Fic: Spirit Fingers (1/3)
Title: Spirit Fingers (1/3)
Pairing/Character(s): Arthur/Eames and ensemble
Rating: Pg-13 (this part)
Warnings: Language
Word Count: 1,906 so far.
Summary: Bring It On AU.
Author's Notes: Yep, I'm writing this.
The routine goes perfectly. Everyone hits their marks, exactly in time with the music, and Arthur comes out of his last handspring with a shout, in the center of the formation with his fists extended upward. "Go! Cobol!"
The crowd in the gym roars. And then starts to laugh.
Horrified, Arthur looks down at himself... and sees that he'd forgotten to put on his uniform. He's naked, in front of the entire school.
Swearing, he reaches sideways and grabs a pom-pom from the closest cheerleader, covering himself and staring up at the hysterically-laughing crowd of students. In the center of the stands, one person isn't laughing. In fact, he's watching Arthur with pity in his eyes, shaking his head derisively.
Arthur snaps awake as his alarm goes off. Slapping at it, he swears and falls back onto his pillows. Fuck this day already. Just... fuck it.
*****
"You'll get it." Cobb pulls his Land Rover to a stop outside Cobol High School, looking over at Arthur with an encouraging sort of smile.
Arthur definitely does not turn red. Not at all. He's over this. Dom's straight, Arthur's not, and Dom has been dating the head of Arthur's cheerleading squad for three years. He's also Arthur's best friend, whom Arthur will have to do without this year, because Dom is off to UCLA with Mal, and Arthur is left to face his senior year alone.
"Thanks," he mumbles, pressing his lips together in some approximation of a smile when Dom squeezes his shoulder before shoving Arthur gently out of the car.
"Send her out after she makes the announcement! We gotta hit the road!" Dom calls after him as Arthur starts up the front steps and into the main building. Arthur waves him off with a one-fingered salute, not giving one single fuck about being left to face his senior year without Dom around.
*****
"All right, cheries," Mal announces, looking perfectly-coiffed as always and far more sophisticated than any eighteen-year-old girl has any right to be, even a French one. She holds up a clipboard. "I have here the name of your new squad captain." She smiles at two of the girls who had nominated themselves. "I am very pleased to announce that it was, in fact, a landslide victory."
Next to Arthur, Ariadne drums on the lockers they're leaning on, grinning, until Mal holds up a hand, her smile much warmer. "And your new captain is.... Arthur Bates."
"YES!" Ariadne promptly glomps him; Arthur is too busy being shocked to do more than wrap his arms around her automatically as Carly and Wendy, the other two nominees, immediately begin to protest. Shrilly.
"But he's a guy!"
"You fixed the vote! There's no way he won by a landslide!" Carly cocks her hips to the side as she complains. On Arthur's other side, Nash's eyes focus on Carly's ass. Arthur rolls his eyes.
"I fixed nothing. And why can a boy not be the captain? Whomsoever the squad collectively thought the most qualified was the winner. Do not be a bitch, Carly." Carly subsides. Arthur, still shocked, doesn't bother defending himself, because the shit never stops spewing out of Carly's mouth, and if he bothered to respond to it all, he'd never have time to do anything else. Ariadne, however, flips him off.
Mal's eyes turn to Arthur, imperious as she beckons him forward. "Come here, cherie." Still in shock, he leaves Ariadne behind and approaches, his eyes wide. She hands him the clipboard. "Everything else is in the office. I am so proud of you. And of the rest of you, for having such good taste." She does not include Carly and Wendy in her smile, and leans up to kiss Arthur's cheek.
"Thanks," he says weakly. She nods, turning to go with one last wistful look around at all of them, and he clears his throat, waving and turning his attention to the squad. His squad. Next to Nash, Ariadne is beaming.
"Right," he starts slowly, his own grin spreading over his face. Aside from the two aforementioned bitches, everyone else smiles back at him. Well, except for Nash, who's still staring at Carly's ass, but that's normal. "Right. Thanks, guys. This means a lot."
"This isn't the Oscars!" Ariadne interrupts. "But if you cry, we promise to put it on Facebook immediately."
Arthur clears his throat again, stifling most of his grin. He's way too manly to cry, even if this is fucking awesome. "So I have some ideas for new routines..."
*****
Not being straight in high school has been... well, it's been interesting. Not really for the reasons you expect, though. Arthur's always had a pretty thick skin, and when it hadn't felt like he had, he'd pretended well enough to apparently fool anyone. He'd figured it out pretty early, when he'd watched Dom jumping into the community pool and realized that he cared way more about checking that out than he did the girls in their bikinis. Granted, he'd been thirteen, then, and the girls hadn't really had much to fill their bikinis out with at that point in time, but the realization had happened... and it hadn't really changed his life as much as he'd expected it would.
