Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel) - Chapter 12
Title: Behind the Net: Across the Distance (A Sequel)
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Twelve
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 9711
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
November saw Pierre and David busier than they had been thus far, and they were getting less time each day to talk to each other on the phone. Pierre’s hockey season was in full swing and of the eight games his team had played so far, they had won five, tied one, and lost two. The losses had felt devastating when they happened but the senior players on the team didn’t seem disheartened and gave him affectionate pats on the back, telling him it was part of the game and he would have to accept that they would lose sometimes. Though it was natural for him to try to take personal responsibility for their losses and one tie, his teammates had reminded him that a loss doesn’t come down to just one player and that he shouldn’t beat himself up over it. He was glad for his teammates’ support and had managed to get himself to a place where he felt okay about it, though still disappointed.
He felt he had gotten to know his teammates a lot better, too, and had started to reveal more parts of himself to them. One guy in particular, a junior named Derek, had asked Pierre again about Olivia and if they were going to start dating as she came to every one of their home games, and he had decided to take the leap and tell him about David. Though it wasn’t the whole team, he knew he had to start somewhere. The potential of alienating his hockey team felt significantly more daunting than it did with random classmates and he had felt truly terrified when telling Derek that he had a boyfriend. Derek had seemed truly shocked by the news but had handled it well, if not a little awkwardly.
“It’s not gonna be easy on you being an athlete in a relationship with another man, but nothing that’s worth it is ever easy,” Derek had told him. “Just keep your head up and don’t engage if it gets out and there’s a media frenzy. All you gotta do is ignore it and live your life. It’s less likely to happen when you’re in college but if you go pro, there’s a good chance something’s gonna pop up at some point and you’re gonna have to just let it roll off your back.”
Pierre had been grateful for Derek’s words and held them close to himself for more than one reason. While Derek had been specifically referring to being in a homosexual relationship, Pierre felt it also applied to how difficult this year away from David had already been, and how much more difficult it was going to get before it was over and they could be together daily again. With each passing day that got busier, he had a hard time feeling like David wasn’t slipping between his fingers and that eventually there might not be anything left to grab, but he had to remind himself that they were both working their hardest to make sure they would be able to live together and that everything they were doing was with that goal in mind. Even if it meant they only got to talk on the phone for ten minutes, or even five, it would be worth it at the end of their nine months apart when they would get to begin their lives as adults together.
Things for David had also become busier and he found himself spending more time studying and doing homework than ever before, plus he continued to practice designing and sewing clothes which was eating up all the rest of his time. He had really leaned into making prom dresses, finding that he was obsessed with gowns and how they flowed. He loved the variety of styles and materials, and was constantly egged on by Hunter’s little sister Hailey who had begun coming to him directly in the cafeteria. This was something that he hadn’t expected, and Hunter seemed annoyed at his sister trying to hang out with them during lunch but as David enjoyed her company and found her pleasant, Hunter behaved and didn’t make too much of an angsty fuss about it.
David had also started offering his sewing services to the theater department, something that he realized could help get him extra experience and also fill out his resume a little bit more. They had been all too happy to accept the help, and sometimes David found himself eating lunch with Jenny and her friends again, something which he found a little bit easier each time he did so. Ever since Hunter had pointed it out to him the month previously, he had become aware of the way he had shut himself off from those around him and made it difficult to make new connections. He actively worked against it now, and though there were still plenty of people who did nothing but stare and talk about him, he was finding himself able to have casual conversations with more and more people.
Then there was the issue of rumors. Hunter - and sometimes his whole group of friends - had started hanging around David at lunch every day that he was in the cafeteria, and word of what was being called a ‘lovers fight’ at the college fair had made its way around the school. It had even gotten to the theater department, something which David had discovered one day when he was eating lunch with them after having gone over some costumes for an upcoming play he would be making.
One of the girls that Jenny had become close to had leaned toward him one day with a look on her face like the gossip she was about to discuss was the juiciest she’d ever heard.
“You’re dating Hunter Jackson right?” she had asked him, stunning him silent. “He’s so hot.”
The other girls around them all made squeals and giggles of agreement. “I know he’s super emo and all, but he really makes it look good,” another girl had chimed in excitedly.
“Right! There’s something about those tight pants. He’s so dark,” a third girl went on, and again they all giggled between each other.
The look on Jenny’s face matched exactly what David was feeling inside and he got a hold of himself, shaking his head quickly. “No, where did you hear that?” he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.
The girls all stopped their chattering and looked surprised and even a little embarrassed. “Everyone’s saying it, I’ve heard it from like, at least five different people,” the first girl who had spoken told him. There were nods and words of agreement from the other girls around them.
David wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it but he knew he had to work to set the rumors straight. “Well no, we’re just friends,” he said, but then realizing this wouldn’t be enough to quell the rumors and might just sound like he was trying to cover up their relationship, he added, “I’m still dating the hockey player.”
He hated having to call Pierre this but he knew that it would work; everyone in the school knew who Pierre was by that title from the photo of the two that had made its way around the prior February. And just as he had figured would happen, recognition dawned on all the girls’ faces and soon they were smiling and nodding and giggling again. “Okay, well he’s super hot too,” one of them said, and again they all mimicked noises of agreement.
David gave a breathy, if not slightly exasperated laugh, and nodded his head. “Yeah…”
“I’ve only seen that one picture of him, do you have another one? Maybe where he’s not trying to suck your face off?” one of the girls asked, getting nods and excited looks from the other girls as well.
Jenny covered her face with her hands and David thought it must have been a combination of embarrassment at the reality that her best friend was sexually active, but also shame at just how much damage her one picture had done.
David smiled and got out his phone, opening his pictures and showing a few of him and Pierre together with a dreamy sort of smile. He knew the more evidence he provided that he was still dating Pierre, the more people would believe that he wasn’t dating Hunter. But there was also part of him that just enjoyed getting to show off his boyfriend to someone, and to get to talk about him like a normal teenager in a relationship would get to do. Having a gaggle of teenage girls fawning over how cute they were as a couple was something he found he enjoyed more than he thought he would.
This continued to happen, whether a classmate was asking him directly or he was overhearing people gossiping about him and Hunter. In every case, David made sure to butt in and set the record straight, telling people left and right that he wasn’t dating Hunter and that he was still dating “the hockey player”. By the end of the first week of November, he had already lost track of how many people he had told this.
To his absolute irritation, Hunter didn’t seem bothered by the rumors at all. “You’ve gotta stop stressing out over it,” Hunter had told him nonchalantly. “These people aren’t even your friends and they don’t know you. Why do you care so much about what they think?”
“Why don’t you care at all? I’m starting to think you want people to believe it’s true,” David countered, losing control of his patience.
Hunter had leaned forward at the accusation, looking frustrated now. “I just don’t give a shit,” he told David forcefully. “What the fuck do I care if people I don’t even know think I’m dating someone I’m not? I’m not gonna waste my time and energy on something that isn’t real and doesn’t matter.”
David thought he seemed particularly frustrated when he had given this response, and he wondered if the other boy was feeling a little sensitive over the topic; the rumors had started just after their fight when David had told him they couldn’t be friends if Hunter had feelings for him, after all. David had to imagine that the rumors stung a little bit, even if the other boy wouldn’t admit it. After this he had stopped talking to Hunter about it at all, but continued to tell anyone he heard discussing the rumors that it wasn’t true. Maybe Hunter wouldn’t go out of his way to set the record straight, but David certainly would.
David hadn’t told Pierre about the rumors, worrying about how it would upset his boyfriend. There wasn’t a single shred of truth to it, so what was the harm in keeping that from him? He didn’t want to upset him over nothing, over something that wasn’t real and didn’t matter as Hunter had put it. They had so little time to talk anymore, he didn’t want to waste what little time they did have talking about stupid high school drama that wasn’t even based in reality. In this case, he felt it was best to leave it off of his boyfriend’s plate who was already juggling so much.
David had begun studying at the public library each night. At first he had gone for reference material for a big project he was working on, but after a night of working there he found he enjoyed the atmosphere. It was still quiet and he was still able to focus and get his work done, but there were other people around and it helped ease his sense of solitude and loneliness that had been plaguing him at home ever since he had spent so much time there with Pierre and had had to say goodbye to him. One of the nights that he was there, however, Hunter had also come by to check out a book for class and had seen him there studying. In the following weeks he started to show up more and more until he was there almost as much as David was. David was very suspicious that he was only coming with the hopes of seeing him but he didn’t speak the thought out loud and tolerated the other boy’s presence whenever he came to sit with him.
After all, it was nice to not be alone and Hunter had kept to his word and had been acting as a friend to him and nothing more.
“You’re coming to our show tomorrow, right?” Hunter asked in a hushed tone. It was the Friday night before the week of Thanksgiving and the two were sitting across from each other at a table at the library. If there was one thing he could appreciate about how busy he’d been, it was that the month of November had flown by and he would be with Pierre this time next week.
David looked up at Hunter and nodded, giving him a small smile. “What time should I get there?” he whispered back.
“It starts at 8:30. There should be kind of a crowd for how small the venue is, so I would get there at like 8 if you want to be up front.”
“Do you guys usually have a decent crowd?” David asked quietly.
“Pretty good most shows, yeah,” Hunter responded in a whisper. “We have a cult following in town.”
A thought crossed David’s mind and he looked at himself and thought about the clothes he owned. “Am I gonna look out of place?”
Hunter raised an eyebrow and smirked a little at him. “Seriously, you care way too much about what people think of you,” he whispered back. “You’ll be just fine.”
“Okay but I don’t have any like… band tees or anything,” David continued, unable to keep himself from worrying that he would stick out like a sore thumb. “I make most of my clothes and I kind of dress, well…”
“Super gay, yeah,” Hunter teased, earning a smack on the arm from David from across the table they were working at. “Would it make you feel better to borrow a shirt?” he whispered.
David thought about it for a moment, wondering if it would be inappropriate or make Pierre feel uncomfortable, but he ultimately decided it was an innocent enough gesture. “Kind of,” he said, shifting his eyes to the side.
“Okay, meet me there earlier then, like 7:30. You can hang out with us while we’re setting set up,” Hunter told him quietly. Then a smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he added, “It’ll be big on you.”
“Yeah, yeah, me tiny, you big, me girly, you manly, hah hah hah,” David whispered with a roll of his eyes though he smiled all the same.
