Pleasantries - Chapter 2, Part 4
Jul. 18th, 2010 01:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
genlisae
If you haven't already please read: The Future Of Pleasantries
Pleasantries - Chapter 2 - Much Ado About No Thing - Part 4
4:25 PM Friday, April 11
Dirk snorted, “Would you just admit it already, Lil?”
“There is nothing to admit!” she insisted.
“When is his birthday?” Dirk asked, his tone a mix of amusement and exasperation.
Lilith hesitated, “March Third, but just because I know that doesn’t mean anything.”
“What’s his favourite colour?”
“Green,” she replied sighing.
“Hobby?”
“He collects postcards …”
“Tell me again you don’t have a crush on him.”
“I do not have a crush on Winston!” Lilith persisted, “First he’s Twenty-six years old …”
Beside them Ripp chuckled quietly.
“See you even know exactly how old he is! I bet you can tell me his favourite food too,” Dirk teased with a grin, “Besides, since when has age had anything to do with it?
“He’s old!” she exclaimed, “and I only know his favourite food is Chirashi because I asked him about it when he brought it for lunch.”
“You are crushing on him, Lil, don’t deny it.”
“I am not,” she protested, “But so what if I was, is that such a bad thing?”
“Yes! I for one am happier being single, thank you. Better that than gushing like a little girl or pawing someone in public like those two!” he stated adamantly gesturing to Damon and Tybalt as they flopped down onto the couch.
Tybalt shot him a glare.
“No chance of that today,” Damon sniffed.
“What happened?” Lilith asked arching a brow at the unusual amount of space they had put between them on the couch.
“Some insane chick stopped us on the way in,” Tybalt grumbled.
“What?” Lilith blinked at them, “Who was she?”
“No idea,” Damon replied.
“I’m afraid to ask,” Dirk said around a barely contained smirk.
“Asked if he ever bought me flowers,” Damon growled “and would if be okay if she watched us make-out.”
His statement was greeted with silence for a moment before Dirk and Lilith burst into a fit of laughter.
“See,” Dirk gasped, “One more reason single is good, right Ripp?”
“Yeah,” Ripp nodded, forcing a smile. If only he’d meant it.
Of course it wasn’t like he had anything to compare it to. He’d never been anything else. He imagined it would be nice though, to have someone there; someone who was just yours that you could tell anything, no matter how stupid and they wouldn’t hold it against you.
His friends loved him, he knew that, and he could tell Lil anything, but that just wasn’t the same. First, she was a girl and really, some things you just couldn’t do with a friend! Not that he could ever imagine anyone wanting to do any of those things with him anyway. Really, why would they? Didn’t stop him thinking about them though. They’d been on his mind a lot recently.
Movement across the room caught his eye, and there was the reason those things had been on his mind so often.
When had Damon’s goofy little brother grown up?
For not the first time his mind struggled to reconcile the bumbling, grubby faced toddler who had called him “Ipp” with the self-assured young man sporting a cocky grin striding toward him. How was this the annoying little pest that had followed them around on the school playground in fifth grade trying desperately to be “cool” enough to fit in with the big kids?
Ripp shifted slightly on the couch in an attempt to find a more comfortable and less obvious position. As much as his mind remembered various stages of “Little Telesto” the rest of him was well aware that “Little Telesto” was not so little anymore.
Chancing one last glance from beneath his lashes as Telesto and Juliet neared the couch; Ripp momentarily indulged himself in a brief appreciative visual sweep of the boy beside him.
Pathetic! His Father was right about that one. Lusting after his friend’s oh-so very straight little brother. The little brother he had known since he was just a few months old was definitely pathetic.
With a barely perceptible shake of his head, Ripp forced his attention back to the conversation around him and well away from thoughts of things he could never have and were well out of his league even if he could.
“I think it’s cute,” Lilith was saying, “You’ve got fangirls.”
“It’s not cute!” Tybalt insisted, “It’s irritating and still doesn’t solve the problem that really all I managed to prove with that video is that we don’t actually do a damn thing!”
