Archive of Our Own ^beta

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There are days where you don't feel right, as if you wore your shoes the wrong way. There are days where you just can't get your hair to behave, or maybe people just won't talk to you. Everyone has those bad days. Everybody is bothersome, painful, and they just won't listen. As pain can fill our senses, as the green floods your heart, love does as well for those who won't understand.

The school year has just started, January 2, just a day after New Years. Beacon rose from his bed with a horrible bed head and a greasy fringe. He trudged out of bed, looking at the calendar and marking the date off. "I wish I could just rot..." He muttered to himself, his voice hurt from shouting so much during the fireworks show. He pulled the new uniform out of his closet, his mother had diligently ironed and folded it for him the day before. He only stared at it, wondering why his mother cared more for a uniform than him.

He pulled himself into the bathroom, sighing. Beacon turned on the heater, cranking the handle of the showerhead after he stripped off his pajamas. His wrists were still stained with blood from last night, it was horrible. Beacon frowned at himself as he stepped into the shower. It stung, really badly. The water cascaded down his body, he pumped out some shampoo and washed off the sweat from last night.

The soap formed bubbles in the early morning, the sky was still dark. As he finished his shower, he took his towel and wiped off the water from his body. He unbuttoned his uniform, putting it on. It fit perfectly around his shoulders, hugging his chest. His uniform was fully white, the pants and collar dark navy blue with some yellow aspects from the logo of the school. There were no crinkles, and he looked spectacular.

He emerged from the shower, covering his arms with his sister's concealer, hoping nobody would notice the cake-like texture on his arms. Beacon quickly blow dried his hair, adding in some baby powder to keep the volume of his curly hair intact. He looked at his night stand, grabbing the glasses he always wore. A cute, salmon colour with hints of brown on it. The rectangle shape made him look even better than he already did.

He packed his small bag, he didn't need to bring anything due to it being the first day after all. The old wallet his sister passed down to him, the worn cotton pencil case he got for Christmas, and the new black shoes he got for this year.

Fuck AI scrappers

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The black shoes he wore clicked on the ground below him as he closed the wooden door. It was 6:30am, the sky was barely lit up by the street lights. His headphones played Chopin in the background as he walked to the bus stop. There was a plethora of buses that he could take, but he didn’t want to wait. He looked over at the trash can, there was litter all surrounding it, as nobody really cared to bin stuff properly. “Good morning,” Beacon’s neighbour exclaimed, it was Harbour. Coincidentally, they had went to the same middle school and are now going to the same high school.

“Harbour? I didn’t know your smart-ass would go into such a crappy school…” Beacon replied, noticing Harbour’s uniform. Harbour was sleek, clean, and formal. He always looked spotless, but he was kind of transparent, nobody really cared too much about him. Harbour laughed, hearing Beacon’s words. He shook his head, smiling. “My older sister goes there, my parents had already chosen this for me.” Harbour shrugged. Both of the boys came from the same class, though they had a big gap in grades.

Harbour was in class 1-4, the smartest in the level, while Beacon went to 1-2. The curly haired boy turned away, not wanting to socialise with Harbour anymore. He pushed up his rectangle glasses and flagged for the bus, hopping on. It stunk of cigarettes, many adults on the way to their morning shift. Beacon sat down, looking out of the window as he rode the bus. Harbour was standing, holding onto a poll. Beacon spaced out, enjoying the calming noise of piano.

Out of the blue, another boy with a panting breath, crumpled uniform, not even wearing his tie, sat next to Beacon. It was obvious he had ran to catch the bus. He had hair that slightly covered his eyebrows, heavy eye bags and a jacket draped over his shoulders. Beacon glanced at him, taking in the details. “He seems good looking,” Beacon thought to himself, mumbling under his breath a little. He leaned on his hand, frowning as the boy wiped away his sweat.

A few minutes passed, the bus stopped right outside the school, which at least 4 students hopped off. Naval Base High School, a highly regarded school with many artists and creative minds. Though it was not really a special school, many attended due to the ability to find friends. Naval Base High School is often called names, being ‘weird kid central’.

