Fanfic Central

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 10

2007-02-26T19:45:44Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 10
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Disclaimer: Not mine. I just play with the toys. :)
Beta: The wonderful latimer84

As the bell rang to signal the end of the day, students poured from their classrooms, individual streams merging to fill the hallways with a gushing river of activity. All except Billy Kaplan, who stayed behind at his desk for a few minutes to prevent being lost and overrun by the raging tide.

Or, at least, that’s what he told himself, and in not so many poetic words. It was easier to pretend that his reluctance was strategic, that he was showing a level of self-control that would put even the most devout Buddhist monk to shame. But in all reality, he was just plain chickenshit.

It had been easy to figure out Kesler’s schedule. Basic Match, Basic English, Basic everything. Somehow the behemoth had even managed to get two periods of Gym. However Kesler had worked that out, it still kept him at least a hallway away from Billy’s advanced courses. Theoretically, it would be easy to avoid the brute- if he didn’t like to roam the halls after school, establishing his territory while keeping the peasants in line. Sometimes Billy wondered why Kesler didn’t piss on the lockers while he was at it.

There was a time when he thought he was being too hard on Kesler, but after twenty-six purple nurples, fifteen locker shove-ins, and about eight atomic wedgies, Billy found it way too hard to give a shit. Kesler was an ass, and even though sometimes Billy dreamed of knocking his tormenter to the ground, he knew that there was nothing he could do but just deal with it and move along. Still, he couldn’t wait until he graduated high school so he could finally leave this dump of a school and move on to something better.

I wonder if Teddy would come with me, Billy thought. I mean, yeah, he’s a jock, but he’s smart, too. I wonder if he plans on going to Empire State University, too…

“William?” Billy’s psychology teacher asked from his desk. “You okay?”

“Huh?” Billy murmured, breaking out of his thoughts. His cheeks turned a little pink as he realized he was the only student left in the room. “Oh, sorry, Mr. Grady. I was just thinking about something.” Quickly, he gathered his things and made for the door.

“Hey, if you ever need to talk about something, William, I’m here to listen,” the teacher offered with a polite smile.

“It’s okay,” Billy assured, giving a weak smile in return. “I was just thinking about some stuff. It’s nothing, really.” Adjusting the book in his arm, Billy gave a little wave to his instructor and headed for his locker. Mr. Grady meant well, Billy knew, but when a guy lived with a psychologist, he knew what that kind of talk was going to be about. How’s home, Billy? How are your other classes, Billy? Are you still being picked on by the jocks, Billy? As good as it was that someone gave a shit about him, Billy really didn’t want to get a teacher involved in his problems. No detention would hold Kesler after that.

After putting his book back in his locker, Billy cautiously headed for the western exit. Kesler was probably over by the senior lockers by now, so if Billy cut across the junior section he’d probably be able to make it home with no problems. As he walked, two girls exited a classroom and fell in line behind him. They were whispering to each other, giggling in a way that made Billy feel self-conscious. For a second, he wanted to whirl on them and ask them what was so fucking funny, but he knew that it would get him nowhere. I already messed up like that not too long ago, Billy remembered with a grimace. I’m stressed out and don’t even realize it half the time. If I take it out on others, I’m pretty much just like the other jerks around here. No, they’re probably just talking about some guy they like. Or some girl, he smirked. I just wish I could not let this get to me so much. I should have more important things to do then planning secret routes to avoid meatheads like Kesler. Both Teddy and the Scarlet Witch told me I should stick up for myself, but I don’t know. I mean, when it all comes down to it, I’m just a short, scrawny wimp.

From the next hallway over, a whimpering sound echoed plaintively off the lockers, followed by a gruff voice that Billy would know anywhere. ”That’s right, faggot, keep whining. Let me give you something to cry about!” Around the corner, Kesler was waving his fist in a freshman’s face, like some Roman gladiator about to make a kill. To the side, one of the guys on Kesler’s wrestling team grinned at the scene.

“No one goes snitching on me, you hear?” Kesler bellowed, spraying spittle all over the kid’s tear-streaked face.

What the fuck? Billy thought, forgetting the rules and looking around for a teacher. Of course, there wasn’t one around; they were either all gone or just not listening. In fact, there weren’t any other students around, either, save the two girls behind him, but they weren’t making a move to intervene at all. Instead, they stood there open-mouthed, like two fish who just realized that they had fallen out of the tank. That left only Billy, with no way to just turn and walk away.

Not like that was an option, anyway. As Billy watched the scene through narrow eyes, he realized that his fists were clenched and shaking. Gasping, he forced himself to relax, but couldn’t stop feeling a dire need to rush in there and stop this. He didn’t really understand the compulsion, either. He’d seen others harassed before, but always stood by the sidelines, secretly wishing he could save the day but knowing that he was too powerless to do anything. But this time…this time he felt something flowing through his veins, this strength he’d never felt before. What was going on was wrong and needed to be stopped. Billy had no idea where the urge had come from, and didn’t know how long it would last, but before he could blink he was taking a step forward.

“Get away from him, Kesler,” he said, his voice meek. Despite his intent, or maybe because of it, Billy was still scared shitless.

Kesler turned, eyes wildly searching for who dared to oppose him. When his vision rested on Billy, his glare turned into a mocking sneer. With one bounding step, Kesler reached forward and waved his fist in Billy’s face. “Why? Is he your boyfriend, Kaplan?”

“Is that your way of asking if I’m single? ‘Cause you’re really not my type.” Billy almost managed a sneer back. Almost. It was all he could to not piss his pants.

“What did you say to me?” Kesler growled. In one practiced motion, he shoved Billy to the ground with one hand while taking aim with his other fist.

This is it, part of Billy’s mind whimpered. This is the day I die.

But another part refused to give up. Another part, strengthened by the same force that made Billy step forward, made him take a chance, scoffed.

Fuck that.

At first, there was silence. Then, a small gasp from one of the girls brought everything info focus. Above Billy, Kesler’s eyes were wide and confused. All around, there were expressions of shock and a little bit of fear. But Billy didn’t care. Power was erupting from every fiber of his being. It was a rush unlike anything else, better than any roller coaster, better than any award. For the first time in his life, Billy felt like he had the strength do anything.

“I said, go away,” he said, his voice clear and commanding. Kesler’s fist was in his own grip, and with ease he pushed the giant teen away. Sapphire lightning crackled from Billy’s hands, destroying everything in it’s path. Linoleum rained down as lockers exploded and fluorescent bulbs shattered. Kesler screamed as bolts arched into his chest and sparks popped from his dental work. Billy stood as Kesler hunched over, a writhing mass of pain.

Billy had a feeling of smug satisfaction as he stood over the hulkling brute, until he saw that Kesler was clenching his chest franticly. I’m giving him a heart attack! he realized in horror. Fuck, I’m giving him a heart attack! No, stop it! he willed himself. Stop it!

And just like that, the lightning was gone. Kesler cried out and hunched over, tears streaming down his face as he sobbed in pain. To the side, Kesler’s friend blinked, like he was coming out of a hallucination. “Freak,” he muttered,” his eyes focusing on Billy. He took a step forward and took a deep breath. “FREAK!”

Billy turned and ran, almost skidding on broken glass into a locker door that was almost off its hinges. He ran hard and fast, desperate to get away from that place, to get away from those people, to get away from everything. The jock’s voice echoed down the hallway, like the call of a mob chasing a heretic. “FREEEEAK!”

Billy panted as he burst through the doors of his school, frightening a score of pigeons into a frantic flight that mirrored his own. Sustained by fear alone, he ran and ran and ran, turning down any street he could to get away from the monstrosity he had become. Finally, his lungs couldn’t take it any more, and he collapsed into a patch of grass. At first, Billy thought he had run all the way to some forest, but as big, gaping breaths restored oxygen to his brain, he saw that he was just in Central Park. In fact, he was over on the Eastern side of it, which meant…

His sides burning, Billy took off again, this time to the north. He wasn’t far from the Avengers mansion, and someone there could help him. They just had to help him, even if he had to tear down the gates with his bare hands. A car screeched to a halt, barely missing Billy as he tore across the street, but Billy didn’t care. He had to get to the mansion, had to see the Scarlet Witch, had to-

Billy gasped when he saw the destruction. Half the mansion was caved in, and the statues of fallen heroes that used to guard the grounds were scattered and broken like toy soldiers trampled beneath the heels of giants. Security guards peppered the grounds, but even they seemed destroyed, moving with a lethargy that made them seem like ghosts haunting a graveyard. After all, if something like this could happen to the Avengers, was anyone else truly safe? Yes, of course there were dozens of other heroes in the city, but it was like if someone attacked Yankee Stadium: there were technically other places to play, but nothing like the home field. Who did this? Billy wondered, dropping heavily on a seat across from the mansion. Doctor Doom? Kang? But really, it didn’t matter. Someone had destroyed Billy’s only hope of help.

Please, he prayed, hoping that someone Almighty was listening. I didn’t mean to hurt him. I didn’t mean to hurt him. With every part of his soul, Billy wished he could just take it all back. He wished it had never happened, that he hadn’t even gone to school that day. His whole body tingled, and bile rose in his throat as he remembered the pain in Kesler’s face, the fear in his eyes. For once, Kesler felt what it was like to be overpowered with no hope of retaliation. Finally, Billy had made Kesler know what it was to be weak. In Billy’s fantasies, he was the hero afterwards, the David triumphing over his Goliath. But instead, he felt like breakfast and lunch were about to erupt from his stomach.

As the sun set past the skyscapers, Billy realized with a sardonic sneer that he had been here before, under somewhat different circumstances. Again, he was across from the Avenger’s headquarters, agonizing over Kesler, wishing that an Avenger would swoop in and carry him away from his pain, from the joke that was his life. But no way could he expect anyone now. Something major had to have happened to the team, because despite the damage to their home, no one from the group was around. After all, someone should’ve been around to pick up the pieces, right? Drying his tears on his sleeve, Billy considered going home to get some information from the news or the internet. But again, how could he go home? As soon as he showed up, he’d probably be arrested, carted off to some special jail where they put freaks like him.

“Excuse me?” a strange voice asked. Billy jumped, halfway hoping the Scarlet Witch had shown up after all. But as he turned, he realized that the voice was male and robotic. “Are you okay?” the voice asked again.

Billy gasped as he saw the man in red armor before him. He almost thought it was Iron Man in a new suit, but something seemed a little off about the visitor. For starters, the armored Avenger wasn’t that scrawny.

“My name’s Nathan,” the armored teen replied, his faceplate taking on the features of a smile.

Yeah, definitely not him. Billy had watched the Avengers on TV for all of his life, and he knew Iron Man never smiled. “I’m” Billy paused, wondering if he should make up a name. After all, what if the stranger was here to arrest him? But then again, if someone superpowered was here, he was probably busted already. “I’m Billy,” he sighed, resigned.

