Chapter 1
“aaron!”
aaron sighs deeply, closing his locker and looking up at the 6’0 annoyance of a 15 year old that is kevin day.
“kevin!” he mocks in the same tone, earning a pout from the other boy. if aaron wasn’t in love with him, he’d probably roll his eyes and find it stupid that the boy was pouting. alas, aaron was very much infatuated with kevin day, so the expression just made his stomach flutter. ugh,feelings.
“you’ve been avoiding me all day!” kevin whines, looking down at his best friend.
aaron stares at him “ it’s not even lunch yet kev”
kevin’s clinginess to him has always been something he somewhat enjoyed,really.it made him feel special. the only downside being that in situations where aaron was avoiding him ; namely because he couldn’t do so without kevin hunting him down within a few hours.
kevin scoffed indignantly “ you didn’t even smile back at me in english, or hang out with me at break. so clearly somethings wrong. spill”
“ nothings wrong,dumbass” aaron rolled his eyes.
okay maybesomething was wrong. but kevin couldn’t know that ! he’d insist on knowing exactly what was wrong. and aaron couldn’t lie to that gorgeous face ! and then he’d spill the beans that perhaps he was a bit jealous of kevin’s new found obsession friendship with jeremy knox, captain of the swim team. and then, after 11 years of friendship, kevin would never speak to him again because ew??? aaron having a crush on him??? when he was obviously out of aaron’s league?? gross !
kevin narrowed his eyes at him
“ i don’t believe you” the bell interrupted him “ugh, we’re continuing this interrogation at lunch !”
“ no we’re not!” aaron called back, already making his way to class.
“YES WE AREEE. AS MY BEST FRIEND, IT IS YOUR DUTY TO TELL ME EVERYTHING!” kevin screamed back to ensure he was heard over their increasing distance , earning quite a few looks for his volume.
kevin had actually been andrew’s best friend first , despite him and aaron being closer now. on the 4th day at preschool, kevin was being bullied by riko moriyama, and andrew in his protective nature had stood up for kevin and tackled riko into the sand box,effectively punching his stupid rat face. maybe he only did it he hated riko after he made fun of his and aaron’s matching bee backpacks 2 days prior, who knew (andrew would never tell) . regardless, it made them a new friend because, after that, kevin has clung to andrew like a lifeline and since andrew came as a pair, he subsequently befriended aaron too. and soon enough he clung to aaron just as much, if not more.
to this day riko still bothered kevin (nicky insisted that he was probably just crushing hard on kevin ; aaron couldn’t help but agree. who could resist kevin’s spell? not aaron, not half the girls in the year ,and apparently not riko either- that just made aaron hate him more) , but he had more than a few friends to stick up for him nowadays.
~
aaron sighed and entered his maths class. it was an advanced class, and only he shared this class with his brother and neil. neil is was a year younger than them, but he had worked his ass off to move up a grade to be with his best friends ( he and andrew were currently trying and failing to secretly hold hands under their shared desk.ew)
neil had come 3 years after kevin had befriended the twins. he moved to South Carolina with his uncle at 6 years old,meanwhile the twins and kevin were newly 7. aaron,kevin, and andrew had been a tight knit trio, but soon after kevin discovered neil’s obsession with exy after meeting him at the park, the trio became a group of 4. and that’s how it stayed until a year later 11 year old nicky hemmick came along and was also adopted by bee. nicky had been caught kissing a boy and had promptly been kicked out by his homophobic parents. he came to the only other family he knew, his twin cousins and their adoptive mother who he had only discovered a year prior after bee reached out. needless to say, bee welcomed him with open arms. and although weary at first, the twins trusted nicky enough to let him hang around in their little group when he wasn’t with his older friends.
since then, there had been no change to their group. they had adopted new friends since starting high school of course , mostly by association or exy , but none of them infiltrated the monsters ( a name given to them because of how much trouble they caused : pranking riko, making bullies cry, roasting teachers etc etc ) .
