Well… I got bored, so I'm writing a high-school fic. AU, etc. Mostly going to be CollinsAngel, from their perspectives.
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters from RENT.
--First Day--
-Collins' POV-
School is like prison, only with more windows and bigger rooms. The teachers won't let me tell any of my theories in class. They won't let me hack into the computer server. They won't even let me rewire the snack machines. Every week it's "Detention for this" and "Calling your parents for that." It's never "Good job Thomas, you hacked the school clock to let everyone out half an hour early!" No one appreciates my genius.
Well, no one except my friends. We're all at the same school, and we're all Seniors this year (finally)! It's exciting to think that next year I get to go to college!
Now, about myself. My name is Thomas Collins, but only boring people call me Tom. All of my friends call me Collins. I mostly hang out with Mark, Roger, April, and Maureen. You'll meet them later, I'm sure. I'm a genius. No, really. I'm not kidding. I'm always the one leading the rebellions against homework- for example, those of us who can get away with using religion said we were giving up homework for Lent. It involved a complicated process of convincing everyone that we loved homework, and that we were really suffering from all of our free time. Needless to say, our grades suffered.
Today is the first day of our Senior year. I can't wait to see which teachers I have, whether I'm in any classes with my friends, all that good stuff.
Before school we always hang out under the tree in the north-east corner of the campus. Today I'm the first one here. I guess I'll wait.
Oh, good. The first to show up is Mark. Mark is a quiet guy, and he always has this camera with him. Of course this leads to much mockery by the jocks and populars, but I'm usually there to protect him. Another weird thing is his scarf- it's always the same one, and he has it with him year-round. It's always in his bag, if he isn't wearing it.
"Good morning Collins! Ready for Senior year?" He flashes that silly too-big grin, and I have to laugh.
"Yeah, I'm ready. You?"
"As long as those stupid jocks don't beat me up." He laughs. "So, how are things with you and… what was his name?"
Oh yeah… another thing. I'm gay. Shh don't tell! It's a sort of secret. See, in our town most people are very homophobic. So my parents don't know, my teachers don't know, no one except my friends.
"His name was Josh, and we're over. He was a jerk anyway." I sigh and look down at the ground. Mark understands, at least, what it's like to be dumped. He and Maureen used to go out, and she dumped him. He's still head-over-heels in love with her though, and it's really obvious.
The next to arrive is Roger. He's a bad-boy rock star, and a rebel like me. He worries everyone- he smokes, has sex, and doesn't pay attention to anything. It's a little weird that April isn't already draping herself over him. They're a thing, and completely in love. It's cute, but almost like Band member and Groupie… only permanent.
"Hey Collins. Mark."
"Hey Rog! Where's April?"
"Dunno. Not here."
We're all sitting around when the rest of the group shows up. Maureen is dragging April along, shouting something.
"Hey! I found this down the street smoking and complaining about school. I thought she might belong to one of you." She pushes April towards Roger, who catches her and gives her a kiss. Maureen laughs. "Is everyone ready?"
"Hell yeah. Ready to kick some teacher ass in class! I love disproving their shit." I just have to say something. Oh SHIT. It's time to go to first period. What do I have? Ah. English first period. Well, that isn't too bad.
I walk in and sit down. Looks like we're in for the same first-day speeches. Oh well. Roger's in this class too, so we can mess around together. Who else is here? No one I know… Oh well. The introduction days are always the slowest.
Second period I have a math class. I have no clue what we're learning this year… Calculus? Possibly. Oh, good. Mark is in this class. And so is Maureen. Great. Mark will spend the whole time staring at her. Well that could certainly prove to be interesting if the teacher decides to call on him.
Next I have art. I love that class. Unfortunately there's no one here that I know… yet. I look around the room, searching for a face I recognize…
Woah.
Who is that?
He's… beautiful. I'd better pay attention during roll-call.
"Angelo Dumott-Schunard?"
"Here." His voice is sweet and melodic. It matches the sort of feeling he radiates… He's just wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans, but there's just something about him. I'll have to talk to him. Oh… maybe I should stop staring first.
