|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 9:54 pm
He liked hearing about Otto's past, because it was different from his own, just as everyone else's was. There was something very curious about the histories of other people, most notably those that he found himself interested in as a whole. Perhaps that was why his genre of choice tended towards nonfiction.
"That's nice," said Chance with a little laugh. "And what kid isn't bratty about bedtimes? I didn't even really have one, but I didn't like having to go into the other room while my mother entertained her guests, because it meant that I had to sleep instead of reading whatever books I had."
Which were usually picture ones, or young readers, and not much else other than the occasional newspaper. Chance hummed a little thoughtfully, considering the man across from him.
"There's something to be said about...about hearing something that puts you to sleep," he said vaguely, clearly mulling over ideas inside of his head. "Maybe...well, you said you watched the news, and I don't have a TV in my room, obviously but what about...reading? I don't fall asleep reading on my own, but maybe reading aloud or having someone read aloud to me might help..."
It was an almost childish way of looking at things, Chance tapping his finger against his chin, his gaze a little unfocused while obviously trying to decipher if there was some sort of mysterious method to curing insomnia.
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:01 pm
"I feel you. My parents ran a funeral home. The main floor was the home itself, and upstairs was our home. The attic was my room." It had been oddly shaped and awkward, but large and all his own. "Whenever they had s**t goin' on downstairs, I had to 'keep the noise down'. Which was such a pain. And they wouldn't let me go outside during them." They knew he'd get into something, and also didn't want him disrupting any services should they move outside. "I hear white noise helps some people. Or the rain." He looked at Chance and smirked. " Want me to read you a bedtime story?" He bent backwards, almost doing a bridge as he reached behind him, where some children's books were sitting. He'd seen he perfect one... There! "Ah yes! Go the ******** to Sleep!" He leaned forward again, and tapped Chance's head with the book.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:11 pm
"A funeral home?" Chance repeated, morbidly curious in spite of himself. "That's...quite a place to have a house over, it almost seems like it would be...kind of not a fun one though? Like...just because of what's going on below, I feel that would limit having fun."
He idly twisted the rings on his fingers, contemplating this, but dragged his attention back to Otto, a smirk on his lips.
"Who knows?" he said, and although Otto was teasing, Chance couldn't help but wonder if maybe that would work - having someone read to him, or maybe just figuring out the whole white noise idea.
There was a tap on his head that made him look up, spotting a book.
"What - are you seriously telling me they made a book - a children's book called Go the ******** to Sleep?" Chance asked, in utter amazement. He reached up and tugged the book from Otto's fingers, away from his head.
"Wow. Holy s**t."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:20 pm
"It wasn't nice." Otto nodded solemly. "We all see shadows n' s**t, right? Growin' up?" He grimaced, running a hand through his hair. "I'd wake up screamin' and cryin', convinced the dead bodies downstairs were comin' up to hurt me. But no one believed me, and Dad'd curse at me and yell. He never liked me anyway, but even Mom got mad." Mad because he was scared, terrified. His real fears waved off as an inconvenience. It had spawned night terrors that never went away. Otto still got them, even if not as frequently as he did when he was young. Ripley had seen them for himself when Otto was just a young teen, and they'd shared a room for those few months. "Didja know? Ripley was the son of my dad's friend. He came to stay with us a few months to learn under my dad. He was in his late teens, I think. I musta been 13 or 14.. if that. it was the first time in my life I met someone who believed me." It had done him so much good, those short months of having his company. Otto shrugged at Chance's bewilderment at the book, smirking to himself. "In their defence, the word ******** got censored with asterisks."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:27 pm
He nodded along, because yes, he had seen the shadows as well; lurking just beneath the sink in his mother's bathroom, slipping beneath the shared mattress, disappearing around a corner, into a closet. He himself had tried to tell his mother about them, but she had been too busy with her many clients and candidates that Chance had wound up giving up, keeping it all to himself.
"That's some shitty parenting right there," he said. "Jeez, that's ******** rough, I'm sorry."
The mention of Ripley made Chance stiffen a little; it had only been a few days since their last meeting, but he'd already made his decision about That Scenario, which meant he just needed to push everything aside right now and focus on Otto, not himself.
"That's pretty cool," he said, genuinely meaning it. "I mean, it's not cool that your parents were ******** up, but it's nice that you had someone that didn't immediately write you off, like...sometimes just one person is enough to keep going. I remember once I tried to tell my mother, but..." Chance just shrugged. "We never really talked about anything. It was just a brush off with her, like 'okay, sweetie, Mommy's getting ready now, tell me later' kind of s**t. And I've never been good with...well, people," he admitted, a little ruefully. "So I didn't have anyone around to tell, but having Ripley there to agree with you must have been such a ******** relief."
Chance vaguely wondered if Ripley had been the same back then as he was now, but banished the thought almost immediately. He flipped open the book, scanning it with interest.
