#ander request

Andér x Reader (Gender not specified)

Request from @isthatmaryanna : hi!! could you write a imagine with ander? where he’s not gay and fall in love with the reader at a party and the finds out she’s the new girl from las encinas and then their first kiss

Gif is not my own (But this gif is literally my favourite thing - I’ve rewatched it so much😂😭)

Requests are open❤️

“Okay but I’m not saying I’ll hate it,” You defend, “But I definitely won’t fit in.”

Omar laughs from beside you, “Definitely not, please don’t become one of them.”

“Do you think it will be that bad?” You ask as you hand him another one of the glasses to set up for the night at the club.

“It will be worse, (Y/n),” He grins, “You’ll forget all about me!”

“How could I ever?” You gasp, handing him the final glass before tossing the kitchen towel over your shoulder, “You’re already ditching me for this shift so you owe me one. When I need saving at school, you need to be there.”

He grins and steps through the opening of the bar, “Of course, I’ll be your knight in dodgy-shiny armor.”

- - - - - -

It’s a busy night at the club and you find yourself counting down the minutes until Omar would return for his late shift so you could escape for the night. It felt like you were serving carbon copies of every single person - the same drinks, the same smug looks as they assumed you’d never be able to pay for it.

“What can I get you?” You ask the same question as you clean off another of the taps and toss the towel over your shoulder.

When you look up, the eyes looking back arent like the rest. They’re piercing and lit up by a light smile as you look back. He looks about your age, dressed in an open shirt and white tee - a simple, understated look. But the curls on his head give him a boyish, friendly characteristic.

You swallow the lump in your throat, “What would you like to drink?”

He smirks gently, “I’ll take a scotch please... Omar?”

You glance down at your uniform and chuckle, “Not my uniform, but nice try!”

You go about grabbing the bottle and glass to make his drink, trying your best to not notice how his eyes followed you for the entire time. He seemed interesting. Like he had a personality beyond the money his parents bank account held.

“Shall I put it on the tab?” You offer, going to tap the screen to put his drink through.

“I’ll be back for another soon enough,” He raises the drink to you and turns away, only glancing back once as he takes a second take in your direction.

You try to stop yourself from getting too flustered as you serve the next customer, and the next.

- - - - - -

“Alright (Y/n)!” Omar calls as he comes behind the bar, “You’re done for the night, go home and feel bad for me.”

“So it’s (Y/n).”

You go to reply to Omar but stop instantly when you hear the words. The boy from earlier was stood at the bar, evidently expecting a second attempt at learning a little more about you. And Omar handing that attempt to him with ease.

“Maybe you won’t be going straight home,” Omar wiggles his prominent brows, “Give me my name tag and get out of here.”

You laugh and unclip it, untying your apron and handing that to him too, “I’ll see you tomorrow, Omar.”

The boy walks the length of the bar until he pushes through enough to meet you where you’d be exiting for the end of your shift.

“What do you say to having my second drink with me?” He suggests, leaning close to ask you the question.

You glance at him once more and smile a little, “I say I’ll have whatever you’re having, I’ll be back down in five.”

Hurriedly, you push through the staff door and grab your things to at least make yourself a little more presentable. You comb your hair through and try to perfect your appearance just slightly - though there was only so much it could improve by whilst you were still wearing this uniform.

When you get back downstairs, the boy is leaning against a nearby wall with two glasses of scotch in his hands. He pushes off and grins a little when he sees you.

“I thought you might have found a back exit and left me alone,” He comments, handing over one glass to you.

“I tried, it was locked,” You joke, having to yell over the music blaring through the room.

He gestures over for the two of you to go to one of the emptier corners of the club and settles a hand on your back with such ease as he leads to over.

“You seemed so set on knowing my name, you never told me yours,” You point out, taking a sip of the drink and wincing at the taste.

“Ander Muñoz,” He responds, dipping his head to speak to you.

Muñoz. That name sounded oddly familiar.

“You enjoy working here?”

“Serving a bunch of snooty rich people that just complain about us not having the right champagne or not making their drinks fast enough? It’s a dream!”

He laughs and it makes his eyes crinkle and dimples appear on his cheeks, “Is it really that bad?”

“They pay me so I can’t complain,” You shrug, “And I have Omar.”

“So am I one of them?” He raises his brows, “The snooty rich people?”

You laugh a little and shake your head, “You tell me Ander Muñoz.”

Before he can say anything more, somebody knocks into the back of him and causes him to stumble into you, tipping his drink onto both of you a little.

“Do you want to get out of here?” He suggests, setting down the empty glass onto a table.

“Yeah, definitely,” You nod, swigging back the rest of the drink with a hiss and setting your glass next to his.

- - - - - -

It’s another three quarters of an hour later when you find yourself still strolling around the empty streets with him. You’d talked about anything and nothing and were yet to get to a point where the conversation ceased.

“Okay, where in this town do you go to then?” He asks you, having grown jokingly tired of you mocking his ‘rich boy’ lifestyle.

You laugh a little, “You want to see how the other half live?”

“Please, do tell, (Y/n),” He smirks, looking at you expectantly.

You reach out a hand for him to lace with his own and tug him out of the path you’d been following, “Down this way.”

Your hands stay locked the whole way as you eventually reach the docks and you lead him up the steps to the top of the bridge.

“Isn’t this just where people do drug deals?” He laughs, stumbling behind to catch up with you and hold your hand a little firmer.

“Well, yeah,” You admit, “But at night, you get the best view of the stars.”

You let go of his hand and push yourself up onto the edge, shifting your weight until you sit on the edge with your legs dangling over.

“Woah, woah, careful!” He holds out his hands like he’d have any hope of catching you.

“Don’t worry,” You laugh, turning and laying down on the hard surface so you could look up to the sky above.

“Isn’t there a much safer way of seeing the fucking stars?” He mutters to himself as he mirrors your actions opposite you.

“Nobody ever did anything good by being safe,” You roll your eyes, glancing up to watch as he cautiously lowers himself to lay against the rock.

You two stay in silence for a while as you watch the stars stationary in their movement, until one comes shooting across as if by fate.

“I think that’s a good sign,” He comments quietly, voice a little raspy from the lack of conversation.

“So, Mr Muñoz, was this up to scratch for showing you what I do for fun around here?” You raise yourself to sit on the stone and swing your legs back over.

He hops down and dusts off his jeans, “Id say you need to find yourself some friends and get yourself to some parties.”

You laugh and can’t help your heart from bubbling as his hand finds yours again.

“I should probably get home, I have a big day tomorrow,” You comment, walking slowly back down the steps from the bridge with him.

“What’s happening tomorrow?”

“Let’s not talk about that,” You shake your head with a half-laugh.

“Then I should get you home as soon as possible,” With that, he dips down in front of you and hoists you onto his back until he has a firm grip on your thighs, “Your carriage has arrived.”

He somehow manages to carry you the whole way home, complaining whenever you made him laugh as you found yourself in hysterics - blaming it solely on the fatigue and that scotch in your empty stomach.

“Well, I’ve had a very good night, Ander,” You smile as he sets you back down, “You’ve slightly restored my faith in the other half of society.”

“Slightly?” He cocks a brow.

“There’s always room for improvement,” You smirk, leaning in to kiss his cheek, “Goodnight Ander.”

