don't get ahead of me || felix & leo

[[nyte]]

leo pierce.

Sixteen years and I'm still waging war against the dawn, begging the earth to quit spinning 'cause it's always made me dizzy. Sunshine scalds and heavens blind, forbidden fruit that I've never found tempting. There's beauty in the broken and I don't think I'd know what to do with myself if I was anything else. Pretty sure that makes me a coward, but I don't mind. I'm also much worse.

I sleep in because I can, stretching this stupid promise I made Spencer in hopes it'll eventually snap. I can't help but feel like I'm winning - stumbling into Biology an hour late still bed-haired and barely dressed, hoping I've pissed someone off. I've got to prove how little this all matters or else I'll start caring that I'm crashing and burning.

I'm supposed to meet with my friends at lunch, but at some point I gave up trying to chase hurricanes. My lips always go cracked from forced smiles and the way Poe and Greer light up when they're with each other coaxes another migraine up the base of my skull. If anyone noticed I slipped away less than halfway through the period, I'm glad they didn't say anything.

The Gym's the only place I've ever found fond memories. It's big enough that I feel small, easy to miss as I slot myself between the bleachers. It's nice to catch my breath, those too-familiar fingers easing up from around my throat until I forget they're even there. Not quite peaceful, but almost. I don't usually come here alone, but I can't admit I actually miss him.

So I don't.

Footsteps snap me out of a blissful half daze, cracking my head against the seat above me in my haste to sit up. "Fuck!" I blink through double vision, mourning the afternoon nap slipping through my fingers sand.

Worst of all, a familiar face comes into focus.

"Why're you here?" I grumble, stumbling as I stand on legs that have forgotten how to carry my weight. I don't know much about Felix outside of how often he's stuck to Camila's side, which is reason enough to dislike him as far as I'm concerned. "This is my Gym until the coach kicks me out."

I mean, it's not. But confidence is half the sell.

"it's friendly fire and sunlight"

♪

[tick 12a / calla]

  

f e l i x !

It's the last run of the scrimmage when Mark tackles him down to the ground. Felix hits the turf first, helmet bouncing, and the wind gets knocked out of him but he just laughs, nice and easy, and he draws out a "Duuuude!"

He pushes Mark's shoulder and presses a fist against the other boy's helmet, half-way to catching his breath when Coach calls for game end. Then Mark lets up and offers a hand, pulls Felix to his feet and thumps him on the back, "Nice catch, Bergstrom." He says, and that's that.

Pretty good praise from the captain, Felix thinks, and he grins big enough to hurt.

The rest of the boys fall in, horsing around and pushing each other on their way inside to the locker room. Felix follows them back to the gym, ducking away from Carver's headlock when he calls dibs on the showers. Try-outs are later in the day, and the guys that aren't graduating this year are expected to be there, all spick and spiffy and ready to sniff out new talent. But he's almost across the court, halfway to the other end of the gym when something catches his eye. Because there's a lump under a section of the bleachers.

It's probably a student! Maybe a freshman. Someone that decided to take a nap but didn't set an alarm and now they're gonna be late for their next class. The nice thing to do would wake them up, maybe give them some directions because the school is pretty big, and the freshies aren't exactly given maps on their first day.

Maybe he should bring that up with Prince later - student council wouldn't have a problem with printing some out, right?

He files the idea away and wanders over, poking his head around the seats and "Hello?" They shoot up and Felix flinches back, "Whoa, dude, language!"

"Why're you here?" The lump grumbles out, and Felix frowns at it; eyebrows drawn, head tilted, eyes wide. Because... that should be kinda obvious right?

He points at the doors that lead to the pitch, the doors that he and the rest of the team just came out of, and just lamely says, "Practice."

They stand up then, shadow stretching under the lights, and then Felix gets it. Then it all clicks.

"Oh! Hey, Leo, man!" He's sure Camila's pointed him out before, in the way that she points everyone out and he goes along with it, in the way that they just work like that, "You here to try out?"