Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“Eugh. Another day of school.” Seth grumbled, slowly rising from his bed and sitting upright.

“What even is there to learn..” Seth adds, rotating his waist towards the right side of his bed.

“Seth!” His mom called out from downstairs.

“Yeah I’m coming! Wait!” Seth yelled, his bare feet making contact with the cold, hardwood floor.

Seth’s phone, which was laying down on a desk next to his bed, would light up. His wallpaper—a girl from this random show he had been watching revealing itself as the notification appears.

He picks it up, his right index finger sliding across the screen. He enters his passcode, the keypad disappearing and revealing his home screen.

He opens his messenger, his inbox empty mostly empty.. except for this one girl named Arianna. Her name is lit up, highlighted, with a new message waiting to be read.

“Heyy, have you eaten?? What time are you going to school?? Let's go together!! 😊” the text read.

“Gosh.. this girl just won’t give up..” Seth scratched his head. Turning off his phone and setting it aside on his bed.

He approaches the stairs, grabbing onto the railing, his hand gliding across the rail whilst he descends.

“Morning. Breakfast is on the table.” said Seth’s Mother, who was pointing at the plate of sliced bread and a singular sunny side up egg that had a small, slight shine from the light.

Seth doesn’t reply. He pulls on the chair already prepared for him, now sitting down, grabbing the fork set beside his plate.

He pokes the yolk with the tip of his fork, watching it break, and the golden center runs out like a river. Seth takes a bite of the bread, chewing slowly, his mind somewhere else. His mother hovers in the kitchen, doing what she always does: a soft hum, maybe to fill the silence. It’s not that she doesn’t care, but it’s just another morning. Another routine.

“Are you going to eat the rest of it?” she asks, her voice lingering in the air.

He looks down at the egg, thinking of what he will say. With a small sigh, Seth spears the egg with his fork and lifts it to his mouth, swallowing quickly. The food doesn’t have the warmth of comfort today, just necessity.

“Yeah,” he mumbles, mostly to himself.

With that, he stands up, grabs his school bag from the side, and makes his way to the door.

Outside, the heat of the day begins to hit as the jeepney pulls up, the engine rumbling and honking twice to announce its arrival. The dusty streets are crowded with people hustling to get to where they need to go. Seth climbs into the jeepney, throwing his bag on the bench seat and sitting near the window. The ride is loud and cramped, but he doesn't mind the familiar sound of the traffic. It’s been the same every day.

The wind flows in as the jeepney picks up speed, and Seth rests his head against the window, looking at the passing buildings and streets. A few minutes later, they’re pulling up in front of the school gates, where students are already walking around, waiting for the bell.

Seth steps off the jeepney, adjusting his bag and making his way toward the classroom. The hallway is moderately noisy, filled with the hum of chatter, the smell of the horrid restrooms, and the occasional burst of laughter.

He enters the classroom and immediately feels the weight of a few dozen eyes on him. It’s not that he’s popular, but there’s something about his entrance that always feels… different.

And then, like clockwork, there’s Jarrel Sanchez. The ever present cornball who Seth just loved tormenting out of pure annoyance.. The one person Seth loved annoying just because Jarrel annoys him.

“Hey, if it isn’t the star of yesterday’s class, Seth boy.” Jarrel says with a smirk, leaning back in his seat, his hands behind his head like he’s already won.

Seth glances over at him, his usual response lodged somewhere between irritation and indifference. Jarrel is always in the front row, always ready to challenge him, to somehow get on his nerves. Seth doesn’t bother responding at first.

He sets his bag on the desk and walks over to his seat.

“You know,” Jarrel continues, his voice laced with mockery, “if you spent half as much time on your grades as you do on your insults on me, maybe you wouldn’t be such a joke.”

Seth’s hands tighten around the straps of his bag. He doesn’t bite. Not yet. Instead, he sits down, staring straight ahead. He knows what’s coming.

The rest of the class starts to trickle in, taking their seats and settling in for the day, but for Seth, the air feels heavier than usual. Something about this morning. About the egg, about the ride, about Jarrel. It feels like the start of something more.

It doesn’t matter what Jarrel says, though. Seth’s focus is still on getting through the day. He hopes today will be just like any other day.

But with Jarrel in the room, it might just turn into anything.

Chapter Text

The classroom door swings open, Ms. Angelita, The section’s adviser, would walk in.

“Excellent morning.” Ms. Angelita says, nodding as she approaches the teacher’s table, where she would set down her laptop and other belongings.

“Since we have no lesson today..” said Ms. Angelita, who opens her laptop from its fold and boots it up. “Please use this time to do your remaining assignments.” 

