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Post by Smoke on Jul 10, 2010 22:07:11 GMT -5
A plain, quaint little dorm with one bed, one desk, one window, one TV, and one dresser.
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 10, 2010 22:31:19 GMT -5
Rhys had spent most of the last day of vacation thinking about things and avoiding Blaise, which was perfectly normal. Unlike normal, he hadn't wanted to avoid Blaise- which was the problem. Especially since the bastard had decided to lounge around all day half-naked. Goddamn blond French jackass.
His train of thought had led him down the hallways, into the kitchens for a snack, around the courtyard, and into taking a nap in a tree, after which he finally got the idea, and the courage, to maybe ask his older brother.
Whether this was the sort of thing a person asked an older brother, he wasn't sure. How Reed would react, he had no idea; rationally, he knew Reed was his brother, in every way that mattered, but thinking about this stupid fucking thing with stupid fucking Blaise made him paranoid, and he couldn't quite convince himself that he shouldn't just forget about it. For whatever reason. Reasons he couldn't quite convince himself to think about.
But it needed to be done, and he'd spent days steeling himself to do something, and so he stood outside Reed's dorm room door, hands behind his back, trying to get up the courage to knock.
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 10, 2010 23:36:16 GMT -5
Sometime in the middle of the day, Reed had gotten just a bit bored with sitting around in his room, and had considered heading out to find something to eat or something interesting to do, or...well, something aside from just sitting around in his dorm.
He opened his door, only to find a rather short, rather familiar figure blocking his path. He blinked. "Hey, Rhys. Did you need something?"
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 10, 2010 23:40:47 GMT -5
Rhys jolted when the door opened and took a couple of steps back.
"Uh." What to say? "Uh. I. Eeuh."
Words. Words, goddamnit. He stared at the floor with an embarrassed look on his face.
"Ah... you- 're you busy?" Footshuffle.
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 11, 2010 0:00:15 GMT -5
Reed's eyebrow slid slowly up his forehead. Rhys was hardly the most articulate person in the word, but Reed could swear he almost sounded nervous. And that was definitely strange for him.
"Not really. You need to talk about something?"
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 11, 2010 0:04:41 GMT -5
Rhys took a deep breath.
"If you don't mind. Uh. Yeah, kinda... yeah."
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 11, 2010 0:06:41 GMT -5
"Alright, come on in, then." Reed stepped aside to give Rhys room to walk and wondered just what the hell was eating Rhys up this badly.
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 11, 2010 0:12:39 GMT -5
Rhys walked into the room, a part of his mind prickling at the idea of walking into someone else's den, no matter who it was. He spent a moment looking around and getting his bearings before finding a place to sit.
"I, uh. This is... weird." He rubbed his arm. "Sorry if, I mean, I don't know what else to do. Uh."
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 11, 2010 0:18:27 GMT -5
Reed kicked a bit of clutter out of the way and plopped down in the swivel chair in front of his desk. He stooped over and braced his elbows against his knees, bringing himself significantly closer to eye-level.
"Take your time," he said calmly.
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 11, 2010 0:28:11 GMT -5
Ah, crud. It was gonna be like that, was it? He sighed.
"I've got this roommate. And it's not- he's not the problem, exactly. I mean. He... it..." Rhys covered his eyes. "Things have been really weird lately, and I don't know what's going on, except that I feel really really nervous, and I don't wanna think about it, and I don't wanna feel this way anymore."
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 11, 2010 0:41:38 GMT -5
Reed licked his lips. He had a fairly good guess which way this conversation was going. And, he had to admit, if it was going the way he thought... While he wouldn't exactly be surprised, he certainly wouldn't have expected it.
"So -- correct me if I'm picking up the wrong implications -- what you're saying is that you're attracted to your roommate." Reed looked at him plainly. "And you're talking to me about it because you're not quite sure how to deal with it."
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 11, 2010 0:45:26 GMT -5
Rhys sat there for a moment, then his hand slid down his face.
"That... you're really good at this. Or am I..." He flinched, crossing his arms. "It. It ain't just that, but it's that sort of... I don't know how to deal with any of this. At all. It freaks me out."
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 11, 2010 0:49:47 GMT -5
"Part intuition, part stab in the dark." He smirked. "I've also seen your roommate, and heard a hell of a lot about him. It seemed like the sort of thing that might come up."
Reed sighed and leaned back in his chair, looking Rhys over. "What part of it exactly is bothering you?"
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 11, 2010 1:11:40 GMT -5
Rhys thought about that. It was easier to do that here, apparently. Now that was here, sitting down, and it was okay.
"I don't want to worry about any of that. It bothers me that I can't just- I can't do that. He's- I live with him. And..." He swallowed, voice breaking a little. "It kind of freaks me out that I don't know what I want, because I honestly, god, he- I kinda- ergh."
