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 Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 9:27 pm
"You care quite a lot for being right about other people." So much for keeping to yourself, Jack. Elex leaned against one of the nearby stone pillars with his shoulder, and watched the other youth with a certain measure of neutrality. This one was hotheaded, determined. Very certain of his own views. Very intent on retaining them. Let no one touch how he might think and corrupt it in any fashion - else he might lose his way in the world. Elex couldn't imagine a life like that, though perhaps his own life wasn't much of a life at all.
For while others retained lives and obligations and friends and interests, Elex Yorke was nothing more than a passing fancy - a fable told to drive kids toward a goal, lest they lose themselves to whimsy.
"If everyone kept to themselves, would we have a society at all?" Elex asked the other youth with a quizzical look. "Would there be a Destiny City to exist in? Would there be a library full of kids to torment?" Elex supposed Jack could deny all he wanted that he gained some benefit out of the interplay between strangers, but ultimately, neither one of them could exist if people simply minded their own business. The whole human race would die out. Then again, was that such a terrible turn of events? The ocean thought not, but who asked it?
Those idiots who forget about their own well-being are very useful people. "Elex Yorke. My father's one of those idiots." He straightened then, and while he offered no hand in turn, he adopted a more formal pose in presenting himself. While he did not take great pleasure in someone else demeaning his father so, he could keep such statements well enough to himself. Often everyone had a stark opinion about money and those who held it.
"I'm a spectator. I like to watch people's stories unfold, meddlesome as that is."
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 10:03 pm
"What?" Another smile, this one sheepish with undertones of uneasiness, sprang to his face. He scratched his head, slipping slightly into his schooling hours role of class clown. "I think you're misunderstanding something. I just explained how pointless it is to involve yourself with other people if they have nothing to do with you. It'd make no sense for me to do just that."
Maybe he was reasoning this out just as much to convince the dark-haired kid as himself, though. As much as he would have liked to, Jack couldn't deny that the guy had captured his interest. At least for the time being. Besides, it was a decent distraction allowing him to delay inevitably having to check his book bag.
Did this young man only keep his thoughts and opinions to himself, or did he ever push back? As someone who enjoyed debates, Jack had voiced his opinions strongly while expecting some resistance, but as he hadn't been met with any, he had to try a rarely-used tactic; rarely-used because it was seldom necessary. He actually had to ask the kid about himself directly.
The redhead was pleased to find that his conversation partner had some thoughts of his own to speak after all. Nevermind that he didn't consider himself the true tormenter in the library, nor that he had scared the full library's worth of children. He doubted the other really even cared about that, anyway.
"Maybe there wouldn't, but I'm sure we'd find some other way to survive, as hardy a species as we are. It's not as though all creatures are pack animals." Jack shrugged. "With things the way they are, though, I just focus on myself rather than the rest of society. I can control myself and the way I choose to do things even if I can't control them. And in the spirit of survival of the fittest, it's kinda nice when there are so many less intelligent people to take advantage of." He tapped his temples with an index finger.
"Yeah?" The mention of Elex's father threw Jack in for a loop. Why was he saying that? Did he take offense to Jack's earlier statement on behalf of his father? Was he speaking out of resentment for his old man? Or was he simply stating another impartial observation? Perhaps he might have even been saying so just to gauge Jack's own reaction. Did he think he'd feel guilty? "And what do you think of that? You wanna be like him?"
The hazel-eyed male shook his head. "Wait, wait, wait. Hold up. If you're a spectator and nothing but, how is that meddlesome? Meddlers and spectators are two separate things. If you're meddling, that means you've stepped off the sidelines and entered the playing field."
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 10:57 pm
Elex only shrugged. Jack would backpedal at his will. You're only interested in picking fights.
"'People should keep to themselves', you said. Watching isn't quite keeping to myself. It must be very meddlesome, according to you." You who looks down your nose at the world. And you'd rather give the rich a bad reputation - how interesting. Maybe it's projection, after all. What use is finding flaws in yourself when you can better pin them to others? Better to make an enemy on the outside, as it were.
