Chapter Text
Welcome to another year of torture at Blueberry Academy. Summer break was over, and Shadow Milk was trapped in high school yet again. It sucked. The only fun thing here was to push around nerds and smoke a joint in empty classrooms with friends while teachers weren't around. The entire school was for goody-two-shoes who did good deeds and had no problems and always told the truth. Shadow Milk wasn't that way, and neither were his friends. At first, it was Mystic Flour and Eternal Sugar, then Shadow Milk, then Burning Spice, and finally Silent Salt. No one there got too emotional, and no one told any secrets, and it was their own little group of sleazy jerks. Nothing changed, and everyone was content with it. Normal stereotypical movie teenager stuff, parties, bullying, drugs, alcohol, you get the picture. It was already established that no one else would join the group, and everyone had pretty much agreed on that ever since Elder Faerie had joined and left. Everyone had their own issues and hid them behind their angsty teenage mask.
Shadow Milk was the horny jerk of the group, he was a prankster, but he always seemed to get away with it. He was such a bastard, and he hid everything underneath his persona of class clown, sitting in the back of the class and making comments. He's a bully, always shoving others around and saying horrendous things to them. He was known for bullying them to oblivion, until their self-esteem was at zero. The only thing he had was his friend group, and a worried single mother. People laughed at his jokes, so at least that brightened the load (or shoving it down) of being worth absolutely nothing.
Eternal Sugar could have easily fit in with the other girls in the school. She was somewhat kind, and she never abandoned anyone, but she had her own issues. Besides, she was just fine being with the others and being chill with everyone. She socialized around, and she was diffidently the most similar to her past self, before getting into the nitty and gritty of drama that altered the previously kind to the wretches they were now. Eternal Sugar had lost a lot, but she was comfortable with her friends, a decent balance.
Burning Spice is the badass in the group. He always had a pack of cigarettes and a vape on him. He constantly got detention, but even more often got into fights, in fact he was popular for it, but most were just acting nice because they were worried they would be the next one with a black eye. Burning Spice has horrible hygiene but at least his smell is (somewhat) tolerable. He was only taken in by the Academy because of his mom being a founder, even though she's dead now and Burning Spice sleeps in an orphanage. He's dumb as a rock but he sticks with his friends.
Mystic Flour is probably the only one with senses in the group. She was mostly an observer, but she's been there for everything. She's mostly apathetic, and entirely uninterested in following the mold of what she should be. She does her work and rarely gets in trouble. She's the perfect A student, but she doesn't care enough about grades or abiding by the rules. She'd much rather disappear, but if she can't, she sticks with the only people she can believe won't betray her. Trust issues and numbness, a combo not many achieve. She mostly sits quietly, but she's never far.
Silent Salt had lost everything he cared about, and the only group he stays in is with the others. He could go with any group, but he'd already made a name for himself. He doesn't mind hanging out with others, but he stays around with his friends. It's hard to tell what he feels, but he's more neutral to everyone else. He can't forgive himself, so he just decides to hang out with the bullies who don't care where you're from. Silent Salt keeps to himself, but he has a lot more going down.
The first class of the day was math. Great. Everyone hates math. The teacher was Mrs. Latte. She's not a bad teacher, but no one likes math class or French class. Shadow Milk was stuck in advanced math, at a 12th grade level of math, because there wasn't a higher option, even when Shadow Milk was probably smarter than the teacher herself. The worst part about that class wasn't the math or the teacher or the time of day, it was who was in the class. Pure Vanilla. And Mrs. Latte had the beautiful idea that seating the troublemaker next to the nicest person in the whole school, no, the whole world. She was out of her mind. When Shadow Milk looked over his classes for the tenth year in a row, he saw that he was stuck in math class with Pure Vanilla three out of five days a week. And next to it, was the seating chart, stating that Pure Vanilla would be sitting next to him in the back of the class for an entire year.
Yes, him. Pure Vanilla.
The stupid idiot Shadow Milk had bullied.
And the idiot who seemingly cared about everyone in the entire fucking school.
Pure Vanilla was a perfect bullying target, but clearly, he had paid attention during those stupid school assemblies where it says that bullies are just hurt on the inside, so they hurt others. It was baffling that a dumb blonde was nice to the bullies. This shit only happens in movies.
