Knowledge Bowl (Brian Johnson x Fem!Reader)
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Word Count: 3100
CW: teasing; mild name-calling; parental interactions (mostly positive though)
Synopsis: This is mostly a bridge chapter to get to the next one, but also some quid pro quo. Brian supported Reader, now it’s her turn to support him at the Knowledge Bowl.
A/N: Yes, those are all real high schools in that area of Illinois. Well, except for Shermer. But it has to be there. XD Shout out to this document for Knowledge Bowl questions because I do not have that field of knowledge (and definitely not the math knowledge, much like dear reader). Also, I kind of lowkey hate this chapter. It’s definitely a filler episode. I’m sorry.
*~~~~*
Y/N, Bender, Allison, and Claire sidled down the row in the gym of Lake Forest High. This was the first time they had all been together in a number of weeks. Andrew was conspicuously missing from their group, but he had been acting oddly the last time they were all together and only really talked to Claire anymore, but even that was waning. Given that it was the weekend, it was likely that he had wrestling practice or a meet anyway, but Y/N wasn’t sure that he was even invited today. However, that didn’t matter much; there was still a buzz of excitement from the crowd for the Knowledge Bowl and they had gathered there to support Brian, so he was the focus for all of them. It was a rather large tournament with six or eight schools from the area congregated here under the blue and gold banners of Lake Forest’s past achievements. There would be two teams going head to head at a time, rounds lasting around five minutes, playing in brackets. Y/N had grabbed two programs, one for herself and one for “posterity” to give Brian afterwards as a sort of memento. She rolled her eyes at her friends’ teasing when she explained her reasoning to getting two; but it wasn’t like it was a big secret anymore. Everyone had figured out how she felt about Brian by now, except for Brian.
Y/N spotted Brian’s parents a couple rows down and over and decided to say hello. She was excited that they had come to support him as well. She knew what that would mean to him. She asked the others if any of them would like to join her; Allison and Claire had politely declined but Bender laughed, “You want me to meet goody-two-shoes Johnsons? Oh, I’m sure they’d love that. Seeing me as their son’s friend, living with his little girlfriend!” He slapped his knee, even.
Y/N glared at him for a moment, “You could have just said, ‘no thanks.’” She tried to shake off John’s words and get her reddened cheeks under control as she approached the Johnsons. She had met Brian’s mom after one of their tutoring sessions a week or two ago, but not the rest of his family.
“Hi, Mrs. Johnson!” She said sweetly and enthusiastically. While their first meeting had gone well, she still felt like she was trying to make a good impression. Brian meant a lot to her, and these were the most important people in his life, which made them important by extension to her.
“Y/N!” Brian’s mother, Mercedes, said, placing her hand on her chest in endearment and smiling. “It’s good to see you here.”
“You too, Mrs. Johnson.” Y/N returned the smile and tried to be the pinnacle of politeness.
“Oh! You haven’t met the rest of our family yet, have you? Hugh, come here, dear.” She beckoned her husband over. “Hugh, this is Y/N. Brian’s friend.” She said, with a meaningful look to him. The implication that they had talked about Y/N before made her nervous.
“It’s nice to meet you, Mr. Johnson.” Y/N shook his hand as Mercedes ushered her youngest child over.
“Likewise, Y/N. It’s always nice to meet Brian’s friends. You came out to support him today, I hope?”
“Yes, sir.” Y/N nodded, “A group of us came to cheer him on.” She pointed up towards the other three teens who had accompanied her.
“That’s very kind of you, I know that Brian will appreciate friends being here.” He said with a little twinkle in his eye. Brian’s little sister shifted next to him, so Y/N moved her attention slightly.
“Hello, you must be Mary.” She said, smiling down at the little girl who was probably seven or eight, bending slightly to be more at her level.
“How did you know?” She looked wide-eyed with surprise.
“Oh, Brian talks about you a lot.” Y/N enthused, hiding the fact that usually Brian complained about his little sister. “I also think you and I have talked to each other on the phone a couple of times.”