“Speak for yourself,” Dirk snorted.
“Oh yeah,” Tybalt grumbled, “Because your life is just a hive of extra curricular activity.”
“He’s got a point, Love,” Damon interjected sitting forward, “Gaming is not only fun, it is educational and can lead to lucrative and well respected career options.”
Telesto snorted, “Isn’t that exactly what you were telling Dad when you were trying to convince him you need a new graphics card to play Metro 2033?”
“Yes,” Damon grinned, “and it’s still true.”
Tybalt glared at him, “Fine, so you and the dork over there are covered with your digital obsession. What about the rest of us?”
Lilith cocked her head, “Why is this so important all of a sudden?”
Tybalt leaned back, folding his arms frowning, “I don’t know,” he grumbled, “Maybe I am just tired of being half a person.”
His statement was met with curios stares.
“Think about it,” he explained, “What do we actually do? We talk, drink coffee and sit on our asses wasting time. I don’t know about the rest of you but I don’t really want to be doing exactly the same thing in twenty years. It’s fun sure, and I enjoy it, but other interests won’t kill us either.”
Silently, Ripp agreed. Of course he would never say it. He was just happy to not be at home. Okay so at home Juliet didn’t stare at him like that. Why was she doing that?
“It’s not a bad idea,” Lilith nodded, “Winston …”
“Oh, here we go,” Dirk chuckled.
Lilith glared at him, “… Winston has been trying to get me to find something that interests me for a while now.”
“And?” Tybalt prompted, “What have you come up with? What’s your thing?”
Lilith shrugged, “I’ve got nothing.”
“Great,” Tybalt sighed, “So we have gamer geeks and that’s it?”
Ripp lifted his head, opening his mouth to say that Lilith did have a thing. He caught Juliet’s curious gaze from the corner of his eye again and promptly changed his mind.
“What were you going to say?” Juliet prompted quietly.
Ripp felt as all eyes turned toward him and shook his head curling further in on himself, “Not important.”
Ripp was unable to focus on the rest of the conversation as Juliet continued watching him frowning thoughtfully.
“You can tell us you know,” she said at last, “We are your friends.”
A shrug and dismissive shake of his head was the only answer Ripp gave. He was no kind of friend she wanted to have. Maybe if he hadn’t just been drooling over her boyfriend he would be a little more worthy of the title coming from her. Probably not, but the drooling didn’t help.
“Okay,” Juliet tried again, “If you won’t talk, will you come dance with me?”
Ripp’s eyes went wide, “Oh! Thanks. No. I don’t dance. Ever.”
Juliet sat back, her frown turning to a scowl as she shot Telesto a pleading look for help.
Telesto shrugged as if to say ‘I told you so’ and got a glare in return for his efforts. He shook his head at her and went back to the conversation he had been having with Tybalt.
Ripp glanced between them for a moment puzzled.
“I am perfectly fine with sitting on my ass, thanks,” Telesto was saying, his comment directed to Tybalt, “It’s a good ass, great for sitting on.”
Lilith smirked at him, “Not worried that good ass is going to get wider from all the sitting?”
“Nope, that’s why I do this,” he grinned rising to his feet extending a hand to Juliet, “Jules, dance with me?”
Juliet continued to glare at him for a moment before accepting his offer, “Fine,” she grumbled. He was getting her away from Ripp and she knew it.
“Okay,” Dirk commented watching Telesto and Juliet bicker their way to the dance floor, “That was weird.”
“They are weird,” Damon put in, “Nothing new there.”
“Can we focus please?” Tybalt sighed, “I need your help. Someone tell me what my thing is.”
Lilith chuckled, “If I don’t know what mine is how am I supposed to help you with yours?”
“Lil, you have a thing,” Ripp stated quietly. Now that he wasn’t being stared at he felt more comfortable saying it.
“What? Shopping?” Tybalt scoffed, “I guess that counts.”
Dirk looked thoughtful for a moment, “No, Ripp is right, she does.”
