F2F ⇆ 001
rwnathanwinters:
Nathan raised his eyebrows as James told him there was nothing amazing about him, not because he was surprised by the answer or was hurt by it at all, but he didn’t take James to be a liar. Nathan was gorgeous, and anyone who thought otherwise was an idiot. Maybe James was the type of person to care more about someone’s personality than their looks, and it was more than clear that he didn’t like Nathan’s. A pity, really. “Oh, I can take a hint,” Nathan said in reply, resisting the urge to splash James. While the guy may be annoying, he was also fun to talk to, in his own way, and he didn’t want to scare him off. Even if he insulted Nathan left and right. Whatever, he could take it. “I just think you would be so bored without me around, so, really, I’m doing this for you,” he added with a grin.
Nothing James said really surprised Nathan anymore, and him saying that the description he just gave Nathan sounded nothing like him was no different. It was obvious James didn’t care to get to know Nathan, so he only knew what Nathan showed him, and that wasn’t much at all. It was definitely half of Nathan’s fault, as he only showed James his playful and teasing side, but that didn’t mean that was all he was. Nathan had a lot of sides to him, though, he wasn’t sure James would ever see them. “I’m surprised you try to get to know anyone at all to figure out if they fit your dream person fantasy or not,” Nathan said, no malice in his words.
Nathan knew that his next words had to be very calculated because he knew the wrong tone or word would set James off, and this conversation would be over. It was a big enough step that James was answer his question at all, so he had to play it safe. Which was not all the way Nathan played anything. “So, she wasn’t perfect in every way, got it,” Nathan said jokingly before letting his expression turn as serious as he could. “When did you meet her?”
Since Nathan was such a dedicated actor, James wondered why he couldn’t put on some sort of facade for the cameras, perhaps one that was more pleasant and likable. There was the chance that this was an act, but James had no clue how Nathan could benefit from leading people to believe he was nothing more than some selfish, arrogant man seeking attention. Maybe it was all just for his own entertainment, but James hardly cared if this was the real Nathan or not; it was the Nathan he was presented and he’d had enough of him by the end of his first day in the house. He clearly only cared about himself and while James wasn’t the most selfless person, he did at least know when he’d pushed too far, and he never did so simply for the sake of amusing himself. His jaw clenched when Nathan spoke again, but he tried his best to hide his annoyance because he knew that the other man was just looking to get a reaction out of him. If he could “take a hint,” then clearly all of this was just to purposely get under James’ skin, and he knew that he shouldn’t give him the satisfaction. Unfortunately, it was much easier said than done. Maybe it was the way Nathan so casually flaunted his sexuality or just the way he carried himself, but there was something about him that left James uneasy the moment they were alone in a room together. “I’ve entertained myself for years without you. I think I can manage a few months,” James pointed out, meeting Nathan’s grin with an annoyed look of his own. There were other people in the house that James did enjoy being around, so he really didn’t need Nathan, and yet he constantly found himself running into him at the house after already spending hours with him at “work.” He wouldn’t put it past a show like this to purposely make sure that was happening, but he also didn’t care enough to look into it. Nathan annoyed him, and there wasn’t much more to it than that. His expression immediately darkened at Nathan’s assumption. James knew he’d made some unfair assumptions about the other man, but he saw no reason to stop when it seemed it was all Nathan did for him. For some reason, Nathan insisted on getting to knows James better than he already did, but assumptions weren’t going to get him any closer to understanding James. “I don’t think you know me well enough to make that assumption,” he snapped, his voice a bit harsher than he anticipated. “And I don’t have a dream person fantasy; don’t be childish.” James didn’t believe in soulmates or finding his other half, but he wouldn’t be surprised if that was something Nathan firmly believed in and he braced himself for some sort of lecture about true love and the perfect person. Again he found himself tensing up as Nathan spoke, specifically about someone who still meant so much to him. He knew it didn’t work out in his favor when he told Nathan what to do, so he did his best to make it sound like a suggestion. “Maybe you shouldn’t talk about people you know nothing about,” he suggested, his jaw still tight as he locked eyes with Nathan. He knew it was childish for him to still hurt over a woman he hadn’t spoken to in over a year, though to be fair, it hurt much less when he pushed her completely from his mind rather than talking about her with strangers. “We met at Harvard, and if you want me to answer any other questions, I suggest you find a new topic.” He hesitated, mentally bracing himself before adding, “Please.”