....And of course, like every cheesy Disney "the power of love and friendship will save the day!" type movie, Pure Vanilla asks to be friends. while he was pushed against a locker, and after he just got insulted and mocked. Shadow Milk didn't even respond for the first ten seconds out of the shock he was in. When Shadow Milk came back to his senses, Pure Vanilla got a deserved right hook to the ribs.
He has enough friends. He doesn't need Pure Vanilla.
At least that's what Shadow Milk told himself, just to ignore the flicker of hope he snuffed out.
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Shadow Milk was still in disbelief about being stuck next to Pure Vanilla, that he barely heard Pure Vanilla say, "Good morning, Shadow Milk! I hope you had a good summer break."
Shadow Milk didn't bother responding and instead gave Pure Vanilla the nastiest side eye before looking longingly out the door as it shut. He paid no attention to the disappointed sigh Pure Vanilla had as he sat down. Why did he want to be Shadow Milk's friend so badly? Why was Pure Vanilla so different from the rest of them? And what in God's name was that perfume he was wearing?! It was a cloying and overwhelming vanilla.
Intoxicating.
It fit Pure Vanilla's name at least, but it made Shadow Milk far too calmed for his own liking.
"Shadow Milk! Are you paying attention?" Mrs. Latte called out, and Shadow Milk lifted his head up to turn to her, mumbling something under his breath. "Yeah, I'm paying attention..." He says, which only serves to earn a disappointed tsk from the teacher. "If you are paying attention," Mrs. Latte said, moving out of the way so the whiteboard was visible, "answer question five on the board."
Shadow Milk sighs, pushing his white bangs out of his face and looking at whatever was written down. It says, "A company uses vans, Model A and Model B, to deliver packages...... blah blah blah.... How many kilometers does a Model A van cover, and how many kilometers does a Model B van cover?" Shadow Milk just rolls his eyes after thinking for a few seconds and answers tiredly, "Model A is approximately 27.83 kilometers, and Model B is approximately 37.83 kilometers."
Mrs. Latte looks somewhat surprised then sighs.
"...Now I understand what First Milk meant when she said you were too smart for this class..." Pure Vanilla turns to Shadow Milk, and whispers, "That was... awesome. I haven't actually seen how smart you are in action. Now I know that they weren't exaggerating when they said you were Albert Einstein." Shadow Milk just rolls his eyes yet again, responding with a simple, "That's just because everyone else is stupid." He feels a little guilty when Pure Vanilla's smile faded, but he pushes it down. He snorts as he turns to his side, facing Pure Vanilla, a smirk now on his face.
"Whaaat, can't handle a little joke? I didn't know you were that pathetic, heheh.." Pure Vanilla just looks back towards the teacher.
"I don't know what's going on with you, but I was hoping this year it would be different."
D-different? Different? He has to be joking, there's no way he can be serious— there's no way he actually thinks that Shadow Milk will change and-
No.
Oh no, no, no.
Gods. He's serious.
It's laughable, really, but the hopeful glint in Pure Vanilla's eyes made Shadow Milk want to crush him to pieces, devour him, destroy him until there was nothing left but a husk.
Shadow Milk's condescending smirk instantly switched to a scowl as Pure Vanilla spoke; he continued, "Ever since-"
Whatever he had to say wasn't worth Shadow Milk's time.
Pure Vanilla breathed out a half wince-half disbelieving sound when Shadow Milk's foot slammed down on his. Mrs. Latte turned at the sound, giving Shadow Milk a probing look before she let it go, turned around and continued the lecture.
Shadow Milk removes his foot, leans back in his chair, ignoring the look Pure Vanilla gave him; and starts making comments like usual. His mood was ruined, but a few jokes made him look better to others. To at least keep up the facade, if only for a minute.
He zones out, the voices blurring together. Whatever stupid stuff Mrs. Latte is teaching is probably something useless anyways. His mind wandered off for a while.
This was stupid. I didn't need to be in this class. I shouldn't be sitting next to this whiny little twink. In fact, Pure Vanilla is just stupid too. He shouldn't even be in this higher class, he's not gifted. He's just smarter than average because that virgin spends all his time being a teacher's pet and studying. I should be at a party right now, sitting with my friends while I chug a beer and smoke and play spin the bottle. I just want to go home. I hate school. Pure Vanilla only makes it worse. Asking me to be friends. I don't need him at all; I don't care about him.