"Sorry." Rhys rubbed his eyes again. "It's just really bothering me. He invites me over to see his house, and I thought I hated his guts, and suddenly he's this- he's not nice exactly but he's kind of a decent person, and I guess it's- it's mostly the I don't know how to deal with any of this thing. Takes me out of my comfort zone, I guess that's the way to put it. But partly it's him because he just sort of struts around and I don't know what the hell he's doing."
"Do you- have you ever known someone like that? Somebody who just kind of waltzes around and breaks things, and doesn't even always mean to, and just comes out..." Rhys gestured sharply, smacking the air with the hand he'd been covering his eyes with, "...just looking better and better the worse it gets?"
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Post by Reed Kwan on Jul 11, 2010 21:13:18 GMT -5
"I can't really say that I have, sorry." Reed sighed and looked at him sympathetically, his brows drawn together in thought.
He couldn't say he was all that familiar with the more specific aspects of what Rhys was going through, but he could definitely tell how the boy was feeling. The simplest solution probably would have been to just suggest that the boy ask for a dorm change, if not now then at least for next year. Hell, if it wasn't effective until next year, the headmaster likely wouldn't even care. But that would only be a temporary solution to the problem.
"It sounds like this is all pretty damn confusing for you. I guess the first thing to ask is which part of it is actually bothering you the most? Is it just the fact that you're attracted to someone you'd much rather hate, or is it something else?"
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Post by Rhys Adler on Jul 11, 2010 21:45:31 GMT -5
Rhys sighed. "I don't wanna hate him. And I don't know if... I don't even know if I don't wanna be around him."
He crossed his legs and leaned over onto one elbow. "Uh. Over... the break. Uh. Don't tell mom, but we kinda got drunk, and I kinda came onto him," he said with great embarassment. "So, I guess, I do want... stuff. And I don't want to want stuff."
"...That don't make any sense at all." He facepalmed again.
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Post by Reed Kwan on Aug 19, 2010 21:58:16 GMT -5
"I think I see what you're saying." Reed swayed the chair back and forth slightly, pressing his lips together in thought. "I think the first thing you need to do is figure out what exactly it is you do want. Do you like this guy enough to give him a chance, or do you think it would be better to wait until you're a little less conflicted to make a decision?"
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Post by Rhys Adler on Aug 19, 2010 22:39:07 GMT -5
Rhys rubbed his temples and tried to stop blushing at what he'd said. Reed wasn't freaking out at all, and that made it a lot easier to think. "That's- 's a good point." He took a moment to sort out his thoughts.
"I guess it's not even about him. He just... was the catalyst. Is that the right word?" he wondered aloud. "I was tryin' so hard to not pay any attention to this whole, uh, sex-and-romance thing, and I don't even know why, that I didn't realize I was doin' it. So it's this whole big thing."
Rhys stared into space for a little longer, then glanced up to meet Reed's eyes for a second. "I don't think it, uh, it hasn't really hit me, for one thing, that being attracted-" He abruptly stopped talking for a moment, then swallowed or continued. "Uh, there it went. I might be- uh- gayorsomething."
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Post by Reed Kwan on Aug 21, 2010 19:49:01 GMT -5
"Well, if nothing else, at least you're coming to terms with it." One corner of Reed's mouth twitched up in a slight smile. "I just hope you don't think you can keep this from your mother for any period of time. It's bound to come up at some point."
Reed pushed himself to his feet and stretched his arms over his head, and the fact that he could do so comfortably made him immensely grateful for the high ceilings at the castle. There was nothing worse than having to crouch to get through doorways in your own home.
"As far as this particular guy goes..." Reed shrugged and glanced back over at Rhys. "I guess that's up to you."
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Post by Rhys Adler on Aug 21, 2010 20:02:16 GMT -5
Rhys snorted. "Guess I'll just start thinking of somehow to not be in the room when it does. Glad you don't seem to be freaking out, at least."
"Yeah... well, thanks." He half-grinned. "Does that mean I should leave, or- hey, have you had lunch yet?"
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Post by Reed Kwan on Aug 21, 2010 21:16:23 GMT -5
"Already eaten a while ago, actually," he replied, almost apologetically. "I'm sure you could manage to track Kathy down, if you really want someone to eat with you. You're more than welcome to stick around as long as you want, but I don't promise to be interesting."
He paused for a moment, folding his arms over his chest. "If you want my advice, for what it's worth, I wouldn't worry overly much about any of this." He shrugged. "You're young enough to get away with a few mistakes. Every once in a while, it's alright to live in the moment, and to hell with the consequences. If that's what you want, that is."
Reed flopped down on the bed and pulled out one of his text books, thumbing idly through the review section at the back. "Feel free to show yourself out whenever you get bored of sitting there." Reed waved idly in Rhys' direction.
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Post by Rhys Adler on Aug 21, 2010 21:59:15 GMT -5
Rhys looked up at Reed, then down when Reed was no longer "up".
He made an uncertain noise. "I dunno." That kind of went against everything his mom had-
-Why the hell was he thinking of listening to her over Reed?
Eh. "Thanks. It's a lot to think about, but... Yeah. I'll get out of your way." He grinned and stood up, then left.
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