Tim hadn't been enjoying his school recently. Not only did he loathe homework and the other kids in his class for the most part. He really wanted to be able to go outside and roller skate. It had always been a hobby of his really, though his friend Joseph had been picking on him and his hobby for some time now. Did he care? Hell no! After all Troy had been a dirty little secret of Joseph's for a while and he always brought it up to shut his friend up and leave him alone. But Joseph wasn't in this class. There were only loser kids and bullies here and for god sakes he wanted to go home!
Craig was looking perplexedly at the board as a teacher wrote things about "biology", whatever that meant. This wasn't true facts! He frowned a moment. "I- I don't understand." He said for maybe the 20th time that hour. He frowned and looked out the window, wandering blindly to the window, not minding as he stared outside at the trees. He whispered quietly to himself.
"Mister DIGSBY. Please sit back down." The teacher barked at him. He didn't look away from the tree outside of the classroom window. "Did you know that acorns are just trees little diary's? They just store all their information in there!" He said, and the teacher frowned. Some kids were snickering at him, but Craig just looked confusedly out the window, touching the glass pane lightly as if he wanted to be outside.
Tim was watching the other kid quietly. He didn't snicker because really he honest to god wasn't paying attention to what the citizen was saying. Everyone here was such ass holes, they were picking in this poor kid. "How do you know that's fact? Where does it say that?" he said but instead of sounding teasing he sounded a bit interested, as if he didn't think Craig was crazy at all.
"It- I-" He paused, and his arms drew to his aide as if he was getting embarrassed. "I read them. In an extensive library that- that I have. at home." He said, only glancing up, but he was awkwardly touching a plant in the classroom.
The teacher rolled his eyes and sighed. "Mr. Digsby. Sit down. Mr. Mann. Stop encouraging him." he warned, sounding aggravated. The kids in the class were laughing as Craig awkwardly fidgeted towards his seat, having to crawl over it and falling over before he finally began to lower himself onto the chair and almost falling over again.
"Nature's chairs are better than these! These are fake chairs..."
Tim watched the other kids and frowned. He kept an eye on Craig; once class was out he went over to the other kid and looked actually concerned "Are you ok? When you fell over it looked like it hurt."
Craig looked up at Tim with wide eyes, blinking behind his large glasses. "I- Yeah I'll be fine once I obtain some bandages from the tree sap fairies." He nodded a moment and seemed totally confused.
"I- I don't know you." He said, stating the obvious, but not seeming to say it in a mean or way to indicate he was uncomfortable. He just said whatever popped up in his head. Speaking of which, he reached up and held a hand to his head where he bumped it. "I just want to- to go out into nature..." He said wistfully.
"Well uh- I have a nice nature trail near my house. Want to go hang out there?" he asked with a smile "I'm Tim by the way."
Craig seemed surprised. He looked up. "Really? Well- I've been in most of the tree sections around here. But- speaking with some of the trees different than the ones I speak with sounds adventurous." He nodded. He smiled a tiny little questioning smile back at Tim before he nodded.
"I-I'm Craig Digsby." He held out his hand for Tim to shake before he just grabbed Tim's hand and held it.
Tim paused a second and when Craig grabbed his hand he smiled a bit. This kid was definitely weird but he kind of liked it- it was different compared to how other kids acted. Other kids were boring- but here Craig was, a bit crazy it was obvious but hey- it kind of fit him. "Nice to meet you." he slowly pulled his hand away after a moment, still smiling a bit.
"My house is this way. I have to go grab something there them we can go ok to the trail ok?"
Craig nodded once before he began to walk out of the classroom alongside Tim. Craig walked with his shoulders drawn and his arms tensely at his side, looking around in obvious mystification of everything around him. He even stared at people if they glanced at him and seemed fascinated with the strangest things like light switches and such.
He smiled a bit as they walked through the halls and outside. It was nice out, a nice day in fall. Tim always loved this season but now the leaves and twigs on the ground made it hard to roller blade. He hoped it would be fairly clear on the nature trail so he could skate.
Craig kept stopping in order to look down at the ground and inspect the leaves and their various colors. "Tim. Did you know if you brush two leaves together they create different types of music from their owner tree's personality?" He jogged awkwardly, his hands holding onto the leaves as he tried to keep up with Tim. He looked at him with wide eyes.
"No, I didn't know that- was that also in your vast library at home?" he asked. He really didn't think any of these facts were really true but he didn't want to hurt Craig, make him feel like Tim was like the other kids. "What about moss? What can you tell me about them?"
"N-Not yet. The leaves I make them out of keep ripping when I draw on them." He shrugged slightly, and looked down. It wasn't clear if he actually believed all this or not, but if he didn't, damn this was some fantastic acting.
