To the Great Heights of Vanity
Title: To the Great Heights of Vanity
Type: Original
Pairing: one sided!Collin/Ying Fa, Collin/OFC
Word Count: ~900
Time: thirty minutes
Rating: PG-13 for slight language
Author's Note: Unbeta'd. Collin and Cayden are my characters, and Ying Fa is hopefulgenius's.
Summary: "Ying Fa is thirteen years old when she realizes that she's in love with Collin."
Ying Fa is thirteen years old when she realizes that she's in love with Collin. She thinks maybe it began when she was seven and Collin, nine then, attended is mother's funeral and held both Cayden and her hand but didn't cry once. She thinks maybe it started when she was five and Collin told her that school was fun and that, if she didn't like it, he'd make sure she never had to go again. She thinks that it might have started even further back, back when she was three and still unsteady on her feet. She'd fallen, and Collin had gotten her a band-aid with Jasmine on it.
She's not really sure when she fell in love with Collin, but she definitely knows she is.
She comes to this realization one day when she's sitting between Cayden and him during lunch, munching happily on her potato chips, when Collin sneaks one, popping it into his mouth before she can even protest.
"You are such an ass," she huffs.
He shrugs, his face set in an expression of perfect content.
Ying Fa shoves him a little, and Cayden chirps, "Now, now, children. Let's all play nice, all right?"
That's when Molly waltzes over, tossing her dark ringlets of hair over her shoulder and, in her sweetest, most disgusting voice asks, "Collin, would you please help me with the homework we had last night for math? Mr. Barry is absolutely murdering me."
Ying Fa expects Collin to say something snide, something that would go right over Molly Ferris's head, something she probably would take as a compliment in spite of its biting nature.
Instead, he says, "Yeah, sure. Go get the worksheet."
Molly gives him a huge smile, giving him a quick hug before running off to retrieve it.
Ying Fa waits until Molly is out of hearing range (but just barely) before she's wrinkling her nose and saying, "Ew. What was that?"
Collin raises an eyebrow at her. "What was what?"
"That... that blatant..." Ying Fa struggles for a word, but only because she doesn't want to say it out loud and make it real. Finally though, she just sputters, "That flirting."
Collin takes a bite of the leftover lasagna he'd packed both Cayden and himself for lunch. He'd probably made it himself last night. "What are you talking about?"
Ying Fa snorts. "That was flirting, Collin." She bats her eyelashes sarcastically, twirling a piece of hair in her hand and pitching her voice high and nasally. "Oh, Collin, please help me with my homework." She throws her voice lower. "Oh, yeah, I'd do anything for you, Molly. Just let me take care of everything."
Collin's smiles wryly. "For some reason, I'm remembering that conversation going a lot differently."
"It was implied," she insists.
Collin just shakes his head at her. "Pazza ragazza."
Ying Fa kicks his ankle under the table. She may not speak Italian, but she's known him long enough and been called that enough to know that it is most certainly not a compliment. "Am not."
Cayden laughs into his juicebox. Seriously, what is he, two?
She kicks him in the ankle too for good measure.
"Ow!"
She scowls at him. "Serves you right for laughing at me."
Cayden just sulkily sips on his juice after that. Ying Fa chooses to ignore him in favor of glaring at Collin. "I can't believe you're helping her. She's a cheerleader. And she's bad at math."
Collin sighs. "Obviously. I wouldn't be helping her with her math homework if she was good at it. Besides, it's not like she's in a standard class. She's in honors with me. She's actually pretty smart."
Ying Fa's chest gives a pang then, and she grits her teeth. "You make me sick, Collin Blaise. I always assumed you had better taste than the likes of her."
"Sorry to disappoint?"
Molly returns then, holding her homework out in front of her and letting Collin have it. "So, I'm mostly having issues with the word problems." She leans over him, and Ying Fa knows it's to press her chest against Collin's arm, she knows it.
But Collin doesn't shove her off. He just explains how to do the first problem. And when she comes up with the right answer, he smiles at her. Actually smiles.
Ying Fa snatches up her lunch sack and growls, "I think I'm going to head to class."
Before anyone can ask her anything, she basically runs out of the cafeteria.
She spends the rest of lunch in the girls' bathroom trying not to care and somehow caring anyway.
It's not pretty, and she'll never, ever tell anyone the truth, but that's where she realizes it. On the disgusting bathroom floor of St. Michael's Junior High, she realizes that she's head over heels in love with Collin Blaise.
