[for romain]

[umbralla]

[It's not hard to find Ghyslain when he's not in class or the dorms - he doesn't go out a lot, and when there aren't classes in the music room, he'll most likely be there. How often do you find a giant grand piano to play, after all? Even his family had a much smaller one, slightly out of tune, which grated on someone with such a natural ear when he came back from lessons and had to practice on it.

Today he's playing something he remembers his older sister listening to; not his kind of music, but the musician was damn good on piano, so the melodies stick out and he picks them out when he hasn't got a song in mind. It's slow at first, then picks up to the actual speed of the song, light and flourishing.

He's clearly in his own world, pale eyes dreamy and head swaying back and forth. In a soft, deep voice, he tries to translate the lyrics he can remember, but they come without scansion and rhyme because it's so off the top of his head.]

Comments

[quantities]

[good thing Romain doesn't read minds because GOOD GOD GHYSLAIN]

Hope you never do.

[He may be nice and all, but he's competitive as hell. Don't beat him in a fight, he'll sulk for days.]

Oh - thanks. You too, Ghyslain. I just wandered in here to interrupt you and you didn't kick me out, so. You're the cooler guy.

[umbralla]

[The song switches again, something with a bit more weight behind it, his body leaning forward with each heavy chord.]

I did think about it. [Kicking him out, not fighting him. Hopefully that's clear.] But - you are right, there is something... apaisant about speaking French.

[And you're really really ridiculously good looking.]

[quantities]

[omg discrimination]

Hey, no wonder. It makes you think of home. Nice as this place is, who wouldn't like that?

[umbralla]

[He leans into the piano a bit more at that, plays a bit more heavily. His voice is still audible, though.]

I am not sure where home is now. But it is nice.

[quantities]

Oh - yeah, I meant - [wtg duuuuude.] Sorry, didn't mean it like that.

[umbralla]

Ouais, je sais. Vous - tu es tres gentil.

[More personal, dropping the polite "vous." Romain is nice, as much as he teases. He doesn't ever mean to be cruel. Ghyslain just says difficult things sometimes, things that make people feel his pain.

He turns away from the piano again.]

And this place is nice, but I would like to leave it. Only for a short time, as classes are over for the day. Would you come with me?

[quantities]

[It is pretty weird, how Ghyslain sounds like he's prickly, then turns around and says stuff like that. Like he's vulnerable and afraid to let that show until someone's friendly enough.

Romain's a sucker for people who just want a friend. Shiiit.

Then there comes the offer, and he can't help but smile a bit incredulously.]

Wait, you wanna go to town?

[Shouldn't a problem. Tertiaries don't really get curfews, as long as they're not giving the school a bad rep.]

[umbralla]

Si tu veux. There is a place that I like. Very cheap beer.

[And there's that grin that verges on cheeky again.]

I have never been punished for it. As long as you are not - light weight? [Romain's got him bang-on. Once he's been offered friendship, he can be almost lighthearted in return. It's just the belief that such a thing is hard to come by that makes him seem unapproachable.]

[quantities]

[Not that he needs encouragement for cheekiness, but hell. He opens up his smile way too easily at that.]

Please. Do I look like a light weight? [you look like a pre-teen Romain let's not ask that kind of stuff. Still, there's that competitive edge flaring up again.] You're on.

[he stands up, hands back in his pockets, because Ghyslain totally meant right now, right?]

[umbralla]

[He also looks lovely smiling that way, a new spark in his eyes. Ghyslain bites his lower lip for a second, awash with longing that he knows won't be satisfied by a few beers, then breathes deeply and stands up with a nod.]

Let us go, then. There is also decent food, if you are hungry.

((TIMESKIP GO??))

TIME SKIP

[quantities]

[Hey, Ghyslain promised there'd be good food, so he's holding him to that promise. He asks for a big-ass cheeseburger (get out cole) to go along with the second bottle of beer he's going through when dinner time rolls by. It's obvious this conversation is going to go on all night, but he doesn't mind the slightest bit - Ghyslain is a lot of fun, despite the occasional moodiness.]

--whatever you do, never ask for Professor Stuart's advice. He makes you feel small and breaks your brain all at once. While giving you a history lesson. I'm pretty sure that's his real gift.

[umbralla]

[He's enjoying the conversation as well, because with the added social lubrication of alcohol, it's becoming even easier to talk to Romain. There are still looks that last too long, sparks of warmth low in his abdomen at certain gestures or movements of Romain's face, but he's got them under lock and key in order to enjoy the chance of such a good friend.

