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 Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 8:56 pm
Chad couldn’t help but smile as Elliot talked about his parents. He seemed like he had a very good relationship with them. Especially his dad. Chad hadn’t heard him talk about his mom yet. But then again, it wasn’t as though Chad could say much about his mom. He didn’t really want to say much about his dad, either.
“It’s no offense,” Chad quickly shook his head, not wanting Elliot to worry. Even if he shuffled his feet as he walked with him. It was before classes started, so it wasn’t as though he was going to have to worry too much about Elliot being seen with him.
But he smiled and nodded and tugged gently at his borrowed clothes, admiring how nice they felt. If he imagined it just right, it was almost as if Elliot was giving him a hug.
“You don’t have to do that for me, but thank you,” he politely shook his head. “You’ve already done so much for me. I feel like I’m taking advantage of your kindness.” It was sweet, and really, Chad would have loved to get some resources to look into maybe a different way of learning things, or techniques to help him with tests. But he was already wearing Elliot’s clothes, and Elliot was already bringing him food, and offering to walk with him, and saying so many nice things. What did Chad have for Elliot in return? Nothing. Except dirty clothes to deal with later.
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 9:04 pm
“I don’t know if you can take advantage of someone while they’re offering it. I mean–well, you can. Depends on how you want to argue it. You could ‘take advantage’ of my offer by accepting, because it means you’re making use of an opportunity. But I don’t think you could ‘take advantage’ of my kindness with any negative connotation because you’re not expecting me to do anything more for you than I’m offering. It’s not an imposition, I mean. Anyway, you seem really considerate. I have a hard time imagining you taking advantage of anyone.”
He smiled, because Chad seemed like he needed a few extra smiles.
“Oh–here, my locker,” he said, and trotted over so he could get him a sweater. “Did you have breakfast already? I brought Pop Tarts, wanna share? I can only eat like one and then the other one gets all stale by the time I’m hungry again. I wanted to hear about your college plans. It sounds pretty responsible that you’ve already been thinking about those things. Do you know what you want to get a degree in already?”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 9:13 pm
Elliot had apologized just the day before about talking a lot. But even if it was a little overwhelming trying to keep up with everything he was saying, Chad thought it was really cute.
Which, of course, he’d thought Elliot was cute since meeting him. Well, okay, he didn’t really meet him officially, but knew of him at least.
And his smile was so nice. Chad couldn’t help but smile back.
“Oh, I don’t usually eat breakfast,” he mumbled sheepishly. It was either eat breakfast or eat lunch, and he was usually hungrier during lunch period. Of course, when he opened his mouth to say that he wasn’t really hungry anyway, his stomach protested and growled--
He laughed awkwardly, and held his hand over his stomach in case that made it any less obvious (probably not).
“Um… If you’re not going to eat it, then. I wouldn’t want it to go to waste,” he mumbled, and then shook his head about college plans. “No, not really. Sometimes I like to imagine what I would go to college for, but I haven’t really decided what I would actually want to study.”
And he was still nervous about admitting his love of all things art, even if Elliot didn’t seem to mind art.
“What about you? Have you thought of what you’d like to study?”
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Posted: Fri May 13, 2022 9:20 pm
Elliot blinked at Chad’s stomach, impressed by the vocalization. “Wow, glad you got that out before class started.” He pulled out his sweater but didn’t pass it over to Chad just yet; he seemed to be waiting until they hung up his clothes to dry. “I’ve got some magnets if you want to hang your clothes up with that? I don’t know what you’ve got in your locker.”
He seemed happy to offer, and even peered into his locker to make sure he didn’t have any spare hangers lying around. He didn’t, obviously, but he had a collection of books. His locker was very organized, if not just a little full.
“Breakfast is the most important part of the day. Bagels are perfect for breakfast?”
Oh, well. Maybe he had a weak stomach.
“But I guess it’s easy to get tired of eating the same thing over and over. It’s okay, we’ll spice things up with Pop Tarts today. But I brought you another cupcake for lunch. It’s not healthy. You want some fruit, too? That basically cancels out the sugar. I’m going to go to college and be a nutritionist.”
He paused, looked at Chad, and clarified, “That’s a joke. I have no idea what I want to do yet. Maybe be a teacher. My parents say they get to argue with kids all the time, and I don’t know if you know this about me but I love arguing. I can definitely beat a kid in an argument, so it’d be smooth sailing once I got my degree.”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 9:19 am
Chad couldn’t help but be curious and peeked into Elliot’s locker. It had so many books and looked like Elliot was definitely prepared for anything the day could throw at him. Clearly, since he had extra clothes ready to share with someone else.
