(no subject)
lust is not a virtue • idk some kind of prologue
just playing with an idea. i have more written and all of the characters already planned but i'm just posting a little bit. feedback ~please~ not 100% sure how far this will go, so i'm going to chapter it. and yes, the vampire fic is still in the midst of being betad.
2,209 words • pg
Water is truly dazzling at night. Alongside the moonlight that creeps through the ceiling windows of the gym, the pool water is illuminated by the waterproof lights that line the edges of the pool itself. It’s always mesmerising to watch as the lights slowly change colours - from blue to purple to pink to orange - and Gabe often finds himself lost for time. The lights just keep changing, slowly enough for it to creep up on him and not expect it when the green changes back to blue, giving life to the frighteningly still pool water.
“Wandering around the school at night again, Mr Saporta?” A voice echoes through the large hall, bouncing off the walls to startle Gabe into sitting up straight from where he resides at a bench near the lockers. He turns to see a teacher standing close to the bench, looking at him with a slightly mocking smile. When Gabe doesn’t respond, he continues, “It seems you’re once again late for your evening class.”
Gabe’s posture slouches once again and he stares off into the changing colours of the water. “It’s just my nature, sir,” he replies, rather stiffly too. It’s not in his nature to be so kind to teachers, whether he’s in their class or not, but he’s too tired to bother playing his silly games tonight. The formal recognition of the man’s title is enough to have him raising his brow.
“The rules are not bent for vampires, though, Mr Saporta,” he points out, still using Gabe’s surname mockingly as he sways forward. Gabe tries to ignore it and just rolls his eyes as he finally rises to his feet. Once he does, he has a few inches over the teacher, but eases back into a slouch fairly quickly.
“I should get going, then.” He gives a shrug and dips his hands into his pockets, minus his thumbs. The teacher gives him a look, only breaking it to lick his lips and study Gabe’s body language.
“What’s here for you, anyway?” He questions, nodding towards the pool while keeping his eyes on the student. Gabe just shrugs and keeps his eyes away from the peaceful oasis of water.
“Nothing, sir,” Gabe responds fairly monotonously.
The teacher nods, finally giving Gabe his permission to leave. “Best hurry, then, so Miss Simpson won’t have your head.”
Gabe forces a smile and salutes the man rather than offering a simple wave. Without a vocal goodbye, he walks past the teacher and heads towards the doors while only just resisting a glance back at the glimmering surface of the pool.
***
“What took ya’ so long, man?” A boy of Gabe’s age and height instantly leans across their much shorter friend to punch Gabe in the arm as soon as he sits down. “You’re lucky Simpson’s not here or you’d be in big trouble, she had a rant about you yesterday when you didn’t show up.”
Gabe rolls his eyes and leans back to get comfortable in his seat. He looks across to his two friends sitting next to him at a desk at the back of the room, grinning at them to give a flash of his sparkling fangs. The one who’d punched him, Travis, is a taller, darker-skinned vampire with wildly curly hair down to his shoulders. Gabe loves it when Travis and Pete - the much much shorter one - sit or stand next to each other, just because of the incredible skin contrast and height difference.
“Fuck ‘er, this class is just a bludge anyway,” Gabe claims. “Where is Simpson anyway?”
Pete pipes up from between them, his usual smile disappeared and his arms folded to emphasise the pout of his lips, “She’s sick.” Gabe laughs at him and punches his arm, but Pete just shrugs his arm away. “We got some faggy substitute.”
“Are you gonna send her roses?” Travis asks mockingly, poking Pete in the thigh as he rests his elbow on the table in front of him and leans into Pete’s view. “Buy her some chocolates and stop by her dorm with a pretty card you made all by yourself?” As he talks his voice gets higher and his lips purse together in a kissing motion, but Pete instantly slaps him away, now unable to hide a smile from his face.
“Fuck off, Travis. You’re acting like I’m in love with Ashlee or something.”
Gabe pokes his other thigh, leaning in close as well. “But you call a teacher by her first name. That’s like, the first sign,” he points out, but Pete just rolls his eyes.
“Tons of kids do.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Gabe waves his hand and sits back in his seat when he realises the substitute teacher has been death staring them from the front of the class room. He sticks his hand high in the air to wave at her, only putting his hand down when she stops glaring and turns towards the blackboard.