Lilith blinked, “I do?”
Ripp nodded, “You make it better.”
“When something goes wrong,” Dirk added, “You are always there to help put everything back together. You bring the metaphoric broom to clean up whatever mess we have gotten ourselves into this time.”
Tybalt scowled, “She does doesn’t she?”
Lilith ducked her head smiling, “Thanks guys.”
Dirk smiled back, “Other way around Lil.”
“So I guess that means it’s just you and me that don’t do shit huh Ripp?” Tybalt sighed, “We should form a club or something.”
“There must be something that interests you,” Lilith insisted.
Ripp’s gaze drifted toward the dance floor. He would never have the nerve to admit it, but there was something he had always wanted to try. Slowly he shook his head, “Nothing I can think of.”
“Okay,” Lilith thought for a moment, “So we go look around tomorrow, that sound good?”
Ripp tuned out Tybalt’s immediate protests and the rest of the groups efforts to convince him. He would tag along with Lilith and Tybalt tomorrow just to give himself something to do away from home. He turned his attention to the people dancing by the stereo, specifically one person.
It looked fun, and not just because he was very thoroughly enjoying watching Telesto dance, though that was certainly a benefit.
He’d listened to his friends talk about going to clubs before, but he’d never joined them. Just the though of all those people there watching while he proved he didn’t know the first thing about dancing made his palms start to sweat. He’d never work up the courage to try though. Pushing the though out of his mind he settled for the next best thing. He might not dance, but he could still enjoy watching. Yes, watching was definitely an activity he could enjoy, especially if it was watching Telesto.
Something about Telesto’s posture changed. The Alien had suddenly stopped dancing and looked tense.
Ripp couldn’t see Juliet from where he was sitting but from the looks of things they were arguing. He watched as Telesto raised his hands seeming to be questioning something Juliet had said.
Juliet moved and Ripp got a clear view of her expression as she snapped a reply before turning on her heel and stomping out the door.
Telesto stared after her. He looked confused.
Ripp wondered what the cause of their obvious disagreement had been. From the look he’d seen on Juliet’s face it couldn’t have been good.
He noticed Telesto turning toward them and quickly shifted his gaze to his hands folded in his lap. It would be embarrassing beyond belief to have the other boy find him staring like that. Of course Ripp couldn’t help another glance, just a little one, barely more than a peek from under his lashes. Telesto was quite simply stunning. Everything about him from the tips of his delectably pointy ears, right on down to his agile feet so adept on the dance floor was perfection.
Ripp quickly dropped his gaze again as Telesto approached the corner.
“Hey,” Telesto smiled down at him, “Mind if I sit here?”
Doing his best to hide a blush Rip nodded, “No, go ahead.
”Thanks,” Telesto flashed him another smile and flopped down beside him.
“You aren’t going to go talk to her?” Ripp could have kicked himself as soon as the question was out of his mouth. Nothing like announcing he’d been watching them!
Telesto arched a brow, a crooked smile curving his lips, “You saw that huh?”
“Just the part where she left looking ready to kill someone,” Ripp lied. There was no way he was going to admit to having been watching the other boy’s every move since he’d arrived.
Telesto seemed to study him for a moment and Ripp briefly wondered if he’d been caught in his lie.
“Nah,” Telesto said at last, “I’ll give her a bit to calm down first. I really need to talk to her about something else now anyway. It will be easier once she’s had a chance to cool off.”
Ripp turned his attention back to the other occupants of the corner and made an attempt to focus on their conversation. It wasn’t working.
He could feel the heat radiating off the leg resting beside his. Warm, tingling, inviting. There was an entire couch; did Telesto have to sit that close? Not that he minded. He really didn’t mind. He should, but he didn’t. Actually he kind of wished the Alien had sat closer.
The hairs standing up on the back of his neck told him he was being watched. Turning his head he met ice blue eyes staring back at him from just above a knowing smirk.
“What?” he asked, cringing at the way his voice cracked on the word.
