s i x ;
h a l e

"AND HOW ARE YOU feeling this fine day, Pedro Ramirez?"

Hale, gladly seizing any opportunity at a distraction, looked up from the textbook he had been frowning at for too long. Will was grinning like a maniac as he slid into the chair opposite him and it didn't bode well for anyone. Coralie and Elsie, who had also joined him, looked equal parts resigned and amused, which also didn't bode well. They usually found any of his antics funny, no matter how catastrophic the consequences were.

"Okay, I'll bite," Hale said, tipping back in his chair so it was balancing precariously on two legs. "Am I Pedro? And if so, am I allowed to call you Ling Ling?"

Elsie gasped. "Hale!"

"What? It's not racist if you smile while doing it," he added, flashing her his most dazzling smile. Elsie still looked a little scandalised, too innocent for her own good, but her expression softened. "See?"

Coralie rolled her eyes, clearly not as impressed as her friend. "Good luck telling that one to the police," she said.

"The only thing you'll be calling me is a God when you get a load of this." Will looked too far too smug as he leaned conspiratorially forward, and whipped something out of his pocket to slap down on the table. "Go ahead, let the worship begin."

Curiosity won over and Hale peered at the small white card. The black words were a jumbled mess at first glance, and it took his brain a couple of seconds to rearrange the letters into something decipherable. "Pedro Juan Ramirez, born twenty-fourth of October nineteen-ninety-eight," he read aloud, a grin tugging at his lips with realisation. "No shit. A fake ID?"

Will had leant back in his chair and spread his arms, as if they were his followers showering him in praise. "Yes, yes, I am the best," he agreed, with no one in particular. Coralie exchanged a here-we-go-again look with Elsie. "You're right, I should have run for prime minister. I really am too amazing for this world. You might as well just kiss the ground I - "

"For fucks sake, get off your high horse," Coralie interjected with a scoff. "You didn't even make the thing, you cretin. You're just passing it on from Markov."

"So?" Will yawned widely as if all that self-loving had exhausted him and closed his eyes. "I'd still make a better prime minister than Theresa May, and don't you even think about denying it."

Hale held it up to the light and had to admit, he was impressed. The last thing Markov had scrounged up for him in year eleven was so blatantly fake it wouldn't have even held up against scrutiny at the cinema. Clearly whoever was hooking him up with these had improved, because this one actually looked worth the money he'd paid for it. The small photo was actually him this time, whereas his old fake ID had been a random guy with vaguely similar facial features.

"Guess Markov isn't completely useless," Hale said contemplatively. "What's with the different birthday, though? Couldn't I have kept mine so it's easier to remember?"

"I ain't your bitch boy," Will said, without bothering to open his eyes. "You wanna file a complaint, take it up with the man himself."

"You have nothing to complain about," Coralie said, looking indignant as she dug out her own fake ID. She waved it in his face as if he'd somehow be able to read it that quickly. "Do you fucking see this? The little fuckwit gave me the name Venezuela Gertrude Butterworth."

Hale didn't bother trying to disguise his laughter, regardless of the death glare Coralie shot him. "What a beautiful name," he said, with a wink. "You really do look like a Venezuela Gertrude, I've always thought so."

"It sounds like a monkey name," Will said thoughtfully.

Coralie gaped at him. "Excuse me?"

"Nothing wrong with being a monkey."

"Are you calling me a fucking monkey?"

"Well, when you put it like that..."

Hale tuned out their bickering (and descriptive threats on Coralie's part), because the door to the library opened and he was far more interested in the new arrival. Brooks looked considerably less drunk and considerably more steady on his feet, juggling two bulky folders in his arms as he talked to the brown guy from Will's party - whose name Hale couldn't for the life of him remember.

Brooks seemed to sense eyes on him and met his gaze, pausing in the middle of the library. And for the first time, Hale was the first one to look away, unable to understand the sudden quickening of his heart. He was staring at the textbook again, but he wasn't seeing words, only Brooks' strangely nice eyes. Were they blue or green? Why did it even matter? It clearly didn't, and he ignored the random impulse to look at him again.

"...Hale?"

