Chapter Text
„You have to be kidding me.“
It was the first thing you said after Mrs Agathe went silent. Then, incredulous, you looked at her because she had to be kidding. There was no way she was serious.
“Well, I think…” your classmate next to you started, but he went silent when you shot him a look.
“Gaston, could you leave us alone for a second?” Agathe asked and looked at the tall guy next to you.
You decided to ignore him completely.
“Sure…”, he said slowly, looking at you and – finally – going out of the classroom.
“Before you say something….” Agathe started before you had the chance to raise your voice. “Let me explain it. I don’t say that you should do his work. But I ask you to help him.”
“Why me?! There are so many students in this class! Why, of all the people, me? He doesn’t even like me! And his friends too! You know what they do!” you said with evident anger in your voice.
“I know! But you are the best one. And he needs help. It’s necessary for him and part of the…well…let’s call it punishment after the last incident.”
You rolled your eyes.
“I’m not someone’s prison guard.”
“That’s true. But you want to go to Harvard.”
You wanted to say something, but Agathe raised an eyebrow, and you closed your mouth.
Damnit. She was right.
You crossed your arms and looked at her.
“Look, (Y/N), you are an excellent student. You only have A’s or A+’s. Your curriculum is phenomenal. You are in many clubs, part of three sports teams, and do a lot of extra work and help whenever we need help. Your application is more than impressive.”
“There is a but?”
“But…” Agathe continued with a sigh. “You also need recommendation letters from teachers.”
“I’m working on it! I already have four! Only one more! I’m sure I will find another teacher….”
“I have the fifth one for you.”
Questioningly you looked at her.
“I spoke with the coach, Gaston’s coach. He is the best soccer player in the team. The talent scouts are fighting to get him. He will get a scholarship.”
“Good for him.”, you said with a tone of sarcasm.
You couldn’t care less about Gaston or his life.
“But he needs good grades. So here is the deal. You help him with it. The trainer will write you a recommendation letter, mentioning your engagement to help our high school star get his scholarship. Also, what a helpful person you are in general.”
You rolled your eyes. It was unbelievable! Since your first day, Gaston was a pain in your ass. He was arrogant, selfish, manipulative and a show-off. Every other girl was madly in love with him, and you knew from Belle, your best friend, that he had fucked nearly every girl at the school. Almost every girl, because you and Belle were probably the only girls who couldn’t care less about him and had no wish to get fucked by Gaston. Or one of his even dumber minions, Stanley, Dick and Tom. It’s not like Gaston hadn’t tried it, at least with Belle. For nearly a year, he had flirted with her and wanted to make her his new girlfriend. Belle ended his behaviour with a cup of - cold - coffee in his face. Thankfully, he never noticed you. It was almost like, you were air or invisible. And you were happy with this. The constantly bullying from the minions or the three dumb girls who followed Gaston everywhere was enough to deal with. But now, you had to help him.
You sighed profoundly and nodded slowly. Agathe smiled.
“That’s great! I’m sure you can do this!” she said enthusiastically, and you didn’t miss how fake it sounded.
“Yeah…” you said while you took your bag and walked outside.
Gaston stood in front of an open locker…his locker, admiring himself in his mirror, making sure his hair looked perfect. But, unfortunately, it always looked perfect.
He noticed you in his mirror and quickly closed the door but winked at himself before he did that.
You felt the need to laugh…or puke. He jogged to you.
“So…?” he started and looked at you with his perfect smile.
Gosh, he really was awful, and you already started to regret this.
“There is a chance I’m going to help you.”
“Oh, that’s wonderful! You are such a darling, (Y/N)! No one is a nicer person….”
“Save it.”, you stopped him and started walking.
Gaston followed you.
“Look, I don’t have much time, so I can’t help you with every subject. I will help you with this one, only this one! Find someone else for the other subjects.”
“That’s not necessary.”
“Why not? You have D’s in all the other subjects?!”
“I need A’s to get the scholarships. Only two or three B’s. Depends on the university.”
You stopped so fast, Gaston nearly walked into you.
“Hilarious, Gaston.”, you said with a laugh, and he raised an eyebrow.
“What?”
“You really wanna tell me that you, from all the people in this school, that you have A’s?!? Good joke.”
“It’s the truth.”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Really! I swear it.”
You crossed your arms again.
“Ask me anything. I prove it. I’m smart.”
“Smart and Gaston are two things that don’t work together in one sentence.”
“Ouch. That was not nice.”
“Honest. The word you are looking for is honest.”
“Ask me anything.”
You looked at him, but Gaston seemed pretty confident and just smiled at you.
“What does DNA stands for?”
“Deoxyribonucleic acid.“
„What is the mission statement of the French revolution?“
“Liberté, égalité, fraternité.”
“Name all the elements of the periodic table.”
“Alphabetically or in order?”
“What?”
“Nothing. Well, let’s see. Hydrogen, Helium, Lithium, Beryllium, Boron, Carbon,…”
„Ora et labora.“
„Pray and work. It’s Latin.“
„What is the capital of Monaco?“
“Monaco itself. It’s a city-state.”
You went silent for a second because you couldn’t believe it. Because it was just not possible. Gaston, that idiotic, dumb jerk, knew all the answers. But there was no chance this was actually possible. In every subject, he was near all the time silent, not paying that much attention and being smart was indeed something that wasn’t cool when you were the star of high school.
“That’s it?!” he asked with a complacent grin.
“No.”, you answered while you opened your bag and searched for a piece of paper. You quickly found it and gave it to Gaston. “Solve this.”
He took it and looked at it. Now it was your turn to smile. This was a highly complicated mathematical equation. Usually, this was taught at universities. So, there was no way Gaston would solve this. Maybe he had general knowledge, but this…
“8.”, he said and gave it back to you.
Your smile disappeared, and your eyes went wide.
“But…what…you can’t….”
You nearly snatched the paper from his hand starred at it. He was absolutely right…and you had needed almost 10 minutes to solve it.
“What?! Am I wrong?” he said, and when you looked up, he grinned again.
Gosh, how you hated that grin.
“How the fuck is it possible that you are smart?!” you nearly shouted.
“Did it ever come to your mind that you are not the only smart person in this school (Y/N)?”
“Of course, it came to my mind! But you are Gaston! You are supposed to be one of these dumb soccer idiots, who you can’t say what our capital city is!”
“Well, our capital city is….”
“Don’t you dare!” you interrupted him.
“Alright. First of all, ouch! Again. I have feelings too, you know.”
You only snorted and put the paper back in your bag.
“And second…” he continued unimpressed. “There is no correlation between being smart and playing soccer. And just because I don’t talk that much during class doesn’t mean I’m not smart. I prefer to be the silent smart type and not such an insufferable Miss-Know-It-All.”
“Excuse me?!”
“Sometimes you really are.”
You glared at him but said nothing for a while, then you started moving again. He still followed you.
“Well, if you are so smart, why do you need my help?!”