“You guys doing anything on the weekend?” Travis asks a minute later, voice hushed as he leans his top half on the desk. “My dad wants me to come home over the weekend so I’m trying to figure out an excuse to why I can’t.”
Gabe rolls his eyes and folds his arms. “Your pa ‘aint that bad, Travie,” he points out.
Travis just shrugs half heartedly and rests his cheek on his arm. “I know, he’s cool. I just hate the travelling, ya’ know? There’s always this big hassle to get home by night driving and I fuckin’ hate that, you know? Plus it’s just two days, it’s so not worth it. By the time I get home I’ll have to come back.”
Pete hums in thought as he stretches out his stumpy legs and crosses his ankles over. “How about you tell him the prom committee need you this weekend? Prom is coming up, so it’s not like you’re making something up out of the blue.”
Travis screws up his nose and frowns in thought. “But I’m not on the prom committee.”
Gabe laughs under his breath, earning him a glare from Travis. “Travie, you lie about everything else,” he claims, “I’m sure just one little one to get out of a weekend at your parent’s house won’t be too much of a stretch.”
“I do not lie!” Travis exclaims, though he’s interrupted when the teacher turns and snaps at them for talking again. He makes a face at her when she’s not looking before turning back to Gabe and Pete. He says again, “I do not lie. When do I lie?”
Pete smirks to himself and holds a hand up for all three of them to see, obviously preparing to count something on his fingers. He holds down his thumb and starts, “Your mom was a model-”
“She did photos when she was in high school.”
“Your bedroom is bigger than the gymnasium-”
“You have no way of proving that wrong.”
“In middle school, a teacher fell for you and quit her job because you broke her heart.”
Gabe and Pete both look towards Travis to wait for his excuse, but when one never comes, they grin and Pete continues, “How about the one where you said you slept with William Beckett?”
Travis interrupts, a little too loudly, “I did!” The teacher shouts at him again so Gabe just barks at her, kicking his chair back and baring his teeth long enough for her to give up and turn back to the board.
“You did not sleep with Beckett, Trav,” Gabe says to him a second later, speaking a little more hushed in hopes that Travis will keep his voice down too.
“I did, I really did! I took his virginity so he got really clingy and wanted to be my boyfriend, but I told him I didn’t date dudes so that’s why he’s really awkward around me and shit, y’know? All the signs are there! Ask him if you want!”
Gabe snorts alongside Pete’s breathless chuckle. “We are not going to approach an angel and ask him about his experience with sodomy,” Pete says, slapping Travis’ shoulder as he rests his other hand back in his lap. “Lust is a sin, you idiot.”
Travis just rolls his eyes and rests his head back on his arms on the table. “We did it,” he claims, still as sure as ever. “I’ll prove it to you one day.”
“Yep,” Gabe nods, “Still waitin’ for that day, Travie.”
***
“It’s ridiculous,” Pete says absently the next day, appearing to be talking to no one but catching the attention of his two friends walking either side of him. When they look at him in question, he points lazily at a large poster advertising the prom coming up in two month’s time. “They try to make us feel like we’re normal people by throwing one of the stupidest of charades. How do they expect us to actually get excited about this? What about all the kids who can’t go, like the sea folk who can’t dance?”
Gabe looks away at the mention of the sea folk, trying to focus his attention on scanning the cafeteria to find their other friend. He can still hear the conversation beside him, though, as Travis replies to Pete’s babbling.
“What are you complaining for? We’re vampires; we’re made for the night. And you ‘aint bad lookin’, it’s not like you’s gonna end up with no one to go with or nothin’.”
Pete sighs in frustration and shoves his hands in his pockets as they weave through the cafeteria lunch tables. “You gotta think about the other kids too, but. It’s only gonna make them depressed ‘n shit and then we’ll have a school full of displeased freaks.”
Gabe kind of likes it when Pete gets babbly like this - mostly because he finds it fun to join in. Their conversations can get pretty philosophical, but today, he’s just too tired to bother. So when he spots a boy sitting alone at a table, he tugs on Pete’s sleeve as a silent alert and pulls his two friends towards the loner.
“Hey Alex,” Travis greets, immediately sitting himself down opposite the boy. Gabe shuffles in next to him and Pete sits next to Travis, opposite Gabe.
