Chapter Text
“Okay. This is lowkey cool, I ain't lyin. But like, why'd you lie about moving in with your family?” Avery asked, now giving Derek a confused look. “I would've moved in with you later, regardless if I moved in with my family or not. I decided to move in with you now instead of with my family so I wouldn't have to move twice.” Derek explained. “Dear vessel. How unintelligent are you? More than I thought.” The King said. Shut up. Derek thought, then turned his attention to the textbooks, where Avery’s attention already was.
“Avery.” “Hm, yeah?” Avery asked, glancing up from the botany textbook in his lap. “Remember when you told me that you would maybe teach me how to make pottery?” Derek asked, and Avery's face flushed slightly as he gave Derek a sheepish smile. “Shit. I completely forgot, sorry D3r.” Avery apologized, then glanced around the dorm. “I actually haven't gotten the time t-” “Then we could go to the community center. It's okay if you haven't completely unpacked yet.” Derek said, leaning on the arm of the couch.
“I- uhh. Yeah. T- that sounds good.” Avery agreed, then cringed at how much he stuttered. Derek laughed at his expression, reaching out to lightly pinch one of Avery's cheeks. “Don't look like that. It's fine.” Derek told him, then turned his attention to Avery's textbook. “What’s this?” Derek asked, attempting to read over the page but from where Derek stood the words were hard to make out. “Shouldn't you also unpack? It's only around 9:30 AM or something.” Avery told Derek, motioning to the clock that hung on the wall somewhere behind Derek. He didn't look at it.
“Already almost finished. I just need to hang my clothing.” Derek said, lifting himself off of the arm of the couch. “Really? When'd you move here then, dude?” Avery asked, shutting the textbook in his lap. “About twenty minutes ago or so. I just got my keys this morning.” Derek answered. “Well, I'll leave you alone for now because, as I said before, I've got to take care of my clothing.” He said, walking away from the couch.
“Alright! I'll bring you to the pottery room at 1 PM, okay D3r?” Avery asked, and Derek pushed his door open before answering. “Yes. That's okay. I look forward to it.” He smiled at Avery's before shutting the door and stepped towards his bed. His clothes were still there, just as he'd left them. He walked to the closet and pulled it open, taking out a few hangers and went back to his bed. Derek began hanging his clothing, until he reached his hoodie.
Fucking hell. How did I manage to do this the first time? Derek wondered, then gave up. He folded the hoodie, then walked to the closet with both the hanger and hoodie in hand and hung the hanger. Wait. There was a shelf here the whole time? Derek realized, glancing up at the shelf, then tossed his hoodie onto the shelf. “Well, that was wasted effort, dear mortal. You didn't exactly have to hang the rest of your clothing either.” The King told him.
Derek ignored The King once again. He picked his phone up and unlocked it as he sat on his bed, checking Avery's channel. Okay, Avery doesn't seem to have any pottery content. Great. Derek sighed, then searched up ‘Beginners guide to pottery’. He clicked a forty minute video, then turned his volume off and turned on subtitles. The video began playing, explaining the history behind different pottery types and what their origins were, which Derek did not give a fuck about. He listened to it anyway.
By the time the video had finished explaining the history, it had already passed the 15 minute mark and Derek's head felt like it was being squeezed. He paused the video and put it down on his bed before massaging his temples when the bottle of pain killers caught his eye.
It was still on the floor, along with Derek's chargers. One. Just take one. He told himself as he got up, then picked up the bottle off the ground. It doesn't seem damaged. Derek thought, checking the bottle before he opened it and poured one into his hand. He swallowed it without water, coughing. Ow. I don't know why I keep doing that. Derek thought, then walked back to the nightstand and placed the bottle down.
That makes my headaches better though. He thought, then walked back to his bed and sat down, picking up his phone. He unpaused the video, watching as it explained the technicalities of pottery and what's necessary for certain types of pottery and injuries you could get if you do pottery wrong. It's more dangerous than I thought. Derek thought as the video ended, then got up as he turned his phone off. He placed it down, then stretched for a bit, hearing his joints pop before he came to a realization. My throat still hurts. And now it's dry. Derek thought, walking out of his room.
He walked past the living room, where Avery sat hunched over his textbook and turned towards the kitchen. It was about the same size of the kitchen, back at Avery's apartment. There was a reasonably sized kitchen island with four stools and marble counter tops, a fridge pushed against the wall in front of Derek and a long counter to Derek's right side. There was a sink and, right next to it, a stove in the middle of the counter. The floors were tiled and there were two circular lights on the ceiling, both off. A clock hung from the wall above the fridge.
Derek walked to the kitchen, then pulled open one of the upper cabinets and pulled out a glass, filling it halfway with water. He drank most of it, then placed it on the counter and headed back to his room when he heard Avery call him. “Hey, D3r?” Avery asked and Derek turned around to look at him. “Yes?” “Have you ever done pottery before?” Avery questioned, the botany textbook still in his lap as he stared at Derek while waiting for an answer.
