Fake Fic Title:
From The Ladder’s Last Rung
Hello! I am fairly sure (after some googling) that your title is a reference to a Noah Kahan song!
Anyway, to me "last rung" can mean either the highest or the lowest point on a ladder, depending on your perspective, and that is the premise of this fic concept!
Race goes through elementary/middle/high school with a reputation of being both the class clown and one of the smartest people in his grade. What most people don't know, though, is that he uses the class clown part of his personality to deflect from the fact that he is not doing as well, grades-wise, as people might think--sure, he takes AP history when it's available, but he never gets higher than a B- on his report card for it. So when senior year rolls around, the combination of good grades in most other subjects and extracurriculars that make him seem interesting means he is able to get into one of his reach schools.
Anyway, Race goes off to school and he's very excited about the whole thing. He can finally put history, which is his least favorite subject, in the metaphorical rearview mirror; he's going to major in math and minor in dance; he's going to join all the clubs that weren't available to him in high school. During course registration, he ignores the suggestion from his RA that he should perhaps consider only taking one math class his first semester and registers for honors calculus (yes, this is a thing at some colleges) and an upper-level math class that only has a prerequisite of calc 1 and 2.
The problem with college, especially the first semester, is that it is often a big adjustment from high school no matter what your high school was like. Classes that really should not be taught lecture-style are taught that way, you're (sometimes) in a new city/town and even if you aren't you probably don't know a ton of people, and suddenly you have a much higher degree of independence. So Race is dealing with the general first semester freshman woes of making new friends and having a roommate and balancing time and navigating dining halls, but he's also dealing with the fact that for the first time in his life, he's struggling in his math classes. And that makes everything worse for him, because if he can't even do the one thing he's supposed to be really really good at, then how can he get through the rest of college? Does he even deserve to be there? Clearly his college made a mistake when they accepted him despite his less-than-perfect history grades. (those are his thoughts, not mine; he does deserve to be there)
As I mentioned earlier, he's used to using his class clown-esque personality to deflect from what's actually going on in his life, so almost no one knows how stressed he is. He still talks to his high school friends a lot, but so many of them are at their colleges having (as far as he's aware) a much easier time adjusting, so he doesn't want to talk about it with most of them. He goes to office hours sometimes, but he is very careful about which problems he gets help with to keep up the illusion that he knows what's going on. This would be less of a problem if he met up with his classmates to do homework, but he's worried he won't be useful enough to them. And obviously he would rather die than tell his new college acquaintances how overwhelmed he's feeling. The semester goes by in a blur of homework stress and club meetings and conversations where he just barely manages to convince everyone that he's doing okay (it's a lot harder than it used to be), all overlaid by the feeling that he's not good enough.
Being a college student gets easier, but not easy enough that he's able to turn everything around by the end of the semester. He withdraws from one of his math classes, and doesn't do great in the other, and he does...okay in his other classes. It's not the end of the world, but it does mean he has to drop out of the honors calculus sequence and possibly retake the class he withdrew from. But that doesn't stop Race from feeling like a failure, even though the only people who see his grades are him and his parent(s) (I haven't decided what his parent situation is in this), and they're understanding. It'll be easy to make up the credits he lost from the course withdrawal by taking some lower credit electives in later semesters, and he has seven more semesters to raise his GPA and figure things out.
And then we come back to the title and my (mis)interpretation of it (I wasn't just rambling pointlessly this whole time): To Race's parent(s), he's fallen off the bottom rung of the metaphorical ladder, so it's pretty manageable to get back up and keep going. But to Race, he's fallen off the top rung, because he can't stop thinking that he peaked in high school.
Things do get better for him, and later on he'll probably experience stuff that's way worse and wish it were just a rough first semester of undergrad, but in the moment, it really sucks!
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Dangerous
tw: blood
“Sam, Kye, I have a favor to ask,” Lily said one day after theater practice. They had been cleaning up the stage, putting away their props and storing them behind the stage, when she had approached the two boys.
“Would you be willing to walk home with me? I know our houses aren’t necessarily in the same direction, but…I don’t want to be out alone on the streets.”
Sam and Kye glanced at each other. “Of course. Did something happen?” Sam asked.
“Yes... I was attacked by one of those rogue vampires.”
“Attacked?” both boys exclaimed. Marissa, who was carrying a box of props off the stage, heard their outburst and hurried over. Lily explained to the three what had happened and how two boys by the names of Jeff and Alan had helped her.
