i don't wanna be alone ;; artemis & simeon

[gareth nash brace]

Today was one of those rare days that Gareth was actually hungry during school. Yes, he brought lunch every day, but rarely did he end up eating it. The lunch room was crowded and noisy during the hour that students got for lunch, and his classes weren’t so tiring that he had to eat during the school hours anyway. He normally just had something when he got home; problem solved. Avoiding large crowds and satisfying his hunger at the same time was normally the best plan, but there were days that he got hungry and simply didn’t feel like waiting until he got home to eat. Those were mostly the days that he went trekking around the city, taking pictures every once in a while, but mostly just doing a lot of walking. He had just got back from one of those excursions, a bit earlier than normal because it had started raining. Just a light drizzle, but Gareth didn’t really like taking pictures in the rain, so he had headed back to school. Walking into the large building, he looked around nervously, sneezing slightly as the temperature suddenly shifted from the damp outdoors to the heated building.

It looked like he was going to have the brave the lunch room, because after all that walking through the city, Gareth really was hungry. There wasn’t really anywhere else to eat than the lunch room, so he couldn’t escape that way. Sighing, he headed through the long halls, the echoes of his footsteps lost in the chatter of students. It looked like he had arrived just a few minutes after everyone else had gone to lunch, and that guess was confirmed when he walked into the large room. Almost all the tables were full of students; friends happily chatting and enemies stonily glaring at each other from across the room. However all these people got along, they were so tightly packed into their seats that Gareth actually hesitated by the door. This was why he never ate in the lunch room… it was just a catastrophe waiting to happen. Quickly scanning the vast space, he noticed an empty table in the very back, next to the garbage cans. He’d rather eat out in the rain than sit with any of the other students, but… he could just ignore the smells of garbage, maybe? He was quite good at ignoring things, after all.

Gareth made his way over to the empty table, through the crowds of late comers that were scrambling to get a seat with their friends. Gareth was sure that some of his friends were here, but he didn’t really feel like looking around for them, and felt even less like sitting at one of the tables that currently looked like a can of sardines. The photographer wasn’t claustrophobic, nor was he aphephobic, but he simply enjoyed his own company to that of others, especially when his personal space was involved. An introvert, he could be called, and yes, he would sit next to the garbage cans in order to get time to himself. There were those few people that were allowed to invade his time and space, but not many of them. He dumped his pack on the floor, unzipping it and rummaging through multiple cameras and binders before finding the brown sack that was his lunch. He hadn’t known that it would start raining today, so he hadn’t packed that much. Just a Cornish pasty that he had made last night and a bottle of water. Well, that was okay, he guessed. He set his lunch on the table, skillfully ignoring the smell of garbage as he ripped off a piece of the pasty and ate it. Maybe having some friends to talk with would be better than sitting alone… but it was too late now.

[artemis adrian monroe]

Well, it was that time again - lunch time. A time a certain second year absolutely loved because it meant that he actually had a chance to eat. If it weren't for this school, Artemis was positive he would have starved to death a long time ago. He was already skin and bones. If this kept up much longer, he'd disappear into nothing. But he'd be damned if he asked for help from his mother. Skipping a meal or two and barely cutting it with bills was something he could deal with. Something he could get over. But talking to that she-witch of a wanna-be Greek goddess wasn't going to fly with him. He'd find some way to manage eventually. He just needed a better job... Maybe he could do some freelance art or caricatures like those random people sitting on the streets do. Though a lot of people find them annoying...

Artemis wrinkled his nose slightly at the idea. If he was going to be standing on the street, it'll probably be for something that would get him a lot more money then just a few euros in change and a handful of bitchy comments. But all that could wait. The only thing that mattered at the moment was that he was able to eat. God, was he starving! And he'd be damned if anyone in the nearest vicinity couldn't hear his stomach making a racket. It was a little embarrassing but what was someone supposed to do about it? The faster he got through the line and picked up his food, the better it would be. Though, with the starving guy grabbing everything he can get his hands on and piling it on to his tray, things were going rather slow. Nonetheless, he eventually made it through the line and only left him with one last problem.

Finding a seat.

Pursing his glossed lips into a contemplative pout, his soft eyes glanced around the lunch room. Where to sit, where to sit... All the tables seemed pretty full... except for one. It looked like he had no other choice but to go sit in the back, as horrible as that sounded. With a gentle shrug, Artemis made his way to the nearly empty table, the heels of his black boots clicking all the way. "I hope you don't mind if I join you," he smiled a little as a greeting to the other student, "But there's not really anywhere else to sit and I'd rather not stand. These shoes are killing me!" Artemis' voice was soft and light, almost graceful. Despite being very male, he didn't look nor sound it.

