@kn1fegut said: johnny’s leaning coolly at the edge of leland’s dorm bed, heel of hands resting there, a pause in his fingering of leland’s personal effects. he’s never considered the prospect of higher education—it was never possible for someone like him, or so he’d been told. he just knows that he sticks out like a sore thumb even here. “yeah, why not? i wanna hear somethin’ i ain’t heard before ..” referring to the collection of books on display that aren’t exclusively for curriculum.
leland raises an eyebrow in his direction. like he's mildly skeptical of johnny's interest. leland's been watching him poke around his room for the last few minutes with some apprehension. self conscious — but not entirely sure what about in particular. maybe just everything? johnny doesn't seem to be teasing him, though. earnest, through all the sharp lines of his face.
❝ okay, um... ❞ leland begins, clears his throat. he scooches himself off the edge of the bed, crouches down to peruse his selection. brows furrow. he settles, cross-legged in front of the low bookshelf. runs a finger across the book spines thoughtfully. peers over his shoulder at johnny with a small smile; ❝ — what kind of stories are you into? ❞ conversational; he didn't want to assume. ❝ my mom had, like, every agatha christie book in our house. so, i read a ton of mysteries growing up. ❞
not entirely waiting for johnny's answer, leland paws at the top of the shelf, sliding a heavy, dogeared paperback from the edge down into his hands. he catches it, and checks where he'd last bookmarked. ❝ … oh — i'm reading this one, right now. a friend of mine recommended it. ❞ leland turns the cover of watership down to face johnny. which was not a mystery. and gives a huff of a laugh, ❝ — i mean. it's about rabbits, but — it's actually pretty dark? ❞ he hands that book off to johnny without looking. and pulls another loose from his shelf, swiping at some dust on the cover. ❝ or, um. frankenstein was pretty interesting? if you're into horror. or... not really horror. it's more like... an ethical discussion, i guess. ❞ — oh god, was he rambling?