Hunter seemed pleased at this but didn’t say anything else and the two continued to work on their homework in the silence of the library. Before long they were parting ways and David headed home for the night.
It was with a feeling of sadness that he realized he had missed Pierre’s call while he had been at the library with his phone on silent and he worried now that it was too late to call. He sent a text, apologizing for missing his call and explaining that he had been at the library, but no response ever came and he wondered if Pierre had gotten busy or fell asleep, or even if he was mad at him for one brief, insecure minute. He shook the thought off, telling himself Pierre wouldn’t be so petty, and settled in to watch a movie by himself on the couch. Truthfully, Pierre had been running himself so ragged that he had fallen asleep almost immediately after his hockey game against Penn State that night, which they had won.
David woke up the following morning to the sound of Pierre’s ringtone and he flung himself half out of bed to grab his phone off his night stand, answering the call with fumbling fingers and a hoarse morning voice. “Hello?” he said a little frantically, his torso hanging over the edge of his bed with an arm steadying himself on his night stand.
Pierre laughed at the sound, able to picture David’s sleepy morning face and messy black hair too easily. “Good morning, gorgeous,” he said softly. “I can tell I woke you up, do you want me to call you back later?”
“No!” David told him quickly as he pushed himself back into bed but sat up to help his brain wake up. “I’m so sorry I didn’t answer yesterday when you called,” he continued, sounding entirely too worried but he couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that was plaguing him; he had never missed one of Pierre’s calls before.
Pierre laughed again lightly. “It’s okay, David, it’s not like you committed some heinous crime,” Pierre told him as he began digging through his dresser drawer for a clean shirt for his morning run.
“I was a little worried when you didn’t text me back but I kinda figured you got busy or maybe fell asleep or something…” he continued, sounding a little nervous and leaving out the short lived thought he had about the possibility of Pierre being mad at him.
“I did fall asleep, actually,” Pierre confirmed, before setting his phone down to pull his shirt over his head and picking it back up to hold against his ear with his shoulder while he began the search for a pair of athletic joggers. “I was super wiped out after the Penn State game.
“The game!” David exclaimed, suddenly remembering and feeling even worse for not watching it. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot. I was working at the library pretty late last night.”
“David, it’s really okay,” Pierre told him as he extracted a pair of black joggers from his drawer. “I don’t expect you to be glued to your TV watching every game I play. There’s kind of a lot of them and you have to focus on school.” He set his phone back on the top of his dresser and put it on speaker phone so he could pull on the athletic pants.
“I know, but I still like watching you play,” David said, unable to keep himself from feeling guilty. “How’d it go?”
“It was tough,” Pierre said, now searching for a pair of socks that matched. Oh how he missed the days of his laundry being done for him when all of his socks magically showed up in his drawer clean, matched, and folded. Now he was too busy and the task just fell to the side, and instead he had a drawer stuffed full of loose socks. He told himself the next time he went to a store that sold socks that he was going to get all new socks that were all exactly the same so he wouldn’t ever have to worry about it again. “We won though,” he added as he pulled out two random socks that were close enough to a match. He moved to his desk chair and sat down, beginning to pull them on.
“That’s good,” David replied with a smile.
Pierre put his feet back on the ground and smiled a little, able to hear his boyfriend’s smile in his voice. “Hey, I’m headed out for a run so I’ve gotta go, but I saw your text from last night and wanted to call you really quick. Can I call you tonight after the game?”
“Yeah,” David said out of habit, but then the show he was going to that night popped back into his head and he hesitated. “Oh, actually, I have that show tonight for Hunter’s band,” he said, sounding uncomfortable at the way that it felt like he was choosing Hunter over Pierre. “It doesn’t start until 8:30 and there are two more bands after. Hunter said if I end up staying for the whole show it won’t be over until like 11:15 or 11:30. Is that gonna be too late? I know you have another game tonight…”
Pierre felt disappointment and jealousy building up inside of him but he refused to let it show, able to hear the guilt in his boyfriend’s voice. “How about this, you call me when you’re home and if I’m awake we’ll talk, and if not that’s totally fine and we can talk tomorrow morning,” Pierre suggested, doing his best to sound like he wasn’t disappointed.
“Okay,” David said. His guilt continued to pick at him and he added, “I probably won’t stay the whole time.”
“David, don’t feel bad, okay? Just go and have fun. You don’t get to do enough fun stuff. Go be a teenager for a little while. If you want to stay the whole show, stay the whole show! It’s not like you do this stuff all the time,” Pierre told him, meaning it though he wished more than anything that Hunter wouldn’t be involved in this night at all.
“Yeah, okay…” David said, still feeling guilty despite Pierre’s words.
Pierre gave a soft sigh and smiled as he moved to the door and grabbed his zip-up running jacket. “You worry too much, do you know that?” he asked, his voice brimming with endearment.
David had almost continuously heard those words from Hunter and he huffed a little in response. “I’ve heard that once or twice,” he admitted a little stubbornly.
Pierre smiled wider at the response and pulled his jacket on, using his shoulder again to keep the phone against his face as he pulled up the zipper. “I love you,” he said, emphasizing the words to force them into David’s head. “Have fun tonight, and call me when you get home even if it’s past midnight. I can’t guarantee I’ll be awake but if I am, I want to hear from you.”
David smiled at this and leaned back into his pillow. “Okay. I love you too,” he replied, his voice soft.
“Okay, bye,” Pierre finished gently. He waited to hear David repeat the word and when he did, he hung up the phone, plugged in a pair of earbuds, started his upbeat running mix, and headed out the door.
David laid back in his bed and closed his eyes, allowing the warm feelings he got from talking to his boyfriend to lull him back to sleep for a few hours.
Later that night David found himself walking up to the small music hall that the show was taking place at. He looked up at the board above the entrance, seeing the name Shattered Silence and smiling a little. He hadn’t heard Hunter’s music yet and wondered what it would be like, though he had to imagine it was going to be a little heavier than the Green Day and Good Charlotte that he usually listened to. As he started to head toward the front door, he heard his name from behind him and turned, seeing Hunter and Ezra peeking at him from around the side of the building and waving him down.
David smiled and jogged over to them. “Hey,” he said with a friendly smile.
“Hey, follow us around this way, we’re unloading in the back,” Hunter said, inclining his head toward the back of the building. David nodded and followed after them, seeing a beat up old van stuffed with instruments and gear with Noah and Ben crawling in and out of the back.
“Can I help?” David asked as they approached.
“Yeah if you want to,” Hunter told him, before climbing into the back of the van and grabbing a guitar case. He passed it out to David and nodded in the direction that Noah and Ben were disappearing. “Just follow after them, they’ll tell you where to set stuff.”
David nodded again and grabbed the guitar case, following quickly after the other two boys to not lose track of them. He continued back and forth for ten minutes, grabbing guitars and cables and amps and setting them down on the stage in the general area they would need to be as directed. Once the van was completely empty, the rest of the guys headed inside to begin setting up for their set and David hung back at the van, waiting for Hunter who was grabbing something out of the front seat. When he walked back to David, it was with a black shirt in his hand and he handed it over with a smirk on his face.
“So you’re fashionable enough for your liking,” Hunter teased gently.
“Oh very funny,” David quipped, but smiled and took the shirt to look at it. He smiled at the fact that it was a Pierce the Veil shirt and looked back at Hunter, who gave a crooked smirk.
“Since you said we look like them,” Hunter said and David rolled his eyes at him. Now that he knew them better, he didn’t think they looked like Pierce the Veil at all, but in that first moment seeing the four of them walking up to him at the football game the previous month, it was the distinct impression they had left.
David glanced around, seeing no one was around, and started to pull off his shirt, though he stopped suddenly and blushed up at Hunter, staring at him expectantly.
“What?” Hunter asked, oblivious for a second. At David’s continued stare, he seemed to understand and he rolled his eyes and threw his hands up a little but turned around and even threw both hands over his eyes in an over dramatic fashion.
David couldn’t help but smile a little at that and quickly switched shirts, surprised that it wasn’t as big on him as he had expected, though he reminded himself that even though Hunter was tall and his shoulders had gotten significantly broader, he was still slim and he wore his shirts fairly tight. “Okay, how do I look?” he asked, taking a step back and holding his arms out for demonstration.
Hunter dropped his hands and turned around, smiling down at David as he looked him over. Everything else about how David dressed from his black skinny jeans to his black vans fit the style well. “Honestly, it looks totally natural on you,” Hunter told him. “Now we just gotta get some little baby plugs in there,” he said, pinching gently onto David’s earlobe for a short second. “And maybe a lip ring or something and you’d blend right in.”
David snorted at the idea and shook his head. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think I’m gonna do that,” he said.
Hunter grabbed David’s own shirt from his hands and tossed in the back of the van before closing the doors and locking up. “Hey, maybe Pierre would like a darker you,” he said. David noticed the nonchalant way he had spoken that sentence and felt a little surprised, though he did his best to keep his face neutral, not wanting to ruin the fact that they were actually interacting like friends.
David simply laughed and shook his head again, giving a quiet, “I don’t know about that. He’s not exactly the dark and broody type.”
Hunter shrugged and began to head back into the building through the back entrance, David following quickly after. David stood on the floor near the front of the stage and watched with fascination as the guys set up their instruments and gear. This was his first time going to a show of any kind in his entire life. Having never been particularly musical himself (aside from enjoying listening to and singing with music), he didn’t realize all that went into getting things running. There were amps and cables and boxes with tons of plug in spots, there was tape to keep them from tripping over things or pulling cables out; it was fascinating to see it all set up.
Once everything was assembled and the guys began testing their instruments and microphones, David felt himself getting the strangest fluttering sensation in his stomach. Ben tapped the foot pedal on his drums a few times, sending a loud boom through the air that David felt reverberate through his body in the most pleasant way and that sense of excitement only grew. Hunter and Ezra had electric guitars slung across their bodies and were strumming and tuning, looking down at something on the ground as they did that David assumed must have been some sort of tuning devices. Then Hunter tapped his foot on a pedal on the ground and strummed again on his guitar, changing the noise to be distorted and hard in a way that sent buzzing waves coursing through David’s chest and his eyes widened a little. He had never felt feelings like this and he couldn’t help the way his eyes were alight with excitement and his smile was wide.
