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[importantdelivery]

°Highschool AU° -Chapter 6: Don't judge a book by its cover-

words: 1,086

estimated reading time: 4min

As soon as someone entered the room, they'd pause and look around, lifting their head to sniff the air, which was holding a rather unfamiliar smell of chemicals.

At each desk, small groups of students were experimenting with the said substances. They were dressed in big white lab coats and unrealistically big science glasses to protect themselves, transforming the classroom into a cheap version of some kind of underground child laboratory. For some students, this feeling of imprisonment was quite accurate.

Jason's sleeves just didn't want to stay in place where he wanted them to be and slid down his wrists every five minutes. He had absolutely no idea of what was going on and why the different liquids in front of him changed color or started foaming suddenly.

“Holy shit, you're a fucking wizard, Salim,” he whispered in astonishment. At first, he wasn't too keen on working with his new classmate, but now, he realized that this guy wasn't that dumb.

After all, he was taking the lead in the experiments – mainly for safety reasons.

Salim's nostrils widened as he laughed: “This is basic science, Jason.”

He continued to follow the protocol they were given by his chemistry teacher and prepared a new test tube with an unknown liquid, which he handed to his partner.

“What do you want me to do with that?”, the boy asked, lifting the tube up in the air. But the only thing he was able to see was the sparkling light and his white sleeve slipping back down.

This behavior alarmed Salim, who already held the second tube in his hand. He stared at Jason with eyes almost as big as table tennis balls.

“What are you doing?”

He firmly grabbed Jason's wrist and slowly lowered his arm.

“You don't play around with unknown substances like that!”, he nagged, before letting go.

Jason muttered, “Well, then don't give them to me without a warning” while fixing his clothing.

“Here,” Salim put a small wooden rack in front of him and explained, “You are supposed to put them in here.”

“Why don't you say so!”

“What else is there to do with freshly filled test tubes?” Salim raised his eyebrows. Everything they had been doing this entire morning was watching strange liquids that were put in such a rack have a chemical reaction and this boy still didn't get it.

Jason looked his Iraqi classmate dead in the eye. “I dunno, drink it,” he responded by shrugging his shoulders.

A moment of silence wandered back and forth between the two of them, but was quickly broken by a soft smirk from Jason, who clearly enjoyed his teasing.

“Oh. You, you're messing with me,” the boy with short black hair let out a wheeze of relief. He could understand English just fine, but apparently not well enough to completely decipher its hidden meanings.

Meanwhile, Jason carefully put the tubes into the wooden rack, still hanging on to his grin. “Well, maybe you're just as ignorant as I am.”

After numerous suspicious glances that the two boys had secretly or deliberately thrown at each other provocatively, the ice between them finally seemed to melt. Not only did Jason discover what type of acid or alkali was hidden behind the inconspicuous transparent liquid, but also, that he shouldn't have judged Salim by his appearance. Behind his dark brown eyes hid a sincere, but in his own way, funny character, who had brains.

Across the room, Clarice and Eric effortlessly mastered these simple experiments, using an indicator to assign the now colorful liquids their appropriate names and classifications.

“This is too easy,” Eric said and neatly organized his work area, resetting his pencil case and folder. Swiftly, he looked around, checking how his classmates dealt with the assignment. Most of them were still figuring out how much of each fluid they should pour into a tube. Obviously, they didn't read the instructions properly.

For no particular reason, Clarice arranged the test tubes so they represented the colors of the rainbow in the test tube rack, which she was quietly and secretly happy about.

“Huh that actually looks pretty nice," the boy said, complimenting the girl's artistic approach. He took a moment to lean forward and observe the barely visible bubbles in each tube. Some ascended quickly, others took their time.

The bright daylight shining directly on their desk through the nearby window was strong enough to actually color the shadows of the transparent test tubes on the table.

In a flash, Clarice had her phone in front of Eric's nose, who flinched in surprise, watching her destroy the photo button. Was it the black nail polish that gave her these demonic powers?

“So, do you have any plans for your future?” Clarice changed the subject as she turned her phone from horizontal to vertical to take better photos. “Like job-wise.”

“I don't really know. But definitely something science related,” Eric replied without explaining too much. He hesitated before speaking up again. “I mean, it would be my biggest wish come true if I could get a chance to work for NASA.”

“NASA?” Clarice repeated it in a questioning manner.

Wishing he hadn't mentioned it, Eric sighed and would have liked to smack his forehead. But he rubbed it aggressively instead. The raised voice at the end of a sentence, made it sound so implausible and doubtful. Next time he'll keep his personal thoughts to himself.

The young man tried to keep a straight face. “Yeah,” was all he said.

Clarice turned her legs in his direction so her upper body could follow the motion to face him. “That would be dope,” she admitted.

There was that honest sparkle of curiosity in her eyes, which ultimately made Eric forget his sulkiness and he smiled.

“How about you?”, he engaged in their little conversation.

“I think I'm going to study physics.” The girl slid her index fingers under her black plastic choker and twisted it around her neck. “But I'm not sure, what I will do after that. I mean, I still have plenty of time before I set foot in any university,” she shrugged, having fiddled with her collar enough.