“I was wondering where you guys were,” Alex admits as he puts down his plastic knife and fork. “You had night class last night, right?”
Pete nods and leans agains the table. “Yup. Ran into this morning, we didn’t get much sleep.” Alex automatically lifts a hand to check his watch, the hands reading three PM. “How were today’s classes?”
“Regular,” Alex shrugs. “Anything new with you guys?”
Gabe shrugs as well and reaches over to pick out a baby tomato from the salad Alex has in front of him. He sniffs it, screws up his nose then throws it at Travis, making his friend flinch and swat it away. “We were just talking about prom. You reckon you’ll ask any pretty elf girl to go with you?”
He reaches out and brushes Alex’s light brown hair back with a flick of his wrist, then pinches the boy’s pointed elven ears with his index finger and thumb. Alex swats his hands away then grabs his plastic fork up from the table to use it as some kind of defence weapon. “Maybe,” he responds as he waits for Gabe to smile smugly to himself and settle in his seat.
“You got no one in mind?” Travis asks as he lightly kicks Alex under the table.
The two second pause Alex makes before shaking his head is enough for the three vampires to lean in closer and watch him accusingly. “Really,” he says, “There’s no one I can think of. I don’t talk to the elves, anyway.”
“Right,” Gabe nods, picking out another tomato before Alex can stop him and sticking a fang into it, just to pierce the fruit. “Because you hang out with us. Why, may I ask?”
Alex laughs quietly to himself as he plucks the tomato from Gabe’s tooth and throws it lazily at Travis, who then grunts in frustration and swats it away again. “I don’t know. You guys are just my friends. It’s not a race thing.”
“You are so lucky to have us,” Pete pipes up with a charming little grin, making Alex laugh again before he finally digs into his salad. “But say, guys, watching Alex eat is making me sick. You hungry?”
Gabe immediately groans, “Starving.” He supposes that’s why he’s been so tired lately. “Must have been two weeks since I ate something.”
“Shit, man,” Travis frowns, the statement sending him to his feet immediately. “We gotta get somethin’ into ya’. We’ll see you tomorrow, Suarez.” Travis waves at Alex, who waves back at the three of them as they stand from the table and say their goodbyes. “Let’s go get our passes.”
just playing with an idea. i have more written and all of the characters already planned but i'm just posting a little bit. feedback ~please~ not 100% sure how far this will go, so i'm going to chapter it. and yes, the vampire fic is still in the midst of being betad.
2,209 words • pg
Water is truly dazzling at night. Alongside the moonlight that creeps through the ceiling windows of the gym, the pool water is illuminated by the waterproof lights that line the edges of the pool itself. It’s always mesmerising to watch as the lights slowly change colours - from blue to purple to pink to orange - and Gabe often finds himself lost for time. The lights just keep changing, slowly enough for it to creep up on him and not expect it when the green changes back to blue, giving life to the frighteningly still pool water.
“Wandering around the school at night again, Mr Saporta?” A voice echoes through the large hall, bouncing off the walls to startle Gabe into sitting up straight from where he resides at a bench near the lockers. He turns to see a teacher standing close to the bench, looking at him with a slightly mocking smile. When Gabe doesn’t respond, he continues, “It seems you’re once again late for your evening class.”
Gabe’s posture slouches once again and he stares off into the changing colours of the water. “It’s just my nature, sir,” he replies, rather stiffly too. It’s not in his nature to be so kind to teachers, whether he’s in their class or not, but he’s too tired to bother playing his silly games tonight. The formal recognition of the man’s title is enough to have him raising his brow.
“The rules are not bent for vampires, though, Mr Saporta,” he points out, still using Gabe’s surname mockingly as he sways forward. Gabe tries to ignore it and just rolls his eyes as he finally rises to his feet. Once he does, he has a few inches over the teacher, but eases back into a slouch fairly quickly.
“I should get going, then.” He gives a shrug and dips his hands into his pockets, minus his thumbs. The teacher gives him a look, only breaking it to lick his lips and study Gabe’s body language.
“What’s here for you, anyway?” He questions, nodding towards the pool while keeping his eyes on the student. Gabe just shrugs and keeps his eyes away from the peaceful oasis of water.
“Nothing, sir,” Gabe responds fairly monotonously.
The teacher nods, finally giving Gabe his permission to leave. “Best hurry, then, so Miss Simpson won’t have your head.”
