icebergloungers | I write sins, not tragedies

Figuring the school out only took him a couple days. Soon Edward had a 'will they or won't they' thing happening with three to four girls, which was kind of entertaining, he knew all the gossip about who was easy and who wore a promise ring and cheated anyway and so on. He knew where people hung out when - there were not that many places - and he had managed to get himself a job at the diner for a few hours a week, so he could make some pocket money.

Which he needed, because ordering computer parts out here? Damn expensive. Of course, him working at the diner had also made that a bit of a place to be for some people, which was working well for him, so he had decided to benefit for a while longer.

Still didn't stop him from heading over to Jonathan as soon as he saw him sit down at a corner table. "Jonny, I thought you didn't eat." Seemed like a legit belief, all things considered.

"Fuck off." Jonathan answered simply because he knew that Edward was mocking him and he wasn't in the mood. His house was, if he had to describe it, a toxic smog filled nightmare and eating in that house right now was just not worth it. Everything tasted bad. He didn't fancy being there so he'd come here to get some time away from things and maybe eat something. For once. He had a book and no plans - what could go wrong? Well, besides Edward being here.

He still didn't know what to make of Edward. He didn't lament him not being his bff for life or anything, he had told him to stay away but the way he managed to get himself firmly lodged into the in crowd made him very on edge. That crowd usually kicked his ass and called him all kinds of unrepeatable bullshit. It left him very uneasy.

"You gonna sass me or are you going to take my damn order?"

"Oh, don't worry about that, Jonny, I can sass and remember orders at the same time. It's a clear sign of my immense genius." He tipped his head with the back of the pen he was holding. "Not just for holding up hats, you know?"

Jonathan being grumpy was endearing, he had decided that early on, so he was smiling at him now as well. Of course he was. "But, of course, excuse me, gotta be professional."

He straightened up and tried to keep a straight face too, looking at Jonathan as he inquired, ever so politely. "May I take your damn order, sir?"

Well. Not as if he was expecting tips from Jonathan.

"I'd write it down, if I was you."

Jonathan felt it was only fair to warn Edward. He knew what he was about and he had been saving. Seriously, he had about fifty in his pocket and this place was cheap as hell. He was not going to waste his time on a small meal. No fucking chance. "Lemme see, I'll get the onion rings, give me twelve, large fries, hushpuppies... double that order, hashbrowns, coleslaw, get me... all the sauces." Jonathan inhaled as he debated between mains before settling on what he wanted. "I'll get the fried chicken sandwich, with the rice mix on the side - carolina style. Then a peach melba and apple pie. Throw on whatever toppings, don't much care."

Jonathan held the menu out to Edward and raised an eyebrow. "And I'll take a sweet tea. Thanks."

Honestly, Edward was going to write it down, but with Jonathan saying it like that, he didn't bother, because it felt like a challenge. And it was, as it turned out. His eyebrows went up, but not because he'd struggle to remember, just because he was struggling to imagine Jonathan eating that fast. "Damn, Jon, where are you going to pack all that away?"

Not that he didn't believe that he was for real. Who knew? He was a farm boy, he had probably ...hayed all day, or something. Bound to make someone hungry. "How sweet do you want that sweet tea, sweet boy?"

"Not too sweet, just as it comes." Jonathan didn't let Edward's weird look deter him, he kind of found it amusing, honestly. The disbelief was entertaining. "Don't bother waiting to bring it all out together, just whenever it's ready. I'm gonna be here for a while." Jonathan didn't fancy going home so the longer he could drag this out, the better. He hoped to stall out until closing.

He opened his book and immediately dismissed Edward in his own way, focusing on reading one of his father's psychology books instead. Vastly more interesting than a city boy.

Edward leaned down, tilted his head, and read the title of the book. Interesting. Advanced reading, but he wasn't that surprised. Jonathan was different than the idiots here, he knew that much already. The food thing was new, strange and quite entertaining. He let out a giggle. "When you're cocky about food? That's hot."

It really kind of was. He stood back up properly and headed into the kitchen to put the order in - of course he'd remembered it - then he returned to Jonathan's table with his sweet tea. "This stuff is gonna rot your teeth." He hated it.

Whenever Edward flirted or called him hot, he felt such a stab on pain inside that he almost wanted to hurt Edward to make it go away. Almost. He knew better than that, he knew logically that it was a bad base instinct built off bullying and his own issues. Even so, it took some work to keep himself from letting Edward get to him. He read the same line five times before he managed to center himself again, turning the page just as Edward returned.