“Because Literature is the only subject I’m not good at. And I need a better grade at the end of the year to get my scholarship.”
“You do realize there is absolutely no reason why I should help you.”, you said. Still a bit angry about his previous comment about you.
“You need the recommendation letter from my trainer.”
“…besides that…” you answered with gritted teeth. “Your minions bully me all the time, and don’t get me started with your fan club, Dumb, Dumber and Dumbest.”
“I know…” he said and stepped in your way.
You crossed your arms and looked at him. But, to be fair, he really was attractive. The perfect body, his muscles visible through the tight shirts he always wore. His perfect chin and high cheekbones, nose, and full lips, who always smiled a bit, and that eyes, these perfect green eyes….
You blinked and wondered if you were mad or something. You had no time for a crush…and you absolutely had no crush on Gaston. He was an awful person.
“Look, I know, we hadn’t the best start.”
“You ignore me all the time. I’m actually impressed you know my name.”
“Right…” he said slowly and rubbed the back of his head. “Look, (Y/N),…” he started again. “I really, really need your help. I need that scholarship, and you are my only hope to get better in Literature. So…please, I guess?!”
You raised an eyebrow at this question. Gaston tried to show his charmingly smile, but you only rolled your eyes.
“Don’t try it. I don’t care about your smile. Fine, I will help you. I’m always home at 4, so…I can come over to you, and we can start….”
“No!”
“What?!”
“I mean…no…that’s not…possible.”
“And why?”
“Well, you can’t come to my house. Can’t we meet somewhere else?”
“And why I can’t come to your house? Are you hiding bodies in there or what?!”
“Well, you are…you and I am…Gaston…”
“Are you trying to tell me that me, the school loser, can’t come to your house because you are so popular and the star and no one is supposed to see us together?!”
“You are so smart, (Y/N)!”
For a brief second, you thought about punching him.
“I am home at 4, my place. I will send you the address. Bring your stuff. We start today.”, you said with a cold undertone.
“Well, today is bad, because I already promised Claudette to go to the cinema with her. Or was it Pauline? Or the other one? I always forget who is who…” he mumbled at the end, and you couldn’t believe you actually had that conversation.
“Tomorrow. No excuses. 4 and don’t be late.”, you said and started to walk again.
“You are the best!” he screamed after you.
You only showed him the finger because he could go and fuck himself.
“I still can’t believe it!” Belle said and closed her locker door.
She leaned against it, and you just had told her all the details of your encounter with Gaston yesterday. You already had told her in a three-hour phone call, but she wanted to hear it all over again.
“I know. I can’t believe I actually said yes.”, you added with a grimly mood.
“Well, if this means you can go to Harvard, isn’t it worth it?”
“If he is always like that, I’m going to murder him, and I’m pretty sure Harvard is not going to take someone with a jail record.”
Belle laughed.
“Maybe it’s for the best you two keep it a secret. The Bimbettes would kill you.”
“Mh.”
Before you could say more, Adam appeared, still in his sports clothing.
“Hey, (Y/N)!” he greeted you and smiled brightly at you. “Hey, my beauty.”, he greeted Belle and kissed her.
“Hey.”, she answered with a smile and kissed him again. “How was training?”
“Good, the captain is happy with me. I am happy with myself. And I can’t wait for lunch. I desperately need something to eat, or I turn into a beast.”
You and Belle laughed, and Belle gave him a lunch bag.
“I made one for you this morning.”
“You know me so well.”, Adam said with a smile, and they kissed again. “Isn’t she the best girlfriend, ever?!” he asked you, and you smiled.
“Well, I can only talk about friendship, but she is the best best friend because she is my best friend, so I’m pretty sure she is also the best girlfriend.”
“Wise words. Belle told me everything about your Gaston situation. So, you can handle it?”
“I hope so.”
“Well, a long time ago, we were friends, and he was a decent human being.”
“Isn’t he full of surprises,” you said sarcastically.
“Ah, my favourite students! You are ready for the French test?!” you suddenly heard the voice of Mr Lumiere, who walked down the corridor.
He stopped and smiled at you.
“Oui.”, Adam said and showed a playful unsure smirk.
Mr Lumiere started to laugh.
“That’s good! That’s good! You already have an F!” he said with his heavy French accent.
“I hope the test is not too difficult, and someone will get a headache.”, a female voice added, and Ms Plumette appeared.
It was an open secret that these two were a thing. They had met in school because Plumette was the school nurse and Lumiere was the French teacher.
“Of course not.”, Lumiere answered and smiled as bright as fire. “But maybe I need medical support after I graded them all.”, he said with a wink, and Plumette turned red.
Before she could say something, there was loud coughing.
“You two are talking in front of students! Would you stop making such comments!”
Mr Clockworth, the history teacher, appeared behind these two.
“Don’t you have to work?!” he asked Plumette, who rushed away. “And you have a class, if I’m not mistaken.”
“You are never mistaken, my dearest Clockworth.”, Lumiere answered with a mocking undertone and Belle, Adam, and you had to giggle.
Clockworth glared at the three of you and walked away. Lumiere pretended to be scared, grinned, winked at all of you and followed his colleague. After they were gone, you three started to laugh.
“Now, I feel better.”, you said after a while, and Belle smiled at you sympathetically.
“Would you mind if I go with Adam and we see each other in class?” she asked, and Adam took her hand.
“Of course not.”, you said, and Belle kissed you on the cheek before she walked away with Adam.
You looked after them and couldn’t stop a sigh. You really were happy for them. In the beginning, Adam seemed to be a jerk. But it turned out he actually was a nice guy. And when Belle and Adam started a relationship, you were happy for your best friend. But sometimes, it was hard to see them that happy because you realized you were alone. But then you reminded yourself that you wanted to go to Harvard, and you absolutely had no time for such a silly thing as a boyfriend. There would be enough time at Harvard and, most of all, many brilliant and lovely guys.
To your surprise, you heard the doorbell at 4. Gaston had completely ignored you the whole day, and you were pretty sure he had already forgotten what you had told him. But when you opened the door, he was standing in front of you, car in your driveway – of course, a big and expensive Audi – bag at his shoulder, a dumb and perfect grin on his face.
“Hello, beauty.”
The urge to slam the door in front of his dumb face was nearly too big.
“I have a name.”, you simply said.
“I know. But beauty is much more fitting.”
The urge to punch him was also pretty big.
“Okay, Gaston, here are the rules. First, you do what I say. Second, you stop with the sweet talk. And last but not least, you work, or I will kick you out before you can say your name. Is that clear?”
“What is the problem with my compliments?”
“I don’t care about them, and they are not compliments. It’s sweet talk.”
You stepped aside to let him in. He looked around, and you closed the door.
“Are we going to learn in your room? At your bed?!” he asked, and his grin was way too dirty.
You raised an eyebrow, and the grin disappeared.
“Alright. You are serious. Got it. I promise I’m going to be a good boy.”