Elex took a pair of steps back, casting himself into the organic shade stemming from the thick arborvitae. The cover allowed pinpricks of light to dance across his features, while he examined the boy still standing in full sun. He looked a little pale, a little worn, for all the fun he had back inside. What a shame, what a pity. It must be very boring to go through life thinking everyone else is unintelligent and weak, that anyone can be taken advantage of with little to no cost to yourself. Do you enjoy life, Jack? It must be such a chore for you when surrounded so by idiots. You have to resort to parlor tricks in a library to entertain yourself. You're one with the disillusioned youth, ever damned to live out the burden of your forefathers. Just like me, perhaps, but only one of us is complaining.
"Then keep surviving, Jack. Keep preying on the feeble. See what comes of that." I'm nothing like my father, he thought abruptly. So this is where the Yorke line ends.
He needed to return indoors soon, he knew. The sun set at such an angle that it peered mercilessly through the brush, and the coming summer left the sun somehow brighter in their midst. Standing around in such a time entailed sunburns on fair skin - for the both of them, it looked like. And that said nothing of his studies at present, of course.
Elex approached the door once more, his ivory fingers settling on the smooth brushed nickel. Even now, it felt cool to the touch. "You're interesting, Jack. Maybe we'll be seeing more of each other."
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 11:33 pm
"If you're just watching and not interfering in any way, for all intents and purposes, that's keeping to yourself in my book. I watch people all the time. And it's not like I completely ignore them; I just pick and choose which ones may be beneficial to me in the long run and plan my associations with them according to that. I'm still looking out for number one first and foremost as long as I don't get attached." He waved an arm in an animated gesture. "Your family doesn't get by without using other people either, I take it."
For all his posturing and confident talk, however, Jack found himself somewhat unnerved by the way Elex quietly looked him over. It was no less than he had done to the darker-haired teen in turn, to be sure, but the red-head had almost found himself under such scrutiny as he applied toward others. No one usually cared enough to bother. So why this one? And why him?
But no. Evidently he was just as interesting to Elex as the librarian and perhaps anyone else, so it was likely he would soon move on to an equally, if not more intriguing person to stare at like that. He wasn't anyone special to this guy and that's how it should have been. Jack told himself he'd probably forget Elex by tomorrow, too, so no point in over-thinking things. That's right, nothing to see here. Move along. With how quickly his new acquaintance seemed to have moved on from thoughts of the librarian, he supposed Elex would be losing interest in Jack himself presently.
Both brows rose at what seemed to be encouragement to continue his method of survival. No comment on how what he did was wrong, or even right, for that matter. Just an enigmatic response that made him wonder once more what the other was thinking. 'See what comes of that'? Was that some sort of warning? Mockery? Or just a simple statement advising him to continue doing what he was doing?
Whatever the case, Jack still couldn't help feeling looked down on by the other young man, as if Elex thought he knew more about where Jack's path might have been headed than Jack himself did. What bothered him more than that insinuation, though, was that the Romano's student actually half-believed that might have been true.
No, no no. He was the only one who knew himself no matter how cocksure and suave Elex behaved. Like Jack, he reminded himself that Elex was used to playing roles as necessity demanded, and that probably happened a lot more often for the dark-haired youth than Jack, so Elex likely had a great deal more practice. Jack just couldn't allow himself to be taken in by his act was all. Simple as that. What were the chances he would ever have to deal with him again, anyway?
"If you think everyone's interesting, then no one really is," his big mouth couldn't help uttering as his gaze lingered on the hand's contact with the door. "But whatever you say, Elex."
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Posted: Tue May 16, 2017 11:55 pm
'I just pick and choose which ones may be beneficial to me in the long run and plan my associations with them according to that. I'm still looking out for number one first and foremost as long as I don't get attached.'
There it is. Elex smiled then, genuine in the gesture, though enigmatic in its reason. Jack laid bare what he thought he was doing - what he understood to be his motivations. He looked out for himself, and interacted with others only insofar as they might benefit him. He wanted relationships that he could micromanage, relationships with a payout that made their execution worth his while. Elex knew a handful of individuals who believed in the same outlook on life, though they conduct based on that philosophy varied wildly. These people almost invariably held power in the form of money, yet here was someone who did not. And in that, Elex found great amusement.
Here, he was faced with someone better matched to his upbringing than he, who likely had a lot in life better matched to Elex's disposition. A notable family and considerable wealth gave others reason to take note of him, whereas those same aspects might benefit someone who's only looking to use others. But, even then, such an observation would be taking Jack's comments at face value.