(Unfortunately, that ability will likely disappear as more alcohol is added. But it's a kind of wild chance he took, suggesting this, even if it was so subconscious that he doesn't realize it.)]

Breaks your brain? [That's an expression he hasn't heard before.] He is confusing?

[quantities]

Oh - [bashful laughter, pink on the cheeks.] Yeah, more like... He turns your world upside down. The things you thought were real are all a lie. And then he leaves you a litte traumatized for good measure.

[umbralla]

To have so much memory... it must be great and very painful. I do not know how I would handle such a thing.

[He's a little too serious, this one. If Romain hasn't guessed. The thought of eidetic memory alone is enough to send him nearly all the way back into brooding, but eventually he looks back at Romain and smiles.]

I do imagine that you would be much the same, though. You would do such things - pour la frime. Show off?

[quantities]

I wouldn't worry about that. Living as long as he has? He has to be used to it, man.

[let him drink. And eat some more.]

Oh yeah. I'd be doing it to impress everybody. Never forget someone's birthday, are you kidding?

[umbralla]

That only means more memory.

[He still doesn't like the idea. But Romain is more positive in general, always seeing the lighter side of things, from what Ghyslain can tell so far.]

Or an anniversaire. I have heard that - les petites amies, they can be sensitive about such things. [He replays what he just said in his head - not the fact that it was obvious prying about Romain's love life, because that was deliberate, but the dashes of French - and shakes his head, looking down at his own plate of fries and gravy.]

My English, it is getting worse. [Oh well. Just keep drinking, he's down with that approach.]

[quantities]

Oh yeah. [he knows that too well.] Super sensitive. But then we'll remember different dates for everything. Or she'll want to celebrate an anniversary that doesn't even make sense. It's so weird.

[don't get Romain to talk about relationships. Young as he is, the two actual girlfriends he had burned him pretty damn bad. It's why he keeps to casual things now. Friends with benefits, not much beyond that. He has explained before he's just not ready. It's not them, it's him.]

Don't even worry about your English. [all smiles. Drinking moooar.] So you don't have a girlfriend?

[umbralla]

[Well, there's at least partial confirmation. There is more than gay and straight, of course, but he hasn't seen a lot of the gray area - mostly the solid black of having another blasphème on his track record. Not that they know, they'll never know, but the hiding isn't that much more comfortable.

He's staring so hard into his fries now. Like the right answer might be found in the smears of gravy across his plate.]

Non. I have - never been with someone so long. [Someone. It's the most he'll allow right now, with Romain giving no outward sign that the girlfriend is in the past.] Not long enough for an anniversary.

[quantities]

Trust me, you're better off this way. Being free is way more fun.

[he says so with his drink up to his mouth. Oh its empty.]

Want another?

[umbralla]

Ouais, merci.

[He says it mildly, with a little nod. That comment stung something inside him, something deep and still festering.]

There are many people who believe that. It is good that you are so open about it.

[quantities]

Yeah, well - we're still young, you know? There's still so much we're figuring out about ourselves. Bringing somebody else into the equation is just asking for trouble.

[being bitter really doesn't suit him. Which is probably why he sounds so casual still.]

Hey - yeah. Bring us two more? Thanks.

[and back to you, ghyslain.]

[umbralla]

[He feels the attention return to him and swallows hard. This wasn't where he wanted the night to go. It's his fault for asking, for bringing up the topic at all, but he's lost in memories now and hearing Romain say such hard things isn't helping.]

Je pense que - I think that it is very easy to use someone when you think that way. Not always... délibéré, delberate, but easy.

[quantities]

'Use' someone? [squint.] How do you mean?

[umbralla]

Is this not the right expression? [He finally looks up, but his eyes are still distant.] If you are not clear, if you only say so - it is difficult to explain.

[While waiting for another drink to wipe this from his mind, he'll just shove a few fries in his mouth. He's been eating very delicately up until now, which makes the gesture strange, but at least he swallows before speaking again.]

As I have said, you are open. When one is not open, it will hurt.

[quantities]

Well... I never lead anyone on. If that's what you mean.

[more like he says he's not ready for a relationship and calls it a day. But he's not going after girls 24/7 either. Just being his oh so charming self, and if someone responds? Great.]

I've been hurt. It sucks. A lot.