The second year set his tray down on the table before sitting. Crossing one leg over the other, he smoothed out his black skirt and tucked a lock of blond hair behind his ear. His smile only widened now that he was off his feet and he looked at his company for the lunch period.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[simeon bradley parker]

Simeon had gone through his last class in a daze. He just really wasn't feeling Critical Thinking today, and as valuable a life skill as it probably was, he was happier spacing out and imagining the professor's hair as the branches and leaves of a tree. Or the clock melting. Or everything being suddenly turned on its side with massive, disembodied heads appearing out of nowhere. Really, this day would be far more interesting if it suddenly became a painting by Dali. Then again, did he really want to live in such an abstract world? Probably not. His artistic side quieted in the face of frank logic. All the same, the class dragged on for far too long, and, finding himself denied his usual pastime, Simeon was left with counting ceiling tiles. By the time he snapped out of his reverie, people were filing out of the classroom. Gathering his scattered possessions, he began to question why he'd even bothered coming to class.

He had managed to keep up his grades and attendance enough thus far to not be kicked out, which was a feat that even Simeon was surprised by. He was into his third year, after all. Here was a spur of the moment decision that seemed to be working out. Well, applying hadn't been so spur of the moment. He had done terribly in school, skipping most of his classes and not participating in anything extra-curricular. After graduation he'd decided that he needed a change of scenery. Exclusive academy of the arts in Paris? Why not? All of his attention had been focused on gaining admission. And his efforts paid off. Now that he was here, though... When Simeon wanted something badly enough, he got it. Maintaining interest, though, that was the challenging part.

Slinging his backpack over one shoulder, Simeon walked out into the hallway. He was stalled there, however, when he couldn't remember what he was supposed to be doing next. Standing squarely in the center of the hall, he created something of a roadblock for the hoards of students flowing downstream. Next class, next class... he kept drawing blanks. Then, perhaps his mind had finally returned to his body, he put two and two together. Where else would all of these people be headed at the same time at this time of day? Luckily he was able to laugh at his own private absent mindedness and follow the crowd to the lunch room.

By the time he got there, the majority of the student body seemed to have assembled. Every table was crowded with chattering people, all of them so damn enthusiastic about something. After filling a tray with mediocre food, Simeon stood at the end of the counter, searching for an isolated little table. Any place where he wouldn't have to deal with human stupidity. He just... not today. Nothing had burst his boredom bubble, and with Simeon, boredom led to impatience and a tendency toward aggression. Breaking a tray over someone's head seemed like an excellent way to cure his boredom... and this thought was the exact reason why he didn't want to enter the crowd.

Suddenly, his eyes locked on to the far table, in the back corner. Two people sat there, but while he didn't recognize the blonde, the darker haired male rang a bell. Loud and clear. Metros, rain, mockery... Simeon grinned at the memory. What were the odds? He had acted based on the assumption that he would never see the guy again, and here he was, apparently a student at the same academy. This didn't bother Simeon in the least, nor did the fact that Gareth probably hated him. He made his way toward the table, weaving between chairs and glowering at people until they made room for him to pass.

Simeon set his tray ceremoniously upon the table, not taking his eyes off Gareth. ”Fancy meeting you here.” He sat down then, a smirk replacing his grin. ”Weather been treating you better, I hope?” This drivel was intended to confuse the unknown third-party. In a perfect world, Gareth would express some residual anger and utterly baffle the person. Turning his attention this person, Simeon had to study him for a second before deciding if it was a man or woman he was looking at. Settling on man, he leaned back in his chair and asked, ”Who's your friend?”

[gareth nash brace]

The table smelled horrible and it was in a corner, out of the social aspect of the cafeteria, and even the habitable aspect of the school. It wasn't somewhere that anyone would want to sit, but Gareth hadn't had any choice. Of course, the solitude was nice, but he should have guessed that some other people would end up sitting with him. After all, if he had been forced here, what was to stop other people from landing in the same predicament? He should have noticed that long before Artemis sat down, but it had simply escaped his mind. And because of that... he hadn't really been expecting anyone to place themselves across the table from him. ”Uhm... hello,” he said quietly, ignoring his lunch for the moment. Two questions popped into his mind as soon as Artemis sat down; who was this person, and why was she sitting with Gareth? Of course, Gareth being the gender stereotypical mind that he was, automatically assumed that anyone wearing a skirt was a girl.

