Who: Brendan and Justin When: Afternoon. Where: Garden. School grounds What: Brendan and Justin make plans for the summer. Official ones.
Justin had been relatively quiet after the attack on the school. Of course he had freaked out at the fact that someone had thrown a homemade bomb into Clair's English class. Shifting into overprotective brother mode came instinctively, though he didn't much appreciate getting ridiculed by his friends for it. But Justin was Justin in the end, after the hissy fits had run their course he had simply kept quiet. No use fanning the drama and the jokes about him being in special Ed were funny on hindsight. Whatever guilt he felt for not taking care of Clair properly, and there was plenty of that, Justin buried under cutesy videos and laughing about unicorns getting their horns and kidneys stolen.
He also buried it under a whole lot of gardening. Helping Ms Foster and sometimes dragging Arthur with him on such outings. Today though, Arthur had managed to evade him and so, Justin was walking to the gardens by himself pulling on his gardening gloves in the process,
If Justin had been in the gardens a lot, it was a miracle he had missed Brendan, as that is where the chlorokenitic spent most of his time. Since spring was coming and Brendan was helping a lot of his friends wake up from their winter naps. Today actually Brendan was standing at a base of one of the school grounds tree and watching grass and flowers slowly growing and tangling themselves around his feet, the tree above him in far further bloom than the others around it. Brendan chuckled a little to himself as the heard the voices of the plants around him that only he could hear.
He grinned, kneeling down a little and touching the ground, and where Brendan touched grass grew taller and flowered twisted and bloomed in various colors, odd new flowers not seen in the northern hemisphere, and various other gorgeous tropical plants.
Pulling on his gloves, Justin checked his watched. He'd give himself maybe two hours give or take. He still had to do homework and such like....he couldn't afford to slack off. It was bad enough that he had a failing grade in math. But all of those thoughts were pushed aside as he saw Brendan and what the other boy was doing. They must have missed each other a couple of times because this was probably the first that Justin had run into the other boy in the gardens. "Brendan?" He said as he walked up, his eyes widening at the sight of the plants. "Wow...how did these get here?"
Brendan glanced over at Justin then smiled a little looking down at the tropical plants and shrugged. "I grew them. They can not stay but I think its fun to look at them." He shrugged slightly. The plants all seemed to notice Justin as well and untangled themselves from Brendan's legs and even started to grow and brush against Justin's.
In response Justin giggled a little. He always loved to see how plants acted around Brendan, and how Brendan acted around them. Bending a little he brushed his fingers against the grass and smiled at the other boy. "Yes, it is fun to look at them." He said. "Their colours are really pretty." He continued to stroke the plants, fingers moving gently against the leaves. "The plants are really energetic...I guess they're happy that it's spring."
Brendan nodded. "They can't stop talking about it." He shrugged a little as a large orange flower the size of a dinner plate bloomed just in front of Justin, blooming in a swirl of spires and twisted leaves which obviously was from rain forest of some kind. Brendan took a step closer to Justin and laughed a little playfully pushing the big flower off him as it tried to flop between him and Justin. "They are wondering who you are."
"And now they have Spring and the whole of Summer to look forward to." Justin felt glad for the flowers and plants. The garden had looked lonely when most of the flower beds were empty. But that certainly wasn't the case now! He laughed along with Brendan and reached out a gloved hand to touch the big orange flower. "I'm Justin." He said to it, not caring if it was odd to talk to a plant. "Do plants shake hands?" He asked Brendan with a small laugh.
At once the big orange petal twisted around Justin's hand, as if a big animal trying to sniff and feel Justin to make sure he was safe. Brendan rolled his eyes and tried to push it away. "They don't have hands. They only act like this because I am here. They get emotions from me. They don't really have them." Brendan shrugged a little as he ran his fingers over the big orange tropical plant. "Be careful not to touch this one's thorns. They sting and can leave a really bad rash."
"Oh..." Justin didn't seem to be able to keep his eyes off the big orange flower. Of course he heeded Brendan's words and kept himself away from the thorns. "If they get emotions from you, they must know that I'm not dangerous right?" Justin said then, his tone teasing as he looked at Brendan. "And I don't think that this one would go out of it's way to hurt me either."
Brendan grinned and shrugged. "Yes, they can tell you are not going to hurt them. You don't not have hedge clippers or an ax. Although they can't see either. No eyes." Brendan didn't want to go into the long odd way of how plants could see which they told him once way back when he was locked in that cellar by that crazy man. Brendan smiled and finally batted the orange flower away until it finally let Justin down and dropped back down against the other flowers. Brendan smiled and looked at Justin. "But they like." Well, Brendan liked him, so the plants did.
"Are you their eyes as well?" Justin asked then looking curiously at Brendan. He took a step back and straightened up so that he could look at the other boy properly. The corners of Justin's mouth pulled upwards into a smile as Brendan said that the plants liked them. "That's nice. I like them too." He looked around then, trying to spot Fido. "Where's Fido? Won't he be jealous that you're out here with all your new friends?"
