[right][color=darkgray][sup]Timestamp: Between 5:30 and 5:50pm
Location: Gymnasium
[color=#c45508]Sully Harper[/color] and [color=#922b2b]Levi Green-Locke[/color]
[@Aces Away] and [@Smarty0114][/sup][/color][/right]

[center][b][color=#C45508]_[/color][color=#C35408]_[/color][color=#C25309]_[/color][color=#C15309]_[/color][color=#C1520A]_[/color][color=#C0510A]_[/color][color=#BF510B]_[/color][color=#BE500B]_[/color][color=#BE500C]_[/color][color=#BD4F0C]_[/color][color=#BC4E0D]_[/color][color=#BB4E0D]_[/color][color=#BB4D0E]_[/color][color=#BA4C0E]_[/color][color=#B94C0F]_[/color][color=#B84B0F]_[/color][color=#B84B10]_[/color][color=#B74A10]_[/color][color=#B64911]_[/color][color=#B64911]_[/color][color=#B54812]_[/color][color=#B44812]_[/color][color=#B34713]_[/color][color=#B34613]_[/color][color=#B24614]_[/color][color=#B14514]_[/color][color=#B04415]_[/color][color=#B04415]_[/color][color=#AF4316]_[/color][color=#AE4316]_[/color][color=#AD4217]_[/color][color=#AD4117]_[/color][color=#AC4118]_[/color][color=#AB4018]_[/color][color=#AA3F19]_[/color][color=#AA3F1A]_[/color][color=#A93E1A]_[/color][color=#A83E1B]_[/color][color=#A83D1B]_[/color][color=#A73C1C]_[/color][color=#A63C1C]_[/color][color=#A53B1D]_[/color][color=#A53B1D]_[/color][color=#A43A1E]_[/color][color=#A3391E]_[/color][color=#A2391F]_[/color][color=#A2381F]_[/color][color=#A13720]_[/color][color=#A03720]_[/color][color=#9F3621]_[/color][color=#9F3621]_[/color][color=#9E3522]_[/color][color=#9D3422]_[/color][color=#9D3423]_[/color][color=#9C3323]_[/color][color=#9B3324]_[/color][color=#9A3224]_[/color][color=#9A3125]_[/color][color=#993125]_[/color][color=#983026]_[/color][color=#972F26]_[/color][color=#972F27]_[/color][color=#962E27]_[/color][color=#952E28]_[/color][color=#942D28]_[/color][color=#942C29]_[/color][color=#932C29]_[/color][color=#922B2A]_[/color][/b]

[img]https://img.roleplayerguild.com/prod/users/c5ef4481-0830-429b-978a-6a39ffc02e69.png[/img]

[b][color=#C45508]_[/color][color=#C35408]_[/color][color=#C25309]_[/color][color=#C15309]_[/color][color=#C1520A]_[/color][color=#C0510A]_[/color][color=#BF510B]_[/color][color=#BE500B]_[/color][color=#BE500C]_[/color][color=#BD4F0C]_[/color][color=#BC4E0D]_[/color][color=#BB4E0D]_[/color][color=#BB4D0E]_[/color][color=#BA4C0E]_[/color][color=#B94C0F]_[/color][color=#B84B0F]_[/color][color=#B84B10]_[/color][color=#B74A10]_[/color][color=#B64911]_[/color][color=#B64911]_[/color][color=#B54812]_[/color][color=#B44812]_[/color][color=#B34713]_[/color][color=#B34613]_[/color][color=#B24614]_[/color][color=#B14514]_[/color][color=#B04415]_[/color][color=#B04415]_[/color][color=#AF4316]_[/color][color=#AE4316]_[/color][color=#AD4217]_[/color][color=#AD4117]_[/color][color=#AC4118]_[/color][color=#AB4018]_[/color][color=#AA3F19]_[/color][color=#AA3F1A]_[/color][color=#A93E1A]_[/color][color=#A83E1B]_[/color][color=#A83D1B]_[/color][color=#A73C1C]_[/color][color=#A63C1C]_[/color][color=#A53B1D]_[/color][color=#A53B1D]_[/color][color=#A43A1E]_[/color][color=#A3391E]_[/color][color=#A2391F]_[/color][color=#A2381F]_[/color][color=#A13720]_[/color][color=#A03720]_[/color][color=#9F3621]_[/color][color=#9F3621]_[/color][color=#9E3522]_[/color][color=#9D3422]_[/color][color=#9D3423]_[/color][color=#9C3323]_[/color][color=#9B3324]_[/color][color=#9A3224]_[/color][color=#9A3125]_[/color][color=#993125]_[/color][color=#983026]_[/color][color=#972F26]_[/color][color=#972F27]_[/color][color=#962E27]_[/color][color=#952E28]_[/color][color=#942D28]_[/color][color=#942C29]_[/color][color=#932C29]_[/color][color=#922B2A]_[/color][/b][/center]

