Authors Note: So, this has taken me a while to upload. And, because I
haven't made a point of it before, these characters don't belong to me, I'm
only borrowing them. This is also slash (although if you've got to part
three I'm assuming you've realised this!) and contains strong language.
Think I've said it all now! Oh, please hit the review key when you've
finished reading.
Feels Like Home : Part Three : Playing at Kids
Will sighed heavily, tearing his gaze away from the mountain of work in front of him. Whose stupid idea had the extra credits been, and who the hell needed to understand predicate logic anyhow? He dumped the half-read book back on the desk, and flicked a sidelong glance towards his roommate. Scout was chewing the end of his biro, staring out of the window. He held open a science book, but Will hadn't heard a page turn for ages.
"Whatcha upto Calhoun?" Will lobbed a crumpled piece of graph paper at him, left over from his earlier lab report.
"Fuck off, Krudski," Scout shrugged the paper away, and turned back to his book.
Will shook his head. Living with Scout had turned into a living nightmare these past few days; on a par with living with his father. He was tired of creeping around; monitoring what he said to make sure it didn't piss off Scout. Frankly, he was sick of it. Scratching his head, he leant back in his chair, stretching out. He'd been working for hours, and it was beginning to get to him.
It had been getting a little colder recently - gone were the days of summer lessons on the lawns - even Finn had cancelled crew training until further notice. The teacher was trying to persuade Will onto one of the other teams, throwing opportunities on the swimming team in his general direction, and promising a red hot chance on the new Rugby team. Will had raised an eyebrow at this. Finn had shrugged, and muttered something about Ryder complaining about discrimination against the English contingent of the student body. The Flemings had been forced into it, Will concluded, with a cynical grin. He'd like to see a similar response from an idea he'd initiated.
Suddenly, he longed for a sight other than these four walls, a sound other than the combined breathing of the two boys, a smell other than slightly stale sportswear - Scout was one of the few guys not put off exercising by the ever-increasing cold, and his filthy trainers littered the floor. Jeez, couldn't he ever tidy up after himself? What was he supposed to do, run around after the poor little trust-fund baby till graduation? Will cursed himself for the deterioration of their relationship, but didn't know what to do with himself. Shrugging, he reached for his rucksack. "I'm gonna wander into town," he told a blank Scout, "anything I can get for you?" His only reply was a grunt Will interpreted as a no. Jeez.
* * *
New Rawley was just as it had always been, Will concluded with a sigh. Contemplating what to do, he'd looked in on his mom, who'd given his hair a lacklustre tousle and told him he looked tired.
"Are you working too hard, my boy?"
He'd tried to shrug it off, "Me? Work too hard? Never." But just like she always had; she knew he was lying. She always did.
"As you wish, Will." She'd been quiet as he'd left. Was there anybody he wasn't pissing off at the moment?
He'd found Sean by the old school field, making skateboard jumps out of the remains of an old pallet.
"What are you doing here?"
"Nice way to say hey to your best friend," Will dropped his rucksack, and squatted on the kerb.
"Didn't think I was worth hanging with now," Sean had one foot on the board, the other on the floor, slowly rolling the board backwards and forwards under the pressure of his toe. "Thought I wasn't good enough for you now you had the rich guys to be friends with." Totally unwarranted, an image of Scout flicked across his mind. He gave the skateboard an extra hard kick in response.
"Don't be like that," Will was too tired to deal with anybody's histrionics, let alone Sean's. He just needed a break, "You've always been my best friend, Sean, and I don't intend to let anybody from Rawley change that. Do you?" The question was pointed.
Sean said nothing, just kept moving the board. Try as he might, he couldn't rid himself of the image of arms first opening, then closing in front of him. Opportunities passing him by. Opportunities to ruin the friendship he valued so highly in Will. An opportunity he would have taken if given the chance; he began to bite his thumb, scared by what he might have given up by fooling around with Scout. He couldn't look at his best friend.
"Jesus," Will muttered, "Is there anyone in this world who isn't pissed off with me right now?"