Beacon looked at the school, it was certainly a nice colour. The long haired boy walked next to him, hands shoved into his pockets and head hanging low. Beacon looked ahead, looking for the school hall, where they would have assembly.

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Beacon tucked his phone away into his pocket, sitting down on the floor. He looked around for his best friend, who had been enrolled in this school.

A while later, his best friend had walked in. Compass, a boy who looked very ill. His hair freshly cut, rubbing his eyes. His shirt was crumpled and his pants didn't fit him. His belt hung heavy, barely holding up his pants. He yawned as Beacon waved at him to sit down.

Beacon smiled. “What's up sleepyhead?” He chuckled, punching Compass in a playful manner. Compass frowned, scoffing and pushing his hand away. “Stop touching me, my girlfriend is right there staring daggers at me…” He whispered.

Out of the blue, there rang a voice. Ms Roger, the principal, got on stage to give the yearly talk. “Hello students, welcome to Naval Base High School.” She smiled warmly at the students. After introducing herself to the year 1s, she got on to summarize what will happen in the first semester. They would be having a school camp during the first week of February, a month later. Beacon sighed, wanting to fall asleep. He played around with his luscious locks of brown hair.

“This year, we've had many students want to join our school! Including top scorers!” Ms Roger grinned, excitedly. Compass looked at Beacon when she said ‘top scorers’. Beacon shook his head, denying Compass' eyebrow raise. “C'mon, when will you actually use your gifted smarts to do something?” Compass rolled his eyes.

Beacon replied, “Never, I have no need to use it anyways.” Looking back at the stage in front of them. They were talking about the values of the school, RECIPE. Respect, resilience, care, integrity, passion, and excellence. They would be doing a ‘Values-In-Action’ project for the start of the year. Ms Roger also took the time to introduce new teachers.

After assembly finished, the classes were brought to their classrooms. Class 1-2 were assigned to the teachers Mr Chit, and Mrs Chow. They were both kind people, Beacon could tell. However, they had assigned seats by register numbers. Beacon was once again sitting next to the boy that he caught panting on the bus.

This time, the long haired boy had his hair pinned up, his tie on and he looked more professional. Beacon held back a grunt before looking up at the teachers.

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“Good morning class, I am your homeroom teacher, Mr Chit, and this is my assistant teacher, Mrs Chow.” The teachers greeted the class as everyone bowed in rhythmic motion. Mr Chit was a nice teacher, evident through his tidy hair and very nice working blouse. He had a friendly demeanor, but yet even then, Beacon did not see what was so important about listening to what he had to say. As he spaced out again, the piano started to play in his head. The different keys that were being pressed, and the wonderful piece he was thinking up in his head made him smile.

“For the first class, we will actually have some alumni guiding you all through the first day,” Mrs Chow added onto Mr Chit’s explanation. The alumni standing at the back of the class moved to the front, introducing themselves. There were three of them, two girls and one boy. A few minutes after introduction, they started calling for attendance.

While they called names, the boy next to Beacon was rummaging through his bag, not noticing that he was being called. “Anchor, Anchor? Is there an Anchor in this class?” One of the guides exclaimed.

A while later, the boy snapped out of it, raising up his hand and almost jumping out of his seat. Beacon clicked his tongue, taking a mental note of the name. Beacon immediately replied when they called his name, looking prim and proper. Anchor rolled his eyes at Beacon, frowning the entire attendance.

Beacon noticed Anchor, his ego cracking slightly, his bitterness growing slightly. Anchor wore a green jacket, matching his nice brown hair, a red hue peeking through the darkness. Beacon could take in these small details, noticing how skinny Anchor was. The curly haired boy’s eye twitched, slightly, criticizing Anchor internally for looking so improper on the first day.