Now it was time to return the favor of the previous encouragement. “No, I'm sure you can make it. You're good at physics. Misses Sparks loves you,” he added jokingly, which made his classmate chuckle.

Clarice didn't know what to say, so she turned back to the small wooden rack, admiring its natural beauty.

At first I had planned something else, but plans in my head only last for so long xD

Feel free to tell me what you think or if there’s anything in particular you’d like to see/read?

[importantdelivery]

°Highschool AU° - Chapter 5: You can't have it all-

words:  1,354

estimated reading time: 5 min

Beeep, beeep, beeep

An ear-piercing sound shattered Salim's peaceful dream. The calming image in his head started to fade, making room for many flashes of light as he opened his eyes. Next to him lay his blinking smartphone, which was making a lot of noise. With that ringtone, it wouldn't have surprised him if he had woken up his father too.

Salim grunted and lifted his heavy, drowsy body off the bed so he could shuffle his lame feet to the bathroom like a zombie.

Getting ready for school usually didn't take him too much time. He showered, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and ate breakfast with his dad, who should be awake by now.

“Good morning, big guy.”, his father squinted at him with his eyes half open, to which the 17-year old replied with little conviction: “Morning, dad.”

The boy dropped himself on the chair opposite to his father and slowly began to prepare his breakfast and meal for school.

“Well, someone's been staying up late.”, his dad teased.

“No, not really. I'm just generally tired.”, his son explained before he bit into his toast.

While Salim was still eating, it was his old man's turn to pay a visit to the bathroom, and shortly after, both of them were ready, to get their days started. Unlike many others, the young man was able to enjoy the luxury of being driven to school by his father.

The sun was already shining and slightly dazzled Salim through the windshield of the car. Matching the beat of the song playing on the radio, they drove past several streetlights and signs that could have resembled base and snares. A view he never thought could be so beautiful.

This moment right now seemed to wash away all his worries. The soothing melody of the song calmed his breathing as he focused on the shining sun, reflecting on the tops of other cars.

Salim had sunken so deep into the magical world of music, he hadn't even noticed the car coming to a stop.

“Well, here we are.”, his father gently indicated, whereupon a disappointed Salim grumbled next to him in the passenger seat, stretching out his limbs before summoning all the motivation he needed to get out of the car.

“Hey Salim”, his dad said, bent over the gear shift to look into his son's dark brown eyes.

“Have fun at school. I'm proud of you.”, he added in a serious but loving manner.

A slight smile flew across the boy's face, “Love you too, dad.”

Even though he didn't often admit it, his words meant a lot to him.

Then he confidently closed the door behind him and entered the schoolyard. This was going to be a good day.

He could feel it.

With surprising ease, Salim strode along the light gray path beneath him that led directly to the front doors. He was lucky to find some classmates near the entry he could follow since he wasn't too familiar with the school's layout yet. He would probably get lost in there on his own. What a terrifying thought to be trapped inside a school.

The classroom was already bubbling with life and excitement. But as soon as he met eyes with grumpy Jason, he felt tense sparks coming his way that drained the room's positive energy in no-time. Jason looked at him as if he had done something bad, even though he himself was the one who had done a bad thing, that clearly didn't match Salims morals.

It tickled the Iraqi's tongue. He just couldn't leave it like that. He felt the urge to confront him again. But this time there was no way for them to leave and avoid the conversation like they did last time.

Jason jumped right into the dialogue, “What are ya lookin' at?”

“So you've emptied your pockets?”, Salim slowly let go of his backpack, which smoothly slid down his shoulders, so he could place it on top of his desk, which was seated diagonally behind Jason's.

“Seriously, what's your problem?”, the southern boy hissed in annoyance.

“That I didn't make you return it.”

Jason laughed and mumbled, "What's it to ya if some random dude grabs himself a little goodie from some insignificant cheap store?" but quickly stopped laughing when he saw Salim's painful facial expression.

A brief moment of silence spread between the two and expanded into mere discomfort. It was clear to see, that Jason was thinking about what he had said, though he didn't understand what harm he'd done.

“This insignificant cheap store is my father's workplace.”, Salim explained angrily, “I would be very happy if you would not do this again.”, he added.

Jason swallowed hard. This was not the kind of first impression he wanted to make. But before he could make an apology or a dumb comment, depending on his mood, their teacher had already entered the room and ordered the teenagers to be quiet. That way the boys just silently eyed each other, giving each other annoyed looks.

Surprisingly fast did the teacher slide the chalk across the board and write something along the lines 'Summer School Project starting now'. A mixture of excitement and groans sounded from every corner of the classroom, leading to the teacher turning around swiftly, “Let me explain.” He sat on the edge of the table and almost posed like a cover model for 'Men's Health'.

"If you would give me your attention. You too, Mr. Kolchek. Please focus on me.", he admonished the young man.

“I can understand that it's hard to keep your eyes off of such a lovely face like Mr. Othman's, but mine isn't so bad either.”

Everyone but Jason, who felt he had been unfairly judged, had a good laugh at the teacher's joke. Even Salim was able to smile, having no trouble accepting the compliment.

