Anders and Vance, backdated to Thurday 22/03/2013

[om_bragi]

Vance wants answers and Anders cuts the crap, well mostly.



Anders was sat outside the boathouse. He wasn't hiding or anything, he wasn't a coward, he just didn't much want to be around people right now. People currently acting like he was the bogeyman or fucking Voldemort.
It was funny, he'd thought he didn't care about what they thought of him but this was really starting to get to him. Badly.

He hadn't been looking for Anders or anything, but when Vance saw him down by the boathouse, he paused.  Noriko'd said she was nervous for him, to talk to the older boy, but...well, Anders was his friend.  And Vance didn't think he could really judge what had happened without asking.  He'd just have to trust that Anders would be straight with him.  Leap of faith.   

He drew a little closer.  "Hey."

"Oh, hey Vance." Was almost mumbled as he looked up slowly. He really hoped the kid wasn't going to start trying to punch him too. Da Costa was fine but he didn't want to have to punch Vance even in defence.

Vance came a little closer for sitting down a few feet from Anders.  He pulled his legs up against his chest, wrapping his arm around them, before asking, "So....what happened?"

"Why ask me? Whole school's full of stories about the evil Anders Johnson." Anders said almost bitterly as he pulled out a lighter and packet of cigarettes.

"Because you're my friend.  I think."  And so was Noriko, but Vance knew he owed it to Anders to get his side of things.  It was possible not to see the whole picture without being malicious, and maybe that was what happened here. Actually, he kind hope so.  Mildly, he added, "and that's bad for you."

"I know. You should never start. But I'm stressed and I can't afford to get drunk." Not when so many student wanted to beat him up anyway. "So, what do you want to know exactly." He took a long drag. He might as well tell Vance his version, after all who else would listen to it?

"I guess..."  Vance was actually a little lost about where to start.  How did you even start this conversation?  'So are you evil or something?'   Yeah, that'd work well.    "Well...did you do it?  Make people do stuff?"

"I don't 'make' people do anything but if you're asking why did I use my powers, the answer is because...because it's how I am. I don't know. I'm in a weird country with no family left and...it's all I have. So I used them." Anders shrugged, tired and drained and just fucking sick of everything. "I'm not a monster Vance, I didn't make anyone into a soulless drone or whatever. I just made suggestions and they reacted."

"I don't think you're a monster," Vance said, voice soft but sincere.  No, he'd been too nice for that.  He hadn't had to be nice to Vance, after all; some random obnoxious kid who was way younger than him, Anders could've told him to take a hike.  Instead he'd offered to teach him photography.  Not really a monster.  Still, though...

"But what if they didn't want to do those things?"

"But they did want to, they just didn't know it before." Anders explained as best he could. "My powers, they don't work all the time. If I tried to make someone do something they really didn't want to do then they'd just refuse. Like, I couldn't make you drown yourself in the lake because you, your subconscious, your survival instinct, all of you would fight against it and my powers wouldn't work. I can't make anyone do anything that wasn't there to begin with."

And ok, he didn't know that for sure and he certainly wasn't sure if he believed it himself completely but it was the only explanation he had.

"Like Noriko, we were chatting and I guess she was a bit off with me or whatever. I made the suggestion that because we were both new kids she should give me a chance, that we could have fun at the dance or whatever. Next thing I know, she's kissing me. She decided that, she chose to do that. I never told her to."

Vance chewed that over.  It didn't sound as bad, when he put it that way.  But still...he thought about doing a lot of things that he'd never ever actually do.  Things that could tear his family apart, that could destroy friendships...something he might sometimes want to do could ruin everything.  And Noriko hadn't seemed like she thought she wanted whatever they'd done.

"Does...I mean, do you...."  He wasn't even sure how to ask how Anders felt about the fact he could take away people's free will like that, not without offending him.  Maybe if he'd really done that to her, though, without asking...maybe Anders deserved to be offended.  But Vance had to be sure.  "You didn't tell her to kiss you?"

"No, I didn't. And I don't think it's anyone's business but since she's badmouthing me anyway. I never told her to kiss me and when she told me her boundaries so far as what she was and wasn't comfortable with, I respected them. And now she's making me out to be some kind of fucking, I dunno, villain."

He didn't understand, because Anders and Noriko'd both sounded so sure.  And so honest, both of them.  At least as far as Vance could tell.  There had to be a way they could both be right, but he just wasn't sure...an accident, maybe?  Domino-style, sorta?  If Anders had told Noriko to be nice to him, but she'd understood 'nice' to mean something different, and so she'd....

Vance wasn't really sure, but maybe that's what it'd been.  Still didn't really agree with the compelling people to do stuff thing, though.  And after what Noriko'd said...

