Re: quicklog: Atticus, Casper, Carver, Michael, Will
[Michael tossed a hand in the air.] Best behavior. You've got my word.
[He bugged off briefly to the bar, where his supposed secret admirer was not actually tending bar this evening. Ah well. Will never pitched in with a beer order, so Michael ordered a round of shots out to the pool table and a few all-American domestics in very tall glasses, because if things went bad, there would be alcohol, and if things went good, there would be alcohol.
He had just made it back to the table when he looked up and saw a guy with some really great facial hair that he didn't recognize and holy shit, that was Carver. His first instinct was what, and then it was hair dye or death? about the change from blond to dark, not a question he'd posed before, cake would have been a much preferable variable.]
Carver. [He was grinning, somehow.] I ordered beer. It's coming presently.
[There was something off about Michael, but there had always been something off about Michael. Part of the charm, really. For what it was worth, it couldn't have been as noticeable when they were still in high school, and none of them had ever been dead yet or joined church hit squads or been...whatever was going on with Casper. He caught Carver's long look and clearly didn't quite know how to respond, but he thought it was about the Virgin Mary stuff. Was now the time to apologize? Probably not. It did kind of make the hairs stand up on the back of his neck, though, and he didn't know why.
For what it was worth, whatever that thing was (and it had a scent a little like overgrowth and cold iron) he seemed 100% clueless about it. Which was good or bad, depending on your opinion.] We'll teach you. [He clapped Carver on the back, and palpably resisted a run of immature jokes about wooden phallic symbols.] Mostly it's about aim and a sense of restraint. I think you'll get it down pretty quick.
[On another level, standing next to Carver made him feel...well, sad, actually. He knew academically that Carver wasn't really the guy he'd been friends with anymore, but it was nice to believe that might not be wholly true. Just seeing him, though, made that a hard conclusion to avoid. They'd all changed, but Carver was almost another person entirely.]