It was afternoon, time for football training, theatre rehearsals and other such extra-curricular activities. Edward had little interest in the former and was an active part of the latter, but he'd walked out of the auditorium right now, as he wasn't a part of the scene being rehearsed right now. Nobody ever appreciated his helpful input on how things should be played, so he felt it best to remove himself a little from the stage for the time being. Instead he stepped outside, both to get some fresh air and to hang around near the windows to the auditorium, so he'd not miss his cue.
Which made it all the more intriguing to see Jonathan Crane smoking not far from said windows. Go figure.
Edward grinned, hands in his pockets as he approached the other boy. "Are you familiar with the works of Oscar Wild, Jonathan? I've been thinking about that quote. You know. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."
He shrugged, stopping a step or two away from Jonathan and looking him over. "I can't say I disagree with it. Although you, my friend, are not mediocre. So, from you? Perhaps your watchful eye is the sincerest form of flattery you have to offer."
With a nod of his head, he appeared grateful enough. "It is. Flattering, that is."
Jonathan knew he should stop but he didn't really intend to go any further than watching. He liked to see Edward out and about, being so alive and so open. He was loud, daring, brash and intelligent. Every emotion was big and bold. It was addicting to watch. So what if he observed? If he thought about Edward? Maybe jacked off to him a few times.
He was handsome, charismatic and hell, he probably would love to be worshipped in whatever manner he could get.
It was just hard, when being confronted, to know where to put his energies. He didn't want to overly flatter Edward, it seemed dangerous for his ego, but he didn't want to deny it. Seemed like a pointless act that they both knew was a lie.
Exhaling smoke, he looked at Edward and then back to the window. "I like to watch." Jonathan forced out as he stared at the play, not as enthralled now Edward was gone. "It's so effortless for s-s-some."
"Effortless? That's what you think. I got up at five thirty today just to have time to do my hair before school." A slight exaggeration. Well, he had gotten up at five thirty and he had done his hair at the coffee shop he'd met Echo and Query at, but mostly it was because they wanted to talk before school. Still, his hair continued to look great several hours later, so he had no regrets.
He watched Jonathan rather than bothering with the windows. Seemed only fair. "Speaking of Oscar Wilde, do you know about his poem 'The Sphinx'? A personal favourite."
Stepping closer, he ended up leaning against the wall by the window, which also put him within touching distance of Jonathan. He looked at him as he quoted from the poem. "I weary of your sullen ways. I weary of your steadfast gaze, your somnolent magnificence. Your horrible and heavy breath makes the light flicker in the lamp, and on my brow I feel the damp and dreadful dews of night and death, your eyes are like fantastic moons that shiver in some stagnant lake, your tongue is like a scarlet snake that dances to fantastic tunes."
He felt it was quite fitting, in a way, which made him recite it with all the more vigour.
"Your p-pulse makes p-p-poisonous melodies and your b--lack throat is like the hole. Left by s-some torch or b---" He got stuck at the end of finishing the poem and defeat won out in the end as he halted there and shrugged. He had read Wilde, every poem and play, just as he read anything he had access to. He adored any kind of fiction, it was a beautiful escape from how tedious the world truly was.
He gestured vaguely at himself and then at Edward. "Effortless." He could speak clearly, without idiocy and without fumble. He could sound like that and command attention, to be worthy of praise and witness. And all Jonathan had was an embarrassing shambles.
Edward was so frustratingly effortless. He wanted to love him and hurt him at the same time. He inhaled sharply and flicked his cigarette aside. "For you, it's art. For me, it's exerc-cises."
Edward had been patient in waiting for Jonathan to end the verse, but he accepted when he didn't, inclining his head. "Admittedly, 'Saracenic tapestries' is a tongue twister even for a tongue as skilled as mine."
He wiggled his tongue playfully, then pulled it back and tried to imagine what it must be like for Jonathan. It was a difficult mental exercise, at it turned out. Edward was used to feeling weak, but he always knew how to talk. Often to his detriment, the way he could not help himself but kept antagonising his father. "I understand that it's an effort for you. If it's any consolation, I believe it is an effort well worth it. I like hearing what you have to say. You are much more worth talking to than the bulk of the population at this school."
"Making assumptions, are we?" Jonathan didn't know if he was that worth listening to, he hadn't really had any proper conversations with Edward. Anything he said came out wrong so he hadn't really attempted much conversation. With anyone, really. He had several altercations with assholes already but having a stutter hardly prevented him rebuffing them.
He just had fewer words and less time. A simple 'fuck you' went a long way. When he could get it out, of course.
Jonathan always felt weird around Edward. He never had been aware of his clothes before or how he looked until he stood in front of someone who clearly cared and thought about things. Was he off putting? Probably. It was an asset, he liked being off-putting. Just not with Edward, apparently. "I ain't worth s-shit, son."