“Now quiet down, here comes the big news.” Before going into detail, the man got off the table and started walking around in front of the class, gesturing vaguely with both of his hands. “There's this school project coming up.”, he pointed at the blackboard, “To start off easily in the new year. You'll be paired into different groups. There will be different topics to work on, and at the end, we'll hopefully have a lot of fun and you'll have good grades as well.” This explanation, however, did not convince the students.

“And I will draw lots for the groups.” That right there put the class's mood over the edge. Some students had to come up front to the teacher's desk and take tiny pieces of paper. Some were colorful, others were boringly white.

The number that was drawn corresponded with the number from the class book, which ultimately determined the partner.

Admiring from afar, a thoughtful girl by the name of Clarice cast her dreamy eyes on the back of Jason's head. No matter the angle, his body features never failed to attract her attention. Another advantage of looking at his broad back was that she didn't have to worry about him noticing. She could spend the entirety of each lesson staring at him, studying the way the loose clothing wrinkled its way around his body.

In her hand she held a small note with the number 14 written on it, which she imploringly hoped was his number.

“Salim, tell me which number you have.”, the teacher wanted to know and eagerly opened the thin blue book, scanning the numbers and names with his index finger.

“Number 15.”, the boy read aloud, after unfolding his tiny note. Within a second, Jason slammed his head on the tabletop in disbelief. Apparently, he already knew his representative number.

The teacher confirmed, tapping his finger on both their names in the class' book: “Salim and Jason, what a wonderful pairing.”

“Clarice, what about you?”

With this question, the girl was caught off guard and stammered a curt "14", to which the teacher solemnly announced her to be partners with Eric King.

He indicated "another perfect duo."

So close, she was so close.

I’ve already planned some good drama xD

So stay tuned and thank you so so so so much for reading <3

[importantdelivery]

I love your HoA highschool AU fanfic !! I can't way to see where you take it :)

Thank you kind human being :D

Depending on the music I’m listening to my vibe and therefore my writing change as well.

That way I can even surprise myself with spontaneous ideas.

Thanks again <3

[importantdelivery]

°Highschool AU° - Chapter 4: Weak Knees-

words: 1,306

estimated reading time: 5 min

In front of the small kiosk, three extremely tense young men stared at each other, as if in a scene from a western movie:

Jason still proudly presented his middle finger, while Salim clenched his teeth and fist and Nick just stood there, confused. All he knew was that he bought some coke for him and his buddy, but now all of a sudden, Salim and Jason had some kind of rivalry going on.

He really wasn't joking when he said he didn't like that guy. But why?

“It's good to see you too, Salim”, Nick said, trying to loosen up the mood, before the two guys threw fists at each other. When Jason was around, you could never be careful enough.

It was not until Jason lowered his hand that Salim finally replied: “I think I better go.”

As soon as Nick saw the angry boy opening his insolent mouth, he hissed at him, like a mother disciplining her child: “Jason!”

The southern boy always had to add fuel to the fire. Something his parents also had to deal with on a daily basis.

“Jason, you're impossible. You know that?” The tanned boy wildly gestured with his hands, tapping on his forehead, as if he was asking, if his friend was out of his mind.

“Nah, look what I made possible”, Jason grinned and briefly checked their surroundings, before he gave Nick a peek into the pocket of his pants, showing him the stolen treasure.

Right away, Nick's eyes opened as wide as golf balls. Pure shock was rushing through his entire body raising his blood pressure.

“Oh my god! Did you steal that?”, he tried whispering as his vocal chords jumped between many octaves out of excitement. He couldn't believe his eyes and rapidly pushed Jason away to finally leave the crime scene, before they would end up getting caught.

At a deserted bus stop, the two boys sat down again. To celebrate, Jason took the stolen bottle out of his pocket and held it up triumphantly.

"Woohoo!" he yelled just like that, causing Nick to start laughing.

His friend, sure as shit, was a crazy son of a gun, and that's what he liked about him the most.

Meanwhile, Eric and Rachel met at her home. Though they didn't have as much fun as Jason and Nick did at the bus stop.

Every other day, she brought Eric along from school so he could help her with her homework and together they went over the new topics they had learned in school. She would much rather spend time with her girls and enjoy her freedom, but her parents insisted. At least they could agree on a compromise that Eric would substitute for her tutor. That old lady was giving her the creeps for sure.

Rachel could complain all she wanted, but her grades have gotten much better since then. As for now, she even belonged to the best students in her class.

“Do you want something to drink?” Rachel got up from her chair in the kitchen. She had been sitting for so long, her back and neck felt stiff.

“Well, depends on what you have”, Eric replied, stretching out his arms as well.

Today's private lessons were particularly exhausting, since they were dealing with both math and physics.

The girl grabbed a large bottle of Sprite and turned around. “I need something with sugar. What about you?” “That's fine with me”, Eric nodded.

Secretly, he watched as the blond-brown beauty filled two glasses with Sprite.

Her silhouette was framed by the incoming light shining through the kitchen window, making her appear like an angel. The young man simply couldn't take his eyes off her, which she finally noticed.

