"Thank you." Jonathan climbed out of the trash can and dusted himself off, glad that it was before lunch and not after so it was mostly just random snack wrappers and wastepaper in there. Not that he was thrilled to ever be in garbage but he had to pick his battles. Right now, the hazing was at it's peak and he was battling to survive it - any luck was luck enough.
He turned around and gently moved the papers around, gingerly looking for his phone as he heard Edward scribble and mumble to himself. Odd. He was always odd. "Did you forget your homework orrr...?"
"I've got disinfectant in the front of my bag, if you want," Edward offered without looking up, feeling like a chance to be hygienic should be afforded to everyone. He certainly wouldn't fancy a day smelling like trash, he doubted Jonathan did either. Very few people would, in spite of what had been said about Jonathan. Sometimes it was just difficult to get a choice.
"I'm working on a riddle. Mental exercise, I suppose. And it's not adding up." Which was getting to him more than it ought to. "I don't know, it's my nerves or whatever. I'm not like this." Why was he so stupid? What was the issue here?
"I got some in my pocket." He pulled out his disinfectant spray once he had his phone out of the trash and sprayed it down, slipping it in his pocket again before he started to clean up his hands. He watched Edward drive himself nuts over some dumb riddle and frowned, wondering why it was bothering him so much. Then again, he thought of their shared classes - Edward hated not being the smartest person in class. Actually, no, Edward was always the smartest one in class so he didn't have any threat. What he hated was people not knowing he was the smartest.
Quite an interesting psychological profile he was gathering. "If you got jitters or nerves, I got relaxants in my locker and weed in my hoodie. Take your pick."
"Damn, Jonny. I know who I'm gonna hit up if I ever need a disco pharmacist." Still, Edward could concede that Jonathan was probably right, in a roundabout way. It was his anxiety that kept him from figuring this out, rather than actually lacking the brain power, and obsessing over it was making it worse. So he closed his notebook decisively, even if he immediately ran his hands over the cover, fingers playing with the pages, sorely tempted to open it up again.
"I was doing mental exercises to calm me. Backfired." Obviously. Edward laughed, shaking his head and looking Jonathan over. "You got any injuries? Seems like they didn't knock you about too much."
"A few punches, nothing I can't handle. It's nothing on Georgia, let's put it that way. They think they're breaking me but it's like a fucking vacation." Nothing could compare to the brutal bullying he had suffered at his old school, years of torment and pain. These Gotham bullies, they were generic and cruel but nothing as humiliating or painful. Yet, at least. Not that he felt they were allowed to continue, he was starting to lose his patience with them.
"My granny hits harder than these guys." Jonathan smiled and yeah, as always, it was a bit off. There was something there that wasn't quite right. It didn't reach his eyes, he didn't smile with joy, everything was always like a poor copy of emotions and never really enough. "You sure you don't want anything? I even got anti anxiety stuff but that's in my apartment. I got some from the doctor but I never use the stuff."
"Let's have the weed then, Jonny-boy." Hey, if he got the offer, why wouldn't he take it? He waited for Jonathan to give him a joint - or whatever it was he had on him - thinking over what he'd said. "Used to be worse here, back when Jack was still in school." Jack, Gyungho, Joker, whatever name. "He knew how to break people. Still does, but he doesn't bother with school these days."
Great fried chicken though, admittedly. "These days you should be fine, just don't piss off Butch. He hits hard." As stood to reason. "Kind of gorilla-like, on the whole."
"He's the guy who sucker punched me in the gut. I figure I'm too late for that one, I called him an ape. Still ain't scared of him - more concerned about the gangsters living above me." They kept trying to talk to him and he didn't want to deal with it. He wasn't into the whole gang scene, he didn't want to buy their drugs either but he didn't want to start anything. It was a delicate balance. "Jack. The guy who engraved his name on my desk in math."
