it could have been worse ;; simeon · complete

[gareth nash brace]

Gareth wasn’t a morning person to any extent, but he wasn’t a late night person either. He didn’t party, didn’t drink, and he didn’t even walk around after ten except for those rare excursions when a friend asked him to buy something for them. It was well after ten now; almost midnight, in fact. So what was he doing up this late in the first place, if he wasn’t partying or drinking or any of the things that could be heard on most of the streets around this time? It was one of those afore mentioned excursions for a friend, though it hadn’t ended as well as he had hoped it would. The plan was that he would go to one of the little local photography stores to get some pictures developed for his partner for a class project, then get straight home and give them to her tomorrow in school. But of course, half way through the walk it just had to start raining, and with sheets of wet stuff bombarding his eyes whenever he looked straight ahead, who wouldn’t have gotten lost? And he hadn’t even brought a coat, either. So now the photographer was wandering around in the cold and the rain and the dark with only jeans and a white v-neck, goosebumps on the arms that were wrapped around him and teeth chattering loudly.

Why had he agreed to do this anyway? Of course it had turned out badly, everything did, why hadn’t he predicted this? He could have looked at the weather channel before leaving, at least! Even a coat would have helped in this situation. The rain was falling so heavily that it felt like he was swimming, drowning in the buckets of water pouring from whatever mean spirited cloud had decided to let loose on Paris tonight. After a few minutes of wandering in the dark, he had eventually sought shelter under a tree and tried waiting out the storm, but that had proved to be useless. Staying still just made him colder, and the storm didn’t look like it was letting up any time soon. He felt like he had been shoved into a freezer and forgotten about for a moment too long. He forced himself to get moving again, through the sheets of rain and only the dim street lights to… well, light the streets. And as he turned the corner, it was just more darkness and a few nightclubs and… a metro station. Yes. Exactly what he needed.

Of course the metro wouldn’t be open at this time of night, but at least he could figure out where he was. He stumbled up to the stairs leading down to the underground station, but they looked slippery and generally hazardous to someone as clumsy as Gareth was. Anyway, there was a map just beside the stairs, lit well enough that he could make out the little red you are here dot. Squinting through the darkness, though, he couldn’t manage to see the thin lines that represented what street he was currently on. What the hell? That was a major design flaw on the metro’s part, if they required extensive lighting and the lack of rain to make out where exactly he was. How annoying. But really, he didn’t think he could stand around in the wet much longer, or he might get hypothermia. And how would he explain that to the school? Rain like this in Paris simply wasn’t natural, but it hadn’t rained for a few weeks… maybe the sky had been saving up all the wetness in it just for this moment, just to torment Gareth and force him to risk walking down the stairs.

Because that was what he was doing. Walking down the stairs, that was. They were wet and he stumbled every few moments, but the first few times, he managed to grab the hand rail and save himself from bashing his brains out all over the metro station. That certainly wouldn’t be a pretty sight for anyone when they arrived in the morning. Maybe he got a little careless when he got near the bottom, though, because after another stumble, he wasn’t able to grasp the rail. No, his brains didn’t go splat all over the floor – he wasn’t high enough for it to do such damage – but the trip sent him tumbling to the ground, a soaking bundle of fabric and human laying at the bottom of stairs like a dead person before managing to sit up and rub his head. ”Ow…” he breathed, shivering violently. Why couldn’t he have brought a coat? Or at least worn long sleeves? It looked like the development of his partner’s pictures would have to wait another day… And how exactly was he going to get home, anyway? There had to be a map somewhere around here… and the station was filled with bright lights and relatively dry, so he wouldn’t have any problem reading it this time. If he could just locate the damn sign…

WORDS! eight three nine
STATUS! complete
TAGS! simeon
NOTES! i feel sorry for my baby now...
INSPIRATION! dashboard by modest mouse
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3

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[simeon bradley parker]

Walking down a street in Paris at midnight. It didn't get much more poetic than that. Simeon wished idly that he had a better reason for being out. As it was, he was on his way home from a movie. A very bad movie, at that. Shown at a grungy, low grade cinema. His long strides were taking him out of that neighborhood as quickly as possible. He was fully aware of the risks of cities combined with bad neighborhoods and late hours. Even if he wasn't consciously worried, he was acting based on years of experience being out on his own. He was walking on autopilot, finding his way back to his apartment with a distant expression on his face, deep in thought. Despite the less-than-stellar outcome of his evening, he wasn't in an especially bad mood. There was just nothing to anchor his thoughts to the present. Well, that changed very suddenly when, without warning, rain began to pour down on the street. Simeon stopped abruptly, staring blankly at the street as drop after drop darkened the pavement. He wasn't dressed for this kind of weather. The night had been brisk, but his jeans and long sleeved collared shirt had been perfectly comfortable. Now the wind had kicked into gear in conjunction with the rain, causing the suddenly drenched Simeon to shudder at every gust.