After watching Artemis for a few moments, though, Gareth was forced to question that assumption. Sure, the person sitting across from him looked and sounded like a girl, but there was something... off. Gareth wasn't really sure what it was, but he wasn't about to ask. He didn't really want to come across as rude, so he simply returned to his food and thought about the questions. Yes, those two questions that had popped into his head. He hadn't forgotten them just yet, though the confusion of Artemis' gender had sidetracked him for a few seconds. The first question, Gareth had no answer to. This person hadn't introduced themselves, and that was kind of essential to the who question. The photographer wasn't one of those popular people that knew every face in the school; no, he was a lot lower on the social ladder, and could only name the people that he was close to. So the question of who would go unanswered for now.

The question of why was another matter entirely. Now that Gareth had had a few minutes to think about it, it was obvious to him that this was one of the only empty tables. So of course, this person didn't have any other choice, and had been forced to sit with him. It was slightly sad that the only company he was going to get was someone who hadn't even really wanted to sit with him, but wasn't that the way things worked when you were as unknown as Gareth was? Oh well, he could deal with it, and Artemis didn't seem to objected to socializing. ”I don't mind...” It was really the only thing that he could respond to, since he didn't know a thing about shoes and didn't really want to comment on the fact that this had been the last place to sit. He wasn't so desperate to talk with someone that he would make a fool out of himself by trying to start up a conversation about this person's shoes. And yes, he was avoiding male and female pronouns at all costs, even in his head. He didn't think that Artemis could read his mind, but he still didn't want to come across as rude by assuming the wrong gender.

It had simply turned into an awkward silence filled by eating when the next visitor came up to the table. A visitor that Gareth remembered very well; what luck that apparently, they went to the same school. Gareth wasn't at all mad at Simeon for being rude anymore – he wasn't the type to hold grudges – but he wasn't really wanting to have a long conversation with someone like him either. Well, in times of doubt, it was best to be polite, no matter how much he wanted to stand up and walk away right now. ”No, actually,” he said quietly, focusing on his food but not eating a bite of it. ”It rained earlier today... I had to come back from a trip around town.” Facts were simple to list out, and very hard to inject any menace into. So no matter how much Simeon was wishing that Gareth would get angry again, he refused to do it. He simply wasn't an angry person; Simeon had just seen him on a bad night. ”And this is...” He looked up at Artemis. Shit. No facts to calmly list out now.

”I... don't know. It's okay to sit with strangers sometimes, isn't it?” Yes, this was why he needed facts to list. It was impossible for Gareth to put menace into facts, just impossible. But just a hint of anger showed in his words, and he instantly felt bad. Simeon had only laughed at him when he was wet and unhappy... Well, now Gareth remembered why he had been so mad that night. He took a deep breath that sounded more like a resigned sigh, forcing himself to stay seated. What would he do if he stood up, anyway? Punch Simeon in the face? It was quite possible, with how he was suddenly feeling. But that wouldn't do any good, he knew it wouldn't. So Gareth focused on Artemis instead, plastering a warm smile onto his frozen face. ”I'm sorry, never introduced myself. I'm Gareth. And you?” Ignoring Simeon was the best thing, even if it didn't bring him the relief that punching him probably would have.

[artemis adrian monroe]

Normally, Artemis wouldn't have been so rude to his selected company, but at the moment, all he was concerned with was the fact that there was food in front of him. Unceremoniously, he dropped his school bag down onto the floor beside his chair and grabbed an apple slice off his tray. He had completely forgotten to introduce himself to the student before him and that was unnatural of this social butterfly. Honestly, Artemis could care less if this boy was here or not. He just wanted some food and he was making that known quite well. Once he had started eating, he hardly looked up from his tray, and as for responses.... Well, there were none. Artemis just let his part of the conversation drop off at the complaint about his killer boots.

After Artemis had eaten enough to quiet his rebelling tummy, he became more observant of the world around him... unfortunately. His nose wrinkled at a rather unpleasant smell and his stared intently at his food as if it were to blame. But... that couldn't be right. Granted the food was rather mediocre - as it most school food - but it never smelled like... like... shit. "What the... hell is that?" Artemis mumbled to himself before he raised his gaze to Gareth before he glanced around the room. Immediately, his expression fell and he realized where the smell was coming from. Fan-freakin-tastic. Could this kid pick a better table? No flippin' wonder anyone else was sitting here! It was almost enough to make him push his tray away. Almost. But not quite enough.

