A Void (MTT Chapter 1)
Description: Vladimir and Dimitri have finally escaped the clutches of middle school, and have entered into the chasm that is Freshmen year. Friends for years, these two have to work together to conquer one of the hardest challenges to humanity: upperclassman. It’s a roller coaster of excitement, fear, and anxiety, will they be able to make it together?
Trigger Warning for this Chapter: Minimal Homophobia
Freshmen year is like a time in space that doesn’t exist within our earthly realm, but everyone must pass through and emerge from the otherside, leaving behind the handheld pencil sharpeners and pen grips of middle school, but still unable to access the honor and lockers that aren’t filled to the brink with school supplies of Highschool. An empty space where they were doomed to float around, haunted by both the past they could never obtain again, and the future that was just barely out of their grips. Freshmen year was the void of nothingness from with only greatness could escape.
Or, at least, that's how Vladimir would describe it to Dimitri while they walked home from school together.
“You’ve put a lot of thought in that, is that what you do instead of study?” The Bulgarian retorted dryly. At his words the strawberry blonde frowned, feeling the tension hanging over them like a concrete block, waiting to fall down and smash one of their skulls in a firework display of blood and brain matter.
Okay, perhaps his imagination was a bit too wild today.
“What’s biting your ass?” Vladimir asked, adjusting the heavy book bag on his back. Dimitri had begged him to wear it over his shoulder, like everyone else, but the damn thing was large, and it hurt his shoulder to do so. The Romanian didn’t understand the pressing need to carry it like that anyways. Who was actually watching to see how a 15 year old carried his bag? And certainly it would do no good to his posture. But when he questioned the other boy about it, he grew defensive and pissy, so Vladimir had decided to drop it.
“Maybe you, because you’re surely a pain in mine.” Dimitri grumbled under his breath. Vladimir was really worried now. He knew perfectly well how cynical Dimitri could be, but normally when they were together like this, he would relax a bit. They had been best friends for years now, so while the ebony haired boy walked, his back hunched and staring at the ground, Vladimir could tell something happened that day at school. Now, it was his job to figure out what.
Vladimir picked up his pace to stand in front of Dimitri, stopping him in his tracks. The boy looked up, scowling.
“Stop shitting around, we have homework to do, and my Mom’s gonna worry.” He said, trying to shove Vladimir out of the way. It was more of a shrug than anything though, as he tried to trudge on, but Vladimir simply hurried back in front. At least he knew that Dimitri wasn’t mad at him, if he had been, he wouldn’t have been so kind with his pushing around.
“We both know perfectly well we’ll end up playing video games before we even open our bags, and your mom knows you’re with me. You’re always with me.” Vladimir added the last part with a caring smile, one of his canine’s poking through. Dimiti momentarily softened at the smile, and Vladimir was sure he had gotten through, but the tender look quickly vanished into a mean glare that the Romanian knew was not directed at him, but still received the full blow of it because of proximity.
“Yeah, well, maybe that’s a problem.” Dimitri sighed out, before pushing past Vladimir again. The boy’s eyes suddenly filled with hurt, and had he been a man of weaker resolve, he might have retorted back with a nasty remark, or worse, started crying like he felt like doing. But, Vladimir was convinced this was an issue bigger than his words, and knew it wouldn’t be resolved if he got angry and walked away. After all, best friends stick it out, through thick and thin. And Vladimir was Dimitri's bestest friend.
Vladimir once more, moved himself in front of Dimitri, stopping him for a third, and if Vladimir had anything to say about it, last time, before he talked about what was going on. The boy’s red eyes stared into the other’s green one’s with determination that unhinged Dimitri slightly, making him take a step back, before looking away from them.
“I want to know what’s going on. You’re not normally like this.” Vladimir said, softening just a bit, seeing that Dimitri was at least relenting somewhat. He crossed his arms, waiting for the other to answer. There was a long moment of silence between them. If anyone had been around, they may have stepped in to make sure they weren’t about to fight. A few cars passed, and Vladimir noticed that Dimitri was studying each on as they did, as if looking for someone or something.