Simeon's mind became a jumble of disjointed musings that fled further and further away with every freezing cold drop of rain. All intelligent thought became suspended as he looked up at the sky, letting water streak across his face. He scowled at the sky, the line of his jaw and curve of his mouth becoming instantly aggressive. Challenging the sky was a futile effort. Simeon clenched his fists and glared up and down the street. There had to be somewhere nearby to wait out the worst of the rain. Breaking into a run, he continued toward his home. If no alternative came up, then he'd at least be making progress. Before he could get sullen about this turn of events, a dim glow appeared on one of the streets he was crossing. Of course, the metro!

He hustled down the middle of the stairway, trusting his balance and the tread of his sneakers to keep him upright. White light shone up to greet him, the harsh fluorescent glow strangely welcoming. He wasn't about to be picky about his light source, in any case. Huddling around a campfire in a cave was preferable to being on the street right now. Something about a downpour made people revert back to their most basic instincts. Find shelter. Get warm. Get dry. As he walked into the station he took a careful look around. The only thing that would screw up this night any more would be getting mugged. Simeon was a strong guy, but the muggers around here were professional and systematic. Even he would be an easy target. He didn't tend to carry a lot of money, or even a wallet. Usually he'd grab enough euros to get him through the day and call it good. As it was the literal end to the day and he hadn't made it home to resupply yet, he was nearly broke. That wouldn't stop some disgruntled trio from breaking his nose in frustration, though.

All of these concerns would prove to be pointless, however. After walking the length of the station and assuring himself that all the alcoves were empty, he breathed a sigh of relief. Of course, it sounded more like an irritated huff coming from Simeon, but he wasn't prone to actual sighing. He now took a moment to look himself over. His clothes were soaked, but it was dry and airy down here. He pulled his shirt over his head and wrung it out on the ground. As a result the fabric became hopelessly wrinkled, but it was substantially lighter after shedding the extra water weight. He looked down at the rumpled shirt in his hands, debating whether it would be warmer to let it dry or put it back on as it was. In the end putting the shirt back on seemed like the most reasonable choice.

Tugging the shirt back over his head, Simeon made his way over to a bench an sat. Leaning back against an ornate pillar, he considered falling asleep. He didn't have anything on him but a few coins and a key to his apartment, and his clothes weren't exactly high end labels. Maybe people would assume he was a homeless vagabond and leave him alone. A tired smile drifted across his face at the thought. It would be uncomfortable as Hell, but if the rain didn't stop it was better than trudging through a storm just so he could collapse on his bed.

Before his fatigue could make his decision for him, the echo of footsteps filled the station. Simeon glanced over lazily, the beginning of a scowl playing across his features. He really didn't want someone invading his shelter, spacious as it was. Maybe it was some haughty Parisian who would look down their nose at the wet and tired American and leave him alone. The sound of stumbling discouraged Simeon, and his mental image of the person shifted. A bumbling idiot that would be nervous being alone in a deserted metro station, and even more nervous to find that there was a solitary man down there already. All the same, he'd probably be left alone. If it was a woman... she'd probably choose the rain over the perceived risk... Simeon watched the entrance through half-shut eyes, his hands folded across his lap peaceably. He was interested to see who would appear, but he was also fighting back the temptation of sleep.

His curiosity was very definitively put to rest as a figure came crashing down the steps. Well, the last couple of steps. Eyebrows raised, Simeon watched for some sign of life, barely catching the muttered expression of pain. Having confirmed that he wasn't looking at a dead body, Simeon burst into laughter. The sound bounced off the walls, making the origin hard to place. Realizing that that might make the other man nervous didn't bother Simeon in the least. His desire to be left alone had vanished at the hilarious sight. He leaned forward resting his forearms on his knees, and continued to laugh quietly. ”You just made my night.” He spoke in English, hoping that he'd be able to use his native language. His French was good, but first languages were always more comfortable. Standing and striding forward, he stopped directly in front of the stranger, hands in his pockets. No offer of assistance, no inquiry as to his well-being... ”You look awful. Is it raining out there or something?” Simeon just smirked and waited.

[gareth nash brace]

The automatic assumption when wandering into a metro station at night would be that it’s deserted, empty of human life except for yourself. Gareth assumed just that when he stumbled into the station, the only positive side of falling on his face being that no one was there to see it. And for a few moments, at least, that guess was supported by the fact that it was absolutely quiet as he lay there, trying to tell if he was injured or not. Nothing felt broken, so he sat up, rubbing his head and softly breathing a complaint. No, nothing was broken as far as Gareth could tell, but it still hurt. He was going to have bruises in the morning, he was sure of it. He had just started looking around the station when someone started laughing, causing him to tense up. Who the hell would be in a metro station this late at night? Well… Gareth was. But there were all kind of people that weren’t like Gareth; pick pockets and homeless people. Of course, it was probably just someone else seeking shelter from the rain, but Gareth didn’t jump to that conclusion as fast as he should have.

