((Nate Turner continued from Mad Dewey Dash))
Nate did not eat alone very often; in fact, he went out of his way to avoid doing so. It was just another symptom of his need to be around other people, after all, and the fact that he had wound up on a table by himself did not sit well with him.
He shifted awkwardly as his lunch from home (leftovers from the tuna pasta bake he'd made with his mom last night) sat untouched in front of him, far too distracted looking for company to consider eating it yet. Considering how packed the cafeteria was that day, most likely due to the rainfall pattering against the windows, he couldn't figure out why he hadn't found any of his friends, but then it was perfectly plausible that they simply couldn't spot him amidst the crowd.
Regardless, he was starting to kick himself just a little for not trying to make any plans with anybody. Of course, it would be a bit silly for him to try and schedule a lunch date for every day just to avoid this situation, but that didn't stop himself for thinking of all the ways he could've avoided it, and blaming himself for not using them.
He continued to shift in his seat, occasionally rising like a meerkat, trying to spot just one person he knew to invite over and keep him company.
Food's Better with Friends
((Darius Van Dyke continued from A Magnet For Trouble))
Darius Van Dyke scanned the cafeteria to find a seat. And he found a neat seat near Nate, where he walked to. That dude looked like he searched for something. Maybe, someone to talk to. Darius also wanted to talk, but he'd rather eat. Man, he really needed the food, the energy. And needed to recover from the work by seating.
He sat down at the same table Nate was at and greeted him. Out of Darius' mouth one could smell a mix of cigs and coffee.
"Yo, Frodo."
Lord of the Rings was boring as fuck (seriously, who watches 9 or 12 hours of a movie without an interesting plot and just silly fight scenes?), but Darius thought the joke to be amusing. Perhaps Nate also found that funny, Darius invented it, it was original. And hey, Darius was allowed to make that joke, he's also small.
"How's your food?"
He noticed that it was not from the school either. Smart Nate. The cafeteria food was horrendous. And way too expensive. Darius bet he could order pizza to this school, sell it and become rich as fuck. But, he also bet that this was illegal and the cantina people would lynch him by burying him under the awful food, while he was sleeping.
He unpacked his chocolate bun to bite it. Hmmm, delicious. After some hard school hours, where Darius had to concentrate constantly to provide good perfomance, he finally can rest and be rewarded.
Darius Van Dyke scanned the cafeteria to find a seat. And he found a neat seat near Nate, where he walked to. That dude looked like he searched for something. Maybe, someone to talk to. Darius also wanted to talk, but he'd rather eat. Man, he really needed the food, the energy. And needed to recover from the work by seating.
He sat down at the same table Nate was at and greeted him. Out of Darius' mouth one could smell a mix of cigs and coffee.
"Yo, Frodo."
Lord of the Rings was boring as fuck (seriously, who watches 9 or 12 hours of a movie without an interesting plot and just silly fight scenes?), but Darius thought the joke to be amusing. Perhaps Nate also found that funny, Darius invented it, it was original. And hey, Darius was allowed to make that joke, he's also small.
"How's your food?"
He noticed that it was not from the school either. Smart Nate. The cafeteria food was horrendous. And way too expensive. Darius bet he could order pizza to this school, sell it and become rich as fuck. But, he also bet that this was illegal and the cantina people would lynch him by burying him under the awful food, while he was sleeping.
He unpacked his chocolate bun to bite it. Hmmm, delicious. After some hard school hours, where Darius had to concentrate constantly to provide good perfomance, he finally can rest and be rewarded.
As much as Nate would've enjoyed a casual lunch with a friend, it seemed that Darius had other things in mind for today.
This, unfortunately, wasn't an unfamiliar situation to Nate. He'd just be sitting around or walking through the corridors, or even just on his way home, doing absolutely nothing to bother anybody, and someone would think it was just hilarious to walk over and start calling him names. Sure, pick on the guy with a hormone disorder, that was real classy and friendly.
Nate knew about Darius' reputation, too, which was a reason he had tried to avoid him in the past. Darius was just the sort of person who'd do that sort of thing: giving him a nickname that he'd endured before and utterly despised. He didn't even like Lord of the Rings, for crying out loud.
"My name's not Frodo, it's Nate." he retorted, but his voice was already turning meek as his body shrank into his seat. There had been too many times where people had bullied and ridiculed him, or worse, for him to be able to just turn around and tell them to get lost. Instead, his flight instinct was kicking in, as his body tensed and his heartbeat rose.