"Have you ever done it to me?"

"As nice a bloke as you are I'm pretty sure you're a little bit too male for me to kiss, Vance."

The younger boy sighed and rolled his eyes.  "You know what I mean."

He flicked ash away carefully so that the wind couldn't take it and it end up over the other boy. "No, I haven't."

Vance hadn't really thought he had, but he'd had to ask anyway.  And he felt better, now that he had the answer.  He watched Anders for a minute, as the older boy smoked.  He looked kinda roughed up, like he'd been hit hard - Vance oughta know.  "What happened to you?"

"If you mean the bruises and shit then I've been beaten up four times in four days, that's what." Anders said quietly as he stared out over the water to the trees. "If you mean why I'm so fucked up...I guess a psychiatrist would probably say it would be because mummy and daddy never loved me. Boo hoo."

"Parents can feel like that, sometimes," Vance agreed quietly.  He looked out at the landscape this time; he didn't want to weird Anders out.  Besides, there was just so much to think about.  He had a million questions, and he wasn't even sure how to ask most of them.

"Who beat you up?"

"Does that really matter?" Was shrugged back. He thought about saying his parents were worse than most and telling Vance exactly how and why but he held his tongue. He already felt downtrodden and exposed enough for one day. "I mean, I got beat up. Why do you need to know more?"

Vance flinched subtly, but shrugged.  "I don't, I guess.  Sorry."

"No worries. You're about the only one in this school who doesn't seem to hate me right now. I'm not gonna start biting your head off." He shook his head and sighed.

"I really didn't mean to hurt anyone, you know." And he hadn't, ok so the thing he'd done on that Irish cunt was for revenge but he'd deserved it. If he'd just backed off and accepted that Anders was straight nothing would have happened. With the girls he'd never intended to actually hurt anyone, he really hadn't. He hadn't even thought about consequences.

"What did you mean to do?"

Anders shrugged as he stubbed out then flicked the butt away. "I dunno...figure out what the fuck I'm supposed to do now?"

Vance cocked his head slightly, curious.  He didn't really see how using his mutation on people would really tell him what to do next, but still, he guessed he had no way to know without asking.  "Did it help?"

Considering how beat up and swollen his face was, Anders shot him a look that clearly said 'What do you think?' but his tone when he eventually spoke was softer. "No."

Vance leaned forward, cross his arms on top of his knees, and laying his chin on his forearm.  Folded up for travel, his Bubbe'd used to say.   He was quiet for a minute, thinking about his other questions; he had so many, he knew he'd never ask most of them.  He wanted the magic question, the one whose answer'd convince him that everything would be okay and make all of this make sense.  He guessed that probably wasn't gonna happen, though.

"Are you going to do it again?"

"You really think I'd risk getting beaten to a bloody pulp repeatedly again?" Was shot back with a pointed look.

"You didn't when you did it this time?"  Vance asked, bewildered.  How had Anders ever thought people wouldn't be mad at him about it?  Heck, Vance got nervous people would be mad at him if he accidentally interrupted them, and Anders had...talked them into stuff.  Stuff maybe they'd thought about, but didn't seem to have wanted to do.

"Like I said, I never actually meant to hurt anyone. I didn't expect any of this, alright?" And maybe he was getting a little defensive now but he couldn't help being fucking sick of everything.

Looking away from the younger boy, his eyes fell on the woods. He hated woods, seriously fucking hated them. Which didn't help his mood any.

"Look, believe me, I do not want to get the shit kicked out of me again. OK?"

"I believe you."  Vance did, too.  Or he believed that Anders believed, which was really the most anyone could ask.  Still, he'd tensed slightly at the other boy's tone of voice; he hadn't meant to make him angry.  "If I'm making you mad...I mean, I'm sorry, I just...you can tell me to leave.  If you want me to."

"It's fine. I've just had a bad  week and I, I fucking hate the woods." That second part kind of slipped out but he supposed of any audience, Vance was the least bad to admit it to.

Definitely'd had an exciting week, Vance figured.  And yeah, probably bad, too, from Anders' perspective and a few others'.  He had to admit, though, Anders' probably had deserved....well, maybe not all of it, but some of it.  The woods, though?

"You don't hafta tell me, if you don't want to, but...why do you hate the woods?"

