Caleb rolled around on his bed, ignoring the fact that one of his earbuds fell out as he did so. It was early in the morning, and he really did not feel like getting out of bed. He was lucky it was a Saturday, meaning that there was no school, but his roommate was taking him out to meet with his friend. Not really taking though...more like forcing. Sure, Caleb was grateful that Nick was trying to help him make friends, especially since he was completely new to this city, but he really hated getting up early on weekends. He was the type of person who liked to laze around for an entire day, forget about the responsibilities that he had, and honestly just sleep in until after noon. And even if it was after nine right now, Caleb refused to admit that this was a normal time for people to be up.
A pillow smashed against Caleb's face, causing him to stop his rolling and look towards his roommate with a scowl. "Stop being such a baby and get dressed," Nick said. Caleb frowned, but nonetheless slid out of bed, taking out his other earphone and lay it on the bed. After getting washed, he slipped into a pair of black pants and a red sweater. He looked into the mirror, and sighed when he saw that his hair was an absolute mess. It almost looked like a pack of blue cotton candy that you'd get at a fair. Instead of brushing it out though, Caleb simply ran his hands through it a couple of times, trying to smooth it out. It was times like these that he was happy his hair was easily managed.
"Ready?" Nick popped up beside him. Grabbing his phone and earphones, Caled nodded. "As ready as I can be at nine thirty in the morning," he sighed. Nick just shook his head, and dragged Caleb out of their room.
"Trust me, you'll be fine. Caleb's cool." Nick had assured him the day before.
"If he's so cool why do you need to introduce him to people?" Aidan had muttered in response, only to be hammered by a scolding about "being social" and "don't be a douche." He had no idea how Nick did it - the whole friendly thing while being effortlessly calm about it. It wasn't that Aidan hated talking to others or meeting new people but first-meetings were always a nerve wracking event and he tried to avoid being forced into them at all costs.
Still there he stood, standing in front of the dormitory building waiting for Nick and co. to arrive. How should he greet them? Should he lean against the brick walls and try to pull a nonchalant pose? Perhaps he should just walk right up to them and be as friendly as possible. No, that would never work. He didn't want to look desperate for company. Aidan tapped his fingers on his thigh, a nervous habit, and looked to the doorway. It was very possible that he could just rush back to his room and make some fake excuse about being sick or busy or something.
All hopes of escape were dashed when he spotted a familiar figure exiting through the glass doors.
"Aidan!" Nick said with a wide grin. "Glad you actually made it."
"Wouldn't miss it for the world." He replied although his words sounded a bit stilted. He smiled nervously - full teeth and everything. God, was that too much?
"Well this is Caleb." He nodded to the boy accompanying him. Red sweater, black pants. "And this is Aidan." Now he nodded in Aidan's direction.
"Nice to meet you, Caleb." Aidan said, extending a hand and bony fingers a bit jerkily. He wasn't sure how to judge the guy yet but he didn't seem overly intimidating. "You two decide anywhere you want to go?"
((aahh that's a really cute ref!! He's so precious. I'm working on a ref of caleb now so ill see if i can actually decide to keep a pose or not))
Caleb stared at the other boy who Nick introduced as Aidan. So this was the guy Nick talked about a lot? Apparently they had been friends for a while, so Nick was excited to have the two of them meet. "Uh..yea, nice to meet you too," he mumbled and shook Aidan's hand and offered a small smile in return. Caleb hadn't thought of where he wanted to go yet. Well he had, and that was back to bed, but seeing as how that wasn't an option he had to think of other places. What other places were there though? He had only been here for two weeks, and hadn't had much time to go around exploring yet, so he didn't know what there was to do around here. He looked over at Nick, hoping he had some ideas.
