All the ways you’ve changed (A KitTy fic)
(Chapter 27) (All previous chapters)
Chapter 28: Fuck you and all your friends
Ty lay there in the dark for a long moment, mind churning with awful thoughts of Lola and Noah, interspersed with images of Kit. Kit wouldn’t be letting Noah disrespect his friend like this. Kit would do something.
But what could Ty do? He couldn’t very well barge into Noah’s room in the middle of the night, demanding he stop having sex with his consenting girlfriend.
“Think, think, think,” he commanded himself, smacking his forehead. No one else knew what was going on. He could tip off a teacher that there were students breaking the rules, but he didn’t want to get them into any actual trouble.
Then he realised: of course! There was someone else who cared about Lola just as much as he did, and who hated Noah for her own reasons.
He slid out of bed and pulled on his slippers, giving Irene’s head an absent pet before creeping out of his room and hurrying down the hall. He could only hope Kelechi wouldn’t kill him for waking her up.
..
“What the fuck do you want?” snarled Kelechi, brandishing an impressively large dagger. Then, realising the intruder was Ty, she added. “You better have a damn good reason for waking me up after the awful week we’ve just had.”
“It’s Lola,” he whispered. Immediately, Kelechi’s face changed. In the witchlight, Ty watched fear for her friend wiping out all other emotions, and he added quickly, “She’s not hurt or anything, but she’s going to have sex with Noah.”
“Oh, is that all?” Kelechi slumped back down in her bed. “You woke me up in the middle of the goddamn night to tell that Lola is getting laid. Good on her. Are you jealous or something?”
“No!” Ty hissed in annoyance. “But she’s going to do it with Noah. He doesn’t care about her.”
“It’s not like she hasn’t had sex before. She can make her own choices.”
“She’s drunk. And we both know he’s just using her. You’ve seen the way he only pays her attention when his friends are around.”
“You’re right,” Kelechi frowned. “I don’t know what the fuck is up with that.”
I do, Ty wanted to tell her. Instead, he said, “I just don’t think she’s in any fit state to be doing that. Noah’s going to brag about it to the whole school, I know it and so do you. I don’t want her to get in trouble.”
“Okay, fine,” Kelechi slid out of bed. “You’ve convinced me. But this doesn’t mean I forgive you for waking me up.”
..
They raced side-by-side along the corridor, hastily applied Soundless runes making their footsteps inaudible. Even without context, Kelechi had agreed that it would be far less strange for her to interrupt them, and as Lola’s best friend she might actually have a shot at making her listen.
“Are they in his room or hers?” Kelechi asked in a breathless whisper.
“His, I would assume. He has empty rooms on either side.”
“How do you know that?”
Shit.
“I, uh, heard him bragging. His room’s just that one up there on the left.”
They skidded to a halt in front of the door, and Kelechi gave a sharp knock.
“Lola? Lola-doll, are you in there?” she called softly.
There was a scuffling noise inside, followed by low voices, then the door creaked open the tiniest sliver.
“Kelechi? What are you doing here?”
Ty couldn’t see Lola in the darkness, but her voice sounded hitched, as though she had been crying. Anger rose in Ty’s chest, but he held his tongue, letting Kelechi answer.
“I was looking for you. Ty- uh, I was worried.”
“Ty’s there too, then, is he?” Noah’s voice carried out into the hall, thick and defeated-sounding.
“Yeah, I am.”
“’Course you are. Of course you couldn’t just leave it alone.” He sniffled. Ty realised with a start that Lola wasn’t the only one who had been crying. “You always have to ruin everything for me, don’t you, Blackthorn? I can’t just have one good thing.”
“Ty,” Kelechi said evenly. “What is he talking about?”
“Tell them,” Noah jerked the door open, spilling dim witchlight into the corridor. He was wearing nothing but loosely-fitting boxer shorts, and Ty averted his eyes. “Go on, Tiberius. Tell them everything. You were so confident the other day. Bet you can’t say it now.”
“Noah, you’ve been drinking.”
“I’ve barely had anything. I just don’t care anymore. Go on. Say it. Why do you care whether or not I fuck Lola? It’s not like you’re in love with her.”
“Guys,” Kelechi interrupted nervously. “Can we take this inside?”
“Good idea,” Lola, wrapped in only a blanket, stepped back to allow the others into the room. With the door shut firmly behind them, they faced off, Ty and Noah glaring at each other, the girls watching worriedly.
“Lola,” said Ty, without taking his eyes off Noah, “What happened? Why were you crying?”