Crudely 'Jack waz here' was jaggedly cut into his desk. He didn't know much else about the guy but he was glad he didn't have to deal with him. "Breaking people is what they love doing in Georgia. Or, at least, the folks I knew did. I wore white socks to school once and they deemed me queer. Never takes much there. Once it starts, it ain't ever gonna end. That's the issue with being an outsider there, they want you gone. In Gotham, it's more a thing. Being an outsider, it ain't great but it ain't a death sentence. I'll fucking take it."
Jonathan held out his lighter for Edward so he could light up. "I made the weed, it's a blend but it's good stuff. I don't cut it with anything but the plant. I just used to species."
"In Gotham, if you do it with style? Then being strange is the way to go. Jack did that. Does that. He's off." And then some. Dangerous too. Edward slowly let himself sink down with his back against the wall, while taking a long drag from the cigarette. His head fell back and he parted his lips to let the smoke out, trying to let at least some of the tension out as well.
It wasn't going great, but whatever. Maybe once the weed kicked in. "They might get bored with you. They prefer criers. They're never gonna ease up on Oswald."
Simply too fun to hurt, he imagined. But Oswald would show them one day, Edward was expecting it. "Otherwise, I dunno. Sic your crows on them." He was joking, not knowing that he might be touching on something there.
"They'll get bored, I'll get even. It's the natural order of things."
Jonathan didn't seem troubled about solving his issues or about the bullying, he was just waiting for the worst to pass before he acted. He pulled out his own joint and lit up, leaning against the wall and exhaling smoke into the air. "I think most folks living here have to be off. The water is shit, the economy is garbage and it's all gang wars and mob warfare. If you live here and you ain't looking to move, you're either unlucky, poor or weird. And I figure, most folks are weird."
Cause he knew the narrows was fucked but what was everyone else's excuse? If they could afford a good property, they could afford to get the fuck out of here. "I like it. I already like it here a lot."
"You would, wouldn't you? You fit right in." Edward smiled, looking at the tip of the joint as he took another drag, letting the smoke out through his nose this time. He wasn't big on smoking, not even weed, but this was good stuff. Had to admit that. he was saving drugs for when he was older, for the most part, but sometimes it was just better to have an exception. "So you're one for revenge, are you? I like it, very fun. Kinda sexy. Cheeky."
Hey, he could get into it. "Wonder how you're gonna do it. Get even. Don't suppose I'm getting a hint?"
"Nah, I don't like telling." He was already planning what he wanted to do, mostly he was going to go for the ring leader. Yes, he could spike the whole team's food at lunch next week or mess with their sports drink after a match but he always liked taking down the biggest and watching the others follow suit. Fear was contagious. "But I like to combine my passions so, from all you know of me, it's a crow attack or chemicals."
And he was assuming Edward would think the chemicals but... the crow idea was funny too. "I guess I'm petty. I'm my father's son and he's a petty old bastard too."
"Well. Remind me to stay on your good side, Jonny." Not that he could claim with certainty that he was on his good side, but Edward felt he was going 2 for 0 on that score. On the other hand, he often had a different idea of how people should be feeling about him than said people did. "The crows are a good bit. Could be a theme. Anyone who lasts around here tends to have that."
He had his own, still building, but the green question mark was his tag. Not a single item of clothes that wasn't adorned in that way. He looked Jonathan over now, thoughtful. "You should come shopping with me some time. Look the part. Dress for the job you want to have, you know?"
"I ain't got a lot of cash and I don't like shopping. It's a lot of effort." Jonathan had the same clothes for a while now, they were bigger on him once but now they almost fit him. In a couple of years, he'd outgrow them and then maybe he'd replace them but he didn't know what he would do with new clothes. It felt like he was drawing attention and the idea made him nervous. He wasn't shy by any means but he didn't like people noticing shit another him, made him uneasy.
"I think I do look the part. I'm broke and weird, Ed. Ain't this how a fellow should look with my vibe." He was just saying, he looked like garbage and he even smelled like garbage today so why not just accept it?