A scowl painted his glistening pink lips as he looked back down at his food while he munched on another apple slice. Lunch today wasn't too terrible. Well, at least not what the second year had decided to get, which was a delicious little fruit salad, a bottle of water, and a stick of garlic bread. His salad consisted mostly of slices of strawberries and grapes because they were his favorite fruit. And it was certainly better than the main dish the school had offered, which looked like... Artemis couldn't even remember.

A smile was slowly returning to his features as he popped a grape into his mouth. Though, just as he was about to make conversation with the boy sitting across from him, a third party joined them. Artemis' sparkling blue eyes gave the boy a once over and came down to the conclusion that if he was going to be sitting with garbage, he would be doing it with two cute boys. Granted, this new kid had more, ahem, sex appeal... The first wasn't bad looking either. He had more of an adorable quality to him. The location was poor but not so much his company...

Deciding to be a good boy, Artemis kept quiet while the two conversed. Though greatly confused with the topic, he knew that it had nothing to do with him. Instead, he slowly ate his lunch while glancing back and forth from the first boy to the second. Absently, Artemis began to play his favorite game - who do they think I am? Artemis normally assumed that most people thought he was a girl. He looked like a girl, sounded like a girl, and sometimes even acted it... What was that saying? Looks like a duck, talks like a duck, must be a duck right? Honestly, the art student didn't care. He knew he didn't want to be a girl; he simply just enjoyed the fashion. And unless someone straight out asked him about his sex, he didn't say anything. People would know eventually. It was amusing to watch them figure out, though.

Eventually the topic was directed in his attention. Artemis was happy munching away silently at his lunch but he should have suspected it to come his way sooner or later. As soon as the second boy turned his attention towards the blonde, he sat up straighter and smiled gently. "Me?" His voice was soft but he was cut off as the first tried to answer the question. Artemis just giggled at his failed attempt to introduce someone he never met and instead introduced himself. "Gareth?" It was quite an interesting name and Artemis' voice held the small fascination with it before she continued smoothly, "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Artemis," his smile just widened and slowly his gaze drifted to the other, "And you are?" There was an odd sort of chemistry between the two. Were they friends? Artemis wasn't sure.. Though, Gareth seemed pretty... not okay with the other's presence. Maybe he was a bad boy? Mm... Artemis would find out one way or the other.

Gradually, a rather amused grin stretched across his lips. Lunch and maybe a show? Oh, he couldn't wait.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[simeon bradley parker]

Simeon was impressed. There was no sense in denying it. A little disappointed too, but he was used to rolling with the punches. There would be no sleep lost over having things not go exactly as he had wanted them to go. Perhaps it was because he always let people know how he felt with no regard for... anything. Seeing somebody maintain a civil tone toward him after the sort of altercation they had had in the metro... well, it was impressive. Simeon certainly didn't think he deserved a civil tone. Most people would tell him to go take a long walk off a short pier, or something of that nature, so coming up against something so different from the norm was intriguing. He studied the man quizzically for a moment, a smirk playing across his face as he heard about Gareth's terrible luck with weather. ”Karma really has it in for you. Did you kick a puppy or something?” He took a bite out of an apple from his tray then, preventing himself from laughing, but there was no stopping the laughter in his eyes.

Then his attention shifted to the other... guy; he made a conscious effort to stick with the gender he'd decided on earlier. Simeon didn't like something so routine as recognizing gender being made into a challenge, but he wasn't about to knock anybody's lifestyle choices. He just wished that those people that insisted on having people play the guessing game wore a name tag or something. And not have those ambiguous names like Alex or Vic. In this case, Simeon was going purely off of bone structure and... vibes. He trusted his instincts, and right now his instincts said that this was a male.

The slight change in tone wasn't lost on Simeon's ears. He lived for people's reactions, so he wasn't about to miss out on them, no matter how subtle. Whatever little satisfaction he got out of drawing some negative reaction from Gareth didn't make it to his face, though. Instead, he turned to look directly at him, eyes wide but voice dripping with sarcasm. ”Is it really? Have I been so misguided all my life, ordering strangers away from me whenever I sat down?” He showed disappointment at the pointlessness of the comment. The next time he needed someone to point out the obvious, he'd have to ring the guy up.

Now it was apparently time for introductions. As Gareth and Artemis exchanged names, Simeon took the opportunity to take a few more bites of his lunch and take a look around. This really wasn't the ritziest place to be eating, but good company could make up for the poor atmosphere. To Simeon, good company meant anyone who could potentially bring some amusement.