“Hey, Billy.” The smile drooped a little, and within seconds the teen’s armor rippled and faded out, revealing a black-haired youth wearing khakis and a gray hoodie. “Here, is this better? I didn’t mean to stress you out.”

Billy stared at Nathan, his emotions a little conflicted. He still wasn’t sure that this wasn’t some kind of trick, but the other guy seemed sincere enough. Plus, he was kind of cute. “I’m sorry,” he said, head down. “I’m just going through some shit right now.”

Nathan nodded. “I’m sorry to hear that. And I want to hear about it, I really do, but right now I need your help.”

“Huh?” Billy’s head jerked up again.

“Look, I know you have no reason to believe me, but I’m telling the truth. I’m in trouble, and none of the Avengers are around to help me. If Kang finds me-“

“Woah, did you say Kang?” Billy exclaimed.

“Shh!” Nathan hissed, looking around to make sure no one overheard. The guard across the street looked their way curiously, but just shook his head and continued patrolling.

“Sorry.”

“It’s okay. But yeah, Kang. The Kang is after me, and I need you to help me stop him.”

“But…why? Why is he after you? I mean, you’re just a kid.”

“Look who’s talking,” Nathan replied, raising an eyebrow. “But anyway, it’s a long story that I’ll explain when I get you with the others.”

“What others?”

“Like I said, I’ll explain later, but we really need to get out of here. Kang’s looking for me across all the timestream and I don’t want to stick around in one place for too long.”

It was a reasonable enough argument, but Billy still hesitated. For all he knew, the other kid was really a villain trying to lead him to his secret lair so he could torture Billy and perform sick experiments on him. Or maybe Billy read too many comic books and Nathan was actually telling the truth. But even if he was, there was still a problem. “I want to help, but you really don’t want me. I…I should be in jail right now. I almost killed somebody today.”

Nathan frowned. “Are you sure?”

“I didn’t mean to!” Billy insisted. “Kesler was being an ass and I just wanted to protect that freshman. I didn’t know I had powers…and I lost control.”

Nathan waved his hand, and a screen appeared in the air in front of both of them. Words scrolled by too fast for Billy to read, but Nathan looked satisfied by what was on the display. “No, Billy, you didn’t. Looks like everything’s fine.”

“What?” Billy whispered, the air knocked from his lungs. “No, you have to be lying. I was there when my lightning struck him. I saw him clutching his chest and-“

“And I’m telling you it never happened.” Nathan said urgently. “There’s no police reports or news broadcasts about it at all. And nothing in my files say you killed anyone. You have some repressed anger, but you’re not a murderer. According to your online journal, you still feel guilty for accidentally hitting a pigeon with a baseball when you were twelve. So believe me, man, you’re alright. Now, I know you’re probably in the mood to just sit down and emo for a while, but I’m serious. I don’t know when Kang’s going to find me, and I can’t stop him alone.”

Billy blinked and rubbed his forehead, trying to clear the knot that was forming there. There was just too much to think about right now, and he did feel like just sitting down and thinking. But as he looked into Nathan’s eyes he saw a desperation there that he didn’t expect. This guy really thinks I can help him. I don’t know how, but maybe if I just go with him I’ll find out. It was a battle of comfort versus the unknown, with possibly the fate of the universe on the line, if Kang was involved. Billy had never met him in person, but from what he read online, the villain wasn’t called Kang the Conqueror for nothing.

“Okay,” Billy said, his voice shaking a little. He took a deep breath and tried to look more confident than he felt. “I’ll help.”

Wow, I've finally updated! I was actually planning on releasing 10, 11, and 12 all at once, but then I realized that it's been way too long since my last update, so here's the next chapter. I've totally learned from my mistakes, though, and as such make absolutely no promises about when the next one will be out. WBMT 11 is in the works, but slowly. Fixing plot holes is a little exhausting, and with this chapter I'm going to have to force myself to expand the narrative a little instead of jumping right into the action. But hopefully the wait will be worth it.

Again, thanks for being so patient with me. I really wish I could bang out fic like fullmetal_cute, but I can't. I'm still trying to figure out exactly why. But anyhoo, enjoy this chapter, and hopefully it won't be a year before the next part is up!

NOT Abandoned!!!

2006-09-29T22:05:06Z

I know I haven't updated in months, but I actually have a good reason for it. Right now, I work a 9-6 job with mandatory overtime, plus I have a 2-3 hour commute to and from work. So, Monday through Friday, I basically have about an hour free time, and on the weekends I'm pretty much too tired/stressed from the work week to do much else but try to unwind. I've tried writing a couple months ago, but I have no real writing privacy right now because I'm living with my family, helping to pay the bills until my mom gets a steady income, and I can't write with my mom or my brothers looking over my shoulder, trying to read my stuff (and I really don't feel like explaining "I'm writing gay love stories" to my mother.)

So, what does this mean? No, I have not forgotten about this series. Yes, I want to finish it and give you loyal readers a good conclusion. But no, it's not going to be done anytime soon. It's a frustrating situation and it royally sucks, but it's my life. I started this project while I was in school and had more free time, and now with my long hours and the commute, paired with no real space to write, I just can't muster the last four chapters right now. I do apologize, and I hope that when I get these next parts up (hopefully before the end of the year), y'all will still be around to read them.

Thanks for everything, and I hope to be able to deliver soon. :)

UPDATE EDIT: I finally moved into my new place about a month ago. However, my computer's motherboard busted in the move, and there is nowhere around here that I can use to type for any length of time. (Right now I'm sneaking a post at work.) I've tried to write the next chapters by hand, but after 2-3 pages of the next chapter my wrist hurt so bad I could barely move it. I think it's because I'm on a computer at work for much of the day (I do phone tech support), and I need to make a doctor's appointment for it when I have the money. Maybe get those gel wrist supports for my workstation, too. But anyhoo, I know it may sound like excuses to some (it sounds like it to me, and I'm the one living the situation!), but beleive me, I want to write, I've tried to write, but circumstances have proven that I'm not going to be able to post anything until I get a new computer and internet at home, as well as get my wrist looked at. I really am sorry, and I feel horrible that I not only can't fulfill my obligation, but that I can't even get these stories in my head out on paper without something getting in the way!

Hopefully, things will be better soon. I couldn've already bought a new computer and arranged a doctor's appointment if my mom hadn't quit her job again and needed my financial support. As it is, I probably won't be able to get a new system until Feburary. I make enough to get it in one paycheck, but like I said, Mom needs my help right now to keep her and my brothers on their feet.

I'll make an announcement over in the YA community when I'm finally back on my feet and the rest of the story is available. Again, I'm very sorry for the delay.

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 9

2006-06-05T13:44:10Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 9
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: Hey, look, an update! It's been, what, three weeks or so since the last one? Well, there's a reason for that, but we'll save that for later. For now, though, I hope you enjoy the story.

And thanks again to latimer84 for being a great beta. Seriously, he should get an award. :)

“You’re still taking me to the premiere, right?” Greg asked from the car.

“Yeah, of course,” Teddy assured, and waved to his friend as Greg grinned and drove off. When he was sure the other boy couldn’t see him, he sat down on the stairs in front of his place and pulled out his cell phone. He hadn’t seen Billy all day, and he was dying to talk to him. However, all he got was the answering machine. “Huh, weird,” he muttered, and put the phone back in his pocket.

He hoped that Billy was okay. Just the thought of him made Teddy smile, and though he’d wanted to at least eat lunch with the brown-eyed boy, Greg had taken up most of Teddy’s time. All of it, in fact. Greg had claimed that he and Teddy didn’t spend enough time together lately, so he dedicated the whole day to his “best buddy,” as he called him. Greg had picked him up from home in the morning, paid for his lunch, and took him to go play basketball in the park. It’d been a lot of fun, and it was great to see such an… innocent side to Greg. It had seemed that lately all Greg had been about was women and being popular and making fun of other people. But today, it’d been as if Greg was a new person, and Teddy liked that.

But now he was confused. One of the things that had made it easy to fall out of love with Greg was the fact that Greg was a jerk. Yeah, Greg was cute, and a lot of times he was funny, and he’d help make Teddy popular, but when it came down to it Greg really irked him. But after today, Teddy wasn’t so sure. What if this stuck? What if he fell back in love with Greg again? What would happen with Billy?

Billy. Again, a smile. Billy was so different from anyone else he had met before. He was so smart and beautiful, and Teddy felt like he could trust Billy, really trust him. That was confusing as well, though. How could he be feeling this way about a guy he barely even knew? Yeah, Saturday had been great, but still it was only one date.

Wait, had it been it a date?

Teddy’s shoulders tensed a little as he pondered. He couldn’t deny that he liked Billy. Fuck, he’d almost kissed him on Saturday night, and it’d only been through sheer willpower that he’d held back. But did Billy like him back? Billy didn’t know he was gay, so had he seen it as just two friends hanging out, or something more? Teddy didn’t know. He was a shape shifter, after all, not a mind reader.

Teddy’s stomach rumbled a little, but he didn’t feel like going inside and heating up leftovers for dinner. His mom was still at work, so he left her a note on the door and headed off to McDonald’s. Along the way, he tried to make some sense of the situation, but couldn’t think of anything better to solve his problem than to ask Billy, and he wasn’t ready to do that yet. As much as he wanted to see if there could be something between him and the other boy, he didn’t want to risk losing Billy’s friendship. Especially not after he’d worked so hard to get it.

Suddenly, the whole seriousness of it all shocked him, and he couldn’t help smiling at himself. You’re getting too worked up over nothing, man, he thought, shaking his head. If he likes you, he likes you. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t. He’s just some guy, right? But even as he thought it, he knew it was false. For reasons he couldn’t explain, he felt something powerful with Billy, an attraction he’d never felt before. Truth be told, it scared him a little. A lot about Billy scared him, actually, but at the same time tempted him. Billy was outside the social norms, outside the barriers that Teddy had built up for himself. Just being around the other boy encouraged Teddy to stop living in someone else’s skin and start finding out what it felt like to be in his own. If anyone would accept Teddy for who he was, everything he was…maybe Billy would be that one.

But he’d have to wait and see. In Teddy’s mind everything seemed so clear, but he knew that even in a city full of might and magic, few things worked out like they did in the comic books. No, he’d wait and see, and tell Billy only when he knew for sure he could trust him with his secrets.

Fortunately, dinner ended up being uneventful. After all, one never knew when Magneto might stop in for a pack of chicken nuggets. The sun was halfway to the horizon when Teddy finally made the trek back home, and he tried calling Billy again before it got too late.

Someone answered on the fifth ring. “Hello?”

“Billy?”

There was a second of silence, then: “Teddy?”

“Yeah, hey man! What’s up?”