Brendan shook his head. "No, they cant's see. They sense things through the ground." Brendan grinned and took a sheepish step closer to Justin then glanced around then grinned and pointed to the nearby flower bed where Fido sat in his pot, branches dropping down over the side to touch the other flowers, as if they were having a conversation. "Over there. He likes being taken outside."
That made sense. Justin nodded and looked at the various flowers. "Flowers are really amazing." He said then, noticing it when Brendan took a step closer to him. He looked over the other boy's shoulder at Fido and another smile crossed his face. It felt good to smile, after all the moping and frowning he had been doing. "It looks like he's enjoying the time outside." Justin said then, shifting his gaze back to Brendan. "I remember that time when you took him outside when it was snowing. You told me he liked the snow to. Which is odd for a plant. Did he get that from you?" Yes, Justin was being babbly.
Brendan grinned, looking over his shoulder at Fido again. It was almost weird how Brendan and the fern was so close, like a human and a dog or something. Brendan looked back at Justin and shrugged a little. "Fido is a weird fern. He just does not like it when it is too hot." He sighed a little, knowing that Fido will be constantly complaining during the summer. "Is Clair OK?" Yes, Brendan knew everything about the attack and that Justin's family had indeed been involved.
"You can put him in the shade when Summer rolls around." Justin replied, his eyes lighting up as some funny mental image came to him. He decided to share it when Brendan. "Maybe you can buy him and umbrella and put one of those portable little fans next to him so he'll always get a breeze." It would be cute. If Brendan did that, Justin will surely have to take pictures. He blinked as the other boy asked if Clair was alright. Truthfully, Justin had not expected the question. He would be ashamed to admit it but he had always thought that Brendan as more of 'the plant guy'. Someone who was detached from things that didn't photosynthesize.
"She's alright." He answered. "Bruised her wrist but she says it's fine." As much as he wanted to tie her up and take her to a healer, it was still Clair's choice in the end. "I think I got more freaked out about it then she did." Justin admitted, looking sheepish
Brendan laughed a little and nodded. "He would really like that. Fido enjoys special treatment. He said special plant food was not enough. I think he wants an umbrella and a constant flow of water. Fido is very picky, yeah." He nodded a little and listened to Justin as he talked about Clair. He was glad the girl was OK and ever more glad that Justin was.
Brendan actually thought it was quite sweet that Justin was scared by the attack, even more so than the other that has been involved. Brendan wanted to hug him or give him a friendly pat or something but he didn't know what to do so settled on a small shrug. "Its alright. Nothing bad happened. Everyone is safe and Clair is fine. You should relax, but it is very nice of you to worry so much.'
And that was a very nice gesture on Brendan's part. Justin ducked his head a little and nodded sheepishly. "I think some people found it annoying though." He commented with a shrug and tried to stick his hands into his pockets before he realized he had those thick gardening gloves on. And that reminded him of why he was here in the first place. "So...what would you like me to do, Brendan?" Justin asked then. "Ms Foster isn't here, so I guess that makes you boss because you know more about plants then I do."
Brendan's eyes widened a bit, as he also didn't know quite what to do. He pondered a moment and tried to think of something Ms Foster would want. He glanced around a little. "Um....I'm not sure."
Justin giggled a little in response. "I'm sorry, I guess I shouldn't have said it like that." He looked at the flowers and tried again. "Is there anything you'd like me to help you with?" There that seemed better. "I was thinking of doing a little gardening today but..." He gestured around the garden at the many blossoming flowers. "I guess there's nothing to do here anymore." Because it looked as if Brendan had taken care of everything
Brendan chuckled a little and glanced around. "Sorry, I can tell them all to go away if you want me to?" He shrugged a little, wanting to offer Justin something to do. He looked around at the flowers, the ones around them slowly shrinking back to normal plants and grass height.
"It's ok...you don't have to do that." Justin replied, taking off the gloves he had wearing. Sticking them into his pockets he simply plopped down on the grass, letting out a contented sigh. "It's seems a waste to make them all go away just because I want to dig around in the dirt." He tilted his head and smiled up and Brendan. "Besides, a change in plans won't kill me." He patted the spot next to him. "Do you want to sit down?"
Brendan smiled a little and indeed sat down in the grass beside Justin. "You don't just dig around. You can garden, Justin. You are good. These plants have told me that you've been here a lot recently and have been helping them." Brendan nodded towards the flower beds.
He tiled his head back, squinting in the sunlight. It felt very good to be outside. All that time spent indoors during the winter seemed like some sort of distant memory. Giggling a little he turned that squity look at Brendan. "And you sure that's what they've been telling you?" Justin teased. "Don't worry, Brendan...you can tell me if I irritate them."
Brendan was quiet for a moment before sighing and looking at Justin with a small grin. "The tulips are very mad at you for giving so much room to the daisies." He sheepishly smiled. "And those over there, you sort of ruffled them up a bit. But the rest think you are doing a good job." Brendan offered Justin a smile, sheepish as it may be, because he didn't want to tell Justin he had made some of the plants upset.
He blinked and then looked over to the tulips. "I did...?" There was a bit of a pause as he looked at them and then at the Daises. "Well maybe I did...but it didn't look like the daises had any breathing room and...well.." He looked back at Brendan and noticed the sheepish quality of the other boy's smile. Sometimes it would have been better if this was one of Justin's more oblivious moments. "I...didn't make any more of them upset did I?"
