|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:54 pm
How Chris had managed to get Finn’s number under his thumb as he shoved his phone back into his pocket, he had no idea, but somehow it happened, and somehow he ended up on the line with a guy who, unlike most others, drove him a little batty.
Why Finn annoyed Chris seemingly above all others, he had no idea. Maybe it was the way he spoke? Maybe it was because he talked too much? Surely it wasn’t because he was jealous — it wasn’t like Finn was exceptionally good looking (not that Chris thought he, himself was either), or incredibly intelligent (something about his opinion of art rubbed him the wrong way)...
But Finn was his teammate, and no matter how much he wanted to haul off and punch him sometimes for being so obnoxious, he knew that he was a very valuable asset to the group as a whole. And it wasn’t as though he hated Finn… he just… got on his nerves rather quickly.
Recently, Chris’s temper only came out through road rage, so maybe it would be okay now that he suddenly had Finn on the phone…?
“Uh… hello?” he asked after hearing voices from his pocket and placing his phone to his ear. He was in the middle of campus waiting for his next class. A textbook open beside him on the brick wall he’d taken residence on, and a notebook full of the previous class’s notes in his lap. “Who is this…?”
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:54 pm
It was getting cold in Fairbanks, but it wasn't so bad yet that Finn couldn't sit outside while waiting for his next class to start. The noise his phone made wasn't the usual ringtone he used for friends he'd made since starting college - Space Oddity was reserved for for Senshi and Knights, and none had tried to contact him since he'd been in Alaska. At least, not after the first few weeks. Moving to the far side of the country sent a pretty strong message.
It was even weirder to see Chris Gallo's name on his screen. Finn raised the phone hesitantly to his ear. "Um. Hello? Chris?" he asked.
Who is this...?
Finn frowned. "This is Finn," he said. "You should know that. I mean. You called me."
Well, this was awkward. Finn still felt mostly like s**t over how he'd fled from Destiny City, but he'd just lost all certainty in himself after Lina went dark again. In truth, he was still pretty unsure of himself. Unsure of himself, and bracing for a lecture.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:55 pm
”Fi-- oh,” Chris started with a confused grimace, only to end with a full grimace. Finn, of all people. How the hell had he managed to call Finn?? The last he’d heard of Finn was… wow, maybe two years ago? No, it couldn’t have been that long. Chris knew the guy had left Destiny City, but he’d never been given a straight answer why.
“Oh, uh… How’s it going…? You’re in Alaska now, right?” he tried, feeling a little guilty that he didn’t know much about what was going on with his teammate’s life… if Finn still considered himself a teammate, that is…
So much had gone on, and they’d all grown up more that… it was difficult to imagine how normal life must be like outside of this war they were still in. Part of Chris wished that he understood Finn a little better, or had maybe made an effort to befriend him before everything blew up… but another part figured maybe it was for the best that Finn took off when he did.
If anything, it kept him alive.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:55 pm
"Fairbanks, yeah," said Finn, surprised Chris remembered. "I'm doing a bachelors of science in wildlife biology and conservation." It was a good alibi for people outside the war - everyone knew that Finn had always wanted to be a park ranger. The fact that a school in Alaska had such a good program was a bonus. "It's really, um, pretty here," he said awkwardly, looking across the quad. It had snowed a few days previously, and there were still piles melting on the sides of the sidewalks. There would only be more as the winter set in.
"Look, man," he continued awkwardly. "I don't know if you called me on purpose or what but it's good to hear your voice." Which is something he was pretty sure he never thought he'd say but - Finn had been starved for information since Tate stopped returning his text messages. Maybe he should ask Chris about her. (Except, he was scared he wouldn't like the answer.)
"I'm sorry I'm chicken s**t," he sighed, upon realizing that he really had no idea what was going on in Destiny City. "I'm here and it's great and I'm sorry I'm chicken s**t. I learned how to put a radio collar on a caribou last week. How are you?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:56 pm
Why Finn would think that Chris had called him on purpose, he had no idea. Maybe it was because it was so out of the blue…? But then why wasn’t it just as possible to have been an accident? Regardless of if it was on purpose or accident (it was on accident), Chris stared at the sidewalk in front of him, his eyebrows knit together at the sudden conversation he was having with Finn.
“Uh… it’s… good to hear yours, too? I’m glad you haven’t gotten eaten by anything, anyway…” he tried as a joke, but it just sounded awkward, and he picked at a piece of loose paper in his notebook with his pen. Anyone walking by might assume from his expressions that he was having an awkward conversation with an ex, but that was definitely not the case.
“Why are you apologizing to me?” he frowned, not quite realizing why Finn was a self claimed chicken s**t, but after a few moments figured it might have to do with leaving for college. “Hey, it’s whatever… you had an opportunity to study what you wanted. There’s nothing wrong with that… God, I don’t know what I’m going to do if I’m drafted to another part of the country…” Was it selfish for him to want to follow his dreams? Or should he pass everything up to defend the city…?
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:56 pm
Finn shrugged, aware as he was that Chris couldn't see him. "I mean, sure, following the dream is part of it," he said. "But I saw this chance to get out after, you know, some really heavy s**t? So I took it." He had to admit, it was nice to live somewhere where the biggest concern any of his classmates had was what party to go to this weekend and not who had gone missing and turned up killed by mysterious alien terrorists. "Hence, chicken s**t."
