Chapter 3!

[tempered-rose.livejournal.com]

Title: Help Me Carry The Fire, Chapter 3 of ???
Characters: Cesc Fabregas, Fernando Llorente, Andy Carroll, Conor Coady, Martin Kelly ; mentions Raul Gonzalez, Bojan Krkic, Jordan Henderson, Stewart Downing, David & Victoria Beckham
Rating: PG-13 this part, higher later
Words: This part: 2,843 ; Total: 7,681
A/N: Thanks again for reading and especially thanks for commenting on the last part. I really appreciate it. :) Here’s yesterday’s part because some friends came over and stuff happened lol Hope you like it :D
Previous Parts: One | Two



There was a soft rumbling sound from outside, audible only if you strained to hear it due to the thickness of the walls that made up the Hall itself. It was almost like being in a castle, Cesc guessed, except perhaps maybe a palace because the surroundings were far grander than any he had ever imagined. His bed wasn’t the hard twin-size bed that belonged on a ship, like he imagined it would be. It wasn’t very large, but the mattress was comfortable. The desk that Fernando hadn’t claimed had a few scratches and places of chipped wood from previous owners, but it was durable and made of a sturdy oak; it wouldn’t fall apart easily.

Fernando was nice enough, Cesc thought. The other boy seemed to be quiet, but easy to try and make a joke if he thought it would fill the silence, a nervous habit. Cesc had discovered that a few moments of just trying to awkwardly stand around and look at their room. Unfortunately for Llorente, Cesc didn’t think his jokes were all that funny. They seemed to be the type that were one-liners, things that belonged on a comedy sitcom show on television and not something you’d say to your friends.

Cesc had discovered several other unusual habits of Llorente’s shortly after meeting him. For instance, the boy was very, very organized. He had all of his books arranged alphabetically on the bookshelf he had brought from home. He kept his shoes, two pairs of regular shoes and one pair of trainers, lined up side-by-side with their toes lined perfectly in order. He also smoothed out the wrinkles in the bed from where he’d been sitting on it earlier. As for his appearance, he was clean-shaven and there were definitely no wrinkles in his shirt or trousers. Silva would have been proud, Cesc thought absently.

In addition to his neatness, Cesc had discovered that Llorente didn’t like silence when two people were in the same room. The entire time Cesc had been looking around the room, setting the papers down at his desk, Llorente had been telling Cesc all about himself and where he’d come from in Spain, what he was studying, who his favorite professors were, and anything that seemingly came from his mind. Cesc didn’t mind, he figured it was all just nerves about having a new roommate or it being the first week at university. Besides, Llorente chattered away seemingly quite happily and he didn’t seem really in need of any input from Cesc at all.

When Cesc listened to Fernando chat about how much he missed Spain and the conversation came to a slight lull, he cleared his throat politely and smiled slightly.

“I’m sorry to interrupt, but my Uncle is still outside and we need to go back and get some of my stuff from the hotel. I’ll be back in a little while.”

“Oh, of course, of course,” Llorente laughed nervously. “If you need any help, any at all, please ask and I will do what I can.” Fernando smiled a pressed smile, as if hoping Cesc would ask for some help to prove what a friendly guy he was.

Cesc nodded and still smiled only slightly. “Thanks, I’ll let you know.”

Fernando waved as Cesc shut the door and Cesc had to take a deep breath and few steps away from the door. He walked down the hallway, trying to process what had just happened and what it was exactly he thought of Fernando, besides that the boy tried too hard, when he accidently ran into a boy much, much taller than he was.

“Lo siento,” was the first thing that came out of Cesc’s mouth, temporarily forgetting his English due to the fact Llorente had been speaking to him in Spanish. He corrected himself quickly, though. “Sorry.”

Cesc looked up, and up and up it seemed, to recognize one of the other boys that had been sitting in the admissions office earlier. The one that had talked the most and with one of the thicker accents.

“It’s all right la’.” The boy grinned and Cesc thought he’d never seen such white teeth, and so many. “First day makes us all a bit dodgy on the balance, eh?”

He laughed at his own joke while Cesc was busy trying to translate what the world he had just said. The boy had finished chuckling as Cesc figured it out. The taller boy was studying him, Cesc noticed and he straightened his shoulders.

“I’m called Andy, looks like we’re neighbors.” The boy, Andy, said in his thick accent and nodded to the next door beside the one Cesc had just come out of.

“Cesc,” he replied slowly after a moment. “Neighbors, that is good, si?”

“Well it depends, la’.” Andy replied already starting past. At Cesc’s confused expression he grinned toothily once more and explained, “on how good of neighbors we turn out to be.”

He winked and continued down the hallway. Cesc was left standing in the corridor with the same confused expression in place. He shook his head, trying to clear it, and proceeded down to the front door to find Pep.