there was renee walker, she was mainly andrew’s friend since she was way too sweet for aaron or neil to trust her completely. and because of her, they met allison reynolds. at first, aaron thought she was one of the snobby rich kids they tended to stay away from (unless they were pranking them or fighting them). and well, she was snobby and rich. but she was also kind of fun and renee’s girlfriend, so they were aquatinted. also, she was best friends with nicky. then there was matt, neils friend. matt was huge. he looked like he could beat the shit out of you, but in reality he wouldn’t hurt a fly. no, literally. once there was fly and it was distracting everyone so he kept trying to coax it out of the window , but by then andrew was getting frustrated and he squished it - resulting in a sobbing matthew boyd. aaron thought it was kind of pathetic, but he didn’t mention that. matt was also dating dan wilds, who coincidentally was best friends with allison and renee. she also had taken up the role of ‘big sister’ to both kevin and neil (neil because he was the youngest and always getting into trouble. kevin because that kid was an anxious mess - his dad being her only father figure and all, she knew what he was really like since she saw him when he was younger. she didn’t view him as the cool, talented image everyone else saw. nope. to her, ‘kevin day’ was an anxious, affectionate, clingy nerd.)
oh, and they made up the school exy team, that probably should’ve been the first pointer as to why they knew each other.
so, the 9 were all friends, but it was obvious that there were factions amongst the group as a whole.
the smaller groups were:
the monsters- andrew, aaron, neil, kevin (+nicky usually,but he liked to change it up a lot so his presence wasn’t always guaranteed)
the girls- renee, allison, dan
the upperclassmen- renee,allison,dan, matt (+ nicky sometimes)
and the pairings were:
- andrew and neil ( dating)
- matt and neil (‘besties!!’ in matts words)
- renee and andrew ( best friends )
- aaron and kevin (best friends:/)
- andrew and aaron (twins, duh)
- allison and nicky ( the fashionistas)
- kevin and neil ( the exy fanatics)
- kevin and dan ( older sister/younger brother type of thing. kevin was just a magnet for protective people okay??)
- matt and dan (dating)
aaron himself wasn’t particularly close with any of his friends ( par kevin ).he didn’t mind their company, he enjoyed it even ; he just never hung out with any of them alone , and if he did , it’d probably be painfully awkward. he could only manage neil really, who, after kevin,andrew, and nicky, he was closest with. other than that... nope.
aaron was basically only in the group because of 3 things :
he played exy, the monsters shared everything- including friends, and he was related to 2 other people in the group .
take those things away, and he probably wouldn’t have the same friends he did now. it was...a depressing thought, to say the least.
at least he had kevin, right?
yeah, there was no hesitation there. even while kevin was in a relationship, he always put aaron first (this had actually been the cause of both his break ups with thea and jean ,oops) . but that was...before aaron realised he had a crush on him. would kevin still be friends with him if he knew aaron was totally and utterly in love with him? that was an answer he didn’t know. he didn’t intend to find out, either. too much of a risk there.
“ari”
andrew’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts ; once he was jolted back to reality, he quickly found intense hazel eyes staring at him
“ yes andy?” he whispered, trying not to catch the attention of the teacher, who was rambling about something. shit, he probably should be taking notes. thank fuck mr simmons always forgot to do roll call so he at least he hadn’t missed that.
“ what are you thinking about? you’ve got our thinking face on”
aaron snorted “ for the last time, we don’t make the same thinking face ! you furrow you’re brows way more!”
“ do not ! hey junkie, isn’t it ari and i make the same thinking face?”