Maybe, after all, a jail record wouldn’t be so bad, you thought.
“Honestly. I’m thankful you help me, so I’m going to behave.”
For the first time you talked with each other, he actually looked and sounded honest. You two looked at each other again, and you noticed something was different in the way his eyes looked like. They were much…softer. Open. More honest.
“We are going to learn in the living room or the kitchen. What do you prefer,” you said and walked towards the rooms. Gaston followed you.
You went through the kitchen into your living room. It was nice, big, but at the same time cosy. You loved it.
With a lot of curiosity, Gaston looked around.
“Wow, that room is pretty nice. Your mother has a nice taste.”
“Actually, it’s my taste. When we moved into this house, everyone got room to create, and I chose this one. I bought all the stuff and decorated it.”
“That’s pretty impressive, what you did here.”, he said, putting his bag next to the couch and walking to the big and numerous bookshelves.
One wall was covered with them, and amazed Gaston looked at the books.
“Now I know why you are so good in Literature.”
“I grew up with books. They were always a part of my life.”
Gaston only nodded, still looking at the books.
“So…” you started, and Gaston turned around. “Here or the kitchen?”
“Well, the kitchen was pretty nice too, but, I think, I want to stay here.”
“Alright. Let’s start, shall we?!”
The whole thing turned out better than you thought. Actually, much better. And Gaston really was full of surprises.
Sometimes, you wondered why he needed help with Literature. Because sometimes, his answers, ideas or works were so deep and thoughtful, you were impressed. But most of the time, it was difficult for him. He understood everything but needed someone to talk, so he could think everything through. In the end, he always found the correct answer, and they were excellent. You actually enjoyed it, exchanging ideas and views and talking with him. At some point, you also talked about other things besides your current topic. A bit of personal stuff, mostly only you, or school-related things, but most of the time, you spoke about literature and culture and art and history and the world, religion and everything together. Every topic you could find in the book you worked at. And you were pretty sure Gaston forgot everything the second he walked out.
He would always stay for 2 or 3 hours, then go home. But at some point, he started to stay a bit longer, and you two also did the homework together. So, sooner or later, your parents were quite surprised to find someone else in their living room when they came home. At some point, your mother invited Gaston to stay for dinner. He rejected the invitation, but your mother insisted, and a new ritual was born. Gaston would stay for dinner and go home after that.
Belle was shocked, in the beginning, when you told her about Gaston, but in the end, also positive surprised. And you would never say it out loud, but you actually enjoyed his company. It turned out he also had another much friendlier, intelligent, thoughtful and charming side. He could be lovely, funny, witty and clever.
Of course, nothing changed much in school. He still ignored you because he was still the superstar, and you were the school loser. But you stopped to be a Miss-Know-It-All in class, and Gaston managed to speak a bit more. The teachers noticed the changes too but said nothing.
Chapter Text
It was the week before Christmas, and you were on your way home and already late. With a sigh, you closed your locker, grabbing your bag.
“Hey, loser!” was the only thing you heard when you turned around before something cold and wet hit your face.
You gasped in surprise and could hear the laughs. When you opened your eyes, you saw Dick and Tom and the three girls behind them, all laughing at you.
“Merry Christmas, idiot!” Dick said, and they all ran away.
You looked down at yourself. A slushie had hit you, and you were covered in it. Fighting back the tears, you went to the toilette.
An hour too late, you finally arrived home. To your surprise, Gaston was still waiting for you. He texted you about five times, you hadn’t answered. It was pretty cold outside, and everything was covered in snow. Nevertheless, Gaston was sitting at your steps, reading a book. He looked up when he heard your car and started to smile when he saw you.
“(Y/N)! I’m glad you are here. I thought you wouldn’t come. Is everything alright? You are pretty late, and I tried to text you but didn’t get a response and…is that slushie in your hair?!” he asked, confused and tried to touch your hair, but you stepped aside, and he grabbed the air.
“Why are you sitting in the cold?” you asked, clearly avoiding the topic.
“Well, your mom asked me to come inside, but I wanted to wait here, and I like the snow, and the cold never bothered me anyway.”
You nodded and opened the door, hearing a lot of noises the moment you stepped inside.
“I’m home!”
Your mother appeared with a smile.
“Hello sweetheart, how was school? And what is that?” she asked, looking at the slushie smudge on you.
“Uuumm…the cafeteria floor was slippery, and I…slipped. My slushie landed on me.”
“Oh no! Are you alright?!”
“Yeah, I’m fine.”, you lied, and you felt Gaston stare at you.
Thankfully, he said nothing.
“I really should talk with the director. How is it the floor is always slippery?!” your mother wondered. “Does this happen to you too, Gaston?”
You didn’t dare to look at him.
“Yes…” he answered slowly, looking at your mom and back to you. “A lot.”
“What about the noises?” you asked and changing the topic.
“Oh, we have guests. Can you and Gaston learn somewhere else today? In your room, maybe?!”
“Um, sure. Why not,” you said and went with Gaston upstairs.
When you two entered your room, Gaston was astonished. He wasn’t sure, what he had expected, but nevertheless, he felt surprised. The room had the same classic, elegant, and cosy taste as the living room. It was filled with lots of books, merchandise and decoration stuff.
“You have a lovely room.”, he said, looking around.
“Thanks.”, you said, putting down your bag and walking to your closet.
You pulled out a shirt and went to the bathroom door.
“If you take a look, I will murder you.”, you said as a warning and with a grin and entered your bathroom.
Gaston quickly turned around, paying a lot of attention to your bookshelf. He wasn’t sure why because usually, he wouldn’t miss the chance to get a look at boobs. But with you, it was different.
“You didn’t slip at the floor.”, you heard him from the other room.
“I did.”, you said.
“No, you didn’t; I was there too. We ate lunch at the same time. You didn’t slip. Was it Tom or Dick? Or one of the girls?”
“You forgot Stanley and that small guy, who always follows you.”
“LeFou. But these two wouldn’t bully you. They are far too friendly to do something like this.”
“If you say so.”
“Yes. So? Who was it?”
You thought about changing the topic because there was no reason why Gaston asked. You got bullied a lot. Until now, Gaston didn’t seem interested in his friends’ behaviour.
“It was Dick. Or Tom. I don’t know. Everything happened too fast. Maybe one of the girls. They were there too.”
You were done changing and stepped out of the bathroom, finding Gaston still looking at your bookshelf, one of your Harry Potter books in his hand. For a brief second, you looked at his ass, and of course, it was perfectly shaped too because everything about Gaston seemed to be perfect. You blinked and quickly looked up when he turned around.
“I am sorry, they did this.”
“Why?”
Surprised he looked at you.
“What do you mean?”
“Why are you sorry? They have been doing this since…well…forever. Yet, you never seemed to care.”
“I do.”
You leaned against the wall, looking at Gaston and waiting. He sighed deeply.
