Work Text:
Two simultaneous bangs.
Blood immediately splatters all over the clean floors, staining white with dirty big red splotches. Fingers slowly let go of the guns in their hands, the weapons making a loud clang as they dropped. Andre's body coldly hits the floor first, his head landing right over the spots of dark red. Cal fell hardly after, slightly curled up near his long gun.
Streaks of red paint both their chins and foreheads, dripping slowly across their skin. Soon, a pool of blood forms around their heads, framing their lifelessness.
The words they exchanged still seemed to echo around in the room, which smelt of metal and gunpowder.
And among the bodies, the Army of Two is still there, alive someplace else.
You said you hate yourself
So let me feed you strawberries off a plate I bought
"One, two, three."
"My name is Andre Kriegman."
"And I'm Cal Gabriel."
...
"Okay, yeah. 'One, two, three, go," Andre whispered.
"And we are the Army of Two!" "And we are the Army of Two!"
The two boys posed to the camera, introducing themselves. They both smiled.
"This- is our high school, located in our town," Calvin stated as he pointed at the large building behind him. "It is our biggest enemy."
"It is our nemesis," Andre added. "..Fuck, what comes after?"
The brunette looked at the blonde. Cal reached into his pocket, taking out a small notebook. They both paused, before reciting their prepared script to the tiny camera, then the tape ended with Andre letting out a laugh.
From a widow who was selling her husband's things
And we'll see if you still hate yourself
"It'd be better if we had shotguns, man," Cal spoke as they walked around the neighborhood. They were trying to find Brad's house. "Y'know, just knock on the door, and his mom comes out and we say like 'Hey Mrs. Huff, is Brad here?'' he laughed.
Andre continued, "'Bradley! Your friends are here!' And then he'll come downstairs talking about some 'The fuck you pussies want?' and we'll just fucking shoot his ass," switching from a high-pitched voice to a low-pitched one to mimic Huff's mom and Brad himself.
The two boys slowed down their footsteps, noticing the house of the person they were just talking about. They crouched down near a bush, trying to hide themselves just in case anyone saw.
"Alright, what time is it?" Andre asked.
"We got about a few minutes left before twelve," Cal answered.
"Okay, we'll do it at exactly twelve. Got it?"
"Mhm."
Andre put down the bag he was holding, eyes squinting and nose scrunching at the stench coming from inside. Too bad they have to open it.
"Dude, I can smell this shit without even opening it, fuck.."
"Yeah I can fucking tell," Cal put a hand over his nose.
The brunet pulled down the zip of the bag, checking to make sure the eggs weren't cracked but also trying not to gag from the rotten smell. He looked at the house in front of them, which made him unconsciously roll his eyes. Calvin noticed, letting out a chuckle before settling closer to Andre.
"What time is it now?"
"We have like, a few seconds left," Cal replied as he grabbed the eggs.
Andre didn't reply. He grabbed the eggs as well, aiming at the building. He glanced over at Cal, who was looking at his watch before his gaze drifted over to Andre, indicating that it was twelve.
Only then did they start throwing. They laughed together as they egged Brad's house, glimpsing over at each other with a grin on both their faces. When they realized they ran out of eggs, they started running.
"Dude, that was fucking amazing!" Andre yelled as they bolted.
"Yeah! A Fucking win!" Cal yelled back.
"Hell yeah!"
Both were running out of breath, but for some reason they kept running. They giggled, feeling satisfied with what they had done to Brad, and also because, they were doing this together.
If you still hate yourself,
I'll eat you out for an hour in your room 'cause I love giving head
"Y'know, I couldn't have done this with anyone else," Calvin started. He was messing around with one of the shitty little boxes they bought from the store. He and Andre sat together in the brunette's car.
"..What?"
Cal laughed. "I couldn't have done this with anybody else, Andre. You get me, man."
Andre went silent for a few seconds. He didn't know what to say. He did agree with Cal's statement though, he could never imagine himself planning, hanging out, talking and doing.. this with literally any other person.
"..Me too," Andre replies.
The blonde smiled, then turned away like it was nothing, before he went back to shoving the things they had gotten back into the plastic bag that came with it. Andre, however, seemed to still have his eyes fixed on the blonde.
