my mind is thicker than water ;; conan · complete

[gareth nash brace]

Paris was really a beautiful place when it wasn't dark and rainy. And what better time to go out around the city than a Saturday afternoon, the sun shining high in the sky and families milling around all the popular attractions. Gareth, too, was milling around one of the most well known spots in Paris. The Eiffel Tower was a must see for all tourists and even locals, and this morning Gareth had realized that he didn't have any pictures of it. He had pictures of most of the other landmarks, but not the tower. He hadn't even been to the architectural masterpiece until this morning. How sad was that? Three years in Paris and he had only ever seen the thing from a distance. Though, seeing as it was a hot stop for romantic tourists... he was kind of guessing that his boyfriend would drag him here if he ever told him that he had never seen it up close. Boyfriend. It was such a hard word for Gareth to say, even if it was only in his head. Mostly because he would never have thought that he liked guys, but also because he and Cass were just complete opposites. Even though they had done all the I love yous and the kiss and everything, Gareth was still having a hard time believing that they were actually together. It was something that he would probably bring up in a therapy session if he was smart enough to get him into therapy, which, with all his avoidance personality stuff, was probably a good idea.

But that was getting off topic. Gareth had felt a need to see the Eiffel Tower, so here he was, standing beside a little pond at the base and staring up at the huge building. A few kids were sailing miniature boats, and the air was full of laughter as he looked down at the newly printed pictures of the tower from his old Polaroid. They were all from different angles as he had walked closer to the building, and he had to admit that they were quite good. The self compliment didn't inflate his ego, because he really didn't have one. He never had, even when he was a kid and still relatively innocent and naïve about the world. That was probably what happened when your family pretty much ignored you, though Gareth didn't really have anyone to compare his past with. It wasn't like pasts were a topic that came up much in conversations, after all. The present was much more important, especially since most of the people he knew were deep in studies at the art school. Others, not so deep... but they still went to the school and everything. Anyway, Gareth didn't ever ask about others' pasts because that would eventually bring the topic around to his own, and he really didn't want to talk about that with anyone. He knew that he could just refuse to go into detail, and that without detail his past didn't seem so bad, but his increased awkwardness would probably give him away. That little personality trait could be so unfair to him sometimes. It was probably why he didn't have that many friends, but he was working on that...

[conan joseph avery albright]

Conan stood next to one of the pillars of the Eiffel Tower with a female. The thing about them was that they were practicing for the play that they were putting on in the next week or so. He was playing Romeo and she was Juliet. The male sighed softly, knowing that they had to do the kissing scene during the play, but he felt awkward doing it. “Now, we are going to do a stage kiss right? Nothing more?” he asked his counterpart in the play nervously. She put her hands on her hips and pouted. “But it HAS to look real!” she exclaimed to him, making Conan flinch a little. The woman scared him. Her name was Paula and she was native to Paris. But her attitude was more Irish than anything. He was about ready to get on his knees and beg her not to kill him. “I....I don't want to....you know...” he started to say.

The girl raised her eyebrow slowly. “You don't want to kiss me? Well aren't you just rude!” he flinched again as he quickly shook his head. “N-No! It's not that!....Well....erm....maybe it is....But I have my reasons!” he exclaimed, getting scared that he would feel the wrath of Paula's fiery. This was why Conan was homosexual. He was scared of women completely. Every girl he encountered had threatened his life or hurt him in some way. Men, they wouldn't do it for no reason, but women would if you weren't on their good side. And Conan was not on Paula's good side at all. Once reason, he had rejected her time and time again. Now it was just getting ridiculous as to how hard she tried.

Quickly, while she was ranting, he booked it out of there. 'Run, run, run, run, run!' he thought to himself until he ran into someone and fell down. “Oh I'm sorry! So so so so sorry! I- Oh, your Gareth, aren't you?” he said, recognizing the person he had just ran into.

tag: Gareth
words: 336
notes: WEEEEEEE

[gareth nash brace]

The instinct to run was understandable for someone like Gareth. He had experienced it many times, normally when he ended up in a situation that involved flirting or drinking. It was a fight or flight response, and people like Gareth and Conan normally ended up choosing flight and running for their lives. Well, with Gareth it was more like awkwardly slipping away, but it was apparent that Conan had no problem with dashing away from anything that he thought was a danger. Okay, so it wasn't really obvious to Gareth, since the only thing he knew about the situation was that someone had just ran into him, but it would probably be easy to see if you were watching from outside the scene. To Gareth, the only obvious thing at the moment was that his camera was in danger of being dropped. He had forgotten to strap it around his neck this morning, and he was realizing how stupid of him that had been. He had had this camera forever; if it broke, so would his heart. So the old Polaroid was his first priority as he stumbled, managing to catch himself before falling on his face only because of the sudden burst of fear and adrenaline that was suddenly shooting through him.