“We were going to, you know, do it,” she coughed, glancing nervously at Noah. Her words sounded a little slurred. Clearly, she was far drunker than him. “But Noah just kind of couldn’t. I don’t know if it’s because I’m not pretty enough, or what. I know I don’t have the best body, I’m flat as a board on both sides, but-”
“Lola, babes, you’re gorgeous,” Kelechi cut her off. “I have a feeling this isn’t about you.”
In his periphery, Ty could see her glancing back and forth between him and Noah, putting the pieces together. He tried desperately to picture Kit, to draw strength from the casual way he accepted who he was, and expected everyone else to accept it too. Kit would never have hidden such a huge part of himself from his friends. If they had taken it negatively, he would have simply found new friends. Ty braced himself.
“Noah, are you sure?” he asked. Noah scrunched his eyes closed, jerking his head in a fraction of a nod. He looked so vulnerable standing in the middle of the room in his underwear.
“It stays in this room,” he whispered hoarsely.
Ty swung to look and first Lola, then Kelechi. They both nodded. He took a steadying breath, fixing his eyes on the wall behind Noah’s head.
“The reason Noah couldn’t bring himself to go through with it tonight, the reason he’s even trying in the first place, and the reason I know, is because Noah and I were sort of dating for most of this year, and we just broke up.”
Noah made a whimpering sound in the back of his throat, like he was in pain. His eyes were still scrunched shut.
“You were… what?” Lola’s voice was flat.
“We were dating. Sort of. More like hooking up, I guess. I’m- I’m gay.” He glanced at Noah, who looked like he was wishing for Raziel to smite him where he stood. “So is Noah.”
Lola blew out a breath, eyes flashing, cheeks flushed a deep red from the mixture of anger and alcohol.
“You let Noah parade me around like a show dog in front of the entire school for a week, and you knew the entire time that he wasn’t into me at all, and you said nothing? What the hell, Ty?”
“Lola,” Kelechi’s tone was a low warning.
“No, I want to hear this from Ty!” She advanced on Ty furiously, pulling the blanket more tightly around herself. She was more than a foot shorter than Ty, but her fury made her seem enormous. He took an unconscious step back, hands fluttering nervously at his sides.
“Lola, I’m so sorry. I’ve just been so scared. You’ve heard people talk about Magnus and Alec. You’ve heard what people in our classes have said about my own sister. I’m so sorry Lola. I’ve wanted to tell you so many times, but I didn’t want to out Noah either.”
“That’s no excuse to let him use me like this. I thought we were friends.” She shouldered past him, wrenching the door open. “And as for you, Noah. You can die, for all I care.”
Still wrapped only in a blanket, feet bare, hair spilling in wild tangles over her face, she turned and marched down the hall.
..
Noah sank down onto the bed, covering his face with his hands.
“She’s going to tell everyone.”
“No, she won’t.” Kelechi told him softly. “She’s hurt, but she’s not vindictive. She won’t try and get back at you.” Her eyes flickered to Ty, and she exhaled softly. “Ty, I’m so sorry. I didn’t know. All those stupid jokes I made about Consul Lightwood and his husband. Oh, Raziel, Ty. If I had known- no, that’s no excuse. I should never have said those things, whether or not my friend is, well, uh-”
“Gay,” said Ty. He felt strangely calm. “You can say it, it’s not a dirty word. I’m gay.”
“Gay, then,” Kelechi gave a small smile. “I’m proud of you for saying it, and I’m so sorry that I made it harder for you to admit. And Noah,” her eyes narrowed. “I absolutely do NOT forgive you for how you’ve hurt my best friend, but I will not tell anyone your business. Now, if you will excuse me, I’m going to find all of Lola’s clothes, and then find Lola.”
She threw her arms around Ty, and he let her give him a quick squeeze.
“I’ll talk to you at breakfast,” she told him. “I love you.”
“You too,” Ty mumbled. That was one hurdle out of the way. Now he just had to figure out what to say to a very shirtless Noah Beauvale.
..
The door clicked shut behind Kelechi. Ty stood in the centre of the room, rubbing his fingers together at his sides, calming himself with the friction. Noah was still sitting on the bed, still dressed in only his boxer shorts. Ty was trying very intensely not to stare at his perfectly sculpted torso, or the very visible outline of what was below it. Now was not the right time, and Noah was really not the right person. An image of Kit skittered across his mind, and he felt a stab of guilt.
