it's a sin

zachary vanderbilt, eighteen, easton academy, ketlar "It's empty in the valley of your heart. The sun, it rises slowly as you walk away from all the fears and all the faults you've left behind."

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

"A lot of things make me nervous, please don’t take it personally," he pleaded, taking Zach’s words the wrong way. He jumped down from the bleachers carefully, quickly catching up with the other boy. "Are you close to them? Your parents, I mean," he was eager to learn more about Zach, the first person who had shown him any real interest aside from prying teachers. Most of the students had treated him with courteous disregard, as if he wasn’t there, and Kit had thought that that was what he wanted. Now he was beginning to think he had been wrong.

"You know you’re the first person I’ve had a real conversation with since arriving," he explained, glancing sideways at Zach, "is that really sad?" He chuckled softly, staring at the sky, the clouds had parted revealing blue sky. The sun was still nowhere to be seen. He was looking forward to a caffiene bed after sleeping through his alarm that morning. "The Drake guys are nice and everything, just not a particularly welcoming bunch."

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach kept his arms crossed over his chest as they walked, his knee only aching ever so slightly now as Kit had proven to be a good distraction from the pain. "My parents?" A deep sigh escaped his lips at the thought of them. He usually didn't bother people with his family situation but Kit was asking and it had to be some kind of give and take situation. If Zach wanted to know more about Kit, he had to do the same. "I'm close with my mother, or as close as you can be when you've been brought up by nannies." A sad chuckle left his lips as he shrugged his shoulders, his arms falling to his sides. "I don't really talk to my father much anymore." He'd barely said two words to him since he'd told him he was gay. His mother had never had a problem with it, but his father had practically shunned him.

Kit speaking once again brought a welcome distraction and he offered the taller boy a smile. "That's not sad at all." He shook his head. "Most, if not all, Easton kids can be kind of reserved. Especially towards new people." He turned his head to look at Kit, a smile still evident on his face. "And then there's people like me who'd give a right arm to get to know someone like you."

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

Kit liked the way his name sounded coming from Zach’s mouth, the way he said it. “Coffee,” he nodded, “latte with a shot of vanilla, sometimes two shots it depends how stingy the baristas are… and usually one of those chocolate muffins that have melted chocolate on the inside, even though my mum always says they’ll make me fat… which is ridiculous because okay, I may have no muscle to speak of, but I’m pretty sure my bones would snap if you put too much pressure on them-” He stopped abruptly, eyes widening a little as he realised what he’d just said. “I ramble a lot when I’m nervous, sorry, you make me nervous,” he explained smiling shyly pulling his jumper sleeves over his hands and crossing arms across his body tightly.

"What I’m trying to say is, yes. Coffee would be lovely, thank you Zachary."

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach had only expected a simple yes or no, but the answer he got was much more amusing. Listening to the other boy ramble, noticing just how beautiful he really was. The innocence and shyness was completely adorable to Zach, and he realized just how rare that was, at least at Easton. "I'm sorry, what?" Raising his eyebrows again, Zach tried not to break out into another grin. "I make you nervous? I'm sorry, I don't mean to." But now that he had that little piece of information, he was sure going to use it to his advantage, or at the very least, he wouldn't let Kit forget it - which could quite possibly end up in a disaster. But as for right now? It was worth the try.

"You know, the only people that call me Zachary are my parents." Zach nodded as he got down from the bleachers and started walking, his hand gesturing for Kit to follow him. "And you, apparently. I don't mind."

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

"Well, like you said we just met," he shrugged, his tone not unkind, but clearly not wishing to pursue the subject. It was a long story and one he was not willing to tell anyone. He moved across the world to get away from that story and write himself a new one. There was no point dwelling on the past. That was all it was: the past. "You don’t…" he blushed again, but not looking away this time, "you don’t have to repay me, I really didn’t do anything." It was true, he did what any decent human should have done. That didn’t mean he wanted Zach to let this go though. He wanted nothing less.

Kit sat down on the first bleacher, his knees starting to hurt, and looked out across the track. There was a boy on the ground now. He clenched his teeth into the flesh of his lower lip, swallowing thickly. “I need to go,” he blurted out, eyes a little desperate as he turned back to Zach, “now I think about it, I feel kind of awful for leaving Macy like I did. The girls have all been so… nice. It’s not easy welcoming someone new into the team.” He stood, his legs feeling a little shaky, and almost extended his hand for Zach to shake, before deciding it was too formal. “It was nice to meet you, really nice… I mean, not really nice, like…” he stuttered, “you’re lovely, thank you for being lovely.” He blushed for the fourth time in three minutes.

