|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Jul 19, 2016 1:50 pm
Back a few months ago, Benji wouldn't have given a flying rat's a** about people or how they thought of him. What did he care of all these whiny ******** commenting about what he looked like or how foul his mouth was? No one was THAT important to distract him from what he wanted to do at the time. He was a loner, and he was PROUD of it.
Atleast, that was the case up until that day in the rift. That whole dumb invasion led to so much chaos and bloodshed and death that it left the young man feeling numb. And even worse than that, it made him feel alone. Why alone? After all, there was a plethora of senshi and the like about, it REALLY wasn't that hard to go up and talk to them. Yet, it was. Benji saw all of the already established alliances and friendships in the rift and who did he have? No one. Hells, he didn't even have friends as a civilian. It was easier to avoid getting into trouble when you didn't have anyone around holding you back! Still, more and more recently he thought about how much it sucked. He couldn't even call someone for the homework he missed when he was in the hospital, let alone give a good talking to about how stressed out he was.
So maybe that's why he was so nervous when he entered the flower shop he broke into forever and a half ago. He was looking for that guy who worked here, Matt right? He had no idea why the ******** he'd decided to come ask this kid after that mortifying night. He HAD been invited back. Or atleast he thought he had been.
With a quick look about the shop, he made a beeline for the older man standing at the counter. Maybe he was Matt's dad? Looked enough like him anyway.
"Hey, is um... Is Matt here today?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Jul 24, 2016 9:45 pm
Today was stocking day, when the delivery truck came and dropped of a ton of s**t that the shop needed to keep itself running. There were a lot of plants from the local green houses, but there was also a hip-high pallet of potting soil that needed to get moved to the shelves. It made the teen groan inwardly at the work, but he was almost grateful for it. All this was a really good distraction from all the s**t he was dealing with lately and the funeral-march towards fall and the new school year.
New year, new school... leaving everything and everyone he knew for dorm rooms, Nega-supervised classes, and a lot of people he didn't know. Anything that took his mind off of that was a good thing.
He was just finishing hefting the last of the sacks, out of breath from the effort, when the man up front raised his head from his paper to blink owlishly at the young man who had entered his store.
Art had suffered these last months since the disappearance of his daughter, slipping even deeper into the malaise he had fallen into with the loss of his wife. Having his son expelled from Meadowview had been like getting slapped in the face with cold water. It was a wake up call. He still had one son left, and they were all that each other had. The man that stood behind the counter now was more clear-eyed than he'd been in years, frankly, and his green eyes focused with a curious look to them.
"Yes, he was doing stocking in the back. Are you a friend from school? I can get him for you." The shop keep said as he straightened up and tugged his green apron straight, stepping to the side to push open the beaded curtain to the back room. "Matthew?"
Matthew looked up with surprise, hefting the last bag onto the shelf before he turned. "Yeah?"
"There is someone here to see you." Art said before he pulled back, holding the curtain open for his son. Matthew crossed the room in a few long strides to keep him, his motions gangly, but confident. The boy waiting for him was not someone he was expecting and the surprise was clear on his face.
"Everything okay?"
"Oh! Yeah, sure." Matthew shook himself out his thoughts. "Hey, I finished the stocking, s'it okay if I take a break?"
Art seemed to consider it for a moment, his eyes sliding over to the visitor as thoughts moved through his mind. Whatever they were, he seemed to reach a decision easily enough and he smiled, giving his son a clap on the shoulder.
"Yeah, sure. Come back in time to help me close up at least." He said.
Matthew grinned and spun to trot around the counter, grabbing Benji by the shoulder and pushing him towards the door.
"Come on, lets go somewhere else. Thanks Dad!" He called as he waved over a shoulder, propelling the other boy ahead of him out the front door.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Jul 25, 2016 11:57 am
There wasn't even a chance to say something about whether or not he was a friend from school. They probably didn't even go to the same school; HITS wasn't all THAT big and he would have known whether or not the kid was there based on his colorful mullet alone. The man was nice enough to just comply with his inquiry and even go up and beyond by getting Matthew to come out from behind the rather retro-chic curtain.
