"Well, I do think that could have gone worse. In the grand scheme of things." Jonathan remarked as he climbed out of the dumpster, rubbing his neck as he dropped onto the floor and making sure that Butch and his goons had gone. God, he really wished they wouldn't throw them like that - they weren't that sturdy. Looking at the dumpster, he made sure Edward was climbing out okay and went to fish their backpacks off the floor where all their stuff had been dumped out.
Maybe Edward shouldn't have corrected Butch's grammar. Maybe Jonathan shouldn't have called him a dumb gorilla. Maybe. Just maybe.
"Luckily we have nothing of value to trash so jokes on them."
"Feels a little bit as if the Joke is still on us," Edward reasoned, dusting himself off for all the good that didn't do and then taking off his glasses to inspect them. "Ugh, I'm going to need tape, this is all coming loose."
He sighed and looked at his watch. "Around 2 million,203 thousand and a hundred odd minutes to go until we're done with school."
Thrilling, wasn't it? "I'm not sure how much that helps in the moment." Also, his watch was cracked, so that was great. He so could not afford a new one and he needed that for a lot of his investigations.
"Not a lot. I'm hoping that graduation will come fast and easy. Maybe I can limit my attendance." Jonathan finished shoving his books back into his bag, wincing at the state of his battered old copy of Odyssey. It was not lasting up any better in Gotham than it had in Georgia. "I actually think the bullies are nicer here. In Georgia, I got shot at a lot. Mostly by pellets but they fucking sting. You should see some of my scars."
It was hard to say what was better or worse when it came to bullying but the kids in the countryside were more bored and closer to weapons.
"One day we will have revenge, Edward. Cling onto that hope."
"Think there might just be fewer pellets around." If he was to be honest here. "Honestly, I'm just happy no one's pulled out a knife yet."
There, he wasn't much of an optimist, but he was ready to count his blessings, such as they might be. He sighed and stepped closer to Jonathan, wrapping his arms around him and just leaning in, because he liked touching and Jonathan often let him get away with it. Not as if there were many others he could even theoretically hug. "How are you gonna get revenge, huh?"
"Dunno yet. Lots of options. Could do an classic Georgia revenge and tie the fuckers to the back of my pick-up and ride off to the sunset, them smeared on the concrete." It was very satisfying but moot right now, he didn't have a car or anything so it wasn't like he could. Technically, he could drive a tractor but they were less efficient so still, ultimately pointless. "I suppose it's a good thing I don't have a knife, I would find the temptation hard to resist. I don't want to blow my future over some idiots."
He had to wait, become older and do it in a more underhanded and sneaky way. Like ruin them mentally. "I will make them afraid of me." He wrapped his arms around Edward a little tighter and looked at the wall, feeling his heart race. "Fear is very powerful, it can ruin people's lives, you know?"
"Uh-huh. I know." It all boiled down to fear with Jonathan, but Edward didn't roll his eyes or make fun of him over it this time, he just smiled as he kept his face tucked against Jonathan's chest. There was some comfort found in the same old theme and even more comfort - if a dark and twisted one - in those revenge fantasies. "My plan is ruining them. One day. Just taking away everything. Revealing who they really are to people they love. Make everything crumble down around them and they'll never know how or why."
"I look forward to the day you do it, I think you'll do a good job." Jonathan pulled back from the hug but only so he could pull his watch off his wrist and hold it out to Edward, hoping he was willing to accept it. "I don't care for it like you do with yours but I've had it for a while, seems to keep ticking and it's mostly on time. Yours got a little busted so take mine, okay?" He didn't need it but he knew how much Edward loved his accuracy, right down to the millisecond.
"It's not special so don't go getting too precious over it." He knew Ed got sentimental.
Edward stared at the watch and then at Jonathan, unable to process it at first. Not intellectually, obviously, that was fairly straightforward, but emotionally? He had never received a gift before. He had to remind himself of what the protocol for that was, because his heart seemed to be rather stuck in incredulity. "...thank you, Jonathan."
He swallowed and reached for the watch, taking it carefully. He knew it wasn't a big deal, he knew that in a way, but he also knew how much it meant in different ways. "I can't gift you anything, I'm afraid."
"You buy me food all the time, Edward. You do not owe me anything. A gift doesn't require something in return, anyway. It's a gift." And he wished it was a better one, given that Edward looked at him like that over an old watch he got back in Georgia for less than 15 dollars. "I got it in an antique store back in Georgia, it's not worth a lot but the guy who sold it told me the original owner croaked and he got all his stuff, some of it worth more than others." And the watch had to be modified to fix his wrist, hence the new holes, but it was a nice old watch.
"I guess it's your first cross-state present, eh? A little piece of Georgia."