"You like to hide your worth, I'll give you that. But, in the words of the great J.R.R. Tolkien: All that is gold does not glitter, not all those who wander are lost; The old that is strong does not wither, deep roots are not reached by the frost." Perhaps not the most apt, but Edward felt that it applied at least in part. "Let us be frank with each other, Jonathan. I've told you how much I could deduce just by looking at you for a few minutes. A lot more time has passed since then and, well. I've noticed you noticing me. It has made me pay more notice as well."
He shrugged as he tried to look into Jonathan's eyes. A tricky thing to do, the boy was ever so evasive. "You could quote Oscar Wilde from memory. Even if that was all I knew about you, would I be wrong in my assumptions? You are worthwhile. Worth spending a while on."
And that was not even getting into how he called him 'son'. That he'd have to circle back to at some point.
Jonathan rolled his eyes, he had no idea how to handle flattery and it just made him feel on edge. It came with uncertainty and doubt, as it always did. Why would Edward say this? What did Edward want from him? Everyone wanted something and there was no doubt that Edward was after something.
Or maybe the something he wanted was just what he was getting. To be watched. To be admired.
"I d-don't know you but I can s-see you. Narrows boy. Early morning just to be ready. Ego is f-fragile, one must maintain it. What a ch-ch-chore." Jonathan tsked as he put his hands in his pocket, stroking the sunflower seeds he kept in there. It was nice, another sensation to grasp to. "F-Fragile th-th-things always b--" He got stuck again and then looked at Edward, hating how much he had to speak when he was around him. Hating that he had to expose his flaws. He took a breath and tried again. "Break."
"Yeah? Oh, my sweet darling Jonny. If any part of me was as fragile as all that, I'd already be made up of only cracks." And perhaps he was. Edward certainly had days when he felt like it. Days he felt like breaking. Days he felt like he'd broken a long time ago. "But it takes one to know one. Do you see what we have in common?"
Maybe not, given he was focused on the stark differences they had. "Everything we can control about our appearance, it's a way of controlling people's perception, isn't it? So you do what you do - or don't do, in your case. And I do what I do. Different means to different ends."
But not that different an approach. Edward closed what distance there was between them, putting a hand on Jonathan's chest and looking right at him. "I like your eyes, Jonny. A boy could drown in those."
Edward was touching him. It was like an alarm went off in his head and he froze. What he observed was never supposed to interact. It was strange, like seeing a chemical react and being able to ask it why or feel it's impact. He looked at Edward and then looked away.
Queer. Fairy. Fucking hell.
He took a step away from Edward and cocked his head to the side. "I weren't being negative. I like watching p-p-pretty th-things break." He side-stepped any attempt for Edward to get close and started to move away from the auditorium and towards somewhere more neural. Maybe he could end this if he just walked away. Avoidance always won out.
"Break me then." Edward said it as a provocation, for the same damn reason he still talked back to his dad when he was already hurting. Stubborn and contrary and embracing risk rather than ever backing down and missing out. Even if it was just missing out on proving himself. "If you want to watch it so badly, then break me into little pieces. Bring me to my knees in tears. Does that do it for you?"
He turned and raised his eyebrows. "I know you want me."
The challenge was set but he had no idea how to approach it or what to do with himself. He didn't want to do play when he was already on the losing side. Losing in presentation, distance and idea. He had to ponder this, he had to find the way to play the game on an even footing. He turned to Edward and looked at him for a while. "You want me to r-race the inevitable."
"Does it matter what I want? You're already in for it. I've just dragged it into the open." Edward shrugged and offered a quick flash of a smirk. "So sue me."
Clearly he felt no regret. "Let's just be friends, Jonny. I'm all for it. But, from one nancy boy to the other... You're the one who's already picked a fight against the inevitable. I wish you luck." To whatever end that might be.
Jonathan stared at Edward for a few moments and then decided that all he could do was walk away for now. He had a lot of things to think about. Mostly Edward. One Nancy boy to another... heh. He liked that one.
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icebergloungers2024-05-02 05:52 pm
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Which made it all the more intriguing to see Jonathan Crane smoking not far from said windows. Go figure.
Edward grinned, hands in his pockets as he approached the other boy. "Are you familiar with the works of Oscar Wild, Jonathan? I've been thinking about that quote. You know. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery that mediocrity can pay to greatness."
He shrugged, stopping a step or two away from Jonathan and looking him over. "I can't say I disagree with it. Although you, my friend, are not mediocre. So, from you? Perhaps your watchful eye is the sincerest form of flattery you have to offer."
With a nod of his head, he appeared grateful enough. "It is. Flattering, that is."
no subject
He was handsome, charismatic and hell, he probably would love to be worshipped in whatever manner he could get.
