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 Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:22 pm
“You’ve been running this place by yourself?”
Paris handed a bag full of supplies over to a customer and watched them turn to leave the store before glancing to the companion at his side. Ross, his new dance friend and recent tagalong, leaned casually against the checkout counter, munching on a chocolate chip cookie from a plate beside them. He seemed entirely too at ease, which only made Paris feel slightly more on edge. While Ross never pushed too much or too far, Paris still suspected his many comments of “not available” hadn’t quite managed to sink in the way he intended for them to.
He wondered if he was being too nice, or if Ross was merely that hopeful.
Or perhaps he was worrying for nothing. It wouldn’t be the first time he’d completely overreacted.
“I did for about a month or so,” he said, straightening up a few things on the counter while they waited for Chris to get there. And perhaps that was the problem. How does one introduce their new friend (who harbored an interest) to their ex? “Then I got some help, and my dad’s been able to take some more hours recently. It’s really not that hard. I grew up around it, so…”
“Still… it must get boring a lot…”
Paris shrugged. “It’s not so bad after a while. No more boring than being in school. And the last couple of weeks I haven’t been here as often…”
He eyed Ross again after tossing a few random objects into an already cluttered drawer, closing it to watch his counterpart reach out for another cookie. “How many of those have you eaten? I said you could only have a couple.”
“Why?” Ross wondered, eating half the cookie in one bite. “Saving them for someone?”
“It’s none of your business.”
Paris snatched the plate away from him and placed it far on the other side of the counter, next to a display of colored sharpies.
“You know, you’re really cute when you get all huffy and defensive like that,” Ross said. He grabbed a section of Paris’s hair and gently tugged, swallowing the last of his cookie to show a wide, teasing smile.
Paris simply looked at him in exasperation and batted his hand away, turning to find something else to occupy himself with while they waited.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:37 pm
Things had gotten pretty repetitive and predictable over the last few weeks, ever since the incident at the Surrounding. There was only so much that could happen in between going to school and then watching the shop for Paris while he went to his dance lessons... or rehearsals, or whatever they were... Chris couldn't say he knew a lot about dancing, but it was something like that, right? The most artistic he got was technical drawings and rough sketches for his architecture designs, but other than that, it was pretty obvious that he had not inherited his mother's passion for all things artistic.
Of course, if he were to play Devil's advocate with himself, he'd claim that baseball was an art! He was never too sure about how many would agree with him, though.
Just like any other weekday, Chris made his way to the shop after his last class, bringing with him his school books and laptop. He could at least finish what he could while he was there, and then if he had time he'd go on patrol, which broke up a little bit of the day-by-day cycle of his life at the moment.
But there was something that definitely made things, well... not like every other day by the time he got to the store, glancing both concerned at Paris and warily at the guy he'd just seen yanking his hair from outside the shop window.
"Am I interrupting?" he asked out loud as he pushed open the door, causing the little bell above it to ring. Don't mind him... he was just there to uphold his word to Paris by taking over for him while he danced and whatever...
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 9:50 pm
Paris glanced up when the chime rang above the door and he heard Chris speaking in a way that was somehow less than pleasant. Yes, he was definitely not looking forward to this introduction, not because he was worried that either of the two young men would take anything the wrong way—it wasn’t like he was hiding anything—but because to him it just screamed awkward. As a general rule, Paris did his best to avoid awkward confrontations. He hated feeling uncomfortable, and this was no exception.
He wished Ross hadn’t decided to show up so early.
“Hey,” Paris greeted, not quite sure what he was reading on Chris’s face. “No, I was just… working… since dad had a doctor’s appointment to go to. I was gonna get a ride to dance as soon as you got here.”
He circled around the counter, side-stepping Ross along the way. His new acquaintance had turned to the door as soon as he had and looked Chris over interestedly. Paris forced a strained smile and motioned between the two. “Chris, this is Ross. Ross, this is Chris.”
If he could have, he would have called an end to it right then and there and headed out the door, but Ross came around the counter to join him and had the decency—though for some reason, Paris wished he didn’t—to hold out his hand for Chris to shake.
“Nice to meet you,” Ross said. “Luccio Rossi. You’re a friend of Paris’s?”
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:06 pm
Chris made his way slowly into the shop, his bag over one shoulder as he usually carried it, the extra strap completely ignored. His mother would nag that it was bad for his back, but at the moment he was definitely making sure he wasn't slouching.