“Oh!” Mary said, connecting the dots. “You’re the girl who keeps calling my brother!” Y/N blushed a little to be bluntly put on the spot like that. Little kids were nothing if not honest and direct, right? She was still giving Y/N a wide-eyed stare. “You’re really pretty.” Y/N was about to say ‘thank you,’ but Mary immediately said “What are you doing hanging out with my brother?”
“Mary!” Her mother hissed, letting her know she crossed a social boundary. Y/N just tried to laugh it off.
“He’s a really good friend when he’s not related to you, I promise.” She explained and Mary gave her an ‘if you say so’ look, but didn’t want to upset her mother by being rude again. Y/N stood back up straight, not sure how to respond to that look, and decided to move on. “Well, I best be heading back to our cheering section, but it was nice to meet you both, and to see you again, Mrs. Johnson.”
“It was nice to see you again, too, dear.” Mrs. Johnson smiled, and as Y/N retreated, she could hear her admonish Mary for what she said.
“How are your future in-laws?” Bender said as she sat back down in their row.
“You hush.” She pushed him slightly, cheeks burning hot at the thought.
*~~~~*
The announcer called each school’s group to the stage for introductions, “The home team, Lake Forest High!” Which of course, got many cheers as most of the population in the stands was probably local and there to support their school. “Lincoln Park High School...Kenwood Academy...John F. Kennedy High School...Whitney Young Magnet School...Shermer High School…” Of course, the group leapt to their feet to cheer on Shermer, and Brian. The final schools, Hyde Park Academy and West Joliet High, were lost on Y/N. She fixated on Brian walking onto the stage, next to Matt, wearing a suit. ‘Wow, does he look good,’ she thought and didn’t realize she was staring until Bender started to pull her back down into her seat. Seeing the other schools, particularly the “Academies” and the Magnet School, Y/N wondered why Brian didn’t attend any of the others with his intelligence, but thanked whatever stroke of fate put him at Shermer High and in her path. As the competition commenced, she watched his every move, imagining that he could somehow hear her or feel her presence motivating and supporting him. Their Breakfast Club was stoked when Shermer moved forward and won their first and second rounds. They usually weren’t much for school spirit, but this event had a personal touch, and they did their best to bolster their team.
The host asked, “Electroplating involves the deposition of a metal onto a metallic surface through what chemical decomposition process?”
Matt buzzed in almost immediately, “Electrolysis.”
“Correct,” the host gave Shermer the point.
“I don’t even know what half those words mean.” Claire hissed, down the row. “I don’t even know what these questions are asking.”
“What layer of the Sun's atmosphere is immediately below the corona?” JFK High school buzzed in this time.
“The chromosphere.” One of their team said, correctly, tying up the score.
“The final question and tie-breaker for this round: Factor this expression. 4(m squared) + 26m + 22.”
Brian was almost lightning-quick hitting his buzzer and Y/N leaned forward. This would make or break the round, but Brian was confident with math questions and didn’t look nervous at all. He had a steady look of determination on his face as he replied, “(2m + 11)(2m + 2).”
“That is...correct! Shermer High School will advance to the next round, against Lake Forest High.” The announcer said, and dismissed the contestants currently on the stage. Y/N smiled in relief and whispered, “That’s my boy,” hoping that John didn’t hear her over the applause from the crowd. Luckily, he hadn’t seemed to notice. Both teams shook hands in show of good sportsmanship before heading to their tables in the waiting area.
“That Magnet School is really good. They’re like, deadly fast.” Claire said during the next round. She was right. They were almost robotic with how they rang in and answered immediately, confidently, razor-sharp. A lot of the rounds had been close but those going against Whitney Young Magnet were being trounced by several points.
“I don’t think we can beat them.” Allison said, ever being the realist.
“If we even make it that far…” John scoffed.
“During the Holocaust, what Swedish diplomat in Budapest, provided at least 20,000 Jews with Swedish passports and protection?”
Zero-hesitation, a girl with fiery red hair from Whitney Young clicked her buzzer and replied, “Raoul Wallenberg.”
“Correct! That means Whitney Young advances to the next round with a score of thirteen to seven. So sorry, Lincoln Park.” The announcer said with false sympathy. It was a competition after all.