Next period is history. Same old stuff here, but April and Roger are in this class with me. I barely pay attention, because next period is lunch. Maybe I can talk to that cute guy…
-Angel's POV-
I hate starting over at a new school. My family just moved here, and I already sense I'm not going to get away with my tight shirts and sparkly jeans. I'd better wear 'normal' clothes today.
My new school. It's kind of weird… starting my life over in my Senior year of high school. I don't have any new friends yet. I'll just play it cool the first day and hope I meet some people.
First class is Math. Oh, this is wonderful. I barely got whatever I learned last year- now calculus? I'm going to fail this class. Unless I can find a tutor, which seems unlikely.
Second class is History. I'm pretty good at history, actually. It's all memorization of facts. Not that I enjoy it, I'm just good at it. They keep calling me Angelo. When I have friends, I'll make sure to tell them to call me Angel.
Art! Finally! A class I'll really like! I love art projects- drawing, painting, making collages- all of it. Ugh. I'm not even going to correct the teachers. Hopefully they'll hear my future-friends call me Angel and give up with the "Angelo" crap. Hopefully.
This seems like it'll be a fun class. I look around, scanning the room to see if there are other art geeks. You can usually tell, because they're the ones who look interested.
Hmmm… no. no. no. no… um… there's a guy staring at me. I mean, he's cute, but he's staring. I'll stare back. Aw, that's adorable! He's blushing. I'll have to introduce myself later. I hope he doesn't think I'm like, weird or something.
Guh! English. I've just mastered correct grammar- I can't write for beans. At least lunch is next. I can find that guy from Art class. Maybe he'll be my first new friend! I would like that.
Lunch, finally! I buy my lunch from the cafeteria- this doesn't even look edible. I sit down at an empty table, looking for the Art guy. I don't see him… Wait- there he is! He's walking this way…!
"Hi. I saw you in art class. Angelo, right?" he asks.
"Er, I prefer to be called Angel. And you are?"
"All my friends call me Collins, Tom Collins. Can I eat lunch with you?"
"Sure. I'm new to this school… well, this town actually. I don't have any friends yet."
"Then let's go introduce you to my friends. I think you'd like them."
We walk over to a group of people. One is a small blond boy. He's carrying a camera- that's cute! He's a filmmaker. Another has longer dirty-blond hair, and he's currently making out with a girl who I assume is his girlfriend. Then there's another girl with curly brown hair, greeting me enthusiastically.
"Hi! I'm Maureen! This nerd is Mark, and this is Roger and his other half, April. Looks like you already met Collins."
I smile politely and sit down. Suddenly meeting a bunch of people is a little overwhelming. It's cool though. They seem to accept me right away, and that's nice.
-Collins' POV-
Angel? Indeed. I resist the urge to tell him how beautiful he is. It would probably scare him off. I should show him around town! Then I could get to know him better.
"So, Angel. Do you want a tour of our little town this afternoon?"
"Sounds great, Collins." He smiles, and I swear if I wasn't sitting down I would fall down. The sound of him saying my name is just… adorable.
Great. I've barely known this guy for a day, and I'm already falling for him. His next class is… Chemistry! That's what I have next, too! Sweet! And…. We both have study hall final period! Two more classes with him. I think my heart just stopped.
Chemistry is a cool class. I heard from last year's Seniors that the teacher is a pushover. Shouldn't be too hard to switch seats and stuff. So, within the first five minutes of class I manage to cross the room and sit next to Angel. No one notices except the guy I switch with, and the teacher doesn't care even when he does notice.
"Thomas? Why are you sitting over there?"
"Um… so I can see the board better?"
"Alright. Just don't be chatting with people."
I can't resist- I start passing notes to Angel. Little notes like "look at the teacher's goofy plaid shirt- fashion don't, right?" and "There's a pizza place a few blocks from here- we should go there first after school."
I can't wait!
Study hall is the only class where you can sometimes get away with having conversations. The teacher doesn't care if you're really getting anything done- and since today is the first day we don't have anything to do anyway. So I sit by Angel again. I hope I'm not scaring him…
"So, Collins… I need help picking out what I can and can't wear to school and around town. I get this vibe that they would kind of freak out if I wore my favorite sparkly jeans…" I laugh at this. Sparkly jeans?
"Do you want me to come over to your house after the quick tour, and I'll help?"
