It’s cold. That’s the excuse he’s got prepared for anyone who wants to ask why he’s smoking so much. He’s no chain smoker, but this is his third in as many hours, the ashtray he’s got outside on the apartment’s balcony already pretty dirty. It’s a good thing it’s not a school day, or he’d probably be in a lot of shi—
… trouble.
The third time he needs a break, he grabs his pseudo-cousin’s wrist and pulls him along outside, a vague guilt eating at him for interrupting their show so many times. He lets go to get his lighter out and get the stick burning, but after that, he goes right back to winding their hands together, not really thinking.
It’s only a couple of minutes that he tries saying anything.
'You can go back in if you want.' There's been a decided release of tension since he came out and lit one up, no longer leaning away or bouncing his foot like he was doing inside. So there's that, at least. He backs away a little, putting some distance between them, but not letting go of the other's hand. 'Just figured you were getting sick of having to pause the show.' Because outside was so much more interesting.
He scuffs one of his shoes against the sturdy wood flooring — when neither of their guardians-per-se are home, he’s a lot more carefree.
'-how've you been?' he ventures, like he doesn't see the other every day, like they don't sit together in class 3 out of the 5 days in the school week. 'When I don't see you.' For that 10% of the time they're actually separated. He cracks a smile at the thought.
'How's that music thing going?' he continues, deliberately vague at this point. He chooses that moment to blow the rest of his smoke out, too, just to make it seem like he doesn't really care. 'Are you still playing guitar?
'Or were you on drums?'
SO he's not casually sure about much. He's got no direction to speak of the moment being because one, they're young. It's standard procedure. They shouldn't know what the hell they're doing, least. They shouldn't have to. because that was such bullshit!
In one ear, and seriously out the other. He's great at that, aside from maintaining his consistently soon to-be dropout image that's kept under wraps. There's not much he can do. Which offers no surprise.
- 'course, not because of any adult telling him what to do, but because he has a friend that cares. Even if he has an idea where he wants to go which is embarrassing enough as it is for someone truly aspirationless and lacking sense like himself?) he doesn't want to think so, doesn't want to think he's got big bad boy dreams beyond the next 1 or 2 years, and that's a really small slice of things to come.
Part of him knows that. But he thinks Unless, you're someone level-headed, and cool, got it going for yourself already, how does anybody do that? which is amazing. Which is great. Like the peer in front of him, wafting smoke in their compact but not-trapped short outside excursion.
...but besides that in mind, It's not like him to go out on limb, or out himself on something like that. Not exactly a conversation starter, no matter how outspoken and bold he was now, didn't change the kid that kept on shying away from everything he never wanted to talk about.
They didn't even have to know much about each other, and it might seem that they should getting to see their other respectively day-in, day-out.
He can't believe it, and he doesn't hate being compared (he's not too sure about the other), but he's hit with relief. Glad, can it that he gets to be 'in' on these bad habits of his partner in slacking but not, crimes.
'Get a load of you. Acting all edgy and stuff out here? Don't you know Vegan Hitler 's got the nose of a blood hound? Then again.
If you've been so good about it,' and he has. His no-short of an accomplice was the good one between the two. That was best to keep it that way. ' Is that the best that you can do. Way uncreative if you wanted to be evaluated.' He probably didn't. Doesn't matter, 'I know you've gotten under other peoples' skins better ways than that.'
Then again, that might be the only defining trait of his 'personality' to go with that his buddy had to snub him off of. It was a telling sign, and he'd settle on it as a good one at that. 'Shucks, and here I thought you liked my vocals.
Was that practice small talk too?'