He stops you there until you’re close enough that your nose knocks against his. And he musters every piece of courage he had left in him to kiss you for the first time - soft and very much aware that you could easily pull away. When you don’t, his courage dials way back up and he cups your face in his hands with ease, like they were always meant to be there. It’s longing and you regret not starting this earlier in the evening.

“Goodnight, Ander,” You repeat as you pull away, slightly more breathless now.

“Can I get your number at least?” He asks as you go to walk towards your apartment block.

“Something tells me I’ll see you very soon anyway,” You confirm, heading inside before any other part of you could convince you otherwise.

- - - - - -

You’re shown around school by one of the admin staff who explains to you what to expect from your new student role at Las Encinas. You’d already noticed a few people that you’d served at the bar multiple times and tried to avoid too many peoples prying eyes on the new kid as you reach your new class.

“Class, we have a new student joining us today,” The teacher stands up as you go to walk in, “I’m sure you’ll all be very welcoming to (Y/n).”

There’s only one student that you’re focused on as the name is spoken. Sat in the back on the far side of the class is none other than Ander. That’s where you’d known the name from - his Mum was the fucking principal! He glances in your direction and quickly turns away, unable to stop the smile from crawling onto his face as he shifts a little in his chair.

“There’s a seat beside Ander if that’s okay,” The teacher mentions, gesturing over to the boy you were meant to not know yet.

You nod and take the adjacent seat to him, setting your book onto the table.

“So, last night was fun,” He smirks, handing you a pen, “Maybe now would be a good time for me to get that number.”

You roll your eyes, “When I said soon, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you the next morning.”

Nevertheless, you scribble down your number onto some paper and hand it back to him.

“Definitely seems like we’ll be seeing more of each other now, (y/n).”

And it suddenly becomes impossible to complain about his slightly cocky demeanour.

Ander x Reader

Request by anon: Hey ! I love your writings. I cas wondering if you could do ander x reader in which reader is new and some students are already flirting with reader and ander is jealous because he likes reader too. It would be cool if they met before and of course end up kissing because reader likes him back. Reader could tease ander and use his jaleousy idk you choose, I just liked the game between them in your imagine a series of fortunate events. Hope you like it (sorry for bad english, i'm french) xxx

Gif is not my own

Requests are open🤍

Starting at Las Encinas in your last two years of high school already felt like a bad idea. They were such a tight knit group that you hardly expected them to welcome any kind of newcomers. But when you were the only new paying student alongside three scholarship kids, they’d practically taken you as the best of a bad bunch. And you’d been getting more attention than you ever expected to.

It started with one of the other new boys who’d instantly tried to strike up some level of flirting with you. He was bold, loud, and slightly arrogant. But he seemed like his heart was in a good place. Christian, his name was.

Then you got the attention of Lu - who’d been intrigued by the new student who was so strongly the centre of attention at the moment. She’d sized you up, tried a few bitter comments to knock your confidence, and given up when people seemed to lose interest in her. You’d kept your cool and she hated how she couldn’t get under your skin, but it didn’t last for long.

Next was Guzmán, likely only flirting with you because things with Lu had ended. He was a nice enough boy but didn’t really seem like he had the best intentions and didn’t really have the characteristics of a personality that you’d find interesting. You were hardly suited for each other, other than your attractiveness which he’d assumed was reason enough to date. Definitely not, cariño.

There was only one boy amongst the whole group that interested you. The one who had taken a back seat and hardly acknowledged you much since you’d started. A boy that you had a hidden history with. Ander Muñoz.

- - - - - -

You’d spent your summer after turning sixteen unlike the rest of other students, you had been playing tennis like your life depended on it. Your Mum had always been encouraging of your sporting career and had forced you to enter a summer camp for training as soon as the opportunity arose. You expected to spend your time surrounded by people who actually cared for the sport as you tried your best to fit in. But on only the first day. You’d met a certain boy who changed that expectation.

Ander.

And soon enough, the two of you spent more and more time together. You always found excuses to play against each other, ate your meals together, spent your free time together, until you soon found yourself staying in his room more often than not. Things happened like a typical summer fling and it certainly made the camp a lot more interesting. He’d pull you out of training and take you somewhere away from prying eyes. You’d slip a note into his gym bag telling you where to meet him. Right up until when you’d left. And expected to never see the boy again.

Your last night with him was one of the most memorable. It was already past 3am when you lay awake in his bed, always making sure you were there past the time that theyd be checking on your rooms. His legs were intertwined with yours beneath the covers and his arm was around you, trailing patterns over the exposed skin.

“So where are you going after this?” Ander asks quietly into the silent room.

“I have no idea, if my Mum gets this job then we’ll be moving but I don’t know where to,” You say, glancing up to look at him, “It’s always a bit of a question with her.”

“Do you think we’ll see each other again?”

You prop yourself up onto one arm and rest a hand on his bare chest, “I don’t think either of us planned for that sort of commitment to come from tennis camp.”

He laughs gently and brushes your hair behind your ear, “Who’s to say that that’s not a good thing?”

“I don’t want you to feel like you’re being held back, I’m sure there are dozens of people at your school that could give you a much easier relationship than I could. Long distance never works.”

He leans up to you and brushes his lips against yours, “So I’ll never see you again?”

“I wouldn’t count on it,” You mutter, kissing him quickly.

“Then we should make the most of tonight.”

- - - - - -

Anders attitude since you’d started school could only be described as jealousy. It was evident. You saw the way he looked at you when you were near one of the other boys, listening to whatever topic of conversation they’d struck up. And it practically melted you to see how disgusted Ander looked at the sight.

“Oh come on, I could easily beat you in a fight,” You roll your eyes at Guzmán as he sits on the table opposite you and laughs.

“I doubt it, no offence,” He scoffs.

You two had become good friends over the past week as you’d made it clear that you only wanted to be friends and he’d been understanding of that. Though, to Ander, he was still a boy to be jealous of - having not learnt of the change in circumstances.

“Ander! Ander!” Guzmán waves him over, “Can you agree with me that I’d beat (Y/n) in a fight?”

Ander glances up but doesn’t look impressed, “I have no idea.”

Guzmán waves him off and rolls his eyes, “I’d easily win!”

You glance over at Ander and see him staring coldly between the two of you.

“See?” Guzmán pokes you in the ribs unexpectedly as you jump at the contact, “Surprise attack!”

“Guzmán!” You laugh, jumping up from your chair as you try to avoid him.

He reaches out and tickles your sides, making you writhe underneath his touch.

“Stop!” You squeal as he doesnt let up on his jovial attack.

“Still think you’d win huh?” Guzmán smirks, “See Ander, did you change your opinion now?”

At that, Ander pushes up from his desk and walks out of the class. Guzmán drops his attempts of tickling you and stops.

“What happened there?” Guzmán frowns, “Did I say something wrong?”

“No, I don’t know what’s wrong with him,” You shake your head, “I’ll catch up with you later, yeah?”

“Yeah, yeah sure,” Guzmán nods, “See you later.”

You follow Anders path out of the class and find him sitting on one of the couches near the classroom.

“You didn’t get very far,” You comment, standing beside the sofa.

He rolls his eyes, “Is that all that this summer was to you (Y/n)? Just someone to flirt with and fuck until it ended?”