Benji's nervousness levels almost shot up sky high when the boy he came to see seemed more puzzled than interested to see him, and even Higher when the man kinda pointed it out. s**t, what was he even going to say? Uh, yeah, Not from school, but I broke in a couple of months ago and we hit it off, no biggie. That was certainly going to make this entire already hella awkward affair even worse. But thank whoever the hell was out there that Matthew went along with it and whisked him right out of the store. Not that he minded being pushed around this time.
After getting out of the store and making a few paces forward to put a bit of distance between him and the other, he turned on his heel to face the other head on with a stern face. He couldn't help but think this was going way too well already, so might as well confess intentions right off the bat.
"So, yeah, 'sup? I just thought it might cool to, you know, hang out for a bit or something. s**t's been hittin' the fan real hard recently and it's not like most people get it. But I remember you were pretty cool some months ago and... Yeah. You up for hanging out, maybe go grab a burger and do something like... s**t, I don't know. What do you even like to do?" He kinda knew he was coming off rambling on a bit, but his words were considered very carefully.
"s**t, do you even know my name? It's Benji. And thanks for being cool in front of the dude in there. Didn't know how you'd react to seeing my ugly mug around here after all this time."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Mon Aug 01, 2016 7:31 pm
The other boy pulled away as soon as they were out of the store and Matthew let him go. He didn't stop though, and as Benji turned about, he was already strolling up to and past him, hands digging into his pockets. Amusement lit his eyes, but he kept more than a twitch of his lips off his face as he headed around the side of the shop towards the back alley.
"I didn't expect you to come back." He said, pulling a pack of cigarettes out. "I kinda thought maybe I'd embarrassed you so much you'd never show your face again."
Matthew chuckled as he slipped a cig between his lips and lit it, the pack and the lighter tucked back into his pocket. He took a moment to draw deeply before he continued, blowing a small stream of smoke.
"It kinda sounds though like you're asking me on a date. Is that how you swing, huh?" He teased. "S'whatever though. I needed to get out of there anyway, been stuck in that ******** back room doing stock all ******** day."
The stern look Benji was shooting his way was more amusing than anything, and despite himself, Matthew felt himself cheering up, just a little. It was an odd thing... but it was better than seeing all the people smiling as they came in the shop and left with their pointless bouquets of flowers that would die in a week. That did nothing more than sit around and look pretty as they died... Every one of them oblivious to the fact that the world had lost some of its light. Not one of them knew or cared about the big gaping hole in his and his father's lives. At best, they'd make sad faces and chirp their condolences and it just made him want to punch their stupid, insincere faces...
Realizing how tightly he gripped his cig, the teen relaxed his hand and shrugged.
"My name's Matthew. And the stuff I like to do is probably a bit too much for you, so we should probably just stick to walking, hmm? There is a park down the way that I like to hangout at sometimes." He said as he adjusted his course for it, letting the other boy catch up when he was ready.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Aug 02, 2016 9:26 am
Benji didn't quite know what to think about the cigarettes that Matthew pulled out and began to enjoy as they made their way to the alley. Personally, he thought they were gross and would never use them, but he wouldn't lie and say he didn't like the smell. There was something about the second hand cancer clouds that always seemed appealing, and its scent drew him in, as long as it didn't cling to him for too long. His mother had enough of a reason to hound him without actual evidence that he was smoking something.
"Yeah, well, what can I say? The allure of your face was enough to bring me back." He tried as much as he could to lace that comment with as much sarcasm as he could muster, even doing a bad attempt at a French accent, but there was still the teasing about the date. Hell, he was right, it DID sound like he was asking him out on a date, and he hadn't even thought about it. Romance never really crossed his mind; he was far too busy kicking asses and taking names to think of having someone else that he would be willing to give his time to in that way.
"I swing towards cool people, I guess. Didn't even think about that, honestly. But hey, if you wanna call it a date, feel free, if you're in the mood. Though it looks like you're more in the mood to punch something. Stress relief or what not, and punching me would not make a good date. Or maybe it would, depending on what you're into. Eeeehhhhhh I don't know." Geesh, talk about a conversation getting ******** awkward. Benji didn't come here for this but it seemed like he had diarrhea of the mouth with how much s**t was coming out of it. Without realizing his expression turned into his typical scowl as he inwardly cussed himself out for talking to much, but then he saw Matthew shrug and he found himself relaxing a bit too.