The other boy turned to face him, noticing for the first time Will's pale skin, the waxy sheen that seemed to have arrived overnight. He also noticed the deepening shadows under those lacklustre eyes, and the slight looseness of the trousers as they hung lower than before over his hips. What the hell was going on in this town? Everything seemed to be unravelling at the seams. "It's not you," Sean admitted finally, sinking down onto the sidewalk beside his friend. He ran his calloused fingers across the board in front of him, feeling its smooth surface, feeling a certain satisfaction in its honed response to his touch.
"It certainly feels like it is me everyone's pissed off with," Will broke into a chewing gum packet, and automatically offered it sideways to Sean, who turned the packet over to check the flavour.
"Don't you ever remember I hate peppermint?" Sean forced a smile, and dug deep into his own pocket for a piece of spearmint. He sighed, and flicked a glance towards his best friend, "It really isn't you, you know," he struggled for words, always subconsciously feeling the intellectual inferior next to Will, "I. don't know what's wrong with everybody," he ended lamely.
Will shook his head, wondering why the hell it had all gone pear- shaped. There had been a time when he'd been able to read Sean's mind like a book. Sean's natural tendency towards 'strong and silent' had never been a barrier between the boys, who'd slipped in and out of each other's consciousness as easily as they did their own. Where had that gone, hey? Will was having trouble even hazarding a guess at the root cause of Sean's bad temper. "Is it Bella?" was his first haphazard guess.
A mixture of emotions flitted across his friend's face, finally coming to rest on a tired smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It's just taking me longer to get over her than I thought it would," Sean jumped up and onto the skateboard, moving around to get another go at the jump.
Will raised an eyebrow. He may forget Sean's favourite flavour of chewing gum, but he was still aware of the bloody obvious. That was a lie if ever he'd seen one.
*
Sean watched Will leave, half an hour later, and wondered what had changed in his life. He was still doing the same stuff as ever, baseball, bike, skateboarding. But now he was doing it alone. Will, with his yah sports, rowing his way around the lake, learning how to tackle and score tries on the rugby pitch, had no interest in the games of their childhood. Sean was struggling to keep up with his maturing friend, and it was beginning to feel cold in the ever-increasing shadows. He blinked, suddenly shivering. Everywhere around him was blanketed with the same, empty, lonely, glow.
Feels Like Home : Part Three : Playing at Kids
Will sighed heavily, tearing his gaze away from the mountain of work in front of him. Whose stupid idea had the extra credits been, and who the hell needed to understand predicate logic anyhow? He dumped the half-read book back on the desk, and flicked a sidelong glance towards his roommate. Scout was chewing the end of his biro, staring out of the window. He held open a science book, but Will hadn't heard a page turn for ages.
"Whatcha upto Calhoun?" Will lobbed a crumpled piece of graph paper at him, left over from his earlier lab report.
"Fuck off, Krudski," Scout shrugged the paper away, and turned back to his book.
Will shook his head. Living with Scout had turned into a living nightmare these past few days; on a par with living with his father. He was tired of creeping around; monitoring what he said to make sure it didn't piss off Scout. Frankly, he was sick of it. Scratching his head, he leant back in his chair, stretching out. He'd been working for hours, and it was beginning to get to him.
It had been getting a little colder recently - gone were the days of summer lessons on the lawns - even Finn had cancelled crew training until further notice. The teacher was trying to persuade Will onto one of the other teams, throwing opportunities on the swimming team in his general direction, and promising a red hot chance on the new Rugby team. Will had raised an eyebrow at this. Finn had shrugged, and muttered something about Ryder complaining about discrimination against the English contingent of the student body. The Flemings had been forced into it, Will concluded, with a cynical grin. He'd like to see a similar response from an idea he'd initiated.
Suddenly, he longed for a sight other than these four walls, a sound other than the combined breathing of the two boys, a smell other than slightly stale sportswear - Scout was one of the few guys not put off exercising by the ever-increasing cold, and his filthy trainers littered the floor. Jeez, couldn't he ever tidy up after himself? What was he supposed to do, run around after the poor little trust-fund baby till graduation? Will cursed himself for the deterioration of their relationship, but didn't know what to do with himself. Shrugging, he reached for his rucksack. "I'm gonna wander into town," he told a blank Scout, "anything I can get for you?" His only reply was a grunt Will interpreted as a no. Jeez.
