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Advisories are in part 1 as per usual.
Everyone who is inclined to swoon is sitting down yes? :D
Read on!
Pleasantries - Chapter 4 - P.U.R.E. Intentions? - Part 2
1:25 AM Saturday, May 10
Telesto rolled over for what was probably the tenth time in as many minutes.
It didn’t seem to matter how many times he shifted position, he just couldn’t get comfortable. His shoulders seemed content to spend the rest of the night continuing to tie themselves into ever more complex knots while his stomach tried to turn itself inside out.
He should have just asked. That is what he should have done. Just come right out with it, the whole sordid tale, from the beginning. He should have talked to Ripp directly. Instead he’d gone to Juliet.
Frowning, he turned over once more.
What a mess.
Ripp threw the blanket back and sat up. Trying to sleep was obviously a lost cause. His mind would just not settle down enough.
On the one hand he really wanted to go. Telesto had been so happy about the idea and he really did not want to disappoint Telesto, ever. On the other hand, he really didn’t want to disappoint Telesto, ever, and there were so many things that could go wrong if he went.
Leaning his elbows on his knees he sighed.
There was no way this was going to work.
Telesto sat up propping his chin on his knees. He was so far out of his comfort zone on this one it wasn’t even funny.
Flashing a smile and his usual “I want this, there is no reason I shouldn’t have it” wasn’t going to work this time. This time he had to earn it. This time he had to work for it, prove he deserved it. Too bad he had no idea how to do that. He had never really had to prove himself before.
He wasn’t going to just give up though.
The way he saw it, he owed it to Tel to at least show up.
But what about Buzz?
Shit.
Buzz knew a lot of people and PURE was a pretty popular place. Worse still, one of Tank’s friends could be there. He wanted to go, should go and Tel really wanted him to go, but in reality, he couldn’t. It wasn’t safe.
Ripp’s shoulders slumped. He should call Tel and let him know he couldn’t make it. He really didn’t want to. If he was completely honest with himself, just this once he wanted to say to hell with being safe and go anyway.
That would be just plain stupid. He needed to call Tel.
Just pick up the phone and call him.
Tell him all the things he should have told him right from the start.
Telesto let out a long breath. That was an intimidating thought.
Could he be that open about it when he still didn’t know how Ripp would react? Could he make himself that vulnerable? He would be vulnerable. One more thing he was not used to.
Ripp seemed to be damn good at that. Just by being around Ripp made everything different. Everything looked different, sounded different. Things that had never even occurred to him before suddenly made perfect sense.
Taking a deep breath he reached for the phone.
What the hell was he doing? He couldn’t call Tel at this hour.
Trying not to feel the disappointment that was welling up inside him at the prospect of not hearing Tel’s voice until morning when he could reasonably call him, Ripp set the phone down on the table.
A moment later he lunged for it as it let out a loud chime.
“Hello?”
“Hey,” Telesto hesitated unsure what else to say.
Ripp’s eyes went wide, “Tel?”
“Yeah. Did I wake you?”
“No!” Ripp assured him shocked. Tel was calling him in the middle of the night? For real? He had to be dreaming, “I wasn’t sleeping.”
“No?” Telesto couldn’t keep the concern out of his voice, “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Actually I was thinking about calling you.”
“Oh?” Telesto perked up, “What about?”
“I …” Ripp’s voice trailed off as he thought of all the ways he could finish that sentence. Missed you? Wanted to hear your voice? Really wish I was there? All true, but none of them were why he had been thinking of calling. Of course now that he had Tel on the phone his original purpose didn’t seem to matter, “Nah, not important.”
“You were thinking of calling me at 1:30 in the morning and it wasn’t important?”
“I … ummm, yeah, I guess,” Ripp was glad Telesto couldn’t see his blush, “I mean it seemed important at the time but now that I think about it, it really isn’t.”
Telesto laughed, flopping down on the bed, “Fair enough.”
Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
Telesto stared up at the ceiling. This was his chance. All he had to do was tell him. But how? The fight with Juliet at FM all those weeks ago would be the logical place to start. It would also be the most damaging. If anything was going to cause things to go wrong that would be it.
“So, what’s up?” Ripp asked at last.
“Well …” Telesto hesitated. Suddenly he really didn’t want to be doing this over the phone. If Ripp was going to get pissed with him he wanted to see it. If he wasn’t going to get pissed with him then he definitely wanted to see that, “You know what? It can wait ‘til tomorrow.”
“More tomorrow than it already is?” Ripp grinned.
“Yes, jackass,” Telesto’s own grin was audible, “More tomorrow than it already is. I will tell you tomorrow at PURE. I promise.”
“You do that a lot.”
“Do what?” Telesto asked with a puzzled frown.
“Promise.”
“Shouldn’t I?”
“No, it’s not that,” Ripp paused trying to work out how to clarify, “It’s just people promise a lot and they don’t …”
“Ripp.” Telesto cut him off before he could finish his explanation.
“Yeah?”
“I always mean it.”
Ripp smiled. He’d known that.
He’d also just lost the battle.
That paper thin wall of denial he had been carefully building the last few weeks; the one that said he could look and dream and drool without actually feeling anything; came crashing down around him. He felt. He most definitely felt.
Still, it didn’t matter. Tel was his friend, could only ever be his friend and he would rather keep him as a friend than not have him around at all. Admitting to himself there was more there, that he did feel, was a sort of relief all its own. The wall had been replaced with an odd sense of hope.
Hope?
What a strange thing to be feeling now of all times.
The sound of a door closing in the hallway jerked Ripp’s attention back his surroundings.
“People are moving around here,” he sighed, “I should go.”
“Okay.”
“I’ll see you tomorrow night.”
“You can bet on it.”
“Okay. Good night, Tel.”
“Ripp, I …”
“Hmm?”
“Nothing. Night.”
Hanging up the phone Telesto made his way back toward his bed, as he turned his eyes settled on the hair dryer laying on top of his dresser.
He paused for a moment, a small smile curling his lips.
He shook his head, “You notice that but not what I have been trying to tell you for weeks now.”
* * *
11:10 AM Saturday, May 10
“It looks like a dungeon,” Tybalt stated.
Juliet grinned, “It does. You could totally work with this. Get the right set of shackles on the wall over there and it is both decorative and functional.”
“Shackles?”
“Yeah,” Juliet nodded, “You know, work out the creative kinks with a little ... kink.”
“Jules?”
“Hmm?”
“Never say anything like that ever again. There are some things about you I just don’t want to know. Ever.”
With a quiet chuckle Juliet turned her attention back to the under renovation basement.
“The point is, it can be whatever you need it to be. This whole remodeling is my project, not Grandpa’s. He has no say on what I do with it. So whatever you need down here we can make happen.”
“I am not going to take over your basement for this, Jules,” Tybalt protested.
Juliet glared at him, “It should be your basement.”
Tybalt sighed. She had a point, even if he didn’t want it and all the bullshit that came with it.
“Okay, “ he conceded, “but I still have no idea what the hell I am doing.”
“You will,” she assured him, “and when you do it will be here for you.”
“Thanks.”
He didn’t need to say more. Never did with Juliet. She knew how much he appreciated that she was there and helping him through this. He wished he could return the favour somehow, that there was some way he could make things just that little bit easier for her.
It was a shitty thing their Grandfather had done.
Sure the old man thought he was doing what Juliet wanted. He probably even thought he was being nice about it. In a way maybe he was. He could have just as easily picked some random, socially acceptable, guy Juliet had never even met for her to marry. That he had allowed her to make her own choice was, in some twisted way, being nice.
Only he hadn’t let her make her own choice had he? Because he hadn’t bothered to ask a few very important questions first.
Come to think of it, Tybalt needed some answers to some of those very same questions.
“Jules,” he began hesitantly, “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure,” she smiled at him, “What’s up?”
“How come no one seems to know about you and the green little shit?”