“They said I should walk home with someone, even if it’s light out.”
“That’s true, there’s all kinds of criminals in this city, not just vampires,” Marissa said solemnly.
“Are you sure you won’t mind a vampire coming with you?” Kye asked slowly.
“Of course not! You’re not at all like that vampire that attacked me. I would feel so much safer with you around, Kye,” Lily said gratefully. Kye blinked in surprise, but nodded.
“I’m glad there was someone to help you,” Sam commented in relief.
“Me too. They go to a different school than ours, but they live near me. I got Jeff’s phone number, just in case another emergency comes up. They seemed really nice, even though one of them did have quite a fierce expression. He was...kinda strong, but gentle too.” Her cheeks grew slightly pink, which mystified Sam, but she said hastily, “Anyway, we need to finish cleaning up the stage!”
When they had finished up their cleaning and said goodbye to the others, Sam and Kye took Lily home, then finally headed towards their own house. “Let’s take the bus today,” Sam suggested. Their apartment was only be a couple stops away, but it was getting dark and their mother would be home soon. It couldn’t hurt to take public transportation. Kye nodded at Sam’s suggestion, and they turned from Lily’s street onto a busier road.
“Walking with Lily was nice, don’t you think?” Sam commented as they walked.
“Uh-huh,” Kye grunted in agreement. Though Kye didn’t show an outward display of happiness, Sam could see the contentedness in his eyes and the relaxed way he was walking, a stark contrast to the way he had been utterly wretched and guilt-wracked a few weeks ago. Sam smiled. Only because their friends had welcomed him back could Kye have recovered from his guilt and shame so quickly. Their kindness and Kye’s peace filled Sam with more joy than he could stand.
There was only one person who had not accepted Kye’s vampirism: Morris. Though Sarah had tried multiple times to invite Morris to go on a picnic with Sam and Kye and their friends, he had declined every single time. His angry response to her was that he was not about to be friends with a monster. To him, all vampires were monsters, whether or not he had seen them act like one.
It made Sam angry to think about how blind and mean Morris was being to vampires like Kye, who were just trying to live ordinary lives. Perhaps it was just as well that Morris had avoided them at school. Sam wasn’t sure if he would be able to keep his anger in check if they did meet.
Engrossed in his thoughts, Sam did not notice the person walking towards them until Kye abruptly stopped and said hoarsely, “M-Morris.” Sam looked up in surprise to see Morris standing in front of him on the sidewalk. Next to him was a man who looked like an adult version of Morris and a beautiful lady who was hanging onto the man’s arm.
“Sam and Kye,” Morris muttered. He glared daggers at Kye, though he didn’t say anything to the vampire.
Anger twinged in Sam’s chest at the hate dripping from Morris’ voice, and he wanted to yell at the boy that Kye was not a monster. But he took a deep breath, trying to calm himself. Kye was hunching his shoulders, staring miserably at the ground, and it would only make things worse if Sam lost his temper.
“How are you,” Sam said carefully, trying to keep his voice level. Morris scowled and looked like he was going to say something spiteful, but the man who had been walking next to him suddenly stepped up and held out a hand.
“Are these friends of yours, Morris?” the man said cheerfully, giving Sam and Kye a warm smile.
“We’re just classmates,” Morris said sullenly.
“My name is Sam, and this is Kye. And you are?"
“I’m Ben, Morris’ brother. Oh, and this is Lacey, my fiance,” the man said, giving the woman beside him a loving glance. The lady smiled sweetly at the two boys and laid a hand on Ben’s shoulder. She wore an expensive looking dress, though the purple scarf wrapped tightly around her neck looked rather tacky, and she had on an excessive amount of mascara. Perfume wafted off her as if she had doused herself in it, making Sam almost gag with its floral scent. Kye stiffened at the sight of her.
“So nice to meet you two. Oh, Morris, why don’t we invite your two friends to dinner? It wouldn’t be any trouble at all,” she gushed.
Morris gave the two boys another glare, but Sam spoke before he could, “Kye and I need to hurry home, our mom is expecting us. Nice to meet you though.” Grabbing Kye’s arm, he hurried away.
Once they had turned the corner onto another street, Sam let out a sigh of relief. “Well that was awkward. Ben and his fiancé seem rather nice, but I was afraid Morris was going to make a scene.”
Kye scowled. “That lady...she’s a vampire.”
Sam started. “A vampire? How do you know?”