“What are you looking at, nerd?”, she asked jokingly, trying to hide her smile behind teasing words.

“Don't you start too. Jason's already bugging me about it”, Eric shook his head.

Gratefully, he accepted the drink and offered to toast with her by raising his glass. However, they had to be careful because Rachel was not sparing when pouring the beverage. Otherwise, all the Sprite would end up on the table and mess up their school supplies.

Even though Eric tried not to shake, his hand holding the glass trembled slightly. As they looked into each other's eyes, he suddenly felt very nervous. It was almost as if his increasing heartbeat radiated all the way to his hand.

“Careful, you might spill your drink”, Rachel noticed, but Eric was unable to say anything.

The blond boy pretended that nothing had happened and took a big sip out of the glass and almost spilled it over himself.

“Are you okay, Eric?” Rachel was starting to get a little worried because his strange behavior was becoming worse from time to time.

“Mh-mh”, the boy confirmed with a thumbs up, avoiding her gaze completely so she wouldn't notice his lightly red cheeks.

Hesitantly, he suggested: “You think we can call it a day?” "Oh thank God, I thought you'd never ask", she exclaimed, rushing to tidy up her space.

After Eric safely placed his glass, he began packing up his things as well, gathering all the work sheets that were spread out on the table. While folding up the large math book, a gust of air came up, waving a few blond curls off his forehead, which gave him a new hairstyle.

Rachel tried to stockpile everything in her arms, but of course, that didn't work out so well. Right on top of the pile of books and papers, she crammed the half-full Sprite glass between her pencil case, the bottle, and the calculator.

From the get-go, her construct didn't look very stable. She hadn't even taken her first step forward, when the fluid in the glass started to sway, threatening to topple over. Yet Rachel wanted to move everything at once, despite the consequence of possibly losing and soaking half of her belongings in the process.

In the corner of his eye, Eric saw something glide off her pile, but before it reached the edge, he managed to turn around quickly and hold onto Rachel's hands to support the shaky structure. He could feel the warmth of her smooth skin in his palms, which ultimately melted his heart. His cheeks turned red instantly.

For a short second,  time seemed to stand still, and Eric absorbed this wonderful moment into his memory like water into a sponge. Rachel's lovely strawberry perfume swirled around his head and clouded his mind. The sweet scent reminded him of that one time when they were sharing a big bowl of strawberry ice cream after a long day of swimming in the pool. They were just kids back then, but the moment Eric became aware of her enchanting beauty, he never lost sight of her.

“Eric?”

A soft voice broke through his thoughts and brought him back to the here and now. The dreamy boy fixed his gaze on her in surprise, but Rachel didn't say a word. Instead, she looked at him expectantly, which he didn't understand at first. But shortly after, he felt a twitch under his hands and realized that he was still enclosing the girls' gentle hands tightly.

“Oh I”, he stuttered, shying away. He could still feel her soft touch imprinted on his palms after he let go.

“Thanks for helping me today”, Rachel said clearly and briefly before storming off and leaving her classmate to stand alone in the middle of the kitchen.

There it was again. That look in his eyes. Rachel was tired of this indecisiveness. Why couldn't he finally say what he wanted? Every time he was around, things just got as awkward as they were now.

In the beginning, Rachel actually thought, it was kinda cute, but now her opinion has changed.

I’m always open for any suggestions :D

Tysm for reading! I really didn’t expect to receive so much feedback.

[importantdelivery]

°Highschool AU° - Chapter 3: Naughty Boy-

words: 1,033

estimated reading time: 4min

The sun was reflected, glittering in the windows of the skyscrapers. Cheerful birds flew by, chirping. It was a beautiful Friday afternoon, which Nick and Jason spent in the greenery after both of their mothers had kicked them out.

“Go outside and enjoy the nice weather. Always sitting up in that dark room of yours. There's no harm in getting a little sunlight.” were the last words, before Jason's mother shooed her lazy son out of the house.

Nick as well had been persuaded by his mother that he could buy himself and his friend an ice cream after all. Now the two boys were sitting on a spare bench at the park, watching other people while eating ice cream.

“I feel like a 10 year old.”, Nick groaned.

“But the ice cream's actually good.”, Jason replied shrugging his shoulders.

That was true. Nick couldn't complain about the quality of his ice cream, even though he chose something basic like vanilla.

“Oh you should've seen Eric's face today.”, Nick suddenly started a conversation, but every word cost him time, during which his ice melted.

A big drop was about to come off the cone and land directly on his pants. That really wouldn't look good on black shorts.

“Ah yeah? What did ya do?” Jason wasn't really interested in his story and instead preferred to focused on licking his chocolate ice cream.

He would never try the blue-flavored one ever again, which is why he enjoyed his current treat so much. In his opinion, chocolate was simply the best. In fact, he was so concentrated, he didn't hear a word Nick was saying. But as soon as he heard Rachel's name, he knew he hadn't missed anything important.

After two minutes, Nick continued to talk: “And then she was like-” “Hold on, Romeo. I've had about enough of that girl in a week. Please spare my weekend, will ya?”