Shermer excitingly beat out Lake Forest High on their home turf. It was easy to see how upset they were at losing in their own gym as they gave very apathetic “good show” handshakes at the end of the round. Of course, by the end of the competition, it was just Shermer High and Whitney Young Magnet School left. There hadn’t really been doubts that Whitney Young would be one of the finalists, and while they had done well the whole competition, Shermer High felt like the scrappy underdogs in comparison. The crowd was buzzing with anticipation for this final round.
The first question was history-based, and Matt showed that he had indeed studied.
“Charles Pinckney's refusal to pay bribes extorted by French agents in 1798 brought what affair into the public light?”
“The XYZ Affair”
“Right!” The announcer moved on almost immediately, though, to see how many points each team could rack up within the time limit. There was no time to waste. It seemed like a volley between the two teams, or a tennis match. One would answer and then the other, picking up speed as they felt more and more confident.
“What kind of current raises benthic nutrients to the surface?”
Ding “Upwelling.”
“Point to Whitney Young.”
“A colonial key to the Great Lakes was Fort Oswego on what lake?”
Ding “Lake Ontario.”
“Point to Shermer High.”
However, Whitney Young’s robotic speed started to get the better of Shermer High. They slowly crept ahead by a point, and then two. Brian rang in on the question: “The Khyber Pass connects the two countries of Afghanistan and-” He hesitated for half a second, looking like he was weighing two answers and the time ticked down for him to be able to answer. ‘Come on, come on.’ Y/N chanted for him, on the edge of her seat.
“ ... Pakistan.” He decided
“Correct! Point to Shermer.” Brian let out a relieved exhale and a smile, bringing the scores closer together.
“Yes!” The Breakfast Club cheered, much more invested than they thought they’d be.
By the buzzer, they had tied it up, which was an impressive feat of its own against the Magnet School. “This final question will take a moment to work out,” the announcer stated, adding an air of mystery and showmanship. Each team leaned forward to focus on the problem at hand, “Evaluate this expression given that p = -3 and q = -7: (6p + 3q)2 + 7p + 4.” Of course, the Breakfast Club was totally lost in how to even go about solving such an equation, but the Shermer High Knowledge Bowl Team were mouthing the work to themselves with looks of steadfastness. They took just a moment to confer about the answer, but that moment of double checking unfortunately cost them the opportunity to buzz in first. Their hope now would be that Whitney Young would answer incorrectly and that they’d have the chance to steal. However, the fates weren’t so kind today.
One of the boys on the Whitney Young team with thick glasses clicked his buzzer, and as soon as he was acknowledged by the host calmly said, “-95.” The audience waited for verification, because most of them had not sussed out the solution to the problem either.
“That is…” the host dragged out the tension for a moment, “Correct! Which means Shermer High has placed second and Whitney Young Magnet School is our champion for this year’s Knowledge Bowl!”
The Breakfast Club groaned at the outcome. “They were so close!” Claire cried out.
“Better luck next year, I guess,” John chuckled but the three girls didn’t find it so amusing. They waited a moment for some of the crowd to die down before going in search of the team to congratulate Brian. Y/N removed the bouquet of flowers she had stashed under her seat on the bleachers to give him. When she and John had left the house with them this morning, he’d given her a questioning look and a smirk and she told him “It’s a tradition” and made a face when he sarcastically replied back with ‘Riiiiight.’
They spotted Brian with his team and his family as they approached.
“Oh, we are so proud of you, honey!” Brian’s mother cooed and brushed back his hair, kissing him on the forehead.
“Mom!” He groaned with embarrassment, but Y/N could see the small smile on his face and knew he needed that kind of reassurance from his family and that he was probably secretly enjoying the moment, even if it did make him feel a little foolish.
“It wasn’t as boring as I thought it would be.” Mary admitted, as the Breakfast Club came near.
“Oh, I like this one!” John said, gesturing to Mary and her honest congratulations to her big brother.
“Thanks, Mary.” Brian rolled his eyes, and then spotted his detention-group of friends.
