From childhood - Malachi Barton
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pairing: Malachi Barton x fem!reader
summary: you and Malachi have always been friends, but after a sincere word you question their friendship and feelings for him
warnings: use of the translator, a bit long.
w/c: 4.242
Author's notes: I don't know what the education system is like in the United States, sorry for some mistakes.
Your relationship with Malachi had begun about 7 years ago. you would be among the cast that would act in the movie 'Trapped in the Middle', of which he was obviously part as well. They were both about 10 years old, and he was the most outgoing and talkative kid you'd met at the time.
you, on the other hand, were quite, special, so to speak. The first time he spoke to you was to tell you that he liked the color of your hair, for you it was a rather strange compliment for being the first time you spoke to him. His praise remained just as 'strange', although you noticed something. He didn't praise nonsensical things, it was quite the opposite, he always praised the little details of you.
You were always in your bubble, since since you were little you were bad at socializing and this meant that you were always the girl who was left out of the groups of friends. Malachi realized this, despite his short 10 years. And whenever he saw you in a corner, looking at everyone like a lost puppy, he would go and talk to you about the most meaningless thing you'd ever hear. She once told you about how she ate cereal for a whole week, because she fought with her mother and was on 'strike' with her.
His anecdotes were always like that, comical and nonsensical. But that's what you liked about him, that he was a spontaneous and fun person. He didn't have the need to pretend or pretend to be someone he wasn't, that was his personality and whoever didn't like it didn't matter to him at all.
By the time the film finished filming you were still in touch, you often hung out with your parents, who also had a very good relationship with each other. Disney amusement parks were their forte, they loved to go together and ride all the possible attractions, in the end they ended up sweaty and hungry, but it was worth it. You brought thousands of little souvenirs from there, which you treasured very well.
you continued acting in different films or series, such as 'Acampados', in which Malachi also participated. your popularity increased in 2019, when you entered the world-famous 'Stranger Things' series. You did quite well in the series, and your character was accepted by the fans so you began to be more pointed out by people. Your circle of friends soon came to light, and this brought people to notice the friendship between you and Malachi.
Different photos and videos of the two of you were discovered by fans, who loved how you got along with each other. But obviously all the comments were not so harmless so to speak, and comments asking if you were something else were not long in coming. This caused interviewers to also start asking those types of questions, which for your taste were silly and meaningless.
The insinuations that you were 'something else' always existed. Since they were little, their parents made that kind of joke because of their closeness, and for both there was always only one answer: 'no, how disgusting'.
Although you always avoided accusations, they were not entirely 'false'. If it was true that Malachi was attractive to the human eye, the idea of seeing him with different eyes had not crossed your mind until they entered their adolescence.
You could say that Malachi had always seemed handsome to you, but both were changing. as well as their conversations, their physique and their personality. He had always been a rather outgoing and 'flirtatious' child, so to speak. But when he entered adolescence that aspect of his personality came to light.
While he had thousands of acquaintances and friends at school, you were just there. You were known for being 'Malachi's friend', the girls always tried to create a friendship with you, you gave them all confidence, at the end of it all you didn't want to be alone all the time. but then at parties you saw them leave with Malachi, with the excuse that they were coming back soon. And as always you were there, alone on the sofa as always.
Your acting career, on the other hand, was going very well. You continued to appear in series, but in supporting roles. but without a doubt 2023 had been your year.
In 2022 you had put too much effort into your work. and at the 2023 Oscars these two films had been nominated in several categories. You felt happy, of course, but your personal life wasn't being the best.
you felt lonely, despite having thousands of followers on Instagram and tik tok. You had Malachi, and he was a good best friend, you felt like you needed more people than he did. you always compared yourself to him, seeing all his friends. he had always had a facility for meeting and talking to people, you had never been like that. and now it was being more remarkable than ever.
You had always been the friend of a party, an outing, or a while. They never stayed, but Malachi did. He had stayed despite all your problems and insecurities, understood your worries and accepted your mistakes. All those times you didn't want to talk, he was with you. Every night you cried because of the series and movies you watched, he was with you. He was there for you, and that was more than enough to make you want him as something more.
Malachi, on the other hand, was peculiar. I had many friends, that was not discussed, but you, you were a case apart. For him no one compared to you, he could talk to thousands of girls who try to be his friends, who try to be close to him, but they will never reach your level. with you he was a different person. in public he always has that confident and fun attitude, but not with you. With you he can show his weaknesses, his insecurities, his problems, everything.
