The Path I Choose

[stillinthedark]

WHO: Eddie and OPEN!
WHAT: Despite being here a while, Eddie's never really checked out the school. Time to explore and possibly meet people.
WHERE: Throughout the campus
WHEN: Thursday afternoon and evening
WARNING(S): Eddie May be some swearing

Eddie expected the place to be a little crowded, but not this crowded. There were students all over the place! He kept off to the side, taking in the smells and sounds while navigating the best he could. It wasn't too difficult, really; his only issue was being trampled by late students. Once the tardy bell rang, the place all but emptied out. He took the opportunity to explore more thoroughly.

"This place is kind of cool..." He said to himself as he opened the door to the courtyard. That's when he felt a rush of cold. He quickly shut the door, mumbling something about the damn snow and how people could live here.

Comments

[stillinthedark]

"I'm fine." He picked up his lone bag and stepped in, taking note of where everything was. There was the heavy scent of books on one side, meaning his part of the room was on the other end. He set his bag down on the empty bed.

A bit of awkward began to settle in as he sat down. "I take it you like to read." He's going to attempt some conversation. Yeeep.

[stophamatime]

"Mostly manga," he said, a little sheepishly (because he realizes what a kid that makes him sound like). "Books are fine too, I mean. But they don't write much about the same stuff."

Like superheroes punching aliens in the face.

[stillinthedark]

"I read a couple of those when I was younger." Eddie needed to stop making himself sound like an old man. "The horror titles were really cool. What kind of manga do you prefer?"

[stophamatime]

Six years off might as well be an old man, come on.

"Superhero stuff, mostly." Although he feels a little more ambivalent about some of it than he used to; some of the violence hits a little closer to home, and then when he realizes he was enjoying reading it, sometimes he just feels weird when he closes the book.

[stillinthedark]

"Well, it fits, considering where we live." X-Men were kind of superheroes, right? Eddie remembered hearing about them back home. And they saved his life, just like heroes.

[stophamatime]

"It makes it feel a little...weird, kind of." The idea of a superhero catching him reading a fictional depiction of superheroes just makes him wonder what they'd actually think about it. Do they hate comics like actors hate the paparazzi?

(It's not entirely coincidental that Ken keeps most of his reading to their room.)

[stillinthedark]

Eddie wondered why it would make the kid feel weird, but then he imagined the staff coming through and yelling at him like they found porn under his bed. He shook his head.

"I doubt they mind. There are worse things you could be reading."

[stophamatime]

"There are probably better things, too."

[stillinthedark]

"Nothing can top a good comic book. Well, maybe a good video game."

[stophamatime]

"I haven't really played many of those."

[stillinthedark]

"Played a couple before... this happened." Eddie pointed to his shaded eyes. For the first time in a few months, the teen felt a little twinge of... something that wasn't pure anger or apathy. He did his best to hold on to that tiny shred of emotion as he continued.

"I'll have to convince my mom to ship my stuff up here."

[stophamatime]

This sounds like there's a story behind it, and it's one Ken's sure he shouldn't be asking about, because...well, he doesn't think he'd want to be asked, if their positions were switched, right?

But on the other hand, he does want to at least confirm that he's got the right idea about things, before he does anything really awkward because of it, so he takes a deep breath. "I...hope this isn't a really bad question to ask, because I don't want to pry. But that..."

Uh.

"...you can't see, right?"

[stillinthedark]

It took a good portion of Eddie's strength to keep the asshole from coming out. He wasn't going to remove his sunglasses and scare the poor kid, either. "It's kind of like this: you know when you're in the dark and you can sort of see your things but not really?"

[stophamatime]

"Yeah...oh."

That made sense, or sense enough, at least.

"...sorry for asking. I just don't want to assume anything stupid."

[stillinthedark]

There was a bit of silence before Eddie responded. "It's cool. I'm mostly used to it." He stretched. Maybe it was time for a nap before he went out again.

"Gonna lie down for a bit. Had kind of a long day already." Another long-ish pause.

"Nice meeting you, kid."

[stophamatime]

"Okay. Nice meeting you, too."

At least staying quiet so someone else could get some sleep wasn't really much of a change from his normal behavior anyway.