Jason kept his uninterested expression, which annoyed the hell out of his friend: “Is it because you're jealous or are you just being an asshole?”

“You always talk about Rachel like... ugh”, he sighed, “Can we talk about something else? Or someone else?” He asked as politely as he could, being as blunt as he was.

“Fine.” Nick relented irritably.

“So what do you think about Salim then?”

“Anything except Rachel or Salim! Please!”, Jason almost bit into his cold ice cream angrily, which only made Nick wonder. Was his friend alright? He knew he could be an exhausting bundle of energy, but seeing him this grumpy rarely happened to him.

“Hey man, I seriously don't get it. What's your problem?” “I just … don't like that guy.”

Nick somehow had the feeling, that his longtime friend was lying, but instead of pushing Jason, he decided to keep quiet. When the time was right, his buddy would surely come around and tell him about what was really bugging his mind.

Nonetheless Nicky needed to defend Salim in some kind of way: “You know... Salim actually is a cool guy.”

“Yeah well I don't care. Still don't like him.”

Wow, that was effective… not.

The two had to change their topics of conversation as often as joggers ran past the park bench, which happened quite often, since it was right next to the path. But at least both of the boys were able to calm down.

“Ey, how much money you got left?” Jason asked and buried his hands inside the big pockets of his outsized trousers. He already had his mind set on something.

“About 3$, why?”

“Come on, let's grab a coke or somethin' at the kiosk.”

In a matter of seconds Jason was back to his old self again and cheerfully jumped up.

The kiosk was on the other side of the park, so the students had to walk past several dogs, some of which were running around and playing while the other half took big dumps on the fresh green grass. Automatically the two guys shared a moment of disgust, vigorously shaking their heads to delete the imprinted images. How could some visitors still sit on the floor with a blanket?

At the end of the path, the two of them passed a big metal gate, that was only opened during the day. Its rusty joints were squeaking every time a soft breeze pushed it further away.

Adjoining the park was a not too busy road, which the boys could easily cross.

Right on the corner of said street was their destination – the kiosk.

As they entered the small store, a nice and welcoming atmosphere overcame them, but Jason's intentions weren't as pure.

While he instructed Nick, to get the coke, he roamed the narrow corridors mischievously looking for something special.

After his inspection, he quickly glanced back at Nick, who had finally paid for two bottles of coke and therefore distracted the cashier, which worked in Jason's favor. His arm, which was turned away from the cashier, shot out and reached into the taboo alcohol shelf without anyone noticing.

It was very clever to put these products closer to the counter for better surveillance. However, this did not deter the young man in the least. On the contrary, it rather tempted him.

And as if nothing happened, he left the shop alongside Nick, who was handing him a coke.

“Thanks.”, he mumbled and immediately opened it up.

As quickly as he had stolen his stolen goods, he choked on the coke. The sudden appearance of a familiar face startled him. Out of the blue, Salim stood there with a strikingly  angry look.

“Salim.”, Jason swallowed. Some of the liquid that was supposed to go into his mouth ran down his throat.

“What's that in your pocket?” The Iraqi pointed at the suspiciously large bulge in Jason's pants .

“You mean this?” Jason slid his hand into his pocket, touching the cold glass of the liquor bottle.

A delighted grin spread across his face, then he slowly lifted his hand back up, revealing a crooked middle finger. Of course, he would not unpack the stolen goods right in front of the store. That would be foolish.

But Salim definitely knew.

The first thing I do after I get home from work: Metaphorically diving into my wonderful fantasy bubble and writing fiction all day long.

[importantdelivery]

I adore your House of Ashes story! Can’t wait to see more ❤️❤️❤️

Thank you so much :D

For a long time I feel really inspired again. It's a story where I can just sit down and start writing immediately.

And thanks again, means the world to me <3 <3 <3

[importantdelivery]

°Highschool AU° - Chapter 2: Time To Shine -

words: 1,100

estimated reading time: 4min

The atmosphere in the boy's locker room was tense. With Salim in the room it was as if there was a new contestant, preparing to enter the ring and fight for a silly reputation.

Nick secretly squinted past his homie Jason, who was the first one to get changed into his sportswear, to check Salim out. However, he wasn't surprised that he appeared like any other boy his age, who was kinda into sports. Average height, average build.

To reassure himself Nick looked down at his own body, which automatically made him smile. He was proud of the hard work he had put into his body to acquire this physique.

“Narcissistic jerk.”, Jason caught Nick staring at himself and poked his well-built friend with the index finger right in his belly button, making him laugh.

The ticklish boy quickly covered his upper body with a classic basketball inspired muscle shirt, he usual wore to PE.

Mainly to give the girls something nice to look at. But mostly so Rachel could marvel at him, which she did now and then.

The gymnasium was quite large, so that several classes could be entertained or tortured at the same time, depending on the lesson. The students were separated by extendable dividers that were let down from the ceiling, so they wouldn't get in each other's way.

Jason was excited. Gym class was always something he could look forward to. After a long day of just sitting idly on a wooden chair, he could finally let out all his energy that had built up for hours.

Like a rubber ball he was jumping through the air, trying to get on top of Nick's shoulders.