“ drew, you guys look nothing alike” neil hummed amusedly, not looking up from his math book. the nerd.
andrew scoffed “ don’t listen to him. he’s an idiot-“
“ true !” neil piped up
“ - bee says we do. and i know we do. you’re just stubborn” andrew hums teasingly.
aaron let’s just lips curl up a little “ fuck off, asshole. like your boyfriend said, we look nothing alike”
“ yes because thats totally how identical twins work, smartass. aren’t you going to be a doctor? maybe you should reconsider since you don’t know basic biology ” andrew smirked
aaron laughs, only to quickly disguise it as a cough after he receives a piercing look from the teacher.
they fall back into silence, only for andrew to kick him across desks
“ you never answered my question” he whispered
“ what question?” aaron mumbles as he solves a quadratic equation
“ what were you thinking about? it had to be serious since i’m the only one with a braincell here”
aaron glares, neil huffs out a laugh. everything is good.
well, until lunch anyway.
as the three boys approach their table, where their other friends are already situated, the allusion of happiness shatters almost immediately. kevin is sitting in his seat, and jeremy knox is beside him, only half sitting in aaron’s seat.
(the seating arrangement was simple and never changed. the table was circular. aaron next to kevin , who sat next to neil, who sat on andrews left. on andrew’s right was renee, and next her was allison. then dan, then matt, then nicky. the empty seat in between nicky and matt was an honorary place for erik, nicky’s boyfriend who transferred here from germany during aaron’s freshman year. sometimes he and nicky would sit here, sometimes they’d sit with erik’s friends (a mix of the nicer members of the football team and the environmentalist club) and sometimes they’d hang out with nicky’s popular friends. it was a gamble with nicky, really)
aaron was ready to sit in erik’s seat (and be pissed about it) but as soon as he approached,jeremy shot up, giving aaron his seat back.
good, aaron thought
both kevin and jeremy grinned at him
“hey !” jeremy smiled “ me and kevin were just talking about me giving him swimming lessons, you want in?”
“ no. i can swim, so can kevin actually” aaron glared at kevin. was this just his way to hang around jeremy??
kevin looked at him with a hint of surprise “ yeah, obviously. but i can’t do like...advanced swimming. like breaststroke’s ‘n stuff. and jeremy offered to teach me, you should totally come !”
“ i’m good” aaron snapped. earning a look from kevin,andrew,neil, nicky, and jeremy.
“ uh...alright then. see ya kev” jeremy said awkwardly, stalking off.
kev
kev was aaron’s nickname for kevin. and then jeremy comes along and suddenly it’s free real estate??? what the fuck. there were rules when it came to nicknames and the monsters. certain people called certain people certain names ! like how andrew was andy to aaron, but drew to neil. or how aaron was ari to andrew, but ronnie or ron to kevin when he was feeling particularly affectionate. neil was josten to aaron, yet junkie to andrew.but most importantly, kevin was kev to aaron and aaron only. he was vin to neil and andrew and simply ‘kevin’ or ‘boy wonder’ or ‘the coach’s son’ to everyone else ! thats just how they worked! who the fuck did jeremy think he was disrupting their system?!
“ what the hell is up with you?!” kevin interrupted his outraged thoughts, and had the nerve to scoff “ i was right ! you have been weird all day ! are you going to tell me what’s going on or what?”
aaron clenched his teeth and looked away. unfortunately it was to neil and andrew, who respectively had a shit-eating grin and a cocked brow, obviously amused by the spectacle. oh god,they knew
aaron averted his gaze to the sandwhich squashed between his fingers
“aaron, what’s up?” nicky asked softly, ever the mother hen. everyone else was looking at him with concern now. ugh, sometimes having people who cared about you was so annoying.
“ it’s nothing” he sighed “ i just...i flunked that bio test yesterday and i’m pretty annoyed about it”
a blatant lie. andrew knew that of course, aaron couldn’t help but notice him roll his eyes slightly.
kevins gaze softened nonetheless,shuffling closer to aaron. he pulled him into a side hug
“awwww, it’s okay ari. we all fuck up sometimes”
aaron made an indignant noise and gently shoved him away, ignoring the knowing grins on neil’s,renee’s,and allison’s faces.
