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 Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 3:48 pm
"Heh, I've heard that strategy before. It works well, but not if they're not up for the second half. It's a gamble too, innit? Waiting until the second half to put forth your best effort. But, then again, you could waste it all on the first half and then lose everything you worked hard for in the second half." He'd seen a couple of hockey games like that. It was extremely disappointing to watch your favourite team do so well, only to fall short when it came down to the wire. Barnaby could feel some of Grayson's pain.
"I'm hoping they do better. They seem to have the potential though." Not that he followed them as closely as perhaps his co-worker, but Grayson certainly believed they had potential and that was good enough for him.
Too lazy for teams? Bah. That was a pretty lame excuse if he ever heard one. Clearly Grayson needed to get involved in school. The after school activities were one of the only reasons Barnaby actually showed up. "Bummer. You should join one. They're good fun, if you're in that kind of team building stuff. The football team's not bad, as far as teams go I guess. Baseball is alright too. Rugby is doing well, last I heard. I dunno if you're tall enough for basketball, but you could always give that a shot."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:26 pm
"Oh, it's gamble," Grayson replied breezily, placing his hands lightly on his hips as he adopted a casual stance. "But it's a gamble they tend to come out on top of. When they play it right, anyway," he added, peaceful features suddenly marred by a scowl.
Not the best topic indeed. For the sake of keeping the conversation light, he decided to add, "But we'll see." hoping it would be the close of the topic.
Whether the excuse was lame or not, it had Grayson all over it. He could probably be bullied into joining a sports team if he hadn't already been part of the Zodiac and now working on top of that; his schedule was actually getting pretty full. He wasn't about to tell Barnaby that, though, even though he knew Jude's alter ego. Grayson hadn't thought it was a good idea then, still didn't think it was much of one now, but he wasn't going to judge.
He just also wasn't going to reveal himself as Sailor Leo to Barnaby unless he absolutely had to.
"I think I'd end up being a nuisance to the team." He wrinkled his nose, shaking his head at basketball. "And I don't like basketball much. Celtics fan, kind of idly, but eh."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:34 pm
Nuisance? How could Grayson be a nuisance? He was a good kid, hardworking, easy going, and probably did pretty well in school. The black-haired teen definitely wasn't anywhere close to being near the word nuisance. Barnaby, on the other hand… well, the team leaders hadn't kicked him off yet, but he was sure there were times he got close. It definitely wasn't his fault though. He was blameless.
"I think they'd just be happen you showed interest, to be honest. I've been club jumping since I started there and not too many people have kicked me out yet. I think you'd be safe from their wrath. You got good commitment and stuff." He didn't know what other good qualities Grayson had – okay that was a lie, he did know them he just didn't want to say them – so he left it at stuff. His co-worker could take it as he would.
"Or hey! I got it, I got it." The devious grin that had formed on Barnaby's face should have been Grayson's first clue that he was up to no good. But just in case he didn't see it coming, the redhead shifted position again so he could be looking at his co-worker when he gave his suggestions.
"You could join the cheer squad."
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:43 pm
Grayson wished Barnaby would become his personal cheerleader and sing his praises to his parents. Maybe then he wouldn't be forced to get a job, get a license, get a car, get up off his butt and do anything he didn't want to do. Still, the effort was nice, and it got another smile out of Grayson.
Not that getting him to smile was hard, really.
"I don't know. I'd miss too many practices by sleeping in and get kicked, I think." He lifted his shoulders, added, "I'd go if someone woke me up. Probably. But I'd have to have someone come get me."
And he'd have to not be busy doing other things, like work, senshi patrol, or homework (hah).
Once again, though, Barnaby threw him. (It seemed he was good at that.) He made eye contact, held it with a bemused look, clearly not following Jude's strict demands of the Three Second Rule. "Cheer squad?"
As if this was really too much to believe, he pointed at himself. "Me?"
Another pause. "Really?"
Grayson thought he was just about as far from anything that they would want for a cheerleader. He was lazy, unmotivated, irresponsible, and he never raised his voice. He was gay, so they wouldn't have to worry about him making any untoward moves during practice, but seriously.
That was about all he had going for him.
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 4:54 pm
"I'd come get you, if you want in on a team or whatever. Might work out well for you since I don't go all the time either." Though it might get a little odd as the weather got better – two guys on a motorcycle was borderline gay – Barnaby was willing to put forward his services if Grayson wanted a chance. Who knew, it might help him make more friends or something. Not that he needed more friends, but more friends were always a good thing, right? Right.
Grayson's reaction to the cheerleader comment was far better than the redhead had expected. It was only because he took it so seriously that Barnaby decided to push the joke further, and dropped the grin. Holding eye contact and keeping his face as straight as he could manage, he replied in a dead serious tone, "Duh. Chicks dig guys in skirts, no lie. Brings them all to the yard, if you know what I mean."
Barnaby managed to keep a straight face for about three seconds before he threw his head back and laughed. Still chuckling, he gave Grayson a playful punch to the shoulder. "Naw, I'm just messing with you. But serious, you find something you wanna do, I'll drive. Car's not great, but it works, you know?"
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Posted: Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:10 pm
Grayson wasn't sure he knew exactly what Barnaby meant, but he was surprised that the redhead was still laboring under the illusion that Grayson was interested in women. He wondered, briefly, that Jude hadn't mentioned it, considering Jude seemed to have a real issue with Grayson's sexuality (barring the time he had given Grayson permission to date Topher), but then again, he supposed Jude wouldn't really talk about him. That was a little depressing.
Damn it, why did he keep thinking about Jude?
Better to think about Barnaby, who was right in front of him, trying to be kind and helpful.
"Thanks." His smile was brief, and he braced his hands against the counter. "I'll think about it. Not the cheerleading thing," he added, grinning a bit. "But sports."
He neglected to mention that he wasn't interested in attracting girls. If Barnaby really wanted to know, he'd tell him, but as far as he was concerned, that was just one part of him.
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Posted: Sun Jan 10, 2010 8:11 pm
It wasn't so much a labouring under the illusion as he honestly didn't know any better. Barnaby was the type of person who would rather just pretend everything was fine and not think too hard about things he didn't want to know about. Thus, while some people may have been like "Omg how did you not know? He's so flamingly gay!", the redhead would remain forever in the dark until someone turned the proverbial light on. Ignorance was bliss, after all.
He returned Grayson's grin and nodded his head. "Fine by me. I'm in no hurry for an answer." There. He'd done his duty as friendly co-worker and potential classmate. Grayson could take it as he would.
The pair lapsed into a potentially amiable silence, breaking it only with a few idle conversations. Those stopped, however, when business picked up, and they were forced to actually do some of the work they were paid to do. Between minding the ovens and delivering, Barnaby didn't get much of a chance to really talk to Grayson until they were closing up the store.
"D'you want a ride home?" He asked the black haired teen, leaning on the top of his car as he did so. His grin returned when his co-worker accepted the offer, letting him get settled in the passenger seat and setting off. Much like their time in the pizza parlour, the car ride was mostly devoid of conversation, though this may have been because Barnaby turned the radio on. Being the gracious host that he was, he let the other teen choose the station. Finally, he pulled the car up into the Graves family's driveway and let his co-worker off.
"Catch you later, Grayson!" The redhead called out his window before driving off towards home.
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