Artemis. There was a freaking ambiguous name if he'd ever heard one. Although technically a Greek goddess, it could be applied to either boys or girls. It was like their parents knew. Gareth was an interesting one as well. Simeon wondered absently if he ever got called Garth, accidentally. His musing was interrupted when Artemis brought him back into the conversation. ”Simeon Parker,” he responded promptly, not realizing that a last name wasn't strictly necessary in this situation. After all, neither of the other two had bothered with them. He also took care to carefully pronounce his first name, not wanting any confusion on the matter.

Simeon despised small talk, and if the conversation turned in that direction he was ready to tune out and continue with his lunch. He sincerely hoped that these two would yield some more entertainment than that, though. Otherwise he'd be sitting by this miniature landfill for nothing. He noticed the smile that Artemis was sporting then, and raised a curious brow. ”Something amusing you?” Curiosity mingled with a trace of suspicion, the perfect way to enter a conversation.

[gareth nash brace]

What kind of person did Simeon think he was? It was a question that had started nagging at Gareth ever since the other student had came over to the table and started asking questions. If he thought that Gareth would kick a puppy, he couldn't have a very good image of the photographer. Of course, it was probably just sarcasm again, but Gareth really wanted to think that maybe Simeon had stopped saying things in that tone. It was extremely unlikely, but Gareth still wanted to think it. Wanted to, but he didn't. ”I don't kick people, let alone puppies. And I don't believe in karma, the weather in Paris is just bad,” he said, tearing off another piece of his lunch. Even if he was stopping himself from punching Simeon, he still had the right to be violent with his food, didn't he? It helped calm him down a bit, got some of his angry energy out. He would have taken a picture of Simeon and ripped it up like he normally did when he was upset with one person in general, but he was guessing that Simeon would not only have something to say about that, but would find a way to make Gareth even more angry after he did it. So he would just stick with eating his food a tad bit more energetically than normal, and no one could take that away from him. Though the writer would probably find a comment to make on it...

Around Simeon, Gareth seemed to be defending himself a lot. His mind was filled with thoughts protecting his rights, sentences that were never said yet involved things that Simeon couldn't take away from him. It unnerved him a bit, because he couldn't remember when he had done stuff like that before. Even as a child, when school bullies had decided to pick on that one short and quiet kid, he had just stayed silent and let them humiliate him. He had never really stood up for himself, and he didn't know why. His parents were both strong willed, weren't they? So it couldn't really be genetic. Oh well, no use speculating about it. ”Why would you order strangers away? That's just... rude.” Okay, so there were times that Gareth himself wanted to shoo some people away from him, but he never did it. He just sat there and tolerated his annoying friends, even if he really wanted to be alone. They always meant well, so who was he to tell them to leave? Now, if it was obvious even to Gareth that they didn't mean well at all, he'd tell them to fuck off... but that rarely happened. It was close to happening with Simeon, but Artemis seemed to like him, so it was more likely that Gareth would just walk away from the confrontation eventually. He was almost done with his lunch anyway, and he really had no reason to stay here and talk to these people.

So, after arguing for a few hours in the wet and cold, then finally seeing eachother again in school... this was the first time that he had heard Simeon's name? That was mildly odd, and a tad rude, but Gareth wasn't going to comment on it. He had already introduced himself, so he shouldn't really have said anything else, but he was stupid enough to open his mouth again. It was another attempt to be civil, but a tiny bit of malice was leaked into the sentence. Gareth wasn't proud of it, but it happened, and he couldn't change that now. ”Nice to meet you, Artemis and Simeon.” Okay, maybe not so much malice when he said Artemis' name, but there was enough in Simeon's to make up for it. He was pretty sure that he had pronounced it wrong, too, but his accent wasn't something that he could control. It sounded more like cinnamon when it came out of Gareth's mouth... he hoped that Simeon wouldn't mind.

[artemis adrian monroe]

There was definitely a story behind these two and Artemis couldn't wait to figure it out. He'd ask about their history eventually but for the moment, he just wanted to eat his lunch and perhaps play a little guessing game. Watching them carefully, he could probably create his own little story behind the two. Undoubtedly, his would be much more amusing than whatever it really was; though, that won't stop him now, will it? Oh, how amusing it would be to assume they were past lovers but that would be cruel, wouldn't it? Not everyone appreciated both sexes quit like Artemis did. Besides, Simeon just didn't strike him as that kind of guy...