"What do you want?" he said, shying away from eye contact with the latest in a long line of unpleasant people.
This, unfortunately, wasn't an unfamiliar situation to Nate. He'd just be sitting around or walking through the corridors, or even just on his way home, doing absolutely nothing to bother anybody, and someone would think it was just hilarious to walk over and start calling him names. Sure, pick on the guy with a hormone disorder, that was real classy and friendly.
Nate knew about Darius' reputation, too, which was a reason he had tried to avoid him in the past. Darius was just the sort of person who'd do that sort of thing: giving him a nickname that he'd endured before and utterly despised. He didn't even like Lord of the Rings, for crying out loud.
"My name's not Frodo, it's Nate." he retorted, but his voice was already turning meek as his body shrank into his seat. There had been too many times where people had bullied and ridiculed him, or worse, for him to be able to just turn around and tell them to get lost. Instead, his flight instinct was kicking in, as his body tensed and his heartbeat rose.
"What do you want?" he said, shying away from eye contact with the latest in a long line of unpleasant people.
Darius acted surprised at Nate's response. Maybe too exaggerated surprised, but surprised, that was the point. He raised his eyebrows, widely opened his eyes and covered his mouth with the hand that was not holding the chocolate bun.
"What? Nate? Nate Lovegrove? Ballet dancer Nate? Man, if you're really Nate, you have shrunken a lot since I last saw you."
Darius shortly giggled, hoping that Nate joins the laughing. After the short laugh attack, Darius acted less surprised and more calm. That short guy, however, looked nervous. Darius was no Bradley. Perhaps he should stop. But maybe not. Damn, does that guy know no humour? Laughter is the best medicine and all.
So, Nate asked what Darius did want. That was a legitimate question. Even, if it was phrased very unpolitely, as if Darius was bothering him.
"What I want...I want...a good lunch. And I have a good lunch."
He showed Nate his chocolate bun, by raising it, before taking another bite.
"How about your lunch? How is it? Tasty? Not so tasty?"
Man, Nate with no manners, just ignored Darius' previous polite question about the deliciousness of Nate's...whatever that thing was.
"What? Nate? Nate Lovegrove? Ballet dancer Nate? Man, if you're really Nate, you have shrunken a lot since I last saw you."
Darius shortly giggled, hoping that Nate joins the laughing. After the short laugh attack, Darius acted less surprised and more calm. That short guy, however, looked nervous. Darius was no Bradley. Perhaps he should stop. But maybe not. Damn, does that guy know no humour? Laughter is the best medicine and all.
So, Nate asked what Darius did want. That was a legitimate question. Even, if it was phrased very unpolitely, as if Darius was bothering him.
"What I want...I want...a good lunch. And I have a good lunch."
He showed Nate his chocolate bun, by raising it, before taking another bite.
"How about your lunch? How is it? Tasty? Not so tasty?"
Man, Nate with no manners, just ignored Darius' previous polite question about the deliciousness of Nate's...whatever that thing was.
Nate continued to shift in his seat whilst Darius continued running his mouth, taking more shots at his size. Nate had no idea who Nathan Lovegrove was, or if he was even supposed to, but either way it was another stupid jab that was hardly welcome.
Darius' shrill laughter only added insult to injury, and Nate was about ready to up and walk away. He hated it when he was in this predicament, where if he left he'd have that feeling of losing out: in this case, it would be losing the table that'd he been lucky enough to secure in the otherwise hectic lunch rush. If Darius had come over just to bully him away from it, then walking away would be conceding, and Darius probably would probably get away with it, too.
That said, the worry that Darius was just going to keep going and making fun of him was really making him more nervous by the moment. He tried looking around inconspicuously again for someone to support him, but he couldn't make out anyone he recognised through the crowd.
"It's fine." he eventually decided to reply if only to avoid leaving Darius' question unanswered a second time, a habit ingrained by his polite demeanour. In his experience, people like Darius only asked questions to give themselves another opening to make fun of people. Didn't they have anything better to do?
"My friends are going to be here soon, so can you go away please?" he asked, intending it as a demand but largely failing to come across as assertive.
Darius' shrill laughter only added insult to injury, and Nate was about ready to up and walk away. He hated it when he was in this predicament, where if he left he'd have that feeling of losing out: in this case, it would be losing the table that'd he been lucky enough to secure in the otherwise hectic lunch rush. If Darius had come over just to bully him away from it, then walking away would be conceding, and Darius probably would probably get away with it, too.