"Matthew, huh? I wasn't expecting that. With your 'bad a**' looking self and attitude I would have thought you'd take a cooler nickname, like "Spike" or some s**t." Oh ho ho hoo, this a*****e was trying to be smug, wasn't he? Like Benji wasn't good enough to keep up with him or something dumb like that. Like hell he wasn't!
"You know what? Try me. Let's do something that's not just walking around the park dilly dallying among the flowers and trees. You do enough of that s**t at work and I'm trying to getcha away from it. So let's do something fun and I bet your a** I can keep up."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Wed Aug 03, 2016 8:59 pm
Matthew made a face, showing exactly what he thought of the idea of Benji being attracted to it.
"Sorry, Lover Boy, but you're not my type." He tossed back, taking another long draw of his cigarette. He was hitting it a little hard, but it would be nice to have his hands and attention free. It wasn't like he really needed the nicotine, but it calmed him a little, made him feel better. It was something he sorely needed these days, and his upped consumption was evidence of just how much. "Better you than this p***k that came into the shop the other day though. a*****e was calling me 'cupcake' and s**t, and then bought some flowers only to offer them to me like an a*****e. I would have punched that stupid smirk off his face if we'd been anywhere but in the shop. God, I wanted to hit him so bad though."
"I like girls though, so sorry. I don't do guys." Even if he supposedly looked like he did, and in spite of whatever weird feelings he'd gotten around that General...
"I also said Matthew was my name, not what my friends call me. My nickname isn't Spike either, its Ace." He squared his shoulders as he said it, smoke slipping between his lips. His sneakers scuffed the concrete and he figured they'd do well enough for what he had planned, if the guy was up for it. First thing though... He reached to unclip his wallet chain from his belt loop and carefully tucked it into his pocket so there was nothing free hanging as he swerved and made for the more industrial zone rather than the park.
The buildings got closer together, clinging higher, but the teen kept his pace slow till the last of his cigarette was done and he could flick it into the gutter. It was like some sort of signal then and he took off running for the next building, which happened to be a little mini-mart on the corner of this buisness district. Out back in this alley, the mart had a cement wall encasing its garbage and with a running jump, Matthew caught enough friction with the toe of a sneaker on the vertical wall to push him up to catch the edge of the top with his fingers. He grunted as he pulled himself upwards and slung a leg over it, worming his way on top. It wasn't terribly wide, enough for just his feet, but it was easy from there to make the short jump to the slanting roof.
"Alright then, come on!" He called as he waved Benji on, bracing his hands on his thighs as he leaned forward to watch.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Aug 04, 2016 5:55 am
Ouch... 'Not my type' was always a phrase that stung a little. It was really just a pride thing, a thought that went '******** you, I'm amazing!' but eeeehhh, to each his own. It didn't sting enough that he wanted to curse about it. Hell, he didn't even consider it before so who cares? What did interest him was this a*****e that Matt was speaking about. Benji decided to just brush the whole orientation thing off for now as it wasn't important to what was going on. No reason to think about it after all. Not when there was violence to be discussed.
"Damn, in the shop too? It's like he knew it was a place he could creep in and get away with it. Maybe next time you need like a bear trap for this a*****e. Be all like 'Hey, come around here, I got something for you', then WAM, bear trap." Not that he knew where to even get a bear trap, but that show he found himself watching last night, with the kids and the little girl with the Eggos... Yeah, bear traps were baddass.
"Ace? Nearly as cool as Spike, but cool enough." He followed right on Matthew's heels and looking around as the scenery changed to revel more buildings than flora. Seemed like Matthew too his suggestion and he was SOO glad about it. As much as he loved plants and s**t, it just didn't seem right to take Matthew from plants to more plants. Before he could say anything else, his companion darted off and up on to the roof of the little building nearby. His movements were so fluid that Benji would swear that he had done the same exact actions a billion times before. And Benji could attest that he had done the same, back in the day. Ever since that whole senshi s**t started, though, he only ever had done it in heels and powered up, which made it a lot ******** easier. But eh, he could try!