* * *
New Rawley was just as it had always been, Will concluded with a sigh. Contemplating what to do, he'd looked in on his mom, who'd given his hair a lacklustre tousle and told him he looked tired.
"Are you working too hard, my boy?"
He'd tried to shrug it off, "Me? Work too hard? Never." But just like she always had; she knew he was lying. She always did.
"As you wish, Will." She'd been quiet as he'd left. Was there anybody he wasn't pissing off at the moment?
He'd found Sean by the old school field, making skateboard jumps out of the remains of an old pallet.
"What are you doing here?"
"Nice way to say hey to your best friend," Will dropped his rucksack, and squatted on the kerb.
"Didn't think I was worth hanging with now," Sean had one foot on the board, the other on the floor, slowly rolling the board backwards and forwards under the pressure of his toe. "Thought I wasn't good enough for you now you had the rich guys to be friends with." Totally unwarranted, an image of Scout flicked across his mind. He gave the skateboard an extra hard kick in response.
"Don't be like that," Will was too tired to deal with anybody's histrionics, let alone Sean's. He just needed a break, "You've always been my best friend, Sean, and I don't intend to let anybody from Rawley change that. Do you?" The question was pointed.
Sean said nothing, just kept moving the board. Try as he might, he couldn't rid himself of the image of arms first opening, then closing in front of him. Opportunities passing him by. Opportunities to ruin the friendship he valued so highly in Will. An opportunity he would have taken if given the chance; he began to bite his thumb, scared by what he might have given up by fooling around with Scout. He couldn't look at his best friend.
"Jesus," Will muttered, "Is there anyone in this world who isn't pissed off with me right now?"
The other boy turned to face him, noticing for the first time Will's pale skin, the waxy sheen that seemed to have arrived overnight. He also noticed the deepening shadows under those lacklustre eyes, and the slight looseness of the trousers as they hung lower than before over his hips. What the hell was going on in this town? Everything seemed to be unravelling at the seams. "It's not you," Sean admitted finally, sinking down onto the sidewalk beside his friend. He ran his calloused fingers across the board in front of him, feeling its smooth surface, feeling a certain satisfaction in its honed response to his touch.
"It certainly feels like it is me everyone's pissed off with," Will broke into a chewing gum packet, and automatically offered it sideways to Sean, who turned the packet over to check the flavour.
"Don't you ever remember I hate peppermint?" Sean forced a smile, and dug deep into his own pocket for a piece of spearmint. He sighed, and flicked a glance towards his best friend, "It really isn't you, you know," he struggled for words, always subconsciously feeling the intellectual inferior next to Will, "I. don't know what's wrong with everybody," he ended lamely.
Will shook his head, wondering why the hell it had all gone pear- shaped. There had been a time when he'd been able to read Sean's mind like a book. Sean's natural tendency towards 'strong and silent' had never been a barrier between the boys, who'd slipped in and out of each other's consciousness as easily as they did their own. Where had that gone, hey? Will was having trouble even hazarding a guess at the root cause of Sean's bad temper. "Is it Bella?" was his first haphazard guess.
A mixture of emotions flitted across his friend's face, finally coming to rest on a tired smile that didn't reach his eyes. "It's just taking me longer to get over her than I thought it would," Sean jumped up and onto the skateboard, moving around to get another go at the jump.
Will raised an eyebrow. He may forget Sean's favourite flavour of chewing gum, but he was still aware of the bloody obvious. That was a lie if ever he'd seen one.
*
Sean watched Will leave, half an hour later, and wondered what had changed in his life. He was still doing the same stuff as ever, baseball, bike, skateboarding. But now he was doing it alone. Will, with his yah sports, rowing his way around the lake, learning how to tackle and score tries on the rugby pitch, had no interest in the games of their childhood. Sean was struggling to keep up with his maturing friend, and it was beginning to feel cold in the ever-increasing shadows. He blinked, suddenly shivering. Everywhere around him was blanketed with the same, empty, lonely, glow.
