Papercuts || Klance AU

III - Letters from Kaltenecker High

A/N: WARNING - SMALL S7 SPOILER (just in this note, not in the chapter): The trailer dropped a few days ago and wow, does season seven look intense. Grab your bumper-size tissue boxes, everyone, and prepare for the emotional rollercoaster! Also, SHIRO HAS A BOYFRIEND. I'm quaking. Unfortunately, since I already have most of the storyline planned out for this fanfiction (I swear there will be some actual plot soon) I probably won't be able to include Adam in here. Hope you'll still enjoy it, though!

Alright, on with the chapter...

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Dear Lance,

Dude, you need to put "WARNING - HIGH LEVELS OF SECOND-HAND EMBARRASSMENT PRESENT" on the envelope next time you tell me stuff like you did in your last letter! I need to have more time to emotionally prepare myself for shit like that.

I'm pretty sure everyone has moments like that in their lives, though. Moments where you wish the ground could swallow you whole and everyone would forget you ever existed. Like this one time when I went with Matt to "Rolo's Robots" - it's a computer store in our area where Matt is doing an apprenticeship next year. He was supposed to be meeting with some guy to talk about what his "apprenticeship would entail" or whatever. When we walked in, I started to walk towards the waiting bit in the corner, but Matt got distracted by a robot or holodeck or something in a different area of the store, and just sort of left me there.

I sat awkwardly for a minute or two, and then this tall guy with bleached white bangs, little gold earrings and this sort of rugged smile walked in. "Matthew Holt?" he asked.

I realized then that he was looking for Matt, and this was probably the person who was in charge of the apprenticeships. He looked around, but Matt wasn't there, because he was still looking at the stuff they sold. He seemed as if he was about to leave, because no one answered him, and I knew I needed to do something.

I stood up, "Um, hey-"

His face lit up and he grinned at me, "Ah, are you Matthew Holt?"

I lost control of my tongue. "I, um, sort of? I mean not exactly, but, like, I just wanted to say that I-- I mean, he wanted to say, that we... uh..."

He laughed, "Nervous, huh? That's ok, you'll soon get used to this place." He slapped me on the back and I felt my soul leave my body. "Alright, let's go to my office." He guided me to a room in the back and opened the door. "Come on in!"

Abruptly, I realized in horror what was happening. I had made an awful mistake. Shitshitshitshitshit. I needed to get out of there, fast, but I was in too deep. I couldn't back out now. Against all rational reasoning, I stepped into the office and took a seat.

"So, Matthew," the young man glanced at the computer screen that he sat behind, "it says here that you're currently in your final year of advanced computer science and programming at your school right now."

I blinked, "Uh, yeah." He looked at me, and it dawned on me that I should probably say more. "I have a lot of experience with computers. Y'know... emails. Sending emails. Receiving emails. Deleting emails. Um... I could go on?"

The man - I still hadn't worked out his name - threw back his head and laughed. "Very funny!" he winked at me, "I think you'll fit in well around here."

At this point, I wanted death. I couldn't just get up and leave, but there was absolutely no way that I could keep going like this. Shitshitshitshitshitshit.

Suddenly, I was saved. The door swung open, and a tall girl with blonde pigtails poked her head in. "Rolo? Matthew Holt's here." Matt - the real Matt - walked in.