It wasn't even that he was intimidated by this guy! Far from it. It was just the fact that he didn't know anything about this 'Ross' kid, as Paris had called him. Although he introduced himself as Luccio...
Even still, Chris reached out to take the offered hand, giving the guy a firm shake. "Christopher Gallo." Maybe it was the fact that Ross had introduced his full name that he'd done the same, he didn't really know. And as he released Ross's hand, he took a step towards Paris, pulling him into a quick, but intentionally friendly hug. After all, Paris had never mentioned this guy before, and for all he knew Ross was just some obnoxious guy who wouldn't leave his friend alone.
"I would have gotten here sooner if I'd known I'd be holding you guys up. How do you know each other? Are you from around here?" he asked as he let Paris go, turning to glance Ross over, finding it a little disappointing that there wasn't much he could pick up anything to comment on his appearance. He looked like he was dressed well enough, so he couldn't be some bum, right...? Again, Chris didn't understand why he was slightly disappointed.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:31 pm
The hug was not unwelcome but didn’t make the situation any less discomforting. Paris lightly hugged him back, somewhat confused. Usually he was the one initiating physical contact between them. He couldn’t remember Chris doing it since they’d broken off their relationship. He had a little when they were powered up, but that was before Chris knew who he was. Since then the boundaries between them had been different. Paris did the hugging and Chris just went along with it.
It wasn’t lost to him that this was the first time it was the other way around.
“Ross and I dance together,” Paris replied. “Or we do now. I mean… we dance with other people, too, of course. He’s, um… the Prince… in the Nutcracker…”
For some reason, saying that out loud to Chris of all people made him feel a bit ridiculous. He wasn’t sure why, nor was he sure he’d ever know, but it seemed almost childish to bring such terms as ‘Prince’ into the conversation, like they were playing some game of pretend.
Ross seemed neither uncomfortable nor intimidated. Paris supposed he had no reason to be. He was shorter than Chris, though not by much, and slimmer than Chris, though not in a way that made him look scrawny or frail in comparison, and Paris knew him to be a couple of years older than his ex, just old enough to drink without the need of fake identification. He and Chris were actually rather similar when it came to social status, both from well off and well-traveled families, though it seemed they differed in temperament. Where Ross looked absolutely pleasant, Chris looked as if he was trying hard to appear that way when in reality he was feeling anything but.
“Chris and I have been friends since earlier in the year,” he continued to explain, since his ex hadn’t bothered to answer Ross’s question before asking his own. “He’s been helping out here since my dad got sick…”
“Oh,” Ross said, looking Chris over again. When it seemed as if he’d had his fill, he leaned closer to Paris to whisper to him. “You didn’t tell me your afternoon help was so good looking.”
Paris let his face fall into the palm of his hand. He wasn’t sure that had been quiet enough to go unheard.
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 10:52 pm
Was it the first time he'd initiated a hug between them? He wasn't really paying that close attention to it, nor did he notice the confused look from Paris when he pulled away. Instead, he was a little preoccupied with Ross and the fact that he was a--
"Prince, huh?" Chris mumbled mostly to himself, his eyebrows raised slightly. The urge to make a comment on his status as a knight had to be held back. Besides... technically he wasn't a knight. But if others could manage it, maybe one day he would as well.
Still, that meant this was one of the people Paris now spent most of his time with. While he was still not too thrilled about being lied to, it wasn't as if that was the worst thing in the world. They could have both died at the Surrounding and he would have never known Ganymede was really Paris. He had to give him some credit for telling him the truth... eventually... But at least with the magical powers reveal, Paris could have kept that to himself and Chris would have never known.
"I'm doing this as a favor," he corrected Ross's 'whisper' to Paris, although it had been rather obvious that he was commenting on him. Although, the offhanded compliment had Chris caught slightly off guard, and he took a few moments to lower his bag from his shoulder and place it by the counter. "I owe him, I mean... Otherwise I wouldn't be here," he said, his expression a little less harsh now, although he still wasn't too sure about this guy, and gave him another wary look as he reached back down to pull out his heavy textbooks... as if to show off not only his classes (a book about the history of architecture, and another on number theory) but the amount he could carry as well...