“I haven’t.” Derek said as he stared back at Avery, and he could hear his pulse. It wasn't exactly loud or fast though. What the hell? Derek wondered. “Oh, that's alright. Just wondering.” Avery told him, then turned his attention back to his textbook. Derek stood there for a moment longer, watching as Avery read a page in his textbook before he moved, trying to clear his head. What was that? It felt like I could stare at him forever without getting bored. What on earth? Derek wondered, entering his room and shut the door behind himself.
He walked to his nightstand and pulled it open, taking out his notebook and pens. Heading to the desk, he sat down and flipped to the next empty page, then began writing. ‘I was religious. I'm pretty sure I was a Christian, based off of the church. I don't think my parents liked me, considering they were also unmoving and stared at me. I also did some kind of horrible sin too.
I wasn't very liked. Probably bullied for not being religious in a religious community. Or JJ's words have something to do with what happened? I won't be able to tell for sure until I find out what he was talking about. I also need to find out what sin the priest was talking about. I have a hunch that it was disbelieving. But I'm not sure it was that, because there are other horrible sins.
JJ was probably good friends with me. And it wasn't an odd occurrence to get a whole raw egg thrown at me for existing because of how I reacted.’ He wrote, then stared at what he wrote. How horrible was my life? And was I fucked up because of it? No. That isn't really a question that needs answering. A horrible up life fucks someone up. But how badly? I don't think that there's anything wrong with me. Maybe my life wasn't horrible enough to impact me?
I honestly don't know. Derek sighed, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the pages. I'm not fucked up. It's kind of stupid that I just jump to that conclusion. There's really nothing backing it up, other than my assumption that a bad home and school life make someone… Screw it. I'm not helping my case thinking about this. Derek decided, then wrote one more line.
‘I'm not fucked up.’ He didn't really know who he was trying to convince. Was it himself? No. He already knew he wasn't fucked up. He scribbled it out.
Derek shut the notebook and tossed the pen on the table without looking as he walked to his bed. He laid down in it, staring at the ceiling. More sunlight streamed through the curtains, lighting up the room with a warm glow. How thin are these curtains? He wondered, turning over on his side, back facing the window with his arm tucked in under his head.
There's a few hours left. Maybe I could take a nap. Derek thought, shutting his eyes. He found himself in a beach-like environment, sitting on the sand with a book in hand. It was a fantasy book, about a pair, boy and girl, on an adventure with their magical pet birds. “Derek. Stop reading those books with nothing but witchcraft and dark magic in them. Enjoy the sun darling.” Said an older female voice. A woman, with hair graying at her temples and eyes that matched Derek's, learned down, pulling the book out of his hands.
“Mother. I don't like the sun. It hurts my eyes.” Derek complained, eyeing the book in his mothers’ hands. His mother sighed. “Derek, that's because you spend all your time indoors. You need to go outside more.” “Mot-” Derek began, but his mother shushed him. “Silence. You will enjoy this vacation. We only have a week left here. Just go in the water and play with your sister.” She pointed to where a group of 11-13 year old girls were playing. I'll be the only boy there though. Derek thought as sighed, then agreed, walking to where his sister was playing in the water.
“EEEK! IT'S A GUY!” One of his sisters’ friends screeched, pointing her finger at Derek. “AND HE LOOKS SO MEAN TOO!” She continued, jumping backwards into the sea. His sister's friend group began laughing, running away while pointing at him and screaming. “Exactly as I thought.’ Derek sighed, then sat down in the water, shivering as he water soaked his clothes.
He leaned backwards, letting the water carry him as he swam, shutting his eyes tightly against the sunlight. Water got into both his mouth and nose, and Derek opened his eyes, coughing. God, please help me. He thought, then swam back to shore, where he realized there were a group of boys, around 8 years old or so, just hanging out with water guns. “I wish I had friends.” Derek whispered, shivering as he walked back to his parents.
“So soon? Honey, enjoy the beach more. We're only here for a month.” His mom cooed, ruffling his hair. “And we need to get you a hair cut. Your hair is getting so long!” His mother continued on talking, her words turning into nothing but static. “But I want my hair long!” Derek whined, tugging at his mother's sleeve. “Nonsense! You will be getting a haircut tomorrow and this final. Now go play.” His mother gripped his shoulders, then pushed him towards the water again.
Derek walked back to the water, dragging his feet through the sand. He sat back down in the water, the water coming up to around his neck and jaw. He watched as the group of boys played with each other, laughing and talking, but his focus was on one boy out of the whole group. He had blonde hair with black roots and brown eyes. He seems cool. Derek thought, watching as the boy helped a kid who fell down, then declared the kid some kind of hero with an unintelligible shout and a raise of his fist.
He leaned backwards, falling into the sea with a small splash as he tried to swim. But water got into his mouth, nose and eyes. It stung and tasted like hell, preventing him from being able to see or say anything as he sank to the bottom of the sea. He tried swimming to the surface but only managed to get his head above the water and spit out some of the water before going under the surface once again. No. No. No. God no! Please. I beg you. Help me. Help me… He thought desperately, his vision darkening as he clawed at the water.