Maybe Gareth was looking just a bit more than pathetic at the moment; sitting in a lump of wet clothing and staring around like a deer in the headlights. ”W-wha…?” he mumbled quietly, finally locating the source of the laughter. He normally didn’t stutter, but he was shivering so much that it simply wasn’t possible to talk like a normal human being right now. What he was most confused about at the moment was the matter of Simeon; the creepy guy sitting in the abandoned metro station and apparently amused by the fact that Gareth was having a horrible night. ”Er… y-you’re… welcome?” he said slowly, wondering why exactly this guy was happy that Gareth was soaking wet and had just gone tumbling down the stairs. So, of course, this needed to be asked. ”W-…why, exactly?” Gareth wrapped his arms around himself again, goosebumps refusing to fade away. ”I… I don’t think that s-someone falling down the stairs is v-very amusing.” There was an oddly reproachful tone to his voice, almost as if he was disappointed or upset. Normally he just went along with the insulting things that people said, pretending not to notice the fact that people disliked him. Maybe it was because this man was a stranger that he felt it was okay to be upset. After all, it wasn’t like he was going to see this guy ever again, right? Unless he was a student at the same school… but what were the chances of that?

Gareth looked up at Simeon, a quizzical look crossing his features. Couldn’t he tell that it was raining? The sound could be clearly heard from anywhere in the metro station, couldn’t it? Maybe he was just being sarcastic… yes, Gareth was going to assume that. ”Why are you w-wasting your breath on sarcasm when you could be h-helping me?” he snapped, the annoyed effect somewhat ruined by his chattering teeth. The photographer was close to freezing to death, and Simeon was just standing there and smirking at him? ”Y-you could at least o-offer to help me up…” Gareth didn't get many chances to use his second language these days. Yes, English was his first language because his second was considered dying in most places and therefore not taught until first grade. He could only ever use it at home, and even then, it wasn't very common with all the tourists. And when would he be going home, anyway? Sometimes it seemed like he only knew English and French...

WORDS! five four five
STATUS! complete
TAGS! simeon
NOTES! he's on the border of hate...
INSPIRATION! guilty pleasure by cobra starship
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3

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[simeon bradley parker]

Simeon liked to surprise people. He felt like it didn't happen often enough, because as soon as anyone got to know him a little bit, his patterns of behavior were easy enough to figure out. Once people started expecting the unexpected, it took all the fun out of it. The initial reactions to some of his more acerbic comments were pitifully short-lived, and Simeon wasn't childish enough to resort to practical jokes. Thus he was left with chance situations such as these, where he meets a complete stranger and takes advantage of their naivete, denying them common courtesy. It didn't occur to Simeon that he might encounter this person again. Paris was a big city, it was easy to get lost in the crowd.

When the stranger started to speak, a satisfied glint touched Simeon's eyes. English! Fantastic! Simeon couldn't distinguish the specific dialect, so he just lumped it together with all the rest in a category called “Tea and Crumpets English.” Inaccuracy was not his greatest concern at the moment. The stammering was beginning to get on his nerves, though. Judging from the guy's appearance, he was just cold. Hopefully once he started to warm up it would pass. If it was an actual speech impediment... well, then Simeon would probably leave him alone. As it was, he remained hopeful and didn't move away, amusement evident in every line of his face. ”Why? Are you serious? You just fell down a flight of stairs!” He barked a laugh, illustrating that it was, in fact, funny. His expression sobered then, a frown darkening his eyes. Not amusing? Simeon was tired, soaking wet, his apartment was across town, and he was suck in a subway with a little Welsh man. He had a right to be amused by any goddamned thing he wanted to be amused by.

His self-righteous little spiel didn't earn the right to be voiced, so Simeon held his peace for the moment. He would have to make the best of this situation. He hadn't moved from where he stood in front of Gareth, looking down at the sodden mass at his feet. His frown had been choked back and replaced with an arrogant smirk. The arrogance was completely unfounded, of course. Simeon had nothing to be proud of. His situation was identical to the other man's, stuck here in this freezing metro with dripping clothes. It was obvious that they were down here for the same reason. Simeon even had a little puddle started around his feet, and his wet hair was still sending errant drops of water down the back of his neck and side of his face. They were out of the rain, but wind was still snaking through the tunnels and down the stairs. If it got any colder Simeon would be stuttering over his words as well.

”Breath spent on sarcasm is never wasted,” he said gravely, a smirk still tugging at the corner of his mouth. He couldn't bring himself to take the guy seriously, as when Simeon was determined to get some entertainment out of a situation he rarely took anything seriously. ”I could... but what are you going to do if I don't? You are honestly one of the least threatening people I've ever seen.” About as threatening as a nearly drowned puppy. Simeon's smile didn't reach his eyes, a dead giveaway that he wasn't having as much fun as he let on. ”I can't kick a man while he's down. Come on, get up.” With that he bent and hauled Gareth up by his upper arm. Simeon took a moment to look him over coolly, nothing in his manner suggesting that he had acted out of kindness. ”You look sort of... out of place. Take a wrong turn somewhere?” He slumped a bit, returning his hands to his pockets and waiting for an explanation.

