#freckled babe

a request from @dianaftop !!!

They requested three fics: this is one of them!

dianaftop: on the Anthony Ramos x reader, the reader (me lol) meets Anthony in school while she was being bullied, because of the readers height. 

so here it is !!!!

hope you enjoy !!!

pssst I had to look up what a school day in America is like because I live in little old Wales ^^

also I used the name Annalise for a bully because I know a really horrible girl with that name so if that’s your name just replace it okay? :)

Safe Place (Anthony Ramos/Short!Bullied!Reader)

The school bell rings at 8:30, announcing yet another 7 hours of torture from your peers. You ttake a deep breath, steeling yourself up, and open the door. You groan as you see the crowd filling the hallway, all much taller than you. People are barging into you left, right and center, when all you wanted was to get to your locker!

Finally, you arrive at your locker - locker number 46 - and you freeze up as you notice something.

Scrawled across the metal door was a variety of insults.

Shortbus!

Loser!

Nobody likes you!

Just go die already, midget!

Fag!

Slut!

You look down at the floor, not wanting to let any of your abusers see how they had affected you. The corridor slowly empties as everyone leaves to homeroom, leaving you alone to cry silently. 

Quiet footsteps begin tapping down the hall and you involuntarily flinch, even though you know that your bullies would normally have shouted out to you by now.

The footsteps come to a halt beside you, and you turn away from the person, snivelling.

“Hey,” A hand rests on your shoulder. “Are you…okay? Is this your locker?”

The voice, a guy, was nice. Soothing. You unconsciously lean towards him, towards his hand.

“Yeah. This is my locker.” You whisper hoarsely.

“Look at me.” The guy says gently. You reluctantly tear your eyes away from the floor and-

Oh. He’s attractive, You think, and silently curse yourself in your head for noticing that when you’re upset. 

It was true though. A puff of curly brown hair, tied back in a low ponytail, sat atop a smiling, freckled face in a way that could only be described as cute. Cute in both a hot and an adorable way. He wore a deep blue polo-neck and tan trousers, and you stifled a smile when you saw a woven leather bracelet with a -was that a turtle?- charm around his wrist.

“My name is Anthony. Anthony Ramos. I’m new here.” He introduces himself, keeping one hand on your shoulder but offering his other hand to you.

“…(Name) (Last Name).” You mumble, shaking his hand. He surprises you by raising your hand to his lips to kiss. You flush bright red. Who even does that any more? You think, but you can’t say you didn’t like it.

“Now, why would anyone bully such a cute girl?” Anthony asks, cocking his head in puzzlement. You blush even brighter. Surely he was messing with you?

“…I don’t know. I guess I’m an easy target because I’m short and un-intimidating.” Your voice trembles on this. You let out a noise of shock when Anthony pulls you into a tight hug, resting his chin on your head.

“…You can cry if you want. I don’t judge.” He murmurs. The waterworks start and you bury your face into his chest as the tears start flowing freely. Anthony holds you and rocks you as you continue crying quietly. When you’re finished, he fishes a small pack of tissues out of his pocket and hands you one. You sniffle lightly.

“Why did you comfort me? I’m just a stranger.” You ask shakily. To your surprise, Anthony blushes and struggles to find the words.

“I…I don’t like seeing other people upset…but I thought you were really pretty so I really wanted to wipe away your sadness.” He stutters. He takes a deep breath and smiles at you. “Hey - I think we’ve pretty much missed Homeroom, so we may as well get to first lesson. What d'you have?”

“Um.” You pull your planner from your bag and squint at it. “Intermediate Theatre Arts with Mrs Miller.”

“Eyo! Same here!” He grins, a dimple in his cheek popping. “You’ll have to show me the ropes.”

You find it in yourself to smile at him. “I’d love to.”

Over time, Anthony became close friends with a group of people in your theatre class, Lin, Leslie, Renee, Jasmine, Phillipa, Daveed and Oak. However, you stayed his best friend all throughout the year. You were inseparable. He was always helping you, with your bullies, with your friendships, and even when you got into a fight with your mother halfway through the year, he let you stay with him and his family until you made up. He even took you to prom when nobody else would, despite Jasmine’s blatant crush on him and her hinting that she wanted to go with him. There was only one thing you didn’t confide in him with.