After a few moments, though, he regained his balance, his feet spread apart to maintain the fact that he wasn't hitting the pavement like Conan had just done. ”I... oh, you don't need to apologize,” he mumbled, quickly attaching the ratty old camera to its strap and slinging it around his neck. He should have done that sooner, but late was better than never. Now that his first priority was safe, he could focus on the person that was sprawled by his feet. ”I should have seen you coming... I just didn't move in time.” It was a bad habit of Gareth's to label himself as the bad guy unless someone worse came along, and Conan was nice enough that Gareth could apply his principle of self blame. ”Are you okay?” It was the essential question right now, because it would take months for Gareth to forgive himself if Conan was hurt. He bent over, reaching out a hand to help Conan up. How did this guy recognize him, anyway? He didn't look very familiar to Gareth... ”Oh!” Suddenly, it clicked. Who else would be around the Eiffel Tower at this time of week? Gareth would have noticed if this guy was a photographer, and since he obviously wasn't, drama was the only other category that made sense right now. And Gareth really didn't know many drama students other than... ”Conan, right? What's wrong?”

[conan joseph avery albright]

Conan looked at Gareth and smiled slightly. “Oh but I do cause I ran into you. And it was my fault. Haha.” he said, taking Gareth's hand and getting up. He shook his head a little and dusted himself off, picking up his script quickly afterward. “Yeah, it's me....and....nothing is wrong really except I am running away from an insane brood.” he said, sighing softly. Suddenly, he heard her voice and hid behind Gareth. “She wants to kiss me in the play. But I really don't want to...cause, well, I do not like girls like that and you already know who I care about. Please, save me. She is nuts.” the young actor whispered slightly into Gareth's ear. The young girl came up and looked around. Conan ducked down further, hiding behind the other man. “She scares me. She really does.” he whispered, his voice a little higher pitch than normal.

Paula luckly didn't see the young man hiding behind Gareth and walked off. Once the coast was clear, Conan came out from behind Gareth and took a happy sigh. That girl was terrifying sometimes. The only bad thing will be when he was at school and she would ask where he went to. Then, he would be in huge trouble and no one could help him. At least he was all right...for now. The light haired gentleman looked over at the photographer and grinned. “It's nice to finally meet you, Gareth.” he said, chuckling a little.

tag: gareth
words: 247
notes: ahahahaha....sorry it may be a bit short...

[gareth nash brace]

”Seriously, it’s not your fault…” Gareth wasn’t as stubborn as some people, and he wasn’t about to spend an hour or two arguing over who held the blame for this little incident. Even though it was obviously his own fault that Conan had ran into him, right? He should have been focusing on the things around him instead of his camera lens, he should have seen Conan coming and stepped out of the way before he hurt the guy. But it was too late to change things now, and he had already apologized as many times as Conan would let him. So he let the topic drop, switching to the somewhat civil conversation that had just started. ”Well, if she’s insane, I guess you have a pretty good reason to run away…” It was all he managed to say before the taller male was… hiding behind him? That was unexpected, though if he had reason to run, Gareth supposed that there was reason to hide too. But Gareth wasn’t exactly tall, and he was thin enough that he really didn’t provide much to hide behind. Oh well. Conan could do what he wanted, Gareth honestly couldn’t care less. Well, he probably could care less… but he didn’t mind that this had turned into an odd game of hide n’ seek.

Yeah, Gareth already knew who Conan liked. It had been mentioned so many times online that it was kind of branded into some distant corner of his brain, though seeing as Gareth had his own like to attend to most of the time, it wasn’t exactly a hot topic to think about. This was actually the first time that he had seen Conan apart from his computer screen, so they couldn’t be described as the best of friends. ”Well, yeah… I can understand why you wouldn’t want to kiss her. But couldn’t you just pretend to kiss? Acting, right?” Gareth didn’t consider himself to be homosexual, but he wasn’t the type to go around kissing people, even for a play. He’d only ever kissed one person, and he saw no problem with keeping it that way. So sure, the photographer had different reasons than Conan did, but he could understand not wanting to be forced to kiss someone that you didn’t want to kiss. ”Hey, it’s okay. If she scares you, just wait until she goes away.” Gareth’s solution for everything, really. It may not have been the most… mature way of dealing with things, but it worked fine for him, and he didn’t have a problem recommending it to people like Conan.