“yeah yeah, i’m sorry for taking it out on you or whatever. just give me some space m’kay?”
kevin nodded eagerly, obviously content now knowing that aaron’s sour mood wasn’t his fault.
soon enough, aaron’s outburst was forgotten. and as usual, the discussion momentarily turned to exy.
“dad- i mean,uh,coach- told me to tell y’all that he’s going to be a little late ‘cuz he’s got a meeting” kevin hums happily after a bite of chicken salad. aaron couldn’t help but watch him, be endeavoured by him. he’s just so bright “he said that dan is in charge and that we better be doing drills when he arrives”
“ soooo you mean we sit around and gossip until he comes?” nicky grins
“no” kevin and dan scowl simultaneously as matt,allison and andrew say “yes” ( andrew with a smirk, allison and matt shouting with a laugh)
“ 4 against 2 ! outvoted !” nicky laughs
“i’m captain! you don’t get to outvote me!”
“this isn’t a dictatorship,wilds” andrew raises an eyebrow
“ i’ll tell dad !” kevin whines
“ aaron, tell your boy toy to co-operate” allison hums.
kevin chokes, the tips of aaron’s ears turn red.
nicky rolls his eyes “ for the last time allison, we all know aaron has the hots for katelyn. this is one bet you’re not going to win!”
aaron fought the urge to roll his eyes. he didn’t know why they all thought he and katelyn were secretly into each other. they were just friends. the foxes probably just assumed aaron liked her because 1) he had not stated he was anything other than straight ( why should he even have too?? it was bullshit ) 2) aaron did not really make friends (all his friends had been made for him).so when he did make a friend, she was obviously his secret girlfriend.
“ you can’t be serious ! the sexual tension between him and day is right there!” allison screamed, actually standing up. a few people looked their way, and in that moment aaron had never been so mortified.
“ we’re literally sitting right here” kevin blushed “ and seriously? what the fuck? is this a bet? don’t tell me this is a bet-”
“ oh it is” matt giggled and looked at aaron “ care to settle it? allison, neil, and renee bet on you and kevin. me, nicky, and dan say katelyn. we’re convinced andrew knows but he refuses to get involved”
aaron groaned “ i hate you all, i’m leaving” he stood up, only for kevin to follow. for fucks sake
“see ! they’re inseparable !” allison cooed
“shut the fuck up” aaron growled at her, not noticing the almost sad look kevin sent him.
“ see you at practice guys” kevin mumbled before following aaron out of the cafeteria.
kevin grabbed aaron’s hand. this, was normal. kevin and aaron held hands, this was just a fact known by the universe. it was not a big deal, and yet at kevin’s touch, aaron felt everything else melt away.
“ are you okay ? you seemed pretty upset with them thinking that we’re together....i mean, it’s not that big of a deal, right?” kevin chuckled nervously
aaron just shrugged, resorting to his silence as usual.
kevin continued after a moment of silence “ is it because you and katelyn are actually together?”
“ are you and knox together?” aaron shot back bitterly
kevin blanched “ jeremy?? no ! he’s dating jean, why would you even think..?”
aaron felt a rush of relief at that “ oh, you seemed like you were flirting” he shrugged
“ clearly you don’t know what flirting looks like”
“ why don’t you show me then?”
kevin raised an eyebrow at that, turning around and backing aaron into the nearest locker. his hand went beside aaron’s head and he leant on it
“this” kevin licked his dry lips once, a habit that at this point aaron was used too. except usually he wasn’t seeing it like this “ is flirting”
aaron looked up at him with wide eyes, face no doubt flushed. he shoved kevin off him and rushed away, hearing a panicked “shit !” from behind him.
he almost felt bad for abandoning kevin like that. but it’s not like it was his fault kevin was so fucking flirty! if he had stayed, there was no doubt he would’ve kissed that motherfucker. which would be bad, because kevin was definitely just messing around as usual. if aaron kissed him, which he would’ve if left in that situation for another second, then that’d fuck up everything.
so, naturally, he decided he’d have to avoid kevin from now on to restrain himself from fucking everything up.