Her smile vanished, “He has a name.”
“Don’t evade the question.”
“I’m not evading …”
“You are,” he countered, “which tells me I almost made a bigger mess of things last night when I just about let that little bit of information slip to Damon than I thought I did.”
Juliet blanched, “You told Damon?”
“No,” Tybalt assured her, “but I almost did. I thought everyone knew. I especially would have thought his brother knew. So what’s up? Is there a reason you guys have kept things so quiet?”
Juliet didn’t answer, her eyes locked on an unseen spot on the floor.
“Jules,” Tybalt urged gently, “What’s going on?”
“He …” she sighed, looking up at last, “I can’t tell you. Not quite yet. I promised, but it isn’t bad, okay? Well, it’s bad for me in any case isn’t it? …”
Her voice trailed off as a sad smile curled her lips.
Tybalt reached out pulling her into a hug, “Are you okay?”
She nodded, “Yeah, I will be.”
“Is he okay?”
She nodded again, “Yeah, he is.”
“Are you happy for him?”
“Gods,” she sighed, tears starting to stream down her cheeks, “I hope so. Otherwise this hurts for nothing.”
* * *
8:00 PM Saturday. May 10
“Lil, I don’t think this is such a good idea,” Ripp stopped short. “Let’s just go before anyone even knows we were here.”
“Go?” Lilith stared at him. “You want to go and we haven’t even gotten inside yet?”
“This was a bad plan,” Ripp continued, worrying at his thumb nail, “a really bad plan. I’m not ready for this. Not even close. I’m going to make an ass of myself. I know it. Too many people are going to be here and they are all going to be watching me while I make an ass of myself. Oh! They might know my Dad. Oh god, what if someone knows my Dad? Lil? What if someone here knows my Dad? I shouldn’t be here. We should go. Well I should go, you can stay but I am just going to go. This was a bad plan. Really bad.”
Lilith sighed. This was not acceptable.
“Stop it!” she admonished taking hold of his arms and giving him a gentle shake, “You can’t keep doing this to yourself.”
“It was a stupid idea,” Ripp countered sullenly.
“It wasn’t. It might be the first really good idea I have seen you have.”
“But if my Dad finds out that I am here, like this, there will be a shit storm like you have never seen before,” Ripp insisted.
“Why, because of the clothes?” Lilith queried with an arched brow.
“No,” Ripp shook his head, “not just the clothes. Everything about the whole situation. Me. All of it. Wrong.”
“Everything I am is wrong to him. The basic me-ness goes against everything he shoots his racists, homophobic mouth off about. It’s bad enough now that he just thinks I am a lazy slob with no work ethic. I don’t even want to think about what would happen if he found out I was gay; worse, that I have a thing for aliens. He hates them on principal.”
Lilith couldn’t help smirking at that, “Aliens huh?”
Ripp sighed, “Yeah, it’s a whole pointy ears and amazing eyes thing, hard to explain. But see! Right there! You are the only person I have ever told and even you didn’t know about the aliens part. It is usually better if I just don’t say things. It’s safer that way. ”
“Safer maybe,” Lilith agreed, “but you aren’t happy.”
“Screw happy. I can’t deal with any more shit from him and if I do this it is like step one to strapping a flashy neon sign on my head that says ‘Hey Dickhead! I’m your gay son with an alien fetish!’ That’s really not going to go down well!”
“Ripp, it is just dancing! Friends can dance together you know. Even male friends. It isn’t always about sex. If your Dad has a problem with that, it is his problem,”
“I know that!” Ripp shot back, “That is so not even the issue.”
Lilith had managed to guess at the correct source of his anxiety, but she’d missed the mark on the motivation.
“Then what is?” she demanded, frustration rising. She loved him, but sometimes he was his own worst enemy.
“I …” he could tell her, it would be oh so easy to just come right out and confess to his closest friend that Buzz was only half the problem. The rest of the problem was what amounted to throwing himself at temptation in the form of one wickedly beautiful alien who’d promised, no, informed him they would be dancing together that evening. Temptation that was becoming harder and harder to be around without doing something really stupid; something really stupid like kissing him.
