Jean-Paul Beaubier (faerenchcanuck) wrote in ic_chaos, @ 2008-10-24 01:50:00 |
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Entry tags: | fae, iron lad |
Who: William Kaplan & Jean-Paul Beaubier
NPCs: ---
When: 24th October
Where: Salem, New York: Salem Academy, Boy's Room 1
What: Jean-Paul is settling in, Billy happens across his new roommate. Misunderstandings and snark occurs.
Rating: PG-13 for mild cursing and discussion of shivs?
Scowling ahead at nothing in particular, Jean-Paul sat cross-legged on the bed he'd been told was his, going over it all. He'd lived in some shitholes before and this place, what little he'd bothered to look at when he was brought in, was no shithole. On the other hand, even the worst of the places he'd been to in the past, he'd never been expected to share a room with three other people. Grimacing, the boy glanced at each bed dotted around the room in turn, a swell of anger and apprehension running down his back as he did. This, he concluded, wouldn't be good. He didn't like people. And, not that he cared, people didn't like him.
Idly toying with the cord of his duffel bag, he considered the idea of unpacking, wondering what would happen if he just refused to.
The door opened suddenly and Billy entered, much like a bull in a china shop. "Teddy! You bastard, runnin' back here ---," Billy stopped talking, realizing that it wasn't Teddy in the room. No, it was...someone else. Someone else with wings. Rainbow wings. The door hit the jam against the wall and rebounded. Billy had figured he'd be on his bed by now, across from Teddy's and getting a pillow thrown at him. But no, he was a bit stuck in the doorway, and the door came back and rammed teddy in the arm and shoulder. Wincing, he moved into the room and shut the door, moving slowly to his own bed, eyes never leaving the new person.
"Uh. Hi?" His eyebrows knitted together as he tried to think of a reason for this to be. A new student? Wasn't there a completely empty room right next door? Billy didn't understand why they were lumping four guys together when it could be two and two. "I'm Billy." Yeah, that was all he had.
Jean-Paul started as the door flew open and the mess of noise and clumsiness barged on in, his wings twitching behind him in a state of agitation, ready to flick into action and carry him away. He let out a surly, monosyllabic grunt and shrugged with one shoulder, "Jean-Paul." Staring off to the side of Billy, he reached, slow and self-conscious, for the hoodie he'd taken off after he settled down on the bed, knowing it had been a mistake to let his wings free. Concentrating for a moment, the boy managed to fold them down against his back, light playing off of them as they moved. That done, he pulled the hoodie back on, effectively hiding them away.
"I'm guessing this bed is mine, hn?" He asked after a moment, still not-quite looking Billy in the eye, all sorts of uncomfortable and less-than-friendly.
Well! This was awkward. "Jean-Paul," Billy repeated, knowing that he had totally gotten the accent wrong. What was that? French? Billy was pretty cultured, just from all the reading he used to do, but that didn't mean he was ready to run outside and swim to France and be cool with looking for a croissant. Billy's mouth turned into a bit of a frown, moving his head to try and meet the guy's eyes, only to have them shift away. This was the absolute best first impression that he'd ever had. Yeah, right. "Uh..." Looking around, he saw Teddy's shoes, his own messenger bag, and the book that Scott had borrowed on the other bed. "Yeah, that'd be the one not occupied." Moving over to his bed, Billy sat down and started unlacing his shoes from his workout. Oh yeah, he was filthy sweaty, but there was a new person in the room. If Billy stunk....Jean=Paul better get used to it. With four guys now in the room, two physically activity, the place was going to reek.
"You don't have to do that," Billy said, waving his hand to the hoodie. "I turn to metal." He didn't feel comfortable telling Jean-Paul about Teddy and Scott. They'd have to do that on their own. "It's cool that you can fold them back like that."
"You turn to metal," Jean-Paul repeated in turn, frowning. "How wonderful for you." Pursing his lips, he pulled the sweater tighter around his shoulders, making sure to keep his wings close to his back. Should have never unbound them. Just because I'm at a 'freak school'... "So... standard rooming rules here, hein?" He murmured after a few more moments of awkward silence, "Touch my stuff and I'll knife you? No direct eye-contact?" His tone only half-joking, the boy started to fiddle with his bag, if only to give himself something to do.
Pulling out the few meagre posessions he'd managed to piece together as 'his' over the years and setting them down at his side, he frowned, considering something. "So... you turn it off, then? You're not metal now--" he stopped, struck by a sudden possibility, "Are you?" He wasn't entirely sure how different, non-pathetic mutations worked.
