Supersize our tragedies

[kamaitachi-87.livejournal.com]

Here's part two for all of you. I think it's better than the first part, and certainly a lot more interesting things happen in it. Once again cross posted in the three following: fadingdaydream, lovemusesloveme and kamaitachi_87

~*~

Jack sat in the hotel. He'd been using that same room, at that same hotel, the entire summer holiday. He had no idea what he was going to do when school was again in session.

Through scholarships and financial aid he had managed to get room and board, and that also applied to transferrences, Jack had not been given any messages about where his dorm was going to be, or if he even had one.

With a sigh the American thought back over the summer. He had spent most of it going over the last semester's notes, keeping himself busy that way when he wasn't working at any small job he could get. His brother called him frequently, keeping his mood up with stupid American humour. Jack smiled at that thought. He and Tim had been through a lot while growing up together. Their mother hadn't exactly been there for either of them, and Jack had never known their father.

Veering his thoughts back to the previous summer, Jack recalled one particular day when he was walking through the streets of London. He had been rushing, trying to get out of peoples' way, and had inadvertantly run into someone.

"Shit," the Brit had said. "Sorry about that mate, I didn't see you there."

"My fault," Jack said, looking at the ground. He had caught only a glimpse of his face before he felt the blush and looked away to hide it.

"You alright there? Didn't hit you too hard did I?"

"Nah, I'm okay."

"You're sure?"

"Yeah," Jack insisted.

"Right, well, have a good one."

"You too." Jack's words had sounded almost hollow to his ears, but he didn't really care. He'd just wanted to get back to the hotel as quickly as possible and bury himself in anything he could.

Jack wondered if he'd ever see that person again. He hadn't looked too bad, tall, kind of thin but not skinny. His blue eyes were bright and smart, and made his black hair look that much darker. Actually, Jack had to admit the young man had been rather attractive. He froze at that thought. When had he started thinking some men were cuter than others? He shook his head. It was just idle thinking, he assured himself.

Nothing to be worried about. He was just secure that was all.
Still, he was a bit disconcerted by those thoughts, and pushed them from his mind as he began playing Queens of the Stoneage's 'No One Knows' on his cd player. He sighed and drifted to sleep.

When he next woke the phone in his room was ringing, and his cd player had stopped. Sitting up Jack answered the phone on the fourth ring.

"Hello?" he asked as he stretched.

"Is this Jack Bennings?" asked a formally British voice.

"Yeah, who's this?"

"This is Professor Robison, I'm calling to inform you that tonight at seven o'clock sharp will be festivities on campus welcoming everyone back. I suspect your presence will be announced to the student body."

"Um.. It will?"

"Indeed Mr Bennings," Professor Robison replied. "See you tonight, seven o'clock."

"Right." A dialtone was all that met Jack's last word, and he sighed.

Great, he thought, just when I was hoping to slither into their population, I get to have it announced to the entire school. With another sigh Jack returned the phone to the cradle and looked at his suitcase. What the hell am I supposed to wear to Welcome Back festivities?
Pushing himself to his feet he began to look through his things for something casual-formal to wear.

~*~

David was pumped up for the evening. The summer had flown by, just as he'd hoped it would, and now, that very night, he was going back to the campus. He couldn't wait to meet the new addition to their student body. It was exciting to meet new people.

Pulling a comb through his black hair, and then running his fingers through his short bangs, David considered himself in the mirror. A comfortable button-up white shirt with thin blue pinstripes topped his dark denim trousers. Black Lugz finished the ensemble. Mum had picked out the shirt for him, saying the blue brought out the colour in his eyes, though he'd been told his eyes were bluer than the sky.

A knock on his door pulled David out of his primping and to the front door. Theo and Michael stood there, looking completely different despite the fact they were twins. Michael was being his typical self, dressed in casually worn pale denim trousers, old trainers, and a simple white cotton tee, while Theo was dressed in his best black slacks and matching silk shirt with shining black loafers.

"Wow, you two look like Heaven and Hell," David teased.

"We did try to look opposite," Michael informed him as he walked in, hands in pockets. Theo grinned as he shook his head and followed his twin inside, declining the offer of a beer as Michael rummaged through the refridgerator.

"Theo, Michael," David's mother greeted from her room.

"Good evening Mrs Thorne," Theo returned, ever the gentleman. "How've you been? Staying out of trouble I hope."

"Indeed, David's been a handful, I've not had a moment's peace since the beginnig of the holidays." David rolled his eyes, but was smiling. Theo and Michael were like her own sons, and indeed, they felt like David's brothers.

"Mrs T, do you mind if I have a drink before we steal your son away?" Michael asked, through his beer was already opened. "It's a wee bit hard to work with David without a little bit of alcky in the system."

"Mikey, that's your philosophy on everything," David sighed.

"Maybe, but it's a good philosophy in't it?" Michael agreed.

"Michael, you know very well that you need not ask about anything in this house," Mum assured the younger twin. "Now you three should get going, you'll be late if you don't leave now."

"Alright Mum," David agreed. He hugged her tightly. "See you when I can yeah?"

"You take care of yourself David," she murmured. "Behave, and stay safe."

"I will," he assured her. "You too." She nodded and Theo and Michael also hugged her before the three of them left.

~*~

Jack looked around from his place at the refreshments table. Modern yet comfortable music played as background, and most - if not all - of the college students were dancing. The American felt very out of place, and it made him very self-conscious. Now and again people glanced at him, and Jack would fidget, but often than not he was left to himself.
Robison had shaken his hand upon arrival, and had introduced him to several of the other professors. He had yet to be announced to the school. But, Jack surmised, he wasn't complaining. He just wanted to get that over with.