“Um…nothing much. I just got back home half an hour ago.”

There was another few seconds of silence, and Teddy raised an eyebrow. “Is everything okay, man?”

“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. So, um, what did you do today?”

Teddy shrugged, then realized Billy couldn’t see him and grinned. “I hung out with Greg most of the day. He wanted to spend some quality best-friend time together today, so sorry I didn’t see you around school or nothing.” Again, there was no response for a moment, and Teddy checked to see if the reception on his cell phone was good. “Hello? Can you hear me now?”

Teddy could almost hear Billy’s smirk on the other line. “Do you know how old that line is?”

“And?” Teddy chuckled a little, but quickly sobered. “So, what’s bothering you, Billy? You keep dropping off and I know my phone isn’t spazzing. What’s up?”

Billy sighed, and Teddy could hear a door closing. Then, the creak of springs, and Teddy knew that Billy was lying on his bed. “Okay, I’ll tell you, but you have to promise that you won’t get involved.”

Teddy’s gut twisted a little, but he tried to sound normal. Maybe Billy was having family trouble or something. “Yeah, sure, I promise.”

“Okay.” Billy took in a deep breath, then began. “After school today John Kesler followed me home and beat the shit out of me.”

“What? Why?”

“Because that’s what he does, Teddy,” Billy retorted evenly. “It’s what he’s done for months. He’s bigger and stronger than I am, so he beats me up and takes my lunch money. Today was just the same as always, except this time I got to keep my five bucks.”

“That’s not right, Billy. You shouldn’t have to put up with that shit.”

“Yeah, right, like Greg’s never done that before.”

Billy’s words pierced through Teddy, and he closed his eyes. Where had that come from? “No, he hasn’t. And I’ve never done that, either. Besides, Greg’s changed now. He told me himself that he’s trying to be a better person and stop harassing people.”

“Wait, what?” Billy sounded surprised.

“Yeah, he did. Just last week, in fact, and he’s stuck to it. Yeah, there’s been a couple slips here and there, but for the most part, he’s been pretty fun to be around.” But not as fun as you.

Billy was silent for a moment, and Teddy could almost see the scrunched-up face Billy made when he was thinking hard. There was something else to this, but... “Look…you told me to stay out of it, so I’ll stay out of it, but maybe you should start standing up for yourself. I mean, you’re a really cool guy, Billy, and you don’t deserve the shit you go through.”

“…Thanks, Teddy. I’ll think about it, okay?”

“Okay.” Teddy wanted more that that, but he’d settle for what he could get. “So, I’ll see you on the bleachers tomorrow?”

“Yeah, sure.” There was a voice in the background, and Billy sighed. “Hey, look, I need to get going. My dad wants me to help my brother with his homework.”

“That’s cool.” Teddy didn’t want to have to hang up, but hey, Billy had a life to live. “See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, Teddy. See you.”

As Teddy hung up the phone, he scowled. One of his friends had been hurt, and he hated not being able to do anything about it. It didn’t matter that he was on good terms with John Kesler, that he was pretty much part of Greg’s group. Things were changing, and Teddy knew that he was going down a brand new path in life.

But he knew for sure one thing: if Kesler tried to mess with Billy again, Teddy would beat the shit out of him.

And now for something completely different...

Okay, so as y'all have noticed, I'm not entirely consistent with the updates here, unless you count consistently late. When I first started this series, I intended on having an update at least once a week, and sometimes I stuck to that schedule. However, as history has shown, sometimes intentions don't go too far. So, I'd like to issue a formal apology to anyone who may be upset with my update schedule. However, I can't guarantee that it's going to get any better.

I’ll spare y’all the details, but obviously, real life can get really hard and/or stressful sometimes. So, sometimes, I really don’t feel like writing anything, let alone my baby here. I really wish I was talented enough to be one of those writers who bangs out a good story every few days (because I ahve a LOT of things I want to write), but I’m not, and I’m not sure if I’ll ever be. I really want to keep this series going at a steady pace because I really like to entertain, but I also don’t want the quality to decline just because I was trying to meet a deadline.

I understand that in all reality, some of you don’t care that I take so long to write, just that I get the story done. But this explanation isn’t just for you, readers, but also for myself. I am more grateful than many of you will know that y’all find my work interesting enough to keep coming back, and I feel I owe it to you to get this on the table. But I also need to put less stress on myself, because I don’t want to get burned out like I usually do.

I think part of the problem also lies in the fact that I really don't think I'm that great of a writer. In all reality, I really am an amateur, and sometimes I look at other people's writing on LJ and I'm all like "Woah!" It's intimidating to know that other people seem to "get" life better than you do, and can paint it on a page with such style and elegance. And when i see that, my insecurites well up, and I feel stuck. I think that's another reason that I don't write more: I'm afraid to fail. I've recieved so much positive feedback about my work, and I'm afraid that if I start going into places that I'm not familiar/comfortable with (like severe angst), people won't like me as a writer anymore. They'll be all like "what ever happened to billyxteddy? I used to like his stuff, but now he's just a talentless hack."

Of course, this may not be true. I might just be paranoid,,and worrying for no reason. But the ting is, I've never really written this much before. Ever. WBMT is the longest piece I've written in my entire life, and with it I feel like I've taken a HUGE step in my life. And the fact that people like it? I'm not used to people really liking me the way I've experienced here, and to tell the truth, it's a little scary. But not really in a bad way, I think. More in a "wow, this is new" way. :P

Now, that’s not to say that I’m not going to be continuing this. Oh, heck no! I still have three more chapters to go (plus a little something extra) and I can’t stop now! But, I can’t guarantee that it’ll be done in a month, or even two. Heck, it may even get done in the next few weeks. But regardless, I’m not going to stress out anymore over this and just let it come to me.

I’m sorry if this makes me seem unreliable, or even a little crazy. Truly, I am. But I have to be honest with my readers and myself, and hopefully I’ll get better at this whole gig. But this is how things are right now, and I hope that you ladies and gentlemen will still be along for the ride. :)

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 8

2006-05-14T23:34:53Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 8
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: Sorry this is late, but there were several real-life issues that both I and my beta had to take care of over the past few weeks. I'm not sure about him, but I still have some school stuff to take care of, so the next chapter may not be up for several weeks. But thanks for sticking with me, and mucho thanks to latimer84 for taking the time to beta.

A soft autumn breeze blew through New York City, bringing with it a slight hint of the winter to come. Fallen leaves crunched underfoot as people walked the trails of Central Park, enjoying a moment of peace in the chaotic city that never slept.

Billy noticed none of this; he was too immersed in thought as he stared at the Avengers’ Mansion in front of him. The windows were dark, and the place looked almost deserted. Where were the heroes when he needed them, he wondered, absently rubbing the bruise growing around his eye. Where were the Avengers when he needed them? They couldn’t all be off saving the universe, could they?

This was unfair. Fuck, the whole day had been unfair. And everything had been going so right, too. On Friday, Teddy had approached him and tried to be his friend. Never in a million years would Billy have thought about something like that happening, especially after the way he’d treated Teddy. But he had, and even though Billy had been skeptical at first, his feelings for the other boy had won him over.

And Saturday had been…hoo boy. Despite his frustration, Billy couldn’t help but smile a little at the thought of Saturday. It had been amazing, to say the least. He’d met Teddy at Big Nick’s Burger in the afternoon, and later on they’d gone for a walk around the city, just hanging out and talking. And for once in his life, he’d finally felt normal, as if he didn’t have to worry about people harassing him or trying to take his lunch money. They’d talked about the Knicks and video games and what it was like to live in a city where someone super-powered could appear at any moment. Billy hadn’t wanted the day to end, and it didn’t seem like Teddy wanted to, either. Or maybe…

Billy chewed on a fingernail, his pain forgotten momentarily by the confusion he still felt. There was no denying that he had a crush on the blonde-haired boy, but he didn’t know what to do about it. I mean, what if Teddy’s straight? he thought. Can I really lie to him and pretend that I just want to be friends? And what if he is gay, but just doesn’t want to tell me yet? Why the fuck does this have to be so complicated? He’d had this argument with himself ever since he had reluctantly said goodbye to Teddy that night, and not one point of his considerable IQ had been able to do much but shrug.

It’s not like it matters anymore, though, Billy remembered, his face melting into sorrow. Kesler made sure of that today.

Today was Monday, and Billy had been excited at the thought of getting to see Teddy again. However, he hadn’t seen the other boy at all, and by lunchtime he was starting to feel a pit in his gut. Something was wrong, he knew somehow, and he prayed that it wasn’t what he thought it was. On the plus side, Teddy hadn’t suddenly appeared and told him to fuck off. Unfortunately, someone else had.

He hadn’t even known he was in danger until someone grabbed him from behind and shoved him into an alley. Usually, he had a sort of bully-dar, but today he must’ve been too distracted trying to not think about Teddy. That had to have been why he had been completely surprised when John Kesler had turned him around and started punching him repeatedly in the face. Fortunately, Kesler’s punishment was brief. Through the whole thing he had only spoken once:

“Stay away from Altman, faggot.”

And then he was gone, and Billy was left on the pavement, with no witnesses to the crime save a couple of cats behind the dumpster.

Spider-Man could’ve seen it. Or maybe Emma Frost. She’s a telepath, right? She could’ve zapped him with her mind blasts or something. So why hadn’t she? Why had Billy been left to lay there for several minutes, wracked with pain? Why had he been forced to wander around New York City for the past hour because he couldn’t go home because his parents would freak? Why had he been walking with hundreds of other people down the sidewalk and not one had noticed his bruised, battered face? Or maybe they just hadn’t cared.

Eventually, he had made his way to Central Park, and as soon as he entered he realized where he was heading. He was a fanboy at heart, and in need of some comfort from those whom he regarded as heroes. But the gates had been locked, and the grounds empty, and, with nothing else better to do, Billy had sat across the driveway and thought.

So what to do now? Should he call Teddy up and tell him what happened? Or did Teddy already know? Did he even care? The fear from the morning uncurled inside his stomach again, and Billy shut his eyes in pain as he told it to shut up. Teddy’s my friend, and wouldn’t set this up. No, this is just Kesler being Kesler, plain and simple. He opened his eyes as an idea occurred to him. Teddy has nothing to do with this. But I think I know who does…

“Excuse me,” a woman’s voice suddenly asked. “Are you all right?”

Billy jumped a little, startled out of his brooding. The voice had been so full of concern that at first he thought it was his mother, but when he saw the crimson pants and hooded sweatshirt that the woman was wearing, he knew he was just imagining things. His mother didn’t like the color red.

“I’ll be okay,” he replied, grabbing his backpack and getting ready to stand. Despite his earlier thoughts, he suddenly felt embarrassed that someone had caught him looking like shit, and wanted to go. But the woman sat down beside him before he could move, and he decided to stay so as not to be rude.