Noah plucked on his bass guitar, sending deep booming notes through different parts of David’s body, and again he felt almost overwhelmed at the sensation. If this was what it was like hearing them making random notes out of sync, what was it going to be like hearing them playing all together in harmony? Suddenly David wondered why he had spent so much of his life hiding by himself in his house and why he had never tried to go to any kind of concert before, despite how much he loved music. Pierre’s insistence that he get out and live his life was something that he suddenly found himself even more grateful for.
Hunter leaned forward into his mic, his deep voice booming and bouncing around the room as he said, “Check, check… check.” He looked over to Noah who was standing at the big board on top of the amp and pointed his thumb up; David watched as Noah began to twist a knob in response. “Check, check,” Hunter said again, before giving a nod and taking a step back. Ezra did the same and within a few more minutes they were setting their guitars on their stands and jumping off the stage. Hunter smiled at the obvious excitement on David’s face and his eyebrows pulled together a little as he said, “You seem excited.”
“I’ve never actually heard live music before,” David told him, then without being able to stop himself he put his hand on his chest and added, “I didn’t know it’d be so…” Not knowing how to describe what he was feeling he patted on his chest a few times in a slow, exaggerated way and let his hands shake a little, trying to mimic the way the vibrations reverberated through him.
Hunter’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at him and he said, “You’ve never gone to a concert or a show? Like, ever?” David shook his head in response, earning several quick blinks from Hunter. “What have you been doing your whole life?”
“Hiding,” David answered truthfully, though immediately after he blushed a little and wished he hadn’t said that at all.
Hunter stared down at him, looking as if he wanted to say something though he didn’t. A few seconds later Ezra jumped down from the stage next to him and wrestled him into a headlock. David laughed and backed away from them, not wanting to get tangled up in their roughhousing, and simply enjoyed watching them fight like brothers.
Noah hopped down and stood next to David, taking in his appearance for the first time and smiling. “Look at you looking like a little baby emo,” he joked, tugging at David’s shirt.
David blushed a little, feeling kind of silly and worried that somehow people would realize he was an imposter, though he did feel good that Hunter had picked a shirt for him of a band that he actually knew and would be able to talk about should any random person try to talk to him about their music. “I guess you guys are rubbing off on me after all,” he joked.
“We could give you some piercings next,” Noah suggested.
“I said the same thing!” Hunter called, now sitting on Ezra’s chest with his wrists pinned down.
David laughed and shook his head, though the position the two boys were in brought a joke to his mind and without thinking he said, “Careful Ezra, I think Hunter’s trying to top you.” This brought out immediate shocked laughter from the guys around him and Ezra began to struggle more against Hunter, his legs flailing wildly in an attempt to get the other boy off.
“No way!” Ezra grunted. “The only person he wants to top is yo-”
Suddenly Hunter punched Ezra in the side, and not in a playful kind of way, yelling, “Shut the fuck up!” It was like a block of ice had been dropped into a pan of boiling water and suddenly everything was still around them. David stood frozen, unsure of what to do or say, wishing that for once Ezra could keep his very honest thoughts inside of his head instead of just letting them fall out of his mouth without a second thought.
Hunter pushed himself off the ground and stormed off, disappearing down a hall toward the bathroom. Ezra scrambled up after him, grabbing at his side but not letting any pain he felt stop him from running after his friend. Ben and Noah muttered something about checking the van and wandered outside, leaving David standing alone in the wake of what had just happened.
He looked in the direction Hunter and Ezra had gone and felt compelled to follow them, though he wasn’t sure what he would do or stay. He felt like it was his fault for making that stupid joke to begin with and wished he’d just kept his mouth shut. He followed after them, though as he was about to round the corner down the hall he heard something that stopped him dead in his tracks.
“-love with him,” he heard Ezra’s voice say in a hushed tone.
David took a step back and stood just out of view, his eyes wide and his body rigid.
“It doesn’t matter, he has a boyfriend!” Hunter replied, his voice angry but keeping himself quiet.
“You guys make way more sense together,” Ezra argued.
“Even if that’s true, it still doesn't matter because he’s with someone else,” Hunter argued, his voice raising a little.
“But you two-”
“Ezra, stop!” Hunter yelled suddenly and silence followed for a long moment after. He heard Hunter growl in frustration before giving a big sigh. “Just stop. You’re gonna make him uncomfortable and he’s not gonna be my friend anymore. Please, for me, just stop.”
David backed away slowly, feeling he had heard way more than he should have and not wanting to get caught listening. He walked quickly back to the front of the stage and stood there, staring at the floor and trying to calm himself down. He started to hear noise behind him and turned, seeing that the front doors stood open and people were beginning to come in. He turned back toward the stage and tried to push his emotions back down inside of himself, not wanting to look shaken as people started to stand around him in groups, having their own conversations and chattering in anticipation. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Would Hunter and the guys come out and just act like nothing had happened? He hoped for that outcome more than anything in that moment.
“David?” he heard a girl’s voice say and he turned, confusion on his features. He noticed a girl from his old school who was looking at him with curiosity, as if she wasn’t sure it was him. Then recognition lit up her face and she nodded, saying, “It is you! I haven’t seen you in forever, where did you go?”
David did nothing but stare at her for a second, stunned that someone he had previously gone to school with was talking to him now. “I uh… I transferred schools,” he said, sounding apprehensive as he spoke to her. “All the drama, you know. I didn’t want to deal with it.”
She nodded and turned, calling to someone behind her and saying, “Hey! It’s David!”
Again, David found himself stunned at her reaction to seeing him. He suddenly found himself wondering if he had been part of the reason he had never made friends at his old school, either. Had he really sent a message that he wanted to be left alone? Had that been part of why no one had ever talked to him?
“Are you and Pierre still dating?” the girl asked, surprising him further.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, feeling a little shy as her friends joined around him.
“What’s he been up to?”
“He’s going to college in Anchorage, playing hockey for the University of Alaska,” David responded, feeling as if he was having an out of body experience.
“That’s cool! Do you get to see each other often?”
“I’m gonna go see him next week, but this is the first time since he left in August.”
“Man, that must be really hard,” she said, and David just nodded.
He noticed suddenly that she was wearing a shirt that said Shattered Silence and smiled a little. What a small town they lived in. “You like them, huh?” he asked, pointing to her shirt.
“I’m obsessed, honestly,” she said, glowing a little. “Their lead singer is so fucking hot.”
David laughed and nodded, telling her, “I’m friends with them, they go to my school.”
“No way!” She began to go off about their album and how she’d seen them for the first time at a show over a year ago and had fallen immediately in love with them. David listened with a smile, feeling that surreal, out of body experience again as he did. Nothing could have made him anticipate something like this happening but he flowed along with it, enjoying the light and energetic conversation with his former classmate and her friends, who were also kids he recognized from his old school but had never talked to before. Soon Hunter and the rest of the guys were walking on the stage and picking up their instruments, doing their final tune and microphone checks.
Hunter’s eyes flashed to David and he looked at him with a gentle but serious look on his face. Then he mouthed the word, ”Sorry,” and David shook his head, offering a sad but kind smile in return. The lights went down and the stage lights came up, and without any warning Ben tapped his drum sticks together four times and as one they began to play.
David’s eyes widened a bit at the sound. If he had thought the vibrations of the tests earlier had sent odd sensations through his body, it was nothing compared to the four of them actually playing, the notes continuous, the guitars heavy and loud. The sound was dark and hard in a way David hadn’t expected, feeling a little more akin to metal than the music he usually listened to, though the guitar arrangement still felt dramatic and emo. Then Hunter leaned up to the microphone, opened his mouth, and began to scream.
David’s eyes opened further and he felt his heart squeeze and his breath catch in his chest. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. He didn’t even know Hunter could make a sound like that. For the first several minutes he stood completely still, allowing the intense vibrating sensations to course through him. As the song shifted into the chorus, Hunter began to sing and he locked eyes with David who was still standing, looking entirely stunned. Hunter’s lips turned upward into a crooked grin and he continued to stare at David for several seconds as he sang, clearly enjoying the effect he was having.
Then he was screaming again and David felt shock wash over him all over again. His mind wasn’t processing the feelings that were coursing through his body and he was left unaware of himself and everything around him. The music was fast, the guitars were wild, the double-kicks of the drums pounded through his chest faster than he had ever heard drums go, and often Ezra would lean up to his own microphone and scream with Hunter, or sing a higher harmony. There was something about the way Hunter’s eyes closed tight and his mouth opened wide as he screamed or sang with all of his heart that captivated David and he couldn’t manage to tear his eyes off of the other boy. Perhaps it was because he had never seen him pour such passion before and it was mesmerizing.
By the time the first song ended David realized that he had spent the whole time standing completely still and not taking his eyes off of Hunter. He was glad when Ezra began to strum idly on his guitar and Hunter began to look around the room and speak, feeling as if it brought him back to his own body and made him aware of himself and his surroundings again. He let out a shaky breath and moved his hand to his chest, feeling like his heart was going to explode out of him at what he had just experienced.
“What’s up everybody, how’s everyone doing tonight?” Hunter’s deep voice boomed through the speakers and the crowd around him began to yell and scream in response. David looked around, noticing for the first time that the room had filled and bodies were close together toward the front of the room. How had he not noticed all of the people around him? He looked back up at Hunter, seeing the arrogant grin on his face as he looked at the crowd in front of him, clearly enjoying the love they were getting. David could understand why.
“We’re Shattered Silence and that was one of our new songs,” he continued, earning more whoops and hollers from the room. David could hear his former classmate screaming her head off and looked over at her, surprised a little at the shrill sound.
“I love you!” she screamed.
Hunter looked down at her and winked, flashing her a charming smile as he said, “I love you, too.”
A wide smile spread across David’s face at that and he felt the sudden sensation to laugh bubble up in him.
Hunter and Ezra bantered on stage for a few seconds before they introduced their next song and began to play again. This time David felt like he was watching from inside his body and was able to move, his head bobbing along with the beat, verging on headbanging though he had never once done anything like that before, but he couldn’t stop the way he was physically reacting. By the time they were finishing their third song, he felt completely lost in the music and was yelling and whooping along with the crowd whenever they started up again. Hunter kept looking back at David and smiling, looking truly pleased at how much David was obviously enjoying their show.
“We’re gonna play a cover of a song one or two of you might’ve heard of before,” Hunter spoke into his microphone. “Something by a little indie band maybe you’ve heard of called… Pierce the Veil.” As he said it, he very purposefully made eye contact with David with a self-satisfied grin, who rolled his eyes and smiled wide up at the other boy as the crowd around him yelled in approval. “Sing along if you’ve heard it, this is King For A Day,” and as he spoke the guitars started and the crowd went wild.