And at face value, they were worthless. They were lies told to oneself in an endless mantra. Jack wanted no more to live a life of solitude and usury than he wanted to simply stop hurting. He felt slighted by the world, whether for the hand he was dealt or some interactions that soured extensively. Elex could no further predict which than he could name the boy's parents. And Jack wanted to remain a mystery because he hated himself, but he explained away that mystery because he wanted someone else to understand him - perhaps even to like him. To tolerate his company, beyond the usury and the stinging comments. But those comments came forth relentlessly because he never thought he deserved such an outcome.
Elex turned and leaned against the door, his hand frozen behind the small of his back. Fingers rested on the hinged handle in idle play. "That's a logical fallacy, Jack. Think about what you're saying. Mix in something a little more objective. 'If everyone is blue, then no one is blue'. Does that sound true to you?" Does it give you satisfaction to assume I find everyone interesting? Think about how tired I must be at the end of every day, trying to cobble together the lives of everyone I come across.
What a waste.
"Try a little harder, Jack. I know you can." See what buttons you can push.
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 12:49 am
If Jack didn't like the way Elex looked at him before, he sure as hell didn't appreciate that smile now. Almost physically recoiling at the sight, his mind quickly scanned the transcript of his past few comments in an attempt to understand its cause. Such an attempt proved futile due to his panic disrupting the concentration required for his endeavor. All he knew was Elex's smile suggested he knew something Jack didn't want him knowing. Damn. Now I know what Sinope's Sly Secret Steal must feel like...
"Something funny?" he asked, his inquiry coming out harsher than he meant it to. He lamented this not out of concern for Elex's feelings, but rather out of fear that something further might have been gleaned from his slip-up. Well...maybe if he didn't act like it was a slip-up, the other boy would never know. This kid who seemed to enjoy the hobby of people-watching. And demonstrated himself to have been unusually sharp for his age. Right.
The less flustered or shaken he tried to appear, the more distraught and shook up Jack got. From looking anywhere but at Elex's face, he chanced a peek at the forbidden focal point and instantly regretted it. He felt frozen, trapped; and by his very own choice of weapons, no less. How could his beloved words have betrayed him so, catching him up in the very web of logic that he himself had spun? If he could just stop inwardly freaking out for a moment, maybe he could begin the tedious process of disentanglement. He didn't dare even open his mouth until he at least had somewhere to start with a response.
Instead of his brain working, though, he found his blood pressure rising to a point he thought only he was capable of causing others' to reach. It was making it near impossible for him to think straight when unadulterated fury was suddenly coursing through his veins. 'Try a little harder'? 'I know you can'?!
"...Dude, I try not to judge people based on things like social background or looks. Sure, I might make a comment to get a reaction, but that's just so I can get a grip on what someone's like through that reaction. You, though, are turning out to be every bit the condescending, patronizing p***k your stereotypical description makes you out to be!"
He marched over, irritably aware of his clenched fists at his sides. "I'm not your entertainment, okay? Go find someone else to play with. Chat up the librarian if you want. Weren't you just wondering about her and the status of her job?" He had been this close to getting off scot-free...but it was like Elex had known and stuck around purely to exasperate him.
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Posted: Wed May 17, 2017 1:08 am
"Do people only smile when they find something funny?" The smile faded in time, though his ascertations did not. No longer did Jack look like the spark of interest. Now he played the part of a normal teenage boy, hurting inside and hurtful outside, bound for the confines of Juvi. Bound for the streets where he might ply his trade in lying, cheating and stealing. It was all conjugal visits and planned escapes from there, punctuated with a few trysts and some broken relationships. He'd never keep someone he couldn't use, and every relationship met its end by his own hand if the other partner proved too good to him. How dare they penetrate that ruse.
Even now, he looked much too distraught over the cool-tempered boy that faced him down. The one that bent not to insults and assumptions. He wondered, then - did it hurt more to face the lack of bite? Or did he struggle with the discomfort of a situation he couldn't control?
Man sees in the world what he carries in his heart. Is that what you see, Jack? Liars and monsters and shallow bastions of power?
"I want to see what you can do. You're the one who wants to interfere. You're the one who wants to manipulate people. You know I have money, Jack. Does that not suit you? You pick and choose your associations based on what others can give you. You want your relationships quiet, manageable, and disposable. I gave you every option to capitalize on that, but you never took it. Is it because I know you're posturing?
