking about going?"
They thought about it for a moment before they remembered all the dirty looks David had sent them, all the smiles Asher had sent them before turning to a group of friends and giggling like they were some joke, Milo Greer shoving them out his way and into a locker. "No."
"Oh so taking on two guys at once doesn't do it for you?" Tank elbowed Benny in the gut, sending him doubling over for air but laughing nonetheless. "Sorry, sorry. Two and a half."
"What if I snapped your leg like a toothpick?"
Benny didn't reply; his eyes suddenly trained on a girl across the hall. Dani Ramirez: prettiest girl Tank had ever met. Prettiest girl in the whole school, maybe.
Tank snorted. "Guess I'm not the only one?"
Benny looked back at them with unfocused eyes. "Huh?"
Tank turned a bright red, their eyes flicking towards the Shaw boys ahead. "Nothing."