Darkness Imprisons Me

Watching People Watch People || Michael & Theodore

On second thought…maybe he wasn’t that familiar at all. After all, there were a lot of people on the planet. And…a lot of them could look the same. Or related to others that also looked similar to other people. So it couldn’t have been that coincidental that Michael was looking at someone who could-have-been-someone-he-knew-or-someone-related-to-someone-he-knew — but…that thought would only be useful if he could somehow find out the guy’s name.

Upon waving timidly, Michael thought these things and he soon began to regret doing so — what if the guy was, like, scared off by him, or something? He lay on his arm placidly, staring off into the distance, still doubting his doubts that he had some sort of connection with — Oh my gosh oh my gosh is he really walking over here?? I just thought he’d — you know, just — I don’t know — oh gods wow he’s really walking over here why is he walking over here okay okay stay cool.

Not yet sure if this was going to have a bad turnout, and not having time to worry about it, Michael turned his head to greet this mysterious guy. His jaw dropped — Theodore. Yes. This was him. It had to be him. Michael stared up at him, studying his face with a quizzical sort of curiosity that could only be satisfied by knowledge. He gulped carefully, and then said a little bit too quickly, “Reynolds? Right? Theodore Reynolds? Hi. I’ve heard a lot about you — I mean, not a lot, actually, but I’ve thought a lot about you — I, wait no, I mean I’ve heard of you. From, um, your - your siblings, Pascal, and, and Katherine — um, you…you are Theodore Reynolds, right?” Michael looked and realized that the guy’s hand had been hanging in the air in front of him awkwardly for a bit, and he took it, not holding on very hard. He let his hand slip back down to his lap, clearing his throat self-consciously. “Um…yeah. I was…I waved. Because I thought, I might, like, know you, maybe. Or know someone who knows you. And, also, um…you were — people watching, too, right? Like me?” He gave a weak smile.

After he sat down, Theo seemed to look a little bit confused as to why he was sitting there next to Michael, and so was Michael — nobody ever really approached him like that. He had the smallest sense that Theo was just as not socially suave as Michael, which gave him relief, and a little bubble of air to cast a bit of sunlight upon him. ”That’s…that’s pretty cool,” Michael breathed, “It’s a…a nice, um, play, too. Shakespeare is, um, a good writer person. I don’t have, like…any original copies, of, like, anything…It’s probably nice, huh. Where’d you get it?” Michael ended up lowering his eyes to his lap in an attempt to put Theo a bit at ease, as though Theo might have been more nervous than Michael, which was extremely improbable, according to Michael’s racing heart and jumpy fingers drumming on his knees like over-excited tap dancers.

#p: michael #mountomichael

What the hell was he doing? Theo thought. This was madness! Why was he sitting here making conversation with a complete stranger?! Theo rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. He was not used to this. He was NEVER one to strike up a dialogue with an itinerant person. So why in the name of Zeus had he done this in the first place? Theo placed his hand on his bouncing knee (another nervous habit he had).

"I've uh, I've got several original copies from Shakespeare's collection actually. His plays are always the best. The tragedies are my favorite actually." He tacked on that last part as he babbled on and on about his stupid old books.

Theo turned his frame around ever so slightly so that he had a better view of the boy. He was much smaller in stature in to him and his simple attire and average features screamed normal to him. So why then, had he felt that this boy was somehow like him? An oddity in a sea of typical. An ugly patch of grey in cacophony of colors. Theo knew his place, he knew who he was. He didn't shy away from the image his peculiar interests gave him. But why this boy? What was so special about this boy that made him willingly start a conversation with him. Perspiration dotted his forehead as he truly pondered this for a moment.

The boy spoke to him with apprehension in his voice. That jittery voice... it reminded him of his youngest brother so much that it made him feel almost... at ease with the strange boy. When he mentioned his last name he raised his brows. "Yes, I'm Theodore Reynolds... how do you know about me?" He asked a little slowly.

Theo ignored the question about how he had acquired the original copies. The boy didn't need to know all of his secrets now did he? His lips curled in a twisted smile, his eyes shined with an obscure glint.