"You don't want to be noticed because you think you're just a bag of bones. Call me patronizing, call me condescending, call me stereotypical - but you can't deny it. All that self-loathing must be festering by now. You think the world is full of idiots, but the smarter ones can smell it on the air." His fingers clenched the handle tightly, his thumb disengaging the latch. The door coasted inward with his bodyweight and Elex felt the cool hair from the library rush out to greet hte pair, to chase away the heat from the sun.
He turned from the other youth and faced the stale scent of books, casting behind him his farewells. "Take care, Jack."kitomyx jack told him to ******** off, so off he ******** class="clear">
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Posted: Sat May 20, 2017 1:58 am
Fixing Elex with a critical stare, Jack wasn't sure what to make of him. As upset as he acted, a strange excitement began to bubble up inside him. Never before had he been challenged like this. He hadn't found anyone to match wits against him before. Hardly anyone had even bothered trying and now along came this new player of the game practically knocking Jack off his feet.
Well, that was what he had gotten for being so cocky and scorning his superficial schoolmates for being so beneath him. He'd conveniently forgotten that people who could match or even exceed his intelligence existed until along came Elex. Now the game seemed like it was worth playing again. Here at last appeared to be a worthy opponent.
I'd like to see what else you can do, too, he thought. Aloud, though, he answered, "Yeah, you have money, and yeah, I like to be choosy with the people I spend my time on based on what I get out of our relationship. But money is not a top priority of mine and I also mentioned that I like taking advantage of the less intelligent. They're easier game." Easier and more boring. Disappointing. Will you disappoint me like them? "Maybe it's about time I increased the difficulty, though. Even if I'm wary about going after someone who's deliberately enticing me to try to use them and who used my own words against me."
His thick brows furrowed as Elex hypothesized what Jack thought of himself and his lips tightened. Smarter ones, huh? he pondered, the conditioned air gusting from indoors against his face. And just how smart do you fancy yourself to be? What had the guy left the building for if he was only going to go back in, anyway?
So much of what he said and did was a mystery to the redhead. Why had he asked him about the librarian? Just to prove a point, or did he actually want to know? Had he gone back in to find out? And then he'd had the audacity to ask Jack more questions right before leaving as if he didn't really care to know the answers. What was with this guy? Was that how he got to people - through insults, confusion, frustration, and exasperation? Had that been his goal all along?
As he ran these questions through his mind, the freshman returned to the bag still on the bench and delicately unzipped it to peer inside. A small smirk lit his lips and he stuck his hand in to allow his miraculously unharmed arachid to crawl onto the back of his hand.
"I'd like to just pretend this never happened," he told the spider, lifting her to his face, "but I don't think I'll be able to forget that guy any time soon. Elex Yorke, huh?" He'd have to look him up. If his family was as wealthy as he seemed, they would probably be easier to find with an internet search than most people. "Acting like he knows what I'm all about...I guess we'll just have to show him how wrong he is. Won't we, Electra?"
If this new acquaintance was going to lodge himself in Jack's memory, among his subjects of curiosity and interest, Jack was certainly going to do his darndest to return the favor. His pride was at stake, especially after Elex must have thought he'd bested him. The redhead had told himself not to be taken in by this person so used to playing roles, but it seemed he'd fallen for the bait regardless.
Oh well. That strange, inner spring of excitement continued to bubble up from within, making him realize that he'd become happier than he'd been in a long time. Finally, here was someone with more than half a brain. He was wealthy and well-educated and unlike most people Jack had to put up with on a regular basis. Maybe he'd been taunted a little, but unlike the taunting of his bullies, this was an invitation to make the next move in a game within his own element. If he wanted to go about this properly, said next move would require extensive planning and preparation. His goal wasn't to impress Elex; it was to blow him completely out of the water.
It wasn't likely he'd run into the other teen at this library again, especially given that he was probably banned for life now. But he a first and last name and a whole lot of resources at his disposal. Assuming the names he'd been given weren't false, how many Elex's in Destiny City could there be? Eager to get started with his research and scheming, Jack raised his arm to slip his backpack onto his back and urge Electra to relocate herself onto his shoulder before setting off down the sidewalk.
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