That said, the worry that Darius was just going to keep going and making fun of him was really making him more nervous by the moment. He tried looking around inconspicuously again for someone to support him, but he couldn't make out anyone he recognised through the crowd.
"It's fine." he eventually decided to reply if only to avoid leaving Darius' question unanswered a second time, a habit ingrained by his polite demeanour. In his experience, people like Darius only asked questions to give themselves another opening to make fun of people. Didn't they have anything better to do?
"My friends are going to be here soon, so can you go away please?" he asked, intending it as a demand but largely failing to come across as assertive.
Really? That was...that really was rude of Nate. Darius worked his ass off at school, was looking forward to eat his goddamn chocolate bun just for Nate to implicitely tell him to fuck off. As if Darius could not talk with Nate about stuff. As if Darius could not stay here even when the friends came...Friends? Darius wasn't dumb. If Nate had friends to eat together, they would eat together. Bullshit. Liar. Nate wanted Darius to leave, but Darius wanted to eat.
"You have friends?"
Okay, that was mean. Darius kinda felt bad. Even if Nate looked like a loner loser to him, that was too hurtful to be funny. Because, well, it could be a legitimate question. He should retract that mean question. He said that question too quickly, rushed it out of reaction, had not thought about the consequences. Dumb Darius.
"Uh, sorry, of course you have. But not so many friends that this table would be full, right? Like, this table is friggin' huge."
Huge. Now Darius just had to make a size comment. Like 'unlike you.' But, Darius could hold himself back.
"Also, this is a public table, dude."
Darius tried to be friendly, but Nate was really rude. Darius tried to be polite and civil and all that shit, by not bringing up his size anymore, as he saw that Nate was incapable of accepting shit. Incapable of understanding, appreciating jokes. Even if he was small, geez, isn't he like just a year younger than Darius? A year or so, damn it. How can one be so stupid and immature? Size doesn't make one mature, the age does. It was hard to not be mean to Nate, when he was avoiding to be on an equal footing as Darius.
"You have friends?"
Okay, that was mean. Darius kinda felt bad. Even if Nate looked like a loner loser to him, that was too hurtful to be funny. Because, well, it could be a legitimate question. He should retract that mean question. He said that question too quickly, rushed it out of reaction, had not thought about the consequences. Dumb Darius.
"Uh, sorry, of course you have. But not so many friends that this table would be full, right? Like, this table is friggin' huge."
Huge. Now Darius just had to make a size comment. Like 'unlike you.' But, Darius could hold himself back.
"Also, this is a public table, dude."
Darius tried to be friendly, but Nate was really rude. Darius tried to be polite and civil and all that shit, by not bringing up his size anymore, as he saw that Nate was incapable of accepting shit. Incapable of understanding, appreciating jokes. Even if he was small, geez, isn't he like just a year younger than Darius? A year or so, damn it. How can one be so stupid and immature? Size doesn't make one mature, the age does. It was hard to not be mean to Nate, when he was avoiding to be on an equal footing as Darius.
Why couldn't Darius just leave him alone? What'd he ever do to him?
Of course he had friends: between the drama group, swim team, Church, and people from class, Nate probably had more friends than Darius did brain cells. Why would he even assume that Nate didn't? Nate knew that people liked him, otherwise they wouldn't let him hang around with them. He had friends.
So of course Darius acting all surprised that he didn't have friends was really stupid. Really, really stupid. So why was it that was getting so upset over it? More importantly, why did people like Darius exist? Why did they insist on giving him a hard time for no reason whatsoever?
He wanted to say something mean back to him, but he just couldn't bring himself to. He was too quelled by his anxiety, too beaten down by all the past incidents, too nervous to start spitting witty retorts back in Darius' face. Even if he could, his mind was blanking the same way it did when he'd forgotten a line on stage. He felt the same way then as he did there, and the growing panic was becoming too much to bear.
He couldn't stay there. Between the lump in his throat and the tremor in his arms, he needed to get away from Darius and his horrible attitude. He was going to have to concede the table, and run away from another jerk who thought he was just there for them to have fun with.
"Fine, take it." he muttered, getting up from his seat and grabbing his lunch. As he turned to leave the cafeteria, he paused, trying desperately to think of something to say to put Darius in his place and not look like an easy target.