"If I miss, don't laugh too much. My depth perception has been ******** awful since my eye got jacked up." Before making his attempt, the kid walked up to the wall, putting his hand on it, then started walking backwards away from it. He counted each step, thinking about how much effort it would take, how much strength he had to use in order to get up there and not over compensate on one side which would have led him to just topple right over. Though, in the end, he really just went '******** it.' and made a mad dash for the wall. One foot made contact, pushing him up, but not quite enough, and then the other, before his short little arms managed to grab the edge and pull him upright with little effort on that part. Atleast his arms were still in good shape. From there it was just a quick second before he was standing beside Matt looking rather pleased with himself.
"Okay, what's next?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Aug 21, 2016 3:23 pm
Matthew laughed, the sound delighted and light.
"A bear trap... perfect. I wish that were possible, it would be great." He chuckled as he stretched, waiting and watching as Benji got ready to make the climb. Hands braced on his hips, he gave him a look with his head tilted to the side.
"Your eye? What did you do to your eye?" Now that he thought about it, there had been something kinda weird about one of them. He'd been so eager to get out of the shop, he hadn't really paused to get a good look at it, or ask about it. He wasn't sure what it would be like, having one of his jacked up, but he was pretty sure it would suck balls. Maybe he should go easy on the kid, then, and not go for some of the crazier jumps. If he missed because his depth perception was a mess, he could end up with some sprains or broken bones, and that really wasn't any fun.
Matthew watched with held breath as the other boy ran for the wall, unconsciously praying he didn't ******** it up and biff it against the brick. It was only when his fingers caught the top of the wall that he was able to let the breath out again, a rogueish smile spreading over his face. Reaching out, he punched Benji in the shoulder, giving him a tiny shove.
"Hey, not bad. Come on." He took off across the roof, climbing towards the peak and then skirting around it to make his way down the other side. There was another building across a small alley way, close enough two people could walk down it side by side, but little else. He increased his pace and jumped as he reached the edge, making the leap with ease. Relatively mild, in comparison to other areas, so he wasn't too worried about it.
"If you wanna go anywhere, feel free to take the lead any time." He called over his shoulder as he jogged across the new roof, skirting meta pipes that stuck up and let out steam from the restaurant below. It smelled like Chinese.
The next open space to cross required jumping down to the small shed attached to the next building, climbing up its slanting roof, and then jumping to reach the roof of the next and pull themselves up. Matthew led the way, his sneakers thumping down on the metal sheeting before he grunted and jumped, hauling himself upwards with an effort. It wasn't terribly graceful, not as much as some of the youtube videos he watched, but he managed.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Aug 27, 2016 8:13 pm
Damn. Just.. Wow, Damn! It actually felt pretty good to see someone laugh at him. He was the cause of that, he was the one that was able to squeeze out a genuine sound from Matthew, and DAMN did it feel amazing. Perhaps it wasn't such a bad thing, trying to be nice to people.
"Dude, you wouldn't even believe me if I told you, but in the end, I got in a fight with this chick, like, twice my height and twenty ears older, after she was doing some creepy s**t and I called her ought in it. Straight up took her knee and BAM got me right in the eye. You shoulda seen it when it was fresh. My whole face was swollen up like a ******** dough boy, and I was crying blood. Straight up creepy s**t, man. Not ashamed at all of that fight though. Saved some kid because of it." Of course, the details of the fight with the Negaverse general in the subway was tweaked a bit. Alot a bit. Matthew didn't need to know who he was beyond Benji, or some of his nightly activities or the insane fights.
The punch in the arm was well received, responded to with a thumbs up and following wherever his partner for the evening decided to go. As long as there weren't any insane jumps, Benji was able to keep up just fine. After all, he used to do this alot before that damned fight. And before the whole senshi thing. He supposed he still did it while patrolling the city, but it wasn't the same as doing it with his own natural strength. Much less satisfying.