"It's a pleasure to meet both of you." Artemis kept his voice fragile as if they could just ignore his presence. For once he didn't want the attention all to himself. He wanted to focus on the two actors at his table so he could bend and manipulate their past to his liking and then inquire about the truth. Maybe he could actually guess right. From the sound of it, they hardly know each other. Was their meeting a first and last meeting up until this point? Oh, that means someone was an instigator - a real douche. Which one could that be? Artemis glanced from Simeon to Gareth and back again. Gareth seemed... rather annoyed at something. The way he was ripping into his food was probably a bit more violent than necessary. Did that make... Simeon the annoying one? Or had he simply just wanted to eat alone? Though... Here Simeon was, all calm and... pompous, almost. No, he was definitely the instigator.

Artemis blinked and looked at Simeon. "Hm? Amusing me?" his amused thoughts must have molded to his expression. He was never really good at hiding what he was thinking... "I'm just trying to figure out the story here." With a nonchalant shrug, Artemis popped another piece of fruit into his mouth and then drank from his bottle of water. "From what I gathered, you did something to piss Gareth off," his tone was soft but blunt even though he accusation could have been wrong. "Why don't you two just kiss and make up?" Now his tone became teasing and he glanced at Gareth to see how well he was taking all this. Honestly, when Artemis teased he means no harm by it. He was simply just playing around, hoping for a grin or a giggle hear and there. Though, with whatever history bug was biting them on the ass, he probably should have thought better than to try and poke innocent fun. But what was said was said and nothing could change that. And nothing was going to change what Artemis was going to say next: "This little bit of bickering is kind of cute, you know. Almost like you two are an old married couple." Again, his innocent and curious gaze jumped from one man to the other and Artemis sat back in his chair, the bottle held up to his lips and one leg crossed over the other. That amused grin had only grown wider across his glossed lips.

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[simeon bradley parker]

Did Simeon even have an opinion on cross dressers? Probably. He seemed to have an opinion on everything. He didn't particularly feel like targeting Artemis today, though. Actually, it probably wouldn't be worth it anyway. Any guy that got it in his head to put on heels and lip gloss probably wouldn't be shaken by anything he had to say. Simeon knew how to pick his battles, unless he was having a bad day and lashing out at someone. Then everybody was fair game. That was almost the tragedy that had befallen Gareth, except that he was the sort of person that Simeon would have singled out in any case. The fact that he'd met him as a stranger on a really unpleasant night had just amplified his actions. However, he'd have to remember to curb his sarcasm around Gareth. It just fell completely flat every fucking time. Not to mention it was incredibly annoying having to explain everything he said. ”You know what? Never mind.”

All the same, Simeon's eyes glinted with amusement at the obvious averse reaction Gareth was having to his presence. Here was another person who would stay safely away from him in the future. There were seven billion people in the world, but that didn't deter Simeon from trying to get every single one he met to label him as an obnoxious jackass. Things were just easier that way. He was almost surprised to see that Gareth was acting perfectly civil toward him. Not happy about the whole thing, and probably being too violent with his food, but still polite. He even said, “Nice to meet you.” What mind game was this?! Not that Simeon was deceived. He caught the extra layer of malice spread over his name. Assuming that was actually supposed to be his name. Honestly, how did anyone have trouble with Simeon? If he wasn't clear enough some people heard Simon, which he absolutely despised, but Gareth was so far off that it was absurd. He knew he had spoken clearly, so he chocked it up to the guy's accent. ”Cinnamon? Really? That's as close as you can get? Okay, from here on out, don't address me by my name.” Not that he'd ever have a need to address him in the future. Simeon wasn't exactly planning on making this a regular thing. He had just felt obligated to come over after recognizing Gareth.

Simeon would have grown bored with messing with Gareth very quickly. He'd already wrung all of the amusement he could get out of him in the metro station, and was actually planning on having a peaceful lunch and moving on. Enter Artemis. Having an interested audience and a chance to present the story in his own special way was just too tempting. Artemis took his questioning a little too far, but Simeon could overlook that. Besides, it had the potential to make Gareth more uncomfortable. One thing you could say about Simeon was that he was very comfortable with being heterosexual and firmly single. Whatever this guy was aiming to do with his weak comments wasn't going to have much of an effect on him. ”Easy, you're going to make the poor boy blush.” The words had so much potential to be teasing and lighthearted, but coming from Simeon they held the customary mocking, biting edge.