[gareth nash brace]

Even though Gareth was slowly starting to dry off, he was still freezing. Sure, the stammering would probably stop once he wasn’t soaked to the bone anymore, but he wasn’t at all happy with the current situation. Who would be happy if they were in Gareth’s place? He was wet, cold, and someone was obviously making fun of him. ”Y-yeah, I fell down the stairs? Why is t-that funny? Y-you could have at least c-checked to see that I was okay! I c-could have been seriously hurt!” Now that he had gotten that out of his system, Gareth fell silent, staring at the concrete floor that he was sitting on. A large pool of water had already formed around him, tinted a very faint pink in places from the few scrapes that had found their way onto his skin when he had been sent tumbling onto the ground. And Simeon found this funny. He wasn’t sure which was running in his system right now; anger or shock. Maybe it was a mix of both of them. It wasn’t that Simeon was annoying, though. Gareth would have been angry with anyone in this situation if they had seen him take a faceplant. The fact that Simeon was just standing there and smirking at him didn’t really help with anything, but it didn’t make thing that much worse, either. Hell, it even gave them a topic to talk about, and Gareth would take any distractions from the cold that he could get right now.

”What’s so g-good about sarcasm?” he asked, sincerely wanting to know the answer. Everyone seemed to be sarcastic these days, and though Gareth wasn’t completely lost on the meaning, he still didn’t see why people liked it so much. It was rarely used in nice ways, and Gareth’s mindset just didn’t let him see what was so good about intentionally hurting people’s feelings. Sure, Gareth himself could be snappish and rude when he was upset, but he always apologized for it eventually. A lot of people didn’t apologize when they were rude, and that irked him. ”It’s just… r-rude,” he said softly, continuing his line of thought and his speech to Simeon at the same time. ”And w-why do I need to be th-threatening for you to offer help? That’s m-messed up,” Gareth didn’t help threatening people; he avoided them at all costs. He helped people that needed help, pathetic looking people and people in distress, even if he barely knew them. The fact that Simeon thought he needed to be threatening in order to offer assistance was just twisted in Gareth’s mind. He didn’t like it one bit that this guy didn’t offer help, and liked his reasoning for it even less.

He didn’t appreciate being pulled to his feet so forcefully, though the movement and sudden absence of the pool of water he had been sitting in warmed him up slightly. ”So you’ll kick me while I’m standing, then?” he practically hissed, not stammering anymore. The goosebumps caused by the cold had gone away, but there were still some due to fear. He hated people touching him, especially strangers like Simeon. Rude strangers, to be specific. He didn’t need to deal with this, especially not this late at night. ”And yes, I’m lost…” Speaking of that, he still needed to find a map to figure out where he was. Looking around the empty metro station, Gareth finally located the large map and the little red you are here dot for the second time this night, taking a step away from Simeon and towards the wall, finally able to read the street that this metro was on. ”God… no… SHIT!” he yelled, resisting the urge to stamp his foot or punch the wall. He was practically on the opposite side of Paris! It would take him forever to get home. So long that in fact, it might have been a better idea just to sleep in the station and catch the metro to school in the morning. ”Dammit… fuck this whole thing…” Yes, Gareth was upset. He wasn’t going to deny it, and the rain hadn’t even lessened in the slightest bit.

WORDS! six nine five
STATUS! complete
TAGS! simeon
NOTES! ohshiz D: i apologize for all the swearing
INSPIRATION! tonight tonight by hot chelle rae
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3

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[simeon bradley parker]

This wasn't going to be easy at all. At least indignant people were funny. Simeon illustrated this by laughing at Gareth's hypothetical statement. Of course he wouldn't have been as heartless if the other man had been seriously hurt. He had waited to see if he was alive before laughing, after all. What more did the guy want? Simeon was actually far more observant than he let on. He hadn't failed to see the shadow of pain pass over Gareth's face, the initial test to make sure nothing was broken. From the lack of screaming, writhing, and moaning, he had concluded that there was nothing terribly wrong with him. Sure he had started laughing before being sure that the man wasn't sporting a broken collarbone, but it's not like that was going to do any more damage. This was just a sad over-reaction. ”You underestimate my character,” was all he said on the matter. Watching Gareth shut down was disheartening. Maybe he actually had a concussion or something. Simeon took advantage of the pause in conversation to study him, considering how extremely inconvenient it would be to call an ambulance for him. He didn't even have his cell phone on him. Probably enough change fr a payphone, though... Simeon had completed most of a lifeguard training course before dropping out and moving on to other things. He was fairly confident that he would be able to remember the signs of a concussion. Distinguishing symptoms from normal behavior would be a challenge, since he didn't actually know this person. How troublesome. Maybe he should retreat to the far end of the station.