"We could go to a coffee shop for a bit? I wouldn't mind a cup of coffee, and Caleb just woke up barely fifteen minutes ago, so he needs food or something in him," Nick offered. Caleb nodded, agreeing with the idea. He wasn't exactly a morning person, so maybe some caffeine was a good idea. After all, it would be nice to have more friends than just Nick, and to do that he'd need to get out of his sleepy mood. Not that Nick wasn't a great friend, but Caleb figured that the more people he could hang around with the better.
The response was less than excited and even though he wouldn't admit it, it sort of bruised his ego. He cleared his throat.
"Coffee sounds good." Aidan nodded in agreement. He had woken up a few hours ago after his room-mate had somehow knocked a lamp over at six in the morning (on a weekend of all days!) so he was fairly awake at this point. Still he was never one to resist a chance for caffeine. Coffee, energy drinks, soda - you name it - Aidan would be there.
"This kid mentioned a place a few blocks down. You guys in?" Nick asked.
"Lead the way, sarge." Aidan replied with a grin.
He fell in step alongside his friend in a way that was familiar and comfortable. He didn't know how long he had known Nick, hadn't ever had the urge to calculate, but it was longer than his sister had been alive and longer than he'd hit his growth spurt and longer than most of the events in his life. And having known his friend for such a long time he supposed that he had the upper-hand in terms of comfort of this situation. And with that power came the dreaded responsibility of being the one who had to start conversation.
"So, Caleb," he began, glancing sideways at the boy. Grey sneakers rhythmically stepped on the cracked sidewalk."What kind of stuff are you into? I mean, hobbies, zodiac sign, weird obsessions?"
Caleb walked along side Nick and Aidan, resisting the urge to pull out his earphones and listen to music as he did. He wasn't the best when it came to actually being social with people, wether he was in a good mood or not. He looked towards Aidan when he began to talk. He gave a smile. "I like music and games a lot," He paused for a second, "I like books too. Other than that I guess I don't really have many hobbies." Caleb was the kind of person who would try things out a lot, even if he didn't think he would like it, but he didn't exactly have any favourite activities. Wow I feel really lame right now, he thought. He felt like he was the kind of introverted lone wolf that you would see in a stereotypical movie. He really wasn't though, he just wasn't sure what his favourite things were.
As they walked into the cafe, Caleb turned to Aidan. "How about you?" he asked.
( it's fine! don't worry about length with me, i'm cool with it. sorry for responding late though ive been in a car all day lmao )
Aidan's fingers stopped their tapping. A smile. That was a good sign.
He noted that the cafe was relatively empty, at least for a Saturday. There were quite a few open tables, including one right by a window. Perfect.
"Pretty much the same things you've mentioned. Oh and I like making balloon animals although that's not exactly a hobby as much as it is one of those secrets you're secretly proud of." Aidan replied as the three made their way through the line. It was true that he was proud but a complete lie that it would ever be a secret. Hell, his room was full of balloon poodles.
He was one person behind the cashier, having been the first of the trio to enter the queue, and reached into his left front pocket. And his right. And his back pockets. Then even the pockets of the jean jacket. Aidan let out a low groan and pinched the bridge of his freckled nose.
"Alright there?" Nick asked.
"I forgot my wallet back in my room. This is some bull crap. It was right there on my desk and everything!" He chewed on his bottom lip. It wasn't like it was that big a deal - he had already eaten breakfast - but he had been looking forward to something warm and it would be awkward sitting there while the other two ate. Wouldn't it be?
((done all my tests~ now it's cpt season and exams in like 2 weeks omfg. ; 3; but I sketched caleb~
SPOILERX
))
Caleb raised his eyebrows in admiration. "That's really cool!" he said seriously, "I've always wondered how people do that. I tried once but the balloon just exploded." He looked up at the menu of the cafe and bit his lips. Everything look good, so he had no idea what to get. They even had a wide variety of teas, which surprised Caleb because every cafe he had been to only served the basic ones. And while coffee was good, he honestly did prefer tea. It kept him more awake.
