Heart Stickers and Cherry Blossoms Part Three
Title: Heart Stickers and Cherry Blossoms (We Must Be in an Anime)
Author:
butterflyslinky
Characters: Linkara, Film Brain, Harvey Finevoice, Oancitizen, Luke, Marzgurl, Margaret (sort of)
Rating: PG
Word Count: 9290
Warning(s): A few swear words, one very innocent make-out scene, one car accident (no one is injured)
Summary: The best way to get a boyfriend is to fall down the stairs and then walk past the cherry trees. It also helps if he plays the violin.Note: Special thanks to pompoko for betaing.
“Two extra hours practice, violins! ALL OF YOU!”
Linkara flinched at the anger in Mr. Finevoice’s voice and hurried out of the orchestra room before the baton was thrown at him. He couldn’t help it. He had been distracted, unable to focus on the music for the first time in his life. He was too excited by the note that he had found in his locker earlier that day.
Will you go out with me? Film Brain.
He didn’t think there had ever been nicer words written, but he hadn’t seen Film Brain all day, so of course he couldn’t think about “Take on Me.” He was too busy trying to figure out the best way to answer.
A simple “sure” would be inadequate, but he didn’t want to go over the top with it, either. And yet, even as Mr. Finevoice glared at him, he couldn’t help grinning as he dashed down the hall as fast as he was allowed. Nothing was going to get him down. Absolutely nothing.
He spotted Film Brain almost immediately at the top of the stairs and it was all Linkara could do not to dash up and hug him immediately. But no, he had to stay calm. He didn’t want to embarrass or injure the boy, after all.
Film Brain’s eyes were downcast, his face withdrawn, and Linkara knew that the poor guy was probably going out of his mind with nerves. Linkara quickly schooled himself into a relaxed position, still grinning like an idiot. That, he couldn’t stop.
Film Brain reached the bottom of the stairs, still staring at his shoes. “Hi,” he mumbled.
“Hi,” Linkara said.
“So, um…”
“Yes.”
Film Brain looked up. “Um…”
“My answer is yes,” Linkara repeated.
Film Brain’s face split into a smile as big as Linkara’s. They stood still in the hall for several second, just staring at each other and smiling, before someone yelled at them to quit blocking the stairs.
They jumped, and Linkara laughed. “Come back with me?” he asked.
“Of course,” Film Brain said.
Linkara took Film Brain’s hand, and it was so nice, just holding hands like that. They left the school and walked home along the sidewalk, which was somehow covered in even more petals than usual. They swirled around them, landing in Film Brain’s hair and on Linkara’s hat, but that didn’t matter.
They didn’t say much on that walk home. They didn’t need to.
They didn’t sit in Linkara’s living room that day, but in his room, sprawled out on the bed. Linkara looked at Film Brain fondly. “So does this mean I actually have to go to prom?” he asked teasingly.
Film Brain grinned. “Only if you really, really want to,” he said. “Everyone tells me it’s overrated, though.”
“Yeah,” Linkara said. “Marzgurl dragged me last year. But you need to get the full American high school experience.”
Film Brain laughed. “Well, if you insist,” he said. “Though that’s almost three weeks away. I think there are other things to worry about before that.” He scowled at the book still in his hand. “Like finishing A Simple Peace without strangling someone.”
Linkara nodded. “I remember that book being awful,” he said. “I think I ended up using the Sparknotes.”
“Can’t do that,” Film Brain sighed. “Mr. Oan specifically writes questions that can’t be answered with Sparknotes.”
“Ugh,” Linkara muttered. “I hate teachers who do that with boring books…I mean, I love reading, and I like a lot of books, but that one…no.”
“Same,” Film Brain sighed. “I think it’s time that the schools threw out the ‘classics’ and started putting in books we’d actually want to read.”
Linkara took the book from him and looked at it for a minute before putting it back on top of Film Brain’s bag. “Well, you don’t have to worry about that now,” he said. “Because I hereby ban any books that make you want to kick puppies from the house while we’re together.”
Film Brain laughed and laid his head on Linkara’s shoulder. “I like that rule,” he said.
*
Film Brain always tried to be to school as early as possible for a few reasons. First, he liked having the commons area as quiet as possible to finish up any homework he hadn’t gotten to the night before. Second, if he needed to see any teachers, most of them were around pretty early.
But the most important reason for him to be at school early was his business.
Upon arriving in August, Film Brain had discovered that the school vending machines did not stock non-diet soda, nor was it available in the cafeteria. When he had asked why, Luke had said something about the “Healthy Youth Initiative,” which basically meant getting any sort of sugar was impossible.
