Chapter Text
The all black sedan pulled into its parking spot outside the school with alarming speed and came to an even more alarming stop. Only just narrowly missing the sign that read “Reserved for Faculty”. If the occupants of the vehicle noticed how close they came to hitting the sign they gave no indication, for they were two busy glaring at each other to notice anything else.
The occupants of the car were obviously father and son, the shared crooked nose and wild eyes made sure of that, as did the absolute hateful stare that the younger man was leveling at his senior. Only a teenage boy staring at his father could have an expression that angry.
“Sevro.” The man said sternly. His attire was the epitome of professionalism, even if his body language and eyes indicated he would rather be anywhere else.
“Fitchner.” The teenager, Sevro, replied hotly. By design his attire was the polar opposite of his father. Sevro’s face was covered in dirt, as were his hands and shoes, his clothes only just barely fit the school’s dress code, and his hair was wild and unkept.
Fichtner snorted. “Listen up Boyo, I’m not going to tell you anything you don't already know. The people who go to this school are a bunch of shitheads, ain’t no doubt about that, but one day they are going to be the people who hold all the cards.” The man leaned forward and looked his son in the eye. “I know you, my little Goblin, I know that you can match any of these pixies in a battle of wits or in a fight, but do you want to know what is better than matching someone in a fight?”
Sevro said nothing. So Fichtner answered for him.
“Finding someone to fight alongside you.” Sevro’s father sighed. “Make friends, go out and have fun, find a girl, or a guy if that's what floats your boat. Hell’s bells I don’t care what you stick it in as long as you stick it in something. Just go out there and have some fun my little Goblin.”
Sevro blinked at his father, then nodded. After a moment he said. “Eat a dick old man.” and then got out of the car and walked into school
Fichtner made sure that Sevro was inside the school before he started laughing.
****
Sevro walked into the cafeteria and sat down in his little perch at the very top corner of the bleachers, looking out at the rows of tables below him. Even though he would never admit it to the man, Sevro knew that his father was right. On paper the Institute might be just a normal high school, but its prestigious history and proximity to Washington D.C made it the school of choice for many of the
nation’s premier policy makers and decision makers. The little shits who went here either had parents or relatives in very high places.
However Sevro didn’t give his father too much credit, that simple fact was hardly hidden. It was practically the school’s recruitment line, and the students knew it. They formed little cliques based on
the social status of their families and excluded anyone who didn’t fit their desired mold. Which is why Sevro, who was only able to attend the Institute because his father “Mr. Barca” taught Military History for the upper classmen.
Sevro looked down at classmates with a strange mixture of emotions. For example there was the feeling of apathy for Virgina, “Mustang” Augustus, daughter of Mr. Augustus, the school principal. Mustang was nice, not nice enough to warrant any warm feelings but nice enough to not outright dislike. Resulting in his lukewarm opinion of the girl. However that feeling was replaced by sheer dread for her twin, Adrian, “the Jackal” Augustus. Who from what he had heard had scared the shit out of everyone as far back as elementary school. Sevro quickly looked away before the Jackal saw him, because sometimes he swore that the boy had eyes out the back of his head.
Looking away from the Augustus table he found his gaze settling on the Bellona table, where Cassius and Jullian Bellona sat, flanked by their friends Tactus, Roque and Quinn…
Sevro looked away the second he saw Roque wrap his arm around Quinn’s shoulder.
There were far more tables to go through, but something new happened that caught Sevro’s attention. Standing at the door to the cafeteria was a very haggard looking young man about Sevro’s own age. This student was interesting, not because of his shoddy clothes and world weary face, but because of the look he had in his eyes as he scanned the cafeteria. It was like he was about to march right into a den of wolves.
As Sevro was debating whether or not to rescue the newcomer, one of the wolves took matters into his own hands.
“Darrow my goodman!” Cassius bellowed as he walked forward, causing the lunchroom to come to a complete stop as everyone turned around to see what was happening. The newcomer, Darrow, looked pissed but was doing an admirable job of trying to hide it, while Cassius gave no indication that he saw anything wrong. The elder Bellona wrapped his arm around Darrow and led him back to his table, but not before Darrow looked up and made eye contact with Sevro in the bleachers. The two boys exchanged a nod and then went about their business.
****
The hardest part about talking to Quinn was the sheer mixture of emotions that Sevro felt every time he saw her. Because it is a strange feeling to be around someone who you like more than words can easily express, while at the same time knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that they don’t feel the same way about you and probably never will. They are all at once the best and brightest part of your day, and the worst and most painful part of your night. Because the way they smile at you lifts you up into the air, and the way they blow you off sends you crashing right back to the ground.
This is what was going through Sevro’s head(even though he would rather die than admit it. Only Pixies moped like that) as he and Quinn worked together on their chemistry project. The assignment was simple: with a partner figure out how to start a (controlled) fire with the tools available in the classroom. In a moment that was probably the highlight of Sevro’s whole year, Quinn raced right to him whenever they were told to choose partners because her pixie boyfriend Roque was absolutely hopeless with this stuff.
“How did you learn how to do this Sevro?” Quinn asked in amazement as she watched him work.
“Pops and I used to camp all the time.” Sevro replied. Instead of using any of the tools available to him in the classroom like the rest of the students had, Sevro had chosen to chip a few pieces of brick off the wall and was scraping them together over some of his old scrap papers. The sparks had just about caught fire. “He always insisted that stuff like this would come in handy.”
“Well you can’t really say he was wrong can you?” Quinn smiled at him, causing Sevro’s heart to go into overdrive.
He attempted to think of something clever to say, but then a shadow appeared on his table and he turned around to see what was going on. It was his teacher and the new guy Darrow.