"Sure! I have to call my mom after school though. Otherwise she'll flip about me not being home early."
School ends and we finally get out of those annoying classrooms! We walk to the office so Angel can call his mom. When someone answers the phone he starts speaking fluent Spanish. It's such a beautiful language, especially when he uses it.
"So… your mom speaks Spanish?"
"Yeah, our whole family. I grew up speaking it and actually I just recently got English grammar. You wouldn't guess, would you?" He laughs, and my heart skips a beat.
"Nope. I had no clue. So, let's go to that pizza place. It's where we hang out when we're hungry."
"Oh, I don't have any more money. I only brought enough for lunch…"
"That's okay Angel, I'll buy you a slice of pizza. No big deal."
"Thanks, Chico. I'll be sure to buy food for you someday to repay you."
-Angel's POV-
He is such a gentleman! Buying pizza for me. It's so sweet. I'm surprised he didn't get that I speak Spanish too. I mean, I do have that awesome Latino skin-tone. It looks especially good with my favorite black shirt.
After pizza we wander around. The mall, random shops (and a thrift shop!), and the park. All of the major places, all of the minor places. It's a really small town though, so it doesn't take long.
We head back to my house. I hesitate when I open the door. As it opens I hear a string of Spanish curses, glad my new friend can't understand them. My mom always wanted daughters, but instead she only got me and my brother. I guess it's kind of affected me… I always do the mother-daughter activities with her, which makes my father mad but really, it's fun.
"Mama! I'm home! I brought a friend with me. Collins, this is my mom."
She's at least being polite. She says a quick hello, and then goes back to cleaning up a mess my little brother made. We head upstairs to my room, shutting the door.
"So… you need help with what not to wear?" he giggles a little. "Is it really that hard?"
I roll my eyes and open the closet. "Okay, so these are my favorite jeans." I pull them out, and hear him gasp audibly. I grin wickedly. "Give me a sec, I'll model them for you." I slip my normal jeans off and pull on the tighter ones. The best thing about them is that they show off how long my legs are. So I turn around when I have them adjusted perfectly. Collins is just standing there, with his mouth kind of open. Did I fry his brain?
"Hellooo? Earth-to-Collins? You still with us?"
"You… look… stunning. That means definitely a no for wearing to school." he laughs. "Sorry, the glitter and sequins got to me." We laugh together then, and I go through the rest of my clothes, pulling out all the glittery, shiny, sparkly stuff I have, and all the tight shirts.
"Well, there goes three quarters of my wardrobe. That sucks. I like all those clothes!"
"I think they look wonderful on you, even if I'm pretty sure the teachers would freak out." Is he telling me something? I think he is… but I'm not sure.
"Collins, are you hitting on me?"
He blushes uncontrollably, so that must be a yes. "Erm… kind of?"
"I had no clue you were gay. Seriously. Are you that good at acting straight, just because of living here?"
"Yeah… I have to be good at that, because everyone's so disapproving. My parents don't even know."
"Ah. Well, my parents know I'm gay, so it's okay. My dad is still kind of resentful, but my mom is fine with it."
"It's cool. Um… thanks, Angel."
"Thanks for what? I didn't do anything…"
He blushes again. "You… ah… well you made my first day of school this year a lot more tolerable. So, thank you."
We sit and talk for a while, and then he has to go home. I walk him to his house- it's only a few blocks from mine anyway. We hug, and then he goes inside. I walk home slowly, and barely realize that I'm still wearing my tight sparkly pants until some kid starts laughing at me.
"Are those girl pants?" he calls out. I turn to face him.
"As a matter of fact, they are. How astute of you to notice that."
I keep walking, ignoring his confused "what?" and finally get back home. I run upstairs and lie down on my bed, thinking. Thomas Collins, hater of authority, gay, totally hot, and he was hitting on me.
I think there's still hope for this year…
Okay, so here is the UBER-long chapter that I call… First Day! I love Angel & Collins. Plus, I figured that Angelo would be Angel's real name, because he is after all a guy. :D Reviews make me almost as happy as Angel with Collins:P SO please review! Um yeah. I went back and re-loaded the chapter because I kept accidentally calling Angel "she" when technically she isn't… yet. XD