It had taken exactly two weeks for Film Brain to turn that to his advantage. Off brand soda wasn’t terribly expensive, but the other kids were still willing to buy it before school for a dollar a can. Before Christmas, Film Brain had managed to build a good clientele, and had saved quite a bit of money. He wasn’t sure what he was going to do with it, of course, but he was happy to have it.
The early-morning hours usually didn’t get busy until 7:45, so Film Brain was immensely surprised the next day when Linkara showed up and sat down next to him. “Morning,” Film Brain said with a smile. “What brings you here so early?”
“Wanted to see you,” Linkara answer smoothly. “What brings you here so early?”
“Doing business,” Film Brain said, opening his bag to reveal the day’s soda cans-one pack of root beer, one pack of strawberry, and one pack of orange. “Only a dollar a can…though for you, I’ll give a fifty percent discount.”
Linkara raised his eyebrows. “Don’t you get in trouble for that?” he asked, passing over fifty cents and accepting a can of root beer.
Film Brain shrugged. “The teachers generally turn a blind eye to it,” he said. “I mean, it’s not like I’m selling drugs.”
“Good business, then?”
“Fairly. I make a profit, anyway. I’ve saved almost $500 between this and my spending money.”
Linkara’s eyebrows shot up. “$500?” he repeated. “Don’t you do anything?”
“No,” Film Brain said. “Only thing I pay for is the soda every week, and that barely makes a dent. I sell thirty-six cans a week, more or less. It’s not a huge amount of money, but it’s good enough.”
“Yeah,” Linkara said. “So what do you plan to do with that money? Blow it all in one night of drunken debauchery?”
Film Brain laughed. “Can’t really do that,” he said. “I haven’t decided what I want to do with it yet, but I’ll do something before I go back to England. Exchange rates are shit.”
“I bet they are,” Linkara said. They sat in silence for a minute. “So…” Linkara finally said. “Um…I was wondering if you might want to see a movie Friday night? And maybe…stay over afterwards?”
“Oh!” Film Brain turned bright red. “Um…I mean…we just started going out, I don’t think…”
“Not like that!” Linkara said hastily. “Just…you know. Stay over. Talk about stuff. Watch late night TV and cuddle and stuff.”
Film Brain smiled shyly. “I’d love that,” he said.
*
Linkara had debated with himself long and hard about whether it would be polite or even expected to sit with Film Brain at lunch now, but that question was soon settled for him when Film Brain and one of his friends approached Linkara and Marzgurl’s usually mostly-empty table and sat down as though they belonged there. Well, the friend did, taking the seat next to Marzgurl with an air of confidence that Linkara wished he could pull off as convincingly.
“Luke Mochrie,” he said by way of introduction. “I’m here to make sure you’re good enough for this kid.”
Film Brain rolled his eyes as he set down his tray. “Sorry,” he muttered. “But the moment I mentioned it…”
“Don’t worry,” Linkara whispered back. “Marzgurl was threatening to do the same thing, so it looks like we can get this over with.”
Marzgurl was indeed looking at the younger boys in amusement. “Good enough for this kid?” she repeated, giving Luke a playfully insulted look. “Let me tell you, he’s the best guy I ever dated.”
Linkara rolled his eyes. “That’s not what you said at the time,” he said dryly.
“Well, that was before I’d dated anyone else,” she snapped back.
“Charming,” Luke said dryly. “But I’ve heard about the guys you’ve dated, Marzgurl, and that’s hardly a recommendation.”
“What are you talking about?” Marzgurl asked. “That’s a great recommendation!”
Luke rolled his eyes and turned back to Linkara. “Anyway,” he said. “This is the part where I ask about your intentions and threaten grievous bodily harm if you answer wrong.”
“My intentions are good,” Linkara said. He glanced at Film Brain. “I intend to be nice and not do anything off-putting or douchey. Happy?”
“That’s a good start,” Luke agreed.
“Same question,” Marzgurl said, looking at Film Brain.
“Same answer,” Film Brain shot back.
“Good.” Marzgurl grinned. “Hope you like violin music. Cause you’re going to hear a lot of it.”
“I love it when Linkara plays,” Film Brain said. “He’s the best I’ve heard.”
Marzgurl’s smile grew. “You have my permission to date him,” she announced.
Linkara threw a napkin at her.
*
Film Brain could hardly sit still. It was the final class of the day on Friday, and while that normally wasn’t enough to get him antsy, today was different.
Today he and Linkara were going on their first official date and he would get to spend the entire night with his new boyfriend.
Film Brain wasn’t eager to go too far with Linkara, of course, but he couldn’t stop himself from thinking in that direction. They held hands a lot, but they had never kissed, and Film Brain was both hoping for and dreading that it would happen tonight.