Suddenly David felt bodies pushing against him, causing him to sway forward outside of his control like being forced forward in the ocean by a wave. Voices around him in the crowd screamed the words with Hunter and the energy around him became more electric than he had ever experienced. Then, without realizing what had happened, David felt a hard push on his back and he stumbled forward several feet, his hands falling against the stage and stopping him, which was chin height for him. He took a step backward and looked around, confused, but before he could make sense of anything a body crashed into him and he stumbled sideways, then another body, and another set of hands, and for a moment he was completely unable to regain his stance or balance.
David became aware that a mosh pit had formed around him and he looked around with big eyes, trying to back out of it but getting hit again from behind and pushed into the middle of it. He glanced up at Hunter who had just looked over to the mosh pit with a look of excitement on his face. The second his eyes caught David and he registered that he was standing very unprepared in the middle of it and getting shoved and body checked around, his face fell and he looked immediately serious. He pulled his face from the microphone and called over to someone off the stage, his voice completely drowned out by the music around them. Ezra’s voice took over screaming, loud through the speakers but distinctly different than Hunter’s.
Then, without knowing what happened, something took over David’s body and he felt a swell of the strangest mixture of aggression and excitement. Without being aware of it, he used both hands and shoved away a body that came flying at him, laughing a little at himself when he saw what he had just done. Someone else came bouncing toward him and without thinking, he launched his body back at them, drawing in his shoulder and using his weight to shove the guy away from him. And then like his body was somehow just aware of what to do, David was fully moshing, bouncing around the pit, crashing his body off of other guys, shoving and grinning and letting the aggressive excitement of the music crash through him and drive him on.
When Hunter looked back at the mosh pit to try to find David, he was stunned to see him fully taking part with a huge grin on his face. He leaned over to Ezra who was singing now, and nudged him with his elbow, before nodding his head over to David and giving him a look of wonder. Then he moved back to the mic and took over to sing the chorus, which caused the movement on the floor to stop as all bodies turned to face the front and sing with him.
David turned with the crowd, looking up at Hunter, singing with everything inside of him. Though he didn’t listen to much of this band, this song was big enough that he knew the chorus and could sing every word. It was his favorite of any of this band’s music.
“You told me ‘think about it’, well I did! Now I don't wanna feel a thing anymore! I'm tired of begging for the things that I want! I'm over sleeping like a dog on the floor!” Hunter’s eyes were locked onto David’s the whole time he sang, David singing back with him as loud as his body would allow.
Then the next verse started and Hunter began to scream again, and all over the mosh pit started. Again David let the violent music move through him and take over his body and he was jumping and shoving and crashing off of other bodies, not feeling any pain, registering nothing but adrenaline and joy. He felt alive in a way he never had before and it was exhilarating.
Each time the chorus started the crowd would turn toward the front and sing, and each time Hunter’s eyes found David’s and locked onto him, and each time the screaming would start again the mosh pit would break out, getting bigger each time it happened. By the time the song had ended David was drenched in sweat and breathing hard, though he raised his fist in the air and screamed with the crowd, completely lost to the music and the adrenaline that was coursing through him, not feeling self aware or self conscious of himself in the slightest. From that moment he felt like he couldn’t be still and he let his body move however it wanted to. Several times during the rest of their set the mosh pit would break out again and David always managed to find himself in it, loving something so deeply that he never in a million years would have thought that he would love.
At one point during their set the girl David had spoken to previously climbed up on stage and ran up to sing with Hunter, who grinned and took a step back to let her take over. David was floored at the way she screamed the band’s lyrics, having never seen or heard a girl make those noises before. After several verses she turned to Hunter and grabbed him by the face, planting a long, firm kiss on his lips. David laughed at the sight and even screamed with the crowd at the way Hunter grabbed her and kissed her back, loving the spectacle of it and knowing it was going to make that girl’s entire year. When she pulled away she gave him a wink and then turned to jump off the stage, landing with her body splayed out flat into a sea of hands that had been waiting to catch her. Hunter’s eyes immediately found David and for a second David thought he looked nervous, but David just raised his eyebrows and smiled a knowing smile, nodding his head slowly in approval. He really thought Hunter pulled off the rockstar bit well.
Finally their set ended and the lights came back on, and David became suddenly aware of how hot he was. He breathed heavily, looking around at the faces around him, noticing that everyone seemed to have felt the same things and shared the same experience as him. There was something connecting in it and he suddenly found himself wanting more.
“David!” he heard Hunter’s voice behind him and he turned back to the stage, watching as Hunter tossed him a bottle of water and gave him a nod and a smirk. David felt grateful that it was ice cold and he wasted no time in opening and draining it, suddenly feeling more thirsty than he could ever remember feeling before in his life. He breathed hard as he finished the water and looked back up, but Hunter had already turned around and was quickly disassembling their gear and moving things off of the stage. David wondered if he should offer to help them again but worried that he would be in the way with his inexperience; they only had a few minutes to tear everything down so the next band would have time to put their own equipment together.
By the time the next band had gotten their instruments and equipment set up and had started to play their first song, Hunter and the rest of the guys were coming up to David. A look of pure excitement was on Hunter’s face and he grabbed onto David’s upper arms, shaking him a little as he yelled over the music, “You were in the mosh pit!”
David grabbed onto Hunter’s shirt at his sides and shook him back, grinning from ear to ear as he yelled, “I know!”
“You looked like you were panicking at first but then the next time I looked over you were fucking in it!” Hunter continued, his grip on David’s arms strong.
“I don’t know what happened, it’s like something just took over my body and I was doing it!” David exclaimed back.
Hunter stared at David, holding his arms for a moment longer and looking like he wanted to do or say something else, but soon he had dropped his hands and took a step backward and turned to look up at the band on the stage. David did the same and before he knew it, it was happening all over again, only this time when the mosh pit formed Hunter’s considerably larger body was also in it, along with the rest of the guys. Still, David felt himself consumed by the music and enjoyed every second of it, having more fun now that his friends were there with him.
By the end of the third band’s set, David was sweatier than he could ever remember being, adrenaline rushing through him and making it so he didn’t feel the cold of the air around him as they stepped outside. Slowly he started to feel sore and tired and he had a feeling he was going to crash hard that night when he got home, but he was too excited to care and felt like he was floating on clouds. Ezra, Noah, and Ben got themselves settled in the van but Hunter told them he’d be back in a minute, wanting to walk David out to his car since he was alone.
David was buzzing, bouncing on his feet, excitedly going on about the show and the different bands and about how much fun he had. When they got to his car he turned to Hunter and grinned, that feeling of being the most alive he’d ever been running through his veins. “I’m so glad you told me to come,” he said earnestly.
“I’m glad you had so much fun,” Hunter told him, sounding much calmer than David did.
David looked down at the shirt he was wearing which was soaked with sweat and he looked back up to Hunter with a smile saying, “I’ll wash this before I give it back to you.”
Hunter laughed and shook his head, saying, “Keep it, I shrunk it in the wash so it’s a little too tight on me anyway. Besides, it seems like you’re a fan.”
“Apparently,” David responded, and he felt the strangest compulsion to put on their music in the car, and to listen to more music like it even though it had never really been his thing before. “I want one of your CDs,” he said suddenly.
Hunter smiled wider at this and nodded, saying, “I think I can make that happen.” He continued to stare down at David for a few more seconds, again looking like he wanted to do or say something else, but he began to back away and gave a quiet, “I’ll see ya.”
David nodded and grinned, giving back an excited, “See you later!” Then he got in his car and headed home, feeling like every part of him was electrified, though the soreness in his body had started to set in more now. By the time he was home it was 11:45 and he worried that Pierre would be asleep, but he did as Pierre had requested and called him, sitting on the edge of his bed despite his sweaty shirt and the fact that he desperately needed to go take a shower.
When Pierre answered, excitement crashed through him and he practically screamed Pierre’s name, bouncing off of his bed and beginning to pace in his room. “Pierre!”
Pierre’s eyes widened and he laughed a little, taken aback by the energy that had just poured through the phone at him. “I take it you had fun?” he asked. He was glad he had managed to stay awake and that Jay was out at a party so he wouldn’t disturb his sleep.
“I was in the mosh pit!” David yelled, unable to control his thoughts to make them more collected.
“You what?!” Pierre asked in shock, sitting forward on his bed in his complete surprise.
“Yeah! The music was crazy and everything was electric and I just started going!” David said excitedly, his voice loud and bursting with energy.
Pierre blinked fast and a smile spread across his face; he’d never heard David sound like this before. “I can’t believe you did that,” he said, sounding truly stunned and amused.
“I know! It was so much fun!” David continued, and suddenly he was babbling outside of his control, pacing and bouncing around his room, his words coming out fast and excited. He told Pierre all about the three bands and about how much fun he had, and about how alive he felt, wanting to share every second of all of the feelings he had experienced with him.
After ten minutes of excited chattering, Pierre was laughing and telling him, “I’m glad you had fun. Aren’t you glad you didn’t sit around your house watching me play hockey on TV?”
That set David off again and it took several more minutes for him to calm himself down enough to think to ask about the game.
“It was good, we won again,” Pierre explained.
“That’s awesome!” David exclaimed with more excitement than he had ever displayed about hockey toward him before.
Pierre laughed, truly amused by how jacked up his boyfriend was, and suddenly wishing he could have been there with him. After another ten minutes he managed to calm down David enough that they were able to exchange I love you’s and say goodnight, and soon David had crashed on his bed and fallen asleep on top of the covers, exhaustion finally overtaking the adrenaline. There was one thing that was for certain: David was definitely a fan of live music and would absolutely be seeking it out again in the future. It would be something that he would come to feel he couldn’t live without, and he wondered why it had taken so long to let himself experience it.
Author: shmorgenheigen
Chapter: Twelve
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Pierre/David
Word Count: 9711
Summary: The continuation of the story Behind the Net, picking up right where the original story left off. David and Pierre explore their new relationship while navigating a long distance relationship. While Pierre is in Anchorage in his first year of college and playing college hockey, David is stuck back in Juneau to finish his senior year of high school. When an unlikely person from David’s past shows up and forces their way back into David’s life, things take a turn for the dramatic. Will David and Pierre be able to maintain their love for each other while separated and stave off those pesky feelings of loneliness, jealousy, and depression?