[indent][indent][color=lightgray]When Sully had explicitly stated to the homecoming committee- even going so far as to leave a sticky note- that they were not to climb on top of certain builds he made for the dance, even to decorate, the boy had had a passing moment of hope that they would listen. It was faint, but despite his earlier words to Oli, it was still there. As he looked at the pile of wood and broken hinges that used to be one piece, he observed that faint hope get dashed to dust and could feel something close to irritation gripping at his sternum. Following directions really wasn’t that hard, was it? Do not lean means [i]do not lean[/i], do not climb means [i]do not climb[/i]. It was really [i]really[/i] simple, but apparently not simple enough for most of these students’ common sense. Maybe it wouldn’t be as bad if whoever had broken it hadn’t shoved it off to the side under another piece of the set as if to hide their deed.

[color=#c45508]“Honestly…”[/color] Sully sighed before heading out of the room and making his way to the maintenance closet where he kept his tools, determined to fix it before the dance began despite being in his nice clothes. It’s not like he cared if he got some wrinkles, and there wasn’t much in the process of the repair that could stain his shirt. Grabbing his toolbox, he made his way back to the gym and to his downed project, taking a moment to remove his black vest and hang it up, as well as roll up the sleeves of his white dress shirt and undo the top two buttons for breathability and better range of movement without risking ripping the fabric. Wasting no more time, Sully got to work in taking apart what needed separating and maintaining what he could, knowing that there was less than half an hour before the dance was meant to start and that this would be more of a rigging of the thing than a full, actual fix. 

If he was being a little loud while fixing what someone else currently in the gym had broken and hidden, that was neither here nor there. He wasn’t a huge fan of dances, hadn’t really been into them since middle school when he had someone that gave him a reason to dress up and go, but at least he had something to occupy his hands and mind here until it actually started. He was really just here because he had to catch a ride to the Greens’ just like everyone else, and his ma had encouraged him to go out and have a fun time with his friends. The least he could do was try. As he began to get lost in his project, that irritation from earlier- much like most of his emotions nowadays- seemed to fade and disappear as quickly as wallets and shiny objects left anywhere in his uncle’s reach. His tense shoulders relaxed and his jaw unclenched despite him not having realized he’d been grinding his teeth. Damn, he’d forgotten to grab some jolly ranchers or lollipops on the way out, just like he’d forgotten his coffee this morning. Maybe it was time to double down on the memory exercises Jonah recommended he do, he really had been burning out a lot recently.

Levi was out of posters, and terribly bored. He had helped Simon (Or was it Steven?) set out snacks and a place for a line to form outside, and now he was left to drift, and wonder why his moms donated so much money to this school if students were just going to do all of the work? The moment he spotted Sully, he was leaned up against a wall, cool but not effortless. A smile spread across his face, and he began to walk over, overflowing with a, mostly unearned, confidence.