He’d already almost done that once and still wasn’t sure why he’d stopped. What if it happened again? What if this time he didn’t stop? Worse still what if instead of doing something stupid he said something stupid? That was probably far more likely and he really couldn’t see Telesto hanging around after that. If he said or did something stupid and people saw it, it would only be a matter of time before Buzz found out. Then he’d be minus a friend and in a world of shit as well.
He could tell Lilith all of this, but he didn’t.
“I might make a fool of myself or do something that just screams ‘Ripp is gay!’ and it will get back to my Dad,” he settled for a half truth.
“Wow, you need this worse than I thought,” Lilith stated shaking her head in exasperation.
“I need to go make an ass of myself and potentially blow my cover at home making my life worse than a living hell?” Ripp was confused, “Are we having the same conversation?”
“No, doofus,” Lilith retorted, ‘you need to relax!”
“Look at you,” she exclaimed, “You are sixteen years old and terrified to go out and have a good time with your friends. Why? Because there is a chance you might do something that will get back to your Dad. So what if he finds out? He’s going to find out eventually anyway!”
“Yeah, but …”
Lilith cut him off, “No buts. Whose life are you living, yours or the one he wants you to have?”
Ripp really hated it when she made sense. If he left he was doing exactly what his father wanted and that was exactly what Ripp didn’t want.
“I want to be living mine,” Ripp acknowledged with only slight hesitation, “I’m scared though.”
“It’s okay to be scared,” Lilith consoled, “It’s not okay to hide.”
Ripp groaned. Those were his words and she was right. The whole reason he had even started this was because he had felt like he was suffocating. He could feel the life slowly being choked out of him day after day until it was either fight back or give up entirely. He’d almost given up.
“Shit,” Ripp swore softly, “I said I wanted to send a message didn’t I?”
“Now’s your chance,” Lilith offered.
“That would be one hell of a message,” Ripp chuckled dryly, “I think his head may explode.”
“It may,” Lilith agreed, waiting for him to reach a decision, “Stay or go, Hon, I’m with you either way.”
Ripp deliberated with himself for only a split second more.
“So,” Ripp began as they turned to make their way inside, “Did I say thank you for agreeing to do this with me? I would never have gone through with the clothes if you hadn’t gone with me.”
“Hey, I got to go shopping, always a bonus!” Lilith told him, “And I have been eyeing this top forever, just needed the excuse to wear it.”
“You’ll help me pick up the pieces when this all blows up in my face too, right?” Ripp asked his steps faltering for just a moment.
“Absolutely,” Lilith assured, “That’s what I do. Bringing brooms to major life crises. It’s my thing!”
“And cookies,” Ripp added, “Don’t forget the cookies.”
“And cookies,” she acknowledged with a slight nod, “So you did get some of the ones I left at Damon’s? You and Tel weren’t there when I stopped by.”
“I did. Promise you will make more, they were awesome.”
“Of course, but I am thinking I should get brave and try some of the other food groups.”
“Cookies are good though.”
“They are, but you can only eat so many before they go straight to your ass.”
“Speaking of,” Ripp interjected, “remind me to kick Tybalt’s ass later for starting all of this with his need for everyone to have a thing. If he’d just admitted it to begin with …”
“The list of reasons to kick Tybalt’s ass is long, but I will be sure to add that one to the top.”
* * *
On to Part 3
Now ... who found the Easter eggs?
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 12:07 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 05:26 pm (UTC)This is possibly the best comment opener I have ever gotten. :D
Lilith has her moments.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 01:58 am (UTC)Lilith is awesome, and I love her look tonight. And Ripp, looking so fiiiine in all that black!