Disclaimer: Don't know, don't own, didn't happen!
Author's Note: When I started to re-write Behind the Net from Pierre’s perspective, I started to think about how much story there would be to tell when Pierre went off to college, leaving David alone in Juneau. I became obsessed with the idea of writing the next chapter in their story and now that it’s finished, I am absolutely in love with how it turned out and the original characters I added into the story! If anyone reads this, leave me a comment and let me know!
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
November saw Pierre and David busier than they had been thus far, and they were getting less time each day to talk to each other on the phone. Pierre’s hockey season was in full swing and of the eight games his team had played so far, they had won five, tied one, and lost two. The losses had felt devastating when they happened but the senior players on the team didn’t seem disheartened and gave him affectionate pats on the back, telling him it was part of the game and he would have to accept that they would lose sometimes. Though it was natural for him to try to take personal responsibility for their losses and one tie, his teammates had reminded him that a loss doesn’t come down to just one player and that he shouldn’t beat himself up over it. He was glad for his teammates’ support and had managed to get himself to a place where he felt okay about it, though still disappointed.
He felt he had gotten to know his teammates a lot better, too, and had started to reveal more parts of himself to them. One guy in particular, a junior named Derek, had asked Pierre again about Olivia and if they were going to start dating as she came to every one of their home games, and he had decided to take the leap and tell him about David. Though it wasn’t the whole team, he knew he had to start somewhere. The potential of alienating his hockey team felt significantly more daunting than it did with random classmates and he had felt truly terrified when telling Derek that he had a boyfriend. Derek had seemed truly shocked by the news but had handled it well, if not a little awkwardly.
“It’s not gonna be easy on you being an athlete in a relationship with another man, but nothing that’s worth it is ever easy,” Derek had told him. “Just keep your head up and don’t engage if it gets out and there’s a media frenzy. All you gotta do is ignore it and live your life. It’s less likely to happen when you’re in college but if you go pro, there’s a good chance something’s gonna pop up at some point and you’re gonna have to just let it roll off your back.”
Pierre had been grateful for Derek’s words and held them close to himself for more than one reason. While Derek had been specifically referring to being in a homosexual relationship, Pierre felt it also applied to how difficult this year away from David had already been, and how much more difficult it was going to get before it was over and they could be together daily again. With each passing day that got busier, he had a hard time feeling like David wasn’t slipping between his fingers and that eventually there might not be anything left to grab, but he had to remind himself that they were both working their hardest to make sure they would be able to live together and that everything they were doing was with that goal in mind. Even if it meant they only got to talk on the phone for ten minutes, or even five, it would be worth it at the end of their nine months apart when they would get to begin their lives as adults together.
Things for David had also become busier and he found himself spending more time studying and doing homework than ever before, plus he continued to practice designing and sewing clothes which was eating up all the rest of his time. He had really leaned into making prom dresses, finding that he was obsessed with gowns and how they flowed. He loved the variety of styles and materials, and was constantly egged on by Hunter’s little sister Hailey who had begun coming to him directly in the cafeteria. This was something that he hadn’t expected, and Hunter seemed annoyed at his sister trying to hang out with them during lunch but as David enjoyed her company and found her pleasant, Hunter behaved and didn’t make too much of an angsty fuss about it.
David had also started offering his sewing services to the theater department, something that he realized could help get him extra experience and also fill out his resume a little bit more. They had been all too happy to accept the help, and sometimes David found himself eating lunch with Jenny and her friends again, something which he found a little bit easier each time he did so. Ever since Hunter had pointed it out to him the month previously, he had become aware of the way he had shut himself off from those around him and made it difficult to make new connections. He actively worked against it now, and though there were still plenty of people who did nothing but stare and talk about him, he was finding himself able to have casual conversations with more and more people.
Then there was the issue of rumors. Hunter - and sometimes his whole group of friends - had started hanging around David at lunch every day that he was in the cafeteria, and word of what was being called a ‘lovers fight’ at the college fair had made its way around the school. It had even gotten to the theater department, something which David had discovered one day when he was eating lunch with them after having gone over some costumes for an upcoming play he would be making.
One of the girls that Jenny had become close to had leaned toward him one day with a look on her face like the gossip she was about to discuss was the juiciest she’d ever heard.
“You’re dating Hunter Jackson right?” she had asked him, stunning him silent. “He’s so hot.”
The other girls around them all made squeals and giggles of agreement. “I know he’s super emo and all, but he really makes it look good,” another girl had chimed in excitedly.
“Right! There’s something about those tight pants. He’s so dark,” a third girl went on, and again they all giggled between each other.
The look on Jenny’s face matched exactly what David was feeling inside and he got a hold of himself, shaking his head quickly. “No, where did you hear that?” he asked, his brow furrowed with concern.
The girls all stopped their chattering and looked surprised and even a little embarrassed. “Everyone’s saying it, I’ve heard it from like, at least five different people,” the first girl who had spoken told him. There were nods and words of agreement from the other girls around them.
David wanted to dig a hole and bury himself in it but he knew he had to work to set the rumors straight. “Well no, we’re just friends,” he said, but then realizing this wouldn’t be enough to quell the rumors and might just sound like he was trying to cover up their relationship, he added, “I’m still dating the hockey player.”
He hated having to call Pierre this but he knew that it would work; everyone in the school knew who Pierre was by that title from the photo of the two that had made its way around the prior February. And just as he had figured would happen, recognition dawned on all the girls’ faces and soon they were smiling and nodding and giggling again. “Okay, well he’s super hot too,” one of them said, and again they all mimicked noises of agreement.
David gave a breathy, if not slightly exasperated laugh, and nodded his head. “Yeah…”
“I’ve only seen that one picture of him, do you have another one? Maybe where he’s not trying to suck your face off?” one of the girls asked, getting nods and excited looks from the other girls as well.
Jenny covered her face with her hands and David thought it must have been a combination of embarrassment at the reality that her best friend was sexually active, but also shame at just how much damage her one picture had done.
David smiled and got out his phone, opening his pictures and showing a few of him and Pierre together with a dreamy sort of smile. He knew the more evidence he provided that he was still dating Pierre, the more people would believe that he wasn’t dating Hunter. But there was also part of him that just enjoyed getting to show off his boyfriend to someone, and to get to talk about him like a normal teenager in a relationship would get to do. Having a gaggle of teenage girls fawning over how cute they were as a couple was something he found he enjoyed more than he thought he would.
This continued to happen, whether a classmate was asking him directly or he was overhearing people gossiping about him and Hunter. In every case, David made sure to butt in and set the record straight, telling people left and right that he wasn’t dating Hunter and that he was still dating “the hockey player”. By the end of the first week of November, he had already lost track of how many people he had told this.
To his absolute irritation, Hunter didn’t seem bothered by the rumors at all. “You’ve gotta stop stressing out over it,” Hunter had told him nonchalantly. “These people aren’t even your friends and they don’t know you. Why do you care so much about what they think?”
“Why don’t you care at all? I’m starting to think you want people to believe it’s true,” David countered, losing control of his patience.
Hunter had leaned forward at the accusation, looking frustrated now. “I just don’t give a shit,” he told David forcefully. “What the fuck do I care if people I don’t even know think I’m dating someone I’m not? I’m not gonna waste my time and energy on something that isn’t real and doesn’t matter.”
David thought he seemed particularly frustrated when he had given this response, and he wondered if the other boy was feeling a little sensitive over the topic; the rumors had started just after their fight when David had told him they couldn’t be friends if Hunter had feelings for him, after all. David had to imagine that the rumors stung a little bit, even if the other boy wouldn’t admit it. After this he had stopped talking to Hunter about it at all, but continued to tell anyone he heard discussing the rumors that it wasn’t true. Maybe Hunter wouldn’t go out of his way to set the record straight, but David certainly would.
David hadn’t told Pierre about the rumors, worrying about how it would upset his boyfriend. There wasn’t a single shred of truth to it, so what was the harm in keeping that from him? He didn’t want to upset him over nothing, over something that wasn’t real and didn’t matter as Hunter had put it. They had so little time to talk anymore, he didn’t want to waste what little time they did have talking about stupid high school drama that wasn’t even based in reality. In this case, he felt it was best to leave it off of his boyfriend’s plate who was already juggling so much.
David had begun studying at the public library each night. At first he had gone for reference material for a big project he was working on, but after a night of working there he found he enjoyed the atmosphere. It was still quiet and he was still able to focus and get his work done, but there were other people around and it helped ease his sense of solitude and loneliness that had been plaguing him at home ever since he had spent so much time there with Pierre and had had to say goodbye to him. One of the nights that he was there, however, Hunter had also come by to check out a book for class and had seen him there studying. In the following weeks he started to show up more and more until he was there almost as much as David was. David was very suspicious that he was only coming with the hopes of seeing him but he didn’t speak the thought out loud and tolerated the other boy’s presence whenever he came to sit with him.
After all, it was nice to not be alone and Hunter had kept to his word and had been acting as a friend to him and nothing more.
“You’re coming to our show tomorrow, right?” Hunter asked in a hushed tone. It was the Friday night before the week of Thanksgiving and the two were sitting across from each other at a table at the library. If there was one thing he could appreciate about how busy he’d been, it was that the month of November had flown by and he would be with Pierre this time next week.
David looked up at Hunter and nodded, giving him a small smile. “What time should I get there?” he whispered back.
“It starts at 8:30. There should be kind of a crowd for how small the venue is, so I would get there at like 8 if you want to be up front.”
“Do you guys usually have a decent crowd?” David asked quietly.
“Pretty good most shows, yeah,” Hunter responded in a whisper. “We have a cult following in town.”
A thought crossed David’s mind and he looked at himself and thought about the clothes he owned. “Am I gonna look out of place?”
Hunter raised an eyebrow and smirked a little at him. “Seriously, you care way too much about what people think of you,” he whispered back. “You’ll be just fine.”
“Okay but I don’t have any like… band tees or anything,” David continued, unable to keep himself from worrying that he would stick out like a sore thumb. “I make most of my clothes and I kind of dress, well…”
“Super gay, yeah,” Hunter teased, earning a smack on the arm from David from across the table they were working at. “Would it make you feel better to borrow a shirt?” he whispered.
David thought about it for a moment, wondering if it would be inappropriate or make Pierre feel uncomfortable, but he ultimately decided it was an innocent enough gesture. “Kind of,” he said, shifting his eyes to the side.
