Jul 25
What is High School Band if Not Drama with Instrumental Backing Masterlist
Read on AO3 || Main Masterlist
Pairing: Wylan Van Eck x Jesper Fahey
seen from United States
seen from Singapore
seen from Malaysia
seen from United Kingdom
seen from United States
seen from Germany
seen from China
seen from South Korea
seen from China
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from China
seen from Germany
seen from Pakistan
seen from United States
seen from Georgia
seen from China
seen from Spain
seen from United States
seen from China
What is High School Band if Not Drama with Instrumental Backing Masterlist
Read on AO3 || Main Masterlist
Pairing: Wylan Van Eck x Jesper Fahey
No Use Crying Over Spilt Water or Sketchbooks - Chapter 1
Second Semester Stress and Sadness - Chapter 2
A Few Good Men: Friendship is Magic - Chapter 3
Texts, Tea, and Tears - Chapter 4
Right Back at Square One - Chapter 5
Sunshine, Sleep, and the Shu - Chapter 6
The Princess Bride - Chapter 7
Bottoms Up! - Chapter 8
Early Riser - Chapter 9
Waffle House - Chapter 10
Avoidant Attachment Ruins Everything (Shocker) - Chapter 11
Let Light Be Light - Chapter 12
TBA - Chapter 13
TBA - Chapter 14
TBA - Chapter 15
TBA - Chapter 16
TBA - Chapter 17
TBA - Chapter 18
TBA - Chapter 19
TBA - Chapter 20
What is High School Band if Not Drama with Instrumental Backing - Chapter 12
Let Light Be Light
Read on AO3 || Story Masterlist
Jesper was standing in front of the Van Eck house, holding a container of peanut butter pretzels and an Arizona green tea. He’d asked Wylan to meet up somewhere else because he knew Jan was very irritable, but Wylan had ignored his text. He had also sent a follow-up text, letting Wylan know that if he didn’t answer, Jesper would show up at his house. When he was met with even more radio silence, he found Wylan’s address and asked his Da to borrow the car.
It took thirty minutes of searching through the group chat to find the texts from the night of the party, where Wylan had sent his address so Inej could pick him up, and an additional fifteen minutes of convincing his Da that he wouldn’t crash the car, but he’d eventually gotten to Wylan’s house. The stars were already out, and Jesper wasn’t sure that Wylan was even awake at this hour, but he figured he had to give it a shot.
He gave Wylan a few more minutes to answer his most recent text, where he’d told the redhead that he was outside his house, before knocking on the door. Jan Van Eck opened it and glared down at the Zemini boy. Both of them had to hold back their respective scowls, although they were scowling for very different reasons.
“Can I help you?” He asked, his voice low and grumbly.
Jesper restrained himself from decking the older man, “Is it possible for me to speak to Wylan? I need to ask him about something for a chemistry project, but he hasn’t answered my texts.”
“Of course he hasn’t,” Mr. Van Eck sneered, though now his irritation was at Wylan rather than Jesper, “I’ll bring him down. Wait out here.”
The door closed in Jesper’s face, leaving him to wait anxiously. After a few moments, he heard hushed insults getting closer through the door. A second later, Wylan opened the door and stepped outside. His face was redder than Jesper had ever seen it, though he didn’t know if it was from anger or embarrassment. Judging by the clenched fists and the averted eyes, Jesper would wager it was both. Wylan shut the door behind him as he glared daggers at the unwanted visitor.
“I’m sorry,” Jesper started simply.
“I can’t believe you showed up at my house,” Wylan hissed, “Do you know how much trouble I might get in because of you?”
“I told you I’d show up if you didn’t give me a time and place to meet.”
Jesper could practically see the steam coming from Wylan’s ears, “I thought you were bluffing, Jesper! This is unbelievable.”
“You’re right. I shouldn’t have come over to your house without permission, even if I warned you. I apologize,” he said quietly.
Wylan paused, not used to people taking accountability for their wrongdoings. Jesper watched the gears turn in the boy’s mind as he tried to process the apology. The ginger nodded and looked to the side, unsure of what to say.
“I brought you these. I remember you getting them at the gas station when we all went that one time, so I figured… I don’t know,” Jesper handed over the snacks he was holding.
Wylan hesitated before taking the snacks from him. His voice was much softer the next time he spoke, “I can’t believe you remembered that.”
Jesper simply shrugged before continuing with his apology, “Look, I wanted to apologize for freaking out at the park the other day. It wasn’t anything you did, I promise. I uh- I got nervous because I… I struggle with commitment.”
He tried to gauge Wylan’s reaction, and the boy seemed to be receptive so far. That was a good sign, right? Even though Jesper could feel his legs turning into jelly underneath him, he continued his apology. He had to lay everything out on the table before he lost his nerve.
“I really like you, Wylan,” Jesper blurted out before he could stop himself, “Like a lot. I’ve never been interested in long term relationships before because I’ve always thought it was stupid to think about that kind of stuff in high school, but when I was kissing you, I couldn’t help but want that with you.”
Wylan’s eyes sparkled as he opened his mouth to say something, glanced back to ensure the door was closed, and kissed Jesper. It was over before Jesper knew it had even happened, but it was wonderful. Wylan pulled the sleeves of his sweater tighter as he watched Jesper collect himself. He covered his mouth as he tried to tamp down his laughter. Once he collected himself, he spoke.
“Listen, you can’t- you can’t stay here much longer. If my father finds out…” Wylan trailed off, shuddering, “But I really like you too and I would like to be in a relationship with you. Call me when you get home, okay?”
Jesper nodded eagerly, “Yeah- yeah! I will. Bye, Wy.”
“Bye, Jes. Talk to you in a bit.”
Once Wylan was sure the boy was in his car, he let himself giggle giddily once again. He jumped excitedly, just once, before forcing himself to calm down enough to re-enter his home. He briefly acknowledged his father as he ran back to his room. Thankfully, Jan didn’t even question the snacks in his hands. He sat his phone face up on his bed and eagerly awaited a call from his new boyfriend. The thought was wild to him. He, Wylan Van Eck, had a boyfriend. Up until a few weeks ago, he hadn’t even had friends! Now he had his own boyfriend.
He scrambled to grab his phone once he heard it start to buzz beside him. He immediately hit the accept button, grinning from ear to ear.
“Hello?”
“Hi,” Jesper breathed into the phone, “I just stepped into the house. Well, my Da was worried I was going to crash the car when I drove it by myself, so I guess technically I just finished talking to him. Anyway, what are you up to?”
“Nothing much. Just sitting on my bed and eating the pretzels you gave me. Thank you for those, by the way,” Wylan answered cheerily.
He kept his voice down, not wanting Jan to overhear. He knew realistically that Jan wasn’t that invested in what Wylan was doing ninety percent of the time, but it wasn’t a risk he was willing to take at the moment.
“You’re welcome. What’re you wearing?” Jesper teased.
Wylan laughed as he looked down at his sweater and sweatpants. “It’s been no more than fifteen minutes, Jes. I’m wearing the same thing I was when you were here.”
“Yeah, I know. I just hear people say that a lot. I’ve never really understood why, come to think of it. I know it’s supposed to be flirty.”
“It’s for when people want to initiate sex of some sort, from what I’ve learned. I don’t know. I don’t have experience in that field, clearly, but that’s what I’ve gathered from TV and media.”
“Oh!” Jesper choked, “That explains a lot, actually. I probably shouldn’t have been saying that as frequently as I have.”
“You can ask me that as many times as you want,” Wylan hummed.
Jesper snickered, “Eager.”
Wylan could hear Jesper walking around his house, opening and closing doors. Wylan placed his phone on his nightstand so he could lie on his side as he listened to his boyfriend. He could hear a faucet turn on and drawers sliding open and shut as Jesper searched for his toothpaste. Wylan wrapped his blanket around himself and bit his lip, searching for something to say.
“So,” the other boy beat him to it, “are you… are you cool with telling people? About us? Obviously not your family, but like our friends and stuff?”
“Yeah, of course! I’d like that a lot, actually.”
“Good, because Nina and Inej already know… which means Matthias and Kaz also probably know.”
“It’s been less than a full day!” Wylan laughed, leaning back against his pillow.
“Sorry! I told Nina that I was freaking out about the park thing and I didn’t know Inej was in the room.”
“Don’t worry, I don’t mind. I like that people know. Don’t need anyone thinking you’re still on the market.”
“Possessive, are we?” Jesper hummed.