"Oh! Moss. Moss is very shy. SooooO~OOO shy." He sang in a high pitched voice and jogged awkwardly by Tim's side.
"Shy? Why do you say that?" He asked curiously, looking at him with a small amused smile, not because he thought this was funny because he really did want to figure out why Craig would say something like that. Plants apparently had emotions now?
"I- I suspect that's why they don't grow when you watch them. If you look away, moss grows spectacularly." He nodded sagely. "They also are very bad at parties." He shrugged and held a finger to his lips. "But shhh, we don't want to hurt moss' feelings." He whispered in Tim's ear.
"How do you know that they aren't good at parties?" oh god had he actually taken one to a party? That was the funniest image to him, the thought of Craig in a suit and tie with a moss as his prom date.
He gave a meek little shrug and then stated as if it was common knowledge. "They just stare at you. And when you stare back they just stay there, like little short flat green statues." He was rubbing two leaves together next to his ear gently as he spoke. "Oh. This tree was a grumpy one." He muttered to himself.
"You're so weird." but it sounded sweet, like he wasn't making fun of him but he was actually complimenting Craig "I like that." he patted his back gently before getting to his house. He put on his roller gear, and put his roller blades on. He got up, though he was a bit wobbly "ready to go?"
Craig sort of had his shoulder drawn as if he was expecting some sort of insult, but his eyes were wide as if he didn't mind. Though the way Tim said it was... nice. He watched, a bit stunned a moment but nodded. "Y-yes." He nodded and seen he was wobbling, so he made his way awkwardly up the stairs. "Sh-should I assist you?" He asked and moved his arms to wrap around Tim so he wouldn't fall down the stairs.
"You don't have to- stairs and skates don't mix." he said with a laugh. When he got off of the stair it was clear he was blushing a bit at the arm around them. He smiled "I think I got it now."
"You sure?" Craig asked, still hugging onto him. He now was sort of leaning his head on his shoulder and closing his eyes. It was clear he didn't find anything weird about this.
He paused a second, his body was relaxed but he was blushing madly. "y-yeah I'm sure." he said after a second. He really didn't mind the kid but man- the hugging was kind of awkward and he felt like he was getting mixed signals from them.
"Okay." He said and let go, turning around to see where the trees were. He was excited to get back somewhere that at least was close to home.
He smiled slightly and roller blades next to him. It must have been a sight to see- a strange kid still holding onto leaves while the other was wearing pink skating gear and sun glasses. but Tim seemed anything but self-conscious.
Craig seemed completely fine as well. Well other than the strange duckling type of walk he had going on. Though, with his wide curious eyes listening to the leaves in his hands, he didn't seem like he minded any strange looks either. "Hey- How far is it to this nature preserve?" He asked curiously.
"It's a little less than a mile away but it'll be ok-" He said heroically. He smiled happily taking his hand, skating down the lane happily.
Craig looked down at his hand as Tim grabbed it and smile to himself a bit, humming quietly and walking down the street happily. He would do the awkward hand-at-his side sort of walk, trying to keep up so he didn't drag Tim down. "How- How long have you been using these strange things?" He asked, gesturing at the pink skates on Tim's feet.
Tim was trying to go a bit slow, not wanting to make Craig have to walk to fast. This was supposed to be a fun walk. "Uh- I've bed using them for a couple months." he says with a smile "they get you places a lot faster."
"Yeah?" He asked and looked at them. He paused a moment, looking at his skates a bit curiously. "Did you know deer sharpen their claws on trees? They're actually quite vicious!" he told him randomly.
"Claws? Deer don't have claws." he said after a moment, as they continued down the road.
Craig chirped up, "Now during the daytime." He shrugged and jogged a little alongside him before he seen it. The woods He gasped, a hand lightly over his mouth in excitement before he jogged slightly ahead, his hand still squeezing Tim's hand as he made his way to the trail. "Nature!" He said with a happy smile.
Tim let him lead him, his skates rolling the speed behind Craig so he didn't worry about losing him "it's nice huh? I used to come here all the time."
He smiled at the trees and nodded, before he asked curiously, "Why don't you visit them anymore?" He asked, his voice conveying his innocent curiosity. Craig was touching the leaves on the trees with a gentle motherly sort of touch. He just really loved nature.
"I don't know. Too busy at school and even when I'm not there I'm either at home on my skates or at my friends." he said with a smile as he watched them. "You're really cute-" he said not realizing he had said that out loud but damn he was adorable
Craig looked up and seemed to be very confused a little. "I'm- I'm not cute! I'm a very knowledgeable intellectual!" He said, not seeming to be very good with any sort of compliments or praise. He looked happy, however. He was just glad to have someone around him. He looked up at Tim with a small smile before he went to sit down in the leave piles. He contentedly picked up a handful of dirt and placed it in his pocket.