She tucks her face against her knees and knows that it's all downhill from here.
Type: Original
Pairing: one sided!Collin/Ying Fa, Collin/OFC
Word Count: ~900
Time: thirty minutes
Rating: PG-13 for slight language
Author's Note: Unbeta'd. Collin and Cayden are my characters, and Ying Fa is hopefulgenius's.
Summary: "Ying Fa is thirteen years old when she realizes that she's in love with Collin."
Ying Fa is thirteen years old when she realizes that she's in love with Collin. She thinks maybe it began when she was seven and Collin, nine then, attended is mother's funeral and held both Cayden and her hand but didn't cry once. She thinks maybe it started when she was five and Collin told her that school was fun and that, if she didn't like it, he'd make sure she never had to go again. She thinks that it might have started even further back, back when she was three and still unsteady on her feet. She'd fallen, and Collin had gotten her a band-aid with Jasmine on it.
She's not really sure when she fell in love with Collin, but she definitely knows she is.
She comes to this realization one day when she's sitting between Cayden and him during lunch, munching happily on her potato chips, when Collin sneaks one, popping it into his mouth before she can even protest.
"You are such an ass," she huffs.
He shrugs, his face set in an expression of perfect content.
Ying Fa shoves him a little, and Cayden chirps, "Now, now, children. Let's all play nice, all right?"
That's when Molly waltzes over, tossing her dark ringlets of hair over her shoulder and, in her sweetest, most disgusting voice asks, "Collin, would you please help me with the homework we had last night for math? Mr. Barry is absolutely murdering me."
Ying Fa expects Collin to say something snide, something that would go right over Molly Ferris's head, something she probably would take as a compliment in spite of its biting nature.
Instead, he says, "Yeah, sure. Go get the worksheet."
Molly gives him a huge smile, giving him a quick hug before running off to retrieve it.
Ying Fa waits until Molly is out of hearing range (but just barely) before she's wrinkling her nose and saying, "Ew. What was that?"
Collin raises an eyebrow at her. "What was what?"
"That... that blatant..." Ying Fa struggles for a word, but only because she doesn't want to say it out loud and make it real. Finally though, she just sputters, "That flirting."
Collin takes a bite of the leftover lasagna he'd packed both Cayden and himself for lunch. He'd probably made it himself last night. "What are you talking about?"
Ying Fa snorts. "That was flirting, Collin." She bats her eyelashes sarcastically, twirling a piece of hair in her hand and pitching her voice high and nasally. "Oh, Collin, please help me with my homework." She throws her voice lower. "Oh, yeah, I'd do anything for you, Molly. Just let me take care of everything."
Collin's smiles wryly. "For some reason, I'm remembering that conversation going a lot differently."
"It was implied," she insists.
Collin just shakes his head at her. "Pazza ragazza."
Ying Fa kicks his ankle under the table. She may not speak Italian, but she's known him long enough and been called that enough to know that it is most certainly not a compliment. "Am not."
Cayden laughs into his juicebox. Seriously, what is he, two?
She kicks him in the ankle too for good measure.
"Ow!"
She scowls at him. "Serves you right for laughing at me."
Cayden just sulkily sips on his juice after that. Ying Fa chooses to ignore him in favor of glaring at Collin. "I can't believe you're helping her. She's a cheerleader. And she's bad at math."
Collin sighs. "Obviously. I wouldn't be helping her with her math homework if she was good at it. Besides, it's not like she's in a standard class. She's in honors with me. She's actually pretty smart."
Ying Fa's chest gives a pang then, and she grits her teeth. "You make me sick, Collin Blaise. I always assumed you had better taste than the likes of her."
"Sorry to disappoint?"
Molly returns then, holding her homework out in front of her and letting Collin have it. "So, I'm mostly having issues with the word problems." She leans over him, and Ying Fa knows it's to press her chest against Collin's arm, she knows it.
But Collin doesn't shove her off. He just explains how to do the first problem. And when she comes up with the right answer, he smiles at her. Actually smiles.
Ying Fa snatches up her lunch sack and growls, "I think I'm going to head to class."
Before anyone can ask her anything, she basically runs out of the cafeteria.
She spends the rest of lunch in the girls' bathroom trying not to care and somehow caring anyway.
It's not pretty, and she'll never, ever tell anyone the truth, but that's where she realizes it. On the disgusting bathroom floor of St. Michael's Junior High, she realizes that she's head over heels in love with Collin Blaise.
She tucks her face against her knees and knows that it's all downhill from here.