(no subject)

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

Nobody talked to the kid with the dreads.

Nobody knew if he'd been held back with the jocks, or if he'd just hit the world's worst growth spurt, but the long, lanky highblood seemed to top everyone else in stature, even the select little clique of seadwellers, all of whom had taken to muttering about him indiscreetly. Of course, it didn't help his image that he wandered the halls with the dazed expression of the perpetually baked. He'd already been forced to stop painting his face by the faculty to keep from distracting others in his classes. As if that was really what everyone was focusing on.

He was intelligent, even brilliant according to some of the instructors, but that didn't count for anything when none of his homework was turned in, either coming up missing or simply forgotten, or occasionally doodled on. He never took notes and rarely remembered to bring his textbooks. The only class he did well in, for that matter, was his visual arts elective and even then, he rarely stayed on task, often speeding through the lessons then slinking away to one of the broken-down loveseats what were used for the occasional sit-in model for life drawing sessions.

He was a flake, and ninety percent of the time, he was alone.

Fourth block Gym was never something that he participated in. He simply stayed long enough to be counted there for role call, then slipped out easily to settle down behind the gymnasium where the security guards never went, sitting on the ground in the shade in his gym clothes and packing a bowl out of sight where the smoke would be whipped away by the breeze.

Comments

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"Yeah, definitely the cold. Ain't feelin' yourself," Gamzee agreed quietly, smiling to himself as he kissed Eridan's temple again then sat back, finally letting him go now that he'd calmed down. He continued to run his fingers through Eridan's hair after finally settling back down at his side, looking back out of the window at the drizzle still hitting the windowpane. There was a lot to think about now and his fate wasn't even sealed yet, but he felt good about all of this. He would be able to keep out of the line of fire, at least for a little while. Though more than that, he wanted to keep Eridan as far away from it as it could manage without leaving him behind entirely.

When the maid finally returned with their plates, he was still there wedged against Eridan's side acting as a comfort without being invasive, taking the plates with his free hand and giving the girl a toothy but altogether very sweet smile. He scooted down onto the floor in front of the table to eat there, poking a bit at the fish that Dualscar had had grilled for him so that at least he could have a warm meal. He ran a hand over Eridan's leg, offering him a softer smile then dug into the salad at the side wordlessly.

[princeofmelodrama]

As he slipped down to join Gamzee, he smiled fondly, leaning over to press a kiss to Gamzee's neck before he set into his own meal. "Mm, have you even ever met my brother? I know we avoided him yesterday, but I just hate his friends. He's kinda an idiot, but he's really great to keep me from feelin' too bogged down in shit. Kinda like he's psychic about when I'm gettin' too far into my own fuckin' brain, mindfuckin' everything. An' he's... the worst at actin' his status." It was refreshing, actually. Kind of a pain at social functions, but Eridan had nothing to do with Cronus when they went out to social functions. He stuck close by his father and listened to the politics and gossip.

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

Gamzee thought about that for a few seconds, then shook his head. "Nah, never met 'im. Kurloz likes tellin' me about his friends though. 'bout Tuna and Meulin, mentioned Cronus before. That was before he started stayin' home. Didn't really think much of 'im, but I guess he didn't know 'im as well as you do."

[princeofmelodrama]

"... Tuna." That got a deadpan from Eridan, pointing at what just so happened to be tuna on his plate, and he flaked some meat off with his fork, poking it into his mouth with a shake of his head. "Cro's talked about Kurloz, though. Says he's the scariest motherfuckin' guy, told me that he's pretty sure the guy has spooky mind-garbling powers an' I told him, so? Better than havin' greasy hair an' bein' a peepin' tom. Got him to shut up extremely fast." He smirked and looked up at Gamzee with a smile. "I'd like to meet Kurloz one day, an' since you're probably gonna be around a lot now, you're likely to run into Cro. If he hits on you, hit on him back in the most awkward possible way. That'll get him outta your face."