“What are you talking about?”

He shakes his head, not once making eye contact with you, “All of the boys here are practically throwing themselves at you and you seem to not give two shits about the fact that we spent this entire summer together. I guess I thought wrong about you.”

“You know I told Christian I wasn’t interested? He left things alone. I told that boy from gym the same, and that other guy who sits at the back of Maths. And I told Guzmán that I just wanted us to be friends because I already had someone else. I told each and every one of them a reason why it wouldn’t work because that summer did mean something to me,” You confess, “I didn’t expect to see you again Ander, that doesn’t mean that I was just playing around until the last day. And you know that.”

He stands up from the couch, “So your mum got the job?”

You scoff, “Yeah, and I’m living five minutes away from the school.”

He grins, “So when you said I wouldn’t see you again?”

“I told you not to count on it.”

Ander x Reader

Request by anon: Hi, so I Ioved noticed absence and it gave me an idea.I want to request an Ander imagine where he and the reader are in the same friend group, hanging out everyday etc and he likes her for a long time but she has no clue.Then something happens that makes him confess his feelings to her (how he remembers everything she's told him and notices every little thing she does etc).I don't know if it makes any sense but if you could do that it would be greatly appreciated. Ps I really love your writing ❤

Gif is not my own

Requests are open 🤍

“Hello hello hello!” Ander grins as he carry the pizza boxes through to the lounge, “What did we miss?”

Guzmán follows behind with the other boxes in his arms, stepping over the pillows on the floor to follow cautiously.

“Just (Y/n) complaining about being hungry,” Lu rolls her eyes, “Or complaining about everything in general.”

“Well, I got your favourite so stop moaning now,” Ander eyes you as he sets down the box in front of your crossed legs, “And I even asked for it without the onions because you always end up picking them off anyway.”

“Thanks,” You laugh to yourself, “Did you ask for ex-“

“Extra peppers too, yep I got it all right,” He scoffs, sitting down beside you with his own pizza box, “What film are we watching?”

The group kick off into a chorus of debate once again as they try to decide on the movie, now joined by Guzmán who made the whole situation worse by suggesting films that you hadn’t even considered.

“What film are they choosing?” Ander leans over to ask you.

“I’m not even sure that they know,” You roll your eyes, “At this rate we won’t end up watching anything, just like last time.”

“Oh, I was meant to ask you, do you mind if I come round tomorrow evening? Mums at a board meeting all evening and I’d rather avoid my Dad.”

You smile at his offer, “Yeah of course, I think my parents are out anyway. We can play some Warzone.”

“Hey! You two need to make a decision,” Polo calls over, “It’s either Die Hard or Love Actually.”

You laugh at the choices, evidently dissimilar in all ways.

“Don’t you hate both of those films?” Ander frowns at you.

“Yeah but that’s fine, Guzmán always picks the shit choices,” You joke to your friend, “I say Die Hard.”

“Okay, fine, we’ll watch that one,” Ander agrees, reaching over and grabbing a blanket from the middle of the floor where you’d all set up for the evening.

As the film starts, both of you snuggle under the covering as you turn to watch the screen - unbeknownst to the fact that Anders eyes struggled to leave you, despite the ongoings of the movie.

It’s as the film almost ends and a loud fight scene almost breaks out that you jump up from your sleep and realise that you’d been sleeping on Ander the entire time. Luckily, he was asleep too as he’d had his head resting on your shoulder and yours resting against the cushion of his curly hair.

“Don’t worry, we took plenty of photos,” Lu comments from across the room where her and Guzmán sat with his arm uncomfortably around her, “Just for when you two actually do get together.”

You glance at your friend and try to not move in the fear of waking him up. Why did everyone always think that you two were anything more than friends?!

- - - - - -

The next day, you meet Ander from tennis practice as you walk over to the court that he was playing on.

“Hi Sir,” You smile to his Dad, “How are you?”

“Better if my son didn’t seem so distracted,” He rolls his eyes, “Do you know what’s going on with him?”

You glance over at Ander who looks furious with irritation, “We have a lot of tests coming up at school, and Ander’s been working hard to get his grades up. He’s actually been helping me.”

“Well, maybe he needs to focus more on the thing that’s going to help his future,” His Dad glares daggers at Ander who looks bashfully down at his feet.

“Ready to go, Ander?” You turn to him hopefully.

“Where do you think you’re going?” His Dad questions, “He’ll stay here until I say he’s good enough to leave.”

“Sir, don’t you think you’ll make matters a lot worse by forcing him to continue when he’s clearly not focused? I don’t know about you, but it’s only going to get worse if you keep him here for any longer in my opinion,” You’re always defensive of Ander but it’s normally after you’ve left that you’d start to rant about how his Dad treats him in practice.

“(Y/n), it’s fine, I’ll talk to you later...” Ander attempts, not wanting matters to escalate further.

“No, I’m serious! I don’t see how you can think it’s acceptable to push your son into some sort of elite status when all it’s doing is making him hate the sport more and more.”

His Dad glares at you but words fail him before he swallows his pride, “Fine, we’ll start again tomorrow.”

You turn your attention back to Ander who looks shocked between you and his father, “Ready to go, Ander?”

He grabs his bag from the side of the court and follows out after you in pure surprise. Nobody ever spoke up to his Dad like that. He never had the guts to, so how had you just done it so easily?

“You really didn’t have to do that...” He comments as he trails beside you on the way out of the school grounds.

“I know, and I’m sorry. I didn’t want to make things worse, but fuck! He makes me so angry,” You sigh, running a hand across your hair.

“No, no,” Ander stops you by holding onto your arm, “Thank you, nobody’s ever stood up to him like that.”

Your lips curl into a smile full of surprise.

“I’d do it everyday if I could. You don’t deserve to be treated like that,” You encourage, “He needs to understand when enough is enough.”

Ander swallows the lump in his throat, “Thank you.”

“Now, lets go and play warzone and at least try to get some wins today.”

- - - - - -

You’re just about to fall asleep when Ander speaks up the words he’d been waiting to ask all night. Something had seemed off about him since you’d first arrived home but you’d brushed it off as a consequence of what had happened with his Dad.

“There’s an event thing with the board tomorrow and obviously I have to go with my mum, would you maybe want to come? She said I could bring someone,” Ander explains, tucking an arm under his head as he lays on the adjacent side of the bed to you.

“Yeah, okay, I’d be happy to. Do we need to dress up all fancy?”

He laughs, “It’s a black tie event.”

“Then I will find my finest attire, what time?”

“I’ll pick you up at seven,” He nods, “Thank you.”

This was the way things always were with you and Ander. You spent so much time alone together, separate from the rest of the group, that people constantly assumed that you were dating. Whether it was always spending the night at each other’s houses, meaning you’d always turn up late on the same days, or the fact that you were always each other’s plus ones - everyone always just expected that you were more than friends. It had never occurred to you that he felt that way too. It was just the way it had always been. He’d always just remembered every word you said, every date that was of note, every piece of your life that he’d fixed with his own. Every piece of your heart.

“Good night Ander,” You mumble through a stifled yawn as you turn in the bed and tuck an arm under the pillow to sleep.

He turns to face you too but doesn’t close his eyes like you do. He keeps focused on you, wondering when you’d learn that he’d never see you as a friend.