Andre swallowed, looking at the items he held in his hand. He bit his lip, quickly and hurriedly placing them back into the bag Cal was holding a second before, then carelessly tossing the items to the backseat.
'You're my best friend, Cal. You know that right?' But those words never seemed to come out.
If you still hate yourself,
We'll cut ourselves and swallow chunks of broken glass
The room smelt of alcohol and dust. They sat down on the cold floor of Andre's basement. It was New Years. They had decided to drink together.
The blonde laughed so hard, his entire body was practically shaking. He had his head laid on Andre's lap, the older boy equally giggling his ass off. They both had a glass bottle in each of their hands, which was swung around due to their movements.
"Dude- Stop! I'm gonna choke-" Andre bursts out.
"You dumbass!" Cal yelled, smiling.
Andre did choke, coughing but also continuing to laugh with Cal. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, droplets of saliva and alcohol left on his skin. He opened his eyes, as it had gone a little quiet, and saw the blonde had sat up. Blue eyes seemed to dig holes into Andre's face from how hard he was staring.
"..Uh? You alright?" the brunet spoke, feeling awkward due to the silent atmosphere.
"Andre."
"..?"
"I.. I don't want to die a virgin," Calvin suddenly admits out of nowhere.
"Okay..? You wanna get laid or something? Don't you fucking reject every girl that come out of their way just to ask you out?" Andre joked.
"Yeah.. I just don't like them," Cal replies.
Kriegman smiled, "Then why are you complaining about being a virgin if it's your fault?"
Cal was silent for a moment, looking down at the floor, before his eyes settled on Andre's brown ones. He shuffled a little bit, placing down the bottle he was holding on the floor near other ones that they had drank before. Calvin knew he was drunk, Andre was too. But..
"It's too late to go ask someone out, man."
"What?"
The blonde sighed, now inching closer to his best friend. "Andre, we're gonna fucking die anyway. Let us test the waters."
Andre stared, confused. "What are you saying?" He asked, dumbfounded.
Calvin was now settled between Andre's legs, his hand sliding up the brunette's thigh. His eyes seemed to darken, either out of hidden sadness, or a newfound curiosity. Andre's breath hitched, he could feel how cold the other's hand was through the fabric of his pants, and that made him flinch.
Pale bony fingers caressed Andre's cheek, blue eyes landed hungrily on his chapped lips. Andre knew exactly what that meant. He knew. He just.. didn't want to be like that. He was normal. He wasn't gay. He didn't do that shit. But why.. Why did he feel the need to reciprocate? He lets out a quiet sound, his hands struggling to find what to hold.
Cal took that as a yes, he leaned closer.
Red bloomed across all over Andre's cheeks and ears.
Their lips met, a short soft contact of skin. Cal's hands found their way to Andre's hips, holding him steady. Andre's hands grabbed at his shoulder, hesitantly placing them there as he was stuck between the choice of pushing the other boy off, or to keep him close. He chose the latter.
They kissed, softly. Almost romantically.
They both smelt of alcohol, the smell lingering on each other's lips as they continued. They started off slow, experimental, before they really got into it. Cal had pushed Andre down onto the floor with a soft thud, his arms resting next to Andre's head on his elbows. Andre, on the other hand, wrapped his arms around Cal's neck. They had their eyes shut, as they made out passionately.
The two boys kissed like there was no tomorrow, their tongues pressed clumsily against each other, as their teeth clashed. Andre was kind of glad that Cal got rid of his braces, otherwise that would be another problem.
When they finally pulled apart from the kiss, a thin string of saliva connected their lips. It eventually snapped when Cal moved his head a little further back. Andre frowned.
"Is this how it works?" Calvin asked.
"I don't know.. This is pretty faggy." Andre replied.
"I know. It's just for experience."
"That's still pretty gay."
Calvin laughed, his pearly whites glimmering in the dark lighting. Andre felt his face heat up even more. He still had his arms wrapped around Cal. The brunette shifted, and he could feel Cal's legs between his. Andre's brows furrowed.
He didn't know what to describe what he was feeling.
"This doesn't make it anything like.. that, right?" Andre asked, almost angrily, either at himself or at Cal. But that sensation died down after the other answered him.
"No."
"So, I'm just a practice dummy for you to use just in case you get a prom date or something?" Andre joked, his lips forming an upward curve. He laughed at his own joke. Calvin just smiled.