Beacon looked over at Compass, who was resting his head on the table, already making friends with his seat mate. Beacon was jealous of how Compass had such approachability despite looking like he's seen tens of thousands of horrors. As the boring minutes walked on, the silence only got louder between Anchor and Beacon. The tension was as sharp as a knife, and Beacon could barely keep up his awkward smile for much longer. Beacon cursed himself for what he was going to do, turning to Anchor and looking him straight in the eye.

“It's nice to meet you,” Beacon grumbled, his voice cracking slightly, making him regret anything he had just done. Anchor unexpectedly giggled after a few seconds, looking at Beacon. Anchor smiled faintly, trying to hide the smile. Beacon’s eyes widened as the other boy tried hiding his smile. His smile was silly, very…cute? The boy with side swept hair and dark chocolate coloured eyes cleared his throat, composing himself and his smile faded away. “You’re weird…It's nice to meet you too.”

Anchor had a raspy voice, yet it was somehow smooth as well. Beacon’s heart fluttered, and he hated that feeling whole heartedly. He was in another world, wondering what it would be like if Anchor said his name. He quickly pushed those thoughts away, in denial of how he found him attractive.

Anchor was completely oblivious to what the curly haired boy was thinking about. After a while, Beacon snapped out of his trance, asking what stuff Anchor liked. He had a whole plethora of answers, it was amusing to Beacon. “I like guitar, manga, writing, so much more!” Anchor rambled on about what he loved most, Beacon was quietly staring at him, observing how his hands were animated as he mimicked the chords of a guitar.

“Well, I play the piano,” He responded, smirking as he cut Anchor off. Anchor was surprised, asking about what Beacon played. He started talking about Mozart and Beethoven for the entire class. Now, they would interact, slightly, with Anchor’s face sometimes still twisted with subtle annoyance and disgust when Beacon talked to him. Clearly they had a rivalry forming. The rockstar versus a genius…how will this story work out in the end for the both of them?

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The day went on, class 1-2 toured around the school and did icebreaker activities, no biggy. Beacon made many bets with Anchor, no doubt that it was annoying as hell. 

“If I can befriend him, buy me some Milo!”

“If I answer this correctly, buy me a pen!”

“If I can charm her, kiss m-”

Alright, we stop there. Of course, Beacon didn't say that last one, but it was a lingering thought at the back of his head, totally. I am an unreliable narrator, definitely, but trust me when I say this…Beacon is knees deep in the mud, in denial for this man. The first day was uneventful for Anchor, but for Beacon? It was as if a flower had just bloomed in his heart, and he plucked it straight out of the soil just to stop it from growing. Soon enough, lunch came as well…

There was no beating it, Compass noticed immediately. “Beacon…you and Anchor are friends?” He interrogated, raising an eyebrow. Not often Beacon talked to other people than Compass, since he was very awkward and talkative. Beacon shrugged, not caring enough to answer properly. “Does it matter?” He retorted, giving a smug smile while he watched Anchor- who sat at the other side of the canteen. Anchor was avoiding Beacon, maybe it was not obvious enough to Beacon. Compass frowned, getting up from the table. “I’m gonna find Dana, alright? Okay, see you!” Compass smiled, eyes jutting close and dashing off to find his girlfriend, Danforth.

Beacon didn’t stop Compass, just waving him off as he continued to watch Anchor. He saw the emo through a filter, with sparkly eyes and perfect hair. It was quite the opposite, Anchor had already put his jacket back on, his eyes were dark and sleepless; and to add on, Anchor did not have perfect hair. 

Technically, Beacon was not gay, he was more homophobic; if you put him on a spectrum. He was intense, not having many friends before, he doesn’t really know what a crush is either. Though in his head, this was hate. All of this was hatred.

Hatred that someone could be so charming and charismatic to catch his eye, nobody had done that in a long time. Nobody was special enough to even be able to get Beacon to look their way, and Anchor wanted to…avoid it? How absurd, the curly haired boy was utterly perfect! Smart, kind, and maybe even a little…sensitive? Anchor saw through it. Below the charming and smug exterior was a cold, secretive snake. Anchor knew those people better than anyone, because he was the same.