“Look, just because I don’t say anything doesn’t mean I don’t care. I do. And I am sorry. Really. I wish I could make them stop, but….”
“You have to protect your reputation.”, you added for him.
Gaston seemed to be embarrassed but nodded.
“Yeah.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you care so much about your reputation? Why does it matter so much to you what other people think about you? And do you really think they are your friends? They wouldn’t do anything when you need help.”
Gaston said nothing and looked at the floor. You had the feeling that he was fighting with himself if he should answer your question or not. But, then, when Gaston looked up, you saw he wouldn’t answer the question, and there was more to this story. There was something he wasn’t ready to talk about.
“Can I ask you another question?” you offered.
“Of course.”
“Why do you want that scholarship? I mean, you don’t need the money. I know your car. And your grades are amazing. So, why do you need it? And why soccer?”
“Well, soccer is the only thing I am good at.”, he answered, ignoring the first questions.
“That’s not true.”
He looked surprised.
“Gaston, you are actually smart. Very smart. You could do so many things because you work hard. You could do it. Have you never thought about what you could do?”
“I don’t know. I suppose…no?! There was always just soccer.”, he answered with a shrug.
“Close your eyes.”
“What?”
“Don’t ask. Just…close your eyes.”
Unsure, he looked at you but closed them nevertheless.
“Now, think about your life in… let’s say 20 years. Imagine every aspect of your life. And let’s pretend that literally, everything is possible. What do you see?”
There was silence for a while, and you watched his face. Then, suddenly a smile appeared on it.
“I have a perfect life.”
“Describe it to me.”, you said, taking a pen and piece of paper from your desk.
“I’m out of this little town, in a big city. New York, maybe. Or LA. Or Berlin or Paris or…”
“Not maybe. Imagine it. See it.”
“It’s Paris.”, he answered, and you wrote down everything he said. “I’m successful in my job.”
“You’re playing soccer?”
“No. I did it in my free time at college, but… I’m a vet.”
“A vet?!”
“Yes.”, Gaston said and smiled. “I have a massive and very fancy office in Paris. LeFou is there too. Not in the office, but in Paris. He is…a musical star or something. And we are still best friends.”
You smiled.
“Anything else?”
“I’m living in a house. It’s big and awesome, but also very cosy. I see a lot of green around it.”
“Sounds like a house for a family.”
His smile got brighter and much softer.
“Yeah. I have…the most beautiful wife on earth. She is also successful in her job, kicking ass every day. She is badass and probably way too good for me. And she is so beautiful. Not only on the outside but also on the inside. And we have kids. A lot of kids. Boys and girls.”
“How many?” you asked with a smile, feeling strangely happy to see Gaston so delighted.
“4. No wait, 5. I almost forgot Gaston Junior.”
You had to laugh. Of course, Gaston was naming a child after himself.
He went silent again and opened his eyes after some seconds, looking at the floor.
“And I wake up every morning, feeling like the luckiest man on earth, and my life is just…perfect.”
There was silence again.
“You can laugh at me if you want.”, Gaston said after a while. “I know it’s foolish.”
You said nothing and went to him, folding the paper and handing it to him.
“It’s not foolish. And I’m sure you can do this. And just in case you forget your dream, here it is. Black on white.”
Slowly Gaston took the paper and looked at you.
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome.”
When spring arrived, you knew you would get your Harvard letter. So waiting was agony. Besides that, everything went along as usual. Gaston would visit you most days after school. You would talk about Literature and do homework together, dine with your family, and he would go home. You started to text with each other from time to time, talking about this and that, and you accompanied Belle and Adam to the soccer matches, rooting for the team and Gaston.
Sometimes, you had the feeling, LeFou knew about the situation. You caught him looking at you or smiling. And whenever it was possible and wouldn’t be too obvious something was happening in secret, he started to talk with you in class. Even Stanley showed you a smile then and now when Tom and Dick weren’t paying attention to him.
You also started to watch these two, and you noticed a weird group dynamic. LeFou was basically only with Gaston, almost like his shadow. He was mostly ignored by Tom and Dick, and the Bimbettes pretended he was air. Stanley seemed to be the only one who paid attention to him…a lot of attention. After some time of observation, you had a feeling that Stanley’s girlfriend was a beard. And he had a big crush on LeFou…and LeFou on Stanley. Stanley was also a bit of an outsider in the group. Tom and Dick seemed to be his friends, but he was different. Tom and Dick were loud, daft and loved to be idiots. Stanley was shy, quiet and seemed to be rather lovely.
As it turned out, Gaston really was full of surprises because he actually was a pretty big nerd. He knew a lot of stuff about TV series and films. You two could talk about the differences between Star Wars and Star Trek all day long, or he could name all the Game of Thrones character deaths in order without thinking about it. He also knew his Hogwarts house and could quote “The Hobbit” like you could quote Shakespeare.
To his surprise, one day in spring, your mother opened the door.
“Oh, Gaston. You are here…”, she said, clearly surprised.
“Shouldn’t I be here?!”
“Well, I just thought she wouldn’t do it today….” your mother mumbled, and Gaston looked confused at her. “She got the Harvard letter.”
“Oh?! That’s great! Congratulations! I’m sure you are very proud of her. I mean, she worked her ass off. You’re probably celebrating, and she forgot to tell me. Now I intrude the party….”
“She isn’t in Harvard.”
Gaston looked at her with an open mouth.
“Wait…what?”
“Yes. It was a negative answer.”
“Oh.” was the only thing that came to his mind. “Can I…go to her?”
Your mother nodded and let Gaston in.
“I’m sure she is happy about a bit company. She was pretty devastated. She is in her room.”
Gaston went upstairs and found you on your windowsill, looking outside. When he softly knocked at your door, your head turned around and looked at him. Gaston didn’t miss the red eyes, the tear-stained face and the heart-breaking look at your face. He felt awful seeing you like this.
“Gaston?! What are you doing here?”
“Well, I thought we would meet.”
“Oh damn.”, you said, hiding your face in your hands. “I forgot to text you.”
“Don’t worry. It’s not a problem. Your mother told me what happened. How are you feeling?” he asks and closes your door behind him, walking to you and sitting down next to you.
You sniffed.
“Well, horrendous. Devastated. I can’t believe it. I worked so hard for the last years, and it was for…nothing.”
“Don’t say that. I’m sure it wasn’t for nothing.”
“Really? I’m not going to study at Harvard, so it really was for nothing.”
“I’m sure every other college would be more than happy to get you.”
You said nothing. You knew, deep down, that he was right, but at the moment, you were too broken to admit it.
“So, what’s the plan B?”
“I don’t have one.”
“What? You always have a plan B! And C. And D and E and F and… I’m pretty sure all the letters from the alphabet.”
You had to laugh, and Gaston smiled at you.
“Better.”
“What is better?”
“You, smiling.”
You felt your face getting red.
“You also have a nice laugh.”