You remember once he told you that he was afraid that you would change him, that some boy more interesting than him would come and you wouldn't want to continue being his best friend, all that just because he didn't give you anything on your birthday "Malachi, what the hell are you talking about? We've literally been best friends forever, I wouldn't trade you for anything in the world," you said while laughing, "not even if that boy was Timothée Chalamet?" he said while looking at you with puppy eyes "not even if it were him. no one compares to you, Malachi, no one. let it be very clear to you, silly child," you told him and then gave him a small blow on the head.
Malachi was probably the most caring person you had ever met. His love language was ultimately physical contact, and gifts. He loves to give you things, no matter how small. Whenever they go out, they are holding hands, a habit that was left over from their outings as a child. He always paid for lunches or dinners, no matter how much you insisted, he wanted to pay you even for the gum you bought at the corner store.
The rumors of courtship at her school were very intense. Often girls would come up to you just to ask if you had anything, but for some reason those girls always ended up hating you for no reason.
By 2023 these rumors got more popular. thanks to 'Barbie' and 'American Fiction' you managed to have more popularity in the world of cinema. You were grateful for that, And you found it very funny to see the different videos on social networks about how fans created all kinds of theories about their 'secret relationship'. You always ended up sending all these videos to Malachi.
For you it was funny, but each time this tension of feeling something more for the other grew and grew.
You haven't felt the feeling that every time you look into each other's eyes with a friend and it felt like your eyes were screaming 'kiss me please,' but then they walk away, and you feel like you should, even though your brain screams at you 'why would you do that? he's your friend' but your heart tells you 'you should have kissed him, you fool'.
Well.
If you haven't felt it, better for you. because it's the worst feeling in the world.
and movie nights. they were the best, without a doubt. But every time they watched movies Malachi would cling to you in a way that made your stomach feel those damn butterflies. You felt like your brain couldn't process a word of what the movie produced, and that made you feel stupid.
You knew it was bad. Falling in love with your best friend is never good, and in most cases it ends with the separation of friendship. But every time you saw his eyes, begging you to let him hold you, your mind stopped working and your heart was the one making decisions.
and right now they were in that situation. he is on top of you, hugging you as if he were going to fall off a cliff. Your heart was pounding, and the butterflies in your stomach felt like you were going to explode. His arms around your waist felt so good, so strong. The scent of his perfume flooded your nostrils, it smelled so much like him, like the typical perfume that makes any girl fall at his feet.
Your fingers gently ran through her hair, which smelled faintly of coconut.
You decided to pay attention to the movie, and subconsciously you stopped caressing her hair "why are you stop?, I was already relaxing" Malachi told you in a sleepy voice "because then you fall asleep, and I won't tell you the movie when you ask me" you told him giving her a slight tug in his hair "you're bad" he told you while itching your ribs, tickling you "stop it. i don't complain when you stop caressing me, you like to be pampered" you said while laughing "you spoiled me, so now you have to put up with me," he told you as he lay down next to you, "that's not true. now stop talking and pay attention to the movie" you said in a threatening way, and then turned to watch the movie "yes ma'am" he said with a playful smile.
their fights were like that. silly and meaningless, but that was their friendship. You knew a lot of secrets about each other, and it seems like you've spent a lifetime together.
The next day they had to go to class, so they had to get up early. Malachi hated getting up at that time, and he was lucky that today there was a type of activity which his grade had to organize. It was that the older grades had to deal with the lower grades, practically do the work of teachers, and in the last hours of school hours they would have recreational time. so instead of stopping at 6 in the morning as usual, they had to do it at 5.
To you this activity sounded fun. You were very good with children, and you loved teaching them things and entertaining them. Your patience was surprisingly good with them. and when you heard of such an activity you could not be more excited, although Malachi did not see it that way.
He was good with children, he liked them. but what he did not like was having to get up early because of him. In addition, he had to listen to you talk about how exciting that day would be for you, and just remembering how you talked and talked about everything you would teach the children, a smile would appear on his face.
After breakfast and getting ready for their long day, Malachi's mother took them to school. All the way she was talking to you about how interesting that day could be "I feel very excited, it's like I'm being her teacher, I've always dreamed of doing that" you said with a small laugh "although I think someone here isn't as happy as me" you said referring to Malachi "come on Barton, smile even a little" you told him while you were itching his ribs "stop it, i'm sleepy. I wish i was in my bed right now, not going to school" he said with his eyes closed, trying to get some sleep before arriving at school.
