I know I said I won’t post until around christmas and nobody asked for this, butttt I wrote it anyway.. this is very self indulgent but sharing is caring so have fun with flambae angst
teen!Chad (Flambae) x teen!male!reader
CW: angst, hurt/no comfort
Growing up with Chad felt like one continuous adventure. From the moment you first saw him back when you were both in middle school, you knew he was trouble. You’d caught him setting fire to a trashcan, but not with a lighter or matches. Instead, the flames came directly from his hands, burning the discarded paper while his skin remained completely unharmed. You stood there, half hidden behind a wall, watching as the glow of the growing fire reflected in his eyes until his head suddenly snapped to the side, his gaze now locked onto you. You gasped and tucked back behind the wall, your heart pounding against the confines of your ribcage, but it was already too late. He had definitely seen you.
Your fear was confirmed when you heard the boy call out to you.
“There’s no point in hiding, we literally made eye contact!”
Pressing a hand against your chest, you attempted to calm your heat to a slower bpm. For a moment, you contemplated whether to run away. If you were fast enough, you could surely tuck into a different alleyway before he could follow, right? You didn’t have much time to consider this option, as you were once again met with amber eyes upon raising your head. You nearly squeaked when the boy grabbed your arm and dragged you off, away from the fire he’d set. Once you reached a spot he deemed safe enough, he let go of you.
“Whatever you saw back there… you didn’t.”
He lowered his voice with the last two words, clearly trying to imply a threat. The arsonist even tried to make some sort of intimidating expression, though it looked much more like a cartoon grimace. You had to suppress a laugh, quickly shaking your head.
“I wasn’t going to tell anyone! Promise. Actually… I’m like you.”
That caught him off guard. The boy raised a brow, clearly not convinced by just your words. You quickly looked around, making sure that nobody would see before giving a small demonstration of your own powers. Nothing very impressive, but enough to show the other kid that you weren’t going to rat him out.
From that day onward, Chad began to warm up to you. Though you seemed to be in different social groups at school, you began hanging out between and after classes. It wasn’t long before you became basically inseparable and your friendship continued as you moved on to high school. Your classmates described the two of you as a dynamic duo. Where one went, the other followed.
Whether through Chad’s influence or your own initiative, you were troublemakers to the bone. Skipping class, stealing cigarettes to smoke in your shared hideout, the list goes on. Chad was still the same arsonist he was when you met him, only now he had become much more flamboyant, putting on a show for his much cherished audience whenever you watched him. If you ever got nervous about the consequences of these little outings, he’d comfort you with that smug grin he was known for, insisting that this stuff was only illegal if you got caught. Somehow, and luckily for you both, you never did.
Every so often, other students would mutter and gossip in the hallways when you and Chad walked by. Many questioned why you were so close, considering you an unlikely pair. People are naturally curious, teens even more so, you knew that much. There was no way to stop the rumours from spreading and unfortunately, telling the truth to debunk them wasn’t an option either. Sure, powers were a great thing when it came to heroes, but the things you had been up to were far from heroic. Revealing your true self would come at a price so high that you weren’t sure you could afford it, which meant hiding was your best bet. Maybe one day you could be more public about who you were, even if that day was nowhere in sight as of now.
You were good at ignoring the stares and whispers, keeping your head high and tuning out the noise. However, the same couldn’t be said for Chad. You weren’t blind to the way he walked faster whenever he noticed heads turning toward him, the way he preferred hanging out in places concealed from prying eyes.
One particular night, the two of you were sitting on the roof of his apartment complex, legs dangling over the edge as you stared into the sky, watching more and more stars appear the longer you looked. You dug a cigarette out of your pocket, gripping it between your index and middle finger before turning to Chad. You figured that since he was already smoking one of his own, he wouldn’t mind lighting yours.
“Hey fire guy, help me out here.”
You grinned at your own quip, though not for long as you failed to receive a response from your friend. You leaned over, brushing his hair to the side to get a look at his face. Since he’d been growing it out, there was essentially a curtain between you and him whenever he didn’t tie his brunet mane back. The motion finally got Chad to return to reality, flinching away from your touch when he noticed what you were doing.
“Woah. What’s got you all jumpy and deep in thought?”
Your chuckle seemed to ease him, you could see the tension leave his shoulders as his eyes focused on you. Extending your cigarette toward him, you tried again. This time he acknowledged your little request, a small flame emerging from the tip of his finger for you to light the stick on. Still, you could tell something was bothering him. You took a drag, blowing smoke into the night as you waited for him to answer your question.
“People have been.. talking again.”
You wanted to roll your eyes. This wasn’t exactly an uncommon topic between the two of you.
“How come you care so much about what other people think? You’re the most confident person I know, but this bothers you?”
“It’s different this time. They’re convinced we have powers. I mean- it’s like the only thing they have left to figure out is which ones!”
Chad huffed. He balled his hand up into a fist, a small smoke trail emerging from it as the spark from his finger was crushed and extinguished.