He glanced down from the menu and at Aidan when he noticed him checking all of his pockets. He tilted his head slightly before taking his own wallet out of his pocket and counted his money. Nodding to himself he looked back at Aidan. "If you want I can pay for you?" Caleb offered, "I've got more than enough anyways, so what do you want?" He realized that he hadn't given Aiden much time to answer, but even if the other boy said no Caleb would've insisted anyways. It seemed like common curtesy, plus he'd feel bad if he didn't.
(cpt season? and ahhh i like your art style! what a cute. also sorry for the short reply, kind of swamped right now. i'll write more next time x__x)
Well it wasn't like he could say no. Hell, Caleb had already switched to the next question by then and in any case they were at the front of the line and he didn't want to make anyone else wait. There weren't that many people behind the trio but the fact simply was that there were people and people got angry and the walls seemed to be closing in just a little bit and no, God damn it, he was not going to panic in the middle of a cafe next to some guy he had just met.
"I'll take a vanilla latte... tall." Aidan blurted out instead, a bit louder than he had meant to. It was an instinctual response to the situation - he ordered the same thing no matter where he went after all. Still the outburst had surprised him and he felt the heat rise in his face and could only hope that it wasn't too noticeable. He lowered his voice, giving the other boy a bashful look. "Thanks, Caleb. I promise I'll cover you next time. Cool?"
((It's like our final project, but we do it for each class and each one is worth 30% of our final mark ; 3; and thanks~ also the short reply is fine. I completely understand being busy))
Caleb smiled at Aiden. "No problem," he said. He took another second looking up at the menu, trying to decide what he wanted, before he turned to the cashier. "I'll have a medium London Fog please...and a piece of banana bread." After they had ordered they were shooed to the end of the counter to wait for their orders. Caleb had already been given his bread, so he had started munching away on it. Honestly, it really was hard to function properly without food. The tea he could probably live with out, but something about warm drinks in the morning made him feel happy.
Once all three of the boys had received their drinks, they sat at a small round table by the window. "So Aidan, do you go to the same school as Nate and I? And what grade are you in?" Caleb asked curiously, taking a small sip of his tea.
( oh wow that sounds stressful! and yea x__x school's been killing me lately i'm really sorry )
Aidan took a mighty swig of his coffee, ignoring the burn on his tongue. Ah, yes, caffeine. Nick shot him a look matched with a pair of upraised eyebrows that seemed to say something like "Dude, really?" He shrugged it off. The sunlight was lighting the table nicely and the cafe was warm and he had a drink thanks to heroic and kind gestures and Aidan was at peace with the world.
"Same grade as you and Nick. I was supposed to be in the year above but I got held back in first grade." He laughed without much humor - not much anything. It was one of those laughs you do when you feel like a laugh is supposed to be inserted in the sentence. "And sadly, yes. Been stuck in this rotten pit since the seventh grade and I most likely have no way out."
He considered his words for a moment - Caleb was new, right? Maybe he was worried.
"I mean, it's not a bad place, don't get me wrong. I just nag a lot. Ask Nick, he knows."
He took another gulp of his coffee - smaller this time. It was nice to have food or work or objects around, something to ease the conversation, something to concentrate on while he looked away.
"Anyway, it's a pretty okay place. Almost everything's in walking distance and the school's pretty relaxed for the most part."
Another sip.
"You have cool hair, did you know that? I mean, of course you do, it's your hair. I've always been fond of blue, although I'm not sure how well I'd pull dyed hair off."
For someone who enjoyed a lot of caffeine, Aidan admittedly did not hold it very well.
"Where'd you move before this, anyhow? State, school, types of people, your friends - that sort of thing. We don't get a lot of transfers these days."
He took the last drink of his coffee and shook his leg up and down, up and down - vibrating his chair. Nick gave him another one of those looks. What was his problem?