He failed, and practically ran out the room.
((Nate Turner continued elsewhere.))
Of course he had friends: between the drama group, swim team, Church, and people from class, Nate probably had more friends than Darius did brain cells. Why would he even assume that Nate didn't? Nate knew that people liked him, otherwise they wouldn't let him hang around with them. He had friends.
So of course Darius acting all surprised that he didn't have friends was really stupid. Really, really stupid. So why was it that was getting so upset over it? More importantly, why did people like Darius exist? Why did they insist on giving him a hard time for no reason whatsoever?
He wanted to say something mean back to him, but he just couldn't bring himself to. He was too quelled by his anxiety, too beaten down by all the past incidents, too nervous to start spitting witty retorts back in Darius' face. Even if he could, his mind was blanking the same way it did when he'd forgotten a line on stage. He felt the same way then as he did there, and the growing panic was becoming too much to bear.
He couldn't stay there. Between the lump in his throat and the tremor in his arms, he needed to get away from Darius and his horrible attitude. He was going to have to concede the table, and run away from another jerk who thought he was just there for them to have fun with.
"Fine, take it." he muttered, getting up from his seat and grabbing his lunch. As he turned to leave the cafeteria, he paused, trying desperately to think of something to say to put Darius in his place and not look like an easy target.
He failed, and practically ran out the room.
((Nate Turner continued elsewhere.))
Welp, Nate left. That also proved the point that Nate was a fucking liar to Darius, since he really apparently had no friends to eat with. What a loser. Darius had no one to eat with either, but that's because Nate just left.
Darius had hopes of Nate returning and changing his mind, as he suddenly turned, but he really just left. Nate probably just turned to look if he had forgotten something.
But yeah, Nate just left Darius with an empty table. Wow. Darius won a table with his jokes. Yay, woopdedoop. And the worst part of it: Nate just left. They couldn't debate about why Darius' reasoning about it being a public table was right. No, Nate just fucking left. What an utter overemotional idiot.
Really, that made no sense to Darius. Nate just left. How can one just be so thin-skinned to not be able to endure jokes that are not even personal. That dude will be leaving school in a couple of years. And if he's not able to bear it when he's an adult, he seriously has some troubles at living in a community.
Darius doesn't mind jokes at his expense. He was fat, he was nerdy. Darius cannot ignore it. Nate is small. Nate should not ignore that. Accept things like that. Everybody with functional eyes could see that Nate and Darius were small. Jokes are allowed to be made, because they are funny. Darius could bet with his lunch money that Nate would never ever survive in the internet for over 4 minutes, where every third person insults one another.
Darius just wanted to chat with Nate. Friendly and civil, while eating. And Darius could have even stopped making jokes if Nate asked him to (well, maybe he wouldn't have stopped). But no. Nate just left instead, leaving him alone, without someone to talk to.
And while Darius finished eating his delicious, sweet, chocolate-y bun, he wondered what Nate ate.
((Darius Van Dyke continued in Tooi Sakebi))
Darius had hopes of Nate returning and changing his mind, as he suddenly turned, but he really just left. Nate probably just turned to look if he had forgotten something.
But yeah, Nate just left Darius with an empty table. Wow. Darius won a table with his jokes. Yay, woopdedoop. And the worst part of it: Nate just left. They couldn't debate about why Darius' reasoning about it being a public table was right. No, Nate just fucking left. What an utter overemotional idiot.
Really, that made no sense to Darius. Nate just left. How can one just be so thin-skinned to not be able to endure jokes that are not even personal. That dude will be leaving school in a couple of years. And if he's not able to bear it when he's an adult, he seriously has some troubles at living in a community.
Darius doesn't mind jokes at his expense. He was fat, he was nerdy. Darius cannot ignore it. Nate is small. Nate should not ignore that. Accept things like that. Everybody with functional eyes could see that Nate and Darius were small. Jokes are allowed to be made, because they are funny. Darius could bet with his lunch money that Nate would never ever survive in the internet for over 4 minutes, where every third person insults one another.
Darius just wanted to chat with Nate. Friendly and civil, while eating. And Darius could have even stopped making jokes if Nate asked him to (well, maybe he wouldn't have stopped). But no. Nate just left instead, leaving him alone, without someone to talk to.
And while Darius finished eating his delicious, sweet, chocolate-y bun, he wondered what Nate ate.
((Darius Van Dyke continued in Tooi Sakebi))