David looked at the crowd dancing, then at the refreshment table. There stood a lone figure, lookinbg very uncomfortable despite the casual blue button-up and darker denim. He knew immediately that this was the nameless new kid. Boy, he corrected. With a gentle smile David moved closer, then stopped. This young man looked damilier. The face, the gentle discomfort, struck David as something he'd seen over the course of the summer.

Just then David remembered: He had been walking down the street when someone had run into him. Being as polite as possible, David had taken the blame and apologised. The other person had looked at him with widened hazel eyes before looking down quickly to hide said eyes with dirty blonde hair. David had been intrigued by the person, and wished he'd asked for his name.

Well, he figured, now was the time to find out yeah? Continuing his walk towards the refreshments table, David made a show of getting a glass of punch, sniffing it subtly before taking a sip.

"Hi there," he said casually, nodding. The other person looked at him, as though surprised anything would be said. "I haven't seen you before," David continued. "Are you a transfer student or a freshman?"

"Uh, t-transfer," the person replied.

"From the States then, yeah?"

"Yeah."

"Well it's good to meet you, name's David. David Thorne." He offered his hand and the American looked at it for a long moment before shaking it hesitantly.

"Jack Bennings," he replied.

"Nice to meet you Jack," David repeated.

"You too."

David couldn't help but think Jack was being oddly restrained. He hoped that before too long he could get the boy to warm up to him. He's kinda cute too, David's mind added to the thoughts. The dirty blonde was partially hidden by lighter locks dusting Jack's head, and his hazel eyes were a bit darker today than they had been during their meeting on the streets. And Jack was only a bit looser now than then as well.

David's attention turned to the stage as Professor Robison stood with a microphone and cleared his throat, gathering everyone's attention. Jack tensed behind him, but not just because of the professor.

Jack was just now realising where he'd seen David before. He had been the Brit on the street, apologising to him when Jack ran into him. Even then, when David had had now idea who he was, David had been polite, and he was no different now. Jack was being terse, but he wasn't controlling that. He instinctively tried pushing people away if he didn't know them, unable to allow himself the comfort of friends. It was in his experience that friendships never worked properly. His attention fell back to the stage then.

"... And it is my great pleasure to welcome a new student into our midst. Arrived from America is Mr Jack Bennings." Applause greeted this phrase and Robison held out his hand. "Jack, would you care to tell the school a bit about yourself?"

Jack felt the colour drain from his face as he walked stiffly towards the stage. Once he was standing there behind the microphone, Jack felt his body freeze, but only its movements. He stopped fidgeting, stopped shaking with nerves, and despite his tension he seemed fine. He cleared his throat.

"Hello, my name's Jack Bennings," he began. "I was just transferred here from the sister college in New York City, and I hope to major in Psychotherapy, with a minor in Freudian Psychology." He cleared his throat again. "I'm not uh... Not exactly sure of what else to say..."

As he trailed off, David found himself incredibly captivated by Jack. He had been visibly shaking as he had walked to the stage, but as soon as the microphone was in front of him he had developed an air of calm. It was fascinating. David couldn't wait for the major project in Freudian, he wanted to ask Jack to be his subject. For purely scientific reasons, of course.

"The world is a vampire..." Upon hearing this David realised that Jack had long since left the stage and dancing had resumed. People around him began dancing to the Smashing Pumpkins' song, and he made his way to Theo and Michael.

"We saw that," Michael informed him.

"Saw what mate?"

"The way you got all twee upon seeing our new boy, that's what," Theo clarified.

Hearing the slang slip from the Scot's lips made David laugh, nearly choking on the punch he'd been sipping from. The twins chuckled and clapped him on the back as David took control of himself.

"Jesus Dave, you're supposed to swallow that, not inhale it," Michael said then.

"But you'd rather I inhaled yeah Mikey?" David teased. Michael laughed and shook his head.

"In your sick sick dreams mate," he denied. "And only in your sick dreams." He giggled again as David put on a hurt expression.

"Oh but Mikey, I thought we had something special."

"Shit, you too are worse now than you were last year," Theo whined. This only brought more laughter from the two of them, and he couldn't help but join in. "Oh shit, here comes the new boy."

David cleared his throat and glanced behind him, seeing Jack walking close by. He was looking at the floor, not paying attention to where he was going. As he neared, David called out.

"Jack, come on over here."

Jack froze, as though caught doing something wrong. When he saw David he relaxed slightly, and stepped closer.

"Hey, David, right?"

"Yeah, hey, these are my two mates," David told him, indicating the twins. "Theo and Mikey MacPherson, this is Jack Bennings."

"Nice to meet you," Jack said, shaking their hands stiffly.
He was getting a lot more attention than he was used to, and it was disconcerting him. He jumped as his pocket chirped, then excused himself as he pulled his cell phone from his trousers. Stepping away slightly he turned on the phone and spoke into it for a few moments.

"Sorry about that," he apologised when he was finished. "My brother just wanted to see how things were going."

"How are things going since your crossing from the States?" Mikey asked.

"Not bad," Jack admitted. "I um, I'm a little nervous, I don't know where I'll stay when the sessions start again. I haven't been given a dorm yet."

"Oh, then you want to go to A-block and check out the list there," Theo said. "They have lists every year telling you, even though most are the same, they'll have reprinted it with your name in there. Just check it out, we can take you, right guys?"

A chorus of 'yeah's greeted this, and Jack smiled slightly. He may have been disconcerted, but these three were being so nice to him already, he hoped they became close friends. He could use all the friends he needed right now.
~*~