Ms. Angelita would grab the HDMI Cable, inserting it in one of her laptop’s USB ports. 

“pstt.. yo..” one of Seth’s classmates, Rye, whispered towards another, Ryan. “You think those 2 will do it again?” Rye let out a smirk, his voice colored with anticipation.

“Obviously. Those two just can’t get enough of each other." Ryan let out the same smirk.

“Hey Rye!” Another classmate—Daniel, yelled out. Waving his hand for Rye to see and approach.

“Dude you got our performance task?” said Iann, who was holding a piece of cardboard that was painted white.

“Here.” Rye’s right hand reached into the pocket of his jacket, searching for a short second. Now pulling out a small container, one filled with raw sardines floating in water.

“What the actual hell is this bro..?” Daniel raised a brow, walking towards Rye and with a curious, confused and concerned expression plastered across his face. “Why are there raw sardines on our aquaculture project?” He snatched the container off Rye’s hands.

“Because it’s Aquaculture, Daniel.” Rye replied, crossing his arms.

“...He’s technically not wrong.” said Iann, who stared at the container now laying on Daniel’s palm.

“Technically, Iann, he’s insane.” Rio looked at Rye, his gaze still filled with that concerned look.

Rye shrugged, a smug grin stretching across his face. “You just don’t get the vision dude. It’s effective.”

Daniel pinched the bridge of his nose, letting out a long sigh. “Effective how? They’re just… floating there. Dead.” 

Iann leaned closer to inspect the container. “Well… if you think about it, it does show aquatic life in captivity. Kinda…” 

“‘Kinda’ doesn’t get us an A, Iann.” Daniel muttered, glancing around the classroom to make sure Ms. Angelita wasn’t watching. 

“Hey man you said Aquaculture, research a method and boom we got pond culture right here.” Rye raised both hands, as if he was a genius explaining a theory.

Rye leaned towards Daniel, pointing at the sardines like he’d just unveiled a masterpiece. “It’s a micro-ecosystem. Observe the sardines… feel the immersion.” 

Iann blinked. “You do realize immersion isn’t part of the rubric, right?” 

Rye’s grin only widened. “Then maybe the rubric is just outdated. Art meets science, baby.”

Daniel groaned, finally setting the container on his chair’s desk. The sardines bobbed gently, a few flipping lazily on their sides. “I cannot believe we’re actually submitting this.”

“Dude what part of your half-assed project- well, OUR half-assed project thanks to you–is related to science?” Iann raised a brow.

“Relax,” Rye said, tossing his hands in the air. “They’ll love it. Watch. 90 on the dot. Guaranteed.” 

Just as the group settled back into their seats, a sharp, loud voice cut through the classroom chatter. 

“JHOMM!!” Seth’s yell made a few heads snap up, and the sardines nearly toppled from their tank. 

Jarrel’s eyes widened for a split second before he leaned back with that infuriating smirk. “3X REJECTED!” he yells back. Though when Jarrel had yelled, no student would bat an eye.

Seth slammed his hand on the desk, leaning forward, voice dripping with mock outrage. “Cinder Blocks, Jarrel! Cinder Blocks!!” 

The class stifled laughter. Iann shook his head, trying to focus on his notes, while Daniel muttered, “And here we go again…” 

“You know I never really got the ‘Cinder Blocks’ joke with Jarrel..” Iann leaned over to Rye, whispering.

“Apparently Jarrel likes to hump Cinder Blocks.” Rye replied, holding back a small giggle. "Jeez, those 2 are really annoying. They've been at it for like a week now" Iann says, leaning back, away from Rye to watch the scene unfold.

Jarrel rolled his eyes, leaning back in his chair with exaggerated patience. "3X REJECTED," he shot back, pointing a finger at Seth like he was marking a wrong answer. 

Seth snorted, waving his hand dramatically. "Yeah, yeah, keep saying that while you fondle cinder blocks in your free time, bro!" 

A few nearby classmates snickered, stifling their laughter behind textbooks. Iann buried his face in his notebook, pretending to study while secretly enjoying every second. 

Daniel shook his head. "These two need to get a room."

Rye, ever the spectator, leaned over and whispered to Iann, “Jarrel really needs new insults. Bet you five minutes before Ms. Angelita notices."

“Nah. I swear Ms. Angelita has selective hearing. There was this one time she kept responding to Janet and not me.” Iann replied.

“Nah, that's because Janet’s kind of the ladies girl.” Rye grinned.

“What?” Iann raised a brow. Rye sighed. “She’s kind of a lesbian you dimwit.”