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach realized then and there that he'd come on too strong and he didn't want to push the subject any further, especially not when it seemed as if though Kit was clearly uncomfortable with it. And making him uncomfortable was the last thing he wanted to do right now. "You did a lot, Kit. And I have to repay you somehow." He insisted, nodding as he looked at him. Everytime he noticed the color in Kit's cheeks, he couldn't help but smile, desperately wanting to know what set him off every time, because it had been happening a lot in the past couple of minutes.

The fight that had been going on seemed to have ended once one of the boys were on the ground and someone else had stepped into to stop it. Turning his head to look at Kit, his mouth formed an 'o' as he announced his departure. "Kit." Zach stood up and crossed his arms over his chest, a small grin playing on his lips. "Are you really not going to let me repay you? Because I was just about to offer you a cup of coffee, or a stereotypical cup of tea, and frankly, I like to think that sounds better than going back to your team."

[zachvanderbilt]

Halfway through this week and I'm already looking forward to the weekend and St. Barth's.

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

"You don’t look like you’ve been slacking," he retorted, immediately blushing and turning a deep shade of pink. It was true though, everything about Zach was toned to the point of being a little distracting… but Kit didn’t make flirty comments like that as a rule and he mentally scolded himself, making sure not to look up, not to meet Zach’s eye. 

When the other boy leant forward, Kit leapt up, heart in his mouth. He was already mortified by his hideous overreaction, Zach had barely moved two centimetres towards him and he wasn’t in the least threatening. No one at Easton was threatening. At least that’s what he tried to tell himself as the sounds of the fighting continued in the distance. “I-… I’m fine,” he stuttered, incredibly unconvincingly, “sorry about that.” Slowly he knelt back on the bleachers, running his fingers softly over the now cleaned wound. “It looks fine now, Zach.” He used the other boy’s name delicately, managing a small smile as he looked up to meet his warm, chocolate eyes.

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach raised his eyebrows when that comment left Kit's lips and he couldn't help but chuckle, had he just been complimented by what seemed like the most shy boy on campus so far? Zach was amused, especially when he noticed just how hard Kit was blushing and the way he refused to look back up at Zach had him grinning. "Maybe I've been doing this whole complimenting and blushing thing wrong, but aren't you supposed to blush when you receive a compliment, not when you give one?" He teased, a smirk replacing the grin as he kept his eyes on Kit.

Though that smirk quickly disappeared as soon as the other boy suddenly leapt ut, looking completely terrified. "Hey.." Zach's voice was soft and soothing as he looked up at Kit, eyes filled with worry. "You know, if you're not fine, you can just tell me. I know we just met but you shouldn't have to lie." His gaze was locked on Kit as he knelt back down and the touch of his fingers made him look down, a small smile re-appearing on his lips. "Thank you." His voice was genuine as he met Kit's eyes. "How can I repay you?"

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

Kit knelt on the first row of bleachers, pulling his water bottle out and carefully dousing a tissue in liquid. “London,” he explained, “born and raised. Is the accent really that strong? My sister is convinced I’m already becoming more American, she says I’ll start eating pancakes with bacon soon, and then she’ll disown me.” He laughed, fully aware that he was rambling, but not minding too much. This was better than long, awkward silences. Very gently he took Zach’s calf in one hand, and with the other he dabbed at the bloodstains, careful not to put too much pressure on or hold the cold tissue to his bare skin for too long. 

"Do you run often?" He asked, anxious to keep conversation flowing. It had just hit him that he was sat with a complete stranger, treating to his wounds like some kind of nurse. A handsome stranger, but a stranger nonetheless. There were loud shouts coming from the track they’d just left, and Kit turned to see the beginnings of a fight unfolding, a pair of burly students in gym kits, one of them hitting the gravel with an audible thud. Kit cringed. His skin prickled under his clothes and he suddenly became very focused on Zach’s wound, his jaw setting. "Well I’m glad we moved when we did," he muttered, continuing to wipe the dirt out of the wound.

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach let out a soft laugh as he listened to Kit talk, the things he was saying a welcome distraction from the task at hand. "Are you saying that eating bacon with pancakes isn't a thing everyone does?" Zach gasped, pretending to look shocked as he looked down at the other male. "Because if not, it's a thing that you need to introduce to your sister and show her the ways of a true American." Leaning back, Zach rested his hands on each side of the bleachers and kept his eyes on Kit at all times, not daring to look down at the knee as he was certain the pain would become more obvious if he looked at it.

