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possibly-evil · 28 days ago

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some Hatchetfield short stories because im a little delusional about them

In order: Trans Richie, Workin' Girls Ruth, Aromantic Grace, Ex-Paulkins, Claugerman/Male

(@highschoolsquid)

Max and his friends gathered around the scrawny kid with an anime shirt, just out of sight of their fourth grade teacher.

“Awww, you gonna cry? Gonna go home and read your manga books, shit-lips?” Max chuckled.

“Gonna go cry to your mommy? Can’t do that, can you?” The boy next to Max teased. Max grimaced at that joke. It was a little too close to home. What was his name, Kash?

“Guys… can you- um- leave me… uh… alone?” The shaking girl stuttered.

“Oh, is the little girl scared of some-”

“I’m not a girl.” She murmured, just loud enough that Max could hear. Max raised an eyebrow. He could’ve sworn she’d been introduced with a girl’s name- and she certainly looked like a girl.

“I’m… uh… a boy. I’m not a girl anymore. My name- my name’s Richard.” That settled in Max’s mind. Alright, this kid was a boy. He was still a nerd.

“Well, Richard, don’t think that because you’re a guy now that you’re not still a nerd. Anime and shit? That’s for dorks like Spankoffski. And you don’t wanna end up like him, do you?” He snickered. The boys behind him laughed.

“I mean, seriously,” Kash said, walking closer to Richard. Max was pretty sure his name was Kash. “You already had the weirdo anime stuff, but now thinking you’re a guy? Come on, she’s fucking delusional!” He said.

What the fuck did he just say?

Before anybody behind him could get in another word, Max slammed his fist across Kash’s face. The boy fell to the ground, blood dripping from his nose. He looked up at Max with shock.

“What the hell, man?” Kash yelped. Max crouched down, his gaze cold.

“Listen, you piece of human garbage.” Max said, spit flying into Kash’s face. “Richie here may be a nerd, a dork, and a disgrace to this town, but he is NOT a girl.” Max stood and glanced at the people behind him, all huddled together and staring wide eyed at the boy on the ground.

“Richie here isn’t a nerd ‘cause he’s a guy.” He turned to look at Richard, whose expression was a mixture of fear and joy.

“He’s a nerd because I said he was. I said he was a nerd long before this day. And he will remain a nerd until the moment I die.” He turned to the crowd of frightened faces.

“You got that?” He asked. They all murmured their agreement.

Max made a point to step on Kash’s hand as he walked away.

“OH MY GOD OH MY GOD!” Ruth screeched as she threw open the door to Richie’s apartment. His uncle Paul jumped, almost dropping the book he was reading. “Uh- Richie’s upstairs.” Ruth gave him a quick thumbs up before bolting up. Richie had already opened his door by the time she had bolted up the stairs.

“Oh my god, is this about-” Ruth nodded enthusiastically. They both rushed into his room, where Peter was putting a bookmark in his science textbook. They sat down on the floor in a triangle formation. Ruth flapped her hands up and down, almost bursting with joy.

“I’m in the show!” She screeched. Richie didn’t waste a moment, and immediately tackled her into a hug.

“OH my GOD! You’re in the show!”

“What role did you get?” Peter asked, grinning wide.

“Secretary #4” she said, pushing Richie off of her. “It’s not a big role, I only have one line, but like… I’M IN!” She said, She laid down on the carpeted floor.

Things were gonna get better for her. She knew it.

“Hey Grace!” Max said, running up to her locker. Grace frantically looked around for an excuse to leave, but found nothing.

“Hi Max,” she said as he stopped next to her. “Nice to see you.” Max laughed nervously. He’d been like this for almost two weeks now, ever since the Waylon Place. After their prank, he’d been so happy that they cared about him. Grace was glad that he was being nicer to the nerds. But he was still adamant about… hitting on Grace.

“So, uh, that dance is coming up soon, right? Homecoming? Are you- uh- planning on going with anybody?” He asked, fidgeting nervously.

“Oh, uhm, Max…” she said. She didn’t have anybody to go to HOCO with, but she really didn’t want to go with Max. She didn’t want to go with anybody.

“I dunno. I was thinking of going with that choir kid. As friends, of course.”

“Well, I mean, he’s kinda lame. And, you know, I actually don’t have anybody to go with yet…” He said, leaning closer to her.

“I- uh…” She looked around, panicking. She couldn’t go to HOCO with Max! What would her family think? Going out with a boy who had made… sexual advances on her? It was unthinkable. She spotted her ticket out.

“I have to go to the bathroom!” She announced, a little louder than was necessary. She bolted to the door and slammed it closed.

“Grace?” Steph asked, looking up from the mirror. Grace slid down onto the dirty floor, leaning against the graffitied wall.