”It’s nice to meet you too, Conan.” He wasn’t really sure what to say other than that, but whatever vague and blurry social rules that had been placed in Gareth’s head at a young age caused him to stick out his hand to shake, smiling slightly.

[conan joseph avery albright]

The actor listened to Gareth speak. Frowning slightly, Conan shook his head. “But I am the one who.....ran into you. So it is my fault, I should have been watching. But anyway. How have you been?” he asked, dropping the subject of whose fault it was. He looked around making sure she wasn't coming back before relaxing and giving a smile. Nodding gently, agreeing with him. Conan didn't know exactly what to do next. Should he go back home or should he practice by himself. Or he could call Ike and see if he wanted to help him. Haha, Ike would make a wonderful Juliet. Shaking his head gently, the young actor looked at the photographer as he spoke.

“She didn't want to do a stage kiss. She wanted a real kiss....” he said with a sigh. He really didn't want to drop out of the play, but the woman had to understand that Conan did not want to touch her lips and swap spit with her. Shrugging a little, he fixed his scarf around his neck and smiled at the gentleman with him. He chuckled as Gareth told him the perfect solution to the whole problem. “Yeah, I could. But then that would destroy the whole point of the play. So..I will have to figure out a way to make her realize I don't want to kiss her because I would rather kiss Ike.” he told him.

Conan looked around then at Gareth's camera. “What were you taking a picture of? I'm sorry I interrupted it.” he said, giving an apologetic smile.

tag: gareth
words: 263
notes: nopes. except sorry if it is short xD

[gareth nash brace]

There were a lot of things Gareth was uncomfortable talking about, and though whos fault it was didn't exactly fall under that category, he still wanted to drop the topic. Which Conan did for him, and Gareth went along quite willingly. He wasn't up for playing the blame game today, even if it was generally good natured and involved blaming himself. ”I've been okay,” he said, looking away from Conan and studying his camera for scratches. Sure, he'd been good. In an odd way. ”I've been less of a social hermit, so I guess that counts as good.” Entirely Cass's fault, but there was the blame game poking up its head again. Gareth didn't really consider being social that much of a good thing, and neither did most of the people he tried to socialize with, but at least he had made some new friends recently. He knew people now, and in an odd way, that felt good. But not good enough that he was going to try making his own friends; no, he'd just stay close to Cass and rely on him to introduce him to people. For now, at least.

”Well, talk to the teachers about not wanting to kiss her?” It was a fail proof option for Gareth; teachers were there to help, so they'd fix things if something went horribly wrong. At least, that was how it worked in photography and his french classes... Gareth really had no idea what went on in the drama classrooms, but he was guessing that the same principle applied. Of course, they might take away Conan's role if he didn't want to kiss the girl... could they do that? The photographer wasn't sure, and he wasn't about to ask. ”You could just tell her, I guess,” he suggested, shrugging. How hard could it be to tell someone that you didn't want to kiss them? Gareth had done it before, and even though it had been awkward, everything involving him was awkward, so it didn't make much of a difference. ”And I was already done taking pictures, it's fine.”

[conan joseph avery albright]

Conan looked at Gareth with the normal smile on his face. That was something about Conan that his acting teacher liked. The constant pure smile on his face. As the photographer spoke, the young man tilted his head a little with a happy grin forming on his lips. “That's good! It's not fun being a social hermit. I'm glad you are starting to come out of your shell.” he spoke happily, his voice perky and full of happiness he usually showed. Conan was always one to make others smile with his contagious happiness. And it was something he enjoyed the most out of his life. The other man spoke again and he nodded slightly with a sigh. “I could, but I don't want to ruin the whole play. So might just....go along with it.” he frowned slightly. To be a great actor, he would have to just go with it, even if he didn't want to. Though, he would feel bad since Ike would be in the crowd. “I will just have to do it....even if I will feel comfortable and....Ike will be in the crowd. Though he already knows I'm gay. So....yeah...” he said softly.