You squeezed the cigarette between your fingers a bit tighter.
“I guess that’s a fair concern to have.”
Neither of you spoke after that. The moment of silence stretched like gum, becoming more tense and uncomfortable the longer it went on. Eventually, you felt something on the hand you were supporting yourself with. Chad’s finger slipped between yours, interlocking into a small, yet intimate embrace. He wasn’t looking at you, but he’d tucked his hair behind his ear, allowing you to see his now much softer expression. A smile crept onto your face as you moved to scoot closer to him.
“Doesn’t matter what they know or don’t know. In the end, it’s us against the world either way, right?”
With your shoulder touching his, your fingers realigned to accommodate the new position. Finally, Chad’s eyes met yours. They had a certain shine to them that reminded you of a dancing flame, a glimmer that you loved to see. It was moments just like this one that solidified the bond you two had. The kind where actions spoke volumes more than words.
Chad returned your smile as he gave your hand a squeeze.
“Of course we’ll be back before midnight, no problem at all.”
Chad assured your parents in that tone he always put on when talking to adults. His hand hit your back, sending you tumbling forwards as you tried to fix your tie in the mirror.
“You’re taking forever, man. Just let me do it.”
You didn’t complain as he grabbed the cloth, unraveling the mess you’d made before turning it into a neat and proper knot. Then he stood beside you, mustering your shared reflection. Both of you looked quite sharp in your suits, though Chad was going for the kill, having skipped the tie to leave the top buttons of his white shirt open. Ever since he’d started growing chest hair, there was no stopping him from showing it off.
Sitting in the passenger seat of his car, you looked out of the window, admiring the sunset. The different hues of yellow, orange and red perfectly captured the feeling of a warm summer night spent with-
“Feels a bit surreal, doesn’t it? The fact that we’re literally on our way to prom right now?”
His eyes were locked onto the road, but Chad’s mind seemed to be somewhere way else. You hummed in agreement, sinking back into the car seat.
“Time flies or whatever.”
And time did fly. You spent your evening drinking cheap punch and rating all of your classmates’ prom outfits with Chad, laughing a bit too hard and almost spilling your drink all over yourself before finally checking the time again. Your friend quickly read your slightly disappointed expression, giving you a nudge with his elbow as you headed towards the exit.
“We can stall a little and say it was car troubles.”
When he leaned a bit closer to whisper that to you, paired with a wink, you could’ve sworn you felt something flutter in your stomach. Leaning against the hood of his car, you wanted to enjoy this night for just a bit longer.
“So.. we’re done. I mean, we’re not done, but done with this school. And these people.”
You turned to face Chad, an almost proud smile decorating your lips.
“We made it through! No secrets spilled.”
He turned to you too, his grin twice as wide as yours. There it was again, that flicker in his eyes. It looked just like a campfire in the darkness, flames ducking and swaying in a heated dance. You couldn’t help but lean in, as if his gaze alone beckoned you closer. Chad mirrored your movements and then, you felt his lips press against yours. Your eyes fell shut as your ears drowned out any noise as though your brain was determined to make touch your only functioning sense for the moment. Still, you could smell Chad’s slightly overpowering cologne and taste his chapstick, now transferred onto your own lips. The fluttering in your stomach had now returned at full force, a thousand butterflies hatching from their cocoons to inhabit your body. The sensation spread through your chest into your shoulders and down into your fingertips, a buzzing, tingling feeling along with a noticeable heat, although you could guess that it wasn’t you emitting it.
You pulled back, taking a second to catch your breath. Before you could say even a single word, you felt the world spin - but not in a good way. Your eyes shot open as you suddenly found yourself on the ground.
“Don’t touch me, you- you freak.”
In any other situation, you would have gotten mad immediately. Who was he to shove you to the ground and call you a freak? Whatever stupid game he was playing, you weren’t in the mood for it.
Then you noticed. Not only was there a crowd of your classmates gathering around the two of you, gawking at the scene unfolding before them, but in the heat of the moment, your powers had activated. You had just revealed yourself in front of everyone. Scrambling to get up off the ground, your eyes met Chad’s. The beautiful flicker was gone, now replaced with something you couldn’t quite place. He looked guilty, yet his gaze felt colder on you than it ever had before.
You couldn’t stay here. It was only a matter of time before the realization settled for everyone and you certainly couldn’t just sit there and wait for it to happen. You took a few uncertain steps backwards, unable to break the eye contact with who you’d thought to be your best friend and actually even more than that. Your mouth opened to say something to him, but you couldn’t find the words.
Then you turned around and ran.
When Chad turned up to your house a few days later, you weren’t there. In fact, there was no trace of you or your family. No car parked out in front, nobody to be seen in the windows, there wasn’t even a name on the doorbell.
That night, in the parking lot, under the dim light of a street lantern as everyone stared at you was the last time Chad ever saw you.
if it wasn’t obvious, this was never about powers
