sweven // chase rutherford

iv

y/n's pov://

the bell rang.
i got up a bit more gently than i did last period, and made my way to the door. i waited patiently, reminding myself that chase has his own classes too and might take a second to get here. i decided to pull out my phone, which was still on chase's profile when i unlocked it. i quickly swiped out of tiktok, sliding my earbuds in and turning on some good ol' radiohead. no surprises rung through my ears and i took a deep breath. i let myself detach from everything that had already happened today. it felt like a lot. i really felt at peace until i felt my left earbud get yanked from my ear. i opened my eyes in a panic, seeing that it was only him.
him.
"hello, chase," i chuckled nervously. "let's go," he pointed to the other side of the hall, starting towards there. i followed behind, keeping a safe distance. "so, i don't know how you did lunch at your old school, but basically we do it in three shifts," he explained the whole lunch thing and it made decent sense. "my old school was small. we basically all ate at the same time." i uselessly added on, and he chuckled. "damn, that's actually really weird. wait, where are we even going?" i took out my schedule. "theatre with-"
he gasped, making me look up at him briefly.
"you're a theatre kid."
"uh, kinda."
he burst out laughing.
"what?" i whined, knowing this was my true character flaw.
"i have a question. how do you guys sing like that? so loud and stuff?" he asked, a smile on his face as he walked me to the auditorium. "well, i'm not that into the performing part. well, i am, but like, i could never do that in front of so many people. i guess i'm more into like, costume design or whatever." i stammered. "it seems like you like the performing aspect more."
my cheeks burnt.
"no-"
"so you sing? and act and stuff?"
"no.."
"i think you're lyin." he said in that voice he does.
"why would i tell the full truth to some beanstalk i just met 2 hours ago?" i sassed back unintentionally, and it fell silent. FUCK. i really am unfunny. he turned. "the fuck did you say to me?" he said, pursing his lips. i tried to suppress a giggle, failing miserably and i guess that made him laugh too. "we'll settle this at the library." he said, stopping at the auditorium doors. i smiled really really big inside, but on the outside, i just nodded. i watched as he walked in the opposite direction, feeling my heart explode and rupture and do all of the gross things that my heart does when stuff like this happens to me. jesus.

•••

       theatre was everything i wanted it NOT to be. there was about 12 people in the elective. 1/4 was the popular kids who were forced into it for extra credit. the second 1/4 was the self proclaimed "theatre trash" in tumbler because they listened to the schuyler sisters from hamilton once. the third 1/4 was the kids that pretty much stayed under the radar, without wanting to- the type of people who are irrelevant in highschool but go on to do cool things and stuff. the fourth 1/4 was a league of goths, which i gladly sat myself down beside.
      it was a shit show, to say the least. but i really liked our teacher. her name was ms. holly. she definitely went to woodstock in her past life. but she was really the only good part. i felt awful for her. between the awkward silence  that happened after she asked the simplest of questions, or the football junkies laughing at her for saying "orgasm" instead of "organism", i couldn't tell what was worse. as the second bell rung for second lunch, i felt my stomach plummet.
it was library time.
      chase was standing right there as i opened the auditorium doors, which surprised me. "we have to be sneaky." he said, to which i nodded in response. i couldn't say much without being scared of blurting our something stupid that i would regret. i hated this nervous feeling, so, so much. he lead me to the library which was at the far right of the school. we snuck in and he led me to the very corner. he sat down a bit awkwardly, considering how tall he was, but it was cute. i smiled, taking a seat next to him. "so.. how was it barbara streissand?" he asked, making me nearly spit out the water i was sipping. "i'm definitely no barbara streissand, but i'm impressed with your knowledge. also, it fucking sucked." this made him laugh. i liked making him laugh. it fell silent for a bit and i looked around the room.
"are we gonna get arrested for doing this?" i pulled out some almonds and started eating some.
"probably, i'm making many sacrifices, y/n." i glanced at him in the corner of my eye. he was smiling. my chest tightened.
"sacrifices? " i picked up a random book off the shelf, which happened to be animal farm. "the sacrifices are worth it for socialism and pigs." he grinned at this. it was quiet for a second, but it was comfortable. he took one of my almonds, munching down on it. it didn't matter, but i wondered how he could do things like that without worrying about what i'd think.
"so.. tell me some about you, mr. rutherford."
"that's mr. coolio 2001 to you."
the way i understood the reference to his tiktok made my stomach turn in that familiar way. i felt like some crazy stalker, even if that wasn't the case. should i bring it up to him? or just pretend i have no idea? or what? my mind began spiraling.
"y/n, look at me, goddamnit! i feel like i have no construct of what your face looks like."
i could tell he was half-joking and half-serious. my face heat up as i slowly turned my head. i locked eyes with the first thing they met with- his lips.
"y'know, you're really bad at this whole eye contact thing, y/n."
i thought to myself, if he says my name one more time, i'm going to go batshit crazy.
"yeah, sorry about that," i picked at my nails, looking up to meet his eyes. i don't think my heart has ever beat so fast in my life.
     i really took him in for a second. i let myself fully immerse myself in all of his features. i started at his head, the way his curls spilled over his forehead in perfect spirals. his eyebrows were really just amazing. his nose seemed perfectly sculpted, with a subtle bump right on the bridge. i took note of his high cheekbones, and how they met with his sharp jawline which lead to his chin, which was comprised of every perfect angle you could think of. my eyes traveled to his lips. his lips. his lips. they were full, and looked so smooth. our eyes met up with an alarming synchronization, and i basked in the golden flicks, residing on top of the deep greens and blues and browns that made up the rest. throughout all of this, i only had one thought.

chase rutherford is beautiful.

😏