Chapter Text
Back and forth, back and forth his body rocked as he darted through the shin high field painted in crescent moon light. Kevin's crimson coat flew on his body as he pierced through the wind and made like hell through the seemingly endless acres of meadow the pair was painted against. Treeline like picket fence against the deep purple and ocean blue gradient of the sky and its white dotted stars while they blazed through the field without a care in the world.
Looking behind him, Kevin spied the old farm house sitting on top of the hill, comfortably looming in the shadows of the night-time.
McKinley outskirts were beautiful this time of year, an atmospheric pulse raiser of starry autumn nights before the cold winter and darker evenings invaded the plains. McKinley outskirts were also known for its supply of desolate buildings leftover from the last century, old mills and factories left standing from when the population shifted central and took along their business with them. The only thing built there in recent time was the genetics laboratory, a brisk walk from the factory the two were about to enter.
Neither boy was exactly accustomed to these areas despite spending their entire lives in the town - Kevin couldn't read a map if it was his own house plan - but recent whispers of the abandoned factory piqued both of their interests enough to actually do it. Enough to flunk out of that homework they both said they'd do, even if Kevin knew that Ms Lewton would chew him a new one.
After what felt like hours of cardio, Kevin's knees were ready to burst as they spotted the chain link wall that seemed to span a titan's wingspan and had greenery wrapped interlinked like veins. Jason anchored a few feet before the grate as he panted while Kevin smashed against the steel with an echoing resistance and a woa-
Kevin had thrown his body weight into his shoulder like a battering ram and was now paying the price, holding his shoulder as he rocked on the floor gritting his teeth and wincing.
“Battering ram head only gets you so far, hey?” Jason laughed as he extended his arm out.
“Works usually.” taking his arm and standing up, dusting off his jacket and straightening an imaginary tie. “Let's just get ‘er open before some lost soul thinks we’re actually doing something criminal.”
Jason slung his duffel bag off as he bent down onto one knee and zipped open his bag, opening it and thoroughly examining it as his eyes furrowed at the contents. First, a stick of gum he threw to Kevin buried beneath an extra hoodie and then his great remedy - the bolt cutters - as he snagged them out the bag and pulled it closed.
“Heads up.” Jason threw the bolt cutters to Kevin as he caught the rubber ends. “Know what you're doing K-Dawg?” teasing as he stood there, now leaning against the chainlink.
“It's bolt cutters, not exactly rocket science. Besides, where do you even get bolt cutters? I don't even know where my dad keeps ‘em in his treasure chest of tools he calls a shed.”
“Mom keeps forgetting where she puts the greenhouse keys. Saves time and effort in case you ever get your bike stuck at mine again.”
“It was a one time thing man…”
“Plus, just nice to have.”
The bolt cutters sliced through the chain link like butter, a tool so messily elegant in a way Jason thought of Kevin. Reminiscent of him with its dark blue metal and coal rubber handles, Kevin sliced the final chain before he huck the cutters into the grass in front of the bag.
“Makin’ a new door!” winding back his leg and thrusting forward, the chain-link came undone quiet as a mouse as the cut out flew forward as Kevin pulled his foot back. “Pretty pink princesses first, si?”
“Yeah, get in there!”
Laughter and mock shouts filled the air as Jason shoved the boy's shoulders and propelled him through the gap. Kevin slipped out his coat and smacked it against the air as he dusted it off as Jason slid himself through the hole. Once they were past the great barrier, Kevin zipped his coat up as the pair ventured into the great forest greenery which lined the periphery of the old factory.
“Serious heebie jeebies, dude.”
“You're telling me, J-Dawg.”
Sticks and leaves crunched underneath their trudging as they made it through the treeline and into the clearing as they stepped into more tall grass. The old factory caught their eye, its drab brick walls painted with splotches of discolouration and chipped layers that stuck out from afar. Kevin pulled out his flashlight smacking it against his palm a few times till it finally turned on, Jason had taken route already as he brushed through the grass.
Kevin cracked his shoulders and stepped into the grass, squelching under his boot as he looked down to see his shoe planted in an inch of wet land. “Ugh, that's convenient.” pulling his foot out and continuing on behind Jason until they reached a footpath of concrete, faded prints of Jason's trainers already present. Various roots took growth through the cracks of drab grey and flourished upwards curling towards some semblance of light. More visible closer, glass lay low in the grass where it had cracked and busted in the wall lining the long walls.
“So what's actually here to see anyways K-Dawg?”
“To live a little, Jay.” kicking a rock into a wall. “To see the graffiti and… whatever's been left here y'know?”
Right on que, Kevin pointed at a large wall, tags thrown around its lower portions in black and blue and red and purple. Higher portions featured crowns and stick figures, a specially high piece had a spider hanging down from the edge of the chipped bricks.
“It is cool…” Jason admitted as they pressed further into the building, flashlights beaming up every nook and cranny as they walked through into the empty open.