Elsie was at his side and looking at him with a frown. He blinked, realising she must have been trying to get his attention for a while. "Sorry, totally blanked out there," he said, running a hand absently through his hair. Snap out of it. "What's up?"

"I was just wondering what work you were doing."

Hale was wondering that too. Even though he'd opened up the textbook and the title told him he was reading about halogens and their properties, he couldn't make any sense of it. He didn't know whether it was because he hadn't been paying attention in class - Elliot had spent the entire lesson lobbing paper airplanes at him - or just because the sentences were running together again. He figured it was a little of both. He didn't help that it was black words printed on white, the absolute worst combination for his eyes.

"Honestly, I don't know," Hale shrugged. "And I'm finding it hard to care. Tell me, will I ever be asked in my life to explain why iodine is a better reducing agent than chlorine?"

Elsie wrinkled her nose in distaste. "Ew, chemistry. Is it really as hard as everyone says?"

"Interesting question," Hale said, tapping his pen in an off-beat rhythm against the page. Was it that hard? No, probably not, but Hale wasn't inclined to ever try hard enough in school so that he didn't make things purposefully difficult for himself. "Whatever it is, I'm not a fan."

"Maybe you could ask the teacher for help?" Elsie suggested. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind."

Elsie was far too nice for her own good, but it was laughable that Hale would care enough about chemistry to seek out a teacher, ignoring the fact the majority of them hated him anyway. The only reason he'd willingly touched a textbook this morning was because he'd gotten a D in his last chemistry test, and he was being threatened with a letter home. To both his homes. The last thing he needed were his parents getting on his case, or learning about his "unauthorised absences".

Brooks was actually doing work across the library, head ducked over the plethora of sheets and books scattered out across the table. Hale bet he'd gotten full marks in that test he'd completely flopped. Of course, Brooks aced all his tests; you didn't get to be a nerd without being smart. "What're you looking at?" Elsie asked curiously.

Hale realised, as if by some unconscious force, that he'd been staring again. "Nothing," he said, a little too quickly. "Just wondering whether a quick death by pen to the eye would be less painful that suffering through this."

He'd only managed to plough through a couple of sentences on the page and his eyes were already hurting, in protest to the torture he was putting them through. Hale flipped the textbook shut and pushed it with a little much force, watching apathetically as it fell off the table with a thud. Heads swivelled in his direction, including Brooks, his gaze impossible to ignore.

Hale wished he wouldn't look at him, because it was dashing his already abysmal concentration, but he also felt an inexplicable pang of disappointment when Brooks finally glanced away a few moments after everyone else. The librarian was glaring at him too, which he promptly ignored. Elsie picked up his textbook and offered it to him, which he took with a distracted, "Cheers."

Elliot and Alec chose that moment to stroll into the library, impossibly loud and boisterous in the comparative quiet of the library. "...and she was like, oh my god, what are you doing in the sink?" Alec was saying, unaware that the entire library was eavesdropping. "And that's how we got it on. She totally sucked me off, like, five times."

Murmurs and whispers of shock and disbelieving amusement rippled through the library. "Oh my god," Elsie hissed under her breath, scandalised and bright red. "How can he say that so loudly?"

"Because he's horny," Will said matter-of-factly.

Coralie added, "And disgusting."

The librarian made a flustered attempt to tell them to quiet down, but Elliot and Alec just ignored her as they made their way over Hale's table. "Sup," Elliot greeted, fist bumping Hale and Will, and smiling at the girls. Luckily for him, Kara wasn't here, because otherwise he'd be a hot mess.

"Morning, dickheads," Will said cheerfully. "I heard a myth you actually got a blowjob for once, Alec. Is that possible?"

"Screw you," Alec said. "I get more action than you, Chen. When was the last time someone touched your dick?"

Elliot smirked. "Last night with your mother, no doubt."

"Fucking hell," Coralie said, tearing her eyes away from her phone to scowl at them. Elsie still looked horrified at the turn the conversation had taken. "That's really mature. How are girls not throwing themselves at you? It's clearly a mystery."

"Feel free to sign up if you want to be one of those girls," Alec said flirtatiously, slinging an arm around Coralie's shoulders. "Be doing us both a favour, huh, Cora?"