Wylan’s cheeks heated up, “No! Well, maybe, but-”
“It’s alright,” Jesper reassured, “I like that about you.”
The boy smiled so wide his face had started to ache. He listened as Jesper began to ramble about his schoolwork and how he was missing lots of assignments. He explained that he hadn’t had the time to work on it between helping out his Da with work around the house, working his part time job, and having a social life.
“I swear, our teachers hate me for no reason! Boo hoo, I didn’t do your thirty page packet over the weekend. Get over yourself!” He groaned as he splashed water over his face.
Wylan chuckled, “That’s fair, although I will say you do kinda exacerbate things with your antics in class. I find it funny, though.”
“True. Although I will say, I think I’m growing on Mr. Kumari.”
“Probably because we aren’t yelling at each other in class anymore.”
“You say that like it was ages ago, but it really wasn’t,” Jesper yawned, “I’m glad we got over that.”
“Me too. I don’t know what I’d be doing if we hadn’t. I’d probably still be keeping my head down and counting down the days until college.”
“Boring! Glad I could spice up your life.”
They continued on like that for the next few hours, each boy taking turns to rant about different topics they felt passionate about. Wylan was curled up in his blanket and fighting to keep his eyes open while Jesper bounced around his room, trying to tire himself out enough to go to bed. Wylan had done his best to hide his exhaustion, but it was getting harder by the minute.
“You know you can go to bed, right? We’ll see each other in class tomorrow anyway,”
“No. I like talking to you,” Wylan whined playfully.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The next morning, Wylan was startled to see that his phone was at twenty-nine percent when he woke up. Did he fall asleep on the phone with Jesper? He was relieved to see that he wasn’t actively on the phone with him, but he was still embarrassed, nonetheless. He began his morning routine as normal, a little extra pep in his step as he moved between his bathroom and bedroom. He fixed his hair and put on his favorite sweater. He didn’t pay any mind to his father brooding at the kitchen table with a newspaper in his hands. He scarfed down his breakfast quietly before rushing out to his car to drive to school.
He got all of his work done even faster than usual, meaning he had more time to talk to Jesper during class that day. Nina had practically tackled Wylan with a hug when the couple walked into PE together, congratulating him eagerly. She tried to batter them with a barrage of questions, but Wylan and Jesper were saved by the start of their handball unit, which was only a slightly less torturous fate.
Jesper couldn’t focus on the game, despite his usual enjoyment of the sport. Nina said he had a “new boyfriend glow” but he could feel the anxiety so deeply it made his bones ache. He liked Wylan. There was no denying that. He and Wylan were good together so far. He just felt… wrong. Is this what a committed relationship is supposed to feel like? Why was he so stressed out? It was only day one! Was this how he was going to feel for the rest of their relationship? Was this a mistake? He likes Wylan! Why does he feel like this? Once they finished the game, Coach Briganti gave them free time for the last twenty minutes of class. Nina started talking, saving Jesper from his own self-sabotaging thoughts.
“Oh, before I forget,” Nina began, “Inej wants to get everyone together for a sleepover later this month. She asked me to see if you and Wylan were interested.”
“A co-ed sleepover with three different couples? Her parents are okay with that?” Wylan tilted his head.
Jesper shook his head, “She and Kaz have their own apartment. It’s a whole thing. But yeah, I’m down for that.”
“I’d have to ask permission, but I’m sure my father would be glad to be rid of me for a night.”
“Great! I’ll let her know and she’ll send the details in the group chat at some point.”
Lessons in Chemistry and Chaos - Chapter 2
The Rumor Mill and the Grocery Store
Read on AO3 || Story Masterlist
Wylan sat at his desk, tidying the frayed edges of his sweater with a pair of children's safety scissors. He was lost in thought as he waited for his class to start. He’d already made it a quarter of the way through the school year, which is longer than he’d thought he’d last. His students started piling in and sitting in their seats, signalling that it was time for Wylan to focus.
The first quarter of the school year hadn’t been too hard, but Wylan’s students had certainly picked up on the rocky relationship between him and Jesper. He wasn’t even sure how the kids noticed it. Maybe it was the snarky comments they exchanged in the morning during bus duty or the glares they’d send each other whenever they were in the same room.
Wylan had been idly eavesdropping while his students were working on independent work. He had told them they were allowed to talk since he trusted them to get their work done. He’d overheard one student talking about a discussion from Mr. Fahey’s class, and his expression must’ve soured before he could fix it. He didn’t even really hate Jesper, he was just upset about the unresolved conflict between them.
“What do you think about Mr. Fahey, Mr. Hendriks?” One of his students had asked, a challenging look in their eyes.
Wylan quickly tried to school his face back into something pleasant as he searched for a tactful answer to the question, “I don’t always agree with him, but he’s an excellent teacher. His students are very successful.”
That was professional, right? The student leaned back, seeming satisfied. The rest of class went on as normal, which Wylan took as a good sign. He didn’t think much of it for the rest of the day. He hadn’t said anything mean, and he had a semi-decent poker face.
The next class period, Jesper had that same student. That class was a much chattier group of students, but Jesper liked the loudness of his classroom. It kept him on his toes. He also enjoyed engaging in ridiculous conversations with them. One group was talking about their “hear me out”s and somehow the number eight got brought up as one. The rest of the students started clowning on that kid, so Jesper stepped in.
“Eight is hot. Eight has curves,” he agreed. He had no idea what he was talking about, but he liked being included.
“See! Mr. Fahey gets it!”
“Okay, but what about 7x7=49, Mr. Fahey?”
Jesper tossed a tennis ball up in the air, “I see it.”
“But 7x7=49 is for the girls! Guys can have 8, she’s feminine. Let the girls have our own thing,” a girl named Azealia protested.
“Who says it can’t be for both?”
“Fair point. Do you play both sides of the field, Mr. Fahey?”
“Sure do.”
“See! I told you, Damian!” Azealia cheered, “That’s at least two confirmed queer teachers and one unconfirmed.”
Damian tilted his head, “Who’s the unconfirmed?”
“Mr. Hendriks.”
“I think just looking at him is enough to confirm. He looks like he has Girls Girls Boys by Panic! At the Disco in his top five songs on Spotify Wrapped every year,” Damian said, his voice dry and blunt.
Jesper pretended not to chuckle as he busied himself with grading an assignment. He had finished his lesson plans and was working on grading some old assignments when he overheard his name. He started listening in case one of his students needed something.
“And then, Mr. Hendriks looked pissed, so naturally I was like, ‘Well, what do you think, Mr. Hendriks?’ and that must’ve been when he realized I knew he was listening so he straightened up and gave some bullshit answer,” the kid explained, waving their hands around animatedly.
Another girl tapped the student’s desk eagerly, “What did he say?”
“He put on the worst poker face I’ve ever seen, and he said, ‘I don’t always agree with him, but he’s an excellent teacher. His students are very successful.’ But, like, you could tell he was just pulling shit out of his ass, you know?”
“That’s nuts. I wonder who pissed in his cereal.” The girl laughed.
Wylan was talking shit about him to students? He could handle the passive aggressive snobbiness, but getting students involved was an entirely different line that he’d just crossed. Who did this guy think he was? Did he think that by cosplaying an average middle class worker to play teacher was a good enough act of charity to make him morally superior? Jesper nearly snapped the pencil he’d been fidgeting with.
Naturally, instead of handling it like an adult, Jesper told Nina about it. He ignored the fact that it made him no better than any of his gossipy, mean girl students. It was perfectly normal to vent about shitty coworkers with your friend! Sure, he should probably talk to Wylan about it, but right now he wasn’t in the headspace to do that. Nina was shocked and nodded along, letting Jesper rant about it. They were engrossed in their heated discussion when the door to the staff room creaked open, making them both go quiet.
Wylan entered, giving everyone polite smiles as he walked in. He hadn’t been sitting at the table with Nina and Jesper like the first day, but he had been sitting in the breakroom and being cordial during lunch the past few weeks. Usually, they’d give him the decency of a nod or a smile back. Today was different. The room felt cold, and nobody would look him in the eye. Jesper’s head was turned, not acknowledging Wylan in the slightest.
Wylan suddenly felt like a child, being ignored by his father again. Silently begging for any shred of care or attention, only to be met with radio silence. He swiftly grabbed a bag of chips from the shared display, trying to make it seem like that was always what he was there for, and power walked back to his classroom.
As he closed the door, he could faintly hear Jesper say, “Oh, is mini Van Eck too good to eat with the peasants?”