- - - - - -

As promised, Ander comes to pick you up with his Mum at 7pm and the two of you head to the venue of the board meeting. It was always intimidating to attend these things but you’d grown used to them after how many Ander had brought you along to. Normally, the two of you would keep to each other’s company and avoid speaking to as many people as you could.

“Okay, so who’s that guy?” You point out to a certain man amongst the crowd as Ander hands a drink to you.

“He pays for some of the Oxford scholarships,” Ander explains, “Pretty important for the school.”

You roll your eyes, “Or just a guy with deep pockets.”

“That’s kind of the point,” Ander laughs, “The school upholds a good reputation so that people like that keep feeding us money.”

“Technicalities,” You brush him off, taking a sip of your drink.

“You know, we can get out of here if you want,” He encourages, following behind you as you walk through the crowd.

“What are you talking about?” You laugh, “We only just got here!”

“I know, but it’s hardly our scene.”

“None of this is ever our scene,” You chuckle, “But it’s getting pretty busy, we can at least stay for an hour.”

“And then warzone?” Ander raises his brows.

“Deal.”

You spend the next half an hour mingling around people before your phone starts going off in your pocket and you quickly dismiss yourself to head outside. It’s your Mother on the other end of the line as you respond to her asking about when you’d be home, if at all.

“I can check with Ander, see if it would be easier for me to stay there tonight,” You nod, turning around as you notice someone, Ander, walking out of the door.

He nods at you like he’s giving approval to your obvious suggestion.

“And he said that’s fine,” You laugh gently, “I’ll talk to you later Mum, yeah I’ll let you know when I’m home.”

With that, you hang up and turn back to Ander.

“Sorry, are the speeches starting?” You ask, stuffing your phone back into your pocket.

“No, but I um... I just wanted to speak to you about something.”

Your brows settle into an instant frown, “Everything okay man?”

Ander looks down at the floor and kicks at a stone amongst the crowd on the ground, “See, I’ve thought about saying this a thousand times. I don’t know why now, here, but I guess it just feels like the right time.”

“Ander what are you talking about?”

“You can say whatever you want, or nothing at all, just after I’m done. I don’t think I’ll be able to start up again if I stop.”

“You’re scaring me, what are you about to say?”

“I like you (Y/n). And the only reason I’m not saying love is because I want that to come after I know that you feel the same. It’s not just that liking to anybody and everybody. It’s in every piece of you,” Ander admits like the words have been waiting to be spoken for years now, “You’re the most incredible person in my life, and I never want to find anybody that will change that.”

“Ander...” You begin, unsure as to where your sentence would go after that.

“I started thinking it was just a confused thing. But then I realised you’re the only person I actually fucking listen to, and I remember everything you say. And that’s not just a friend thing. I didn’t even try to fight it because I already knew it would be useless. It’s you (Y/n)! How could I not like you?”

You swallow the lump in your throat, “How long... how long have you felt like that?”

He smiles gently, “I think I always did. I just didn’t realise until early this year, when you came to mine on Valentines Day.”

“February? That was eight fucking months ago Ander. You’ve had feelings for me since then and you’ve just not told me?”

He winces a little at the harsh tone of your words, “I tried to, so many times. But I didn’t want to ruin anything, change anything...”

“Change anything?” You exhale, “This changes everything Ander.”

“You don’t feel the same,” It’s like he needs to speak the words to properly realise it.

You can’t say no. But can’t say yes either.

Instead, you watch as he takes a step forward until the gap between you is closed.

“Just... tell me to stop and I will,” He begins, lifting up a hand to cup your cheek.

He takes in a deep breath and dips his head to your level, lips an inch from yours as he looks to your eyes for approval. You’re the one that leans forward, offering him all the approval he needed. Your lips lock and for a moment all of your history slips away. He’s just a boy with a very certain kiss.

Ander x Reader

Request by anon: hey if you’re still doing requests. Can you do a imagine where the reader has been best friends with Guzman , Polo and Ander since they were kids. They’re all really close but especially Guzman and the reader and they’re all like touchy and flirty but as just friends. But Ander likes the reader and finically confesses and the reader likes him back. 

Gif is not my own 

Requests are open

“Alright, do hypothetically, if I weren’t to do any revision for this test tomorrow - how bad could it be?” Ander asks cautiously as the waiter leaves the food at your table.

“You’re kidding? Ander I practically gave you the answers!” Guzmán exclaims, “All you need to do is remember them.”

“You have to agree though, it’s ridiculously dull!” He scoffs, taking the other empty seat beside you.

You, him, Guzmán and Polo had all come out for dinner and drinks at the local restaurant- a regular occurrence nowadays.

“Tell him (Y/n),” Guzmán sighs, taking a few chips from your plate whilst you’re distracted.

“Hey!” You exclaim, hitting his hand away, “I asked you if you wanted chips and you said no.”

“Well it’s more fun to take them from your plate,” He jeers, leaning in close to you as he speaks with a grin.

You push his head away, “I’ll give you my leftovers, like a dog.”

He laughs and turns back to the other boys, “What were we talking about? Oh, right, Ander.”

“Yeah, whatever,” He rolls his eyes, “I’ll read your notes tonight.”

You’d been friends with these three boys for as long as you could remember. Spending near enough every single day in their company. Everybody you knew grew used to the fact that you were always together, and all of your family understood that inviting you to an event meant inviting the three tag-alongs also. It was just the way it had always been.

- - - - - -

The next day, you’re at school for swim practice - all three boys sat at poolside whilst you finish your lengths for the day.

“What are you laughing at?” You roll your eyes as you push yourself out of the water, reaching for your towel.

Guzmán turns to the other boys and they snicker about something all together, “Nothing, nothing.”

“Come on, what is it?” You question once again, hitting him with the towel.

“We’re making bets on how likely it is that Mrs Anderson has a crush on you,” Polo laughs, nodding in the direction of one of the coaches.

“On me?” You scoff, “I think she’s looking at you more than me, Guzmán.”

“Can you blame her?” Guzmán jeers, standing up and reaching out for your sides as he starts to tickle you.

“Don’t start with that!” You fight back, trying to push his hands away, “Don’t you dare!”

Guzmán laughs as he continues to tickle you until you manage to wrestle him to the poolside and both of you lose your balance - landing in the water with an immense splash.

“Fucking hell guys!” Ander exclaims, grabbing a towel to dry off from where he’d been caught in the backfire.

“(Y/n)! Guzmán!” One coach yells, “Both of you, out now!”

You look to Guzmán who flicks his hair out of his face and laughs, pushing himself to the side of the pool and hopping out.

“All your fault (Y/l/n).”

As you’re walking towards the side of the pool where coach was waiting, you’re oblivious to Ander following your path. You don’t pay much attention to it at all. The way his eyes focus solely on you, flitting only once to Guzmán as he questions for the umpteenth time - what does he have that I don’t?

“You okay man?” Polo asks his friend, nudging him to catch his attention.

“Yeah, yeah,” Ander nods, shaking away from his focus on you as he turns back to Polo.

Silence falls between them momentarily as Polo watches the next round of swimmers run through their drills.

“Do you think there’s something between (Y/n) and Guzmán?” Ander asks cautiously, trying to sound as nonchalant as possible as he speaks.