Before he decided to leave, though, the man held him up with a question. An accusatory question. The answer was fairly obvious to Simeon, which made his reply sound snappy. ”Sarcasm is a sophisticated way to demonstrate contempt or mockery. And yes, it is rude. That's the point, genius.” The question was followed immediately by another idiotic query. Everything Simeon did and said always made perfect sense to him. Nothing would persuade him to believe otherwise. Absolutely everything was justified, even if to some people the logic was severely flawed. Being told that his reasoning was “messed up” only served to irritate him. ”If I thought I was going to catch hell for not helping somebody to their feet, I would help them to their feet. There were no foreseeable consequences for ignoring your sorry ass.”

Simeon made no effort to control his swiftly turning mood. He was responding to things as they occurred, so it was possible that he'd make another 180 soon and be back to cheerily berating the poor sap. As if on cue, said individual asked an apparently rhetorical question that brightened his mood instantly. Simeon was going to treat it as a rhetorical question, anyway. He just smirked, thinking to himself that this guy took things very literally. Maybe there was still hope! The hilarity continued as the man made his way over to one of the lit maps of the metro system, presumably to find out where he was. Judging by his reaction, he was far from where he wanted to be. Striding over to stand behind him, Simeon studied the map as well, simply confirming that he was where he thought he was. Sure enough, it was the same station he had assumed it was. He eyed Gareth out of the corner of his eye, assuring himself that he wasn't about to become violent in his frustration. There was a significant height difference between the two, and he didn't strike Simeon as an aggressive person, but a sucker punch to the gut would still hurt like hell. If you were going to push someone's buttons, you had to be prepared for the kickback. ”You are just having a terrible night, aren't you? All the same, it's no reason to throw a temper tantrum.” Simeon shook his head, exhibiting disappointment, as if he was telling off a child.

[gareth nash brace]

He had already been over this hundreds of times in his mind, but he was saying it again just to make himself feel better. He was cold, still soaked to the bone, miles away from where he needed to be, and Simeon was being annoying. Not just annoying, though. No, Gareth had dealt with annoying people before; in fact, he had to deal with a certain one every day... but that wasn't the point. Simeon didn't just irritate him, he made Gareth angry for once in his life. He wasn't anywhere near the verge of hate, but he was angrier than he normally ever was, and that wasn't a good sign. Oh, sure, he had very good reasons for it... but the end result of angry Gareth never seemed to end well. Last time he hadn't managed to swallow his anger, his very own father had ended up with a black eye from his eleven year old son. He supposed that anger was another one of the things that he had bottled up because of his father, but a lot of those things were showing their faces again, so why should anger be left out? Of course, Gareth was pretty sure that he wouldn't punch anyone this time... he hoped.

”I can throw a tantrum if I want to,” he snapped, turning around to face the guy that was now uncomfortably close to him. He hadn't thrown a real tantrum since he was a child. He could do any damn thing he pleased, didn't he deserve that right at the moment? Simeon had been right when he had guessed that Gareth wouldn't hurt him, though. The photographer couldn't stand doing that to someone, even if he hated them. The thing is, whenever he let his negative feelings get carried away, he ended up hurting someone. Even if he wasn't very good at it, the blind human instinct to lash out at things you didn't like normally got some damage done. He always apologized for it after... but it was part of the reason that he had drilled passiveness into his personality over the years. He didn't want to find himself in the hospital, which was what would probably happen if he got himself in a fight. Gareth was awkward around romance and even friendship, but he wasn't at all violent. He just sort of floated in the very center of all the possible interactions with other people, ending up unconsciously ignoring the world around him and alienating potential friends.

”I don't see why you're being so... annoying,” he mumbled, retrieving his phone from his pocket and turning it on. It hadn't gotten too wet, which was a good thing. Right, now who would pick him up in the middle of night? Cass, but he didn't want to be around him right now, and certainly didn't trust the painter to get him safely home. Maybe Conan, but he was probably busy staring at a picture of Ike. Or... whatever he did during the night. Probably sleeping, like most sane people. Did the fact that Gareth was out in the city at midnight make him insane? Probably not, seeing as a lot of people were out partying at the moment. This couldn't exactly be considered a party, though for once, Gareth might have appreciated a few drinks to get his mind off things. The photgrapher sat down on one of the benches, head in his hands. He wasn't sure if he felt like punching someone or crying anymore. The sound of rain was getting softer, so maybe he could leave soon. ”You seem better prepared for the rain than I am. Why don't you leave?”

