Awa'altu High: ATWOW highschool au!!

Ao'nung

(during school)

Neteyam had kissed him again. In the library. Hidden behind the shelves, somewhere in the nonfiction section, where no one ever went. And, Ao'nung kissed him back. Several times. One of the lesser known perks to being a swim captain was a key to the locker rooms. Ao'nung had never experienced wanting to kiss someone, at least not like this. Never had it been this bad, this mind-consuming. And, never had he been able to act on his desires, not like this. This was new, this was exciting. He had been nervous to inform Neteyam of this. Would Neteyam even want to? Ao'nung knew he was a good student. Would he be offended? Ao'nung asked anyway. Well, less asked, more told. "I have a key," he had whispered into his ear, feeling Neteyam's piercings on his lips. "To the swim locker rooms. We could-" Neteyam had grabbed his hand and yanked him out of the aisle, grinning. They grabbed their stuff and half-ran to the pool, laughing quietly and pushing each other gently the whole way. Ao'nung's hands were shaking with excitement when they arrived. He could barely get the door unlocked. He had slammed it behind them, locking it again, and threw his bag to the floor. Before Neteyam could even get his all the way off, Ao'nung's hands were on his shoulders, his arms, his chest, his back. eThe excitement he felt every time Neteyam touched him in any proximity was the most surreal part. He didn't even know he had this much empty space in his heart until it was occupied. Ao'nung couldn't remember why he ever fought this. Why didn't he touch Neteyam like this the second they met? They didn't do anything more than kiss. Ao'nung didn't know how. He didn't think he wanted to yet. If Neteyam did, he gave no real sign of it. This brought Ao'nung comfort.

They lost track of time. Ao'nung knew they had 20 minutes left in 2nd period. What he didn't expect was how quickly that would go by. The lights were on. Ao'nung had done that on purpose. He wanted to experience this with all of his senses, as vividly as possible. The cold locker against his back. Neteyam's gentle fingers in his hair. The smell of him, sweet and intoxicating. Every shared breath they took was committed to Ao'nung's memory. He wanted to know everything, to remember it all. Neteyam had paused to catch his breath. Ao'nung checked his phone, eyes widening. "Teyam," he breathed, feeling his heartbeat finally start to slow. "We are 8 minutes into lunch, as of now." Neteyam blinked. "Really?" "Mhm." He laughed softly, shaking his head. Something clattered to the ground. Neteyam's eyes followed something falling from his hair. Ao'nung bent and picked it up, holding a small charm in his hand. It had a leaf on it. "Shit," Neteyam mumbled, rubbing his eyes. "I knew I was rushing doing that the other day. I'm surprised it stayed in place that long." Ao'nung looked at him blankly. "Oh. It's one of the charms Kiri made for me." Ao'nung nodded, looking down at the small charm.

The two of them rushed to the lunchroom. Their siblings noticing their absence was unavoidable. Hopefully Tsireya could keep everyone in the dark. Ao'nung's braid had come undone. Neteyam's bracelets were missing. They whispered to each other on the way there, discussing a plan. Neteyam would say he was getting his computer charger. Ao'nung would say he was organizing the suits for tryouts. The second they entered the lunch room, and people's heads began to turn to face them, Ao'nung was reminded exactly why he was so determined to keep this a secret. He felt his face burning and he looked at the ground, knowing if he acknowledged the eyes on them, he would completely panic. "Where were you guys?" Lo'ak asked instantly. Ao'nung rolled his eyes. "I left my computer charger in the car," Neteyam answered. His response was robotic. He didn't look at his brother. "And I was, uh, making sure the swim uniforms are all organized. By size. Making sure they were all organized by size," Ao'nung explained. He shot Reya a pleading look. "Oh, I didn't know coach asked us to do that," Rotxo mumbled, looking over at Ao'nung. Ao'nung glared at him in disbelief. He focussed on getting out his lunch, ignoring the conversation Lo'ak was having with his brother. He remained zoned out until he felt Rotxo's eyes on him. He looked up nervously. Rotxo's brow was furrowed. He saw Rotxo's eyes dart over his hair, which now hung down his back. Shit. Ao'nung adjusted his hoodie around his neck, just in case. He glanced over at Neteyam, hoping to warn him that Rotxo was onto them. Neteyam smiled at him. Ao'nung felt his face flush and he looked back down, hoping and praying Rotxo didn't notice. He heard Rotxo gasp. Shit. Shit. He pointed at Ao'nung. "No, plea-" "OH!" he shouted, looking Ao'nung directly in the eyes. He rose out of his seat, staring over at Neteyam with the same crazed eyes. Shit. Kiri scrambled to her feet, positioning herself between Rotxo and Lo'ak. "OH!" he shouted again, eyes darting between Ao'nung and Neteyam. "Rotxo, I gotta tell you something!" Kiri called, trying to get his attention. "OH! OH, MY G-" "Rotxo," Kiri shouted, waving her hands in front of his face. Rotxo's eyes widened in a way that would have been comical, if not for the gut-wrenching panic and dread settling in Ao'nung's stomach. "OH! AO'NUNG! I- YOU-" Kiri snatched Rotxo's hand in her own. He froze mid-sentence, slowly looking down at their intertwined hands. "Rotxo, come with me, I gotta-" Rotxo shut his gaping mouth and went with her, not taking his eyes off of their hands as she yanked him roughly out of his seat.