You looked up and realized how close Gaston was. He looked at you, and you could perfectly see his green eyes, looking soft at you.
It was Gaston who looked away, and you noticed his slightly blushed cheeks.
“Well…um…I…I wondered…I mean…I know, you usually don’t go to such things, because you have a lot to do and learn a lot and stuff. But…um… it’s my birthday tomorrow and… I’m having a party at one of the clubs, so…I wondered if you would perhaps…maybe…if you have time…would you come?!”
“You are renting a club to have a party?!”
“My parents do. And Tom and Dick organize everything. Something about celebrating the 18th birthday big way.”
Your first impulse was to say “no”. Because Gaston was right. You learned all the time and felt no wish to attend these parties. But now…
“You know what?! Okay. I’m going to be there.”
“Really?”
“Yeah. I mean, I never went to such a party. All I ever did was sit here and learn. And for what? Harvard rejected me. So I’m going to attend at least one high school party and start to have fun and live. Can I bring Belle and Adam?”
“Sure. That’s…great!” Gaston answered and seemed to be immensely pleased.
The next evening, you stood in front of the club and didn’t feel gutsy. You even thought about just going home and watching a movie or something. But Belle didn’t want to hear any of it and basically dragged you inside.
And you felt a lot out of place. The club itself was lovely. It had a large dance floor, a stage at one end and a giant bar on the right side. There were a lot of seats. The light wasn’t too bright but bright enough to see everything, and the music was enjoyable. You saw the DJ next to the stage and on it some girls in underwear, dancing to the beat.
You looked at the other guests, and you felt even more out of place. Of course, you looked nice, in your opinion, you had put on your best outfit and the one that screamed “party hard” the most. But your style was uncomplicated. Something you could wear every day. No sexy things, no weird colours or crazy patterns. And with a look at the other guests, especially the girls, you realized you looked more like someone attending the birthday party of their grandparents. Even the high heels you wore were borrowed from Belle.
Before you could turn around and run away, a woman approached you.
“Welcome to the party. Can you tell me your names?”
She smiled friendly, and Belle answered her question. She looked at her clipboard and nodded.
“Over there is the wardrobe, and please give me your phones. There is a no-phone rule at this party. Because whatever happens in this club stays in this club.”
This didn’t calm your nerves, but you handed her your phone nevertheless. She put a sticker with your name on it and took the phones from your friends.
“Thanks. You can get it when you go. Have fun at the Saints and Sinners party!”
“Saint and Sinners?!” you asked with a raised eyebrow when you walked with Belle inside.
“Come on. This is going to be fun.”, she said enthusiastically.
“(Y/N)!”
You turned around when you heard your name and saw Gaston making his way through the crowd to you.
“I’m glad you are here.”, he finally said when he was standing in front of you.
“You are talking with me?”
“Yes.”
“You do realize I’m still the loser?!”
“Yes. And I don’t care and talk with you.”
You two smiled at each other until Belle coughed.
“Hello, Belle. Adam.” Gaston welcomed them, still looking at you.
“Hello, Gaston. Thanks for the invitation.”, Belle said, and Gaston finally looked at her.
Adam nodded to him.
“Gaston!” someone shouted in a shrill voice, and you saw Gaston sighing. “Where is the birthday boy?!”
The Bimbettes appeared, unmistakably already tipsy and in something that looked more like lingerie but was probably considered a dress. But, of course, they stopped when they saw you.
“Ew, who invited you?!”
“I did.”
They looked really bewildered at Gaston.
“Why?”
“Why not.”
“But Gaston…” one of them started. “She is…ew.”
The girl glanced at Belle.
“And this one is so…ew too.”
“You have such a way with words, Paulette.”, you remarked.
“I’m not Paulette!” she hissed and looked angered at you.
“We need the birthday boy for the cake.”, one of the girls said, and she and her sister grabbed Gaston and dragged him away.
He managed to smile at you before he disappeared.
The third girl, not Paulette, stepped in front of you.
“Why don’t you go and exist somewhere else.”
“We are invited.”, Belle said, and not-Paulette glared at her.
“I don’t care. Just go and…be smart somewhere else or whatever.”, she said with apparent loathing.
“You are the only person in this world who could use intelligence as an insult.”, you said, and not-Paulette shot you a dirty look.
“Look, I don’t know why Gaston decided to pay attention to you, but let me be clear. He is mine, and he wouldn’t even touch you or think about it if you were the last woman on earth. So why don’t you go back into your hole and stay there, loser.”
With that, she turned around and walked away.
“That’s going to be a fabulous party….” Adam said with a sarcastic undertone.
“Darling, would you get us something to drink?” Belle asked, and he nodded.
When he went away, Belle turned back to you.
“Don’t listen to these dolls. I mean, look at them. There is basically no difference between them and the strippers on stage.”
You laughed because Belle was right.
“Don’t worry. I couldn’t care less about these Barbie dolls.”
“Good. But another thing…is there something you want to tell me?” Belle asked and grinned.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, Gaston talks with you…he looked at you. He almost didn’t notice Adam and me.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“Gaston seems to like you. And when I say this, I mean like you,” she said with a wink, and you felt yourself blushing.
“Don’t be crazy. There is no way in this world or in any other world that someone like Gaston would like me… or like me.”
“If you say so…” Belle said, but looked at you, and you looked away. “But he looked rather handsome…and hot.”
You had to admit that this was true. The black trousers fitted flawlessly, and the redshirt highlighted his muscles. You also hadn’t missed that Gaston had left some buttons open, so you had a glimpse at his muscular and a bit hairy chest. For some reason, that thought made your skin tickle, and you felt your cheeks flush more. Belle noticed this too but said nothing.
The party was pretty great, and you had a lot of fun. You danced with Adam and Belle most of the time, not seeing much of Gaston. He was always with the Bimbettes or his friends. You also had a lot to drink, and at some point, you decided it would be wiser to sit down. Belle was worried, but you told her you were okay and she should enjoy the night and dance a lot with Adam.
You strolled to one of the seats next to the stage and sat down. With a sigh, you leaned back and ordered another cocktail. Yes, this was probably a bad idea because you already were drunk. Not tipsy or something similar, but drunk. On the other side, you were so drunk, you no longer cared, and this night was all about having fun and living for the first time in…well, forever, so why not another drink. Adam would drive you home, so no need to worry about that.
While you sipped at the cocktail, you watched the dancers and strippers at the stage, trying to dance and be sexy and being painfully over the top at the same time. Even their movements at the pole looked stupid.
“Obviously, you are not that smart.”
One of the Bimbettes appeared, not happy to see you.
“Hello, Dumb.”, you greeted her, taking another sip.
“What did you name her?!”
“Ah, and Dumber. Where is Dumbest?”
The bitch look appeared on the faces of the two Bimbettes.
“You are such a loser, (Y/N)!” one of them declared.
You decided to call her Bimbette 1.
“Yes, I am.”, you said with a laugh.