WORDS! six one five
STATUS! complete
TAGS! simeon
NOTES! sorry for the lack of dialogue
INSPIRATION! find a new way by young love
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3

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[simeon bradley parker]

Pushing buttons: a surefire way to distract and amuse oneself. The truth was, had Simeon been alone he would have been sulking on a bench, waiting to get dry and trying to decide if running the last mile or so home was worth it. He would have been cold, bored out of his mind, and angry at the injustice of European weather systems. They were probably no more unpredictable than North American weather systems, there was just a smug quality about them that irritated him. It wasn't just rain, it was “I am going to make your life miserable.... NOW” rain. However, fate had helpfully supplied him with Gareth. He also seemed to be having a terrible night, more so that Simeon, and was particularly susceptible to Simeon's antagonizing. Fatigue, perceived anonymity, and incredible boredom were making Simeon reckless. He caught himself wondering if he could make this seemingly soft-spoken person crack under enough pressure. Everyone had a breaking point. You just had to find it.

”Whoa. Dude. Vicious comeback. Were you busy coming up with that all day?” He looked down at Gareth, who had decided to turn and face his tormentor. How brave of him. Too bad he was the same size as a hobbit. His voice was caustic with sarcasm, changing to exasperation next as he said, ”Do I really have to answer that? Fine. Because I have nothing better to do. You were just conveniently deposited in the same station as I was, and I am going to take advantage of that.” Simeon made no move to back away to make Gareth more comfortable, something an average person would do without thinking. He simply watched him pull out a cell phone, presumably trying to think of a friend to come pick him up.

For a brief moment, Simeon cursed himself for leaving his cell phone at home. Then he remembered: who would he call in this situation? The last time he had checked, he didn't even have any contacts. This struck him as a little... sad. Frowning suddenly, Simeon caught himself and mentally smothered the thought. There was nothing sad about it. Things like this didn't happen every day, and anyone willing to offer you a ride would inevitably want something in return. He'd walk home, or more likely run, as soon as this pathetic stranger caught a ride. Simeon wasn't interested in being left to his own devices in an empty subway terminal. He looked around as he thought of this, finding the place substantially less welcoming now than he had when he first arrived. He ran a hand through his hair again, pleased at finding it slightly less wet. He seemed to have stopped dripping, too. Marvelous.

Gareth's next words brought Simeon's attention back to him. He was somewhat surprised to see that the man had moved to one of the benches. ”In what dimension does this...” He held out his arms slightly to make his completely soaked attire perfectly visible. ”...count as prepared?” A long-sleeved shirt and jeans were plenty warm when it was dry and the wind was mild, but when wet? With powerful gusts of wind hurtling down the street? Simeon was becoming increasingly disappointed in the level of intelligence exhibited by the general public. ”I'm not interested in a 10-minutes run in this weather. Besides, we're having so much fun down here!” He plastered on a smile that didn't reach his eyes to go along with this last sentence. As soon as he had finished speaking it dropped, a scowl quickly replacing it.

He returned to gazing around the station, suddenly depressed about his situation.

[gareth nash brace]

Vicious? Gareth didn't like that adjective being applied to him, but once again it was layered with sarcasm so thick that even Gareth could see it. And, of course, see that it was no use responding to something that was just meant to make him angrier. Oh, it worked just fine; Gareth was practically boiling, but over years of practice, he could hide those kind of things. Not fully, but he looked a lot less mad than he really was. Hiding what he felt was something that he fell back on when he couldn't get rid of what he felt, and since there weren't any good ways of using anger management in an abandoned metro station, the least he could do was take away the satisfaction that he knew Simeon would get from watching him blow up. It was his own way of being rude, just not straight to the taller guy's face. Especially since he had to tilt his head back a considerable amount to actually see Simeon's face... but that wasn't the point. Gareth simply wasn't going to let his tormenter get any pleasure from watching him stomp around and snap and get angry, even if it was probably bad to hold it all in. It would just come pouring out later, he was sure. But for now, he couldn't care less. He just didn't want Simeon to see him at his very worst.

Yes, Gareth had expected him to answer the question, but Gareth hadn't expected to hate the answer so much. ”So... you're being rude because you're bored?” he asked venomously, putting a considerable amount of emphasis on the last word. He had to make sure that he had heard Simeon correctly. The way Gareth had heard it, Simeon was just being a dick because he didn't have anything else to do, but that couldn't be right... could it? Nobody could be that stupid. ”The thought of having a civil conversation didn't even cross your mind?” He should have expected this after the way Simeon had simply laughed when Gareth could have been hurt, but he hadn't, and it stung to realize it now. Simeon didn't actually dislike him, he was just using Gareth to get away from the sheer boredom that an empty metro station provided? Gareth could have understood that if it was in the form of a conversation, because even he would have talked politely to a stranger in this situation, but being rude just because you had nothing else to do? It didn't fit in Gareth's world, and he didn't appreciate Simeon finding a place for it. ”I can't believe you!” It was the only thing he could think of to say, but maybe staying silent would have been better. His hold on his anger was slipping, and not just by a few inches.