He's still not out, though. He might as well be, really, because when he'd joined the cheerleading squad in freshman year, eager for a way to continue tumbling after the local gymnastics school had closed its doors, he'd had the entire school on his back, insisting that he must be gay, being a guy and a cheerleader.
He's not actually sure what he is, really, because he's made out with girls, too, and it had been fun. His dick had liked it. It had liked Dom way better, admittedly, but he's attracted to women, too. It's just that he's... really fucking attracted to men. Dom is not the only one, although he was the first. So Arthur has concluded that, he thinks, he's bisexual, but leaning towards gay. That, however, is way too complicated a concept to try to explain to the Cobol student body at large, so he figures he'll just keep his mouth shut about it and let everyone draw their own conclusions. It's really none of their business.
Ariadne knows, though. She'd moved there the year before, in both of their junior years, with her twin brother. She'd also competed in gymnastics when she'd been younger, which is why she and Arthur had hit it off so easily. That and Arthur took one look at her twin brother and pretty much came right on the spot. She'd laughed her ass of for that, and they'd been best friends ever since. She'd joined the squad, and Arthur had been glad to have a friend in his own year, since Mal and Dom would be leaving for college after their graduations, a year ahead of him.
She's never teased him, though. Well, aside from harassing him about Eames, her brother (who goes by their last name since their sadistic parents, professors of classical mythology and Greek literature, respectively, had named him Theseus- Arthur can't really blame him). But she doesn't do that very much anymore, either, because she has a ridiculous crush on the chemistry guy Yusuf, the one who sells pot behind the cafeteria, and Arthur would be all over her for that if she started on Eames very often.
Arthur would like to start on Eames. He'd like to do many things on Eames. Climb on him, suck on him, sit his ass on him... maybe lie on him and fuck him into a bed...
Naturally, it's just as he's having these thoughts, mindlessly stuffing his books into his locker at the end of the day, that Eames approaches him. As Arthur slams his locker shut, Eames is right on the other side, and Arthur jumps, his cheeks going bright red.
"Hey, so yeah, Ari told me about the captain thing. Good going, mate." Did Arthur mention Eames is British? Because he is. Both he and Ariadne, technically, although when their parents had split, Ariadne had come to the US with their mother and lived the first ten years of her life in California. Eames hadn't followed until they were fifteen, his accent very much established, and very much like a porno in real life.
"Thanks," Arthur manages. Eames smiles, nods to him, and walks off- apparently that's all he'd intended to say. Arthur turns, wide-eyed, to call after him, but then closes his mouth, because he has nothing to say that would sound even remotely cool. Goddammit.
*****
Practice goes well. They win Regionals.
Their biggest competition this year is a team from Santa Barbara, but the judges like Arthur's new routine just as much as he'd hoped. The trophy is very large, and very shiny.
He's terrified of Nationals.
Eames is at Regionals. He's sitting right in the middle of the stands, where he'd been in Arthur's insane dream that he barely remembers and definitely doesn't think about right before they perform. It's definitely not good luck that he's there.
And he's clapping for and smiling at Ariadne when the song ends. Not at Arthur. They're standing together, Ariadne right in front of Arthur, but Eames is clearly applauding his sister.
Arthur is determined to convince himself of that, because if he doesn't, he's going to go crazy. He's known Eames for a year, and there's never been a hint or anything from the other guy that he's anything other than straight, much less that he likes Arthur. Even if he had been clapping for Arthur, that doesn't mean anything.
*****
Okay, so Arthur's terrified of a lot of things.
*****
He's taking shop. Ariadne calls him a masochist, but he honestly does have a desire to learn how cars work. He'll never be an engineer, but at the very least he can now change his own oil. His decision to take shop has nothing to do with the fact that Eames is also taking it. And often wears a tee shirt that is snug over muscles no eighteen-year-old boy has a right to. The tattoos he hides from his parents are visible beneath the sleeves and above the collar.
Ariadne is very amused by all of this. Arthur has forbidden her from saying anything to Eames. She'd pouted, but he'd threatened to go buy from Yusuf and let something slip, and she'd subsided. He's not sure he believes she won't say anything, because she and Eames are twins, but at least he can live in hope.
*****
Ariadne throws a party for the squad and her assorted friends over winter break. Fifteen minutes in, she spills jungle juice all over Arthur's tee shirt. Like a good host, Eames offers to lend him another, and Arthur agrees, because he has no desire to spend all night with fruit punch and vodka all over his front.
Of course, he didn't really consider the implications of this until he's following Eames up the stairs, unable to keep from checking out his ass.
He's going to Eames' room.
The hallway seems to stretch out forever in front of him as he follows Eames down to the far end and through the doorway to the right; he knows Ariadne's is to the left, not that he's been allowed inside. The idea of stepping into Eames' room, however, is totally different.