“You’re bleeding,” she commented, reaching up to take down her hood.

Billy looked the other way with a slight blush and wiped the underside of his nose. “Sorry. I thought it stopped.”

“What happened?”

“I kinda got punched in the face. Repeatedly.” Why am I telling her this? he wondered. He already knew the answer, though. Because she cares.

“Why?”

“Because I’m…” A fag? A nerd? Too weak to stand up to the fuckers at school? “… different.”

“A mutant?” the woman asked, placing her hand on Billy’s shoulder and turning him toward her.

“I wish,” he scoffed.

“No, you don’t,” she replied, bringing a tissue up to Billy’s nose and dabbing the blood away. “Being a mutant only makes people want to punch you more.”

There was so much sorrow in her voice that Billy couldn’t help looking up at her. When he took a good look at her face, though, he gasped. “Oh my god…you’re…the Scarlet Witch!”

Wanda Maximoff smiled, as if Billy wasn’t the only fanboy who had stammered in front of her.

“You’re my favorite Avenger!” he blurted, then winced a little. “I can’t believe I just said that out loud.”

“Don’t worry,” Wanda said, smirking as she finished cleaning the blood off of Billy’s face. “I won’t tell Iron Man if you won’t.”

“Wh-what are you doing here?” Billy asked, feeling flushed and foolish at the same time. The Scarlet Witch! The Scarlet Witch!

Wanda shrugged and wiggled her fingers, making the dirty tissue dissolve in her hand. “Just taking a walk. It’s a really beautiful day out here, don’t you think?”

Billy blinked a little at the casual display or power, and tried to not pass out from excitement “Y-yeah, it is. Winter’s coming up quick, though.”

“Don’t worry, I’m prepared,” she replied, pointing at her sweatshirt and grinning. They both laughed, and Bill felt his worries and fears begin to melt away. “But enough about me. What are you doing here?”

Aaaand they came crashing back. Billy frowned, and thought about lying. But then again, this was the Scarlet Witch he was talking to. She’d saved the world a million times over. If she asked a question, well, she deserved a decent answer.

“I got beat up today.”

“I noticed. What happened?” She looked at him attentively, like she was actually interested in what Billy had to say. Billy looked away and smirked ruefully.

“Long story short: I’m a fag.”

“You really shouldn’t say that about yourself.”

“Well, it’s true,” Billy muttered with a scowl. “If I wasn’t gay, then no one would care if Teddy and I were friends or not.”

Wanda sighed and gently touched Billy’s arm. “Why don’t you tell me the whole story?”

With a sigh of his own, Billy told her. He explained the whole situation, about how he was picked on all the time and how well he and Teddy were getting along and how he figured that Teddy’s clique didn’t like it, so they sent Kesler to beat Billy up. During the whole tale, Wanda listened intently, nodding in some places and frowning at others. It wasn’t until he was done that she spoke again.

“Walk with me a little while,” she asked, getting up and waving her hand toward the mansion. Billy obeyed, wondering where she was taking him. Wanda was silent for a few seconds, and then said, “So, when you see this bully at school tomorrow, what are you going to do?”

“Run as quickly as possible in the other direction.” And Billy would, too. He had no idea what he was going to do about Teddy, but he was definitely sure that he wanted to stay away from Kesler.

But Wanda shook her head. “No, you’re going to stand your ground. Show him you’re not afraid.”

“But I am,” he admitted. “If I had powers…”

“You do,” she replied, stopping in front of the front gates of the mansion. “Everyone has some gift, something that they do better than anyone else.”

Billy scoffed a little at that. “I don’t think my keen analytical skills are any match for John Kesler’s simian strength, so I plan to stay out of his way.”

Wanda pursed her lips and narrowed her eyes. “In my experience, the more we do what other people want us to do, the more we get into trouble.” She took a step closer and leaned in. “Be yourself, and the Keslers of the world can’t touch you.”

“Despite all physical evidence to the contrary.”

“What physical evidence?” Wanda asked, tapping his nose with her finger. Billy recoiled a little, expecting to feel pain, but instead felt a soothing warmth that spread across his face and all along his body. With just one touch she had healed him of all of his wounds and bruises, and Billy couldn’t help but just stand there in awe.

“Stand your ground,” Wanda said, kissing Billy softly on the cheek. “See what happens.” Then, she smiled and turned, walking away as silently as she has come. Billy watched her go, his arms clumsily gripping his backpack as he tried to gather his thoughts. He was still excited over the encounter and frustrated over his problem with Kesler, and yet he felt oddly at peace. He wondered for a moment if she had done something to him besides clean up a black eye.

Her last words echoed in his mind, and he looked to the ground. He had no idea if he could do like the Avenger had said, if he could believe in himself the way that she seemed to. But tomorrow was another day, with its own set of challenges. Right now, he realized as he finally noticed the setting sun, he had to get home.

He slowly turned and left, still lost in thought. Behind him, Wanda paused and looked back longingly at the boy she had just walked away from. She had wanted to tell him so much more, to wrap him in her arms and tell him that everything was going to be all right. But she couldn’t, and Wanda hoped that one day her son would understand why.

“Good luck,” she whispered sadly, and fought to keep her eyes dry as she turned back around and walked away.

Pics!

2006-05-05T22:54:27Z

To make up for Chapter 8 being oh-so-tardy, here's some pictures for you. They're kinda for fun, but also contain a spoiler for the next chapter, so you've been warned.

Before I got my computer, I had to resort to writing in a spiral notebook. As you can see, I should stick to typing. :p

This is the first page I wrote on Chapter 7. I'm not sure how much anyone can make out, but if you can read it then you can see how the roughest of a rough draft tends to go for me.

As you can see here, the messy trend continues. This is a page and a half of Chapter 8, as well as my source material for one of the scenes.

I try my best to make my stories as accurate as possible, so I make sure that I do a lot of research. In this case, my source was the YA Special, but I also had to go look up New York City (both real and Marvelverse) for some of it, too.

So, see? I am working on it! :p

Last but not least, the thing that really jumpstarted my utter love for the fandom:

If you can make it out (or if you have Issue #2 at home), the very last letter is mine, written over a year ago. I was so excited when I saw that they had printed it, and just about bounced around the comic shop. It made me feel really special to have something of mine printed, and I continued to fall more and more in love with the comic from there.

I feel like I'm acting like I'm all badass and stuff, so I'm sorry if it seems that way. I just wanted to give y'all a deeper look into myself as writer and a fanboy. :)

Mucho thanks for clex_monkie89 for being so fraggin' cool and hosting these pics for me!

Egh

2006-05-01T19:58:13Z

Headache.

Headache headache headache.

Ow.

Fic's gonna be late. Was kinda sick last weekend and have been stressing out over my upcoming certification exam. It's about 75% written, but I have no idea how I'm gonna end it. I hope it comes to me when I get there.

I have the urge to just open the top of my head and let all my stories spill out onto the paper so i don't have to write them. Between writing notes in class and working on a computer most of the day, my wrist isn't always up to the task of fic.

Don't mind me. This is a sinus headache-induced babble. Just wanted to say at least something, because I know some of you wait on pins and needles for the next chapters to come out. Bwahaha, no, that's not true. It it was fun to pretend for a moment. :p

In consolation, here's a random drabble I'm writing as I go:

Billy sat up, suddenly itchy. He wasn't really used to laying on the grass, especially not in Cental Park. He was surprised he wasn't covered in pigeon poop by now.

Teddy, on the other hand, was having a blast. "Come on, babe, lie back down with me," he asked, lightly tugging at Billy's jacket.

"I'm itchy," Billy complained.

"Then cast a spell or something. make the ground so not-itchy."

Billy rolled his eyes, but the look in his boyfriend's eyes broke his resistance. "Okay, fine." After making sure nobody was watching, Billy concentrated and mumbled some words under his breath. The grass below the two boys glowed electric blue for a moment, then returned to notmal. When Billy lowered his body back onto it, it was as soft as a blanket.

"See?" Teddy commented, reaching around to put his arm under Billy's head. "Not so bad now, huh?"

In the past, Billy would've shied away from an invitation to snuggle with another guy in public. Now, though, everything had changed, and he felt almost invincible. Without a care in the world, he adjusted his body so that he was right next to Teddy, and smiled as he looked up at the clouds.

"No, it's not so bad, Teddy. Not so bad at all."

There ya go. Spontaneous and barely edited. Enjoy.

I'm gonna go off and try to get some medicine now. Tootles.

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 7

2006-04-24T16:55:36Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 7
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: FINALLY!!! IT'S UP!!! Again, I'm sorry that it took so long, and hopefully I'll maintain a much better pace this time. Mucho kudos goes to latimer84 for doing most excellent beta for me. *glomps*

It was Friday, and so far Billy had done a great job of avoiding Teddy. Then again, Teddy figured, Billy had a lot of practice with that sort of thing. After some asking around, though, he found out that Billy sometimes had lunch on the bleachers next to the school's football field. His inquiries had earned him some puzzled looks, but as he asked around, Teddy began to realize that he didn't care. After spending all day yesterday thinking about the incident at Billy's apartment, he needed to talk to Billy, if only to apologize again.

Luckily, Billy was on the bleachers today, too engrossed in his sandwich to notice Teddy's approach. Teddy took in a deep breath and stuck his hands in his pockets to keep them from shaking.

"Hey."

Billy jumped as if a gun had been fired. When he saw Teddy, his eyes widened, then narrowed into a confused scowl.

"Look, I'm sorry about Wednesday night..."

"Don't be." Billy's voice was sad, but seemed to have an angry edge to it. Teddy couldn't tell which one of them Billy was mad at, but he assumed it was him. "I shouldn't have yelled at you like that. You came to me for help and I was a jerk. I'm sorry."

"No, Billy..." Teddy shook his head and sat down next to the raven-haired teen. "You were right about a lot of that stuff. I've been an ass to people a lot longer than you have, and you had every right to be mad. You–"

"Why?" Billy interrupted, his gaze suddenly suspicious. "No offense, Ted, but why are you telling me all of this?" His eyes darted past Teddy quickly, as if he expected Greg to pop out from behind the bleachers with a video camera. Teddy saw the look and winced. He figured Billy had more than enough reason to be worried, and wanted desperately to tell Billy the whole truth. How beautiful the other boy's eyes were in the light of the sun, how Teddy's heart beat a little faster when he saw Billy smile. But… Billy would probably just think it was a joke, or, even worse, tell the whole school that Theodore Altman was a big flaming homo. He had to say something, though, or else Billy might get impatient and leave, so he opted for the next best thing.

"I know you and I haven't really hung out before, but I had a lot of fun on Wednesday. I mean, once I got to know you I realized that people really need to cut you a fucking break, you know?" He looked over at Billy, who was still looking at him with slanted eyes. They were a lot less accusing, though. More like they were seeing Teddy for the first time.