"Who the ******** even wrote this, this is either nuts or brilliant."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:36 pm
Otto shrugged. It was a shitty life. But most people on the island had enough bad happen to leave it all behind. He assumed, anyway. He'd simply never know what it felt like to be in a loving home. Small, desperate moments he could recall a flicker of genuine affection from his mother; otherwise, she was too busy. His grandfather had at least been there, until his death when Otto was young. "It did help. It kinda kept me goin'. Got a lil bit less bitter." He held up a finger. "Only a little bit though." He scolded, as if he had some reputation to uphold. He didn't. "Growin' up sucked." Was the ultimate summary for them both. "No clue. I just remember seein' it once on another trip out." He murmured, watching Chance flip through pages.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:40 pm
"That's good," Chance said sincerely. "That it helped, like, you know, even a little bit."
But it was true that growing up had sucked for both of them, in different ways. Otto had become the emotional one, while Chance had been the most opposite, lacking the proper things to really feel. Idly he wondered if it was possible again, but pushed those thoughts aside rather quickly.
"And here we both are," he said instead, and held up the book to show the page. Chance adopted a mock narrator's voice. "Reading a book called Go the ******** To Sleep in the hopes that it will somehow solve the mystery of Chance Bones' Chronic Insomnia so that he can, in fact, go the ******** to sleep. Any suggestions from the audience are much appreciated."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:41 pm
"Read it like Morgan Freeman." Was Otto's helpful suggestion.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:42 pm
It really was a good suggestion. Sadly, woefully, however -
"Who's Morgan Freeman?" Chance asked curiously.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:45 pm
Otto stared at Chance as if a light had gone out inside; unwavering, deadened staring. "Seriously?" He asked, cocking a blond eyebrow high in incredulousness.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:47 pm
Chance just stared right back.
"Uh...yes..?" he replied, a sheepish tone beginning to find its way into his voice. "Is he some sort of famous person? I did tell you that I had a somewhat limited childhood, unfortunately..."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 10:56 pm
Otto finally shrugged, waving his hand. "Yeah, but no big deal. I'll just limit my pop culture jokes around you. Which is like.. minimal anyway." Seeing as Otto wasn't really a joker at all. Barely a kidder. He managed decently when he was feeling playful and comfortable enough. "He basically narrates like half the ********' documentaries in the world." An overstatement, but still. Otto leaned forward, looking over more books.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 11:03 pm
"One day I'll be a bit more knowledgeable," Chance laughed. "You're not the first person to remind me of my sincere lack of pop culture awareness, maybe I should make more effort to figure out who all of these people are."
He stayed where he was as Otto perused the shelves, Chance's stack of books already growing to the three and four and five range. His gaze strayed to the ones that the other had in his lap, and once he again he was struck by just how easy this was to be around Otto. It wasn't awkward or stiff, there wasn't any lingering stiffness. Chance had no idea how friendships worked, but here he was, sitting on the floor of a bookstore in some remote, crowded city, with someone else.
That sure felt like it could mean friendship. Chance smiled.
"Hey, uh..." he said hesitantly, as the lights above their head flickered - a warning that the store was closing in ten minutes. "I'm glad that I...that we were able to come hang out here. I know I was little kind of like...weird earlier..." The whole paper thing, as well as the pacing. "Things have just been a little shitty lately, and I think this was a break sorely needed, along with the company, so I appreciate you."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 11:10 pm
Otto's gaze flicked up at the flickering lights, before he looked to Chance. The man was stammering slightly, trying to express something out loud. The blond waited it out, feeling a warmth come over him. He was appreciated by this man who'd been a stranger not too long ago. And Otto didn't mind. He liked his company, and the man didn't irritate him in the least. Rare. Most personalities rubbed Otto the wrong way. Otto smiled. Small, of course, as Otto's smiles tended to lean on the subtle side of facial expressions; where as most other emotions raged loudly. "S'cool. Thanks.." He moved to finally stand, holding a hand out for Chance, his other arm clinging to a pile of books. "We're both feelin' shitty lately. I probably needed this just as much." He felt calm around him; not riled up, or nervous or anxious. So far, so good.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Mar 13, 2015 11:19 pm
A peculiar feeling of relief washed over him; somehow, Chance had expected something else, or maybe he just hadn't been sure what to expect. He'd already managed to paint himself into a corner in certain respects, but this was different. Otto was simply comfortable, without the added stress of much else.
Chance looked at the hand offered to him, hesitating only a moment before reaching to grasp it, hauling himself to his feet. "Thanks," he said, and then added, "I'm glad that you were able to come out with me too, this whole mutual relaxation thing, it's really nice."
Smiling, he let go and hoisted his books up, padding over towards the counter top, where he piled them on, and then gestured for Otto to do the same.
"And this one's on me," he said, a grin on his face as he sidestepped in front of Otto, attempting to keep him from getting too close to the cashier, Chance already pulling out his wallet and extracting his card.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