"Not if you brush your teeth properly. Lots of people around here drink it like water and they're just fine." He hmmed and took a sip of it. "Maybe city boys are just too weak to sugar, no natural resistance."

"It's true. Back in the city, we just ate carrots to get our sugar highs." Edward grinned and turned to survey the place, but nobody else seemed to need anything right now and that was just as well. He liked talking to Jonathan a lot better. "Hey, where do you sit in church? I was trying to find you last Sunday, but then my side was all bruised and I had to stop craning my neck."

Apparently it was bad manners to do that, so his mother had elbowed him a lot. Still smarted a bit.

"You ain't supposed to look around in church, supposed to look forward." Jonathan sensed he wouldn't get much reading done when Edward was about so he checked the page number and closed the book between his fingers, looking at Edward and wondering why he was looking out for him. He had plenty of friends now, why not just stick to them instead. Why care about him? Seems strange, honestly? "We sit far back. Far, far back. My dad doesn't like to draw attention to himself. He isn't the most popular man."

He was a jerk, to put it simply. And no, that wasn't why he wasn't popular. Abusive asshat fathers were ten a penny, the issue was more what he did. He was a scientist and people didn't much trust him, even if he went to church and preached all the same bullshit - he was untrustworthy. "Don't look for me again, it's bad manners."

"Eh." Edward shrugged his shoulders, clearly not overly bothered. Instead he leaned forward, lowering his voice. "I'm a sinner. The devil already knows."

He winked and then laughed, thinking on what Jonathan had said. His father wasn't popular? He wanted to know more about that already. Of course, Jonathan was by far the most interesting person he'd come across here. There was something to him, a lot to him, and he intended to learn about it all. "I'll just keep looking for you. In church and here. In school. Maybe under some weird crow-filled tree again. Who's gonna stop me?"

"You'll lose interest. You got yourself plenty better friends now, you don't need to latch on to the freak. You wanna stay popular, keep away from me." Or they'd soon start calling Edward a fairy, whether or not he had a girlfriend. Logical didn't play into it. He was gay, whether he was or not, and any boy near him was instantly infected with his gay. Typical idiotic bullshit.

"I'm not gonna stop you but I know you'll lose interest. And you should." Opening up his book again, he decided to ignore Edward. It seemed safer than to really process how his dick had stirred when Edward bragged about being a sinner - way, way safer.

"Please. Jonny. Jonny, won't you look at me?" Edward put a hand on the table, looking at Jonathan whether he'd look back or not. He still couldn't decide, handsome or not, but so much character in those features. He wanted to study him, he wanted to run his hands over his face. Trace that jawline with his tongue. "They are not my friends. It's an experiment. Becoming popular is just a game. People are just a game. I can play them well, don't you see that? I'll have them fight each other by next week and they'll never know who caused it."

What could he say, he was bored. Bored, still bitter, and also he just liked to play. "You are the only one in this shithole who's worth more than just a gamble. Don't you know what fun we could have together? When they are hurting, Jonny, I hope you'll like it."

Jonathan listened as his eyes skated over the diagram on the page, trying to focus on the formulas and not the way Edward was tempting him. Shit, was Edward the actual devil or something? He had always been warned about the Devil whispering things he wanted to hear into his ear to tempt him from a good like and, honestly, it was working. If this was the devil, he was as charming as his father had warned him he'd be.

"You barely know me, it's quite the gamble you'd be making. You really think it's worth it?" Seemed like a fair question to ask. He turned the page and kept his eyes off Edward, not wanting to give him what he wanted. "If everyone is a game to you, that includes me. I ain't gonna play, Edward."

"I don't know what you are yet. A lot more than anyone else here, that's all I can tell you. Rest has to come from you." He wished he could reach out and touch him, but obviously that was not a good idea to do right here, not something he was likely to get away with. "I'll be playing either way. But if they suffer, I'll be thinking of you."

Seemed simple enough. "Smoke with me after you're done here? I will share the good stuff."

That said he headed to the kitchen, since he had heard the bell ding and he had quite the meal to start serving up.

"I'll see how I feel after." Did Edward smoke? Interesting. He wondered what brand a city boy had. He supposed he could humour Edward and listen to whatever he had to say. It was just hard to trust him - everything felt like it could be a set up. Was it really smoking or were his friends waiting outside to get a few hits in? He would like to think he didn't matter that much but history begged to differ.

He got his sides first and he made his way through them, reading in-between and putting away the food at an impressive pace. Honestly, he was like a bottomless pit and the other thing he did beside eat and read was order a coffee once he'd finished his main.

