Chapter Text
David had only wanted to get through his maths class in peace. Unfortunately for him, no one else seemed particularly interested in what Mr Kostyk had to say. Between taking notes, David swept a glance around the room of 11th graders. They were no longer that rowdy age where the classroom was more like a war zone, but despite being on the brink of adulthood, not everyone seemed particularly worried about their future.
Some, like Eurydice who sat by the window, were hanging on to Mr Kostyk’s every word, frantically scribbling to keep up with his messy scrawl on the blackboard. Inej, who sat in the row across from him, was also quietly following along with the lesson, despite Jesper and Nina talking beside her, which must have been distracting.
Mr Kostyk turned and furrowed his eyebrows at them. “Quiet down, please.”
Jesper and Nina stopped talking, only to resume their conversation the moment Mr Kostyk turned around again.
In the back row, Nadbor was asleep with his head on the desk, not even trying to hide it. Beside him, Oliver had wired earphones in. Either Mr Kostyk pretended not to see either of these things, or he was so caught up in his subject that he genuinely didn’t notice.
And beside Oliver sat Gabe. Many adjectives floated around David’s head when he thought of Gabe, but the main one was annoying. The way he slouched in his chair was annoying. The way he twirled his pen around was annoying. The way he grinned like he knew something David didn’t was especially annoying.
Mr Kostyk paused his frantic scribbling to turn to the class. “So, now that we’ve established that, what is the logical next step? Yes, David?”
“We need the quadratic formula.”
“Yes, thank you, David, the quadratic formula. And who remembers what that is?”
David raised his hand again, but Mr Kostyk was glaring at the back rows, clearly noticing the lack of interest from his students. “Gabriel.”
“Yes?” Gabe asked innocently. God, his voice was even more annoying than his face.
“I asked you to recite the quadratic formula, Gabriel.”
“Right. Yes. That.” Gabe paused. “Is it A squared—”
“No, Gabriel, it is not A squared plus B squared equals C squared,” said Mr Kostyk, pinching the bridge of his nose. “I get the impression you are not paying attention back there. All three of you.”
Oliver kicked Nadbor under the table, who jerked awake with a “Huh? What?”
“Oliver, I want you to take Gabriel’s seat,” said Mr Kostyk. “And Gabriel, please come sit up front next to David. Maybe he’ll be a good influence on you.”
“But, Mr Kostyk—” Gabe complained.
“No complaints, now, hurry up. No, Nadbor, you stay there—I want some distance between you and Oliver.”
“We weren’t even talking!” complained Nadbor.
“I don’t recall asking,” Mr Kostyk retorted, turning back to the blackboard. “So, the quadratic formula…”
There was a shuffle as Gabe plopped into the seat beside David with a grumble. “Hi,” he muttered.
“Hi,” David replied quietly, not bothering to spare him a glance as he continued his note-taking. He really wanted to avoid an inevitably awkward conversation with this boy, and so chose to ignore him for the rest of the lesson. Perhaps this arrangement was only for today, and then Gabe would slink back to his normal seat.
Unfortunately, that was not the case. Two days later, when the next maths lesson rolled around, Mr Kostyk fixed Gabe with a withering stare until Gabe moved back to his seat next to David with a small sigh. “Not fair,” he muttered under his breath. David ignored him.
Around halfway through the lesson, Gabe seemed to have accepted his fate, and leaned over towards David. “Do you have the homework?” he whispered.
Wordlessly, and wanting to avoid conversation as much as possible, David shoved his notebook between them so that Gabe could peer in as well.
“Thanks,” he said gratefully. David, once again, said nothing.
This time, when class was over, Gabe followed him out of the room, much to David’s confusion. He kept chattering on about things David, quite frankly, didn’t care about, which is why he finally blurted out: “Don’t you have other friends to hang out with?” It was a genuine question.
Gabe paused and blinked. “I mean…yeah, but—I wanted to hang out with you. Is that so bad?”
David shrugged noncommittally, and Gabe seemed to get the hint, backing off. The rejection didn’t stop him from talking to David during class, though. The other ignored him at first, but eventually gave in and began giving him clipped responses in the hopes that Gabe would just shut up already.
Short conversations turned into banter which soon turned into arguments, much to Mr Kostyk’s dismay. The once silent pair had now taken to having hushed debates in the middle of class, though Mr Kostyk could find no excuse to sit them apart as David was always able to answer his questions, and Gabe, by proxy, could too. So, in a sense, David had become a good influence on Gabe.
Against his will, David began to learn more about Gabe. He found out his younger sister Natalie was in the 9th grade, and that she was dating Henry, who also happened to be David’s weed dealer.
He mentioned this to Henry one day as they did business under the bleachers, David handing over some coins which Henry exchanged for a small package. He was tossing an apple into the air and catching it, and David wondered if he was actually planning on eating it in the near future. “Ever made an apple bong?” he asked instead, grinning mischievously.
Henry shook his head, finally stuffing the apple back into his bag to eat later. “Show me another time. I’m kinda craving nicotine right now,” he replied, pulling out a pack of Marlboro and a lighter.
“I second that,” David replied, lighting a cig of his own and taking a long drag.
“So,” said Henry between puffs, trying to make conversation, “what’s new with you?”
David shrugged. What was new with him? Nothing, really. Aside from finding a new interest every week, the world around him stayed the same. Except for one recent development. “Gabe mentioned you,” he said. “You’re dating his younger sister?”
Henry nodded and smiled dreamily. “Natalie,” he confirmed, a faraway look in his eyes. “I can’t believe I got so lucky.”
“Cute,” David replied sarcastically.
“No luck for you on the romantic front, I take it?” Henry joked.
David shrugged. He didn’t particularly want to think about that.
“Since when are you friends with Gabe, anyway?” Henry asked, changing the subject.
David wrinkled his nose. “I wouldn’t say we’re friends.”
“But you guys talk?”
“During class. He talks at me.”
“Gabe’s not so bad,” Henry defended. “Give him a chance, he’s probably just trying to get closer to you.”
That’s the problem, David thought. He didn’t really have friends (his weed dealer didn’t count), and he didn’t want his first proper friend to be someone he was maybe just slightly attracted to. Something he had been trying to push down for weeks, now, but Gabe just wouldn’t get the hint and leave him alone. “It’s not that I hate him,” David explained, not sure where he was going with this. “I just pretend I do.”
Henry furrowed his eyebrows as he tugged on his cigarette, clearly not understanding this in the slightest. “But why?”
David shrugged. “Makes things easier.”
“Easier how?”
David didn’t respond.
“You like him, don’t you?”
“I do not,” David hissed, though he exhaled a cloud of smoke just a little too fast. Henry had unfortunately hit the nail right on the head.
Henry grinned. “Oh, you so do. Don’t worry, I won’t tell.”
“Shut up,” David snapped.
Henry mimed zipping his mouth shut, but the annoying grin was still plastered on his face, and David defeatedly made sure his next drag was a long one.