“(Y/n) and Guzmán?!” Polo laughs, “Come on, you know that would never happen! And Guzman’s head over heels for Nadia, even if there was a possibility that him and (Y/n) could happen.”

“No I don’t mean from Guzman’s perspective, I mean like... do you think (Y/n) could like him?” Ander persists, watching as you and Guzmán turn back around from where you’d just been yelled at by the coach.

Guzmán slings an arm over your shoulder and traps you in a headlock, ruffling your hair. He did it with such ease.

“What are you talking about? Why does it matter anyway?” Polo frowns, “It’s not like-“

“Hey guys!” You speak up as you walk back over to the pair of them, “You look awfully deep in thought.”

“Just... talking about tonight,” Ander explains quickly, scratching at the back of his neck, “Right Polo?”

Polo looks at his friend suspiciously before turning back to you, “Right, yeah, tonight.”

You laugh and drop down to sit on the floor in front of them, “What a poorly convincing lie.”

“Maybe they were gossiping about us,” Guzmán jokes as he takes the third seat on the bench, letting your head rest against his knee as he does.

Anders eyes stay focused on the point of contact like it held all the meaning in the world. He knew it seemed practically impossible for anything to happen with you and Guzmán. But there was always the possibility. And that was what he focused on. Because realising you might have feelings for one of his best friends was one thing, but it had nothing compared to the realisation that he might have feelings for you.

- - - - - -

“Do you guys think we’ll all still be friends in like ten years time?” Polo asks as he flops back down onto the hammock in your garden.

“What?” Guzmán laughs, “Why are you thinking about that?”

You and him were occupying the other hammock as you sat beside each other, his legs long enough to push it back and forth like a swing. Ander and Polo sat in the same position on the other hammock.

“I don’t know, I guess I was just thinking about how much could change,” Polo shrugs, having not been completely himself recently anyway, “Will I still be with Carla? Will I still know you guys?”

“Fucking hell, what did you put in your beer?” You scoff, “Of course we’ll still be friends.”

“You think so?” Ander speaks up, having not said much at all all night.

“Only because I know you guys couldn’t live without me,” You jab Guzman’s ribs and he laughs.

“I’d practically crash and burn (Y/l/n).”

Ander swallows the lump in his throat and tries to return the smile you send his way when you catch his eye. Really, he doesn’t want to be smiling back, he wants nothing more than to completely focus on that smile on your face and remember it being solely focused on him. But it’s fleeting, and Guzmán is saying something to make you laugh before he can do anything more.

You four stay like that for a while, beers on supply as you’re chatting - about anything and nothing. You were relieved to have these boys around you, especially after how much had happened recently. And you were pretty certain you’d still know them all by the time ten years went by. You were friends beyond school, and they meant a lot to you. Nothing bad enough could happen that would change that. Right?

“Right, Im heading in - should we set up a game?” Polo suggests, pushing himself up from the hammock as he speaks.

“Only if you don’t die in the first five minutes,” Guzmán scoffs, “I’ll end up carrying the team yet again.”

“I’ll be right in, just need to clear up out here,” You nod, “The controllers are in the-“

“Cupboard underneath the speakers,” Guzmán finishes for you, ruffling your hair as he stands up, “I know (Y/l/n).”

You roll your eyes and watch as the two of them walk inside, leaving only you and Ander, “You can go in if you want, I’ll clear up out here.”

“No, that’s okay. I’ll help,” He encourages, going to grab a few of the bottles before he stops and stands up properly, “Can I ask you something?”

You pause and set down the bottles in your hand, “Of course.”

“Do you think you’d ever have... I don’t know, like ever have feelings for...” He stops and shakes a hand through his hair, “Do you think you’d ever have feelings for Guzmán?”

You’re taken aback instantly, “Guzmán? Are you kidding?”

“I don’t know, you guys always seem so... close? And you-“

“Ander, its nothing more than friends between me and him. Come on man, I treat him like a brother,” You laugh, “You do make me laugh Ander.”

“Do you think you treat us all like brothers?”

You look up at him once again, “What are you talking about?”

“I don’t know, do you think you’d see us all as brothers? Or do you think you see all of us differently?”

“Well, with Guzmán, that’s the way it’s always been. We’ve always been close but we’ve always both known that we treat each other like family. With Polo, I lose my patience with him a lot, and he pisses me off, but he’s always there for us - that never changes. And with you... what do you think?”

He looks down, “I don’t know.”

“I told you that you were a terrible liar.”

He chuckles a little, “I don’t know... I guess I’ve just always thought...”

“I think I’ve always thought too,” You smile, “It’s different, right?”

“Different, yeah.”

You go to respond again but you’re stopped by the sound of the back door opening.

“Come on guys, how long does it take to bring in some bottles?” Guzmán yells, “And I’m ordering pizza, so If you don’t hurry up, you’re not having any food.”

“We’ll be there now,” You return, not tearing your gaze away from Ander.

You bend down once again and grab the bottles, watching as he does the same without another word. He goes to walk inside ahead of you but you rush to catch up before he can. It’s a simple gesture as you place a kiss to his cheek quickly.

Ander x Reader

Request by @aronpiperstuff : Heyyyyy love :) I love your ander imagines man 🤭they are so good and addictive so i wanted a request of my own :) one where he and the reader are like childhood/school friends and after like a night of clubbing they get really wasted and somehow end up having sex in the car 😂😂 hope you see this Xxx

Gif is not my own

Requests are OPEN🤍

It was already far too bright as you tried to blink through the overpowering light once your eyes were open and your slumber ended. Your head was already pounding and your muscles felt like they’d been practically squashed into whatever uncomfortable position you’d slept in. But more importantly, where the fuck were you?!

You keep blinking to try to get rid of the confusion and distortion clouding your vision, finally seeing clear enough to recognise a figure sleeping on top of you.

“What the fuck?” You mumble to yourself, now realising your muscles were likely pained so much as a result of this sleeping arrangement, in a place you could only assume was somebody’s car.

How on Earth had you gotten here?

You try to take in a few more of the person’s features, their growing curly hair being the first key sign. Oh shit. There was only one person that it could be. And if your nose wasn’t so clogged with the lingering scent of alcohol, you’d have been able to recognise their cologne too. Ander.

“Ander!” You hiss, trying to nudge him to wake him up, hitting his arm that had fallen down from the back seats of the car and now hung where his legs should rest in the car, “Ander!”

He groans and tries to stretch out a little in his sleep, waking up rapidly when he realises it’s not a possibility.

“What the fuck?” He mutters just as you had, blinking as he tries to push himself up.

His eyes fully open and he processes the image of the person he’d been laying on top of. His arms fail him as his eyes widen in shock and he falls back onto you.

“Fucking hell Ander!” You cough as his abrupt connection winds you, “Get up!”

Slowly, and with tense sore muscles, the two of you sit up in adjacent seats in the back of a car you had to assume belonged to Ander. Otherwise, you’d just woken up with your childhood best friend in a car you could’ve broken into.

Ander scans his surroundings before his eyes fall back onto you, widening further when he notices your lack of any sort of clothing. He glances down at himself and makes a quick move to cover himself with his hands.

“What are we doing here?” He questions through a burning blush.