”Gareth here doesn't like me very much. See, he wasn't aware that there were people in this world who weren't exactly..... nice.” He glanced at Gareth now, a smirk spreading across his face. ”Now, we could play the blame game all day, but it pretty much comes down to me being bored and this guy being unbelievably entertaining. I actually hadn't seen an adult throw a temper tantrum in years. Or fall down a flight of stairs. It was hilarious.” He turned back to Artemis, watching for his reaction. He hadn't tried to sugar coat anything with the specific intention of seeing how the guy's impression of him would change. Thus far he had seemed curious but not judgmental. Simeon's eyes were challenging and arrogant, clearly communicating that he didn't care what Artemis thought.

[gareth nash brace]

Gareth knew that he couldn't go forever without applying any gender-based pronouns to Artemis, but he was reluctant to make a guess based on the little information he had. Well, actually, he had quite a lot of information. Artemis' appearance, voice, and a tiny bit of... well, his or her personality. But Gareth really didn't want to make a guess, even though he had a fifty fifty chance of getting it right and the judgment would remain strictly in his head. He didn't want to offend anyone, even though his guess would probably never reach Artemis' ears. He knew he was going to have to just ask if he wanted to know Artemis' gender and make his curiosity shut up, but he really didn't want to. Years of staying silent and assuming people didn't like him had drilled bad habits into Gareth, and they weren't changing any time soon. Putting his forehead in his hand, Gareth stared down at the empty spot on the table in front of him, where his food had been sitting just a moment before. He had no reason to stay in the cafeteria any more, but he should probably clear up a few things first... Simeon's telling of their history was getting increasingly annoying and, in Gareth's mind, inaccurate.

Of course, even when he was angry, Gareth still had manners. He waited until Simeon was done talking before jumping in with his corrections, even though it may have annoyed the other boy. Probably not, though. Simeon didn't seem like someone that was easily irritated. Heck, he practically made a living out of irritating people, so of course the guy wouldn't get angry easily. Gareth still worried, though. He himself always apologized after he snapped at someone, and Simeon... didn't. So Gareth really didn't want to see him angry, and it worked out because he simply couldn't imagine Simeon as angry. Rude and insensitive for sure, but not angry like he managed to make Gareth every time they met. But he wasn't blushing this time, so Simeon's comment was pointless. ”For your information, I'm not at all interested in Simeon,” he muttered, not lifting his head to look at either of them. ”I wouldn't kiss him.” Okay, so once again he was taking things way too seriously, but whatever. There was only one person that he would kiss, and it wasn't Simeon. Not in the least bit.

But yes, he waited until Simeon was finally finished speaking before jumping in. ”I'm perfectly aware that some people aren't nice. I just didn't expect one to appear in an abandoned metro station in the middle of the night,” he snapped, raising his head out of his hand to look up at Simeon. It was only partially true, though. Even if Gareth had been prepared for someone as rude as Simeon, he still wouldn't have dealt with him very well. Take today for an example. Gareth was dry, he had had enough sleep last night, and he was at school. Even though he was aware that Simeon could be rude, he still didn't have a very good control over his temper, though it was noticeably better than that other night. At least he wasn't yelling at anyone yet. Which brought him to another point that he had to correct Simeon on. ”I didn't throw a temper tantrum. And falling down stairs hurts like hell, you should try it some time.” Because honestly, Gareth thought that Simeon deserved it. Maybe he would break a few limbs, too...

[artemis adrian monroe]

With Simeon's comment, Artemis' gaze drifted to Gareth as if he expected a rose hue to just magically appear on his cheeks. The thought was entertaining to say the least. It would have definitely added a little plus to Artemis' day. Though, there wasn't a blush, the comment Gareth made about Artemis' little remark coaxed a lighthearted giggle to chime from him. Was this boy serious? Did he not understand the concept of a joke? Artemis didn't want them to literally kiss and make up. Just to push all their damned issues behind him. Oh, Gareth certainly was more delightful than Artemis had originally thought.

And Simeon. Though his gaze was dead and uncaring, he told an interesting story. Slowly, Artemis' bright gaze drifted back to the other and he tilted his head in curiosity as he ate. As he listened, Artemis couldn't help but to wonder how Simeon would tell a story to a bunch of little kids. With his unfriendly appearance, he'd probably scare the poor things. However, Artemis was very unaffected by it. He didn't care how Simeon felt about him; he had stopped caring how anyone felt about him a long time ago. Being judged constantly did that to you. And with the mention of an adult throwing a temper tantrum, Artemis grinned. He had forgotten they were all adults here. He was so accustomed to being a kid because of school and so he refereed to a lot of people as kids even now. He should probably fix that.