“Jeez, what did you eat this morning?” Nicky jokingly asked and grabbed him by the waist, lifting him up like a wrestler preparing on dropping his opponent to the hard ground.

Salim surrounded by a couple of girls, longingly was watching their bantering.

Hopefully he was able to become friends with some of the guys in his new class, so he didn't have to spend his free afternoons all alone at home. In fact he actually didn't have any friends yet. He had pressured himself to lie in front of the class today, because he didn't want to appear as a complete loser.

“Hey Salim, where do you come from?”

Salim shook his head and detached his gaze from the two brawling boys. The question brought his consciousness back to reality.

“I moved here from Iraq.”, he explained to the girl asking.

“How was Iraq?”, she wanted to know.

“Well, it's my home and I think I'm still a little homesick to be honest.”, he admitted.

The girl rhythmically shifted the weight between both of her feet. Her arms were loosely crossed behind her back, so she could attentively listen to the boy.

“Did you learn English at school?”

“I did. But as soon as my father knew, we were going to move to the US, he taught me some more. He was even stricter than my teachers at school.”

Salim laughed it off like it was nothing special, but his dad was pretty harsh when it came to his own son not meeting his expectations.

Soon after their quick chat, the sports teacher came running by, throwing two colorful softballs up in the air.

“Let's warm up with a round of dodge ball!”, he exclaimed enthusiastically.

Eric and Rachel were the lucky or unlucky one's to catch them, with Eric getting his hands on the blue one. Rachel loosely held the green ball in her right hand, not looking amused at all. Team sports clearly weren't her cup of tea.

The class already knew what it meant to be the one holding the ball: They were the team captains who had to choose their combatants.

Despite minor disagreements Eric instantly chose Jason to join his team. He knew, he was fast and wouldn't hesitate to throw the ball as hard as he could.

“Thanks nerd.” was everything he got in return plus a narrowly missed high-five.

Nick on the other hand couldn't be playing on the field alongside his best friend, but that didn't matter to him. After all that meant Rachel had consciously chosen him.

Already confident of victory Nick stuck out his tongue at the annoyed Eric, who was pointing at Salim to get him to join his team.

The teams were apparently fairly divided in terms of the distribution of girls and boys. To approve the captain's choices the teacher nodded and blew the big red whistle that was hanging around his neck like some fancy kind of war horn.

Immediately the balls started flying across the field, hitting students at their heads, even though that was strictly forbidden.

As soon as Eric caught one of the balls he skillfully ignored his teammates that were yelling at him to pass the ball and selfishly took his shot at hitting Nick, who was dearly trying to protect Rachel. As in a matter of life and death he made sure, that she didn't get any harm.

Of course Eric didn't manage to throw Nick out of the game, but got eliminated himself instead.

In general everyone seemed to have lots of fun, transferring their frustration into the softballs and legally being allowed to throw that fucking thing at someone they always wanted to throw something at.

What a harmless yet subliminally violent game.

At some point Nick and Jason were one of the last pupils standing. That was when they suddenly switched into beast mode and metaphorically speaking smashed fireballs across the square.

The southern boy was quick to react and caught the approaching green ball. Too bad for him that he completely forgot about the second one …

A small blue point appeared behind Nicks back and grew bigger by every second he sped toward Jason's face.

He already saw life flash before his eyes and waited patiently for the incoming impact.

Instinctively the boy closed his eyes, but after three whole seconds he still couldn't feel anything.

Only a gentle breeze touched his cheeks.

Has time stood still?

Did the ball just suddenly say 'fuck no' to laws of physics?

Carefully Jason opened one of his eyes. About 10cm right in front of his nose a strong hand had intercepted the ball, literally squashing the nonliving life out of it.

The southern boy wasn't the only one in awe. Gasping class mates shared staring glances at Salim, who stood there as if he was the last hero the avengers were waiting for to kick Thanos' ass.

Thank you so much for reading <3

I hope you did enjoy :D

[importantdelivery]

°Highschool AU° - Chapter 1: The New Guy -

special thanks to dustysandwiches <3

words: 1,068

estimated reading time: 4min

Today's Monday was just as bad as any other Monday. Hundreds of sleep-deprived students arrived at the local school and shuffled through the gates like zombies, ready to infiltrate the building and scare the teachers away.

A group of 4 young men stood a few feet away from the school's entrance, silently looking at each other. One yawned, the next just closed his eyes and the other two couldn't hold their heavy heads up anymore.

“Ugh I'm so tired.”, one of the guys muttered, barely moving his lips.

It seemed like his audience was even more tired than him, because they were all just slowly nodding their heads, to exhausted to form proper words with their mouth.

Suddenly the bell rang and awakened the sleepy boys against their will.

“Ah shit, I left my book at home.”, a tall boy with beautifully tanned skin realized and smacks his bare hand at his forehead as a way to demonstrate his frustration.

“Oh Nicky”, his shorter friend jokingly punched him in the shoulder, “We're just glad you didn't leave your brain at home.”

“Very funny Jason.”