"Every day." He replied, though quickly added, "or I try to. I've been slacking lately and this was my first run in a couple of days." Zach shrugged, finding it absolutely repulsing that he'd let himself go the way he'd done. He was about to say something else when loud yelling came from the track he'd just moved from and he quickly looked up, rolling his eyes as some guys got into a most likely unnecessary fight. Glancing back down at Kit, he noticed how the other male was suddenly focusing intently on his wound. "Are you okay?" He asked softly, leaning forward ever so slightly.

[veronicaromanov]

You’re a bit young to be relying on so much coffee already.

[zachvanderbilt]

Am I? I don't think it can be avoided, if I'm being honest.

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

"Are you sure?" He chewed a little on his lip, suddenly feeling a wave of nausea crashing over him, this was probably already the longest conversation he’d had with a student since he arrived, and the urge to leave was overwhelming. "Will you be okay getting to the nurse’s office or wherever?" He tilted his head to one side, eyes mapping out the other boy’s face, cheeks, lips, nose. "Don’t worry about them," he shrugged, shooting a glare straight back at Macy, "she’s not actually Medusa, contrary to popular urban legend."

He offered his hand to help the other boy up, his hands all olive skin and calloused, musician’s finger tips, Kit’s slender and soft gripping. “I’m Kit, by the way,” he added, accent particularly strong as he introduced hinself, “I transferred about a fortnight ago.” His smile was soft, something that contrasted with all the hard, bony lines of his body, even in a jumper. He suddenly remembered the packet of tissues in his bag, his face lighting up. “Wait here,” he instructed, jogging back to where the cheer team had now fallen out of formation. Macy blanked him. He grabbed his satchel, glaring at the group of girls as he passed.

The shorter boy had moved out of the way of the track, and it struck Kit at that point how handsome he was, sunlight making his eyes shimmer. Everything about Zach was gentle, the look on his face and the way he held himself, even his voice. Something about him calmed Kit. “I have a bottle of water and some tissues, if you’d like me to clean it,” he offered, hovering a little awkwardly, “it might sting a little though.”

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach looked down at his knee, not sure if it needed to be looked at by the nurse. It wasn't that bad, he'd had worse as a kid. The only thing he really needed was to get it cleaned out, knowing that dirt in an open wound was a recipe for disaster. "I'll be fine, I promise. It's not like I broke my leg or anything." Zach shrugged his shoulders, offering the other boy a quick smile. He felt like he was lingering with him, knowing that if he'd been alone, he would've been long gone by now, most likely finishing his run before heading back to his dorm to clean it. But for some reason, he didn't mind this at all. "Is she? I could've sworn that was her name."

Wasting no time in taking the other boy's hands, he pulled himself up to his feet as his hands lingered in his before slightly reluctantly pulling them away. "Kit.." Zach repeated, a smile appearing once more on his lips. "I'm Zachary but everyone calls me Zach, welcome to Easton Academy and it's nice to meet you." With the introduction out of the way, Zach was sure that Kit would let him go and go back to practice himself, but before he could open his mouth, Kit beat him to it. "Oh.. I'll be.. Here, then."

People were running on the track and Zach didn't want another accident to happen so he moved to the side of it, away from the people running there to avoid any collision. His eyes were fixated on Kit as the taller boy, noticing how caring he seemed to be - especially for a stranger he'd just met. His face lit up when Kit walked back over to him and he nodded, gesturing for him to follow him over to the bleachers. "You really don't have to if you don't want to, but I truly appreciate it." Zach sat down on the second row of the bleachers and put his foot up on the first one, his fingers brushing over his scraped knee to see if the blood had dried. "Where exactly are you from? You have a strong British accent but I can't put my finger on where." Zach decided to spend his time with Kit wisely, asking him questions about himself to get to know him better, if only a little.

[blyssarnault-deactivated2016012]

I keep hearing that, how can one have fun in St. Barth’s when they’re required to be taking classes? It’s almost torturous, wanting to be lying out in the yacht when instead you have to get whatever work one does in the summer session.

[zachvanderbilt]

It's not even that much work, Blyss. You'll have plenty of fun to do whatever you please. You should consider yourself lucky.

[blyssarnault-deactivated2016012]

On the bright side, I hear we’re leaving for St. Barth’s on Friday?

[zachvanderbilt]

All we need to do is power through this week and then we can enjoy ourselves.