((It isss. I hate it TT^TT no need to be sorry. it's been killing me too xP sooo much work. school sucks doesn't it))
Caleb nodded to show that he understood. Being held back a grade or two was actually a pretty common thing at his old school, but he blamed it on the fact that half the teachers didn't actually know how to teach. He had had a math teacher for his first year that barely knew how to do multiplication, let alone teach a whole new level in math.
"It seems pretty cool so far," Caleb nodded, "All the people here seem to be really nice too, a lot nicer than my old school at least. But I guess classes aren't fun at all." He chuckled slightly. No matter where you went, you could never find a student say that they enjoyed all their classes. It was impossible. It was true, however, that most of the students that Caleb had met--despite being very few so far--seemed genuinely nice. He had just come out of a school that was in the lower city, so most of the school population seemed to be in a gang, or just be a gang-wannabe. Then there were the few who were just kind of there, like Caleb, but everyone seemed to be competitive with each other for some reason. There really wasn't any room to be nice. Now that he thought about it, this new school was already seeming to be a lot of a better place.
Caleb raised his eyebrows at Aidan's next comment and held back a laugh. "Thanks, I really like blue too," he smiled, "And you never know. You should try it, if you don't like it then just dye it back to your natural colour."
"I was in Toronto, Canada, before here...but I've moved around a lot. Before that I was in London, and then before that Washington, and a ton of other places. We just kinda move wherever my mom's work brings her," he paused for a second, realizing that he was rambling a bit. Which didn't seem like it mattered that much since Aidan kind of was too, but Caleb didn't have the excuse of caffeine on his side, seeing as he could rarely get hyper over it. "The school in Toronto was...interesting though. It was kind of in the ghetto of the city, so there were a lot of gangs and stuff in the school, and the school in a whole wasn't too great. That was it really. Wasn't too interesting." He shrugged. But soon he was trying to hold back another laugh when he saw that Aidan was practically vibrating in his seat. "You don't hold caffeine down too well, do you?" he finally let out a laugh, "I'd hate to see you drunk or something."
(i cant believe it took me a month to reply im so sorry)
"That's good!" Aidan side, smile stretched wide. "I'm glad that you don't hate it. I mean, that's a given, but I'm glad anyway." He meant it - it wouldn't be any fun hanging out with someone who was depressed over moving. And he wasn't really big on having to cheer others up constantly. Of course talking to a friend about troubles was one thing but the boy simply didn't have the motivation to constantly be picking up others' moods.
"True." He nodded in appreciation, tugging at strands of his own hair in contemplation. His mom would probably kill him. He let go. "Still think it suits you more; matches your eyes." He had noticed them immediately. It wasn't that he hated his eyes or anything or that he didn't find brown eyes pretty, he had considered other pairs of brown eyes to be pretty, but he had always been more into the blues.
He listened quietly, or as quietly as he could manage at the moment, as Caleb mentioned the gangs. He had always been pretty lucky, living in a good school system and fairly well off. Hell, he went to a boarding school for Christ's sake. It just wasn't the kind of thing he had experience with.
"Sounds bad." Aidan said simply, out of a lack of things to say. Damn the serious moods. He was thankful for the opposing boy's laughter, breaking the awkwardness he felt.
"Perfectly good with caffeine." He protested though his smile gave away that this was, in fact, not the case. That and the clamor of his knee against the top of the table. "And I am a perfectly responsible drunk."
((it's fine~ It's taken me a while to reply too. also that art in your sig is so adorable!!))
Caleb smiled. "Aha, does it?" he chuckled, "I guess I was going for that when I dyed it." He always tried to match his hair colour to something, wether it was a piece of clothing he work a lot, or anything else. It helped make outfits look nice even when there was no work put into them. Plus, it was just a lot of fun.
"Mhm," Caleb laughed, "I can totally see that you're good with coffee." He sipped the last bit of his tea before standing up and bring the glass cup back to the workers, giving a smile and thanking them as he did. When he sat back down he rested his chin against the palm of his hands and tilted his head slightly. "So what's fun around here? Any rinks, or plazas?" he asked.