Billy was silent a moment, then looked back out to center field. "Okay, so let's say that, hypothetically, you weren't bullshitting me. Would you seriously risk all your friendships just for mine? I mean, I'm not exactly the most popular guy here." He looked down at his forgotten half-eaten sandwich, and slowly turned it in his hands as if he was thinking about something. Then, he said in a low voice, "I'm the school fag, remember?"

So it was true. Billy was gay. I took some effort, but Teddy managed to tone down the utter glee in his voice. "Why are you always so down on yourself, man? Who cares if you're gay or not?" Yes, Teddy, play it down. No way are you gay, too, oh no.

"Greg."

Teddy winced again. The name had been spat out, almost like an accusation. "Greg's..." Greg's an ass. I only hang out with him so I can be cool, too? Yeah, that'll work. And Spider-Man'll swing in and offer us fruit pies. "Greg's misunderstood, like you." Billy scoffed, but Teddy looked insistent. "Really, he is! He doesn't come from the best family in the world, you know. His parents don't really pay him much attention, so he has to vent somehow. Not... not that it's right for him to pick on you, it's just..." Again, no good excuse. Greg was a dick, plain and simple...but at least he was a dick who accepted Teddy, who made him feel like he was important. That had to count for something, right?

“So then why do you hang out with him?”

Because he makes me feel good about myself. Because he makes me feel like I belong. Because he’s really cute and I have…well, used to have a crush on him, I think. I don’t know anymore… “Because he’s always been there for me, anytime I needed him. He may be difficult to deal with sometimes, but he’s a really good friend.”

Billy scowled skeptically, but then shook his head and sighed. “I still don’t get it, but…” He shook his head again, as if he was baffled.

Time to change the subject. “I’m not like him, though. I…I want you to know that I’m not gonna just stand by and let Greg pick on people anymore. I never knew that I was really hurting anyone until you blew up on me.” His jaw clenched as he remembered the guilty tears shed in the elevator. “I don’t want to hurt anyone. I just…”

Could he really tell Billy? For some reason he couldn’t figure out, he wanted to tell Billy everything, to confess the lust and the pain and the uncertainty that he had felt over the past few days…but he was moving pretty fast as it was, he thought. He didn’t know if he could trust Billy with all of his secrets. Even though I really want to.

“Just…I won’t do it anymore, okay?”

Surprisingly, Billy gave him a lopsided smile, and Teddy’s breath caught in his throat. He really liked it when Billy smiled; it made him feel warm. “Okay, Ted…okay. I believe you. We…we can hang out if you want.”

Teddy knew that Billy was taking a big risk and he loved him for it. Unfortunately, it probably wouldn’t have been a good idea to lean forward and kiss him at the moment. Instead, he smiled back and said, “It’s Teddy. All my friends call me that, remember?”

“Yeah.” Billy looked away, and Teddy could’ve sworn that he saw a little bit of blush in Billy’s cheeks.

Does he…?

“So, I know you have your group that you sit with at lunch,” Billy said hesitantly as he turned back to look the blond-haired jock in the eyes, “but how about you come visit me over here sometime?”

“How about this weekend? Not…here, I mean, but maybe at that burger joint I saw near your place? Lenny’s, I think.”

Billy’s mouth hung open for about half a second, like he was going to say something, but instead he nodded. “Yeah, sounds great.”

“Okay, cool.” Teddy tried to not smile too widely. “I’ll call you tomorrow around eleven.” He got up and dusted the back of his jeans before extending his hand to Billy. “I’ll see you around, then.”

When Billy took the hand, it was as if electricity was coursing through Teddy’s body. But it was a pleasant tingle, and Teddy had to force himself to shake the hand quickly and let go.

“I’ll see you later, Ted…Teddy.” There was that slight blush again, Teddy noted. Maybe…

“Bye, Billy.” Teddy gave a little wave, then walked down the bleachers and back to the main building. It took a lot of effort to not dance on the way. As he went inside though, he ran into Greg, who’d been getting a soda from the machine. Teddy paused as a sinking feeling tore the glee right from his chest.

“Hey, Teddy! Where you been, man?”

Here was the test, Teddy knew. Was he still a liar, a fake? Or was he man enough to stick to his conviction and change? When he opened his mouth to speak, he silently prayed that he was making the right decision. “I was over at the bleachers, talking with Billy.”

Greg smiled, but it wasn’t anything close to one of Billy’s. Rather, it reminded Teddy of a cartoon shark about to eat its prey. “Really, huh? You two are becoming fast buddies, ain’tcha?”

Teddy tried to look as confident as possible, despite the urge to hide behind a joke or something that would keep him in Greg’s good graces. “Actually, yeah. He’s not as bad as you think, man. He’s a cool guy, once you get to know him. Shit, if he played sports he’d probably fit in with the rest of us.”

Greg locked gazes with Teddy for a few seconds, as if he was trying to figure something out. He smirked, his eyes softening. “You know, maybe you’re right, Teddy. I’ve been pretty hard on the guy lately. Maybe it’s time to cut him a break. After all, if you say he’s cool, maybe he is.”

Teddy blinked, confused. “Really?”

“Yeah, man. Besides, I got a reputation to keep, remember? This whole picking on the less fortunate thing’s getting pretty old. And, hey, maybe if I start being a little nicer, the chicks’ll notice and I can finally get Stacy Werner to go out with me.”

“Cool,” Teddy nodded, amazed by Greg’s turnaround. Granted, it wasn’t the purest of motivations, but still, it was a start. “I’m gonna head off to class, but I’ll see you after school right?”

“Yeah, sure, man,” Greg replied, lightly punching Teddy’s shoulder. “I got this awesome lay-up that I wanna show you.” He turned around and walked off into the crowded hallway, which seemed to part a little for him. “See ya!”

“See ya!” Teddy called back, and walked the other direction to his U.S. history class. Once again, he felt like dancing as he walked. Greg’s reaction had definitely been unexpected, but it was good, right? Maybe it was just that right time of year for a change(, he guessed).

Had Teddy gone back the other way, however, he would’ve changed his mind. Not even a minute had had passed since their conversation before Greg sought out his friend Kesler and pulled him to the side.

“I need a favor,” he muttered.

Kesler just grinned.

Announcement

2006-04-24T14:24:21Z

I just wanted to let y'all know about my new fanfic journal, narutonojitsu. I know it has a Naruto name, but it's intended to be for any non-YA fic that I write. In case you're curious, I did this because I plan on writing more YA fic than not, and this'll help me organize my stuff a lot better. Plus, since it's one of those Sponsored+ accounts, I can have one or two userpics dedicated to the fandom that I write about, also for organization purposes. I hope that if you like my writings here you'll give it a try.

And sorry, still no Part 7. I'm still waiting on my beta. If I don't hear back from him this afternoon, I'll probably send him an email. I wanted to ahve it up by today, so we'll see how that goes. If worse comes to worse, though, I'll have it up by tomorrow, beta'd or not. As much as I appreciate the help I get, I really don't like making people wait. =/

UPDATE!!!

2006-04-21T19:57:17Z

Okay, after, what, a month of nothing, I'm finally back! Hopefully some of y'all are still around, too.

First of all, I've friended back anyone who's friended me lately. Sorry for the delay, folks.

Second, CHAPTER 7 IS IN BETA!!! Yeah, I bet you were wondering when I'd get off my lazy butt and actually write again. Well, now I have. I've adjusted to my new school well enough that I've gotten my mojo back, as it were. Chapter 8 is currently just a bunch of notes in my writing notebook, but I should have the rough draft at least started by the time Chapter 7 comes up.

To those of you who stuck around, thanks. This year is supposed to be a big year of change for me; hopefully I'll be able to keep this consistant and keep all of you entertained. :)

Yo, more stuff (but no fic yet cries)

2006-03-19T18:06:19Z

Okay, this is probably unnecissary, but I just wanted to provide another update, because I've been gone longer than I said I would. I've been going through some things in my life over the past few weeks, most notibly studying for a very important test. Fortunately, I passed it (details are over in kygn), so that's one big stressball off my back for now. Also, my interest in Young Avengers has been hibernating until the next issue comes out, and I keep telling myself that when it does, then I'll have enough new stuff on these characters and enough inspiration to write the final half of the story. And while that's probably true, there's still not too much of an excuse for me to not at least attemt Chapter 7. So, just to let y'all know, I definitely haven't forgotten about this story, and I will be making a concious effort to get at least the next part up soon.

Also, if any of you are over at y!gallery, my handle there is soulreaver1983. I've been writing a little bit of semioriginal fic over there as warm-up for "When Billy Met Teddy", and if you like the angsty stuff I got going on here, be sure to check it out. (You'll be surprised just how similar it is, actually, but that was a little on accident, a little on purpose. Like I said, it's a warm-up) The site itself isn't fully worksafe, however, so if you go to it, please do so responsibly.

A Brief Interlude...

2006-02-25T16:50:40Z

Okay, I don't like to put a break in my stories like this, but I guess it's appropriate.

Currently, we are halfway through the series "When Billy Met Teddy". I had intended to start the second half by now, but my brain is fried. Plus, I just got a new roommate, so the dynamics of my dorm life have just changed, and I need to get back into a rhythm that supports my writing. So, I'm going to take a break. Albeit a small one, but a break nonetheless. This will be really good for me, too, because the second half of the story is going the be a big challenge for me.

I just wanted to let y'all know so you're not wondering where the next part is. This feels really vain of me to be saying stuff like this, but several of you have shown so much support for my work and such interest that I feel it's respectful and responsible to notify you. I still fully intend on having this series completed before the end of March. Actually, it might go even quicker than that depending on my motivation and my mood. But for now...I hope to be able to provide Chapter 7 at some point late next week. We'll just see how that goes, I guess.

Thanks for being patient, and thanks for reading! I appreciate all of you! :)

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 6

2006-02-22T12:51:53Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 6
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: Woah! Three in a row? I must be crazy! But I couldn't leave y'all hanging like that, so I went ahead and wrote the next part. More angst, but we're halfway through the story, so stick with me! :)

Oh, and beta this time was provided by the excellent dread_not.

Okay, on to the fic!

Teddy rested his head against the mirrored elevator wall and stared at his reflection. “It wasn’t supposed to be like this,” he muttered. “I was just supposed to come over. It was supposed to be fun.” And it had been fun. At least, up until he’d been stupid and let his guard down. For once, instead of Ted Altman, so-called Prince of Manhattan High, he had been just plain Teddy, without any status quos or follower mentality. It had been liberating, almost, to ask Billy if they could be friends. But now...