He was snapped out of it by Pure Vanilla nudging his shoulder. He glared at Pure Vanilla. He was even more confused now that Pure Vanilla had an amused smile on his face and giggled. Pure Vanilla never failed to shock Shadow Milk. His eyes narrow in annoyance as Shadow Milk speaks again. "What are you laughing about? It's annoying. Shut up." Shadow Milk internally winced. He sounded way too defensive, too involved.
Shadow Milk was better than the small troubles and worries of anyone else.
Pure Vanilla pushes out a half laugh, "You were staring at me for like half a minute." it was then followed by another giggle.
Shadow Milk feels heat rise to his face. He was so engrossed in his thoughts that he didn't even realize he'd been staring at Pure Vanilla the entire time. He pushes his immediate emotions down and responds flatly.
"I was zoned out. This class is dumb. I don't need to pay attention to any of this shit." Pure Vanilla's smile goes away again, and he gives him an unreadable look before his eyes return to the teacher.
Shadow Milk propped his head on his hand and stares at the board blankly, his embarrassment well hidden. He was a great actor, but not even he could stop the nervous spiders crawling up his guts. He turns his book to page 162 and writes notes in his notebook and answers questions one through twenty-four like everyone else, but it doesn't stop the panic he feels thumping against his chest like a wild animal. He was sure the entire academy was vibrating from how fast his heart was beating. On the outside he was normal. On the inside, there was a colony of maggots.
Time to do work. 1 down, 23 more to go. At least the attention math demanded could serve as a small balm to the distraction that was Pure Vanilla.
He finishes the last question. 235,789 times 12. It's 2,829,468. Easy. He turns it into the teacher, who is still shocked he finished it that quickly. Shadow Milk returns to his seat, grabbing his phone and headphones, plugging it in and putting one earphone in. He didn't have the energy to deal with Pure Vanilla anymore. He scrolled down through his TikTok feed, but he finds nothing interesting. Nothing distracts him from Pure Vanilla, and it only serves to annoy him more. He closes the app and instead listens to music while drawing on his phone. He finds himself humming to the beat and mumbling a few of the lines, praying class would end soon, and he could go to the break.
It only took ten more minutes of agonizing torture for Mrs. Latte to say, "Alright class, that is it for today. You may be dismissed, and I will see you next class." when those words left her mouth, everyone started packing up. Shadow Milk was already packed up, and he left the door, ready to enjoy his ten-minute snack break.
Well, he thought of something better to do. He wasn't hungry. And it's another school year. Why not start it off with a bang?
And a bang he does start it off with. The sound echoes through the corridor. Pure Vanilla winces as he's shoved against the lockers again. it was an empty hallway, anyways. A shortcut through Wing C that goes to the cafeteria.
Pure Vanilla finally has a colder tone. Not unkind, but not nice either. "Really? This again? It's not very comfortable being slammed against a metal box, you know." Pure Vanilla grumbled, to which Shadow Milk responds with but a snort and a grin. "You're mine to play with, Silly Vanilly. You don't matter to anyone, you know that right? No one cares about you." Shadow Milk announced, and Pure Vanilla gently pushed Shadow Milk back by the chest.
"I wonder why you keep saying things you know aren't true. Do you expect me to believe that? I know I'm cared for. Maybe you're the one who's unsure about that." He pauses, before continuing. "...And if you want me to be yours so badly, you could just accept my friendship request. It's still open."
Shadow Milk feels a surge of anger overwhelm him, as well as a heat on his cheeks, but he manages to wrangle it down with another cocky smile and mean eyes.
God, this bitch was infuriating to deal with.
"I have plenty friends, everyone likes me. The only people who like you are teachers because you suck up to all of them. And I don't want to be friends with some pathetic people pleaser like you."
Pure Vanilla sighs again, pushing back Shadow Milk a little more. "I would prefer it if we could talk like normal people instead of being pushed against a locker." Shadow Milk's eyes narrow, and he acts rashly, grabbing Pure Vanilla's hands and pinning them against the lockers as well. If anyone walked in on this— well, he better hope no one would walk in on this because without context this would be hard to explain.
