One-Shots In The Dark

Unlikely Pair - NatePat

punk/pastel AU natepat. this is probably the last natepat thing i've written/will ever write. enjoy

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Nate spent the last few weeks of summer vacation before the first day at his new school cooped up in his room.

He didn't know anybody to skate with, nor did he even know if there was even a good skate park nearby. He often gazed longingly at his skateboard when dozing off or spacing out. Though he was plenty content playing and practicing music and playing video games, he was antsy.

Which was stupid, because the last thing he wanted right now was to meet and try to fit in at a new school.

But Tuesday came quicker than he'd anticipated, and the first thing he did when he walked up to the front of the school was put up his hood. Every school was bound to have its rain cloud outcasts, so he simply hoped he'd blend in, go unnoticed, and come off as just another one of them.

Except he didn't.

He stood at the front of his History classroom, grimacing to himself as he pulled down his hood. He cursed everything, feeling his palms grow sweaty and his heart race already. He hadn't even been asked to introduce himself yet.

All eyes were on him, this black, void mass of a human.

Social anxiety ahoy.

"Everybody, meet Nathan! Why don't you introduce yourself?" The teacher beamed and gazed at him, clasping her hands together in glee. Nate felt an awkward, subtle disgust at her overly-saccharine schtick, but clenched his fists and forced himself to speak anyway. Well... tried to.

"U-uhm."

He cleared his throat awkwardly, feeling his soul slowly wither. Jesus fucking Christ, he thought to himself. I cannot wait to die. I literally want to die. I want to be ejected into the stratosphere and die--

"I'm Nathan, but, uh... you can j-just call me Nate." He spat out awkwardly, grasping desperately at the hem of his hoodie.
"Nice to meet you, Nathan!" His teacher bubbled. "Tell us something about yourself." He felt another part of him die.
"Uh... I like music?" He felt his voice heighten with uncertainty.
"Oh, none of that. Tell us what you like to do!" Nate felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest and fly back to Florida to drown itself in the sea.
"I-I... I play guitar...?" He offered instead, shrinking away a little bit.

The teacher clapped her hands again and gazed lovingly amongst the class. "Ooh, a musician! Well, everybody, make sure you treat him with respect! Oh, you can sit back down dear. Now, now, here's the course outline..."

By the end of the deathly awkward exchange, Nate felt the stiffness of his body and sat down slowly, pulling up his chair and staring down into his desk. He hunched over and let his forehead rest on the desktop, taking deep breaths and trying to regain those lost parts of his soul.

"You play guitar?" Someone beside him asked gently.

He looked to his side and saw someone dressed in pastel colours-- a white collared shirt with a cashmere pink sweater. He had dirty blond hair and curious brown eyes that bore through him.

Nate simply stared back at this boy-- before registering his question and rushing for an answer.

"U-Uh, yeah, I do. I... write songs... sometimes." Nate replied, sitting up straight.

The boy chuckled, and it was a gentle sound. He smiled at Nate and it was a kind sight.

"You're awfully cute." He said, and Nate felt his heart skip a beat. He figured there must have been a visible reaction because the boy chuckled again.
"A little shy, are we? My name's Matthew, you can just call me Matt, though." He said softly, looking at the papers once they came around.