“Vampires can sense each other’s presence. And even if she acted nice, I got a bad feeling from her. Something was off….”
Well, Sam had to agree, she did seem a bit strange. He was about to ask what Kye meant, when Kye suddenly stiffened, then turned and ran back the way they had come.
“Kye!” Sam yelled, chasing after him. Quickly, he pulled out his phone and began dialing the emergency ministry button. Kye had not chased any criminals for several weeks, not since the car accident, and dread filled Sam as he remembered it. But when he followed Kye into an alley, he realized this was not an ordinary crime.
At the end of the alley lay a body, stiff and awkward. Bending over it was a lady, wearing a tacky purple scarf, and she had her mouth on the body’s neck. Sam felt a cold hand of horror grip his body. She was Ben’s fiance. And she was drinking Ben’s blood.
“B-Ben,” a shaky voice brought Sam out of his stupor. Morris sat to one side, his horrified gaze fixated on his brother. Kye stood next to him, fists clenched and a snarl on his face.
The lady vampire looked up and grinned at the three boys. Her eyes glittered like red stones, blood staining her teeth and trickling down her chin. Her flowery perfume mixed with the stench of the blood and almost made Sam throw up.
“Oh, you two again? Well, why don’t you join my meal? You’d make a tasty addition,” she said, turning her hungry gaze to Sam. Before he could react, she lunged at him, claw-like fingers stretched out to grab his face. Sam stood frozen. I’m going to die, he thought.
An inhuman roar rent the night air and the lady crashed into a wall as Kye ran into her. He slammed fist after fist into her chest, tearing, scratching, screaming. She screamed as well, struggling in vain to get away.
For a moment, Sam could only watch in a daze as the vampire’s blood splattered the walls and the ground. Then suddenly, he shouted, “Kye! That’s enough!”
Kye halted, breathing heavily, eyes glowing with rage at the now whimpering vampire beneath him. Sam could barely stand to look at her, she had been so torn up by Kye’s claws.
“Kye,” he said, reaching out for his brother, but Kye turned to him swiftly, hand upraised as if to strike. When he saw Sam’s surprised look, however, he froze. The rage in his eyes slowly turned into horror, and as swiftly as the lady vampire had rushed at Sam, Kye leapt away, clambering up the side of a building and out of sight.
“Kye! Wait!” Sam cried. Desperately, he looked about for a way to get up the wall, but there were no footholds for a regular human like him. He turned to the alley exit. He needed to find Kye, to stop him, to calm him before he harmed himself or—Sam halted as vampire ministry agents started to arrive.
A lady wearing a tight black suit hurried over to him. “What happened?” she asked, concern on her face.
Sam took a deep breath, trying to calm himself down. It would do no good if he himself was riled up. As quickly as he could, he explained the situation and how Kye had run off. The lady nodded, then turned to a colleague. “Fred, I’m going to help this boy find his vampire. You can handle things here?”
Fred nodded. “Right-o, Sherise!” he said with a salute.
Sherise wrapped her arms around Sam’s chest. “If you’re afraid of heights, close your eyes,” she said, and out of her back rose large, bat-like wings. With a rush of wind, she flew upwards, high into the sky above the buildings. Sam gazed in dizzying awe at the city below him, sparkling with lights that shone from apartment buildings and from streetlamps. Cars whizzed along the streets, looking like fireflies. The buildings and streets seemed to go on forever. How was he going to find Kye in all this?
As if knowing what he was thinking, Sherise said, “Don’t worry. A vampire and their caretaker share a special bond. If one is hurting or in distress, the other will know; you should be able to sense Kye that way.”
Sam closed his eyes and took another deep breath. There was something, almost a small tug on his consciousness, pointing to his left.
“That way!” he said, pointing towards a dark alley in another part of the city. Sherise told him to hold on, then swooped towards the alley, landing softly on her feet and setting Sam down gently.
Though it was hard to see in the alley, Sam could make out a crouched figure, shaking with sobs. “Kye!” he cried and ran towards him.
Kye looked up in surprise, then scrabbled away from Sam. “S-stay away! I-I’m a monster,” he sobbed.
“No, you’re not,” Sam said and drew him into a strong hug. “It’s okay. You were angry, you were trying to protect me. You’re not a monster, Kye, it’s okay.” Kye sobbed and clung to Sam. Sherise gently touched Sam’s shoulder.
“We’d better get you two home,” she said.
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