Pure Vanilla looks mildly surprised, but then just lets out a breath of air. "Seriously? Are you that desperate to show off your made-up power?" he doesn't bother trying to take his hands out of the grip. It would only escalate, and Pure Vanilla was too tired to deal with Shadow Milk anyways.
Pure Vanilla Please," he winces as Shadow Milk pushes him harder into the locker, "spare me from the ego." Shadow Milk smirks, saying, "You're just scared, you wimp." before he lets go, spitting on Pure Vanilla's shoes. He walks off, leaving Pure Vanilla behind without another word.
Pure Vanilla picks his books up, putting them back into his backpack that had been thrown on the floor. This was so.. tiring. Day after day. The same thing. He walks down the hallway, taking in the peace and quiet. A break, short, but peaceful. A stark difference from Shadow Milk's acrid hate for him. Pure Vanilla's walk to the cafeteria was short-lived. The air is cold in there, and the chatter of teenagers was the same comforting noise he was used to. Pure Vanilla scans the room.
Ah, yes.
His friends.
He takes a seat next to them, the same he's had since third grade. Dark Cacao is listening as Golden Cheese rants about something, White Lilly leaned against her while she reads a book, laughing along. Hollyberry is chugging some Gatorade next to them all. Pure Vanilla is exhausted, but the sight immediately cheers him up. Pure Vanilla takes out his lunchbox.
"Was it Shadow Milk again? That bully will pay for his actions one day.." Dark Cacao grumbles from his seat, shaking his head, disappointed. He was so stern sometimes, but you could tell he cared. Golden Cheese nods along.
"Just wait until he sees how great you are, and he'll be quaking in his shoes!" Hollyberry says enthusiastically, slamming her finished Gatorade on the table. Pure Vanilla laughs a bit. "I don't think so. I'm sure he's just stressed."
White Lilly gives Pure Vanilla an unsure glance. "Just stressed? He's bullying you. Try not to forgive him so easily. It's okay to dislike someone or be mean to them." Pure Vanilla responds calmly. "Well, if I could understand him... Maybe he wouldn't be so down in the dumps. He seems like a kind person at heart."
Golden Cheese laughs a bit. "You always are the forgiving one, aren't you, Vanilla?" Hollyberry laughs along. "You'd be right about that!" Even White Lilly allows herself a giggle. Dark Cacao sighs, but nods his head. "Some may call that a bad thing, you know.
Pure Vanilla opens his lunchbox, already handing out most of his snacks. "I suppose you're right.. I do deny myself being mean sometimes, but I guess I'm just weak-hearted." Hollyberry takes the apple, stealing a large bite of it. "Well, if you're so sure that he's fixable, go get 'em, champ!" White Lilly speaks again. "If we're going to cheer this on like a sport's game, touchdown!" they all laugh, except for the stoic Dark Cacao who nods. "Break a leg, as they say." Hollyberry shakes him. "Wake up, Dark Cacao! Don't be so solemn and emotionless! Cheer up a little, will you?"
Dark Cacao is surprised by the sudden shake. "Hm. Well I just hope this friendship thing doesn't end with more bullying.."
White Lilly adds in. "Let's get our mind of Shadow Milk for a second. How were all of our summers? Mine was fun. I went to the beach a lot."
Good. A break from Shadow Milk.
"Of course! Summer! Well, I got a drone. It was pretty well made, if I do say so myself." Golden Cheese's summer seemed fun. "Above average. I went to this farm with a lot of animals." Dark Cacao states, smoothing out his hair. Pure Vanilla takes a bite out of his sandwich. ''I pretty much stayed home a lot of the time, but I visited my grandma, so that was great." Hollyberry thinks for a moment. "I can't say I remember much, but I had a lot of fun playing this new game I got. Tomo.. tamagatchi? Whatever it was."
"Hm, nothing out of the ordinary then." Pure Vanilla says, eyes glancing at the clock. Time to leave.
White Lilly follows the gaze. "We'll be late! We have to go."
Everyone packs up, quickly finishing their snacks and hurrying to the next class.
Pure Vanilla mentally creates the image of his schedule. What's his next class again..?
English.