"You're not. You're just Andre."
The brunette looked up at the blonde at that comment. He studied the boy's features for a minute, the way his empty blue eyes stared back at him, the way the arc of his nose perfectly complemented his face, the way his chewed lips seemed to be glistening in the dark, and the way his eyebrows twitched when he caught Andre's gaze at him. He felt himself leaning in for a kiss again.
I don't care about finishing college
I'll buy the biggest TV that my credit card allows me
Gunshots echoed in the field, the stupid little props they had set up getting destroyed and flung away as they shot at them.
Cal's shoulder bounced back a little due to how powerful the recoil of the long gun was. He smiled at Andre when the boy chuckled.
"Stop laughing, man. It's my first time using this," Calvin tried to sound serious, but the giggle escaping his lips made him sound like he was the one that wasn't taking it seriously.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Andre scoffs playfully.
The brunette's grin was immediately wiped off his face as he went to reload his gun, his brows knitting in frustration as the weapon wasn't cooperating. He bit his lower lip, trying to get the item to work properly. The blonde stared as he struggled, his pupils traced along the veins of Andre's arms.
Cal still thinks about the night on New Year's. He still remembers. How he kissed him, how he held him down despite Andre being the taller one among the two, how glossy dark brown eyes looked up to him like a plead, how he watched the older boy squirm underneath him-
"She's beautiful, isn't she?" Andre's voice cut through his thoughts.
"Hm?" the golden haired boy hummed.
Andre's fingers ran along the lines of the gun, before he cocked the gun and held it so carefully, like it was an artifact. He aimed at one of the trees, but he didn't shoot. "A little difficult sometimes, but she's alright. Hopefully won't be a problem on Zero Day."
"Definitely will be a problem," Cal teased.
"Shut up."
Calvin smiled, his eyes falling to the weapon in his own grip. His pupils move along the hard edges of the item, he observes the way the metal part of it seemed to shine dangerously yet gracefully under the sunlight, the way its heavy weight seemed to dissolve into something lighter when he held it, and the way it seemed to fit perfectly between his fingers.
He wondered if the blood of those, would be stained on the same gun, and he wondered if he, his own blood, would do the same as well.
His teeth picked at the skin on his lips, causing them to peel before they started bleeding. He licked the blood away, the strongly metallic and salty melting away on his tongue, before more blood seeped out. Cal ignored it.
But he couldn't ignore that underlying weird feeling that bubbled in his chest every time his gaze landed on Andre.
We'll watch the food network
For the rest of our lives
"I can't do it."
"What?"
Cal paused his movements, gun still aimed at his chin however. He glanced over to Andre, the boy setting down the weapon. He fidgeted with his hands, his eyes remained their gaze on the floor, unable to look at anything else. Not even Cal.
From somewhere, the voice of a woman on the line could be heard. "Andre? Can you pick up?"
"I can't. I- I just... I can't," he muttered out, a slight tremble in his tone.
"Andre," Cal reached over, putting his hand on the other's shoulder. His fingers squeezed lightly, eyes tracking each time Andre shifted or the slight crease in his eyebrows every time he bit his lip. He repeats, "Andre." The boy, though, still continued to stare hard at the cold floor. He didn't answer.
The blonde scoots a little closer to the brunette, bringing his gun with him. He dismissed the operator on the phone Andre had grabbed attempting to talk them out of it. He hated hearing that.
"It's okay. You don't have to think about it, y'know?" Calvin said, unsure of what to really say.
"..."
"Give me a yes, Andre."
"..Yes."
The glimpse of eye contact between the two finally broke the tension. Hesitant brown eyes melted into devoid blue eyes. Calvin caressed his cheek, maybe one last time, but he no longer smiled. Andre did not flinch to his touch, instead he wanted to lean into it. But he didn't.
Andre's fingers drifted back to his firearm, pulling it back up to its original position. Calvin did the same, propping the gun under his chin. The brunette silently glanced at Cal from his peripheral vision. His blonde hair fell messily around his face, his fingers tightly gripped on his weapon, and the edge of his army T-shirt was tainted with the blood of other students.
A part of him still hoped, really hoped, that they could somehow escape this, run away from this country, and still continue to live on. But things don't always meet their expectations, do they?
Salvia Plath, by Teen Suicide.