*****
Part Two
Pairing/Character(s): Arthur/Eames and ensemble
Rating: Pg-13 (this part)
Warnings: Language
Word Count: 1,906 so far.
Summary: Bring It On AU.
Author's Notes: Yep, I'm writing this.
The routine goes perfectly. Everyone hits their marks, exactly in time with the music, and Arthur comes out of his last handspring with a shout, in the center of the formation with his fists extended upward. "Go! Cobol!"
The crowd in the gym roars. And then starts to laugh.
Horrified, Arthur looks down at himself... and sees that he'd forgotten to put on his uniform. He's naked, in front of the entire school.
Swearing, he reaches sideways and grabs a pom-pom from the closest cheerleader, covering himself and staring up at the hysterically-laughing crowd of students. In the center of the stands, one person isn't laughing. In fact, he's watching Arthur with pity in his eyes, shaking his head derisively.
Arthur snaps awake as his alarm goes off. Slapping at it, he swears and falls back onto his pillows. Fuck this day already. Just... fuck it.
*****
"You'll get it." Cobb pulls his Land Rover to a stop outside Cobol High School, looking over at Arthur with an encouraging sort of smile.
Arthur definitely does not turn red. Not at all. He's over this. Dom's straight, Arthur's not, and Dom has been dating the head of Arthur's cheerleading squad for three years. He's also Arthur's best friend, whom Arthur will have to do without this year, because Dom is off to UCLA with Mal, and Arthur is left to face his senior year alone.
"Thanks," he mumbles, pressing his lips together in some approximation of a smile when Dom squeezes his shoulder before shoving Arthur gently out of the car.
"Send her out after she makes the announcement! We gotta hit the road!" Dom calls after him as Arthur starts up the front steps and into the main building. Arthur waves him off with a one-fingered salute, not giving one single fuck about being left to face his senior year without Dom around.
*****
"All right, cheries," Mal announces, looking perfectly-coiffed as always and far more sophisticated than any eighteen-year-old girl has any right to be, even a French one. She holds up a clipboard. "I have here the name of your new squad captain." She smiles at two of the girls who had nominated themselves. "I am very pleased to announce that it was, in fact, a landslide victory."
Next to Arthur, Ariadne drums on the lockers they're leaning on, grinning, until Mal holds up a hand, her smile much warmer. "And your new captain is.... Arthur Bates."
"YES!" Ariadne promptly glomps him; Arthur is too busy being shocked to do more than wrap his arms around her automatically as Carly and Wendy, the other two nominees, immediately begin to protest. Shrilly.
"But he's a guy!"
"You fixed the vote! There's no way he won by a landslide!" Carly cocks her hips to the side as she complains. On Arthur's other side, Nash's eyes focus on Carly's ass. Arthur rolls his eyes.
"I fixed nothing. And why can a boy not be the captain? Whomsoever the squad collectively thought the most qualified was the winner. Do not be a bitch, Carly." Carly subsides. Arthur, still shocked, doesn't bother defending himself, because the shit never stops spewing out of Carly's mouth, and if he bothered to respond to it all, he'd never have time to do anything else. Ariadne, however, flips him off.
Mal's eyes turn to Arthur, imperious as she beckons him forward. "Come here, cherie." Still in shock, he leaves Ariadne behind and approaches, his eyes wide. She hands him the clipboard. "Everything else is in the office. I am so proud of you. And of the rest of you, for having such good taste." She does not include Carly and Wendy in her smile, and leans up to kiss Arthur's cheek.
"Thanks," he says weakly. She nods, turning to go with one last wistful look around at all of them, and he clears his throat, waving and turning his attention to the squad. His squad. Next to Nash, Ariadne is beaming.
"Right," he starts slowly, his own grin spreading over his face. Aside from the two aforementioned bitches, everyone else smiles back at him. Well, except for Nash, who's still staring at Carly's ass, but that's normal. "Right. Thanks, guys. This means a lot."
"This isn't the Oscars!" Ariadne interrupts. "But if you cry, we promise to put it on Facebook immediately."
Arthur clears his throat again, stifling most of his grin. He's way too manly to cry, even if this is fucking awesome. "So I have some ideas for new routines..."
*****
Not being straight in high school has been... well, it's been interesting. Not really for the reasons you expect, though. Arthur's always had a pretty thick skin, and when it hadn't felt like he had, he'd pretended well enough to apparently fool anyone. He'd figured it out pretty early, when he'd watched Dom jumping into the community pool and realized that he cared way more about checking that out than he did the girls in their bikinis. Granted, he'd been thirteen, then, and the girls hadn't really had much to fill their bikinis out with at that point in time, but the realization had happened... and it hadn't really changed his life as much as he'd expected it would.