Billy had been right. He was an ass. He stood by and let his friends be jerks just so that they’d like him. Before, he’d been fine with it. With them, he’d found the acceptance that he’d wanted so much, and was willing to pay any cost to keep it. But he wasn’t so sure anymore. So what had changed? Someone finally told me it was wrong. Someone had looked him in the eye and made it crystal clear that he was hurting people, that he was hurting because of Teddy’s actions. He’d never thought of it as hurting. It was just fun and games, a joke that only losers didn’t laugh at. But in the end…wasn’t Teddy the loser?

“I’m so sorry, Billy,” he whispered, and for the first time in what seemed like forever, he cried. His sobs echoed in the empty elevator, until a ding told him that the doors were about to open. Quickly, he wiped his face, and, seeing through blurred vision that he had reached the first floor, ran out of the elevator and headed for the exit.

“Have a good night,” a security guard said as he walked out the front doors. Teddy was afraid that he’d start crying again if he opened his mouth, so he simply nodded and hurried along the sidewalk toward the subway.

Along the way, his cell phone began to ring. His heart leapt for a moment at the thought that it might be Billy, but then it sank when he remembered that Billy didn’t know his phone number. Greg, however, did. “Hey, Greg! What’s up?” he answered, trying his hardest to make his voice sound normal.

“Just wondering where you are, dumbass,” Greg replied with a snicker. “I thought you were supposed to call me tonight!”

Teddy sighed with relief that Greg hadn’t caught on to the slight sadness that had sneaked through. Then again, when it came to his friends, Greg wasn’t known for being perceptive. “Yeah, I’m sorry, man. I just needed some help with my homework, but I’m free now.”

“Oh, that English thing you flunked? What the hell was up with that, anyway? You’re usually really good at that grades shit.”

“I just had some trouble, that’s all. You know how it is.”

“Yeah, man, I do. So who’d you get to tutor you, huh? I hope it wasn’t that chick who hangs out with Amanda. For someone that smart, you’d think she’d know how to take a shower.”

Normally, he would have laughed at that. After all, Myra Campbell did stink. But after tonight...”No, it wasn’t her. You know Billy Kaplan?”

Teddy had to pull the phone away from his ear as Greg’s laughter blasted from the speaker. “Oh shit, Altman. You hung out with the fag?” Then he quickly sobered. “He didn’t, like, try to hit on you or anything, did he? If he did-“

“No, it wasn’t like that!” Teddy groaned, a little more forceful than he had intended. “I just went over to his house to study, that’s it!”

“Ooooooh, you went over to his place?” he mocked with a lisp. “Should I call the fairymobile now? When’s the wedding?”

“Fuck you!” Teddy growled over Greg’s laughter, and hung up the phone. He was tempted to throw it into the street, but he knew that wouldn’t solve anything. He’d probably still get the same shit from Greg and his friends tomorrow anyway.

Dammit! Why did everything have to be so hard? Why couldn’t he just have a normal life? He kicked a discarded soda can, sending it banging into the side of a dumpster. A man digging in the dumpster yelled at him, and he walked off quickly, silently cursing at himself. See? Fucking super-strength! I bet the Hulk never had problems like this...

For a second, he considered running back to Billy’s apartment and showing him his powers, showing the other boy that he knew his pain, exposing himself for the freak he was. Billy would understand, too. Billy would look at him with those deep, strong eyes and say…Fuck off. Yeah, probably. After tonight, there was no use even thinking about talking to Billy again. Billy hated him. Hell, he hated himself, but didn’t know what to do about it. It wasn’t like he could just change, was it? He’d thumbed through a book on change, once. His mother had told him to read it, and while he tried, he really couldn’t concentrate on it. One thing he did remember, though, was that the book kept saying that change takes time, that there are no instant transformations. He’d laughed at that, proving the book wrong by shapeshifting into Captain America, but now he wished that he’d taken the book a lot more seriously. Maybe he could read it when he got home. No, he still had some homework to finish. He’d have to wait until tomorrow.

That was, if he survived it.

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 5

2006-02-22T01:12:45Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 5
Status: Not beta'd, really, but still pretty good.
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes:Clex was busy with schoolwork, and I like to get these things up ASAP, so I beta'd myself, which I'm glad I did. I was able to fix some things that made the story flow a lot better. So, anyhoo, here's the next part. I hope you like it. :)

Billy Kaplan was about to become an orphan. That was, he was going to kill his parents.

Why did his mother have to be so outgoing? She could’ve just said hello, then gone about her business. His dad had at least enough sense to stay in the kitchen during the exchange. But no, she just had to embarrass him, and in front of Ted Altman, of all people. Ted Altman! Yes, he was a dumb jock and yes, after this was over he’d probably go back to ignoring Billy, but he was here, in Billy’s home, and Billy wanted to make the best impression possible. The last thing he needed was Ted going back to school and spreading stories of “that fag Kaplan’s” psycho parents.

Not that they were going to be around much longer, though. So very much dead. But even as he thought that, he knew it was a lie. He loved his parents, and knew that they loved him, too. He was just stressing out, and for what? A guy he couldn’t have, no matter how hard he tried. Ted wasn’t gay, that was for sure. No he probably banged fifty girls a day…or, at least, whatever Greg passed on to him. Ted was such an ass-kisser, and Billy entertained the idea that if Ted was gay, he was probably Greg’s bitch whenever the “King of the School” ran out of girls to charm. He suddenly found himself wondering why he’d even agreed to help Ted out in the first place. Then, his anger faded as he looked back at Ted and was reminded of the answer. Regardless of his status, regardless of his friends…Ted was a really nice guy, and needed his help. The fact that he looked fucking hot only helped matters.

“Is this your room?” Ted asked, pointing at the door Billy had paused by.

“Yeah, this is it,” Billy replied, opening the door just a little too quickly. He held the door open, and took in a breath as the other boy shuffled past him.

“Oh, hey, the Fantastic Four!” Ted exclaimed, pointing at a picture on the wall. “Wow, you got their autographs? I can barely get one of them to say hi to me. Then again, every time I see them they’re saving the city or some shit. Man, you have a lot of hero stuff!” He crossed his arms and looked around the room, head nodding appreciatively at the posters and news clippings and framed pictures adorning the walls. “I bet you even got a copy of that Spider-Man book that that one photographer made, too.”

“It’s even have, and yeah, I have one. You can look at it later if you want.”

“Oh, right…tutoring. Sorry, it’s just that I’ve never seen a room like this before. Most of my friends got…sorry, have…posters of football players or women or whatever.” He sat down on Billy’s bed and rummaged through his backpack. “Oh, nice bed,” he said to his backpack. “Comfy.”

If the other boy had bothered to look up, he could have noticed that his tutor had turned a few shades lighter. Ohshithe’sonmybedhe’sonmybedhe’sontheplacethatIsleepandreadanddreamabouthimandohshitI’mgonnadie… Billy leaned on his desk for support, and forced himself to breathe normally. However, breathing soon became the least of his problems, as his excitement began to grow in the worst way possible.

Oh, fuck! he thought as a bulge appeared in the front of his shorts, and he quickly sat down at his desk chair and opened his English textbook onto his lap. Just in time, too, because at that moment Ted had fished out his notebook and was looking at Billy with a raised eyebrow.

“Are you sure you’re okay, man?”

“I think I might be coming down with something,” Billy said, coughing a little for effect.

“That sucks, dude. You should try a good run to clear out your lungs. At least, that’s what Greg’s coach usually says.” He smiled, then opened his notebook to a page and handed it to Billy. “I’m supposed to study these words for the make-up test, but I don’t know what half of them are,” he admitted, scratching the side of his head sheepishly. “Can you help me?”

Right now Billy was the one who needed help, but he wasn’t going to say that. Instead, he took a look at the words and held back a scoff. He wanted to focus on Ted’s lack of understanding, find a reason to look down on him so maybe the boner would go away, but, once again, he knew he couldn’t do that. So, he simply nodded and started with the first word.

Ted had been right; he was having trouble with about half of the words on the list. So, Billy concentrated on those, occasionally throwing in a word that Ted did know to encourage him. By the time the hour was up, Billy was confident that the other boy would pass his test.

Billy had almost died when his mother had brought in sliced vegetables before she and Billy’s dad went to go pick up his brothers from the arcade, but Ted had just grinned and dug right in. In fact, he’d eaten most of the platter already, so Billy didn’t feel as lame.

“You know, you’re really good at this,” Ted said before taking a bite of carrot. “I should come over more often.”

Billy almost choked on his celery stick when Ted said that. He couldn’t control the look of surprise on his face, and hoped that the other boy was too occupied with his food to notice.

No such luck. “What, is that a problem?” Ted cocked his head and gave his tutor a questioning look.

“Yes! I mean, no! I mean…oh, fuck…” Billy buried his head in his hands. This was not happening…

“Look…this isn’t a whole jock versus geek thing, is it? I mean…I thought we could be pals…”

“Pals?” Billy hissed, snapping his head up to glare at Ted. The other boy recoiled in shock and stared at Billy with wide eyes. “What, are you kidding me? I can just see it now: the Prince of Manhattan High and the school fag, eating lunch together and then skipping away along a yellow brick road. Get real, Ted. I’m not interested in being another one of Greg’s lackeys.”

Shit, where had that come from? But he had no time to think about it, no time to run away from the problem, because now Ted was speaking.

“Look…Billy…I know you’re picked on a lot, but that doesn’t mean you should take it out on me, alright? I’ve never done anything or said anything-“

“But you let it happen, don’t you? You just stand there and let your friends harass people and don’t do shit about it. Last week, when Kevin “accidentally” tripped Heather Sweeny you laughed just like everybody else, because you’re just like everybody else. You know, you’ve never even once looked at me before you needed some help. So don’t give me this “I thought we could be friends” bullshit, Ted. We both know that tomorrow you’ll still be an ass.”

Ted bit his lip as Billy spoke, and kept his gaze to the ground long after the speech was done. Finally, he nodded and stuffed his notebook back into his backpack. “You know, you’re right. I am an ass, and I’m sorry that I bothered you.” He swung the pack over his shoulder and got up. Billy was afraid that Ted was about to punch him, but instead the other boy just walked past him and out of the room.

Billy felt so good and yet so horrible at the same time. For once in his life, he’d stood up to a bully, dissecting him in ways that he’d only dreamed before. But the satisfaction that he’d imagined wasn’t there. Instead, his chest was tight, and he felt a burning taste in the back of his throat.. He’d done the right thing, right?

“Now who’s the ass?” he muttered, and furiously held back his tears. He heard the front door open, and his heart leapt into his throat. He had to fix this, and he had to fix it now. He shot out of his seat, dumping the book to the floor and running after the other boy. His erection was long gone, something he was extremely grateful for as he moved, but now was not the time to think about that. “Ted, wait!”