[zachvanderbilt]

Another Monday, another long week ahead of us. I don't know about you, but I'm going to be needing a lot of coffee to make it through the rest of this day.

[kiran--hayes]

I’ve met a few of them, but I don’t think I remember their names.

[zachvanderbilt]

You're paying close attention, aren't you?

[kiran--hayes]

I swear it’s like a heard of them just arrived out of nowhere.

[zachvanderbilt]

They all come in groups, don't they? Have you met any of them yet?

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

[kitevers]

I think I should know how to make love to something innocent

without leaving my fingerprints out,

Now, L-O-V-E’s just another word I never learned to pronounce,

How do I say I’m sorry ‘cause the word is never gonna come out,

Now, L-O-V-E’s just another word I never learned to pronounce

Step, step, pivot, step, hip brought Kit round to face the track just as a guy spectacularly face-planted on the track in front of them. He hit the gravel with his knees first, and Kit physically winced, feeling a dull memory of pain throb in his own knees. He stopped dancing, caught between going to help a stranger and staying out of the way. He remembered how it felt, hitting the floor, your stomach feeling like it was crashing out from within you, heart pounding in your ribcage, eyes stinging with tears of shock as you repeat a mantra of ‘don’tcrydon’tcrydon’tcry’. He knew what it was like when people just stood and stared or laughed, nobody even offering a hand to help you up. The only difference was that Kit didn’t ever trip of his own accord, but he still knew a lot about picking himself up off the floor. He broke the triangle formation, now deaf to the music he’d been so carefully in tune with. As he walked away Macy grabbed his wrist, and Kit jumped despite knowing exactly who it was. Her long fingernails were digging into his wrist.

"Where are you going, Evers?" She practically snarled. "Can’t you see that guy’s bleeding?" Kit frowned, disbelief crossing his features, "I’d have thought you’d have been the first to notice, Macy, boys are a lot easier to fool when they’re vunerable." He rolled his eyes and kept walking, off the grass verge and onto the track. Kit wasn’t much of a sportsperson, but there was something about the feel of a track under trainers, the crunch of it perhaps, that enticed even him. The boy who fell was staring at his bloody knee a little helplessly, he had a gorgeous head of dark curls and a small but muscular build. Kit didn’t recognise him.

"I-… you okay?" He fumbled on his words, feeling a little awkward now he was over there, "I saw you fall and thought I’d… thought I’d better check." The other boy looked up at him for the first time, and Kit was immediately taken aback by the wide, golden eyes that met his, an expression similar to that of a kicked puppy painted on his boyish features. Somewhere in the depths of his chest, Kit’s heart spasmed a little and he swallowed thickly. "This looks painful," he stated the obvious, internatlly cursing himself as he knelt in front of this stranger, motioning to his knee. He couldn’t meet his eyes again, for fear of more heart malfunctions, so he stared at the decoration of scarlett blood on this boy’s leg, the way it was still bleeding, with all the great focus of a medical professional.

[zachvanderbilt]

Enough people had seen him fall and he knew it, though it was something he was going to have to worry another time. Pain was suddenly shooting out of his knee as his mind suddenly caught up with his body and he whipped his head around to check it out. The smart thing would've been to get up as fast as possible to get it washed out, and Zach knew that, especially after all the times he'd fallen as a kid and scraped his knee, only to have his nannies rushing him inside to clean the wound. But the humiliation of the fall and the pain caused by the fall itself was slowing him down immensely.

Suddenly, he heard a voice he wasn't familiar with and the first thing he noticed was the accent, the boy speaking to him clearly foreign. Looking up, his hazel eyes widened and his already dark red cheeks only seemed to turn a darker shade. "I'm fine." The words left Zach's lips maybe a little too fast and in a way that wasn't too convincing. But the boy in front of him had literally taken his breath away for a few seconds, for the second time that day and there he was, the only person to come forward and ask him how he was. Once again, Zach was staring, his mouth open ever so slightly and he only realized that the other boy was talking to him by the way his mouth was moving.

Zach let out an embarrassed chuckle as he finally managed to turn his gaze away, focusing his eyes on his knee instead. "You know what they say, right? No pain, no gain." He shrugged his shoulders, not entirely sure if the pain was currently worth the gain. "I'll be fine, you don't have to worry." A small smile appeared on his lips as glanced up. "Maybe you should go back to your team, I'm pretty sure your captain is trying to kill me with her glaring." Zach didn't have to turn his head to look towards the rest of the cheerleaders to know that the boy running over to ask him if he was okay had interrupted their practice and naturally, he was the one to blame.