[color=#922b2b]“I told them not to stand on your thingy,” [/color]he called out as he approached, heralding his own arrival like the vapid prince he so aspired to be. His words, at least, were true, to some extent. He certainly had warned the bumbling sophomores who’d broken the frame, though he hadn’t tried particularly hard to stop them. Still, who the fuck ignores a sticky note? [color=#922b2b]“I’d rat them out for you, but I don’t keep track of underclassmen unless they provide a service.” [/color]He paused, taking a moment to assess Sully’s outfit before continuing, as though he hadn’t before he even walked over. [color=#922b2b]“The vest is very chic.[/color][i][color=#922b2b]Ça te va bien[/color][/i][color=#922b2b].”[/color]

[color=#c45508]“I don’t know what that means, but thanks,”[/color] Sully responded as he screwed the last hinge back in place and then got to work on giving the thing a little more sturdiness with a few well placed box nails into a piece of support wood he’d forgone in the previous build. Levi’s presence was unexpected, as Sully had been so focused on fixing the decorative installation before him, but it wasn’t like the guy wasn’t allowed to come around while Sully was working. He’d been doing this almost his whole life, he knew how to implement safety with his tools when people got too close. Levi would be fine. [color=#c45508]“I don’t care enough to do anything to them anymore, anyway,”[/color] He finally responded to the tall boy’s comment about the underclassmen, driving the final nail home and bending down to grab the fabric that would drape over the wooden structure. When he straightened back up he tossed the fabric over and straightened it out, took a moment to be proud of his work, and then grabbed the very vest Levi had commented on and threw it back on with little care for being gentle. He then turned around to face Levi, eyes cast down as he raised his hands to redo the top two shirt buttons he had undone in order to work. With those done, he shook out his sleeves until they were at his wrists again and finally looked at the blonde before him, now attempting to button his cuffs without looking as he fully acknowledged the boy in front of him. [color=#c45508]“See? It’s fixed, no reason to be upset if I can fix it,”[/color] Once his cuff was buttoned, he took a second to push his hair out of his face and look at the other’s outfit, figuring he should return the earlier compliment. [color=#c45508]“You look nice, man. Fancy. The turtleneck in this weather is insane though.”[/color]

[color=#922b2b]“Beauty is pain, pain is beauty,” [/color]Levi said, cocking his head. He wasn’t sure what it was inside of him, that made the chase so thrilling, he just knew that he enjoyed it. Maybe that’s why he so often found himself in bed with people like Monarch. They made him work for it. That all felt very unGreenly of him, though, and he did not like to dwell on it. Instead, he focused on this strange boy in front of him, one who didn’t seem to grasp the concept of revenge. It made him seem naive, and Levi liked that. Despite himself, he liked those who resisted cruelty when he could not. It intrigued him. [color=#922b2b]“You’re very [/color][i][color=#922b2b]nice[/color][/i][color=#922b2b].”[/color] Levi didn’t say the word with judgement or malice, but it felt alien on his tongue. [color=#922b2b] “How’d you survive four years here? Just doing chores for everybody?”[/color]

Sully wasn’t sure that risking heat stroke was really worth it for the sake of looking nice, especially because Levi never looked anything but well dressed whenever Sully was around the theater kids, but it’s not like it was his place to play the mom friend to the guy. He wasn’t going to tell him to try and stay cool or to make sure to drink water. Not only was Sully not really like that, but even if he [i]was[/i], he didn’t know Levi like that. When Levi called him nice in a tone Sully had no ability to identify, kind of like trying to understand the way Levi looked at him, the woodworker tilted his head to the side as he let Levi see his confusion to the following question. How did he survive four years in highschool? Doesn’t everybody? A small frown on his face, especially when the comment about doing chores for people reminded him of his little realization on the Morning Show yesterday, Sully bent down to pick up his toolbox and then nodded to the bleachers to indicate to Levi that he was going to sit. Taking a seat and keeping his toolbox by his feet, Sully looked up at Levi and finally formed a reply.

