Chapters
ch1 | ch2 | ch3 | ch4
Sebastian sashays down the empty hallway on his way to his third period class that consisted of none other than Social Studies. It was another crisp Monday morning, and his first two classes of Art and ELA had gone by swimmingly. Just as they always did.
Glancing sideways at the lockers as he passes them, Sebastian sighs. His jolly court filled with subjects, yet none of them loyal to him! How sad! What was a king without his people?
Something catches Sebatian’s eye as he passes by an otherwise nondescript locker. There was a piece of paper sticking out from it.
“Litter…” he growls. “I cannot stand literers….”
Without hesitation, he snatches the paper out of the locker and looks it over.
It reads:
“Did you know? Cats are typically thought to have nine whole lives!
If I were a cat, I’d be more than inclined to spend every life with you.
(P.S.
My favorite breed is ragdoll. What’s yours?)
(P.P.S.
Leave your response right under your locker. I’ll find a way to get back to you. Promise. ♥)”
Sebastian blinks.
Was this… a love letter?
Oh dear.
Oh dear, oh dear, oh dear.
Sebastian had just read someone’s mail.
He had just broken the law.
Oh dear…!
The school bell rings signaling for classes to rotate. Sebastian had been let out early per his request. He didn’t want to get trampled in the halls, after all. Especially not with this exquisite outfit on.
But, in becoming a criminal, he had taken too long. Students are beginning to pour out of doors like a flood.
Panicking, Sebastian quickly shoves the note through the slots on the top of the locker. He hopes and prays it gets to its intended recipient and not a low down dog like him.
+++
The next day, Sebastian follows his same route from ELA to Social Studies. This means he also passes by the same locker from before.
There’s a new note there.
Phew, he sighs.It looks like the delivery was attempted again. He sighs again, happy this time. Aah, a love letter! Incredible! Here’s to new love finding its way into my domain!
Sebastian carries on with his day, relieved.
+++
On Wednesday, however, things are different.
Today there is no note.
Sebastian worries.
Didn’t they say to write back? he thinks, nibbling his fingernails. Has there been an upset? Could they have… He gasps. Could they have found out I accidentally read their mail and are now too scared to communicate this way?
Sebastian feels like sobbing. He rushes over to the locker, peering at all sides.
No, no, he frets. They couldn’t have found out. I can’t be the reason this couple can’t find love. I can’t be the demise of a still budding relationship!
But, try as Sebastian might, he cannot find a letter jutting out anywhere from the locker.
He tries to calm his breathing.
It’s okay. Nobody knows of your misdeeds, Sebastian. Perhaps this has nothing to do with you at all.
Yes. Yes, maybe that was it.
Of course.
That had to be it.
Absolutely.
Sebastian walks to Social Studies, 100% completely paying attention to where he’s going. The flat bruise on his face is because someone hit him with a book, obviously. He absolutely did not walk head first into every door he came across.
Not at all.
+++
The jig is up. It’s Thursday and there’s no note.
This is absolutely his fault.
Someone had found out about his crime, told the sender and recipient, and they’ve moved to a more secure location.
That, of course, was the Good End.
The Most Likely End is that the sender saw Sebastian eyeing the note on Tuesday and got so scared they didn’t leave any more notes.
This was it. Sebastian had ruined a flourishing love, becoming a heinous criminal at the same time.
The teenager requests an early leave. Before long, Collins is here to drive him home.
“You good, Seb?” she asks as he climbs in quietly.
“Just… take me home please.”
“...Alright, buddy.”
+++
“...Brother dearest?” Sebastian murmurs as he knocks lightly and pushes into Kevin’s room. “Are you in here…?”
“What is it, Seb?” Kevin barks, clacking away at one of his video’s game’s controllers. “Kinda in the middle of something h—Pipes! Behind you!”
“Um…” Sebastian comes in and closes the door. “May I speak with you?”
“About what?”
“...Something important?”
Kevin turns to look at him for a moment, eyebrows furrowed. “Something important?”
“Kev!” Sebastian can just barely hear out of Kevin’s headphones. Then the sound of little explosions happen and a sad little trill. “Damnit.”