Nick rubbed the part of his face where he had gently hit himself and marched on up the stairs that lead into the lion's den. Every step felt hard and added to the urge of just turning around and going back home, where a sad and empty bed was waiting for its owner to return so they could snuggle back under the cozy blanket.

“Aight Joey, Merwin.”, Jason nodded goodbye to his fellow mates, before their paths separated them. He then put his hands in the pockets of his dark baggy jeans and followed his classmate Nick who hasn't made it far into the building yet.

In the classroom, they were actually the first ones to arrive, but Jason abruptly stops half way and stares at the back of the room, where an unfamiliar boy was sitting. He had his face pointed downward, probably due to a mobile phone in his hands and didn't even move a muscle to look at whoever was about to enter the room.

Jason and Nick didn't recognize this student and looked at each other confused. The look on their faces was enough for each one to know what the other was thinking.

Was this the right room?

“Move!”

A loud and commanding voice emerged from behind. Shortly after a blond girl pushed her way through the boys enabling them to get a good sample of her freshly applied deodorant.

“Excuse me, Rachel?” Jason revolted despite the pleasant smell of strawberries spreading in the air.

“Well you're excused. And maybe you would get out of the way, so the others can come in.”

First thing in the morning and Jason was already annoyed: “Well maybe you could ask and not push us away next time.”

Instead of adding fuel to the fire, Rachel kept going on unpacking her fabulous bag and just threw an angry look at her classmate. She has learned early on that a discussion with Jason will most likely end in them just yelling at each other.

What a short-tempered boy.

Several minutes passed and the tiny room equipped with small tables and uncomfortable chairs was filled with lots of children. Everyone gathered in small groups and told their mates what they did the last weekend and why they had eye bags bigger than the size of the damn moon, exaggeratedly speaking.

Meanwhile, some girl groups openly showed their interest in the strange boy who was for now sitting all by himself in the far back of the room deeply focused on his smartphone. His oriental looks apparently appealed to them.

But before anyone could build up the courage to go and talk to him, the teacher burst into the room. Beneath her arms, she held a book and lots of paperwork. In her free hand she tightened the grip around her coffee mug.

“Why are you screaming at each other, I could hear you all the way down to the teacher's office.”, she greeted her class.

“Come on now, go back to your seats.”

Miss Todd – the biology teacher – put her stuff down and neatly placed her folders onto the edge of her desk.

Before Miss Todd closed the door, she took a big sip of her coffee, almost burning her lips and tongue. “As you may have noticed”, she started her lesson by pointing to the back row, “we have a new student.”

As if the students haven't seen him already, they turned around simultaneously to get another good look at him.

He just sat there, smiling shyly. Short dark hair crowned his head and marvelous brown eyes placed their emphasis in his handsome face. His sweaty hands were buried deep inside the front pocket of his green hoodie to hide the fact that was extremely nervous.

Jason was unsure of what to make of that guy, but he felt sorry for him looking so pressurized now that he was in the center of attention.

Of course the teacher had to beckon this young man to give a proper introduction of himself to the class.

He hesitated, not sure whether he should be standing up or not. Maybe it would've been disrespectful if he was sitting down.

“My name is Salim.”, he introduced himself while he was shoving away his chair in a flowing movement. The slight accent in his voice floated smoothly like a feather through the stifling atmosphere, which got the girls going. Immediately they were sticking their heads together and began whispering excitedly. Salim quickly glanced across the room and put on a timid smile. He most definitely enjoyed that part.

“Tell us a bit more about yourself, please.”, the teacher suggested and sat herself down on her far more comfy looking chair, not making any efforts on hushing the girls.

Salim revealed his age of 17 years and talked a bit about his ordinary hobbies, which included watching Netflix, sleeping and spending time with his friends. Nothing special, yet the girls were already making up plans on asking this guy out - to the boy’s chagrin.

Jason exchanged swift eye contact with Nick who was running his hands through his black short hair.

The two subtlety shook their heads, agreeing on disliking this new guy.

Although it had Jason wondering: Where did this sudden feeling of jealousy come from?

I’ll probably write more, since I’ve already started. Wouldn’t wanna leave this project unfinished.

Forgive me for any grammar mistakes. I’m not native! But I’m trying my very best!

[importantdelivery]

HoA Highschool AU:

Just something a friend and I have thought about xD

Jason and Nick would’ve been the sporty guys in class. Maybe in the school’s football or soccer team

Jason and Nick are childhood besties. They live next door to each other

Salim is the new student almost every girl falls in love with -> Jason gets jealous ‘cause he feels like his ‘Hotshot’ reputation is endangered

Eric is the smart kid and always greeted with “Hi nerd” by Jason (he’s like friendly bullying)

Nick and Eric both have a crush on Rachel and take any chance to show off (Eric = brain vs Nick = muscles)

Nick likes to pick on Eric during PE classes like “I’m faster than you!” “I did ten more push-ups!”

Nick also tries hard studying more to compete against Eric to impress Rachel (He never beats Eric)

Rachel just thinks boys are stupid. She’s a queen she doesn’t need a king yet.

Salim is a very funny guy. He loves dad jokes and tries his best to make Jason laugh, since he’s been ignoring him since day 1. (Jason secretly loves these bad puns tho)

Clarice is the quiet girl sitting in the back. Cool style. Cool vibe. Obviously crushing on Jason.