“Okay, meet me there earlier then, like 7:30. You can hang out with us while we’re setting set up,” Hunter told him quietly. Then a smile tugged at the corner of his lips and he added, “It’ll be big on you.”
“Yeah, yeah, me tiny, you big, me girly, you manly, hah hah hah,” David whispered with a roll of his eyes though he smiled all the same.
Hunter seemed pleased at this but didn’t say anything else and the two continued to work on their homework in the silence of the library. Before long they were parting ways and David headed home for the night.
It was with a feeling of sadness that he realized he had missed Pierre’s call while he had been at the library with his phone on silent and he worried now that it was too late to call. He sent a text, apologizing for missing his call and explaining that he had been at the library, but no response ever came and he wondered if Pierre had gotten busy or fell asleep, or even if he was mad at him for one brief, insecure minute. He shook the thought off, telling himself Pierre wouldn’t be so petty, and settled in to watch a movie by himself on the couch. Truthfully, Pierre had been running himself so ragged that he had fallen asleep almost immediately after his hockey game against Penn State that night, which they had won.
David woke up the following morning to the sound of Pierre’s ringtone and he flung himself half out of bed to grab his phone off his night stand, answering the call with fumbling fingers and a hoarse morning voice. “Hello?” he said a little frantically, his torso hanging over the edge of his bed with an arm steadying himself on his night stand.
Pierre laughed at the sound, able to picture David’s sleepy morning face and messy black hair too easily. “Good morning, gorgeous,” he said softly. “I can tell I woke you up, do you want me to call you back later?”
“No!” David told him quickly as he pushed himself back into bed but sat up to help his brain wake up. “I’m so sorry I didn’t answer yesterday when you called,” he continued, sounding entirely too worried but he couldn’t help the feeling of guilt that was plaguing him; he had never missed one of Pierre’s calls before.
Pierre laughed again lightly. “It’s okay, David, it’s not like you committed some heinous crime,” Pierre told him as he began digging through his dresser drawer for a clean shirt for his morning run.
“I was a little worried when you didn’t text me back but I kinda figured you got busy or maybe fell asleep or something…” he continued, sounding a little nervous and leaving out the short lived thought he had about the possibility of Pierre being mad at him.
“I did fall asleep, actually,” Pierre confirmed, before setting his phone down to pull his shirt over his head and picking it back up to hold against his ear with his shoulder while he began the search for a pair of athletic joggers. “I was super wiped out after the Penn State game.
“The game!” David exclaimed, suddenly remembering and feeling even worse for not watching it. “I’m so sorry, I completely forgot. I was working at the library pretty late last night.”
“David, it’s really okay,” Pierre told him as he extracted a pair of black joggers from his drawer. “I don’t expect you to be glued to your TV watching every game I play. There’s kind of a lot of them and you have to focus on school.” He set his phone back on the top of his dresser and put it on speaker phone so he could pull on the athletic pants.
“I know, but I still like watching you play,” David said, unable to keep himself from feeling guilty. “How’d it go?”
“It was tough,” Pierre said, now searching for a pair of socks that matched. Oh how he missed the days of his laundry being done for him when all of his socks magically showed up in his drawer clean, matched, and folded. Now he was too busy and the task just fell to the side, and instead he had a drawer stuffed full of loose socks. He told himself the next time he went to a store that sold socks that he was going to get all new socks that were all exactly the same so he wouldn’t ever have to worry about it again. “We won though,” he added as he pulled out two random socks that were close enough to a match. He moved to his desk chair and sat down, beginning to pull them on.
“That’s good,” David replied with a smile.
Pierre put his feet back on the ground and smiled a little, able to hear his boyfriend’s smile in his voice. “Hey, I’m headed out for a run so I’ve gotta go, but I saw your text from last night and wanted to call you really quick. Can I call you tonight after the game?”
“Yeah,” David said out of habit, but then the show he was going to that night popped back into his head and he hesitated. “Oh, actually, I have that show tonight for Hunter’s band,” he said, sounding uncomfortable at the way that it felt like he was choosing Hunter over Pierre. “It doesn’t start until 8:30 and there are two more bands after. Hunter said if I end up staying for the whole show it won’t be over until like 11:15 or 11:30. Is that gonna be too late? I know you have another game tonight…”
Pierre felt disappointment and jealousy building up inside of him but he refused to let it show, able to hear the guilt in his boyfriend’s voice. “How about this, you call me when you’re home and if I’m awake we’ll talk, and if not that’s totally fine and we can talk tomorrow morning,” Pierre suggested, doing his best to sound like he wasn’t disappointed.
“Okay,” David said. His guilt continued to pick at him and he added, “I probably won’t stay the whole time.”
“David, don’t feel bad, okay? Just go and have fun. You don’t get to do enough fun stuff. Go be a teenager for a little while. If you want to stay the whole show, stay the whole show! It’s not like you do this stuff all the time,” Pierre told him, meaning it though he wished more than anything that Hunter wouldn’t be involved in this night at all.
“Yeah, okay…” David said, still feeling guilty despite Pierre’s words.
Pierre gave a soft sigh and smiled as he moved to the door and grabbed his zip-up running jacket. “You worry too much, do you know that?” he asked, his voice brimming with endearment.
David had almost continuously heard those words from Hunter and he huffed a little in response. “I’ve heard that once or twice,” he admitted a little stubbornly.
Pierre smiled wider at the response and pulled his jacket on, using his shoulder again to keep the phone against his face as he pulled up the zipper. “I love you,” he said, emphasizing the words to force them into David’s head. “Have fun tonight, and call me when you get home even if it’s past midnight. I can’t guarantee I’ll be awake but if I am, I want to hear from you.”
David smiled at this and leaned back into his pillow. “Okay. I love you too,” he replied, his voice soft.
“Okay, bye,” Pierre finished gently. He waited to hear David repeat the word and when he did, he hung up the phone, plugged in a pair of earbuds, started his upbeat running mix, and headed out the door.
David laid back in his bed and closed his eyes, allowing the warm feelings he got from talking to his boyfriend to lull him back to sleep for a few hours.
Later that night David found himself walking up to the small music hall that the show was taking place at. He looked up at the board above the entrance, seeing the name Shattered Silence and smiling a little. He hadn’t heard Hunter’s music yet and wondered what it would be like, though he had to imagine it was going to be a little heavier than the Green Day and Good Charlotte that he usually listened to. As he started to head toward the front door, he heard his name from behind him and turned, seeing Hunter and Ezra peeking at him from around the side of the building and waving him down.
David smiled and jogged over to them. “Hey,” he said with a friendly smile.
“Hey, follow us around this way, we’re unloading in the back,” Hunter said, inclining his head toward the back of the building. David nodded and followed after them, seeing a beat up old van stuffed with instruments and gear with Noah and Ben crawling in and out of the back.
“Can I help?” David asked as they approached.
“Yeah if you want to,” Hunter told him, before climbing into the back of the van and grabbing a guitar case. He passed it out to David and nodded in the direction that Noah and Ben were disappearing. “Just follow after them, they’ll tell you where to set stuff.”
David nodded again and grabbed the guitar case, following quickly after the other two boys to not lose track of them. He continued back and forth for ten minutes, grabbing guitars and cables and amps and setting them down on the stage in the general area they would need to be as directed. Once the van was completely empty, the rest of the guys headed inside to begin setting up for their set and David hung back at the van, waiting for Hunter who was grabbing something out of the front seat. When he walked back to David, it was with a black shirt in his hand and he handed it over with a smirk on his face.
“So you’re fashionable enough for your liking,” Hunter teased gently.
“Oh very funny,” David quipped, but smiled and took the shirt to look at it. He smiled at the fact that it was a Pierce the Veil shirt and looked back at Hunter, who gave a crooked smirk.
“Since you said we look like them,” Hunter said and David rolled his eyes at him. Now that he knew them better, he didn’t think they looked like Pierce the Veil at all, but in that first moment seeing the four of them walking up to him at the football game the previous month, it was the distinct impression they had left.
David glanced around, seeing no one was around, and started to pull off his shirt, though he stopped suddenly and blushed up at Hunter, staring at him expectantly.
“What?” Hunter asked, oblivious for a second. At David’s continued stare, he seemed to understand and he rolled his eyes and threw his hands up a little but turned around and even threw both hands over his eyes in an over dramatic fashion.
David couldn’t help but smile a little at that and quickly switched shirts, surprised that it wasn’t as big on him as he had expected, though he reminded himself that even though Hunter was tall and his shoulders had gotten significantly broader, he was still slim and he wore his shirts fairly tight. “Okay, how do I look?” he asked, taking a step back and holding his arms out for demonstration.
Hunter dropped his hands and turned around, smiling down at David as he looked him over. Everything else about how David dressed from his black skinny jeans to his black vans fit the style well. “Honestly, it looks totally natural on you,” Hunter told him. “Now we just gotta get some little baby plugs in there,” he said, pinching gently onto David’s earlobe for a short second. “And maybe a lip ring or something and you’d blend right in.”
David snorted at the idea and shook his head. “Yeah, somehow I don’t think I’m gonna do that,” he said.
Hunter grabbed David’s own shirt from his hands and tossed in the back of the van before closing the doors and locking up. “Hey, maybe Pierre would like a darker you,” he said. David noticed the nonchalant way he had spoken that sentence and felt a little surprised, though he did his best to keep his face neutral, not wanting to ruin the fact that they were actually interacting like friends.
David simply laughed and shook his head again, giving a quiet, “I don’t know about that. He’s not exactly the dark and broody type.”
Hunter shrugged and began to head back into the building through the back entrance, David following quickly after. David stood on the floor near the front of the stage and watched with fascination as the guys set up their instruments and gear. This was his first time going to a show of any kind in his entire life. Having never been particularly musical himself (aside from enjoying listening to and singing with music), he didn’t realize all that went into getting things running. There were amps and cables and boxes with tons of plug in spots, there was tape to keep them from tripping over things or pulling cables out; it was fascinating to see it all set up.
Once everything was assembled and the guys began testing their instruments and microphones, David felt himself getting the strangest fluttering sensation in his stomach. Ben tapped the foot pedal on his drums a few times, sending a loud boom through the air that David felt reverberate through his body in the most pleasant way and that sense of excitement only grew. Hunter and Ezra had electric guitars slung across their bodies and were strumming and tuning, looking down at something on the ground as they did that David assumed must have been some sort of tuning devices. Then Hunter tapped his foot on a pedal on the ground and strummed again on his guitar, changing the noise to be distorted and hard in a way that sent buzzing waves coursing through David’s chest and his eyes widened a little. He had never felt feelings like this and he couldn’t help the way his eyes were alight with excitement and his smile was wide.