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"Aw come on man, Kurloz ain't scary. He's a good guy. Nobody talks to 'im because of the whole sewin' his mouth shut thing. He didn't even make those holes himself, he had the piercings beforehand. Just put the string through 'em." Shaking his head, Gamzee took another bite of his fish. "As for the whole brain powers thing, yeah he does have those. But all he uses 'em for is talkin' to me and Tuna. Psii don't let Tuna come over anymore though."

[princeofmelodrama]

"Oh, yeah, he said somethin' about that, an' Vriska's sister told us all about that shit at length, too," nodded Eridan with a smile. "I think that's noble a him, actually. Cro thinks it's spooky, an' I'm pretty sure Aranea doesn't think very highly a it, but... his reasons are noble." He looked down at his salad and picked at it, more evenly spreading the toppings, before setting into it.

Eridan had once pondered asking Gamzee about the religious beliefs that he and the other subjugglators had, but worried that asking would come of as condescending, no matter how curious he was about it. He was stoutly atheist, himself, but the essence of faith was intriguing to him. He continued eating quietly and then chuckled. "Don't see why nobody would talk to him. He'd be the best listener."

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"It's because'a that look he gets when he listens," Gamzee shrugged. "Like he's really listening. Dissectin' every motherfuckin' word you say and pickin' it apart. He's fuckin' smart, man. One'a the smartest motherfuckers I ever met. Mostly when people talk, they just want someone to listen. Not to understand. Like, they think that's what they want, but really they just want to be able to talk and then forget about it, y'know?" Shaking his head, Gamzee finished off his meal then finally tossed the cold medication into his mouth, swallowing the pills down with a couple of gulps of water then sitting back against the front of the couch. "He's helped me through a fuckin' lot. Even before he went and fucked up his tongue he's been a good brother."

[princeofmelodrama]

Eridan's brows arched at that. Gamzee was right; lots of the time, people don't like speaking to someone who would really listen. He'd find it disconcerting to say the least, after the way the one person he always confided in always seemed to not quite listen at all, that's for sure. He smiled at that, then. "Sounds like a real good guy, then," Eridan said with a nod.

"I give Cro a lotta shit, but he's there for me when I need him, in his own way. He knows better than to start pryin' an' askin' questions I don't want to answer, or don't even have answers to. Just pulls me outta my comfort zone an' puts me into a place to really take a good look at things from a completely different perspective. He might be crazy, though, just a little. But he's the good, harmless kinda crazy." He took his own meds and swallowed them down with a swallow of water. "People get fucked up about him though, like he's a serious fuckin' threat to 'em. He comes on too strong. Doesn't know how to deal with people. You know how I said back when I was killin' those rumors about us that if I made moves at everyone I found attractive, I'd alienate a whole lotta people? That's one'a the things he's pretty well known for doin'." He sighed and shook his head. "He's still really good, though. Deep thinkin', real introspective. Amazing guitarist, too!"

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"Then maybe one'a these days, he'll find someone that sees that instead'a the human greaser shit he's so fond of." Smiling faintly, Gamzee pulled himself back up onto the couch and curled up there beside Eridan again, his chin propped up on his knee. "Sometimes that's all anyone needs. Someone that ain't just lookin' at the outside shit. Might make him slow down on gettin' up in peoples' space."

[princeofmelodrama]

"I think he does that solely for attention," Eridan said as he slunk back up beside Gamzee, sighing quietly. If he wasn't so sore, he'd feel the impulse to go for a swim, as he'd been far too stagnant for far too long. "I'm sure he enjoys the aesthetic, but that humankin bullshit's just that." He trailed his fingers gently over Gamzee's chest and sighed. "You want to watch a movie or somethin'?"

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"You know I've seen shit about humans dressin' up like us and doin' all that shit like he does," Gamzee pointed out then shook his head, wrapping an arm around Eridan's shoulders and pulling him close. "Movie's good with me. If you wanna do somethin' else I'm not gonna say no to that either, y'know."