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Posted: Thu Nov 17, 2011 11:06 pm
Unsure how to respond to the marginally contentious airs he was picking up from Chris, Paris simply stood there looking between his ex and his new friend and wondering what else he was supposed to say. It wasn’t that he expected Ross and Chris to become friends; he'd be surprised if they ever came across one another again after this. He was sure it would be even more awkward if they did. He just didn’t quite understand the sudden ‘look at me, I’m better than you’ vibes he was getting from Chris.
Where the hell had they come from? Why should he feel at all intimidated?
“Ross, would you mind going to wait outside?” he asked, looking between the two again.
Ross glanced at him and shrugged. He didn’t argue, and merely grabbed his coat and keys to turn toward the door. “Sure, I’ll be out at the car,” he said. “It was nice meeting you,” he called back to Chris as he pushed the door open so that the bell rang again and headed outside.
Paris waited until the door had closed again before rounding on his ex, crossing his arms and frowning at him. “Would you mind telling me what your problem is?”
Chris hadn’t been confrontational at all, except perhaps for a few covert looks. It could have been worse. He could have embarrassed him by not shaking Ross’s hand or not bothering to conceal whatever it was that was going on with him, but Paris sensed that there was more beneath the surface Chris hadn’t been showing.
Suspicion, maybe? His question when he’d first come in had sort of sounded that way. But what was there to be suspicious of?
“Ross might not have noticed it, but I can tell when you’re just forcing yourself to be nice.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 9:20 am
Chris glanced up from behind the counter to watch as Ross made his way out the door with his things, although he wasn't really sure how to take the tone Paris was using once he rounded on him.
"My problem??" he stared, adopting a confused and slightly annoyed look. "I don't have a problem!" Not any real problem at least. It wasn't like Ross seemed to be a horrible guy.
"Why do you think I have a problem? And I wasn't forcing myself to be nice, thanks," he grumbled, flipping open one of his text books before realizing that it was upside down and had to quickly correct it so he could busy himself with looking as if he were reading. What was his problem? He couldn't say he was entirely sure... Something about seeing Paris with some random, touchy-feely guy seemed to trigger something. Of course, the same could be said for any guy Zia introduced to him... and he would try his damnedest not to ruin anything for Daniel if he ever introduced him to his girlfriend... So that's really the problem, right...?
"So are you guys dating or something?" he couldn't help but ask, glancing up and out the window as Ross got into his car to wait for Paris. "Be careful, he seems to be the type to flirt with others, even in a relationship," he pointed out, still not sure how to take the compliment of being good looking from just a few moments ago.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:00 pm
“No, we’re not dating,” Paris immediately denied. “I don’t understand why it’s so difficult for people to grasp the concept that I am capable of having male friends without dating them.”
He didn’t see how it was any of Chris’s business anyway. He could go out and date if he wanted to and Chris didn’t have much of a right to say anything about it. The same was true in reverse—though Paris couldn’t pretend that he wouldn’t be jealous if that ever turned out to be the case. He still cared too much to want to see Chris walking around town with some pretty girl on his arm.
And then he wondered if that was it. Was Chris jealous?
“Why do you even care?” he wondered aloud. “We broke up. We’re not together anymore. It’s been two months. I’m not interrogating you about your relationships with other people. I don’t see what your deal is getting all defensive around Ross.”
He couldn’t be sure if that was what was truly going on, but now that he had the suspicion in his head he paid a little closer attention to Chris’s facial expressions and body language. He looked a little tense, like he was trying too hard to pretend as if he didn’t care. It wasn’t enough to where Paris was completely convinced, but it was out of place and noticeable and it made his suspicions grow.
Yet he didn’t want to come out and blatantly asked. That would merely give Chris the opportunity to immediately deny it. Instead, Paris tried a different track.
“Does it make you uncomfortable knowing that Ross thinks you’re good looking?” he asked, prodding lightly at something he didn’t think was a major issue in the hopes that Chris would inadvertently reveal something else to him. “He’s not going to do anything to you. He’s only flirty with me because I generally don’t care.”
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:13 pm
"Sorry, jeez," he grumbled, flipping the page in the text book a little more forcefully than needed. Actually, he hadn't even read the page, so he would have to end up turning it back in a bit. Yeah, Paris could have friends and not date them, but it certainly seemed as though Ross was interested in Paris, so he could only assume.