[color=#c45508]“Doin’ these [/color][i][color=#c45508]chores[/color][/i][color=#c45508] are a part of my scholarship, dude. Otherwise, unless someone really needs the help, I work on commission. Besides, How am I nice? I just don’t wanna hurt anyone for no reason, and the structure gettin’ fixed means that there’s no reason. It’d’ve been different if it was damaged beyond repair,”[/color] His fingers searched for interaction and he reached down to take the screwdriver back out of the box in order to fiddle with it, turning it rapidly between the digits. He sighed and rubbed at his tired eyes. It’s been an hour since his last cigarette and at least two hours since his last coffee, as he’d gotten distracted before leaving by uploading his and Oli’s GRWM and then made the fool’s move of forgetting his thermos. He wonders why both times Levi has come around him recently, he suddenly starts craving nicotine more than usual. Still, the surviving comment was bothering him, but he wasn’t sure why, so instead he answered with, [color=#c45508]“I don’t know what you mean by survivin’ school, honestly. I drink a shit ton of coffee and smoke like half a pack a day.”[/color] More than that, on bad days.[color=#c45508] “I do my job in the mornin’, do the odd jobs durin’ my free intervals, and I usually got at least one person I know in class willin’ to wake me up if I fall asleep. What’s there to survive? It’s school. It’s a place we’ve gotta be, and then it’s over,”[/color] The screwdriver never faltered between his fingers until he started feeling a strain from the now more drastic angle of their interaction.[color=#c45508] “Also, are you gonna sit? This starin’ up from a seated position thing kinda hurts my neck.”[/color]

Levi smirked. Sully spoke to him like he couldn’t possibly care less about who he was, and he didn’t know why, but he found it strangely endearing. He figured that must be a sign of something broken inside of his well-insured brain. What exactly was the point of chasing a dog that doesn’t want you, and never will? 

That was probably a question better left for Monarch, or a late-night, doom scroll induced, Google search. [color=#922b2b]“What’s there to survive? Very, ‘hakuna matata’ of you,” [/color]Levi said as he took a seat next to Sully, half teasing, half impressed. [color=#922b2b]“I mean it’s not [/color][color=#922b2b][i]just [/i][/color][color=#922b2b]school though, right? Not here at least.” [/color]Levi stared out over the dance floor. For the Greens, at least, that much was true. Nothing was ever as simple as it appeared on the surface. [color=#922b2b]“If it was, would you be building sets so you could go here?”[/color]

[color=#c45508]“When I first applied here I had different ideas,”[/color] Sully answered, for once remaining vague on the matter. He’d applied early, before his accident, and gotten his acceptance letter while recovering. At that point, he didn’t care about going but his old ideas still made enough sense to him so he persisted. His online popularity had picked up during that time as well and BHHS offered more programs and classes that retained his ever fleeting interest. [color=#c45508]“Now it’s just because good grades here gets you a better chance at wherever you’re goin’ next compared to the school I would’ve gone to if I stayed local.”[/color] A shrug met the end of his sentence and he looked at the boy now seated beside him. Once again, Levi was taking time out of his day to find Sully off to the side and talk to him and once again Sully felt like something was happening that he couldn’t quite grasp. He hadn’t even had a chance to ask anyone anything about Levi either, having not seen people like Jonah and Monarch who always seem to know what to say, and having forgotten to so much as mention it to his mother, uncle, or Oli in the time since yesterday morning. Levi always seemed like he was [i]looking[/i] for something with his gaze, and Sully wasn’t really sure what it was he had to offer that had landed the boy’s eyes on him.

[color=#c45508]“If it ain’t just school then what is it? Don’t say somethin’ silly either, like war or a jungle. I’ve watched Mean Girls with my ma, already seen that analogy.”[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]Levi grinned, as though he spent all his time just waiting for boys like Sully to ask him to wax poetic about the highs and lows of American high-school. In a way, he supposed that was exactly what he did. [/color][color=#922b2b]“It’s a foundation.”[/color][color=#b7b7b7] The tall boy paused, carefully crafting his point in his mind. [/color][color=#922b2b]“Whether we like it or not, all this bullshit matters. The test scores determine where you get to go and try to make a name for yourself, those of us with important names will undoubtedly have our scandals here dragged out and ogled at the moment we get too big for our britches, and we’ll all be stitching up the war wounds for years. We like to act like it’s not a big deal but that’s only true if you’re good at forgetting things.”[/color]