"Oh yes. This is exotic." His first present, period, unless he was forgetting something. Definitely his first present with this much thought put into it, because Edward knew that Jonathan understood more than anyone how important it was for him to know the time. He grinned, finally, trying to play off how awkwardly giddy he felt. "Now you have to endure another hug."
Fair warning, he thought, and he moved forward to do just that, hugging Jonathan tightly to thank him. Maybe that counted more as punishment for his not so touchy friend.
"You are so very touchy, Edward. It's ... unique." He didn't know anyone this touch, mostly because no one ever wanted to touch him. The closest he got to anyone was his father and they were never really loving touches. And if they were, that was more reason to fret than anything. It meant something bad was coming. "Come on, stop hugging me. We have places to be."
Well. Maybe. It was lunch time so it wasn't like they were welcome anywhere but hugging by the trash was something that was firstly, strange and secondly, would get them beat up again for being 'fags'. "We should go to the library before someone else gets us."
"Yes, yes." Edward stepped away from Jonathan and rolled his eyes, not feeling too bad over the objection to his hugs. It was to be expected, but - as usual - Jonathan still treated him gentler than most people in his life and he didn't mind. Wouldn't stop him from hugging him again some time.
For now, he put the new watch on, slipped his old one into his pocket and started heading toward the school building, not too thrilled by their potential prospects. "You know, logically speaking, they should mostly be at lunch already."
So you'd think that would buy them a window of time right there.
"Then we should move quickly and avoid the canteen, yes?" He walked towards the front of the school and back towards other students, backpack slung over his shoulder, already feeling on edge just seeing more people. As they headed back inside, Jonathan looked around the hallway but saw no one to worry about. He turned around swiftly to head to the library and very nearly slammed into Harvey Dent. Fuck. What now?
"Hey, guys!" Harvey smiled at them and casually slid his hands into his pockets. "How you doing?"
"Fine. We have no money so back off." Jonathan just didn't want another beating, it was annoying to get two in one day.
Edward grabbed Jonathan's wrist and pulled him back a step behind himself, which he realised looked pretty ridiculous, as if he was placing himself between Harvey and Jonathan to defend Jonathan. Which he was, in a way, but he was just hoping that their acquaintance would be enough to keep Jonathan safe as well. He wasn't too hopeful, even if Harvey spared them, jocks always travelled in packs.
"We're doing fine, Harvey. Headed for the library." Charm. That was what Harvey used. So Edward smiled and tried to act as if he didn't fear a beating. "How are you?"
"I'm good, no more alien abductions so I feel great." Harvey smiled and behind Edward, Jonathan frowned. What? Was he missing something? Was that teen slang? God, he could never keep up with all these kids. "I'll walk with you guys to the library, if that's cool. I have to go that way anyway."
Jonathan assumed it was a trap but he wasn't sure what they could do it get out of it so he merely nodded. What would they do? Run away? As if that ever worked. "If we must."
"Cool?" Harvey wasn't sure, he looked at Edward for confirmation.
"...yeah, cool." Edward tried to meet Jonathan's eyes and convey that he thought it might be all right with a look, which was pretty difficult. He had dirty glasses and he didn't think anyone's eyes could be quite that eloquent anyway. "I thought you'd be having lunch at your table. I assume your friends all are."
He was hoping so, anyway. "They aren't waiting to meet you somewhere, right?" Because he did not want to get beaten again. He was still registering what damage had been done in the last one, such as the realisation just now that the sleeve of his jacket had been ripped. Probably by the same wall that had broken his watch. Brilliant.
"I can't say I know, I'm not that attached to them. I'm going to see my history teacher about an extra credit thing so I don't think they're expecting me." Edward was giving him weird vibes, Harvey assumed he was freaking him out but he tried to ignore it and just kept on walking with them both, trying to pretend they weren't as weird as they were. "Do I have a table? I never thought about me having a table. I should move around more."
"I wouldn't do that." Jonathan thought it would be a bad idea for everyone but Harvey seemed intrigued by the idea of sitting with different people every week. He was a very odd boy. Jonathan watched him, expecting a switch at any moment but mostly, he was just walking all normal. Weirdo.
"I don't know. We don't usually eat with the rest of you." Edward deliberately put Jon and himself apart from everyone else here, because that was what it felt like anyway. Them with the world against them. Not that he thought most people cared or knew them, but apathy and ignorance never improved matters either. "But Jon's right, if you started moving around, you might confuse a lot of people. There's structure to any system, a school is no expection."
"I think that's pretty dumb, personally. Next semester will be different, I think." Cause he'd try to switch it up then. It was too late now but maybe next time. They were entering high school, after all. Time to make a change. As they got to the library, Harvey turned around and smiled at them, waving. "I gotta go but this was fun." Kinda. "Have fun at the library."
