Me: God I am so sick of this country. Itās taking everything I have not to just pack up my entire life and move to-
Him:Ā
Me: Oh say can you seeee by the dawns early light. What so proudly we hail~ at the twilights last gleaming~. Whoās broad stripes and bright stars through the perilous fight. through the ramparts we watch were so gallantly streamingā¦ Anyhowā¦Yeah I just need to look into moving to Norway already and get out of this-
Him:
Me: AND THE ROCKETS RED GLARE! THE BOMBS BURSTING IN AIR! GAVE PROOF THROUGH THE NIGHT THAT OUR FLAG WAS STILL THERE! OH SAY DOES THAT STAR SPANGLED BANNER YET WAVE! FOR THE LAND OF THE FREEEEEE AND THE HOME OF THE BRAVE!
106 notes
Ā·
View notes
All in My Head; Junior Year, September, Rated T
Alfredās eyes are fixed on Mr. Kirkland, but heās hardly listening to the lesson being taught. Sometimes he thinks it might be some dream because at the end of last year, when Mr. Kirkland finished his student-teaching semester, he had told all the students that he would probably not be back, but it was such a pleasure to work with all of them and Alfred had only fantasized about the young teacher magically being back at Alfredās school a million times over the summer.
Heād fantasized about a lot of other things too: like Mr. Kirklandās piercing green eyes and his sexy English accent and how he smiled when he praised Alfred for being a āsmart lad.ā Alfredās brain is tireless and very creative and with not much else to do over the summer, heād taken all his observations of Mr. Kirkland and spun them into detailed, elaborate, ah... hormonally-charged fantasies of having a very inappropriate relationship with the English teacher.
And now heās in Mr. Kirklandās... Arthurās class. Again. When Alfred had thought he might never see the man again.
The same girls that had been so flustered by Arthur before seem to have settled down... or at least they arenāt giggling and whispering to each other.
But Alfred hasnāt settled down. If anything... oh fuck. He shifts in his seat and tries to tug the hem of his hoodie down over his lap. Yeah, he hasnāt settled down at all. If anything, his feelings have only gotten stronger.
āAlfred.ā
He blinks, wondering if he heard Arthurās voice only in his mind or not.
āAlfred Jones,ā itās more stern.
Alfred snaps out of his reverie only to see Arthur giving him a cross look to match his exasperated tone.Ā āUh. What? Sorry. What?ā Alfred says, smacking himself internally. Great. Now Mr. Kirkland is going to think heās slacker... or at least isnāt as smart of a lad as heād given Alfred credit for.
āWould you care to share your inner musings or would you rather join the rest of us in the here and now?ā Thereās a little bit of humor in his voice.
Alfred still blushes bright red and sinks slightly into his chair.Ā āNo. I mean yeah. Iām good. Iām here. Sorry Mr. Kirkland,ā he mumbles.
He manages to pay attention to most of the rest of the lecture.
As the bell rings and class is dismissed for lunch, Alfred realizes itās pretty warm, it is only early September still, and his hoodie could have better use at the moment. He tugs it over his head and grabs his backpack and heads toward the door.
āAlfred.ā Arthurās voice stops him, itās softer than before.Ā āStay back a moment please.ā Heās standing behind his neatly organized desk. He has unbuttoned his fitted vest, it looks like heās loosened his tie a little, and he is unbuttoning the cuffs of his sleeves.Ā āChrist, this room is a sweatbox,ā he mutters.
Shit, Alfred really fucked up. He stops in front of the desk, clutching his hoodie and mentally pleading for any kind of divine mercy. āUm, listen. Mr. Kirkland, Iām really sorry. I didnāt mean to zone out. Swim practice is really early and I didnāt sleep super good last night. I wonāt zone out again, I promise.ā
Arthur chuckles a little.Ā āYouāre sixteen, Alfred. Donāt make promises we both know you canāt keep. Itās alright. It happens, but you were so out of it there that it had me a little concerned.ā
Alfredās heart rate picks up.
Arthur rolls up his sleeves.Ā āI just wanted to make sure youāre alright.ā
Alfred is most definitely not alright. He swallows around a lump in his throat, his gaze latched onto Mr. Kirklandās forearms--both of which are embellished with extensive black ink. The tattoos, which Alfredās mind canāt seem to resolve into actual images yet, extend over Arthurās elbows and up under his sleeves. Fuck. Seriously? Fuck.
Arthur glances down and then winces self-consciously, mercifully misinterpreting Alfredās stunned reaction.Ā āAh. Yes I know itās not exactly typical to see an educator this heavily tattooed,ā he says.Ā āI try to keep them covered during school hours, but I didnāt realize this classroom would be so much warmer in the afternoon.ā
Alfred manages to shake himself enough to smile.Ā āNah. I mean, yeah itās not typical and all, but itās nice to see some adults are actually cool.ā
Arthur looks relieved. He laughs.Ā āYou make me sound old. Iām not really that much older than you.ā
And Alfred is a hundred percent certain that Mr. Kirkland didnāt mean anything by that. It doesnāt stop his brain from doing what it had been doing all summer.Ā
āAlright, Iāve taken up enough of your lunchtime, go on.ā
āHa. Okay. Thanks, Mr. Kirkland,ā Alfredās mouth is dry. He leaves the room, stopping outside to breathe cooler air. On the one hand, Mr. Kirkland returning to the school to teach now seems like a lesson in being careful what you wish for... but on the other hand, Alfred thinks, thereād been something there... right?Ā
Alfred turns the conversation over and over in his mind as he walks down the hall and by the time he reaches the cafeteria, heās convinced.
Thereās definitely something between him and Arthur.
11 notes
Ā·
View notes