[color=#c45508]“I'm great at forgettin’ things, ask anyone.”[/color][color=#b7b7b7] It wasn't quite an argument, but it also wasn't quite a joke either, Sully just didn't really have much to say in response to Levi's assessment of school's role in their development. Well, not much aside from [/color][i][color=#b7b7b7]‘Sounds like that sucks for you’[/color][/i][color=#b7b7b7] which, while something he would easily say to the likes of Oli or the gearheads, was not as quick to fly past what minimal decency filter he still had. [/color][color=#c45508]“You still ended up comparin’ it to war when you said [/color][color=#c45508][i]stitchin’ up war wounds[/i][/color][color=#c45508]. Couldn't help yourself, could ya? It's really that deep when your last name is big time, huh?”[/color]

[color=#b7b7b7]Sully propped his elbow against his crossed knee and slumped forward, chin dropping into his waiting palm as he went back to staring blankly out into the gym. He dropped the screwdriver back into his toolbox with a light clanking noise.[/color]

[color=#c45508]“Guess I do get perks from bein’ a no-name outside of the internet. No one talks about me or my scandals or my past, not that I really have scandals.”[/color] A brief pause, and then,[color=#c45508] “Huh. Do I [/color][color=#c45508][i]need[/i][/color][color=#c45508] scandals? Is it like, a necessary part of the highschool experience that I'm missin’ out on?”[/color][color=#b7b7b7] He was a bit stuck on that now, his mind latching onto the one thing with ease and not willing to let it go. Levi talked about everything like they were absolutely expected. Like they were certainty. It made Sully miss the time when he himself was so sure of everything, instead of the Sully he was now that struggled with some basic concepts that he once understood. He couldn't tell if the feeling swirling around his heart was a craving of envy or nostalgia, the two tended to feel the same after the past few years of wondering after what others grasped so easily.[/color]

[color=#922b2b]“I’ve never thought so, but they can be fun, and fun is almost never a bad thing.” [/color][color=#b7b7b7]Levi said, with a halfhearted shrug. He couldn’t help but fidget with the button on his jacket, and the crease of his pants, oddly self conscious beneath his mask of privileged confidence. Would he tell Naomi and the girls about this new fascination? He supposed not, if he hadn’t already. Why then? This boy made him introspective. He wasn’t totally sure he hated it. [/color][color=#922b2b]“I’m not saying it’s hard to be rich. I’m saying it’s hard to be seventeen.” [/color][color=#b7b7b7]His eyes traced Sully’s jaw, and his bottom lip found it’s way between his teeth. [/color][color=#922b2b]“And I guess I’m also saying that you are a miraculously, unbothered, individual. Has anyone ever told you that?”[/color]

[color=#c45508]“Not…like that,”[/color] Sully answered truthfully with a slow blink, eyes tracing all the different ways Levi fidgeted and pretended not to, from his hands to his lip that he was biting like Rye or little Danny Boaz do. [color=#c45508]“I’m usually told I need to pay more attention, more than that I’m unbothered,”[/color] The builder took off one of the fidget rings Oli had adorned him with earlier, the one where the second band spins around the first like a well oiled bearing, and tossed it into the other boy’s hand once he saw an opening in the jittery motion. He mumbled, [color=#c45508][i]“I’m gonna need that back at some point, a friend gave it to me,”[/i][/color] before returning to his thoughts. Levi wasn’t wrong, in fact he was completely right in saying it’s hard to be seventeen. Sully was just also of the belief that it was hard being [i]any[/i] age, not just teenaged. [color=#c45508]“And I guess I ain’t really unbothered…It’s more like it’s hard to hold onto it once I actually feel it, you know? Fleetin’, or whatever it is,”[/color] Sully waved his hand out at the bustle of activity that made up the rest of the gym outside their corner, encompassing their classmates. [color=#c45508]“I dunno, maybe not bein’ able to be too emotional is a good thing, if always feelin’ nervous or overwhelmed is the other option. Don’t think I could do too much if I was always worried about things my friends or followers did or said. Then again, maybe it’s the people you surround yourself with, ‘cause I didn’t get much choice in who became my friend, not that I’m complainin’, ‘cause I don’t worry ‘bout any of that with them.”[/color]

