10000netherworlds | High School AU, the most original concept

Schools tended to follow the same basic pattern, as microcosms of humanity organized themselves according to innate needs and drives and goals. There were the preppy kids, smart and aimed forward at college and then solid jobs as doctors or lawyers or politicians. The jocks and the cheerleaders, confident in their athletic prowess and the acclaim they received from crowds. The Popular Girls, wielding looks and style and fashion like blades, always ready to turn them on each other. Geeks and nerds, talking tech and roleplaying in the corner of the lunchroom that wasn't quite as empty as some other groups tried to claim it was. Stoners, goths, the list went on. Categories and categories of subdivision and tribalism.

Then you had the kids who were so far out of the moment, they were like a bow pulled back and never fired, all tight tension and potential utterly unaimed. If you described it like that, or any other similar way, pretty much every student in his grade and many outside of it would say you were talking about Dust.

And to that end, everyone assumed he would never join a club.

But the truth is, he wanted to. He didn't know what. Wasn't sure if any of them appealed. Didn't know what he wanted. Just that he wanted something to give voice to all this energy and drive within him that had no outlet.

Embarrassed by his feelings, he'd retreated to the library, spreading out the newsletter with club listings to read over it.

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Chinatsu needed a club as well, but she'd much rather join whichever her ones her friends went for. After all, it was high school. Stick with your group and things would surely go smoothly.

So there they were, huddled on a table in the library, talking not so quietly as they tried to decide on a club. It's not like they didn't try to keep it hush hush, but sometimes people just get excited, you know?

"What about being managers for one of the sports teams?"

"You just want to be around that one upper classman."

"That's only 50% of my intentions."

Chinatsu leans back against her chair, smiling in amusement as she watches her friends. "Wouldn't it be more fun to actually participate though? Managing is just like picking up after people."

Dust glanced up only for a second at the group at the other table, breathing out a quiet, exasperated breath. People like that were the reason he thought he'd never find a place, even if he found the one club they'd take seriously. Only one of them seemed to actually even care about getting involved.

Sports. Hell. They'd never let him on a sports team, would they? Well, definitely not if they all had their way. No, maybe he'd be better off picking something they'd never go for. Something intellectual. Or nerdy. He didn't fit in with the nerd groups either, but at least they probably cared about what they were doing...

This was just making him more frustrated. He glanced back up again, unintentionally drawn to the group once more. He was, after all, not past noticing a pretty girl.

"All the sports clubs are pretty segregated though. The sports don't really mix genders."

"There's the art club? Or photography?"

Chinatsu sighed as she shifted to lean forward, rest her chin on her hand. "I dunno if I have the patience for that..."

Her gaze wanders and somehow meets with the boy across from them. She raised an eyebrow, as if asking if he needed something from them.

Dust very rarely swore out loud. He made up for that with a rich internal monologue that few people would ever believe. Right now, more than a few profanities went through his mind as he jerked his head back down to look at the pamphlets and papers in front of him.

Well. He'd just earned himself a few weeks of teasing, hadn't he.

[ The moment he looks away, Chinatsu returns her attention to her friends. Weird, sure, but whatever. Was that guy in her class? ]

"I got it. The astronomy club. "

"Really?"

" What! You get to stay out late and look at pretty stars!"

[ The group just laughs, but it doesn't seem like they'll be coming to a conclusion any time soon. The bell rings signaling that the school was going to close soon. The girls start to pack up their stuff, heading out of the library, their chatter not dying down. As they pass the boy from earlier, Chinatsu catches a glimpse of the newsletter and the page it was opened to. So he had the same problem too, huh? ]

[Sometimes, being the social outcast means you can say what you want, do what you want, and -- well, it isn't accurate to say that 'nothing' will come of it. Just nothing new. Teasing and gossip and isolation all go hand-in-hand for him. He doesn't like it, doesn't welcome it... But what's the worst she can do if he speaks up?]

[He glances up again, catching her eyes.]

They don't want the same thing you do. Follow them to a club and you won't enjoy it at all.

[ They had already passed him when he suddenly spoke up, his words making her stop in her tracks. Her friends doing the same. ]

Excuse me?

[ She turns, raising an eyebrow at him. ]

Hang on, Chinatsu... [ They had a bad feeling about where this would go. ]

They don't care about it. It could be anything. You should do what you want to... not just follow them as they pick whatever for the sake of how easy it is, or what guys you'd be near.

[Why bother beating around the bush? Dust delivers his opinion with a sharp cutting edge to his voice and no mercy whatsover, before he looks back down to his papers.]

And you know what I want?

[ She takes a step closer, and now her friends aren't sure how to reel her back. ]

Do you even know what you want?

[He'd expected her to be mad, but -- challenging him? Wow, okay, that's -- that's something. Dust manages to keep his cool on the outside, thanks to long practice of not showing his feelings in the face of teasing or isolation, but yikes.]

I want a club where I'm enjoying what I'm doing. Even if I'm all alone in doing it. What about you? Do you want to be close to a senior, or to spend your meetings chatting instead of -- anything else?

"What makes you think I wouldn't be happy being with my friends? Also, did anyone even ask for your opinion?"

Even if maybe he was right. Chinatsu didn't want any of those things, but she sure as hell didn't appreciate some stranger telling her that.

"You just asked what I wanted, and if I knew what you want," Dust pointed out, still not looking up. It was easier to be a smartass without making eye contact, especially when the girl involved was scary. "That's why I asked. So I could find out what you wanted."

High School AU, the most original concept

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