And then he was leaving. Actually leaving. Like, you know, walking away. Jonathan frowned. It wasn't a trap... what the hell? "Why did he do that, Edward? I don't get it."
"I don't know." Well, he did know. Kind of. It was still a little weird, so it was difficult to entirely wrap his mind around it. "He likes me. We've talked." That wasn't a lie, all things considered. He could have said that Harvey owed him, but he wasn't certain whether Harvey saw it that way and he didn't want to explain to Jonathan why he owed him, so this seemed like the safer statement. "I'm very likeable, you know?"
"Oh yes, everyone just adores you, Eddie." Rolling his eyes, Jonathan pushed Edward into the library and shook his head. "I will never understand you and the things you do." He talked to so many people, made so many friends and even more enemies. Honestly, if he was more likable, the ratio could easily shift to him being more popular. Jonathan liked that he wasn't, he liked that Edward was his. He didn't want anyone else taking him. "Just don't get sucked into Dent's world. It's better on the outside."
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icebergloungers2021-01-31 12:59 pm
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Maybe Edward shouldn't have corrected Butch's grammar. Maybe Jonathan shouldn't have called him a dumb gorilla. Maybe. Just maybe.
"Luckily we have nothing of value to trash so jokes on them."
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He sighed and looked at his watch. "Around 2 million,203 thousand and a hundred odd minutes to go until we're done with school."
Thrilling, wasn't it? "I'm not sure how much that helps in the moment." Also, his watch was cracked, so that was great. He so could not afford a new one and he needed that for a lot of his investigations.
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It was hard to say what was better or worse when it came to bullying but the kids in the countryside were more bored and closer to weapons.
"One day we will have revenge, Edward. Cling onto that hope."
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There, he wasn't much of an optimist, but he was ready to count his blessings, such as they might be. He sighed and stepped closer to Jonathan, wrapping his arms around him and just leaning in, because he liked touching and Jonathan often let him get away with it. Not as if there were many others he could even theoretically hug. "How are you gonna get revenge, huh?"
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He had to wait, become older and do it in a more underhanded and sneaky way. Like ruin them mentally. "I will make them afraid of me." He wrapped his arms around Edward a little tighter and looked at the wall, feeling his heart race. "Fear is very powerful, it can ruin people's lives, you know?"
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It would be satisfying, he felt.
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"It's not special so don't go getting too precious over it." He knew Ed got sentimental.
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He swallowed and reached for the watch, taking it carefully. He knew it wasn't a big deal, he knew that in a way, but he also knew how much it meant in different ways. "I can't gift you anything, I'm afraid."
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"I guess it's your first cross-state present, eh? A little piece of Georgia."
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Fair warning, he thought, and he moved forward to do just that, hugging Jonathan tightly to thank him. Maybe that counted more as punishment for his not so touchy friend.
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Well. Maybe. It was lunch time so it wasn't like they were welcome anywhere but hugging by the trash was something that was firstly, strange and secondly, would get them beat up again for being 'fags'. "We should go to the library before someone else gets us."
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For now, he put the new watch on, slipped his old one into his pocket and started heading toward the school building, not too thrilled by their potential prospects. "You know, logically speaking, they should mostly be at lunch already."
So you'd think that would buy them a window of time right there.
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"Hey, guys!" Harvey smiled at them and casually slid his hands into his pockets. "How you doing?"
"Fine. We have no money so back off." Jonathan just didn't want another beating, it was annoying to get two in one day.
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"We're doing fine, Harvey. Headed for the library." Charm. That was what Harvey used. So Edward smiled and tried to act as if he didn't fear a beating. "How are you?"
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Jonathan assumed it was a trap but he wasn't sure what they could do it get out of it so he merely nodded. What would they do? Run away? As if that ever worked. "If we must."
"Cool?" Harvey wasn't sure, he looked at Edward for confirmation.
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He was hoping so, anyway. "They aren't waiting to meet you somewhere, right?" Because he did not want to get beaten again. He was still registering what damage had been done in the last one, such as the realisation just now that the sleeve of his jacket had been ripped. Probably by the same wall that had broken his watch. Brilliant.
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"I wouldn't do that." Jonathan thought it would be a bad idea for everyone but Harvey seemed intrigued by the idea of sitting with different people every week. He was a very odd boy. Jonathan watched him, expecting a switch at any moment but mostly, he was just walking all normal. Weirdo.
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And then he was leaving. Actually leaving. Like, you know, walking away. Jonathan frowned. It wasn't a trap... what the hell? "Why did he do that, Edward? I don't get it."
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