"I'm afraid I don't know your name, I've taken to calling you 'strange boy' in my head." his face betrayed no expression, his stoniness giving away nothing. "You remind of my-" He stopped mid-sentence. The arguing couple had taken to violence now. The woman was red and screaming like a banshee, several shoppers stopped to see what was the cause of the commotion. It seemed the man had dropped all the bags, his face an ugly shade of purple. Clearly, he was mortified. Theo couldn't hide the escape of a shallow breath, the heaving his massive chest, nor the way his lips parted in fascination. His pupils dilated in a fixed dilation. There was no way he could hide his fixation on the two. It would seem that the man had had enough, and reared back his chubby hand and smacked the living daylights out of the screeching woman. Theo let out a low chuckle, his tense body released pent up stress as he was filled with a euphoric feeling. "That was lovely." he whispered.

[at the Maid-and-butler Café, Servers]

Dante. Only Dante. No nicknames.

And I suppose Theo comes from Theodore, right?

Yup. (he looked around the restaurant) That lady over there looks like she's going to die pretty soon (he comments with nonchalance, Using his head to pint to the elderly woman struggling to get the spoon of soup to her quivering lips)

pascal-reynolds-blog

Breathe Me || Drabble || Theo & Pascal {TW: Incest}

pascal-reynolds-blog

Watching People Watch People || Michael & Theodore

Hmm. Now that Michael thought about it, the guy on the bench did seem somewhat familiar. Perhaps they were related to someone he knew? Taking periodic peeks from behind his copy of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, Michael noted their dark hair, and - and maybe it was something about their eyes? But he was too far to decipher anything for sure.

He went back to his book, remembering that he was there to read, too. Do grace to Caesar’s corpse, and grace his speech / Tending to Caesar’s glories, which Mark An— Michael suddenly gave a jump as a sudden, unintelligible screeching sound reached his ears, and his eyes widened in bewilderment as he realized that it had come from a human off to his side. Well, actually, two humans — they were arguing over something that even Michael couldn’t comprehend, despite how close he was sitting to them. He turned back to his book, a little weirded out but his mind already beginning to wander.

Michael’s eyes read the words on the page but his mind thought of other things — how old could that guy have been — eighteen? Nineteen? Then what could his name be? Hmm. Michael mulled over that one, avoiding the eyes of the subject that he felt were half-sort-of upon him. Well, maybe a Sam…or an Alex — wait no, maybe something like Xander or Charlie — nah, Charlie seemed a bit too…tame…and normal, for a guy like that.

Aside from all that, though, Michael wondered if it wouldn’t be too weird to stand up, go over there, and talk to the guy — introduce himself, shake hands, maybe have some hot chocolate together. Although, immediately imagining that thought, Michael burst into a nervous sort of laughter — so much so that he dropped his book with a plop on the ground. He leaned to the side and plucked it up again, and this time he rested his head on his arm, lying on the bench’s metal armrest. He met the other boy’s gaze and used his arm to wave tentatively in greeting, while mouthing the word Hi. He then tried to send a series of telepathic messages through their eye contact, but humankind hadn’t yet attained that power, so his efforts remained fruitless. However, he felt brave enough to maintain eye contact, which in itself was a great achievement on Michael’s part. He curled his knees to his chest and awaited his possible imminent doom — whether it would be from the other guy or from himself, Michael wasn’t sure.

Theo's eyes widened in surprise as the weird boy waved to him. He actually waved to him! He blinked once, then twice. The shock was evident on his face. He furrowed his brows as he wondered why the boy would try to communicate with him. He looked down at the scuff marks on his shoes and scratched the top of his head.

He tried to go back to his people watching but his mind kept turning back to the young boy who had waved to him. Why would he wave to him? The boy didn't even know him! And even as he tried to push the notion aside his mind kept reverting back to it.

Theo sighed with exasperation. His mind would not be put to rest unless he knew why. Theo stood up, unfolding his long frame from the bench, the coffee sloshing around in the paper cup. He made his way towards the boy.