“Oh…” he paused, suddenly concerned about Elliot being curious about his locker. But… it would be okay. His locker wasn’t at all organized but… it was also pretty full.
“Thank you. Um. Yeah, those should work,” he agreed, holding his wet clothes a little tighter. “Um. My locker is in the hall near the science classrooms. I can… I can hang them up. I don’t want to keep you from whatever you have to do.”
Even though Elliot seemed like he was pretty set in sharing his breakfast.
Chad did hesitate when Elliot made the comment about being a nutritionist -- but let out a breath of relief when he said he was joking. He knew he was on the skinny side, and it would be embarrassing if Elliot told him he needed to eat more. Which Chad knew. But it was a little difficult sometimes.
“I think you would be a very good teacher,” he agreed, shifting from one foot to the next, wondering if he should just stall long enough for Elliot to get bored with him.
He didn’t bother telling Elliot that he’d been to as many of his debates as possible.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 9:31 am
“We’re going to go have breakfast,” Elliot insisted. “The science classrooms are practically on the way to the cafeteria.” He used the word ‘practically’ quite liberally. “We’ve still got time before the buses let out, so no rush. I appreciate how supportive you are. I don’t know if it’s exactly what I want to do, yet, but my favorite adults are all teachers. I’ve got time to think about it.”
He smiled again. “And you do, too. There’s still plenty of time to focus on your grades. And if you’re worried about scholarships or anything, my dad can help. Like, he helps his students get scholarships and find things to help make school more affordable. He can helps find extracurriculars that can look really good on an application, it just depends on what you’re interested in. You sounded kinda disappointed that you got put in an art elective, do you have any fun there? –Or what would you have wanted if you got your first pick?”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 9:45 am
He couldn’t help it when he flinched a little at Elliot’s insistence. He immediately felt guilty about it, because it wasn’t as though Elliot was even being loud or threatening. Chad ducked his head down in shame, and nodded to let Elliot know that he would go with him. Even if his heart felt like it was going to explode.
Nervously, he shuffled his way down the hall, although slow enough so that Elliot didn’t think he was trying to run away from him. Even if he kind of felt like it, if only to keep from embarrassing himself even more.
“That’s very kind of you and your dad,” Chad said, glancing up at Elliot when he felt like he had the color of his face under control for the most part. And that he wasn’t going to burst into tears.
“Oh… I mean, yeah. Um. Not many guys are in that class. I think they just got placed there too because there wasn’t anything else. Um, but I don’t know what else I would have taken. Maybe. Um. Shop class? They build things. Or. Maybe something like astronomy. I don’t think my dad would have been upset about that.”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 10:01 am
That, Elliot noticed. He saw the flinch. He saw the way he seemed to shy away. He noticed how nervous he was. Elliot fell quiet for a bit of the walk and had to replay everything he’d done and said, and there was a confusing sort of panic twisting in his stomach because he wasn’t sure if he’d done something wrong.
Elliot knew he was animated, and a little loud, and he remembered again that his teacher had told him to calm down if he wanted to be friends with the hamster and–Chad was not a hamster.
When Chad spoke again, he flashed another smile–calmer, less boisterous.
“Shop could have been fun. Astronomy sounds really neat. You can’t really see the stars so much from the city, but it’s really nice if you get to see them from out of the city. Every summer my parents and I go on a little vacation. Out on the water, the stars are just…well, it’s really pretty. And quiet, and peaceful. Does your dad not like stars, or…?”
Was it too personal? He was trying to talk slower, and quieter, and give Chad more of a chance to speak. He didn’t want to scare him or bully him into spending time with him. He wanted him to want to hang out, not to feel obligated to.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 10:15 am
His heart still felt as though it was going to beat right out of his chest. His eyes were hot, but he quickly blinked it away. He liked Elliot. He’d liked him for years. Yes, from a distance, so maybe that didn’t really count. Actually, no, it probably didn’t count because Elliot had never really spoken to him until… the dumpster.
“My dad thinks stuff like that is a waste of time,” Chad answered. Elliot had slowed down a little with everything he was saying, so it helped him focus a little less on his exploding heart and more on the nicest boy he’d ever met. “He’d probably rather me do, like… gym. Ah, the one on top of the required class.”
Chad smiled as brightly as he could at the floor, knowing there were other reasons why his dad would want him in those kinds of classes. Plenty of opportunity for him to learn his place and the like.