“Hey, Grace? What's going on?” Steph sat down next to her, leaving her makeup at the sink.

“Max asked me to HOCO.”

“Nice! Uh- Do you want to go with him?”

Grace shook her head.

“Then just say no.”

“It’s not- it’s not just that.” Grace sighed. “My parents have been hoping that I'll go with a boy from church or something. They think I'm old enough to maybe start thinking about dating. And taking boys to dances. But- I mean- I'm not, right? I’m still too young to think about that stuff! I haven’t started to feel that way about guys yet!” Steph laughed, but she quieted down as Grace wiped her eyes and curled up tighter.

“Grace, most people start thinking about stuff like that in middle school.” She thought for a moment. “Do you think you ever want to date someone?” She asked.

“Well, everybody falls in love eventually, right?” Grace responded. “I mean- I have to get married. It’s not a choice, is it?” Steph pulled out her phone and googled something, leaving Grace to keep talking herself into circles.

“I mean, if I could pick, I wouldn’t want to get married. But everyone does, so I will! I think I’ll fall in love eventually. My mom and dad act similar to how I feel! They’re like best friends who happen to have a kid!”

Steph looked up. “Grace are your parents…” She trailed off and shook her head. “That’s a conversation for another time. Listen to this. ‘Aromantic; having little or no romantic attraction to others.’” She looked at Grace. “Does that sound like how you feel?”

Grace hesitated, then nodded. “Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. But, uhm…” she looked around. God, this was a stupid idea. She shouldn’t be telling anybody about this. “Before the Waylon Place, I had… bad thoughts.” Steph raised an eyebrow. “About me and Max.” She still looked confused. “In a bathtub.”

“Ohhhhhh,” Steph said, smirking.

“So, I have to… love him, right? I'm only supposed to have those thoughts once I'm married. I can’t just think that kind of stuff about random people!” Steph shook her head.

“First off, your whole family’s sexuality thing is fucked up. You need to unlearn a bunch of stuff. You can wanna have sex and shit without being married. Second, it's fine to feel that way without romantic feelings to go with it. It’s not your fault. Ok?” Grace reluctantly nodded.

This was weird. Really weird. She still didn’t fully think Steph was right. Why should Grace be taking advice from… her? What did she know about what was right and wrong? But another part of her really, truly believed what Steph was saying. She’d been raised with her family’s beliefs. She’d never really… considered that they could be wrong. And honestly? Not falling in love? That felt a lot better than getting married.

“I don’t know. I still need… some time. To think.”

“You have all the time in the world.”

Emma and Ziggs got out of the car, grabbing a bundle of flyers as they did.

“Perkys is gonna get a lot more business with these lovely ladies advertising it!” Ziggs admired their art on the poster.

“It’s pretty great”, Emma confirmed. She looked down the street. “That way?” she asked.

“Better there than nowhere.”

They made their way around town, sticking the flyers everywhere they could. Emma was happy. She loved this life she lived now. It had always been her dream. Except… Emma couldn’t help but think about Paul. She hadn’t seen him in months. Though, that was mostly Emma’s fault. She’d moved onto the farm, away from town. And besides, it wasn’t like she wanted to see him. And it wasn’t like he wanted to see her. She still couldn’t believe he’d decided to be with Mellisa. Stupid, cat obsessed Mellisa. She didn’t care if she never saw him again. She really didn’t.

“Should we put up posters at CCRP?” Ziggs asked, pulling Emma along as they passed the homeless man.

“Ziggs, you know why I don’t want to go there.”

“Emma, office guys would kill for some Perky’s Buds.” Emma shrugged.

“Fine. I guess. Let’s just be quick.” Ziggs pumped their fist in celebration. They both shuffled their way into the building and-

Emma ran straight into someone and dropped her pile flyers. She knelt down and quickly began to gather them up. “Watch where you’re going next time, you-” She looked up. Oh.

“Hey, Melissa.” Emma spat. Melissa smiled, and helped Emma pick up her papers.

“Emma Perkins! I haven’t seen you in so long! Ever since Paul and I got together you’ve been so distant, out on that farm.” Emma gritted her teeth into a smile.

“I’m sure he’s happy with you.” She hissed.

“Oh, he certainly is.” Melissa looked her up and down. “I see you’ve become a lesbian.”

“Wha-” Emma looked at herself.

Oh. To be honest, Melissa… wasn’t wrong. She did look like a lesbian. And she hadn’t had any feelings for guys since Paul. If she was being honest, Paul was the only guy she’d ever liked. Ziggs snickered.

“I guess,” Emma sighed. “I see you’re still a crazy cat lady.” Mellisa smiled.

“I certainly am.” She laughed. “Crazy cat lady. That fits.”

“This is so stupid.” Max murmured. He glanced around his dark room. He could hear his dad watching TV, probably asleep. He looked back at his phone, swiped over to incognito mode, and typed in the dreaded words.