Levi stayed quiet for a second, unsure if he was filled with envy or pity for his newest fixation. Perhaps it was a bit of both. He’d always felt too big for his skin, like the anger and melancholy would rip him open from the inside out if he let it. A part of him wished for the serenity that Sully seemed to find so effortlessly. Another part, a wiser, less heeded part, knew that the anger, and the melancholy, and everything in between, was what you were supposed to enjoy. Happy ever afters were for children. [color=#922b2b]“Maybe,”[/color] he said, gently spinning Sully’s ring as it rested on the tip of his index finger. [color=#922b2b]“I’ve never been anything other than emotional, so I guess I wouldn’t know. I suppose it[/color][i][color=#922b2b] would [/color][/i][color=#922b2b]keep me from waxing poetic about the meaning of life.”[/color] He sighed and looked between Sully and the growing crowd of attendees filtering into the auditorium. [color=#922b2b]“You’re coming to Ethan’s party, right?”[/color]

[color=#c45508]“Eh, but then you wouldn’t be you, huh? I’m the [/color][color=#c45508][i]second version[/i][/color][color=#c45508] of myself.”[/color] Sully shrugged, fingertips rubbing methodically across the plastic of the bleachers on either side of him. He huffed out a laugh at Levi’s question, starting to realize that despite being family, these cousins must not talk to each other very much. As someone from a family of three people and well…just that, Sully found himself feeling a little bad for the Green kids and the rift he was finally seeing between them. If Sully had siblings or cousins going to the same school, he probably would have already talked to them about Levi approaching him yesterday, and Sully assumed along that vein of thought that Levi knew Ethan had been befriending him for a minute now. It seemed they were both approaching him without knowing about the other though, and Sully wasn’t really sure what to do with that, or if there even was anything to do with it. Standing up from the bleacher and stretching his arms above his head as more people filtered in early, Sully figured he’d just try not to make a mess socially like he had a habit of doing, while having no clue as to how he was going to do that, either.

[color=#c45508]“Yeah, I’ll be there, I’ve got my DS in my locker so I gotta remember to grab it before we all head out,”[/color] True to his comment from yesterday, Sully planned on playing with his handheld gaming device and being relatively high the whole night. [color=#c45508]“I’m probably gonna be in the chiller areas most of the night, if you were plannin’ on lookin’ for me or somethin’?”[/color] Sully assumed that since Levi had asked in the first place it was because he was going to seek him out, just as he has twice already, he cocked his head at the blonde from his now standing position and bent down to pick up his toolbox so he could walk it back to the maintenance closet in the last few minutes before the dance officially started. [color=#c45508]“I’ll get the ring back from you at the party, then, keep it for now.”[/color]

[color=#922b2b]“So you [/color][i][color=#922b2b]weren’t[/color][/i][color=#922b2b] proposing?”[/color] Levi joked. [color=#922b2b]“Probably for the best. My moms would expect an absurd dowry.”[/color] He smirked and crossed his arms behind his back. He’d forgotten what a crush felt like, and the returning sensation was a strange one. He needed someone to slap some sense into him. [color=#922b2b]“I’ll see you later then. Ring and all.”[/color]

[color=#c45508][i]The hell’s a dowry?[/i][/color] Sully wondered as he gave a small laugh at the part of the tall boy’s joke that he understood. [color=#c45508]“I look forward to it,”[/color] He replied to Levi’s parting words before blinking in surprise when he realized that he meant it. Weird. [color=#c45508]“Yeah, I do. Huh. Alright, see ya later, dude. Make use of the ring until then, and have fun.”[/color]

Sully exited the gym with his toolbox in hand and his head tilted to the side, free hand reaching into the toolbox as he went to fish out the battered box of cigarettes hidden within. There was still about ten minutes until the dance really started, and he was feeling a bit jittery after his chat with Levi, so he figured it was time to feed the craving once again rearing its head.

Back in the gym, off to the side of the bleachers the boys had been sitting on and hidden by the shadows caused by cloth draped structures and colorful overhead lights, Monarch leaned back against the wall with narrowed eyes as she took in everything she’d just observed of Sully and Levi’s interaction. She knew she had planned to pass this whole debacle on to Jonah, and maybe she still would, but he wasn’t here yet and several things about the boys’ conversation and body language had the probabilities and theories shifting and adjusting at a rapid pace within her mind. 

She had miscalculated before.

This was interesting.[/color][/indent][/indent]