[princeofmelodrama]

"No less fucked up no matter which one'a the species is doin' it," Eridan amended, before sneaking a quick kiss to Gamzee's lips, brow arching. "Somethin' else?" He put his arms around Gamzee's waist. "An' what else would you like to do?"

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

Gamzee's brow arched up at that and he nudged his forehead against Eridan's. "Well, you did say movie 'or somethin'," he pointed out with a small smirk, but other than that he made no move in either direction. He wouldn't say no to whatever else Eridan might have in mind, but he wasn't going to make a move himself either. "Just figured you had other ideas."

[princeofmelodrama]

"Yeah, like TV. We could watch TV." He shrugged like the 'or something' was completely obvious, but now that it was brought into question, it was clear Gamzee was going to get called to task for calling it out. "So since you're the one so invested in this or somethin' that we may or may not even do, what is it you want to do? I feel like I've been yankin' you around all over the fuckin' place lately, figure I might as well extend some courtesy an' see what you'd like to do."

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"Ain't been yankin' me anywhere I don't wanna go," Gamzee argued, running his finger down the side of Eridan's face then pecking his lips lightly before sitting back and stretching out again. "Rain's makin' me kinda restless though. Already slept so much and the cold's a little better now, not so motherfuckin' miserable. Sure you don't have any other plans?" he teased and nudged his foot against Eridan's leg, his tongue poking from between his teeth.

[princeofmelodrama]

"Well, I could go for a swim," Eridan said, considering with a thoughtful glance upward and a purse of his lips. "Spent too long bein' miserable an' holed up in blankets, I'm startin' to get antsy."

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

Gamzee nodded thoughtfully and sat back up, leaning his elbow against the back of the couch. "Ain't been swimmin' in a while. I don't really tend to get the chance, y'know? Rest'a the sea dwellers tend to run me outta the school's pool when I'd wanna do laps."

[princeofmelodrama]

"I do laps here at home, just to avoid those assholes. The only reason I even deal with the team is 'cause I'd prefer to get my sports in somewhere without father throwin' some sort of fit that I'm too fragile." He shook his head as he stretched his arms over his head and popped his shoulders, letting out a sigh of relief.

"I doubt you've even made it to that wing a the house. Would you like to see the pool?"

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

"You ain't fragile," Gamzee pouted some and stood up, offering Eridan his hand. "I mean a lot'a shit can make you sick but that's not really any different from most of us. I still got the fuckin' sniffles and all. Bet the exercise will do us both some good."

[princeofmelodrama]

"Tch, try tellin' that to father," Eridan said as he lifted himself off the sofa with Gamzee's offered hand, looking up at him with a brief smile. "Let me go rifle through Cro's shit, I'm sure he's got a pair a trunks you can borrow. He's got skinnier hips than me. You wear one'a mine and they'd droop an' still somehow be too short." He looked down at Gamzee's skinny hips and shook his head. "Skinnier'n me an' still taller. You need to feed yourself more."

[cookinglikeamotherfucker]

Gamzee grinned and looked down at the pajama pants still slung low on his hips. Even with Cronus being thinner than Eridan his clothes were still baggy, and given that Cronus was shorter than he was the trunks were likely to come up above his knees. "Prob'ly wouldn't stay on very long in the water even if I do wear his," Gamzee pointed out then draped his arms around Eridan's neck. "Got something with a drawstring? Otherwise I'm gonna have to swim nekkid."

[princeofmelodrama]

Eridan rested his hands on Gamzee's hips, his lips pulling into a sharp, lopsided smile. "Even if the answer's yes, now I'm considerin' sayin' no." He slipped away and walked to his wardrobe, opening one of the drawers to pull out one pair of tight swimmer's shorts for himself, and then a more casual pair of board shorts with a drawstring for Gamzee. They'd be short on him, but still fit around the waist. "Best I can offer you." He gave a sweet look to the highblood before strolling towards the corner of his room that was sectioned off with screens to change.