He looked away as Gareth spoke again. Chuckling a little, Conan shrugged slightly. “She goes ballistic when the subject comes up...” he said gentle. But, as the conversation went back to his pictures, he grinned. “What kind of pictures were you taking?” the young actor asked, looking down at the camera slightly. It was then he remembered the two tickets he had with him. Since he was the 'star' of the show, he was able to invite as many of his friends as he wanted. Reaching into his pocket, he pulled out the two he had with him. “Here, these are two tickets to the play. For you and Cass. If you have another person you want to bring, I can get you another ticket, no problem.” he said with a happy smile.

tag: gareth
words: 329
notes: n/a

[gareth nash brace]

Conan was glad that Gareth was coming out of his shell? What shell? Sure, he was kind of... secluded. Was that the right word? Probably not, but the point had been pushed across the table anyway. Simply put, Gareth had been content with how much of a hermit he had been. Cass pulling him around and showing him off to his friends made Gareth feel a bit like a show dog, and even though it got him to be more social, it was also pulling him out of his comfort zone. Which, obviously, he wasn't comfortable with. It was fun for him to be a social hermit. Maybe not fun, but it felt more natural than going around and talking and making friends like most normal people did. Like Cass did. Even like Conan did. ”I guess so... but I don't know. I mean, I was kind of happy with being a social hermit,” he said, frowning softly. That was as far as he was going to go with explaining things to Conan, even if he tried to pry further into the problem. But Gareth was guessing that Conan wouldn't try to pry, he just didn't seem like that kind of person.

”Well... would going along with it be so bad? Just pretend you're kissing someone else, like Ike.” Honestly, Gareth didn't realize how insensitive that comment might have been, and he plowed on anyway. ”I don't think it would ruin the whole play if you didn't want to kiss the person playing Juliet, but it would make the play a lot better if you did, wouldn't it?” He meant no harm with the words, and had to take a deep breath after he was done talking. Gareth normally never said this much at once, and it was oddly tiring for him. Even in his favorite classes, he normally only gave one word answers. Detailed and generally correct one word answers, but they still only consisted of a single word. He just didn't like talking, more proof of him being a social hermit.

”I was just taking pictures of the Eiffel Tower...” Gareth gestured to the large structure next to them, squinting up at the top. ”I've never been here before, so it seemed like a good idea.. Popular tourist attraction, and I've gone three years without seeing it. Is that weird?” It probably was, but he didn't really want an answer that badly. Yeah, it was odd for him to have been in Paris for three years without seeing one of the main tourists attractions. He knew that, and that was why he had come here today. And because he wanted to show the pictures to Cass... But Conan beginning to talk again snapped him away from that train of thought, which was probably a good thing. Cass was distracting when Gareth thought about him too much. ”Oh, thanks!” he said, grinning for once today. ”I look forward to seeing you in the play, totally.”

[conan joseph avery albright]

Conan sighed softly as Gareth spoke. Imagine Paula is Ike when he kissed her? Oh hell no. Shaking his head slightly, the young actor looked at the other male and raised an eyebrow. “Paula is no where near like Ike when it comes to the luscious lips department. I will just figure out something.' he said gently. Though, Gareth had a point. Giving another gentle sigh, he crossed his arms slightly and shivered a little. It was getting a little chilly out. And Conan was starting to get hungry. Maybe just talking for a few more minutes, then heading home would be good. What would he fix for dinner? Possibly something good. His father always enjoyed his cooking.

Pictures of the Eiffel Tower? Well, that was a good enough reason to take pictures. The tower was magnificent. The brunette looked up at the structure and smiled. “It is a beautiful thing to take a picture of. You picked the best thing to take pictures of, Gareth.” he said with a normal happy smile. As the other man spoke, Conan tilted his head a little and smiled. Three years being in Paris and he had never seen the Eiffel Tower? Well, it was slightly strange. But only slightly. However, the young man wouldn't say that. Shaking his head, Conan grinned. “No it isn't strange. I'm sure a lot of people have been here a while and haven't seen the Eiffel Tower. This is my third time being here and I have been around as long as you have I believe.” he placed the tip of his long, slender finger on his chin, thinking a little. Yeah, that seemed about right. About three years.

Gareth thanked him and this made the actor smile. His stomach growled a little and he looked down sheepishly. “That's great, I will see you there! I have to go now and fix dinner. Maybe we can talk sometime soon? Anyway, ciao~!” he said, waving and walking away.

tag: gareth
words: 330
notes: I hope you don't mind me ending it here, since, well, we have the disney thread....