“What is so funny?!” Bimbette 2 hissed.
“Well, see, there is nothing wrong with being a loser.”
“There is a lot of wrong with that. No one likes you. You are so…smart.”
“Wow, what an insult. I feel like crying.”, you answered ironically, and Bimbette 1 scowled at you.
“You are so embarrassing. I mean, look at you. You look like a nun or something. No wonder no one wants to fuck you.”
“Is everything alright?!”
Out of nowhere, Gaston appeared, looking worried.
“I’m fine!” you said and grinning.
“We just tried to take the garbage out.”, Bimbette 1 said and smiled brightly at Gaston.
“I’m the garbage.”, you added and grinned at the Bimbettes.
Gaston looked from the Bimbettes to you, unsure what to do.
“By the way, I hope you don’t plan to pay these dancers. They are terrible.”, you said and looked back to the stage.
“Really?” Gaston asked, bewildered.
“Yeah. I mean…they try so hard it’s awkward to watch. Whoever hired them should take his money back.”
“As you can tell.”, Bimbette 1 hissed.
“Yeah. You wouldn’t even know how to do this.”, Bimbette 2 added.
“Because you are such a boring loser.”
“That’s enough, ladies!” Gaston stopped them. “Could you…get me something to drink?”
They sped away as their life depended on it. You looked after them and back at the stage. Gaston sat down next to you.
“So, you think they are terrible?”
“Bimbettes or the dancers?”
Gaston smirked.
“The dancers.”
“Oh. Yeah. I mean…look at that girl in the red underwear. These moves? Totally over the top!”
“That’s a pretty…daring statement.”
“It’s not, only the truth. Everyone could do this better. I could do this better.”
“Sure.”
You caught the undertone and looked at Gaston. A smile was on his lips as he watched the dancers.
“You don’t believe me.”
“Oh, I do.”
“No, you don’t!”
Gaston looked at you, eyebrows raised.
“Well, don’t take it personally, but…you are not boring or a loser, but you are not the most exciting person.”
“Ha!” you replied and felt offended. “I could absolutely do this. I can dance, you know?! I have dance lessons every week. So I not only could do this, but I would also nail this!”
“Yeah, sure…” Gaston answered, undoubtedly not believing you.
“Here is your drink!”
The Bimbettes appeared with two drinks, handing them to Gaston.
“Hey, Dumb and Dumber…” they looked at you. “…you think I’m boring, right?!”
“Yeah. It’s obvious.”, Bimbette 1 answered.
“You are the definition of not being interesting or sexy.”, Bimbette 2 added.
You heard a new song starting, so you stood up. You had no idea if the talk was to blame or the alcohol, but you felt pretty bold right now, and you had an idea. A ridiculous one, probably, but you were too drunk to stop you from doing it.
“Well, pay attention and take some notes. I show you what sexy is!” you simply said, glancing at Gaston, who seemed to be really confused and then you walked the stage up.
The dancers looked at you a bit perplexed but said nothing. Then, finally, you stopped in the middle of the stage, turning your back to the audience.
You closed your eyes, listened to the music, feeling the beat, and you started to move slowly, getting more and more into the music. The people in the crowd began to look at you, and you began to move more. When the chorus played, you glanced over your shoulder. Gaston and the Bimbettes looked at you. The Bimbettes with crossed arms and fury. Gaston was intrigued, with his mouth a bit open.
A smile appeared on your lips, and you started to move your hips, your hands caressing your body, a hand removing the hair clip out of your hair. It felt down over your shoulders, and you tossed the clip in Gaston’s direction. He caught it, still watching you.
Playfully, you grabbed the skirt of your dress, lifting it a bit. You only heard the music and saw Gaston, who looked at you like you were the only person in the room. It made you more fearless, and your hands wandered to the zipper of your dress, pulling it down slowly. You looked back to Gaston and bit your lip playfully, then the dress slipped down slowly, landing on the floor. You kicked it away and continued to dance in your underdress.
Gaston watched this in pure amazement. He never thought you would do something like this. He didn’t miss the slightest motion of your body and noticed how beautiful you looked, so free, so happy and like you had the time of your life.
The underdress disappeared too, and you danced, showing the most seductive motions he had ever seen. He actually couldn’t remember he had ever seen something or someone more desirable.
You grabbed the pole and danced at it, sensual and mocking the movements from the unprofessional dancers at the same time. Gaston felt himself laughing and grinning at you. You still looked only at him, smiling teasingly.
“What is going on?” Belle asked when she came back from the toilettes. Everyone had stopped dancing and looked at the stage.
Adam looked too but seemed rather shocked.
“Belle…” he only said and pointed to the stage.
Belle pushed some people out of her sight and couldn’t believe what she saw.
“Oh my god….”
She stared at you for some seconds before she grabbed Adam and dragged him with her.
“We have to get her off there!”
When the music finished, there was a lot of cheering and clapping, but you didn’t really hear it. Instead, you only grinned at Gaston, who clapped and had a giant grin on his face. The next song started to play, so you left the stage and walked back to your seat.
The Bimbettes looked at you like they would kill you with their stares.
“That was so…predictable!” Bimbette 1 hissed.
“Yeah?” you asked and laughed. “What about this?!”
Before anyone could respond, you grabbed Gaston’s face and kissed him. You intended to only give him a short kiss, but the moment your lips touched his, something happened. You felt even more intoxicated, and you kissed him a bit longer. His lips were surprisingly soft. It felt good to kiss Gaston.
Gaston was so stunned, he didn’t know what do to. Because no one had ever kissed him like that. And no one had ever felt so right.
You slowly pulled away, looking at Gaston, and he was looking at you, at your lips and back into your eyes.
“(Y/N)!”
Belle appeared next to you, your clothes in her hands.
“We should go.”, Adam declared, looking from Gaston to you and back to Gaston.
Gaston still looked at you. Finally, you took your hands of Gaston and cleared your throat.
“Yeah.”, you said and looked at the Bimbettes. “You still think I’m boring?!” you said before Belle grabbed your arm and pulled you away.
“Such a slut.”, one of the Bimbettes stated.
“Poor Gaston. Our darling had to kiss the loser.”, the other one added, and both started to gossip about you.
Gaston didn’t hear it. Because he still felt your lips on his.
Chapter Text
The worst part was not the horrible, horrible headache the next day. Or the fact that you could remember everything and you called Belle to ask her if that really had happened or if it was just a bad dream. No, the worst part was going back to school on Monday. Because everyone else could remember too.
There was a lot of whispering and gossiping, some guys whistled after you or started to sing the song, dancing next to you and laughing, when you entered the school and walked to your locker.
“Can’t you be idiotic somewhere else?!” Belle hissed at them, and they disappeared with a laugh.
“This is a nightmare.”, you said and leaned against your locker.
“I know, sweetie. I know. But the prom will be soon, or there will be another scandal. They will forget it really soon, you will see.”
She hugged you, and you felt a bit better.