“Ugh,” Kevin groans. He turns to his computer. “Be right back.” He taps something on his keyboard and turns his chair towards his brother. “What’s up, Seb?”
Sebastian cradles himself and glances away. “I may have done something… illegal.” He spits the word out, disgusted.
Kevin however, gets excited. “For real?” He jumps up a little. “What’d you do?”
“I…” He takes a lavishing deep breath. “I read someone else’s mail!” he shouts out in a rush.
“...Yeah?” Kevin says like he’s expecting more. “...And?”
“I read someone’s mail!” Sebastian languishes. “I’ve ruined a love! I’ve tarnished the Sharp’s good name!”
“Wait, wait, wait,” Kevin says. “Go back. Ruined a love?”
“Yes!” the taller teen cries. “The letter I read was a love letter! And now the notes have stopped appearing!”
“...Okay?” Kevin asks.
“So, because of me, those poor lovelorn souls will never find their soulmates!”
“...Oh,” Kevin says after a moment. “Oh, you’re serious.”
“Of course I’m serious!” Sebastian shouts, eyes starting to water. “Do you take nothing I say seriously!?”
“Woah, hey, hey! Of course I do!” Kevin says, getting up. “Don’t cry, man.” He walks over to his brother with open arms. Sebastian falls into him without another word, sobbing profusely.
“I didn’t me-an too~!” he weeps. “I thought it was li-tter~!”
“It’s alright, dude,” Kevin soothes, rubbing circles in Sebastian’s back. And, though he sighs before he says it, he offers, “Do you wanna go sit down and watch the Winnie the Pooh movie again?”
Sebastian sniffles undaintily. “...C-an we?”
“Yeah, man.” Kevin begins to walk them to the personal movie theater side of his room. There’s a big comfortable reclining chair set up just for them. “We can do whatever you want.”
Kevin gently coaxes Sebastian into taking a seat. “Can—” he starts abruptly, sniffing and holding his arms to his chest, “Can I hold Wobbles?”
A look passes over Kevin’s face, but it’s there and gone so fast Sebastian has no time to process it. Either way, he says, “Yeah, man. Like I said, whatever you want.”
Kevin moves to go retrieve Wobbles and probably shut off his computer. Meanwhile, Sebastian gets the movie set up.
It takes a minute, but eventually the two brothers are side by side, sharing a blanket, a massive bowl of popcorn and watching the movie together. Kevin had gotten Wobbles for Sebastian as requested, and he clings onto the little stuffed white dog for dear life.
But, just like every other time they ended up like this, Sebastian begins to nod off somewhere in the middle of the movie. The familiarity of the situation makes him feel safe.
He’s half asleep when he hears the movie’s volume decrease and he perks up a bit, intrigued.
“Hey, Seb,” Kevin prods. “You still awake?”
“Mmm?”
“You’re not like, a criminal or anything, y’know,” Kevin says, looking directly at him. “It was an honest mistake.”
While they were ultimately untrue, the words warm Sebastian’s heart anyways, making him smile just a bit.
“...Thanks, Kevin,” he mumbles. “For everything.”
“Hey, no problem, man.” Kevin turns the movie back up with one hand, his phone in the other. “Go get some sleep. I’ll let it play out.”
Sebastian’s smile widens just a fraction. It’s one of the most important fractions in his life.
kevvie: yea
kevvie: hes out liwk a lifht
kevvie: like light
kevvie: srry im kinda tired too
pipesies: its ok
pipesies: so wat was th problwm
kevvie: ok get this
pipesies: :iamlooking:
kevvie: he was upset cause he accidentally read someones love letter
pipesies: ??
pipesies: who..
kevvie: idk
kevvie: its like killing me not knowing tho
kevvie: he was rlly torn up abt it too. so idont wanna ask him again
pipesies: hm
pipesies: what abt
pipesies: asking
kevvie: say a real name or im kicking you
pipesies: .
pipesies: whats her name um
pipesies: mike?