He ate lunch alone in his classroom, trying to pretend as though it didn’t sting. He decided that from now on he would eat there. Not in the staffroom. It was easier this way. Jesper and Nina didn’t want him there, and although he didn’t really understand what he’d done wrong, he could take a hint. He wasn’t going to force his way into anything he wasn’t invited to.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Jesper was at his local grocery store, getting his shopping done for the week. He’d loaded up his cart with everything he needed and made his way to the front of the store. He was about to get in line when he saw none other than Wylan Van Eck waiting with his cart. He was on his phone while the people in front of him also waited. Whoever was at the front of the line was arguing with the employee over some coupons.
“Was Erewhon closed?” Jesper commented snarkily as he got in line.
Wylan jumped, “Ghezen- a little warning next time? Also, I don’t think they have Erewhons around here. Even if they did, I wouldn’t shop there.”
“Why? Has Daddy dearest not sent your allowance yet? Or are you just enjoying cosplaying poverty that much?”
“Will you please stop bringing him up, especially in public? I… I don’t keep in contact with my father. I’m not cosplaying anything. Now please leave me alone,” Wylan frowned.
Jesper opened his mouth to further argue, but the coupon lady was now getting dragged out of the store by security. Both men turned their attention to the spectacle, thoroughly entertained. Once she was gone, Wylan looked down into his cart and realized he’d forgotten something. He moved his cart behind Jesper, signalling for him to take his place in line as he hurried off to grab it. Forgetful too. Wylan was really shaping up to be every negative quality Jesper could name.
When Wylan came back, Jesper had already gotten most of his items rung up. He pulled out his wallet and started counting out the cash so he could pay. Shit. He was short. He handed it over to the worker and prayed they wouldn’t notice, but they did. Just his luck.
“You still owe eleven dollars and seven cents,” the employee stated bluntly. The young woman was clearly exhausted and not in any place to deal with more drama, especially not after the coupon lady.
Jesper was about to ask what items he could put back to lower his total before Wylan stepped up and put a ten-dollar bill and a five-dollar bill in front of the worker. Jesper wanted to protest, to tell Wylan that he didn’t need charity from a nepo baby, but the worker had already accepted the cash and placed it in the register.
As soon as Jesper got home, he put his groceries away and opened his laptop. He started googling. He was going to figure out what was wrong with Wylan whether the brat liked it or not. He started opening articles about Jan Van Eck, skimming through for Wylan’s name. He’d found rumors of Wylan running away after sleeping with one of his tutors. Scandalous.
There were dozens of other unconfirmed rumors to go along with it, but most of them had come from gossip forums and sketchy websites. The rumor about the tutor had come from a news article that had supposedly reached out to members of Van Eck’s staff, all of whom remained anonymous. Jesper grinned, spinning a coin on the table as he thought about this new information. This opened up a new realm of possibilities.
When Wylan got home, the first thing he did was open his medicine cabinet and grab an edible. He sliced it into thirds, placing one slice in his mouth as he set the grocery bags on the counter. He’d put those away later. He grabbed his art supplies and started working as he waited for his mind to calm down. It took about thirty minutes for him to start feeling the buzz, finally allowing him to continue peacefully working away at one of his newer artworks.
His current work in progress was a painting of flowers. Dozens of different kinds, ranging from carnations to Wylan’s own original flowers that he’d made up. He’d always felt more comfortable being creative when he was high. His brain always felt freer that way. The intoxication didn’t fully remove the anxious thoughts or the sound of his father’s voice echoing in his mind, but it lowered the volume to a dull background noise that he could ignore as he worked.
His thoughts drifted to Jesper. He wondered if Jesper liked flowers and if he did, what kind? Maybe Wylan could give him one of the paintings he’d been working on. He truly did want to fix whatever it was that he’d done to wrong the man. He hated when people were upset with him. It made him physically ill.
He felt a pang of irritation as he thought about it now. Why did Wylan have to fix this? He didn’t even do anything wrong, at least not to his knowledge. Why couldn’t they just be grown adults? But whatever. It didn’t matter. He’d figure this out. He’d fix it.
What is High School Band if Not Drama with Instrumental Backing - Chapter 11
Avoidant Attachment Ruins Everything (Shocker)
Read on AO3 || Story Masterlist
Wylan spent a little bit longer getting ready that morning. From fussing over which shirt looked best with his eyes to making sure his curls fell the way he wanted them to. Spoiler alert: they didn’t. But then again, when did anyone’s curls ever fall the way they wanted? He knew he shouldn’t be stressing so much. He was just hanging out with Jesper. His friend Jesper. But it was also their first one-on-one hangout outside of school, and Wylan just so happened to be romantically interested in him.
He nearly crashed his car on the way there, with how distracted he was. They were just meeting up in the park to hang out. Why was Wylan working himself up so much to the point where he almost ended up with his car wrapped around a tree? He forced himself to calm down as he got out of the car. He sat down on one of the benches and began working on some sketches while he waited for Jesper to arrive.
He was deep in thought when a voice from behind asked, “Can you draw me next?”
Wylan jumped from his seat, accidentally messing up the linework. He’d go back and fix that later. He closed the notebook as he tried to calm his heart rate.
“Jesper! A little warning next time?”
“Aw, but that takes the fun out of it!” The boy whined as he sat beside Wylan.
Wylan rolled his eyes. He looked at Jesper’s neck, noticing that the boy was wearing the scarf he’d given him. He tried not to blush at that. He then looked at Jesper’s hands and noticed the two cups he was holding.
“What’s that?”
“Hot chocolate! I got one for each of us,” Jesper explained, handing him a cup.
“Thank you! You didn’t have to do that.”
“I know.”
Wylan took a sip from the cup, letting out a sigh of relief as it warmed him up. Jesper was watching him silently for a moment before sitting beside him. He plucked the sketchbook from Wylan’s hands, not opening it yet.
“May I?” he asked.
“Since you were so polite. And because you bribed me with hot chocolate.”
Jesper opened the book and started carefully flipping through it. “Just had to make sure. I don’t want another incident on our hands.”
“Saints, I forgot about that. I guess it really wasn’t that long ago, but it feels like it happened ages ago.”
“A lot can happen in five weeks,” Jesper chuckled, “...I am sorry about that though. I know I didn’t give you a proper apology at the time.”
“Thank you, but don’t worry about it now. It’s water under the bridge.”
“Actually, it was water all over your notebook,” Jesper corrected.
Wylan laughed, and he could see the air in front of his face. He watched as Jesper continued to turn the pages of his sketchbook, flipping through the various pages of colorful drawings, detailed pencil portraits, and a few unfinished pieces. Jesper noticed a page that had been torn out and paper-clipped back in.
“Why was this one torn out?”
Wylan looked at it with a soft smile, “I wanted to use my watercolor paints on it, and I didn’t want it to bleed through onto the other pages.”
It was the blue butterfly and grey moth that Wylan had been working on not too long ago. He’d finally finished the painting, and he was very proud of it. Jesper ran his finger along the edge of the page, lost in thought.
“It’s kind of like us,”
“Which one is which?”
“I think it could go either way. I’d say you’re the butterfly, though.”
“Really?” Wylan laughed lightly, “I see myself more as the moth than I do the butterfly.”
“Like I said, it could go either way. Just like me,” Jesper winked.
Wylan rolled his eyes. Jesper handed the sketchbook back to him and leaned back. He fidgeted with the strings of his gloves as he fumbled for something else to say.
“So, where did you apply to college?”
“A bunch of places. My top choice is the University of Ketterdam, but I also applied to a really cool music school in Belendt,” Wylan’s eyes sparkled as he spoke about his options, “That one's a long shot though. What about you?”
Jesper shrugged. “I applied to Ketterdam too. I’m not really sure what I want to do or where I want to go.”
“You still have plenty of time to figure it out.”
Jesper had to hold back a laugh.
“My Da’s not in agreement. He thinks I’m four years behind on career planning. He is more stressed about my education than I am.”
Wylan frowned. “He just cares about you, Jes. I get why you’re frustrated, but… just remember that he’s doing it out of a place of love. He wants you to succeed.”
At first, Jesper was tempted to reply with a snarky comment. Wylan was supposed to be on his side, not his Da’s! But when he looked over and saw Wylan’s expression, his irritation melted away. Wylan was right. His father was doing it out of a place of love.
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Anyway, you said you’re going for music? That’s cool. What are you planning to do as a career?”
“Teach. Maybe perform on the side if time allows. What’s your plan so far?”
