Keep It Together

[Hunter Vause]

You know, going back to the academy was always like wandering down memory lane, but at least this time, Hunter had a reason for being back. He had come here to pick up some paper work, and keep his pretty self away from the screaming boys and girls. Okay, so it wasn't quite as bad back at the school, considering Hunter knew a lot of the people around and they knew him too. It was like a sanctuary; At least until he ran into someone he didn't know, that just happened to be a fan of his music.

And people wondered why he had turned into a cocky son of a bitch.

Holding the folder with papers against his chest, Hunter bent his knees so that he could reach for his car door, but right as he leaned forward, he lost the folder, which sent it spiralling down towards the ground, scattering the papers over the ground. Swearing under his breath, the brunette grumbled as he walked forward.

"Oh come on," he said and shook his head, staring helplessly at the papers scattered all over. Frowning, he kneeled down to start picking them up, walking over the parking lot while crouched down. The footsteps behind him informed him that someone was close by. Turning to look over his shoulder, he offered the person a sheepish grin, one he was very much famous for; Or so he thought anyways. "Howdy."

[François Laffont]

Franck was heading home for the day. That meant he had to get to the bus stop and one of the quickest way was to go through the parking lot. He preferred to go quick when he had no reason to stick around. And today, he had no reason to. In fact, he was more tempted to go back home right now, read a little and maybe, if he was lucky, to catch some of the people he talked to and lived in France. The different time zones could be such a pain sometimes.

He didn’t expect to have his feet attacked by a sheet of paper of course. The thing just came flying all the way to him, all that Franck needed to do was bend down and pick it up. He sighed, first thinking that someone just tossed papers they no longer needed without caring it was not in a garbage can that they did. But as he looked at the ground he found some more sheets. He picked the few ones he found, making its way like this to a guy crouched on the ground and picking them also. No need to be a genius to understand he was not littering the place, his things just took in the wind and he was picking them up.

He returned the guy’s smile with one of his own. Franck his some pretty famous ones as well as he was naturally smiling his way through pretty much everything. “I think these are yours?” he told him, handing him the sheets he picked up on his way to him.

[Hunter Vause]

Returning the smile, Hunter chuckled, "Yeah," he nodded. "I guess it's not my day today," he added before taking back the pieces of paper handed to him. He offered the boy a polite smile as he put the papers on the pile in his lap. Well, at least he met someone who seemed nice rather than the bullies he could remember running into a lot when he was a student himself. Made him think that things had changed a lot, and that only in three years. It was kind of cool, and kind of.. He wasn't sure. Maybe walking down memory lane hadn't been such a good idea after all. Oh well, too late now, right?

Once he had finished scooping up the papers, Hunter rose to his feet and turned towards the other male. Grinning, Hunter held the papers close to his chest, "Thanks man," he said, "I'm glad to see that there's still nice students around. I was kind of afraid the school had been overtaken by the dark side after I left." He was joking, of course. At least, he was joking a little.

"I'm Hunter, by the way," he said then and reached out his hand to greet the other; He couldn't remember ever seeing him around, but that could mean a whole different lot of things. He wasn't going to dwell on it, of course. "I'm assuming you're a student here?" Of course he was; Not everyone was as creepy as Hunter to come back when they weren't really connected to the academy anymore.

[François Laffont]

Franck chose to wait here as the guy stood up. It was just in case he found out there was still a few pages missing, then maybe Franck could propose his help in finding them. They were probably under cars if there were any left. He didn’t really want to damage his uniform but he also knew he wouldn’t mind throwing himself in the mud with it on if someone was in need. He nodded to the guy. He barely seemed older than Franck yet at the same time the French boy couldn’t quite remember him. Must have been too old for the two of them to have met before. Was he in college or something? He couldn’t quite remember seeing him around.

He didn't more help and Franck nodded to him as he was being thanked. He wasn’t sure if what he said was meant to be a joke but, just in case, Franck chose to chuckle at it. It was his solution, in doubt, smile and nod. “Not on my watch,” he replied on what he hoped was the same tone as the guy. If the guy joked. He really hoped he did. Because he couldn’t quite see why the school should be overtaken by the dark side. What was that supposed to mean exactly, anyway? That bad people took over? Yeah, not happening, and not just because Franck was here to pick people’s papers. “You got them all?” he asked, referring to the papers of course.

Even though Franck no physical contact affected him, he never turned someone down when it was needed, not even for a handshake. “Franck,” he said as the guy introduced himself as Hunter. He had grown used to say his nickname instead of his real name. Anyway, he might have picked up the hints of French accent in his voice and he was free to believe it was just a nickname if he wanted. He chuckled again, looking down at his uniform before staring back at Hunter. “Yes, yes I am. That means you aren’t. What are you doing here?” he asked. He had to admit, he was curious. Security had been enhanced, no anyone could come back whenever they felt like it.

[Hunter Vause]

He had to grin at that; He was glad there were still a few people around that didn't want to openly allow the school to become some creepy ground for mutant research and combat training, or whatever the hell they did in all the comics. Like X-Men; That would surely have sucked a lot. Hunter was too much of a wuss to ever be part of any form of combat. No, he left that to all the big and muscular kids. That like, wasn't him. Not that he was particularly big, nor muscular, but whatever. Details, right? "Yeah," he said, and looked around, to see if there was any signs of papers anywhere. "I think so, anyways," he then laughed. For all he knew, there could be some laying under the cars or something. But he didn't think it really mattered.

Because hello, cute guy talking to him and not being repulsed by his behavior? Well, that was a first.