He rounded the corner in time to see Ted paused halfway out the door. He didn’t say anything, but Billy could tell he was pissed. “Look…Ted, I’m sorry…”

“You’re right, Billy,” Ted interrupted, his blue eyes bright and piercing. Billy could see a lot of hurt in them, but also a lot of strength. “You’re absolutely right. But you’re also wrong about a lot of shit. And don’t call me Ted anymore. It’s Teddy.” He paused. “All my friends call me that.” He held Billy’s gaze for a few seconds more, then looked away and stalked down the hall.

Billy groaned and shut the door quietly, resting his head on the wooden frame when it was closed. The tears he had been fighting finally fell, and he was glad that no one could see them. He was alone, in too many senses of the word.

How could he have been so stupid?

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 4

2006-02-21T05:19:56Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 4
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: My lovely beta clex_monkie89 was able to help me again, so thanks to her. Also, I aplogize to anyone who feels the story is going too slow. I like to keep regular updates, so I'm posting each piece of the tale as it's ready. So, instead of one long story, this will end up being about 10-12 chapters. This part was actually supposed to be longer, but I saw that it was pushing three pages and I didn't know how long I could make it without LJ cracking out on me. Clex let me know the limit, though, so the next fic may be longer.

Anyhoo, enough babblng. Enjoy! :)

Around 6:59 PM, the Kaplans were doing the dishes and talking. Well, Mr. and Mrs. were, at least. Billy was sitting at the dining room table, having his second cup of Sleepytime tea. The label said that it was supposed to help someone relax, and Billy definitely needed relaxing. His palms felt sweaty, and leg was bouncing up and down like a jackhammer. Then, clank! went the cup as Billy’s knee hit the underside of the table, and he winced as pain shot down his leg.

“Are you okay, honey?” Billy’s mother asked, poking her head through the doorframe, worry evident on her face.

“Yeah, I’m okay,” Billy groaned, rubbing his knee. “I just accidentally hit the table with my knee.”

“Now, be careful, son,” Mr. Kaplan said, appearing beside his wife with a slightly wet towel in his hands. “You don’t want to hit that thing too hard. You’ll probably bust right through it and then we’ll have to get another table!” He chuckled in the way fathers do when they think they’ve just told a great joke, and Billy grimaced in the way that he wished his father would take a quarter and buy himself a sense of humor.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Billy? You’ve been acting very strange lately.” She placed her hands on her hips and looked at him analytically. “I think it’s all the caffeine, what with all the tea you’ve been drinking tonight plus however many sodas your generation has for lunch instead of a well-balanced meal.”

“Mom!” Billy said, rolling his eyes. “I’m not strung-out on caffeine! This stuff doesn’t have any in it, and I didn’t have any soda today.” Which was technically true. Kesler had taken his lunch money, so he hadn’t had anything for lunch. But it wasn’t like he was going to tell his mother that. She’d probably call Kesler’s mother up, and Billy wanted to spare his mother a round of woman versus gorilla.

Ding dong!

Billy froze and looked at the door, absently feeling like a deer caught in headlights. He glanced at his watch and grimaced. Seven o’clock! Shit!

“Oh, is that your friend?” Billy’s father asked, and went to go get the door.

“No, it’s okay! I got it!” he exclaimed, and quickly got up. However, he was quickly incapacitated when he bumped his knee on the table again. “Dammit!” he hissed.

“William Kaplan!”

“Sorry, Mom,” Billy replied, and limped over to the door before the bell could ring a second time. He put his hand on the knob, took a deep breath, and turned.

Teddy took a deep breath as he heard voices coming from the other side of the door. His palms were a little moist, and he wished that he knew how to shapeshift into something without sweat glands.

What was he so worried for, anyway? It was just an innocent study session with a guy from school. The fact that he had failed a test on purpose just to get closer to the guy didn’t mean anything, right? Everything was completely normal.

Why, then, did his breath catch in his chest with the door opened and Billy appeared? “Hey, Billy,” he said, forcing himself into the “cool guy” routine he’d seen Greg do a hundred times. “I’m not late, am I?”

The other shook his head and smiled a little. “No, you’re right on time, actually.” He opened the door wider and limped to the side. “Come on in.”

“Are you okay, man?” Teddy asked as he stepped into the apartment. He took a moment to marvel at the expensive furniture around him, then focused his attention on Billy.

“Oh, he’s fine,” a woman assured, walking briskly from the dining room and extending her hand. “Hello, I’m Mrs. Kaplan.” She gripped Teddy’s hand with both of her own and gave a warm smile. “You must be Ted, from school, right? It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

Teddy smiled back, a little nervously, and wondered how someone as shy as Billy could have someone so outgoing for a parent. Well, he could be outgoing, too. Heck, it might even win him a few points with Billy. He widened his smile, and shook back. “It’s great to meet you, Mrs. Kaplan. This is a real nice place you have here.”

“Well, that’s what years of hard work and dedication will get you, Ted. Keep your grades up and get into a good college, and you can get a place like this, too. Sports are a good thing to have on your college applications as well. Do you play any sports?”

“No, not really, ma’am.”

“Oh, that’s a shame, a strapping young man like you?” She laughed and slapped his muscular shoulder lightly. “You should try out for something, at least. Maybe even convince my son to join you. I keep telling him over and over that-“

“Uh, Mom,” Billy interrupted, “we really need to get studying, okay? You know how hard English homework can be.”

“Oh…of course!” Mrs. Kaplan replied, smiling widely. She leaned in to Teddy and said, “I’m a Liberal Arts major. Just be glad that you don’t have to write fifty page essays on existentialism!” before laughing again and walking away. “Billy’s father and I were just doing the dishes. You boys go on over to Billy’s room and we’ll bring you something to snack on later.”

“Thanks, Mrs. Kaplan!” Teddy called before turning to look at Billy. He was wearing khaki shorts and a t-shirt, and he didn’t even want to think about what was underneath right now. But he looked good, Teddy thought, and he got the feeling like his attraction wasn’t going to go away any time soon. But he’d worry about that later. He forced himself to look up at Billy’s face and noticed that it was a little paler than usual. “Um…are you alright, dude?” Yes, keep up the stupid jock-speak, he thought. Make him think that I actually need help spelling “proprietary”…

“Yeah, I’m fine!” Billy said, head whipping over to meet Teddy’s eyes. Again, there was that combination of strength and fear, this time a mix of I’m embarrassed of my mother and I dare you to laugh, bitchass. He held his gaze for a millisecond, then looked down and gestured toward the hallway. “Come on. It’s down here.”

Teddy obediently followed, shifting his backpack a little as he walked. When he reached the edge of the hallway, however, he paused a moment. Here he was, about to enter the room of Billy Kaplan, a well known nerd and a “fag”, if the rumors were true. And if they were true, then he might be risking everything just be being there. He looked back at the wide living room and the door beyond it, then at the narrow hallway before him. If he left now, there was the rest of the world to go back to. The popularity, the acceptance, the love. Greg was back there through that door. If he kept going forward, there was a small place he’d never seen before, a place that scared him and thrilled him at the same time. And in that place was Billy.

He sighed and bit his lip. His mother had always told him to follow his heart. And no matter how much it hurt, he knew what his heart wanted.

He took a step forward.

When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 3

2006-02-16T15:15:36Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 3
Status: Not beta'd yet, but will be soon.
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: I'm impatient and said that this would be up by yesterday, so here's the un-beta'd version of the next chapter. I'll make the neccisary changes once my beta's school workload goes down a bit and she has a chance to read this.

Billy tapped his pencil nervously against the table, and under his seat his foot kept time. To anyone who walked by, it would’ve seemed like the black-haired teen really had to go to the bathroom, but if any of them were mind-readers (which Billy suspected at least one in his school was), they would’ve known that the pressure Billy felt was definitely not in his bladder.

He felt so stupid, being so worried. He was just doing a job, right? He’d tutored lots of other kids before, and was pretty good at it, if he said so himself. So what if this time it was Ted Altman, Prince of the Jocks? He’d helped teens that were disabled, smelly, or so stupid that he wondered how they remembered how to breathe. Just because even thinking of Ted sometimes forced him to move his coat into his lap didn’t mean he couldn’t do this.

“Hey,” a voice behind him said, and Billy jumped in his seat. The voice laughed, and Ted came around the table and sat down. “Sorry, man, I didn’t mean to scare you.” He looked across at Billy and pointed at his pencil. “You play drums?”

“Uh-um, no,” Billy stammered, and stopped his tapping with a slight blush. “Sorry, I was just…” Nervous? What? Come on, Billy! Say something!

“Yeah, sorry I’m late. I had to ditch Greg or else he would’ve gone on and on about some girl that he picked up.” The blond teen rolled his eyes and grinned like Billy should know exactly what he was talking about.

“Yeah,” Billy replied with a small, nervous laugh. “It’s okay. I know how that goes.” He was lying, but he totally didn’t care. Here he was in the school library, talking with Ted Altman! He’d claim to be a chick magnet if it’d keep the other boy smiling.

Ted gave a small laugh as well, and fiddled with his hands. “So, um…can you help me? I did really bad on my last English quiz. Like I’m supposed to know what an onomatopoeia is.”

“It’s a word that sounds like it means, like “bark” or “meow”.”

Ted nodded, obviously impressed. “Nice. I’m in good hands, then. That is, if you want to tutor me, of course.”

Billy was about to answer, but paused for a moment. Ted was giving him a way out, a reason to just grab his backpack and leave and never talk with the tall jock again, thus saving himself from having to hide his crush and the inevitable death that would follow if Ted ever caught on. Then again, the other boy was asking for help, and Billy hated to be that selfish. Besides, maybe if he got to know Ted better he’d find something that he hated about the guy and he could focus on that and move on.

“Sure, I’ll help you. You want to meet here after school tomorrow?”

Ted suddenly looked nervous, and scratched the back of his head. “Actually…Greg wants me to start coming to his basketball practices, and the library closes before that ends. Is there any way that I could, I dunno, come over later instead?”

If he hadn’t been in the middle of a public place (and in front of Ted, no less), Billy would’ve screamed. As it was, his pencil was pretty much being strangled. “Um…come over? To my house?”

“Yeah, if it’s not a problem. I could swing by after dinner for an hour or something.”

It was that or something that really made Billy’s imagination run wild, and he nonchalantly took his jacket off the table and set it in his lap. “Uh…sh-sure! That…that works! Um…I’ll see you around seven, then?”

“Seven’s great,” Ted replied with a grin. “I look forward to it.”

“Great,” Billy echoed, and slung his messenger bag over his shoulder before getting up. The jacket was still being held in front of his waist. “I’ll see you, then.”

“Um…Billy?”

“Huh?” Billy stopped his feet and turned back to Ted. “Yeah?”

“I can’t exactly get tutored if I don’t know where you live.”