Cesc blinked in the bright light as soon as he came out of the door. The rain had slackened off, but the thunder had not. He looked for Pep but didn’t see him, not at first. He pulled his jacket’s zipper all the way up and tried not to shiver. He didn’t think he would ever get used to such coldness, and this on an apparently ‘warm’ day!

As he questioned the sanity of anyone that would live in such a place, he walked around until he found a cloister. He saw Pep talking on the phone still and so he decided to wait underneath an archway. Cesc looked up to the sky at another low rumble and watched the gray clouds begin to gather again. He could hear Pep’s voice carry on the wind with only a few words reaching him. He knew that Pep had seen him arrive, they had made eye-contact, but he also knew that Pep would take as long as he wanted, especially when he was on the phone with Raul.

The rain started again, gently though, and Cesc saw some lightning flash and heard their accompanying thunderous partner. He felt the mist on his face as the breeze carried some rain his way in a light spray, but he didn’t mind it. In fact, he was rather taken with this spot. He could look out and see the emerald carpet of grass in the square with the perimeter of the cloister surrounding it. There were occasional benches in the corridors and Cesc decided that if he ever would need a place to come and sit and simply think for a few moments, this would be that place.

A gentle clearing of the throat had Cesc looking over to see Pep standing somewhat nearby.

“English weather, you learn to adapt,” Pep smiled pleasantly and moved closer. “Do you like your room?”

Cesc nodded and slid his hands into his pockets. “I do, and my roommate. His name is Fernando.”

Pep nodded before his lips twitched amusedly, “not a Madridista is he?”

Cesc shook his head. “No, but he does like the lions.”

“Bilbao is respectable,” Pep conceded and moved closer as a few students walked down the corridor, laughing at a joke. “Bojan says to tell you hello and that you had better call him this evening, if you’re not busy.”

Cesc smiled a little and nodded. “I will.”

Pep nodded once and looked back at the clouds. Cesc wondered for a moment if he saw the same exact darkness in the clouds as he did or if he could look past them and see something else. Then he wondered if he was being stupid or silly. No one studied the clouds that intently, he admonished himself.

“I’ll stay at the hotel until Friday, then I must leave you.” Pep spoke gently and turned to look back down at Cesc. “In that time, we can go set you up a bank account and help get you moved in. You can come home at any time if you feel that you need or want to,” Pep added.

Cesc chewed his lip. That knowledge was a welcome comfort, but he wanted to act tougher, braver and not an already homesick boy.

“I know; I didn’t think you’d kick me out once I had gotten over here.”

“No, just once I leave you,” Pep teased lightly and squeezed Cesc’s shoulder. “How about we go get your things from the hotel? I’m sure you’ll want to get settled before it gets too dark.”

Cesc nodded in agreement. “Yeah, and before it starts to rain really hard again.”

“Oh Cesc,” Pep said, throwing his arm around Cesc’s shoulder and leading him back into the corridor, “it will always rain on you here, even when you don’t want it to.”



Pep carried one box, loaded down with books and a few picture frames’ worth of pictures and Cesc carried a much heavier box full of extra sweaters and trainers that he’d thrown in to the same box. He didn’t realize how much stuff that he had brought with him. And there was more left to be brought.

He stopped by the front door as another group of boys walked out again and he tried to keep the box from slipping from his fingers. He recognized Andy lead out two other boys, both had been in the admissions office as well earlier.

“Cesc, need some help with that?” Andy asked and Pep raised his eyebrow and watched curiously.

Cesc opened his mouth to say no, but the box took the opportunity to slide from his fingers. Andy was much quicker than he looked and Cesc was amazed at how fast he moved. He caught the box before it toppled over to spill all of its contents.

Andy laughed, “I’ll take that as a yes.”

“…thank you,” Cesc said slowly and took the box back.

“The lads and I were thinking about going out, but we can stay and help if you want.” Andy said, speaking for the other two. Cesc noticed that one of them, the younger looking one opened his mouth to protest while the older one looked at Andy with a raised eyebrow.

“That’s nice of you, but I couldn’t ask you to do that,” Cesc shrugged off, hoping his English was correct.

Andy grinned. “That’s the beauty of it la’, we’re offering.”

“…okay then, if you’re sure…?” Cesc hesitated and Andy nodded.

“Martin, Conor. Tell us where the rest of it is, and we’ll help you get it in.” Andy spoke the two other’s names and one of them moved forward to take the box from Pep. Pep handed over the box and thanked him with a small nod and a smile.

Cesc handed the box he held to the other one, the older looking one, and straightened. He watched the two turn back into Hall and Andy turned to Cesc expectantly.

“Where too?” Andy asked, grin still in place.