“Not sure. If I get into Ketterdam, I’ll probably go there and major in something like business. Or maybe sports management? I don’t know.”
“That could be cool. It would be nice to keep going to school together,” Wylan smiled.
“Yeah,” Jesper said quietly, “it would.”
They looked at each other for a moment, and Jesper suddenly felt hot, despite the frigid air around them. Wylan leaned in without realizing it. As soon as he noticed that he’d done that, he moved back to his original position. Jesper took note of this and slowly but confidently pulled off the scarf, wrapping it around Wylan’s neck with practiced precision. They were already close, but Jesper used the scarf to pull Wylan even closer. If Jesper were to so much as shiver in this position, his nose would collide with Wylan’s.
“I didn’t know a human being could get that red,” Jesper snickered.
Wylan shuddered, leaning back just enough to cover his face. He took a second to regain his composure before leaning back in.
“We don’t have to do anything you’re not ready for, Wy. We can-”
Jesper was interrupted as Wylan’s lips pressed against his own. It was messy and unsure. Jesper could feel the redhead’s hands hovering, unsure of where to go. He gently grabbed the boy’s shaking hands, moving one to his shoulder and the other to his hip. Wylan squeezed his shirt desperately. Jesper laughed and pulled away for a moment.
“You’re going to rip my shirt off at this rate. Normally that’d be very tempting, but it’s very chilly out here.”
“Right, sorry,” Wylan laughed awkwardly, loosening his grip.
Jesper moved back into the kiss, using one hand to cup Wylan’s face and resting the other on his hip. They remained like that for another moment, and Jesper could feel the thoughts swirling in his head. He was kissing Wylan. He was kissing the boy he liked. He liked Wylan.
He suddenly felt like he was going to throw up.
“That was really nice,” Wylan smiled as he pulled out of the kiss.
Jesper nodded as he tried to stamp down his feelings. He liked Wylan. This was a good thing. He was happy. He was going to be sick. He pulled out his phone and stood up abruptly.
“I- uh- I think my Da is calling me. I have to take this. I- I have to go,” he stammered out.
“Oh, alright. Get home safe,” Wylan tilted his head as he watched Jesper walk away.
Jesper pretended not to see the hurt and confusion in his eyes. He walked to a more secluded area of the park, standing behind a tree as he dialed his father’s number and listened to it ring for a moment. Pick up. Pick up. Pick up.
“Everything okay?” Colm’s voice rang out on the other end.
Jesper forced himself to take a breath. “Yeah- yeah, everything’s fine. Can you come pick me up when you get a chance?”
“I thought you were hanging out with Wylan?”
“He um… he had to leave early. His family wanted him home.”
It was a dumb excuse, and they both knew it, but Colm didn’t push it. He told Jesper he was on his way before hanging up the phone. Suddenly, Jesper could feel just how cold it was outside. He kicked a rock around, listening to it thud against the grass. It was a poor attempt to take his mind off the fact that his hands were starting to feel numb. Whether that numbness was from the frosty weather or his anxious feelings manifesting physically, Jesper wasn’t sure.
Jesper could barely wait for the car to be parked before climbing in. He turned on the radio as soon as he got in.
Colm tapped his fingers against the steering wheel as he started to drive off, “Do you want to talk about it?”
“If I try to talk about it, the interior of the car will be painted green.”
Colm nodded. Jesper made a mental note to show his father some extra gratitude when he calmed down. He watched the trees through the window as the car drove past, trying to find something to ease his mind. He blew some air onto the window and started making shapes in the fog.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
He went straight to his room and put on some music. He wasn’t really paying attention to it, but it still helped. He didn’t know why he was like this. He wanted this. He’d wanted Wylan to like him back. He’d wanted to kiss Wylan. Why was it that the second he got that, he suddenly wanted to change his name and flee the country? He liked Wylan. He still liked Wylan. Why was he acting like this? What was wrong with him?
He heard his phone buzzing, and he intentionally ignored it. He didn’t want to read it. He didn’t want to confront what had just happened. He wanted it to go away. It kept going off. Every thirty seconds or so, he could feel it buzz through his jacket pocket. Eventually, he pulled out his phone so that he could turn on Do Not Disturb. If he didn’t do that, the buzzing was going to drive him to kick his phone across the room.
He opened his phone to turn on DND but noticed the messages weren’t from Wylan. They were from Kaz and Nina. He could talk to Kaz, and he would love to talk to Nina. That was fine. He clicked on the notifications.
bossy emo (3:42 P.M.): Please educate your… whatever you two are on dealer etiquette. I now need to get a new number. It is very inconvenient.
Dealer etiquette? What? He had no idea what Kaz was talking about right now. Why did Kaz want him to educate Wylan on etiquette? He decided to open the texts from Nina before answering Kaz. There were many more from her. They were mostly just TikToks and Reels that Nina had found funny. Jesper hesitated for a moment before calling her.
“Jesper?” Nina’s voice rang out through the phone.
He cleared his throat, “Hey.”
“Hi,” Nina started carefully. She’d already picked up on the fact that something was wrong, “How’d things go with Wylan today? You told me you two were going to hang out until 5 o’clock.”
“...We kissed.”
Normally, Nina would have cheered and thrown a party in Jesper’s honor, but she must have picked up on the nervousness in Jesper’s voice.
“Okay,” she answered, dragging out the “a” sound, “And how do you feel about that?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“Mm, well, that’s helpful.”
Jesper forced out a small laugh, “I… I like Wylan. A lot. More than I’ve liked any of my exes.”
Nina hummed in acknowledgement on the other line, and Jesper began explaining what had happened in the park. He described how one minute it was fine and then all of a sudden a switch flipped in Jesper’s brain.
“It’s not like he’s a terrible kisser or anything either! That’s not why I felt sick. I just… I don’t know,” Jesper sighed, unable to articulate what was going on in his mind.
“It just felt too real, too quickly, and your brain couldn’t handle it?” Nina offered.
“Yes! Exactly! See, you get it. And now it feels like any mention of Wylan makes me want to run for the hills, which makes no sense. I like him! I’m not just leading him on or something-”
“I know. It sounds to me like you’re dealing with some avoidant tendencies.”
“Ew, don’t go all therapist on me,” Jesper whined playfully.
“But I’m not wrong, am I?”
Jesper thought about it for a moment. Nina had a point. He was running from a stable, healthy connection with someone he liked for no reason. Sounded pretty avoidant to him.
“No, you’re not wrong,” he relented, “But what am I supposed to do about that?”
“I don’t know. I’m not an actual therapist. My advice is to text Wylan and be honest about it.”
“Be honest about my feelings? I think I’d rather tear off my skin.”
They both laughed for a moment. He knew Nina was right, but he really didn’t want to talk about his feelings with Wylan. He was getting nauseous just thinking about it. After a moment of silence, Nina spoke up again.
“I know it’s scary, but I promise it will be worth it. Do you want me to help you draft a text to him or anything?”
Jesper sighed, “No, no. I should talk to him about it in person.”
“Are you just using that as an excuse to put off talking to him?”
“... A little. But I also do genuinely think it would be better to talk about this kind of thing face to face.”
“Alright, if you say so. Let me know if you need any more help with this. I’m always here for you,” Nina said softly.
“Thanks. Hey, um, please don’t tell anyone about what I told you. About Wylan and I kissing, I mean. I don’t want people spreading things before I talk to him. I don’t want him thinking I’m the type to kiss and tell.”
“Too late,” Inej’s voice came through, “Don’t worry, your secret is safe with Nina and I.”
That’s wonderful. Just great. Jesper may as well start planning his funeral because he was sure he would die of embarrassment after this. He would have multiple different cake flavors and blow up guitars everywhere. Did they have cakes at funerals?
Jesper was also planning his apology to Wylan. What would he even say? Should he bring some sort of apology gift? When was he going to talk to Wylan? He knew he had to make it up to Wylan with a good, proper apology, and he was determined to do exactly that.
Lessons in Chemistry and Chaos Masterlist
Read on AO3 || Main Masterlist
Pairing: Wylan Van Eck x Jesper Fahey
Back to School - Chapter 1
The Rumor Mill and the Grocery Store - Chapter 2
Cafeteria Cleanup Crew - Chapter 3
TBA - Chapter 4
TBD - Chapter 5
TBD - Chapter 6
TBD - Chapter 7
TBD - Chapter 8
TBD - Chapter 9
TBD - Chapter 10
Lessons in Chemistry and Chaos - Chapter 1
Back to School
Read on AO3 || Story Masterlist
Wylan was already irritated and it was no later than 7:30 in the morning. It was the first day of professional development for his new job as a teacher at Ketterdam High School and he’d almost been late because some jerk didn’t know how to drive properly. Then, he went into the building and had a conversation with the secretary, Nina, who handed him a piece of paper with his classroom number on it. He’d told his boss about his dyslexia, but Kaz must not have passed on the information and Wylan was too embarrassed to say anything.