Derek sat up, almost tumbling out of bed. Knock. Knock. His breathing came in quick gasps and his heart was pounding so loudly that he was sure whoever was knocking could hear it. “D3r? It's ten minutes past 1.” Avery. It's just Avery. Derek thought, forcing his breathing to calm down. "I know. I fell asleep. My apologies for that.” Derek said, climbing out of bed and walked to the door. He opened it, standing face to face with Avery, who had pulled on a sweater. “Dude. Put something on. There's a freak storm going on outside and it started snowing for some reason.” Avery said and Derek hummed.
“It's alright. There's a pottery room in the campus and students are allowed to use it.” Derek told him. “But I'll take a hoodie if you want me to.” “You need something over your clothing too. I've got an apron you could borrow.” Avery said. “Thank you, Avery.” Derek said, then walked to his closet and pulled the hoodie out. He pulled it over his head, then turned back to Avery and realized that Avery had been staring.
“Yes?” Derek said, walking back to the doorway of his room. “I- umm. Sorry for staring.” Avery said, and Derek poked his nose lightly. What the hell was that? Why do I do the most random stuff? Derek wondered, but Avery laughed at him. “I'm not a child, D3r.” He said between fits of laughter. Why is he laughing? Derek wondered, but decided not voice his question. “Avery. Do you want to lead the way or should I?” Derek asked.
“I'll do it.” Avery answered, composing himself after a while. Okay. Derek thought, watching as Avery disappeared into his room, which was directly across from his own. He stared at Avery's door, waiting for a few minutes until it opened again and Avery walked out with a canvas bag thrown over his shoulder. “D3r, follow me.” Avery instructed and Derek nodded, following after Avery to the door.
“You have the keys, right?” Avery asked as he pulled his shoes. Derek nodded, also pulling his shoes on. “Nice!” Avery said as he unlocked the door and pushed it open. Derek exited the dorm with him, then walked to the staircase and waited as Avery locked the door.
Avery began down the stairs, then stopped and climbed over the railing, dropping down onto the stairs below with a thud. “Avery?” Derek asked, leaning over the railing. “Yeah, I'm fine. No need to worry lol. I've been doing this since forever.” Avery said, but Derek still didn't feel okay. He followed after Avery, pulling his hood up once they reached the exit and stepped out. Avery wasn't lying. Was Derek's first thought as he glanced around.
The wind whipped everything around, and snow fell along with hail, making everything look like it was the middle of December. Avery grabbed Derek's hand, dragging him along to the campus building. Let go of me. Derek thought, feeling tingles up his arm. They were like small electrical shocks, uncomfortable. But they also felt weirdly warm. Focus or you're going to freeze to death or something. Derek told himself, peeling his eyes away from their interlocked hands.
Avery pushed open the door and pulled Derek in, then shut the door. Derek examined the map, scanning over the list of floors and the rooms until he found it. ‘Pottery studio - 7th Floor.’ “Avery, it's on the seventh floor.” Derek told him, glancing away from the map and found Avery staring at him. Again. “Alright. That's not too high.” Avery said, then started up the stairs. Derek followed close behind, counting the floors with every flight of stairs they completed.
By the time they reached the seventh floor, they were both wheezing, hands on their knees as they tried to catch their breath. “What the hell was that?” Avery asked, leaning against a wall. “I'm not even entirely sure. Back at your apartment building, 30 stairs was nothing.” Derek said, crouching down to inspect stairs as his breath continued coming in quick gasps. “The steps are small. Small enough that you could skip multiple without much of a problem. We sprinted up the stairs while stepping on every stair. That wasted energy and effort.” Derek explained, looking up at Avery.
He gave Derek a small smile, his face flushed. "That... was an amazing ass observation, D3r. Mo wonder you're in data analytics." Avery said, and Derek felt the same thing in his chest from when Avery callec him hot, back at the apartment. Was that a compliment? Derek wondered, a small smile on his face before his face returned to its neutral expression.
“Avery. Could I have the apron now?” Derek asked as he stood up and held his hand out. “Yep!” Avery answered, pulling the canvas bag off his shoulder. It landed on the linoleum floor with a quiet thud and Avery crouched down, unzipped the bag then dug through it. He pulled out two aprons, then stood up. “Here, let me put it on you.” Avery offered, walking to Derek. “Thank you, Avery.” Derek said and stood still, letting Avery put it on him. He could feel Avery's hands lingering, a warm feeling on his skin.
“There!” Avery said as he finished tying the strings to Derek's apron. He stepped back, smiling like an artist admiring his work. Avery put his own apron on, skillfully tying the strings without even making an effort to look at the strings themselves. Derek found himself staring in awe and amazement. He's great at it.
“Hey~ Now you're the one staring, huh D3r?” Avery teased, startling Derek out of his thoughts. “I guess. Let's get going.” Derek said, picking up Avery's canvas bag and walked to the map near the stairs. Bottom to top, just as Troy told you. Derek reminded himself, reading the map. There. It's to the right, just down the hall. Derek thought. “Yo. Dude? Why do you read the map if you already know where it is?”
“You know how I said I'd ignore my infinite knowledge for you? This is still part of it. And it's also just to act normal. It would be incredibly weird for some guy who's never been on campus before to just know where a room is.” Derek explained and Avery groaned. "I forgot about that." He admitted.