You groan and press a hand to your throbbing head, “I have no idea. I can’t remember anything from last night.”

“We drank... a lot,” He points out, a fact you figured was obvious in the circumstances, “But we didn’t... I mean we couldn’t have...”

You’re just as uncertain as he is. Unwilling to accept the idea that you’d just drunkenly had sex with your childhood best friend in the back of his far too small car after the two of you had reunited after at least five years without seeing each other. That couldn’t have happened, right?

“I don’t know, I don’t know Ander,” You mumble, “I don’t know how we got here, what happened, how we even managed to find your fucking car...”

“We didn’t... we definitely didn’t have sex...” Ander shakes his head.

The both of you make eye contact and stare at each other for longer than you should, hoping any part of his appearance will give you some sort of clarity about the previous nights antics.

“No, no, definitely not,” You agree, “We just need to retrace our steps and figure out what happened.”

“Right, yeah, no, good idea,” Ander encourages, “We should probably get some clothes on first.”

You glance down at your naked form and his and swallow the lump in your throat, “Yeah, definitely didn’t have sex.”

- - - - - -

Only half an hour later, you find yourselves walking back through the town from Ander’s car. You’d soon realised that he’d had his car parked outside of his house so, somehow, you’d made it all the way from the club to his home and got into his car that way. He had the keys on him but they hadn’t been in the ignition so you’d never actually driven anywhere - thankfully avoiding an inevitable drunk driving charge or worse.

“Weren’t you with that guy last night? The one that started talking to you at the bar?” Ander comments as you turn the corner towards the road leading up to the club.

“Right, yeah! The guy with the shaved head!” You say, excited clearly to have picked up some piece of memory, “I think I gave him my number.”

You both pull out your phones and check, hoping maybe this guy would have sent some sort of message to prove anything. Ander laughs at his screen instantly.

“You gave him my number. Guess you didn’t like him that much then,” He rolls his eyes, stuffing his phone back into his pocket.

Part of you had been praying that this guy would have been the one you’d been with the night before - to avoid it being your best friend instead.

“Okay, but that’s at least something,” You sigh as the two of you reach the club doors on the corner of the empty street.

“I feel like we went to get food, there were takeout boxes in the trash at my place. We must’ve gone to get food or something,” Ander point out, glancing around at the street, “There! That’s the place we always go to after a rough night out.”

You follow him across the road as you try to imagine your drunken self taking the exact same movements only a matter of hours beforehand. Nothing. Damn you, alcohol.

The food joint is closed, unsurprisingly, and you’re just about to turn away when somebody comes walking round from the back - having taken the bins out or something.

“Hey, um, excuse me,” You stop them quickly, “Are you just about to open up?”

They frown at you, “No, I’m just finishing my night shift.”

“Brilliant!” Ander exclaims, coming up beside you close, “Did we happen to come here at any point last night? Probably pretty drunk?”

The young boy blinks, bewildered, as he looks between the two of you, “Yeah, I remember you guys. You started dancing on the table.”

You and Ander look between each other bashfully.

“Was it just the two of us?” You persist, “Sorry, I just think I’ve lost my phone and we’re just trying to retrace our steps from the night.”

The boy glances down at the phone half sticking out of your pocket before looking back up to both of your waiting pairs of eyes, “No, there was another guy. Tall, pretty muscly, kinda moody because we were all out of kebabs.”

You and Ander both turn to each other excitedly before saying in unison, “Guzmán!”

- - - - - -

Hence, the next place you find yourself is the path towards Guzman’s house. Your headache had subsided a bit as the two of you stopped to get some water on the way but you couldn’t possibly stomach the idea of food.

“Alright, hopefully Guzmán can give us some answers,” Ander sighs, knocking on the door as you stand beside him.

You glance him again and wonder what had changed last night to make you see him so differently. How had he no longer been Ander? And suddenly a boy your drunken mind had no history with...

“Hey! I didn’t expect to see you two up so early!” Guzmán laughs as he opens the door, “What’s up?”

“What can you tell us about last night?” You ask quickly before Ander has the chance.

Guzmán frowns, “Fuck! You two must’ve been bad, come in come in.”

You find yourselves sat on Guzmans couch as he sits on the coffee table across from you. This all felt a bit ridiculous to find out the events of one simple night. But you had to try to convince yourselves that you hadn’t compromised your entire friendship over one night.

“Okay, so you got bored of being upstairs but nobody else was fussed so us three all went downstairs into the actual club. And we’d all had a bit too much, and Ander decided it would be a good idea to start undressing in the middle of the dance floor.”

You look down and smirk a little at the idea, the typically introverted boy coming completely out of his shell.

“I got in a taxi to get home and you guys said you’d walk back,” Guzmán runs a hand through his hair, “I was too drunk to tell you it was a bad idea. Where did you guys end up?”

You and Ander exchange a small glance before quickly looking away.

“We just went home, nothing more than that, right (Y/n)?”

“Yeah, yeah, we just walked home,” You agree, swallowing the lump in your throat as you try to believe the words yourself.

Guzmán stands up from the couch, “Whatever you say,” He laughs as he carries his empty mug back to the kitchen, “But you guys seemed like you were about to fuck last night.”

Instantly you turn to Ander with widened eyes, both of you sharing the same expression as you look at each other. There wasn’t much hiding from this anymore. No amount of searching could give you the answer you were looking for. You had well and truly messed up your friendship last night.

- - - - - -

“Well, I don’t think there are many other places we can go to,” Ander laughs as he hands you the coffee from the cafe he’d just stopped off at.

You carry the takeout cup in your hand and walk alongside him, wincing at the hot temperature, “I guess not. Your memory jogger at all?”

Ander scoffs, “I have a faint memory of you telling me you couldn’t keep your eyes off me all nigh...”

“Okayyyy,” You cut him off, “Let’s leave that there, no need to bring up any of that.”

“I know we don’t really remember much of what happened,” Ander begins, scratching at the back of his neck, “But I had a lot of fun last night.”

You glance at him with a small smile tugging at your lips, “Yeah, me too.”

He blushes a little but you blame it on the heat of the coffee in his hand.

Ander x Reader

Request by @isthatmaryanna : ander: he met her in the school and she’s the one who finds out that he has cancer, she helps him and she’s starting to get feeling for him and he has for her to but he thinks that we should cut her off his life because of cancer

Reader has been made to have no specified gender

Gif is not my own

Requests are closed 🤍

Starting at Las Encinas was a lot easier than you thought it would be. You’d made friends with Carla and Valerio almost instantly and, though they weren’t the closest, it felt like you were meant to know each other from way before this. They’d integrated you a little into the rest of the group but you’d been more than happy to avoid that drama for as long as you could do rather than get yourself wrapped up in stuff that definitely felt out of your depth. Sometimes, though, that was practically unavoidable.

“Alright your interviews will only be short but they’ll be used as experience for you to understand what you actually want out of your next steps after Las Encinas and whether you are interested in university or alternative paths,” Your professor explains from the front of the class, “Go and take a look around the stalls around school today and make sure you’re all at your interviews on time, please. You’re dismissed.”

Everyone gets up at their own pace as people start to mill around outside, looking at the different universities that were here to pitch to you all today. You’d already seen a few that interested you, looking at a few prospects and reading through some of the information in the university prospectus.