“Hello Sir.” Quinn said brightly.
“Hello Quinn.” The teacher smiled at her, then frowned at Sevro. “Mr. Barca.”
“Teach.” Sevro said with a nod.
The teacher rolled his eyes and cleared his throat. “Quinn, would you mind working with another group? I thought it would be beneficial for Darrow here to work with Mr. Barca.” The teacher cast a glance at the small embers of flame that Sevro had produced. “Their…unique learning methods might mesh well together."
Servo had about a million things to say in protest, but before he could Quinn stood up out of her seat. “Of course Sir, I’ll go work with Roque’s group.” With barely a glance over her shoulder she said.
“By Darrow, good luck.”
Just like that, Servo was sent crashing back down to the ground as he watched Quinn join Roque’s group. He was vaguely aware of the teacher leaving and Darrow sitting down next to him and he could feel the newbie’s eyes boring into the back of his head.
“What?” Sevro growled.
Darrow said nothing, his red eyes just kept studying him. As Servo turned around to fully look at him he became…uneasy. Darrow’s gaze wasn't the look of a mindless pixie who couldn't come up with any words to say. It was the gaze of a man who was deep in thought and trying to make sense of the world around him.
“Roque and Quinn seem like they're good together.” Darrow said finally.
“Fuck am I really that obvious?” Sevro thought. Then he said aloud. “Are you bringing that up for a reason?”
Darrow half-smiled smugly, not in a mean way, more like he was happy to be proven right. “If it helps she brought you up at breakfast this morning.” The newbie began. “When I sat with Cassius and his friends. Evidently she noticed the “cool guy nod that we had” as she put it, and said that your “bark was way worse than your bite”.” Those red eyes looked at him sympathetically. “I don’t think it's in the way that you want it, but she does like you.”
For a while the smaller boy said nothing until he passed him the assignment sheet and growled. “Get back to work.”
***
For some reason Darrow seemed to think that their little study session meant that they were friends now, because during lunch he walked right up to Sevro and sat down next to him on the bleachers. They sat in silence for a while, before Sevro’s curiosity got the better of him.
“Not gonna sit with Bellona like you did this morning?” He asked as he took a bite of his sandwich.
Darrow shook his head no. “Cassius is nice, but he is also very…loud, and it's been a busy day. I wanted to eat somewhere that is a bit more peaceful.”
“Fair enough.” Servo shrugged, but just to make sure that the newbie knew his place he added. “But this doesn't make us friends.”
Darrow once again looked at Sevro like he saw right through him and smiled.
***
Surprisingly that was not the only time Darrow would insert himself into Sevro’s life. As Darrow got settled into his new school a routine emerged. Darrow would eat breakfast and hang out after school with Bellona and his crowd, but every lunch period was spent with Sevro. Today was no different.
“I need a favor from you, if you don’t mind.” Darrow asked as he sat down next to him on the bleachers.
“I’m busy.” Sevro grunted insincerely. In a short span of time Darrow had become probably his closest friend. He was funny, thoughtful, much smarter than he let on and just as crazy as himself.
Fichtner always said that the Barca men don’t do emotions halfway, they are ride or die from the get go, and based on how much he cared about Darrow already Sevro had to admit that the old man
might be onto something.
“I’m serious, Sevro.” Darrow said.
“Oh just relax. What do you need?”
“Cassius invited us to go…” Either on purpose or on accident Darrow paused for dramatic effect. Honestly it could have gone either way. For a high schooler Darrow did walk around like a young Fitzwilliam Darcy.
Not that Sevro knew who Mr. Darcy was or anything. That shot is for pixies.
“Camping.” Darrow finished, rousing Sevro from his thoughts.
“Oh how awful.” Sevro said dryly. “How will you ever survive such a horrible experience?”
“This is serious Sevro.” Darrow insisted. “I like Cassius just fine, and Roque too, and Tactus isn’t as bad as he wants to be, but I still hardly know these people. We’re not kindred spirits like you and I are.”
For some reason Sevro had a surge of emotion at that last part but he stamped it down. “Ok, so just tell him that you appreciate the offer but you just can’t make it.” The teen absentmindedly waved his hand. “Family emergency or something. Doesn’t have to be specific, just make it vague enough to sound plausible.”
“I could but…”
“But what?”
“Mustang is going to be there.”
And there it is. “I don’t know if you noticed or not Darrow but I’m not exactly the wingman type.”
Once again, Darrow looked at him in a way that made Sevro feel like all of his secrets were laid bare. “No but I am, and I know that Quinn and Roque are going, and even though I like the man, the poet is going to be useless the second we step foot into the woods. However you on the other hand will be in a prime position to show off what you can do.”
For a while neither one of them said anything until Sevro broke the silence. “So Mustang huh?”
Darrow didn’t blush, but he did look down at his feet. “She’s…something else.”
Sevro snorted. “Let me guess, “you’ve never met anyone like her” or something like that?”
A brief look of hurt flashed in Darrow’s eyes, causing him to look a hundred years older, but the look vanished just as quickly. “Something like that. So will you help me or not?”
“Yeah I can go.” Sevro nodded. Quinn coming along was a nice bonus, but Sevro would have tagged along regardless. After all, his friend needed him.
“Great.” Darrow smiled. “I’ll have Cassius pick you up on Friday with everyone else.”
Sevro thought of who “everyone else” entailed. Bellona, Roque, Tactus, and if Mustang was going then her creepy ass brother was probably going to tag along too, not to mention any other pixies that
would start to crawl out of the woodwork. “...Great.” He sighed. “I can’t wait.”