“Did something happen today?” Vladimir asked, trying to get the other to say anything. As freshmen boys, there was mandatory things that had to happen, they had to get crushes (and rejections) from older peers, they had to be bullied, to a small degree, by older peers, and they had to be shoved against a wall at least once, usually on accident. Of course, it could be any number of things, maybe it had nothing to do with school. Maybe something had happened at home, or his mom had found his stash of manga. Not that it was inappropriate or anything, it’s just Dimitri didn’t like to share his interests with people. Except Vladimir, of course. He knew everything about the other boy. Except what was bothering him in the moment.
Dimitri was still silent. The guy could be silent for a long time. He could not talk for hours if he was reading a book, or if he was around strangers his voice would get so quiet that he’d end up having to repeat himself three times before the other party would just give up, nod and smile. Vladimir took a step forward, trying to fill the space in between them that had actually gotten bigger since the start of the silence. Dimitri noticed immediately, and took another step back.
“I just…” Dimitri trailed off. Vladimir wished he could just reach into the other’s brain and see what he was trying to say, what he experienced or thought must be reeling through his mind like a movie, because the boy was spacing out, recalling whatever it was that was making him so angry and defensive. Vladimir was growing frustrated. He just wanted to get home and enjoy his friend properly, like they always did. He didn’t need this pain in Dimitri to be hanging over him.
Dimitri could see he was not getting out of anything anytime soon. Curse his unfrailed nerves making him tense, causing him to lash out. But it wasn’t totally his fault, the Romanian was being nosey, and Dimitri had the mind to make that clear.
But, he didn’t want to. He wanted to tell the other what had happened today, how it left him confused, and a bit nervous. Freshman year was hard enough, he didn’t need anymore grief. And, if he told the other, he wouldn’t have to deal with it alone. He couldn’t tell his mother, so, maybe this was his best option?
He took a deep breath, before clutching the front of his shirt. “Let’s talk at your place, your parents are out, right?” He asked. Vladimir seemed unwilling to back down for a second, contemplating whether or not it was just a way to change the subject, but he finally backed down, nodding his head. He knew that Dimitri was probably looking for privacy.
“Yeah, they’re both at work. But you better tell me what’s going on, Aleksandrov, or I will actually punch you in the face.” The other threatened with absolutely no truth behind it. He would and had willing punched Dimitri in the face before, but he never would if it was something that was seriously bothering Dimitri. Unless like, it was over something stupid. If Dimitri was being a dick over something stupid, Vladimir reserved the right to punch him.
“Fine, whatever, let’s just hurry.” Vladimir’s house was closer, and empty, and the Bulgarian just wanted to be alone, well, as alone as one can be with Vladimir Popescu nearby. The guy had enough energy for three people at times. It was actually exhausting, and it was why Dimitri didn’t have any other friends, or, at least that’s the excuse Dimitri gave. The truth was he just was shy. He and Vladimir were only friends because their mother’s drank tea together on the weekend’s, it was a forced friendship, one that neither one regretted. Usually.
At Vladimir’s house, they threw their back bags off upon entering the doorway, confirming they would pick them up before Vladimir’s parents got home, knowing perfectly well they probably wouldn’t.
“Want to go to my room?” Vladimir asked, gesturing towards the stairs. Dimitri shrugged, before following the other up. The whole house smelled of cinnamon, making the boy’s noses tickle. Vladimir would have made a comment about it, wanting to joke that a cinnamon ghost was haunting the house, condemning them to a lifetime of sneezing, but when he looked back at Dimitri, he was still looking downtrodden, and he decided not to try.
They walked into Vladimir’s room, a familiar place for both of them. The place was decorated with different things, each item expressing a completely different mood from the last. He had posters ranging from heavy metal bands, to classic rock ones. Pictures torn from books and magazines were taped to the wall, most of them talking about some type of magic or spell, Vladimir was a heavy believer in the supernatural. His bed was supposed to have a blue comforter, but that was laying on the floor opposite to the visible side of the bed. His sheets were tossed around, and his pillow draped over the side like a fainted women. The floor was littered with trash, clothes, books, papers, and art supplies. Truly, the room belonged to the Romanian.