He closed he eyes and pressed the heels of his hands against them for a moment. He could still remember that day in the woods just before his 15th birthday, just after Ty's mutation had manifested. How his mum had woken him and Mike and dragged them out of the house and into the car in their nightclothes. They'd ended up in the woods and she'd been ranting and raving about how her sons were monsters. How they'd be better off dead, that she wanted them dead. He could still remember how fucking cold it had been despite it being the start of summer, how scared he'd been when his own mother had talked about wanting to kill him and his brothers, having planned it over and over. And then she'd stopped and she'd told them they had to raise the boys now and she'd just started walking off. He'd called after her, wanting to know what she was doing, where she was going. He hadn't forgotten her answer, how strange and twisted her voice had been when she'd replied

'I don't know Anders. Maybe I'll become a fucking tree. '

Slowly he opened his eyes and turned to the younger boy. "Some other time, k? I'll tell you some other time..." Because admitting that his weak, selfish human mother had turned on her mutant sons was just one bridge too many to cross right now. Especially when he wasn't sure how much he trusted Vance, or anyone at all for that matter.

"Okay." 

Vance looked out at the woods himself, as though he could somehow divine what about them bothered Anders so much.  He couldn't, it turned out, but still he was quiet and thoughtful.  

Anders had done what he'd done to make himself feel better.  He probably shouldn't have, but he'd also been punished for it; his face proved that, pretty much.  It wasn't like Vance had to punish him, wasn't like he'd gotten away with it or wronged Vance himself. 

He was pretty sure at least some of the marks on Anders' face had come from Noriko.  Admittedly, he was kinda okay with that.

But Anders' had also said that he wasn't going to do it again.  And maybe that wasn't entirely right - Vance wasn't for sure about predicting the future - but he definitely believed Anders believed it.  So, really, the only question he had left was, "Did you apologize to them?"

"Huh? What?" The Kiwi hadn't been in the present at that moment. "I, uh, I was a little busy bleeding on the floor."

"Are you going to?"

"It has been said repeatedly that if I go near either girl ever again I will be murdered in various horrifying ways." Was said with little emotion in his voice.

Vance's eyebrows shot up towards his hairline.  "People threatened to kill you?"

He could see being mad, definitely, but that seemed like....well, it seemed like a lot, even for being angry.  Honestly, he was a little shocked.
"Yeah, bit fuzzy on details though. There were a lot of fists and blood and languages being yelled most of the time." Anders shrugged again like it was nothing. Like his face wasn't hurting constantly, like his  swollen jaw didn't make it sore to talk. Like his ribs weren't fucking killing like.

"Ah."   Another pause, and then, "is there anything I can do to help?"

"Not punching me was really helpful. You get an A* on that on, Vancey boy."

Vance couldn't help laughing a little.  "Yeah, well...I don't like hitting people if I don't hafta."

"Glad to hear it," was nodded approving as he carefully stretched and then winced in pain. Maybe getting drunk would work as a temporary painkiller at least...

Vance frowned.  "You okay, man?  I mean, do you need anything?  I could get some Tylenol.  Or Josh.  Or....something, you know?"   He thought a second, before tacking on, "I usually use frozen peas and stuff.  I can go grab you some to use."

"Josh says I deserve the pain." What Josh had actually said was a lot more sweary than that though. 

He noticed the 'I usually' and noted it for future reference. "I'll probably grab some kind of painkillers or another later." 

However since his little protégée was once again eager to please, it seemed almost feeling to waste it. "I'll gladly take whatever you suggest though."

Josh had said he deserved the pain?  He guessed the golden teen wasn't a doctor technically, but...could doctors even do that?  Just tell you to screw yourself?  Huh.

Vance shrugged a little, unsure. "I mean...I've got Tylenol and Advil and stuff.  And the frozen veggies.  I'm not, like, a doctor, though.  If you wanna come inside, I can go grab some and bring 'em to you."

"Yeah sure, why not?" Anders agreed with a shrug and a nod.  "I will put my medical care in your hands...uh thanks Vance." Not something Anders said everyday.

"No problem."  They were friends, after all.  Not because Anders hadn't messed up or anything -- it was pretty obvious he had.  But seemed like he'd learned something from it, maybe.  And he'd definitely already been punished for it. 

Vance stood up, and went over to offer the older boy a hand.  "I can get you up with my TK, if it hurts too much."

Though Anders reluctantly accepted the hand, he insisted no powers were needed. He mostly only accepted the hand to make Vance feel needed anyway, or so he told himself.

One last look across the lake and then he turned away from woods, pulling his jacket closer as they started to walk.

Comments

[om_panax]

OMG that final beating (or possibly the stabbing!) finally got through a little.

Or something just got knocked loose. Bwah!

Vance cutie pie omfg.

[om_bragi]

More like he's feeling sorry for himself and has discovered that tiny shred of self-preservation.

Or maybe, yeah, something's been knocked loosely.
I mean if you count his brothers he's been beaten up at least 5 times in a little over a month.