Brendan laughed a little and shook his head. "No. Please, don't worry about it. Tulips are always complaining about something and Daisies always feel so crowded. You did a good thing. What you've done is very pretty." Brendan offered Justin that bit of info to help him feel better. Brendan didn't have any more bad news to deliver. He looked down at the grass, now at a loss of conversation topics.
It did make Justin feel better. If he had followed his instincts he would have gotten up and rectify his mistakes with the tulips and the daises...which would have been silly because they were just plants. But that was Justin and he never liked people angry at him. "So how have you been doing?" He asked then, to take his mind off said flowers. "Does the hospital still want to take you away?"
Brendan shrugged a little, still looking at the ground they sat on and played with the grass between his fingers. "They do. Mr.Six keeps telling them I can stay but they want me to go back. I have been working really hard to stay. I have been working very hard in class. I have good grades and everything, yes." Brendan winced a little. He was trying to drop his habit of repeating things like 'yes' and 'no' which usually broke up his speech. He glanced at Justin. "But they are letting me stay so long as I say I want to and think I am thinking properly."
"I'm glad they're letting you stay." Justin said then, glancing at Brendan as the other boy glanced at him. And then he was looking skywards again. "With all the kids leaving and things...I was afraid that you'd be made to leave to." Which was sad. "Your roommate left didn't he?" Justin barely knew the other boy. Aside from playing video games with him and things like that. "And I'm glad you want to stay." Because the last time they had spoken, Brendan had made it seem like he wanted to leave.
Brendan was quite sad that Brea did indeed go. It made him sad. He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, Brea left. I wish he didn't. After the news reached the hospital they really wanted me to come home but Mr.Six told them I was fine and handling it well with his help. I think they've made him my therapist but he says he doesn't know how to do that, nor do I need one. I just don't know." He shrugged a little. "Although I am sad to see Brea go. I'm going to miss him."
He reached out and curled his fingers around Brendan's hand. "There's always email and things." Justin said then, wanting to comfort Brendan. "And it's nice that Mr Six is trying to help you so much." All he had wanted Avery Six to do was to keep an eye on Brendan but it seemed that the man had gone beyond that. "And look at it this way...at least you have the room all to yourself. And it's exciting to get a new roommate for the new school year." Yes, Justin was always very optimistic like that.
Brendan looked at his hand after Justin reached out to touch it. He felt a wave of comfort slowly slip up his arm, down his back and through his body. He smiled a little. "Thanks."
He shrugged a little and nodded. "Mr.Six has been very kind to me and I suppose it will be nice getting a roommate. I do not know that I am going to do for the summer though. The hospital wants me to spend summer vacation with them but....I want to go back to Central Park." he looked at Justin. "I want to live there."
He gave Brendan's hand another comforting squeeze before letting go. "Yeah, Mr Six seems very kind. Not when he's giving out detentions though...or when he's talking about pop quizzes." It made Justin glad that he didn't take Spanish. Looking at Brendan again, he had to frown a bit when the other boy mentioned living in Central Park over the summer. "You can't really do that..." Central Park was huge and in the day time it was alright to wonder around...but at night. It was a different story altogether. "I'm probably going home for the Summer." Justin said then. "Would you like to come to New York with me then? You can stay over and then go to Central Park as much as you want."
He glanced at Justin shyly and then shook his head. "Justin its nice of you but...you cant take me for the summer. You would get tired of me. Where would I stay? I don't want to be any trouble, no." He frowned a little and sighed, although it was his dream idea, going away to live with Justin in New York...but he didn't think Justin would really take him, or put up with him.
"You would say in my house." Justin replied, looking slightly confused. Brendan could stay over and they would have all sorts of fun while in New York. Maybe Arthur would come along to and the rest of the guys. It would be really good fun. Watching Brendan, Justin noted the frown and the way Brendan sighed. "We can fit another few people in the house easy...and I think the housekeeper would get excited about having new people to cook for. I mean, my parents always eat out and with me and Clair at school she doesn't have a lot to do."
Brendan looked at Justin with a new slightly hopeful look in his eyes. He liked the idea of being in New York again with Justin and actually being able to see the city for more than just a day, since last time was mostly business with Justin's family. Brendan smiled at Justin and nodded. "I would really like to go there."
"Good...then it's settled." Slowly Justin started to lay back on the ground, sighing a little as he stretched out comfortably on the ground. "I'll give you a tour of the entire island of Manhattan if you like." It would be fun...them on cheesy touristy bus rides. "And you can tell me all about what the plants in Central Park are saying." It sounded like a good deal. And a perfect way to spend the Summer.
Brendan smiled. He silently agreed and lay in the grass too, looking up into the clear spring sky and smiling, the grass under them being softer than usual, almost provided them with a perfectly soft, natural cushion. He glanced at Justin, smiled at the boy and how nice and generous he could be, which only brought that familiar feeling to Brendan's stomach. He sighed and looked back into the sky. "OK. Settled."