“I can’t think of anything worse than university,” Valerio groans as he walks up beside you and steals some freebies from one of the stalls.

“I can’t think of anything worse than you at university,” You joke, “Maybe you’re just not cut out for that.”

“Definitely not!” He laughs, “I don’t think I’d fit in very well.”

You thank the lady from one of the stalls as she hands you her contact information and you start to stroll around a few more. You’d already lost Valerio amongst the crowd and dismissed the thought of him actually taking this remotely seriously. It’s only when you hear a door slam that your attention is drawn away from the university brochure you’d been intrigued by. You frown and watch as Ander pushes past a few students and hides around a corner, away from anybody’s prying eyes. It doesn’t take much to notice that he’s crying, breathing heavy and eyes squeezing shut as he tries to stop the overload of emotion.

“Ander?” You speak to involuntarily that you don’t have the opportunity to think about whether he’d appreciate your presence or not.

“(Y/n)?” He frowns at the sight of you, reaching up and swiping away his tears quickly, “Shit, um, I’m fine. It’s just dusty and I...”

You take a cautious step forward, “Okay, well maybe if you get some fresh air? Care to join me?”

He looks you up and down likes he’s trying to study your intentions, “Yeah, okay.”

“Okay,” You smile gently, starting to walk in the direction of the big doors that led out onto the land surrounding the school.

You’d hardly been here long enough to fully explore how much space this whole school expanded to, and half of you had the mind to think you’d get lost amongst this. Both you and Ander stay in silence as you start to walk around the empty paths. You focus on how Ander’s breathing becomes calmer and less shaky, watching from the corner of your eye as he brings up his sleeve again to wipe away a few more tears that had clung on.

“You know this place is pretty beautiful from the outside,” You comment as you pass more greenery than the place knew what to do with.

“Not so much once you’re in,” Ander lets out a little joke, “How have you found it so far?”

You glance at him, “Interesting, I just try to avoid the majority of gossip and keep my head down.”

“I think I’m doing the exact same at the minute,” He scoffs and the two of you fall back into a silence yet again.

It’s not the sort of silence that feels unsettling or awkward. It’s one of understanding and respect instead. You knew he’d been crying for a reason and you knew, if it had been you, you’d want someone to respect your space and give you enough time to process it yourself. So, you let him have that space and time.

“Don’t you have an interview to get to?” He frowns, slowing down his pace like he felt an instant guilt for drawing you away.

You shake your head, “I’m sure they’re not that important.”

Ander can’t help but smile a little, it felt like the most genuinely nice thing he’d seen anybody do in a long time. So, he lets you miss whatever time your interview was supposed to be and he carries on walking alongside you in a welcomed tranquility.

You eventually make your way back into the school and hold the door for him as you both step into the near empty corridor.

“Ander, whatever’s going on, you’re not on your own,” You assure him, “You won’t ever be on your own.”

He looks at you and swallows the lump in his throat, “I know.”

“And if you need someone or you-“

“I have cancer (Y/n),” It’s only four words but you’re certain they carry enough weight to knock you from your feet.

Your words completely fail you for the first time where you completely wish you could say the right thing, “I... Ander... I’m so...”

He shakes his head, “Nobody knows, so I’d appreciate if it stays that way.”

“You didn’t tell your Mum?” You frown a little, “Ander that’s not something you want to go through on your own.”

“Maybe not, but I have an appointment tomorrow morning so I’ll figure it out from there,” He states, “Thanks for today, (Y/n).”

- - - - - -

It felt like such an obvious reaction when you were sat in that waiting room in the hospital at nine in the morning. There were a few people milling around but nobody with the face of the boy you were waiting for.

“(Y/n)?” Ander speaks up as he walks through the doorway.

You glance up from your phone and take your earphones out, “I’m not late, am I?”

He frowns, “What are you talking about?”

You take a deep breath, “I know you might want to handle this whole thing on your own, but nobody deserves to go through something like that with nobody to support them.”

He swallows the lump in his throat, “You don’t have to do this, honestly.”

“I know,” You nod, “But I told you that you wouldn’t be alone and I meant it.”

He smiles a little and sits down beside you on the bench, “What are you watching?”

You hand him one of your earphones as you press play on the movie whilst the two of you wait for his name to be called. Somewhere along the line, you find yourself glancing at the boy beside you as he keeps his eyes focused on the screen whilst the film plays out. Nobody deserved to go through what he was going to face, what he was already starting to face. So, when his hand finds yours and squeezes it as the two of you walk up to the appointment, it’s impossible to not hold it there.

You try to listen to all of the information they tell you during the appointment to make sure that you pick up on everything that he might not do as the information becomes overwhelming. They explain the treatment process and encourage that Ander looks at the leaflets they’ve given him to understand what he was going to face. They offer the chance to answer any questions but the pair of you simply sit in silence until the doctor dismisses you.

Ander drops your hand almost instantly as you step outside, “You should go.”

“Ander...” You sigh, “You heard what they said, they’ll give you all the treatment that can an-“

“You should go, you should be at school anyway,” it’s cold but you can hardly blame him.

“You don’t have to be alone in this,” You encourage him.

“I didn’t ask for you to be here!” He raises his voice a little, “And why the fuck would you want to spend time with the dying kid?”

You open your mouth to try and defend yourself and him but it’s hopeless.

“Just go.”

- - - - - -

You don’t see Ander at school for the next couple of days and you become increasingly worried for his wellbeing when you ask Guzmán and Polo and they both have no idea where he is. You become so close to speaking to his Mum at one point. But part of you knew you’d never have it in you to go against your word to him.

“Alright, I’ll see you later,” You smile to Carla as you both part ways for your separate classes.

It’s as you turn the corner that you see Ander stood there. He looks odd in his uniform, like it wasn’t really meant for him anymore. His face looks a little darker, likely from his lack of sleep. But his curls still brighten up his appearance - you didn’t want to imagine him without them.

“You know I had to come up with a really good excuse why I missed both times they scheduled that interview for,” You joke to at least lighten the mood momentarily as you walk closer, “I’m not great at lying.”

He looks down at his feet, “Im sorry about what I said to you at the hospital. You didn’t deserve that.”

You shake your head, “Come on, we hardly knew each other before this week. I don’t expect you to want me to be with you through something like this.”

“No, no, it’s not that,” He assures you, “I guess I was just more scared of... Well, anyway, I just wanted to say thank you.”

“It’s fine honestly.”

“You said that we don’t really spend much time together,” He shuffles his feet a little, “Maybe we should, right?”

You fight back a grin at his innocence, “Yeah, maybe.”

“Do you fancy missing class again, the weather’s nice?”

And just like that, you’re walking the perimeter of the school again alongside him. This time, you’re chatting the entire way. He asks you about your life before Las Encinas and which Marvel film you’d want to be in, and slowly, he comes to the realisation that he truly didn’t have to be alone.

- - - - - -

Guzmán x Ander

Request by @lovexfanx : They’re both in The Military and that tough times mentally and emotionally made them realize their true feelings towards each other. They always thought they’re just friends but being put through a hard time like that together they realize they’ve always been in love ❤️

Gif is not my own

Requests are open🤍

The wind came swooping in to give them another threatening blow as the rain hammered down like mockery around the group. They’d lost count of the time they’d been out here, lost hope of ever reaching the last circuit of training. That’s all it had been today. You run, you stop and do the weight training, and you run some more. All in a relentless effort to make soldiers out of school kids.