He couldn't help but to grin at the boy's-- Franck's sharp mind. "Yeah, guess you caught me there." Sticking his hand into the front pockets of his jeans, Hunter pulled out a guest pass and smiled. "I used to be a student, but I graduated about three years ago," he explained. "I had to come here to pick up some old papers, and I suppose walking down memory lane was part of it too." Things had surely changed a lot since he had attended here, but with the recent events, he couldn't exactly blame the school for wanting to keep things up to shape and with that, also keep the students and the teachers safe. He was just glad he could still visit without too much hassle.

Sticking the guest pass back into his pocket, Hunter sighed, "Man, has things changed a lot around here."

[François Laffont]

Hunter had quite a cute smile. Franck was trying not to think of it but it was like asking a kid to look away from the candies once they spotted them. Of course, that didn't mean he would do anything about it. He wasn’t even thinking more of it than the fact he had a cute smile. He had been turned down enough to know better than to get all turned on at first glance. True, he would sometimes go against that one easy rule but right now he was not even thinking about flirting. Even if he was, he’d probably find out that Hunter was straight. He was just that lucky.

As Hunter looked around for any other piece of paper that might be lying around, so did Franck. He couldn’t find any and he sure would not suggest looking under the cars if the other one did not think of it first. It was his papers after all. And the way he sounded, it was as if they were not all that important, at least not to the point of crawling on your hands and knees.

Franck did try not to sense his emotions but it was like asking someone with their eyes open not to see anything. It had grown into a sense just like sight or hearing. That didn't mean he was quite sure what to make of it or what caused it. He never would think he may be the cause. And so he simply smiled as Hunter showed him a guest badge. Yes, he recalled how people had to wear those now. Franck had his ID in the pocket of his pants in case someone wanted to see it. He told him he graduated three years ago. “Then we missed each other,” he said. Oh, Franck was here at Bellefonte then but he was still struggling with his power and he wouldn’t be surprised that a boy in his last year was not interested in a younger one with a terribly thick French accent.

He was a tad surprised he might have wished to come back, for memory’s sake. He didn't think one would want that. A lot of the people he talked to seemed eager to get out of here, or to stay here, well hidden, forever. “And how was this journey in the past?” he asked. Why was he still talking to him? He could almost laugh remembering those old lessons they give to kids about not talking to strangers. Well, he knew his name and if he had a badge, he was a mutant, who graduated not that long ago. He was not a total stranger. But that was still funny how he was totally dismissing those rules. He chuckled lightly when Hunter said things changed. It sure did. “That was kind of necessary. But, deep inside, it’s still pretty much the same,” he replied. Considering he had been there too three years ago, he knew what he was talking about.

[Hunter Vause]

"That's a shame." The boy was cute, and though Hunter didn't know how old he was, he wasn't exactly going to give himself crap for looking. And hey, the uniforms didn't exactly make it easier to keep his eyes from wandering, and when you were pansexual, it often gave you a little too much to look at and well.. He wasn't exactly complaining. Who would, anyways? The mutant gene seemed to manifest with pretty people and he'd be lying if he claimed that appearances didn't matter at all, as it was what attracted people in the first place. Well, in most cases, anyways.

And boy was this kid cute. Woozah.

Laughing, Hunter shrugged. "Well.. It's interesting to say the least." He wasn't too sure though, as the school held both great and awful memories for him, which he was sure most schools did to just about anyone. But there was always part of him that wondered what if, and so forth. He wasn't going to dwell on it. He was fairly content with the way his life had turned out. "Guess I'm still deciding." He let his eyes wander over the nearly vacant parking lot, nodding at what the boy was saying, "Yeah, I guess you're right."

Well, at least that was something. Maybe places didn't change, and rather, it was the people that did.

[François Laffont]

Franck wasn’t that much younger than Hunter if he claimed he left three years ago. Of course, three years ago, that age difference would have been huge to both of them. And Franck still had a thick French accent and was struggling with being around people then. He was not surprised he had not seen this guy around, he had enough to do with the people in his class. The fact he was French and needed a year to adjust to the American school system only made the difference between the two boys bigger, at least while they were both at school. Now, even though Franck could still look like a lost little frog in this big American world, the difference didn’t seem as important. Hunter must be what, twenty or something? He clearly wasn’t too young to be noticed anymore.

Franck tried not to think of that. He did feel a peak of desire but he wasn’t quite sure whether it came from Hunter or himself. When his feelings were taking over, Franck had a hard time controlling anything. He didn’t want to make a fool of himself however. He tried to flirt with enough straight guys to know better. There is a limit how much humiliation a person could take.

It was why Franck chose to focus more on what Hunter said than what he looked like. As everyone, or so he assumed, Franck had both good and less good memories whenever he’d think of school and that even if he was technically still at school. You couldn’t love everything of course and when you were rooted out and tossed somewhere very different from what you knew, you sure couldn’t expect it to be pink and fluffy all the time.

He looked at the building as Hunter talked, turning around only to flash a brief smile before looking away again. “So long as you don’t regret it,” he let out but it didn’t seem very clear whether he was speaking to Hunter still or just throwing it out in the air. He looked back at him as they mentioned the changes. In a way he wanted to stick around and talk but he knew he had a bus to catch. “I’ll be leaving you then, I don’t want to slow you down and I have to go to,” he told Hunter. Besides, he felt like he was kind of forcing his presence on the older man. He didn’t ask for Franck to stick around.

He waved at Hunter and hastened his pace towards the bus stop... only to see the bus driving away. He ran but he knew it was too late, the bus was long gone by the time he arrived at the stop. Sighing heavily, Franck looked around. He wasn’t feeling like standing there forever for another one to come but it was kind of a run back to town. He was contemplating going back to the school. He’ll probably find something to do there to occupy his time. And, with a bit of luck, not longer than it would take for that other bus to arrive.