Noah plucked on his bass guitar, sending deep booming notes through different parts of David’s body, and again he felt almost overwhelmed at the sensation. If this was what it was like hearing them making random notes out of sync, what was it going to be like hearing them playing all together in harmony? Suddenly David wondered why he had spent so much of his life hiding by himself in his house and why he had never tried to go to any kind of concert before, despite how much he loved music. Pierre’s insistence that he get out and live his life was something that he suddenly found himself even more grateful for.
Hunter leaned forward into his mic, his deep voice booming and bouncing around the room as he said, “Check, check… check.” He looked over to Noah who was standing at the big board on top of the amp and pointed his thumb up; David watched as Noah began to twist a knob in response. “Check, check,” Hunter said again, before giving a nod and taking a step back. Ezra did the same and within a few more minutes they were setting their guitars on their stands and jumping off the stage. Hunter smiled at the obvious excitement on David’s face and his eyebrows pulled together a little as he said, “You seem excited.”
“I’ve never actually heard live music before,” David told him, then without being able to stop himself he put his hand on his chest and added, “I didn’t know it’d be so…” Not knowing how to describe what he was feeling he patted on his chest a few times in a slow, exaggerated way and let his hands shake a little, trying to mimic the way the vibrations reverberated through him.
Hunter’s eyes widened in surprise as he looked down at him and he said, “You’ve never gone to a concert or a show? Like, ever?” David shook his head in response, earning several quick blinks from Hunter. “What have you been doing your whole life?”
“Hiding,” David answered truthfully, though immediately after he blushed a little and wished he hadn’t said that at all.
Hunter stared down at him, looking as if he wanted to say something though he didn’t. A few seconds later Ezra jumped down from the stage next to him and wrestled him into a headlock. David laughed and backed away from them, not wanting to get tangled up in their roughhousing, and simply enjoyed watching them fight like brothers.
Noah hopped down and stood next to David, taking in his appearance for the first time and smiling. “Look at you looking like a little baby emo,” he joked, tugging at David’s shirt.
David blushed a little, feeling kind of silly and worried that somehow people would realize he was an imposter, though he did feel good that Hunter had picked a shirt for him of a band that he actually knew and would be able to talk about should any random person try to talk to him about their music. “I guess you guys are rubbing off on me after all,” he joked.
“We could give you some piercings next,” Noah suggested.
“I said the same thing!” Hunter called, now sitting on Ezra’s chest with his wrists pinned down.
David laughed and shook his head, though the position the two boys were in brought a joke to his mind and without thinking he said, “Careful Ezra, I think Hunter’s trying to top you.” This brought out immediate shocked laughter from the guys around him and Ezra began to struggle more against Hunter, his legs flailing wildly in an attempt to get the other boy off.
“No way!” Ezra grunted. “The only person he wants to top is yo-”
Suddenly Hunter punched Ezra in the side, and not in a playful kind of way, yelling, “Shut the fuck up!” It was like a block of ice had been dropped into a pan of boiling water and suddenly everything was still around them. David stood frozen, unsure of what to do or say, wishing that for once Ezra could keep his very honest thoughts inside of his head instead of just letting them fall out of his mouth without a second thought.
Hunter pushed himself off the ground and stormed off, disappearing down a hall toward the bathroom. Ezra scrambled up after him, grabbing at his side but not letting any pain he felt stop him from running after his friend. Ben and Noah muttered something about checking the van and wandered outside, leaving David standing alone in the wake of what had just happened.
He looked in the direction Hunter and Ezra had gone and felt compelled to follow them, though he wasn’t sure what he would do or stay. He felt like it was his fault for making that stupid joke to begin with and wished he’d just kept his mouth shut. He followed after them, though as he was about to round the corner down the hall he heard something that stopped him dead in his tracks.
“-love with him,” he heard Ezra’s voice say in a hushed tone.
David took a step back and stood just out of view, his eyes wide and his body rigid.
“It doesn’t matter, he has a boyfriend!” Hunter replied, his voice angry but keeping himself quiet.
“You guys make way more sense together,” Ezra argued.
“Even if that’s true, it still doesn't matter because he’s with someone else,” Hunter argued, his voice raising a little.
“But you two-”
“Ezra, stop!” Hunter yelled suddenly and silence followed for a long moment after. He heard Hunter growl in frustration before giving a big sigh. “Just stop. You’re gonna make him uncomfortable and he’s not gonna be my friend anymore. Please, for me, just stop.”
David backed away slowly, feeling he had heard way more than he should have and not wanting to get caught listening. He walked quickly back to the front of the stage and stood there, staring at the floor and trying to calm himself down. He started to hear noise behind him and turned, seeing that the front doors stood open and people were beginning to come in. He turned back toward the stage and tried to push his emotions back down inside of himself, not wanting to look shaken as people started to stand around him in groups, having their own conversations and chattering in anticipation. What the hell was he supposed to do now? Would Hunter and the guys come out and just act like nothing had happened? He hoped for that outcome more than anything in that moment.
“David?” he heard a girl’s voice say and he turned, confusion on his features. He noticed a girl from his old school who was looking at him with curiosity, as if she wasn’t sure it was him. Then recognition lit up her face and she nodded, saying, “It is you! I haven’t seen you in forever, where did you go?”
David did nothing but stare at her for a second, stunned that someone he had previously gone to school with was talking to him now. “I uh… I transferred schools,” he said, sounding apprehensive as he spoke to her. “All the drama, you know. I didn’t want to deal with it.”
She nodded and turned, calling to someone behind her and saying, “Hey! It’s David!”
Again, David found himself stunned at her reaction to seeing him. He suddenly found himself wondering if he had been part of the reason he had never made friends at his old school, either. Had he really sent a message that he wanted to be left alone? Had that been part of why no one had ever talked to him?
“Are you and Pierre still dating?” the girl asked, surprising him further.
“Yeah,” he said quietly, feeling a little shy as her friends joined around him.
“What’s he been up to?”
“He’s going to college in Anchorage, playing hockey for the University of Alaska,” David responded, feeling as if he was having an out of body experience.
“That’s cool! Do you get to see each other often?”
“I’m gonna go see him next week, but this is the first time since he left in August.”
“Man, that must be really hard,” she said, and David just nodded.
He noticed suddenly that she was wearing a shirt that said Shattered Silence and smiled a little. What a small town they lived in. “You like them, huh?” he asked, pointing to her shirt.
“I’m obsessed, honestly,” she said, glowing a little. “Their lead singer is so fucking hot.”
David laughed and nodded, telling her, “I’m friends with them, they go to my school.”
“No way!” She began to go off about their album and how she’d seen them for the first time at a show over a year ago and had fallen immediately in love with them. David listened with a smile, feeling that surreal, out of body experience again as he did. Nothing could have made him anticipate something like this happening but he flowed along with it, enjoying the light and energetic conversation with his former classmate and her friends, who were also kids he recognized from his old school but had never talked to before. Soon Hunter and the rest of the guys were walking on the stage and picking up their instruments, doing their final tune and microphone checks.
Hunter’s eyes flashed to David and he looked at him with a gentle but serious look on his face. Then he mouthed the word, ”Sorry,” and David shook his head, offering a sad but kind smile in return. The lights went down and the stage lights came up, and without any warning Ben tapped his drum sticks together four times and as one they began to play.
David’s eyes widened a bit at the sound. If he had thought the vibrations of the tests earlier had sent odd sensations through his body, it was nothing compared to the four of them actually playing, the notes continuous, the guitars heavy and loud. The sound was dark and hard in a way David hadn’t expected, feeling a little more akin to metal than the music he usually listened to, though the guitar arrangement still felt dramatic and emo. Then Hunter leaned up to the microphone, opened his mouth, and began to scream.
David’s eyes opened further and he felt his heart squeeze and his breath catch in his chest. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been that. He didn’t even know Hunter could make a sound like that. For the first several minutes he stood completely still, allowing the intense vibrating sensations to course through him. As the song shifted into the chorus, Hunter began to sing and he locked eyes with David who was still standing, looking entirely stunned. Hunter’s lips turned upward into a crooked grin and he continued to stare at David for several seconds as he sang, clearly enjoying the effect he was having.
Then he was screaming again and David felt shock wash over him all over again. His mind wasn’t processing the feelings that were coursing through his body and he was left unaware of himself and everything around him. The music was fast, the guitars were wild, the double-kicks of the drums pounded through his chest faster than he had ever heard drums go, and often Ezra would lean up to his own microphone and scream with Hunter, or sing a higher harmony. There was something about the way Hunter’s eyes closed tight and his mouth opened wide as he screamed or sang with all of his heart that captivated David and he couldn’t manage to tear his eyes off of the other boy. Perhaps it was because he had never seen him pour such passion before and it was mesmerizing.
By the time the first song ended David realized that he had spent the whole time standing completely still and not taking his eyes off of Hunter. He was glad when Ezra began to strum idly on his guitar and Hunter began to look around the room and speak, feeling as if it brought him back to his own body and made him aware of himself and his surroundings again. He let out a shaky breath and moved his hand to his chest, feeling like his heart was going to explode out of him at what he had just experienced.
“What’s up everybody, how’s everyone doing tonight?” Hunter’s deep voice boomed through the speakers and the crowd around him began to yell and scream in response. David looked around, noticing for the first time that the room had filled and bodies were close together toward the front of the room. How had he not noticed all of the people around him? He looked back up at Hunter, seeing the arrogant grin on his face as he looked at the crowd in front of him, clearly enjoying the love they were getting. David could understand why.
“We’re Shattered Silence and that was one of our new songs,” he continued, earning more whoops and hollers from the room. David could hear his former classmate screaming her head off and looked over at her, surprised a little at the shrill sound.
“I love you!” she screamed.
Hunter looked down at her and winked, flashing her a charming smile as he said, “I love you, too.”
A wide smile spread across David’s face at that and he felt the sudden sensation to laugh bubble up in him.