On the one hand, kissing Linkara had to be a wonderful experience, because everything about Linkara was wonderful. On the other hand, Film Brain was completely unsure of his own skill at that task and was worried that he would fuck it up and make Linkara decide that he wasn’t worth it.
Film Brain hated to admit it, but he had never actually kissed anyone before. He had never met anyone he would like to kiss before Linkara, and the thought of kissing Linkara was both terrifying and exciting, and it was all Film Brain could do to not start sighing dreamily right there in class.
“All right, class, your assignment is to read chapters six through eight for Monday,” Mr. Oan said. “That’s only one chapter a night, so there are no excuses for not finishing!”
The bell rang just as Mr. Oan finished speaking and Film Brain was up like a shot, stuffing A Separate Peace into his bag and hurrying out the door. He could barely keep himself from running down the hall, grinning ear to ear and just managing to avoid hitting anyone.
He got to the stairs and of course, slipped on the first one, tumbling the rest of the way down.
Because there was no better way to start a date than with a few more bruises.
He hit the ground at full force, flinching as he squeezed his eyes shut. God, he was such an idiot.
“Film Brain!”
Linkara was by him, his hand on Film Brain’s forehead. “Are you okay?” he asked in a panic.
Film Brain’s eyes opened and he smiled widely at the sight of his boyfriend’s concerned eyes. “Yeah,” he said. “I’m bloody fantastic!”
“You just fell down the stairs!” Linkara exclaimed. “Again!”
Film Brain sat up. “I know,” he said. “But it’s such a wonderful day that I don’t even care!”
Linkara still looked worried, though he did manage a small smile of his own. “It is wonderful,” he agreed. He took Film Brain’s hand and helped him stand up. “Are you sure you’re okay, though? No concussion? No broken bones?”
“No,” Film Brain said. “Just the usual bruises.” He smiled eagerly. “I’m fine, really. And I’m super-excited about tonight!”
Linkara’s smile grew. “So am I,” he said. “So let’s get moving.”
They left the school hand in hand and walked back to Linkara’s to drop off their bags. “So what movie were you thinking of seeing?” Film Brain asked as they walked.
Linkara shrugged. “Whatever you want. I’m not too picky.”
Film Brain thought for a moment. “I think Robocop is still out,” he said. “I mean…that’s the only thing I was even remotely excited about.”
“Sounds good to me,” Linkara said with a smile.
*
If anyone had asked Linkara what Robocop was actually about, he would not have been able to tell them. He had a vague idea that it was a fairly silly action film, but all of that was lost to the fact that he was on a date with Film Brain, and they were holding hands in the back of the theater, and he was so deliriously happy that he could hardly focus on anything else.
But when Film Brain asked afterwards what he thought, Linkara swore up and down that it was the best film he had ever seen.
It was obvious that he hadn’t been paying any attention. But that didn’t matter, because they were heading back to Linkara’s, and both of their minds were on things beyond a movie.
They got back to Linkara’s quickly, shouted a quick greeting to his parents, and immediately retreated to Linkara’s bedroom, where they both sat down on the bed.
“I had a nice time,” Film Brain said awkwardly.
“So did I,” Linkara said. They sat there for another minute before Linkara found his courage. “Film Brain?”
“Yeah?”
“Can I kiss you?”
Film Brain smiled shyly. “Of course you can,” he whispered breathlessly.
Linkara nodded once before he moved closer and pressed his lips to Film Brain’s gently. It was sweet, soft, chaste, warm…perfect.
Film Brain pressed back, his hand moving to Linkara’s knee as Linkara’s arms wrapped around his waist. They stayed that way for a while, their lips moving gently against each other’s before they pulled apart.
Film Brain started giggling nervously as Linkara grinned sheepishly. “So…” he said.
“Do it again,” Film Brain ordered.
Linkara did, pulling Film Brain closer. Film Brain moaned slightly and pushed Linkara backwards so he was lying on his back with Film Brain on top of him, their bodies pressed fully together. Film Brain’s mouth opened a little bit and so did Linkara’s. They kissed deeper, their hands moving over necks and chests, but never any further than that. Not tonight.
Finally, they broke apart and Film Brain moved off of Linkara, lying next to him with his head on Linkara’s chest. Linkara wrapped his arms around Film Brain’s shoulders. “It’s way too early to go to sleep,” Linkara muttered.
“Yeah,” Film Brain agreed. “But this is nice.”
“Yeah,” Linkara said. “It really is.”
*
Film Brain let out a deep sigh of contentment. He and Linkara had been dating for two whole weeks, and he couldn’t remember feeling happier.