“Alright, sit on the bed, and tell me what the heck is wrong with you.” Vladimir insisted, taking a sit at his desk, sitting in the chair backwards so he could look at the other. Dimitri walked over to the bed, careful not to step on anything, which was hard considering how cluttered it was, before sitting on the bed. He knew this bed well. Sometimes, he would come over just to take a nap in it. His mother didn’t like naps, which they both thought was silly.
“You really are too nosy.” Dimitri said, before chewing at one of his nails. He was about to rip one off when a shirt hit him in the face. Dimitri, shocked, turned to glare at the Romanian, who wasn’t smiling, but amusement still filled his eyes.
“Don’t bite your nails, and don’t call me nosy. I’m really worried about you.” The last words made them both grow nervous. Concern was common between the two, they both could get themselves into deep trouble. Vladimir was snarky, and Dimitri was secretive. It worked well together, but on their own they could easily manage to get grounded for a week, or a detention.
This was different thought. Vladimir was getting the feeling this wasn’t something Dimitri was in trouble with, he wasn’t going to be punished. It was something else, a new battle they maybe hadn’t faced before. But together, he knew they could do anything.
There was a long silence, Dimitri unsure what to do or say, and Vladimir was staring at him expectantly. Finally, the Bulgarian sighed, reaching into his pocket.
“Some idiot put this in my locker.” Dimitri said, unfolding the lined sheet. His fingers shook a bit, and he didn’t really feel like rereading it, but Vladimir was annoying and pushy and unavoidable.
Vladimir looked at the note curiously, standing up to grab it from the other, but Dimitri quickly pulled it against his chest, hiding it from the other.
“Hey, get away. All it says is that I need to...quit being so…” Dimitri trailed off, not wanting to continue. He looked down at his lap, before dropping his arms, though still keeping a close eye on Vladimir to make sure he didn’t make a lunge for it.
“So what?” Vladimir asked, moving to sit on the bed, knowing better than to try and rip the note away, but hoping to sneak a peek at it. He wasn’t sure what it was going to say, but he knew he already didn’t like it, and by Dimitri’s reaction, it wasn’t something as simple as ‘stupid’.
Dimitri scooted away from Vladimir. “So...Gay.” Dimitri sighed, before angrily balling up the paper and throwing it at the wall. Vladimir’s red eyes followed the paper as it hit and landed. He was a bit unsure about all this. Dimitri, for one, didn’t act gay. There was no way to act gay, unless he was kissing boys and stuff, which Vladimir would totally support if he did, but he wasn’t, so that didn’t make much sense. Overall, Vladimir just wasn’t sure what to say, so an awkward silence fell over the two boys that usually couldn’t be forced to stop talking to one another.
“He’s just an idiot anyways, he doesn’t know shit.” Dimitri finally spoke up, lowering his voice as he swore, just in case Vladimir’s parents came home. Vladimir nodded in agreement, before looking at his friend.
“I don’t really think it’s something you should worry about anyways. How do you act gay? You can’t act gay unless you do gay things.” Vladimir explained, waving a hand in dismissal.
“Right? I don’t do anything like that.” He said with a stern nod, before a smile finally broke on his face. “He was probably just trying to scare me, or embarrass me. Well, it didn’t work.” Dimitri lied, before pushing himself off Vladimir’s bed.
“I’m probably straighter than he is, I love girls.” He declared, before laughing. Vladimir laughed nervously as he watched the other stand. He didn’t know who left the note, or why, but he was willing to believe it was a one time incident.
“Yup! Only someone who is repressing gay thoughts would be so snide as to accuse someone of being gay!” Vladimir followed up, knowing his words to be true based off of things he read on the internet. He didn’t really know if that was true or not, but it made more sense than someone just being a malicious bastard.
“We’re so straight, we don’t need to do that stupid shit.” Dimitri remarked, before deciding to change the subject. He decided that he was freaking out over nothing. This was just the Freshman scene. Everyone was called gay, at least once during this time. He would just need to let it roll off his shoulders. Plus, Vladimir seemed to agree that he was very straight. They both were. And the straightest thing anyone could do in this type of situation is to simply let it go.
Yeah. Let it go…