Hunter and Ezra bantered on stage for a few seconds before they introduced their next song and began to play again. This time David felt like he was watching from inside his body and was able to move, his head bobbing along with the beat, verging on headbanging though he had never once done anything like that before, but he couldn’t stop the way he was physically reacting. By the time they were finishing their third song, he felt completely lost in the music and was yelling and whooping along with the crowd whenever they started up again. Hunter kept looking back at David and smiling, looking truly pleased at how much David was obviously enjoying their show.
“We’re gonna play a cover of a song one or two of you might’ve heard of before,” Hunter spoke into his microphone. “Something by a little indie band maybe you’ve heard of called… Pierce the Veil.” As he said it, he very purposefully made eye contact with David with a self-satisfied grin, who rolled his eyes and smiled wide up at the other boy as the crowd around him yelled in approval. “Sing along if you’ve heard it, this is King For A Day,” and as he spoke the guitars started and the crowd went wild.
Suddenly David felt bodies pushing against him, causing him to sway forward outside of his control like being forced forward in the ocean by a wave. Voices around him in the crowd screamed the words with Hunter and the energy around him became more electric than he had ever experienced. Then, without realizing what had happened, David felt a hard push on his back and he stumbled forward several feet, his hands falling against the stage and stopping him, which was chin height for him. He took a step backward and looked around, confused, but before he could make sense of anything a body crashed into him and he stumbled sideways, then another body, and another set of hands, and for a moment he was completely unable to regain his stance or balance.
David became aware that a mosh pit had formed around him and he looked around with big eyes, trying to back out of it but getting hit again from behind and pushed into the middle of it. He glanced up at Hunter who had just looked over to the mosh pit with a look of excitement on his face. The second his eyes caught David and he registered that he was standing very unprepared in the middle of it and getting shoved and body checked around, his face fell and he looked immediately serious. He pulled his face from the microphone and called over to someone off the stage, his voice completely drowned out by the music around them. Ezra’s voice took over screaming, loud through the speakers but distinctly different than Hunter’s.
Then, without knowing what happened, something took over David’s body and he felt a swell of the strangest mixture of aggression and excitement. Without being aware of it, he used both hands and shoved away a body that came flying at him, laughing a little at himself when he saw what he had just done. Someone else came bouncing toward him and without thinking, he launched his body back at them, drawing in his shoulder and using his weight to shove the guy away from him. And then like his body was somehow just aware of what to do, David was fully moshing, bouncing around the pit, crashing his body off of other guys, shoving and grinning and letting the aggressive excitement of the music crash through him and drive him on.
When Hunter looked back at the mosh pit to try to find David, he was stunned to see him fully taking part with a huge grin on his face. He leaned over to Ezra who was singing now, and nudged him with his elbow, before nodding his head over to David and giving him a look of wonder. Then he moved back to the mic and took over to sing the chorus, which caused the movement on the floor to stop as all bodies turned to face the front and sing with him.
David turned with the crowd, looking up at Hunter, singing with everything inside of him. Though he didn’t listen to much of this band, this song was big enough that he knew the chorus and could sing every word. It was his favorite of any of this band’s music.
“You told me ‘think about it’, well I did! Now I don't wanna feel a thing anymore! I'm tired of begging for the things that I want! I'm over sleeping like a dog on the floor!” Hunter’s eyes were locked onto David’s the whole time he sang, David singing back with him as loud as his body would allow.
Then the next verse started and Hunter began to scream again, and all over the mosh pit started. Again David let the violent music move through him and take over his body and he was jumping and shoving and crashing off of other bodies, not feeling any pain, registering nothing but adrenaline and joy. He felt alive in a way he never had before and it was exhilarating.
Each time the chorus started the crowd would turn toward the front and sing, and each time Hunter’s eyes found David’s and locked onto him, and each time the screaming would start again the mosh pit would break out, getting bigger each time it happened. By the time the song had ended David was drenched in sweat and breathing hard, though he raised his fist in the air and screamed with the crowd, completely lost to the music and the adrenaline that was coursing through him, not feeling self aware or self conscious of himself in the slightest. From that moment he felt like he couldn’t be still and he let his body move however it wanted to. Several times during the rest of their set the mosh pit would break out again and David always managed to find himself in it, loving something so deeply that he never in a million years would have thought that he would love.
At one point during their set the girl David had spoken to previously climbed up on stage and ran up to sing with Hunter, who grinned and took a step back to let her take over. David was floored at the way she screamed the band’s lyrics, having never seen or heard a girl make those noises before. After several verses she turned to Hunter and grabbed him by the face, planting a long, firm kiss on his lips. David laughed at the sight and even screamed with the crowd at the way Hunter grabbed her and kissed her back, loving the spectacle of it and knowing it was going to make that girl’s entire year. When she pulled away she gave him a wink and then turned to jump off the stage, landing with her body splayed out flat into a sea of hands that had been waiting to catch her. Hunter’s eyes immediately found David and for a second David thought he looked nervous, but David just raised his eyebrows and smiled a knowing smile, nodding his head slowly in approval. He really thought Hunter pulled off the rockstar bit well.
Finally their set ended and the lights came back on, and David became suddenly aware of how hot he was. He breathed heavily, looking around at the faces around him, noticing that everyone seemed to have felt the same things and shared the same experience as him. There was something connecting in it and he suddenly found himself wanting more.
“David!” he heard Hunter’s voice behind him and he turned back to the stage, watching as Hunter tossed him a bottle of water and gave him a nod and a smirk. David felt grateful that it was ice cold and he wasted no time in opening and draining it, suddenly feeling more thirsty than he could ever remember feeling before in his life. He breathed hard as he finished the water and looked back up, but Hunter had already turned around and was quickly disassembling their gear and moving things off of the stage. David wondered if he should offer to help them again but worried that he would be in the way with his inexperience; they only had a few minutes to tear everything down so the next band would have time to put their own equipment together.
By the time the next band had gotten their instruments and equipment set up and had started to play their first song, Hunter and the rest of the guys were coming up to David. A look of pure excitement was on Hunter’s face and he grabbed onto David’s upper arms, shaking him a little as he yelled over the music, “You were in the mosh pit!”
David grabbed onto Hunter’s shirt at his sides and shook him back, grinning from ear to ear as he yelled, “I know!”
“You looked like you were panicking at first but then the next time I looked over you were fucking in it!” Hunter continued, his grip on David’s arms strong.
“I don’t know what happened, it’s like something just took over my body and I was doing it!” David exclaimed back.
Hunter stared at David, holding his arms for a moment longer and looking like he wanted to do or say something else, but soon he had dropped his hands and took a step backward and turned to look up at the band on the stage. David did the same and before he knew it, it was happening all over again, only this time when the mosh pit formed Hunter’s considerably larger body was also in it, along with the rest of the guys. Still, David felt himself consumed by the music and enjoyed every second of it, having more fun now that his friends were there with him.
By the end of the third band’s set, David was sweatier than he could ever remember being, adrenaline rushing through him and making it so he didn’t feel the cold of the air around him as they stepped outside. Slowly he started to feel sore and tired and he had a feeling he was going to crash hard that night when he got home, but he was too excited to care and felt like he was floating on clouds. Ezra, Noah, and Ben got themselves settled in the van but Hunter told them he’d be back in a minute, wanting to walk David out to his car since he was alone.
David was buzzing, bouncing on his feet, excitedly going on about the show and the different bands and about how much fun he had. When they got to his car he turned to Hunter and grinned, that feeling of being the most alive he’d ever been running through his veins. “I’m so glad you told me to come,” he said earnestly.
“I’m glad you had so much fun,” Hunter told him, sounding much calmer than David did.
David looked down at the shirt he was wearing which was soaked with sweat and he looked back up to Hunter with a smile saying, “I’ll wash this before I give it back to you.”
Hunter laughed and shook his head, saying, “Keep it, I shrunk it in the wash so it’s a little too tight on me anyway. Besides, it seems like you’re a fan.”
“Apparently,” David responded, and he felt the strangest compulsion to put on their music in the car, and to listen to more music like it even though it had never really been his thing before. “I want one of your CDs,” he said suddenly.
Hunter smiled wider at this and nodded, saying, “I think I can make that happen.” He continued to stare down at David for a few more seconds, again looking like he wanted to do or say something else, but he began to back away and gave a quiet, “I’ll see ya.”
David nodded and grinned, giving back an excited, “See you later!” Then he got in his car and headed home, feeling like every part of him was electrified, though the soreness in his body had started to set in more now. By the time he was home it was 11:45 and he worried that Pierre would be asleep, but he did as Pierre had requested and called him, sitting on the edge of his bed despite his sweaty shirt and the fact that he desperately needed to go take a shower.
When Pierre answered, excitement crashed through him and he practically screamed Pierre’s name, bouncing off of his bed and beginning to pace in his room. “Pierre!”
Pierre’s eyes widened and he laughed a little, taken aback by the energy that had just poured through the phone at him. “I take it you had fun?” he asked. He was glad he had managed to stay awake and that Jay was out at a party so he wouldn’t disturb his sleep.
“I was in the mosh pit!” David yelled, unable to control his thoughts to make them more collected.
“You what?!” Pierre asked in shock, sitting forward on his bed in his complete surprise.
“Yeah! The music was crazy and everything was electric and I just started going!” David said excitedly, his voice loud and bursting with energy.
Pierre blinked fast and a smile spread across his face; he’d never heard David sound like this before. “I can’t believe you did that,” he said, sounding truly stunned and amused.
“I know! It was so much fun!” David continued, and suddenly he was babbling outside of his control, pacing and bouncing around his room, his words coming out fast and excited. He told Pierre all about the three bands and about how much fun he had, and about how alive he felt, wanting to share every second of all of the feelings he had experienced with him.
After ten minutes of excited chattering, Pierre was laughing and telling him, “I’m glad you had fun. Aren’t you glad you didn’t sit around your house watching me play hockey on TV?”
That set David off again and it took several more minutes for him to calm himself down enough to think to ask about the game.
“It was good, we won again,” Pierre explained.
“That’s awesome!” David exclaimed with more excitement than he had ever displayed about hockey toward him before.
Pierre laughed, truly amused by how jacked up his boyfriend was, and suddenly wishing he could have been there with him. After another ten minutes he managed to calm down David enough that they were able to exchange I love you’s and say goodnight, and soon David had crashed on his bed and fallen asleep on top of the covers, exhaustion finally overtaking the adrenaline. There was one thing that was for certain: David was definitely a fan of live music and would absolutely be seeking it out again in the future. It would be something that he would come to feel he couldn’t live without, and he wondered why it had taken so long to let himself experience it.