That’s how he ended up searching the halls for a room that didn’t exist. He was wandering around the history hallway, confused as to why his room would be there but searching nonetheless. He’d been hired to teach General Music and A.P. Chemistry. Neither of those were history classes, but his paper very clearly said “HO3.” The “H” must’ve been for history, he hadn’t figured out what the “O” was for, and it should’ve been the third room. Right?
When he finally found the room, there was already someone in there setting up. Wylan glanced back and forth between the man and the paper for a minute. He must’ve lingered too long because the man spoke without even looking at him.
“You’ve lost your ability to sneak up on me, Inej.”
Wylan scratched his neck awkwardly, “Um- I’m not Inej. Sorry. My name is-”
The man looked up and his eyes shone with recognition as he interrupted, “I know you from somewhere. I’ve seen your face around.”
Wylan paused. He’d certainly never met this man. He would’ve remembered. He would’ve been thinking about that face for ages. Maybe the man recognized him from the news articles about his father’s business? Wylan hoped not. He was trying to start a new life, separate from his father. He’d even started dying his hair brown with some box dye he’d found at the store by his apartment.
“We’ve never met. I’m Wylan Hendriks. I’m one of the new teachers this year.”
“Nice to meet you. I’m Jesper Fahey,” The man came to the doorway, holding out his hand for Wylan to shake it.
Wylan shook his hand, holding back a grin. He had a firm grip and his hand was warm, unlike Wylan’s. Wylan could feel the heat drawing to his face. He was trying to come up with something else to discuss but Jesper beat him to it.
“Is there a reason you were watching me in the hallway, or is that just something you do? Not that I mind, of course. You can ogle me as long as you wish,” Jesper teased.
Wylan suddenly snapped back into reality, “Right! I can’t seem to find the room I’m supposed to be in. I’ve kinda been wandering aimlessly. The secretary gave me a paper with my room on it, but uh… I’ve been struggling to decipher it. Where is Ho 3?”
Jesper looked like he was trying to decide whether to laugh in Wylan’s face or ask follow up questions. Wylan handed the paper to Jesper hastily, as if to prove that he wasn’t crazy. He looked down at it for a moment, looked back at Wylan, then back at the paper again. He bit his lip to contain a laugh.
“I think that’s a four. You’re looking for room 403. Unless you are looking for a promiscuous room labeled number three,” Jesper said earnestly.
If Wylan hadn’t been flushing before, he most definitely was now. He felt like an absolute moron. Why hadn’t he thought of the fact that it could be a four? All this time, he’d been trying to decode the writing like it was an ancient riddle, when in reality it was more akin to a children’s nursery rhyme. How could he teach high schoolers if he couldn’t read a simple three digit number?
Wylan swallowed thickly, “Oh. Of course. That- that makes so much more sense. Thank you for your help.”
“I can walk you there if you want. I don’t have much to unpack so I’ve got more than enough time for a detour.”
In any other scenario, Wylan would have said yes to the gorgeous man offering to walk him to his classroom, but right now Wylan wanted to crawl out of his skin. He shook his head quickly as he started walking to the stairwell.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The next day was the first official day of school. Wylan was already fully prepped for the day, with his room fully decorated and his lesson plans for the week finished. There were still a few minutes until the school day started, but students were filing in, so he was standing outside of his room and monitoring the halls. He smiled warmly at the kids as they walked past him, trying to figure out where their classes were and meeting up with friends to walk together.
All of his classes went smoothly as he went over the syllabus and gave the students a fun “Get to Know Me” assignment. It was generic and cheesy, but Wylan thought it was cute! His students didn’t seem to agree but they were just happy to not have any actual work and get to hang out with their friends in person again.
At lunch, Wylan made his way into the staff lounge. There were a few people already there, sitting at a table together. Wylan contemplated asking to sit with them but ultimately decided to play it safe. He sat at one of the unoccupied tables and started to eat his food quietly.
“Hendriks! Come join us,” A familiar voice called. It was the man from before, Jesper.
Wylan grabbed his things and moved to sit with Jesper, the secretary, and a man he didn’t recognize. He smiled politely at the man and was given a simple nod in return.
“Have you met Matthias and Nina yet?” Jesper asked.
Wylan shook his head, “Not officially, no. It’s nice to meet you both. I’m Wylan.”
He stuck out his hand for Nina and Matthias to shake. Nina laughed before gently shaking his hand. When she was done, Matthias shook his hand with a much more firm grip. He had to be some sort of athletics coach. Wylan winced quietly as he drew his hand away.
Nina chuckled, “You’re so formal. Delightfully Kerch. It’s lovely to meet you.”
Matthias gave him another nod before returning his full attention to his food. Nina was multitasking, although she wasn’t doing the best job at it. Wylan was searching for the most tactful way to point out the mess on her chest, but someone beat him to it.
“You have crumbs on your cleavage,” Kaz stated simply, tapping his cane against the ground.
“Kaz. How lovely of you to grace us with your presence. Are you going to eat in here like the rest of us or are you simply visiting before going back to your chamber of doom?” Nina asked.
“No. Inej left something and I’m retrieving it for her before going back to my office. She’s in a meeting with a student right now.”
This Inej person seemed to be a household name around here.
Jesper opened a bag of chips, “Seriously? How do kids already need a trip to the counselor on the first day?”
Wylan tried not to find that comment insensitive. There were plenty of reasons a student may need to talk to a counselor. If Wylan had gone to public school, he probably would have been in the counselors office at least four times a day.
“She’s the one in charge of their schedules, so when students need them changed she’s the one they go to.”
Inej was the counselor! That made so much more sense. Wylan had met her in passing, but they’d never fully introduced themselves to each other. Kaz grabbed something off the counter and promptly exited. Most students listened for the sound of obnoxious lanyards and keys when trying to avoid an administrator at other schools. Here, the students listened for Kaz’s cane taps. They almost never heard him until they were already caught.
“So, Wylan, I finally figured out where I recognized you from,” Jesper started.
Wylan’s heart sank, “Is that so?”
“Yep. It took a lot of googling, but I did eventually figure it out. You need decent research skills to be a good history teacher after all. I think the reason it took so long is because you used to have red hair and now it’s brown. So anyway, who’s the lucky lady? Or lad?”
Wylan tilted his head, “Pardon?”
“Well, nobody gives up a name with as much power as Van Eck without a reason. The most reasonable assumption was marriage.”
Wylan watched as Nina and Matthias recognized the name. Wylan wanted to dig through the floorboards and give himself a closed casket funeral.
He forced a small laugh and tried to put on a brave face, “Your assumption is incorrect. I mean, I don’t even have a ring either. You’ll have to work on your reasoning and deduction skills.”
“Ouch. That’s one of my teaching standards too,” Jesper snickered, “Seriously though, why would you-”
“I’d rather not talk about it,” Wylan replied a bit too sharply.
Jesper’s face scrunched and he turned to talk to Nina instead. Shit. Not even fully through the day and he’d already screwed up his chance with the hot history teacher. Not like he’d ever really had a chance anyway. Who would want to date a coworker? That was a recipe for disaster. He started picking at his nailbeds as he listened to Nina and Jesper’s conversation.
He was in the middle of taking a bite out of his food when Jesper suddenly switched back to talking to him, “Isn’t that right, Wylan?”
“Sorry, could you repeat that?” Wylan asked awkwardly, covering his mouth with his hand so he didn’t spit out his food onto Jesper.
“I said, Nina’s handwriting is impossible to read. I was telling her about what happened yesterday.”
Was Jesper trying to humiliate him?
“Yeah- yesterday. That wasn’t entirely Nina’s fault,” Wylan coughed.
Nina pulled the wrapper off of a lollipop, “See! Told you so.”
“Ah but it was still definitely a factor. Nina’s handwriting is like hieroglyphics. I feel like I become illiterate whenever I try to read it.”
This had to be on purpose. Did Kaz tell Jesper about his dyslexia? It wasn’t exactly a secret, but now Jesper was using it as a way to mock him. He’d grown up with enough of that. He didn’t need it at his place of work as well. He packed up his food and cleared his throat.