As for him being uncomfortable... Chris looked up from the book, giving Paris a level state, almost as if he was unimpressed by his guess. "You don't think I've never been hit on by a guy before? Or rather, a guy that I knew was a guy from the start? You should know I don't give a damn about things like that. It makes no difference from a girl or a guy," he said, his eyes unintentionally narrowing as he edged to the subject that made him... probably more upset than he should be about it.
The difference between him and Paris "being together" and being hit on by a random guy was that Paris had been the one to lie about very important facts, to the point where Chris was unsure if they could even consider themselves as "exes".
But he kept his mouth shut, not wanting to get into it. Not now at least. "I wasn't interrogating you about your relationships, either. I just wanted to know, or am I not supposed to care about what's going on in your life?"
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:27 pm
“You’re not supposed to care to the point where you get defensive when you meet some guy I happen to be friends with,” Paris told him, keeping his arms crossed over his chest. “Especially when he hasn’t given you any reason to act like this. It’s not like he’s a jerk. He’s not treating me like dirt. We dance and we hang out and we talk and he gives me a ride to the studio sometimes. We’re just friends.”
He felt the need to repeat it, not because he was trying to convince himself of it—he had no intention of ever taking it further than that—but because he couldn’t tell if Chris believed him, and he wanted him to. For some reason, it was important to him that Chris know he hadn’t been going around dating other people since their break up. He was still getting used to being single again, and struggling with it far more than he thought he should, considering he’d never had much of a problem with it in all the years before Chris.
“Are you jealous?” he hazarded to question, though he hadn’t wanted to be so obvious about it. With Chris being so unhelpful, he felt like he had to. “Or does it just make you angry to think that I’m still able to date after what happened? Because if that’s it then you’re wrong. I haven’t been with anyone.”
He had very vague, hazy memories of a frat party he’d gone to soon after they’d broken up, but he’d been drunk at the time and he couldn’t remember exactly what had happened anyway, so he didn’t count it. He probably should. It should probably matter to him more than it did, that he’d felt so shitty about himself that he’d let someone take advantage of him in a moment of weakness, but he couldn’t bring himself to feel much concern for it. It had happened once and then it was done. He wouldn’t let it happen again.
“I don’t want to be with anyone,” he added.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:41 pm
"I wasn't getting defensive!" he said, defensively. Chris straightened up behind the counter, making sure he wasn't slouching as he frowned down at Paris. "I don't have a problem with him! Although he certainly seems comfortable yanking on your hair and whatever!" It was a lame comment and Chris knew it. He never claimed to be the most poetic of people, so he tried not to let it bother him. He just did his best not to screw up his words so Paris knew exactly what he was saying.
"Why the hell would I be jealous?" he asked, surprised that he didn't stumble over his words in shock at the question, although he was sure his cheeks were a little more pink at the moment. What the hell was wrong with him? He wasn't used to this blushing s**t, and it made him frustrated that Paris could catch him off guard like that. But was he jealous?? He didn't think he was, but who knew at this point. He also didn't think he was embarrassed, but the color in his face told a different story.
He didn't know what to say about Paris not dating, though, and he shut his mouth and stared back down at his book. "I'm not angry with you about that. I want you to be happy and move on. I just don't want you stuck with some loser..."
Er, okay, maybe he should be more careful about generalizing.
"Not Ross, I mean. Just any loser..." he corrected, although he shifted a bit uncomfortably when Paris told him he hadn't been with anyone since they'd broken up. He didn't like thinking he was the reason Paris wouldn't just... move on... Because that's what he wanted for him, right...?
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 12:57 pm
“You are getting defensive and you know it!” Paris countered. “You wouldn’t be doing this otherwise! You can tell Ross isn’t a loser, but you feel the need to puff up your chest and act all distant and guarded anyway!”
It wouldn’t have bothered him so much if Chris had acted that way around some creep who deserved it, but when he did it with someone who hadn’t given him much cause for concern—except for that fact that Ross was obviously interested—it just made things all the more baffling, because while it wasn’t wrong for Chris to care about his well-being, Paris didn’t think it should make him tense and moody and pretend so hard to feel otherwise.
It was confusing. He thought he’d had Chris all figured out, but to see him reacting like this, after Chris’s brother had already made him doubt a few things he’d determined as fact before—and he didn’t want to doubt them, because that just made things worse—he didn’t know how to handle whatever was going on now. It was too complicated. He didn’t want to consider how Chris might be thinking or feeling and end up being wrong. He didn’t want those false hopes to start taking root.
