Newsies Oneshots 2.0

Figuring It Out-Morris-centered

I read a post on Tumblr about how people are all for queer subtext until it's asexuality and aromanticism and I hate when people feel misrepresented so I wrote this:)

Enjoy!
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God was all Morris could call on in this time of boredom ringing through his ears, like church bells in the middle of the day. The old guy at the front of the classroom kept droning on and on about something to do with numbers—he was in Pre-Calculus, if he was remembering correctly. He just wouldn't stop talking, and if he didn't, Morris had half of a mind to throw a knife at his head.

"Hey", Oscar whispered to him quietly, and Morris turned to him with furrowed brows. His brother glanced at the folded paper on his desk with a small smirk on his face. Morris smirked back at him, assuming he'd finally have a laugh to distract from the boringest—most boring—class in the entire world.

He opened the piece of paper quietly, and his smile fell when he read what was on it.

What about Steph Lauter? She's hot.

Morris looked up from his seat and stared at the head of Stephanie Lauter, a classmate as far as he knew. She wasn't known for doing anything besides showing up, which seemed to be enough for the school. Morris wasn't one to judge; he had no plan of figuring out what the fuck a polynomial was either. She was pretty.

Pretty is good, but she was only pretty. She had brown hair, Kesha-like eyeliner circa 2010, and wore t-shirts of bands he hadn't listened to since he was twelve. She was cool, popular when it mattered, and mostly stayed to herself. She was better than him, at least. And she was pretty.

Still, just that. Again, pretty could only get her so far. She reminded him of the models he'd see on buildings in passing. He'd stop by them and admire the pretty men and women, and would wonder how much they'd get paid per job. It couldn't be much as standing in front of camera every few months could only get a person so far financially—it was truly and unstable profession.

Regardless, he felt nothing for her. She was just his classmate.

He grabbed his pencil from his desk and scribbled onto the paper: Idk not really into her. Pretty tho

He tossed the paper onto Oscar's desk and watched for his reaction, sighing when he saw him roll his eyes. He knows helping him out has been a burden on his brother, but he didn't really feel bad for him; he placed the responsibility on himself.

Morris went back to listening to the old man at the front of the classroom before closing his eyes, and taking a nap.

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"How can you not like Michelle Pfeiffer?!"

Morris sighed and closed his locker, walking away and leaving Oscar to trail behind him. He glanced at a group of rowdy boys on the other side of the hallway, couples of them holding hands. They seemed happy, despite the sneers the sent his way. He nodded at Jack Kelly. "I just don't see her that way."

"But shes so fine, man!" Oscar caught up with him and wrapped an arm around his shoulders, which Morris didn't shrugged off. "I mean, have you seen Batman Returns? Catwoman? She's fucking amazing."

Of course, he'd seen Batman Returns. He was focused on whether or not the Penguin was actually Danny DeVito. "She's a great actress, yeah. The new Ant-Man movie wasn't her best, but she's great."

Oscar furrowed his brows at Morris's words, confusion settling into him. Morris could tell he wasn't making senses to his brother, and he could the situation for what it was. He'd made it awkward.