“Echooo!” Kevin's voice bounced wall to with the low ceiling as he chuckled, walking backwards as he smiled at Jason.
“Echoooooo!”
“Jason is gaaay!”
Kevin let the sound reverberate through the building as the two chased each other laughing, launching himself up the stairs as Jason drew close behind him. Murals of spray and tags littered wall to wall as they dashed up the floors of the factory till Kevin sprinted out into an almost empty floor.
A table laid in the middle of the floor, upside down with chairs scattered around from the centre in all sorts of damage and distress. Some simply dented in the back and others with missing and wobbly legs. Kevin panted as he took in the sight, Jason soon following as he dropped to a sitting position and caught his breath.
“Weird place to hold a board meeting.” Kevin quipped as he moved forwards, a sudden shatter under his foot as his eyes fell down and caught more needles scattered. “Weird place to hold a board meeting.” repeating as he straightened up a chair and picked up another to watch it fall on its missing hind leg.
Kevin opened the drawers, dust as he emptied them until he reached the last one, already open and upside down as he reached his hand in. On the inside, a spider web scattered and splashed as Kevin's hand fumbled around until it found ground on his knuckle and sunk its teeth into his flesh.
“What the fu-” Kevin flew backwards and fell on his ass as he quickly slapped his hand and covered it, panic echoing through the floor. Jason's eyes shot up as he scurried to his feet.
“What's up man?” concern in his voice as he eyed him.
“I found this…” Kevin pulled back his hand to reveal a bird, smirking as he flipped off Jason whose expression soured as he looked fed up.
“Really funny, dude.”
After finishing his fit of laughter, Kevin dropped his antics as they draped their legs off the edge of the open roof and snacked down on whatever they still had in their bags while they talked.
“You ready for senior year, man? What a ride huh?” Kevin licked his fingers clean of chocolate as he threw the wrapper off the building.
“Ready as can be. Gotta make it a good one.”
“Duh!”
Secretly, Kevin's stomach gnawed at him with anxiety and questions he couldn't answer about final year. He had struggled through the other years and had fallen behind in multiple classes before with his antics. Kevin admired Jason's stoic attitude in his academics and his ability to just get it done even when stacked with homelife and football to balance. Why couldn't he do it right? He was no slouch - or so he thought - but multiple times had he thought of putting all his eggs in the football basket and getting a scholarship that way.
Kent always believed in his children, always telling Kevin he hoped he'd be a better man than he was despite being a successful blue collar man with a shelving company. The pressure was too much, constantly squishing Kevin as he lived with all the expectations of the Fischer household run like a military base on edge. A loving man by all means Kevin thought, but boy did he expect the world and then some of his oldest son.
On a night like this, the world looked larger than ever as he admired the sky and its gradient of purple and blues. It should have been a meditating sight, but all Kevin could do was suffocate below the colours as another face in the crowd.
Kevin buried the thoughts and satisfied the gnawing with another handful of chocolate until Jason picked the conversation back up, his words painting the air again.
“I think I got a real good shot with Wendy this year, like real good man.”
“Still chasing my neighbour? No place like home, huh?” smirking at his own joke.
“She's beautiful and nice and- everything y'know? Smart, really smart. Makes my head spin on a swivel anytime I look at her maths work.”
“How about I put a mattress in the alley between our house and you can cosy up there? The rats are real nice fellas.”
“I'm not joking dude! I think you'd warm up to her if you actually talked to her. Think of it like networking man.”
Kevin laid back, his elbow propping his head up as he played with the words in his head. He had never been close with his neighbour but there was never a better time than the present. Plus, it never hurts to branch out. “I'll talk to her when she eventually has you wrapped around her finger and I gotta go through her to get to you.”
After another half hour of throwing bits of pebble and bricks down below with numerous heart to hearts splashing through the outskirts and into the area. Kevin slung his bag over his shoulder, slightly lightheaded as they retreated the same route and the same art painted all over. Tags thrown up in varying levels of wear, same spider hanging from the chipped bricks of the old factory. Avoiding the mud of the old grass until they pressed through the same chain link hole.
“Hey, thanks for doing this with my man.” Kevin leaned the chain link off to the side slightly as he put it back, letting it stand.
“Never a problem hanging out with my best friend, K-Dawg!” pulling him into a headlock as he ruffled his hair, both laughing.
Both of them put their flashlights away as they trekked back out before breaking into full sprints as they darted across the field, limbs splaying as their bags sploshed. They weren't doing anything particularly illegal, but the wind felt nice in Kevin's face as he imagined himself against a killer soundtrack with his blood pumping.
Kevin's headache reached full throbbing as he broke out into the familiar dim lit streets of Central McKinley again. Towering gates stretching far above gating off the stock car track, its vibrant banners adorned with advertising for an event next month his dad would probably drag him to. All he wanted to do was go home as he clung to his coat with shaky hands and his joints felt like bursting against his knees. Eyes low and tired as he stumbled through splotches of golden spilling from the lights. He has got to get home.