Coralie shoved his arm away. "In your dreams, dumbass."

Hale would have normally joined the conversation, jumping at the opportunity to take the piss out of his friends, but he was barely listening and wasn't following the conversation all that closely as he absently flipped his pen between his fingers. Brooks was talking to Calla, with the ease of two people who were close. She was undoubtedly pretty, and Hale always saw them together around school, laughing and smiling.

Were they dating? Hale knew it wasn't any of his business, but he still had half a mind to go over and strike up a conversation to find out. His eyes involuntarily narrowed when Calla propped her chin on his shoulder, laughing quietly. He couldn't fathom why a stranger's business bothered him, or why his chest felt too tight when he saw Brooks smiling at Calla. He knew it didn't make any sense for it to bother him but it did.

Elliot kicked him under the table, and he snapped his gaze away from Brooks. "Hey, watch it," Hale grumbled, drawing his feet back for good measure. "You need me to win your football and lacrosse games."

"Are you even listening?" Elliot demanded.

"No," Hale said honestly. "I have more interesting things to do than listen to you tell stories about how many girls you've laid."

"Will tells us that fake ID Markov promised finally arrived," Alec said expectantly, ignoring his additional comment. "Let's have a look."

Hale dug the plastic card out of his pocket and dropped it on the table for Alec and Elliot to admire. "Nice," Elliot grinned, pretending to fan himself with it. "Pedro Ramirez it is. We all know what this means, right? Now that Hale's officially "legal"?"

Will was grinning wider than the Cheshire Cat. "Wild night out clubbing and partying, what else?"

"Now you're finally talking some sense." Coralie put away the phone she'd been so engrossed in for the past forty minutes, which was saying something, because Coralie Akiyama was addicted to her phone and rarely spent a moment of her life without it clutched in her hand. "A whole night getting pissed in clubs? Yeah, sign me up."

Alec waggled his eyebrows. "I know what I can sign you up for."

"Go fuck yourself," Coralie said blithely. "No one else will."

Elliot snorted a laugh and high-fived Cora, who raised an eyebrow to smile sweetly at Alec. Undeterred as always, Alec just smirked and slung an arm across her shoulder again. They all continued discussing plans for that weekend but from the corner of his eye, Hale saw Brooks stand up. He was packing his things away and clearly about to leave.

Hale made a split second decision, and crammed his own huge chemistry textbook into his bag. "Where are you going?" Elsie asked, looking up at him with a frown.

"Just remembered, need to talk to Lewisham before football practise tonight," he said randomly, spinning the first lie he could think of. Will glanced at him curiously, but he didn't say anything about it. "See you."

Hale swung his backpack over his shoulder and caught the library door just as it was about to swing shut. Brooks was already halfway down the stairs, pulling his hood up as he left the building. Hale jumped the last couple of steps and caught up with Brooks just as he stepped outside. "Hey," Hale said, a little breathless, although he didn't think it was from the short jog.

Brooks' eyes widened in surprise. "Um...hi?"

"You don't have to sound so confused about it," Hale chuckled, stuffing his hands into his pockets. It was late January and snow was still lining the sides of the path, reduced to dirty brown slush from many feet and recent rainfall. "That's usually what people say when greeting one another. Hey, hi, hello."

Brooks just shook his head and looked away, but not before Hale saw the small smile on his lips, leaving a warm fuzzy in his chest feeling despite the icy air.

"I have a question," Hale said.

"That seems to be all you ever have," Brooks said, absently tugging his sleeves over his hands. His voice was steady but his hands seemed a little fidgety. "A whole bunch of questions."

"I'm a curious person."

"Clearly." Brooks sighed, his breath misting as a white puff in front of him, but he didn't seem annoyed. "Go ahead. What's the question?"

Hale realised, a little too late, that he didn't really have a question. He just needed an excuse for wanting to talk to him and now that had backfired due to lack of proper planning and reckless impulses. "Hmm," he said, his gaze scanning their surroundings for something, anything. Think, Hale, think. His eyes moved from Brooks to the folders clutched in his arms. "How come you carry so much stuff?"

Brooks glanced down at his binders and hugged them a little closer to his chest. "Er, what?"