"Drafted?" Finn asked, wracking his mind for what Chris could possibly be talking about. Through all their vague animosity, he'd never paid too close attention to what was going on in Gallo's life. Time to get out of war mode - drafted was a sports thing, right? What did Chris play? "Baseball, right?" Finn hazarded a guess.
Well, he supposed it was only fair - it wasn't like any of them had asked to be involved in what, so far, seemed like a totally localized conflict. He hadn't turned on the news and heard about anything even remotely resembling a Negaverse attack happening anything outside of Destiny City. For something playing out on the galactic scale, the war was awfully well contained. "Good for you, man," said Finn. "Good luck."
The question refused to just nag at him any longer. "Hey, uh," began Finn. "Have you heard anything from Avalon recently? She's not returning my calls anymore."
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:57 pm
Chris stared at the ground in confusion for a few moments before realizing what Finn was saying. “Oh,” was all he said, not entirely sure how to respond to such an admittance. He knew that there were those who decided the war was just not worth it — and sometimes it really wasn’t — but trying to escape it had never crossed his mind. He was sure that he didn’t make that big of a difference in the whole scheme of things, but if he could make any difference, he felt like his time was worth it.
“Yeah, I’ve been putting it off while I’m in school, but once I graduate in spring, I’ll have to give the recruiters an answer, or…” Chris paused, realizing what he was going to say and not liking it. He wasn’t the kind of person to just give up on something once he’d set his mind to it.
But how did someone really choose in a situation like this? Stick around and defend those being preyed upon by youma and the like? Or following through with the dream he’d had since he was little, and had worked towards for years.
Chris picked a little at the page he had open in his notebook, unable to decide if he wanted to get into it any more, or just leave the comment half said. After all, why would a guy like Finn care if Chris decided to play baseball or not?
“Avalon?” he repeated with a start, the pain of regret and sadness suddenly making his throat tight. “No, not recently…” It wasn’t a lie. He hadn’t seen her in a while, but beyond that, he didn’t think it was appropriate to continue over the phone… And if Finn really didn’t want to be a part of the war…
He might not like the guy that much, but he wasn’t about to tell him that someone he cared about had been corrupted.
“Are you happy?” he asked suddenly, both because he wanted to get off the topic of Avalon, and because he was curious. “You’re not the only one who has left the city, so don’t think I’m trying to guilt trip you… I just want to know… Does it help? Being away from everything?”
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:58 pm
Finn nodded. Chris's response did jack s**t to reassure him about Tate's safety, but at least he'd asked. "If you see her," he said, "Tell her to call me? I miss her. I'm worried." He really was. Sure, he and Tate had been out of touch before, but they'd been close when he left for Alaska. And she'd been really good about keeping in touch... at least for a while.
"Happy?" he asked. Well, Finn thought he was happy. He was enjoying his classes and he liked Alaska and he was making new friends and even if he kept feeling the nagging sense of dereliction of duty and the last time he'd been to Mercury, his ancestor had been nowhere to be found... "Yeah," he said. "I think I am. Why. Are you happy?"
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 5:58 pm
Chris didn’t have the heart to tell Finn that Avalon would only remember half of who he was, now, and so he responded with a simple noise of agreement. If he did see her, he would definitely tell her how people were missing her and worried about her and cared for her… but until she actually believed it, there wasn’t much he could do. She seemed convinced that the Negaverse was the way to go.
“Yeah,” Chris’s response was the same as Finn’s, but the tone of his voice said otherwise. Granted, it was a loaded question to begin with. Was he happy with his family and personal life? Absolutely. He’d never been happier. Was he happy that there were creatures running around, killing the innocent and corrupting others into their ranks? Hell no.
“Anyway,” he mumbled, feeling awkward and getting too deep into a topic with Finn, of all people. “I’ll let you go… Stay safe and don’t let those caribou rough you up,” he half-joked, although he was certain it fell flat. “It’s… been quiet without you.” Chris wasn’t even sure what he meant by saying that, but he knew how weird it would be to say that he actually missed the guy. Did he? Who knew… But he wasn’t going to admit it if he did.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:00 pm
"Don't tell me you actually missed me," said Finn, laughing awkwardly. "I won't believe you." He and Chris had never gotten along in the best of times, but this conversation had been enjoyable. He glanced at his watch. "I've got class in about five minutes, so I'd better cut this off?" It sounded like Chris was looking for a way out, anyway. "But say hi to people for me, I guess. And tell them I'm sorry for being absolute chicken s**t."
"I'll keep the caribou under control," he said, as a sign-off. "And I'd say don't be a stranger but I'm not sure we're at that point in our relationship. So, seeya, Chris."
Finn felt a bit awkward as he hung up the call and put the phone back into his pocket. Even if Chris hadn't meant to call him, he couldn't ignore the fact that he had. And that was going to leave an uneasy feeling in his stomach all day.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Nov 03, 2013 6:01 pm
Chris made a face at Finn’s teasing, but uttered an “Alright” when he made his request to say hi to… people. Whether or not he’d mention anything about Finn being chicken s**t depended on the person, and his mood he supposed.
As Finn hung up, Chris couldn’t help the uneasy feeling welling up inside him. Was it guilt? No, but it was definitely some kind of anxiety. With everything going on in the war, it wasn’t surprising to feel that way, but… he knew Finn should at least be told about Avalon.
Another phone call would be easy, but it didn’t seem right. Chris sighed and shoved his phone back in his pocket as he collected his things to head off to class.
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Reply