‘Am I Gay Quiz’

He cringed at himself and closed the tab. No way was he doing that. No way. Because he wasn’t gay. He liked Grace, right? Right. But there was that dumbass voice in the back of his head again, making him doubt himself. Telling him that there might be someone else.

He dug his fingernails into his palms. He needed a distraction, something to make him forget, something to steer him away from-

His phone buzzed. A text from Kyle. “Fuck,” Max murmured, clicking on it and being moved to the app.

Hey, you seemed a little weird after the party last night. R u good??

Max sighed. The game had gone great, and the after party was going fine until… well, until Kyle made a move on Brenda. They’d been talking the whole night, and Kyle had finally gotten the guts to ask her out. Max could still remember the unusual feeling of his stomach dropping as Kyle awkwardly talked to the cheerleader. He was just worried for his friend, right? Just didn’t want him dating anyone weird? After the Waylon House and Max’s near death experience, he’d been a lot nicer to his friends. That meant Kyle was allowed to date. He was now regretting that decision. The last time Kyle had a girlfriend, Max was… well, it wasn’t the best experience for Max. He just wanted to keep his best friend safe. Brenda was too risky. He didn’t want Kyle getting hurt. He just wanted to protect him. That’s what this feeling was.

Max? I know you’re not asleep. U ok??

Max quickly typed out a reply.

Srry, I was busy for a second. I'm good. Be careful w/ bread, she’s untrustworthy.

*bread

*brenda

He sighed. He didn’t like doing this to Brenda. Who was he kidding, Brenda was one of the nicest people he knew. She would be perfect for Kyle. Stupid, nice Kyle. Stupid, kind hearted, sweet, caring Kyle.

Kyle read the text from Max and frowned. Brenda? Untrustworthy? Max had always been weird about him and Brenda. Did Max want her for himself?

Did Max want him for himself?

No, that was stupid. Max clearly either wanted to protect Kyle or date Brenda. Max wouldn’t ever like Kyle. Max was straight. Kyle was straight.

Kyle glanced at the posters on his wall. Unlike some of his other friends, Kyle had never grown out of superhero posters. While the other football players had posters of hot celebrity girls, Kyle had superman. He really liked superman. Really liked him.

Ok, so maybe Kyle was into superman. Maybe Kyle was bisexual. But still, he didn’t like Max. Not like that. Or did he? He buried his head in his hands. He didn’t like crushes. Too complicated.

“Oh Superman, we’re really in it now,” he mumbled as his phone buzzed. A text from Max!

Hey Kyle so like theoretically if I had a crush (theoretically) on my friend (theoretically) what should I do (theoretically).

Who could Max be talking about? Brenda seemed the most obvious. Maybe Stacy? It wouldn’t be Kyle. Besides, Kyle didn’t want Max to have a crush on him, right? He liked Max as a friend. Right?

Idk. Need more information. Tell me about this (theoretical) crush.

Max grimaced. He had hoped Kyle wouldn't ask any more questions. This was embarrassing enough as it was. It shouldn’t be embarrassing, though. Because Max didn’t have a crush. This was just a what-if. Right?

He thought about Kyle some more.

“Goddamnit.” He mumbled. Why did his mind always drift back to Kyle? Why was Kyle always his first thought? Why did he hate Brenda for interesting Kyle? Why did he want Kyle for himself?

Why did he… what? Want Kyle for himself? Did he really just think that?

“Oh,” Max whispered to himself, the pieces finally clicking.

“Oh. What the fuck.”

He rolled onto his side and tapped out a reply.

The theoretical crush is a boy. What do i do (theoretically)

Kyle stared at his phone. A boy? So Max was… huh. Kyle found himself involuntarily smiling. Why was he doing that? Why was he smiling? Why was he hoping that Max was talking about him?

“I like Max,” He realized aloud. He looked up, checking the hallway. Hopefully nobody had heard that. Oh. That made a lot of sense. He looked at his phone again. What if Max wasn’t talking about Kyle? Now that he’d gotten his hopes up, he wasn’t ready to find out Max liked Jason or whatever. How was he supposed to respond?

I think you should tell him immediately so that he doesn’t have to freak out.

Kyle stared at his phone while the three dots indicated that Max was typing.

Max reread the sentence he’d typed, finger lingering over the send button. This was crazy. This was batshit crazy. If his dad found out about any of this Max would be done for.

“Fuck it.”

Max pressed send.

#hatchetfield #starkid #paulkins #richie lipschitz #trans richie lipschitz #max jagerman #ruth fleming #Peter spankoffski #aromantic #grace chasity #Stephanie lauter #Ziggy starkid #perky's buds #hey melissa #Paul matthews #Emma perkins #Kyle clauger #claugerman

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