"Whenever I see you, you look like you're lugging an entire library around. Is there a reason?"

"Yep," Brooks said, displacing a clump of snow with a mindless kick of his shoe. Hale randomly noted they were shiny and looked expensive, the polished kind he would never be able to afford. "I have to take five subjects and that means a lot of content I have to bring to school."

"Five," Hale echoed in disbelief. He was struggling to keep his grades afloat with just four subjects, and the thought of battling through another one was painful. "I knew you were a nerd, but jeez. Wait," he frowned, "you have to?"

Brooks looked caught off guard, as if Hale had tricked him into admitting something. "I have to," he said carefully, "because my parents strongly suggested it. And when they strongly suggest something, I...don't really have a choice in the matter."

Hale smirked. "A mummy's boy?"

"No," Brooks said, his usually soft voice sharpening to something unexpected. "Definitely not."

Hale found himself absently running a hand through his hair, unsure how he'd managed to piss Brooks off. It was too easy for him to make a joke to lighten the mood when things became too serious, not a fan of focusing on the depressing things, but he also hadn't spent much time with Brooks before. Maybe he didn't find it so funny as Hale's friends did. Maybe he didn't want to just make a joke of things.

Just as he was steeling himself to apologise, Brooks mumbled, "Sorry," almost too quietly for Hale to catch it. Clearing his throat, he tipped his head to the side and forced a smile that neither of them really believed. "Okay, it's my turn to ask a question."

"Shoot."

"Are you too cool to wear a coat?"

"Huh?" Puzzled, Hale glanced at his simple attire of the obligatory school uniform and back up at Brooks, not following. Then he saw the teasing smile playing on his lips and gleam in his bluish eyes, surprising a laugh out of Hale. "Wow, colour me surprised. Did you just make a joke?"

"Nerds can be witty, too," Brooks replied, looking as if he was suppressing a laugh of his own. Hale was pleased he'd somehow managed to get him to open up out of his shy, blushing shell; not that he'd minded knowing he was able to make Brooks go red. "But seriously, it's like minus degrees. I know global warming is an issue but it's still the dead of winter in England."

Hale shrugged. "The cold doesn't really bother me, and besides, I am too cool to wear a coat. Too cool for school," he added slyly, rewarded with a soft and quiet yet very real laugh. A shiver went down Hale's spine that curled all the way to his toes, and it definitely had nothing to with the cold. "Your concern is appreciated, though."

"I, uh, I didn't," he stammered, his cheeks already pink from the cold turning a brighter red. "Not that I'm concerned. No, not like that. I mean, I don't really know you so I can't be that concerned but it's not that I don't care, although not in a...can't you just interrupt my rambling already?"

"Why?" Hale said, amused. "It was entertaining."

Brooks scowled at him, but he looked too flustered for there to be any real heat behind it. "Shut up," he said weakly.

The obnoxious ringing of the school interrupted Hale's reply, and was followed by an outpouring of children as they flooded from their classrooms in waves. The little year sevens and eights were clearly far too eager to get home, and their enthusiasm was almost enough to bowl Hale over, if they weren't so tiny. As it was, they parted around Hale and Brooks like a fast-paced stream moving around a stone.

"I guess this is where we part," Hale said, turning to face Brooks. "Nice walking and talking, nerd. It was a very enlightening experience."

Brooks rolled his eyes. "Not a problem, jock."

But Hale didn't leave, and neither did Brooks. He didn't know where the reluctance came from, but he was suddenly searching for an excuse to linger a little longer, even if it was just so Brooks could call him a jock again. He didn't realise they'd been staring at each other just a little too long to be normal until Brooks cleared his throat and glanced away, muttering to his shoes, "Bye."

He turned and disappeared into the crowd of chattering school kids. Hale stood there for another few minutes, trying and failing to come up with an explanation for that tingly warmth spreading from his chest to his fingertips. Heart attack, he told himself, and made his way to football practise. Yeah, probably just a heart attack.

*

just want to say thank you to any of you that are actually taking the time to read this! it means a lot :)

also, my updates will be 2/3 day frequently for now because i've actually got a large stock of chapters already written (more like i've nearly finished writing the whole thing.....lol i have too much free time)