The four of them sat in strained silence. Ao'nung was holding back tears of embarrassment. Neteyam wasn't touching him. The worst part was, Ao'nung wanted him to be. Now that he had given in, he was struggling very hard to keep him out, despite knowing he had to. Tsireya and Lo'ak were talking quietly about something. She was smiling warmly at him, playing with one of the rings on his fingers. Ao'nung's stomach felt hot with jealousy. No one looked twice at the two of them. They were able to show affection in public. Tsireya was not nearly brought to tears by her friend potentially drawing attention to them. It was disgustingly unfair.

(after school)

After a grueling conversation with Jake Sully, in which he tried to explain the rules of American football to not only Ao'nung, but to Tonowari as well, Ao'nung needed a break. Badly. Neteyam holding sweet Iolana was one of the most precious things he had ever seen. However, Ao'nung had beckoned Tsireya over so she could take their sister. So Ao'nung could take Neteyam. He didn't think Neteyam had ever seen his bedroom before. At least not in person. Ao'nung made a mental note to thank Tsireya for straightening up his room before the Sully's came over. He was showing Neteyam baby pictures of him and his siblings; Rotxo and Ao'nung both carrying one of Tonowari's surfboards, Tsireya with melted ice cream in her hair, the three of them wrapped in polka dotted beach towels in Ronal's arms. He knew Neteyam had questions about Rotxo's childhood. If it was Ao'nung's place to tell, he would. He doubted Rotxo would want to keep it a secret, but he would let him do it in his own time. Hopefully, Rotxo felt the same way about his "secret". Now, Neteyam sat on the floor. He was holding one of Ao'nung's photo albums in his hands. Ao'nung sat down beside him. After a moment, Ao'nung laid down on the ground. Neteyam gave him a confused look but said nothing. Ao'nung had planned on putting his head all the way in Neteyam's lap. The thought made his stomach get that funny feeling. Ao'nung wasn't sure why. But, when he had gone to do so, the sheer intimacy of it all made him pause. He settled for resting his head on Neteyam's knee. This was okay. He could feel Neteyam's warmth behind his neck. Neteyam closed the photo album and gazed down at him. His braids had been tied back in a single bunch. One of them dangled in front of his face. Ao'nung reached for it, feeling the glass beads beneath his fingertips. Neteyam's long fingers traced along Ao'nung's scalp gently. "My surf meet is in two weeks," Ao'nung whispered. "Is it?" "Mhm." Neteyam grinned. "Do you want me to go?" Ao'nung nodded. "Then I will go," Neteyam answered, nodding. Ao'nung felt his face flush. "Thank you," he whispered, closing his eyes.

He heard the latch on his bedroom door open. Ao'nung's eyes shot open as Kiri's head poked in. She was grinning, but her smile quickly vanished. Her eyes pierced Ao'nung's, widening dramatically. Ao'nung sat up as fast as he could, trying to come up with an excuse to be laying on her brother's thighs. He felt his forehead collide with something solid, something painful. Ao'nung saw stars and heard a sickening crunch. Neteyam cursed in Arabic and grabbed his face. Ao'nung scrambled backwards, clutching his forehead. He rubbed the sore spot and looked over at Neteyam. His stomach dropped as he saw scarlet blood oozing from Neteyam's perfect face. He was blinking rapidly, trying not to cry. Ao'nung felt as if someone had wrapped his entire soul in ice. Kiri knelt in front of him. She reached for his face. No. No, that'll hurt him. "Kiri," he whispered. "Don't touch his fa-" "Shut up, Ao'nung, i gotta see if it's broken," Kiri shouted, cutting him off. Ao'nung blinked. "It'll hurt him if you touch his face, Kiri!" She sighed dramatically, rolling her eyes. Typical. Kiri pulled Neteyam's hands away from his face. "Shit," Ao'nung breathed. The top of Neteyam's nose bridge was red and swelling. His nose was gushing blood down his face and onto his shirt. "Neteyam, I am so-" "It's fine, it- Kiri, please stop," he pushed his sister's hands away from his face. Ao'nung grimaced. "Shut up, idiot, I'm trying to see if it's broken." Ao'nung inhaled sharply at her words. "Broken? Oh, god," he groaned. Neteyam tried turning his head to look at him but Kiri's grip on his jaw held him in place. "Ommi! Teyam's nose is broken!" she shouted, running towards the door. Neteyam glanced over at Ao'nung. "Oh my god, Neteyam, I am so sorry," he breathed, shaking his head slowly. Neteyam grinned. His teeth were covered in blood, as if he had been drinking the stuff. Ao'nung's stomach twisted in both guilt and disgust. "Oh my god," he whispered again, reaching over and rubbing the blood off of Neteyam's mouth and chin. He knew this was not an appropriate time, so he didn't say anything, but he could not help but notice how soft and smooth Neteyam's lips were, even covered in his own blood. Ao'nung internally berated himself for thinking something so deeply out of pocket.