kevvie: u mean mic
pipesies: ya
kevvie: idk. she always knows a lot but i dont want it getting around that seb looked at it
pipesies: just dont say that then
kevvie: oh
kevvie: ok yea
kevvie: thanx babe <3
pipesies: <3
+++
kev: hey mic
mic: hi kev!!! whats up:0
kev: need some info
mic: ohhhh abt what?
kev: dont tell anybody but
kev: theres someone in the school egtting love notes
kev: u know anything abt it
mic: WHATTTT
mic: NO WAY THATS SO COOOOOLL
kev: damn
kev: take that as a no
mic: YEA SORRY
mic: you want me to ask around? without like outing you ofc!!
kev: nah
kev: thanks tho
mic: np!! sorry i didnt have anything to help!!
kev: ur good. ttyl
mic: kay!!
“Sean, Sean, Sean,” Mic calls. “Seeeaaaannnnn.”
The two of them are in Chorus, near the back. Everyone is doing something on their own, the teacher having stepped out for a moment.
“Yes?” Sean whispers. She’s always whispering.
“Guess what.”
“What?”
Mic looks around before leaning in. “There’s a secret admirer in the school!” she whispers excitedly
“Here?” Sean asks. “Seriously?”
“I know, right!?” Mic is about to jump out of her seat as she flaps her hands rapidly. “It’s so exciting!
“It is a bit exciting,” Sean nods. “Do you know who it is? Or who’s getting them?”
“Noooope,” Mic sighs. “But I really hope I can hear more from—” She covers her mouth. “Oops! I’m not supposed to say!”
“It’s okay,” Sean says. “Probably best to keep quiet about it.” She frowns a bit. “We wouldn’t want it getting around and messing with things.”
“You’re right!” Mic nods enthusiastically. “Still…! Exciting…!!!”
“It is, Mikey,” Sean smiles, patting her on the head gently. “It is.”
Mic grins wide.
+++
“Oh my god,” Sarah giggles. “Peps, you totally heard that during Chorus, right?”
Sarah and Peppa are sitting at their usual table at Lunch, nibbling on today’s food.
“Of course I did,” Peppa smiles. “You know your bestie’s got ears on him!”
“Oh my gooood,” Sarah says again. “That’s so romantic…” she swoons.
“It’s pretty cliche, actually,” Peppa says, rolling his eyes. “But… it is also kind of romantic.”
“See!” Sarah flaps her hand at Peppa, smile on her face. “Oh my god. We have to find out who it is.”
“Do we?” Peppa asks, raising an eyebrow. “Wouldn’t that be like, ruining the whole thing of it being a secret admirer?”
“Not if we don’t tell anyone!” Sarah says earnestly. Then she scrunches her face, thinking. “Well… we’ll probably need to ask at least one person about it.”
“Why?
“How else are we supposed to find out who it is?”
“Lurking?”
“You know I don’t like lurking, Peps.”
“But lurking is fun!”
“It is not!”
“It is too!”
“Lurking?” The two friends blink. When they turn to the source of the new voice, it’s none other than Lucy Lulu, rain boots and all. “What’re we lurking for?”
“Oh, hey Luce,” Peppa greets. “You’re good at finding stuff out, right?”
“Peps!” Sarah whispers harshly. She didn’t know Lucy very well, unlike Peppa. Those two had gone back a while, but they were more casual friends nowadays. Still… Sarah didn’t know if they could trust her with a secret like this. Mic might've been a loudmouth, but from the stories Peppa had told her about Lucy, this girl was relentless.
“Oh, calm down, Sarie,” Peppa smiles. “I know what you’re probably thinking. You’ve got that worried look on your face.”
“I do?” Sarah asks, touching her face. Peppa laughs.
“Lucy, we have a favor to ask.”
“Shoot!” Lucy smiles.
“Now, I need to stress, this has to stay a secret, okay? This is an ears to the ground operation.”
“Got it boss!” Lucy says, giggling with a salute.
“Awesome,” Peppa smiles. “Now, we heard from a loud little birdie last period that someone in the school has a secret admirer!”
“Oh!” Lucy gasps. “How sweet!”
“It’s more than sweet,” Peppa smirks. “It’s super interesting. Nothing interesting ever happens here at Ingenuous High.” He looks at Sarah. “Me and Sarie wanna know who the recipient is.”