He's still not out, though. He might as well be, really, because when he'd joined the cheerleading squad in freshman year, eager for a way to continue tumbling after the local gymnastics school had closed its doors, he'd had the entire school on his back, insisting that he must be gay, being a guy and a cheerleader.
He's not actually sure what he is, really, because he's made out with girls, too, and it had been fun. His dick had liked it. It had liked Dom way better, admittedly, but he's attracted to women, too. It's just that he's... really fucking attracted to men. Dom is not the only one, although he was the first. So Arthur has concluded that, he thinks, he's bisexual, but leaning towards gay. That, however, is way too complicated a concept to try to explain to the Cobol student body at large, so he figures he'll just keep his mouth shut about it and let everyone draw their own conclusions. It's really none of their business.
Ariadne knows, though. She'd moved there the year before, in both of their junior years, with her twin brother. She'd also competed in gymnastics when she'd been younger, which is why she and Arthur had hit it off so easily. That and Arthur took one look at her twin brother and pretty much came right on the spot. She'd laughed her ass of for that, and they'd been best friends ever since. She'd joined the squad, and Arthur had been glad to have a friend in his own year, since Mal and Dom would be leaving for college after their graduations, a year ahead of him.
She's never teased him, though. Well, aside from harassing him about Eames, her brother (who goes by their last name since their sadistic parents, professors of classical mythology and Greek literature, respectively, had named him Theseus- Arthur can't really blame him). But she doesn't do that very much anymore, either, because she has a ridiculous crush on the chemistry guy Yusuf, the one who sells pot behind the cafeteria, and Arthur would be all over her for that if she started on Eames very often.
Arthur would like to start on Eames. He'd like to do many things on Eames. Climb on him, suck on him, sit his ass on him... maybe lie on him and fuck him into a bed...
Naturally, it's just as he's having these thoughts, mindlessly stuffing his books into his locker at the end of the day, that Eames approaches him. As Arthur slams his locker shut, Eames is right on the other side, and Arthur jumps, his cheeks going bright red.
"Hey, so yeah, Ari told me about the captain thing. Good going, mate." Did Arthur mention Eames is British? Because he is. Both he and Ariadne, technically, although when their parents had split, Ariadne had come to the US with their mother and lived the first ten years of her life in California. Eames hadn't followed until they were fifteen, his accent very much established, and very much like a porno in real life.
"Thanks," Arthur manages. Eames smiles, nods to him, and walks off- apparently that's all he'd intended to say. Arthur turns, wide-eyed, to call after him, but then closes his mouth, because he has nothing to say that would sound even remotely cool. Goddammit.
*****
Practice goes well. They win Regionals.
Their biggest competition this year is a team from Santa Barbara, but the judges like Arthur's new routine just as much as he'd hoped. The trophy is very large, and very shiny.
He's terrified of Nationals.
Eames is at Regionals. He's sitting right in the middle of the stands, where he'd been in Arthur's insane dream that he barely remembers and definitely doesn't think about right before they perform. It's definitely not good luck that he's there.
And he's clapping for and smiling at Ariadne when the song ends. Not at Arthur. They're standing together, Ariadne right in front of Arthur, but Eames is clearly applauding his sister.
Arthur is determined to convince himself of that, because if he doesn't, he's going to go crazy. He's known Eames for a year, and there's never been a hint or anything from the other guy that he's anything other than straight, much less that he likes Arthur. Even if he had been clapping for Arthur, that doesn't mean anything.
*****
Okay, so Arthur's terrified of a lot of things.
*****
He's taking shop. Ariadne calls him a masochist, but he honestly does have a desire to learn how cars work. He'll never be an engineer, but at the very least he can now change his own oil. His decision to take shop has nothing to do with the fact that Eames is also taking it. And often wears a tee shirt that is snug over muscles no eighteen-year-old boy has a right to. The tattoos he hides from his parents are visible beneath the sleeves and above the collar.
Ariadne is very amused by all of this. Arthur has forbidden her from saying anything to Eames. She'd pouted, but he'd threatened to go buy from Yusuf and let something slip, and she'd subsided. He's not sure he believes she won't say anything, because she and Eames are twins, but at least he can live in hope.
*****
Ariadne throws a party for the squad and her assorted friends over winter break. Fifteen minutes in, she spills jungle juice all over Arthur's tee shirt. Like a good host, Eames offers to lend him another, and Arthur agrees, because he has no desire to spend all night with fruit punch and vodka all over his front.
Of course, he didn't really consider the implications of this until he's following Eames up the stairs, unable to keep from checking out his ass.
He's going to Eames' room.
The hallway seems to stretch out forever in front of him as he follows Eames down to the far end and through the doorway to the right; he knows Ariadne's is to the left, not that he's been allowed inside. The idea of stepping into Eames' room, however, is totally different.
*****
Part Two