“Oh, right!” Billy exclaimed, and felt his face flush. “Um, write this down…”

Ted took a piece of paper out of his backpack and recorded Billy’s address and how to get there, as well as a number he could call if he was going to be late. When he was done, he folded the paper in fourths and stuck it in his pocket before standing up and extending his hand. “Thanks a lot, Billy. I really appreciate it.”

Billy looked at the hand and raised an eyebrow, but took it anyway and shook. “No problem…Ted. I’ll see you tomorrow.” And with that, he raced away, absently thinking that he was setting some record for speed walking. It wasn’t until he was about half a mile away from school that he was finally able to breathe properly.

Ted Altman was coming over. To his house. Tomorrow.

“Shit! Shit shit shit shit shit shit SHIT!” he shouted, not knowing if it was from anxiety or happiness.

“Watch your mouth!” an elderly Chinese woman called from the porch of a nearby apartment building. She stopped sweeping and stood with her hand on her hip.

“Sorry!” Billy called back, turning to the scowling woman with an apologetic expression before breaking into a run down the sidewalk. He felt like dancing. He felt like singing. He felt like crawling into the fetal position and hiding several miles beneath the earth’s crust, but in a good way.

Tomorrow, at 7PM, Ted Altman would be ringing his doorbell for an hour of studying. If he died after that, he’d be the happiest corpse on earth.

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 2

2006-02-11T00:48:06Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 2
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: What? Two chapters in a day? Well, I'm gonna be gone this weekend, so I figured I'd give a little extra this time. I hope y'all like it. The third chapter will be up sometime next week.

Again, thanks to clex_monkie89. Without her I'd be poo.

Oh, and just about everything written is intentional. (AKA, there's a reason Teddy goes by "Ted" in this.) It's part of the plot. :)

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Swish

It was a couple hours after school had ended, and the gym was deserted. Teddy had finished his homework in the library, and had come back to kill some time before he went home for dinner.

Ten in a row, Teddy thought with a smile as he walked to retrieve the basketball. Too bad Greg’s not here to see this. He’d freak!

Greg Norris was the basketball team captain, the student council president, and all around Mr. Popular at Manhattan High. He was also Teddy’s best friend, and the only one who knew that Theodore Altman wasn’t human. He was kind of a jerk, Teddy knew, but he didn’t mind. With Greg, he was liked. Admired, even. After all, anyone who was allowed in the exclusive clique of the legendary Greg Norris just had to be cool. So what if he was living a lie? People liked him. The most popular boy at school liked him. That’s all that mattered.

Right?

Bounce. Bounce. Bounce. Thunk!

“Dammit!” he shouted, his voice echoing in the empty space. He ignored the escaping ball and stalked over to the bleachers, throwing himself onto a seat with a thump.

Okay, so maybe there was more that mattered. Maybe he was sick of it all. For so long he had wanted to be at the top of the mountain, to never be picked on, to never feel left out, to never be hated. When he had finally been invited into Greg’s circle of friends, he’d found exactly what he was looking for. He was as the top of the peak, the master of the mountain, and all looked up to him with adoration and worship. But after a few months…well, he was really starting to hate the view.

His dad was…gone. Maybe that’s what he was missing. His mother’s self-help books had said something like this. Maybe he was compensating for the lack of a father figure by trying to be loved by a strong male figure or some shit. Teddy couldn’t help but smile at that. If Greg had ever heard him talking about something like that, he’d probably just stare blankly and nod. Or make fun of him for being a nerd like “that fag Kaplan.”

Teddy’s stomach knotted when he thought that. Despite everything, he had never told Greg his deepest secret. He could almost laugh at the irony if it didn’t make him heave. He had barely hesitated at telling Greg that he was a shapeshifter. Shit, he was even letting his best friend exploit it, turning into people like Johnny Storm to get girls’ attention or Usher to get into concerts for free. But to tell Greg he was in love with him…that’d kill him. Greg would leave, and he’d be an outcast again. Like Billy.

Despite all the things Greg and his buddies said about Billy, Teddy had never seen anything wrong with him. He was a nerd, yeah, but then again, so was Teddy. Teddy was just a lot better at hiding it. Billy, though, didn’t have any powers to make him muscular with a thought. No, Billy was thinner and undeveloped, but still really cute. Teddy blushed, and wondered where the thought had come from. It was true, though. Billy wasn’t Greg, but he had his own kind of beauty. His eyes were better, too. Teddy had accidentally looked into them yesterday, as they had passed each other in the hall, and he was struck by the intelligence and strength he had seen before Billy had cast his gaze downward and sped along to his locker. He hadn’t thought too much about it, but now…

“What am I doing?” he groaned, leaning forward and holding his head in his hands. He was not having thoughts about Billy.

Was he?

He was. Oh, shit…

But what about Greg? He could see it now: He’d sit down at lunch with Billy, trying to get to know him, and bam! he’d be just another nerd again. The fame, the status would be gone. People who used to beg him to come to their party suddenly wouldn’t know him. They’d probably shoot spitballs at him, too.

It was all so stupid. But what could he do?

He should just forget about Billy, not even think of him. Be like Wolverine, who couldn’t even remember his own birthday, from what the chat rooms said. But even as he considered it, Teddy knew it was impossible. That look, that one, accidental, innocent look had sparked something that he couldn’t let go. Something that, now that he was aware of it, grew like the Hulk.

He felt sick and giddy all at the same time. His emotions were waging war inside his head, but one thing was clear: he wanted to talk with Billy. Find out more about him. It was stupid. It was irrational. It was potential social suicide, but…he had to talk. Find out more. Maybe if he just gave in for a moment, it’d all go away.

But how? How to get him away from everyone else so no one could see him. What’d Billy even do in his spare time? Probably study for the next…

“Hey!” he exclaimed, getting an idea. Billy was the smartest guy he knew, and was always being asked by his teachers to tutor. Maybe if he failed his math test tomorrow, he could convince Mr. Finkscale that he needed some help, and then…

Teddy grinned and got up to retrieve the ball, thoughts swimming through his head. What he was planning was risky, foolish even. It could get him into a lot of trouble with his teacher and maybe even his friends.

But he couldn’t stop thinking that it’d be worth it.

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 1

2006-02-11T00:46:02Z

Title: When Billy Met Teddy - Chapter 1
Status: Complete
Pairing: Billy/Teddy
Rating: PG for language
Notes: I'm probably a weirdo for trying a series as my first real foray into fanfiction, but whatever. This is the story that popped into my head, and dangit, I'm gonna write it!

Mucho thanks to clex_monkie89 for being my beta and brainstorm wench. This is partially her fault. And bebopbeats as well. I *heart* them both. :)

X divided by seventeen is equal to Y plus nine times forty-two…

Billy chewed on his pencil as he pondered the equation, taking the time to read the word problem over again.

So, if the base of the triangle is X, and the other sides are perpendicular, then X equals…shit…

He set the pencil down and rubbed his eyes, tired of more than just his Advanced Algebra homework. As hard as he tried to concentrate on the paper in front of him, behind all the numbers and figures all he could see were a pair of blue eyes.

“Ted,” he sighed, and doodled a little on his paper. Quickly, he erased it, blushing at the thought of Ms. McCannin seeing little hearts on her top student’s homework. “What am I going to do?” he groaned, leaning back and looking at the ceiling like it held all the answers to the universe.

He couldn’t believe he had a crush on a jock. Even worse, it was Ted Altman, best friend of the captain of the basketball team. If anyone ever found out about Billy’s feelings, he’d be ground to dust. Shit, if Ted ever found out, Billy would probably just die on the spot. He shook his head, clearing his mind of such thoughts. The stress from his usual life was enough. He didn’t need an even bigger headache.

With an exhausted breath, he decided to finish his homework in the morning. There were only two questions left anyway. As he got ready for bed, he gazed out through his window at the night sky. Clouds and New York smog obscured the heavens, except for two small stars that shone brightly enough to pierce the gloom. Maybe it’s a sign, he wondered, smiling. But his smile faltered as the usual sadness crept in. Or maybe the Silver Surfer’s fighting some intergalactic threat. He shook his head in wonder at that. Here he was, living in a perpetual comic book. Every day, heroes and villains were born, battles were won and lost, and yet among all the chaos, humanity managed to survive.

Ever since he was little, Billy had wanted to be a superhero. Several cuts and bruises and a broken arm later, he had had to accept that he was just…normal. But the dream still lived deep within him, and he did the next best thing, collecting every snippet he could about the super powered beings of his time and before, watching every TV special, seeing every movie. Maybe one day Captain America would be gravely injured, and only his expert knowledge could save the star-spangled hero from certain doom. Maybe one day he’d meet a dying alien who gave him the power to aid the universe. Maybe one day…

“Yeah, and maybe one day Ted’ll make out with me in front of the basketball team,” he scoffed, shutting off the light and getting into bed. What was he thinking? All the teen moves were true: geeks and jocks just didn’t mix. He should just forget that he’d ever met Ted Altman and be done with it.

But as he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep, all he could see was Ted.

Also, lots of thanks to everyone who responded to the last post! it was awesomely encouraging! :)

First Story!!!

2006-02-07T20:47:06Z

Okay, here's my first fanfic in a LONG time. It's really short, but if bebopbeats can do it, dangit, so can I! besides, I just wanted to type something really quick before PE to get the creative juices flowing.

So, without further babbling, I present to you a fic simply titled: Ice Cream.

It was a breezy fall day in New York, and pedestrians clutched at their coats to fight off the chilly wind that blew across the city. Inside Harrison’s Sweets Shoppe, however, it was as warm as May.

“Look those guys,” Teddy said, sipping his strawberry malt. “Glad we’re not out there today.”

“I wonder if this weather is real, or just the beginning of something involving a ransom note and cheesy dialogue,” Billy commented, twirling his straw in his own drink.

“Maybe Storm’s in town?”

“Nah…last I heard she’s over in Africa somewhere.”

“Well, then maybe it’s a new guy? It seems like even after what’s been going on lately, new supers are popping up all the time.”

“Or,” Billy sighed, “it’s just the wind.”

“That’d be nice.” Teddy looked at his boyfriend and smiled. “Just a normal day. No monsters. No villains. Just us.”

Billy smiled back, his brown eyes warm with affection. “Yeah. Yeah, I’d like that.”

Intro Post

2006-02-07T20:43:36Z

Hey all, this is my fanfic journal. It's gonna be mostly Young Avengers Billy/Teddy stuff (hence the name).

I'll probably add more to this post if needed. Or if I'm poked enough for more info.

EDIT: After a certain bout with the drama llama at my old journal, I've cut ties with it. I have a new "normal" LJ now, and I try to keep it guarded. Sorry. =/

Also, a note: I try really hard to keep this up-to-date, but I have school and other real-life issues to focus on, and a lot of times i really don't feel like writing. So, things may be later than intended, and please forgive me for it. I really do care about providing a decent source of entertainment here, and I hope I continue to please. :)