Again, Artemis' gaze became fixated on Gareth. He had decided to be a good boy and wait for Simeon to finish before telling his side of the story. Feeling compelled to listen, Artemis didn't stay a word. Within the first couple of seconds into Gareth's story, Artemis' eyes widened as if he couldn't believe what he had just said. He didn't expect to find a mean person in an abandoned metro station in the middle of the night He couldn't help interjecting quickly after Gareth was finished with his story: "Honey, you're lucky you didn't find a rapist in an abandoned metro station in the middle of the night." Again, Artemis sat back in his chair and stared at the dark haired boy in wonder. How has he managed to survive this long? "I would take lovely Simeon here over a rapist any day." No, he couldn't help the little flirt. Slowly, that smile started to appear on his lips again and he glanced over at Simeon before looking back at Gareth. "Now, now, there's no need to tell the poor boy to fall down some stairs. That's not nice." There was a short pause before he continued, "You are quite entertaining, after all."

Admittedly, Artemis was just trying to agitate Gareth by appearing to believe Simeon was completely innocent. He knew otherwise. He just enjoyed the reactions Simeon was producing and wanted to play his hand at it as well. As always, Artemis meant no harm. If Gareth told him to shut the fuck up, he would.

notes: ohmygod, it's so short and so sucky and i'm sorry D:

[/blockquote][/blockquote][/justify]

[simeon bradley parker]

How did somebody who took everything so seriously make it through life? And land in an academy of the arts, no less. Gareth needed to work as a computer technician or something, locked by himself in a room and surrounded with machines. He just struck Simeon as the kind of person that didn't fit into society on any level. Of course, he didn't know enough about him to make a fair judgment, but Simeon was all about being unfair. From what he knew of Gareth now, the guy was socially inept and didn't know how to not take everything at face value. A glance at Artemis told him that he, at least, was finding the situation amusing, and he guessed that he agreed to some extent, even if his own amusement was tinged with annoyance. Sometimes Simeon would prefer it if people were less dysfunctional, even if they weren't as funny. The constant disappointment in humanity was disheartening.

Simeon had expected the other guy to chime in and defend his shredded dignity as soon as he finished summarizing their previous encounter. He didn't expect him to fail quite that hard, though. He didn't even seem to realize he was making it worse for himself with his pathetic attempt at explaining himself. Simeon didn't give his respect easily, and the minimum requirements for earning it were a decent amount of self-respect and composure. Flailing and floundering for words, as Gareth was doing, was not the way to get it. Artemis was closer, clearly displaying that he was unimpressed and equally undeterred by Simeon's behavior. It would take far longer than a single meeting for him to make that decision though. Simeon judged people quickly, but only if those judgments were negative. It was something of a catch 22 situation, because for him to actually decide that someone was alright took a lot of effort on their part, and most people worthy of his respect was not the type to jump through those hoops. If Artemis was slipping anything flirtatious in, Simeon was unaware of it. For someone as conceited as he was, he was remarkably oblivious of things like that from his own sex.

Having said his part and determined that he wasn't going to get any lively reactions, Simeon's attention settled on his tray. He uttered a dry laugh when Gareth suggested he fall down some stairs, but there wasn't enough malice in the statement to inspire him. It was amusing, though. Gareth should absolutely hate his guts, but instead of spouting fire he was actually.... polite. He either had a tight lid on his emotions or he was actually incapable of producing an outward display of anger on a regular basis. There was something intriguing about a person who could bounce back that quickly. If he remembered correctly, Gareth had managed to regain control very rapidly in the subway... His gaze wandered up again when Artemis started talking. He was glad to hear Gareth getting called out on the idiotic things he'd said, even if Artemis was bound to be nice about it. Sure enough, although his words were teasing, he clearly meant no offense.

The malice had flown out of Simeon before it even had a chance to build up properly, but there had been a marked difference in how he'd spoken to Gareth. He was talking down to him, there was no warmth in his eyes, and even his laughter was humorless. ”See, Artemis agrees with me. You really are a lo of fun. And you should look on the bright side of every situation, Gareth. Be happy I wasn't a rapist or a serial killer... In the big picture, you got off easy.” He smirked, deciding to not even bother with the “fall down some stairs” part of the conversation. If people weren't going to put their hearts into it, why did they even bother saying things like that? He leaned across the table toward Artemis. ”I think Gareth here might be a bit of a Negative Nancy.” He still spoke perfectly clearly, intending Gareth to hear, but lowered his voice just enough to make it sound conspiratorial.

ooc:: I don't even know what to say about this post. I just needed to get something out... Print it and burn it if it makes you feel better. XD