"I'm broke and weird and look at me." Edward gestured at himself and, admittedly, none of his clothes cost much. However, he had started to specialise in modifying his clothes, hell, modifying his entire appearance a while ago now. There he was, with eyeliner and some eyeshadow, gelled up hair and clothes that had been ripped and put back together strategically, that had been scribbled on and patched up. He liked to go for a certain aesthetic. "You don't have to go all out, but... Y'know, I can show you where to get clothes that fit."
That'd be a nice start. "You're secretly a handsome bastard, I can tell."
"You're a funny guy, Ed." He supposed it was fun to mock guys like him but he didn't like it stick with him too much, he was over being upset by folks calling him ugly or gross. Mostly he just felt he had to accept it and move on. "It's a nice offer but I don't spend more time with folks than I have to."
Jonathan didn't easily give in, he was an awkward bastard in so many ways but especially this way. "You got some free weed, that's your thanks for helping me out. I ain't being nice, we're just settling a score but outside this place, not really interested in letting you dress me up or whatever. Dress up your girlfriend instead, she'll appreciate it more."
"I do. She does. She did my nails yesterday." Edward held out his left hand to show off said nails, because he was rightly proud of the adorable little question mark design Echo had so painstakingly created. They were working on better concepts for transferring patterns, but it was fun as it was. "Anyway, it's not being funny. I just like the idea of hanging out with you."
And it didn't even occur to him that Jonathan thought he was mocking his appearance in any way, honestly. Still, he simply shrugged. "I'm good company. I can pay you for the weed, if that's the issue. But I bet you're just avoiding me because you know how much you'd like me if you didn't. I can feel it, we'd get along like a house on fire, you and me."
"Christ, you're needy, ain't you? Come on, son, find better friends."
Jonathan laughed at Edward and stubbed out his joint, making sure it put it in the trash can under some papers so no one got funny over it. "I ain't looking to make friends, it ain't nothing but trouble. I stay alone, it's better for me. Better for you too, if you know what's good for you. Make friends with anyone else cause it's not gonna happen."
Jonathan smiled at Edward and threw his arms out. "Hopefully I'll see you around some time when I'm not trapped in trash but I can't make promises."
"Aw, come on, daddy-o. What are you doing to me, making us all star-crossed? Now it's forbidden fruit." Edward laughed, not taking this too seriously, although he also didn't plan on accepting this rejection. He finished off his own joint, tucking what was left into his pocket to dispose of later. Wrapping his arms around one leg, he looked up at Jonathan, tilting his head to the side. "Anyone else wouldn't be you. Don't make yourself so hard to get, Jonny, just makes it seem as if you want to be my special someone."
"You got attachment issues. I ain't trying to make you think anything or do anything but if that shit works on you, it says more about you than me." Rolling his eyes, Jonathan shook his head and looked up at the fire escape, ready to climb back into it and return to the lions den. Oddly, it made him less stressed than this conversation.
Something about Edward, he knew it wasn't good. He knew he had to insist he kept away or he'd end up hurting him. And Ed had been good to him, he didn't want to hurt him.
"It's not an issue if I don't mind it," Edward pointed out, something he liked to tell himself a lot. He was deliberately not looking at Jonathan, however, finally opening the notebook again. Maybe he could crack it now. He hated leaving things unfinished.
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icebergloungers2022-10-21 07:57 pm
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He turned around and gently moved the papers around, gingerly looking for his phone as he heard Edward scribble and mumble to himself. Odd. He was always odd. "Did you forget your homework orrr...?"
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"I'm working on a riddle. Mental exercise, I suppose. And it's not adding up." Which was getting to him more than it ought to. "I don't know, it's my nerves or whatever. I'm not like this." Why was he so stupid? What was the issue here?
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Quite an interesting psychological profile he was gathering. "If you got jitters or nerves, I got relaxants in my locker and weed in my hoodie. Take your pick."
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"I was doing mental exercises to calm me. Backfired." Obviously. Edward laughed, shaking his head and looking Jonathan over. "You got any injuries? Seems like they didn't knock you about too much."