Jason easily gets mad, but Salim is the only one not getting scared by his resting bitch face and still wants to be friends (he thinks he’s cool)

Let me know what u think and if you’d like to hear more?

[importantdelivery]

<< Don’t watch me die>>

!Spoiler warning!

Sad Jalim ff  (ಥ_ಥ)      984 words

I rewrote the scene where I unfortunately killed my beloved marine in my own play through and tried to imagine everything that’s been going on in his beautiful head as he went on his mission to save our man of the year Salim.

At this point I really didn't know what the fuck I was doing.

Trapped inside a goddamn exploding alien ship beneath a maze of antique tunnels which are located in fucking Iraq. I mean. What. The. Fuck.

After everything the team and I've been through, I didn't have the energy to complain about Eric's defective satellite system or whatever it was anymore. So I mindlessly carried on down the strange structure to rescue the only man I reckoned whose brain was actually still intact.

Behind me I could still hear the Colonel sighing in disbelief, but he's accommodated to my self-determined behavior quite quick.

Rachel also didn't seem too enthusiastic, as I made my opinion about saving Salim clear, but he showed me that there is good in people. Even in myself.

I can't let him down like I let you down Nicky. Not again.

“Salim, I'm on my way! Just hang in there a little longer.”, I urged him to fight through the radio.

Slowly I felt my heart pounding faster and stronger the further I descended. I knew I was on the right track, given the gun shots getting louder and dark shadows flying by closely.

Almost tripping over my feet, I hectically jumped down from the weird overgrown platform and emerged into a once in a life time sprint.

My entire body was sweating. Out of effort and fear if I was being honest. I could barely hold on to my rifle as I ran across the plateau and caught sight of my newest Iraqi friend fighting for his life.

Guns blazing and screaming I entered the battle field to make myself known to the real enemy.

Salim turned around for a split second with clear relief on his face. He must have been worried, we'd left him to die.

But not with me buddy.

Right after I shot dozens of holes through that vampire thing trying to slash its awfully long claws at Salim, he returned the violent energy, impaling it straight through the heart. To play it safe, he lifted up the rusty pole and rams it in the monster's body a second time, 'till it didn't twitch a single muscle anymore.

“You've come to join the fun?” the Iraqi jokingly smiled at me, over layering the dread he must have been feeling.

Actually I would've liked to return the joke, but I knew I should rather concentrate on shooting these bastards coming at us, than thinking about funny answers. Because even though their wings were relatively big, they could move just as quickly as any other lethal animal. It appears as they were just born to be dangerous.

Enough thinking. I needed to reload my gun, or else I'd really be in danger.

That was when Salim suddenly cried out my name and came running towards me. That couldn't mean anything good.

My body tensed up. All of the sudden it just stopped working. I could hear every thought of mine yelling at myself to move out of the fucking way, but there was no reaction following.

My eyes fixated on the metal bar my friend was holding. He pulled his arm back and threw it, as if he was to compete in the freaking Olympic games. Just as it came flying near me, I was finally able to snap out of my trance and stepped aside.

Salim didn't waste any time and went after his weapon like crazy, brutally beating the shit out of the demon. Seeing him that way made me realize, that I most certainly did not want to have him fight me with that stick, because the demon didn't stand any chance, squirming on the bloody floor.

I just stood there watching.

“Did you seriously just throw that thing at me?”

The adrenaline started to tush in again and my pointing fingers trembled.

Salim who pulled out the metal bar, lifted his sweaty head, to meet my excited gaze and responded in his most bad ass way ever: “I did.”

Then he just laughed it off casually.

At this moment we surely were out of our minds.

I shook my head to gain clarity about my thoughts and focus.

“Let's get out of here.”, I suggested.

Salim didn't have to be told twice and jogged along side me. Back the way I came from.

Was it just me or did this stupid wrack double in length. Can't remember, that I ran this far. Why is it every time you want to escape, it takes like twice as long?

Despite all of this. All the monsters. The flames and explosions in the background and the dirt itching my eyes. I was just so happy to have my buddy next to me. He saved me and I saved him. This is how it had to be.

In the corner of my eye I saw him turn his head.

If I were him, I truly wouldn't waste another glance back at this hell hole. But there was something alarming to his looks and before I could form the words in my mouth, I bit my tongue.

A sharp pain shot through my body.

Within seconds my vision became blurry and my legs didn't have the strength to support my weight anymore.

Not really knowing what was happening, I fell down. I felt the piercing cold of the floor in my face in contrast to the warm circle that started to spread around my stomach and back.

Vaguely I recognized my friends silhouette, kneeling in front of me.

Salim.

I still had so much to say, but besides blood there wasn't anything useful coming out of my mouth.

Slowly my thoughts left my dying mind.

At least Salims touch to my aching shoulder was the last thing eventually transmitting between dimensions.

After all, I cannot end up in hell again for I have already lived to see it.

Forgive me for any imperfections, english isn’t my mother tongue (>.<)

I hope, you could still enjoy my suffering!