"That was... a lot." Edward wasn't sure how else to describe it. "You should take that trick on the road." He filled his coffee cup and then walked off again, just to return right away with the two desserts. How was Jonathan not fat? Either he didn't usually eat this much or he was blessed with the world's fastest metabolism. "Anything else? I gave you vanilla ice cream on top of your apple pie, make sure you get enough calories in." Real worry there.

"Sure, whatever." Jonathan took his plate and yeah, no, it was fast. As expected. It didn't take him more than ten minutes to finish up, toss his money onto the table and head outside. He didn't know if Edward would notice or follow but he wanted to smoke with him so he expected he'd find him. Heading outside, he lit up his cigarette and leaned against the wall, wondering what Edward was planning. He really hoped he wouldn't have to add another to his revenge list.

It was a few minutes before Edward came out, stepping up in front of Jonathan and shaking his head. "You are a lousy tipper. Why am I not surprised? Did you not notice how tight my pants are? Seriously. Wasted effort."

He had gotten out a piece of paper, a filter, now he sprinkled the stuff he intended to smoke from a small plastic bag and, no, it was not tobacco. He rolled the joint up with one hand, practised ease, then looked at Jonathan as he licked along the edge to hold it shut. "Still wanna share, Jonny? The Devil's Flower."

"Tipping is fucking stupid, I gave you 10% and that's it." Jonathan had some strong opinions on tipping but he supposed now wasn't the time to get into it. Especially not with Edward being a waiter and all. He watched Edward roll up and raised an eyebrow but shook his head, not really interested. He picked when he got high and when he wanted to feel certain things - getting high before driving just made navigating country roads an utter ballache.

"Nah, going somewhere after this. Want a sharp mind." He exhaled smoke and looked at Edward. "What did you want?"

Edward smiled to himself, reaching up to tuck the finished joint into his shirt pocket for now and then chuckling as he shook his head. "That's the billion dollar question, isn't it? Honestly, life seemed more interested in answering the question of what I don't want lately."

He lifted his head again, brushing his hair back from his face with all fingers of one hand, his eyes now on Jonathan. "I hate the smell, you know. Cigarettes. Always have."

Nevertheless, he stepped closer to Jonathan, as if his personal space belonged to him. "Where are you going, Jonathan? Won't you take me along?"

"I hate it too. I guess I'm a bit of a contradiction in that sense but I find it does just the trick for nerves." He was always a bit rattled, given his childhood it was expected but he had never quite gotten a proper grip on it. Cigarettes helped to quell the anxiety he had over that - anxiety over anxiety. It was almost laughable how stupid that was.

"Look, son, don't take it personally but you wouldn't have the stomach for it. I dunno if I like you or not but I do know that I don't feel any ill-will. Yet."

So far, he was mostly just amused by him. And sometimes a little turned on, perhaps. Not that he wanted to focus on it. "You best not follow."

"Wouldn't have the stomach for it, would I? You better tell me you're talking farm work here, because that's the only thing I'm not even remotely interested in." Now, if it was about killing people, like so many seemed convinced Jonathan did? At least that would be a nice change of pace.

He put a hand on Jonathan's shoulder, because he was playing a game with himself. How far could he go in invading the boy's personal space before he wanted to get away? How far could he got with his flirting before he couldn't take it back any more? "I've done things, y'know? That's how I ended up getting sent here."

"Good for you, city boy. You want a medal?" He exhaled smoke right in Edward's face, just to be an awkward asshole, his mind on one thing only - what did Edward think he was doing that he was so eager? He knew he had a lot of rumours about himself going around but he struggled to keep up with all of them. Jonathan kills animals for fun, Jonathan murders his bullies, Jonathan has sex with guys in the woods, Jonathan is in love with a cow... it was quite the list.

"Why do you want to see something I told you ain't something to see? Is it just cause I told you that you couldn't that you want to? Cause that's kind of stupid, son."

Edward made a face when he had smoke blown into it, but then he decided to be awkward about it as well, ducking his head and leaning his forehead against Jonathan's shoulder. Sure, somebody else could in theory walk out here or walk by, but what did he care? If he could get back at Jonathan by being awkward, he gladly would. He coughed, to be dramatic, then shrugged.

"I'm curious. It's a sign of intelligence. You've made it seem more interesting." That wasn't really it though. Not only that, anyway. Edward lifted his head again, so he could look up at Jonathan, who really was too awkwardly tall. "I like being with you. Feels less lonely. You're the only one around."

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