“You think the weather goes easy on you out there?” The sergeant yells as the group reach the training field once again.

They’re all breathless, drained, some seemingly half-lifeless.

“I need fight, heart, strength from each and every one of you. And if you don’t believe you can give me those qualities,” The sergeant explains as he paces up and down the wooden stage, “You hand in your number and you get off my team - is that understood?”

The group all collectively respond before they’re finally told to go inside. Nobody lets out any level of exposing their relief. Everyone keeps their shoulders high, their chins up and their composure maintained as they walk back to the compound to shower.

Guzmán glances around at the team and looks at a few faces that he’d picked up on distinctly over the past few weeks. One girl had it in her to tear apart all of the people here, she seemingly had no compassion or empathy and she’d made that continuously clear. Another boy had cried every night for the first week that he’d been there and hadn’t managed to speak to many of the team at all. Guzmán was lucky that he had Ander. The two boys that had stuck by each other through school and now through this. Only this threw more at them than Las Encinas ever could. Losing Polo had changed the two of them beyond repair so, when the opportunity arose to join the military, they’d grasped the chance like it was the only hope they had left. That, and each other.

Ander had been far from his normal self recently as he’d begun to distance from everyone around him, becoming quieter and slowly but surely building himself into more and more of a reserved soldier. Guzmán was worried about him. That boy had been through enough, he feared what went on in his head as soon as he had the time alone.

“Ander!” Guzmán calls as he sees his friend walking into the showers before him.

Ander glances over and nods his head a little to acknowledge Guzmán. No words.

“You okay man?” Guzmán asks, “I know it was tiring out there today but you looked like you were in good shape.”

“I’m good,” Ander nods, “I’ll catch you later.”

With that, he grabs his things and goes to one of the vacant showers. Guzmán stands there hopelessly for a while before turning back and following to do the same.

Something wasn’t right about Ander and it killed him to think that he couldn’t do anything to help. That would be worse than anything this regime could throw at him - losing his best friend.

- - - - - -

The next morning, Ander is up and out running before sunrise. He gets in a quick 10km before any of the other students are up. He needed that. He needed to know that he was putting in the effort beyond what that sergeant told him.

Speaking of...

“Mr Muñoz!” It’s one of the generals, though he couldn’t remember her name, “Were you told to be out this early?”

Ander slows down to a stop and stands to attention, “No ma’am.”

She looks him up and down, “Any reason why you’re out before the sun then?”

“Just couldn’t sleep ma’am,” Ander is bashful for being a soldier, they’d all noticed how much he introverted himself around the group - only really ever speaking to Guzmán, who was much more of the extrovert.

“Why are you here, Muñoz?” She pries, “At ease.”

He relaxes his stance and lets his eyes fall to the floor, “I wanted a way to prove myself. I’ve been weak for this past year, I lost somebody I cared about and I became a different person.”

“And do you believe you can prove yourself?” She questions, “You’ll become weak if you find yourself dwelling on your past.”

He doesn’t respond. It was true. Losing Polo was a wake up call, as well as him almost losing his own life.

“Get yourself some rest, recruit. No good soldier is built on self-depreciating methods.”

Ander follows her suggestion and heads back into the dorms. He slept on the bunk below Guzman’s and always managed to zone in on the soft snores from above him instead of the noise from everywhere else. It was like that one piece of home he kept with him. Up until recently, he’d been happy to keep that home with him. But now, things were different. And the thought of getting Guzmán wrapped up in all of that felt like the worst mistake he could make. So, he lays back on his bunk and instead tunes into the noises of the room around him, focusing on anything he could that didn’t include the boy just a few feet above.

- - - - - -

Guzmán notices more and more the little changes in Ander. Like how he’d been making his bed in the morning instead of waiting until Guzmán was up so that he could steal one of his pillows to sleep with one extra. Or how he’d been eating in the communal cafeteria instead of waiting for Guzmán and suggesting that they eat outside together. He hadn’t called home to his Mum at all, and he’d not been taking any opportunity when they had time to rest. He was keeping himself as focused as possible.

Today, he couldn’t do it anymore. He wanted to know where his best friend had gone.

“Ander!” He calls him before Ander can have the chance to leave the locker room.

They’d been getting ready for a formal dinner tonight and Ander had been silent in the corner for the entire time they were getting changed.

“I’ll catch up with you later,” Guzmán comments to the girl beside him, someone he’d been spending more time with since Ander had distanced.

She nods and walks out with the rest of the group - leaving only Ander and Guzmán.

“What’s going on with you man?” Guzmán sighs, “We’re supposed to talk to each other about this sort of stuff now.”

“I’m fine Guzmán, I told you I am,” He shrugs, “Just tired from all this training.”

“No, no, no, you’ve been tired from waking up two hours earlier and going for a run before training even starts. Or going to the gym when we’re supposed to be having a break, from not finishing your meals,” Guzmán lists, “It’s nothing to do with normal training.”

“I’m trying my fucking best Guzmán!”

It’s the most emotion he’s heard from him in a long time.

“I’m trying my best and I’m still not doing as well as I should be. I’m not as good as you, or as half of the group out there,” He gestures aimlessly in the direction of the door, “I’m doing everything I can!”

His bottom lip quivers as his body lets out an involuntary sob and he falls forward onto Guzmán. Guzmán stumbles but holds him there like he’s looking at someone completely different to the boy he’d came here with.

“I can’t afford to be weak Guzmán.”

Guzmán pushes him away and holds Anders head in his hands, “Dont say that. You’re not weak. You’ve proven that.”

“I don’t just mean pulling myself up a fucking rope or carrying a barrel on my back,” Ander pushes Guzman’s hands away and takes a stumbling step backwards, “I can’t afford to have any weakness.”

“What weakness have you got? We’re all young, we’re all struggling we-“

“Im talking about you!” Ander raises his voice and it makes the room fall flat around them - silence surrounding the two boys.

“Me?” Guzman’s voice cracks.

“You’re the one piece of home I have here, and yeah, it didn’t feel any different than us being friends with anyone else here. We’d be there to support each other. But that’s not what it is anymore,” Ander shakes his head repeatedly, “I can’t see you like that anymore and that’s a problem. I can’t afford to-“

Guzmán steps forward and cups Anders face again, scanning his face until their eyes meet, “What are you saying man?”

Ander swallows the lump in his throat, “I can’t afford to lose another person I love.”

“You’re not losing me Ander. Ever.”

“How can you be sure of that? Look at where we are! Look at where we’re going to be after this! You think we have space in all of that for each other? For us to not just think of each other as someone to go to war with?”

Guzmán takes in a deep breath, “I’m not saying it’s easy, and I’m not saying we can be sure of anything. But if losing Polo taught me anything, its that there’s never a good enough reason to not tell someone how you feel. I should’ve told him I forgave him long before that night. And, for you, I don’t want to tell you how I feel when it’s too late. So if that makes us weak, then so be it. But I’d rather be weak than alone.”

Ander grabs Guzmán and pulls him to him, arms wrapping around the boy as the two of them hug each other like they were falling apart under each other’s grip.