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"My granny hits harder than these guys." Jonathan smiled and yeah, as always, it was a bit off. There was something there that wasn't quite right. It didn't reach his eyes, he didn't smile with joy, everything was always like a poor copy of emotions and never really enough. "You sure you don't want anything? I even got anti anxiety stuff but that's in my apartment. I got some from the doctor but I never use the stuff."
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Great fried chicken though, admittedly. "These days you should be fine, just don't piss off Butch. He hits hard." As stood to reason. "Kind of gorilla-like, on the whole."
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Crudely 'Jack waz here' was jaggedly cut into his desk. He didn't know much else about the guy but he was glad he didn't have to deal with him. "Breaking people is what they love doing in Georgia. Or, at least, the folks I knew did. I wore white socks to school once and they deemed me queer. Never takes much there. Once it starts, it ain't ever gonna end. That's the issue with being an outsider there, they want you gone. In Gotham, it's more a thing. Being an outsider, it ain't great but it ain't a death sentence. I'll fucking take it."
Jonathan held out his lighter for Edward so he could light up. "I made the weed, it's a blend but it's good stuff. I don't cut it with anything but the plant. I just used to species."
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It wasn't going great, but whatever. Maybe once the weed kicked in. "They might get bored with you. They prefer criers. They're never gonna ease up on Oswald."
Simply too fun to hurt, he imagined. But Oswald would show them one day, Edward was expecting it. "Otherwise, I dunno. Sic your crows on them." He was joking, not knowing that he might be touching on something there.
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Jonathan didn't seem troubled about solving his issues or about the bullying, he was just waiting for the worst to pass before he acted. He pulled out his own joint and lit up, leaning against the wall and exhaling smoke into the air. "I think most folks living here have to be off. The water is shit, the economy is garbage and it's all gang wars and mob warfare. If you live here and you ain't looking to move, you're either unlucky, poor or weird. And I figure, most folks are weird."
Cause he knew the narrows was fucked but what was everyone else's excuse? If they could afford a good property, they could afford to get the fuck out of here. "I like it. I already like it here a lot."
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Hey, he could get into it. "Wonder how you're gonna do it. Get even. Don't suppose I'm getting a hint?"
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And he was assuming Edward would think the chemicals but... the crow idea was funny too. "I guess I'm petty. I'm my father's son and he's a petty old bastard too."
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He had his own, still building, but the green question mark was his tag. Not a single item of clothes that wasn't adorned in that way. He looked Jonathan over now, thoughtful. "You should come shopping with me some time. Look the part. Dress for the job you want to have, you know?"
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"I think I do look the part. I'm broke and weird, Ed. Ain't this how a fellow should look with my vibe." He was just saying, he looked like garbage and he even smelled like garbage today so why not just accept it?
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That'd be a nice start. "You're secretly a handsome bastard, I can tell."
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Jonathan didn't easily give in, he was an awkward bastard in so many ways but especially this way. "You got some free weed, that's your thanks for helping me out. I ain't being nice, we're just settling a score but outside this place, not really interested in letting you dress me up or whatever. Dress up your girlfriend instead, she'll appreciate it more."
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And it didn't even occur to him that Jonathan thought he was mocking his appearance in any way, honestly. Still, he simply shrugged. "I'm good company. I can pay you for the weed, if that's the issue. But I bet you're just avoiding me because you know how much you'd like me if you didn't. I can feel it, we'd get along like a house on fire, you and me."
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Jonathan laughed at Edward and stubbed out his joint, making sure it put it in the trash can under some papers so no one got funny over it. "I ain't looking to make friends, it ain't nothing but trouble. I stay alone, it's better for me. Better for you too, if you know what's good for you. Make friends with anyone else cause it's not gonna happen."
Jonathan smiled at Edward and threw his arms out. "Hopefully I'll see you around some time when I'm not trapped in trash but I can't make promises."
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Something about Edward, he knew it wasn't good. He knew he had to insist he kept away or he'd end up hurting him. And Ed had been good to him, he didn't want to hurt him.
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