“Thank you for inviting me to sit with you guys. I need to go get things ready for my next class.”
Once Wylan was out of the room, the three remaining exchanged a glance.
“What was that all about?” Jesper grumbled.
Nina answered. “I think you upset him.”
“How? I wasn’t even joking about him, I was joking about you! Why would he be upset about that?”
“Maybe you said something hurtful and didn’t realize it. You might’ve mentioned something that applied to him too.”
“What, does he also have horrible handwriting? That’s hardly something to be butthurt over,” Jesper thought for a moment more, “He did the same thing yesterday too. We were having a perfectly normal conversation and then all of a sudden he was rushing away.”
Jesper was so very close to connecting the dots and realizing the similarities between the conversations but before he could do so, the bell rang. He gathered his things and headed back to his classroom. The interaction had bothered Jesper, as much as he didn’t want to admit it. What was that guy’s problem? Was he one of those rich snobs that put up a nice face but silently disdained anyone they deemed lesser than them?
That must be it.
What is High School Band if Not Drama with Instrumental Backing - Chapter 6
Sunshine, Sleep, and the Shu
Read on AO3 || Story Masterlist
Wylan was at school at 9:30 pm on a Friday. Mr. Wassel had told them to be there at 9:45 to load onto the bus for the band competition, and Wylan was not taking any chances. He did not need to be on anybody else’s bad side. He was standing outside of the school building, shivering slightly at the January air as he watched other people start to arrive. Once everyone was there, Mr. Wassel started his usual speech.
“Listen up! Everyone here already knows the drill. Don’t injure each other, that’s a lot of paperwork for me, don’t do anything illegal, and don’t annoy me. Things will be a little different this year though. Starting from this trip onward, I want girls in the front and boys in the back.”
A chorus of groans erupted and Mr. Wassel rolled his eyes.
“Blame last year’s seniors, don’t blame me. Get your stuff and get on the bus.”
Everyone started loading in, and Wylan was lucky enough to get a seat to himself! That was essentially unheard of for trips like this. He tucked his duffel back under his seat, put in his earbuds, and started on a new page of his sketchbook. He was starting to finally feel peaceful, when he felt a tap on his shoulder.
“This seat taken?”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.”
Jesper shoved his bag under the seat hastily, “I’m not happy about it either. It’s the only seat left. You’re stuck with me.”
Wylan forced himself to not make a scene and looked out the window. He turned up the volume on his music as he prayed to Ghezen not to leave this band trip with a murder charge. Jesper seemed to be content chatting with the people around them, leaving Wylan alone for now. His prayers had been answered! At least, he thought they had been.
Turns out, talking people’s ears off as they’re trying to sleep on an overnight band bus ride isn’t the best way to make friends. Jesper droned on and on and on and on. He didn’t get the hint that everyone else wanted to rest. Or if he did, he didn’t care.
Wylan could see the irritation on everyone’s faces, but Jesper didn’t seem to care. Wylan sucked in a deep breath as he decided to bite the bullet. It was for the greater good.
“Jesper, could you please stop talking?” He asked through his teeth, trying to maintain a polite tone.
“You’d like that, wouldn’t you?”
Someone else voiced Wylan’s thought, loudly groaning, “Everyone would!”
Jesper frowned slightly, but quickly forced himself back into a poker face. He tried to be quiet, he really did, but that lasted all of two seconds. It was also the most excruciating two seconds of Jesper’s life. When he turned to start talking to the kids behind them, Wylan stopped him.
“What is your issue?”
Jesper bounced his leg, looking like he was about to throw up, “You may have gathered this about me, but silences, they really aren’t my favorite thing.”
“If I give you my other earbud will you just shut up? Everyone, including me, is trying to sleep.”
“Who’s to say I don’t have headphones of my own?”
“Do you?” Wylan raised an eyebrow.
“...No. I forgot them at home and it was too late to turn back when I realized,” Jesper grumbled, “Alright, fine. Just as long as you’re not listening to classical, like some pretentious jerk.”
Wylan shoved the earbud into Jesper’s hand and quickly switched his playlist. He had the funniest feeling that Jesper wouldn’t particularly want to listen to Summer Child by Conan Gray, and that the song would raise some questions. He didn’t have the energy for that. He hit play on a playlist of mostly upbeat songs. Don’t Stop the Music by Rihanna started playing, and Jesper looked over.
“You like Rihanna?”
“Who doesn’t?” Wylan asked, as if it was the most absurd question he’d ever received.
“What’s your favorite song?”
So much for not talking.
“Only girl in the world. Or Breaking Dishes. Both are great.”
“Mm. You like her white girl hits.”
Wylan looked at him like he was a certified moron, “Well… yes? I am a white boy. That would make sense.”
“You’re funny.”
Wylan didn’t respond. He fell asleep very shortly afterwards, with his head resting against the window.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
When he woke up, Jesper was already talking to the people around them again. Wylan’s other earbud was back in its case. He rubbed his eyes with the sleeve of his sweater, willing himself to wake up.
“Good morning, sunshine. I’ve got some wonderful pictures of you now, you know. I think I’m going to send them to Disney for the live action Sleeping Beauty,” Jesper teased.
Wylan couldn’t be bothered to formulate a real response, simply grumbling disgruntled gibberish under his breath. He put his other earbud in his ear, now that Jesper had returned it, and switched his playlist back to the softer songs. The next time he woke up, he was much happier. They were only about ten minutes from the hotel, and the sun was now fully out. He even decided he would try to make conversation with Jesper.
“Why do they split up the genders?”
“Uh, do you not remember last year when three different couples got caught being freaky and we had to stop the bus?” Jesper laughed.
Wylan’s face got three shades redder, realizing how stupid he must sound, “...No. I just thought we stopped for gas.”
“You don’t pay attention to much, do you? Well, that’s why we have to sit with our assigned genders at birth. Which is working great, until you remember that gay people exist.”
They stepped off the bus and Mr. Wassel began handing out room keys. People were being sorted into groups of two or three people per room. Things were going well, until Wylan realized that the amount of people he could possibly be paired with was dwindling rapidly. It was looking more and more like he was going to be rooming with-
“Jesper Fahey! You’ll be with Wylan. Here’s your key,” Jesper opened his mouth to protest, and was immediately shut down, “Nope. If you don’t like it, that’s too bad. Suck it up and try to think of it as a bonding activity or something. I don’t care.”
Wylan bit his tongue and tightened his grip on his duffel bag. Splendid. They walked up to their room and started getting their things set up. Jesper tossed his bag on one bed, so Wylan tossed his on the other. They had some time to kill before they had to meet back downstairs for dinner, so Wylan got his laptop out and sat at the desk.
“Oh no, you’ve taken the cuck chair. That’s probably very fitting for you.”
Wylan ignored him.
“What are you working on?”
“English work,” Wylan answered, making his voice as uninterested as he possibly could.
“What teacher?”
“Mrs. Borenstein.”
“Mrs. Borenstein? Ugh, I hate her! I have her too. But… you’re not in that class.”
Wylan forced himself to respond, “I’m in her fifth period.”
“Isn’t that her sped class though?” Jesper snickered.
Wylan wanted to cry at those words. He hated everything about that statement. The way it came out of Jesper’s mouth so effortlessly. How little he cared about the way someone might feel if they heard that directed at them. How he’d laughed it off, as if Wylan was kidding. Or maybe the snicker had been meant mockingly. Maybe Jesper was being cruel purposefully. Maybe that’s what he’d been doing all along, and Wylan had been too stupid to notice. Just like with everything else.
“...That’s her aided education class, yes.”
“Oh. Oh! You’re… oh. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that in a bad way.”
“There’s really only one way to mean it, Jesper.”
Jesper paused, “You know, for someone who is always on my ass about the assumptions I make, you seem to be making plenty of your own.”
“Touché. Guess we both have blind spots when it comes to that.”
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
When the time came, they both headed down to the lobby so they could go to dinner. When they got there, they were surprised to see another high school’s band filling up the room as they got checked in. Wylan was admiring the art on the wall when he heard someone start speaking. He looked over and saw a boy talking to Jesper. They seemed to be having a great conversation, despite Wylan being unable to hear it. The boy appeared to be from a private academy in Shu Han. Wylan clenched his fist without even realizing it.