After that grueling inner monologue in Beacon’s head, he looked back at Anchor’s direction but shockingly- he was gone. Probably ran off to the library maybe. Beacon didn’t even make an effort to sigh, looking in another direction. He muttered something under his breath before standing up to look for Compass again.

The day ended on a good note, as usual, Compass and Beacon went home together. Compass lived in Yewtee, Beacon lived in Yishun. As Compass boarded the MRT, Beacon walked towards the bus stop. Unexpectedly, a familiar face stood at the bus stop. “Anchor, you take the bus too? Where do you stay? I live in Yishun.” Beacon appeared behind Anchor suddenly, making him jump from shock. Anchor sighed, seeing that it was just Beacon. “Wa cao do you know how to talk to people?” He heaved, crossing his arms. “I also…stay in Yishun,” he grumbled. Beacon smiled, now wondering if it was a curse or a blessing.

Weird coincidence, same bus, almost same stop. Beacon realized this from the start of the day, when Anchor hopped on the bus then. They lived on the same street, maybe even a few blocks away. Anchor did not observe this fact! It was as if Beacon was a stalker to him and honestly- he is partially correct?

When Anchor reached his stop, he dashed off the bus in an instant, glancing back at Beacon before realising that he already was looking at him. Beacon was surprised, but waved goodbye. A one-sided wave, Anchor couldn’t see it, the bus went too fast. Beacon cursed under his breath about how pathetic he was.

Soon, he reached his stop in due time as well, their houses were only two minutes away; yes, Beacon calculated it. He walked over to his house, heaving a sigh once he entered the sheltered pathway. “I’m so stupid, he wouldn’t want to wave at me anyways, I don’t like his presence, the only person I truly tolerate is Compass!” Beacon monologues, whipping out his phone as he carded his fingers through his hair. He texted Compass, seeking advice once he reached the elevator.

3:30pm, January 2 2026

Beacon: Yo how do u know if u like some1

Compass: Bitch u fr or u playing wit me

PBeacon: I’m being so fr rn

Compass: u like that emo boyyyy🥺

Beacon: I’m gonna strangle u

Compass: 🤣🤣

Beacon sighed, he came to the realisation that Compass didn’t know how to help him, he didn’t even know how he even started dating Danforth anyways. So, he let it be. It didn’t matter, right? Knowing if you like or hate someone, he could live with both anyways.

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Days passed by with Beacon not being able to discern his own feelings. He somehow found Anchor’s social media and even the primary school he went to. Even Compass noticed how stalkerish he had been. It was weird. Anchor didn’t care one bit, not even when Beacon said something about his address and social life. Anchor was just... mildly irritated.

After the welcoming week, they would start having actual school. Dreadful Mondays, bitter Tuesdays, and even more suffocating Wednesdays. Beacon learnt more and more about Anchor, when subtle glancing turned into full on staring, that was Anchor's sign that Beacon was batshit crazy. He didn't confront it, although he definitely had a strong opinion on it. Compass noticed it too, usually making sure Beacon didn't go overboard with his very confusing ‘do I hate him or do I want to kiss him and marry him’ act. One fateful science lesson which was also the few classes Beacon and Anchor shared, Beacon sat behind Anchor. He rocked his legs back and forth, trying his best to listen to the lecture on Matter and Plasma. Anchor laid on the desk, not bothering to actually pay attention. Beacon noticed, wanting to stir some trouble too. Compass was in another class, so that meant that he had to think of another way to have some fun.

Finally conjuring something in his head, he decided to just be plain annoying. He took out a piece of paper, writing on it:

Dear Anchor,

I’m bored lol

He hastily folded the note and threw it at Anchor, who flinched and grumbled. “Stupid gina sia…” He then unfolded the note, looking behind, waiting for Beacon to say something. He didn’t expect that; he just expected Anchor to write on the paper. “I- uhm…why not just write on the paper? We might make too much noise…” Beacon stuttered, a little flustered with how hard Anchor was staring. Anchor frowned, turning back around. “Annoying bastard,” he murmured under his breath, crossing his arms. However, he responded on the paper.