[kitevers]

Fall || Kit & Zach

"For the last time take that jumper off, it’s not part of the uniform," yelled a blonde girl from the front of the triangle formation, her pretty features twisting into a scowl, "I am not going to ask again." Kit just stared at her, arms crossed tightly across his chest. He was stood directly to her right, barely a metre away. There had never been less of a reason for her to shout. "Those knee socks aren’t part of the uniform last time I checked, Macy," he replied dryly, a single eyebrow raised, "they also make you look like a hooker." The head cheerleader opened her mouth, as if to snap back, but closed it just as quickly, scowl turning into a smug smile. "I’m going to let you off, because you’re new and you’re still learning how things work, Kit, darling." She turned to the bored looking guy with a boom box and nodded, the opening notes of a upbeat pop song blasting through the speakers. "Try and keep up, okay?" She added, with one last winning smile, before getting into position. 

Kit absentmindedly touched the long, ugly scar that ran along his collar bones through the soft, woollen fabric. The cheerleading uniforms failed to cover it up and he had decided that he couldn’t deal with anymore awkward questions after a gym teacher had quizzed him about it earlier that week. Teenagers, girls especially, could be nosy, and he was in no mood to tell the story that went with the imperfection on his porcelain skin. Something that lifted his spirits a little was the knowledge that though Macy thought she was getting one up on him, making the new boy perform a routine he’d never even seen before in front of all the team, he was the one with the power. Kit knew this routine. He knew every routine the cheer team had ever performed because they were all available on the internet, and he couldn’t wait to see Macy’s face when he did keep up, and her plan backfired. 

The opening bars to 3OH!3’s ‘Starstrukk’ kicked in, and he got into position, a small smile on his features. He moved seamlessly in time with the rest of the group, and to an outsider he’d probably even stand out from a lot of the others. he had an elegant way of moving, almost cat - like. 

'Cause I just set them up, Just set them up, Just set them up tonight (to knock them down), Cause I just set them up, Just set them up, Just set them up tonight, to knock them down.

Macy glanced behind her at him, something malicious in her eyes, and he simply grinned back, still step-perfect, hips swaying from side to side on time to the beat, almost confident now, forgetting his surroundings. 

[zachvanderbilt]

Arriving at the track, Zach didn't waste any time. He'd been taking one too many rest days and he was ready to get back into shape - even though he already was. But he'd been eating shitty food the entire weekend and skipping the gym or his daily run wasn't helping the case. Sitting down in the grass by the side of the track, he stretched out his legs, his hands reaching for his toes as he prepared his body for the workout. The sun was almost burning hot and people were taking advantage of the warm weather and the track. The cheerleading team was practicing in the middle of it, like they always did as soon as the sun was out. It was nothing out of the ordinary, or so Zach thought.

After a minute or two of thorough stretching, Zach got up on his feet, his gaze turning upwards at the sun. He knew the sun would make its mark on his already tan skin for the brief period of time he spent on the track, but the heat was welcomed, for now. He knew the sun would eventually take its toll on him as he ran around the track a couple of times, but that was nothing he had to worry about now. All he had to focus on now was running until he felt like he was going to collapse.

He left his bottle of water by the side of the track and started jogging at first. His pace was somewhat slow at first as he eased himself and his body into it. He only made it halfway around the track until he decided to pick up the speed, his legs taking long, light strides. Zach was completely in his own world, as he always was when he was running, but was brought back to reality when the sound of music blared out over the tracks.

Turning his head to the source of the music, Zach's eye caught on someone he'd never seen before. The boy was moving easily to the music, never missing a beat as he seemed completely at ease with what he was doing. It wasn't until Zach took a proper once over as he ran past the squad that it hit him how breathtakingly beautiful the boy was. His jaw fell open as he simply stared, completely distracted from the task at hand. Zach couldn't look away even if he tried, he was sure he looked like a dog hungrily looking at a steak, but there was something about the boy. And that something had Zach tripping over his own feet and he let out a loud scream as his shoelaces came undone and he fell forward. His knee scraped against small stones on the track before he not so quite gracefully landed flat on his face. Zach was quick to think and he turned over, sitting up to investigate his knee. It was colored red by blood and while he was worried about the dirt in the wound, he couldn't help but look around to assess the damage, almost feeling as if though the entire school had seen him take a fall.

[zachvanderbilt]

Is it just me or does it seem like the school has come back to life? It might be all the newbies, though I'm not exactly sure how many there are.

[zachvanderbilt]

Zach is going back in time after this post, and going back to high school.