He felt his pocket buzzing, and pulled it out to reveal the group chat picture that Nina had set. It was a picture of Kaz at the zoo with a crow beside him. Wylan assumed it was from a group outing that happened before he was invited to join them. He’d honestly forgotten he was in the group chat. Jesper also glanced down at his phone and typed out a quick message. Wylan clicked the “Mark as Unread” button and made a mental note to read it later, when he could have the screen reader play his messages without making Wylan appear like a ninety year old woman yelling at her phone. The sweaters didn’t help with that.
Wylan looked back at Jesper only to see the Shu boy holding his phone. He typed something in, then took a silly selfie of himself before handing it back. They were exchanging phone numbers. Wylan felt a pit forming in his stomach. He shook his head, dismissing it as hunger. He followed Mr. Wassel to the restaurant, keeping his head down. He felt his phone buzzing again and opened it to see a picture of himself, sleeping on the bus.
Whether Jesper was trying to humiliate him out of hatred or friendship, Wylan was unsure of. He put his phone on Do Not Disturb and sat down at one of the tables. They’d split the band up into a couple different tables and told them to sit wherever. Jesper sat beside him once again.
“Do you take pleasure in my misery?”
Jesper chuckled, “Calm down, drama llama. This was the only open seat.”
“Of course it was,” Wylan groaned.
They managed to get through the meal without any major mishaps, and Wylan even managed to snap an unflattering picture of Jesper with soup dribbling down his face. He sent it to the group chat and had to contain his giggles until Jesper opened his phone.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Wylan was laying in bed, scrolling mindlessly on his phone while Jesper got ready for bed. Wylan had already showered, brushed his teeth, and gotten in pajamas about an hour before. He was trying to take his mind off the boy from earlier when Jesper walked out of the bathroom. He was wearing plaid pajama pants, and… nope that was it. Wylan forced himself to look away, despite how tempting it was to watch the water roll off Jesper’s chest. He squeezed his eyes shut to reset his mind, before quickly reopening his phone.
“Yikes, never had that reaction to someone seeing me shirtless before. That bad, huh?”
Wylan whipped his head up, “What- no! No, of course not.”
“I’m fucking with you, Wylan. Ease up,” Jesper laughed, “You act like I’m the first person you’ve seen shirtless before.”
Wylan’s silence spoke volumes. Jesper paused in his tracks before sitting on the edge of Wylan’s bed.
“No shot. There’s no way. Wylan, are you a senior in high school seeing someone shirtless for the first time?”
“...No.”
“Online doesn’t count.”
Wylan flushed and turned his attention back to his screen.
“This is priceless. I can’t believe it!”
“You don’t have to be an ass about it,” Wylan bit out sharply.
“Hey- don’t be embarrassed! Plenty of people are waiting til marriage-”
Wylan frowned, “I didn’t say that.”
“Oh Wylan,” Jesper cackled, nearly rolling off the bed, “That’s even worse! You really aren’t helping your case.”
“You’re an asshole.”
“If I’m an asshole, you’re a prude!”
Wylan crossed his arms over his chest and looked at the ceiling, silently trying to convince himself that this wasn’t the most uncomfortable conversation he’s ever had.
“I’m sorry that I’m not attractive like you are. I don’t have people lining out the door for me.”
“Oh, you flatter me,” Jesper grinned, standing up and flopping down onto his own bed.
“Don’t get full of yourself.”
“Too late. You called me attractive.”
“No, I didn’t!” Wylan protested.
“Uh, yeah you did. Your exact words were ‘I’m sorry that I’m not attractive like you are.’ I’m intentionally ignoring how pitiful that comment is.”
Wylan rolled his eyes and shifted onto his side so he didn’t have to look at Jesper. Every interaction he had with Jesper left him feeling shittier than before. Why did he keep entertaining this? Why did he keep playing into his games?
“You know, you don’t have to feel bad about it. I just happen to be quite the lady’s man.”
No response.
“And you know, I’ve had plenty of guys say I look pretty good too. Though most of them were drunk or being sarcastic, so…”
Silence again.
“You know, we’ve already kinda established that I hate being left alone with my thoughts, so I’d appreciate it if you gave me something to work with here.”
Was Wylan dead or something? Jesper got up and walked over to the side Wylan was facing. He looked fast asleep. Jesper took that as his cue to go to sleep as well. Turns out, Wylan’s father was good for something after all. He was now very convincing when it came to acting like he was asleep. It was a good way to avoid difficult conversations.
What is High School Band if Not Drama with Instrumental Backing - Chapter 5
Right Back at Square One
Read on AO3 || Story Masterlist
By the end of second period, Jesper was already ready to call it quits. He’d gotten almost no sleep the night before. First period, they had a simple chemistry lab. Wylan wasn’t in class, so Jesper had to join a group of two guys that barely acknowledged his existence. The other boys insisted on doing all the work and when Jesper finally got to do something, his gloves ripped halfway through it. Then, Mr. Kumari had gotten on Jesper’s ass about his missing assignments.
“Mr. Fahey, if you spent as much time talking as you did working, you’d be a CEO by now.”
What a jerk. Yeah, he had a few missing assignments. So what? He had other things to do. He had a life outside of school. He had a band competition to practice for, and he had animals to take care of. He couldn’t just drop everything to memorize the differences between covalent and ionic bonds.
His second period class wasn’t much better. Wylan still wasn’t in class. He must not be at school today. And now, Jesper had yet another teacher breathing down his neck. All he wanted to do was put his head down and catch up on some rest so he could enjoy PE, but his nap was rudely interrupted with a textbook slamming in front of him. Where’d she even get a textbook? They didn’t have one for this class! Did she seriously have an old textbook purely to piss off students who wanted to sleep in her class?
“Mr. Fahey, I don’t believe ‘dozing off’ is one of the approved tasks that I have listed on the board. If you need something to do, you can work on the assignments that you still haven’t turned in.”
Jesper rolled his eyes and sat up. He started doodling on the edge of his paper, trying to make himself look busy. Mrs. Campbell needed to lay off. She shared a name with a soup brand, for Ghezen’s sake. She had bigger fish to fry than Jesper’s work ethic.
It was about halfway into third period, and they’d just finished up their fitness benchmark testing. Coach Briganti told the class they could do whatever, just as long as they were being active and weren’t getting her in trouble. Jesper and Nina were walking and talking about the lunchroom drama when he heard the teacher speaking from the other end of the gym.
“Mr-”
If Jesper had to hear the words “Mr. Fahey” leave another adult’s mouth, he was going to scream.
“Mr. Van Eck, how lovely of you to finally join us. Would you like to explain why you missed half of my class?”
Jesper turned, and Wylan was behind him in the entryway of the gym. He looked caught off guard by the immediate confrontation and quickly scurried up to where she was standing. He handed her a small blue strip of paper, and Coach Briganti rolled her eyes.
“You were in the counselor’s office?” Briganti announced rather loudly, “What was so important that you missed my class for it? You missed the fitness and agility tests.”
Wylan glanced around, trying to ignore the eyes on him, “Um- The counselor said if you had any questions to email her.”
Coach Briganti eyed Wylan suspiciously, clearly about to make a snide remark or ask him more invasive questions. Before Jesper could think twice, he picked up the nearest ball, a foam soccer ball with a large chunk of it missing and lobbed it towards the ceiling. It got stuck in between one of the basketball hoops, catching the teacher’s attention. Bingo.
She groaned as she looked at the stuck ball, mentally preparing to try retrieving it, “Whatever, kid. Just go do something active.”
Wylan nodded and quickly dropped his stuff over by the bleachers before she could change her mind. He put in his earbuds and started walking around the gym, a few feet behind Jesper and Nina. Nina nudged Jesper as if to ask, “What was that about?” but Jesper didn’t acknowledge it. He started walking slower and gestured for Nina to do the same. Eventually, they were in line with Wylan.
“What’re you listening to?”
“Hm? Oh- I’m listening to the audiobook version of the book we’re reading in my English class.”
“Boring,” Jesper whined, “Nina, tell Wylan about what happened at lunch.”
“Someone dumped a trash can onto another girl because they were fighting over an ex.”
“A trash can? Like one of the little classroom ones?”
“No. The full-size ones they have in the cafeteria. The two girls were fighting over a girl that barely even likes either of them. It was very funny.”
Wylan chuckled as he put his earbud in its case. Jesper picked up a small tennis ball, tossing it between his hands. Jesper pondered for a moment, trying to find a subtle way to find out where Wylan had been all morning.
“You didn’t miss much in Chem or Algebra. We did a lab, but Mr. Kumari said you’ll be excused from making it up, and Mrs. Campbell said she’ll give you an extra day for the work in her class.”