Of course, his current position didn’t hurt. He and Linkara were out in the school yard since the school had finally decided that it was warm enough to allow them outside during lunch. Linkara was leaning against the flagpole and Film Brain was lying on the grass with his head in Linkara’s lap. Luke and Marzgurl were sitting nearby, arguing about something, but Film Brain couldn’t bring himself to care less about it.
“By the way,” Linkara said. “Prom tickets go on sale Monday.”
“Oh yeah,” Film Brain said.
“Do you want to go?”
“Of course.”
“Good.” Linkara ran his fingers absently through Film Brain’s hair. “I can’t imagine it will be a great night, but we can at least make it interesting.”
“Be optimistic,” Film Brain said. “After all, it can’t be all bad if I get to spend it with you.”
“I’m a terrible dancer.”
“So am I.” Film Brain smiled. “So you’ll be in good company.”
“He’s always in good company,” Marzgurl said. “No one in this school can dance. They all just start dry humping and calling it dance.”
“They do it to a beat,” Luke pointed out. “That has to count for something.”
“It’s disgusting,” Marzgurl said. “It’s just a giant orgy with fancy clothes.”
“So I take it you won’t be there?” Luke asked.
She shrugged. “I’ll probably go,” she said. “I mean, senior prom and everything. Though my fallback date has been taken.” She glared playfully at Linkara.
“Cheer up,” Linkara said. “There’s got to be some guy left in this school who’s not a colossal douchebag.”
“My options are fairly thin,” she said.
There was an awkward pause and then Luke said, “You know, I’m available…”
Marzgurl looked at him with her eyebrows raised. “Are you asking me on a date?” she asked bluntly.
“No!” Luke said quickly. “I’m just saying, if you really want a date to the prom, I’m not going with anyone and it would probably be less awkward to go with me than to go with the lovebirds over there!”
Marzgurl stared at him for a moment before glancing at Linkara and Film Brain, who both grinned at her. Finally, she sighed. “Oh, all right,” she said. “I suppose I could do worse.”
“Much worse,” Film Brain said. “You dated this guy.”
Linkara and Marzgurl laughed and Luke gave Marzgurl a small smile.
*
“You okay?” Film Brain asked as they walked home Monday afternoon.
“Yeah,” Linkara said distractedly. “Just trying to think through the solo I got in orchestra.”
“For ‘Take on Me’?” Film Brain asked.
“Yeah,” Linkara said. “It’s more complicated than I realized.”
Film Brain smiled. “I’m sure it will be great.”
“I hope so,” Linkara said. He shook himself and smiled. “I got prom tickets, by the way. So just pick up a tux and we should be all right.”
Film Brain laughed. “I don’t know where to get a tux,” he said. “Or what color to get.”
“I can take you when I get mine,” Linkara said. “And I was planning to just go with black.”
“But that’s so boring!” Film Brain said jokingly. “We should get something like neon orange or electric green! Just to mix it up a bit!”
Linkara laughed as they started crossing the street. “I don’t think that would look good,” he said. “If we got a color, it would have to be blue. To match your...”
“Linkara!”
Film Brain reacted instinctively as he saw a car coming straight toward them and not slowing down. He grabbed Linkara’s arm and pulled him away. The shock and force was enough that Linkara’s grip on his violin case slipped and the violin hit the street as Film Brain dragged Linkara back to the sidewalk.
Linkara tried to pull away and dash back after it, but Film Brain’s grip was too strong and the car was coming too fast. There was a sickening crunch and the car drove off, leaving a pile of broken wood and plastic behind.
There was a silence as Linkara pulled away from Film Brain and dashed back into the street, looking at the broken violin. Film Brain ran after him. “I…I…” he started.
“I could have gotten to her!” Linkara snapped. “If I had come back, they would have stopped…”
“You would have died!” Film Brain said. “Linkara, it’s just an instrument…I know they can be expensive, but…”
“She wasn’t just an instrument!” Linkara shouted. “She was my friend! My partner!” There were tears running down his face now. “And now she’s gone.”
Film Brain stared at him. “Linkara…”
“Leave me alone,” he snapped, walking away quickly.
Film Brain caught up to him. “Linkara, I’m sorry,” he said. “But…I mean, you can replace it…”
“Go away,” he snapped. “It’s your fault! You should have just warned me and not yanked me back like that!”
Film Brain felt his anger rising. “You were about to get hit by a car!” he said. “And I can’t replace you! You know, sometimes I think you care more about that violin than you do about actual people!”
“GO AWAY!” Linkara shouted.
Film Brain stared for a moment before he turned and hurried off, tears in his eyes. Linkara watched him go before trudging back to his house, wondering how he was going to explain this to his parents and where they were going to find the money to replace it.
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