As he walked closer he could see the title of the boys book Juilus Ceaser. So it was a classic after all. Theo stood just before the boy. He seemed even smaller up close. Then he did something he didn't normally do. He introduced himself and held out his hand. "I'm Theodore. You waved hello to me, right?" The question came out much more gruff than he'd anticipated.

He shifted on his two feet before he decided to take a chance and took a seat on the bench next to the boys hunched figure. "I have an original copy of that book you know?" He blurted out. Wondering why in the world he even wanted to talk the strange boy. He scrunched his brows, his eyes taking on a pensive look. What in the world had gotten into him?

[at the Maid-and-butler Café, Servers]

Yeah, me too. They’re a pain in the ass.

What’s your name?

I'll spare you a mouthful, people call me Theo. Yours?

[at the Maid-and-butler Café, Servers]

Yes, I have. I just wanted to know if there was a table who needed service.

(he di a slow perusal of the cafe and furrowed his brows) I'm not so.... sure. (he scratched his neck for the thousandth time that day) I hate these goddamned uniforms. (he grumbled)

[Behind the counter at maid-and-butler cafe services]

It is Maddisyn. And you are?[With a small smile, Maddy reads over the order, placing the items on his tray]

I don’t think I have ever seen anyone order so much orange juice at once [A small laugh escapes her lips]

(he snorts) Weirdos... I'm Theodore, but you can call me Theo. (he shifts on his feet) Thanks, I appreciate this Maddisyn.

[Behind the counter at maid-and-butler cafe services]

What is on your next order… Ill double check it to make sure you don’t get kicked anywhere else…

(he chuckles and hands her the order) Knock yourself out... uh... im sorry I don't know your name (he ends the sentence a little sheepishly)

[Behind the counter at maid-and-butler cafe services]

Why the hell did it do that for!?

I must be pretty lucky in that case.

(Shrugs his shoulders as he bends down to rub his bruised knees) I forgot the kid's juice, i'm not really good at this shit.

[at the Maid-and-butler Café, Servers]

Hey. [turns around to his coworker] Do you know if there are any more tables left?

#ive never been attracted to asian men until lee ming ho 0.0

You don't have any customers at your assigned tables?

[Behind the counter at maid-and-butler cafe services]

[Maddy placed her empty tray on the bench before putting a $5 note in her pocket] And another tip… I must say I am quite enjoying these customers.

(Theo yanked at his itchy bow tie yet again.) I'm not, one of the patrons kids kicked me in the knee, then they left a lousy tip.

Watching People Watch People || Michael & Theodore

Hmmm…marigold. Pearl. And then — maroon. Definitely maroon. Michael’s eyes drifted between the pedestrians seamlessly, and every once in a while he’d eye the guy across the mall from him, trying to pinpoint something definite about them that he could understand. It wasn’t easy.

That guy on the bench — he definitely gave off a much more cynical vibe than what Michael felt that he himself reflected. He wasn’t sure — he couldn’t be sure at this distance, but the other guy seemed a bit dark and cold, but Michael felt that they weren’t too much so. Michael imagined becoming friends with him — as he did with so many others — but Michael shied away from the thought, internally scoffing. But one thing was for sure — he wasn’t alone, after all! There was someone else out there that was just like him! As hilarious as the thought was, Michael couldn’t help but feeling giddy with joy.

His eyes flicked back to the crowd, this time testing himself of his ability to tell whether or not a person was single. That guy in the sweater — he was crushing on a popular girl at his school, but he’d lost all hope once summer had started. He was alone, wandering aimlessly and glancing wistfully through some shop windows — yep. He was definitely single. Then that lady in the business suit with the tight, curled up bun — it was hard to…to tell, but…she…Right then, a thought occurred to Michael. What if that guy on the bench was watching him? As in, watching Michael pretend to read his book while he was actually watching others? Would they recognize what he was doing? Michael felt so dumbfounded at that thought that he burst into a quiet hysterical laughter, hiding his face with the triangular cubicle of his book so that nobody else could see his weird facial expression — partly smiling crazily at the ridiculousness of it all, but mostly wondering what was going to happen next, or, if anything was going to happen next.