prompt fill over on Tumblr for daughteroftherevolutions, the prompt being: high school au

a soundtrack to your first summer fling - a marius x cosette high school au

i.

but if i wait for a holiday could it ever stop my fear?
to go away on a summer's day never seemed so clear

Her fingers are soft and cool as she reaches for him, scrambling to correct herself as she leans too far over the tailgate on which they are perched. He catches her hand in his own and steadies her by the elbow with his other.

Their friends dance around them in front of the bonfire, tossing in stolen textbooks and graduation gowns, chanting sarcastic football cheers and leaving tendrils of vapor in the crisp mid-western night air. The warm light dances across her face and washes her hair golden. She looks like a song, like a melody. Like a muse.

When she looks at him with expectant eyes, he realizes that he has yet to let go. And it really should be awkward, two kids who had never spoken to each other before two hours ago now holding hands like their lives depended on it, but it really isn't.

He tries to act like nothing has happened, but his heart explodes and his veins sing.

ii.

like glue
baby, i'm howling for you

Ice cream. Traces of sugary, sweet melted ice cream are on her tongue as she slips it past his lips. He gives up and tosses the soggy remnants of his cone to the ground and brings his hands to her face, pulling her in and deepening the kiss.

Their sunglasses clink together and she laughs against his mouth before pulling away, smiling swollen lipped and beautiful in the shimmering summer sun.

iii.

all you gotta do is baby kick off your shoes and lay down
climb up here with me and let's forget about sleep and lay down

Parked in the middle of a lonely field and stretched out in the bed of his truck under the clear starry sky, their conversation turns to kissing and the kissing leads the way to touching. Exploring. Feeling.

The sounds of their lips, labored breathing and the harmonies of their heartbeats surround the air as he straddles her, his calloused fingers pressing against the small of her back. She moves her hands to his hipbones and lets her fingernails scrape his sides underneath his shirt.

It sends a spark though his body, vibrating in stunning falsetto. He grips her hard as his hips impulsively grind against her. His jeans do little to conceal his want when she digs her fingertips into his back. Their kisses become messy. Urgent. A small moan falls from her lips as she feels a heat burst through her.

The friction turns her skin hot against the cool steel of the truck bed and she becomes painfully aware of every molecule in her body. Her emotions begin to tangle and her mind begins to spin and it's all just a little too much, just a little too soon and she's not sure if she's ready for this yet, not just yet, so please can we wait, Marius, maybe not tonight. Maybe not like this.

He stops as though he's been frozen in place, stammering about how sorry he is, how he never meant to… Goddamn it, he feels so stupid. But she threads her arms around his neck and hugs him like he's the last man on Earth and before he knows it, he's whispering that he could wait forever, Cosette. Forever.

iv.

i can tell my love for you will still be strong
after the boys of summer have gone

She's tossing an empty popcorn container into the overflowing waste bin outside the movie theater when he tells her he loves her. The words just kind of rocket out his mouth, his eye squeezing shut as soon as it leaves his lips, already wishing it hadn't come out quite then.

And she just kind of laughs to herself and he's so flustered because he wanted to tell her so many other times, like when she showed him her sketchbook or when she laid her head on his shoulder during the 4th of July air show or when the afternoon sky matched the color of her eyes.

Before he can curse himself to oblivion, he feels her lips on his flushed cheek and her arms around his neck and she's telling him that she loves him, too.

v.

the quiet beauty of our desperate kiss
cause it's all, all we know

When it finally happens, she initiates it. And it takes him a little while to catch on to what she's doing, but when he does, he is just as attentive and passionate and gentle as always. It's short and sweet, but they both promise each other it will be better next time.

Afterwards, they fall asleep clutching each other close and are only woken up by the sounds of her father returning downstairs. Marius has a mental breakdown and scrambles out of her window, skidding down the roof and dropping to the ground.

He has to wear a knee brace for the rest of the summer.

vi.

so i think it's best we both forget before we dwell on it
the way you held me so tight, all through the night

He's spent so many years admiring her from afar and now that she's his, can't even look at her. He can't make himself look her in the eye, because it just hurts too much.

He doesn't care that she can't go to the same east-coast college that he was granted a work-study scholarship to attend. He doesn't care that her father is making her go to a local community college because the old man loves her too much.

Marius loves her too. He understands.

What he doesn't understand is why she is sitting next to him in his truck with her head in her hands saying that she loves him but that they can't be together anymore. That distance really does matter and that she knows that he loves her now but that she won't have him resent her in a few years. It's better this way, she says.

And he wants to fight about it. He wants to scream and throw his sweaty fists into the steering wheel and tell her how incredibly stupid it is because its not fair and it's too fucking hot in this truck. But she wants to break up with him and he was always powerless to do anything but give her what she wants.

They both cry.

vii.

besides maybe this time is different
i mean i think you really like me

A few years later, he finds himself back in his hometown to mend a few bridges that he had burned with family members. He's stocking up on sports drinks and Doritos when he feels a hearty clap on shoulder.

Well, maybe hearty isn't a strong enough word. The clap comes with such force he stumbles forward before turning around - completely expecting to see an old high school friend - but it is the smiling face of Cosette's father that greets him.

And much to Marius' dismay, her father remembers him all to well. He asks how New England is treating him and how his grades are and he even asks if his knee still gives him trouble. After Marius assures him that every thing is great, even his knee, the older man tells him that they are having a barbecue that afternoon to celebrate Cosette finishing her associate's degree.

"You should stop by," he says, giving Marius' arm a paternal squeeze. "I know that Cosette would love to see you."

He nods yes and tries act like nothing has happened, but his heart explodes and his veins sing.

i. vampire weekend, holiday - [X]
ii. the black keys, howlin' for you -[X]
iii. the bluetones, sleazy bed track - [X]
iv. don henley, the boys of summer - [X]
v. iwan rheon, where we started - [X]
vi. of monsters and men, love love love - [X]
vii.bright eyes, the first day of my life- [X]