“So, uh,” Noah cleared his throat. “They know.”
“Yeah,” Ty’s voice came out low and husky, “They know. And they weren’t disgusted.”
“No, they were furious.”
“They were angry we hurt Lola, not that we’re gay.”
“I hurt Lola,” Noah wrapped his arms around himself. Ty wondered how in Raziel’s name he wasn’t freezing. “All you did was try and protect me.”
“I know how your friends are,” Ty told him. “But I should have found a way to be a better friend to Lola.” He turned. “I should go.”
“Ty, please,” Noah sprang to his feet, catching at Ty’s wrist. “Please don’t leave me. I don’t want to be alone right now.” His voice cracked, eyes filling with moisture. He looked almost pathetic, and Ty found himself nodding. Honestly, he didn’t want to be alone right now either.
“I’ll stay for a while,” he told him, “But only as a friend. I really do have a boyfriend; I wasn’t lying about that.”
“Okay,” Noah nodded, wiping at his eyes. “I’m sorry for being so awful. I don’t know what I’ve been thinking, this last week.”
“I’m not going to say it’s okay, because it’s not. You really hurt my friend and you’ll have to find a way to make it up to her. But I do forgive you. I know you were just scared too.”
“Thank you, Ty. Can you sleep here tonight?”
Ty closed his eyes, balling his hands into fists. He wanted to. Oh, Raziel, he wanted to. Even if they did nothing else, just the thought of lying in Noah Beauvale’s arms was making his stomach tingle. But he knew it wouldn’t stop at sleeping. He was feeling vulnerable, craving reassurance. He knew if Noah reached for his pants tonight, he wouldn’t say no.
Against his will, Ty remembered Kit’s face when he had told Ty about his ex-girlfriend. She had cheated on Kit. He had tried to play it off as though it wasn’t a big deal, but Ty could see how it had affected him. Immediately, guilt tore into Ty. He couldn’t believe what he had just been thinking of doing.
“No,” he told Noah gently. “I can’t stay here tonight. I will lend you my spare blanket, since Lola took yours, but I need to sleep on my own. I don’t want to do anything that could compromise my relationship.”
“You’re a better man than me, Blackthorn,” Noah sighed. “You’re a better man than me.”
..
Kit sat slumped in the diner booth, his face buried in his arms, forehead pressed against the cool table. He felt like the worst hangover and the worst comedown he had ever had, rolled into one. He was worn out, acutely aware of every inch of his body. It all ached.
“Hey, handsome,” chirped Clive, setting a menu down. “You look like shit! Big night?”
“Mmmm,” groaned Kit. He lifted his head to gaze forlornly at Clive, who smiled sympathetically. He had seen himself in the mirror earlier, and knew how he looked. He was even paler than usual, with deep purple rings under his sunken eyes, his lips uncharacteristically chapped. But no matter how bedraggled he appeared, he felt worse. Even pulling on his new “fag” t-shirt hadn’t been enough to lift his mood.
“It was your birthday last night, wasn’t it?” Clive asked cheerfully. “From your face I’d say the party was wild?”
“I didn’t have a party,” Kit mumbled. His throat was painfully dry, and talking hurt.
“Then what- oh! Right. The, uh,” Clive dropped his voice, “Werewolf stuff.” He cleared his throat. “How did that all go? Are you… you know…?”
Glancing around him quickly, Clive slid into the booth, learning earnestly towards Kit across the table. Kit nodded glumly.
“I Changed. It was the most painful experience of my life. My insides felt like they were being deep-fried.” He winced at the memory.
“So, you’re a werewolf now?” Clive’s eyes were enormous.
“No. I’m lucky.”
“How? There is no cure for lycanthropy.”
“My- uh, some warlocks I know found a cure. It can only be done during the first Change, and it was even more painful than the Change itself, but it worked. They had no idea if it would, and honestly it felt like it was going to kill me, but it worked.” The relief Kit had been too numb to feel washed over him suddenly, causing tears to spring to his eyes. Clive rubbed his arm reassuringly with a moss-tinted hand. When Kit spoke again, his cracking voice was barely above a whisper. “I’m not a werewolf.”
………………….….
(Chapter 29)
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thanks @amchara and @sandersgrey for all ur help and feedback with this fic so far! also tagging @arangiajoan and @sofiatheskeleton (i noticed you read all the other chapters recently, so i just wanted to let you know there’s a new one! let me know if you don’t want to be tagged again!)
chapter title song: Fuck You and All Your Friends by Falling In Reverse