He watched him and had a hard time stopping. Where were the breaks on these things? He ended up tripping on the grass and falling into the leave pile beside him. He groaned a bit before rolling into his back. He held up a leaf gently to Craig "for you my dear sir." he said with a small smile.
Craig looked up quickly as Tim fell next to him and he sat up, tilting his head a moment. "Holy smokies!" He said before Tim held up the leaf. He smiled and took the leaf between two fingers awkwardly before he examined it. "Yellow!" He said and held it up to his ear and rubbing it on his face. "It's happy." He said, letting it rest on his face. He looked down at Tim and smiled. "Thank you..." He said, seeing actually happy. He dug in his pocket, lying down near Tim as he did so, and had half a handful out to him. "Dirt?" He asked, not sure how this 'friends-giving-presents' thing worked.
He held his hand out and smiled "thanks..." he chuckled, this kid was so weird "so- what can you tell me about dirt?"
Craig blinked, before he looked as if he remembered something crucial. "Oh! Dirt is used as currency in over 30 countries." He shrugged. "I don't really know how to measure, but that must be quite a lot.' He added a guess and looked over at his new friend.
He smiled a bit "well- maybe we should collect a couple barrels of dirt sometime and go traveling. I'm sure you'd like to go to like- Europe or something and see their trees."
Craig paused a moment, before looking up at the sky and looked as if he thought about it. "I could..." He said lightly. Then his brows furrowed slightly. "But then who would educate people about the importance of nature?" He asked.
"Well, you could make videos and put them on the Internet." he said softly, hoping that might help him.
Craig looked at Tim a little confusedly once again. "A- …Put them on a what?" he asked, genuinely not sure what that was.
He looked at them a moment as if completely surprised by that question "the Internet?"
"Yeah. What's that?" He asked Tim. It was clear he really was always in nature when he wasn't at school.
He looked at them a moment as if completely surprised by that question "the Internet?"
"Yeah. What's that?" He asked Tim. It was clear he really was always in nature when he wasn't at school.
"It's- kind of hard to explain. When we go back to my house I can show you it. It's kind of cool." he said with a small smile.
"Okay!" He said, nodding a bit. "Does... Does your house have much nature?" He asked a little cautiously.
"We have a back yard, and there's a couple plants inside." he said softly.
Craig paused, and then nodded. "That should. be okay." He said and muttered. "I don't feel safe when I'm not in nature." He explained, his hands absently playing with the leaves and grass as he spoke.
He rested his head near them and watched them softly. It had been so long since he had been willing to have a friend. He nodded a bit "ill uh- I can buy you some plants and we can put them in my room so you feel safer."
Craig gasped a bit. "What? There's plant slavery?" He asked, aghast. He didn't know plants could be sold or bought. He just assumed they had all crawled into buildings in their own little tubs.
"No, not slavery- they're more like-" how could he say it without sounding offensive "I guess like how you adopt pets and things? You can adopt plants." he explained.
Craig paused, and thought it over. He nodded slightly. "Oh... Alright..." He seemed okay with it then, before looking back up at the sky contentedly. "So your plants have names?" He asked him curiously, seeming interested now.
"I don't know- I never named them. If you want you can name them." he said with a smile
Craig sat up a moment and looked down at Tim and nodded. "Sure!" He nodded and drew his knees up, hugging them to his chest. "When I meet them, I'll introduce myself and see what kind of hobbies they're into. What kind of books they like, anything like that..." He sighed.
"Wouldn't books be-" offensive? He stopped himself. It was made out of tree bark after all wouldn't that freak plants out if they were conscious? but he didn't want Craig to make that realization and then be completely against books. "Such a broad topic? I mean what if one of them rambled on about authors we don't even know?"
Craig paused. "Wow. I never would have thought of that. Plants have such a wide ability for storing information that us humans would never possibly hope to obtain. It's like they're preparing for something." He said ominously before he slowly got down and crawled around Tim, to his other side and kind of casually moved to cuddle up to him in the leaves.
He tensed only a moment before wrapped an arm around them. closing his eyes a second and just relaxing a bit. He really adored this kid already, he didn't know why just yet. but they were great, even if they were crazy.
Craig really wasn't expecting them to hug back, so he blinks, his eyes opening a bit, but he just moved his head more comfortably on Tim's shoulder, closing his eyes a moment as well. It was a minute or two before he spoke up, "I- I might take a nap." He muttered his voice soft as he had his eyes closed. It was clear he thought it normal for him to just take naps out in the woods.