"I just wanna go up somewhere high. Somewhere where you can't hear the street very well." The faint smell of Chinese made his stomach lurch just a little bit. Just a little too strong for his taste. Not strong enough to throw him off his game, and the next jump down was made easily. The hauling himself up next... Not so much.
There wasn't much space this time around, so it became a matter of him actually jumping up. And, nope, his fingertips barely brushed the edge of the ledge with his jump.
"So... Yeah, I think this is the part where teamwork comes in. Care to help?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Fri Nov 04, 2016 12:57 pm
There was a bit of uneasiness, hearing that Benji had been fighting with a chick bigger and older than him. It felt uncomfortably close to happenings on the powered side of things, but it was impossible to believe than Benji could be involved. The kid had no depth perception and with his usually sour mug, someone would have smashed his face in by now.
Matthew shrugged off the feeling gratefully and grinned as the shorter boy couldn't make the jump. He crouched down on the edge of the roof, eyeing the boy down below.
"What's wrong, Shortstack? Can't reach?" The teen chuckled before he turned and scooted over the edge, lowering himself till he could drop to the shed with a thumb. He scrubbed the sting out of his hands on his pants before he linked his fingers together, forming a step that he crouched to offer to Benji. There was still a teasing light in his green eyes, but he held still, his hands offered.
Leaving Benji behind would defeat the purpose of running around together, but there was no way he could let it pass without a small ribbing.
"Maybe we should get you those platforms they make to put in your shoes." Matthew chuckled.
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Nov 08, 2016 9:01 am
"Yeah, yeah, laugh it up, hot stuff! Watch, one of these days I'm going to be the tallest ******** around." Atleast that's what Benji wanted to think! But he saw his father and uncles and grandparents and... Yeah, he probably wasn't going to get much bigger than this. No matters! He could still very easily ******** some s**t up anyway!
He gave a quick pat on Matthew's shoulder before making the quick step into his hands then up past the wall, swinging his legs around the ledge. Once up, he squatted back down and offered his hand to Matthew. Sure the other could get up just fine on his own, but... Help every now and then wasn't all that bad. Specially after your hands were crushed but rough bottomed shoes.
"I bet you won't believe it, but there was a time when I was super big into the whole J-Rock thing. Wore those punk shoes that were like, three inches too high and everything. Fell on my a** every day. No thanks, I'll wait till I catch up naturally. Besides, being so short has it's perks. Much easier to do low blows, AND I can get into small spaces. Makes sneaking around so much less tiresome."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sat Nov 26, 2016 5:21 pm
A snicker came as the teen braced his hands on his hips, eyeing the climb and the offered hand.
"Low blows... right." He laughed, his voice full of innuendo, before he jumped to reach the end of the roof. He pulled himself up with a groan of effort, and once he'd gotten his waist up, he grabbed for Benji's hand and used the support to pull himself the rest of the way up. It scuffed his jeans and his hands were roughed up by the time he made it, but they were both on the roof now and that's what he'd been going for.
Hands braced against his lower back, he arched with a groan and then straightened, setting off at a slower and more easy pace. He didn't much feel like racing off at the moment.
"Oh god, J-Rock. Really? That's ******** hilarious." He laughed. "I bet you looked ridiculous. Not that you don't now, but..."
Matthew grinned. "At least its better now. I was never into that stuff. Alternative and punk is more my speed. Green Day, Blink 182, that sorta thing. Big surprise, probably."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Tue Dec 13, 2016 8:18 am
Benji just rolled his eyes at Matthew at the comment since he totally just walked into that one. Walked into it like he was walking right into the bathroom or something dumb like that.
It took only a moment to pull Matthew up the wall, and with a grunt, Benji made sure the other was stable before wiping his hands on his pants, more to remove any remaining sweat than them actually being dirty.
"Oi, you like what you like, man, what can I say? I used to REALLY like all of that stuff. Did the whole thing, posters, memorabilia, wore the dark clothing and heavy make up and ridiculous hair styles, kinda like yours but more swank. Heh... But after I went to a concert, and realized how kinda vicious some of the fans were, I knew I had to back out. You know you're in way too deep when a girl pulls out a knife from her frilly little purse and threatens you over some gross sweaty handkerchief from some a*****e on the stage. Decided 'hey, I can enjoy this from home.' and that was that."