Gabe forces a smile and salutes the man rather than offering a simple wave. Without a vocal goodbye, he walks past the teacher and heads towards the doors while only just resisting a glance back at the glimmering surface of the pool.
***
“What took ya’ so long, man?” A boy of Gabe’s age and height instantly leans across their much shorter friend to punch Gabe in the arm as soon as he sits down. “You’re lucky Simpson’s not here or you’d be in big trouble, she had a rant about you yesterday when you didn’t show up.”
Gabe rolls his eyes and leans back to get comfortable in his seat. He looks across to his two friends sitting next to him at a desk at the back of the room, grinning at them to give a flash of his sparkling fangs. The one who’d punched him, Travis, is a taller, darker-skinned vampire with wildly curly hair down to his shoulders. Gabe loves it when Travis and Pete - the much much shorter one - sit or stand next to each other, just because of the incredible skin contrast and height difference.
“Fuck ‘er, this class is just a bludge anyway,” Gabe claims. “Where is Simpson anyway?”
Pete pipes up from between them, his usual smile disappeared and his arms folded to emphasise the pout of his lips, “She’s sick.” Gabe laughs at him and punches his arm, but Pete just shrugs his arm away. “We got some faggy substitute.”
“Are you gonna send her roses?” Travis asks mockingly, poking Pete in the thigh as he rests his elbow on the table in front of him and leans into Pete’s view. “Buy her some chocolates and stop by her dorm with a pretty card you made all by yourself?” As he talks his voice gets higher and his lips purse together in a kissing motion, but Pete instantly slaps him away, now unable to hide a smile from his face.
“Fuck off, Travis. You’re acting like I’m in love with Ashlee or something.”
Gabe pokes his other thigh, leaning in close as well. “But you call a teacher by her first name. That’s like, the first sign,” he points out, but Pete just rolls his eyes.
“Tons of kids do.”
“Yeah, whatever.” Gabe waves his hand and sits back in his seat when he realises the substitute teacher has been death staring them from the front of the class room. He sticks his hand high in the air to wave at her, only putting his hand down when she stops glaring and turns towards the blackboard.
“You guys doing anything on the weekend?” Travis asks a minute later, voice hushed as he leans his top half on the desk. “My dad wants me to come home over the weekend so I’m trying to figure out an excuse to why I can’t.”
Gabe rolls his eyes and folds his arms. “Your pa ‘aint that bad, Travie,” he points out.
Travis just shrugs half heartedly and rests his cheek on his arm. “I know, he’s cool. I just hate the travelling, ya’ know? There’s always this big hassle to get home by night driving and I fuckin’ hate that, you know? Plus it’s just two days, it’s so not worth it. By the time I get home I’ll have to come back.”
Pete hums in thought as he stretches out his stumpy legs and crosses his ankles over. “How about you tell him the prom committee need you this weekend? Prom is coming up, so it’s not like you’re making something up out of the blue.”
Travis screws up his nose and frowns in thought. “But I’m not on the prom committee.”
Gabe laughs under his breath, earning him a glare from Travis. “Travie, you lie about everything else,” he claims, “I’m sure just one little one to get out of a weekend at your parent’s house won’t be too much of a stretch.”
“I do not lie!” Travis exclaims, though he’s interrupted when the teacher turns and snaps at them for talking again. He makes a face at her when she’s not looking before turning back to Gabe and Pete. He says again, “I do not lie. When do I lie?”
Pete smirks to himself and holds a hand up for all three of them to see, obviously preparing to count something on his fingers. He holds down his thumb and starts, “Your mom was a model-”
“She did photos when she was in high school.”
“Your bedroom is bigger than the gymnasium-”
“You have no way of proving that wrong.”
“In middle school, a teacher fell for you and quit her job because you broke her heart.”
Gabe and Pete both look towards Travis to wait for his excuse, but when one never comes, they grin and Pete continues, “How about the one where you said you slept with William Beckett?”
Travis interrupts, a little too loudly, “I did!” The teacher shouts at him again so Gabe just barks at her, kicking his chair back and baring his teeth long enough for her to give up and turn back to the board.
“You did not sleep with Beckett, Trav,” Gabe says to him a second later, speaking a little more hushed in hopes that Travis will keep his voice down too.