Holy...shit. This guy was like a street urchin or something! Billy was actually intrigued. Not in a sexy way, but in one of those 'crap-people-like-that-exist sort of way. The closest he'd ever gotten to the 'street' was watching KIDS. This was wild. "Well, for one, I don't plan on touching your stuff. I have my own stuff. And if you try to knife me, I'll probably turn to metal, break the blade and drag you down through the stories of the school until I hit something solid enough to not break under me." Yeah, this guy was an ass. Billy actually worried about Teddy meeting him. He knew Teddy was from a similar place, but the last thing he wanted to walk in on was a half-wolf gnawing on a half-butterfly.
"I can turn it off, but it really happens when I'm threatened. So...don't threaten me. There's no reason to. Like I said, I'm Billy. I turn to metal. I'm not going to touch your shit. You're at about an eight right now on the tense meter. Even when Billy punched me in the throat and I kick him in the face, it really should only reach a five." What the hell was Billy talking about? He wasn't hardcore! "Don't stab me. Ever." Billy was a half-breath away from offering Jean-Paul all the food under his bed, because he usually had enough for Teddy and himself.
Jean-Paul blinked once. And then twice, looking Billy in the eyes for the first time, his expression bemused and disbelieving. He was used to people ignoring him when he said crap like that. Sarcastic posturing tended to be the currency of choice between him and the other foster-kids he met. "Well, I left my switchblade back at the last foster house, so you're in luck... at least until I can make a shiv." Drawling sarcastically, the boy shook his head.
Moving past the rather bizarre comments about 'meters' and throat-punching, Jean-Paul started pulling the mess of crumpled, messy clothes from his bag, letting them fall to the floor around what was now his bed. "...why are you here then?" He asked quietly, sounding as though he wasn't all that interested in the answer. "If you can turn it off."
"Dude. Just stop it. You're not funny." Jean-Paul was actually making Billy uncomfortable. Who said things like that? And why did Jean-Paul remind him of Teddy when they first met? Did that mean Teddy and Jean-Paul had more in common? What did that mean for Billy? Would he be replaced by someone from 'da hood'? Billy didn't even know where that was. All that aside, Billy still didn't like how this guy seemed to want a pissing contest. "A shiv's even worse than a knife. What'r eyou going to make it out of? A toothbrush? Nevermind, I don't want to know." All Billy wanted to do was take a shower and get the hell out of his room.
"If you're hungry, there's food in the kitchen. Down the stairs to the bottom, left, straight, right, left." So that meant that Billy had done everything he possibly could for Jean-Paul. Oh, wait. "And the toilet runs if you don't jiggle the handle when you flush. We...flush all the time here. The hot water is really hot when you wash your face or take a shower. So...be careful." Billy stood up and stripped off his shirt. Balling it up, he wiped down his chest and then under his arms. "Which I'm going to go use right now. So...don't be worried about anything." Why couldn't Teddy be in the room? Did Billy even want him there? Not just now, but ever? Would Teddy change his mind about coming home with Billy now that there was another....he hated the word street rat but Jean-Paul's aggression was rubbing him the wrong way. Not street rats. Jean-Paul was just misunderstood, guarded...right? "Nice...to meet you."
Dismal, dour, sullen little orphans with butterfly wings said things like that, it seemed. Still wide-eyed and staring at Billy, the younger boy frowned again. Were all his roommates going to be this... weird? Never one to pass up a chance to make an uncomfortable situation even more so, Jean-Paul nodded. "Good guess... the plastic of the handle is usually brittle enough to snap with a little effort but strong enough to make a good point if you sharpen it enough." Not that Jean-Paul had a habit of making shivs, he just got stuck in a home with a juvie-wannabe who talked about that kind of thing a lot. Hell, that guy probably didn't have a habit of making shivs, either.
Going back to his unpacking, Jean-Paul watched the older boy out of the corner of his eye, giving him more than a passing glance when he pulled his shirt off. ...great. Slightly uncomfortable and oh-so set in his defensive stance, he shook his head again as Billy edged towards the door. "...'Nice' isn't the word I'd use."
Billy tossed his sweaty shirt into his laundry bag and rifled through his drawers to find a shirt, boxers, and ratted jeans. Looked like there was no more coming out in a towel and getting his undergarments on under the towel. He didn't do it very often, but at least before it had been not awkward. And Billy was downright uncomfortable around Jean-Paul. "Well, you don't have to like me, but if you threaten Teddy or Scott - the other roommates - then you're a danger." Billy eyes slanted. "And that's not cool." Grabbing up his clothes, Billy shut himself into the bathroom. Closing the door, Billy leaned against it. This wasn't going to be good at all.
"I'll try my very best to be 'cool' then," Jean-Paul murmured after Billy had left the room, adding a few choice Joual curses under his breath. Flopping down on his back, the boy stared up at the ceiling, sighing. That had been... surreal to say the least. He really, really hoped that it wasn't going to be indicative of his stay here at this fucked up school.