“Not the sender?” Sarah asks. “I thought that’d be more fun!”
“Nooo,” Lucy answers instead of Peppa. “‘Cause then I’ll know who it is! And I’ll never forget! And I’ll be a liability!” Lucy pushes her hands into her hair, hunching over a bit. “I hate being a liability!”
“Okay, okay,” Peppa soothes. “Like I said, we only wanna know the person getting them.”
“Oh, okay!” Lucy perks right back up. “You got it!” With that, Lucy salutes again and leaves, objective received.
“Do you really think she’ll find out who it is?” Sarah asks.
“Oh, definitely.” Peppa nods. “She’ll probably tell Peyton once she finds out, but they don’t strike me as the gossiping type.”
“So only us four will know who it is?”
“Pretty much.”
Sarah smiles. “Heehee! I love knowing secrets!”
Oh man.
Barret sits in Chorus, shuffling his feet.
He had just overheard something he was pretty sure he wasn’t supposed to.
Secret admirer… he thinks to himself. Maybe I should… no… he wouldn’t be able to figure out it was me and it would kill me if he thought it was someone else.
The thought of becoming Nick’s secret admirer is thrown in the trash before it has the proper time to grow. He’d have to find some other way to let the other know about his feelings.
…Later. In the future. At some point.
Yeah.
Either way, Barret still has this new knowledge he can’t do anything about.
Except for one thing, of course.
+++
“Barret!” Nick waves. “Over here!”
Nick is in the middle of the lunch line, not being subtle at all. He doesn’t have to, after all. The Lunch Squad (the stupid name the whole school had called those teachers who were annoying at Lunch) were all out sick today. The cafeteria was a lawless place.
So of course that means Nick is gonna slip his main man into the line for a fast lunch.
Barret looks worried as he approaches Nick. “Hi, Nick…” he mumbles, slotting into line. People behind them groan, but Nick could care less.
Now, Barret wasn’t always a huge ball of energy on a good day. But he normally fought weakly about skipping the line before ultimately doing it anyways. What was up?
“Barr, what’s wrong?” Nick asks, eyebrows scrunching. “You good?”
“Um,” he mumbles. “Let’s wait until we’re off line.”
Huh? Was it a secret or something?
“Okay,” Nick nods anyways, even though curiosity was now burning at him.
Before long, the line has taken them to get their lunch, milk and surprise iceies from a crate. Limited supply, of course.
Nick takes two.
Then, the two go to sit at their table in the back of the cafe. It was better this way for both of them. Nick got to listen in on folks’ conversations a lot easier, and Barret got less overwhelmed. Win win in Nick’s book.
“Okay, big guy,” Nick says the moment they set their trays down. “What’s up? You didn’t fight me about skipping today.” He pokes Barret on the forehead. “You got somethin’ goin’ on up there I don’t know about?”
“Um…” Barret mumbles again. “Yeah, I guess.”
“Alright then, spill.”
“There’s… um…” Barret pulls his arms up and rocks a bit. He’s nervous.
“Hey,” Nick says softly. “You don’t gotta if it’s making you like that, man.”
“There’s a secret admirer in the school,” Barret rushes out, a bit loud. “Um. I… wanted to say that quieter.”
“You’re fine,” Nick says, waving a hand. “Everyone around here is too busy with their own shit to care about us.” Nick pushes himself up on the table. “But!” he smiles, excited. “How do you know? Is it youuu?”
“No!” Barret yelps. Then he clears his throat. “N-no, it’s not me,” he stammers. “But I don’t know who it could be either.”
Nick sits back down on his chair. “Booo!” he pouts. “I thought you had some big boy news!”
“W-well…” Barret mumbles. “I think… I think it’s cool…”
“Yeah?” Nick asks, raising an eyebrow.
“Yeah…” Barret sighs dreamily. “I think if I got a secret admirer it’d really make me swoon, y’know?”
Nick shrugs. “Eh. I’d rather whoever wants me to just straight up tell me.
Barret looks at Nick with intense eyes.
“What?” Nick asks. “Is that so weird?”
“No,” Barret replies, looking away. “Not at all.”