“Dude, you don't look so good.” Jason took off his jacket unprompted, offering it out to him. “Need another layer?”
“Tired… need sleep.” is all he could murmur back as he practically drooped, his eyes lazy and tired as he continued on with less than perfect posture drifting aimlessly as Jason guided him along.
“I’m walking you home, K-Dawg. You’re falling apart at the seams!” Jason grabbed his shoulders and rearranged the boy's efforts and walked him down a different drab street.
“I think I caught something, Jay…” Kevin’s forehead dribbled sweat as he stumbled down the road with his arm over Jason’s shoulder. “Some cold.. I’ll sleep it off.”
“Atta’boy! Can’t start our season without our star line-backer!” Jason joked, but a serious concern brewed in his head as he noted Kevin’s wary form practically clinging to him. “Lets uh… get you home, yeah?”
Right on que, the pair spilled onto Kevin’s familiar street lined with cars and adorned with titbits of chalk on the sidewalks. In the same streets they played football and rode bikes down endlessly when they were younger until the sun settled below the sea, without a real clue of how big the world truly was. Jason eyed Wendy’s house, biting his cheek as he noticed the lights on before he gently lifted Kevin’s arm in his front yard.
“I’m gonna walk home now, can you walk to your front door?” Jason smirked, standing with his hands on his hips as he watched Kevin like he was making him do a breathalyser test. “Alright, goodnight K-Dawg! See ya tomorrow my man!”
Jason took off into the night, eyeing Wendy’s house again before he disappeared down the roads and zig zags back to his own house as Kevin made it through the front door. Instantly he was greeted with the bustling noise of a Fischer household as he could hear his two younger brothers - thirteen year old Ryan and fifteen year old Adam - playfighting in the living room. The sudden smell of candlelight and wood hit his nose as his other senses caught up, his mother - Mary Fischer - footsteps soon following as she pulled him into a tight embrace.
“Kevin! Where have you been, hanging out with Jason?” Mary straightened out his coat collar as his eyes adjusted to the compact lighting of the house.
“Mhm…”
“Oh, that boy is so lovely! How is Rita? We need to organise lunch with her again!”
“She’s fine, they all miss you… Betsy too.” Kevin’s smile turned into a full one as his one year younger brother - Hart - walked down the stairs and into the kitchen.
“Awww, isn't he the sweetest? KENT! Let’s organise lunch with Rita and Jason again!”
A small smile ever so slightly pulled at Kevin’s face as he took in the absurdity of it all, hanging his coat up on the rack and turning back to be greeted with his father occupying the hallway as he looked at Kevin.
“Hey kiddo.” His eyes thinned as he took in Kevin’s appearance and deathly pale skin practically sweating buckets. “Something up with you?”
All of the house seemed to suddenly stop to a grinding halt as Ryan and Adam even put down their pillows to gaze into the foyer with curious eyes. Hart reappeared with a mug in hand as he caught wind of the standdown taking place now.
“Nothin’, nothin’.” Kevin lied through his teeth as his father burned holes through him as his eyes dragged over his appearance. “Just tired.”
“I see tired out there and in here everyday and that, is not tired.” enunciating it as he pointed at him.
“Been a long day, dad…” slapping a hand over his face, drooping his eyes as he staggered to and then up the stairs. “Maybe I caught something. I dunno.”
“First you were tired, now maybe you caught something? Which one is it now?”
“Kent, ease up on the boy. He’s probably exhausted from Jason’s antics. You know how they get together.”
Kent bit his cheek and turned to his wife as Kevin climbed up to the landing, followed by Hart who silently hid in his mug as he entered his own room.
Kevin couldn’t bear to listen to it anymore as his parents voices jumbled downstairs about what was really up with him. All he wanted to do was collapse onto his bed, especially now that his vision was all over the place and blurring. Almost throwing himself against every surface, Kevin threw his clothes into the basket with less than formidable form as he tumbled down onto his mattress. Now his muscles were really pushing, his blood felt acidic in him as he stared at the now peanut sized purple lump on the back of his hand, the house fading into silence as he simply sighed.
“Hey, Kevin..?” his fathers voice sliced the silence as he stood on the other side of his door. “I know I’m harsh on you sometimes but… I want what’s best for you. Senior year is a hell of an achievement, I mean, I didn’t even get to that stage. You got one of the best things a man could ever ask for… Fischer for a last name.” chuckling as he leaned against the door. “I know we don’t agree on everything but you are one of the most brilliant kids in the world when you want to be. I see something great in you. It’s your life and that is the most important thing, don’t live it being the second man on the depth chart. Sleep it off, kiddo. You’re the man.”
Wide eyed, Kevin laid there as his father stood outside the door but he might as well have been a million miles away with how out of it Kevin was.
“Also, I got in contact with the school. Ordered you one of the varsity jackets. Pick it up tomorrow.”
…
“I love ya son.”
Kevin's eyes rolled before they shut, exhaustion encapsulating him whole.