What u want lah sia, u wannabe angmoh >:/

He passed the note to Beacon, who giggled when he read it. Anchor really enjoyed using Singlish slang after all, compared to Beacon who had a hint of a British accent. Anchor’s constant need to swear was charming, at least to Beacon. To everyone else, it would be very rude and unnecessary. Beacon probably got used to it, because of Compass doing the same. He then thought about what good friends they would be.

U wanna hang out aft sch?

Beacon wrote on the paper, tapping Anchor’s shoulder for an answer.

“Eh bodoh, you want an answer just ask me in real life lah. My hand tired from writing la, dey.” Anchor turned around, saying to his face. Beacon leaned backwards, Anchor was unnecessarily close. “U-uh, well…do you want to go… go home with me?” He verbalised, smiling awkwardly, looking uncomfortably smug. Anchor looked at Beacon, almost spacing out before saying a very quiet ‘sure’, making sure Beacon was the only one who could hear that before turning around and getting back to not paying attention to the class.

Internally, Beacon was freaking out! It was to where he became so red that his seatmate thought he was about to explode. He composed himself and immediately after science, he bolted out of the classroom to search for Compass. His best friend, who was in the classroom next door, could almost sense Beacon lingering behind him before he was jump scared by Beacon’s screaming.

“OH MY GOODNESS HE’S GOING HOME WITH ME!!” Beacon squealed, hugging Compass tightly, almost making him stumble over. He rambled on and on, Compass covering his ears and throwing Beacon onto the floor. “闭嘴! My fine shit is here,” Compass exclaims, pointing at Danforth who smiles and waves. Once Danforth sees that it’s Beacon, her face darkens. “So he's here too…” Danforth mutters, eyes darting away. Beacon’s smile fades away, crossing his arms as he grins ear to ear.

“Yeah, I'm here too…I'm here…” He taunted, moving his fingers around in a very weird motion. Compass smiled seeing the two most important people in his life banter. The next class was Math. Danforth and Beacon had the same class, unfortunately. Luckily, they weren’t sitting together, or many fights would have broken out.

The boring Math lesson dragged on. Beacon wasn’t listening. He was focused on watching Anchor who was in the opposite classroom across the hallway. Compass and Anchor were seated together, they were surprisingly chatty with each other. In Anchor’s classroom, students were attentive, except for Anchor and Compass…Both were quite similar, but conversation was slow and awkward. “So, you’re friends with that curly haired guy?” Anchor asked, stretching his arms. Compass nodded.

“Would you like to know how we met?” Compass asked.

“..That’s an option?” Anchor replied.

“Does that mean yes?”

“No.”

“Ah.” Compass fidgeted, the conversation started was unsuccessful and Anchor just looked irritated. Compass smiled, being the expert he was, starting talking about comics and video games. “Actually, I like that one football comic, Blue Lock!” Compass, you conversationalist… Good job…

Anchor perked up, his interest was caught. Both started talking about the characters and storyline, they had bonded. “Hey, give me your socials!” Anchor gushed, taking out a piece of paper and a pen. Compass wrote down his socials and number, getting Anchor’s in return. From then on, they would start a quid pro quo. After Math class, lunch came and soon, the end of the day. Compass and Beacon met up outside of school, Beacon twiddled with his fingers, biting his nails. “Do you want Anchor’s socials?” Compass asked.

“I already have them.” Beacon raised his head for a second before getting back to bite on his cuticles. Compass recoiled, regretting even asking Beacon about it. Soon, Anchor walked out of the gate and the three walked to the MRT together. Compass connected most of the conversation, Beacon was a nervous wreck. He fidgeted around and butt into conversations suddenly, Anchor was shocked to learn that, his first impression was that Beacon was excellent at speech. Compass then parted ways with the two boys, leaving them to be.