“Come on, we have to go to class.”
You grabbed your back and walked with Belle to your room. The moment you two entered it, everyone looked at you and started to whisper or talk. Some made jokes and laughed at you.
“Oh look, the slut is here! All hail the slut queen!” one of the Bimbettes shouted and laughed.
In that second, Gaston entered the classroom too. He looked at them and at you. You never felt more ashamed and dreadful. You tried to fight back the tears while you walked to your desk.
“We can go….” Belle suggested, but you shook your head and sat down.
“You know what they say. The silent ones are the biggest sluts!” one of the other Bimbettes yelled, and you felt the tears on your cheeks.
“I think there even is a video, so just in case someone wants to see the performance from our beloved class slut…”, Bimbette 2 said and laughed about her own words.
Before someone could stop you, you grabbed your bag and stormed out of the room.
You went to the library and stayed there the whole day. Belle would excuse you, and she would give you the stuff you would miss.
It was already pretty late when your phone started to buzz like crazy. You stopped reading and picked it up. Belle had sent you several messages.
“Where are you???????”
“WHERE ARE YOU?????”
“We need to talk!”
“ASAP!!!!!”
“(Y/N)!!!!! IM NOT JOKING!”
“PICK UP YOUR PHONE!”
“SOS”
Perplexed, you looked at your phone. Another message appeared.
“Need to meet! ASAP!!!!!”
You wrote back: “Library. What happened?”
“On my way. You’re not going to believe what just happened.” , Belle answered, and you put your phone bag in your pocket.
“No phones!” the librarian reminded you.
You smiled apologetically, took your bag and walked outside. While you waited, you wondered what had just happened. The class was already over, and there was only a big soccer match. Belle had promised to go there with Adam, but you didn’t care and wanted to wait in the library. But apparently, something had happened.
“You bitch!”
Out of nowhere, the Bimbettes appeared, and one of them tried to slap you. But at the exact moment, Belle and Adam emerged, and Adam grabbed her, holding her back.
“What did you do?! Did you bewitch him or something! You slut! You ruined everything! Everything! Go to hell!” the Bimbette screamed.
“That’s enough!” Adam tried to stop, still holding her back.
“Oh, go to hell too, Prince! You and your little loser friends are all horrible! I knew it was a bad idea when he started to pay attention to you! But you!” she yelled and suddenly pointed at you. “You ruined everything! But you know what?! Fine! You can have him! I don’t want such a loser and idiot! He is a loser, just like you!”
With that, she pushed Adam away and stormed off, her sisters behind her.
You looked after her.
“What…the fuck…just happened?”, you asked confused and looked at Belle.
“Something happened.”
“Unmistakably.”
“Gaston fought with Tom and Dick.”
You looked at Belle and tried to understand the words she just said.
“He…what?”
“He fought with Tom and Dick. Punched them and stuff.”
“Why?!”
“Because of you.”
“Me?”
“You.”, Belle stated, and Adam nodded.
“What the hell are you talking about?”
“Look, we don’t know much. All we know is that Gaston and Tom and Dick had a pretty noisy quarrel, and then they started to fight. And everyone was there because they were quarrelling on the field. In front of everyone. And after the teachers separated them, Gaston told everyone everything.”
“What is everything?”
“Just everything. That he is hanging out with you and how amazing you are and handsome and lovely and that he is smart and likes all the stuff you like and…everything. And he told the idiots and the Bimbettes what he really thinks about them. It was superb. I’m sure he had a meltdown, but it was wonderful! You should have seen it! And he talked about you in such an adorable way!”
You could just look at Belle because you completely forget how to form words. Adam solely nodded.
“He…said all this in front of everyone?”
“Yeah.”
“You should go to him.”, Adam added, and you looked at him. “He was wounded, and the trainer took him out of the team because of his behaviour. All the talent scouts were here today. He was supposed to play in front of them….”
Before Adam could finish his sentence, you started to run.
“The hospital room!” Belle shouted, and you waved at her.
When you burst into the room, Lefou and Stanley were there too. Gaston was sitting at one of the beds. He looked terrible.
“(Y/N)?! What are you doing here?”
“I think we should go.”, LeFou muttered and nodded to Gaston, walking to the door. “You’re coming, Stanley?”
“Why? I thought we stay here and….”
“Now, Stanley!”, Lefou said empathically, and Stanley quickly followed him outside.
“What happened?” you asked and sat down on the bed.
“Oh, um…massive fight. I did pretty well. Just a regular, manly thing and….”
“Belle told me what you did.”
“Oh.”
Gaston looked down at his hands, and you looked at him. He had several bruises, and one of his eyes looked swollen. There was also a laceration at his head.
“Are you seriously injured?”, you asked concerned, and Gaston looked up.
“No. It’s alright.”
“You don’t look alright. Where is the nurse?”
“Making a call. I’m okay, really.” he attempted to smile, but one of his cheeks was swollen, so it looked a bit skew.
“Why did you do this, Gaston? The talent scouts were there! You probably lost the chance to get the scholarship!”
“I don’t care.”
“And what about your reputation? Why did you fight with them? And told everyone?”
Gaston was quiet for a while, looking out of the window.
“You remember when you asked me about my reputation? Why it’s so important to me?”
“Yeah.”
“My parents have…think that success is pretty important. And to be successful, you need a reputation. You don’t get anything when you are nice. That’s basically what they have told me. So…I did what my parents had told me. I started to get a reputation, joined the soccer team, bought my friends. I did everything to be cool and popular. And it worked. In the beginning, I hated it because it felt wrong, but I had power, and power felt nice, so…I became the superstar…and a jerk. I tried to be a real man and made sure people talked about me. You probably heard about the rumour that I have a new girl every week. Yeah…things like that were good. And then you walked into this school, and you are lovely and sweet and not a loser, and you get stuff done and are friendly at the same time. And my parents didn’t notice me at all. Most of the time, it’s like, I’m not existing. So, I had the idea with the scholarship. Because getting a scholarship is amazing, right?! I asked my parents to come to my game today to see all the talent scouts who want me. I thought they would be proud of me. They are not here because when I told them, they were baffled about why I thought about college because they forgot I graduated this year. So, they decided they needed a vacation and didn’t come to my game. So…yeah. That’s why my reputation was so important to me. And I realized that I was a total idiot because my parents still didn’t notice me and I have no friends, and I’m an awful person. And I fought with Tom and Dick because Tom had a video of your dance and wanted to upload it to Youtube to humiliate you, and I told him to not do it and delete it. He said no, and I…punched him. And my parents were also the reason I didn’t want you at my house.”
There was silence after Gaston finished.
“You punched him because of me?”
“Yes.”
“But…why?! I mean, why do you care if I get humiliated or not?”
“Because I care about you.”
Gaston looked into your eyes.
“Because you are a kind, funny, good person, and you don’t deserve this. Because…”, he stopped and took a deep sigh. “…there is…I mean…I maybe…probably…love you.”