”I didn't say you were prepared for the rain, I said you were more prepared than I was. At least you have long sleeves.” He could go into the whole theory of how more than this wasn't actually that, but he didn't feel like thinking about it right now. He felt like curling up in his bed and sleeping for a few days, then waking up and crying his eyes out. Maybe finding Cass to cuddle with or something, but that would only be as a last resort. Well, when he was quiet, he could hear that the rain was much more subdued than it had been when he had first stumbled into the station. Hopefully it would stop by the time he was dry again, and then he could chance the hour's walk home without getting his night ruined again. ”How in hell is this fun?” It came out as more of a growl, and his tired and angry mind simply missed the sarcasm in Simeon's happy statement. With a quick glance at his phone, he became aware that it was around one in the morning. Great, just great. Even if it took a simple minute for the rain to stop, he still wouldn't get home before two, and he had to go to school at around seven...

WORDS! six nine one
STATUS! complete
TAGS! simeon
NOTES! ... sleep is needed
INSPIRATION! up and up by relient k
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3

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[simeon bradley parker]

OOC:: The last time I posted when I was tired he came out depressed. This time he's just evil. XD//

Something had changed. Simeon wasn't sure what it was, but Gareth's mindset had shifted. He was holding something back, and if Simeon had any luck at all he would bet it was strong, burning anger. It was the fact that t was held back that annoyed him, though. He wanted to push this guy past his breaking point, something that had already been set into motion when he came crashing into the metro. If he was just going to regain control then this wouldn't be much fun. Gareth already had his cell phone out, ready to call someone, so Simeon didn't have much time. He wanted a blow up, he was going to get a blow up.

A cold, humorless grin spread over Simeon's mouth when Gareth processed his answer. He had to suppress a villainous laugh, but it shone through his eyes. If the eyes were truly a window to the soul, ten Simeon's was dark in every sense of the word. He took an unhealthy amount of pleasure in outdoing people and twisting behaviors and reactions out of them that they weren't prone to exhibiting. There was always a side to people they didn't like to show; something they thought was under control. Sometimes it was closer to the surface than normal. With Gareth... Simeon obviously didn't know him, but he gave him the impression of being a pretty mild person. It would be a challenge to overcome whatever programming he had worked in. Was it surprising that Simeon viewed people as machines? Hopeless, ignorant machines?

”Yes, I was bored. And you were available. I can't really spell it out much more clearly than that.” Jesus, this guy was slow. It was like he needed a clarification for everything. Was it so surprising that there were people in the world that weren't exactly made of rainbows and sunshine? Civil conversation? ”Fuck no. Where's the fun in that?” He held a hand up to his mouth, cupping it around the side as if he was passing along a secret. It was just for show, since Gareth was a ways away. ”I don't know if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly a nice person.” He smirked again, clearly not bothered by this fact. There was no one more satisfied with himself than Simeon. He relished the way people had to realize the personality trait he had just shared with the stranger. Depending on his mood, it became evident at different times in the conversation. In this case, it was obvious straight away. It should have been, anyway. There were some people that were reluctant to make that final damning judgment about him. It was those people that he liked to help along by making some undeniably jerkish move.

All of this was apparently beyond comprehension for the guy. What was so unbelievable about it? He should be thankful that Simeon wasn't any worse than he was. For example, a stereotypical violent, murderous American would have been much worse. It's not like he was pulling a knife on anybody. He was just having some fun at another's expense. Harmless enough. As far as he knew, he had never institutionalized anyone. Hospitalized, yes, but he had never started any of those fights. Nor had he gone by unscathed as well. Actually throwing punches was a last resort for him. There were times, though, when people had snapped at him and gone straight to instinctive brutality. So, in a way, he had absolutely started the fights, he just hadn't made the first physical move. He hoped it wouldn't come to that on this occasion. Simeon was more in favor of psychological assaults than physical ones. He'd fight back, but then it would mean their fun would have to come to an end.

Simeon just shrugged on the subject of sleeves. Preparedness was a relative concept. He was better equipped for the temperature, but wet sleeves weren't much better than wet arms. A couple extra feet of fabric wasn't going to do much against wind and rain. A dash for home wouldn't kill him, but it wouldn't be much fun. He let the matter drop though, his interest caught by what Gareth had to say next. There must be something wrong with his sarcasm detector. It was the only explanation for his continued... obtuseness. Well, Simeon could work with this. ”Well, it's fun for me. I can't imagine it'd be very much fun from your perspective, considering what a lowly and pathetic place you're in right now. From up here, though, it's not too bad.” He stood tall, smirking arrogantly. This, surprisingly enough, was Simeon in his element. Not so much the underground station, soaking wet clothes, and freezing weather... the other aspects of the situation, though. The confidence and his glaring arrogance, this was him at his most comfortable. Gareth was faltering, which just made it that much better.