“Oh, thank you.”
Nina, blunt as ever, got straight to the point, “Where were you? Skipping?”
“No! No, of course not,” Wylan laughed awkwardly.
“Then what were you doing?”
“I had a meeting with my counselor.”
“About what? Did you need to get a schedule change?”
“It was about my fifth period class.”
Jesper scrutinized Wylan’s expression. The answer didn’t seem like a total lie, but it was definitely not the entire truth. What was Wylan’s fifth period, and why did he have to spend nearly three class periods in the counselor’s office talking about it? Jesper wanted to ask, but he didn’t want to upset Wylan. He decided to err on the side of caution after yesterday’s incident. “Better safe than sorry” Wylan had said.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
Jesper slammed the door as he climbed into the passenger seat of Nina’s car.
“Hey! Be gentle with my baby!” She scolded, getting into the driver’s seat.
Jesper ignored her, already digging through the glovebox. Nina was used to him rifling through her things, so she left him to his devices as she turned on the car radio. Jesper eventually managed to get his hands on the lighter he’d been looking for.
“Are the joints in the backseat or the trunk?”
Nina rolled her eyes, “You can’t even wait until we get out of the school parking lot? Ghezen, Jes. I thought I was bad!”
Jesper didn’t pay her any mind as he put the lighter in his pocket and started crawling over the seats into the back of the car. He looked around as Nina put the air freshener on her dash.
“Are you seriously not going to let me drive away before we start?” Nina asked.
Jesper tried not to frown at the concern in her voice. He didn’t want to get into the specifics of his shitty day. He just wanted to light a joint and relax. This was one of the few days a week where he didn’t have anything to do. He’d been telling his dad for the past year that he was going to the weekly math tutoring that the school offered, when really he was hotboxing with Nina.
“Fine. Your funeral. If admin catches us, it’ll be your dad you have to deal with. My fosters couldn’t care less.”
“They won’t catch us. They don’t check any of the cars unless someone reports something.”
Jesper found the joints in a bag in the backseat, grinning like a madman. He threw himself back into the passenger seat and held up the bag. He pulled out one of the joints, resealed the bag, and set it on the center console.
“Damn Nina, you pre-rolled enough for the rest of the school year!”
“More like enough to last us until spring break, at the rate we’re going.”
He snickered as he lit the joint. Nina raised the volume on the radio, which was playing some shitty pop song that Jesper couldn’t bring himself to make fun of at the moment. It didn’t take long for them to start to feel the effects of the weed. Nina was in the middle of some long-winded rant about some misogynistic comment one of Matthias’s football friends made when there was a soft tapping against Nina’s window. Jesper jumped out of his skin while Nina quickly sprayed the air freshener. She rolled down her window and Wylan smiled sheepishly.
“Hey! You dropped this on your way out of PE and…” He paused, “Are you guys smoking?”
“Yeah, is that alright with you, hotshot?”
Nina shoved him gently, “Don’t be snippy, Jes. What were you saying, Wylan?”
Wylan forced down a cough as he held up a small earring, “You dropped this on your way out of PE. I tried to catch up to you, but you walk really fast. I was gonna give it back tomorrow in class but I saw your car out here.”
“Oh my god!” Nina gasped, “I knew I wasn’t nuts! Thank you, Wylan, I’ve been looking for this!”
“Of course. No worries,”
Jesper watched as Wylan lingered at the side of the car. He was holding his breath, and the bridge of his nose was scrunched up like someone had brought eggs and tuna for lunch.
“Why are you still standing there? You gonna join us or not, Spicy Mayo?”
Wylan ran his hand through his curls, frowning at the nickname. “Spicy Mayo” was certainly more creative than asking if the curtains matched the drapes, to Jesper’s credit, but it still wasn’t the kindest thing to say.
“That’s a new one,” He mumbled.
Nina looked over at Jesper, his snappy tone not going unnoticed. She shot him a look, silently asking, “What is going on with you today?” and Jesper pretended not to notice. His head was starting to hurt. Maybe he should’ve gone home. Smoking on very little sleep was a bad idea. It’s not like he could leave right now though, unless he wanted Nina to risk a DUI for him.
“I should get going. I’ll see you both tomorrow.”
Nina waved as he wandered off and rolled the window back up. Once Wylan was gone, she turned back to Jesper.
“What was that all about?”
“Nothing.”
“No, don’t give me that. This isn’t like you. Spill.”
“I don’t know, Nina. I’ve just had a long day,” Jesper ran a hand over his face.
Nina opened her mouth to press further than that but decided against it. At least there was that to be grateful for. Matthias opened the car door, ejecting Nina from the driver’s seat. He left the door open so the car could air out as everyone switched seats. That was another part of their routine. Matthias would drive them home after he got out of practice. Jesper got up and laid down in the backseat. Nina woke him up when they got to his house, and Jesper snuck upstairs while his dad was working on something in their yard.
───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ───── ───── ⋆⋅☆⋅⋆ ─────
The next morning was significantly better. He’d gotten a lot more rest and even woke up early enough to finish a couple of his missing assignments! He walked into Chemistry with a grin on his face. Jesper sat down and spun around in his chair for a moment, while Wylan appeared lost in thought.
“You okay over there, nepo? You look like you’re trying to blow something up with your mind.”
Nepo, as in nepo baby. Not a totally inaccurate description but a hurtful one, nonetheless. Jesper was good at those, it seemed.
“Yeah. Fine. Just thinking.”
“You do that a lot.”
“I think most people do?” Wylan replied.
“I don’t.”
“I can tell.”
“Ouch,” Jesper gasped, throwing himself backwards dramatically and accidentally falling out of his chair, “Shit- ouch!”
Wylan covered his mouth as he tried his best not to laugh. Mr. Kumari sent Jesper a warning glare as he brushed himself off and got back into his seat. Once he collected himself, he turned his attention back to Wylan.
“Are you excited for the band trip?”
Wylan nodded simply as he worked on one of his sketches. They sat in awkward silence as Jesper tried to find something else to say. Jesper, as always, managed to find the worst possible option and blurt it out before he could stop himself.
“What’s it like at the merchers’ dinners? Are you meeting any celebrities at them? Have you met Leonardo DiCaprio?”
“Um- no. I don’t even really go to them most of the time.”
“Why?”
Because his father was embarrassed of him enough as is and didn’t need Wylan saying anything stupid to amplify that, Wylan thought.
“Because it’s not necessary.”
“You’re telling me your father isn’t chomping at the bit to parade around his darling son? I don’t buy it.”
You’d think Jesper would’ve learned his lesson the first time.
“No, he isn’t. I’d really appreciate it if we could stop talking about this now.”
“Why?”
Wylan grimaced, “What, are you Socrates or something? Is ‘why’ the only word in your vocabulary?”
“Fiery today, aren’t you?”
Wylan couldn’t tell if that was another dig at his hair color or if it was coincidence. Either way, it set him off.
“Is there a reason you’re asking so many questions?”
“Is it so crazy to think that maybe I’m just trying to get to know you?”
“Actually, yes. It is.”
Jesper sat up straighter, “What’s that supposed to mean?”
Wylan didn’t answer, not wanting to get yelled at by Mr. Kimura for another argument in his class. The bell rang shortly after, and Wylan hurried out of the room.
“You’re not getting out of this by running away. What did I even do this time?”
“Do you hear yourself?” Wylan scoffed, “Do you ever actually listen to the words coming out of your mouth?”
Jesper’s morning was ruined by second period, just like the day before.
“Saints, look, I’m sorry for whatever it was that I said-”
“I don’t want an apology. I want you to understand what you did.”
“Explain it to me then. I can’t read your mind!”
“You keep making comments about my home life and my family as if you know what goes on behind closed doors. You really didn’t learn, even after my fucking toddler meltdown. Which, whatever, that’s fine. That’s nothing new. It’s just so infuriating when you say all this cruel shit, then you play games with my head.”
Jesper rolled his eyes at the absurd claim.
“What ‘games’ do you think I’m playing?”
“You keep building me up and then tearing me back down! You make me think you’re actually interested in some sort of friendship with me, and your friends include me in stuff, but then you start just being a dick for no reason!”
“Why is this even an argument?” Jesper groaned, “I just asked about one of the few things I know about you. Why is that such a big deal?”
“...It’s like you didn’t hear a single word that just came out of my mouth.” Wylan sighed, walking into the classroom just before the bell rang.