teenaged dirt bags [open]

[sharpes]

Characters: Brandon Sharpe and open
Date: Forward dated to Feb 23rd.
Location: Several stores and locations in Keeliai.
Situation: After a rather harrowing conversation, Brandon's basically been avoiding everyone and everything imaginable. But unfortunately for him, no one in Keeliai does grocery delivery services. Teenaged boys go through their food stash pretty handily.
Warnings/Rating: Ridiculously histrionic teenaged boy angst? Couple of thread-headers in the post itself for anyone who might want to run into him.





[He can admit that starving himself into a slow and wasting death is probably too dramatic. Even so, it takes him until the last box of weird Keeliai crackers to even think about going outside.

Showering is a process. He doesn't think about the last time this happened, when Steph had to come over and find him after the executions at the so-called 'Sacrificial Altar' just to help him shave. Now he doesn't even look in the mirror when he gets out of the shower, he just towel-dries his hair and leaves to get dressed, peach-fuzz be damned.

'Getting dressed' is also a process, albeit less of one than showering. He digs something out of his closet that has a hood that'll obscure his features enough, and then a pair of sunglasses. When he's finished he looks half like something that walked off the set of Hobo with a Shotgun and The Breakfast Club but all pretentions of vanity aside he really just doesn't care.

His hands are almost shaking when he opens the door. It's probably a combination of hunger or fatigue or something. He hasn't slept well since--

Yeah. He's just. Not going to think about that.]

Comments

outside his apartment;

[sharpes]

[trying to be inconspicuous when you live in an apartment block full of people? not always a good idea.]

[iron_ego]

[Tony's rocking the Hollywood star look today, same as always, but his sunglasses edge down to the tip of his nose to take a clear look at Mr. Anti-Paparazzi trying to slink his way around. It's ridiculous enough that he almost laughs.

Almost.

But why laugh when you can whistle, snap your fingers, and point back the other way?]

Lindsay's that way, buddy.

[sharpes]

Yeah, well, I ain't looking for Lindsay. What's it to you anyway, Stark?

[ROUGH AND DEFENSIVE AND MAYBE A LITTLE CHIHUAHUA-AS-ALPHA-MALE REACTION? YOU BET.]

[iron_ego]

Back up there, bulldog. [That's earned another look over the sunglasses.] You're pulling off the Paparazzi Killer look and asking what's it to me?

[A pause. A chuckle as he shakes his head. Admittedly, very little, but that's not going to stop him from sticking his nose in here.] Tell me something: Did you actually plan that retort out? Or did it just strike like a rough patch of -- [He clears his throat and drops his tone.] man-o-pause? [No, he didn't quite intend that to be heard by all, just enough for Brandon to catch it.]

[sharpes]

I'm pretty sure the way I dress isn't any of your business, Stark. Unless you're a fan of teenage boys.

[Yeah, why not, he'll throw that in his face.]

And will you shut the hell up? You don't know me. I bet you don't even know yourself. You're all talk, all flair, all action, no substance that can't be sold in a bottle.

[Two guesses as to what kind of bottle he means. Tony Stark's alcoholism is legendary in any universe.]

And you're picking on me because? You want to? You're bored? Get a life, creep.

various keeliai stores?

[sharpes]

[He's probably not paying attention to where he's going, feel free to have him run into your character.]

[alpha_squad_leader]

[It must be a day for teenage boys to go shopping since Victor's out looking to replenish his food supplies as well today. He's got a shopping list in hand as he walks, doing a quick mental check off of the things he's already picked up.

Not paying enough attention to where he's going either, Victor turns a corner and ends up walking right into Brandon. Worried about jabbing someone with his spikes, he's quick to pull that arm away before he even realizes who he's walked into.]

Sorry about that.

[sharpes]

[Brandon doesn't even register that it's - what's this guy's name again? - until the apology. And then he just waves a dismissive hand.

Man, he seriously can't remember the guy's name. They've talked a few times. He thinks his codename is Anole but he's totally blanking on anything else.]

Whatever, just watch where you're going next time.

[alpha_squad_leader]

[Victor misses the wave entirely, a little too surprised by the state he sees Brandon in. He's having trouble remembering a name to go with the guy's face but he's almost positive his codename is Striker. ]

Are you alright, man?

[sharpes]

What the hell do you think? You ran into me. I'm peachy.

['Irate' doesn't even begin to cover it. He's spent a week in solitary, okay, and Anole's an easy target to take his irritation out on.]

[andaway]

[Clark loves doing the grocery shopping. It might sound weird, but it's just something so mundane, something so normal he just can help but look forward to it. It leads to him bringing home a lot of food and other things they don't really need at home but hey, he has an understanding wife. Sort of.

What he doesn't expect is to find Brandon looking like death warmed over.]

Kid? Are you alright?

[sharpes]

[He hears Clark's voice and just. Freezes.

Realistically, Clark and Rick are nothing alike. He knows that. Rick was a sleezeball who acted like a sleezeball and this Kent guy's a reporter who acts like a dweeb. But there's still something that makes him think about it - and his heart rate jumps. Clark probably knows what a fear reaction sounds like now, and this is definitely one of them.]