"How'd you know?" Iann said. Rye looked at Iann, his patience running thin. "Because all she does is hate on men dude. Janet's the biggest misandrist I know."

Seth leaned forward again, a devilish grin spreading across his face. "Seriously, Jarrel, you owe those cinder blocks an apology for abusing their-”

But Jarrel wasn’t done. He shot back with a pointed smirk. "Pfft. Please. They’re stronger than you’ll ever be."  

The classroom filled with tension and muffled laughter as the battle continued, each insult a volley that had everyone on the edge of their seats. Even the sardines in the tank seemed to float in an awkward rhythm with the chaos.

“Alright, that’s enough you two,” Daniel muttered, finally standing and grabbing the container filled with raw sardines and water.. “Before Ms. Angelita notices and we all go down with you.” 

“Don’t act like you’re not enjoying this,” Rye teased, following him to the front of the room with Iann trailing behind, carefully holding the cardboard backdrop of their ‘project’. 

Seth and Jarrel’s bickering quieted slightly, their voices dipping into muttered snipes and side-eyes as the group passed. Still, the electricity between them–not quite anger, but something sharp and charged. 

“Good morning, Ma’am,” Daniel said, setting the container on Ms. Angelita’s desk. The sardines drifted like lost souls as the teacher looked down at them, expression unreadable.

“What… exactly am I looking at?” she asked slowly. 

“Our amazing performance task, Ms. Angelita. Made by the one and only.” Rye crossed his arms, his lips curving into a confident smirk as if he had done something magnificent.

Iann coughed. “We, uh, wanted to show the aftereffects of oxygen deprivation.”

Ms. Angelita squints at the container, a mix of confusion and pity on her face. “So.. these are your cultured fish?”

“Yes Ma’am. It’s a perfect representation of pond culture.” said Rye.

Ms. Angelita raised an eyebrow, eyes shifting between the three of them and the lifeless fish. “Hmm. Well… it’s certainly realistic.” She scribbled something on her grading sheet, her tone betraying mild amusement.  Ms. Angelita writes 90 on the rubric anyway.

As they turned to walk back, Rye smirked at Daniel. “Told you. 90 on the dot.”

“Shut up,” Daniel muttered, but even he couldn’t hide the tiny laugh escaping under his breath.  “I’m surrounded by idiots.” Daniel sighed.

Back at their seats, Seth and Jarrel were still at it. Quieter now, like they’d run out of ammo but refused to let the silence win. 

“Thought you’d be tired of me by now,” Seth said, voice low, teasing. 

Jarrel shot him a half-smirk without looking up. “I get bored when you’re quiet.”

For a moment, the classroom noise faded into the background, the faint hum of the air conditioning, the scribble of pencils, the bubbling of sardine water somewhere behind them. 

Rye, watching from his seat, shook his head with a grin. “Yeah,” he muttered under his breath. “They definitely need a room.”

Ryan sat beside Rye, inviting his other friend: Kieran, who was this deadbeat emo dude who only attends class twice every week, to sit alongside the two.

“What did Ms. Angelita give you?” Ryan raised a brow.

“90.” Rye replied.

“Nah you’re lying!” Ryan exclaimed.

“I ain’t dude. I’m just that guy.” Rye shrugged. “Is that Kieran? What a surprise. Thought I’d never see you again.”

Kieran looked at Rye, his expression unreadable. “I got sick.”

“Yeah sure.” Rye rolled his eyes. “We’re just going to pretend I didn’t see your discord profile saying you were up at 4 am playing valorant for 2 hours?”

Kieran looked away. Refusing to reply, and instead whips out his phone. Scrolling through social media.

“Yeesh. And I thought I was the biggest loser in this classroom.” Rye frowned.

Before Ryan could reply, a familiar voice cut through the side chatter.

“Hey, Cinder block Boy,” Seth called out lazily from his seat, one leg swinging under the desk.

Jarrel didn’t even look up from his notebook. “That's the best you got? ‘Cinder Block’” His tone was casual, but the smirk tugging at his lips gave him away.

Rye glanced over, eyes narrowing slightly as he watched the two. The rest of the class seemed to fade into background noise. The hum of fans, the scratching of pencils, the faint buzz of the lights overhead.

Seth leaned back in his chair, tapping his pen against his desk. “You’ll run out of comebacks soon.”

Jarrel finally looked up, eyes meeting his. “Then I’ll start borrowing yours.”

For a moment, neither of them said anything. Just that quiet stare. Half challenge, half something neither of them had the guts to name.

Ryan nudged Rye. “You feel that?”

Rye smirked faintly. “Yeah. Something’s about to start.”

The bell rang a second later.