When they arrived at the school, they met different classmates. They all seemed to be asleep standing up, and you swore you saw more than one yawn more than ten times in less than 2 minutes "Why do they all look like zombies here?" you said to Malachi while laughing. They had been looking for somewhere to sit: "No one here looks excited about hanging out with upset kids all day," he said, sipping some energy drink he'd bought from a vending machine "Why can't everyone be like Maggie? She's super excited about this," you said, looking at the named girl. She was talking to her friends, and her excitement could be seen in how she spoke and expressed herself.
The teachers in charge of the activity called them. Everyone was divided into groups of 4 per classroom, and each group had to organize their classroom and the different activities that the children were going to do during the day. After that, everyone had to organize the other activities they would have in the school gymnasium.
The kindergarten children's entry time had arrived, and each of the groups were in their assigned classrooms. Luckily for you, Malachi had been in the same group as you.
You followed the list of instructions that the teachers had left you. Everything was going great, all the children participated a lot in the class, they all had a lot of energy, and their laughter was a perfect mix between sticky and suffocating.
You were with a group of children, since they were doing an activity and they called you frequently to ask you questions. They were very curious, but quite responsible with the task they were doing "And how old are you?" asked a little boy. His diplomatic tone made you laugh a little, but you replied "I'm 16 years old" you told him with a smile. You were sitting in an uncomfortable little chair that they used "Wow, yes you're old" said another of the children, the comment left you in shock, your mouth opened and closed in search of something to say "well, I'm not that old, we're only about 10 years apart" you said in a calm tone. "It's true, Connor. Besides, she is very beautiful, not like you," said a little girl, and then stuck out her tongue. You laughed, and although that little fight seemed very tender to you, you must have called his attention.
The break was very chaotic. Their energy was endless, and despite the multiple attempts of the children to get their way, you had all your eyes on them. "They are so energetic, I don't understand how they are not sleepy at this time," Malachi told you. You were sitting on a bench near the playground, watching as all the children played with each other, while laughing and screaming. "in the group that one of the children was in told me that I was old, Malachi, OLD. you know how that destroyed my self-esteem?" you said to him with false indignation. It was funny and painful to see how sincere the children were sometimes: "Luckily I don't see myself with a retiree, and I was saved from those comments," he replied with a half smile. You looked at him indignantly, "Excuse me? I look younger than you, and I'm younger than you. you have no right to tell me that, old man," you replied.
You kept arguing and joking about it until the recess was over. They only had a couple more hours left, but they still had to return to that hellish classroom.
His group decided to ignore the list they had been given a bit, and instead, they decided to do a different activity. They tried to make a vote, which went fatally because the room was filled with shouts 'let's draw' 'no, let's better play with plasticine' 'I want to paint' were a lot of the shouts that could be heard. In the end they decided that it was better for each one to want to do what they wanted, with a theme, something that caught their attention during the day, or something they liked.
Each one went in search of his material, and for a moment the room was filled with peace. All that could be heard were his small murmurs of concentration.
You sat next to Malachi. They both decided to draw something with some crayons "what the hell is that dude? it looks like a drawing taken from a psychiatric hospital" you told him after seeing his drawing "it's you"
You answered the "ahhh, what a romantic Malachi. I know you're dying for me, you don't have to be so obvious" you told him, as you banged your shoulder against his. "Can't it be, the great malachi barton is blushed by a girl? I thought this only happened in the movies" you kept joking with the same thing. Your smile showed how much you were having fun right now. Don't delude yourself, my friend" he said as his eyes connected "what you say tomatito, what you say."
Both laughed quietly. Prying eyes were shared, and in the air it felt as if something had happened. Something unsaid by both who did not know it was yet, or so they wanted to believe.
Malachi had always felt comfortable with you. Ever since he met you it was as if a piece of him had been completed, he knew you didn't have to leave. I wanted you to be a friend forever and not a passing friend. It was a little obvious that in recent years his attention increased, all his fame was also reflected in the school environment. Multiple girls talked to him, looking for more opportunities than he had given them. But every time it felt like an object and a pretty face it reminded you. He remembered the girl with a shy smile who was there for him, in all the good and bad times, you were his soul mate to him, someone with such a pure and kind heart that is for him forever. No matter how many times you hit it or scare it, it's always for him.