“That’s the last one,” Cesc said with a heavy sigh. He placed the last box by the door and sank to the floor. His lower back was tingling uncomfortably, but it wasn’t painful. He wiped his forehead and removed the beads of sweat with the back of his hand and took a few deep breaths to calm himself. “I didn’t realize I had so much stuff.”

“I don’t know how you brought it all,” Andy sighed heavily, sinking down into the chair of Cesc’s desk.

Fernando was hovering on his side of the room, watching all the boxes pile up. Cesc watched his fingers twitch and for a few seconds he felt a little bad for having disorganized everything that Fernando had kept ordered. Then he got over it, knowing that it would be cleared up as soon as he unpacked.

“I don’t either.” Cesc took several more deep breaths.

Pep had gone back to the hotel once the last box had left the taxi. He had promised to return in a few hours, once Cesc had settled in. He had smiled a little at Andy helping him; Cesc would ask him what that was about later. Andy had sent Martin and Conor on ahead to wherever they had been going previously. They had seemed glad to be away from here and Cesc wondered why. He would’ve asked Andy about it, had Fernando not been hovering so intently.

“Cesc, do you want to join Martin, Conor, and I? We’re only going to the pub but you could still come if you wanted? And you, Llorente, you could come as well.” Andy added as an after-thought and spared him a half-glance in his direction.

“I’d like to, but I’ll be quite busy preparing for class.” Fernando replied as if Andy had been conversing with him. Neither he nor Cesc really paid much mind to his answer.

“I really need to unpack, Andy, but maybe next time?” Cesc said and stood up slowly from the floor.

“Of course. Martin and I go round to the pub a lot, we’ll see you there if you change your mind.” Andy said and stood up. “Welcome to Oxford,” Andy added pleasantly and smiled as he started over the large boxes in the way.

“Thank you,” Cesc returned and pushed a few bags out of the way.

“See you later, and you as well Llorente.” Andy left the room a moment later and Cesc shook his head. He hadn’t quite pegged Andy’s personality, apart from that of being overly friendly. Perhaps Fernando knew something?

“Is he always like that?” Cesc asked a few minutes later in Spanish as he moved to the bed to start unpacking the bags of clothes he had.

Fernando, pleased that someone was genuinely talking to him, spoke with a sense of importance.

“Him? Yes, he’s quite friendly. He’s third year, though how he made it past his first two years remains a mystery. Probably had help from either Henderson or Downing,” Fernando said and moved to tidy an already perfectly ordered desk.

“Who?” Cesc asked.

“Jordan Henderson and Stewart Downing. They are the well-off smart kids in third year in this hall.” Fernando said and Cesc wondered what they looked like. He imagined them in a finely tailored blazer and Rolexes.

“And Andy would’ve gotten help from them because…?” Cesc asked, carrying his clothes to the wardrobe.

“Because, believe it or not, he is a well to-do as well, only you’d never know it with the way he acts and dresses.” Fernando scoffed quietly and shook his head. Cesc mulled this new information over in his head and continued the rest of his unpacking in silence. Fernando didn’t seem content enough in the silence so he continued. “He’s from Newcastle or somewhere up in the Northeast. His father got in good with some head of a company back in the day and apparently they’re as well off as the Queen or something. Wouldn’t know it if you saw him though.”

“He was almost expelled in his second year, you know.” Fernando added a few moments later.

“Why?” Cesc asked, pausing with his unpacking.

“Well,” Fernando’s eyes sparkled with gossip, “no one really knows the reason, but I’ve heard it was because he was having an affair with the head of the humanities department. Professor Beckham was quite upset when the rumors went around, what with him and his wife and all. Nothing was ever proven, so he couldn’t be expelled. Horribly embarrassing for the Professors Beckham, though.”

Cesc’s eyebrows rose higher with every word Fernando said. Andy, an affair, with the head of a department who was married? He hadn’t given off that vibe at all, but now Cesc would have to reconsider! He shook his head with eyes wide and resumed unpacking. That was something that he’d have to think about later.

Fernando hummed contentedly, pleased for having spread gossip, even of the old variety, and decided to open his laptop.

“We’ll have to make a list of who does what on what days. We have to keep the room tidy, you know.” Fernando said, smiling.

Cesc smiled back, although it wasn’t genuine. As he unpacked he wondered just what exactly he had stepped into. It felt as if he was in a different world, not just a new country. It seemed that everything here was different and new and strange and confusing, all at the same time. All the emotions swirled in a big clear ball, mixing together so that everything became a huge mass of nothing. Cesc’s head would spin, it already was, and he guessed that it would get much worse before his University career would be over.

He placed another book on the desk and wondered how much drama would take place and just how much of it he himself would become embroiled in.