Dumbstruck, you looked at him and tried to understand his words.
“You…what? Gaston, that’s absurd.”
“No, it’s not. It’s what I feel and…”, he started and reached for your hands.
You stood up and looked at him.
“It is absurd! You never noticed me! I was air to you almost a year ago! So you can’t just…walk into my life, pretend to be a nice guy, do this stuff and tell me you love me when you ignored me all these years! And how can you fall in love with me?! You know nothing about me, Gaston!”
“Your favourite colour is red.”
You looked at him, surprised.
“What?”
“Your favourite colour is red. You like chocolate chip ice cream or strawberry. Strawberries are also your favourite fruit. You love Italian food and a lot of cheese on your pizza. Speaking of, you always eat the crust first. You don’t like Asian food and love dogs and cats. Your favourite song is ‘Born this Way’ by Lady Gaga, and you can’t sing, but you don’t care, because you love to sing. Your favourite movie is ‘Forrest Gump’ and everything from Disney. You love ‘Hakuna Matata’ the most. You love sports. You can dance and have gone to the ballet since you are 6 years old. You also go swimming, and you play badminton. You hate it when your hands are cold. You love tea, especially in winter. You also love hot chocolate, made with milk and not water. But you don’t like cream on it. Your favourite chocolate is nougat. You have the first edition of the Harry Potter books, and you like the smell of old books. You love to read, but you absolutely hate it when someone uses a book site as dog-ear. You have lovely handwriting, but you tend to scrawl when you rush. You like dresses a lot, but you don’t wear them to school that much. You play with one of your hair strands when you are deep in thoughts or really concentrated, especially when you’re reading. You also chew your lip on the left side whenever something is difficult, and you have to think about it. You also frown a bit, and you’re curling your nose when you can’t find the answer, and you are frustrated, and you smile when you finally find them. You smile a lot, and that smile lights up the world and is the most stunning one I have ever seen. You also put your hair in one of these messy buns whenever you work really hard because you don’t want to get distracted. Your eyes have the colour (Y/Eye colour) and are the most gorgeous ones I have ever seen. And your lips are really soft, and since you kissed me, I have to think about it all the time, and I really want to kiss you again.”
There was silence, and Gaston looked at you.
“How…” you started after some minutes, looking at each other. “…how do you know all this about me?”
“Because I noticed you. I always saw you. I noticed every little thing about you.”
Before you could say anything, the nurse entered the room.
“Oh, we have a guest. Could you go outside for just a second? I have to take a look at our patient.”
You grabbed your bag and basically stormed outside, closing the door behind you and leaning against the wall. It was difficult to believe what Gaston just had told you.
“You are okay?”
You looked down the corridor, and LeFou leaned against one of the walls.
“You are still here?”
“Yeah. I’m going to drive Gaston to the hospital. The laceration doesn’t look good.”
“Oh. Yeah. That’s…a good idea.”, you said, still confused about what happened.
You felt LeFou looking at you but avoided his stare.
“He told you.”
It wasn’t a question.
“You knew?”
“Sure. I’m his best friend.”
You laughed.
“Yeah. You are. Of course, you know. And he is joking, right?”
“Why should he?”
“Because there is no way that Gaston is loving me!”
“Did you ever wonder why he needed help with Literatur?”
“What?” you asked, confused about the sudden topic change.
“The private tutoring. You ever wondered why he needed help and asked you?”
“He didn’t ask me. Agathe did.”
“And Gaston asked her if she could ask you for help.”
You said nothing and just looked at LeFou.
“Look, (Y/N), the first morning you walked into that school, Gaston saw you. And I’m pretty certain it was love at first sight. He always had an eye on you. A lot of times, he stopped the girls or Tom and Dick. There is a reason the girls hate you. You are a competitor because you are handsome, intelligent, and friendly, and everything they are not. So at some point, I asked him. In the beginning, he denied it but then admitted it, and he wouldn’t stop talking about you. Or about your eyes and smile and your kindness and all that stuff. So I told him to find a reason to spend time with you. And he did. He’s not bad in Literature. He always helped me with my homework.”
“But…he had bad grades in it?!”
“He did that on purpose, so Agathe would help him. And he suggested you could help him. That’s why she asked you. And he made sure to get in trouble, so they would think he may benefit from this. You should have seen him when he returned from your learning sessions. He talked about you, always! He was like a lovesick puppy.”
You started to feel bad because you never had noticed anything.
“Oh, and… don’t worry about your dance performance. He only had eyes for you. Yes, he thought, you looked and moved hot but couldn’t even remember the colour of your underwear later. And he could tell me every second when you smiled or bit your lip or stuff. And he didn’t know Tom and Dick kept their phones and filmed everything. So when they told him, he got furious. By the way: They deleted the video, so don’t worry. And they look much worse. He also called you ‘his girl’.”
“Why…now? Why not sooner?”
“Because, sometimes, he is an idiot, who tends to make wrong decisions and to have a horrendous timing.”
You smiled at LeFou, who smiled too.
“Look, maybe I’m totally wrong here, but…you like him too, do you?!”
Before you could answer, the door opened, and Gaston walked out. He stopped when he saw his best friend and you.
“And you are going to the hospital with him?” the nurse asked LeFou, and he nodded. “Good. Get well!” she said and went into her room again, closing the door.
“I’ll wait at the car.”, LeFou said and quickly walked away.
Timid, Gaston stood there and looked at you.
“So…um…if I overstepped any boundaries, I am sorry.”
“You are wrong.”, you started, stepping closer to Gaston, and he looked tense at you. “Strawberries are not my favourites. I mean, I like them, but peaches are my favourite fruits.”
“Oh.”, Gaston said, realizing how close you were.
You slowly took his hands into yours. He looked down at them and then back at you. You smiled and felt a pleasant warmth in your body when your hands touched, and he looked at you.
“And I thought about the kiss too. And I am sorry, I just kissed you.”
“Don’t be.”
“Alright.”
You cupped his cheek with one of your hands, and Gaston leaned into that touch. His eyes genuinely are gorgeous, you realized again.
“If you act like a jerk again, I will punch you myself. Also, don’t lie to me ever again or make things up, just to spend time with me.”
He smiled.
“Alright. I’m going to behave.”
“And stop fighting with other people. I don’t want to be worried about you getting hurt.”
“I can do this too. Or…not do.”
You two laughed and looked again at each other.
“You still want to kiss me again?”
“Just if this means….”
“Let’s keep it slow and see what happens.”
Gaston nodded and pulled you a bit closer. He moved his lips slowly closer, and when you finally kissed, it felt so good. He was sensitive and almost shy, so you deepened the kiss, putting your arms around his neck. You could feel Gaston smiling into the kiss, and your heart jumped, making you feel very happy. Because at that moment you realized that you had started to like Gaston a long time ago and you probably, maybe, absolutely had fallen in love with him too. With him and all the little things.