He couldn't quite place his finger on WHY he kept talking, but he did as he followed behind the other who decided to slow his roll a bit. Maybe it was nerves? Maybe it was just Adrenaline rushing through his veins after having finally done something he loved doing but hadn't done in for ******** ever. Either way, he was excited and remained close on Matthew's heels as they continued to go about the rooftop.
"I have that urge to go 'dude, that's so mainstream!' but I think I'd have to kill that hipster voice inside of me then. They are popular for a reason. But what else? What else does the grand and magnificently haired Matthew like?"
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Sun Dec 18, 2016 5:36 pm
"I just like the music. I'm not going to just dislike something because everyone else likes it, that's stupid." The young man laughed as he shrugged. "I guess like whatever you like, it's whatever. Its better than liking nothing. That'd be pretty boring."
He angled a look back as they approached the other side of the roof and he smiled, enjoying the chance to talk about the things he cared about. It wasn't often, actually, that he had a chance to do that these days. Things had gotten tense with his old run of friends after he gotten in with the Negaverse. So much of his time was taken up with it and they didn't understand... but there was no telling if Benji was going to be any different.
Whatever, though. He wasn't going to give up being friends with people just because of his weird double life situation. He'd missed doing stuff like this more than he had thought.
"I dunno." He said as he shrugged. "I like video games. RPGs and FPS, doesn't much matter."
Matthew stretched his arms up over his head before he shook himself out, a roguish smile stealing across his face.
"Are you ready to pick up the pace again?" He slapped his hands against his thighs with a laugh before he took off, making the jump from one roof to the other with ease.
There wasn't much chance to talk after that point, at least not for a couple of blocks while Matthew led Benji through the path he liked to travel. He kept it fairly easy, stuff that wouldn't mess too much with his depth perception, until he finally drew them to a stop, his hands linked behind his head as he took deep breaths. The exercise felt good and everything a little bit easier to deal with, which was a good portion of what he liked about this sort of activity.
The roof they ended up on was a few stories up, their path taking them up a fire escape to reach it. It was peaceful up here, even with the sound of traffic below, and a couple of rusty looking lawn chairs hinted it was sometimes used for escapes like this one, or smoke breaks for the people who worked below. Matthew had been here before and liked it for this... just getting away from things for a while.
"I dunno how far you wanna go, but I thought we could break here for a while. I'll have to head back to help close up before too long."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Posted: Thu Jan 05, 2017 8:39 am
"Yeah, it is stupid. Pretty nice ideology coming from someone like you. Someone awesome so far, that is." Benji's grin had reached the point of being stupidly happy as he bounded after Matthew at a leisurely pace. "I'm lame, I like plants way to much. Tending gardens, working on botany stuff at school. I just think they are really cool. I'd kill to have a part time job at a flower shop or some garden place, digging holes and watching life grow before my eyes. But when I'm not being a sap, I think video games are cool too. Don't play many, though. I am that dude who lets his friends play and just kinda... Back seat directs even though I have no idea what the ******** is going on."
He fell silent after they began to run a bit more again, his smiled and contentment in the situation never wavering. Just how long had it been since he felt so free? So unburdened by the pressures of his senshi business, by school, by his ******** hawk of a mother. It was wonderful, and he felt himself growing tired as they finally came to a stop. Honestly, the view was incredible. It wasn't how it looked like thirty stories up and looking out of a fancy smancy office building. It felt much more raw and real, all of the highlights of what urban decor was supposed to be.
"Man..." he breathed out before mimicking Matthew in the stretch. "That felt AWESOME. But... Yeah, a little break sounds good." There wasn't much of an urge to sit on the lawn chairs nearby, though. Instead, he meandered over to the edge of the building, gazing down at the street below, then up again at the horizon and the fading light of the day.
"Aww, you're gonna leave me soon? Now that's a damned shame... And here I thought we were having one hell of a time together."
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|