The time to show their works had arrived, each one was going to go ahead and show their craft and say what they had done.
The students were passing one by one. Some had drawn a picture of their friends, or their food, things like that.
It was a girl's turn. if you're not mistaken, her name was Katie. She was a very tender girl, you congratulated her on her drawing and a girl from her group asked her what it was about "It's the girl over there with her boyfriend" she said pointing to you. The smile on your face turned into a frown. Your companions laughed, knowing who the girl was talking about. You felt shy for a moment, not knowing what to say or do. "Are you sure it's me? She doesn't look much like me really." You said to her "Yes, it's you with the boy with the white hair" she replied in her innocent tone.
You heard Malachi's laughter and looked at him. perplexed that he was laughing at this "your drawing is very beautiful Katie, I adore the hearts you put in, what do they represent for you?" he asked her "they represent their love. you look very much in love and your love floats in the air when you are together" she said in her innocent tone.
When all the children finished teaching their crafts, it was time to go to their last hour with the children. They were all on their way to the school gymnasium. You were at the end of the children's line next to Malachi. They talked about everything they would do when they got home "I've been like a zombie all day, I don't even know how I've been able to endure the whole day with energy" he said "it must be the energy of the children, they have so much that it must be that you absorbed something" you replied, elbowing him in his side.
Katie's words were on your mind. People always said that children always tell the truth, and if it was true? You didn't want your mind to be carried away by a few words from a 6-year-old girl, but other people could see what you can't see about yourself. It was obvious that they had received comments like this since their teenage years began, and there were even many rumors at their school. everyone in the school said that Malachi rejected girls for you, you heard it through some girls in the school bathroom. Your mind couldn't help but think about it, what if it was true, and if Malachi had feelings for you?
No, that was impossible.
He could have any girl around his finger in a matter of minutes, he had never tried anything with you. That's why girls hate you and you don't get any dates, you thought. It could be possible, although your mind was still in doubt.
why?
"Hey, what are you thinking about?" asked Malachi, "nothing interesting," you replied, forcing a smile. "Don't lie to me, I know that face. You think of something and your mind goes away, just like you. So tell me" he told you. Your heart raced at his words. He knew you so well that it hurt, and the multiple theories about him fluttered inside you. "Nothing important, I already said it, don't worry" you told him. The screams of the children flooded your ears, they had already reached the gym and everyone was excited by what they saw.
The feeling of concern settled in Malachi's heart. He couldn't help it, you could tell that something was on your mind and you didn't want him to know. You two told each other everything, always.
The hours for everyone passed quickly. Little by little the energy of all the children was running out, which was understandable, they had spent all their time jumping and screaming from here to there. When it was time for them to leave, their parents went to pick them up on time. Your back hurt, in general your whole body hurt. Playing with those children was too tiring, it was difficult to match their energy.
During the remaining time in school you couldn't help but think of Malachi. Suddenly your mind remembered all the moments you spent with him, all the times he hugged you and put his arms around your waist. or the times he encouraged you when he saw you sad, the times he whispered little 'I love you' while watching movies. you avoided thinking about the possibility that he had feelings for you, fear gnawed at you inside. All the gossip and rumors connected with his actions, but your mind closed to such a possibility. It's just his kindness, he behaves like this with every girl around him. but to all of them he said 'I love you', played with the hair of all the girls?, combined outfits with the girls?. You wanted to believe it, but you knew it wasn't true.
Maybe you were scared to know that he was in love with you because you were too. You had fallen for the charms of your best friend, and that feeling terrified you. You'd repressed it so much that you didn't realize how big it was. You felt like a fool. You thought about all the girls who are in your situation, most of them want the feelings to be mutual, but you disliked this idea. You weren't supposed to like this, you couldn't like your friend, much less when he was coveted by so many girls.
You thought of everything. On the girls who were madly in love with him, on how weird it would be if you were something else. But at the same time you thought about the moments with him, how his body felt pressed against yours when you hugged, how good he smells, how he caresses your waist when they watch a movie. A part of you wanted things to stay that way, being everything and nothing at the same time. But another part of you told you, why not?, why not take a risk for the second time in your life?
a bit long, but I can't help but write so much. I don't know if this reaches so many people but I enjoyed writing it 💖
@luzmy