“What elective are you taking?” Because despite him knowing Elliot’s after school schedule, he didn’t know all of his classes.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 10:22 am
“Computer technology. I’m in the advanced class, we’re doing web design right now. Last semester we were doing photoshop. I kind of wanted to take Home Ec, but my dad has an after school program where he kinda goes over all that stuff, so I can learn it at home. I also wanted an advanced civics class, but we don’t really have that. I’m excited about Azure, they’ve got a lot of electives there. I’m sorry your dad thinks that stuff is a waste of time. I don’t think it is. Science is more important than sports. I mean, health is important, but.”
No, don’t talk too much, reel it in.
He was keeping his voice a little softer than he was used to, and speaking just a little slower.
“Gym is mostly just about playing games, anyway. We’ll need more people interested in science when we get older. Space is a hot topic right now, they’ll probably have a lot of careers by the time we graduate.”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 11:11 am
Chad continued shuffling his way along the hall to where his locker was. He tried not to think too much about what Elliot was saying because… what if he found out he didn’t want to do anything science related, and instead would rather just paint or draw?
“That’s really cool that you’re in that class. I don’t have a computer I can use at home, so it would probably be a waste for me. But that’s really nice that your dad has an after school program. It sounds like he can do anything.”
He paused by his locker, and anxiously fiddled with the lock so he could try and open it up as gently as possible.
Inside were a number of books and notebooks, but there were also…
Rocks. And leaves. And marbles. And some old paintbrushes that his teacher was getting rid of so she gave them to him instead. An old piece of wood that he’d been using as a paint palette. He didn’t have any fancy decorations, so everything was just kind of stacked up precariously on everything else.
A handful of ribbons that he found in the trash fell out before he could grab them.
“Oh, um. I was just. Saving those in case--” He didn’t finish the rest of what he was going to say, but instead quickly used the magnets to hang up his wet clothes inside his locker.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 11:27 am
Elliot instinctively knelt to pick up the fallen ribbons and offered them back to Chad patiently. He didn’t mention that it was a little strange that Chad didn’t have a computer at home, but in the back of his mind, little things were coming together.
He looked at the paintbrushes, at the palette.
The leaves and rocks were interesting, but only because they were in his locker. He wasn’t sure he’d have picked them up, but he was learning that Chad seemed interested in things beyond what he’d come to expect.
He didn’t ask. Instead, he offered the ribbons and the sweater, now that his clothes were hung up. “You have a neat collection. You collect things?”
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 1:42 pm
He was holding his breath, and tempted to squeeze his eyes shut in the hopes that Elliot wouldn’t ask him about specific things. But in the end, he only asked if he collected things.
Okay, that was a little more reasonable.
“Um… Sort of. I mean, just because I think they’re neat. It’s probably kind of silly to keep in my locker -- Oh, thank you,” he squeaked as he took the ribbons from Elliot, and then gently took the sweater from him as well.
He only hesitated a few moments, before pulling the sweater on over his head. It was even more like a hug, and Chad was already not looking forward to giving Elliot his clothes back.
“I guess we can go to the cafeteria now,” he suggested, shifting awkwardly as he shut the locker behind him before anything else could fall out.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 1:51 pm
“It’s not silly. Better than carrying them around in your bag. I hope you get to do something cool with them. If I find any neat rocks, I’ll bring them to you. I have some at home, I don’t know if you’d like them. My dad was painting rocks, he likes the Mandala style ones. We painted some and left them around town for people to find. One of mine still hasn’t been found yet, I hid it in the park.”
He paused after that, just to make sure Chad had some time to respond without feeling overwhelmed or pressured to say more than he was comfortable with.
Even though they were on their way to the cafeteria, it had been a while since Chad’s stomach growled and he didn’t want him to have to wait until the got all the way over there, so he rifled around until he got into his lunchbox and pulled out the shiny silver package he’d been looking for. He tore it open and pulled out one Pop Tart before handing the rest of it over to Chad.
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Posted: Sat May 14, 2022 4:53 pm
Elliot hid a mandala painted rock in the park?? Suddenly, there was nothing more in the world that Chad wanted to find than that rock. He would keep it and treasure it forever --
Although, maybe that was creepy or maybe Elliot would think he was a little too obsessed or stalkerish. Maybe he shouldn’t try to find it. Oh, but he wanted to.
He couldn’t really get the words to catch up to what he wanted to say in response before Elliot was handing him the silver wrapped poptart, which Chad instinctively took with both hands. His face felt warm again.
“Thank you,” he said quietly, but nodded to Elliot’s previous offer to bring him any neat rocks. “I tried doing something similar a while back. Well, on some leaves, but the paints I had were better on paper. The leaves absorbed the colors really fast. I would love to get some nice glossy acrylic paints, but I don’t really have any good brushes. I could use other things, of course, but then I would need to find somewhere to get a good sealant.”
He sighed to himself as he broke a piece of the poptart off to eat.
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