What do you even want?

[He means for it to come out aggressive, but instead it sounds... just kind of tired.]

[andaway]

[He does hear it, and he hates the sound of it so much. He doesn't like it when people dislike him, and he isn't sure how to handle that but he does, in the end. By ignoring it maybe, but it's still his way of dealing with it.

But the kid is terrified of him, and he only checked if he was alright. He wants to help so badly but how can he when he's the one causing his distress to begin with?

He raises his hands up in surrender, making a little bit of his groceries fall down. Oops.]

Nothing! [He says as he reaches down to pick them up.] I was just- you looked sad, or angry, or both. I wanted to help.

[traumatizing]

[Ah yes, today must be everyone's shopping day. Terry's sort of wandering about aimlessly, more perusing the stores out of curiosity than necessity. Right now his attention's focused on something in a totally different direction to the one he's walking on, and he literally walks straight into Brandon. Instinctively, Terry reaches out in the way you do when you're not sure how hard you just bumped into someone and you don't know if they're fine or going to fall yet.]

Wh-- Sorry.

[sharpes]

[HOW DOES SHOT THERAPIST.]

Whatever. It's not like you killed me.

[A slight smile. Other people? He doesn't care so much about hiding how off-the-walls depressed he is. Around this dude? You bet he's going to put on a mask.]

Hey, have you heard from a kid named Peeta Mellark?

[traumatizing]

[Wh

What.] Yeah, we've spoken.

[He gives Brandon a bit of a quizzical look because wow that question came out of nowhere, but hey he's been distracted from scrutinizing him any.]

Re: various keeliai stores?

[littlecousin]

[Nita loves shopping! Food shopping somewhat less than clothes shopping, but it's still shopping.

Her general cheer and friendliness have made her a favorite among the laid-back Water Sector merchants, which is a good thing for her wallet, because she simply can't bring herself to do the insulting banter that good bargaining requires. Some of the shopkeepers are gradually trying to train her into it, possibly to help her manage the more cutthroat markets in other sectors, possibly because having Nita reluctantly telling them their wares suck is hilarious.

Currently, she's complaining about it loudly to a greengrocer, who is smiling through the rant in tolerant amusement.]

What do you mean, "act unimpressed?" Great Neptune's trident! I wouldn't be buying them if they were bad! Going around insulting total strangers is no way to run an economy! This is why I get all my clothes from Favrielle!

[She doesn't, but letting truth get in the way of one's hyperbole is poor form.]

[sharpes]

[Nita is very loud, significantly noticeable, and one of the last possible people Brandon even wants to talk to.

Unfortunately for him, the vendor spots him as well, and demands he come forward so he can demonstrate 'proper bartering'. It's all some kind of game - the guy doesn't actually seem irritated (at Nita? Brandon would like to meet that person) or even concerned about the outcome.

As much as he really doesn't want to talk to Nita right now, he wants to run away from being put on the spot just a little bit less, so he steps up beside her, hands stuffed into the pockets of his overlarge hoodie.]

I dunno, I think I'm with the girl on this one.

[littlecousin]

[Nita recognizes his voice, and doesn't even turn to look before accepting his support.]

Yeah, Brandon's with me!

[At that point she turns to actually greet him. She hasn't forgotten their tense underwater conversation, but that was a while ago, and he wasn't being substantially more of a jerk that usual, so she's willing to let bygones be bygones if he is.]

Hey, Brandon-- [oh my god, he looks awful] --what's wrong?

[crotcharrow]

[Part of the deal that he has going with Rikki is that he can stay a her place as long as he takes it in turns to run out and do the grocery shopping every now and then. He didn't mind, just as long as he didn't have to cook anything that Rikki wanted to be edible, and it meant he actually got to pick out his favourite foods. Which, in Keelai was few and far between.

He's on his way back to the apartment when he literally walks into Brandon, the bag of groceries ripping and spilling it's contents onto the floor causing the speedster to swear. It's pretty similar to how they first met, except this time, Tommy wasn't at too high a speed.]

--Hey! Watch it, budd-- [He pauses when he realises who it is, his irritation lifting, but only slightly.] Brandon.

[sharpes]

[... ACTUAL LAST PERSON HE EVER WANTED TO SEE LOOKING LIKE A HOBO.

Excuse him.]

Hey.

[crotcharrow]

[He raises an eyebrow, looking Brandon up and down.]

Jesus, what the hell happened to you?

[he stoops to start collecting the groceries.] You look like shit.

[wholenewstory]

[Cassandra doesn't bother to dodge, exactly, just steps back and holds up her hands to gently grip his shoulders. She meant her gaze to be hard, and cold, but - but his body is screaming, and she can't stop the concern from softening her features.]

[sharpes]

[It's Cassandra.

It's Steph's best friend and he has absolutely no idea what to say or how to get away from her, so instead he just... slumps under the grip of her hands and averts his eyes.]

What?

[wholenewstory]

[Cassandra's hands slide off his shoulders. He looks so small, right now, even though he's taller than she is. So young.]

You...okay?

[It's a far cry from the shouting she'd planned.]