“Are you even listening to yourself? One second you claim you don’t have a problem, and the very next you’re making a big deal about him touching my hair! So what? It’s just hair, Christopher. He’s not holding my hand or hugging me or touching me anywhere that isn’t appropriate.”
If he’d ever tried that, he’d have gotten a swift punch in the face. While it was nice to be cared for, sometimes he wished Chris would remember that he was capable of taking care of himself as well.
“I don’t understand you,” Paris admitted. Absentmindedly, he rubbed at one of his arms, glancing off to the side. He wasn’t comfortable looking Chris in the eye when what he saw there could potentially end up making him feel even more confused.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:21 pm
Chris opened his mouth to argue, but quickly shut it. He didn't want to fight with Paris. Not like this. This was stupid and pointless and he doubted Paris would feel very great about it once it was over... He wouldn't feel very great about it, either.
He shifted awkwardly on his feet, reaching down to shut the book he'd been poking through, and let out a small sigh. "Okay, okay... It's just hair..." he mumbled, although he still wasn't all that thrilled about it... but Paris was right. He was making a big deal about something that shouldn't matter.
"I don't like fighting with you," he admitted, glancing up at Paris, his eyes apologetic yet still wary. Besides... he'd been the one to hug Paris... so what made him any better? "Aren't you going to be late to practice...?" he wondered, although he was really just trying to give Paris an opening to leave if he wanted. He didn't look like he was all that thrilled to be there at the moment, and Chris wasn't going to force him to stay.
"I'm sorry about being difficult," he added, although he glanced away from Paris as he mumbled, not sure if he could promise not to do it again at some other point in time. "I never see you any more," he said, but why it was relevant he didn't really know. Maybe he just didn't like that some new guy was spending all his time with someone he considered to be a trusted friend, regardless of if they were dating or not. They weren't, of course, but the point still stood... "If you're not busy after practice Monday... maybe we could pick up patrolling again...?" because then he might actually see Paris more than just... on the rare chance that he was covering for his father when Chris came in to work.
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Posted: Fri Nov 18, 2011 1:36 pm
Paris tried to tell himself that it shouldn’t matter that they didn’t see one another as often anymore—or at least that it shouldn’t matter to Chris, whether or not it mattered to him.
And it did matter, but it hurt more hearing Chris say it than it did when he thought it to himself, because Chris was the one who wasn’t supposed to care. Chris was the one who should be angry, not trying to see him again, even if their encounters were strictly platonic.
Only they hadn’t been strictly platonic, and that was Paris’s fault, because he’d been stupid and asked for a kiss when he’d won their battle in the tournament. It had seemed like a good idea at the time, and there were moments when he didn’t regret it—why should he? He’d won the chance fairly—but most of the time it just hurt too much. He was tired of hurting and not really understanding why. He was tired of this being difficult when he didn’t think it should be.
What was the difference, really, between being friends and being what they were before, except that they didn’t touch or kiss or have much physical contact aside from the occasional hug? Shouldn’t that be enough?
“Yeah, I… I should get going. Sorry,” he said, taking the chance Chris had offered him to escape. He stepped closer to the checkout counter to grab his coat and hat from where he’d left them before, slipping them both on before reaching for his bag and purse as well.
“We can patrol if you want,” he continued, a little quieter. He glanced around to make sure there was no one else in the store, before remembering he hadn’t heard the chime ring since Ross had left, and there hadn’t been anyone else in there when Chris entered. “I’ve been taking a bit of a break since the end of the tournament, but I guess I shouldn’t let myself get too lazy. We can do Monday… or any night you want to, really…”
He didn’t know what else to say, and he hated that. He wasn’t always very good with words, but he could still usually talk when the moment called for it. Being such a vocal person, he ended up feeling incredibly awkward whenever he was at a loss for words.
“I’ll talk to you later. Um… call me or text me if you need anything. There’s cookies there for you. Ross ate some of them, but there should still be plenty left and… I set the coffee maker in the office in case you wanted some, so…”
It suddenly felt like too much when it hadn’t before, and Paris’s stomach twisted uncomfortably, not in nervousness or fear, but at the realization that he was still desperately trying to hang on to something that was over and done.
“Bye, Chris,” he said quickly, turning on his heal to scurry out of the store.
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