“You have them all fooled don’t you?” Telesto charged his voice low so only Ripp could hear him, his eyes dancing with mirth, “They haven’t got a clue.”
What was he on about? Ripp wondered, his brow furling in confusion. Had who fooled about what?
Telesto’s smirk widened, “Poor quiet little Ripp, too shy to join in on the conversation. What they don’t realize is that poor shy little Ripp is watching and listening to everything that is going on around him.”
Ripp blushed slightly and ducked his head. He had been caught in his earlier lie after all.
“You know more than she does don’t you?” Telesto accused gently inclining his head toward Lilith.
“Maybe,” Ripp admitted reluctantly, his blush intensifying, “But it’s not … I don’t … I mean …”
“Oh I know it’s not an act,” Telesto assured him, “You really are that shy, which is a puzzle I will get to solving later. You just use it to your advantage whenever possible. So, tell me, how many things they would rather no one knew about have you managed to work out just by watching?”
Ripp flashed an embarrassed smile, “There may have been one or two.”
Telesto laughed quietly at that, “Remind me to keep you on my good side.”
“Can’t,” Damon was saying to Dirk, “The dork over there has already asked Dad for pool house this weekend. Something about a movie marathon with Jules.
“First come, first served,” Telesto shot back at his brother with a cheeky grin, “What did you want the pool house for?”
“Clan match party against a bunch of guys from the arcade in Bluewater,” Damon replied.
“Can’t you do that just as well online?” Telesto asked puzzled.
“Well yeah,” Dirk replied, “But its way more fun when you do it in person. The clans talk smack, everybody eats way too many Skittles and it gets this idiot doing something away from his worse half for the day.”
“Hey!” Tybalt, objected, “I am by far the better half of this relationship. It is never my plans that get us into trouble.”
“No, Love,” Damon corrected, “You are merely the less kinky half, not necessarily better.”
Tybalt grinned, “But I like your kinks …”
Telesto held up a hand, “Not that I am intentionally interrupting or anything …”
“Yes you are,” Lilith laughed, “and thank you, you saved me from having to call them off again.”
“No problem,” Telesto nodded with a smile, before continuing, “You can have the pool house this weekend.”
Damon blinked at him, “I can? You sure?”
Turning his head slightly Telesto looked at Ripp.
Ripp fidgeted in his seat. The Alien was obviously thinking, but why he was staring at him while he was doing it Ripp didn’t have a clue. It was a little unnerving; feeling that you were part of a decision and not knowing why or even what that decision was.
“Yeah,” Telesto said at last, “I’m sure. There has been a change of plans. It’s all yours.”
“Thanks,” Damon nodded as glances were exchanged amongst the group. Something very odd was going on.
* * *
On to Part 5
*edit* (With some slightly off topic rambling) Typo fixed thank you to those who pointed it out and yes please do point out typos! Especially the ones that are real words and spell checkers miss :/ One of the symptoms of my Chiari is numb hands and arm pain. I do struggle with typing. I really struggle with typing but the more I am aware of the mistake patterns I make the better I am able to correct them. You won't insult me. You are actually helping!
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no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 11:56 am (UTC)What I find so stunning about your story is I like ALL the characters. None of them feel like they're just filler to make up the numbers, even in the group of teen friends.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:11 pm (UTC)They are oddly adorable together aren't they? Hmm ...
I am glad you like them all. Grinning like an idiot over that actually, but this is where I gracefully leave the comment because I have already deleted several lines thinking "no, I can't say that yet!" :D
no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-18 12:49 pm (UTC)Peace!
Pekky
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Date: 2010-07-18 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 01:06 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 04:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 04:30 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:47 am (UTC)I had to think about this one, and if it is okay with you I would like to send this answer through a PM. It's long.
no subject
Date: 2010-07-21 01:08 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-07-19 07:43 am (UTC)I can tell you for absolute certain that Tel hasn't got a clue. Good guess though. :D
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Date: 2010-07-21 01:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2012-04-13 02:39 am (UTC)