"Ok- it's nice out, I might too." he said softly, keeping his arm around him. The pile of leaves they were cuddled in was nice, it was comfortable and Craig was warm. It was making him tired and napping with Craig sounded pretty nice right now.
Craig nodded a bit and nuzzled into Tim's shoulder a moment before he hugged onto him and slowly drifting off into sleep with a little smile on his face.
He kept his arms wrapped around them lovingly. He wasn't planning on letting them go. He fell asleep soon as well. A couple hours later he was tangled up in him. Their legs wrapped together, their arms wrapped around one another and their faces so close. Tim's eyes widened in surprise but he didn't make any move to get away.
Craig slowly woke up as well, and was surprised to find himself feeling warm as he awakened. He snuggled closer because, wow, it felt nice to be held. He opened his eyes when he felt someone's face against his and he opened his eyes and Tim was right there. He blinked, as if it was a surprise, but didn't make any motion that he would move away first. "...Hello." He said with a smile at him, as if he didn't realize the implications of someone's lips being oh so close to his.
"hey." he said with a tiny smile "good...nap?" he was becoming kind if distracted by Craig's lips. they looked so smooth...so inviting...his lips slowly pressed into the other boys.
Craig froze a moment, not really sure what Tim was doing, but then… His eyes slowly slipped closed as Tim kissed him, feeling Tim's lips brush against his. He was... shocked, yes, but- He let out the softest noise of approval to show he liked it. He experimented, moved his lips against his, ever so slightly, and his hands slowly hung onto Tim's shirt as he was surprised by the kiss.
It took Tim a moment to realize that he was kissing Craig, not only that but Craig was kissing him back. He wasn't sure if he should apologize for kissing him, Panic because he had just kissed another boy, or what he should do. He broke the kiss and looked at him "I u-uh...u-uh I'm sorry..." he managed, sounding unsure, he wasn't sure if that was the right thing to say.
Craig opened his eyes again, looking up at Tim and blinking confusedly. He had a questioning look on his face as he tilted his head and watched Tim a moment. "For- For what?" He asked naively, not seeing anything wrong with what they were doing. It felt nice… It made him happy, and made him feel that little spark between their lips as he kissed him. He didn't realize that there was any sort of taboo with kissing another male, so he was worried about Tim.
"You aren't mad that I kissed you?" he asked sounding a bit surprised. If he cared about taboo he wouldn't have worn pink roller skates and skate gear. He smiled a bit in relief, just happy that Craig didn't hate him for it "did you like it? Was it ok...?" he finally asked.
Craig finally blushed a bit, a pink tint to his face as he looked away a moment, shyly holding onto Tim's shirt. "I liked it a lot, actually." He made a small shrugging motion and nodded, looking up and smiling at Tim, smiling happily. He glanced up at him and giggled a moment before he glanced at Tim and just to prove his point, energetically moving to place his lips back against his, holding onto him, making his eyes slowly sink closed once again. He really liked this kissing thing with Tim!
Tim listened to him and was still blushing a bit but it became even more evident when their lips were brought back together for a short time. Tim smiled into the kiss before finally breaking it "wow...just...wow." he sounded aw struck. he obviously liked the kisses too.
Craig smiled in return, before he giggled slightly. "I- Uhm- Never did that before." He shrugged.
"Yeah?" he smiled softly, keeping his arms around them "I'm glad you liked it." he said softly, tightening his arms so it was clear he was giving Craig a hug. gosh this kid was adorable.
Craig smiled a little before he began to sit up, and looked at Tim Man and blinked. He moved awkwardly and stiffly, but he seemed to be happy. "Did you still want me to name your plant friends?" He asked.
He slowly got up as well and nodded "yeah- I mean if you still want to." he said with a small smile,
"Well, yes! I'm sure being domesticated will slowly make them believe they are human as well. That's possibly why they wanted to live in your home!" He said and reached over, holding onto Tim's arm as if it were natural by now and clinging to him.
He smiled slightly at the clinging and there was no doubt in Tim's mind that they both didn't give a fuck about what anyone else thought. He leaned over and kissed him again, and he broke the kiss he smiled "Ok, lets go then."
Craig nodded and walked along with Tim out of the leaves and onto the path, not letting go of his arm until they were well out of their way out of the nature trail. He looked up at Tim a moment and moved to hold his hand in case he wanted to skate without Craig clinging onto him. "The cold weather's coming! But that's alright, because the moss sometimes pretends it's fur and clings onto trees for warmth." He shrugged. "A lot of nature is shy, actually." He noted, looking up at the trees as the two of them wandered down the trail, both smiling softly as they made their way towards Tim's house.