“I did, I really did! I took his virginity so he got really clingy and wanted to be my boyfriend, but I told him I didn’t date dudes so that’s why he’s really awkward around me and shit, y’know? All the signs are there! Ask him if you want!”
Gabe snorts alongside Pete’s breathless chuckle. “We are not going to approach an angel and ask him about his experience with sodomy,” Pete says, slapping Travis’ shoulder as he rests his other hand back in his lap. “Lust is a sin, you idiot.”
Travis just rolls his eyes and rests his head back on his arms on the table. “We did it,” he claims, still as sure as ever. “I’ll prove it to you one day.”
“Yep,” Gabe nods, “Still waitin’ for that day, Travie.”
***
“It’s ridiculous,” Pete says absently the next day, appearing to be talking to no one but catching the attention of his two friends walking either side of him. When they look at him in question, he points lazily at a large poster advertising the prom coming up in two month’s time. “They try to make us feel like we’re normal people by throwing one of the stupidest of charades. How do they expect us to actually get excited about this? What about all the kids who can’t go, like the sea folk who can’t dance?”
Gabe looks away at the mention of the sea folk, trying to focus his attention on scanning the cafeteria to find their other friend. He can still hear the conversation beside him, though, as Travis replies to Pete’s babbling.
“What are you complaining for? We’re vampires; we’re made for the night. And you ‘aint bad lookin’, it’s not like you’s gonna end up with no one to go with or nothin’.”
Pete sighs in frustration and shoves his hands in his pockets as they weave through the cafeteria lunch tables. “You gotta think about the other kids too, but. It’s only gonna make them depressed ‘n shit and then we’ll have a school full of displeased freaks.”
Gabe kind of likes it when Pete gets babbly like this - mostly because he finds it fun to join in. Their conversations can get pretty philosophical, but today, he’s just too tired to bother. So when he spots a boy sitting alone at a table, he tugs on Pete’s sleeve as a silent alert and pulls his two friends towards the loner.
“Hey Alex,” Travis greets, immediately sitting himself down opposite the boy. Gabe shuffles in next to him and Pete sits next to Travis, opposite Gabe.
“I was wondering where you guys were,” Alex admits as he puts down his plastic knife and fork. “You had night class last night, right?”
Pete nods and leans agains the table. “Yup. Ran into this morning, we didn’t get much sleep.” Alex automatically lifts a hand to check his watch, the hands reading three PM. “How were today’s classes?”
“Regular,” Alex shrugs. “Anything new with you guys?”
Gabe shrugs as well and reaches over to pick out a baby tomato from the salad Alex has in front of him. He sniffs it, screws up his nose then throws it at Travis, making his friend flinch and swat it away. “We were just talking about prom. You reckon you’ll ask any pretty elf girl to go with you?”
He reaches out and brushes Alex’s light brown hair back with a flick of his wrist, then pinches the boy’s pointed elven ears with his index finger and thumb. Alex swats his hands away then grabs his plastic fork up from the table to use it as some kind of defence weapon. “Maybe,” he responds as he waits for Gabe to smile smugly to himself and settle in his seat.
“You got no one in mind?” Travis asks as he lightly kicks Alex under the table.
The two second pause Alex makes before shaking his head is enough for the three vampires to lean in closer and watch him accusingly. “Really,” he says, “There’s no one I can think of. I don’t talk to the elves, anyway.”
“Right,” Gabe nods, picking out another tomato before Alex can stop him and sticking a fang into it, just to pierce the fruit. “Because you hang out with us. Why, may I ask?”
Alex laughs quietly to himself as he plucks the tomato from Gabe’s tooth and throws it lazily at Travis, who then grunts in frustration and swats it away again. “I don’t know. You guys are just my friends. It’s not a race thing.”
“You are so lucky to have us,” Pete pipes up with a charming little grin, making Alex laugh again before he finally digs into his salad. “But say, guys, watching Alex eat is making me sick. You hungry?”
Gabe immediately groans, “Starving.” He supposes that’s why he’s been so tired lately. “Must have been two weeks since I ate something.”
“Shit, man,” Travis frowns, the statement sending him to his feet immediately. “We gotta get somethin’ into ya’. We’ll see you tomorrow, Suarez.” Travis waves at Alex, who waves back at the three of them as they stand from the table and say their goodbyes. “Let’s go get our passes.”