It was just hard, when being confronted, to know where to put his energies. He didn't want to overly flatter Edward, it seemed dangerous for his ego, but he didn't want to deny it. Seemed like a pointless act that they both knew was a lie.
Exhaling smoke, he looked at Edward and then back to the window. "I like to watch." Jonathan forced out as he stared at the play, not as enthralled now Edward was gone. "It's so effortless for s-s-some."
no subject
He watched Jonathan rather than bothering with the windows. Seemed only fair. "Speaking of Oscar Wilde, do you know about his poem 'The Sphinx'? A personal favourite."
Stepping closer, he ended up leaning against the wall by the window, which also put him within touching distance of Jonathan. He looked at him as he quoted from the poem. "I weary of your sullen ways. I weary of your steadfast gaze, your somnolent magnificence. Your horrible and heavy breath makes the light flicker in the lamp, and on my brow I feel the damp and dreadful dews of night and death, your eyes are like fantastic moons that shiver in some stagnant lake, your tongue is like a scarlet snake that dances to fantastic tunes."
He felt it was quite fitting, in a way, which made him recite it with all the more vigour.
no subject
He gestured vaguely at himself and then at Edward. "Effortless." He could speak clearly, without idiocy and without fumble. He could sound like that and command attention, to be worthy of praise and witness. And all Jonathan had was an embarrassing shambles.
Edward was so frustratingly effortless. He wanted to love him and hurt him at the same time. He inhaled sharply and flicked his cigarette aside. "For you, it's art. For me, it's exerc-cises."
no subject
He wiggled his tongue playfully, then pulled it back and tried to imagine what it must be like for Jonathan. It was a difficult mental exercise, at it turned out. Edward was used to feeling weak, but he always knew how to talk. Often to his detriment, the way he could not help himself but kept antagonising his father. "I understand that it's an effort for you. If it's any consolation, I believe it is an effort well worth it. I like hearing what you have to say. You are much more worth talking to than the bulk of the population at this school."
He included the teaching staff in that.
no subject
He just had fewer words and less time. A simple 'fuck you' went a long way. When he could get it out, of course.
Jonathan always felt weird around Edward. He never had been aware of his clothes before or how he looked until he stood in front of someone who clearly cared and thought about things. Was he off putting? Probably. It was an asset, he liked being off-putting. Just not with Edward, apparently. "I ain't worth s-shit, son."
no subject
He shrugged as he tried to look into Jonathan's eyes. A tricky thing to do, the boy was ever so evasive. "You could quote Oscar Wilde from memory. Even if that was all I knew about you, would I be wrong in my assumptions? You are worthwhile. Worth spending a while on."
And that was not even getting into how he called him 'son'. That he'd have to circle back to at some point.
no subject
Or maybe the something he wanted was just what he was getting. To be watched. To be admired.
"I d-don't know you but I can s-see you. Narrows boy. Early morning just to be ready. Ego is f-fragile, one must maintain it. What a ch-ch-chore." Jonathan tsked as he put his hands in his pocket, stroking the sunflower seeds he kept in there. It was nice, another sensation to grasp to. "F-Fragile th-th-things always b--" He got stuck again and then looked at Edward, hating how much he had to speak when he was around him. Hating that he had to expose his flaws. He took a breath and tried again. "Break."
no subject
Maybe not, given he was focused on the stark differences they had. "Everything we can control about our appearance, it's a way of controlling people's perception, isn't it? So you do what you do - or don't do, in your case. And I do what I do. Different means to different ends."
But not that different an approach. Edward closed what distance there was between them, putting a hand on Jonathan's chest and looking right at him. "I like your eyes, Jonny. A boy could drown in those."
no subject
Queer. Fairy. Fucking hell.
He took a step away from Edward and cocked his head to the side. "I weren't being negative. I like watching p-p-pretty th-things break." He side-stepped any attempt for Edward to get close and started to move away from the auditorium and towards somewhere more neural. Maybe he could end this if he just walked away. Avoidance always won out.
no subject
He turned and raised his eyebrows. "I know you want me."
no subject
The challenge was set but he had no idea how to approach it or what to do with himself. He didn't want to do play when he was already on the losing side. Losing in presentation, distance and idea. He had to ponder this, he had to find the way to play the game on an even footing. He turned to Edward and looked at him for a while. "You want me to r-race the inevitable."
no subject
Clearly he felt no regret. "Let's just be friends, Jonny. I'm all for it. But, from one nancy boy to the other... You're the one who's already picked a fight against the inevitable. I wish you luck." To whatever end that might be.
no subject
Jonathan stared at Edward for a few moments and then decided that all he could do was walk away for now. He had a lot of things to think about. Mostly Edward. One Nancy boy to another... heh. He liked that one.