Crushes.

You know how cliche it is, but over the year, you managed to fall in love with Anthony. He was so sensitive, smart and kind that how could you not love him?

Now, on the final stretch of your final year, graduation is looming, and you still haven’t told hI’m.

Wednesday, last period. Music.

“Yo!” Your lanky, over-the-top best-friend-turned-crush sidles up behind you with his guitar on his back and wraps his arms around your neck in an affectionate, backwards hug. You smile and pat his hand.

“Hey, Ant. My freckled babe.” You tease. This was a joke between you two, in which you would call each other babe because you were so close and people thought you were dating.

“Hiya, babes.” He boops your nose. “What’s my favourite girl working on now?” He asks, reaching out to grab your music. You quickly snatch it out of his grasp.

“Uh-uh. I don’t think so.” You wiggle a finger at him. “It’s a surprise.“ 

"Aw.” Anthony pouts. “Can’t I see it? I’m your best friend.” He whines. You giggle.

“Like I said, it's a surprise, silly!" 

"Awww…okay.” He scrunches his nose up and shakes his head to get his curls out of his vision. “I’ll see you later.” He kisses your cheek, causing you to splutter unintelligibly.

He takes his guitar over to the far corner where nobody else is and begins strumming, focusing completely on the guitar. You watch him for a while. Every now and then he’ll look up, make a disgruntled expression and shake his head, muttering under his breath.

“Hey, Shortbus.” You hear, before a hand tugs on your hair and pulls your head back.

“Ah-ow!” You wince and look up. One of the school bullies, Annalise, is smirking down at you with a smug expression. 

“Aw, has the little midget got a cruuuush? Sorry, sweetie, but he’s way out of your league.” She cooes in a horrible tone. 

“Leave me alone, Annalise.” You mutter, but she scowls and yanks your hair again.

“I don’t think so. Now.” She glances at your music sheets. “What are these? Are you writing a song for lover boy?” Her eyes glitter as she swipes up your sheets and reads them. You gasp and reach out to grab them back, protesting. She glares at you, a cruel smile curling her lip. “Are you kidding? These songs are so cringy, Shortbus. Helpless?  The hell kind of song name is that?” She giggles.

“Annalise…” You beg. “Please, leave me alone.”

Annalise laughs. “Hell no. I’m going to go and show these to Anthony.”

“No-no no, please!” You plead, staring up at her. “Please!”

She smirks and sashays over to Anthony, saying something to him in a low voice and showing him your sheet music, the piece of your heart that you had poured into this song.

Anthony grabs the sheet off of her, eyes scanning every line. Annalise smiles triumphantly in your direction.

You expect an upset expression to cross Anthony’s face, for him to look disturbed, disgusted.

You do not expect his face to form into the widest smile you have ever seen. You do not expect for him to look this happy.

He looks up at you, halfway across the room, eyes alight and hopeful.

The bell rings, and you stand up quickly, trying to exit the room before anyone else. However - just your luck, some of the class gets out before you and you feel a hand grasp your wrist, keeping you behind.

Everyone leaves the room, including the teacher, and you’re stuck standing with Anthony holding onto your wrist. You sigh and turn to him.

“Anthony…” You begin.

“I love you!” He blurts out, and you freeze.

“I…what?” You look up at him in astonishment, and hope.

“I love you, so much. Please…was that song that Annalise showed me written for me?” He asks, eyes pleading. A slow, steady smile crosses your face.

“Yes.” You whisper, and Anthony lets out a loud whoop of laughter and pulls you close. “Anthony-”

“I love you, I love you, I love you!” He giggles into your hair, and you let out a short burst of laughter.

“I love you too!” You thread your fingers through his hair and laugh, burying your face into his shoulder. "I can’t believe that Annalise…was trying to bring a rift between us…but she failed and just brought us closer together!“ You say breathlessly.

Anthony pulls back from the hug and looks down at you, studying your expression. He seems to be deliberating something before he mumbles "To hell with it,” and crashes his lips onto yours. You gasp into the kiss and pull yourself closer to him, thumb caressing his cheek.

it was a good day. and a good week. and a good life.