[gareth nash brace]

It must have been Simeon’s lucky night, because Gareth was past his boiling point. Way past it. Of course, even if he was exceedingly upset and still harboring the urge to give Simeon a punch that he would remember, he could hide it. The photographer was tired and cold and generally unhappy apart from the anger, but he could hide it to an extent. Just to an extent, though, and then he would snap. So Gareth would try his hardest not to get to that point, even if it meant talking an hour’s long walk through the rain. He had already let Simeon see enough of his bad side, and he wasn’t about to willingly show any more of it to this idiot of a guy. He certainly didn’t like the way Simeon was grinning, either. It was disturbing, but instead of fear, it just triggered more anger. This was such a bad situation for Gareth, but what Gareth was about to do was going to make Simeon very happy. He was sure of it, and that was the whole reason that he had to stop himself from blowing up. Not because he didn’t want to make Simeon happy – no, if Simeon got his happiness from things like compliments and civil conversations, like normal people, Gareth wouldn’t hesitate to try and help him get that happiness. It was simply because if Simeon liked Gareth getting angry, he might tell other people about what happened here, and Gareth didn’t want his non-existent reputation ruined. Well, he supposed that he already had a bit of a reputation for other things, that that wasn’t the point here.

”Oh, I’ve noticed,” he said, gripping the edge of the bench like his life depended on it and taking a deep breath. ”But you could at least try to be nice, couldn’t you?” He didn’t even bother waiting for an answer before standing up and punching a short message into the keyboard of his phone. He had just asked Cass if he would come pick him up. Of course, he had included the name of the metro station… it made him tired just thinking about how far away from home he was. He had stood up and already walked halfway to the stairs when Simeon started talking again, and that was where he couldn’t deal with his annoying self anymore. Simeon was a rude prat, and he had had the option not to be so rude. He was rude by his own choice, and that right there was right really annoyed the shit out of the photography student. ”I’m not lowly or pathetic! That’s you, okay? You’re not in some high place above all others, you just think you are! You live in your own little world where it’s somehow necessary to be mean to everyone you meet, and it’s somehow fun for you! It’s messed up!” He was yelling now, and close to crying too. Gareth was a person of extremes, though, so it made some sense. He was either quiet and controlled or yelling, simple as that.

Of course, by the time he had finished yelling, all of his anger was gone. He wasn’t one to hold on to grudges, and even though Simeon wasn’t going to be on the top of his Christmas list, he didn’t hate the guy. But he wasn’t going to stick around and watch himself get mad again. Why would he? He had the chance to leave, so he took it, stalking up the stairs and out into the rain.

WORDS! five nine five
STATUS! complete
TAGS! simeon
NOTES! BOOM
INSPIRATION! thnks fr th mmrs by fall out boy
CREDITS! Template By arro @ Caution!
LYRICS! Colorado Sunrise by 3OH!3

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[simeon bradley parker]

He'd been called worse things than abnormal, lowly, and pathetic. They didn't bear repeating, but they could still be called to mind when a blustering little man was trying to release some rage and put all the things he had to say to shame. That was really the best he had? Simeon had been quietly satisfied when Gareth flipped his lid and started yelling, but this was somewhat disappointing. He stood perfectly still, watching the tirade be unleashed and taking in the words. Simeon was arrogant, but he still listened to what people said. Unless it was completely mindless trash, he didn't tune people out. He doubted that that little fun fact would matter much to Gareth at this point. He seemed to be about as angry as he could get, which didn't seem to be that mad compared to other people Simeon had provoked. All the same, he took a moment to consider what had been said to him while Gareth recovered himself. He did live in his own world, distant from the rest of society, overlapping only when he waned it to. In this world of his it made perfect sense to be rude to people because that was what kept them comfortably at a distance. He had fun because people were generally boring unless you started pushing buttons, and the knowledge that they wouldn't come around and try to bother him later was nice. Simeon had his own set of morals and personal rules which he never broke, and he stayed true to himself all the time. This, in his opinion, did place him above a lot of people.

One of the reasons he so enjoyed messing with people was because they had no power over him whatsoever. Nothing they could say or do would cause him any damage. He was far too comfortable with himself, too sure of his own righteousness to be swayed by a few lame excuses for insults.

He did a quick mental check to see if he'd addressed everything. He wasn't going to bother arguing aloud, as he could tell Gareth had sent off a text and would be leaving shortly. The warmth of victory swelled in his chest as he watched the other man climb the stairs back into the rain, presumably to meet his ride. After his little outburst he seemed to have mellowed immediately, all of hi anger at Simeon vanishing. There was something oddly fascinating about it, but his chance for further observation had vanished into the night. From the sound of it, the rain had let up slightly, but he'd still get re-drenched the second he stepped outside. His smirk faded as he looked around at the drafty station, empty once again. Well, there was no use putting it off anymore. Simeon jogged up the stairs back to street level, squinted against the rain to regain his bearings, and took off at a run toward his apartment.