I live the little scenes with Juliet and Tybalt. They are good for each other, as far as siblings go.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 05:46 pm (UTC)I have a fondness for the Jules and Tybalt moments myself. They have an awesome relationship, it's good for them. (and I am stopping now having just deleted several more lines because they said way too much!)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 02:27 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 05:58 pm (UTC)*whistles innocently*
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Date: 2011-01-11 03:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 05:56 pm (UTC)I will try not keep you hanging for long!
no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 05:32 pm (UTC)ps. I love the sublimial messaging. LOL
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Date: 2011-01-11 06:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 06:42 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-11 07:20 pm (UTC)edited for complete typing fail.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 12:03 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 04:37 am (UTC)Seeing Ripp without a shirt and all was a little surprise -- not in itself, but because I forgot he's not so much of a wimp as he is in a lot of other things I read, or my game. Oy.
Just a not-really-related question left: You ever heard of
/plug
no subject
Date: 2011-01-12 05:16 am (UTC)I put way more thought into Ripp not being so much of a wimp than I should have :( It didn't make sense for me that he would be with what he deals with from Buzz. Passive, yes. The typical scrawny wimp? Not a chance. Even given that, I am still surprised on occasion. I guess we just get used to seeing him portrayed that way don't we?
I do have a few of simagroop's retextures in my game and plans to download more. I have noticed as I am requiring a lot more CC for scene setting I am getting a lot more picky about what CC I am keeping in regards to hair and clothing. There is a decided shift happening as I go through and thin out things I just won't use toward maxis-match simply for convenience and simagroop's retextures are definitely on that list! You will see a few more of them pop up as more makeovers start to happen from the thinning of my downloads folder.
Unfortunately I haven't had a chance to start reading The Broke Legacy yet even though it has been on the list of things I really want to read for months now. I have heard nothing but good things about her writing so I am very much looking forward to that. Must find more time in the day!
And now I have written a small essay in reply *head desk*. :D
Thanks for reading and the comment.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 09:09 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2011-01-14 10:23 pm (UTC)That is my general impression of him as well. *shrug* Not sure I will ever get used to seeing him any other way. Oh well, it is what it is. :D
no subject
Date: 2011-01-15 01:35 pm (UTC)First, Ripp and Telesto love. :D
Second, subliminal messaging ftw. I saw it the first time I tried to read this update (When internet connection was being a meanie and father was hovering over my shoulder).
Ooh, cliffhanger. :3
no subject
Date: 2011-01-15 02:07 pm (UTC)..... right ...
Ripp and Tel love! YAY!!!! I do apologize for the cliffhanger though :/ It is just a little one though. More like a curb hanger really.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-16 02:29 pm (UTC)And oh my, to shirtless Ripp and Telesto, you spoil us, what pretty pictures they make and I love the idea of the split screen showing them both at the same time.
I love Lil's line of "Bringing brooms to major life crises. It’s my thing" its my thing too, I may have to steal that from her as a personal quote, next crisis my best friend gets himself into :) looking forward to next time, oh and it didn't seem a cliffhanger to me, just a natural pause before they went inside PURE. :)
no subject
Date: 2011-01-16 09:42 pm (UTC)Tel's plotting :/ You'd never expect it of him would you? He looks so cute and innocent, but he's got a rather sharp mind in that pretty little head of his. Sometimes he uses it.
You can completely use the brooms line :D Anyone that has to sweep up after other people's life explosions is totally allowed to have that phrase.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-17 10:29 pm (UTC)And, I spy with my little eye.....A WET HOT KAULITZ!!!!
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Date: 2011-01-18 12:45 am (UTC)And yes, yes you do! With the possible exception of a certain wall sized painting I have had to be very careful to keep out of the images that is my yummiest recolour to date.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 02:44 am (UTC)I reeeeally love this...can not wait for an updated. ^_^ want to friend the journal just to see the updates or any updates but do not know if that is ok.
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 06:29 am (UTC)Of course you can friend :D, and I can tell you that the next update will be here in a matter of hours. (For which I am ridiculously excited and if I wasn't trying do hard to get it out today, it has to be TODAY! I would be rambling non-stop about that >.>) lol
no subject
Date: 2011-01-18 10:42 am (UTC)