“Hey!” He said, breaking away from his family a bit, “You came!”
“Of course!” Bender quipped, “You think I’d miss out on a three-ring geek circus?”
“John,” Y/N growled in response, reminding him that he had agreed to be better about the name-calling.
“What I mean is, it was actually impressive. You guys were really quick and holy shit, you know a lot!”
“Yeah!” Claire said, “I couldn’t even make heads or tails of half those questions and you actually answered them? Wow.” She gave him a proud, respectful smile and he responded with a sheepish, grateful one of his own.
“Of course, we’ll always come when you ask us to.” Y/N said, stepping forward with her bouquet to hand him. “Tradition.” She nodded at the flowers as she gifted them.
“Of course,” he said with sparkling eyes and a kind smile. Matt started to approach them out of the woodwork, too.
“You were great.” Y/N told Brian, looking at him as if he were the only person in this dense crowd, then noticed Matt standing there. “Both of you! You did such a good job!”
“Thanks. I was really hoping we’d win it, though.” Matt replied and Y/N looked between them both.
“Still! Getting to second, and against that team?!”
“And during a tie-breaker.” Allison chimed in.
“Right. Every other team they went against, they absolutely crushed. You held your own.”
“Kicking ass, taking names.” Bender joked.
“Oh!” Brian realized that none of the rest of the Breakfast Club had ever met Matt, even though he had told him all about them. “Guys, this is my best friend, Matt. Matt, this is Allison, John, and Claire.”
“More friends?” Brian’s mom sidled up to them, and he redid the introductions he just made. “It’s so nice of you all to come out!” She said, smiling warmly. It was obvious to see the pride written on her face that Brian now had so many people that cared about him, particularly enough to drive half an hour to sit through a lengthy trivia tournament on his behalf.
“It was a great tournament, Mrs. Johnson!” Claire said, turning on the charm.
“Yeah! First place next year for sure!” Bender clapped Brian on the shoulder, making him give a stunned sputter at the support.
“Well, dear, we were just about to head out, since we said goodbye to your coach. Are you going to stay here with your friends for a bit?” Brian blinked, not expecting the offer. Usually his mom wasn’t so open and he normally would have a much stricter schedule. He looked to Y/N for confirmation.
“I can give him a ride home, Mrs. Johnson.” She said.
“Uh, yeah! Sure! I’ll see you at home then, mom.” Brian said, enthusiastically.
“Would you like me to take your flowers home?” She asked him quietly, but still in front of everyone, making his cheeks flush. “They’re from Y/N, I presume?” She looked over at her and smiled that knowing smile.
“Yes, ma’am. Tradition.” Y/N grinned, knowing that Mrs. Johnson would understand. Bender poked her in the ribs and whispered ‘ma’am,’ as she had made fun of him for using the same formality many times.
Mary came and tugged on Mrs. Johnson’s skirt, “Can we go now?”
Bender laughed, “I really, really like her. Johnson, I didn’t know you had a little sister!” Brian shrugged in response.
“Yes, Mary.” Mrs. Johnson said with an exasperated sigh, “Go get Daddy and then we can go. It was so nice to meet you all.” She said again, even though she looked a little warily at John and Allison. They weren’t the type of friends she had imagined Brian would have.
“Hey, Matt, you want to come with us? We could go get lunch or something.” Y/N suggested. He waggled his eyebrows at Brian in response, amused by the invitation.
“Well, I’m not usually one to say no to a meal,” he said, “and today will be no exception. Let’s roll.” They divided the cars in two, with Claire taking just Bender, for some quality ‘couple-time’ since they didn’t get to spend a whole lot of time together normally, and the rest in Y/N’s car. Brian offered to ride in the back seat with Matt, since he knew him, but Matt insisted he could get to know Brian’s other friend and that he should ride up front. Allison, catching wind of the plan agreed quickly and all but pushed him out of the way to sit with Matt in the back. The two actually hit it off, both being sarcastic and witty, anyway. But mostly, they were playing matchmaker in making Brian sit up front, close to Y/N and listened in periodically, grinning at each other. With words unspoken, they’d come together on a common goal.
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